Watching a TED talk today I was reminded of an Irish proverb that my colleague and I often quote:
“It is in the shelter of each other that people live.”
I am not going to say much more; I just urge you to watch this talk. On this blog, we are perhaps guilty of focusing too much on the communities on our own doorstep, the ones that look like we expect communities to look.
This talk opened my eyes, heart, and mind.
http://www.ted.com/talks/iwan_baan_ingenious_homes_in_unexpected_places.html
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Family…
What do you see here? A family portrait? Love? Two beautiful, strong women and their amazing children? That’s what I see too. This portrait adorns the living room of Beth and Carolyn. It represents a family wrapped in love, a family with ups and downs, a family with rich traditions and a family that until this past Friday October 18, 2013…didn’t have complete, legal recognition. That last, ridiculous little tidbit of information, became exiled into history when Beth, Carolyn, their two children Trystin and Taylor, and about 10 of their closest family and friends walked into the Vista County Assessor’s office and got married!! Continue reading
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During my pregnancy and since the birth of my son, I have discovered a new community, a new ’cause’, which has become very important to me. I believe that our culture needs to address its approach to pregnancy and in particular, to birth. The fundamental need is for a truer representation of birth to be shared via word-of-mouth, the media, everywhere. Continue reading
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A while back, a friend of mine living in New York City, posted a link to this project on his FaceBook page. I remember being blown away with the idea, but having no time to really digest it. I immediately bookmarked it and have recently taken a look back at what caught my attention so significantly at first glance.
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Some of you will know that it was my sister’s wedding celebration on Saturday night. Indeed, some of you were there! The celebration took place in the town where my parents live, in the beautiful Scottish Borders. But I would say only about 20% of the guests live in Scotland; the rest travelled – mostly from England, a couple from the Netherlands.
The party took the form of a ceilidh. For those of you not versed in this Scottish tradition, a modern ceilidh (pronounced “Kay-lee”) is an evening of Scottish Country Dancing. All over Scotland, we learn these dances at school during P.E./ gym lessons. I hated being forced to hold hands with horrible boys, despite loving the dances and even attending the odd evening Scottish Country Dancing class with my mum. I don’t mind holding hands with boys now (well, maybe except for the horrible ones) and my love of the ceilidh has only deepened over the years. Continue reading
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Come In From The Cold 