Worry and Hope

The worry of my world come in waves. Sometimes softly sometimes not. I am by nature a worrier.

I stew on things for a long long time. In the 'real job' time of my life I was a compulsive thinker... at times awake with anxiety with no workload boundaries. I, like many, pouring just about every part of me into my job. I brought my heart to work and was often consumed by it's multiple demands. I am so grateful for my frugal nature that at least for today I can be here rediscovering my life.

I often find myself stewing and/or worrying, my future a vast unknown. My brain wants to plan everything even though my heart knows I am right where I belong. What is my purpose? Will our money stretch? If I work what will I do? Can this time of change be a realignment of my life? How can I make today rich and let my life unfold in all good time? Can I quiet my mind and be here now? etc...

There is so much clutter in our society....noise pollution (TV, radio, work environments, streaming video, loud people, computers, printers, transportation etc...) and visual pollution (TV, Advertising, ugly this and that... etc...) and now financial pollution (debt, bills, keeping up with each other, wanted to feel important ...etc...)

It is hard to keep centered with an open heart and mind. Clutter, clutter, clutter.


This morning I took a desert walk of about 3.5 miles ... giving me plenty of time to arm wrestle with "the committee in my head", do a walking meditation and get my desert groove on.

From Thict Nat Han:

Let us walk as a free person and feel our steps get lighter. Let us enjoy every step we make. Each step is nourishing and healing. As we walk, imprint our gratitude and our love on the earth.

We may like to use a gatha as we walk. Taking two or three steps for each in-breath and each out-breath,

Breathing in "I have arrived"; Breathing out "I am home"
Breathing in "In the here"; Breathing out "In the now"
Breathing in "I am solid"; Breathing out "I am free"
Breathing in "In the ultimate"; Breathing out "I dwell"

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I can be found on Facebook now. I am pretty new at this social networking ... I made the leap when I read others on CafePress (my POD print-on-demand store) using it as an avenue to promote their art. Facebook has connected me with many people and communities that have touched my life. Kennbunk High School, The Meeting School, Yelm Telephone, FairPoint Communications, Cafepress, Friends of friends, Relatives and more. It gives me pause to reflect on my life and what I want and also what I don't want. Why not live in hope?

Do you find balance in your life?How? Are you a naturally centered person or someone that stuggles? What do you do to find your daily peace? Peace and hugs today and always!

Carlsbad Cavern Day - A Day of Days

Some twenty-eight years ago when Phil and I were getting to know each other he told me about 'Carlsbad Caverns'. His first visit was when he was twelve year old. He still carries the pull of this far away place. Could it really be that amazing?

We were on the road before sunrise to make the long drive as we dropped into Texas. As the morning pass I watch 'nowhere' pass me buy. Finally the road turns north back into New Mexico. I felt a bit like someone lost at sea, grateful to see land and civilization again.





This is the cave entrance. Enter here or take an elevator 17 stories down. During the summer season nearly 400,000 bats share this space. Around sunset they leave returning in the predawn hours. Other then the park entrance free ($6) there is no charge for this program.

From the NPS site:With an America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Annual Pass, Senior Pass, Access Pass and Volunteer Pass: Where a per person entrance fee is charged, the pass admits the cardholder plus plus three adults.


At the far end of this stone auditorium the cave entrance begins... beckoning us down where more then a mile trail of light magic, a water drip symphony and a living cave unfolded. The cave gods were with us and for the next four hours we had the place almost all to ourselves! Down and down and down we wandered. Stopping often to listen and feel this world. This was our first self-guided cave tour. No group, no yakking (except me of course) and all the time in the world.

Light catcher

magnificence surrounds us

Now imagine being around in the early 1900 hundreds and exploring this cave.
Darkness ...deep cool darkness that unfolds below us.
Ladder anyone?

Nothing in my photo's communicate the vastness of this cave. Turn after turn, mile on mile we were mesmerized. So much space, so much stone, so much beauty all wrapped in a deep silence with quiet drips. Each turn of the path a new world of light peeking out all around us.


The Big Room's trail is another mile plus once we finished the stunning entrance, breathing it all in, wrapped in solitude and wonder.

Blessed again with this time and place in our lives where we get to wander.

My advise to you?
Go!
Someday, somehow...
if you like caves or if you don't..
experience this world..
gaze at speleothems
And just BE


>>>>> BONUS <<<<<
Cave Photo's from a real PHOTOGRAPHER
Are you an armchair traveler? Here you go!
Enjoy!

Room With A View

New Mexico continues to unfold before us. Our hearts soar. We are enamored with the surprising diversity and beauty of each turn of a trail, a road, a day.

Like those before we are wandering.

May you have heart full wandering today whether on land, in heart or in spirit.

Enchanting Catwalk New Mexico

We are enchanted!

Rocks Water & the Human Touch

Catwalk National Recreation Trail

Road Trip to Enchantment!

Sunday Morning arrived and with it the pull for a car trip to New Mexico. We came to the SW on our own personal discovery tour. To grow into ourselves, to live in greater sunshine and to uncover our next chapter. It seemed the perfect day to head out to New Mexico... pack the car, clean the frig and grab the map. Here we go!

We took the road out of Safford, Arizona heading toward Silver City, New Mexico! The only thing missing was our motorcycle. ;)

Change begins with me.

RV-Dreams.Com Recommendation

Greeting Bloggers!

Yesterday Phil and I had the pleasure of meeting Howard & Linda from RV-Dreams.Com

In the winter of 2007, before we made the decision to become full-time RVer's I started to read their site. They are committed to share their own journey as it unfolds. They RV educators ... sharing with us the benefits if their knowledge and adventure through on-the-job experience. Their budgets and actual costs give their readers critical insights into this world...

I highly recommend their website and blog:

• RV Lifestyle Home Page - Research including forum for sounding board and education.
  
• Campground Reviews for especially for State Park and Wildlife Refuge type camping.
• Bird Photographer's - RV-Dreams Journal (Blog)
• Armchair RV'ers - RV-Dreams Journal (Blog)
• Personal journey inspiration
• Howard and Linda's experience as work campers.
  

Enjoy!

One-Day-Day-At-A-Time

The unknown has been swirling around us lately...Often it's a heavy weight on both of us. We know we don't want to go back to our old lives ...we know it's time to discover new ones... the financial pressure is there and we have no clear direction.

"We are right where we belong" ... I often say/feel/believe... part of change is pain and fear. It is also leaning into change with courage and patience, which I could use more of.

The last few days I have been adding to my blog reading list. Looking for inspiration and encouragement from other similar journey. I was given two gifts from Ram at the "Retirement Experiment Blog" It might be a gift for you too, he passed on an inspired food meditation...to quiet my mind and hold gratitude close. I hope you will check out his eloquent words too.

My bowl, empty now, will soon be filled with precious food.
Beings all over the Earth are struggling to live.
How fortunate I am to have enough to eat.
Thich Nat Han

The second gift was a from Ram's New Year resolutions. "Anchoring" ... Check it out here!

Peace, Hugs and One-Day-At-A-Time

Swift Birds

Spirit lifters
Smile makers
Bird lovers

Learn more about Arvel Bird here

Sales to Smile At - Cafe Press

Hello Cafe Press Friends and Bloggers!

Here is why I am jazzed!

Today someone bought 5 different items with the same Toy Hauler graphic on them at my CafePress Store

Here is the graphic that sold - If you click on the picture and you can go to my "thatwhichisgood" store.

Ranking is very important for making sales on the CafePress site. How ranking is specifically done is proprietary however an important element is based on sales...the more sales the higher the rank.

Here's proof on why a ranking is so important!...Ugh!
Under a search on "RV" their are 2050 "RV" tagged graphics on 72,100 products.
Under "camping" there is 16,000 (thousand) graphics and 48,3000 products.

Because of the 5 sales today on the one graphic it has bumped me to the FIRST page results of those two searches on CafePress. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah... I am crossing my fingers that with the totally improved ranking I might catch some other sales. It sure did perk me up for the day anyway!

NOTE: If you are one of my blogging friends you might want to stop reading here and just send me oodles of good energy for more sales!...If you are a CafePress newby then this may be of interest to you!

I started on CafePress with 'free' stores. The graphic I sold most often and continues today is this "Wander" or it's derivative a take off on 'Not All Who Wander Are Lost' Tolkien.

If you click on this graphic it takes you my 'thatwhichisgood' store. The one I want the traffic to go to...so a shopper can see all my cha cha cha and not just the one graphic. It' s the cross sell / up sell / any sell stategy.

After researching graphic ranking on the forum I attempted the changes. I had already added the Wander graphic to my 'thatwhichisgood' store. Then I 'hid' my 'wander' (free) store as suggested in the forum.

My heart stopped when I went back to the CafePress search page and found the graphic link in the search was broken. It read something like "Graphic is unvailable" .. The actual product links worked to the new store but the graphic link did not. DRAT, DARN, SNICKERDOODLE and all that....I did NOT want to lose the benefit of the ranking so I undid my changes and it still didn't work. Sometimes things take time to change so I thought I would sleep on it and test it in the morning...WA LA the link works again...

So for now I think I will things as is. I don't want to disturb the 'ranking' gods ... and hope that over time my active 'thatwhichisgood' store Wander and it's derivative continue it's climb up the ranking ladder.

I will just sit with the glow I get when some stranger buys my work. Who knew I would find a little bit of an artist within me?

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

It's a good life when I can spend the day wandering around the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Why not take an easy drive from Tucson and experience the unexpected shift in ones view. Good bye Sanora Desert...



Hello rolling grasslands and wide open spaces. Blue skies, gentle walks and excellent birding! It's truly breathtaking...

Here's a glimpse of what is waiting for you from there web site:
Visit a landscape of rippling grassland flanked by mountains, and riparian zones rich in bird life. Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge provides approximately 118,000 acres of habitat for threatened and endangered plants and animals. The semidesert grassland supports the reintroduction of masked bobwhite quail and pronghorns. Prescribed and natural fires play a major role in maintaining and restoring the sea of grass that once filled the Altar Valley. Riparian (wetland) areas along Arivaca Cienega and Creek attract an abundance of birds. Brown Canyon is nestled in the Baboquivari Mountains, where a sycamore-lined stream meanders through oak woodland.

Our first stop was the Headquarters and Visitors Center. After a quick stop there Phil and I headed down to a trail by Aguirre Lake. You'll need a dollar or two to purchase the map of the refuge. After about a decade or more with no water in these small lakes here water returned two years ago. There were plenty of water fowl to watch as we walked around the lake.

The views were majestic as we looked out across a grass valley out to these mountain range.






From there we headed over to the Arivaca Cienga Trail. This 1 and 1/4 mile loop is total magic! Most of it is on boardwalks that wander through a rare desert wetland. I was remiss in charging my camera battery and can barely wet your whistle. I was awestruck by the beauty here and am already yearning for a return. I have never seen such proud tall cottonwood trees nor so many hawks and eagles that played in them.

Did I mention Jaguars? Seriously Jaguar? WOW!



Come out and play!

Bumper Stickers Revisited

I have bumper sticker-itis....

This is a very good thing since it is motivating me to work on my CafePress Store. It turns out the recipe for creating a viable and income producing store isn't going to come easy for me... I feel like I am just beginning to get my feet under me. A better sense of what a good graphic looks like vs a weak one among many other things.

Here is a good example. My first attempt at a kayak graphic:
.... Both Phil and I thought it needed to be improved on... so I went back to the drawing board and came up with my new and improved model.
Now I was on a roll...which made me much happier...
More kayak bumper stickers...


Next I got a bug back about birds... time to tip my hat for the gift of birding my Dad and Mom Judy gave me. WA LA for Birding Bumper Stickers!





These are just a few examples of what I am working on. It's fun to see how much I have improved as Phil pointed out today wearing one of my early graphics...

Wow...
Please visit mystore at www.thatwhichisgood.com any time for a smile and good cheer!
You will find wonderful gifts and apparel to celebrate a bit of whimsy in all of us.

Hummingbird New Year

Welcome to another new year!
I wish for myself a quieter heart.
To worry less...
To fear less, judge less...more joy.
Letting go of chaos and noise
"To accept the things I cannot change"
I wish you more joy!

Last year was a wild one for us. The sift in the world of finance has made our decision to be full time RV's more tenuous and yet it still feels like we are right where we belong. We stretch our pennies and are getting buy in this luxury of not working. I find many voices in my head discussing our choices yet am steadfast in taking this time to move towards a simpler life...committed to developing my own personal peace. (and my internet store)

Birds are the icing on the cake. They soothe me, entertain me and call me out to explore this amazing place.

Oh dear...that's no hummingbird ...

It wasn't long before a humming bird zoomed in, quickly putting on brakes.
I don't think it shared a feeder with a
a woodpecker before.
Do you see the hummingbird on the right?
It came in and out a few times until
I scared them both off trying to photograph them together.
Bah Humbug!

Just another day in paradise.

What does love look like? Uncle Rob Roy

The circle of life....
My Uncle Rob Roy with one of his grandsons
all wrapped in love.
New life with old life.
Love of ages and just blossoming love.
My Dearest Uncle Rob Roy
With soft voice, warm heart, inquisitive spirit...
One loved by so many
Wrapped so tightly in your families love
May you rest in peace...

Rob Roy Buckingham Sr.
June 29, 1920 - Dec. 31, 2008

Rob Roy Buckingham Sr., 88, Sarasota, formerly of Old Greenwich, Conn., died Dec. 31, 2008. Services and burial will be in Old Greenwich, Conn. Arrangements are by Toale Brothers Funeral Homes, Gulf Gate Chapel. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Patricia; a daughter, Mallory Buckingham, of Middletown, Conn.; a son, Rob Roy Jr., of Riverside, Conn.; a sister, Mary Jo Scott, of Casper, Wyo.; and two grandchildren. Published in the Herald Tribune on 1/4/2009

Uncle Rob Roy and Aunt Pat
Cousin Mallory & Jonathan,
Cousin Rob Jr and Stacey
and the grandest of grand babies Jonathan & Matthew.

Blessed!