Dragonfly New Years Retreat

(Left to Right back row) Ruth, Linda, Carla, Paula, Dawn, Holly. 

(Front row) Me, Meredy, Patti Sue, DJ, Sharon, Melody, Maria. Liesa is in the hot tub and Laura home exhausted!

This post is a bit on the right outside my door side of Life In My Backyard. It is about amazing women with such strength and power that my life seems so very small and insignificant after just one weekend of sharing our lives and journeys with each other. Dragonfly is a Yoga and wellness retreat center of sorts that is offered and hosted by Linda Long. Linda is an amazing facilitator and over all incredible human. She has a giving intuitive heart that seems constantly open to others and what  her path lays out for her. After a very long stretch in my journey of keeping the rubber side down and the sunny side up, I crashed and burned, biffed it, chin dove into the gravel and big time. Just lost my vinegar and got tired. It was one day after that that Linda came up to me and said "I really want you to come to the retreat this weekend". Well, I knew that wasn't something I was to ignore even though I wanted to retreat into my cabin and hunker down in the coming storm swimming in my own pity pool. Linda offered a way for me to join in without wreaking havoc on my unemployed pocket book. Wow. Bloody well better listen up when the higher up prompts, and I knew that was what was going on. I've said "no" before and learned what a B-A-D idea that was! I knew I was in for it, but never expected to be surrounded by some of the most admirable women I've ever come to know. No kidding, these gals have lives and are forming lives that floor me! Here are some highlights of the weekend (sorry guys, the hot tub was off limits for the camera!)

Friday evening we started by getting to know each other over an amazing dinner prepared by Chef Liesa  followed by a smudging ritual upon entering the yoga studio for some personal growth and good yoga. Once inside we were given homework to document our "intentions" for the year and be prepared to share them the next morning .

Linda opens her home and her heart for people.
Holly is no doubt telling Her and Liesa
about flying a helicopter, being an investment
banker, or climbing El Cap.
The girl is a maniac!

True bliss comes from each moment embraced

 Liesa is passionate about her cooking and her life. . 

        

 

      We all learned so much over the weekend, and one thing I learned is that I have a LOT to learn about taking pics in low light indoor situations! Oh well, the subjects are great!

                                                            Liesa is also one of the totally awesome  yoga instructors at Dragonfly

Dinner was awesome, and as Laura said "not a drop of testosterone in the room"

Maria does the smudging

                    


                 Serenity

Embrace this moment

                 Take joy in each treasured day

Life happens, breath...

Saturday morning most of us walked the labyrinth in the rain and meditated on our intentions for the year. I will try to get a pic of the Labyrinth to add in later. After sharing our intentions (harder than it sounds!) Carla did some talking about chakras and led us in some pretty  sweet yoga. The morning was emotional and full.

 After a great lunch, Paula, Liesa, Meroday & I hit the hot tub. Ahhh, nice, but not quite hot enough, so we turned it up. While we were in there, Holly busted out the door with a humongous grin on her face and a mouthful of chocolate pie. She announced something about baking brownies with nuts, cherries & coconut in them. They turned out to be a staple for me that night! Holly later shared with me in email how spoiled she felt being fed pie and all!


This gift, this treasure, this day...

Regina contemplates the teaching

Carla gave us all plenty of food for the soul. She had us laugh out loud on prompt. I agreed when Paula said she didn't get laughing for no reason. I get a great amount of belly laughs in life and Paula seems to as well, so I guess it's ok if we don't laugh on promt!

"I don't get it"

Paula is another awesome Dragonfly yoga instructor.

Saturday evening Ruth taught us how to make a very tasty ayurvedic meal as well as all about ayurvedic principles, digestion and showed some of the essential oil products she makes & sells.

Chef Ruth and helper Meredy

 The meal was incredible even after we chose to eat dessert first and chowed Holly's brownies!

Sharon agreed that dessert first is a good idea!

The chakra candles burned through the evening

  

Ruth is a natural at cooking and teaching. She will do great  things with that gift! Patti Sue (next to Ruth) is a Dragonfly  yoga instructor and an impressive Master Gardener (my neighbor! S-C-O-R-E!)                    

Passion                                                            
                                                                                         

 Learning and growing over brownies and good energy! 

 When one door opens we often look so   

 long and so regretfully  

upon the closed door that we do not

   see the one which is open for us."                                                                     

         
Life happens...breath

Beautiful women

Lower...

As the evening went on, the chakra candles burned, and conversation tied together what we had learned about ourselves and each other. Each of us on a path, a journey, now with intentions.Linda brought out the Taro cards. As each woman pulled her cards, it became quickly obvious that coincidence played no part. The cards fit the woman and the challenge at hand. We all knew enough about each others path and intentions now to recognise that. Holly went near to last observing in amazement the cards each person drew. When she finally drew her first card her response was "HOLY CRAP!...That's WEIRD!". Our intentions came together more cohesively that evening mushing together like the melted  wax of the chakra candles.  

It's all in the cards

and lower...

                                                                   

Linda's card! Many of us (the oldies!) passed around glasses.

and lower!

  

It's not the breaths you take, it's the moments 

that take your breath away

           

My cards in order of how I drew them. Bricks laid on my

              Peace



 
Not quite ready to sleep on all we had experienced (or maybe it was the wine & brownies?), Regina, Holly & I hit the hot tub. The stars were out, the frost was on the tub cover, but the water was hot! We yaked solving all of lifes problems until after 1:00 am. Getting out in the  frozen air was the tough part! I decided to crash there instead of treking up the hill home only to return early next morning.

Sunday morning was very full and certainly pulled all we had done and discovered together in tidier bundles. Still though, for some more was revealed to make the path a bit more challenging. Linda demonstrated skilled intuitive facilitator abilities and didn't let any of us get away with buckling under to fear or uncertainty. Our intentions were stated confidently in the end and it was evident that we had sisters to hold us accountable and offer support. Yoga was a part of that morning.

Arms up!

 

Love

Bottoms up! (sorry ladies, it was too cute!)

         Joy

Is your life full of temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then oyu will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.

(James 1:2-4)

Melody's bridge

Sharon's backbend!

   Wow! Maria wants to try!                                                                This move led Holly to show us her stuff!

         Light

Regina always glows.

Holly's straight, it's the camera holder that's crooked!

 








 

Susie is thinking of trying that move!

 








                 Tranquility

Hallelujah I'm a bum! Hallelujah bum again! hallelujah

give us a handout to revive us again!

(Utah Phillips) 

Take joy in your present situation and embrace it as a gift for it will be different in an instant and never the same again.
Freedom from the restraints of employment is a gift
Turning from the closed door will soon swing wide the open door.
Fear not and enter with confidence, passion and vigor!
(ok, just a bit of lightness on my own journey!)

Beauty and grace!

Sunday morning was topped off by an awesome brunch spread prepared again by Liesa! I had to run in order to meet with some friends and light my stove fire, but Linda prompted me to take a plate home! I gobbled it all the way up the hill. YUMMMMMY! Thanks Liesa! All said and done, the grace and beauty in body, & soul during this retreat weekend left me in awe. Every woman there is an incredible amazing being and leaves me humbled. 


         All Good Things       Have the courage to love 

Beauty and grace                                          Ladies, you all rock!

in every face                                                          

lovely as the flower                                
petals fade, wither, drop         Sweetness lies in.... (please answer this in a comment!)

spirit blooms

light, truth, power

                                                  What if The Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about?                       
                                                     Put your right side out & rock the world!                                     

Clouds Rest in Mid January!

Approaching the summit!

If not for Suzanne, Naoko & I would never have thought to hike Clouds Rest with the short days of winter, but with no snow so far this year, going to the high country in mid January hasn't happened since 1935, so why not? When I got home from the movies at 10:30 pm Saturday night and got the message about meeting at 6::00 am to do Clouds Rest, I thought, well, we'll just see how far we get. I'd never done it (20 years with it in my backyard, and never done it!), but 14.5 miles with mucho uphill & elevation gain sounded like a lot after eating junk and lazing around all through the holidays. Turns out it was great and we were all so glad we took the opportunity! I highly recommend this hike and give it 5 stars!

The first sign

 

 

 

Clouds Rest

Naoko takes it all in

On the razor

 

       

 

 

Clarks Range & Tenaya Lake

 

Rocks & Valley

What's that peak? Star King?

 

Suzanne, me & Naoko on top!                               

         

 

 

 

 

          

 Suzanne was very proud of her new  boots after the big blowout on Yosemite Falls trail! Rumor has it that her old ones are bronzed and used as door stops. 

Half Dome & Yosemite Valley

Rainbow cloud resting

 

 

 

 

 

A rest before heading back                 

Lake on the way

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                         Clouds Rest ice phantom

 

 

 From trail

Frozen Trail

Frozen creek

Over Tioga Pass in January?

After having more than enough of life's curves, I headed off to Ice Skate with good friend Ann's skates on Tenaya Lake. Tioga Pass is still open and that hasn't happened this late in the season since 1935! There is hardly any snow and it was WARM! The only problem was that Tenaya Lake was literally groaning and resonating with the sounds of cracking ice! I've never heard a sound so ominous. A few people were skating, but it seemed risky to me, so I headed higher with a new plan. 

I ice skated (IF you want to call it that!)  for a bit just outside the kiosk heading to the East Side of the Sierras and had a bit of lunch.

Woa!

yikes, backwards!

Aaaaaaahhh!

Oh, there we go!

Weeee

Mono Lake (on the way to hot springs)

 I then went for the hot springs in mammoth! I met an interesting young man 

( shoulda gotten his pic) from near Duncan in British Columbia. He had come back to the spring for his sun glasses. This kid was a real free spirit. He traveled & lived out of his VW camper van and was headed to wherever, maybe Mexico, not sure. He seemed a bit on the "herb", so kept forgetting stuff.  This was a new place for me and after finding that it had only one hole and a lot of people coming & going, I didn't have much time in there

Ahhhhh!

I

The boardwalk to the spring

 I love my backyard!!!!!!

Hot Spring fluff

 

Phantom of the boardwalk, or Shady Lady (moose & squirrel again)

Hot river and boardwalk

The view

Hot River Phantom

Hot snake river

Icy bubbles

 Heading back, I decided it would be nice to get more of a soak and went to Bridgeport, but so did everyone else! Sigh...

This ladies is why old men still find old women attractive! Blurry vision and low lighting are a woman's best friends! Forget the diamonds. I guess that's where Lizz & I differ...

Sometimes it's the little impromptu adventures that make life doable. Cheers and Happy New Year 2012!

Muses from the crisis zone

The day began like any other day in January except that the weather was warm and spring like. It was an unusually dry winter so far, with no rain or snow in the forecast. Denise started her day nervously pressing her coffee and watching the phone. "Surely the restraining order will go through" she said to Rocky the cat who clearly just wanted some of the cream she was pouring into her coffee. It had been 8 months since Denise had left her husband and just as she was getting some momentum on the divorce paperwork, he was beginning to escalate again.

Denise went outside to hang her laundry when the phone rang. She didn’t make it to the phone before it went to message. The message was Kimberly from the crisis center. Denise tried to call Kimberly back, but kept getting a recording that she was calling her own number! While Denise looked in the phone book for another phone number for the crisis center, her phone rang. “Hello, is Kimberly there?” said a man’s voice on the line. “No” Denise answered, what number did you dial? The man reported the phone number of the crisis center that Denise had been trying to call!

Several more calls came on Denise’s phone for the crisis center. All the while Denise had to explain that there was a problem with the line and the crisis center had the phone company working on it. It was difficult to deal with job hunting on line and divorce papers with all the calls!  In the mean time, Denise got the news from Kimberly that the restraining order had gone through and would be served probably that evening, so she should leave home to be safe.  

Tired of hiding and having her life disrupted, Denise decided to stay put and lock up. Later that afternoon, she began preparing locks and boobie traps for defense just in case. The phone rang again. This time it was a woman asking for crisis center. “I’m sorry” said Denise, she then explained the phone situation to the woman. The woman, in a voice that told a story of a rough life began telling Denise her troubles. “you DO realize that I am not crisis center don’t you Dear?” Denise interrupted while stringing trip wires inside the gate just in case her crazed husband made his way over in the dark. “Oh yes”, said the rough sounding voice. “you just sound so happy!”. Denise stopped tightening the trip wire and thought a second or two. “Well I AM happy!” she said. The woman began telling Denise about her trouble at the safe house with trying to operate the hot water heater. The conversation ended with both women laughing, and Denise smiled her way through the rest of the day.

Jeannine Andre    This is a true story that happened the day before my adventure over Tioga Pass. The names have been changed etc, etc...although permission was given fully for printing the story.

Cristmas Past and Christmas Present Wonderings

                                      Ok, time to post some of my babblings of wonder. The first two are from holidays past followed by this years greeting of wonder. I then felt inclined to add some of my more twisted weird therapeutic stuff, so beware! 

Wondering at Life  First wondering?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2006

As you may already know, I have always been one to wonder greatly at life. My Grandma Eris used to comment on how when I was a child and she would come visit us in Logan Utah I would not come home right away after school. One snowy day she came looking for me and found me sauntering along, smiling and looking up at the snow banks in amazement.

I have not changed much in some ways, even at 45 years of age. As I ride my bike or walk along our road I often notice interesting items and sometimes pick up trash. Once in a while I score a good tool or bunji but sometimes there are strange articles of apparel or other "things" that just send me to wondering. "Who does it belong to?, where did it come from?, How did it wind up on the side of the road?"

Today I was walking to Triangle Market to post some mail and once again was sent into a mode of wonder. There on the side of the apple orchard was a foamie (Yes, the thingies used to enhance the size appearance of breasts). Just one.  Now the possibilities are endless as to how this lone foamie got to be on the side of Triangle Rd. next to the apple orchard. Now somehow this single foamie perplexes me much more than the broken snow chains or even the lime green undies I wondered about last year. Questions of who?, why? what? spin through my mind and scenarios take place like stage plays in my imagination. 

I can't help think of Grandma E. and her piece of obscenely shaped driftwood she loved to plunk down in front of people at the table after a holiday meal when we would be sitting around talking & laughing. Aunt Marie would turn beet red and laugh so loud & hard, we all had to laugh. Somehow  Grandma passed on and understood the sense of wonder in this child. Hmmm.   

May your holidays be full of laughter and wonder!

Love and joy and all good things in life,

Jeannine

The foamie of wonder

                             

                              Santa Baby                      2007

Merry, merry Christmas & Joy to your new year!                                                                           

This is NOT, as it may seem a picture of sugared chocolate raisins. It is actually (I believe anyway) frosty reindeer poop, which I found while gathering foliage for Christmas boughs. A good sign that Santa is near! 

As you may know, I returned recently from 12 days with my Grandchildren. Now last year, I brought to them, with great excitement & joy mind you, my precious Santa doll that my Grandpa Johnson gave me when I was a tyke. Now Santa has been through a lot and has a taped leg as well as other issues, but despite these defects, and the fact that My daughter Vanessa, to my surprise was "creeped out" by the elf all these years, little miss Lily (1 & 1/2 years at the time) fell in love with the doll, dubbing him "Santa baby". She slept with Santa baby every night for months obviously as enchanted with him as her Grandma Neen had been so many years ago.

Before my trip a few weeks ago, I asked Vanessa about Santa baby, knowing that Lily (all of 2 & 1/2 now) had been playing with her Mama's old but well kept Strawberry shortcake dolls who donned lovely pink and yellow locks. Vanessa informed me that Santa baby had been forgotten and wound up at the bottom of the toy box. Just days before my phone call Lilly discovered him there, pulled him out and looked at the taped leg and touched Santa baby's tattered dirty beard with disgust. Santa baby was rejected by the person who just months before held him like a precious gift and saw magic in his still rosy cheeks. I knew I must bring the magic of Santa baby back!

After I arrived and settled in at my Grandchildren's house, I asked Lily about Santa baby. Lily disappeared into her room and reappeared holding Santa baby out to me. "Oh" I said, " I'm so happy to see him. Oh look (said I while stroking his dirty tattered beard), he's so old" Lily reached out and took Santa so gently and held him so carefully in her arms. "He's so old and precious" I said. Santa baby shared Lily's bed again, being the chosen one that very night. The magic was back as well as hope for all that is old, including this old Grandma!  

It just goes to show that we don't have to be young and beautiful to be considered precious. How gently and preciously are we each held by the one whose Birthday we celebrate this and every Christmas.

  May you be blessed, and kept, and held Dear each day of the New Year,

~J~ 

Frosty reindeer poop

Lily & Santa baby

Simply Wonderful                                                                                           December 2011

Yes, yes, here I go again. Not therapy this time, just simply simple wonderings of a wandering well of weird, wild waywardness. The journey this wondering wanderer has been on has sparked much wondering to the simpler ways of life. So much has seemed complicated this past year, but after taking things a bit too seriously, the simple ness of life has revealed itself to this soul and opened some doors for less complicated joys. Recently I came across my Great, Great grandfathers song that he apparently sang every day that I had stored on my computer along with these babblings of mine.  The song speaks of such raw realities of such a simpler time that I had no choice than to regroup my perspective on my own life that seemed to have gotten so very complicated.

Wondering wonderment began to fill these untamed brains of mine after reading G, Gpa’s  favored song. How in the bleeding blue blazes does one turn ever so slightly around to find their babies grown, with babies of their own. Simple struggles such as how to tromp through the snow to milk the goats, will the well recover in time to give the garden the water it needs, do I need to allow extra time to get down the hill on my bike if the car won’t start, Does the neighbor need food or some help with a new baby, is there enough food and cheese put up for the winter from the harvest and such seem to be exchanged for more complicated worries. Now there is time consumed fretting about how to get a document working on the computer, people suing over every little thing instead of practicing what they were taught in Kindergarten or Preschool, Do I have to learn about webinars, or to click away at texting just to be able to communicate. By the time I am finished checking email and answering all that seems important, the day is half gone. Good thing there are no goats to milk!

This year my loved ones has been one of the most difficult for this weary wondering wanderer, but the most rewarding in the end. It all comes together with what my friend Kitty said to me one day during an extremely rough time in my journey. “Don’t forget your frame of reference”. That frame of reference dear ones is you. All of you.  My joy in sense of community has carried me through the roughest of times this year and my roots grow deep in the rich soil of that frame of reference. People have come beside me and even carried me at times when I thought I’d never make it. The joy and peace brought by such love is so simply wonderful that no complicated lifestyle or gadget can interfere. There is no doubt in my heart and soul that there is someone too big to put in a box of religion in charge.

Tonight my friends and family, I sit in my simple cabin, with my simple fire, simple cat, simple unemployed life and simply tap away on my complicated computer to simply say, thank you for being my frame of reference.

Peace, Joy, Grateful Blessings for an astounding New Year.

Wonderful things, Jeannine

For the tune and words of Sweet Betsy From Pike (song that my G,Grandfather sang every day ) check out this family website  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hindorff/fallbrook%20lambs.htm  Baby Lucy Gird lamb on the lap of her older siblings is my Grandma Lucy who my little #3 Grandmonkey Lucy is named after. 

 

Little miss Muffet                                                     5/25/2009

The other evening I while showering, I looked up from scrubbing my hair to notice a female spider way in the far corner embraced in the act of mating with ... well, her mate. It didn't take me long to realize that she was murdering the poor amorous fool while tangled in the throws of passion. Yes really. Sucking the life right out of him.

  

The next night I got ready to hop into the shower & noticed the male spiders curled up, lifeless body laying limp on the bottom of the tub, while the female spider rested contentedly up in her corner. This all, of course, led me to wondering...wondering... Hmmmm...  

  

Never cease to let the mysteries of life spark wonder in your soul.

~J~

This next blathering of pure poetry was inspired by NanO, one of my biggest inspirations in life. She was my Park ranger little house on the prairie buddy when we were raising our kids and has moved through her schooling to Teach Deaf Ed. NanO makes me laugh at just the right times, and her wonderful husband Rick shows up with perfect timing with an encouraging word and if I'm lucky, a bottle of wine! Cheers NanO!

NanO & Rufus at Briceburg

               Butts & Boobs, or A Celebration of Gravity                        Feb/2010

Butts will spread, and boobs will fall, beauty fading...over all 

Brighter colors brighten the face, but black around the hips is placed

Springtime calls, the garden beckons to plant those taters I do reckon 

No time to wonder about sagging asses, mine is joined by the masses

Celebrate the new found grace a gift from gravity to body & face

There you have it. I believe a scarf dance is appropriate with recital of this "poem"

 

Masses of Sagging Asses

I'm in the masses of sagging asses

 What er' shall I do?

 my friends they all have asses that run downhill like goo

 Our butts are where our knees should go,

 And knees set at the ankles (oh woe)

 Masses & masses of sagging asses

                What er’ shall I do…