tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5236759691624125682024-03-27T16:54:26.853-07:00Awakened SpiritAwakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.comBlogger527125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-49099324861374722002023-09-08T10:29:00.001-07:002023-09-08T10:29:48.998-07:00Looking Up, Instead of Out<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Somewhere along the way, my 80-day summer writing series turned into a 90-day writing series. Not sure how that happened. Originally, I imagined this summer writing series would enter a 120-day process of three intersecting wilderness journeys. I would journal part of the 90-day WildFit Challenge and the month that followed, as I work to shift a challenge into a lifestyle. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At some point, I forgot that the last ten days of the WildFit challenge were the first ten days of the third Wilderness journey.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Out of curiosity I checked the 80th post. It was the <i>New Haven Pizza Jaunt </i>on Labor Day, an apt ending to a summer writing project, date-wise, and a curious ending topically. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been caught up in a flow, and allowed the river to carry me. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now, on day 84, I am wandering around the question of duration. I'm also realizing that sometimes we can be in the Wilderness so long, we may not quite get that we've come out of it. I think about the landscape and it makes sense that, unless there's a sign or a river or an oasis, you might not quite realize you've reached the end. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDxhvJ2MPe3otEXgsV_fDI4RS8bJNNQm8NO-2dd1wNv0W2qi7zZILLQcH6abRcijmYv_r8X_it5TZPL_zGeyArd7r8c48rOiWQD7IZADqUXrqVdAeMmw1xTpXIwd54yR7pk2UAnsfBSoED37yFtK2lJx82EB0rrLtOd00QB3PbeNt7Qo4f3XEfT4d0CSd/s749/fb_clouds02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="749" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDxhvJ2MPe3otEXgsV_fDI4RS8bJNNQm8NO-2dd1wNv0W2qi7zZILLQcH6abRcijmYv_r8X_it5TZPL_zGeyArd7r8c48rOiWQD7IZADqUXrqVdAeMmw1xTpXIwd54yR7pk2UAnsfBSoED37yFtK2lJx82EB0rrLtOd00QB3PbeNt7Qo4f3XEfT4d0CSd/s320/fb_clouds02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience.</i></span></p><p><i style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</span></i></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-54567223842451724612023-09-07T20:41:00.000-07:002023-09-07T20:41:43.297-07:00Stepping Back into Normal<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Yesterday felt like a lost day after arriving home so late with the train delays. I honestly can't remember what I did, beyond unpacking and writing. I felt down this morning. Off. The two days of eating non-supportive foods have worked their way through my body, and my joints are sore. It's good to keep this in mind. Fortunately, I am still on vacation and can take a couple of days to take things easy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I joined Costco to get a good price on Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. I'll be adding that to my self-care regimen to strengthen the vulnerabilities created by my experience with Lyme disease three years ago. Food, for the next few weeks will be simple. Green smoothies in the morning, salads at lunch, a protein and veg at dinner. Coconut yogurt and paleo granola when I feel like something sweet. If the days get cooler, I'll make some roasted vegetable soup. It was 96 degrees today and way too hot even to cook. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Here's the recipe for my favorite green salad. I had it for lunch today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Arrange tender baby lettuces on the plate and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Add a squeeze of Meyer lemon. A little salt and pepper. Add marinated artichoke hearts and pine nuts. Sometimes I'll also add a little avocado, scooped with a spoon.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>I love this salad with roasted red pepper soup. It's nice also with a little bit of leftover roasted chicken. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbDp7owk2y-KgucUmFvwx7ek8XK-wN9u9QP6EBxeQxM-q2s_21T-2nA7bz4bpHM1akFD7nAL0gt_T-lOIrPpBXEtZEuwMbOe7WoepXBOt5rlHVjUrNAQGkFMqQGDTlRsdsDLp1Z31grdU7FKZ__Xdi97vi4IjOpZOJx42MozxkdoGVIi9R6b8DuCOpxQs/s960/fb_salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbDp7owk2y-KgucUmFvwx7ek8XK-wN9u9QP6EBxeQxM-q2s_21T-2nA7bz4bpHM1akFD7nAL0gt_T-lOIrPpBXEtZEuwMbOe7WoepXBOt5rlHVjUrNAQGkFMqQGDTlRsdsDLp1Z31grdU7FKZ__Xdi97vi4IjOpZOJx42MozxkdoGVIi9R6b8DuCOpxQs/s320/fb_salad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-81466697018056336322023-09-06T08:32:00.004-07:002023-09-06T10:00:43.604-07:00When Things Go Wacky<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. . . and they do. Sometimes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Take, for example, our well-planned mini-break to New Haven. Airbnb. (check) Train reservations. (check) Planned itinerary. (check) Unstructured free time. (check) There was enough structure for the trip to have good bones. There was enough flexibility for the trip to experience some serendipity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Take, for example, breakfast on Tuesday morning. The Airbnb listing said breakfast was included, provided. It wasn't. But Charlie was on top of things, and notices things, and during our walks around town he noticed a bookshop-café called Atticus. So, when we were packed and heading out, I mentioned I'd been looking at the map of the Yale campus and would like to take a different route than the ones we've been walking. I said that we might see somewhere fun to get breakfast along the way. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He said, "I've got breakfast covered, Mom." And he did. He's really good at thinking of things that combine different elements with the things we love, and coming up with a great plan. We put his idea together with my route and came up with something new that included some of both. We spent a great morning at the café-bookshop. A leisurely breakfast and time to talk, browse, talk some more. Both our bags were two books heavier when we left.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After lunch at the third pizza place of the trip, we decided to head to the train station a couple of hours early. We figured we might find someplace to sit down, have a cup of something, and wind things down in a leisurely way that left us free from rushing at the end.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">HA.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We did sit, for almost four hours, and watched as there was, first, a 20 minute delay with our train, and then a 40 minute delay, an hour, and then it just became a flashing DELAYED on the board. Train after train. There was some kind of obstruction on the track and no other information. We looked into trying to switch our tickets, but everything was sold out. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Until . . . </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">All hell broke loose at the station and Charlie said, "Get your stuff, Mom. We need to run for the train. They're holding it for us."</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The scene reminded me of one of those metallic shavings and magnet sets, as people started moving like long lines coming together to get through the doors to the track, and then splitting again to get from the passageway to the different platforms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We came up to an empty platform. The Vermonter had just pulled away. As we went down from the platform, an Amtrack staffer sent us up to another platform. The Acela. It was nearly empty, and going to Washington via Stamford, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My stop is Trenton. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"Don't worry," she said. "Just get on the train. You can figure it out later." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Long story, short. Charlie stayed on the Acela to Philly. I got off in NYC to catch the Jersey Transit to Trenton. They'd changed the way the parking garage worked, so I walked across an empty lot after dark to get to my entrance only to find it locked, walked back to the station, called the parking authority number and learned there was now only one way in after dark. Walked there, paid for my parking, took the elevator up, got my car, exited and headed home for a quick shower, and fell into bed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What about food and eating when things go wacky? Here's the thing. You do what you need to do and eat what's available. For me, it was a chicken salad, spinach, and avocado sandwich on a croissant from the train concession. For Charlie, it was mac and cheese. It was one meal. And, hey, we'd just spent the last day and a half eating pizza, anchovies, and Caesar salad. Laughing just a bit as I think about the final meal of a foodie jaunt being cuisine de Amtrak. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7bE9c18CHgnj0SpFQTFk2HS7xj0CahDI51C52beY3WZRIn9FSjbMIUsI0PLvRQQ2bHKU6R5M8MTquryYWB4RVC3xfAlGZjnIITbb3biDlwPKb4jCkvK0eJkrwiKLwDrWQm1eTpYTnWe3uaHK4N_rHUAMpWReHeGZaKdSVoYDGbKXyLNOaQsnbrbXQakf/s960/fb_trainstation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7bE9c18CHgnj0SpFQTFk2HS7xj0CahDI51C52beY3WZRIn9FSjbMIUsI0PLvRQQ2bHKU6R5M8MTquryYWB4RVC3xfAlGZjnIITbb3biDlwPKb4jCkvK0eJkrwiKLwDrWQm1eTpYTnWe3uaHK4N_rHUAMpWReHeGZaKdSVoYDGbKXyLNOaQsnbrbXQakf/s320/fb_trainstation.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>T</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>he Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-65114597134739915672023-09-05T07:10:00.002-07:002023-09-05T07:23:46.943-07:00Tuesday Morning, I Look Out Over the Yale Campus<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Old Campus, with its beautiful towers and deep green canopy of trees. We're staying at the edge of campus, in a third-floor walk-up Airbnb. A funky loft with ceiling timbers in a traditional building. Old touches and new. A loft with a roof deck. Perfect for a Millennial and his late-Baby Boomer mom.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A pizza jaunt in a colonial college town is a great idea. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As we stood in line at Pepe's before lunch, we got into conversation with people who thought it was interesting, and probably a little quirky, that we'd take the train up from Philly to eat pizza in New Haven. Of course, it's more than that. It's spending time together around a common interest. Trying something new. Seeing someplace new. Exploring the world around us. Doing something other than a traditional cook-out in the backyard on Labor Day. And talking about it all. Getting to know each other beyond the childhood-parenting identities, and seeing who we've become as time has gone by.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm having a rare cup of tea this morning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And I'm pretty sure that, after today, I won't have pizza for a very long time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I look up from the keyboard and my eyes are drawn to the campus once again. I thought about going back to school after my marriage broke up. Getting a PhD. At Princeton. I thought to myself that seven years would be way too long to invest in that. That I'd be so old when it was done. It's now five years beyond when I would have completed it. I laugh at myself (good naturedly, of course) over my imaginings around age. At 50, I could not imagine being 60. To tell the truth, I really couldn't even imagine being 50. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But there I was. And here I am. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ5oiJhB-wKG2lQG07Z2O-Nlenr2fTu6ohZZlt2CComIuMv7eznncOSEkn-AydJJ5Ep1vdFwjEPtOxspzvNCxmw2xlgZos_aBO8e3PFrkbzyQrUAN2CVvWzw3ZaDuvmOlvKa3TURM1Tn4aBOjNxErmKk66qNTZNCq9YcIIbVr1F1gUxzKijThd4FMLTVd/s960/fb_tea02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ5oiJhB-wKG2lQG07Z2O-Nlenr2fTu6ohZZlt2CComIuMv7eznncOSEkn-AydJJ5Ep1vdFwjEPtOxspzvNCxmw2xlgZos_aBO8e3PFrkbzyQrUAN2CVvWzw3ZaDuvmOlvKa3TURM1Tn4aBOjNxErmKk66qNTZNCq9YcIIbVr1F1gUxzKijThd4FMLTVd/s320/fb_tea02.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-41529468463010912392023-09-04T21:44:00.006-07:002023-09-04T22:02:58.545-07:00New Haven Pizza Jaunt<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It has been a long, wonderful day. From the train ride up. To lunch at Frank Pepe's. To a rest at the Airbnb during the hottest part of the day. To</span> <span style="font-family: helvetica;">the long walk past Yale, the New Haven Green, over 95, and back to Little Italy for dinner at Sally's. To a fun movie on Netflix back at the Airbnb after an unsuccessful hunt for gelato. To falling into bed exhausted. To jumping up when I remembered I was going to post my blog after dinner, and a quick write up for the day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This trip was imagined toward the end of a three-day water fast about six weeks ago. I was trying to distract myself, and came across a documentary about New Haven pizza while scrolling through YouTube. I was so pulled into the story of its origins and reputation that I found myself planning a New Haven pizza tour. One day while hanging out with my son, I told him about it and he said, "When are we going? What are you doing on Labor Day?" We arranged an Airbnb and bought Amtrak tickets. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's so easy to decide to do something fun with someone you love, and then just do it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r1rNoM7wp6_BhHa_rvHAQxf2Ksf2Oh2dHnYfsbBvClfFEuqZyPxOP0MRphQDCbpUHc6oLAwg1pDro7CAqLDHFW4AbwGAEvJFcMZoJKDyqcbhvc5l0v91W-gH1XN8fqhqGKISxeUCVTmtJ8yACdzkvY5yf9H_r3kaRFEZNCNlQ-X9Xg0Kl3oxzlaBfbIv/s960/fb_pizza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="722" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r1rNoM7wp6_BhHa_rvHAQxf2Ksf2Oh2dHnYfsbBvClfFEuqZyPxOP0MRphQDCbpUHc6oLAwg1pDro7CAqLDHFW4AbwGAEvJFcMZoJKDyqcbhvc5l0v91W-gH1XN8fqhqGKISxeUCVTmtJ8yACdzkvY5yf9H_r3kaRFEZNCNlQ-X9Xg0Kl3oxzlaBfbIv/s320/fb_pizza.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-68176977850255377592023-09-03T17:56:00.000-07:002023-09-03T17:56:55.110-07:00A Day Between<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Between this and that. Between the beach and a Labor Day jaunt with my son. A day between one week of vacation and another. Almost another. The first week was a little longer than the second. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">But who's counting?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I spent the morning at the park in town, stopped in at the bakery and got a little something to have with my S'well of cool water. Did my Morning Pages in a tiny peace chapel, a shady park bench before a Peace Pole. There are many ways to worship.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Stopped in to pick up a few things at the store. I'll make some sandwiches for the train. There's nothing like a good sandwich on a train for breakfast. As you're going someplace you've never been before with someone you love. There are many ways to be restored.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Picked up some flowers. Small sunflowers for the kitchen and blue and purple blossoms for my bedroom and writing room. I really don't write in my writing room, but I do keep a writing table there and my library. Some nice art. There are many ways to refresh a home.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The afternoon and evening slipped away from me. The days go that way sometimes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaZt0wCbr5UzExsWqiOm5b-97hN8GiTXM8sFFkhBHf8NeetvnuEaJbHZ7DKybjUSOPw4ovhWZSg5ZZQBo111Zhi_8CRPOAVSE1Ho_CWP2DdMXlxEonVGlAxqNzA0Rd4syDGKIOjke_tq8bCAu-nm2tliWzAjWKe756b7Ctl1rh2B_Bm4b0bUGqJb2uOB2/s960/fb_peacepole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaZt0wCbr5UzExsWqiOm5b-97hN8GiTXM8sFFkhBHf8NeetvnuEaJbHZ7DKybjUSOPw4ovhWZSg5ZZQBo111Zhi_8CRPOAVSE1Ho_CWP2DdMXlxEonVGlAxqNzA0Rd4syDGKIOjke_tq8bCAu-nm2tliWzAjWKe756b7Ctl1rh2B_Bm4b0bUGqJb2uOB2/s320/fb_peacepole.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-6910950032705180522023-09-02T07:36:00.000-07:002023-09-02T07:36:59.279-07:00Morning Songs<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Morning songs are layered here at the beach. Sounds of surf. Songs of cicadas. Occasional passing of cars in the distance and people walking to the beach closer by. I forgot how lovely it is to have a screened porch. There's one here at the beach house. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My favorite home from over the years had one, that's the one where we lived when the kids were little. We moved when my daughter had just started high school and my son was in fourth grade. The next house had a guest room. And a little woodland at the end of the property. Each place I've lived had something special that I will remember it for, and I love the early mornings when something in their songs brings up memories of songs from long ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMOp9ocjiaOU6SxRef3pipcIXz1TfZEKATZ0lIcsIHl6XHLMj8c_F1ft1G2OUmF2205EvgoFhmsLmwRaxnL3ZWzTBn1U17o-vJPmUPvzys1S8JfUyeCvy4aXF8umGcOZtOTmNOZ1N5Wii5mJT-knVD1ZNOLeDOs_IemAeI9Qt8_zI0wB9_0kOaEanMbVV/s960/fb_porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMOp9ocjiaOU6SxRef3pipcIXz1TfZEKATZ0lIcsIHl6XHLMj8c_F1ft1G2OUmF2205EvgoFhmsLmwRaxnL3ZWzTBn1U17o-vJPmUPvzys1S8JfUyeCvy4aXF8umGcOZtOTmNOZ1N5Wii5mJT-knVD1ZNOLeDOs_IemAeI9Qt8_zI0wB9_0kOaEanMbVV/s320/fb_porch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </span> </i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-58937746816534553402023-09-01T14:37:00.000-07:002023-09-01T14:37:06.930-07:00Afternoon Lull<span style="font-family: helvetica;">The weather turned yesterday. Late afternoon. High winds throughout the day blew the humidity and bugs away. Today is glorious. The next nine days expect to be glorious. I'm going home tomorrow. Stretched it as far as I can. It's the Alanis Morisette kind of ironic, which is not actually ironic at all. </span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'll have a day at home to get ready for Charlie's and my jaunt to New Haven on Monday and Tuesday. Not much to do. Pack an overnight bag and go. Of course, there's the mail that's come in while I've been away, watering the plants, and little things like that to handle but even all that can wait another couple of days.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Michael Hedges, <i>Aerial Boundaries, </i>plays in the afternoon lull. I'm munching on some nuts and sipping water. The sunlight has moved to the other side of the house. The light is soft here in the room where I type. A sea breeze blows gently through open windows. Cicadas begin their evening songs. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sitting on the beach today, I remembered a family trip here in 1978. We rented a house a block from the beach, in town, for a month. Dad came up on the weekends. My grandparents came down for part of the trip. I worked at the pizza parlor on the small main street for spending money. Spent the days on the beach, the early evening carrying pizza and soda to tables, and the best part of the night with friends, usually on the small boardwalk in town. When we went back home, I started my senior year. I was 16.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The town is much the same today as it was then. Maybe a little busier. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">They call the Delaware beaches <i>The </i></span><i style="font-family: helvetica;">Quiet Resorts. </i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Or used to. Not sure I paid attention to the signs on this trip. The coastal highway through Rehoboth Beach is more built up than it used to be. The town still has it's quiet character. Someone is building loads of housing for retirees, especially around Bethany Beach. Dewey is Dewey. So far, this stretch of sand and marsh has been able to avoid the development you see at the Jersey Shore and the high rises of Ocean City, Maryland. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm thinking about the evening. Whether I really want to cook tonight, or have one more dinner out at <i>Matt's Fish Camp. </i>There are lots of other places I could go, but Matt's is just so darn easy. Close. Relaxed. And when you come out after a good meal, the sun is setting right in front of you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-1jU-Z-KfyogkIi4lFwiiVr9ahUduO5w8PNU7MTXwPaPXA3yzmGg9_9bVizsWkBDO1MvHb1BIMqZxa6GPYQKU_2KqVPWM4R3aaR_BL0uxKWkGDqzJRLoF_aXJ0auieoD_HOHxdorV9QKW5J_7lCDKxp6ZFMu2YOaCUh9Z4j501RXMOkcZn3zHkhv8oN9/s885/fb_beachy04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-1jU-Z-KfyogkIi4lFwiiVr9ahUduO5w8PNU7MTXwPaPXA3yzmGg9_9bVizsWkBDO1MvHb1BIMqZxa6GPYQKU_2KqVPWM4R3aaR_BL0uxKWkGDqzJRLoF_aXJ0auieoD_HOHxdorV9QKW5J_7lCDKxp6ZFMu2YOaCUh9Z4j501RXMOkcZn3zHkhv8oN9/s320/fb_beachy04.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-30475154049176131372023-08-31T07:06:00.000-07:002023-08-31T07:06:15.485-07:00By the Light of the Silvery Sun<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Normally, this would be my last post of the summer series. But I got a late start and so there are about three weeks to go. One of the reasons I choose the summer for this writing is my work schedule is usually lighter. So it's going to be a good writing experiment to do this daily practice when there is more demand on my time, and on me. It's also going to be interesting to see how I fare in the last three weeks of three months in the Green Wilderness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been on vacation for a week, with complete freedom around eating since I'm at the beach house with a kitchen and grocery stores easily available. My time has been completely unstructured and there've been no demands on me. In October when I'm traveling out of the country, it will be a lot more interesting to consider food choices and to discover what might be available and what might not be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been far from perfect this week, but pretty good all things considered. I've had a little sugar, a few drinks, a tiny bit of dairy and gluten/grains. But just a little of all that. I've definitely felt it in my level of well-being. That feeling of vibrant good health is not quite on track when I make food choices that are non-supportive. Some of that looks like low energy, congestion, trouble sleeping. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've prepared most of my meals and have eaten out only four times, so far. I think it's helped that I've also been doing a two-week online coaching program in emotional eating. The extra support, accountability, and awareness have been helpful. I've also learned a few things. Actually, there have been some stunning insights. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I love that I can still learn things about myself in my 60s.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The light yesterday was a study in contradiction, the sky was as changeable as I've seen it. I was up at the beach for a few hours in the morning. The light and everything around me appeared silver. I took a photo and questioned whether I'd somehow set the camera on black and white. A few hours later the skies and light were a jumble of blue and white and golden. The sky was afire with deep pink and purple at sunset, and the rising blue moon slipped in and out of the clouds reflecting the deep pink of the evening sky before settling into gold and then a pearlescent white. I never caught a glimpse of the whole moon all at once. I'm hoping for clear skies tonight. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTn5f6S8yMim3hbuen3RYX2jP2LKuWKCucif1FVWGB8I4tb2Byubn1xhkS8A51GjUOCIIItRqMoC2xtOBxpbgMCiLe7dKRCT2WbMBjLACPBx7eE5qyxPJzRrrXAad2sLlLAan8U_urHl8-xXNcxMpXniNOUFRC2YSkgj2maM4MKTkIe74peuwC70M-rZa/s960/fb_silverybeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTn5f6S8yMim3hbuen3RYX2jP2LKuWKCucif1FVWGB8I4tb2Byubn1xhkS8A51GjUOCIIItRqMoC2xtOBxpbgMCiLe7dKRCT2WbMBjLACPBx7eE5qyxPJzRrrXAad2sLlLAan8U_urHl8-xXNcxMpXniNOUFRC2YSkgj2maM4MKTkIe74peuwC70M-rZa/s320/fb_silverybeach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span> </span> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-18232890579514380972023-08-30T17:48:00.002-07:002023-08-30T17:48:28.257-07:00Once In a Blue Moon<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This evening's blue moon mostly hid behind a thick layer of cloud. Every now and then I could see a slice of her deep pink deliciousness as she rose over a silvery Atlantic Ocean. The sunset in the west was brilliant, with deep pink and purple skies. The moon, of course, reflected these colors in her rising, and I wished that the thick layer of cloud would have dispersed. I am grateful, though, that I was given glimpses.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The moon is near perigee, so she's a super moon, appearing larger than she usually does. Somehow, even with the thick cloud layer, her reflected light shimmers on the water. I sat outside on the beach and watched for about an hour, catching glimpses here and there as she continued to rise and pick up different colors to reflect, leaving the deep pink and picking up golden raiment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There also were no-see-ums out, and I'd have liked to have stayed longer, but got the distinct feeling that I was being served for dinner. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It was a surprising day, and most of it was clear with blue skies and sunshine. The forecast was for cloud and rain today, but I suppose the trajectory of the hurricane south of us changed and we benefitted from the change in course that took it way out into the Atlantic. I'll take it. I may get a few more sunny days before I have to go home on Saturday. I'm stretching it out as long as I can.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYDv5uAAHu6EXAOn6JD4iNADirSGDnWPGYFX71YTDNISOnjSIeDEGocdnDVZt3XPlnwWAE1C0HTbOP_BxV0IDNJX8BxxMlmdntD9uBIGymY62wMZO1k6MURiSvKnQMCzGJh5qdOSP2PbIxGuvucJscVbM-PWm--jcjfwyZkPCobOLtHJzs01zG_KamBUW/s960/fb_pinkmoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYDv5uAAHu6EXAOn6JD4iNADirSGDnWPGYFX71YTDNISOnjSIeDEGocdnDVZt3XPlnwWAE1C0HTbOP_BxV0IDNJX8BxxMlmdntD9uBIGymY62wMZO1k6MURiSvKnQMCzGJh5qdOSP2PbIxGuvucJscVbM-PWm--jcjfwyZkPCobOLtHJzs01zG_KamBUW/s320/fb_pinkmoon.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><i style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</span></i></p><p><i style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A glimpse of the moon above the water, just above and to the left of the pesky ship in all my camera shots.</span></i></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-16501675127941704972023-08-29T05:54:00.000-07:002023-08-29T05:54:24.808-07:00Behind the Clouds<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's the second of three consecutive rain days forecast here at the beach. There are rip tide warnings and warnings for mild coastal flooding between six and 12 tonight. Behind all those clouds, there's almost a full moon. And some sunshine as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I happened to look ahead to next week and noticed that from Saturday (this week) on, the weather is expected to be sunny, cooler in the 70s, and dry. For at least a week. I laugh as I think I picked the wrong week of my two weeks of vacation to be at the beach. I think about Murphy's Law ~ anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. According to that, there might never be good weather at the beach. But then there's the sometime addition to the law . . . and at the worst possible time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So, you always get into the wrong line at the store. Your week at the beach is the one with the rain, or the hurricane. Still. The beach is a beautiful place to be. Any time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And I've come to read, so I can do that indoors as well as out on the beach. I had been hoping to get a little sun and color but I'm happy to be away, and to hear the ocean outside the window. It's even louder than usual because of the weather. So, there's that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'd planned to extend my stay a few days to enjoy the sun when it comes back, but that keeps getting pushed. The sun, not my stay. I'll stay as long as I can, which right now is til Saturday. Charlie and I are taking a fun mini trip by train on Monday and Tuesday to explore New Haven. Connecticut. There's some coastline there as well. And pizza.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeDp2GZtv5RWoOJPc8VPz5-Bm7Ks4qwgjfoWbA-ElmUSrfvIcDptHqFZ1zMF70dEgTplqkO9qi8PZYroIn7CqdQs01BHWwZJv5_SAeg5Mqi3_-nbu_G7Dk34aVZuWjwbYhA2dLtFyWAAv6sTFQsFM7J-FWcK7GXhPRaii4pCqKpW1R6uJSrwvSdAgeNme/s960/fb_pinkflower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIeDp2GZtv5RWoOJPc8VPz5-Bm7Ks4qwgjfoWbA-ElmUSrfvIcDptHqFZ1zMF70dEgTplqkO9qi8PZYroIn7CqdQs01BHWwZJv5_SAeg5Mqi3_-nbu_G7Dk34aVZuWjwbYhA2dLtFyWAAv6sTFQsFM7J-FWcK7GXhPRaii4pCqKpW1R6uJSrwvSdAgeNme/s320/fb_pinkflower.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life</i></span>.</span> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-56201816667663616092023-08-28T17:06:00.001-07:002023-08-29T05:55:30.509-07:00In and Out<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The first of three rainy days at the beach. I had a massage scheduled and drove into town about an hour before to make sure I could find parking and have a relaxed arrival. This day spa is popular, and I've been trying to get an appointment at this place for two years, so I was glad to finally be able to book a treatment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There are all kinds of tempting goodies for sale. All those products coming together in one small space produces a smell you can't buy, but wish you could. I used to get a similar feeling in the artisanal soap department in Whole Foods.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The 90 minute treatment in a dark room with dark sheets on the massage table led me into deep relaxation, and I honestly don't know how she got my body to stop hurting because she worked with barely any pressure. A bit like magic, it was.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I walked around town, popped into a few stores, browsed a bookstore and decided to pass on the new release I've been wanting to buy and read. I have such a stack of unread books at home already that I think I'll wait til it comes out in paperback. I finished David Baldacci and have moved on to Elizabeth </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Peters. It's my first time reading her. I found the book on a bookshelf in the basement at Mom's. I have a feeling I will want more.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I stopped to pick up some salt water taffy and a small piece of fudge from Dolle's. It's an institution in Rehoboth Beach. I did not see the Bidens. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It rained lightly the whole time I was walking around. I would have walked the whole boardwalk but I settled for the end of it. Or the beginning. Which is in the middle.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I don't have a lot of tolerance for discomfort these days, or I'd have walked around more and taken advantage of the last hour on my meter. But, honestly, I just wanted to get back to the beach house and burrow into my book. I've given myself an entire week to read and I step away from it only grudgingly. Well, that's not completely true. I happily met some old friends yesterday for lunch and I felt so good about going out when I got back, that I went back out and took myself to dinner. Roasted oysters, soft-shelled crab, key lime pie. Delicious.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71ckUYsjVYWII4b4eNm49ym37_nSJakDURT7wmtdh85ZGMZkbtvpuPMaYjhgRTj-IpY4WvinKXRAPQVlAnQA3HS1eYV00FLbwJWze9UQffoGI6ldLUxYKYNqwlNS8C831TqhhnkQRwdaUzSm37rD6YEuDQSC2IVzFTxelPpusfcMnAQzEke-kY1B8Pbng/s960/fb_boardwalk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi71ckUYsjVYWII4b4eNm49ym37_nSJakDURT7wmtdh85ZGMZkbtvpuPMaYjhgRTj-IpY4WvinKXRAPQVlAnQA3HS1eYV00FLbwJWze9UQffoGI6ldLUxYKYNqwlNS8C831TqhhnkQRwdaUzSm37rD6YEuDQSC2IVzFTxelPpusfcMnAQzEke-kY1B8Pbng/s320/fb_boardwalk.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. </span></p><p> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-75723205313754592242023-08-27T17:38:00.001-07:002023-08-27T17:38:29.849-07:00Pretty in Pink<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The evening sky </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Arrays in pink</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After a deeper, brilliant ball of fire </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sinks</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Slowly</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Into the bay</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLiNnE51s7ScVR92nwzcUOyWGMX-FwD31U4LQlfxX6v0iM9zY8ZumL1XhkZnqgkRj_SgHwS0MbaULpYQDoNAcqKElGaEkzD2x70Hs8rQDeN6JPO3ZyTj8zXnm1mStwJ4qlRxYGkPeEErY2NOPatIp-BKjIK0BTuUn-CzR-3XgfLCBFMSadlDuy22KTegU/s749/fb_sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="749" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLiNnE51s7ScVR92nwzcUOyWGMX-FwD31U4LQlfxX6v0iM9zY8ZumL1XhkZnqgkRj_SgHwS0MbaULpYQDoNAcqKElGaEkzD2x70Hs8rQDeN6JPO3ZyTj8zXnm1mStwJ4qlRxYGkPeEErY2NOPatIp-BKjIK0BTuUn-CzR-3XgfLCBFMSadlDuy22KTegU/s320/fb_sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span> </span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-14896222707589230892023-08-26T17:37:00.003-07:002023-08-26T17:56:12.534-07:00White Lady<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At the beach I wear either billowy soft white or light blue denim. It's my thing. Today I wore both. Denim during the day and white for my evening walk to the beach to be with the sinking sun and sunset.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I still favor the jeans and peasant tops of my youth, the gauzier the better. And, what one of the kids in my youth group in Wilmington called my "flowy clothes." The closet is a sea of blue and white. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I notice I still love the light pinks for my cheeks and lips. I spent some time in my 20s in reds, my 30s in light brick colors, my 40s in neutral soft reds, my 50s saw the return to my 20s and then my teen preferences. Maybe I'm aging backwards.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Beach waves twist themselves into my white and silver hair.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It was a day of sinking more deeply into peace, softness, and relaxation. A quiet day spent reading, taking walks, and watching the moon's blue and white dance with the late afternoon sky. I talked to my brother in the afternoon, and will return the call of a friend later. I like being quiet when I can. I like days and days of quiet. I emerge feeling grounded and wise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Walking back from the beach in the lessening light and the growing dark, I notice the songs of cicadas, loud and raucous. Now, I notice they are still there, but are more subdued. Softer. It's just after 8 and it's already dark. Only two months ago, there would have been almost an hour more of daylight and its residue after sundown.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihN9PZHDw_Y5g6yGZy-iTaux1cVoPLcVbUiMJeIZl0rtl-EFOSsKcT-KC1W_jzC_z2VndWPZuRIDX83PNP5zX1EvLfw_OKn23IwXWFptkvHcS6qMQPEh7SnaT3WNtBYNcNWJYVGmvFSrk0eWnUemqy6S7MBgKmTy66eJ4U6fzf_dA3wHTSJNordu07kmZU/s960/fb_beachy03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihN9PZHDw_Y5g6yGZy-iTaux1cVoPLcVbUiMJeIZl0rtl-EFOSsKcT-KC1W_jzC_z2VndWPZuRIDX83PNP5zX1EvLfw_OKn23IwXWFptkvHcS6qMQPEh7SnaT3WNtBYNcNWJYVGmvFSrk0eWnUemqy6S7MBgKmTy66eJ4U6fzf_dA3wHTSJNordu07kmZU/s320/fb_beachy03.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i style="font-size: small;">The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape into my own human experience.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i style="font-size: small;">Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p><p> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-82202671330089173342023-08-25T17:47:00.001-07:002023-08-25T17:47:40.602-07:00Sleeping In<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The beauty of time off with absolutely no agenda, except rest, is the body can do what the body needs to do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Today I did not stir before 10 a.m. When I get out of balance, sleep suffers and the sounds of insect song and the whispering surf is soporific. And it worked on me all day. Whether I was on the beach or in the yard or in the house, my breathing slowed and deepened, and I could swear my blood moved with the tide.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Food was simple. I made some basmati rice to have with the last of the leftovers from Wednesday and a little cut up avocado. The avocado was left over from my late morning green smoothie. I'm adding fruit this week. Dinner was a salad with chicken left over from last night. There were also artichoke hearts and pine nuts. A nice, light vinaigrette ~ all paired with the roasted red pepper soup I made this afternoon. I followed that with a little bit of coconut yogurt and some cacao-cayenne Paleo granola I found at the store today when I went out for water and carrots. Forgot the carrots (for the soup) yesterday when I did the main shopping for my trip. I found another fun foodie treasure while I was out. Honeysuckle honey, raw and local. I've never had that before, but honeysuckle is the fragrance I love most about summer, besides peaches.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I spent some time reading today ~ on the couch, in the yard on the chaise, up at the beach on the bench. I'll spend more time with David Baldacci, Shaw, and Anna Fischer this evening. Before and after a bath with Epsom salts. A rare treat for me after my landlady removed the tub and replaced it with a large shower. Boy do I miss nightly baths. The tubs here are long, wide, and deep. Perfect for soaking. The magnesium works on my aches, and has a little something to say to my mental exhaustion too. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The moon was out this evening when I took a walk after dinner. Waxing gibbous. There will be a full moon next week. I think I may stay for that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnIiBtjElFYIuz4Z2aZ1eAmnlWfyKmetloiDsCwNDSSXzbTrJna3fRYZ1ntEdqWmVSfL1Qa31C6NotUcSkCqEw3uXNQYwdFdYWl_2n2jrits39zXu7Cug9BGIF_G9_clF4-SD6napyhTCKnsZbXqtYeI8V6Xr-SASqPmS2rSEvFuSvXMbFKn6c5vbE08m/s960/fb_beachy02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnIiBtjElFYIuz4Z2aZ1eAmnlWfyKmetloiDsCwNDSSXzbTrJna3fRYZ1ntEdqWmVSfL1Qa31C6NotUcSkCqEw3uXNQYwdFdYWl_2n2jrits39zXu7Cug9BGIF_G9_clF4-SD6napyhTCKnsZbXqtYeI8V6Xr-SASqPmS2rSEvFuSvXMbFKn6c5vbE08m/s320/fb_beachy02.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span> </span></p><p> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-90106142203982876542023-08-24T17:36:00.000-07:002023-08-24T17:36:44.510-07:00Scramble Ramble<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The day spun round like a gyroscope.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've just finished dinner and am taking a little breather with the keyboard. Tapping out a few impressions of the day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I was oddly on-time with managing all the different pieces. Morning journal. Grocery shopping at three stores. Packing food, clothes, books, journals, and anything else I thought I might want or need. Of course, I overpacked. But not as much as I could have. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The drive to the beach house was oddly simple and clear. Only a few spots where volume and roads coming together slowed things a bit. And, of course, the run down the Coastal Highway. That usually slows in the section that has a lot of traffic lights. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It rained as I arrived. I drove around a little because I did not want to unload the car in the rain. There was about a 20 minute break in the rain before the downpour came. A few hours later, another break let me walk up to the beach for a quick look. I came back and made dinner, glad I'd brought food or I might have gone out to eat. Instead, roasted veg and chicken thighs. A nice salad. Dinner was the most settled part of the day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm tired, and just want to stay put.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I was so focused on getting out of town I forgot to eat. Or make a green smoothie for the road. So, at the store I hit before getting on the highway, I picked up a little tub of store-made chicken salad. The chicken was not pastured and the mayo probably had industrial oil, but it was light on mayo and oddly yummy. Best of all, it was not the fast food I thought I might have to pick up along the three hour drive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Songs of insects harmonize with the percussive surf. I've got the window open so I can hear them. There's not the sound of a car to be heard. I'm looking forward to being lulled to sleep by the susurration of surf and insect song.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fvjoJTIaUhM6_0YR9mPjUOY7iMYVB17QEhkmTvuYbIf-HR6x1swHHqjioIy2w66idzhsFlPqimxBDF42IXCzMWVHqUl5vEnLzpA1VuJ70dJgXcJOCC1cjBSPheQuraZeopwmfbrZjwepC1IQSccxYF3CYBK_dTzZ2N56w20DJaJH3NlK-uv20uce02pe/s960/fb_bethanybeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fvjoJTIaUhM6_0YR9mPjUOY7iMYVB17QEhkmTvuYbIf-HR6x1swHHqjioIy2w66idzhsFlPqimxBDF42IXCzMWVHqUl5vEnLzpA1VuJ70dJgXcJOCC1cjBSPheQuraZeopwmfbrZjwepC1IQSccxYF3CYBK_dTzZ2N56w20DJaJH3NlK-uv20uce02pe/s320/fb_bethanybeach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-74577706696221647562023-08-23T18:05:00.000-07:002023-08-23T18:05:09.743-07:00Sun's Down<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's the first day of this summer writing practice that I've gotten near the end of the evening without having written. A busy day that I woke late upon. Worked all morning. Ran from here to there. A break in the middle for a beautiful lunch at a fun restaurant in Philly with my son. Rushed back home, got a quick pedicure for the beach trip, headed out to lead the last of the midweek evening outdoor summertime services for my church. They happen once an month, and I'd have been on vacation for three days, but for the service. Getting ready for a big exhale after I send a few more emails. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then I can pack.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have a list. I don't trust myself to remember everything otherwise. I'll still probably forget some things. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My mom used to laugh at me for getting stressy before a trip, worrying that I might forget something.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"They have stores at the beach," she'd say.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Still.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The timer's gone off. Leftovers for a late dinner. Fingers crossed I can get to bed early and get up early.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNI2NF2HZy9ua_a-gogHW4dSLWcwABhI-14aP9ZD9S12ZeWZ-_66Q08pYmIJ7buiXaqyYrN6iS_fwE6RIQSPm7yIBafRRkwtl8ChMGURCydPRk2JBOFVLvxT64YGHGQjfCXhrWIvNTWUjAQezOH62CwI33qZvMzskU3RxnjMutFmuPCwcCK44wTKA7ulV/s960/fb_foodie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNI2NF2HZy9ua_a-gogHW4dSLWcwABhI-14aP9ZD9S12ZeWZ-_66Q08pYmIJ7buiXaqyYrN6iS_fwE6RIQSPm7yIBafRRkwtl8ChMGURCydPRk2JBOFVLvxT64YGHGQjfCXhrWIvNTWUjAQezOH62CwI33qZvMzskU3RxnjMutFmuPCwcCK44wTKA7ulV/s320/fb_foodie.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-12864914611836701122023-08-22T06:52:00.000-07:002023-08-22T06:52:42.157-07:00Bits and Pieces<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I tried to watch a scary movie last night. I didn't last very long. I wanted to watch a missed network show On Demand, but my cable has not been working. I finally called Comcast, and after, I kid you not, more than an hour on the phone working my way through their automated system to actually reach a human who then worked through their automated system doing the same steps I did, they decided to send a repair guy out today. (Grateful I did not have to wait days.) I may or may not have to pay a $100 service call. I reminded them that I should not have to pay for this correction since the problems started after their scheduled maintenance in my area "to improve my Xfinity experience."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My experience is not improved.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So, another plot twist. This time, a smaller one that simply affects my schedule for the day. I'm a bit weary of even small plot twists. My annual two weeks of rest and restoration time off before the program year start-up begins in two days. I feel a little like a thirsty person in the Wilderness crawling to the edge. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'll be at the beach for a week. I'm taking some books and good food and not much else. I plan to blob around and maybe go for some walks. I hope to sleep a lot, sit at the water's edge and look off into the horizon and deep waters, lie down on the sand and look up into endless blue skies. I'm hoping that the beach will be light on people and heavy on soft breezes. Maybe I'll go out to eat a few times and have some good seafood.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I haven't been to the beach house since a few months before Mom died.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That's about 18 months, and I almost fell down the rabbit hole of thinking about that time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I had other bits and pieces I wanted to write about today, but they've slipped out of my mind as the writing led to me a space I'm not interested in exploring right now. I can say no to the places where the writing leads. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another edge I've crawled to.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZT5ATT_RrSZ7iTg2RY0K56k-j2E9ZMDLgWepn9eL2erB_5JdzrC8dYfsENLjhun9-faD_9OAaWTIqbf7PZefbAOOn1kjNmNqqz33m4RjLqYvLWwQxkSC5kjVYAa8qQu7BRs_sJsQdBND3CaXySdic_-OPkhseC2sGrYpI2diGnHC9fuMGf_7RGKhjyYBZ/s275/fb_beach%20edge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZT5ATT_RrSZ7iTg2RY0K56k-j2E9ZMDLgWepn9eL2erB_5JdzrC8dYfsENLjhun9-faD_9OAaWTIqbf7PZefbAOOn1kjNmNqqz33m4RjLqYvLWwQxkSC5kjVYAa8qQu7BRs_sJsQdBND3CaXySdic_-OPkhseC2sGrYpI2diGnHC9fuMGf_7RGKhjyYBZ/w320-h213/fb_beach%20edge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discover into my own human experience. Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life</i></span>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">.</span> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-12170197720618233452023-08-21T07:54:00.001-07:002023-08-21T07:54:08.687-07:00Calm After the Storm<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Things have been stirred up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Not sure where all this has been coming from, except that I am anticipating change beyond my control. Outside circumstances can disrupt inner calm, balance, equilibrium.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Others fail to plan, and the consequences can spread beyond their lives. I think about ways to insulate myself from this, but we're communal beings and can cause disruption for others and can feel disruption in our own lives that may have nothing to do with us, except that we are connected.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Plot twist.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's a popular meme. Meant to inspire humor in the middle of disruption. I like it. Especially once the dust begins to settle and I can look around and assess what might be next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How do we roll with things with ease and grace?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been thinking about that lately.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For now, I have a little bit of a reprieve and a little bit of time to think. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To breathe through my anxiety and plan for how to manage challenging emotions that once might have led to a bit of soothing through non-supportive foods. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm sipping a green smoothie made with spinach, cucumber, and frozen mango. I'll switch back to savory green smoothies tomorrow. I bought a half chicken at the store last night. Ran out to pick up coconut yogurt and saw my favorite label of pastured birds had stocked half chickens. They're fun to set into a roasting pan with some salt, pepper, and nice herbs. Maybe a little lemon and garlic. There's fresh tarragon in the fridge. Sounds perfect for a late summer evening. That'll be dinner, with some roasted asparagus, onion, and baby San Marzano tomatoes. I'll pop the bones into the slow cooker overnight for some quick broth. Or put the bones into the freezer for later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've been thinking about sleep hygiene and thought I might spend the week without screens in the evening. It's been awhile since I picked up my book, so I've been thinking about good music and a good read, with a nice cup of herbal tea. Early to bed and early up in the morning, maybe a walk along the canal. I'll take a look at the humidity. We're getting to the time of year when the early mornings are surprisingly cool, even when temps rise later in the day. </span> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yupg7tc--X00ZxA73MwYbaarTqjJVjbd2xgRRR8mKHQOxuG9CrYm4tvc4gVQts0BI95P93KlmA6mjUJJrpBSEpcGlC0hlgGw81cQdA06iOPJckQ7d65MEDW1O99pq7asyWiUa1ySn3VFuYuAMoVpmgrhyIC_LN29Q5pRMeDOUmhXSEjUz42HBZiTAlBD/s289/fb_treetops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="289" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7yupg7tc--X00ZxA73MwYbaarTqjJVjbd2xgRRR8mKHQOxuG9CrYm4tvc4gVQts0BI95P93KlmA6mjUJJrpBSEpcGlC0hlgGw81cQdA06iOPJckQ7d65MEDW1O99pq7asyWiUa1ySn3VFuYuAMoVpmgrhyIC_LN29Q5pRMeDOUmhXSEjUz42HBZiTAlBD/w320-h193/fb_treetops.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-64881593019616850412023-08-20T05:17:00.000-07:002023-08-20T05:17:50.555-07:00Something In the Weather Breaks<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's a change in the air. I woke to a cool and dry morning. A signal?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Yesterday I turned off the air conditioning. I threw open the windows. Fresh air blew through my place. Drove away the staleness. Sweetened the air. An invitation?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I wish it was as easy to refresh a life as it is to refresh a closed off space.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another healing insight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLvSOXr7mm9a_3DcYnSGsMzZmDdjZJ6W1jjKi-OjSvjDMDjalabVExwtUqZZ2GwUwwNwWS2Q6EgrELSJFMIEvdw5h8P98-2iYozxZ2gVQPFiKaCAXdtzXqoz49HQqIryNYRzX3rYXmxuW6262zDq__tN6hlGQeL_Eu9KvNPASi-uQcaq1AW02AvWUdH4C/s1000/fb_breeze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLvSOXr7mm9a_3DcYnSGsMzZmDdjZJ6W1jjKi-OjSvjDMDjalabVExwtUqZZ2GwUwwNwWS2Q6EgrELSJFMIEvdw5h8P98-2iYozxZ2gVQPFiKaCAXdtzXqoz49HQqIryNYRzX3rYXmxuW6262zDq__tN6hlGQeL_Eu9KvNPASi-uQcaq1AW02AvWUdH4C/s320/fb_breeze.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-12732627758835140622023-08-19T07:45:00.005-07:002023-08-19T08:57:19.748-07:00Back In the Messy Middle<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's a point in the Wilderness when you've come too far to go back, and the way ahead feels like it's so far beyond where you are that you might not make it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm right about there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The thing is, this is about the rest of my life. The program is over and I need to figure out how to make what I've learned work for me. Part of me wishes this had been a year-long program. I feel proud and relieved that I made it through the 90 days, and did really well, but there's a lot more to do, I'm discovering, to reach my goal of vibrant good health and weight release.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's also a little bit of rebellion going on. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I always say that you can do anything for a week or three weeks, a month or three months. It's doing it for a lifetime that is the challenge. Giving up sugar? Let's be truthful. I love sweet things, so this one is tough. Giving up grains, gluten? More truth. I love bread and pasta. I enjoy a balanced-feeling meal and I've been taught that this includes starches. Giving up dairy? Truth. Cheese? Yogurt? Cream? Butter? Really?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The other part of the truth is that these foods are not supportive to my well-being.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And nothing tastes as good as good health feels.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Still . . . </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">[Pausing to breathe]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've given myself the third Wilderness to work through some of this stuff. So far, I really haven't been doing that. Maybe I have. I've been experimenting with food and how it makes me feel, physically and emotionally. I've been dipping my toe in the waters of "real life" eating, and noticing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One thing I've noticed is that I need support and accountability. A three-month challenge is a great introduction, but it is not a lifestyle. I think I probably knew this already, but tried to convince myself a three-month program that is brilliantly marketed would be the cure-all. It's a good program, but definitely not a cure-all. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Physician, heal thyself.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've taken my daily rest, here in the Green Wilderness, and it's time to cork my water bottle, pick up my journey bag, and start moving again. It's day two of my buffer zone to switch seasons. Some berries, a green smoothie with banana and frozen mango, soup and salad for lunch, chicken and veg for dinner. I did the batch cooking yesterday and my fridge is full of good things. Time to spend some time with my mindset. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LigIC5y0OxNsxmIIuu4K7Zq-pQxY9wUbGm6Batxyv-tLZXtn5cv6KEfqb8cZWjcv_OyvFaUYL1Do-D_3C9oBL_zDnMyWKlhBaRolvsD350Ee5zDtfzfgt8Elzh_zk44XwoG5i4MGNBKO27fnY_ibEqbsQV6PeMWdOb-csBk1RU4U6FJZ73kp71XdyH7q/s275/fb_desertroad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LigIC5y0OxNsxmIIuu4K7Zq-pQxY9wUbGm6Batxyv-tLZXtn5cv6KEfqb8cZWjcv_OyvFaUYL1Do-D_3C9oBL_zDnMyWKlhBaRolvsD350Ee5zDtfzfgt8Elzh_zk44XwoG5i4MGNBKO27fnY_ibEqbsQV6PeMWdOb-csBk1RU4U6FJZ73kp71XdyH7q/w320-h213/fb_desertroad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></span></p><p> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-18178156706320482542023-08-18T10:38:00.003-07:002023-08-18T10:38:58.518-07:00Soothing<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I drove past Shake Shack on the way home from the store today.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The miracle is that I didn't stop. I could feel the impulse to soothe with food.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I spent some time last night, figuring out how I would use the buffer zone this week. I love the way WildFit organizes time and seasons, and offers a structure that is meaningful even beyond the challenge. I think I always will think of Thursday night through Sunday night as the buffer zone. Liminal time. Time for reflection, for preparation. Time to gently transition to something new if I need to.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I haven't had a green smoothie in a few weeks and I decided to have one this week. It tasted bitter, a note to self that I may be eating too many sweet foods ~ like sweet vegetables, root vegetables, and fruit. I am not eating sugar. At least, not intentionally. Some may have snuck in when I've been out to eat. It's a reason I don't eat out very often any more.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I decided to use a hack recommended for this kind of situation. And what's the situation? I'd like to be a little more disciplined and intentional around eating. I'd like to shore up my nutrients. Reorient my palate. Follow my three-month plan more closely. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So I'll use the buffer zone, three days, to help me transition back to more disciplined eating by going back to basics. Start the day with some fruit, and then add some fruit to my green smoothie. Make another pot of roasted red pepper soup and pair that with salads for lunch. Have a serving of animal protein and some roasted vegetables for dinner. Make some artichoke hummus and divide that into portions. By Monday, I hope to switch back to savory green smoothies and enjoy them in the morning for the week. Swap out the roasted veg soup for a protein with my salads at lunch, and keep dinner the same.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A two-week group is being offered by my former WildFit coach around emotional eating, with some intensive reflection work. It starts on Monday. I think I'll sign up for that. Anytime I'm tempted to stop at Shake Shack to soothe with food, there's something emotional going on, and I'd like to have some extra support.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A friend suggested I get myself some flowers today instead. I shared with her a story about something that happened just before we spoke on the phone.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I saw a beautiful bouquet of flowers at Whole Foods for $19.99. I didn't want to spend the money. It's interesting to notice that I'd spend that at Shake Shack for lunch, but thought it was too much to spend on flowers. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'll just let that hang right here for a minute. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_sEB3qZ3VPZHAZyWn_bkObBOutZkGl89dvwS_vvfFkh8eJFgFfvmz6iQLLnpLuSPvXQJfcI9ZBwRXKyZZ6QSJ0eFBbR6i0Orof2fieG2DpRIORfOSbnoPCp_gKbkskmkzR_QoXTtfYxjkSd6yBmO3K585lLDEcETCuas8LIPVITJiN6AXKfmG6nV_WcAw/s225/fb_bouquet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_sEB3qZ3VPZHAZyWn_bkObBOutZkGl89dvwS_vvfFkh8eJFgFfvmz6iQLLnpLuSPvXQJfcI9ZBwRXKyZZ6QSJ0eFBbR6i0Orof2fieG2DpRIORfOSbnoPCp_gKbkskmkzR_QoXTtfYxjkSd6yBmO3K585lLDEcETCuas8LIPVITJiN6AXKfmG6nV_WcAw/w320-h320/fb_bouquet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life</span>.</i></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-417451670732267272023-08-17T09:29:00.002-07:002023-08-17T09:49:09.315-07:00Journey Food<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree . . . It is enough for now, he said. Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights . . . </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A little bit of shade, some rest, a boundary, sleep, divine presence, touch, the smell of something nourishing cooking, cool, clear water, rest, more sleep, companionship, nourishment, refreshment, strength. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Self care in the midst of the fray.<i> </i></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj469BW7AJfX3q5uW9tmmCIOvm7tx6vtG-GSrAr17n0uwHv3ReZvsrSe34S6ncNoSEK6n_rCg_O8bk4ZqGVmVJMPyDn65IK6rZNkjiub4i0Sw6tBXpT7zGRlLMhZrUp2LLFPl1xL2w9srt4mBW1YVxDYL9iTtLJ_uk_7a4euMnQor3nfdS3M68gX_QHuFQX/s267/fb_breadon%20stone.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="267" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj469BW7AJfX3q5uW9tmmCIOvm7tx6vtG-GSrAr17n0uwHv3ReZvsrSe34S6ncNoSEK6n_rCg_O8bk4ZqGVmVJMPyDn65IK6rZNkjiub4i0Sw6tBXpT7zGRlLMhZrUp2LLFPl1xL2w9srt4mBW1YVxDYL9iTtLJ_uk_7a4euMnQor3nfdS3M68gX_QHuFQX/w320-h227/fb_breadon%20stone.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></p><p><i style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Excerpt from 1 Kings 19:4-8a, NRSV.</span></i></p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-57711707498876883312023-08-16T07:37:00.000-07:002023-08-16T07:37:43.864-07:00Maybe I'll Write Later<span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's the first morning in this series when I sit before the screen with absolutely nothing to say.</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I think about going to wash my face, and maybe getting dressed and brushing my hair. Maybe I'll feel a new spark rise and something will strike me as interesting or something will come to mind that wants to be expressed or explored.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sometimes the mind simply is clear. With nothing burning or burning through.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Natalie Goldberg would say, "Just keep writing, 'I can't think of what to write. I can't think of what to write. I can't think of what to write.'" Until I have something to write. I have a feeling that today I might fill the screen. And considering that you can never really fill the screen, like you can fill a page, that might go on far longer than I want to give to this writing today. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My thoughts slip back to the theme of this writing, The Green Wilderness. Are there times in the Wilderness when you've been challenged enough in the landscape that a day comes when you just want to sit down on a big rock and breathe and look around at the stark beauty of where you're sitting?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Yes. That's it. That's where I am.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9-F4U5209X5TOFsl2N_551bfdfNRtgdLLRRbwkYXNln_4MbUSivG6mMherd109wxh7jLh0xMIAppws6oPMuVXOlPwvAtb4OWGucUt3NU-V9fChBwfI530PPFCrp_7GwKHfA36MKEySG-EZ6C8b0u27wXTozbT6G58us-8fCkpk_qpqj4Nrvik_KXhCGb/s240/fb_bigrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9-F4U5209X5TOFsl2N_551bfdfNRtgdLLRRbwkYXNln_4MbUSivG6mMherd109wxh7jLh0xMIAppws6oPMuVXOlPwvAtb4OWGucUt3NU-V9fChBwfI530PPFCrp_7GwKHfA36MKEySG-EZ6C8b0u27wXTozbT6G58us-8fCkpk_qpqj4Nrvik_KXhCGb/w320-h213/fb_bigrock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><i>Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.</i></span></div>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-523675969162412568.post-46034783193953480972023-08-15T07:22:00.000-07:002023-08-15T07:22:26.504-07:00Tomato Sandwich<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's one of life's great summer pleasures.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Two pieces of bread, lightly toasted, some mayo, a little salt and pepper, and a juicy, red tomato. I've decided it's not something I want to give up completely, so it goes on the occasional list. Yesterday was an occasion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Someone gave me a big, juicy, red tomato and it did not disappoint. The problem was I don't eat bread any more so I didn't have any bread at home, and before you ask, </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">No, I'm not going to wrap it in a couple of lettuce leaves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">While I was at the office yesterday, I popped down to visit with the ladies who quilt and one came in swinging a bag with part of a loaf of bread leftover from a Sunday project, that she planned to freeze for a project next month. Seemed like a sign to me, so I asked her if I might have two pieces of the bread. She warned me to watch it carefully so I don't burn it since I'll only have two pieces. So easy to burn white bread when you're toasting it in the oven.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">A few hours later, and there it was. I used a little avocado oil mayo, cut a thick slice of the tomato, added a little salt and pepper, cut the sandwich in half an enjoyed a taste of summer. Sure, I want more, but I have a feeling that the best tomato sandwich of the season is the first, so I'll just stop there. Dinner was roasted veg and shrimp, and it was wonderful. Tonight it'll be the chorizo-spiced stuffed green peppers. I have one beautiful ear of corn and I'll make a charred onion and corn relish to put on top.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Cfnye3jZ6XdsZlRHuHEB9IwuVr1V08jyQW9kMJ4Mo6s4wSqDVv8C7SILMOJV3z7EY3SSjfFEaLw1iDzAD4rC9Rik7gbQHHlP_kOtFoWSV5TiYaLAIZG8Dgn4ypreN0UUz032l7XUVDSkd8PDhx1A5mwN5hqHXvojejp9LSY0wR6YqKY_XMhzgOt7R5Qc/s960/fb_tomatosandwich02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Cfnye3jZ6XdsZlRHuHEB9IwuVr1V08jyQW9kMJ4Mo6s4wSqDVv8C7SILMOJV3z7EY3SSjfFEaLw1iDzAD4rC9Rik7gbQHHlP_kOtFoWSV5TiYaLAIZG8Dgn4ypreN0UUz032l7XUVDSkd8PDhx1A5mwN5hqHXvojejp9LSY0wR6YqKY_XMhzgOt7R5Qc/s320/fb_tomatosandwich02.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small; vertical-align: inherit;"><i>The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience. Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life. </i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"> </span></span></span> </p>Awakened Spirithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058141117332935851noreply@blogger.com0