Jan

I'd like to meet:

Click refresh in the browser toolbar if u dont see the slideshow - these are pictures through the years at the beach - i am trying to find them all :)

Listen to the MUSTNTS, child, Listen to the DONTS,
Listen to the SHOULDNTS, the IMPOSSIBLES, the WONTS,
Listen to the NEVER HAVES, Then listen close to me--
Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be.

-- Shel Silverstein

To my Jessi and Sara:
Never forget you have saltwater in your veins from the time you were born
~ as you swim away from home, stay close to the sea ~ maybe scuba dive like your momma?

He waiwai nui ke aloha; o ka'u no la e pulama nei!
('Love is a great treasure that I do cherish!')

Aloha ~ Alo: in the presence of, Ha: the divine breath of life

Remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.... George Carlin

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbour.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

....Mark Twain

"I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder...I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more." Anne Frank, July 15, 1944.

Keeping it lit

Protect Our Oceans (natural resources photo from Hawaii - can't remember the source

Click on the banner above to visit musician Tom's page -- his page is a delight and his music will both soothe and rock you!

A painting by one of my favorite artists, Debbie Rittenhouse. She breathes salt air into my parched land-locked lungs. Visit her on ebay.

Hurt...sung by Johnny Cash...touches chords within...

Music:

getting my camera out to take photographs makes me happy~standing under my cherry tree with blossoms blowing in the wind around me...i was definitely in my happy place.

I love to read. I love books. All types of books - classics, philosophy, poetry, scifi, romance, paranormal, fiction, cookbooks, science, biology, photography. The books I list here, are ones that touch me so deeply that I hold them close to me in my memories.

Kahlil Gibran

W. B. Yeats

The Wolf, the Woman, the Wilderness, by Teresa tsimmu Martino (a true story of returning home - parts will grab your heartstrings)

Dancer on the Grass - true stories about horses and people - by Teresa tsimmu Martino

Learning from eagle, Living with coyote - by Teresa tsimmu Martino

I love music! some people walk into their homes and turn on the TV - I turn on music. I love rock, classical, opera, celtic, new age, country, alternative. There are too many to list but a few of my favorites are neil young, loreena mckennitt, k.t. tunstall, bonnie raitt, cream, sheryl crow, clannad, damien rice, joni mitchell, john mayer, u2, led zeppelin, trisha yearwood, andrea bocelli

And...I love to go to the movies. There are too many favorites to list but some include Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, What Dreams May Come, Beaches, The Gladiator, Sound of Music

The Hawaiians call the dolphins "heart beings, not of this world.

Movies:

Above picture is magnified. Now look at the picture below~how small the seahorse really is!!! isn't it amazing?

The Hidden City. A simple chain with monumental universal consequences. The coral reefs sustain our oceans. The oceans sustain our earth. Save the coral reefs. Protect the ocean to protect the earth. MySpace.com

Television:

My life is like a stroll upon the beach, as near the ocean's edge as I can go. -Thoreau

One day this summer I sat in my butterfly bush (it's 15 years old and quite large) photographing one of my favorite creatures on our planet - the butterfly. I never noticed but my butterfly bush is its own universe, with various stages of life going on around me. All were dancing from flower to flower, or with each other. Some were dancing slower than others and I realized for the first time, I never thought of a butterfly getting old. Wherever there is life, there is a circle that must be traveled. -Jan

Books:

Serendipity Love from my friend, Corrine

A white wolf is my totem. Always by my side. A wolf totem helps me with intuition, learning, and nourishing my spirit. This totem brings faithfulness, inner strength and intuition when he enters our lives. But he also brings learning to live with one's self. The wolf teaches us to learn about our inner self and to find our inner power and strength. But to achieve this, we must take risks and face our deepest fears. A wolf totem demands sincerity.
This totem demands a lot of us but gives us much in return; a spirit helper that is always there to help and gives us extraordinary powers of endurance. He reminds us to listen to our inner thoughts and trust our insights.
They remind us not to waste resources and to learn how to avoid trouble and confrontations. People with Wolf totems have the capacity to make quick and firm emotional attachments. Trust your insights about these attachments. Wolf will guide you.
Take control of your life with Wolf’s help and do so with harmony and discipline.

Heroes:

Places I've Traveled

I put this here for my kids whose mama was a rolling stone before they blessed my life. The places I've traveled are like my life's diary - I grew up in Japan and the Netherlands. Before I moved to Japan, my family took a road trip through the states to California, then caught a cruise boat and stopped in Hawaii before we got there. We stopped at so many places that included the Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone Park, and the Badlands. As a kid I went on family road trips throughout southern Japan. When we moved to Europe, we took road trips throughout Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. I learned to ski in Switzerland.
I moved back to the Netherlands when I was an adult to work and travel some more. I took road trips by myself through Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland. I went skiing in Austria and Switzerland. I took my mom and traveled to Crete and Greece and loved watching all my greek mythology, Sparta and Plato stories come alive. I moved back to the States and took a plane hopping trip through Bahamas, Bermuda, Colorado, California, Texas, Washington with a girlfriend and we had a blast. Later I got into scuba diving and found my passion – worked as asst dive instructor, traveled weekends and other chunks of time to North Carolina wrecks, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Bimini, Florida, Mexico. Came back to a regular job and took vacations that included diving in Bermuda several times, Aruba, Cancun, Cozumel, and Tulum. Some of my favorite things to do on these trips is explore ruins - like the Mayan ruins, Celtic ruins, and Greek ruins, and when I was diving, ocean wrecks and sitting by a coral reef with my waterproof fish book identifying the fish.
I got back into skiing, joined a ski club and skied in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Utah, Grey Rocks & Mt. Tremblant. I’ve gone hang gliding in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
I met the love of my life on a ski trip to Canada ~ our love is like a gentle rolling river ~ ever constant. Our daughters are grown now and we are finding new patterns in our lives (while we pay college bills :). I’ve lived in Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington. I’m currently living in Maryland.
My kids ask me where in North America have I been so here’s the list: Virginia, Washington, DC, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, Massacusetts, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Mexico, Hawaii, Canada.

Meet Kitty, my dear dive buddy, This is a digital creation I made for her so she never forgets the place that brings her joy.