2:365:2011

A friend got me started on the idea of picking a word to focus on each year... and last year my word was potential. I thought it was an innocent word... one that could only highlight the good in life... and it did... but like so much in life... it was very, very much more.

Potential... was me realizing that no matter the situation (good and bad)... that I could survive...perhaps even rise... above whatever was going on.
Potential was... getting acknowledgement of my photography... and my "coming out" as an artist.
Potential was... almost a "letting go" of everything I had learned or experienced... and making way for the new and different.


This year... my word is mindfulness.

According to Wiki... mindfulness is:

*bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis
*or involves ... paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally
*or involves... a kind of non-elaborative, nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling, or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted as it is
*and always invites... curiosity, openness, and acceptance

And so... with a thought towards mindfulness and being more aware of one's surroundings... the daughter and I headed off to Old Towne late at night... to absorb all that it is. The cold... the crisp air... the cooing of sleeping doves... the sacredness of the San Felipe de Neri church.... the whiteness of the holiday lights glowing in the darkness... the sound of the older man walking his dog in the park... the rush of traffic on Route66 only a block away... the smell of snow in the air...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

blessings from Old Towne

photos by Elaine A. Russell

We have lived in ABQ for almost 15yrs. We were able to afford this house because the previous owners had gone thru a major domestic battle... and had trashed the place. Since then, we have done mostly structural things....removed carpet, put in tile flooring ...new roof... new stucco... re-enforced walls around the property... new water treatment system...new furnace... new swamp cooler...stuff like that.

For the past several years though.... we have had barely functioning bathrooms and kitchen. Today is the end of that. Today I have 4 guys who are seriously demolishing the main doors to our house... tearing apart the bathrooms, and soon will be tearing apart the kitchen.

Buffy and Genghis are "holed up" in my daughter's room... breathing heavily on the windows where they can see people coming and going. Sabrina is at my feet... not liking the sound of reciprocating saws much at all.

But it is all good. I think the chaos in the house is reflective of the way my life has gone for a long time now... and the change is good. Soon the house... and I... will be "up to par."

Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon strolling around Old Towne. It was wonderful. It was a beautiful day, and there were lots of people enjoying the area. There was a mariachi band playing near the gazebo. I got a few fabulous beads at NM Bead and Fetish. I stopped at the beautiful San Felipe de Neri chuch. http://www.sanfelipedeneri.org/

And I also stopped at a small grotto-like chapel in Old Towne called The Our Lady of Guadelupe Chapel. ... with thanks and prayers said for the work ahead.

Photos for today's post are from my visit yesterday afternoon.