Dec. 30th 2015

The Old Year

Soon we will be saying farewell to 2015.
But there is still time to do what all of us
know we should do, something that can
make the coming year really better.

        To let go 

    of old grudges, 

      blame, and

          anger!

(Let's take the time now and feel better

as we welcome a new love-filled 2016.)

December 25th 2015

PEACE & LOVE 

Be Yours on this very Special day.

May each and every person around our world

             experience God's Love.

       Merry Christmas!

(Thank you to all who have helped me through

this time of healing with their love & support.)

 

November 26th 2015

THANKSGIVING DAY

There are so many ways to share 

on this special day. . .

Make a call              Send an email            Text

Let someone know how important they are in your life.

                     With Grateful Good Wishes, 

                                                 kg

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Time to take a break and allow
your creative self  to break free
with a little Scott Joplin music.
The pianist/composer was born
on this day in 1867.

                                    LISTENING

                                    Nature is not always quiet.

                                    Listen: Maple Leaf Rag,

                                    Sunflower Drag, Chrysanthemum.

                                    Joplin's greatest hits motion

                                    nature's loveliness to dance

                                    down the piano keys.

                                    As we drive, we slap thighs 

                                    and tap feet. Winding

                                    down Highway 49,

                                    mining towns are gone.

                                    One green sign says, Pop.7.

                                    But Coronation gold are waving

                                    and lupine-purple just might

                                    be the next song playing.

                                                         -Kathleen Gunton

                                                            ©2003  PDQ 

Maple Leaf Rag Piano Duet Joplin

Friday, Nov 20, 2015

Healer

We've all met at least one person in our life,
who seems to have the unique quality of healer.
One such person is on my mind today.

      Has such a person touched your life?

                Thank you is easy to say
      even though it falls short of meaning
                         sometimes.

Nov 11-12 2015

MORE THAN ONE DAY

Think of all the brave, honorable people

who have served our country. . . 

It will take you more than one day.

Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts,

uncles, grandfathers, neighbors-- the list

is long; the days are short.

Name names and tell stories. That sharing is your gift of remembrance.

                              God Bless Them Each And All

                                              

                     

Nov 2, 2015

VOICE & HEART

Have you ever met someone through their
voice, never really seeing them in person,
and yet feeling a delightful kinship?

Aunt Lucille went to heaven last night.
She had kindness and laughter in
her voice each time we chanced to speak.
And though not part of her earthly family, I
cared about her deeply. Surely many, many
others felt the same.
I will miss. . .
"Well, hello there. How are you?" At which
time the door opened in our conversation and
I got to tell someone how I was really doing.

My prayers go out to all her family and friends--
who celebrated her 100th birthday just last month!

My understanding is that heaven is Heaven--not
Catholic or Protestant or Jewish or any other
religion. God is Love and He built the mansions
there for everyone who loves in this life on earth.

There is a beautiful hymn that is sung at the end
of a funeral Mass. I think it is full of consolation.
Here is one version sent out with love for a very
special lady..

Song of Farewell By Ernest Sands

Halloween Weekend 2015

FACE or MASK

Some people love getting dressed up
for Halloween while others close their
doors and their minds to fun. 

The beautiful, terrible magic may be
your real face transformed--or a mask
to hold a cover over being recognized.

Who are you and why? 

The English teacher who transforms

herself into "Maleficent" has always

been your favorite--and now you

find she has another side. . .?

 

The face in the window, which is not

anyone but could be your best friend.

Will she choose the mask and do 

something crazy because "she's just

not herself ?"

This is that holiday with many permissions

attached to it -- not to mention sweets.

Indulge and have fun. 

Happy Halloween! BE SAFE.

Thursday, October 29th 2015

CATS & COLOR

Did you know that today is National Cat Day?

If you love that kitty in your lap or the one that comes to
your backdoor to beg--then maybe you are celebrating
a day for your soft, comforting friend.

A cat can wedge its way into your life. Even if it's only a

little fellow that pays you a leg rub when you go for your

walk in the morning.  You are touched and feel a connection.

This cat has a good owner and you are just a passer-by. 

Still . . .

           What was God thinking?

Cats are lovely creatures. They come in a mixture

of breeds and their coats are multi-colored.

ABOUT COLOR

Color speaks to us. Color can change our mood.

What is your favorite color? and when you were

growing into your life did you favor one color and

wear it everyday?

Someone has a birthday today. Her world of color

is changing. Purple everything has now taken a bit

of a backseat to seafoam green. 

How did that happen?

We all change and most of the time that's a good thing.

It means we are growing and discovering.

So what if there are no blue-green hibiscus

flowers. 

On your special day, you can dream--

Happy Birthday!  Brookie. . . sweet dreams.

Monday, October 12th 2015

Poetry & Thanksgiving

Today is a little dash of color with words.

If you were in Canada you would be celebrating

Thanksgiving! (Wouldn't it be nice here in the States

to have some time for reflection around the special holidays

of Love & Peace & Family & Gratitude?)

* Now may be an appropriate time to give a shout out to

Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec,

who has suggested the idea of women deacons in the

Roman Catholic Church. Yes! It is time.

Today is the birthday of poet Paul Engle (1908-1991) 

who said, "The way to praise a poet is to write a poem."

And since yours truly is also celebrating a birthday today,

I've decided to share a cento from my collection in progress.

Some wonderful journals have published my centos which

(as poets know) is very promising.

A poem from Patrick Kavanagh to me and now to you:

                                                MY CLOAK OF GOLD

                                                      -Patrick Kavanagh: Cento                                

                                                I came to a great house on the edge of a park

                                                Something discovered vividly and sudden.

                                                (God must be allowed to surprise us.)

                                                That beautiful, beautiful, beautiful God

                                                Not the abstract Creator but He who caresses

                                                In the light.

                                               

                                                On the road we walk nobody is unwanted—

                                                A world that was and now is poised above time

                                                So full of repose, so rich with life

                                                And verse that can redeem a soul.

                                                Spread the news, tell all. if you love me—

                                                Unwilling saint.

                                                I will have love, love, love.

                                                God’s gift to this poetic nation.

                                                O wealthy me! O happy state.

                                                So I take my cloak of gold

                                                I’m as happy as I’ve ever been

                                                Great glory to the King!

                                                If my voice still echoes there

                                                Bring out a book as soon as you can.

                                                                                    -Kathleen Gunton

                                                                                            ©2015

Monday September 28, 2015

Pope Francis Leaves Us . . .

  

A rainbow of days blesssed the United States

this past week. We now have the example and

the words of this humble Servant of God to

put into practice in our own lives. 

"The joy of the Gospel is for all people."  

"No one is beyond God's mercy."

"Love is shown by little things."

What words touched you; what will change
in your life?


And as the Pope flew home to the Eternal City. . .
the Supermoon put on a show.

           

          We Rest and Give Thanks For This Most Extraordinary Week.

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015

HISTORIC DAY IN USA:

Pope Francis in Washington, D.C.

(A shout out to CNN who covered
the day's events in a respectful manner.)
The following images kept many glued
to their T.V. sets throughout the day.
Thank you from those of us who could
not attend in person.

               Shalom on this night to those who are Jewish.

                                           and . . .

          St. Junipero Serra pray for us.

Monday, Sept 21st 2015

Kay Ryan

Happy Birthday to Kay!

Born on this day in 1945.

Check out these links and introduce yourself
to Kay's droll sense of humor.
To appreciate this poet/educator you must
hear her read. 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172276

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/dec/23/art-flamingo-watching/

    "Flamingo Watching"  for Kay Ryan.

    

             Happy 70th Birthday!

Sunday, September 20th 2015

Happy Birthday! Donald Hall

It is not the awards--and there are many:
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
National Book Award
Poet Laureate of the United States--
that make Donald Hall a great poet.

Rather, it is one line of work that stays with
a reader forever. To write poetry that rings
so true it must be is the sign of a great poet.
Donald Hall has given us such work.

Read & Celebrate!

Tues. September 15, 2015

Rain

We give thanks
for our early morning
gift of rain in CA.

September 11th 2015

911 MEMORIAL PARK

Today we recall the events of  September 11, 2001.
We think about where we were when we heard
the news.

So many emotions filling that day and the days that followed.

 

When you visit the 911 Memorial Park in NYC you are prayerfully
quiet--everyone in their own thoughts.
Almost 3,000 names are inscribed in bronze around the reflecting pools.

May our good God give strength to families who mourn
                   --especially on this day. 

                                      

             May all who died Rest in Peace.

Thursday September 10th 2015

Celebrating Mary Oliver

Happy 80th Birthday! 

Mary Oliver's poetry celebrates the natural
world and draws us into her thoughts.

What a gift to be "married to amazement" as
she wrote in her poem, "When Death Comes."

Today let's honor this poet by allowing ourselves

to be amazed by something in our life that we may 

have failed to notice in the past.

Monday September 7th 2015

 LABOR DAY

This holiday was created in 1887 to
honor those who labor.
May this day remind us that all workers
deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

            “Power, money, culture do not give us dignity.

                   Work, honest work, gives us dignity.”

 

                                                              -Pope Francis

Sunday, September 6th 2015

A WAVE GOODBYE

             to Summer . . . 

Even though we are not officially in Fall

yet, September is a turning point, right?

Birthdays are turning points also. 

Here are some poets who will celebrate

their special day in September.

Let's give them a shout out for all the

pleasure and connection they give us!

September 10th    Mary Oliver

September 17th    Kay Ryan

September 17th   Carl Dennis

September 20th   Donald Hall

September 30th   W.S. Merwin

 

September 1st 2015

THE CARE OF CREATION

 

In the words of Pope Francis:

"The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will offer individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation, as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.....We live at a time when all Christians are faced with the same decisive challenges, to which we must respond together, in order to be credible and effective”.

The Pope noted the initiative follows in the footsteps of the Orthodox Church which, for the past 25 years, has dedicated September 1st, the beginning of a new year in the Orthodox liturgical calendar, to care for the environment. Since that time, the World Council of Churches has also marked a month-long‘Time for Creation’ stretching from September 1st to the feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4th.

-Report from Vatican Radio

August 30th 2015

Blessing of the Waves

This morning the 8th annual "blessing of the
waves" took place in Huntington Beach, CA.

An inclusive event, which is well-attended by
those who believe that the ocean is a gift from
our Creator.

              Seabirds at the ocean's edge.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

SHARING A MEAL

Preparing food can be a joy or a work task
in the best of homes. But if we believe that
nourishing food is fuel then we might look
at food a bit differently.

"The doctor of the future will no longer
treat the human frame with drugs, but 
rather will cure and prevent disease with
nutrition."  --Thomas Edison

In the mood for cooking and photography tonight?
Pork Tenderloin with mushrooms served over quinioa--
china peas and red bellpepper on the side.
With that IPhone handy any meal can be enjoyed twice.
Happy fueling your body--and photography!

Saturday August 22, 2015

Henri Cartier-Bresson

This famous photographer was born on
August 22, 1908 and died on August 3, 2004. 

"Once you miss it, it is gone." -Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photographers know the truth in his words.

If you are not familiar with the black

and white images of this French photographer

go to Magnum photos and take

a lesson from a master.

Then review some of your own photos. 

I did. . . Sad to admit how few people appear in my b&w 

portfolio of work. This tabby was even shy about having me

capture him. 

Sometimes sports photography can

capture a decisive moment.

At other times, just keep your camera handy and your

eyes open. . . 

Today in our world of selfies, 

Henri Cartier-Bresson and his work

remind us to look out. There is a

world of other people around us.

Thank you, Henri!

August 15th 2015

Sir Walter Scott 

Born on this day in 1771, Sir Walter Scott has
left the world words that roll off the tongue--
though sometimes we don't know how or why
or when we first heard them quoted to us:

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive."

                          OR

"Breathes there the man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own , my native land!

                                   -- from Canto VI
                        (Lay of the Last Minstrel)

This Victorian Gothic monument is located on 

Princes St. in  Edinburgh. John Steell created the

likeness of Scott in marble. Construction began in 1840

and the tribute was inaugurated on August 15, 1846.

Photographs are happy reminders of adventure.

May you discover Scotland and all its writers--someday.

St. Edith Stein

August 1st 2015

CALIFORNIA FIRES

This beautiful land of perfect weather
is suffering because water is in short
supply. We are going through a long
drought condition. Wildfires are causing
havoc, especially in Northern CA.

Our gratitude goes out to all those brave
firefighters who face walls of flame daily.

                       The Old Montecito Firehouse

Friday, July 24th 2015

Phototropism

Think of the rays of the sunflower.

Observe how it bends toward the light.

Growth directed toward a light source

is called positive phototropism.

Question we can each ask in the 

silence of our own heart: 

Whose light am I leaning toward?

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Sonoma County, CA

It will become our spiritual drink.

For those who are Catholic, these words of

consecration ring with meaning. Do you recall the

bells when everything else was in Latin? That 

moment?

As an EM (Eucharistic Minister) one is blessed

to be giving the cup of salvation to fellow 

members of the community. An awesome 

privilege--humbling.

May it be that we always share Love 

with those who are not at our table, knowing 

OUR FATHER is FATHER OF ALL.

July 20th 2015

IN SANTA ROSA, CA

At the Home & Garden of Luther Burbank

Your camera will find joy!

Enter. The day will not be long enough. . . .

July 16th 2015

TRAVEL 

When you travel by car and you are lucky enough
to be the passenger, your thoughts drift and sway.
If you have a camera . . .  there is never a dull moment.

     Window on the road
                 with
       rear-view mirror.

There is no right or wrong answer:

Do you enjoy looking ahead
or do you appreciate the journey
for where you have been?

The insightful and inspirational 

travel writer Pico Iyer says that 

we travel to find ourselves.

        Safe Travels!

Happy birthday wishes today to 

those who are headed into another year. 

July 4th 2015

Blessings on this Fourth of July Holiday

On this day we commemorate the approval of
Our Declaration of Independence.

            May freedom continue to bloom 

         in every corner of our beautiful world.

        Something for those who may have never

               heard Kate Smith--and others

          you're allowed that tear of nostalgia. . .

Kate Smith, God Bless America

Sunday June 28th 2015

Beautiful Goodbye

Heaven blesses us. 

For those who did not see the sunset tonight

in Southern California. . . Farewell to the day.

However, the greatest gift we are given in life are the

souls that bless us with their goodness. 

Today in our parish we said goodbye to a beloved

priest, who is being reassigned after six years.

There were tears, yes. And smiles.

Father Agustine Escobar is a priest filled with joy,

and sanctity, and humility. He personifies the type

of priest that Francois Mauriac wrote about:

HOLY PRIESTS

By

Francois Mauriac
(1885-1970)

People say that there is a scarcity of priests.  In truth, what an adorable mystery it is that there still are any priests!  They no longer have any human advantage.  Celibacy, solitude, hatred very often, derision and, above all, the indifference of a world in which there seems to be no longer room for them - - such is the portion they have chosen.  They have no apparent power; their task sometimes seems to be centered about material things, identifying them, in the eyes of the masses, with the staffs of town halls and of funeral parlors.  A pagan atmosphere prevails all around them.  The people would laugh at their virtue if they believed in it, but they do not.  They are spied upon.  A thousand voices accuse those who fall. 

 As for the others, the great number, no one is surprised to see them toiling without any sort of recognition, without appreciable salary, bending over the bodies of the dying, or ambling about the parish schoolyards….

 For centuries, since the first Holy Thursday, some men have chosen to become objects of hatred, without expecting any human consolation.  They have chosen to lose their lives because once Someone made them the seemingly foolish promise:  “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My Sake will find it.” 

 But if they did not find their joy even in this world, would they persevere?  “What are You going to do?” said Abbe Perreyve to Christ, the day before he was ordained.  “You are delivering Yourself;  You are abandoning Yourself to me.  You surrender your Body to me.  I shall use it for my needs and for the needs of other souls…I shall touch You, I shall carry You, I shall handle You and You will allow me to do it;  I shall place You on the lips of whom I will;  You will never Refuse….”

 Indeed, Priests, holy priests, are repaid by an immense Love.

Francoise Mauriac; Catholic writer who won the Noble Prize (1952) in literature. 

                          (from Holy Thursday An Intimate Remembrance)

Sunday, June 21st 2015

Blessings on all good Fathers,

Stepfathers, Fill-in Fathers,

and  Priests today.

Strong, gentle men, we salute and thank you!

I captured this image in the Grand Tetons many

years ago. It was twilight and I needed to test the

setting on my camera.

The man and the little girl left before I could get

their names and the lodge had no idea who they

were. I think of them today and wonder. . .

I hope they are well; I hope they are happy and

still watching sunsets together.

June 19th 2015

Charleston, South Carolina

Our hearts and prayers are with all 

those families and friends of 

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Let There Be Peace on Earth - Harlem Boys' Choir

Monday , June 15th 2015

NANPA

I was not aware of it. . .

but now you know:

Today the North American 

Nature Photography Association

observes Nature Photography Day.

So all of we camera people (and there are lots

of us) should go out and make a day of it--in Nature.

When was the last time you captured

                   Stone

                   Animal

                            Flower

                   ???

   Now is the time--Have fun?

   ( Send me some of your images and I'll post them.)