I've Been Up and Down This Highway

The world seems topsy-turvy. Have you noticed?
I've been absoul-utely, positively, radiantly happy.

Until last week.

Another death, close,
My aunt's sister,
An earth angel
Got her wings.
My aunt and I reconciled,
At least, I think we did. I did.
And she was glad to see me,
Pulled me in to
Sit beside her
During the service.

After that? The week warped
In to a Dali painting.
Time stood still.
Bleak. No work.
I care. But I can't.
Get. Together. To. Go. In.
To. The. Office.
Everything, all of a sudden,
Is just way too hard,
Too heavy.
Oh My God.
Why is everything so
Freakin' hard?

What is this diabolical depresssion,
Insidious, weaving its way in to my home,
My profession, my bed?
It woos me to sleep ten, eleven,
Even twelve hours some nights.
Don't get up, not yet,
Pull the pillow over your head,
Snooze until the cat comes back
From his morning explores,
Then sleep more.

Dammit. NO!
Tonight, before I go to bed
My house will be clean.
I will have a to-do list to follow
To get stuff done
And tomorrow, I will follow it.
Starting with an 8 a.m. networking meeting,
And ending up with a 7 p.m. 12-step meeting.
I'm taking back my serenity.
And my want-to.
And my big girl britches.

Been missing y'all a LOT! Olivia J. Herrell

This song mirrored my mood so well, I hopped on here to share it with you guys. The poemy update popped out, too. Anyway, this is one of my favorite Jackson Browne songs. 'Night

Solstice Soliloquy

Happy Solstice Everyone,

May you spend each moment of this longest day of 2011 well. Be still and present in your doings and remember: take a few minutes, an hour, longer if you're able, to breathe in the bounty and glory of this home we call Earth. Go outside. Take your shoes off. Find some grass and let your toes revel, or a patch of dirt or sand. Sit down. Stay awhile.

Children's book by Ellen Jackson,
illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis

Touch the Mother from whence God made us and to whom he gave us charge. She won't ask for thanks. Or payment. Just having you stand, attentive to her nurturing rhythm, is all that she asks.

Go forth. Put down your PC, your Mac, your laptop or your smartphone. The outdoors is calling. Answer the call.

It will transform you.

The effect will ripple through the rest of your day and touch everyone you come in contact with. And, who knows. Maybe the combined effect of all of our ripples will trigger a healing for Mother Earth.

Miracles happen.

Happy Summer Solstice 2011, Olivia J. Herrell

Of Herbs, Litter Boxes and Polka-Dotted Curtains

It’s June and I’m happy. Bugsy and I LOVE our little house in town. Our garden is thriving, the flower seeds just starting to pop up. I’ll soon plant sunflowers for my feathery friends. The patio herb garden is expanding, including the catnip (when I can keep Bugsy and the neighborhood cats out of it).

I had several goals for the first six months of 2011. While my manuscript has suffered, some other goals have been met, even exceeded. I have a home of my own and it is perfect. It’s an older house with a big yard, lots of trees and a small wood on two sides, in a quiet neighborhood.

No litter box to contend with, Bugsy has free reign of his outdoor space during the daylight hours. He’s older now, almost seven. So he stays pretty close, spending much of his time sleeping on either the back porch or the front.

My chiropractic/nutrition practice is gathering momentum as the word gets out. I’m mostly self-supporting now, though I have a couple of major expenses that need tending. Betty needs work, including an A/C compressor. I thought I’d forgo the second in favor of driving topless all summer. But the last two days of near-100 degree temps may have changed my mind.

I have not lost 35 pounds. But I’ve lost 21, and have twenty-seven days left in June.

It’s time to go hang the crazy curtain I got to go with my funky, polka-dotted shower curtain. I’m having fun making this little house home: branching out, using colors I’ve never used. My palette now includes blues. Who’da thought?

Happy June! Olivia J. Herrell

P.S. Calvin B. Streets' new CD, FRONT DOOR KEY is completed and, from what I hear, turned out amazing. I'm waiting for a copy and will share as soon as I can. In the meantime, here's a youtube video of him performing one of the tunes from the CD called Lazy Day Blues.



I had the high privilege of sitting beside Calvin one fine June day as he picked out the tune on his Martin (Ellie Mae, the one he plays in the video). The lyrics poured out and in a matter of minutes, a song was born. Yeah. Calvin's a genius.