I already had the thought of taking all the t shirts I have, some having belonged to Paul and making a quilt out of that. Perhaps I'll take a class in that or see if I can talk Shelley into doing it (or maybe we can do it together). The problem is that Shelley has an incredibly full life and I don't want her to be burdened with a "have-to". But even after I'm gone, I think it would still be a great idea.
Here is an incident my mother wrote about. I very much remember this, because we all started laughing hysterically afterwards, because I think we really did think God had just answered us.
YOU BE JESUS AND I'LL BE GOD
When the kids said they were Jewish, the neighborhood kids
asked them if they wouldn't like to learn to pray so they
could be American.
Before their parents could clarify the situation, the
children were all kneeling in the living room.
Friend Sally said to Ben, "Now you be Jesus and
I'll be God".
"Okay," Ben folded his hands and they all closed their eyes
just as George, their father, was coming up the hallway.
Sally said, "Now, after me: "Dear God....." as she
piously waited for the response.
George pitched his voice very low and slowly sad:
"Y-e-s?"
Here is a picture of my dad, George with his mother Fannie and a picture of my brother Ben, maybe around four years old.
Here are a few pictures from Mothers Day. Jennifer and her children Crystal, Kayla and Devin didn't get in the act. Kayla's friend Mariah also was there. Shelley always gets pictures. Alyssa's boyfriend Jeremy, his mother Diana and sister Brooke also came. Breanna, Alyssa's and Heather's little sister was also there. Heather was with her boyfriend's family.
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| Rachel and Shelley |
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| Kevin, Shelley and Alyssa |
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| Alyssa, Kevin, Shelley, Jeremy, Diana and Brooke |
Heather received an award Monday night for how well she did at Highland High School She received The Golden State Seal for outstanding achievement in the California Standards Tests. Her boyfriend Wesley, her parents Shelley and Chris and I went. Got pictures, but Wesley is not in them.
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| Chris, Heather and Shelley |
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| Heather and Shelley |
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| Rachel and Heather |
We agreed to go out Saturday night to Macaroni Grill for a celebration. Heather, her boyfriend Wesley, Shelley and I were there. Very nice get together. I "grilled" Wesley on his future plans. He is working to become an electrician. That is a good profession. Heather's plan is to go on to Bakersfield College first. She was a GATE student which is way beyond the regular student in intelligence. She finished high school early and finds the talk of most kids her age as superficial. I think she could be really bored with the things most of us do and perhaps even by the talk of people who are not where she is. If she had a higher degree, she has a better chance of working independently or doing something she really loves that she wouldn't see as just a "job". I saw her becoming an engineer, doctor, scientist, geologist, anthropologist, mathematician, something using that great intelligence she has. I gave her the talk about it being much easier to do things earlier in life because life interferes with plans later. She has so much to give the world. I hate to see us denied of this.
I enjoy going to The Art and Spirituality Center. I had another session on drawing in the healing garden. Below is the result of that. Another fountain there. There are at least five fountains in that garden. I really love it. Also, the open studio there is a great setting for just working on what you have. The music and setting are soothing.
My friend Kimberley who volunteers at the Art and Spirituality Center recommended a musical at The Empty Space called Into the Woods which she praised highly saying her children, Kenna and Jackson wanted to go again. They are still playing next weekend if you want to make reservations (give them a call). A friend and two of my grand kids were tied up so I decided to go alone. I am so glad I went. It was a fantastic musical done by a fantastic theater group. I promise, you will not be disappointed if you go. Recommended donation is $15 each, students and seniors are $10 each (this is a real deal). Call 661-327-7529 to reserve seats. Leave a message saying which show, your name and phone number and how many seats. If there is a problem accommodating you, they will call you back. This is their Facebook page: The Empty Space and this is their web page: The Empty Space. They are on Oak Street in Bakersfield, CA.
No class with Carol Bradshaw this week. She did contact us by email and we will be doing goats as the next animal we attempt to draw. I'm also collecting seascapes and landscapes. She is suggesting getting a picture with a waterfall. I really want to work on water and make it seem like it is really flowing and rippling. I'll also continue to work on my pine cone.
I've read a couple of books I would like to tell you about. The first book was The Sheep Walker's Daughter by Sydney Avey. I enjoyed this one. A woman I met at a writing class told me the author was at Barnes and Noble, so I went by and got a copy signed for me and my daughter Shelley. This was about a granddaughter finding her roots. Her mother was kept in the dark about her father's heritage. Her grandmother died and this started a search for roots by the granddaughter and a search for meaning for the daughter. It is a touching story and also touches on the relationships between mothers and daughters which can be so complicated. I really did enjoy this one and recommend it as a good read. The other one was The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. I was not impressed with this book, but I'm in the minority about this. This writer talks about angels and reincarnation as if they are facts. I don't buy into this. I use the word Karma and think about what I do will be reflected in the treatment of me by others. In this book, it talks about it perhaps being in another life, perhaps hundreds of years later. How it was approached makes it seem that poor people are dealing with Karma from a previous life. I can't abide by that. This makes the victims the bad guys. Sorry, this is not acceptable to me. I was okay about growth we can have and the need to work together. I see science as a wonderful field though and I certainly didn't get the feeling of that in this book. I also just found it difficult to wade through as if it was a text book.
On Saturday morning I went to the Kern Writers meeting. I have never been to something like this. There were published and non-published writers there. They urged us to consider joining and then get in a critique group where you would get supportive feedback from others if you were aiming to publish. A person has to hand in three examples of their writing and pay the nominal fee. It is not necessary to be a published writer. Several people who were in the writing group at Art for Healing were there. One writer Don Thompson shared from his book Local Color, poems or the places, people and events of Kern County. He uses words so well! I think I will submit my writing. I'd like to associate with these people.
Barbara Long worked on putting up the tent she bought because we are doing a short camping trip this next week. Of course, we would pick the hottest day and the hottest time of the day to do this! We sat on her patio which was lovely. She fixed it up and it is a wonderful place to lounge now. While there, we kept hearing a very young kitten crying that to me sounded like it was in distress. We found two of the kittens knotted up in a string trellis for tomatoes. The mom pick this place without Barbara's permission and growled as we tried to get close. She is feral and was threatening us, so I sprayed mom when she was upset with Barbara being too close. Barbara had to take a knife to cut the strings. It was slow going and I was sure one of them was strangled, but when we checked later, there was definite movement and they were nursing.
Barbara and I shopped for our food, picking things that were healthy and also very tasty. We split the booty to place in each of our refrigerators.
Today I packed up the car for our camping trip. There was also a film at The Art and Spirituality Center called "Happy" It was a good documentary. It has received multiple awards and it has created a movement. If you are interested, go to their website The Happy Movie.
Pretty full week. Please share this if you feel someone would benefit by it. Thank you for reading and I will see you next week. Rachel
I've read a couple of books I would like to tell you about. The first book was The Sheep Walker's Daughter by Sydney Avey. I enjoyed this one. A woman I met at a writing class told me the author was at Barnes and Noble, so I went by and got a copy signed for me and my daughter Shelley. This was about a granddaughter finding her roots. Her mother was kept in the dark about her father's heritage. Her grandmother died and this started a search for roots by the granddaughter and a search for meaning for the daughter. It is a touching story and also touches on the relationships between mothers and daughters which can be so complicated. I really did enjoy this one and recommend it as a good read. The other one was The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. I was not impressed with this book, but I'm in the minority about this. This writer talks about angels and reincarnation as if they are facts. I don't buy into this. I use the word Karma and think about what I do will be reflected in the treatment of me by others. In this book, it talks about it perhaps being in another life, perhaps hundreds of years later. How it was approached makes it seem that poor people are dealing with Karma from a previous life. I can't abide by that. This makes the victims the bad guys. Sorry, this is not acceptable to me. I was okay about growth we can have and the need to work together. I see science as a wonderful field though and I certainly didn't get the feeling of that in this book. I also just found it difficult to wade through as if it was a text book.
On Saturday morning I went to the Kern Writers meeting. I have never been to something like this. There were published and non-published writers there. They urged us to consider joining and then get in a critique group where you would get supportive feedback from others if you were aiming to publish. A person has to hand in three examples of their writing and pay the nominal fee. It is not necessary to be a published writer. Several people who were in the writing group at Art for Healing were there. One writer Don Thompson shared from his book Local Color, poems or the places, people and events of Kern County. He uses words so well! I think I will submit my writing. I'd like to associate with these people.
Barbara Long worked on putting up the tent she bought because we are doing a short camping trip this next week. Of course, we would pick the hottest day and the hottest time of the day to do this! We sat on her patio which was lovely. She fixed it up and it is a wonderful place to lounge now. While there, we kept hearing a very young kitten crying that to me sounded like it was in distress. We found two of the kittens knotted up in a string trellis for tomatoes. The mom pick this place without Barbara's permission and growled as we tried to get close. She is feral and was threatening us, so I sprayed mom when she was upset with Barbara being too close. Barbara had to take a knife to cut the strings. It was slow going and I was sure one of them was strangled, but when we checked later, there was definite movement and they were nursing.
Barbara and I shopped for our food, picking things that were healthy and also very tasty. We split the booty to place in each of our refrigerators.
Today I packed up the car for our camping trip. There was also a film at The Art and Spirituality Center called "Happy" It was a good documentary. It has received multiple awards and it has created a movement. If you are interested, go to their website The Happy Movie.
Pretty full week. Please share this if you feel someone would benefit by it. Thank you for reading and I will see you next week. Rachel
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