The Life and Times of the Plume — Page 224

This is the best dream I’ve ever been part of:

December 31, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

“Had a dream about you last night…. Dreamt I was at your house, we were making supper. Talking and laughing. You were showing me around. Then we looked out the window and saw a few really really red hummingbirds up close to the window. As we watched them, they seemed to be much more in sync than normal, fluttering around. Then there were more of them and they began a beautiful choreographed dance. They became big red dots, moving and changing. (remember those cylinder thingies that when you turned one end, the colours made all kinds of crazy designs and kept changing? like that). You and I were amazed, I grabbed your hand and we stood close together as we eeeked out ooohs and ahhhhs. Then suddenly, RW appeared on the other side of the window and leaned down to take away a little camera he had hidden; meant to capture our reactions to the projected hummie show he had rigged up. He explained that he had taken some shots of hummies and then created this whirly pirly show of hummies for us but wanted to catch our reactions…. He was so sweet! You also had a female fox-wolf living in the house with her babies. RW was renovating a basement room for her and the babies. I left your house and drove home in a snowstorm…”

[As told by Linda M.]

Linda, I want to dream like you dream.

Plume

Filed Under: dreams

Christmas Holiday Accomplishments (in a nutshell)

December 31, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

There were lots of tasty eats, including breakfast at, The Griddle, located in Winnemucca, Nevada — look at the glorious green vinyl!

There was me, in my truck, writing 300 Christmas postcards for you! Don’t worry…I kept the message short…but if you’re wondering why the writing is messy it’s because Nevada highways are a wee bit bumpy.

There was one long haul drive across Idaho, Nevada and California to Christmas with the American side of our family in the sopping wet Oakland Hills.

There were a couple of quick runs through the redwood regional forest.

There was some squeezing on our niece and twin nephews (who are so darn active that I failed to secure a couple of good shots of them…every shot turned out monstrously blurry…next time…).

There was a fantastically commonwealth themed stocking for me, by Robert — he never fails to surprise me at Christmas.

There was some hunting for Zorro.

There was some hunting for the Farlinator (and a good thing too, he was becoming a tad neurotic after days of driving in a truck and lots of lazing about in Oakland).

There were small song birds.

There were whistling swans and buoyant ducks in the central valley of California.

There was a dash of hope, peace and joy in the wind.

Then there was the drive home, creeping across the central valley on highways choked with crazy California traffic.

There were a couple of nights in Grass Valley at the Krapfel homestead.

There was the half door in Nevada City.

There were those beautiful little homes wrapped in wreathes and garlands.

There were doors opened and doors closed.

There was a pastie (a 49er country phenomenon that’s a bit like a meat pie) for RW and a quinoa salad for me.

There were those twisting and turning California gold country roads that can make a girl feel queasy.

There was that little town called Rough and Ready that has always romanced me to the core.

Through the rain, there was a glimpse of my dream bug on Rough and Ready Road.

There was our 7 year wedding anniversary, on December 28th, just an hour away from the wee wedding chapel we eloped at in Reno!

There was Penelope as co-pilot.

Then there were two “required chains” sections on highways between Grass Valley and home, slow going with our wheels locked in high 4×4, a small ice storm in Nevada, ditches littered here and there with vehicles that failed to slow down for winter driving conditions, a wee blizzard white-out in Idaho just outside of Twin Falls and then finally, that moment when we rolled up and parked the truck at the curb in front of our little 103 year old farm house; fresh snow on the ground and bright stars in an ink black night sky.

Home.

There were two eggs for breakfast this morning. One from Winona and one from Rhonda. Apparently, Judith is taking a holiday from laying and since she’s my favorite hen, I’ll gladly allow her this!

Tonight is new years eve. We plan to spend it floating on our backs under the night sky at the local hot springs with Thai food take out for dinner afterward and then quiet in our home with tea, treats and perhaps a glass of nice wine or two.

We hope your Christmas holidays have been delightful with a pinch of the sacred buried well inside your heart of hearts.

Happy New Year to you, dear friends.

Love,

The Plumes

PS Now is a good time to mention that if you’ve not yet voted for your favorite Christmas Tree, you should do it as soon as possible since we’re beginning to tally votes! Thanks to every person to has taken a moment to vote!

Filed Under: california, I just adore christmassy things don't you, idaho, nevada, traveling

The Body Cavity Series

December 5, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

Disclaimer:
Inner beauty isn’t about not taking care of yourself. I mean, we ladies still have to attract mates, right? We aren’t luna moths with heady pheromones that do all the work on a fellow nectar drinking night flying flapper and besides, there’s something to be said for feeling beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.

I’m just saying that something important is within us and neglecting the care of that inner stuff of the soul affects our wholeness.

And now:

The Body Cavity Series

I recently (as in, within the last three months) dreamed up this idea of creating a series that features animal forms, enameled, with open body cavities one can gaze into. I gathered myself, last week, and set upon the creation of the first piece in this series. I wasn’t actually sure if I could bring these ideas into being in a beautiful way…because surely, when you hear the phrase “body cavity” you don’t think of beautiful things — which is why I especially love calling this series as such…it’s somewhat disconcerting to read, isn’t it???

The first piece in the series features a jackrabbit form I hydraulically pushed into being from one of my original press templates. I opened his form up and placed carved ivory blooms in his core. The entire notion of the body cavity series is to bring to the forefront the importance of inner beauty and the possibility of the beauteousness of virtue — something so often overlooked in a North American society that pushes us so hard to have a prettier face, prettier hair, perfect breasts, long legs, thin and fit arms, flawless skin, manicured nails, immaculate makeup, a busy and successful career, a competitive nature, a charming and extroverted personality…the list goes on and on and on.

What about the core of our being?

Is the core of your being suffering from neglect?

Do you wear your body like a mask over your stunted heart and soul?

I love meeting women. More specifically, I love meeting women who are blooming beautiful on the inside.

I’ve found that don’t really notice what my best girlfriends look like anymore.

Yet, when someone asks me about them, I start out by saying:

My gosh. She’s so tremendously beautiful.

I’ve come to realize, I’m talking about the insides of those women.

They’re blooming beautifully on the inside. If I were to sit down to draw them or paint them, I’m not sure I could remember a truly cohesive likeness of their facial features or bodies…beyond vague details: blond, green eyes, tall, short, wide hips, narrow shoulders, full lips…..

The funny thing is, I can sometimes fail to see the beauty and potential beauty that is within myself.

I can fail to cultivate that region of my being.

I can focus, to a fault, on the surface things.

I can neglect the development of my virtues.

I can forget that this body houses something more important than the flesh and bone that makes it;

it is a home for my conscience, my character, my personality, my soul, my spirit…..my essence, my verve…

the real me.

The me I want people to see and remember when they look at me.

The me that My God loves and cherishes.

The me my husband respects and serves (and vice versa).

The me my friends comfort and confide in.

I want people to remember me for how I responded towards others in tricky situations.

For the way I treated others.

For compassion.

For the way I could laugh with reckless abandon.

I want to be remembered for: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.*

Those are the attributes that grow ivory roses in the soul.

The way I see it, when your heart, soul and spirit get big enough, bright enough and beautiful enough no one notices what you really look like anyway…they can barely see you because of the ethereal glow that spreads itself across your skin and beams out of your eyes and open hands.

I have a lot of work to do when it comes to cultivating inner beauty in my self.

It’s something I want to encourage in other women.

In my best friends.

In ladies I hardly know but feel a connection with.

You. She. Her. Them. We.

To commit myself to that work, I dreamed up this series and concocted the first of what I hope will be many!

This necklace is composed of sterling, copper, enamel, coral, carved coral flowers, carved ivory flowers, sari silk and green quartz.

It took five days of work, months of daydreaming and sketching and a studio full of tools to create.

It’s delicate.

It’s massive.

It’s vivacious.

It’s beautiful.

I poured my heart and soul into it.

It’s festive.

It’s cheerful.

It’s serious.

It’s calm.

It’s merry.

It’s strong.

It’s one of a kind.

And lastly, this lipstick is called Sephora Rouge (0127B RO6).

In case anyone was wondering.

GUFFAW!

Jillian Susan

*I’ve not mastered any of these things…I openly confess…but I’m working on them every day…two steps forward, one step back.

Filed Under: body cavity series, inner beauty, New Jewelry

That Darn Cat

December 4, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

I carefully tame the beast.

Be still.

That darn cat is a barn cat.

I wish you could feel his fur. At the moment it’s a lush winter coat — incredibly thick and soft. When I run my fingers through it I promise myself that it feels the same as a young polar bear or Arctic fox in the wintertime (I wouldn’t really know, but I’m brave enough to venture a guess).

He’s a sass.

He’s too big for his britches.

Literally.

And figuratively.

Meow,

Filed Under: pinkerton