Blog members, after much thought - I've made a decision. I don't feel I'm in the right space, or that this blog has a consistent enough format, to continue writing the blog at this time. I'm going to take time off during the summer to reflect and regroup.

In the meantime, if there are any topics you would like broached, knowing my Wishweaver and voice training background, please feel free to pass along your comments.

Namaste, Laura

Remember that prayer circle I mentioned a few weeks ago? I've been waiting for the right time and right people to surface...and they just did this evening. The prayer circle will involve Muslims from Algeria and Christians from the States...and likely everything else in between, eventually...

Starting next Wednesday. I will keep you posted! I hope you will join us in becoming a part of peace...

Namaste, Laura

A Weekend of Relaxation

I felt like I didn't have anything to blog about this weekend, which is exactly why I should! I made a point of not making plans, not going anywhere, not having anyone to meet.

I feel a bit at loose ends, which is partially why I made the decision to spend this weekened without plans, without people - and also mostly without any kind of noise...although I did catch the movie At First Sight (Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis) on Ion. Things are changing in my relationships, and I felt a need to be very quiet this weekend.

The weather has been so awesome I got out for nice walks both days. Did some hula-hooping inside. Watched the birds coming to my feeder. (Here's a photo of one of two mourning doves...they are typically ground feeders, but have been coming to my tube feeder for about three days now.) Basically just rested, relaxed, napped, read, and hung out with my two cats. Made a big meal last night that I can take for lunch at work this coming week. Had a couple of phone conversations.

I feel rested. As you can see in the photos, my cats do too.

(The photo on top is a house I have been driving by basically every day since I moved to Lake Oswego in 2007. I finally stopped to take a photo because this is how I see my future house looking. Or at least it has that kind of a feel. Can you feel the feeling?)

Have a wonderful week!

Namaste, Laura

Readers, I am sharing this post because I happen to love Doug Fulton's CD, "Take A Look At Your Shoes." It's one of my favorites.

I'm considering this an Experiment in Creativity, and I posted $50, having never heard of Kickstart before. The money won't be charged to your account unless the entire amount is raised. I figure I can afford $50 for an artist I believe in. :) You may not know Doug's music, but you can reach Doug Fulton at dougscottfulton@yahoo.com.

Best Wishes, Laura

Hello Beautiful Family. I am thrilled to announce that today is official launch day for a landmark recording project. Yes... today, April 14th begins a 31-day fundraising campaign and we would love your help in spreading the word.

Randy Heddon, Curtis Cooper and Doug Fulton (aka The Taodogs) are heading into the studio to record a special collaboration called, "In Between the Notes". This music is different and represents a landmark for us.

A huge part of the inspiration for this project is the recent rediscovery of the ancient solfeggio tones. Knowledge of the healing power of these tones has recently been uncovered and it's an amazing thing! Did you know that

these original scales contain a note humming at 528hz which is being used by biochemists to repair DNA? It's interesting to note that our common use of 440hz 'A' to tune instruments is 3hz off from ancient tunings. I've retuned my guitar to 443hz 'A' and the result is a real surprise. The tone is so much more pleasing and satisfying to the ear and to the cells in my body. What does that tell you?

Something significant is going on here. It is our intention for this recording to transmit whatever energy lives 'within and between the notes' of these mystical and ancient tunings. It brings up some interesting possibilities. Wouldn't it be cool to fill the radio airwaves with these 'Good Vibrations'? Maybe it could help some stressed out drivers chill before they give in to road rage. Who knows what other possibilities await.

 

The Taodogs are ready to share what we discover with the world. With the help of Kickstarter.com we are set to raise $3,960 to fund this project.

Kickstarter.com is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. Since their beginning in 2008 they have helped nearly 20,000 projects successfully raise funds. In that time supporters have pledged almost $150 million.

Here is the link to our fundraiser page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1974254276/in-between-the-notes

I would so much appreciate if you would copy this message and link to your Email, Facebook and Twitter networks. Please add a brief invitation to check out what we're up to, spread the word and if inspired make a pledge to support us. With your help we have a great chance of reaching our funding goal.

We have until May 15th to raise $3,960 or more. We must reach our goal for the project to be funded. Once funded the money will go toward production, design and distribution costs.

On behalf of Randy, Curtis and myself, I thank you with my whole heart. May you know ever deeper love and goodness through all your days.

InJoy,

Doug Fulton
"Songs To Open Hearts and Minds"

Gratitude For Health

Last Saturday night, I knew I was "coming down with something." I woke up Easter morning with a fever - hot sweats, and then those chilly, chattering, clammy moments, total body ache, belly-wrenching coughs...I'm recovering from being Uber-Ill from the Super-Crud!!! I haven't been this sick since I was a kid. Maybe that one time over Christmas, 1992... I literally did not shower or change clothes from Saturday night through Tuesday afternoon. A good blog person would have a photo of this. You would not like to see. My hair was a grease-ball and pimples had formed on my chin from not washing my face. I managed to feed the cats, drink water and water with lemonade mix, go to the bathroom...and that was about it. Oh, I did brush my teeth each night. Not floss, though - too much energy.

Seems like every other person I know has gone through the Super-Crud (at the office, we've been dropping like flies) but it seems to have impacted everyone in a slightly different way. Some with ear infections. Some not with fever like I had. Some sinusitis. I don't know what is going on here, but I suspect Dr. God is saying we all need to rest more, and BREATHE. The minute I felt slightly better, after having gone into the office two half days...I found myself cleaning house, doing laundry, all the things that had gone by the wayside while I was flat on my back in bed for three days.

Not such a smart move...I only felt more tired the next day.

Yet I am recovering now. And I had some amazing technicolor dreams during the illness.

The big lesson in this is to be grateful for my health. I shared an elevator down with a temp named Zach at the office yesterday, and he reminded me of this. I think of people who live with chronic illnesses that seemingly have no cure. I think of Dani in my office, who is younger than me, yet deals with chronic pain every day from a severe form of arthritis.

I am so grateful for for my health. I am truly blessed. And I send out a prayer - BIG, HUGE PRAYER - for anyone who deals with pain and/or illness on a regular basis.

Peace, healing, and love.

Laura

Gratitude For Health

Last Saturday night, I knew I was "coming down with something." I woke up Easter morning with a fever - hot sweats, and then those chilly, chattering, clammy moments, total body ache, belly-wrenching coughs...I'm recovering from being Uber-Ill from the Super-Crud!!! I haven't been this sick since I was a kid. Maybe that one time over Christmas, 1992... I literally did not shower or change clothes from Saturday night through Tuesday afternoon. A good blog person would have a photo of this. You would not like to see. My hair was a grease-ball and pimples had formed on my chin from not washing my face. I managed to feed the cats, drink water and water with lemonade mix, go to the bathroom...and that was about it. Oh, I did brush my teeth each night. Not floss, though - too much energy.

Seems like every other person I know has gone through the Super-Crud (at the office, we've been dropping like flies) but it seems to have impacted everyone in a slightly different way. Some with ear infections. Some not with fever like I had. Some sinusitis. I don't know what is going on here, but I suspect Dr. God is saying we all need to rest more, and BREATHE. The minute I felt slightly better, after having gone into the office two half days...I found myself cleaning house, doing laundry, all the things that had gone by the wayside while I was flat on my back in bed for three days.

Not such a smart move...I only felt more tired the next day.

Yet I am recovering now. And I had some amazing technicolor dreams during the illness.

The big lesson in this is to be grateful for my health. I shared an elevator down with a temp named Zach at the office yesterday, and he reminded me of this. I think of people who live with chronic illnesses that seemingly have no cure. I think of Dani in my office, who is younger than me, yet deals with chronic pain every day from a severe form of arthritis.

I am so grateful for for my health. I am truly blessed. And I send out a prayer - BIG, HUGE PRAYER - for anyone who deals with pain and/or illness on a regular basis.

Peace, healing, and love.

Laura

Heading Into Easter Weekend

This has been a rough week. One of my co-workers was terminated (not in the Arnold sense) from the company I work for in my day job, and that same evening I got a belated holiday letter from a college roommate I lived with for 2 1/2 years and was once very close with. The breast cancer she beat over 8 years ago returned in the form of cancer in a rib and some spinal bones. Diane's radiation treatment was very successful, I'm happy to say. I still bawled the whole time I was writing a letter back to her.

Remember that prayer circle I mentioned in a previous post? Ralph and I did that tonight. We prayed for Dani, Kelly, Pine Siskens, Pam, Glenn, Trae, Paul, Diane, Jason, Amy, all the grandkids, Christina, Susie, Linda, Dan, Grace, and Chris.

When all else fails, we can always pray.

Jesus Loves You!

Happy Easter, Laura

The Bird Dilemma is Resolved

While I was at the Backyard Bird Shop today, buying premium sunflower chips for my tube feeder, I received an answer to my question about the bird dilemma.

 At this point, five different ill or injured birds have come to my deck, all the same breed, and have either died there on my deck after a day or two – or, after I picked them up and put them on the railing – plummeted to the ground below rather than flying away.

At first I felt like this was an honor… The birds were so tame they allowed me to pet, and in some cases, hold them. I put out little bowls of food and water for them on the deck, hoping they would mend. But after each of them “died on me” after a day or two, I dreaded opening my door to the deck to see if yet another young bird was there on my deck, unable to truly fly, just hopping along. Of course I wondered if I was in some way contributing to their demise – I wondered if overcrowding at my feeders was an issue, thoroughly cleaned the feeders, etc.

I found out from the kind and knowledgeable staff at the bird store (many of their customers are asking the same questions I did) that my original instinct about the breed was correct – they are the pine siskin, and an epidemic has hit them this year. The numbers of pine siskin born last season was incredibly large compared to many years, and only the young ones are susceptible to aspergillosis, the most common fungal infection in birds caused by spores the fungus aspergilla fumigates.

According to information I gathered on-line at HotSpot for Birds, contributed by Hannis L. Stoddard III, DMV, this type of fungi grows readily in damp, dark conditions and is far less common in dry climates like the US southwest. 

The good news is the birds are immune to this disorder after the age of about 18 months. So, we will not be losing our pine siskin population any time soon, as my father said has happened to the cottontail rabbit population in South Dakota, where I grew up on a farm.

Also, the bird store staff confirmed what sweet birds they are, when I mentioned how startled I was that they let me pet and even hold them!

Here’s to the pine siskin! Live and thrive! Thank you for your sweet and open temperament. I’m very fond of you. J