Magical universe

Just when you think the universe has conspired against you, you may find out that the opposite has actually happened. Recently I did. Like Paulo Coelho says in The Alchemist "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." But the catch is, you have to be looking in the right places...

And to quote another on a similar subject-

"You'll be given love
You'll be taken care of
You'll be given love
You have to trust it

Maybe not from the sources
You have poured yours
Maybe not from the directions
You are staring at

Twist your head around
It's all around you
All is full of love
All around you"

Bjork.

The Horoscopes (above)

Our new deck!

And so it goes, and so I have known for quite some time. But sometimes I really get to staring in the wrong direction. Anyhow, here, today, May 28th 2011, I can say that I have felt the love of the universe in the recent weeks, and tremendously. I can be a stubborn girl, and I most definitely have been this past year. But the right path has found me! I just had to give in. I put up a terrible stupid fight first, and I suppose that wrestle was inevitable. There was no way around it if I was going to learn some very important lessons of my heart. Perhaps none of this makes sense to anyone, that's OK, it's just what I feel and what I know.

Another bit of the same kind of wisdom comes from the Tao Te Ching, but the book is an endeavor in itself and I wouldn't know what part of it to quote.

In a nutshell, Art and I were freezing in the old house and Art had to leave every Friday night to commute here to Nevada City where he would stay all weekend to work his two jobs. I missed him! After a year that got really old. Plus we were spending so much time and energy trying to keep our house warm this winter, it was like we were living in 1890! Art chopped kindling three times a week for at least an hour each time and we would do a line-up to move new wood into the house near the fireplace. Keeping the wood dry was a pain. Keeping the wood plentiful was a pain. Snow was everywhere, there was hardly any eave covering our front door outside so as soon as you walked out you were stepping into it. Despite the adorableness of that little forest storybook house, I have never been so glad to leave a place. Except for the stellar jays that were building a nest above our bathroom window. Except that.

Plus both mine and Art's souls needed music again! People to play with, to listen to, to hear new projects. Placerville definitely has an artistic movement going on, but it is much more cinema related lately. Music goes on there, but less frequently and there are fewer places to hear it and fewer musicians and bands in general. A whole plethora of signs began to point us back toward the golden land of Nevada County, where we met in the Fall of 2004, through music and musical friends. So we decided that we should come back, and this time (we hope :), it's a life decision. To make this town our homebase til we grow old! Hopefully there will be many travels and musical tours and adventures that lead us to other parts of the world, but this is our heart home. In the past three years I have needed to be closer to my family, to reconnect with them and to feel their bright humor and comfort and love. I have sometimes been intimidated by the music scene and the overwhelming amount of talent in Nevada City, and in late 2008 I felt that I needed to just be closer to the comforts of my family roots. But I've grown in so many ways since that time, and this little mountain town has so much going on, it is absolutely filled with fuel for one's fire. Really it's only a stone's throw from Heather & Fofe & Marm n' Pop. I like to think that my living here will give them all a reason to get OUT of Placerville a tad more oft?

Art behind me on an evening run.

Nevada City really has an active, health-oriented, open hearted, sometimes over-indulgent (in an awesome whiskey-drinking-occasion sort of way) community of fun and adventurous and musical souls. And there's a bit of gold fever (the constant belief and feeling that anything is possible), even in such a tiny town. For a mountain town, it's really progressive, but balanced by many kinds of people. There are things of an artistic nature going on daily: art openings, music shows, street faires, festivals, craft faires, farming adventures, theatre, farmer's markets and co-ops...the list goes on. There are amazing charter and waldorf and public schools for the possibility of raising one or two childies one fine day. Random people walk Broad Street on stilts, passing clowns, men with long white beards driving by in colorful go cart cars, street kids playing music on the sidewalk. There are myriad gardens, wildflowers, adorably decorated and painted homes, enchanted windows, verandas, and trellises. There are many people that live here but often traverse to distant lands to do their art or their craft. Subsequently there exists a constant stream of incoming legend and lore from the haps in faraway places and inspirations therein. The romantic in me appreciates such storytelling with all of my heart. To top off the icing on the golden land, since we have moved here I have: finished all my finals and got A's in m' classes thank the good lord, had a star-studded (so random!) birthday party for Art, had two wonderfully rad ladies (Mandy and Donelle from San Fran) stay the first weekend, played a show with best new band ever from Minneapolis Fort Wilson Riot, which was totally an honor, saw The Horoscopes and Agent Ribbons play in Grass Valley at the Tin House, went to an 80's dance party DJ'ed by Handsome Sam and Owen Lindsay at the National Hotel Bar , got free drinks all night because we accidentally crashed a wedding another night at the National Hotel, eaten and drinken at various outside patios (a fave pastime that was pretty hard to find in Pville), and gotten to hang out with so many old friends who seem to be having an adventure-revival of late. Why even tonight there is a show by the lovely Paula Frazer, Garrett Pierce, and the Moore Brothers at the Tin House. We played a Coal Beautiere show after just 4 days of having moved back, and we have another on June 22nd. I can feel adventure stirring up a mass of goodness in my soul! I actually should finish this little entry soon so I can go practice some piana songs.

Heather's writing and great energy that pours forth into her blog illustrates our new house MUCH better than I will be able to. Yet, at least! In her entry from yesterday she writes in detail about our amazing new house. And her photos! She is such a great photographer these days.

Some of my own (Iphone classics)

Our deck is like 30 plus feet tall! On these giant stilts overlooking the river.

This is the path down to our very own river beach!

Art at Ike's which has the loveliest patio and delicious organic Cajun-inspired fare and yummy mimosas and beer.

Getting ready for 80's night.

Art at the Ike's patio... waiting for the best gluten free sandwich ever!

Ummmmm, the HANDMADE baby bassinet that came with the place. The basket part comes out, it is so solid and smooth and shows such craftsmanship. The owner of this house was a carpenter and now this is his son's. "Available for tenant use" by the way!

Flowers along the sidewalk in Nevada City. Oh the California poppy, such a simple bright beauty.