Share Your World

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Cee's Photo Challenge, gratitude, Share Your World

Another Landmark: the Baha’i House of Worship, Chicago, IL

I often think about participating in Cee’s Share Your World Post and I have a few times. I could not pass it up this week.

Her questions and my answers:

What is the most famous landmark or building you have ever seen?

This is a fun one, because I have been very fortunate to see so many wonderful ones. I think I will list them in the order I saw them. When I was about 10 or 11 we took our only big family vacation and drove from Wisconsin to California to visit family friends and visit a lot of family on the way there and back. We went to the Grand Canyon, Great Salt Lake in Utah, Estes Park, Mesa Verde, China Town in San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean. In my college years I saw some really famous places as I did my major traveling. I saw Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands, the Terra Cotta Soldiers in Xian, China, the gorgeous hills of Guilin, China and the neon of Hong Kong. My husband and I met while we were both living in Taiwan and we have explored Yellowstone and the Tetons, Beartooth Pass, (not the most famous, but one of my favorites), the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Old North Church in Boston, the Eiffel Tower and the Louve, the Eiger Mountain, Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and so many landmarks in Italy that I could post about that place for years. I don’t know which of these you would call the most famous. I think the Eiffel tower may be in the top 10. In any case, my favorite landmark or building I have ever seen was Michelanglo’s statue of David.

Portland, Maine mini-vacation

Do you like long vacation or lots of mini-vacations?

I love mini-vacations. My migraines and vertigo make long vacations difficult without a lot of rest days planned in and that is a challenge for me. Now that we are living on the east coast there is so much to see and do so we have already had a lot of mini-vacations. We have lots more planned and I will be sharing, doors, trees, and flowers from all the places we explore!

What is your favorite National or State Park?

I love National and State Parks and my favorite so far is Arches National Park in Moab, UT. We had the luxury of exploring it extensively when we lived in Utah and it never disappointed.

What is your fantasy vacation?

I have 2 big fantasy vacations that I hope we will be able to do in part or whole someday. One is to go back to Italy and explore Venice and Murano and go back to Rome and Florence. I would love to spend a month or more there really getting to know a few corners of the country and painting and taking photographs.

My other fantasy vacation is what I hope we will do when my husband can retire. I would love to go to all the National Parks in the 48 contiguous states on a grand tour with a little camper. We want to go to something in each of the states and find any odd roadside attractions. Not sure what we would do about our cats as they do not enjoy travel, but this one is still in the dreaming stages. Do you see some common themes in these questions? I love travel and so does my husband. It is literally what brought us together.

Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? I’m grateful for the new friends I’m making here in New Jersey. I’m grateful that my health is good enough that I can work on art most days. I made some bookmarks for people to color and I colored one copy for myself. I’m grateful for the new car that we got that will be able to tow the little camper we hope to get in the next few years! I’m grateful for my wonderful husband who I hope to travel with for many years to come. I’m looking forward to progressing on a big new mandala that I’m working on for a show in September! I’m also looking forward to getting Botox in a little more than a week. My migraines get worse as it wears off – I get it every 3 months and I’m almost due.

bookmarks

I hope you have a beautiful day!

 

Share Your World – week 43

Tags

cats, Darkness, debate, Delight, gratitude, joy, love, migraine, Peace, Share Your World, social justice, SYW, tea

If you have been following me for a while you know that I am a fan of Cee’s Photo Challenges. She also does a weekly post called Share Your World and I have considered participating in the past, but this week I decided to plunge in. She poses a series of questions and she, and whoever wants to participate.

If you were on a debate team, what general subject would you relish debating?

In High School I did participate in the forensics program that included debate, but I chose to recite (sometimes my own) poetry. I was pretty good at it because I love poetry. However, I was very shy as a child and debate was way outside of what I was interested in. As I have gotten older I have found the courage, usually because of my passions and interest in social justice, to engage in debate. I have traveled widely and lived on 3 continents. My sons are adopted African Americans. I have health problems of the physical and mental kinds. I have had to advocate for my self and children and have chosen to do it for many others. The last few years race and economic injustice have been the main topics I debate. I have been so privileged in so many ways in my life I feel it is my responsibility to speak for those who can not or who are not invited to the discussion. My methods of debate are usually quiet and private and involve conversations with people who I believe I can teach. Sometimes I have used my blog as an avenue to share my ideas of social justice, but not as much as I thought I would when I started. This is actually a topic I think about a lot when deciding what to write about/post. My health limitations have precluded the energy it takes for me to overcome my desire for privacy and emotional involvement with so many of these topic. So, that may help you see why I chose to participate in this “Share your world.”

What is your strongest sense?

Probably taste, but I think quite a bit about my senses increasingly. Most of this summer I was not able to read for more than a few minutes at a time and most days I was not able to draw at all. Some of my vision issues have improved, but some continue to present challenges. The best thing to come out of this is my increased involvement with photography. It has been tremendously rewarding. My migraines demand that I spend days at a time in what I refer to as my “sensory deprivation tank.” I lay in my dark bedroom with my head packed with ice packs and some very quiet music or on an ok day an audio book. And I pet my cats. Those interactions with my cats (and the support from my husband) are a source of incredible joy and satisfaction to me. So, when you ask my strongest sense, I think all of mine are turned up too high for this world.

At one point I was identified by a food company as a “super-taster” I was selected for a 3 month training program in sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (which may have a relationship to my migraines – I think). The training program actually made me too sick to continue into the job. For most of my life I was told I was a wimp when it came to hot foods and it turns out that I experience them differently than many people. Hot was actually characterized as a mouth sensation rather than a flavor and there was a whole education around this, too. Needless to say I really enjoy good food. Some of my friends and family think it is hilarious, but when I was introduced to the concept of mindfulness and eating I felt validated. To me a fresh raspberry can be a revelation. So, from my sensory deprivation days, I can still enjoy one of my strong senses and find great joy in a simple meal.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

The funny thing about this one is that I have started writing my autobiography. I have had many people tell me I should write a book about my life and I have started to give this some deep thought in my quiet hours. You already know part of the title. Lunanista: Finding Delight in the Darkness. For any more on this you will have to wait to see if/when I finish it!

List your favorite flavors or types of tea.

As you may have guessed by the taste response, I have some ideas here, too! I love hot and cold green and English Breakfast teas, but most black teas are lovely to me. I also love Oolong, as it reminds me of my time living in Asia. I can no longer drink Jasmine tea because the fragrance triggers my migraines. Also, an allergy technician friend of mine recommended that I stop drinking chamomile because it was making my allergies worse. I love almost any tea with mint and have grown my own mint periodically. I love honeybush tea, but it is really difficult to find in my neck of the woods. On a cold day a lovely cup of chai feels like home, too. I also love to make my own fruit syrups to add to my iced teas in the summer. This past summer I made a cherry syrup that is lovely. My mother-in-law has found a place that produces lemon whipped honey that is so lovely in either hot or cold tea.

What are you grateful for from the last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Cee includes this question every week and it is part of my personal gratitude practice. I have gotten away from my gratitude journals and hope this will bring me back into it. This past week has been very challenging for me physically. I have some new medical mysteries that have added problems on top of the migraines. Oddly enough, this is where the title of my book came from. I was laying in bed with pain levels at about a 7 or 8 but I was listening to some beautiful music and my little cat came and snuggled right up in my arms. Petting him led him to purr and there was something about that that was just plain wonderful. I have a safe, quiet room and lots of ice packs. My husband is so loving and does what he can to make me feel better – of particular note this week were hand and feet massages. I have been blessed with a group of such wonderful friends and family. They have brought me food and laughter and so much thoughtfulness. My cup runneth over. Next week I have an important medical test and a followup with my neurologist about some other tests I have had and I have hope that we will find answers or better questions. (But really I want answers). I look forward to delicious meals with loved ones. Purring cats. Renewing my gratitude journal practice. Laughter, music, books and moments of peace and joy. May you have peace and joy in the coming week as well.