getting into it

finally got to putting in some lights to the apartment

it makes all the difference.

it really gets me in the spirit of things---

i'm leaving some decorations

for when friends come and visit

this week

--can't wait to see nada and mandy--

i have the soundtrack ready---

Home Alone

it's the best holiday music

for all christmas chores

hanging lights

putting up the tree

wrapping gifts

making gifts

speaking of making

i got into making 

little kitchen scrubbies

it's not for everyone

but i know a few people

who would love 

something like this.

like me

i would love a

handmade

scrubber of pots

made with 

twine

and stuffed

with wool

wouldn't you?

i say best of all

have fun

and don't forget

why we're running 

around

like chickens

without heads

running so many errands

to get done

before

the-day

and if you need

some inspiration

or some reminding

come on over

to the Chapel at St. Ignatius tomorrow

December 11, 2011

at 3pm

and hear beautiful music

of the Advent

admission is free

cheers,

Ashima

 

before we get into the rush
of the holiday season

i want to take a moment
of calm

i want to be mindful

of the why

--ashima

on fall walks

Out on a walk 

on what might be 

the last true days of fall, 

the trees were on a rampage.

on days like this

i look ahead

at the frost 

that will surely come

knowing

same time next year

the trees and me

shall meet again

these days....

i

fall

freely

it seems to come easy.

have you any plans for the winter?

i have some

not a lot

just a few

special ones

love,

ashima

19 November 2011

on weddings

my cousin lorna married paul this summer---

a beautiful beach wedding

for bridesmaid gifts we got to pick our nail polish
and we walked the aisle barefoot.
(love)

me, my sisters,

my mom, my dad,

my brother in law, my nephew---

we all came

we thought of ton and amy

so much on this day

the last time we were all together

was for a wedding too.

i love weddings in my family

i feel us growing

in numbers

and in love.

(love)

my favorite part of any wedding

you'd never guess

are you guessing?

 

guess some more?

it's not the cake---

although that's yummy

it's not not dress---

althought it's pretty

it's not the open bar---

i am a light weight when it comes to that

it's kind of the dancing

but not always.

---yes! my one notable quote in a newspaper is about dancing---

but i digress--

my favorite part about weddings

are the holding of hands

i see it everywhere

i particularly remember

the way ton and amy held hands

at the altar

i love that kind

not perfunctory ones

called by occasion and manners

but that one--

where you really take their hands in yours

to tell them

i am here

and
you are here

and
we are in this

---together---

love,
ashima

Open toe shoes

 

it is the first day of fall

and already i'm reaching out

for my warm socks.

open toe shoes

i will miss you

and all the places you took me

this summer.

-ashima

23 September 2011

how today felt

today 

I am a finisher. 

everytime i leave a job

i never feel that i'm done. 

it's hard to describe 

the feeling 

when you know 

it is time 

for you 

to go 

while at the same time 

figuring out 

 how to say 

 *

thanks 

*

how to make that big

to cover the remarkable scope of gratitude 

for people who made you believe 

in the best parts of yourself 

it never feels enough 

but i need to say it 

somehow.

ten years later

ten years later

we still remember

where we were

when the two towers fell 

9.11.2001

-

on matters light and gray

have you though about

what you would do

when you can no longer ignore

the greys in your hair

when you can no longer tuck

that one long silver one

behind the mane of black

i  am starting to---

i don't know if I should color my roots

i don't have the tenacity for it.

i get my haircut once every fifteen months

by the time i see my hair dresser

i need to often remind her my name

i will probably follow

in the footsteps of my Mom.

she doesn't know it but I do

my Mom has decided.

she has put a stop to all of it---

the packets of Biggen,

the murky gloves,

the overnight transformation,

the resetting of roots and time.

at least for now--

long enough to see

what her roots would tell her

and her roots are telling her

that she is a beauty

no matter what

Making room, taking time

I'm slowly easing into summer. This is a departure from my usual where I join the millions of Chicago folks who, tired of being cooped up in their homes in the long cold and rainy months, head out in full force to meet the sun and the beach and the crowds.

It's almost the middle of July. Sports tournaments are almost halfway done. All the stores are already advertising end of summer sales.

What end? I've just started. Please. Slow down and let time be time. Let's make room, let's take time.

The danger in choosing not to make contact with others seems so much larger than the danger in doing so. Making room in our lives for more people is what we are meant to do, even if they eventually leave, or we do. Remaining open to what may come. Enlarging a sense of home, one small risk at a time.

Charlotte Bacon
New York Times
Lessons from a Year in Bali

lessons from the weather

This morning I woke up to a kind of day where you want to immediately go back to bed. It was gloomy and rainy with no signs of letting up. But look at how the day ended. Bright and sunny with warmth to spare for a yet-still cold swim for the brave and warm-hearted. It goes to show you can never really give up on your day. There might be an impromptu picnic by the beach waiting for you at the end of it.

Yes, that's it. No apologies. No forewords. I'm just simply back.

-Ashima

The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed.

From Jane Eyre
Charles Bronte