Terrapin Station

Giant Acorn

There are many splendid oak trees on my street (West Oak Street) but there is one in particular that has these MAMMOTH acorns.  The one above really does fill my palm. 

Yesterday I was driving east on Oak and noted a squirrel sitting on its haunches in the street.  It was in the other lane, about 2 feet from the curb.  I thought, "Dude, get out of the street!"  It just sat there, frozen.  There was no one coming in that lane, but as I approached, I slowed down, because you never really know what a squirrel's going to do in that situation.  Then I realized he had a GIANT acorn clutched in his paws.  It was bigger than his head. 

I imagined him, dazed with joy and abundance, and trying to figure out where to take this awesome prize so that the other squirrels couldn't see it.  After I passed, I looked back, and he was still there.  I hope he woke up in time. Sometimes I get so fixated on one thing (good or bad!), I forget to get out of the way of traffic!

What is your giant acorn? 

Grateful today for:

a cool breeze that means a much cooler one is coming later today

asters blooming

my home and my spouse, who feels well enough to work and to worry about the political scene

my two funny dogs

my coworkers

my friends with birthdays today!!

a weekend coming and Dia De Los Muertos in Denton to celebrate on Saturday

my knee getting better, and a brace to help it not go backward (pun intended)

my window, and the squirrels who come to eat sunflower seeds there

my parents and sisters and brother and their families

my RevGals

 

You Don't Own Me

Over here

Well, I'm still working on the exercise, though slowed down by my trick knee.  Adding in yoga to try to strengthen it carefully. 

This keeps going around in my mind, so I'm going to put it out here: 

Are the structures of the Church antithetical to the Gospel? 

I'm just over here, thinking.  In downward dog.

Source:  Louise Peterson, Sculptor

Friday Five: Whoopsie

Karla offers the RevGals this Friday Five: 

1. Tell us a moment of blessing that you have experienced in the past week.

This was my Facebook post a few days ago:  Driving on Oak St. today, I saw a tall blond woman in orange scrubs and a petite Hispanic woman walking together with a little boy (about 4) on the sidewalk. They were both smiling like a sunrise and talking to him. I looked closer, and he was smiling like the sun, too, and he was walking with a white cane with a small white ball on the end.
And then, my smile was as the sun, also.

2. Share the first thing/story that comes to mind when you read "When I was a child..." I used to make doll butter out of the acorns from the live oak in the front yard.  Then we would have tea parties.  The butter was the entire menu, so either my dolls are now dead from coronary issues or REALLY HEALTHY depending on who you talk to.  :)  That tree was really good for climbing, too, the only one in our yard that was. 

3, 4, and 5. If you were the host of a t.v. talk show, what three people would you like to interview on your first show, and what would you ask them.

Rachel Maddow, Anne Lamott, Jon Stewart.  "Tell me what inspires you."

Friday Five: Artsy

Posted by RevGal Pat at RevGalBlogPals: 

It's art, art, art in my life today, because I'm on the organizing committee for an all-women's art show that opens tonight! This means life has been about hanging paintings, arranging sculptures and assemblages, and doing everything we can to make sure we show off the women's work to its best advantage.

Something that has struck me in particular this year is the idea of art as a venue to give voice to the voiceless. But that's certainly not its only function. We have angry art, as political protest. We have joyful art, art that conveys the sheer buzz of being alive. We have spiritual art, reveling in the sacredness of the body or the earth. And just about every year, we have some form or another of "biblical" art, representing or commenting on something in scripture. (Above, the Levite's concubine from Judges, also known as Big Woman, by Elisabeth Lain Schell).

This Friday Five, reflect with me upon art and the role it plays in your life (and ministry!).

1. Do you have a favorite piece of art in your home? Was it made by you or someone you love? Was it a gift or something you decided to purchase?  I have a gorgeous piece of tatted lace made by my great-grandmother, Etta Dawson Swarthout.  My mom had it matted and framed with a plaque indicating the artist and time (c. 1900).  It reminds me of family; of women's work, often unrecognized and unsung, of which Gramma Etta did so much.  She was a legendary quilter and invented and patented a thread cutter that pinned to the seamstress' bodice for ease of access.  I never met my Gramma Etta, because she died before I was born...but she is still a legend among my older siblings and cousins.  Largely for her intractable sternness. 

2. What do you think of the the art in your place of worship? Does it enhance the worship experience? Would you add to it, take away from it, or otherwise change it?  I am worshiping mostly in my side yard these days, where there are so many trees and continuous change from seasons, birds and squirrels, bugs...I adore it.

3. What public art have you loved-- or hated?  I love the David Iles sculptures surrounding the Environmental Education, Science, and Technology building on my campus.  There are 18 life-size installations
of various native Texas animals. 

4. What piece of art (famous, infamous, personal, or very, very well known masterpiece) speaks to your soul?  This is too easy, but Monet's water lilies, always.  I visited the Orangerie in Paris in the late 80's and they had a cylindrical room with HUGE waterlilies all around.  Fortunately there were benches in the middle, because otherwise you would fall down. 

5. When is the last time you created something beautiful, just for you? I took a mixed media class a few months ago at a local art studio.  We made visual journals, which ended up being collage of various sorts.  It was completely art for its own sake...not something to use or wear later...and it was very fun.