SOME THINGS I HAVE SEEN

On a recent Christmas shopping trip to Berkeley, California I visited a few of my favorite haunts and actually was able to do quite a bit of shopping for the holidays.

Berkeley is a really dog-friendly place so B and I were able to take Bodhi with us. At almost every storefront there is a dog dish place lovingly with water and sometimes food. I haven't noticed that so much here in the Foothills where we live except at the new Home Depot in Auburn. They allow people to bring their animals inside and shop with them. I have seen all sorts of animals there, including an older lady who brought her bird, complete with cage.

One of my favorite shops is The Gardener, located at 1836 4th Street. This place is a veritable feast for the eyes with every sort of sense taken into account. They have wonderful smelling things, some of which I purchased. There are beautiful books filled with gorgeous pictures to entertain and teach. You can find dishes of all sorts, beautiful purses and bags, scarves of every color, some of which were very expensive because they were completely hand-made.

I had an incredible time browsing and buying at these stores. I tried to be very thoughtful with my purchases, always thinking of what the person I was buying for loves to do. I overheard one shopper telling the clerk that this was going to be "Christmas lite". I agree. I have tried not to overspend this year and have actually made some of my gifts. After all, to me it isn't about the gifts that I give or receive. It is about what comes from the heart and what I am thinking about regarding that person. Love, gratitude, honesty, dreaming, thinking...I take these words with me when I am shopping.

Along the way I turned around to find a "knit-up" on a post next to the curb. I have been following the blog "Grrl + Dog" for quite some time and have been fascinated with what I see at her blog. Her profile states that: "grrl + dog is a one woman, one hound street art collaboration using fibre and art to connect community." Well, I now consider myself connected to her since I saw my first "knit-up" right there in Berkeley! You can find her link on my sidebar if you are interested in browsing through her blog. Go back, way back. to later posts to see what she is all about. I'm sure you will be impressed with her creativity. In her sidebar there is a link to a blog called: Pom Pom and Purl and a posting for Yarn Bombing on the Gold Coast. These knitters are everywhere! Before doing my blog I never would have known about any of this. I am always amazed at what I find. And most of all, for me, it is the connection, like she says, to community that I find really amazing. I wonder how many people walked right past this "knit-up" and didn't even notice it. And, for those people who did notice it, did they understand what it was all about? Or did they just chalk it up to "crazy Berkeley"? After all, when I grew up in the 60's, Berkeley was known as "Berserk-ly". Considering all that went on in that town, I guess it was aptly stated. It takes a few crazy-minded people (read creative) to shake things up. Berserk? I highly doubt it. Just "in their right minds"!!!

Are you left-brained (logical, sequential, rational, analytical, objective) or right-brained (random, intuitive, holistic, synthesizing, subjective)? I find I have a few of both traits but realize now that when I went to school my teachers did not address the whole-brained idea. I only found out when I went back to college later in life that calculation, reading, and analytical activities could be enhanced by bringing in patterning, visuals and movement. All my life I had felt that I wasn't smart in Math or Science. I always loved reading and even as far back as the First grade I was in the Advanced Reading Group...(Bluebirds?). I have always had a fondness for words and spelling. It took me going back to school to learn that I could achieve straight A's in those courses by being taught the way that I needed to learn. I wonder how different things would have been for me had I not felt stunted in those areas for such a long time?

My advice: never let someone Else's opinion of you define who you are, always be true to yourself, speak your mind (even if it gets you in trouble because if you don't you'll always be stunted), and lastly, always be honest with yourself and search out new ways to learn. My Math teacher was "not in her right mind" but she was able to work with me, who was!