Hello, reader. How are you? I had a lovely birthday. I received many gifts.
- love
- conversation
- a lemon cake
- delicious peanut curry
- community
- so many hugs
- cards with kind words
- art
- a soak in a hot tub with Ming and our friend
- a trip to Triangle Lake
- delicious Cambodian food for lunch
- a polka dot begonia
Here’s me with the olive oil lemon cake, gluten free and dairy free.
I used zest from lemons from my aunt’s tree. I picked the lemons months ago, brought them home to Oregon, washed and zested them, used the juice, froze the zest. Yummy yummy! It was light. A housemate compared it to angel food cake. Yes, the egg whites are whipped.
poem
This is a poem I wrote yesterday. It’s addressing Ming and sort of sad. It’s about family and death. I read it to him last night, and he cried.
gifts by Laura-Marie Cumulonimbus Nopales
the baby inside can kick–
the heart can kick.
there’s an old mule inside my head
about slow death
vs fast.
Swami said you can suicide, but
you’ll just have to come back
until you learn the pain experience
we’re all here to have.
I love you for no reason
but this,
soft place to land.
you help me hold
every suffering,
until the suffering wins.
I’ll slip into an ocean
where you’ll no longer find me.
I’m sorry we create
a sweet family
only to break it.
but we can’t let death stop us
from sharing our sacred gifts.
yes
Yes, we can’t let death or fear stop us from loving and showing up. I’m grateful for the birthday kindness I received. We got through it without my mom. Joyful survival is hard work–I’m proud of us.
Here’s some art I made lately, speaking of death. This one’s called when I was with you, I wasn’t afraid of dying.
when i was with you, i wasn’t afraid of dying
Laura-Marie Cumulonimbus Nopales
Sept 2023
Kalapuya land
ballpoint pen, sharpie, watercolor on reclaimed product packaging cardstock
I made this art sign also for the youth climate march.
I’m sorry I hurt earth
acrylic and wax pen on found museum posterboard
September 15 2023
Kalapuya land
Laura-Marie Cumulonimbus Nopales
I made this St Bigid’s cross out of fabric scraps I got from the free pile in the local textile amazing store. It reminded me of when I was a kid and made old fashioned cloth dolls out of fabric scraps at a children’s museum. It’s a good feeling–we can create things so we don’t need to buy everything from stores. We can make things in our own way. We are free.
