=A View Through the Window=

.:: life. here. ::.

.:: .more life. here. ::.

true friendship knows no bounds

Do you remember my post,
 love is blind?

 Maybe you were moved. Perhaps it made you think & even ::sigh:: a little seeing such acceptance of others on face value. Loving someone just for who they are inside, not the outside ...

Then have I got something for you. Wait until you see this!

Something else to believe in ...
Meet Tarra & ...
her best friend, Bella.

Doesn't get much clearer than that, does it ::sigh::

There are so many wonderful things happening at the Elephant Sanctuary ...

Stop by and meet the girls.

 Meet Ned ... he arrived on November 9th in time for lunch which was perfect because ... Ned was starving.

oh yes, please visit Ned. Smile. Say hello.

Won't you take a moment to send Ned some love? He needs the encouragement. 

Everyone all together now, blow him a big kiss ::Muuwaah::

We love you Ned! Eat your veggies!

=^..^= love, zUzU

=::= I must share one of the hundreds of touching messages sent to Ned (he has his own mailbox at the sanctuary) ... a shining example of hope for the future ... pure and heartfelt.

Dear Ned,
My aunt showed me your pictures and we love you. I bought a watermelon for you at the store but you too far away to eat it, so we are sending you $20 to buy melons at your store by your house. I hope you can buy 5 or 4 melons and give one piece to the dog friends. I love you very much and hope you get better soon
Happy Thanksgiving
Love, Erica L. second grade, North Carolina

thankful

... adopt-a-turkey

a challenge of change

Do you RawFu?

You guessed it. I'm with Bunny.

I grabbed the Vita Mix, took a big gulp of green smoothie:
Head first into tomorrow ... RAW for 100 days.

Stay tuned. =^..^=

one year ago ...today.::over the moon::.

The day began like all the recent others. The sun rose and I drank a cup of tea. But the day would have a fork in the road that would lead two souls to a new adventure together ... And that is the part I will begin with.

A beautiful Sunday in July cannot be wasted so as soon as I rinsed my tea mug, and dressed, I got onto my bike and headed out for the park. There I spread my faithful old flower strewn tablecloth I use as a blanket. Out came a new book & with my feet atop the thick grass, there I spent the next six hours under my favorite tree. Little did I know at home my phone was ringing over and over, with someone trying desparately to reach me.

When the heat of the day became too much to handle even under a huge oak by the water, I gathered my belongings and headed home. At my door I was greeted by one very hungry cat claiming to be nearly starved to death having not eaten since five am, and next to him a folded stack of papers tucked under the mat. Talking to the cat, probably telling him I was going as fast as I could, I opened the door leaning over to grab the papers at the same time. As the door swung open I was caught by the scribbled writing on top of the first page. I stopped in my tracks.

Across the top of the printed page was hand written:

I have a dog for you!!!
We are picking her up Tuesday... Kate.

I stepped into the cottage and set my armload of Sunday daydreaming things down, and stood reading the rest of the pages to try and gain understanding of what was in my hands. The several printed pages on which the handwritten note was scrawled, were emails. The many emails sent back and forth all that very day, beginning early and ending before noon. A corgi had been orphaned that was in need of a home. A very special girl that once the word was out, would be scooped up with lightening speed so time was of the imperative. Someone knew how desperately I was wishing for a puppers to call my own and I was nowhere to be found. So my friend, Kate, started calling people creating a chain of help until she found, and talked the person (Joyce) into giving one little corgi ::my::wish::come::true:: to me. Sight unseen.

I was dumbfounded. Just like that. A corgi in my life again was too much to hope for so I had stopped believing. If you only knew how hard I had tried to adopt another faerie pony and what I had been put through trying, you would be startled. But I must have still way down deep, never given up ::wishing:: because here was the proof.

A friend had counciled me after another adoption falling through in April, that I was having to try too hard to find a dog. That it shouldn't be like this, that I should let a dog find me. By July, I had listened.

...And one found me.

Come Tuesday I had heard the details of how it all had happened on that fateful Sunday morning, and I had read the emails so many times I could recite them from memory. At the appointed time, Kate and I got into the car to drive to where my ... yes my corgi and I would meet. The person that had taken in this corgi just happened to be planning to visit her sister not an hour away from where I lived and would bring the dog to met me there.

It was blazing hot. We were having a typical July heatwave so both Kate and I were delighted to be driving upward into the mountains thinking we would find relief. After getting lost twice, we pulled into the long dirt drive lined with scrub oak trees and watched the plumes of dust raise behind us. Even in the mountains it was a typical July, dry and way too hot. As we got closer to the house, my heart began to pound loudly in my chest. In view there was a pen under the trees filled with puppies. Corgi puppers! Three of them watching us as our car pulled up and stopped. Ahead of us was a woman coming to greet us. But all I remember is her waving her hand towards the little fenced-in yard at the house filled with barking dacshies and one perfectly perfect, honey and white ... Corgi Princess.

"That's her", Joyce said. I headed straight for the gate and and the rest is a blurr. Kate talked with Joyce (the incredible person that gifted me with Caila), asked questions, took in the information including the file of papers (that later I would read to find that I had indeed, in the Corgi world of breeding at least, scored big time. BIG time) ... but all I saw was one perfectly perfect corgi pupper I had been dreaming of ... that was being intrusted to me. ME. No strings.

I remember Joyce saying, "Do you want to try her?" and assuring me, "If it doesn't work out, I'll meet you half way to pick her back up."

And both Kate and I, nearly if not exactly the very same time, saying YES! That I wanted to take this dog without reservation!

I remember being afraid that I would get to the appointed meeting at 11:30 and the person (I had never met) would change their mind, or not like me and I would have to go home with my heart broken again. There had never once been any question in my mind from the moment I knew of her existence, that I was taking this corgi home if offered. Not a doubt. So to hear the words: "Do you want to try her?" I probably gasped. (are you kidding?!)

Later in the car, with this amazing little creature half on my lap and staring up at me, I finally was able to exhale. I had been holding my breath for two and a half days not sure if to believe this could really happen. But the bond between Caila and I was instantaneous and tighter than super glue. Had Joyce changed her mind I would have taken, Caila and moved to Australia. (I can not to this day believe anyone could have EVER given up this particular creature, she is so special--but Joyce had five corgyn she belonged to already ... And I think she knew she was but the conduit to help this particular little corgi find her forever person.)

No one could pry Caila from my arms now. Even after only a day I would have fought with everything I had to keep her. And as it worked out, Caila Fae and I were two souls meant to find each other and care for one another. So every time I am tempted to stop believing in my dreams, when I begin to falter and want to give up reaching for happiness, I look at Caila. I would lay down my life for her. She has mended my shattered heart & made it grow bigger.

Never never ever give up on your dreams. Have paitence and believe that the universe is working on making your wishes come true. Seal it with a prayer in moonlight. You only need to ask ... let go, and have faith.

After all, isn't faith believing in things that can't be seen?

.:: click here to meet Caila ::.

=^..^= love, zU

a tearful good-bye

:Tasha Tudor:
28 august 1915 - 18 june 2008
Boston, Massachusetts

"Einstein said that time is like a river, it flows in bends. If we could only step back around the turns, we could travel in either direction. I'm sure it's possible. When I die, I'm going right back to the 1830s. I'm not even afraid of dying. I think it must be quite exciting." -- tasha tudor

With tears here at the cottage, we miss tasha already.

-^*^- sending love,
from all of us here ...to there. xx

doing the dance of joy

Ever have a day when you wake up and just know that today, there is an adventure out there waiting for you? The air is just the right temperature and is breezing in through the open window ... The curtains move in little waves. The flowers are beckoning to you from just beyond the billowing lace. Come outside and play you hear in whispers and shouts. A butterfly flitters past and you could swear you saw her wink.
An invation for you to come out and join the party ...

It's spring! You cannot be inside!


Ready and packed in a split second for spring will not wait. You have your sketchbook in hand and watercolors clutched tight. Grab a bottle of water and you turn towards the door ... And there in your path are two huge brown eyes watching your every move. Was she not asleep in the chair but a moment ago?

You smile at the big brown eyes and say, Yes. But of course! It wouldn't be an adventure if anyone was left behind, your voice is almost singing as you turn the doorknob.

Then you do the ::DaNcE::Of::JoY:: down the road, watching a little dog bounce with glee at what unknowns are ahead, just happy to be right there in that very moment.
And suddenly you realize she is right ... It's the journey.
The journey is the adventure.

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!
--edna st. vincent millay

wishing you a glorious journey of moments.
=^..^= love, zU

Remember me when you are happy, Keep for me one little spot, In the depth of thine affection Plant a sweet forget-me-not.

.:: SECOND CHANCES ::.

.. :: click for the story :: ..

Dedicated to all the beautiful butterflies that have passed through this realm. They are missed more than could be imagined.

We are all in the gutter,but some of us are looking at the stars.--oscar wilde

Well, this is just getting to be a habit.
Me disapearing ::poof::gone::
Sadness dropping in unannounced.

With a suddenness of a flash flood ...
not a word to anyone because I couldn't.
And I am sorry.

My heart is having troubles wrapping itself around the things of late. In the past year much has happened. I thought my heart would stop beating more than once from sadness. First my beloved four-legged constant companion, then my best human friend passed away & only weeks after him, his corgi died too leaving a hole in my life the size of the moon to become the size of the universe. Three losses of such magnitude in six-weeks took a toll. Other things happening concurrently made me feel helpless to stop The sisters Fate from crushing me.

Then summer held for me happiness (I got my ::wish::), however unmeasurable sadness came along (that precious puppy died in my arms), then the greatest ::EVER:: of ::JOY:: (the fae saw fit to bestow to me another puppers) and I was lifted to cloud nine. I felt hope return. But there was so much more happening in my life. All in all it was a rollercoaster year and a half of emotion and it has pulled at my heart until it is unable to cope with more. I am raw.

Now yet again something unpleasant has occured and I am trying to gain my composure and stay in the glow of starlight ... fighting the urge to simply curl up under the trees and hide in the shadows.

Without going into details, of which you do not wish to hear (trust me) I am having to do something I suppose should be expected, but still it comes as an unpleasant shock to me as I truly wanted to believe the day would never come. Something I do not wish to be the one to do involving an elderly parent. It must be done. And worse yet, I may likely break a promise when doing so. It is tearing me up even though I am aware of no other better choice.

So as I gather the lose ends of my life and tie them together again, I beg of you to understand. The computer has sat quietly, screen dark waiting for my return. Packages have arrived (and I know they are filled to popping with magic) yet they sit on the table unopened. I look towards them but cannot bring myself to take the steps over and unwrap even one. Emails sent to me are in the gazillions, all unanswered less even opened yet. I am finding posting hard. I don't want to be negative. So I stay away not knowing what to say or how to say it. I want to be here but happy things seem far away sometimes. I am finding I need time to heal. I am in the shadows watching the light just beyond.

Soon I will be here with a smile at my fingertips & stories to share. I believe the shadows will be overtaken by light. I promise to reach for it. Oh I will tell you of my beautiful puppers. She can make a spirit soar with the most soulful eyes ever given to a corgi. It is nearly her birthday ... Perhaps a party? I know she will invite you each and every one. I will also tell you of my corgyn boy that now dances every day with faeries. Watch the sidebar for his story. Bring tissues.

For those I was in the midst of sending treasures & notes, they are not forgotten. Even though it has been seemingly forever and you must feel lost of hope ... It is bothering me too that things are not done. I just can't seem to find a way to keep myself in a gear moving forward faster than very s l o w if that. I feel like my feet are in deep mud and every movement is made with such great effort I am unsure if I can continue without rest. I get done so little as of late. I don't know how else to explain. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders presently.

.:: how many robins can you spy? ::.

Spring is here bursting at the seams and calling to me. For those that have followed my blog along for a while, you know what that means for me. Pure bliss. I immerse myself in my gardens and the moments spent there become perfect moments. The timing could not be better. I need this now.

In my studio, another refuge, I find myself staring up at the glittering silver stars which hang from the high ceiling. Along the ceiling edge I wrote a favorite Oscar Wilde quote that reminds that we are all in the same boat. We all have problems but some of us choose to look at the bright side; To be grateful for what we have & think positively. We can chose to not dwell on the negative and be happy with what we have now. We can choose to see the brightness of the universe.

"...some of us are looking at the stars."

Yep Yep Yep.
I will keep looking up at the stars!
All will be better soon. It will.

missing you.
=^..^= love, zU