Thinking On The Page

I've often wondered, in the past year, if blogging is still relevant. I've asked myself if it matters whether I blog or I don't blog. Facebook, with its near instant response and continually changing flow of news has usurped my blogging habit. I've never really been happy about that. But I also haven't done anything to stop it from happening.

One of the lessons in the Spirit Wings class (Kelly Rae Roberts) I'm doing is on building community. It's also one of the chapters in her book, Taking Flight, written in 2008. When I started blogging in 2004, the poetry community I'd been involved in had broken down and I sorely missed my online community and had no outlet for writing, or for bantering back and forth about writing. I was also in school, learning about photography and art, which meant my blog soon took on a focus beyond the written word. Visuals were added. Now I feel like I need to include at least one picture with every post!

(Plus, one of my male teachers at school, where I was an older, non-tradtional student, probably only a couple of years younger than the teacher, joked that I was "technologically challenged." I remember working on getting this thing up and running, and I had fleeting thoughts of "I'll show you!" Ha! I'm stubborn
tenacious! The trait has served me well throughout my life.)

Relevant or not, I've made some great friends through writing on this blog. I've met many of them. I have a virtual creative community, a tribe, a sense of belonging. I'm very grateful for that. I do still long for an in person face to face creative community but have not yet found that.

My writing, my art, my life, so much has changed in the last 12 or so years that I have been writing here. I count that as all good. To me, it indicates growth. And I want to grow until my dying day.

I won't give this up. The habit, however inconsistent it is, is still relevant to me. The friends, the community, the tribe I've gained from being out here is all lagniappe. I'm grateful for each person who reads and/or comments on this blog. I'm grateful for the connections made.

I am still operating under the radar, so to speak. Most of my day to day friends know nothing about this blog. When I think about going public on Facebook, I get all tight and nervous. But I think bringing the blog out in the open might be a growing point for me. Doing so does not feel as scary as it has felt.

So, to answer my own question, yes, blogging is still relevant to me. It is a creative outlet. It is a source of friendship, community, and support. It is a repository for pieces of me.

If you aren't interested in reading my long self-indulgent ramblings, here, have some art. I have more ramblings on the mere word "art,' but I'll save those for another day! I checked out a book to read for free on my Kindle because I like this artist's work and wanted to learn more about it. I think I'll probably eventually buy the book, The Art of Expressive Collage: Techniques for Creating with Paper and Glue, by Crystal Neubauer. That's one of the things I want to do this year, stop just admiring other people's stuff and do more of my own stuff!

Here...

 These are experiments of learning. I can see where I can improve. But I have all these old letters and pictures and I've always been reluctant to use them, for fear of wasting them. Fooey on that! I'm going to be courageous in wasting...using my somewhat vast store of ephemera. This piece is on an 8X10(ish) sheet of watercolor paper.

This one is on a 4X6 piece of watercolor paper. I have blank cards and I will probably glue it to one of those.

Happy New Year. May we all do the best we can at sharing our particular light into the coming year.

Let Go!

My son's best friend came riding up one day on a brand new dirt bike. My brother had a small street bike and a mini-bike so I'd had some experience riding. It had been years since I'd been on a dirt bike so I wanted to take a little spin around the yard. I wasn't brave enough to get out on the street. I went slow but it left quite an impression on the kids. My oldest, who was 12 or 13 at the time, decided if I could do it, she could too. Her brother and his friend helped her on the bike and started giving instructions.

They had a whole story to tell. My daughter didn't realize she needed to hear the whole story and then act. So when they told her to hold the clutch in and turn the throttle, she did. And when she started rolling, things went downhill fast. She squealed. She headed straight toward the building in our back yard. The whole event only took about 30 or 40 seconds but it lasted long enough for her whole life to pass in front of my eyes. Once that started happening, I hollered at her to "LET GO, LET GO!!!" She was squealing up a storm and didn't hear a word I said.

Finally she managed to wedge it between the corner of the building and an old light pole beside it. When she hit, and the bike stopped, she jumped off and ran like the wind toward the patio. We were all dumbfounded for a minute. We recovered and ran to check on her. I sent my son's friend to check on his bike. I was afraid it was torn up, but it wasn't. When I got to the patio I asked if she was okay and she was. When I asked why she ran away so fast she told me it was because she was afraid she was going to be electrocuted.

I don't believe she ever got within spitting distance of a motorcycle after that. 

This was one of my favorite collages from my recent 40 day project. I thought of the motorcycle story not long after I'd done this one. I was profoundly relieved when my daughter let go that day.

Day 40 of the 40 Day Art Journal Adventure!

So now I've done 40 days of collages in my little journal. "What next" was the question I posed on one of the three collages I did today. I'm not sure yet about the specifics of what I'll do. Here at the end, I pulled out my watercolor crayons (Neocolor II water soluble Caran d'Ache crayons) and my oil pastels (same brand as the watercolor crayons). I bought them several years ago, when I started my current job. They were on markdown at the campus bookstore, plus I got a discount above and beyond the sale price. I was thrilled with the purchase, so thrilled, I guess, that I thought I needed to put them away and not "waste" them on anything I did! I thought I didn't like them. I thought I couldn't use them. I guess, after nearly 40 days, I got a little freer and a little wilder and a little braver, so I used them. 

I found this quote in an article in "O" magazine (http://www.oprah.com/health/Katherine-Russell-Rich-On-Surviving-Stage-IV-Breast-Cancer/print/1) . She died of breast cancer in April 2012. She's one of my newest heroes. If you care to read the article, you might understand why.

I've been thinking lately of the October of 2016 I imagined back in October of 2011 when I was first diagnosed with colon cancer. I'd hope to be celebrating five years cancer free. Instead, I've weathered a second attack of colon cancer and breast cancer. Saying it, seeing it here on the screen, I feel like I sound a bit snake bit. That's not at all the way I feel. My prognosis looks good on all counts and I am grateful.

My five year anniversary didn't quite turn out to be the party I'd expected but that's okay. I don't know what might have been. I only know what is, right here, right now. I've been shaped and strengthened in the last five years. Katherine Russell Rich (read the article) said she learned, in times of uncertainty, to ask herself "How are you right now?" She said her answer was, "Fine. Stay right here, in this day, stay right here in your mind." I think that's mostly a pretty good place to be, "right here, in this day."

"What next?" You keep on living, you keep on doing. You don't spend too much time wondering how much time you might have. You put one foot in front of the other, and keep on moving the best you can.

(Yeah, sometimes that's easier said than done, I know.)

Day 31 of the 40 Day Art Journal Challenge

Today was Day 31 of the 40 day art journal challenge. I need to figure out what it is I have learned from doing this, and how I feel about it. But right now I'm just enjoying the process.

This was day 31. 

This is something I wrote for a Three Lines class I took online (Maya Stein). I'll probably end up tweaking this and using it with one of my photos for a "thang."

Living in the "and" is a bit of a philosophical mantra for me. I have to remind myself that I am both my strengths and my weaknesses, not just one or the other.

I love the colors of this one. 

I want/need to write about the PTT week 6 prompt. I hope to get to it in the next day or two. If I don't, I'll forgive myself.

Busy Hands, Busy Mind, Busy Body

Some days I feel like the proverbial chicken with my head cut off, running and running. It seems to me I have too much going on right now.

I'm keeping up with my practice of doing a collage a day. I believe I'm on day 23 now. I've been participating in a little daily writing practice, doing three lines to a prompt. That group is finished now but I think I may try to continue on with the practice, maybe by writing three lines about my day in third person. I've signed up for another month long activity that I hope I will continue to do, rather than getting upset and just quitting. And it's time for the annual Do You 10Q? that I've done for the last 6 years.

I'm playing tennis three times a week. Once for league play, once for drills, and once with a large group where we divide up and play for 30 minutes, then divide up again with different people and play for 30 minutes again (and once more after that). Plus I'm trying to do yoga twice a week during lunch and then there is the Power Sculpting class that I try to attend on Wednesday nights. And of course, I'm working full time.

I don't usually like my days to be this full! There are still other things I should be doing that I am not getting done. I know, I'm not supposed to should on myself.

Anyway, here are a few more of the collages I've been doing.

A grad student friend of mine loved this one. She said she felt like she needed elephant man hanging on her wall. She's having an extremely busy semester and has been very kind to me. I decided to give it to her. I had a square frame on hand so I framed it and brought it to her.

I've been experimenting with adding paint, ink, and charcoal pencil to the backgrounds. I've also dropped down from doing two a day to only doing one!

I feel like the woman in the picture. I think I need a time out! I've often said I wished I had the power to stop the world so I could get caught up. So far I haven't figured out how to make that happen.

I did these last two Saturday while I was in the country. I didn't have too much material with me. But it worked out well.

And finally, there is this little "thang" I did on my phone. My confederate rose was blooming and the quote showed up on my Facebook news feed, a lovely case of serendipity.

Tenacity Takes Many Forms

Here are a few more of the collages I've been doing. It's the 15th day in a row. My tenacious nature is wearing thin. On the one hand, I wonder why doing this consistently, daily, even matters. I question the worth of it. The little collages really aren't worth much. It's the daily doing of the thing that is of value. Just like going to the backboard for tennis practice is not worth much in and of itself. But the repetition of hitting the ball again and again, of feeling how it comes off your racket, and learning how to control the power of the ball and the racket--that's what is valuable. Doing the daily collage, hitting the ball, these practices are a part of laying groundwork.

I'll continue on with them. I am determined to make it to 40 days. And then I will evaluate whether or not I want to continue. But man, the critical and judging voices (in my head) are loud this morning. It's a bright and sunny Saturday in my part of the world. I've had to calm the voices. I wish they'd just shut up and go away. But I think they never will. I'm told this is quite common for artists (for "real" artists, one of my voices is saying, "you're just being dramatical" another voice is saying).

Project Thoughtful Thursday, Week 4

Well, dang. Here is this weeks card, "Tenacious (yes, you)." It's certainly a reminder for me. I hope it will at least cause you to think a bit.

I have been tenaciously sticking with my 40 day art journal commitment. It's been a lot of fun. Here are a few of the ones I've done lately...

I got antsy and started adding paint to the background, along with distress ink, and Pan pastels.

I have a bunch of old photographs (and letters). I figure I should go ahead and use them, and stop holding onto to them like they are precious and irreplaceable. They aren't my relatives.

 It doesn't take much time to do these. They've been somewhat therapeutic for me to work on.

40 Days to a Creative Practice

The afternoon part of the workshop I attended was about doing a 40 day art journal. We were all given an inexpensive 6X6 sketch book to take home with us. While we were there, we worked on doing our pages or covering our book. I don't want to jinx myself but I've done a little collage every day since. Actually, I've done two on each day.

I read somewhere today about this being a process activity, not something where you are concerned with a finished work of art. I think of it as being nourishment for future work. Some people see it as welcoming the muse. I bring this up because last night, after doing a page right before bedtime, I couldn't go to sleep because I kept thinking of things I could do to make finished product. And that's when the pressure started to get heavy. So I think it's good for me to remember, "this is process work." Also, if I stick with it, it could become a part of my creative practice. A consistent creative habit would be good for me.

Anyway, here are a few of the collages I've done.

An Eventful Adventure (It's Been a While)!

This past Saturday I trotted off to Congregation B'nai Israel (CBI), on Galveston Island for a "Realizing Your Creative Soul" workshop. The facilitator was a woman I discovered when I was perusing the website of the Jung Center in Houston. I was looking for something artsy-fartsy to do.

I went all by myself, as I often do for events like this. I met several interesting people, but for the most part it was a matter of working alone in community. I do wish I'd been a tiny bit more outgoing and had gotten more than just the first names of the women working beside me.

During the morning, we gathered images and words that appealed to our hearts. We were to do this without thinking about it. Once we had images gathered we created what the brochure called "New Reality Boards." I've always loved the cutting and pasting work of doing collages. It wasn't long before I was in a state of "flow" and I was unaware of time passing as I worked.

This is my board. I'd thought I might add a few more things to cover the small blank areas but I'll probably end up leaving it as it is. I chose the green background because it reminded me of growing things. Continuing growth is something I aspire to.

This little girl appealed to me immediately. The words below are a "found poem" of sorts (words below). Gratitude, hope, and grace are such key words for me. In the beginning, the rabbi sang the Hallelujah song. He said some of the words were a little bit different. What I remember was "as long as there is breath, hallelujah." That phrase, that intention, pierced my heart. I cried a bit. Things felt very sacred at that moment. Then we sat down to work. Or play.

We sent our critics (and I also sent my gremlins and judges) over to sit in the congregational chairs while we worked. They weren't allowed into our process. I tried to leave them there but I think one or two of them slipped back into my car when I opened the door to put my board in the back seat.

This is another favorite part of my board. I'm so clever. The "She embraced her story" first said "We embraced her story." I search for the s, h, and e to glue over the "we."

Here are other pieces that spoke to me. "You are not alone" is an old message. I've felt that so much in the last several years. Then there is the small green message, "I am not my diagnosis." No one there knew any of my history. I told no one any of my story. It just didn't seem necessary. That was sort of freeing in an odd way.

This is not a great photo because of the glare, but what I love about it is that phrase, "Just try and kill this." It was an article about growing plants and I've recently become interested again in nurturing house plants. As I've said before, in this period of my life, there is something hopeful about growing things. And with some of the things in this period of my life, I've had to reach down and find that tenacious spirit, the tiny bit sassy spirit that secretly whispers, "just try and kill this." It's not always easy. But always, as long as there is breath...hallelujah.

And finally, this quote from Agatha Christie? Amen, and amen! And hallelujah!

"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy." This kind of adventure (artist's date?) makes me happy (ba-da-boom, Project Thoughtful Thursday, week two response).

Words in the found poem:

Living,

with gratitude and devotion

hope and grace

dream philosophy: live with optimism, renew with hope

create expressions of love

a quest

Hollow Heads and Struggling Too Hard

Here's to creativity, weird minds, and also, to a post without mention of that other problem that has taken up so much of my time for the last twelve weeks (the "c" word)!

My phrenology head got knocked off its perch on my desk almost as soon as I had placed it there. It would no longer stand on its own. I thought I'd ask my uncle to make me a support post for it (it is an emptythat did not need much watering for the porch on my room at the country and I remembered this plant. Some people seem to be weirded out by the head, but I like it. It's quirky.

I've been working in my art room, trying to clean it up so I can go in there and do things. Tonight I got the bright idea that I could frame this index size collage using a frame from the resale shop. I put two layers of cardboard under the index card to raise it up a bit and used black card stock as a background. I was struggling to get the back piece (with the frame stand on it) into the frame when I heard an ominous noise. Sure enough, when I turned my little framing masterpiece over, I saw that I had cracked the glass. I guess I was struggling too hard to make it all work.

I've set the picture up on my shelf, broken glass and all. Maybe I'll get another piece of glass eventually.

In the meantime, I will try not to be caught walking around empty headed and I will try not to struggle so hard against things that are not flexible? Oh, and I will continue to work in my art room. I am determined to get it back in order now that I am not dealing with that other problem that has taken so much of my time in the last twelve weeks.

Art room in order---that is my intention for the month of June.

Oh, in case you can't read it, the little tea tag says:

"Be great, feel great, act great." 

 

On The Table

Fresh Louisiana satsumas were one of the things on my table this past week.

Magazines, glue sticks and my journal were also on my table.

 When I was all done I had a found poem in my journal (among other things):

transforming pain into words-

once you start, it's hard to stop.

heart-wrenching

are you comfortable being...

what's next

Navigate life

no, you aren't dreaming

YOU ARE ONE GUTSY WOMAN

LIVE

getting unstuck

the possibilities are (not) endless

what do I

yearn for?

there's no turning back.

(This is my contribution to Gallery 27 of the 52 Photos Project: On the Table.)

Don't Panic Before It's Necessary

I heard one of the professors tell this to a student a while back. Seems like good advice.

I was playing around in my newly cleaned art room (while listening to my Native American flute music which art teacher in Houston said was conducive to painting and creating!) and wanted something to do. I started with a sheet of watercolor paper and added the magazine picture face (which may still be too recognizable?) The red vase is a dictionary page I had cut out freehand last year and painted. The edges are scrapbook paper I tore and glued on to the page. Then I scanned it and added the words in Photoshop Elements. Not great or complicated work, but fun and relaxing to do, while waiting for other ideas to come. Still, I think this saying would be great on a card.

Dadburn Mountains, Horizons and Never Arriving

Yeah, I know I just put this "thang" up in yesterday's post! The message is still very important to me, but there was a nagging problem with it. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bugging me. After reading this essay (go read it, I love it, isn't it the most beautiful thing?), I was able to do a better job of figuring out what it was about my words that sort of bothered me.  

The problem for me is the words “you are being made whole.” They imply that there is a place to which I will arrive which will be better than where (or who) I am now and when I have arrived there, I will be something, which to me equals something like this: if I am now broken and then eventually made whole, then I am worthy. But if I am presently broken, then I must now be an old piece of crap.

When I read, “I will not get to the mountains. I’ve been told as much, but you can’t swallow this kind of knowledge until you have some perspective,” I thought of a friend who often reminds me that we never truly arrive. And just now, in writing this, I am also reminded of my favorite quote from photographer W. Eugene Smith, “Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold.” All of these messages are hard words for me to swallow.

Oh how I have complained about always being on the threshold. How hard I have worked at trying to figure out how to arrive faster so that I can finally let go and sit down and quit struggling! And yet, here is the “why” of why I can’t put too much stock in my “message” that “though I am broken, I am being made whole.” If I am spending too much time looking forward to being made whole, then I am not spending enough time looking at the ground that is beneath my feet right now. It is as he says, “If you can’t reach the mountains, you might as well get to know the trail.” And if I am not aware of the ground that I am presently standing on, I am not living, I am wasting my travels.

Wow. Just think, if one can accept that you will not reach the mountains, or that you will not arrive, or that there will be another horizon, one can quit struggling so hard. Whoa. That is a whole 'nother level of enlightenment for me! I'll have to think some more on that one!

(I've written before about Eugene Smith's quote and what it means to me, griped about never "arriving," about always having another horizon. Check it out if you are interested: Blooming Late, It's Better Than Not Blooming At All and Walking To Paradise Garden, One Day at a Time. What a blast from the past!)

Do What You Can...

This one started off with a dictionary page glued to watercolor paper and then painted with the little girl added as a transfer.The last layer was the text which was printed and stained with paint then glued on. I've been thinking I might go back and add a layer of machine stitching around the text paper. I've had trouble with these darker backgrounds trying to figure out how to make the text more readable.

The text says "Do what you can, suffer when you must, love and grow as you are able." Really, what else can we do?

I talked yesterday with someone who was complaining about a mother who was being pushy in trying to get help for her young son who has developmental issues. The mother was angry with the insurance company about not providing for certain services for her son. The mother was pushing on the office that was providing the services. The mother was suffering.

I wondered out loud whether or not the mother was struggling with letting go of the dreams and hopes she had for her son, just beginning to mourn all the things that would not be, and not yet "there" in terms of acceptance so that her battle to help her son was still a little awkward.

The mother is suffering. How does that old saying go, "suffering in inevitable, growth is optional"? I had these flowery thoughts that I hope she grows into her suffering and becomes a formidable advocate for her son. I do hope that happens (and I believe it will). But right now, today, my biggest prayer for her would be that bitterness does not touch her. Because sometimes, when you see suffering lying there on the table, and you start thinking of all the losses and the things that will not be, well at the beginning, you have no way of knowing the good that often comes from suffering. You see the suffering and the loss and you can't imagine that any kind of brightness could come from such loss. But so often, there is brightness. And there will be brightness here, too. She will see it if bitterness does not sneak in and cloud her eyes.

May she more often than not be met with patience and grace on her journey. And may she have more than a few friends along the way who are willing and able to hold the light for her and who are wise enough to gently remind her to "Do what you can, suffer when she must, and grow when you are able."

Dance Reworded :)

Changed the wording a bit.

Remembering Christmas

If I have your address, you probably received this card in the mail by now (if you'd like to receice a card next year, send me your snail mail address and I will put you on my list). The photo is a little different. I played in Photoshop a bit and I really like the results, even though the changes I made were quite subtle and very simple.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you...

Christmas-that magic blanket
that wraps itself about us,
that something so intangible
that it is like a fragrance.
It may weave a spell of nostalgia.

Christmas may be a day of feasting,
or of prayer, but always it will be
a day of remembrance--
a day in which we think of everything
we have ever loved.
--Augusta E. Rundell

You Might Be Wondering What I Have Been Up To (or not!)

Honestly, these women do look better in person than they do on this scan! I made a few mistakes while trying to do this, but I had fun anyway. When I got everything painted, I covered the canvas in beeswax. It gives the whole thing a nice sheen. If you want to see all the printing you can click on the picture--it is honking huge, I did not reduce it for uploading as I often do. I want to do some more of these as inspiration strikes. It was a learning process. I learned you ought to kind of plan ahead, that you shouldn't get excited and draw and paint the figures before thinking about and doing the background. In my defense, I am accustomed to working in Photoshop where you can add and remove layers as you go, or you can delete down to the original and start all over again. Anyway, I like them, even though they look a bit spooky!

I've been off my beloved Diet Coke now for 10 days now. I do know it is better for me but I still miss my old friend and snacking buddy. Sniff, sniff. I think the doctor is all right, just maybe a little weird. Lord knows I can't fault a person for being weird! But the evidence from the blood tests was not so good. I'll give you three little hints, no four--sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure--and the accompanying medication, none of it was unexpected. Now I just have to deal with it and decide whether or not I want to take care of myself. Everything can be improved with weight loss, changes in my diet and exercise. In dispensing the prescription for the diabetes, he said "I can give you medicine to help you along. I can't heal you. But you can possibly heal yourself." So, there is hope (there is always some sort of hope). I asked the doctor if it was similar to an addict dealing with a drug addiction, where they often have to reach bottom and decide to do the things necessary to live a healthier life and he agreed that was pretty much the idea. The really sad thing is, I do not feel like I have "hit bottom". I am still sort of in denial. Hopefully that will change.

My nephew came in on Thanksgiving day carrying a brand new Nikon D80 camera, causing me to have a serious lusting spell. I have been wanting a new camera similar to that one.

I think I've decided what I want to take when I can start taking classes at the university. I am thinking about taking one class in the spring semester, but I don't know if I will be able to or not. Anyway, I am going take all my classes with the goal of majoring in Spanish with a minor in Art. Working full time and taking one or two classes a semester, it will probably take several years for me to actually earn a degree, but that is the path I am going to follow. I had three years of Spanish in high school and have always wished I could have continued to learn the language. As for the art, maybe I can learn more about how to draw pictures of women that are not so spooky looking! And I want to learn more about photography. I am pleased to have a goal in my head.

I am still loving my job. It is in some ways, quite the cushy position to have. The people students and faculty) are certainly fun and interesting. Sometimes dealing with the paperwork is a pain in the rear--we have had several people go on conferences and that means paperwork has to be filled out in proper order before and after the trip. It is absolutely amazing how helpless these PhD types can be when confronted with government paperwork! I don't understand half of it myself either. But I can always count on the friendly lady in "travel" to call and correct me when I am wrong. She does not speak, she barks. I don't think she means to be so gruff, it is just that travel is what she does all day long and she can't understand why the rest of us can't get the forms filled out correctly (and she has worked there for a bajillion years and is in an office in a round building with no window and a curved wall covered in brick--that alone ought to be enough to drive anyone crazy, IMO)!

Well, this seems enough info for the day. Possibly there will be more to follow. . .

The Beginning of the End

Today I gave my two weeks notice. I feel like a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel badly about disappointing them and causing them the trouble of having to find and train someone else, but it was time for me to "get out of Dodge". In the end, they will be all right, and so will I.

If you have some extra time, click on the link to "Postcards From Yo Mama" in my second blog list on my sidebar. Some of those posts are hilarious (and altogether believable)!

I'm trying a new comment feature from Blogger Draft. Please let me know if it is a problem for any of you who comment.

I came across this quote in yet another blog I read faithfully but never comment on. I will have to add it to my links.

"My basic philosophy is one of being well-prepared and exercising the greatest caution but believing that if I have an accident on the trail and end up being food for the vultures, it's better than a nursing home. Rest in peace." --Ralph Ramey

The guy is 79 years old and has written two books on hiking. I'm seeing his quote as a great metaphor for approaching change in life. In the next two weeks, I figure I will be "gnawed on" by the "vultures" at my old job but I also know that I am getting myself off that trail before the gnawing becomes fatal! I've made my choice and I am as well-prepared as I can be to deal with the consequences. That is about the best I can do. And if I start feeling too "gnawed on" then, by golly, I can pick up my backpack and move on down the trail!

I may have put this one up here before, but it seems especially appropriate for a new beginning...