Saturday, January 28, 2012

Happy Day of Rest!

Happy day of rest!  We see that it is good and we rest.  Spent our first night in the cabin last night.  Thankful!

Wrote this yesterday, thought I'd share.  You can meditate on it for calming or use it as a visualization exercise: 

Sun shining through the wintery windows
Woodworkers just outside
smoke rises from a chimney, across the way
warming a house, and little toes, I'll never see
Coffee losing steam on the kitchen table
Music playing through simple songs
the baby draws in circles around these words

Happy Sabbath!  A gift of rest from Love Above.  Naomi loves this painting by Van Gogh.  Rest.


Friday, January 27, 2012

Moving Day

Moving in today.  Got the cottage all lined up.  It's in a little town with hardly anything other than a lake, ice fishers and a few neighbors.  Very peaceful.  Moving Day is On.  It's sleeting and we just got 2 to 4 inches of snow last night. 

Blessings,
M & G

Making Musical Memories: Bon Iver

Bon Iver has been a huge inspiration lately.  It started a few years ago but was recently fanned into flame in Ithaca, NY when at Angry Mom's Records.  I saw his self-titled album and thought, we should really listen to that good music more.  So here's Bon Iver, a great mellow, melancholy and yet uplifting experience.  The art on his new album is down to earth in beauty.:  BON IVER


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Site Stash- Crescere

A long loved blog by a dear friend.  Out of this world art, photos, beautiful family updates, great music reviews and a good time!  Sorry so brief, just don't want to take away from this sweet blog.  Check out !!Crescere!!


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Making Musical Memories: Teshuva

We met Angela before she married Sam and before we heard her music.  She was so sweet and has been through a lot.  Their new LP has five great songs and five great videos on youtube.  We have enjoyed listening to them immensely.  This week's featured music is:

TESHUVA


Teshuva is a husband/wife duo which started the moment they met in 2009. Without knowing it, they were both heading in the same direction and divine timing was bringing them together. "We both love sound, creativity and the Creator, YHWH" say Sam and Angela. After getting Betrothed and then married in 2010 they turned their attention to music. "We love playing music and want to share this journey with our family and friends wherever we go." Teshuva works to find the perfect blend between technical sound and memorable melodies. The name Teshuva came from a dream during their first pregnancy which ended in miscarriage. In the dream Angela felt this babies' name was Teshuva. After looking it up, they found that Teshuva is the Hebrew word for repentance or rather, a turning. "Fitting for the band" they say "as we both love Israel and know humanity needs to turn to the truth found in the Bible. We hope Teshuva's message can find a balance between purity and creative artistic expression." 



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Making Musical Memories

The term Musical Memories came to me one day about a year ago while meditating with Yah. It expressed how songs are written, at least by my hand.  The line in the song that came that day was "When a musical memory falls from the sky..."  A lot of music feels divinely inspired because beauty is so great and overwhelming within it, calling to the innermost parts of my soul.  I don't feel that my body can contain it.  It is something not physical, not of this realm, that we have as a gift from the creator of light and love.  In fact, he is in essence, all light and love.  I see those things in the music we'll be featuring in the Making Musical Memories feature.  This will be a weekly segment and I hope you like it.  This week's Musical Memory is:

The Head and The Heart

 
We started to listen to this band  a few months ago and I can't help but have their songs in my head at the most opportune times.  They have really good vibes and are a treat to hear.  Here is a statement from a song on their self-titled album The Head and The Heart by The Head and The Heart.   

The song below is the first I heard from this band and I was hooked.  It makes me sympathize with substance abuse issues.  Not just drugs or alcohol, anything that has become an idol in someone's life that interrupts their abilities to bond with family, friends, true peaceful experiences and love (the definition being the fruits of the spirit in my mind: love = joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, meekness, self-control = love).  

SongTitle: Down in the Valley : "...l-rd have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways. Call it one drink too many, call it pride of a man.  It don't make no difference if you sit or you stand, cause they both end in trouble and start .it.  do it over and over and over again.  I know there's California, Oklahoma, and all of the places I ain't ever been to, but down in the valley with whiskey rivers, these are the places you will find me hiding, these are the places I will always go.  I am on my way, I am on my way...back to where I started..."

The songs are written well with timely soft but powerful transitions and wrenching instrumental and vocal melodies and harmonies both. 



Site Stash: Week 1

Thanks to 1.  Sheephill Herbs for helping me to look at Mountain Rose Herbs' website for the giveaways going on right now, and 2.  Mountain Rose Herbs for sharing this website with me:


We love creative ways to live life, share love and reach out to others.  Here is a group that seems to do that through a warm and comforting means:  TEA.  Tea is a staple in our lives.  It is healthful, invigorating and brings people together.  Here is a little something from the website: 

"The Free Tea Party offers an alternative to, and a balance for, self-centered philosophies often fostered by our society. This alternative is based on the "gift economy," or the idea that goods and services can be given without anything required in return. We believe that selfishness should be balanced out by selflessness.
- We also practice the principles of permaculture, nonviolent conflict resolution, and consensus decision-making.
- Although we are non-partisan, we support people, movements, and politicians who strive for positive socio-environmental change."

I like what I'm hearing here.  While we may not agree on everything, this is what it's about.  Going out, meeting people, sharing ideas, gleaning and focusing on what bonds us, not what divides us.  Too bad they're on the west coast.  This would be fun to be involved in!

Hope you liked post #1 of our Site Stash.  Keep posted (he he, blog pun) for more.  Let us know if you like this type of information sharing, too.  We value commentary.  

Until next time, enjoy a cup of fresh organic tea in silence today and think of our deep bond with the force of light that fills us if we allow it to.  

Peace, love, lynays 

Features of the Week

I'm going to post a few entries today on different topics because the road is not kind to blogging: or I haven't worked it into the schedule yet.  I know it's possible and easy as sitting in a McDonald's parking lot, but who wants to sit in a McDonald's parking lot?  Eww.  It makes me feel greasy.  I'm going to start a few new weekly blog series'. 

1.  Site Stash:  A featured website full of beautiful, interesting or captivating information.  Something we hope you'll check out and glean from.  We may not always agree with everything on the website, but if there's a good core message and it's pleasing to the eye, we like to share! 

2.  Making Musical Memories:  A featured artist, song or piece of information on music.  As above, this may just be beautiful, uplifting, pleasing, or informative and we may not agree with all, but have gleaned something helpful and will often share the impact it has had on us. 

I hope you guys enjoy these, look for the first two posts of the series SOON.  Really soon.  I mean in a few minutes.  As fast as I can type.  :) 

Much love


Charlotte, NC

This post is brought to you from Charlotte, NC.  We rolled in this morning at 6 AM roughly after a few days of adventure!  Let me start from Emory, TX because that is the last time I updated you all.  We left Emory, TX and headed to Cisco, TX.  On arrival, the sun had just set and the coyotes were howling in the distance.  Surrounded by stunted oaks, and a magnificent dark sky, the weather was warm.  Some friends welcomed us into their home and really made us feel like family.  After catching up on years gone by, practicing some music and eating a few stellar dinners (gluten free spaghetti, sushi, gluten free fried shepherd cakes), we attended an uplifting service with the Cisco Assembly.  The service was followed by a true Texas buffet of food and fellowship, a bible study and then we performed about 10 songs.  6 originals, 4 covers.

The evening brought us closer to new friends and old and we stayed up until almost 4 am to prove it.  During that time, we had some more jamming, banjo playing and comedic fits. As we've discovered, when we state we're going to leave at a specific time, you can figure on delaying that 6 to 24 or more hours.  After leaving one house, we had a brunch at another, then a noontime rest at yet another and finally, 6 hours after leaving, we were on the road.

Here are some funny things we encountered in TX:  1.  The first is the last, a neighbor named roadkill who has a tricycle-motorcycle in his front yard, fully decked out with a car's bucket seat.  2.  A pickup hauling what we thought to be a dangerous load (huge round haybale hanging half off the tailgate).  However, after showing video to some Texans, they assured us this was normal and it was secured by a concealed spike.  3.  We picked up what we presume to be a Mexican field workers hat at a goodwill.  It is boss!  You can wear it as a lampshade on a bright day and still see out of it!  Matt, you'd love this thing! 

TX was so much more than I can explain.  There were some really deep bonds developed there.  Thank you TX for being warm, welcoming and for not calling us Yankees too many times.

That night, we drove the whole way through Louisiana and down 55 South to Magnolia, MS.  I just couldn't wait any longer to get some good home cooking from Grandma!  We arrived at around 4:30 AM and hung out in the driveway until 7 AM when she opened the door to feed the cats.  Our plan was that the next three nights would be spent there and we would arrive in Augusta, GA on Friday morning.  After a few days of scrumptious food and bonding with the grandparents, we left Magnolia on our way to GA.  Ten miles later, we were on the side of the road with a cracked radiator.  My uncle was only about a mile down the road.  My grandma set out to rescue us and broke down also.  We all had to be saved, and we were.  The night ended at her house again, both out of a vehicle and destined to a bonus night together.  It was cherished.  Our radiator didn't come in until around 4 pm the next day and my uncles had it repaired by 5.  We set out, after sundown, at 7:30 PM.  Had to go back for a water bottle.  Left again, had to go back for a hat I'd just made for Lydia.  Then we were really off.  We drove all night and pulled into August around 8:30 AM.

At 10 AM, Self Aside met up with us in the parking lot of the Temple of Yahweh and we hugged and played catch up with news and updates.  Services began a little after noon and the rest was so fun.  We played some songs, Self Aside played some songs, then the fellowship meal (mmmhmmmm), then we began to jam some songs from the Frystown songbook.  That turned into circling the chairs and starting a very large drum circle jam with call and response songs.  While still in the circle, feeling the good vibes, we started to play originals and bounced back and forth with Self Aside for a few numbers.  My throat was beckoning for a break and it was getting late, so we packed it up and said our lengthy goodbyes.  Goodbyes are so hard!

Mike and I slept in the girls' hotel room for a few hours and woke everyone up at 3 AM before we departed.  We all said goodbye again, and planned to meet next week in Virginia.  Currently, we are in Charlotte, NC.  This week will find us visiting more grandparents (with more gluttonous food) and various friends all over NC.  As I said, we'll be in Virginia Beach for Sabbath, Yahweh willing.  Next week, we'll have a home-show and jam session in Philadelphia.  Looking forward and thankful for all the new people we've met and for all the old relationships that have been cemented on this trip.  Only two full-official weeks left.  Woohoo!

Peace, love, lynays

P.S. We put our etsy on vacation mode because keeping track of inventory was hard on the road.  However, we'll be opening back up with many new exciting things on February 1st.  A quick hint to our new handmade and vintage items include: vintage clothing, art prints, and fiber arts.  Keep posted!

P.P.S. Also check out this blog: http://sheephillherbs.blogspot.com/ It is very informative and I love it!