All Things Good and Lovely

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A Light & An Eagle

Photo Hunters On Horseback via CBS News

Here I am, back at my favorite haunt -- 2 1/2 months after the last post. 

Since I've been gone, my family and I traveled to Mobile, AL for the entire month of December, where we spent good time with my husband's family. It was a special time I don't know that we'll ever get to have again.

There were moments of hardness: my father-in-law (FIL) began chemo & immunotherapy for his lung & esophageal cancer and we were all in a house together with our 2 1/2 year and 9 month old children.  My in-laws were gracious though, even in his sickness, to have patience for us and the girls. The moments of goodness far out-weighed these, however. One such time was when cousins our age came in from Florida to be with us and the hubs brother and sister. An encouraging, fun meet-up with beloved family members rarely seen. Especially for us Texans. They saw an opportunity that we were half-way and jumped on it for the holidays. The specialness continued when the brother saw FIL. There was a tangible aura in the room; blessed. If you've ever felt the intensity of being atop a mountain, looking at the country around you, the vastness and your own smallness, where it takes your breath away and you just stand and take it all in. That was this moment. Something was happening. It was heavy, yet glad.

We left with full hearts, ready to get into a new routine back home, but missing them and that time full of family constantly. As we settled back into home, we kicked off the New Year with all the toddler friends, and reestablishing connections with friends we hadn't seen in a month+. 

Now that our routine is settled, I begin again. And I am so excited. 

As we stood in the kitchen with FIL, sipping our coffee (some of my favorite moments with him by the way) one morning, he told us, about a 60-minutes episode he came across recently and was thinking about. It was about a woman, an Oklahoman woman, who had traveled to Mongolia to learn to falcon. The area where thousands of years ago, men -- and only men -- began to partner with golden-eagles to catch prey, feeding themselves, their families and keeping them warm with the pelts of the catch. As FIL told us about this story, his eyes lit up. I don't ever want to forget it. He LOVED that these men, who had only ever been in this trade, took this woman in. Trained her to train an eagle, and she became a part of their brotherhood. 

Screen Grab of the Bayan-Ölgii region via GoogleMaps

I can't write up the story any better than Scott Pelley has already told it, here, but the goodness of the story is remarkable. But more than anything, I was eager to read the story that captured my FILs heart, that brought that joy to him and the light that emanated from him as he shared this story. 

Take a second to read or watch and take in the history, the location -- it's remoteness, and the brotherhood that has brought a sister in to fly on the wings of eagles.

[allthingsgoodandlovely]

Photo Riding in a Group via lvsage 

Today, I want to share something that I saw last Saturday, on my way home from getting last weeks posts set up. I've been thinking about it all week. 

There was a group of about 10-11 motorcycles driving down the highway, merging onto an exchange when I came into their midst, well...next to their midst. They were in the most intriguing formation. It was like a zig zag of sorts, but even that fails to describe it entirely. See photo above for a better idea.

I grew up around motorcycle clubs. A family at the church I grew up going to were leaders in a motorcycle club and we hosted rallies quarterly for them on our church grounds. I took rides with them. They were always around. But I have never. ever. seen anything like this. I was enamored. 

As the front driver, with his partner on the seat behind him holding onto him while her blonde hair dashed in their wind, moved, so too moved his comrades. They filled out the lane entirely, as a car maintains the space in their own lane, they formed to create their own vehicle. I found out later that the lead driver actually acts as the pack-leader, watching for dangers, keeping track of the direction their group heads. But I didn't know this in fact, only in appearance at the time. 

What I loved about this, what was so good and lovely and pure about it, was the group-ness of it. The all-for-each-other practice. I noticed one of the riders fall behind. Maybe on purpose to talk to one of the other riders, but as soon as he was done, he hurried back to his spot -- filling the place in the body that was for him to fill. To occupy. Each has his purpose. I could see the purpose of the first rider. We all could imagine. But I thought of the mid-riders, they fill the space, keep each other safe from other cars, vans, 18-wheelers. The guy on the last bike at the end: he was there, for sure he was there, but he trailed just a little. And it seemed to me that in his trailing, he was watching. Watching his friends, keeping an eye on the whole scene. He was the big-picture viewer. I would imagine he saw the most out of the whole group.  I also found out later that these positions change throughout the ride. That the riders change throughout to stay fresh. When the leader needs a rest, another can take their place. Maybe this in more for-fun rider groups. I would imagine Hells Angels don't really rotate the lead. But who knows! Maybe they do ;) Maybe everyone involved would be terribly mad at me for all of these assumptions, but with my limited experience growing up, I am still a lay-man in terms of motorcycle clubs.

As the head moved, so too, the rest of the team. I thought of the personalities of each of the riders. What differences they may have had. And yet they ride together. They stay together. They help each other. You see the trope of the big biker dude with his toy poodle...maybe one of them filled that. Maybe one of them just lost his father-figure (like me). Maybe the couple in the middle just sent their youngest daughter off to college. Maybe one of them just likes the feeling of the sun on his leathers. Maybe they all do. They have a common interest, love. They found one another. Their people. They get together. It could be this was the only day for the year they could. It could be their once a week ride. It could be their "if it's sunny no matter what we're doing drop we everything and go ride" ride.  I like the idea of the last one. Haha. It draws out the spontaneity I so love and crave to find in my routine-set days.

There are very few examples of this kind of camaraderie that I see these days. The non-profit I used to be a part of, Boy With A Ball, the one that specialized in community outreach & development is about the only other time I can think of that I've seen this kind of we-are-all-in-this-together type of mentality. And I didn't really realize it until I saw this formation. It was a good season of life. And while it's done in the time and place and way that I knew it, it birthed in me some love of seeing a community thrive. 

In doing some more research on this type of formation riding, I found this really cool post explaining it in educated detail.

[allthingsgoodandlovely]

This Giant Carpet of 750,000 Flowers Is the Most Beautiful Thing You'll See Today

The living carpet, which measures 82 feet wide and 250 feet long and covers nearly 20,000 square feet, was planted earlier this week in Brussels by a team of 120 workers. Its 750,000 begonias, to represent Belgium, are assembled in patterns modeled…

“Every 2 years the Grand-Place in Brussels is covered with a flower carpet of begonias.” via Flower Carpet 2020

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Mama and baby -- close to my heart

[detailsofpaintings]

Vincent Van Gogh, Cypresses (details)

1889

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This Is Why Gorgeous Ice Shards Keep Piling Up Along Lake Michigan

Despite the fact that spring is officially here, Lake Michigan looks like a surreal frozen tundra as ice shards pile up along its shorelines.

This in incredible. They came out of melting ice and turbulent waters beneath. And beauty formed. 

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Photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash

Some things speak for themselves. I’m going to try to let them. A post each day next week coming at you in this vein.

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Images by Ngoc Minh Ngo via A Cup of Jo

I had to show you these this week. It's been a few weeks since I've been able to put pen to paper, or ink to screen, or type(???), and this morning came as a pleasant surprise to be able to get out of the house. We have family portraits happening later this morning and I thought another week was down and out for this blog. But, my sweet hubs (kindly) forced me out the door to come and have this time. I need it. Let me tell you. But I wasn't going to take it for the sake of... God knows what. Anyway, because it's been so long since I've been able to do this, I've not looked for new content in a while. But as I drove to my destination (again -- closed!) and then to my new destination (Starbucks....again...hah!) My mind continued coming back to these gardens.

More lovely photos after the jump -- 

I think about these gardens all.the.time. For real. All the time. Not even one in particular. On the website, the user just clicks on the left or right side of the photo to move throughout the gallery. That's what happens in my mind. I just click through and see a new one each time. Sometimes a few. I love them.

A lot of years ago I had a mentor who likened people's hearts to gardens. And I have found that to be true. Every time I think about my process, or the process of people I speak with -- I always see trees, flowers, ivy. When I go through a big transition, I feel as though a dead limb has been trimmed and life flows to the other parts of the tree of my life. But in other times, I sense weeds being plucked, gates being mended. 

So I guess the thing I love the most about these photos, the most about this photographer, is that I see my process in living color. I see how others processes, lives and hearts, can be so different yet so intriguing. So becoming. Some are vast, well tended, beautiful. Others: wild, unruly, beautiful. And others still: small, kempt, purposeful, beautiful. All contain beauty. 

I don't know what I'm trying to get to. If there's anything deeper to that right now. I just love these photographs. The other-wordliness of them. The stories they tell and when we look past the immediate façade, what a calming and peaceful effect they have. Now, to go and find them! I dream of the day I can sit in one of them, feel the air passing through the branches, limbs, sheaths of tall grass; smell the fragrances they posses and propel with said wind. 

To hoping for the future in the midst of chaos. 

❤️ 

Special Thanks to Ngoc Minh Ngo for permission to use her astounding photos.

[allthingsgoodandlovely]

I had a really good idea for a link to share this week, but on my way to my spot this morning I couldn’t find the wherewithal to write it up. Maybe another day. 

  The sky was cloudy, rain seemed like it was going to be pouring out soon. But there was this tiny little sliver of blue behind the grey. It was more like a spattering than a sliver, but the grey covered it still. As I drove to my destination (that ended up being closed) I thought about this blog. About its purpose. And I feel that I need to define it further. It’s existence. Maybe it’s my own existential crisis. Am I where I’m supposed to be? Am I doing all I should be doing? Nothing feels deep enough. Nothing feel intentional enough. Is it this season? I don’t know. 

  Anyway, this cloud. As I got to the shop that no longer “is”, I turned back home and considered my contributions. On society. On where we stand as a culture. On hope. Hope seems like it’s lost. But there have been moments like this before. Moments where hope seemed lost, right? Where everyone thought it was the end of the world because of how hopeless it all seemed. I wonder if this is somewhat how our fathers felt during the Vietnam war. Or the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cold War. Were our young men taking their own lives then? Were they taking the lives of their countrymen? I don’t think there was the fear there is now. The impending sense of doom, maybe. But wasn’t there still hope? Maybe not. Maybe it had to be revived. 

  I want to be a reviver of the hope, but if I’m looking at myself honestly, I can say that I feel my eyes are grey. My soul, forlorn. That’s the reason for this blog —  a reference for the good things to focus on because I can go negative — quick. Most of this post so far seems like it’s not focused on the good, but I hope to come around on it. Hah, hope. There it is. 

  So, as I’ve been kind of down, I keep thinking about some of my “post ideas”, future entries. I have an ongoing list and I hope to share some of them soon. One in particular that I came across a few weeks ago. It was a series of gardens from a photographer in New York. I go back to it constantly as I look in my thoughts for some smearing of goodness. When I close my eyes I can see images of the TV shows I watch, sometimes the death in them; I can see the headlines — another politician in blackface, which I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me; but then I turn my heart to these gardens. I consider them. It lifts me out. I turn my face back to the sky. And this morning, the sky was dark until the smattering. And as I considered my own contributions, on all that I said before, I saw a huge cloud poking out from the darkness with the sun fully shining on it. The grey ones moving quickly past it, albeit in front, but the blue and white and gold of the clearing behind it standing so still, steadfast; glimmering hope into the day. It sprinkled a little bit of rain, but I think there’s blue skies to come. And I think, it's kind of fitting — here I am searching for hope, and there it is, in the sky, speaking out to those who go looking for it. So I hope that this blog, this small site in the infiniteness of the expansive interwebs, will be that cloud, shining gold with no sun in sight, but alluding to the goodness to come. 

  So, with no link, I leave you with this photo. A slight glimpse of that which I write to you about, all so imperfect, but with hope around the bend.

Photo Cred: https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/beautiful-sky-sun-beam-line-light-shining-through-clouds-sunbeam-through-clouds_4984217.htm

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A Restaurant Surprise I'm Still Thinking of Two Decades Later | A Cup of Jo

A thoughtful gift I'll never forget.

I came across this post through seeing a related link to the comments, where readers are sharing their own stories of thoughtful gestures. It has stuck with me and I've found myself thinking about this all week.

First of all, the writer, Jenny Rosentrach, is a blogger and writer that I adore. She wrote this book and it's my go-to for family-tradition-setting inspiration. 

Secondly, the topic of this post really resonated with me. I love anonymous or semi-anonymous gestures and surprises. I mean, who doesn't love being on the receiving end of something like that?? In many cases, the readers describe moments they knew who was surprising them, as in Jenny's story of her husband's boss paying for their entire check. But the moment in between, when you've received that special moment and are clueless as to who the benefactor was; or are seeking the answers like Jenny was "how did they know!?" ... those are the sweet memory makers! 

I think what keeps me from doing things like this for people is that I want to 1.) do it for everyone and I simply can't even begin to afford that and 2.) maintain it for those I do it for -- like, say, do it every single anniversary and that kind of follow through is really hard or near impossible. It becomes more of a chore in the end, because I let all of the stipulations pile on.  

I've been thinking all week about moments where this has happened for me and moments that I've been able to do this for someone else. One moment right off the bat that I can think of when something similar has happened to me is when me and the back-in-the-day-roomies (before I went off and got married) went to Não (now decommissioned) to celebrate a patient of Alex's. She had been working with this little boy who couldn't speak for so long; coming home with stories all the time of almosts and close-but-no-cigars. This day, she had come home elated -- he had spoken and not just one word, but ALL OF THE WORDS THAT THEY HAD BEEN GOING OVER FOR MONTHS. It felt like a huge moment for her, for him, for his family. While we couldn't celebrate with him, it was a moment we wanted to mark, so we went out for dessert. (I realize that as I write this, this story is perfect for this page!) We ordered our cakes and glasses of wine and I looked up to see a guy that I had gone to school with from elementary to high school. He was the manager of Não, we said our pleasantries and I got back to celebrating with Alex and the gals. When time came to pay, he had covered my dessert and drink entirely, leaving me in the spirit to get the girls' selections. They were all still students and ordered gingerly, while I -- the career girl -- convinced them to come to the expensive place for our celebration, haha. So the bill was small for me but his action created a ripple effect where an already good evening became a time full of cheer and feel-good-moments from start to finish. I was so glad we had gone out to mark that time for her.

I really want to pursue these simple gestures as they arise in my days and not be tied to the future "necessities" of always doing the things for the person I've done it for that day. I hope this inspires you to do the same! Are there any moments that you can think of that you've been able to overwhelm someone with goodness?

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Ukrainian Women Bring Back Traditional Floral Crowns To Show National Pride

A Slavic workshop of stylists and photographers called Treti Pivni have decided to bring back one of the more amazing Ukranian traditions by giving it a new meaning. They've produced a portrait series of modern Ukranian women dressed in traditional Ukranian floral headdresses.

This blog is full of my old posts. My one-words, because I felt scared to show my writing. But, here it is. In all its messy-ness. I'm going for the last post, leaving the rest to another day or never to be touched again as a show of what was, but maybe not. 

How wonderful that the focus today is flower crowns. I hope you love a good flower crown as much as I do. As you can tell by the former posts, there is a veritable mix of content here. As I find this last post, and contemplate it's value, I think I might just change this blog to be about everything-flower-crowns. Hah! So much for starting over. This game has already changed.

What I love about these photos is this: the colors, the artistry, the blend of textures, sizes, and what I can only dream: smells of each of these flowers. The dresses and clothing capture the heart of their nation, their ancestors. You can see in their eyes how beautiful each of them feels in their costume, how elegant, how dignified -- even the little girls, who can be no more than 10. I can imagine the craftsmen and women sitting at their tables, laboring with care over each pom; stepping back to look at their creation from afar and coming back with more or replacing a stem here or there. There’s a whole world in each photograph.

Be assured: there are more flower crowns to come.

[cheeso]

i have been in america lately and tried its Various cuisine’s here is my review

wendys

what i had: four for $4 burger and lemonade.

what i thought: this is the same as mcdonalds but there is a smiling girl! the guy who invented wendys was called somethng else so who is wendy. Food apparaition?

rating: 3/5. food was boring but mysterious girl warmed my heart

cook out

what i had: hot dog and shake

what i thought: holy shit. also milkshakes in america are like, solid ice cream. i was expecting nesquik

rating: 5/5. the hot dog was nauseating but cost a dollar and the cashier liked toys

steak n shake

what i had: you can only have burgers and shakes from this restaurant so thats what i got baby!! when in roam!! hasta la vista!!

what i thought: siri didnt know how to get there so we got lost on the highway at 1am. WOOPS!!! thats the american life

rating: 4/5. tasted like i was dying, but pleasantly

cracker barrel

what i had: friday fish fry up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what i thought: there was lots of old people in this restaurant. the waitress avoided me because my nails were painted. this is a well documented phenomneom but biscuits are definitely something different in this country than my country

rating: 2/5. scary torture cabin

costco

what i had: piza slice

what i thought: i know this isnt technicaly a restaurant but drinks were 50 cents so it gets an honorable mention. there was a crate of mayonnaise but i didnt try that.

rating: ???/5. costcos most precious secrets are lost to us all

[cheeso]

chipotle

what i had: burrito. do they make other things?

what i thought: the logo is a chilli pepper but there werent actually any chilli peppers you could have in the food? i enjoyed the dainty red basket

rating: 3/5. guess burritos just always taste good, no matter what theyre made of. i think the chipotle burritos were made using some kind of food product but im not sure.

sonic drive thru

what i had: loaded chilli cheese dog’ fourht of july baby!! happy star wars day

what i thought: very inconceivable. there is a sit in a drive in and a drive thru and the sonic drive thru person comes over to your car in roller skates. its a made up cartoon store. it doesnt exist

rating: 5/5. we spent 20 minutes googling if you tip at sonic and in the end we drove off so my guilt prevents me from assessing it poorly

taco bell

what i had: it only sells tacos in like threes so i got three tacos.

what i thought: its like a dorito with a leaf stapled to it. why is it called taco bell? also, who am i, inside?

rating: 4/5. i flung six tacos in the microwave when we got back and i enjoyed watching them roll over each other playfully -  made me think of my childhood and the political conspiracy around my birth.

sheetz

what i had: chicken nuggets at 2am

what i thought: it was interesting that about half of the items on the interactive menu ended with a ‘z’ rather than an s. while that was fun - i would not go so far as to say i died at sheetz but i certainly did not leave it in one piece due to the colossal spinning death blade embedded into the milkshake machine

rating: 5/5. ordering entirely through a little touchpad is a natural progression in a society of unwholesome, evil food production and distribution

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This is really great

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I think about this article quite often. Love the mystery and magic of these caves!

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I linked to this article 5 years ago today on Facebook. It still makes me smile!

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Seeing color for the first time: High-tech lenses that can fix color blindness

EnChroma has developed glasses that can correct most color vision deficiencies.

LOVED this!

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A story of redemption

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An In-Your-Face Motion Capture Dance Performance Amidst a Flurry of Feathers, Fur, and Particles

This three minute dance performance was created by Method Studios for this year's AICP Awards as a way to promote different sponsors. Each sponsor is imagined briefly as a dancing avatar rendered with the help of motion capture, procedural animation and dynamic simulations. The wild costume

Via my creative hubby <3