Temporarily Out of the Sycronistic Flow...I Guess...

Ok... so I guess it might be one of those days. I was so excited to do my henna gig today, (I have 3 dates with the Manitou Street Performers) and I went even though it was torentially raining and the girl at Adam's where I pick up my sign and tip bucket said it must be rained out and that she didn't have an answer. So I went to the Manitou Chamber to see if they knew and they said they assumed it was rained out too. So, very dissappointedly (I love doing henna for the masses) I left. It was still raining, and no one else was out.

Later I find out that my dear friend Lily (from Kansas City) is in town with her family and saw I would be street performing in the paper, and was out walking around Manitou looking for me, and was going to suprise me! I was so bummed. Lily is one of my favorite people in the world! Ahhh!

And, randomly, I had the weirdest physical experience today. Pres and I went to check out these sweet things you should check out too called "Little Guy" that are tiny little teardrop campers that my car could pull when we journey west to see the grand canyon and the redwoods in CA. So I laid down on the mattress in one of them and within seconds, whatever nasty ass shit they dipped that thing in to make it fire proof or something like that, filled my lungs and my eyes like closed and teared up and my lungs hurt and then a few minutes later my kidneys hurt like they were processing that shit. Sheesh! It kind of turned me off to those cute little sweet awesome campers unless we can get some kind of organic matress to put in it. All the chemicals are just so fear based and unneccessary. I should have known, I just drew a goddess card like 2 days ago about sensitivity, and it said to avoid harsh chemicals, etc. Except its not always expected that the bed you lay on is laden in them. Unfortuately, it usually is. Whatev, it was just another chink in the chain. Another way the universe is calling out to me to pay attention...so I'd realize that my heart has really been calling out to me...and my body has too.

Beautifully and Magnificently, the Universe always finds a way to get our attention by sending little signals...I guess you can view them as painful and annoying, or try to find the underlying message.

All of it was so weird. I am usually so in the flow of sychronistic happenings that things like seeing Lily, wonderful, beautiful suprises happen for me all the time.

Then it dawned on both me and Preston that we must be really out of the flow and balance of life, because his week has been one of the strangest and worst in his life (measured by how many A.F.G.O.'s (another fucking growth opportunity) he's had, and of course, being the highly sensitive being I am I have tried very hard to make sure I didn't absorb too much sadness, confusion, etc. while at the same time being as present and loving and supportive as I could be, but I think I still have felt it too. We are usually so in flow with things. So we decided that, in the wise words of India Arie, its time to "get back to the middle."

I'm kinda thinking this has to do with several thingys. One being that we just got back a week ago from our 6000 mile road trip, and on one hand it was kind of a let down and on the other it left us pretty confused about where we are in life because you know how when you are on a trip it seems like everything falls into perspective and you get all these inspiring ideas of what you want to do with your life when you get back and then when you get back you just have piles of laundry and a car full of camping gear and you just don't want to deal with it yet because part of you wanted your trip to never ever end?

Well that's where I've been at. And I haven't done a stitch of Yoga since we got back which was an avid part of my life before we left + I was running and lifting weights every other day, and eating like mainly raw food like fruits, veggies and other joys of life like that and like gallons of clean clear water.

So since we got back I was kind of mainly eating only cereal, then for lunch I would have cereal, and for an afternoon snack I would have a little cereal with cereal on it, and then for dinner, maybe some hot cereal. Oh, and boy oh boy, have I been active. I think I might have walked across the living room once, and I even do that little index finger exercise. Up and down and up and down and...you get the picture.

So really, its about balance. Isn't everything in life about that? When we bring ourselves back into balance and into touch with things, and when I'm willing to release my summer trip and begin to move on and commit to the dreams I so passionately dreamed about in our tent under the stars, then I do believe we will find ourselves in the flow again.

So with this new perspective in mind, Preston and I are about to sit down to a lovely organic fresh and alive candlelight dinner of Artichokes dipped in garlic olive oil dipping sauce, little fingerling potatoes with yellow pearl onions and roasted garlic, and stuffed zucchini with portabello mushrooms, orange peppers and carrots from our garden! To drink, a 2006 German Riesling wine called Bloom (quite fitting) and for dessert, toasted organic rasberry and blueberry tarts topped with french vanilla soy dream ice cream.

Ahhh.....food is Love.

Real Food Is Love. MMMmmm

And I think its all gonna be ok. We are going to reframe, and claim exactly what we wish for this incredible life, and you know what is truly awesome about these bumpy times? We realize that we really are a support system for each other and that we are really experiencing what a truly successful marriage and friendship is. Which always rocks.

So I'm sure you'll be hearing about me being in the flow once again...very soon...

Love you.

Ab

Playing in the Dirt Again...

I am renewed in working in my garden again. It took a long time to recover from the hail storm, for both the plants and my heart. A few days after the damage was done, I did a lot of replanting, and although it was late in the season, everything came up. However, I do think in a way it was somewhat experimental to plant more, and in a way it felt something like trying to sort through the rubble after a natural disaster. There was a sadness in the replanting, and yet a feeling of hope in the effort. Either way, it produced another lovely crop of radishes that are about ready to come up now. The spinach came up, and may have done ok, but while I was gone many weeds took over the garden causing slow growth in the spinach. I wasn't too attatched to the second round anyways. The new lettuce mix is well on the way now, and is about the size of the baby lettuce mix you buy in the store.

While we were away on our summer road trip, mom watered for me every day and made sure my messy work of art didn't dry up. I was over joyed to see the changes in it by the time we came home. Peas were ready for picking and they are so sweet! The tomato plants are full of little green fruits and my zucchini squash plant has one baby plus a bunch of big flowers!

Last night for dinner we had veggie burgers topped with Romaine lettuce from my garden!! I was overjoyed to share it, because for whatever reason that is my very favorite part. Before I eat I always bless my food and hold in mind where it came from and all the people that worked hard to get it to my plate, and this time as I did that again, I realized that I was one of those people!! I was so proud of my harvest!

For several days now I have worked once again in my garden haven, and found myself renewed as I worked under the blue sky, feeling the air, digging my toes into the soil,connecting with all that is. Connecting with myself, most importantly. I have weeded out the crazy overgrowness that ocurred while I was gone, and feeling as though the garden thanks me as it breathes a new sense of life and cared-for-ness in the form of large flowers and fast veggie growth.

I have learned so much about different plants, what they need, when to plant them, what to do differently, and what order to plant, as well as what bugs come around, how to attract more bees and how nature repairs itself. I feel so well rounded in this experience and I have just begun. I have learned a lot about myself and how I wish to interact with nature, and about the intricate connection within all life. Its all displayed for me as it magically plays out in my little green sanctuary.

Watkin's Glen State Park, NY

We woke up early in the morning to the fresh air and the wind dancing gently through the tall pines. We quietly unzipped the tent to see where we were. (It had been completely dark when we arrived the night before.) It was beautiful. We were in the middle of the forest with these tall skinny pine trees. We made a pancake breakfast and then packed up and got ready to go for a hike. We'd heard this was a beautiful state park, but had no idea just how beautiful it would be.
When we got to the main parking lot, and walked toward the trailhead, we saw one amazing waterfall as we neared a staircase leading up. It was the kind of waterfall you picture in a rainforest where the water flows through a small hole and hits the side wall and richochets out into one very tall fall. (If that makes any sense) We were already gasping for joy, and then we climbed up. We were hiking the main gorge at Watkins Glen State Park, and its basically a two mile stretch where you get higher and higher up in the gorge and the walls get taller and taller. Over thousands of years the water has carved down through the rock to create this phenomenon. As we walked we saw so many incredible and different waterfalls, and also holes that have been created over time, like pools. There were waterfalls you could walk right behind. It was magical. The air was thick and warm and wet and smelled amazing. Green was everywhere, mostly in the form of ferns growing out from the many layers of rock. I truly believe it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I already want to go back. If you ever go to central NY in the fingerlakes region, this is one place that is worth seeing. It was in looking up the canyon, and seeing the next 5 magical waterfalls, that I felt like if every person could take a moment and see what I was seeing, all drama and trouble would melt away and become unimportant. I took it in, to hold in my heart and remember everytime I let my mind convince me something is wrong. Nothing can be wrong when there is that much beauty. I felt like it was some kind of earth vortex, where as you walk, the energies of the earth gently wash away any weight or negativity you've been carrying. Go there. It is so worth it.

3600 Miles on the Open Road

Today we are in Boston, at Annie and Kevin's sweet apartment taking some time to regroup and catch up on things after the first 3600 miles of our adventure. We began our journey about 13 days ago, and already it feels like we've gone to so many places, and experienced so much.

The journey began as we drove to Kansas City. We had dinner with some of our beloved friends at one of our favorite veg restaurants, Eden Alley. We spent that night at Teresa's place, and then the next morning we dropped Audrey off at Michael's who took her to her first real concert, Red, White and Boom featuring Gavin Degraw, and other popular artists. We went to help set up for Teresa's big event, Stems, A Garden Soiree. She's worked on it for months and that evening we got dressed up and attended the event and it was a great success!

The next morning we were on the road again and made a stop for several hours in St. Louis, where we took Audrey up in the arch, and had lunch at a great vietnamese food restaurant. Then we got back on the road and didn't stop until we got to our campground just outside of Chicago. The next morning we took the double-decker train into Chicago, where we found a bus that took us to our favorite Chicago restaurant, The Chicago Diner and had an amazing breakfast. Audrey and I ordered the maple-pecan vegan cream-cheese filled pancakes, and Preston got the Tofu Huevos Rancheros. Then we split a peanut butter cookie dough milkshake. Mmmm! We bussed all around the city, and stopped at Millenium Park where Audrey got to see the Chicago Bean and play in the giant fountain. Then we walked down to Navy Pier where we spent some time watching the seagulls, riding the ferris wheel, (and Audrey rode the swing ride too,) and then we headed back to the train station and back to our campsite!

Early the next morning we jumped in the car and we were off to drive to Erie, PA where we thought we would camp.

When we got there and found our campground, it was beautiful, and it was beach camping right on the water. Something didn't feel quite right to me about it though, and I should have just followed my intuition right away, instead of after setting up camp, because as we were setting up a strange man came up to me and Audrey, and I knew something just wasn't right about him, and we ended up packing up and leaving. We decided to drive to Buffalo, since it was only about 2 hours away. We ended up passing Buffalo though, and finally, after driving around late into the night, we found a Holiday Inn in Grand Island, NY (very near Niagara) with a good room and we snuggled in for the night. We were happy to have the showers and a soft bed and place to charge our phones and cameras!

The next morning we went to Nigara Falls, and it was just as beautiful and stunning as the first time I saw it. There is something truly magical about just standing on the earth and grounding your roots next to something so natural and powerful. I allowed the spray and energy of the falls to refresh me as we sat in the grass nearby It was a lovely day, and inspiring as it always is (this was about my 5th time visiting the falls) If you have never experienced this great wonder of the earth, it is worth the trip. They are truly awesome.

After a morning spent at the falls, we drove to Lancaster to have dinner with my Grandpa Tschamler and his wife Hazel at their home, Greenfields Manor. They absolutely love living there. Its a retirement community and they are very involved there, and they had much to share about their love for the place they live. We spent a few hours chatting with them and then we got back on the road to drive to our campground at Watkins Glen State Park in NY. We arrived around 10 and the forest was dark and quiet. I could already tell there was an incredible energy about this place as I looked up at the stars through the tall thin trees. We felt warm and safe and slept so well upon our piece of earth.

The real magic begins....

I will continue writing as soon as I get to a computer again... thanks for reading!

Life on the Road

Look soon for a post about our travels east! I haven't had the chance to sit down at the computer and write, but I have so much to share!