I know…it’s been a long time without words here. I do plan to post some photo updates, but first, a love post to Mr. JD Salinger, may he rest in peace today.

My brother gave me the book Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger at a time when this book was important for me to read. There was one, long section near the end that has never left me. Here it is ~ it still makes me cry…

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“It’s this business of desiring, if you want to know the goddam truth, that makes an actor in the first place. Why’re you making me tell you things you already know? Somewhere along the line – in one damn incarnation or another, if you like – you not only had a hankering to be an actor or an actress but to be a good one. You’re stuck with it now. You can’t just walk out on the results of your own hankerings. Cause and effect, buddy, cause and effect. The only thing you can do now, the only religious thing you can do, is act. Act for God, if you want to – be God’s actress, if you want to. What could be prettier? You can at least try to, if you want to – there’s nothing wrong in trying.” There was a slight pause. “You’d better get busy, though, buddy. The goddam sands run out on you every time you turn around. I know what I’m talking about . You’re lucky if you get time to sneeze in this goddam phenomenal world.”

–Zooey, to his sister, Franny in Franny and Zooey, 1955
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Thank you Mister Salinger for your words…
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i live somewhere where the air is fresh and fog is a consistent presence. there are beautiful trees just a short distance from my modest home, with a small barn out back, perhaps big enough for one or two horses. it is a short drive to the city. my husband and two children, one boy and one girl, sit outside in the hammock under the trees contemplating life or creating home-made plays which they perform for me on weekends. our home is soft, fresh, clean, cozy, beautiful and understated. there are bright pink flowers growing in the yard, a small vegetable garden with corn growing in it and perhaps a strawberry patch. family photographs line the hallways of our home and show us all enjoying frequent excursions to places both near and far. my extended family isn’t too far away.
my movement studio is thriving, offering a variety of classes that stimulate the mind-body-spirit connection. i teach several classes per week and strive to provide a space for community and growth. i spend at least two days at home with my family and frequently help my kids with their homework. i spend one night per week on a date with my husband where we get out of the house without the kids.
i get outside to enjoy nature at least once per week, where i am able to sit or walk alone allowing time for reflection and meditation. we take two vacations per year, one as a family and one as a couple. at night, a cat is always there purring beside me. together as a family we strive toward greener living and we spend time talking about current events. i am lucky to have friends both near and far with whom i am in frequent contact.

we don’t get everything we want, but this might be what my life would look like in ten years if we did.
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I had a delicious, restful holiday weekend full of family and fun!

My Thanksgiving dinner was yummy – I love mashed potatoes, missed having tofurkey, fell madly in love with creamed onions and realized that I actually like yams. In my effort to avoid my mom overcooking the green beans, I took them off the heat too soon and they were a little under-done. Oops. But my brother agreed that they were better than usual. And I scarfed a slice of pumpkin pie ~ with vanilla ice cream and whipping cream on top, which always makes me feel so good. Warm and tired, like I could just hibernate. We then gathered around the table and played Apples to Apples, my two 90+ year old grandmothers included!

The next day my whole family was tired and lazy, so finally I took off into the town to see what I could see. I wandered through two stores, but was uninspired by the commercialization of gift-giving, so I took myself to the movies instead. I highly recommend Bolt! I wasn’t sure about it based on the billboards around LA, but it warmed my heart and made me want a dog…

On Saturday, I gave my dad a yoga lesson. Even though I have never been through training, I was able to give my dad some pointers. My dad does the sun salutation most mornings and said my tips helped him a lot when he did it by himself again today. We had a good time and I even got my dad into a headstand!

Here is my former yoga teacher, Elsie, teaching the basic sun salutation…

Finally, on Sunday I returned home to Hollywood where R and I went to a screening of the amazing film Revolutionary Road. I wasn’t sure about this movie, either, but wow. Just wow.

For a Brit, Sam Mendes is a genius when it comes to telling the story of suburban America. First, American Beauty and now this. R and I both suppose that we invented the suburban existential problem here in America, but I’m sure it has since spread across the pond and beyond.

Here are two lines that reverberated throughout my whole body and stuck with me…

“If being crazy means living life as if it really matters, then I don’t care if we’re completely insane.”
~April (Kate Winslet) to her husband Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio)

“All I know is, April, I want to feel things, really feel them, you know?. How’s that for an ambition?”
~Frank to his new wife, April

The performances were breathtaking. And the story was real, honest, heartbreaking, familiar…a movie I completely relate to.

Then, last night we went out for dinner to celebrate two of R’s sister’s birthdays, where his niece Scarlett decided I would look fabulous with a bow on my head…

Over the holiday weekend I meditated a great deal on things for which I am grateful. Here is an abridged list:

*my family
*my home, however disjointed at the moment
*my best kitty friend, Marceau
*my health and the health of my family
*the pole
*warm blankets
*my friendships
*my recent discovery that I actually like pickles
*my black hooded sweatshirt
*the beach
*love in all it’s forms
*the re-discovery of my yoga practice
*the ability to read
*sunshine and rain
*my ease with using chopsticks
*the growing consciousness about the need to go green
*dancing, dancing, dancing
*good stories in all forms
*open communication
*my always evolving life journey, however many ups and downs it brings

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Stay grateful…
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