Saturday, September 6, 2014

Gifts


My blog has been a pitiful thing this past summer. I mean, just how many pictures can you post of nursing home rooms and doctor's offices before everyone runs screaming!  I realize that if you don't do anything interesting with your life, there isn't much to blog about.

I'm hoping to change all of that and start doing interesting things again so you have something to come here and read about. I used to read so many blogs about pottery that inspired me, taught me, encouraged me. Most of them have gone over to facebook, sadly, and I have gone in search of other interesting things to read about. Some have posted that people aren't blogging like they used to, but that isn't exactly true. Many are blogging, not a lot of potters. But there are great garden blogs, food blogs, craft blogs, soap blogs, political blogs, environmental blogs. I find lots of great reading out there, just go looking! Hopefully I can keep this blog interesting, not only for you but for me as well. It's evolving, as we all do......

The bowl above was gifted to me yesterday by my great friend and mentor, Barbara McKenzie. We had lunch together in Chapel Hill and she brought this to me. Yellow Salt over Shino. It's a beauty. I love the silkiness of yellow salt glaze. Barbara is a glaze master. Love this bowl!


I am trying to catch up with all of my friends, I have not been getting around to see them this summer, since all of the family issues. My friend Eve just got back from the monastery in India and look who she saw! Our monk group, just look at our boys! One of the greatest gifts I have ever received was to host these monks earlier this year. I still use the gifts they gave me. Compassion, understanding, meditation, quietness, enjoying the preparation of good food with family, so many other things they taught me..... all priceless gifts to have.

I have been going to the Shambahla Center for meditation. Over Labor Day weekend, Wesley and Lazarus came home and we went together. What a joy to go to a meditation center with your child. I am really enjoying this practice. Yoga every day this week and trying to continue to eat well. Got to take care of this aging body. I have seen what happens if you don't. It ain't pretty!


Eve brought me a teakwood rice paddle back from her trip along with a khata and a book from the monastery. I collect wooden spoons, so I am excited to have this one from a place I want to visit one of these days.


Our tiny garden continues to give us gifts of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and okra, as well as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley and mint. I inherited my grandmothers gift of being able to stick a leaf in some dirt and clone a plant. I have been cloning basil and houseplants. I have a Christmas cactus that belonged to her, I have had it for about 30 years, rescued from my mom, who cannot grow a living thing. I have started trying to clone it, we shall see. The only thing I haven't been successful with growing, like she was, is african violets. She grew the most beautiful ones, but I can't keep them alive. It's a challenge I might try again.....

Gerry also has a green thumb and has mostly worked the vegetables this year. We only used neem oil for pests and were quite successful, even though we are sun challenged here. If we had a real piece of land we would have one kick ass garden! Gerry would make a really great farmer.

We are still waiting on our little gifts from the chickens. This is the month! They should start laying anytime now. They are walking around moaning and fussing. Either horney or feeling like something is stuck in their ass. I can't tell which, but I am ready for them to start earning their keep and bring on those eggs!


After lunch with my pals Laura and Barbara yesterday, Laura and I went over to a new tea house in town, Oasis. My other pal Susan told me about it so we checked it out. Very adorable place, great tea, great atmosphere. We snuggled up in comfy leather furniture and chatted awhile.



Now.... here is the most important gift of all!!!! My beautiful child..... happy.... with her friend, Lazarus. I adore these two, they are like peas in a pod. Just alike, and very good together. Its so wonderful to see my child happy and caring about someone.

I am very blessed and thankful each day for the many gifts I receive. I need to remember to give those gifts as often as I receive them. Reap what you sow, get what you give, Karma and all that.
I read on a blog the other day about filling your days with friends and people you care about and how doing for others can bring more happiness than doing for yourself. It's so true isn't it? When I spend time with my family and my friends, my life seems richer. You can see that from my blog. When I am hibernating or having to be places I don't want to be, my blog is stagnant and pathetic, but when I share time with friends, Gerry and Wesley, there are so many things to write about. I suppose my blog could sort of be a measure of how things are going. Good days=good blogs. Bad days= crazy blog or none at all.......

Anyway...... find some things to write about out there, you guys. You inspire me, make me laugh, make me cry and I miss many of the friendships that have grown here on my blog.

Buck up little campers!  

18 comments:

Joan Tucker said...

I love reading your blog and am grateful for your attention to telling your stories. Joan T

Dennis Allen said...

Nice to hear from you ! My Mom was great with African Violets. East facing window. Water the dirt not the leaves and don't mess with them too much. More are killed by misdirected kindness than outright neglect.

Kim Fuentes said...

Tracy, I have been a lurker on your blog for the past year. What I admire about you is the ability to share not what you are doing but who you are. Some of your blogs are incredibly painful to read not because what you are writing about is boring or irrelevant but because sometimes life is painful. Unlike most bloggers you don't pretend that everything is wonderful. You share your struggles and pain as well as your happiness and successes. You inspire others who are in the midst of pain to keep reaching for something better. You used the words stagnant, pathetic and pitiful to describe your blog over the past year I don't think those of us reading your blog regularly would use any of those words!

The Everyday Potter said...

Kim says it very well Tracey. Your blog posts are always honest and contain the everyday truth of life experiences that we can all relate to in some fashion. I am always gladdened to find a new post on your site, your art explorations with pottery, soap making and weaving. I think you are a Renaissance soul, drawn to a creative sharing that we readers very much appreciate. Thank you for opening your world to us, and please continue.

The Everyday Potter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
smartcat said...

Welcome back. It's been a strange summer for a lot of us.
We didn't do a vegetable garden this year as we are changing its placement. A Good Thing Too! We have a woodchuck living under our shed. He ate all the young basil plants I put in, but left the mature ones alone. Not only an invader but a fussy eater too! Any suggestions for getting rid of him/her are welcome. I think a have-a-heart trap may be our best bet!
I see what you mean about pottery blogs not being around so much. FB is fine and I do use it, but blogs tend to have so much more thought to them.
How great is it that friends met up with 'your boys' halfway around the world? Not even six degrees of separation!

littlemancat said...

Always,always interested in what you have to say. Your honesty and sensitivity are refreshing. And often helpful.
Happy to see Wesley with a friend -they look lovely together.
Love that bowl!
May look into that book in the photo, too.
Take care, know that your writing is well appreciated.
Mary

June Perry said...

Good to see writing again! Reading a friends blog is like spending time with the friend. It doesn't always have to be a lot of deep talk. It can just be about listening, or chatting about little nothings just to enjoy each other's company.
We too often think that we have to be doing important things or spouting great wisdom, rather than just being our unique and perfect selves. Who made these rules that make people often feel inadequate or afraid of sharing. Off my soap box for now. :-)

Tracey Broome said...

Big hug to all of you, thanks so much for your words!! Nice to see some new names here in the comments, so awesome to hear from you! I'm always surprised to see how many people are actually reading these posts, it's great to know so many people and yet not know them :-)
I usually like to comment individually but this one got away from me. Xo
Suzan, don't we all get horney or get something up our ass from time to time? You crack me up!

Mr. Young said...

(((.)))

Lori Buff said...

Yellow salt is one of my favorites, such a nice glaze and gift. It's good to be able to count our gifts.

Margaret Brampton said...

Just thought I'd say hello! I rarely get time to comment but this summer there have been some parallels in our lives. I've never had such a busy time at a time of life when I thought I might be taking things a little slower.
Apart from the fact that we got some chickens, like you I am also facing the fact that my dad is declining. He is a beautiful person so to see him in the advanced stages of Parkinson's is painful. He has always looked out for me. He and my mum live 4hours drive away so it's not always easy to get there.
But like you I rejoice in having a wonderful family.
Like you I feel there is so much to be thankful for.

Tracey Broome said...

Thanks for the hug, Mr Yung!
Lori, I never liked yellow salt until Barbara started using it on her work. I guess all those community studio pots I pulled from the kiln just didn't work with it and it never looked good on them :) I love it on Barbara's work though.
Margaret, thanks for saying hi. Watching a fathers decline is the worst, and I am sorry you have that going on. My dad has been gone for twenty years and I think of him every day. You are right, parents are the ones always taking care of us, it's hard when roles reverse. My parents also lived 4 hours away and I didn't see much of him as he was dying, I had a new baby. It's never easy is it?

Laura Smith said...

Why do I read? I like your open honesty and willingness to share? I see parallels in our lives and I like to see how that plays out? As a Yankee, I like seeing and hearing about the South.

So, yeah, I guess I started out following a potter, but that's not what I'm looking for. I do follow a few potters who just talk work, that's okay, too and I followed one potter that just vented and had to drop him, I just could not relate.

I only read a few blogs. I gave up food blogs because they always made me hungry. I gave up political blogs because they made me feel separate instead of unified. I like personal finance blogs because I'm a money person. I like meditation slash spiritual blogs. I like your blog because it is like a glimpse into a sisterhood that I relate to? Kids moving on from college. Parents aging or dying. Pets. Spirituality. Art. Husbands aging. Next phase of life coming.

Tracey Broome said...

Laura, what a kind comment, thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my blog, never a dull moment down here in the south, haha! I feel a kinship with many here in blog land.

Shannon said...

and I am listening to those monks every day via their CD i got at the performance. LoVe it. Happy to hear about your doings and that you saw Laura and Barbara and your pixie child.

Tracey Broome said...

Hi Shannon, I have that cd too, it makes for a nice background while riding in the car. Pixie child, yes, a perfect description for her, haha!

Sandy Miller said...

God Tracey I just finished reading and catching up...... holy shit.
I don't think we need to do "interesting stuff" to blog. I think we just need to put one foot in front of the other, observe and write it down.

I've had a chance to see what all my blogger buddies are up too and sheesh looks like we have all had one hell of ride this past summer!

Maybe these are the earth changes so many have talked about...... it begins with us :)

You are interesting all the time..... ask the chickens!!