Me, Myself and I.....

Everyone I contacted was busy (after all I had issued a last minute invitation) so I took myself off to the Milwaukee Art Museum this morning. I specifically wanted to see a new exhibit entitled Native America: In Translation. The museum's underground parking facility was almost empty when I arrived at 10:30 so I had no problem finding a space and going right into the building. I showed the ticket agent my membership card and was directed to one of the downstairs galleries. I quickly walked through some of the first floor space just sort of "absorbing" colors and shapes as I went along.

Entering the exhibit gallery I stopped to read the introduction signage. In part it stated: "In the Apsaalooke language, the word Aakiwilaxpaake (People of the Earth) describes Indigenous people living in North America, pointing to a time before colonial borders were established. In this exhibition, curated by the Apsaalooke artist Wendy Red Star, artists of various Native nations and affiliations from throughout what is now called North America offer their diverse visions, building on histories of image making."

I wandered past images captured in photographs, mixed media paintings, three dimensional pieces and one inkjet print photograph that made me stop and stare.

Entitled "mother" by Rebecca  Belmore (Anishinaabe, Lac Seul First Nation) I must have stood in place for almost five minutes just looking at different aspects of the image. A woman almost trapped behind glass or ice or thick clear plastic, (?) one hand up in what seemed to me an almost helpless pose. Plain grey sweatshirt....pair of jeans....blue blanket on the ground/floor behind her. The entire background and floor beneath her created with a large, wrinkled piece of hanging fabric/plastic? Her eyes were looking up and to my right....into the distance. What would she have seen?

Why did this piece grab me and almost shake me...."Stand and look at me it said." So I did.

Synchronicity.....

Some friends/neighbors and I started a new book club. Our first meeting was this month and we read Consider the Butterfly.  I can't say it was one of my favorite books....but it did lead to an interesting discussion....mostly about any experiences we'd had with sort of "touches" from the "other side". The author described what she called "synchronicities" in her life and encouraged the reader to be open to the idea as they moved through their days.

Having had several personal experiences that I truly do consider messages from someone I love I was open to her concept even if I wasn't crazy about the book. Then, a few days ago, I brought up a completely different kind of fiction from ECP's library. It was a mystery by James Lee Burke entitled The Glass Rainbow. Dave and I have read a number of his books and while not award winning fiction they are very readable and follow many of the same main characters each time. 

Chapter 14 began with the following paragraph...."At a certain point, perhaps we realize that we have been surrounded by the connections between the material and the unseen world all our lives, but for various reasons, we chose not to see them....So I have never argued with people about the specters I have seen or the voices I've heard....I know the dead are out there, beckoning from the shadows, perhaps pointing the way for the rest of us. But I don't fear them, and I conceive of them as friends whom I don't think I'll mind joining. It's not a bad way to be."

I think the author of Consider the Butterfly would consider me being part of the book discussion group and then reading this particular passage as an example of synchronicity.

Who knows????

Through a Lens.....

A few weeks ago Dave and I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed both the special photography exhibit and walking through halls lit by sunlight. The long hallway facing Lake Michigan is always a favorite and feathers a changing exhibit of three dimensional art....often glass pieces that reflect and glisten. This one caught my special attention.

A sphere of glass about 18 inches in diameter, looking through it gave you a new perspective on the sights just out the window. A bit bent and curved, the blue sky, the bare trees, geese and yellowed winter grass as well as the "v" shaped windowsill became their own work of art. 

A slightly new perspective on a very familiar view.....loved it.

Lost and Found....

It will only be about six weeks late....that's not bad. Summer 2022 and we visited the Morning Glory Art Fair downtown with our daughter. We wandered up and down the aisles and into artists' booths to look and talk about the creativity on display. In one booth Megan knew the jewelry maker so we stopped to chat. As we looked at her display Megan pointed to a pair of earrings that she really liked and I suggested they might be a Christmas gift. If we bought them in the summer and I saved them she would have "forgotten" by Christmas morning....so they came home with me. And I put them in a safe place.

December 2022 and our whole extended family decided we really would not exchange gifts this year. Dave and I would stuff West Bend Christmas stockings because we'd be staying over night but other than that we'd just visit long distance family via phone or hug local loved ones in person. I figured I would wrap the earrings and they could go in Megan's stocking along with a candy bar or something.

But I could not find them. They were really "safely" hidden somewhere in our apartment. I literally went through my whole closet, drawers, shelves. I checked my sewing supplies and looked in the pantry. No luck. Dave looked....no luck.

So on Christmas morning Megan got a wrapped "note" as a substitute. She would get her earrings when I found them.

February 7th, 2023 and Dave was pulling tax information together. He brought down the paperwork storage box from one of our double closets and noticed something. Reaching up he grabbed the plastic bag and said "Look what I found!"

Wrapped and ready to go.

Better late than never!

Trudge.....

The very end of January 2023 and Milwaukee finally had a "real" snowfall. It started about noon on Saturday. We bundled up to walk to a nearby movie theater for a matinee with friends....a winter "adventure". It kept snowing most of the night and we woke to six plus inches of light fluffy snow.

There is beauty to be seen....bushes and trees boasting new decorations or hiding beneath the white.

               

Our little barbecue and upside-down summer chairs on our small deck are also "hiding". The barbecue reminds me of a cold mushroom.

                        

At 9:30 I decided to walk the four blocks to our local grocery store so I bundled up with my parka, scarf, hat and gloves. I put on my low boot/shoes and grabbed a tote bag. The sun was shining and the wind was calm so I figured it couldn't be too bad even though it was only 19 degrees. 

I was right, the conditions weren't too bad and I had all the right winter gear....but I forgot that many of the sidewalks would not be shoveled so I walked carefully and slowly. Instead of a winter walk it was more of a winter trudge.....but still, nice to be outside!

Another Year.....Another Memory....

How odd that this happens every winter.....the plant in the corner of our living room sends out a "hello". This is a peace lily and it was one of several on display at my mom's visitation in 2010. At the end of the time spent with family and friends, celebrating mom's life, I told my sister I'd like to take one of the plants home. I'm not good at keeping "real" plants alive, but just thought this was so lovely and it would, as long as it lasted, provide me with a little "hello" from my mother.

So I took it to our house in Bay View, then to our condo in Port Washington and in October 2021 it moved again....down to our apartment at Eastcastle in Milwaukee. I've managed to keep "her" alive and in pretty good shape for over 12 years! She doesn't require much attention....only a little water maybe every week or ten days, the removal of any yellow/dead leaves and once we treated her to some nice fresh soil.

When we travel I water her before we leave and ask a neighbor to do the same if we are gone for more than two weeks. When we come home....she is just fine. And every winter I begin to notice a little something more than a few new leaves opening up.....a bloom.

Here it is, the end of January, and I noticed something "peeking" at me today.

When I moved the watering can to get to the side I saw a second bloom....this one a bit larger.

Anyone who has followed my little blog over the years knows I am not someone who believes in heaven or hell and I no longer practice any organized religion but I do believe that those we love and lose can be "found" in a sort of energy that sometimes gives you a poke. A heartstring stretching across time and space to reach my heart.

My mom seems to send these reminders so that blooms will be full for her early February birthday. Again in 2023 I get a little "hello, remember me" from my mom and I treasure it.

My Back Yard.....

We raised two children....our son was born in 1969 and our daughter in 1974. I was a stay-at-home mom while they were young and then worked at several part time jobs as we moved to follow Dave's career growth. I did not work full time until our son was in high school and college was staring us in the face. I sold real estate for over seven years while living in New Jersey and really enjoyed every moment. And my efforts funded college for both kids.

One of the "results" of being a stay-at-home mom while the kids were growing up was having a home that was often the gathering place/play yard for their friends. Kids playing inside with Legos or Matchbox cars or stuffed animals or art supplies. Kids running to the kitchen for snacks or the bathroom for another necessity! Kids in the backyard tree fort, running with a soccer ball or tossing a frisbee. Kids going up and down our stairs. Kids watching movies or coming for sleep-overs Kids talking, laughing and sometimes arguing.  

I don't remember getting involved very often unless complete silence caused my Mom Radar to go on high alert.....or the "discussion" seemed to be escalating and an adult intervention was needed. Mostly I just served as in-the-background adult doing my housework or reading or whatever I did to pass the time while supervising children. (That's why moms are so good at multi-tasking.)

I do recall some times where I walked into the playroom, bedroom or back yard and said "Time for everyone to go home!" This was the answer if the kids had gotten too upset with each other or I sensed that everyone needed a break because no one was getting along. My Mom Rule was law.....and everyone did go home and our two went up to their rooms for a little quiet time.

That's what I would do right now if I was in charge of our House of Representatives. I would grab the gavel, bang it on the lectern and send every single Republican member home. The fact that these "adults", the ones the people elected to do the peoples' business, can't even work together to elect a speaker so that they can GET TO WORK is just so frustrating and embarrassing. The grandstanding, the arguing, the back-room "negotiating" that goes nowhere.

Send them home....if not now then during the next election cycle. The Party of Lincoln is broken. My parents' Republican Party is broken.....the party we once voted for is broken and includes too many damn "crazies". 

Send them home.