For Katie

In memory of Katherine Bell, my mother-in-law, who passed away September 9, 2007.

I wish I had known you when

I wish I had known you when you dressed and danced like Astaire and Rogers.

I wish I had known you when you courted and married your life mate, Chauncey.

I wish I had known you when you were raising your three small children.

I wish I had known you when you served your Baltimore community as a member of the Junior League.

I wish I had known you when you made the big move to make a home on the southern coast of California.

I wish I had known you when you organized New Thought events and promoted the movement.

I wish I had known you when you struggled to find meaning in your life after your children were grown.

I wish I had known you when you explored and traveled the world in your golden years.

I wish I had known you when your spine was straight, your body was strong and your lifestyle was active.

I wish I had known you when you thought private thoughts and dreamed secret dreams.

I wish I had known you then.

By Carolyn Bell

A loving daughter-in-law

Autumn Equinox

Time has come again when we will experience the two times a year when light and dark are equal and balanced. Day and night are each 12 hours long. We mark this time with harvest festivals and spooky, superstitious rituals that playfully caution us about the long nights ahead.

The Spring Equinox seems to come and go without my ever noticing. But I have been honoring the Autumn Equinox for a number of years now. It is a perceptible time of change, apparently one I am awake to. This is especially true with the passing of my mother in law in recent days.

Today was a needed day of nurturing. I took a nap. I did not practice Pilates. I washed clothes. And I pulled together ingredients for a Butternut Squash and Apple soup from my fridge bins. As Doug and I were chopping, it occurred to me that this was our first autumnal meal. The winter squash has a tough exterior, which helps it to endure. The apples are plentiful and help to sweeten things a bit.

My usual observance is to make a seasonal soup. Usually, I pull out a recipe with black beans, chorizo sausage, sweet potatoes and corn. I like to roast tomatoes in the oven before they go into the pot. This year's inspiration was Ina Garten's Butternut and Apple Soup. I substituted ginger and cinnamon for the curry. I also prepared homemade Pumpernickel croutons from a beautiful loaf of bread that I got a Paula's Bear Moon Bakery in Boerne, TX a few days ago.

Soon we will be facing Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve holidays. In this brief moment of time, we can recognize and rejoice in universal balance, abundant bounty and space to rest and catch our breath.

Butterfly

Butterfly

Spread your wings and fly

Through the sky so high

You spent so long living in a cocoon

Now it's time to sing your own tune!

-Mary Permann

Mary and Carolyn, May 2007

Martha Graham's Prayer

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening
That is translated through you into action,
And because there is only one of you in all of time
This expression is unique,
And if you block it,
It will never exist through any other medium,
And be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is,
Nor how valuable, or how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly,
To stay open and aware to the urges that motivate you.


Martha Graham,

Choreographer

THE DELICIOUS QUOTE FROM

"HERSELF"~~~~~~~~~~BEAUTIFUL AND "FULL", ISN'T IT?

THAT IS PART OF A LETTER MARTHA WROTE TO AGNES

DEMILLE YEARS AND YEARS AGO WHEN AGNES WAS

GOING THROUGH A PERIOD OF THE "CREATORS' ANGST".

THEY WERE ON-AGAIN-OFF-AGAIN FRIENDS~~~~~ WITH

DEEP MUTUAL RESPECT. AGNES ONCE TOLD ME THAT

SHE CONSIDERED MARTHA THE GREAT DANCE ARTIST

OF THE CENTURY~~AND I THINK THAT PRICKED HER EGO

AT TIMES~~IN-TA-RESTING, EH?

-written to me by Ron Fletcher,
Martha Graham Dancer, circa 1947-1952
Student of Joseph Pilates
First Generation Pilates Teacher and the Ron Fletcher Program Of Study