today feels like a good day for a (rather silly) story.

has anyone ever told you the story of the invention of parkour? i don’t know if you’ve ever heard of parkour, but if you’re younger than i am, you are probably an expert at it already.

years and years ago, there was a group of children that spent every afternoon playing in a park near their houses, running and sliding and jumping.

the park was like their second home. they spent so much time there that they knew the very best ways to get around it.

for instance, the fastest and most efficient way to get from the fountain to the big hill was to jump over the fence, run up and down the see-saw, and swing through the branches of the big oak tree to the left.

the fastest and most efficient way to get from the entrance to the fountain was to vault the railing, jump from swing to swing, and then run across the bricks to the fountain.

these might not sound like the quickest paths to you, but trust me, they had timed them. one of the children had received a stopwatch one birthday; timing things became his new favorite hobby. he timed everything. and i do mean everything.

whenever someone new would visit the park, the children would take him or her under their wing. they would show the new person all of their routes, and they would also encourage that person to create their own routes and to share them with everyone.

the actual name of the park was the marsha and bob grady provincial park. the children thought that was a long and boring and unsatisfying name, so they renamed the park, as children generally do.

their name for the park was our park.

eventually, they decided that their routes and ways of getting around the park needed a name. after much discussion and more than a few votes, they decided to name them after their beloved park and call them parkour.

the end.

one of my favorite things to do is sit in a cafe with my journal and a book. if a friend is with me, it’s even better. there is nothing quite like reading and writing in companionable silence interspersed with good conversation.

at the moment, i am loving coffeehouse northwest on burnside.

while i was walking back to my car from the cafe yesterday, i looked down and noticed the leaves on the sidewalk. there was something so simple and perfect about them that i had to stop and capture the beauty.

come to think of it, if you happen to live in portland and also like reading and writing in cafes, we should really meet for coffee!

for most of my life, i was not a dog person. at all.

it wasn’t that i disliked dogs exactly. i wasn’t comfortable around them – which makes sense, because we didn’t have a dog in our house – and i didn’t think there was anything particularly special about them.

whenever i thought about owning a dog (not that i thought about this often, you understand), i would decide that the only way i would ever have a dog would be if it were a siberian husky. any dog of mine would certainly not be coming inside my house. and it would definitely not be coming near my furniture. and since huskies clearly want to be outside all the time, i wouldn’t have to feel guilty about this. (i cannot help but laugh at this, since atlas is curled up underneath my quilt on my bed as i type this story.)

a couple of years after i started at intel, i worked with a guy who had a weimaraner named anton. i thought anton was a decent dog, for a dog, though he didn’t make me revise my opinion of dogs very much.

one january, the guy mentioned that he drove to new mexico for the new year because he didn’t really know anyone in sacramento who could dog-sit for him. i felt sorry for him, and also suffered from a horrible tendency to feel responsible for people, so i volunteered to take care of his dog if he ever needed someone. it is possible that i even said i liked dogs and would be happy to do it.

a few weekends later, he needed a dog-sitter, and i agreed to do it. my only caveat was that even though i knew anton was used to sleeping on the bed, he was most definitely not allowed to sleep on my bed. i was not having a dog on my bed. no way. no how.

anton was dropped off at my house after work that friday. a few minutes later, i said good-bye to my roommates and anton and left to meet a friend for dinner and a movie. i figured anton would be fine while i was gone.

toward the end of dinner, i saw that i had a voicemail. when i listened to it, i heard the sad voice of my roommate alan, “elizabeth .. this dog is so sad .. he keeps trying to come into my office .. we barricaded the stairs with chairs .. he keeps barking and whining .. can you pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese come home? we don’t know what to do!”

oh my goodness. i felt horrible. i finished dinner quickly and left. the whole way home, i kept thinking about poor anton being dropped off in a strange place and being abandoned by the only person he (kind of) knew. oh, did i feel guilty.

when i got home, anton was lying at the top of the stairs while my other roommate sat next to him and scratched his belly. i sat next to him and cried for him and petted him over and over and over.

then, it was bedtime. i made him a nice comfy bed on the floor, settled him in it, and got into bed. as soon as the lights were out, anton jumped onto the bed. i got up, settled him back in his bed on the floor, and got into bed. anton jumped onto the bed again.

repeat. repeat. repeat.

still feeling guilty about leaving, i decided that he had had such a rough start to his weekend that he deserved to sleep on the bed. to save face, i pretended that i had fallen asleep and didn’t know he was there.

the next morning, when i woke up, he was snuggled next to me. i didn’t mind.

all weekend, anton was there. he went running with me, and followed me everywhere, and i loved it. by the end of the weekend, i adored him to pieces.

i wound up dog-sitting him a lot and grew more and more fond of him. it grew harder and harder to give him back, and i eventually knew that i wanted a dog of my own. of course, by that point, only a weimaraner would do.

the guy did tell me that anton was not a good representative of a weimaraner because he was too mellow, but i didn’t listen. i kept taking the “are you ready to be a weimaraner owner” quiz and deciding that none of the hard stuff mattered. i was ready to live with all the quirks and challenges of weimaraners.

and then i got my own dear weimaraner who, as it turned out, was mellow too.

i still think about anton fondly – he has since passed away – and i often tell atlas that he owes a doggy debt of gratitude to the dear sweet dog who helped me realize that i was meant to have a dog of my very own.

what is your mind inviting you to do today?
my mind is inviting me to let go.

what is your body inviting you to do today?
my body is inviting me to stand in the sunshine.

what is your spirit inviting you to do today?
my spirit is inviting me to read mary oliver.

i think i shall.

i don’t know what it is about this season, maybe the planets are involved, but i have been needing extra support lately. as a result, i thought i’d offer up a few half-price reiki sessions in case there is someone out there who is in need. if it speaks to you, just click yes, please and complete the payment and we’ll get your session scheduled. (half-price = $31.)

–>this offering is no longer available.

have i mentioned how much i love lake superior?

my sister helen and i went to great sand bay one afternoon to take pictures. the water seemed astonishingly warm. i don’t recall that side of the lake ever getting warm in all the years i lived there. i only remember icy waters. not that lake superior ever really got that warm anywhere – i was much tougher skinned then and could actually swim in cold water – but that was definitely one of the colder sections.

(the thought of icy waters reminds me of a time i jumped into devil’s washtub, down the way from great sand bay, one fourth of july. i don’t know a good way to describe devil’s washtub, except to say that it’s on a rocky cliff side of the lake and there is a hole, surrounded by rock, with an opening near the bottom where the lake comes in and out. that day, i jumped in without checking the water temperature first. it was so cold that when i hit the water, i couldn’t breathe, and i bobbed up and down in the water, slightly panicking and trying desperately to catch my breath so i could climb out again.)

“Earth laughs in flowers.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

last friday, atlas and i celebrated nine years together.

nine years! can you believe it?!

by celebrated, i mean that i told him approximately one million times that i adore him and love him and then i took him for a long hike on our favorite trail.

on saturday, i took him to the pet store and bought him a giant treat. he ate it in the sunshine. (it was too smelly to allow inside the house.) it took him 50 minutes (a record, usually treats take him seconds, maybe minutes if i’m lucky) and then he got up and walked slowly to the house. his tongue was hanging out and he was panting and he looked like he had never worked so hard in all his life. it was pretty funny. (it was really due to the sun. he usually heads for the shade after a couple of minutes, but he was so engrossed in his treat that he couldn’t be bothered.)

i know i say this often, but i cannot believe how lucky i am to have atlas in my life. he is the best four-legged friend a girl could have. my life is infinitely better and richer because he is in it and i am a better person for having known him. i have been given the greatest gift – nine years of unconditional love and joy and companionship and play and adventure. i wouldn’t trade it (or him) for anything.

he is my pup, and i am his girl, and i hope there are many more years in our future.

(today, he is slightly less happy, as he is limping, and he does not like it. he keeps sitting tall in front of me and waving his bad leg at me helplessly and looking at me with big sad eyes like he knows i can fix it if i just try. oh, how i wish i could. here’s hoping he feels better soon.)

i wish i could show you how beautiful you are

when your eyes light up,
when you smile that slightly crooked smile,
when you squint in the sunshine.

i wish i could show you how beautiful you are

when you feel like your face is puffy and red from crying,
when you laugh the laugh that you worry is too loud,
when you’re hot and sweaty from carrying groceries into the house.

i wish i could show you how beautiful you are

when you wrap your arms around her (or him),
when you bend down and gently brush a flower,
when your voice squeaks with excitement.

i wish i could show you how beautiful you are

when you speak,
when you’re silent,
when you listen.

i wish i could show you how beautiful you are

yesterday,
today,
tomorrow;

now,
always,
forever.

i want to tell you about my latest offering: the world of story.

have you ever wished you could step inside a story? i certainly have.

the idea behind the world of story is that it lets you do just that. the best way i can describe it is to say that it’s like entering a snow globe.

the world of story will take you on a journey. first, a story will arrive in your mailbox. then, every few weeks, a postcard will arrive in your mail. each postcard will give you another glimpse of the world behind the story – in image and in word.

in this series, you will be entering the world of the girl with the kaleidoscope eyes.

the world of story starts in october and there are still some spots available if you’d like to sign up.

i am so looking forward to this journey.

i took these two pictures on my first real photo walk with my new camera. i think i squealed when i saw them, and i knew in that moment that my new camera and i would be the best of friends. i don’t know what it is about them, possibly that they are slightly more in focus than is my wont and yet i still feel a sense of delight and magic. regardless of the specifics, i am a happy girl.

i am newly addicted to modern family. i am late to the party, i know, since apparently it started in 2009. i find it heartwarming and inspiring and every single episode makes me laugh out loud.

i am also addicted to these delectable rosemary crackers topped with brie and sliced cucumber (and sea salt, of course). i can eat them for lunch and dinner – and sometimes breakfast. at the rate i go through a wedge of brie, i should really buy an entire round of it.

what are you loving today?