Ruminations from the Temple

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the LORD. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the community, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. Even if you are not a believer in the G-d of Israel, you can find some direction in these words. We all need to remind ourselves, in this self-centered culture and world, that the most important thing - the only thing that lasts - is the love we show to one another. I have observed that the most difficult place to find acceptance a

As long as I can remember, I have pondered what I wanted to 'be' when I grew up. When I was in elementary grades, I wanted to be an airline pilot - to fly those beautiful, shining jets into the endless blue landing in a different place at the end of every journey. I also contemplated being a doctor - helping solve mysterious ailments and helping others feel better, both physically and mentally. My teachers always chuckled at my aspirations. Who ever heard of a female pilot with coke-bottle-bottom glasses, anyway? And besides, I never lived up to my potential in the 3rd grade, how in the world would I ever amount to a physician? As time moved forward I lost sight of dreams such as those, and turned to more immediate thoughts...clothes, dates, music, dancing. You know, the important things. In retrospect, it was a waste, a vapor. I barely escaped high school with a diploma in hand, only to find myself in a dead-end job. Destined to wander. As I floated from steady to stea

Recently, I signed up to participate in a interesting departure from our usual crazy letterboxing protocol. I have letterboxed in a traditional fashion for years, finding hidden gems out in our parks and along trails all over the country. I have letterboxed 'postally' by sending hand-carved stamps and homemade logbooks through the mail to other letterboxers in just about every state. I have solved letterboxes virtually on the computer and have "found" Letterboxer Trading Cards by the thousands. But this is an interesting twist that I am excited about; it's a Favorites Journal. The idea is for a group of carvers/letterboxers to make (or purchase and personalize) a blank journal. In the one you prepare, you stamp your favorite carve to date, along with your signature stamp. Above is the journal I made using the standard sewing-type binding, measuring 5" x 5". Then, at the agreed upon date, all of the group sends their journal to their 'mail-to&#

I don't really get nervous easily. No, really; I know it seems to be one of those gross generalizations about woman that they are nervous-nellies. Well, I'm not one of them, but even I have to admit that I am nervous about the state of our current political environment. First of all, I was raised as a pretty liberal Democrat and the rest of my immediate family still vote that direction to this day. To their dismay, somewhere along the way I came to the realization that I agreed more with the opposing party than I did my own. I'm not really sure when the change happened, to be honest. Was it during numerous abortion debates with friends? Maybe it was the hours of watching political news feeds. Or possibly the change happened slowly as I, myself, weighed the issues and came to my own conclusions. (And just for the record, I don't trust politicians - never have.) Regardless of my political bent, I really don't like what I am seeing and hearing. I am probably n

Yeah, I caved and bought an iTouch. My lovely daughter purchased one with her birthday money and I quickly discerned that the sleek-looking device was exactly what I needed to keep my calendar in order. A few years back I splurged on a Palm electronic organizer. I absolutely loved it; I kept my busy calendar, contacts, notes, everything I needed on the fly - I had my whole life in that Palm. Then the day came that it crashed... oy vey! It was horrible - I was devastated and so irritated that I didn't replace it. Consequently, I have limped along for these past few years double-booking appointments, losing information and basically looking like an organizational mess. I tried to go back to an old-school paper 'daytimer', but that never worked as well as the ever-so convenient Palm I could just slip into my purse and go. More recently, I hit the wall. I just can't stand not having necessary information at my fingertips. So, I decided to buy another Palm electroni

Last night was the arrival of the fabulous Star Wars in Concert here in Seattle. The production is traveling to thrill Star Wars fans all across the country with a full orchestra, light show and video montages of the movies we love. Traveling with the musicians is some of the original props and costumes used in the films. We had the pleasure of attending and trooping with the Rebel Legion Alpha Base and the 501st Garrison Titan - what an evening! Padawan and I had a lot of fun being 'stationed' by the most popular of costumes in the exhibit of props, the Darth Vader costume from the original trilogy. What a crowd of picture-takers! By far my favorite concert goers were the littlest Star Wars fans dressed as their favorite characters. We saw many Boba Fetts, little Leias, Jedi younglings and even a couple of Jawas and an Ewok. The pure excitement of the event was mirrored in their young faces - one and all. So, we posed for pictures, worked the crowd, and answered q

Padawan catches me trying to photograph a  teenie-weenie rock stack on our girls-day-out You have surely heard of rock stacks or rock balancing, right?  If you haven't heard of it, you may have seen one on the beach or even in the city.  I have been fascinated by this phenomenon as of late, especially after coming across them more and more in my travels.  I thought it was some sort of zen-type thing, and I was partially correct.  The truth is that folks have been stacking or balancing rocks for a very long time, perhaps even Stonehenge is a rock balancing project! Stonehenge, located in England Rock balancing is an art, discipline, and/or hobby depending upon the intent of the practitioner . It can also be a performance art, a spectacle, or a devotion, depending upon the interpretation by its audience. Essentially, it involves placing some combination of rock or stone in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity to generate, and which appear to be physically imp

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship;  it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with friendship.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson A "girls day out"...what a treat. We enjoyed a wonderful Irish lunch, solved the world's problems, walked on the beach, took hundreds of snaps, immersed ourselves in Star Wars trivia and laughed until our stomachs hurt. Yeah, it was a good day.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d , King of the Universe who gave us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time. ~the She-hecheyanu

Barbie syndrome is a term used to loosely describe the desire to have a physical appearance and lifestyle representative of the infamous Barbie doll. It is most often associated with pre-teen and adolescent females but is applicable to any age group. Usually it is female youth that will attempt because it is associated with puberty and the awkward stages. The child will want to look her best and most beautiful to males and believes in looking beautiful like Barbie, though Barbie has radical body proportions. Someone afflicted with Barbie syndrome strives for an unattainable body type (and look)... This video is a must-see for everyone.  Not just teenaged young women, but everyone needs to see how we are manipulated into thinking that we must look a certain way for acceptance. I absolutely hate even going through the line at the grocery store and seeing all the smiling, digitized models and celebs on the magazines and tabloids.  I wish we could just shake it off and somehow acquire a

'the photographer' looking for the perfect shot of Mt. St. Helens  photo credit: Padawan How many blogs can one have without looking, well, like you have too many? When I started this blog, I had intended on having it be my personal place to record my thoughts and pics from the various parts of my life; a sort of melting pot of my endeavors and random philosophizing encompassing whatever I was involved in at the moment.  I had absolutely no idea how much I had to share!  As time went, I realized combining my love of all things Star Wars, letterboxing, our travels, my photography  and my faith/community in one place seemed too busy and disjointed.  I decided to break off the letterboxing piece into it's own blog, My H'Art in Rubber . My H'Art in Rubber, or better known as the carving blog, has been mildly successful.  Aimed at the letterboxing community, namely Atlas Quest readers, I am pleased to have quite a following both on the blog itself and through o

The new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars has started again! We were graced by an 'hour' of new story line and furthering of the character Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker's padawan. Unfortunately, she is being blamed for picking up Anakin's habit of disobedience and I just don't see that going to a good place. Cad Bane, the bounty hunter, is a truly evil character, but perfect as a villian. And, as always, I love the animation. The fight scene in zero gravity is truly art in motion. I don't want to give away too many details for those that haven't had the pleasure of viewing the entire episode, so I'll just end with the wisdom opener: A lesson learned is a lesson earned. I'd like to tweak that a bit, actually. I like this better: A lesson learned is wisdom earned. *smile*

Cherish : 1a. to hold dear : feel or show affection for cherished friends , 1b. to keep or cultivate with care and affection : he nurtures his marriage, 2. to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely cherishes that memory synonym: appreciate In the wake of two foundation-shaking events in our community, the boys having a near-tragic biking accident and a good friend suddenly suffering a stroke leaving him with no feeling on his left side, I am reminded once again of the fragility of our days. It would seem that I, of all people, need not to be reminded of this reality. I truly appreciate and show that appreciation to those around me in word and deed, as it is well in my mind that I may not see them again. I suppose this idea was firmly planted in my consciousness when I was around the age of four. At that time, my father suffered a severe electrocution accident on a construction site resulting in the loss of his hands and being burned over the majority of his bod