Butterfly Dreams

  Eight years into my Massage therapy career, I moved to a worker owned rustic hot springs retreat center , on 160 acres in Oregon's Cascade mountains.  The suggestions I gave my city clients for self care - eating mindfully, finding a movement practice, slowing DOWN, and drinking a bit more water were suddenly much easier to follow - for me as well! Their biggest choice after their Qigong class, or 60-90 minute massage session was - whether to head to the Lodge for a meal (the bell would tell them when), walk to the tubs or sauna, to the library or their cabin for a nap, or maybe take a short hike on a trail through the old growth forest.....  If I saw guests in the dining hall for their last lunch (organic vegetarian fare, lovingly prepared) they would often sigh, saying, "well, back to the real world now..." And I'd remind them - "No, THIS is the real world! This is how humans have lived, time out of mind! Take some of this with you - and come home, soon. ...

  On Tuesday, my daughter Mary, middle granddaughter Emily (22) and I got to ballet class!  That may not sound like much - but we've often  intended  to go (about 20 minutes away), while Emily's attending university here in town....   Gregory, Emily, my son Josh and me after Nutcracker - 2018 My daughter and I've taken Ballet over 45 years, and Emily since she was around 5. She and her dad were in Nutcracker again this year, and we vowed  we'd get to class in January!  Emma in the studio  - 2020 Our teacher Emma Seth was classically trained by her mother Lynn Marchant, in the Vaganava Russian style. Lynn trained with  Bronislava Nijinska  in Los Angeles. Emma's studio, with its 'floating' floor, grand mirrors and barrés, is in a former wine tasting room in downtown Amity. In the 70s, our little family lived in Corvallis, and came to watch the kids' cousin Tammy dancing in Nutcracker in McMinnville ...  Marchant Snow Scene from ...