ultimos dias en la decima

donde TODO, absolutamente TODO me hablaba sobre lo esencial de la vida

donde abrir los ojos era desear no pestanear ni un segundo

donde el roble se hizo palabra fuerte

y se humilla uno ante tanta grandeza de lo que dios creo

donde lo intacto preserva su pureza

donde el hombre queda atonito y bocabierto

donde la inocencia perdura

donde toda flor realza en colorido

donde el fin del mundo es el principio

donde el pirata paso y fue vencido

donde las vacas aun pastan libres

donde los pueblitos emergen lentamente y sin mayor bullicio

y el pequeno empresario se las bate

donde la arquitectura se hace por arte de magia

y los visionarios lo preservan para atraer al que verdaderamente ve y aprecia

donde uno se acuerda de las amigas que verdaderamente ven y aprecian

donde maria madre esta

con toda su promesa

por algo sera que mi alma llora estas tierras, mis pies se apresuran para el retorno

sobre las nubes vuela el aliento

every minute counts here, therefore my economy of words. but, above all, puerto varas is in the 10th region of Chile where it is usually either cloudy, drizzling or otright raining for days so the weather we have been having is an exception, we relish every second of sunshine.  every single day has been filled with natural beauty.

chiloe, main island near castro

volcan osorno, totoral road

en

another day, another birth day reminder

strudel and cortado to blow out the candle

55! ouch

Spanglish

Esto de tener doble nacionalidad..... se siente como una doble personalidad. Sobretodo que es lo Sajon mezclado con lo Latino. No seria tan marcada la diferencia si fuera una mezcla Europea o solo de sangre latina; vivo entre dos mundos y se nota. Hay dias que soy netamente inglesa, coleccionando tacitas de te, inventando un jardin salvaje, otras me suelto como una loca apasionada y bailo hasta el amanecer, escuchando canciones romanticas o leyendo poesias intensas de Gonzalo Rojas.

Amo esos dos mundos por igual; la sutileza del ingles y el desenfreno del latino en un mismo cuerpo balanceandose como un pendulo sobre la llama.

Having dual citizenship feels like a split personality. Especially since it is an Anglo Saxon and Latin mix. The split wouldn't be as marked if it were a mix of only European heritage or a blend of Latin; I live between two worlds and it is noticeable. There are days when I am eminently English, collecting tea cups and inventing my wild garden, others I let down my hair, hang loose and dance like a fool until the break of dawn, listening to romantic songs or reading intense poetry by Gonzalo Rojas.

I love those two worlds equally; the subtlety of the English and the total Latin abandon all in one body swinging like a pendulum above the flame.

Ideas for my Sanctuary

I'm homesick. AGAIN. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to Chile. I know I mention it at least once a day in my conversations.

Today I spent most of the day browsing through some pre-fab homes websites to start to get solid ideas about the house in Puerto Varas. Mi casita, mi santuario, mi ruca, mi chacra. I need to look up some native plants too because my idea is to plant native plants, trees and flowers. I have always wanted to do a shrine too, a long winding road down the side of the property where people can come and light candles day or night, say a prayer, be at peace. It will be non-denominational with religious art from all religions.

My collection is now huge, all packed in boxes since I have so much from Peru and Mexico and Chile.

I miss my friends,the ones I used to get really silly with. Mairene and Anita & Paty.

I miss La Plaza del Mulato Gil, mis poetas Nicanor y Gonzalo.

I miss taking the metro all over the city and WALKING. Here in California we never walk and it's NOT HEALTHY. I will make it a commitment to walk to the movie theatre one night instead of driving.

My eye hurts so .....to be continued.

Countdown

After years of dreaming, daydreaming, wishing, hoping, praying my vision is about to come true. At the end of February I will purchase my first piece of land. In CHILE ofcourse. One acre and a quarter, located on the outskirts of Puerto Varas in the 8th Region of Chile in a condominium called Bosque Vida. See http://www.bosquevida.cl/.

Buying the land will be phase one. I will then begin anew saving for the foundation and the plans for the house, hopefully ready by the Summer of 2008. Phase 3 will be the actual building. My brother Martin will help me there since he is an accomplished carpenter and quite an artist when it comes to using the materials available to him, low budget.

Oh Lord, how I thank you for the reward after so much arduous work on etsy and ebay saving all my sales monies. I thank You for carrying my weight and allowing me to buy this land at last.

In the making: my own flag, lots of sketches and cutouts from Interior Design and decoration magazines.