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Tag Archives: peaceful

The View of the Room

22 Jun

Control Center

Since I didn’t have an pictures of my writing room when I posted Room to Write, and Several of you expressed an interest in my domain, here are a few to give you an idea of what it is like.

I also work from home on occasion so the multiple monitors come in handy. When I’m all set up with two laptops it looks like NASA’s Mission Control in Houston.

 **Note – The little sign in front of the desk next to the picture states, “You call it daydreaming…I call it multi-tasking.”  The sign on the wall next to the window states, “If you are agitated and confused, my job here is done.”

Power and Wisdom

The top two images in the Bev Doolittle print are called “Guardian Spirits”. I had the opportunity to purchase the originals when I lived in Colorado. However, I was poor and living in an apartment. Each of the originals was four feet square! The cost was well out of my league. if I even got the opportunity, I would buy them now. Yes, it is a real bison skull minus the black horn caps. I can feel the strength of the spirit behind those eye sockets. 

Inspiration Wall

Items that have special meaning, memories, and dreams. I have a fondness for owl pictures. This group of books are only very small a sample of my reference library. The cuirass on the floor to the left has a date of 1735 inscribed inside. It was a great auction find. All in all, it is a peaceful writing space full of inspiration that fires my imagination whenever I sit down to write.

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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Room to Write

13 Jun

Twelve years ago, my wife and I purchased our current home with the idea that it was a blank canvas that we could make into our own. All the walls were white. Okay off-white, the previous owners were all chain smokers. Fixtures were mostly gold finish and worn out. The carpet reeked for dogs and cigarette smoke. The yard was a mess with sparse grass and one lonely peony in the back yard. So a few months ago we finally began work on the last room, my study/writing room.

I asked the CEO of my domicile what she wanted to do with this room. Her reply stunned me, “Whatever you want to do. It is your room and I want you to be happy with it.” God bless this woman who let’s me live with her!

Immediately, I started to fantasize about all sorts of interesting, and expensive, things we could do to give me the room of my dreams. However, she doesn’t call me “The Dream Squasher” for nothing. I am the CFO of the domicile so I am well aware of what I can and cannot spend. So, many of my dreams vanished into a puff of smoke. 😦

That’s okay, I am a list maker so I started to make a list of necessities: Desk with ample room to spread out notes and journals, comfortable chair, laptop computer with external oversized monitor and external keyboard, shelves for books that I cannot part with, oak 4-drawer file cabinet (new purchase), stereo system and wide variety of music (that’s a whole different post), soft overhead lighting, views of our backyard waterfall garden and side yard japanese garden, and a bulletin board for story-boarding.

Then comes the accessories (no new purchases): Bison skull, prints by Bev Doolittle, swords and knives I have made and collected, longbows, quivers and arrows, collection of Native American pottery, portrait of the CFO in his renaissance costume, medicine bag, antique cuirass, English war hammer, various (fantasy, Celtic, Native American) sculptures, and most important a photograph of the CEO.

It took about two months to finish it but it is now my very favorite room in the house. Unfortunately, I have been unable to use it much due to other life altering events keeping me away. The good news is the sea has calmed somewhat and I am spending more time in my new sanctuary. The words are beginning to flow more freely.

I still write during my lunch hour but I find myself daydreaming about sitting behind the three feet of oak and listening to my favorite russian composer. Ah…pure bliss.

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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Pipesmoke

12 Apr

This page has been sitting in my Musings and Odd Thoughts tab for a while. With all that has been going on around me of late, I thought a truly personal post was in order. So, for those who have not read it previously…

 A curl of blue-grey smoke climbs lazily toward the star-filled sky. My lips make contact with the well-worn pipe stem. As I begin to draw on the stem, the glow reflecting from the bowl onto my thumb, lets me know that the fire within is healthy. The warm bowl guards my hand against the crisp evening air. The heat from the ash feels good. The hot flavor washes across my tongue. It tastes sweet, tart and bitter all at once. The pungent aroma snakes up my nostrils. The smell is friendly and warm. It reminds me of other nights in other places. As I pull my mouth from the stem a few tendrils of smoke escape into the moonlight. After a pause to relish in the experience, a ring of smoke rises gently from my mouth. It floats skyward. A moment later a blue-grey arrow shoots up through the ring. The arrow mushrooms beyond. The ring widens and begins to dissipate into the night.

The sweet assault on my senses soothes the frustrations of the day. Worries and irritations float away on a thin rising column. They are replaced by peaceful relaxation and a warm feeling of contentment. Each inhale seems to draw me further into a state of mellow solitude. With each exhale comes more relaxation as my tensions are expelled on a smokey jet.

It is a time of contemplation. It is a time for prayer. It is a time of thanksgiving. It is a time to enjoy and reflect on the good things in life. It is a time to appreciate those things that we have and give thanks. Far too often we ask for things and far too seldom do we take time to thank the Creator for all that is done for us. This is also a time to listen. Listen to the crickets chirping in the bushes. Listen to the wind moving gently through the leaves overhead. Listen to the yapping of coyotes in the distance and the whippoorwills one tree away.

I pull again on the stem. A billow of sweet smoke rolls skyward. It swirls across the first quarter moon and then disappears. I truly am grateful for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I have good health, a wonderful wife, a nice house, a good paying job, and my beliefs in a greater power. Every new day is special because it is different and has its own surprises to offer.

Far too soon the bowl is empty. It begins to cool in my palm. I carefully scrape the inside of the bowl to loosen the remaining contents. I rap it gently on the heel of my other hand. The leftover ashes and unburnt mixture fall to the Earth. They came from the Earth; it’s only natural that they return there. The pinholes of light in the night sky beckon me to take one more long last look before going back inside. A smile crosses my face as I say goodnight to the spirits.

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2012 in Other Strangeness

 

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