Ethereal Shipmate

Ethereal Shipmate
by Pandora Peoples

The lion has captured the heart
Of this bleeding gazelle,
The child like a full moon,
When my eyes are closed,
Fills my lungs like fragrant island flowers
On a starry night,
Like cupid he weaves love webs
Around his smiling parents.


My husband is like a room of leather-bound books,
A morning in the sand,
Waves lapping at the shore,
The flames in a fireplace,
Inviting me to two-step and tango,
He's the soulmeat on my ship
And the shipmate on my soul,
The drink on my lips.


He is my exfoliating scrub,
My TMJ-jawlock-emergency-rub,
My kindly mythic beast,
My spacemate co-navigating the waters
Of the galactic heart.



Attachment Parenting 101


Screen all media with trepidation and non-attachment, ignore false flags, turn a blind eye to encoded messages as there are enough unintentional ones to keep you busy filtering, accept a multitude of opinions and some degree of scapegoatism from the left, the liberals, the progressives, the libertarians, the creatives. Pretend the anti-intellectuals live in a bubble and can do you no harm. Remember the anti-feminists are making cries for help. Unfortunately, true love does not conquer, it acquiesces, it heals, it caves, it saves, it coalesces, it makes compromises, but it can make miracles happen.

As the wheel turns and another year is on the proverbial horizon, I am tingly and tickled pink, that my little nuclear family and I love to snuggle under the blankets together and read poetry into the night, grateful for my beloved husband born in the astrological month of the lion who has captured the heart of this bleeding gazelle.

People not only give up too easily on relationships in this culture, but often they are afraid to fall as deeply in love as they can be. If people hold back on discovering one another's deepest selves, or speaking up about their needs or what makes them satiated, or when couples fail to discover new aspects of themselves, or if they lose their individuality or are afraid to give their partners space, the bonding doesn't keep up with the soul's need for new levels of awareness. I think that must be 'the secret' of spunky couples who have been married 50 plus years.

Artists in Their Studios Create Perfect Christmas Gifts

(In case you missed this month's issue of "Dinghy: The Little Magazine", which most of us did.)

“Artists in Their Studios Create the Perfect Christmas Gifts:”
By Pandora Peoples

CINDY SAUERS is a multifaceted artist and owner of Saturday Farm and Island Cottage, vacation rentals in Cape Cod and St. John’s. Like a crystal or a precious stone, Sauers has a light, healing energy that touches your spirit. Her wit and whimsy is conveyed in her work, from her paintings to her murals. Hidden fairies are part of the motif of Island Cottage, whereas The Baa Boys, two adorable sheep are the animal hosts of Saturday Farm, “I think families pick Saturday Farm as a place that will calm them and make them feel balance again.”

Sauers’ love of art began at an early age, “I started with drawing. Lying in bed as a kid, I would dream about changing the color of my room.” She gravitated towards muses early on, “Once I started reading, I began reading autobiographies of artists. I would look for them in the library.” She contemplates, “I bet there are a lot of people out there that could be artists if they are just encouraged.” Art is so much a part of her life that she sees it as a natural form of expression all people can access. “I look at an artist as someone who is creative with all aspects of life. It could be creating a day, an environment, or using your creativity to work your way out of a problem, or turning a negative experience into a positive experience.”

Sauers is always fresh, working in many mediums as her inspiration takes hold. “I might feel like creating a painting, a drawing, a mosaic, block prints or creating a sculpture, or changing the landscape of the garden.” She likes to create every day, “I’ve learned that I can promote my creativity with music or routine…If I play a certain kind of music and have a certain cup of tea, I’ll be creative ten nights in a row…So, I set the stage and then it happens.”

You can find Cindy Sauers’ paintings in “The Presents of Angels” a holiday art show and performance series running at the Hyannis Harbor Arts Center at the Guyer Barn, Dec. 1-Jan. 5, as well as her artful gifts at their Christmas Gift Boutique. You can discover more about Sauers at her blog, http://itsa-world.blogspot.com.

KIMBERLY MEDEIROS creates cereal bowls that will have you singing to your oatmeal every morning. Her brilliant functional art embodies her love for life. Each stoneware piece is unique and draws you in with its beauty and character. After spending time with her and her clay cups, platters, and wine goblets, it is plain to see that her colorful designs, drawings, and patterns, are reflective of her joyful spirit. Her works are as contagious as her smile, each draws you in with a story.

Medeiros is inspired by everything from the paintings of Gustav Klimt to the imagery she discovered in India back in 2006, when took a trip with The Emancipation Network, an organization that provides trafficked girls with education, rehabilitation and job training. A percentage of the sales from her series, “Pots with a Purpose” goes to the organization. “My concept was people as vessels, vessels as vehicles, pots with a purpose.” As a teacher, Medeiros is enthusiastic that her pottery series can illuminate social justice issues.

Medeiros describes what it was like growing up in a family of ceramicists and painters, “My mother is big into color, I grew up part time in Florida. We always had a colorful life. [She was always] singing opera in the kitchen, with classical music in the other room, while the kids were on the floor doing crafts.” She goes on to say, “We were always encouraged to pursue it, instead of veging out in front of the TV…If kids are given the tools they will use them.” Of her artistic drive she explains, “I am happiest when I am at my wheel blaring my music and singing loudly.”

One of Medeiros’ favorite commissioned works was for best-selling author Dan Brown, because she got to “dive into his books, pull out his imagery, and personalize it”. The work is now in his foyer. She waxes poetic about the holidays, “I love the sense of community, people coming together and celebrating with family and friends. It’s about peace, joy and love.” And gorgeous pottery! You can find her work at the Christmas Gift Boutique at the Guyer Barn 250 South Street, Hyannis, MA, Dec. 1-Jan. 5, or online at the barnpottery.com

At a defining moment in high school, one of SHANNON MCDONALD’s teachers put her on a course of artistic study, indicating to her parents that she had a gift for pottery and design. After studying visual art at University, MacDonald got a job surrounded by beautiful fine art, but she “had to put on white gloves to touch it”. At that point, she realized that she wanted to create functional art she could explore with her hands. “I was always drawn to jewelry. I remember getting one of those mini looms.” She still has the pieces she made in those fateful early years. “I just love to accessorize. I love big statement necklaces. I didn’t see anything that fit my aesthetic. So, that’s when I started making the jewelry I love to wear.”

MacDonald describes her creative process as part of her daily life. She regularly dreams up new creations by sketching her ideas. Putting them to paper, helps her ideas seem tangible. “The act of putting it down and cementing it is really important to me,” she explains. To other artists she recommends keeping a collection of sketchbooks, “you see your process through the books. It’s wonderful to look at. It can re-inspire you to try something else, now that you’re further along in your work.”

Of the holiday season MacDonald enthuses, “I really enjoy the time with family…I make gifts for people that really match them. I really enjoy giving them.” She praises her mother for her talent at shopping for unique gifts that match the recipients. “It makes me happy that she truly thought of me when she bought it.” Giving hand-made gifts are a way people can give a “piece to remember through the years”. One commissioned collage made her customer, “So inspired that it made her cry, knowing that someone put so much thought into a piece made her happy.” She beams, “[I] really incorporated her into it.” The piece now hangs in the master bedroom.

Her jewelry line Ellie Joy, is named after her grandmother, who inspired her to be an artist. “She said, ‘Be brave, do what you want to do.’ She offers lovely unique painted wood jewelry she aptly calls “yoga jewelry” as well as glittery pieces that are perfect for the holidays. ” You can find MacDonald’s work at elliejoystore.etsy.com, Jewelry Inspirations in Dennis, and at the Christmas Gift Boutique at the Guyer Barn at 250 South Street, Hyannis, MA.

### Pandora Peoples, is a writer, herbalist and psychic medium in Dennis, MA. She is a contributing writer to Spiritual Pregnancy (Llewellyn 2013). She is a wife, mother and nutritional counselor. Her show Cape Codified runs on local community TV Channel 17. You can contact her at info@pandorapeoples.com

Music from the Galactic Center

My beloved husband got me a turntable that digitally records the albums. Eureka! I can pull out our dusty boxes of vinyls. Sergio Mendes Brazil 66 will be in heavy rotation once again. I can listen to Charles Brown and Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

Neurotic Mother-in-Law for the Holidays

An Evening of Monologues for the Holidays was lovely. A particularly tight and energetic performance by Nadia Schuessler and funny, well-crafted monologues by Gregory Hischak, Diane Kyle and Lee Roscoe.

I wrote my monologue today in a flurry between finishing editing Cape Codified with Special Guest Polka Dan's Beetbox Band [airing Christmas day] and buying desserts for the show. I based my monologue on content from a scene in a screenplay my husband and I wrote which is loosely based on my mother-in-law. It's a holiday tale called, "Getting Mom Off Drugs". She's dead now, so I'M definitely gonna hear about it. One of the perks of being a medium, you have plenty of time to smooth things over with the deceased relatives.

After 14 years of talking through the night into daybreak, you'd think two fire signs would burn out, but my husband and I are still so enamored with each other after all these years. Kudos to my charming, debonair, suave, kind-hearted, deep, slightly roguish and raunchy, pheromonally intoxicating, handsome husband. I adore him, his guardian angels, his cooking, his touch, his parenting. AND, he makes me laugh every day all of the time. Blessed Be! Who the hell needs a birthday party with all that?

Psss...Charlotte, you done real good. Despite your steak-knife-wielding dinners, irate screeching, and time spent in the car in the garage with the motor running, you really managed to raise a consistent, loving, positive, forthcoming, emotionally-stable, vulnerable, tender and heartfelt gem. God bless you Mrs. R. Those first 60 months of infancy really paid off...and we completely agree, 5 is a great age to stop counting your child's age in months.

Interview Today on Radio Station WOMR-FM

At 12:45pm today listen to my interview with host Joe Gouveia on Poets' Corner...streaming live at http://worm.org !

Drink Your Benadryl Down, Honey.

How refreshing it is to slow down, to be a hundred percent right with your child's need for guidance. We make children grow up so fast. They are checking their email, fetching the weather report online, and Skyping Santa!, when really they need our undivided...supervision. Children need structure and demonstrable love, or they feel lost and seem chaotic, fighting, power-struggling. In fact they are just trying to vie for mommy and daddy's attention when they are preoccupied with work. Turn off the computer, make some art with your child. Listen to what he's truly communicating to you. He will be so thrilled that you are genuinely listening, patiently and intently, making full eye contact, holding his gaze, that he will be tickled pink. He will waltz around the house, like there is fairness and justice in the world once again. And he will be the funnest playmate, conversationalist, and dance partner you could ever have!

A little reprogramming goes a long way. Direction, instruction and consistency are the corner stones of good parenting, as well as emotional accessibility. Which means you've got to play with your children. It's good for us too. The adult world is so disenchanting, so full of malaise, ennui, the banal, the mundane, Les Fleurs Du Mal, and fodder for this guy's depressive states of consciousness...

The Cape Cod Poetry Review

The Cape Cod Cod Poetry Review publication party is happening tomorrow night (Saturday). At 6pm Kathleen Healy will be there singing Christmas tunes for our holiday art show. At 7pm, host John Bonanni will emcee the evening of poetry. Copies of the literary journal will be for sale for only $10, down from the $12 price you would pay at local bookstores.

Thankfully, I am better! There will be appetizers, mulled cider, a potluck and the entertainment for a lovely evening!

The show was mentioned in the Barnstable Patriot. Angela Bilsky who did a load of work for the show wasn't mentioned, so kudos to her and all the volunteers who made this show such a success!! http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31493&Itemid=34

Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground

I'm STILL not convinced that I have chickenpox. The world is so vastly complex. How many viruses on the planet? And I'm just supposed to accept I have some run-of-the-mill children's virus, like people with shingles are swarming the libraries and aisles of Stop and Shop. Now, I know we have our share of elderly, but how likely is it that some shingles-ravaged geriatric coughed in my face and some little viral bug leaped into my mouth, or my hair and then wrestled my immune system to the point of exhaustion?

On the other hand, how many dangerous chemicals are there in the world that could be the culprit behind a plague-like outbreak of hives...(that pus and scab over)? Probably hundreds, if not thousands of near-lethal combinations of chemicals make their way into pre-packaged foods and puffy pastries all across the world every day. And how many outbreaks caused by chemical-laced foods are "suspicious for chickenpox"? (Stamp.) Next!

Just because I got trapped in a weir, doesn't make me a fish. Maybe I'm a oyster or a crustacean. I'm getting a test which will be definitive. Unless of course it comes back positive, in which case I'm apt to contest it.

I was prescribed an antihistamine for the rash, but it's an anti-anxiety medication. An anti-axiety pill for chicken pox??? For real! While it feels like a mental vacation, I seem virtually incapable of being upset, but my head is floating around in the clouds. It's fun to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. It seems a lot of medication has this effect on people, while there are thousands of herbs that give people a very grounded feeling while helping manage anxiety, or blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, or many other ailments for that matter without blurry vision, dizziness, or the feeling of floating in space. I love my feet in the mossy earth, burrowing beetles, red worms, termites and all. *** Update...okay, I had chickenpox after all. What a doozy!