SEDONA

The demise of my camera unfortunately got me off track as far as blogging is concerned.....

however....

 I am now toting a lovely new camera, and am excited to be able to share again.

I recently took a trip to Tucson and Sedona. We have such a wonderful country, and I have it in my plans  to discover it's beauty over and over again!   

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I HOPE YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON IS FILLED WITH 

LOVE AND JOY

Awwww....... how cute!!!

This wild beauty was only a couple of steps away from me when I noticed him.  He sat stock still, and did not move!  I took a couple of frames and walked away.  Maybe he thought he was invisible!

I must be hungry!

Chocolate soap smells yummy!

Thinking of fudge and bon bons  ha ha!!

Where is that remote control?

I was sitting in my workshop in the process of whipping up a batch of soap.  I was in a  half dream state, with the meditative rhythm of the stirring, and the heady aroma of sage and sweetgrass.  

I glanced up to see that I was being watched.  I thought "how cute.. I must take a picture"... She is so sweet..  Only to find out when "she" walked away... that it was the bull!!!!!  

So glad he was having a good day!!!  :) 

 I wonder if he thought he was watching television?

These very courageous women fought so that women could have the right to vote!

This is the story ...... 

of our Mothers and Grandmothers who lived only 90 years ago.
Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.


The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.



And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'



(Lucy Burns)
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.



(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.




(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh MY memory. Some women won't vote this year because - Why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?



(Mrs Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a 60 day sentence)

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.



(Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown , New York)

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.



(Berthe Arnold, CSU graduate)


Conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution at National Woman's Party headquarters, Jackson Place , Washington , D.C.




Left to right: Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right))


It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.




Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk , Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in D.C. prison for carrying banner, 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.'

Sources:

Adams, Katherine H. and Michael L. Keene. Alice Paul and the American Suffrage Campaign.
University of Illinois Press, 2007. ISBN 0-252-07471-8.
Lunardini, Christine A. From Equal Suffrage to Equal Rights: Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party, 1910-1928.
New York University Press, 1986. ISBN 0-595-00055-X (pp. 104-122).
Stevens, Doris. Jailed for Freedom: American Women Win the Vote.
Troutdale, OR: NewSage Press, 1995. ISBN 0-939-16525-2.

Memories

My mother married later in life, and just recently my cousin Don sent me a photo of my mother before she was married.  I was surprised to realize that all of the photos I have of her were of her marriage and after my sister and I were born.  I love this one!!

She was a beautiful loving and caring woman. 

As it is her birthday today I am posting this photo in her memory.

With much love!

Rocky Mountain High - Colorado

Colorado rocky mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky mountain high

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept his memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude in the forest and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky mountain high

Lyrics - John Denver.

I became aware of John Denver much later than most, and when I did I was amazed at the deepness of his love of nature - how he seemed so at peace and so at one with the wilderness  - while still retaining a sense of awe and reverence.   When I sensed his essence I immediately felt simpatico with this part of him. 


Earlier this month I spent time in the Rockies, staying in  Breckenridge, then traveling through Vail, Independence Pass, and Aspen then finally to Boulder and Denver.  I must admit cities were hard for me to take after experiencing the mountains.

We drove through Independence Pass just a couple of weeks before it was to be closed for the rest of the season, However the mountain tops were already glistening white, and it was really really cold...   (I know the locals would laugh at me for saying that!!!)

Descriptions fail me when trying to capture the essence of this incredible landscape so I will leave that to the poets, artists, writers and musicians who do that so well..

It was a much wanted/needed change of scenery, and a recharging of the batteries.   I made a wish on a star in Colorado that I would come back to explore and discover and enjoy the beauty of this magnificent mountain range again.  Maybe it will happen when  the stars are aligned,  or when there is a gentle whisper on the wind telling me now is the time - or maybe an owl will be hooting on the night of a full moon and I will know. Or... ???

It all seems somehow beautifully surreal!

Entre-nous

So this is my formal "hello my loves" are you ready for the ride? 

I am hearing in my mind the Pink Floyd song... is anybody out there... I see myself holding my light high  as I gently rock back and forth to the music...eyes closed in deep meditation.   Ahhhhhhh.... there you are!  ~ Welcome ~

 I will be journaling about my involvement in, and love of, the healing arts, my jewelry making, my soaping adventures, the craft of crafting, yep... another crafty little chick...   A little traveling, a little spiritual, a little love of life.. a little life of love, my love of herbs and cooking.   After all... it really is all about love. Come join me in the journey, and share with me your thoughts. 

                                

                             Why be monotone in a world full of color.