Bring Dreams

Bring Dreams
By Mary Lou Spartz

Yes!
Come to Alaska
on a ship
on a plane
even a kayak
just come.

I'll meet you
at the dock
on the tarmac
or, the beach
in drizzle, or dazzling sun
you can count on me.

Just come

Each month the Juneau newspaper puts out a separate paper of poetry, photography and other art submitted by community members. One of my photos made it this month, and right below it was a poem that I really enjoyed.

On that note, visitors are welcome :) Hope to see you soon!

A Teatime Treasure

I am housesitting for the week in the house that I lived in during my first 4 months in Juneau. When I walked in the door I was hit with a scent and feeling of nostalgia bringing me back to my Alaska beginnings. I was also very excited to see the wall of tea that these lovely people have in their kitchen. I want one of these in my house when I grow up. 

Tomber Amoureux

I jetted off to Montreal this weekend for the wedding of my cousin Chris and his wonderful new bride, Vanessa. It was a perfect weekend filled with eating, drinking, dancing and loving; all in wonderfully copious amounts. Here are some highlights. 

The Groom practicing his vows right before the ceremony.  

The wedding was at an art gallery in Old Town, Montreal. It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by art all evening; even on the dance floor!

The entire cousin crew was able to make with just over a months notice! We arrived from Nevada, Florida, Massachusetts, NY, Connecticut and California. It's a rare and wonderful occasion that we're all in the same room at the same time! 

You know it was a successful wedding when the groom is drinking the last sip of the expensive, sentimental bottle of wine out of the decanter with the guarder on his head. Class at it's finest :)

Thanks, Chris & Vanessa, for such a wonderful weekend FULL of Joy!

Seeing Double

The calm channel was very reflective this morning.

My Luvahs.

My best friends from high school and I have a Valentines' Day tradition where we each make our own "Luvah Mix," or mixed CD, each year and mail a copy of it to the other 6. All of my 2011 Luvah Mixes have officially arrived! It's weird to think that it has been about 7 years since we all lived in the same place.  Despite being strewn about the country/world, we've managed to remain wonderful and important parts of each other's lives. This one goes out to my Happy Girls :)

Advice From The Sun

"Keep it light. Rise to the occasion.

Look on the bright side. Set your sights high. 

Renew your energy. Keep a sunny disposition.

Be brilliant!"

Spring Has Arrived.

This photograph notes the fact that I am wearing a sleeveless jacket. Bienvenue le printemps!

Happy Equinox!

The majority of my day today was spent at the "Spring Equinox Jamboree" running the Nature Crafts table for AEYC. The 2011 Spring Equinox will officially occur tomorrow at 3:21pm AKST. At that moment, the sun will be on the same plane as the equator and we will have an equal amount of daylight and darkness. Pretty cool! My friend, MJ, was welcoming spring in style at the jamboree today. 

Days Like This

"When it's not always rainin', they'll be days like this..." 

Van Morrison's thoughts on Juneau.  

Today was spectacular. 

A Good Sport

Meet Marmaduke, the office dog. Not only was he wearing his green bandana for St. Patrick's Day today, but he didn't even flinch and sat there completely unmoved as we amused ourselves by giving him a rainbow lions mane. Greatest dog ever. 

Floating Firefly

I was walking over the bridge this morning when a bright light inched out from underneath and I felt like I was in a sci-fi movie about to be abducted by a UFO. After examining the situation more closely, I realized that there was a boat floating under the bridge. I stopped and watched as it continued calmly down the channel. It kind of reminded me of a firefly. 

My Golden Girls

"Thank you for being a friend.

Traveled down the road and back again.

Your heart is true you're a pal and a confidant"

There are my lovely roommates. (pictured left to right) Sophia, Blanche (top row), Rose, Dorothy. and I'm not quite sure what's going on in this picture, but I think I see some Joy :)

Beaches, Boots & Blueberries

This weekend my office put on our annual early childhood conference for 230 people in Southeast Alaska. The theme was "Beaches, Boots & Blueberries: Learning Through Nature." It was a such a blast and hopefully will result in more young children getting outside! Since it took me away from the blog scene these past few days, here are some highlights.  

AEYC Staff. Looking fly in our nature gear. 

A large part of my weekend was spent inside these "Jumbo Fun Balls" And boy are they fun! You can roll around the room while inside them OR find a friend, get a running start and play sumo wrestling. 

Egg carton lady bugs at the "recycled/nature craft" station. 

Using nature as a paint brush...SO fun! You should try it. 

Snack Rangers. We got to force chocolate on people during the breaks obviously with a paddle in hand. 

Good times had by all. Lots of learning, networking and bouncing around in giant inflatable balls. I'd consider that a success. 

Healthy Juneau

I've been part of the core committee for a strategic planning process for improving community health in Juneau. Today we completed one of the first steps of the process with our vision meeting. There were over 50 people in attendance representing different organizations and sectors from the community. It was neat to look around the room and see all of the different people who had taken time out of their day to communicate, collaborate and work towards a healthier Juneau. 

A True Gift

Last night was the final session of the Healthy Relationships class I participated in. It was a 10 week course put on by the womans shelter here in Juneau. This was a special session for social services employees, and it was such an incredible experience! There were about 10 other women from different fields, generations, mindsets and walks of life. We were all united in that we were open and excited to learn and grow. The atmosphere that was created over the 10 weeks was so comfortable, supportive and free. I left each Tuesday evening after a long day of work immediately followed by class feeling so full of life and excited to continue my exploration of self and the world around me. 

We started class each week by sharing what gifts you had given yourself that week or how you had connected with yourself in a meaningful way. Just something to think about :)

A Reflective Morning

I enjoyed the new found daylight at 6am and took my walk across the bridge a bit more slowly today.

Fabulous Falafel

Our weekly Sunday group dinner was Middle Eastern inspired cuisine this week! Falafel, tahini, tabouli and baked pita. mmmmm Looking forward to whichever culture we'll visit next Sunday! 

(note our homemade dining room table, it's a work in progress) 

"Silence is a fence around wisdom"

-German Proverb

Chicago's Got Nothing On Us

 Please note the snow blowing off the mountains below. This was my best attempt to capture the gale force winds occurring in the real "windy city" today since I was too busy being nearly blown away every few minutes. I was in an icy parking lot when a mighty gust came along and I actually slid forward a few feet. According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, these 90 mph winds are only 5 mph shy of category 2 hurricane winds. And life goes on as usual. 

Aurora Borealis

The Northern Lights were out in Juneau this morning! They were pretty dim and competing with the city lights but still cool to see streaks of green in the sky!  Of course this had to happen one of the coldest mornings of the year, hence my bundled roommates at 5am outside our door. It was a nice way to wake up to say the least :)