Pursuit of happiness

These photos from an Aug. 26/2010 walk to & from the acupuncture clinic, a study in circles and a statue about to jump.

I was listening to On Being again this AM while I prepared for the day. Today's theme was "Pursuit of happiness" and in a meeting with the Dalai Lama, Krista Tippett was joined by representatives from the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish & Muslim faiths, Professor Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr of George Washington University; the Most Reverend Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church, and Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of the British Commonwealth.

My favorite quotation from the segment I heard "So what is Moses saying [from the 23rd chapter of Deuteronomy], "Do not hate an Egyptian for you are strangers in your land"? He is telling the Israelites that you have left the physical Egypt. Now you must leave the mental experience of Egypt. You have to let go of hate. Because if you do not let go of hate, you will never be free. If the Israelites had continued to hate their enemies, Moses would have taken the Israelites out of Egypt, but he would not have taken Egypt out of the Israelites. They would be slaves to their past, slaves to their feeling of pain and injustice and grievance. This is the line he taught them and the line we have to repeat day after day in this difficult and dangerous 21st century. You have to let go of hate if you want to be free." If you're interested, you can read the transcript.

Heading out soon for a toddle. Beautiful day again today. Huh - the forecast high is 53F & we're already up to 56F. I smell an update.

Daily Toddle

From 26.Aug.2010

I wonder what it says about moi (and my artistic self-image) that when I look around for a role model the first thing that comes to mind is Miss Piggy? Or that I sometimes think I'm Hyacinth in Keeping Up Appearances.










Heading out soon for acupuncture. Then tootling & stitching for the rest of the day. Perfect weather outside. Sunny, 52F.

Neighborhood shots

Pix taken from walks on 18 & 21/Aug/2010, including some dancing sunflowers, a study in green & orange & a skyscape. Some from our yard & others from other's.




I knew it was humid when I got up this morning & the walls were clammy. Yup, dewpoint is 65F. At least the temp's only 68F.


It seems to have stopped raining for the moment so I think I'll pop out to the P.O. & try to get a 30 minute toddle in today. I'm taking a Better Choices, Better Health online course, designed for folks with chronic disease - and I guess HIV at least in the U.S. has become that - and this week's action plan was to take a 30-minute walk 4 days out of the week. Here's hoping that that, yoga, acupuncture, polarity & Alexander lessons will help keep me healthy.

California here I come day 7 & 8

Here are some photos from the last day of the convention, including some of the interesting artwork on the hotel walls (very CA, ask moi), photos of Laurie & her mom, & her mom & moi & Snitch guarding stuff on my bed.

Have already done the Cambridge grocery run - way too warm outside - 73F & humid. Beats 80F & humid, though. Cooler temps & lower humidity expected by week's end, thank goodness.

California here I come day 6 con't

More pix from the Huntington Library & Garden - with some shots of Charles Rohlfs furniture - amazing Arts & Crafts style - that managed to get before the guard told me photography wasn't allowed. The show was underwritten surprisingly enough in part by comedian/actor Steve Martin (and I'm guessing some of the pieces must have been from his collection the luck dog.) Other shots include the Chinese garden & a better one of a sweet flowering bush that caught my attention on the way in.

Heading off soon to tutor a tooter for the penultimate time this semester. Had a snafu with employment registry with NEU so won't get paid until the end of Nov. instead of sometime in the next few days. :| Then home for some tootling of the flootling, stitching & heading up to Melrose for the penultimate Monday rehearsal of the year since I'm lucky enough to be doing the Nutcracker in Franklin again this year, thus being gainfully employed for a weekend AND avoiding the dreaded Holiday Pops program.

Cloudy - heading up to 65F and possible showers.

california here I come day 6

I seem to have taken no pictures on Friday of the convention. These are shots mostly from our day trip to the Huntington Gardens & Museum. Is it just me or could the building in the distance of the first shot be a giant dog?









Overcast today - temps mid-to-upper 40sF forecast. Tootling, stitching, paper sorting & vacuuming on the docket for today. Fingers crossed I get the Firebird licks up to tempo by concert-time Nov. 6!

California here I come day 4

Pix from the first full day in Anaheim - as you can tell from the shot of the hotel parking lot, there was a lot of overcast in the morning. It always cleared up by mid-morning or so. Photos include a possible Martian sighting.




There was in interesting episode of Closer to Truth on "What would multiple universes mean?" Unfortunately the website doesn't have a good way of narrowing down the videos to a single episode, but if you have the time & inclination to sort through the various offerings on the subject of multiple universes you can do so from the link above.

Off soon to an Alexander lesson, then tootling, stitching, pile sorting. Lovely weather outside 48F now heading up, so the weather widget says to 61F.

California here I come day 3

Shots today from Laurie Benson's house (11.Aug.2010), the lanai & breakfast spread, Betty Boop from the coffee place we stopped by nearby before hitting the road (they ground the beans before your eyes - talk about fresh!) and from our road trip from SF to Anaheim - including inland & coastal shots. Cody, from the restaurant fame where we stopped for lunch, is/was a dog.











Heading out @ some point today for a toddle. Andy's back safe & sound. Interspersed btwn now & then, tootling, stitching, and paper sorting.