A Breath of Fresh Air

Yesterday we took a ride up to the Dixie National Forest in Utah. It’s the first time since my trip to Anza Borrego that I’ve seen trees with real leaves, like, oaks and pines.  And my first time by living water since the creek at the canyon in Arizona at the beginning of fall. I…

Van Life Meets Pandemic Life

This life is about freedom, exploring, community and nature. Much about van life though is naturally self isolating, or at least involves very reduced social contact within small groups. Yes, we stopped game nights and yarn-spinning around the campfire, even though no one in our camp had been sick.  We stay a few feet apart…

River Run

The title may be a tad misleading… There is a river, but no one’s running 🤣I do ride my bike beside the Colorado, though. As our camping group breaks apart bit by bit, the pace slows considerably. As folks move on, more arrive. Sometimes we have visitors for a few hours and then they mosey…

Essential Oil “Flu Shot in a Bottle”

Originally posted on Haphazard Homemaker:
This post was updated September 2019. The CDC says you should get a flu shot by the end of October, as it takes about two weeks after the vaccination for you to be protected through the coming flu season. However, it only protects against the 3 or 4 strains in…

Sleeping Under the Stars

I finally fulfilled one of my dreams out here, to sleep in the open, under the stars. It’s something I’d only do in a safe place. Last night I visited my original camp for a potluck, but I was packed to the gills for a camp move. Seemed like the perfect place to try it…

Impressions of Life

I came out to the PAR TR for a weekend of fun, to shuck off a couple of difficult weeks and to just relax. What I’ve experienced turned out to be much more. In a world that grows more expansive each day via the Internet, people seem to be growing more isolated and lost feeling;…

Pack and Play

After almost two weeks of talking mainly to myself, plants, and inanimate objects, I need some socialization. Yes, an introvert just wrote that sentence. I too, am surprised. I’ve figured out that introversion is how I process the information I take in over time, but it doesn’t really define my personality type, now that my…

Life is hard

The wonderful thing about Google photos is that it sends you reminders of where you were x years ago and what you were doing. Well, sometimes it’s wonderful; other times, painful. Today it reminded me of where I was five years ago. I was camping, alone, down in Florida, under another full moon. I hiked…

Morning Pleasures

I’m nearing the end of twelve work free days, a luxury I’ve not had in over five years. But today I had to start easing back into my normal sleep/wake patterns for work on my East coast timeline. So I was up at 0300 Pacific time. Music kept me company for a while, checking email…

For the joy of dance

In my everyday life I can be scattered, clumsy and downright hazardous to myself. Not so with dance. It is like someone else lives in my body, perhaps that wild, free part of me that wants to take over now and again to just be. I’ve seen more of her out here on the road,…

Starry starry night

After a day full of music, mucking about in the van, and a huge meal with good company and good food, I was feeling the need for moving around a bit lest I resemble a stuffed turkey! I took an easy bike ride around the area, dropped off the trash and then headed back as…

Parker, Prickles and Putzing Around

As the sun falls behind the hills, woodsmoke drifts my way bearing the scent of juniper or pinon, which I’m not sure. The sky is a soft baby blue layered with pale pink and translucent yellow, with violet indigo coming in fast. By the sun’s falling place, brilliant orange with a red tint flares up…

The Tapestry of Meaning

Originally posted on Life As A Hebrew::
Fear of aging, fear of economy and country, fear of the unknown, fear of those who don’t look like or think like us… the drivers of fear keep our consumerism fed, our resources hungrily gobbled and maintain wedges between us that are easily manipulated and used for purposes…

The Geminids and Mindfulness

Last night I did something I rarely ever do – I stayed up past 8pm. Why? The Geminids. It wasn’t a work night, and here I am in Big Sky country. So I bundled up and went outside to stare at the sky after serious caffeine loading.

I have a lot of people in my life right now, which is rare for me. I’ve been pretty much a recluse for several years. But I made a choice to change that and here I am. Fear something? Immerse yourself in it. At least, that’s how I have done things (Okay, maybe not applicable to spiders, roaches or snakes)

As I stood under the expansive sky and watched meteorites streak, I began naming people and making a wish for them. Do I believe in that? Not really. But each falling star gave me a moment to think on someone else, to ignore self and focus on others. I thought of long-time friends and those recently met. I thought of people who have been kind to me. I thought of people I really don’t know well, but are in my sphere currently.

As I stood there, neck craning every which way, I heard night birds of the desert that I was unaware of. Coyotes howled in the distance.I watched clouds expand and turn to ribbons to decorate the sky. I thought of how small we are and how great the lack of knowledge we have is. I thought of how full and content my heart was at that moment, and gave thanks.

I don’t know the answer to why life can be so hard for some, and appear so easy for others. Maybe because we don’t really know them? Appearances can be very deceiving. But from the outside, that is how it looks sometimes.

What I thought and spoke about those on my mind last night – those bearing burdens immense; those suffering from illness; those struggling with anxiety, bitterness and fear; those with financial problems; those simply wiped out and overwhelmed from being responsible – will have no impact on them. But it had great impact on me as more than an hour went by and I was still naming people to falling stars. My life is rich. I have so much to appreciate.

Yes, at times it is overwhelming, the amount of ‘me’ that is being given. I get tired. I need to withdraw and recharge. But as a friend recently said, “Better to have too many people to talk to than no one”.

So I suggest to you, sometime name all of those in your life to yourself, and think on them for a moment. Look outward. Change your perspective and see how much falls away from you.

Lest you think I’m above self absorption, just ask anyone very close to me. I can be totally annoying with it. Thankfully, those closest to me also care enough to tell me when I’m being a self-absorbed ass. That is what true friends do, you know. This was an activity to improve my own behavior, to do and be better.

The next time pieces of space debris come our way, try it. You might be surprised at how much better you feel.

Be content. Be kind. Be forgiving, foremost of your own failures. And finally, never overestimate your own importance. It’s a painful place to fall from.

Star gazing in the desert…

~SE

“I’m all alone, with no one beside me..”(Donkey in Shrek)

And so it goes! After traversing Arizona moving south and westward, I finally arrived at the RVing Nirvana known as Quartzsite, or “Q”, as one mountainside proclaims visually. I had seen a video or three on this place. Seemed cool enough. However, after having the freedom of truly boondocking, this is just a leetle different…

Wish upon a star

It’s funny sometimes, how things happen. I stood in the chilly darkness before work this morning straining to see a falling star. It was breezy, quiet and dark. Only the sound of the wind in the junipers, the rustle of grasses, and the trill of unseen insects kept me company. But no such luck. Tonight,…

Falling in love

Falling for a place in our great big country.

My Epic Cross Country Excursion

This is my first post via cell phone because my laptop simply will not cooperate! I have no idea how this will turn out, lol. I made it 2,200 and change across our beautiful country in Ruby, and it has been delightful, despite yet another breakdown en route. I wish everyone could see the America…

My insides when I am outside -maiden voyage

As I told someone earlier, today is my last night here and already I am bereft feeling. I do not want to go home!  I have fallen in love with this form of being.  Every day I rise in the dark without an alarm, make a pot of coffee and just sit outside and breathe…

Five Days In

My eyes open in the dark, savoring the sounds of crickets and the edge of morning. It is quiet but not-quiet; life wells up in the dark and seeps into the windows of the van. I stretch and lay here thinking of all of the mornings like this I have missed while being surrounded by…

Defining preciousness and value

  So, I bought a campervan.  Nothing big, nothing fancy, nothing new. Just new to me. I want to approach this kind of like a fiddler crab, edging sideways towards a new hole in the sand; or maybe a hermit crab, checking a new shell for a better fit, always remembering that it is me…

What do *I* want to do?

A friend of mine recently said ” It doesn’t matter what anyone else wants, what do YOU want to do?”  I thought back to what my goals were before Plannus Interruptus (common ailment for plans, no doctor needed).  Remember nearly five years ago when I bought an RV and planned on paying off debt and…

Preparing for Dorian (aka waiting, waiting)

  Some music to watch for storms by: Riders on the Storm Or if you like something a bit more upbeat: Skywatcher The good news is that no one in my family will be impacted by much more than some rain and a bit more heft to the breeze.  I have one friend on the…

“Pooh hasn’t much Brain but he never comes to any harm…”

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living A decade. One hundred and twenty months. Three thousand six hundred and fifty days. And so on.  The pain of missing has diminished, except on the days when it has not. Those days have at least become less and less frequent. Philosopher and Poet David Whyte says of…

The message you don’t want to get

Today started pretty normally, woke up at 0300 and then fell back asleep and slept past my alarm.  I wasn’t late to work though, since work is ten steps from my bed.  But I got coffee and some crossword puzzle time in before the old bell rang to get out of the gate and make…

Prismatic

If you only knew me like I know me But that’s not true I am mother,daughter,woman,artist,worker,gypsy,friend The facet you see depends on where the light is brightest At that moment If I only knew me like I wish you to know me But what is true How can I be all of this and any…

Saving Wasps & Relishing Quiet

I saved another wasp today. No, no, not the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant type. The flying, stinging type. “Why?” will be most people’s response, understandably. But, I feel that wasps get a bad rap. They live all around my house – on the ceiling of the mud room, on the door frame of my front door,…

Dis·​ori·​ent·​ed

It has been a long time since I put the words of my head onto a white space. Mostly I think because they have not been perky prose, or uplifting, pithy bootstrap thoughts. They haven’t even been particularly interesting – I mean, I’d get them out of my head and pick up a new narrative…

What is YOUR luxury item?

Up until two weeks ago, my answer to that question would have been a myriad of things. A new SUV. Really nice smokey perfume. A case of fabu Pinot Noir. An all-inclusive trip to Alaska or Scotland. And so forth. My, my, how one’s perspective can change in a jiffy! Top of the list now?…

And another adventure begins…KarseCoteHowm

Well, they don’t call me the wandering Jew for lack of a reason, but I’m putting down tentative roots once more.  I bought a house.  I’ll try not to burden my mind with calling it my ‘forever’ home, as I did once before when I found a little slice of heaven – making it like…

Looking back over my shoulder with one eye ahead 2016 – 2017

“They” say this is the time of the year to reflect on your yearly posts.  Ach. Hit and/or miss. So many left in drafts because they were written late at night after work ended and there didn’t seem to be much ‘me’ in them; or maybe, too much of me in them. I look at…

Looking Back Over My Shoulder -Humanities at (roughly) 450 mph

(Oooh, a fragmented lost in draft post, just found, from earlier this year) Now that was a catchier title than “Getting to know  my fellow air travelers”, was it not? Feet firmly back on the ground from vacation, I’ve been in hibernation from over-socialization. It isn’t that anyone was rude or intentionally draining either. I…

Looking back over my shoulder (aka 2016 in Review)

My goal is to make a post a day to wrap up 2016 and teeter into the unformed abyss of 2017 🙂 Carapasces of Dreams The dry wind chattered Winding through the carapaces of dreams Discarded in corners Shrugged off during a mental molt   Raw skin couldn’t decide Whether to embrace the nakedness For…

HeartWalk Reminder

Yes, I’ve been quiet.  Nine months of adjusting to re-mothering, plus a job that requires long hours, not much time to do much of anything other than work I hope to drop a post in the next few weeks, time permitting. In the interim, if you haven’t yet, please click the link to the right in ‘Recent…

I.C.U.

I need to see her face. She is pale and breathing fast. Darkness colors the hollows under her eyes; not purple, not brown, but some muddy, delicate mix of the two, not unlike some smudged color you would see touted in a new fall palette on sale at Ulta. On the forty minute drive north…

Fleetings

This morning while walking the dog accompanied by a chatty six-year old, he sited a lone yellow flower in the brush  with an exclamation of joy. We walked over and examined it – a cheery yellow face with rings of of minute blood-red pinpricks radiating from the center.  I promised to come back and capture…

HeartWalkin’ With the Little Guy

So me and the little guy are going to do the HeartWalk this year.   I’d appreciate it if you’d take a peek at the link and donate if you’re inclined.  Small amounts are welcomed just as much as big ones 🙂 Donation Link I’ve never been good at this kind of thing, unless there…

Last Grasping of Solitude

For almost seven years of widowhood, I have lived in solitude, with the exception of a one year stint with a co-worker roommate. She opened her home to me for a pittance while I was struggling to get back on my feet upon returning to work and I will always be grateful. I am comfortable…

The Blossom of Benevolence

In my last post I explained the new direction that my life is taking, and the on-boarding of a little one. What has come to light is the beautiful outpouring of sisterly support for the situation. No, not my sisters, as I don’t have any.  But the Aunts of my grandson, my other daughters. One…

Sacrifice?

What does that word really mean?  The technical meaning is to slaughter an animal, or to offer a person or possession to the Almighty.  Yet I have heard that word related to what I am about to embark upon; the taking on of a six-year-old boy to raise for a while, to help untangle a…

Surviving Face Off, Black Tie Frenzy and Plain Life

Wise words of the day: Image lifted from: http://girlyme.tumblr.com/post/92870248438/filson-wise-words via Pinterest. In case the deafening silence did not clue you in, the months leading up to surgery were quite a struggle for me, and I wrestled with depression, the reality of being alone and often invisible, the roles I fill in the family circle and a…

Fifteen minutes ago

Fifteen minutes ago It was that day. The day I flew. The day I decided not to counteroffer on a house I really liked. The day I last heard “I love you so much.” The day I last shared a newspaper with anyone. I wonder when this day’s awareness will fade from my brain. When…

Things that make me scream, take notice or engage me

Politics.  That’s a screamer for me. I’m happy you have an opinion – please, keep it to yourself. Just for the record I support neither party, registered Independent, and try to vote on issues when I vote.  What’s in the political news lately?  The damned Fast Track Trade agreement.  I’m currently neither for nor against,…

How to Impersonate a Calliope and other sickly fun

Ah yes, I bet you thought the topic would be  more romantic when I caught up on the blog, yes?  Actually, I’ve been so mentally busy that the title choices were difficult to narrow down, but since I’m coming off of a serious (for me) illness, this was that one which stuck. I should back track…

Is there life offline?

So what, you may ask, can one DO when there is no internet to absorb, delight, educate, aggravate and titillate? If you are a geeky person like me, you read. Yes, those book things that we house in places called libraries and line up in bookstores filled with the intoxicating aroma of, well, probably glue,…

I’m baaaack : )

I have internet at home again…woohoo! That was painful, being without the ‘net in some ways.  In others, it was refreshing and more stimulating than sitting in front of the computer reading. I’ll catch up during the week, or try to.  Thanks to all who inquired about me. Since I was last riding off into…

It’s Raining Frogs

“Plop.” The sound came soft and clear from somewhere in the fading dusk. I looked around for what it might be and there, unmoving in the dark, was the shape of a frog. As I approached for a better look it shook off the fall and hopped away. It made me smile. Back to reading.…

Wordless Wednesday – Art in Nature

Alight

Notes from an RV Park

It has been a stretch of interesting days.  I’m not certain how my life always seems to amble along like a comedy, but it does most of the time. It could be that I am just silly 🙂 I ran up against a wall this week that I’ve not encountered ever I don’t think, since…

Gurl on wheels – spastically settling in and what it is teaching me

  Quote of the week: “…People should be able to walk into their back yards and say, ‘that’s a cicada, that’s a tree frog, and that’s a bird.’ Then, when they hear a bird scream, ‘get out of my territory, get out of my territory,’ I want them to recognize the cadence and remember that…