Doing the Deployment Dance

Hello All!

Forgive the story-telling interruption over the last week or so. The hubby returned from overseas (finally!!!)…I’ve been focused on other things. :->

A couple of things I learned while doing the deployment dance:

I can handle anything for four and a half months…

I wandered through the world just fine on my own again...

…it’s the last month and a half that got me. Insanity seemed the best choice for survival.

The cats thought I inadvertently left Daddy at the vet’s office. They tried to organize a rescue run, but they're cats; they fell asleep before they could execute their devious plan. They’re thrilled he’s home, and it’s evident that they love him “best-est.” (It’s okay, I do, too.)




Funny, while alone, I found my Zen at the bottom of a cat box. Granted, not a phrase I’d ever have expected to spit out, but it’s true. There is much humility in hunkering down everyday to scoop poop. I can be having the best day or the worst day, it really doesn’t matter, but doing something small for creatures who give so much in return seems to ground me in the best way possible. Still, not exactly where I thought I’d left my peace-of-mind. ;-)

Turns out I can dance in my kitchen like no one’s watching – when no one’s watching. Now I just have to remember to keep dancing like the dork I am now that he’s home.

More later, I feel an 80’s Michael Jackson Moonwalk coming over me!

Peace, love, and dorky dancing to you all!

Oregon Shakes

Hello All!

One of the biggest surprise stops of the trip was Ashland, Oregon. I had planned on going a completely different direction, as in north, to Portland, but the Magic 8 Ball knows best. So, I headed south to Ashland after spending some time in Grant’s Pass, OR. I promise I’ll fill in the blanks on that part of the story in the future…but, kinda like the 8 Ball, I don’t always tell a linear story.

I LOVE Ashland. It’s the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the surroundings are absolutely beautiful. Upon arrival, I headed right to the box office to pick up tickets to a few shows, as I planned on staying a couple of days. Since I was alone, it was easy to get great seats. I saw Pride and Prejudice at their indoor theater and Henry IV, Part I in their outdoor amphitheater. Both nights were magical and made me miss my old life of costume design. (The being homeless and hungry part…not as much!)

Though I’m an English professor, I had never read Pride and Prejudice, much to my friend Drew’s chagrin. However, that meant I entered with no preconceived notions of what I was about to see. I ended up in the front row - right in the center. My feet were very nearly right on the stage. The production was astounding. I took this picture right before the show started.


Everything about the show was fantastic. The acting was incredible, and the costumes looked great and would have been so much fun to design and build. I sat in the audience with a bunch of Jane Austen geek/freaks! They knew the story so well they were saying the lines with the actors. So, the energy in the room was great and really healed this traveler’s soul. I’m really glad I finally got to meet these characters. And, Drew…you were right! :->

The next day I trooped through the park that sits in the middle of the town. I’ll let the photos speak for Mother Nature.




Ashland was where I really started messing around with my camera, trying to view the world in a different way. Here are a few shots I took of some park benches. I applied a few treatments to the photo, as well.





Not sure which is my favorite, but my meanderings through the park were such a great way to see everything Ashland has to offer.

Will share more later about the wine, the art, the outdoor theatre, and the wonderful people who took me in while I was there.

Alice and Aqualina - A Ghost Story for Colin

Hello Everyone!

Back to stories from the trip. While I was driving across Nevada, the Magic 8 Ball pointed me to a cemetery in Winnemucca. It may seem weird, but I've always liked the history of such places. I spent some time wandering around this graveyard, happy to be out of the car, and pleased with the silence. I came across this headstone and snapped a photo. Though the girl had died in 1912, it looked as if someone in the area still brings gifts to her. And, on a long car trip, as there isn't much else to do but think, I came up with a story for her.

And, for those of you who love details...the little black bird really did guide me to her headstone. He was very insistent. And, he was the beginning of a bird theme that lasted the entire trip. I'll share more of those stories later. But, for now, here's the first draft of the story I wrote for Colin.


Colin was holding the prism up to the window when his Aunt Kat called from downstairs. He liked how the light refracted through it, bright colors separating out of the sunlight and sparkling around the room.

“Hey, Sleepyhead, do you want to swing by and say good-bye to Alice before we head to the airport?” she asked.

“Sure!” he called back and scrambled over the pile of stuff he had accumulated during the month he spent with his aunt. His mother jokingly complained that he was always more exhausted after vacationing with Kat than he was before he began his school “breaks.” Kat did have a habit of packing each day with so many fun things to do that Colin needed some extra shut-eye when he got back home to his parents.

Just yesterday they had gone to the Science Museum downtown and met up with Aqualina Mallea and her daughter, Alice. Colin really liked spending time with Alice. She was his age, really cool, and they had a lot of the same hobbies. They ran all over the museum playing with the hands-on exhibits like the sand pendulums, and they loved the rock and mineral testing lab. At the end of the day, she bought a Gyroscope, and Colin grabbed a hand-held flexible prism to take home with him.

He tucked the prism into his pocket and trampled down the stairs to find his aunt waiting with an armload of flowers. He couldn’t even see her face over the bouquet of sunflowers and another bunch of white flowers he didn’t recognize. They filled the room with a very sweet scent.

Colin tossed his backpack over his shoulder and took the huge bouquets from Kat. “Where are we going with these? And, what are the white ones?”

She smiled mysteriously. “If the big orange and yellow ones are sunflowers, what do you think the little white ones might be?”

“Um, moonflowers?” he asked, half-jokingly.

“Right you are, kidlet!” she said, ruffling his hair. “Let’s go! We’ve got a stop to make before we hit the airport. And, your mother will never forgive me if I make you miss your plane. She misses you a lot, you know!”

When they pulled into the drive at the cemetery, suddenly the flowers made sense to Colin. His aunt took beautifying the area very seriously and was always dropping off flowers at various gravesites. It didn’t even seem weird to Colin anymore, and he liked feeling the history and hush in the older parts of the cemetery.

He scrambled out of the car, carrying the moonflowers with him, while his aunt grabbed the sunflowers and held their faces up to the sun. Colin thought it was cool how whole fields of sunflowers turned and followed the sun in its daily trek across the sky.

Kat headed out across the well-groomed grounds to the older part of the graveyard. It was covered in stones instead of the bright green lawn that marked the newer parts. Black birds of all sizes always greeted them when they arrived at the border of the stone walkway. One bird hopped along just in front of Colin. It seemed to be leading him to a certain headstone. Colin shook his head. “That can’t be,” he thought. “It’s just a bird.” But, whenever Colin veered in a different direction, the bird chastised him loudly and hopped around in front of him, squawking until Colin followed again.

The bird landed on a short grey headstone that they had approached from behind. Colin walked around the front of the gravestone and saw an old straw hat resting against the marble. It had been bleached by the sun and flattened by the torrential downpours unleashed by the summer afternoon thunderstorms. Colin smiled. The bird seemed to want something pretty placed near the hat. As he leaned down and began to place the white moonflowers on the ground he heard Aqualina’s voice hailing his aunt. That’s right! Kat had promised him he could say good-bye to Alice before boarding the plane. Aqualina and Alice must have agreed to meet them here since he didn’t have much time to catch his flight.

He stood up, still holding the flowers and waved at Aqualina. She was striding across the grounds toward them, her waist-length dark hair flying behind her. Her skin had been burnished by the sun and she had the darkest eyes Colin had ever seen. His aunt had told him that Aqualina was of Basque heritage and her ancestors had been among the first sheep-herders that had come west and settled the area. She walked up and hugged Colin and Kat, who handed her the armload of sunflowers.

“She is always so warm to the touch,” Colin thought to himself.

“Kat, these are my favorites! Thank you for the sunflowers!” Aqualina said.

“To help you find your way home again, just in case.” Kat said softly, smiling at her friend.

Colin looked around for Alice. He was confused. Maybe she had to finish her piano lesson before she could join them? He asked Aqualina if that was the case. She looked quickly at Kat, who nodded.

“Colin, we think you’re old enough to handle this now,” the raven-haired woman said to him.

He looked over at Kat, who smiled encouragingly. His arms were still full of the moonflowers and he was startled when the black bird hopped a little closer, almost as if trying to overhear the secret.

Aqualina continued, “I know you’ve always wondered why Alice looks so different from me, but you’ve been too polite to ask. Your parents certainly did raise you well. I’m tall and dark haired, but she’s as pale-skinned as the moon, blonde and light-eyed. You probably assumed that I adopted her at some point, which is partially true. I was alone a long time and was getting terribly lonely; I knew that a child would bring me so much joy, but I am unable to have my own,” she sighed. “Why don’t you walk around and look at the front of the gravestone? I think it will help me explain this.”

He quietly did as she asked, the hair standing up on the back of his neck. He knelt and read the name and dates on the front of the stone. The little bird cast eyed him from the top of the stone.

Alice J Tregaskis
Died Oct. 28, 1912
Age 14 yrs
7 ms 21 ds

“Oh, so this is where you got her name?” asked Colin.

His aunt Kat stepped forward. “Well, yes, in a way that’s exactly what Aqualina is saying. But, there’s more to it than that.” She took the flowers gently from Colin’s hands and laid them next to the straw hat. “When she found out she couldn’t have children, Aqualina was able to use some very old magic and harnessed the power of the moon to bring her a child. So, a few days a month, when the moon is full, Alice follows the scent of the moonflowers and comes to spend time here, with her ‘mother.’ The rest of the month, there isn’t enough moonlight to help her transform.”

Colin sat down quickly. A weak, “What?” was all he could manage. The bird hopped down quietly to sit on his knee. Colin didn’t know what to believe. He always knew his aunt was a little crazy, but this was too much! Bringing back a girl who’d been dead for nearly a hundred years. His friend, Alice?? She was as full of energy and life as he was. It didn’t make any sense. It just couldn’t be!

But, he looked at the hat. It did kind of resemble a hat he’d seen Alice wear. Of course, this one was a lot lighter in color and the flower on the front was more than slightly mangled. He reached for it and turned it over gingerly in his hands. The white flower did sort of resemble a dried version of the moonflowers in the bouquet he had brought.

“Those are her favorite flowers,” said Aqualina kindly, gesturing toward the moonflowers. “And, she’ll be thrilled you stopped by to say good-bye until your next visit.”

“She can hear me?” he asked, his mind boggling at the thought.

“Of course, she’s merely in a different place right now. But, she can hear you. And, she wanted you to know that she had fun at the museum with you yesterday,” said his aunt. Colin just shook his head slowly, his eyes stinging a little; he’d forgotten to blink. Aqualina extended her hand to him and helped him off the ground, dislodging the bird, but it didn’t seem too agitated.

“Maybe this will help. Follow me,” she said to him. He trailed along after her, his hand in her warm grasp. The sunflowers bounced along in her other hand. She stopped in front of another gravestone and gestured for him to read. “Don’t be alarmed,” she said quietly, before stepping away.

Aqualina Mallea
Beloved Matriarch
Born: August 7, 1836
Died: May 16, 1875

Colin blinked and looked at the women standing behind him. “Aunt Kat, when were you born? I don’t think I could handle it if we have to go look at another gravestone today!” he grumped.

She laughed and pulled him into a hug, “I was born a year before your mother, kidlet. I am exactly what and who you think I am. I’m not nearly as awesome as Aqualina and Alice. They’ve got all the cool magic…or I guess in Aqualina’s case, the warm magic.” Aqualina grinned at her.

“Care to let me in on the joke?” Colin asked, his voice just a little prickly. And, all things considered, he thought he was handling all the madness very well!

“Well, we told you that Aqualina is able to use to magic of the moon to bring Alice back once a month,” said Kat. “She also uses the magic and power of the sun to assume the form you see before you now. She’s been doing that since 1875.”

Colin was dying of curiosity in spite of himself. “Is that why you’re always so warm, and why you like sunflowers and why you’re so much darker skinned than Alice?” the questions tumbled out of him.

“Yes, little one,” answered Aqualina. “I am able to use the light and heat of the sun every day to become who you see. When the sun goes down, I get tired, like you, and sometimes I get lost in the dark and need to use the sunflowers to find my way back. Your aunt kindly provides them for me. She’s even been known to come looking for me when I’ve been gone too long. But those are stories for another day. I think you need to get back to a normal life for a while. This will make more sense in time.”

Kat looked at her watch and sucked in a quick breath, “Crap! We’re going to be late to the airport. Your mom’s going to kill me!”

Colin sat down and leaned back carefully against Aqualina’s headstone. “I’ve just learned that I’m hanging out in a graveyard with a ghost, a crazy cat lady, and my best friend in this town actually died over a hundred years ago, and you’re worried about me missing my flight? Really, Aunt Kat, you’re too much!”

He pulled the prism out of his pocket and held it up to the sun. The rainbows scattered over the little group while the black bird hopped after a particularly bright shard of violet light.

“Mom and Dad are never going to believe this!” he thought, smiling to himself.

Don't What?????

After leaving Eureka, which I still think should be spelled with ALL CAPS and followed by the multiple exclamation points usually reserved for World Cup goals, I headed up the California coast toward Oregon. A week ago or so I posted my self-portraits from the trip and included one from Patrick’s Point State Park. Though the picture is cool, I didn’t do enough justice to the beauty of the park. I’d like to include a few photos here. The first was taken from the top of the trail, prior to climbing down the rocks toward the sea and the sea lions. I loved how mangled the tree looked and how tame the sea looked through its branches.

I took the next photo after I had climbed down. What I love about Northern California and Oregon beaches is the ruggedness of the rocks. These aren’t the pristine sand beaches of the Bahamas or Florida; these beaches are windblown, serious, this-shit’s-about the sea, sky, and rocks!-kinda beaches. Not for the faint of heart, but they do soothe the soul somehow. The starfish in the tide pools were cool to watch, as were the seals/sea-lions out on the rocks.

After the stop at Patrick’s Point, I motored on toward Southern Oregon…but I got distracted by the trees. Those of you who know me well know that I’m not a huge fan of trees. Turns out I’m a fan of huge trees, however. Go figure! The Redwoods don’t let anyone pass without stopping, so I turned in at the parking lot for “The Trees of Mystery.” It was equal parts hokey and Holy Crap!

Visitors are greeted by enormous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Though the sculptures are huge, they are still dwarfed by the trees. And, people look ridiculously puny next to everything. It’s humbling in a way that I think most of us need once in a while.


The tour was worth the hour spent wandering through the Sequoias. The photos can’t possibly convey the scope and size of the trees, but all visitors who congregated in the gift shop afterward shared awed looks and neck cricks. Of course, I had to buy a stuffed Paul Bunyan doll! :->

There was an “Elephant Tree.”


There was a tree that reminded me of an Ent from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world.


And, finally, two notes, left for all of us. The first elicited an “Awwwww!”


The second, a “WTF?”



But, lovely readers, you really must see all of it to believe it!!

Peace, love, and a few REALLY BIG trees to you all!

Luck...or something very like it!

Howdy All,

Thought I’d try to recreate some of my crazy trip for everyone so you could all go along for the ride whether you’ve been able to escape your environs for the summer or not. With the best of intentions, I trotted off to Target and bought a journal to take with me and planned on encapsulating the important moments every night when I settled into my hotel room. Very “author-ly” of me, I thought. I was so proud that it was made of recycled paper and had a cute little owl on the front; trying to go green, you know!

Yeah. Sooooo, that attempt at putting pen to paper lasted about three days. Turns out I’m still as scattered on the road as I am at home. Ah, well, back to what I know.

And, what I know is religiously capturing the scenery with the trusty iPhone. May not be the best camera to have along on such a wonderful sojourn, but, as my friend Amy told me - the best camera is the one you have with you.

After leaving Colorado and following the instructions of the Magic 8 Ball, I found myself going north and then west through the southern part of Wyoming. Due to the crazy winters they have, summer always brings a lot of road construction with it. I’d find myself flying along at 90 miles an hour (What? What??? There’s nothing out there but wide-open spaces!!) and then reduced to slogging away slowly behind semis as we made our way through a single lane of highway, penned in by orange traffic cones.

So, I saw a lot of these on the trip:


And, I saw a lot of cops, too. Turns out they’re not so fond of the happy-go-lucky drivers like me who see wide open space and accelerate through it for the sheer joy of the wind in my hair. But, I was still a little surprised to get pulled over on my second travel day through Wyoming. I was actually using cruise control which, for a driving control freak, is a huge feat. The officer walked up and pleasantly asked if I thought the sign didn’t apply to me. Since I was going the speed limit, I confessed to being more than a little confused. Let me give you the transcript as best I can remember it.

Officer: Ma’am, I didn’t pull you over because you were speeding.

Me: Oh?
(Oh, thank god you weren’t around yesterday as I whizzed into town searching for a hotel for the night, I thought, with a smile pasted to my face.)

Officer: Ma’am did you happen to read the automated road signs above the highway today?

Me: Yes, yes, I did.
(He seemed rather proud of the signs, so I attempted valiantly to feign an interest in them…turns out they are new and rather expensive.)

Officer: The one that says “Stay Alive – Don’t Text and Drive.” You realize it applies to you, right?

Me: Yes, Sir.
(Great, he and the great state of Wyoming are poets and I wasn’t texting!)
I wasn’t texting, though.
(Wait for it…….)
I was taking pictures with my phone. You wanna see ‘em?
(Big smile, proffering the iPhone)
(Hmm, I haven’t heard a sigh like that in ages!!!!!)

Cop: Ma’am, you aren’t supposed to do that either. We just couldn’t fit it all on the sign!

Me: Oh! Blink, blink, blink. But, it’s such a pretty state. :->
(Dammit, I wish he’d stop sighing like that. He might inhale a bug or something.)

Cop: Ma’am, where are you going, anyway? I notice that you have a Colorado license plate.

Me: I’m going wherever the Magic 8 Ball tells me and stopping wherever it suggests.
(Oh, crap, now I sound like a raving lunatic listening to the voices in her head!)
See? Handing him the 8 Ball.

Evil Bastard: Hmm, well why don’t we see whether the Magic 8 Ball thinks I should give you a ticket then?

Me: Shit!!!

Turns out, I owe the Magic 8 Ball big!! He turned the Magic 8 Ball over and the reply came back -

“My Sources Say No”

Booyah!! It said no!!

And, to my surprise, the officer smiled, handed back the 8 Ball, and said he would usher me the hell out of his fair state as long as I put down the iPhone while driving.

Big smile!

It really is a beautiful state.



Peace, Love, and a hell of a lot of Wyoming to you all!!

Travel Companions

One thing I learned during my sojourn is that I LIKE to travel alone. It’s not that the hubby isn’t a wonderful conversationalist…but we tend to travel differently. And, this trip was about breaking all the rules – which I did with gay abandon!

Early on in the car, I did discover that I wasn’t truly alone. My travel companion kept me from being too lonely…I mean really, look at that cute little face! Who could be lonely with him along?

I did have to remember to put sunscreen on his nose, though, as the fastest way to a faded out spot of ink on your skin is to get too much sun on your tattoo. Even through the windshield, I spent the first couple of days fighting sunburn over most of my body, but I successfully kept him pale and pasty, like my pastel English rose of a husband. :-> Love you, Baby!!

When I arrived in Eureka, California, I got a recommendation from the hotel clerk for a nice vegetarian restaurant. I know, I know, I didn’t use the Magic 8-Ball to make that decision – but, to be fair, the night before it had sent me to a smokehouse. I went dutifully and the chef took pity on me and gave me his own meal that he had brought from home. There really was nothing on the menu for me to eat, but everyone there took great care of me. I love small towns!!

Anyway, the restaurant that came highly recommended was right down on the waterfront in an artsy-fartsy part of town. I parked and walked along the boardwalk and just spent some time alone near the water. It was a weekday in the middle of the afternoon and very few people were out and about. As I leaned over the railing, I heard a splash. A seal popped his head out of the water. My seal. Call me batshit crazy, but I know it was my seal. The one who colluded with the universe to find me the right person to share my life with. I was stunned. He kept moving closer, just bobbing along in the water looking right at me. It was as if he was checking in to make sure I had received the message from the universe and had followed the advice. Funny, for once, I had taken the hint.

I thanked him for helping, I even pulled up my sleeve and showed him my tattoo – he seemed to approve. :-> I spent the next twenty minutes talking to him. To his credit, he just hung out and listened…kinda like the husband does when he has no idea how to respond to my special brand of “nutjob.” It was a strangely emotional day. Ah, but I guess I’m a strangely emotional girl. I took this picture of him in the water. I can’t find him now…but I know he’s in there, looking up at me, knowing that his work for me is done. Thanks, little dude, really!!


An older couple wandered by and asked me to take their photo for them and offered to do the same for me. I’m sure they would have picked someone else to shoot the picture if there had been anyone there, but they got stuck with the crazy girl who talks to seals. I think they were just glad when the seal didn’t say anything back. They took this photo, and I’m not sure you can tell, but it was windy and chilly that afternoon so the restaurant was a welcome respite. One of the fantastic things about California is that vegetarian is “normal” there, so my choices were plentiful and inexpensive. (Fuel was not as inexpensive there, however. Holy Crap!! How do they afford to drive in that state?) The place I ate was an interesting fusion of Italian and Japanese cuisine. So, I had a cheese plate and some sushi. It was perfect! The love of my life was right; I was going on a cheese-hunt! And, no cheese ever stands alone for long in my world!!


So, this cheese-ful girl wandered back out to the water to chat some more with her seal. He was still there – waiting for me. I told him about the husband he had picked for me.

How my tectonic plates re-aligned when I met him.

How frissons of electricity shot through my sky the moment I laid eyes on him.

How I knew that nothing would ever be the same in my world because I had met him.

And, for those of you who think this is a bit much, see what a long term separation does to you sometime. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but it can bring many things into much sharper focus. This crazy, squishy, new-agey Earth mama needs to do a better job of telling her husband how important he is in her world, to her world.

That’s my one piece of advice for the day, people. Whether you are separated by a deployment or not, tell the people you love how much affection you have for them, damn-it! Out loud! A LOT! Don’t assume they just know. Even if they do, they deserve to hear it again. We all do.


Baby, I love you. I mailed my heart to you a long time ago. Please remember it when you’re packing up to return. Come home soon! My world is out of balance without you nearby. I need my true travel companion back, my soulmate back by my side, my lover where I can touch him. And, when you're home, nobody looks at me like I'm crazy when I'm talking to a "seal!" :->

Self Portraits - Done My Way!

One of the challenges of travelling by one’s self is the ability (or lack thereof) to climb into the picture frame on occasion. I chose to handle this by screwing around with reflections, shadows, and sporadically, pressing others into photography service. We’ll see how this turned out.

This first photo I took on the Bonneville Salt Flats, and as I was utterly alone in the middle of nowhere, this is where the idea of being clever about my portraits first came up. What I love about the photo, more than the shadow, is how cool the salt looks. It reminds me of ice. I expected a sandy texture, but this time of year, it was smooth and completely reflective, untouched by speed demons and their tires. In the distance, the salt flats glittered like the surface of a lake. It was beautiful, and peaceful -- just me and the wind for an hour. I’m sure it’s transformed during Bonneville Speed Week, when speed freaks (me, for instance!) come out by the thousands. I’m signing up for the next one!!


One of the other places I stopped along the way was Patrick’s Point State Park along the northern coast of California. My mom-in-law mentioned it and she was right, the sea lions/seals (not sure which) were sunning themselves down on the rocks. They seemed to revel in making a huge ruckus. Not unlike the rest of the Seal family, might I add! ;-> I happened to arrive at low tide and a couple of photographers took me under their wing and showed me the coolest places to climb down to the rocks along the beach. I took this one of my shadow on the rocks that had just been exposed by the outgoing tide. There were hundreds of tide pools teeming with starfish and other aquatic life. It is insane to me to witness life carving out a niche, merely to surrender the space to the ocean again and again. Profoundly beautiful and poignant, too.

In the photo, my shadow is the circular form in the lower right corner. I altered the color photo first to black and white, and then I applied an effect that makes it look like the photographic negative. I get kind of a ghost-like feel from it. And, as I had just started on my journey, I wasn't feeling totally corporeal yet, anyway. So, it fits.



The Magic 8 Ball also led me to Ashland, Oregon. I hadn’t been planning it at all, in fact, I’d been expecting to go north to Portland, but the 8 Ball knew better. I spent three days there in Ashland, catching some wonderful plays at the Shakespeare Festival, wandering through fantastic parks, watching deer wander down the main street and making friends with a little black bird. And, the people! The people there are amazing!! I felt so welcome there. I’ll write another post about that experience later. But, the self-portrait I took there was of my hand through the glass of my brunch table at Green Leaf by the creek that runs through town. I like that you can see my wedding set through it, as the hubby was having to live vicariously through me on this trip, and so I took lots of pics of the rings that represent our trip.



Another surprise stop for me was Bend, Oregon. As was the theme of the trek, I met the most wonderful people there and spent time looking at the world through Amy’s eyes. I met her there during my first few minutes in town -- she’s a professional photographer, an art-recommender extraordinaire, and purveyor of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (who knew it would be the perfect thing to drink in Bend? ;->). She likes asymmetry and lines and all things spatially wonderful and wonky. We made a perfect pair! So, in keeping with the weirdness of my self-portraits, I asked her to do one of me. (Yes, I realize that cancels out the self part of self portraits...but work with me, people!) Here, we are at a park by the river that cuts through town (I was stunned by its presence!) at sunset. We took advantage of the wonderful light and both our shadows are shown against the rocks. I love how it turned out!



And, I love how the trip unfolded…

More soon,

Peace, Love, and Self-Portraits to you all!

Lao Tzu – Too True!

Hello again, All!!

A study in contradictions, as always,
I have returned from my trip…having just started my journey.

Long story!

I’ll share it with you as best I can. Profoundly life-altering experiences can be hard to put into words. Thank god I took pictures!! Over a thousand of them!

Yarrrgh! I know you’re thinking, “Holy Shit, Girly, please don’t foist them ALL on us! I won’t, I promise. I’ll try to apply a judicious eye to my pics and select a few you might like to see.

It all starts with a road.



I took the time to smell the flowers along the way.





And, found, that I went on the road looking for one thing, and returned with something else entirely, something I didn’t even know I needed. But, the universe knew…she always knows!

Looks like I’ll be philosophizing and talking in circle-speak for a while until I can sort through all of this.

WOW! Might just begin to cover the experience.

I hope you don’t mind going on this journey with me.

Buckle your seat belts, get your snacks ready, and let’s run away from home together!



“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

Peace, love, and road trips to you all!

On the Road Again

So, the intrepid adventurer has set off upon a quest. A quest for vision, enlightenment, and probably cheesy fries.

A little background. Kristen is currently traveling the American West using a magic 8-ball as her guide. But, through the miracles of modern technology, her blog will go on. Edited and posted by a guy who is deployed. Did anyone see this coming? I am pretty sure this was not covered in the pre-deployment briefings.

Like all great adventures it got underway at the crack of daw…errr noon. The weather was bad. Now, I am not saying that Christopher Columbus didn’t keep a sharp weather-eye to the horizon, before setting sail to the new world. But, Castle Rock by lunch is more of a shopping trip than an adventure. I am just saying...

The first ‘real’ stop on, oddly enough, has turned out to be the Bonneville Salt flats. What were the odds? Kristen takes off on a road trip and finds a place to drive even faster, in the middle of nowhere.





All accounts are that the Mexican food was good, good and hot! This may be a contributing factor to sppeds attained on the Salt Flats.

There is a story about a speeding ticket coming, but we are having to run it past our lawyers before we post it. Take care everyone.

Editor in Chief - Jon

Simply put…

…do what you love. I know it seems like a ridiculously simple piece of advice for anyone dealing with a deployment separation, but one that more of us should follow. Turns out, what I love to do is mess around with photos to see what kind of art I can create with them. I’m sure I’ve mentioned the Luna Pic website a hundred times already, but it is my version of a video game. I can sit and play with it for hours. What’s better is that it’s free, easy to use, and helps me churn out art that makes me happy. And, people, that’s what we’re going for during the deployment…some level of happiness!

So, if you’ll indulge my latest addiction. Here are some of the pieces I made today:

First, I blended two images. One is of our cat Lucky, the second was posted on a website that hosts photos of baby zoo animals.



Next, I applied a cartoon effect:


Then, I turned added text and a poster border.



I can't help it - I just love my cat! And, I think all cats dream that they're Tigers every time they go to sleep.

Walden Done Weird

Hello, People!

I find it fantastic that author Seth Grahame-Smith took one of Jane Austen’s most famous novels and turned it into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As an English Prof, anything that helps me hook students into reading is a bonus…and Zombies are it! Lately, I’ve given them the option of writing their mid-terms on whether they’d rather be a Ninja or a Pirate (forces them to form an argument and support it) or who they think would be better suited to survive a Zombie attack – me or their Math instructor, and why. They seem to warm to both of the challenges. Hmm, maybe they just like the idea of Math and English instructors being devoured by Zombies. Great students!!

I’ve only read bits and pieces of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so far, but I love what I’ve seen. He also wrote one called Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, which I’m looking forward to taking on my road trip with me. Can’t get enough of Lincoln or Vampires! Should be a fun summer read on the beach…as we all know I’ll be safe from the vampires there in the sun! And, I'm probably safe from Lincoln, too...but he's wily, that one! :->

Both of these books got me to thinking about other classics that might benefit from a mash-up treatment. Blasphemy in someone's world, I'm sure, but I started with Alice in Wonderland. Problem is, Zombies would fit right in to a story with White Rabbits wearing waistcoats and grinning Cheshire Cats hiding out in tree branches. Sadly, Zombies run the risk of seeming almost de rigueur in a novel such as that. So, then the hubby made a joke over Skype about Zombies running amok through the pages of Walden. Here poor Thoreau writes of a peaceful life and then has to fend off Zombies…I like it!! But…Zombies have been done already…so how about turning Thoreau into a Vampire, instead? I’ve taken the liberty of starting this project, so as you read the next few paragraphs, imagine that the main character is a Vampire instead of human – it totally changes the feel of his prose. I think it will be a perfect fit! My sincerest apologies to Henry David Thoreau…and literature professors the world over, but I’ve already begun to reshape his novel with a few of my own words. And, as I’ve said before, changing things injects dopamine into your system.

Here’s to Walden and Dopamine!

Economy
When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands and my teeth only. I lived there two years and two months before I was summarily evicted by the angry throng. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again. I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular, very boisterous inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent, as these townsmen were only looking to protect their families and livestock from me and my ilk.

Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained, how many I consumed. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference. We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking. I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my own Vampiric experience. And, perhaps in sharing information regarding my peculiar condition, I might be able to save others from this fate.

Okay, my literary friends, what do you think? Is this worth pursuing? Can this be funny, irreverent, and still honor the original? Feedback, people!! Feedback!! :->



I've also taken the liberty of building a photo mashup of one of the iconic scenes from the 1922 horror movie Nosferatu and the lovely cabin drawing by Sophia Thoreau used in Walden. Hmm, is this how Thoreau looked while walking up the stairs after a night of feeding frenzies around his peaceful cabin retreat? I shudder to think! :-)

Peace, Love, and Mash-ups to you All!

Hitting Walls and Magic 8 Balls

Hello All! It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with everyone. My parents came out to visit for a while and we spent time just hangin’ out as a family again. It was cool. Applied some of my own deployment survival advice and signed us up for something new, too. (Gotta get my hit of dopamine, don’tcha know!) We attended a glass –fusing class at an art studio. Super – Fab! Anytime I get to depart the premises with some art supplies and completed jewelry, I’m in heaven. I’m now covered in sparkly, chunky, colorful glass necklaces and rings. Actually, I sort of resemble a feminine version of Mr. T. I’ll write more about that later, and I’ll post pictures of my new stuff, too, in case you’d like to see the Ms. T Starter Kit. But, for now, let’s talk about a dirty little secret: the “deployment wall.”

Apparently, I can deal with about four and a half months of separation with few stress cracks showing in my oh-so-Zen demeanor…however, a day past that, and – WHACK!! - I hit the wall. The deployment wall that most of us have to deal with during a long-term separation. It’s the moment when you decide that you’re done with the deployment, the government, the military, and anything to do with separations…all at the same time, and getting over that wall seems like an impossible task to accomplish during your sprint through this crazy obstacle course of military service. According to the grapevine, both the State-siders and the deployed members end up battling this malaise at some point. The hubby mentioned that his whole office over there has become sluggish right about the same time; they are all trying to figure out how to get up the rope to the top of the wall. The view on the other side is worth the effort, but it can be tricky getting there.

The point of this discussion, guys, is to let you know that most of you will go through this, too – so there is no need to feel alone when you do. If you feel like you’ve gone batshit-nutjob crazy, then you’re probably right on track! Comforting, no? But, hey, nobody is going to judge you for it, even if you show signs of going bonkers, barmy, or round the bend. And, since I’m currently in the business of offering advice to make this separation easier, here goes…

Pick up the phone and call somebody, or grab your art supplies and make something beautiful…or even something really ugly if that helps, or find a wall that no one will miss (preferably not one that belongs to a school, grocery store, your landlord, or a police station) and take a few swings at it with a metaphorical pickax. Work out your aggressions and frustrations on a literal or a figurative wall…it’s up to y’all! But, either way, you’ll feel better. Take up yodeling, take a class; just don’t take something you didn’t pay for at the store…they don’t like that very much. :-> (Groan!!! Yeah, my jokes still suck, people. Now, come on, don’t act like you’re surprised by that!!)

Or, you can do what I’m going to do in order to get over, or maybe just through, the wall. Go with the chaos. Part of the reason we smack our foreheads, and other more tender body parts, on this figurative wall is that we are aggravated by a complete and total lack of control over our lives and relationships right now due to the deployment. My thought is this: why not go with the chaos instead of fighting against it? Embrace the anarchy!



Here’s how - Go buy a Magic Eight Ball. You remember, the little black and white hollow ball that has an icosahedral-shaped die floating inside with twenty answers on it. You ask the universe, or in this case, the Magic Eight Ball, a yes or no question, and then you flip it over to see which of the twenty answers floats to the top. So…chaos captured in a bottle, that you can use to direct your trip down Looney-Tunes Lane. According to Wikipedia, here are the twenty answers most commonly inside the Magic Eight Ball:

● As I see it, yes
● It is certain
● It is decidedly so
● Most likely
● Outlook good
● Signs point to yes
● Without a doubt
● Yes
● Yes - definitely
● You may rely on it
● Reply hazy, try again
● Ask again later
● Better not tell you now
● Cannot predict now
● Concentrate and ask again
● Don't count on it
● My reply is no
● My sources say no
● Outlook not so good
● Very doubtful

So....wait for it...I’m going to take a road trip as directed entirely by the answers contained within the Magic Eight Ball. I first asked it if I should go West (remember, yes or no answers…I couldn’t just ask a “where should I travel” question of it), it responded with a definitive “It is decidedly so.” Cool! So, I’ll be starting for the West Coast in a few days. Besides using it to answer the overarching, macro questions of cardinal driving directions, I’ll also take it with me to ask about restaurants, tourist destinations, and activities. I’ll let you know how my foray down the rabbit hole goes. Who knows? Maybe random answers are better suited to giving a person like me some guidance than my own (kinda, sorta) well-thought-out plan to get over the wall. Umm, my plan involved explosives…thankfully, the Eight Ball and the local fire department overruled me. Okay, so they made the wise choice. Sigh... So, now, I guess I should let the Eight Ball make some more decisions for me. :->

Cross your fingers, here we go!

Haiku for Two...

...and two for haiku!

I know I promised I was going to take “the hardest test in the world” and write a cohesive, coherent essay in three hours on the word “deployments.” I started it, I really did…and then, curse my short attention span, I got trapped in Peter’s Haiku Generator website, and I’m still generating these random little poems, a little too happily, might I add! It’s my new addiction. That is just one more thing that I have found about deployment separations: you each have more time to devote to new things. I’ve learned that I really love the idea of using a piece of technology to randomly generate artistic things. It’s just cool to the ridiculous factor of a hundred…and, no, I don’t know exactly how cool that is, but “pretty nifty” ought to cover it.

Here are a few that I really liked:

Poetry splashes.
Badly walking wonder falls.
The young women walk.


Happiness bites joy.
Spices burn and flowers melt.
A hunted boat waits.

Since I’m a kitty cat mama, this one made me laugh. Imagine the consternation of said feline:

A cat hates a hair.
Soft, roughly ugly tail turns.
Midday carouses.

Another thing deployment separations can do is to heighten any sort of emotion you may already be feeling. So, I put the next couple into categories that might crop up during the time apart, and let the computer generator speak for me:

Fear –

The baskets bell roots.
A death twists weaker boots.
A surface sniggers.

Explosions collapse.
Hell gibbers then weak thirst vaults.
Selfish fear whirls whips.

Loneliness –

Shivering, gifts laugh.
Flaccid indifference slips.
Temple’s bell fluid.

Blackly full snow runs.
Rain sometimes fears the lovers.
Small heaven scolds lakes.

Joy –

Leaves flutter the birds.
Gold rain scolds playing autumn.
Soft judges eat rain.

The blooms spin clowns.
Walking selfless cherries sing.
An apricot talks.

Smoke perfumes the boats.
Smashing, kind wisdom spreads toys.
Gems mesmerize truth.

Happiness –

Shining spring giggles.
Quivering, the gems whisper.
A sun conceals cats.


Love – (Always more of this than anything else…no matter the distance, no matter the separation time, no matter what!)

A lover flutters.
The lakes plunder eagerness.
Foolish stanzas splash.

Heat transforms water.
The unknown birds kiss towers.
Blooms paint cherries.

Hands walk and spring squeals.
A balloon leaps and lakes walk.
A lover responds.

A bauble spins love.
Eagerly young earth giggles.
The lovers frolic.

So, yes, I seem to be lost in the maze of computer generated emotions and won’t be getting into Oxford anytime soon. Ah, well, maybe it wasn’t to be. It could be worse, I suppose. I could be trapped in a website that randomly generates dirty limericks…hmm, hold that thought, I’ll get back to you on how that goes. :->

While messing with randomly generated poems, I also produced two of my own Haiku. I’m pretty pleased with them, as I wanted them to embody all the best that a deployment can be. The first is the unbreakable connection that our little family of cats and coupledom creates for me, even when I’m sleeping, away from him.

A light cat shimmers.
Cascading laughter chirrups.
This dream in the night.

And, since my other addiction is the LunaPic photo editor website, I combined this next Haiku with the messy art I’m enjoying fashioning of late.

Some sweet wind darkens.




Luminous husband stirs.




Time out of our lives.



So, after this artistic interlude, I promise to get back to the serious occupation of blogging about how much fun deployments can be, dammit! ;->

Peace, Love, and Artistic Tolerance for all!