Christmas Letter 2020

peace on earth

 December 19 2020

Today I start my Christmas letter, a remembrance of  a year in my life. These letters are a memoir, one letter for each year. Even so I forgets many things, the day- to- day things that melt together. 

I was just reading Henry Beston’s ‘Especially Maine.’ He lived in the next town to Waldoboro, Damariscotta Maine. He writes beautiful descriptions of nature. ‘ The secret of snow is the beauty of the curve. In no other manifestation of nature is the curve revealed in an almost abstract purity as a part of the visible mystery and splendor of the world. The intense and almost glowing line which a great dune of snow lifts against the blue radiance of the morning sun, that high, clear, and incomparable crest which is mathematics and magic. It is when winds are strong, temperatures low and the snow almost powder dry that you will see such monuments of winter at their best. Dunes of sand are heavier and do not have the aerial grace of the bodiless and radiant crystal of snow which the wind sweeps into an apex of  peeks and curves. “

I write about this because I have lived with four seasons. I have lived through and experienced all kinds of weather, in the changing seasons, the heat , cold, sun, rain, snow and ice, wind and fog. I love the diversity, change and surprises that nature brings. After a good snow storm ,I love to look out from the inside of the house, at the drifts and patterns created over all the objects it covers. I hate to push the door open and destroy the perfection of the shapes. Then when the sun comes out it creates the shadows and the sun on the snow makes it sparkle, a blanket  all pure and clean. These impressions are never forgotten.

 Growing up in New England I associate snow with Christmas. I would pray for snow, for cold weather. We all know Santa lives in a cold snowy place, and Santa brings gifts on Christmas. Snow is nice but the Christmas tree is the most important symbol of Christmas for me. I have never had a Christmas without a tree. There is nothing that can replace the balsam fir tree. It has the best and strongest smell. I have a bag of needles I kept from a tree that I took with me to OR and it still has a strong smell. I have an eight foot noble fir tree this year in my studio apartment. I am, to my knowledge, the only one at Ya Po Ah that has a live Christmas tree. My  home looks like a Christmas Shop, with all the decorations displayed in a small space. I posted photos on my blog spot and shared on face book. I will certainly miss being with family this Christmas, as many will because of the virus. This is my favorite time of year and I have some friends here at Ya Po Ah  to be with. Chris had an opportunity to go to Costa Rica practically free so he and Diane are there until January third.

December 21 

The great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn marks the beginning of a great initiation for humanity. This conjunction is rare. As they come into alignment they will appear as one bright star. Some call it the Christmas star. This is the rainy season but I am hoping for a clear night to see it. I don’t know anything about astrology but I do believe everything is connected and the heavens have an affect on this planet and humanity. I do believe this is a step into the age of Aquarius and that this is a birthing into an age of enlightenment and peace. What a beautiful time of year for this to happen, in the dark of winter, where a fire brings warmth and light. People all over the planet, celebrate this time of year with their own customs. Go out and look at the heavens and see its vastness and be in awe and humility of the world, our home, this planet, a mere speck in the ocean of space

It is cloudy but I saw images of Jupiter and Saturn on you tube.

What has happened in my life this year… I like everyone else hunkered down with the spread of the virus. It doesn’t effect my life as I have my projects, painting ,etc. I did buy a sewing machine. I also bought a fake wood stove and I love it. I turn on the light and it looks like wood burning with the flames shooting up. Charlie and I heated our homes with a wood stove. Coming out of the cold into the warm house is such a pleasure. Sitting near the stove , feeling the heat, the smell and sound of wood burning and  watching the flames is relaxing and enjoyable. Now in the Christmas season I have the stove and the tree near by, making the ambiance of the room warm and peaceful. 

Now lets go backwards into spring and summer. Spring in Eugene comes slowly. It is beautiful with the variety of plants, shrubs and trees. I would ride my three-wheel  bike along the river almost every day. In the heat of  summer I  cooled off in the cold water of the Willamette River. My friend Prem has a car and we had a few trips outside Eugene to lakes where we could swim in water that was warmer than the Willamette . I painted,  eighteen  paintings, all local scenes and a few at Chris’s farm. 

The Covid shut down all the activities here at Ya Po Ah. Masks are worn by everyone and safe distancing is required. All is well here. The summer gardens 

were beautiful and I took many photos you can see on my blog spot. Then the fires came. The smoke was thick and everyone stayed inside. The smoke hung over the city for two weeks, then blew out,  but the fires kept burning. There is no rain here in the summer and everything dries out. Those fires were the worst Oregon has experienced as in other states as well.

Yes the world is falling apart, because a new one is taking shape. Slowly out of this chaos will emerge a better world but it takes time. Yes the Covid shut down the WHOLE world, not a war, a virus. Many people are suffering now and my heart goes out to them. I am blessed and thankful for living in a safe place with all my need met. I watch the news about all the conflicts and even with the virus it seems all the people of the world are out on the street protesting, all wanting the same things a world of freedom, to work, and have abundance. The governments cling  to their power, they are ruthless, the truth is out, their deeds.exposed.  A quote from Leonard Cohen’ Anthem “ I can’t run no more with the lawless crowd, while the killers in high places say their prayers out loud. Ah but they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up a thundercloud and they are going to hear from me. Ring the bells that still can ring. There is a crack in everything, thats how the light gets in.” Every Christmas I listen to his Hallelujah That one really touches my heart. 

I was not able to go to Maine this summer because of the pandemic. I do miss my old home and I am so glad Doug and Christina live there. I think if I traveled the world over I would not find a place more beautiful then the Maine coast, and to have a home on that peninsula on Back Cove was a miracle. Ninety five percent of my paintings were painted from places I walked to. 

There was a sad event . Mira my dog and companion died in Oct. She was twelve and it was sudden, She had seizures and had to be put down. It was hard on Doug and I shed a few tears. She had a good life and I could write a few stories about her adventures. She loved people, especially the guys. Just a couple of stories. One day when we were out side and I was working in the garden, a thunder storm was forming. When it was time to go in, no Mira. She never goes off  or not for long. She didn’t come back so I rode around the neighborhood and no dog. I called around  even the dog officer. She had not been picked up. The next morning I had to go in town to sit in the gallery and as I was driving up the hill of Back Cove I saw a man on a bike with a dog running beside him. I realized it was Mira. He had been riding up and down the road past driveways to see if she would go up one, but no she kept by his side.  I stopped and called her and she came and jumped into the car. I knew then she would live with anyone. She did love Doug and when I made visits to Amesbury where he and Christina lived she knew when we were getting close to Doug’s  house and would start whimpering and leap out of the car to greet him. Lucy, Christina’s daughter who lives in Eugene also took Mira for a few years and  Mira had many adventures of hiking and rafting with her and her friends. What I loved about about Mira was her love of water. You couldn’t keep her out of it. Even in winter we would go to the shore and she would jump in and swim when the water temperature was around forty degrees. Here’s to Mira, born February 5, 2008 died October 23, 2020

As for the boys, Doug is successfully making and selling pottery on Etsy. Christina worked on the farm during the summer and has a part time job at Flippers a convenience store at the top of  the street two miles away. Chris is doing well with his Cannabis farm, at least  now making a profit. He and Diane are amazing to me that they have done so much to make this endeavor work, but the stress is taking a toll on them. I am very proud of my sons.

So the wheel turns and life continues.  The expression I like “It is not the years in your life but the life in you years that counts.” It is amazing that the mind, and thinking don’t age, I have enjoyed all my years. As long as there is challenge there is learning and fulfillment of accomplishments. My accomplishments are in the halls of Ya Po Ah . With the completion of the renovations  in this building my paintings, over a hundred, which were in storage for two years, have been rehung. People seem  pleased to have them back on the walls.

The only constant is change. There is no going back, as the virus fades and it will, humanity will  think  about the cause and effects of this global pandemic. Technology and instant communication is uniting the planet. Now I believe the inventions for a better world  are ready to be manufactured, green energy, free electricity , clean and abundant water, better ways to produce food and enrich the soil, to make the earth and people healthy. There will be jobs, work that will not hurt the planet but will heal the planet and the planet will give back, for we are not separate and are a part of all. Waiting for these changes is like waiting for Christmas. It will happen as soon as we  love ourselves and love all of humanity. 

The Holidays start with Thanksgiving. Chris raised poultry on his farm this year, ducks, chickens, and turkeys. There were a few disasters with this enterprise that I won’t go into. A few days before Thanksgiving the six remaining tom turkeys were killed. On Thanksgiving day Chris, Diane and myself sat down to a dinner of a thirty one pound turkey. It was delicious. I think that bird will be feeding them for a while.

The Christmas Spirit is love. This Christmas we cannot be together to hug or share a beautiful meal, but we can be together on zoom and face time. So share your dreams and manifest a beautiful world.Tell your friends and family how much you love them. We all depend on each other, and we all support each other. Christmas is a time when we remember this and give and share. MERRY CHRISTMAS May the force be with you.

“Just like moons and suns,  With the certainty of tides,  Just like hopes, springing high,  Still I’ll rise.”    One verse  from Still I Rise by Maya Angelou I like her poetry.