Month: February 2025

Today is the last day of the auction. I’m hoping things look better by 9 pm this evening when it ends.

I had yet another lovely day yesterday. I hiked with Barbara, Holly, Kathy and her dog JW. Perfect day.

The Zentangle group shared their creations:

I had to laugh yesterday when I opened a notebook and found one of my first exemplars. This was probably done about 2020. Love a good before and after. The difference may not be obvious to you, but it certainly is to me.

After our hike yesterday, I spent most of the day creating a card for my neighbor, Nancy. Earlier in the day, I took over some vegetable curry that I made the day before. Nancy was up and in good spirits, but she was disappointed that her trip to the doctor the day before did not result in drainage of what was thought to be excess fluid from her abdomen. She looks to be about nine months’ pregnant right now. She sadly reported that it was not, in fact, fluid but all enlargement of the liver. “And, it’s going to kill me,” she said. She delivered this statement with a smile and a brightness in her eyes that seemed so incongruent, but I felt a wave of joy go through my body when she said it.

I remember reading from A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle that some people, when they know and accept that they are dying, exude a brightness, peace and transparency that feels like pure knowing and love.

I created this card and took it over with a note that reflected the above sentiment.

Nancy responded: I’m so thankful for that amazing note! I will have it to remind me if I start sinking or I’m pain. I praise God for what you see in me. It’s not me. I’m as amazed as anyone, and I’m so thankful. I pray a lot during the night. I’m not even aware that I’m praying sometimes. In Romans 8, I think. Paul is describing praying in the Spirit. We pray as the Spirit is praying through us, in moans that we don’t even know what to pray. I know that is happening. I feel it. I have a lot of faith. It’s a Gift of the Spirit, and I am grateful.
Needless to say as well, I am so blessed and grateful for all you precious friends.
The note is a gift! Kathy told me you make note cards from all the art things you all created. I look forward to trying it. Your penmanship is beautiful. The card is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your observations. Again, it is God. I’m hoping it will be a while, but the note will be a source of comfort and encouragement. Thank you with all my heart ❤️ and for feeding us. I’m saving the curry until after church tomorrow. I already had a plan for shepherd’s pie tonight.
Love you, sweet soul sister!

Later, I was working on my homework for my Soul Matters spiritual discussion class. I was curious to see how Perplexity (AI) would handle the assignment:

ME:  I have accepted an assignment in my Soul Matters spiritual discussion group to write a poem about how certain things came into my life and how they eventually met.  The things that came into my life about the same time were watercolor painting, Zentangle and calligraphy.   I was introduced to all of them separately because of the tiny but powerful virus, Covid.  Covid was a scary thing.  It caused a lot of fear, sickness and death, but it also brought us gifts like improvements in technology as well as the exposure to these solitary/sedentary, comforting activities. These activities have brought to me the awareness that consciousness is experiencing a deep joy through my body,  It also taught me how much we need to be with others.  Today I chose to refrain from watching the news, which is quite upsetting to me.  Instead I spent my day creating a beautiful card for a lovely new acquaintance and neighbor, who knows and accepts that she is dying.  She is on the opposite side of the political fence, but her eyes and smile shine with the brilliance of one who knows that they are love.   I know that you are an AI and do not have and never will have emotions, but I just wanted to see what you could capture in a poetic way.

PERPLEXITY AI: Here’s a poem capturing the essence of your experience:
In the shadow of a microscopic foe,
Three gifts emerged, a gentle glow:
Watercolor, Zentangle, and calligraphy’s grace,
Each a solace in this confined space.

Covid’s darkness brought unexpected light,
As brushes danced and patterns took flight.
In isolation, creativity soared,
A renaissance of self, quietly explored.

Through flowing ink and tangled lines,
Consciousness awakened, joy entwines.
Yet absence taught a truth profound:
We need each other, connection found.

Today, news silenced, hands create
A card for one who knows her fate.
Political divides dissolve away,
As love shines bright in her eyes today.

In art and kindness, we transcend,
Finding beauty as all paths blend.
Though born of fear, these gifts impart
The timeless wisdom of the heart.

Sara sent me this photo yesterday of Cordelia “still wearing the cardigan” I made for her when she was three years old. I told Sara that it now fashionably has 3/4-length sleeves. I offered to make the sleeves longer if she wanted. I am also giving her the new one when I return home. Still have to find those glow-in-the-dark buttons. I also need to order more yarn for Maria’s. I’m a sleeve short.

Now on to making more jewels.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Debe Emerson had a Zentangle party today. I met a new person, Flora, who is from Seattle as is Debe. Kathy, Cindy and Holly also came.

L to R: Cindy Hose, Flora, Debe Emerson, Holly Lane and Kathy Jacobson.

This was Cindy’s first time. She was a bit wary, but she ended up enjoying it. Holly and Kathy picked a new design and did a great job. Now they want to try the blueberries and gemstones. Here are my latest. I enjoy making these. Applying the layers of color and then blending them is very satisfying.

These are both kind of sloppy, but that’s how it is the first time through. I’ll try them again and see if I can refine them. I’m following a German woman on the Internet because she uses Faber Castell pencils (which are made in Germany). This way I can use exactly the colors she suggests, and I don’t have to go through AI for an interpretation of some other brand. Makes it a little easier.

I learned of a new tool in Google Translate. You can copy the URL of any website and plug it into the Website tab on Google Translate, and it translates the entire page for you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t copy the images along with it, so I have to bounce back and forth a little, but not bad.

I find it strange that the Faber Castell pencils are all numbered, but they are not in numerical order when you purchase them. I got tired of hunting for the number, so I sorted them. Strange how the colors end up.

I wonder why they are numbered like this. Perhaps if you’re already a seasoned user and don’t need the numbers… But why would they be so varied when in numerical order? I might have to talk to AI about that.

I’ve taken a little break from calligraphy the past couple of days. We’re at the point where we have to line our own paper, and it is a huge pain in the butt. It seems no matter how careful I am, the lines are never even. The spaces are only 5 mm high, and I find it hard to get a straight line across a sheet of paper 20″ wide. I tried using a yardstick, but it’s still a pain. I asked AI the best way to draw lines, and it suggested this tool. It’s called a Layout Liner. I watched a YouTube video and was sold immediately.

I love having good tools. It makes the job so much more fun. I thought I was going to have to wait until I got home, but since I’m still here for another six weeks, I made the purchase.

Tomorrow I’m going to hike to Kathy Rutz’s house in Alto Boquete, see what she’s up to with her paper art, and then Nancy will pick us up to go to the knitting group. I know, rough life.

I love these photos that Maria Del Mar sent. The group photo is taken at Mike and Patty’s place in Jacksonport (Door County) shortly after Arianna and Brian’s wedding. I have mixed emotions when I look at the photo. I feel such joy and love when I look at all of these faces. At the same time I feel a little sad because they were preparing to leave, and all the festitives of Arianna’s Big Fat Greek Wedding had come to an end. Also, the photo was taken on the morning of November 6th. I couldn’t stop crying.

L to R: Janko, Dan, Ana, Tim, Monica, Amanda, me, Victor, Ana Maria, Fredy, Maria del Mar, Einar.

And this one I call Einar the Miniature Maestro:

I’ve been working on my Certificate of Merit for my calligraphy graduation. Some pretty big mistakes right off the bat, but I have a pretty good grasp of what I need to do once I get home and have the certificate paper from David. That is not due until May 31. In the meantime, I’m going to practice my weak strokes as well as my knife skills.

Saturday’s hike was lovely. Not a bit of rain, nice breeze and sunny. It was Holly, Kathy, Barbara and me.

And this is a clip of the new River Walk in town.

This is the latest addition to my art supplies. I took out a small loan to purchase them.

They are made by a German company, Faber Castell. It is because of these that I am able to replicate the blueberries. Annie Reizer, the artist who demonstrates the Zentangle on YouTube, was using a blue pencil from Prismacolor. I asked Perplexity (AI), what color of Faber Castell most closely produces the color of blueberries. Blue Indigo was the answer.

I’m going to have to put the pencils in numerical order. Right now, I don’t see the logic of their system.

And here is my lastest short film. It’s called Breathing. I’m open to any explanations of why this might be happening. As I’m sitting here in my living room, I notice that the curtain here is doing the same thing.

Someone asked me for the link to our church auction. I can’t remember who it was, but here it is: Visit the Bidding Owl website: https://new.biddingowl.com/LCUUCAUCTION

Some events will be listed multiple times. For example, a dinner for 8 people might be listed 8 times for individual bidders or 4 times for couples and 4  times for singles.   Each listing may have a different highest bid, so you may want to check all of them before deciding which one to bid on. 

If you’ve registered with Bidding Owl in the past, you will not need to re-register. If you have not registered, you will need to do so before bidding.

When you register, you can opt to be notified by email and/or text when you are outbid on an item.  

You can view “ALL ITEMS” or items based on a category.  I tried to keep them in order, but things got messy.

I made black beans and rice today. I’m taking dinner over to Kathy’s. We’re ging to watch In and Of Itself. I think I’ve seen in seven or eight times.

Dan shared a new texting app with me called Signal. Signal is available for iPhones and Android. Get it here: https://signal.org/install/

Signal works like your existing messaging app. We can send pictures and video, make calls, and start group chats. The best part is, no one else can see any of it, not even the people who make Signal!

You can read more about Signal here: https://signal.org

I am continuing to feel better and better every day. I’ve remained resolute about limiting my exposure to the news. It’s made a huge difference. I’m happy I caught myself when I did. It’s so easy to slip into the dark side. Again, I credit meditation for allowing me to be aware of how my mind is influencing my body and my mental health. I am forever grateful for people like Heather Cox Richardson and Yuval Noah Harari, who are keeping an eye on things.

I had another great day. I had the wonderful gift of chatting with Kathy Walter. We discussed the problems of the world, and probably solved many of them. We also talked a lot about AI and what gifts it brings. I have found myself using it many times a day. I love it. I can only hope that our better angels will be able to guide us to make the right choices with regard to using it. Right now, I feel that things are shaky with Musk in charge. He claims to be doing these things for humankind, but I know from his biography by Walter Isaacson that he does not contribute any of his personal wealth to any organization that does not directly benefit him. He has contributed to some schools, but only because his children attended. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I think he has flunked.

So, not going to talk about politics. I spent another chunk of my day walking into town. On the way, I stopped at Myra Cleveland’s house. Myra is a new friend (met her last year), who does clay art. I asked her if she could cover the little wooden block I use to hold my “dinky dip” ink wells for calligraphy. Right now, it is a mess, completely covered with ink stains. Barbara said she liked it that way. She sees the human messiness of it. Me, not so much. I want to see Myra’s clay art on it. Today she asked me what colors I wanted. I said, “The Panamanian Green.” I love that color. I have it in my house at home as well. It’s not called Panamanian Green, of course, but that’s a feeling for me. It also reminds me of Mary Pat.

After Myra’s, I walked into town to pick up my parcels from RedNBlue. This delivery (always a fun day because you have to wait a while here like the olden days to receive your order) was the exquisite set of Faber-Castelle colored pencils and a blending tool, which I absolutely had to have because I wanted to make this:

The teacher is Annie Reizer. She is a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) and a botanical illustrator. The first time I saw these blueberries I had to make them. So I ordered the Faber-Castell pencils, and I picked them up today and dove in. They were well worth the wait. Annie Reizer stresses the importance of layering colors. These blueberries have four layers of color, and then you blend them with a special alcohol-tip pen. Exquisite experience.

Thursday Game Night is an official success. Hope we can do it for the remainder of my stay.

Here’s one of the things I love about this experience. It is a reminder at this present tumultuous poliical time that we can still choose to love each other. This group is a mix of conservatives and liberals, and I love them all. I feel so fortunate to have landed here. Amazing.

So, calligraphy, of course. I’ve begun working on the final project to qualify for the Certificate of Merit. We are going to have to pen our own certificate. This is my first draft, just getting a feel for the script. Next, I will plan the spacing and format. I can’t do the final project until I get home because I just can’t get the paper here.

I was looking at the IAMPETH website, which is the international calligraphy group. I am thinking of working on achieving their Certificate of Proficiency and then the Certificate of Excellence (you never know). I can get the first one with what I already know from the class I’m in now. The latter requires an additional script and illuminations. That really excites me. Here’s an example of an illumination:

Can you imagine?! I know I can do it because I have discovered that I am a really good copycat (I remember looking over Mark Topczeski’s shoulder in third grade because I couldn’t remember how to spell “type.” I knew he would have it right. He was one of the “smart ones”). I can follow directions on the YouTube videos, which are amazing. So many people sharing their joy! I’m following Heather Cox Richardson’s advice and focusing on my joy. Thanks, Heather!

I’m locked out of the Bluehost Portal right now, so I can’t access my blog site.  The agent just told me it would be 3-5 minutes, so I’m just going to start here in Word.  I love the chat box customer service.  No dealing with phone noise or foreign accents.  Another beautiful part of technology.

I had an absolutely beautiful day.  I went for the 6-mile Palo Alto Loop hike with Barbara, then worked on my calligraphy, made a couple of cards, FaceTimed with Mickey, chatted with a neighbor, and now I’m here, trying to write. 

The Bluehost Portal agent gave up and said I was going to have to clear cookies and cache, and start over.  I did all that, but it’s still not working, so I’ll just continue here, and do a cut-and-paste later.

I am feeling so much better in the past few days, now that I’ve stopped engaging in the news.  I’ve decided to listen to the advice of Heather Cox Richardson and Yuval Noah Harari.  Richardson said, “Just do what brings you joy and know that I’ve got this covered,” or something like that.  Harari said, “Stop watching the news and instead join a group.  I was working for the WisDems during the election, before I left home, and I will connect with them again. 

It’s really hard not to watch what’s going on.  I mean how many times have you heard the words “United States” and “coup” used in the same sentence? Not sure “coup” is accurate here.  I just saw one of my notes that defines it as:  A sudden, violent, illegal seizure of power from a government.  I don’t think there is a name for what’s going on right now. 

 In any event, I know that it’s not good for my mental health, and there’s nothing I can do.  I remember reading about a psych experiment when I was in college.  Dogs were in a cage and were shocked if they tried to leave.  They finally gave up trying and became ill in the cage.  I can see where I’m headed. 

I finished reading The Complete Conversations with God  (for the second time) last night.  The very end will stick with me…I hope:

“There are three basic wisdoms that run through the entire dialogue, these are:

1.    We Are All One.

2.    There Is Enough.

3.    There’s Nothing We Have To Do.”

We seem so far away from this insight.  Ego is playing a strong hand right now, but I have faith that this is all part of the process of the awakening of Consciousness.  The awakening happens the same on all levels, from individuals, to couples, to families, to towns, countries…. It seems to always occur with a traumatic event. For example, an individual going through a trauma – anything from an insult to a depression.  They eventually realize that most of the suffering is caused by their own minds/thoughts/conditioning/ego.  And, they “wake up” to a new level of awareness of the power of choosing peace and love over having to be right or in control.  They look back on the trauma with gratitude and know that it has brought them to a happier place, no longer needing to “be better than,” or “have more than.”   Those who have experienced this are now mocked by the ignorant and called “woke” because they see the truth of  #’s 1-3 above.  I certainly hope that this has a happy ending.  MLK saw it.  I remember a teacher once saying, “If we hadn’t had the Vietnam War, we never would have met Thich Nhat Hanh.”

I finally completed my calligraphy Exemplar.  I had 24 pages of paper available.  This was done on #24. 

I’m happy with it.  Before I started it, I submitted #23 just in the Community Forum, asking the mentors if they thought it would be acceptable.  Sneha said that the last four were acceptable, so I did #24 without any pressure…sort of.  Still a lot of room for improvement, which keeps it enjoyable. It’s a little bit better every day.

The only remaining requirement is the final Certification of Merit, done on a special paper, which David will be mailing to my home address.  That’s not due until May 31^st, so I’ll have two months to practice on better paper once I get home. 

This is my latest Zentangle. 

I forgot what it’s called.  I am invited to the home of a neighbor, Debe Emerson, to join a Zentangle group.   Debe learned from Natalie, who learned from me.  I think Debe has a nice-size group coming.  I’m in charge of salad. 

We are starting Thursday Game Night here this week. The first group will be Nancy (the one who was really sick and is now socializing); Cindy and Holly, neighbors on either side of me; and me.  We’re going to start with Mexican Train.  I’ve only played it once before, so I’ll have to read the instructions tomorrow. 

It was so nice seeing Mickey so happy today.  She said that she had a great day, played cards, had two cocktails, and is scheduled for a perm.  I love that woman.  She said that Ben Guido was the bartender one day. Ben is a good friend of ours. He heard her name and asked if she knew a Dan Dupies. She admitted it.

I went for a hike recently on the Pipeline Trail. It’s one of my favorite hikes.

Sheree is from Texas. She’s going back soon to sell her house and then will move here.

I also walked with Yahaira Samudio on Tuesday in Library Park in town. This park is such a beautiful addition to the town center. Yahaira was the cleaning lady at the Glass Orchid House where I lived a couple of years ago. We were talking about how long I would continue to come to Boquete for the winter. She said I should still come when I’m 100, and she’ll be my nurse. 🙂 Doesn’s it look like my wedding ring is on my right hand?

I attended a party last night at Lesley and Don’s. I met new people Debe and Rodney Emerson and Louise and Gordon (last name?). Debe and Rodney are from Seattle (I think), and Louise and Gordon are from Prince Edward Island. That’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit – now that’s more likely. They are renting a little apartment here in the neighborhood. It’s certainly not as nice as this place, but I may consider it for next year. There are four apartments there, and two are vacant. The owner is a Panamanian woman who lives in David. She comes on Saturdays to work in the garden. I’ll likely meet her soon. Louise said that they pay $700. So, we’ll see.

I got home from the party at about 9:30. I logged on to our Bidding Owl website to see how things looked for our church auction, which started the next morning. Before I left for the party, I left a message for customer support and asked them to please group together some woodworking classes that had become separated, and I couldn’t figure out how to get them back together. When I logged on, what I saw made my heart skip a beat. ALL of the items were scattered and out of order, and no one from customer support was answering my emails because they were shut down for the weekend.

Saturday morning I got up early to check the site, still a mess. I waited as long as I could and finally called the “emergency” number. A groggy German voice answered. I apologized for waking her up but explained that our auction had already started, and things were scattered on the website. It went downhill from there. She said what I had asked for was done. I explained that it wasn’t. She then finally logged onto our site and saw for herself. Then, she commenced to blame me. She said I was overthinking it. What?! Then she said if I leave all the items together, the bidders will get bored. What?! It was a real test of my ability to not react and rip her a new one – which I usually do. She must have been the owner because I can’t imagine a customer service representative talking like this to a customer. She eventually said it was not that easy to fix and she had to trick the system and would get back to me.

When I checked an hour or so later, things looked much better. There were just a few things out of whack. I texted her about these things, and she said she’d do it later, she had to run errands. By about 4 o’clock that afternoon, I was so relieved that it was looking okay. No one from church complained, so we’re good. Hope I never have to deal with her again. Plus, I updated my notes to hopefully avoid a repeat next year.

Steffen just stopped over to pick up a SCOBY. He’s begun making kombucha. He didn’t trust his first batch because he said he didn’t think making his own SCOBY worked. So, I gave him a couple of mine. Hope it turns out for him.

I also showed Holly (my neighbor) how to make yogurt in the Instant Pot. I asked her about it at the party, and she said it was so delicious that she ate too much of it, and now she couldn’t eat any of the food at the party. It is a great way to make yogurt.

Today I made a big pot of soup in the Instant Pot and took some over to Nancy. I was so happy to see her looking so well at the party. We all thought she was on her way out, but she was determined to get rid of the catheter and start walking, and indeed she has. She is a strong woman.

So, I botched another calligraphy exemplar today. It had two mistakes. I have three more pieces of paper, so fingers crossed.

I was feeling really awful last week. I was getting upset with all the news about what Trump and Musk are up to. I was brought to tears at one point during a conversation and realized that I had to sop this engagement. I searched my psyche asking why I was doing this. What I came up with is that I, like many like-minded people, was feeling responsible, like I SHOULD be doing SOMETHING. But I know there is nothing I can do. Instead, I have gotten off social media and read only Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter in the morning. I am also heeding the words of Yuval Noah Harari who recommends joining a group. I was working for the WisDems before the election, and I will return to them to volunteer.

I even downloaded an app called Notes, created by James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits. The app guides you to start a new/healthy habit or break an old/unhealthy one. I feel better already. It’s a scary time for sure, but I know that my first responsibility is to myself and my mental health.

Time to do some Zentangle while listening to this great YouTube video of waltz music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXsZru0mzbY&t=6628s