Domestic Terror?

The word terrorism has been traditionally carried the implication of 'foreign'. Could that image be changing?

First Mobile Post

This is a historic first! Celebrate with me!
First comment wins a special post devoted to a cause or story of your choice.

Keep Growing

"

God is behind all things green and growing." So says devotional writer Oswald Chambers.

 Prune, water, till, and fertilize. Never stop. To stop growing is the end of life.

No Safe Harbor Still Onshore

Cara Hamilton is a newcomer to America from her native Ireland. From the minute she steps off the boat, she seems to be holding the burden of her identity as it relates to her family background. Although I was intrigued by the setting of the story, I'm afraid reading No Safe Harbor was something of a chore. 

The plot focused on Cara finding her long lost brother Eoghan ( pronounced Owen) though that plot seemed all but abandoned in favor of a love interest with a man who wanted him dead. The other characters involved were hard to keep track of and in the end I just wanted it to be over. When it was finished, the ending was both anti-climactic and predictable. A recipe for disappointment. Too bad. I think the author had a good idea, but never got it off the shore.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in return for my honest opinion of this book. You can read my review and buy the book at amazon.com

Dance Froggy Dance

Sometimes being a piano teacher is a dance between the lines and spaces.

Cat Energy

I took a cat bath yesterday. No, not a spit bath, a cat bath. During a lovely conversation with a friend in her home, the cat that lives inside (she has others who don't-guest post for another day) insisted on rubbing against my legs and then hopping up in my chair, forcing his head into my open palm, encouraging me to stroke him continuously while he moved his head back and forth. I'm not sure who was petting who!  All this after he barely let me touch him when we first 'met'.  I think every square inch of me from the neck down was covered in cat pheromones. I felt so loved. Although it was past my bedtime, and I'd only meant to stay for a minute or two, the cat seemed to say, "Don't you love the feel of my velvety fur? Just sit here, and let me love on you for a while. Don't be in a hurry to do anything else." I was bathed in kitty love. Don't we all need moments like this?

The gentle, subtle mystery of cats has always fascinated me. Perhaps its because you can't truly love cuddle a cat without its permission, and that permission is so sparingly given. But this cat seemed to hold in him the antithesis of the Cat's Universal Reserve bottled up and served freely.

Josie the Napinator

My outdoor Tom, who was supposed to be a female and didn't get the memo, acts as if the garage where he's fed is his zoo cage, and I'm the new feeder. Everytime. Skittish if there's extra noise, he deigns to let me lightly stroke his back as he begins to eat. Sometimes.

Our indoor cat, Josie, is quite affectionate, especially at breakfast, or should I say just before breakfast :-). This now pregnant tuxedo (thank-you Tom!) sleeps at my feet and then prowls around softly biting my nose so I'll get up and feed her. After all, she's eating for at least five.

This morning I read a post an artist friend sent me about an interview with Fred Waitzkin, a writer whom I must confess I'd never read, and he was talking about how energy is essential for writing. How you've got to gather energy from the world around you. How you've got to write from what you know. Sometimes people can be that energy. Events. Conversations. Situations. But in this case it was a cat.

Discovering Another Part Of Me

I got a swedish massage last week. Seems the massage therapist noticed something I never realized.
"Did you have an injury to your left side?" She asked. "It seems as if you are guarding it. Most of the muscles are developed on your right side, but not your left."

Who knew? I'd had a rather traumatic laceration on my left pointer finger (you can see me holding it up here in the picture) at age two which required a cast up to the elbow. As a result I have a 'funny finger' as I explain it to my piano students. One of them has a similar injury, incidentally. Thankful I still have full use of it, I've never considered it any kind of handicap. Until now. It's possible that it has hindered the full use of my left side. As most ailments seem to center on the left for me this is nothing new. I've got a bum left knee and ankle, and my left shoulder is limited in it's mobility. My left eye has the worst astigmatism and near-sightedness and only my left ear gets seasonal congestion. I'm a walking, listing one-sided wonder!

So, I've been using my left hand and arm more often for things I have traditionally relegated to the right side. It works! I have a whole side that has been underused. It also explains my weird roller skating stride.

How could a grown woman not realize this until now? I feel like half a new person!

Have you ever rediscovered a part of yourself? How did you discover it, and what are you doing to develop it?