New Year!

... and a rainbow on New Year's Day!

Luck, health, love, peace and happiness for all!
(... and a pot of gold is always welcome!)

My Own Private Idaho...

Wandering among my music folders, here in my Pongaio, I found this song of the B52s.... does this take me back! I quickly went to Youtube and found some great videos.

The quirky, funny, mocking, sharpness,... those marvelous, what were then corny, but now is vintage, my dear, getups... and the energy! The faaabulous 80s, with that hint of irony!
And to believe I was at Rock in Rio in 1985 and saw them live!
250 thousand people all dancing along!

I do believe I've been in my own private Idaho a bit too long this year!

You're living in your own Private Idaho
Living in your own Private Idaho
Underground like a wild potato.
...
You're livin in your own Private Idaho. Idaho.
You're out of control, the rivers that roll,
you fell into the water and down to Idaho.
Get out of that state, get out of that state you're in.

...and this:

Always thought there were quite a few someones partying&printing in basements in Brazilia in those astronamically-high inflation years!!!
So much legal tender flooding the market place.
Aaah! Must've been the in same unsavory "porões da ditadura"!

Just love the charrming, that certain simple life granny-canning-in-the-basement touch:

Livin' simple and trying to get by
But honey, prices have shot through the sky
So I fixed up the basement with
What I was a-workin' with
Stocked it full of jelly jars
And heavy equipment
We're in the basement...

Importing... II

Well... I did it!

... and, doing something wrong, it actually came out right!

Since I wasn't able to read those weird, horrid, confirmation-text letters correctly, I had to do the process again, and this time I forgot to mark the "import and publish" box.
So, they weren't. (duuuhhh!...) (... I'm a bit slow to understand all these instructions!)
As this is exactly what I wanted to do for this "new", mainly English, Pongaio blog, all I can say is: yea!!!

Now I can go slowly choosing and translating (if needed) the posts to add here.

Importing... I

I'm going to try "import other blog"... hope it works!
Huh... ... ... maybe not? ["medaaaaaa"... acared, mama!]
Aaaaah, why not!

Ugh-y

Not so good a day, so far. I think result of the bodywork on Wednesday. Sinus-y, nauseous-y, and generally ugh-y.
Buuut... happy that I got this blog up and running!

December Already!

My birthday has come and gone, this year falling on the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm still going to post some photos of my lovely presents from family.

The year continues to zoom along: already almost the middle of December!

I brought the little Christmas tree to set up. The connector of the top and bottom parts is damaged. I'll have to figure a make-do solution... and quick! Before Christmas has come and gone!

This little tree is so small   : (  
I like a taaalll tree, but the circumferece of my parent's old one (that's about 40 yrs old!), is too big for the space in our new apt. Everything has to be the little-footprint-type of thing! I'll put on top of something to get greater height, but what?

Minutinho Blog — "Christmas-y"

A minutinho here today, a little minute, to write something, and try out this blog background, Dear Santa, from The Cutest Blog on the Block that has great tips, and lots of goodies.

The images seem to float!... Hmmmnnnn... actually the text moving, and the transparent effect fooling the eye!

The loading of the background takes a rather loooong time, though.

For a better appearance, I'd have to adjust the margin of the posts, and change font/link colors. (done... with blogger-post-format)

Update: I modified the background image, for a better placement of the text. I uploaded it to my Photobucket, but the linked image too small! It seems freebie account limited in size!?
So, uploaded it to Picasa... after a bit of a fight to get the right html tag, it finally worked! Never thought I'd be back, but: yea, Picasa!!!

Duo Siqueira Lima

Lovely!

Also at (better image and sound, but can´t be embedded): Duo Siqueira Lima at the Brazilian Music Institute, 2009

Great find: Posy!

Off and on, checking out helpfull blogging sites, and gaining ideias and info about making a new template, or at least, a new background. I don't know if I'll go with my orignal ideia of a rose floral patchwork... or what.

On my searches for my recent obsessions:
cottages, roses, miniatures, skies, ... ,
I've como across some inspiring blogs.

A favorite is Posy , Jane's blog from Devon.
From her's onwards, a whole world of mother-of-three (coincidence) creative, crafting, home-loving women's blogs. Enough to make one learn how to sew after all these years!

Little House in the Woods

   Casinha no Mato

Here is a cute little house, could be from a fazenda — a farm!
A little cottage, one of my passions.

I found here in my computer, songs by Victor & Leo that my Son² had uploaded.
I'm now listening to one of them: the house dances and chugs along in the same rhythm!

The song is cute also... something about a "frog in the lake... what a good life"...
{in Portuguese it rhymes: "sapo na lagoa... que vida boa"...!}

When I first heard it on the radio, I would understand
"kibes das boa" instead of "que vida boa" —
"goood meatrolls (kibbehs*)" instead of   "goood life"!...
Didn't make any sense at all. Perplexity abounded.

Son², when asked what were they saying?, of course thought his mother completely ridiculous, as I had , also of course, propounded the kibbeh theory — hey! I read a lot of fanatasy fiction!
With that resigned shake of a child's head when confonted with a parent in her dotage, he informs me of The Truth of the matter.

Completely apart of mother-child relations, feeling that strong desire to head for the hills, or rather, to the countryside, attacking me! (even without no meatrolls!)

*link to Youtube (can't be embedded)

Here are the lyrics from the internet:

Vida Boa
Victor e Leo
Composição: Victor Chaves

Moro num lugar
Numa casa inocente do sertão
De fogo baixo aceso no fogão, fogão à lenha ai ai

Tenho tudo aqui
Umas vaquinha leiteira, um burro bão
Uma baixada ribeira, um violão e umas galinha ai ai

Tenho no quintal
Uns pés de fruta e de flor
E no meu peito por amor, plantei alguém - plantei alguém

Refrão:
Que vida boa ô ô ô
Que vida boa
Sapo caiu na lagoa
Sou eu no caminho do meu sertão

Vez e outra vou
Na venda do vilarejo pra comprar
Sal grosso, cravo e outras coisa que fartar, marvada pinga ai ai

Pego o meu burrão
Faço na a estrada a poeira levantar
Qualquer tristeza que for não vai passar do mata burro ai ai

Galopando vou
Depois da curva tem alguém
Que chamo sempre de meu bem, a me esperar - a me esperar

Refrão

* Kibe, quibe; English = kibbeh: "is a dish of minced meat with bulgur and spices with many variants, both raw and cooked"[Wiki]; here, when spoken as just "kibe" refers to the cooked meatroll version

>: (

Very windy last night, with a metal gate booming closed intermitently... waking me up.

Everyone slept poorly I believe, so humors this morning at breakfast pretty much nil-to-bad.

Aaaargh!

Third time trying to post!
Aaaargh!
Let's see if it'll now work...

Compassion

Morgana Silversealeon 30 Sep 2009 at 12:55 am
Not only do many folks have to come out of what is literally a comfort zone of a living room and remote control, people they consider beneath them would supposedly be the primary beneficiaries.
A related thought appeared in my email box today, courtesy of Tricycle’s “Daily Dharma”:
“Compassion is not condescension, but a leveling of the playing field, a recognition of yourself in others and an acceptance that their stress is your stress, that their happiness is your own. The gulf between us all is imaginary, born of insecurity and fear.” (- Stephen Schettini, from “What to Expect When You’re Reflecting,” Tricycle, Fall 2008)
I have really struggled with this teaching today. And actually, a lot of days before today. I guess ridding myself of the illusion that I’m compassionate would be a step in the right direction. [moue]

— Planetwaves blog

Yesterday, Beltane

from Eric Francis:
"...Today is the day that the Sun crossed over the midpoint of Taurus, which is one measure of this cross-quarter holiday — the backbone of the Pagan calendar. Beltane (in Taurus time) celebrates birth and sexuality; Lammas (in Leo time) celebrates the harvest; Imbolc (in Aquarius time) celebrates survival, gestation and introspection; and Sahwen (in Scorpio time) celebrates the ancestors, death and rebirth. Together the cross quarter days represent points in a natural, Earth-based religion. They work together as part of a four-way balance that honors two aspects of the masculine and two of the feminine."

Durga e Inanna

Neste blog vi um vídeo sobre Amma, Amma as Durga, e as imagens da Deusa Hindu Durga me fizeram lembrar de Inanna, a quem no meu espiral de estudos, voltei a ver esta semana.

Uma Deusa multifunção (muitos braços) e que cavalga, ou está em cima, de tigres... ecos através dos tempos.
É a manifestação/aspecto guerreira da Devi, Deusa suprema. A cor azul das suas vestes ricas... colar de lápis-lazuli de Inanna. Raios. Mãos elevadas com instrumentos de poder.

Hmmmmm.... hmmmminante, ruminações...

Durgha é descrita como um aspecto guerreiro da Devi Parvati com 10 braços, que cavalga um
leão ou um tigre, carrega armas e assume mudras, ou gestos simbólicos com a mão.
Esta forma da Deusa é a encarnação do feminino e da energia criativa (Shakti).
— Wikipedia, Durga

De Espaço Luz Violeta: Durga - O Poder da Natureza

Outra manifestação de Shakti, Durga é a própria Parvati. Aqui, porém, ela assume a postura de uma guerreira, capaz de eliminar os demônios que prejudicam os deuses/deusas e os homens. Tem uma beleza forte e cativante e, por demonstrar coragem e astúcia, revela outro aspecto da feminilidade, menos conhecido e mais guerreiro. A palavra Durga significa “inacessível”, no sentido de algo ilusório, imaterial.
A deusa também surge sob outras manifestações, com os nomes de:
* Jagaddharti (Mãe do Mundo),
* Dasabhuja (Deusa de dez mãos),
* Muktakesi (A que tem cabelos ao vento),
* Tara (A salvadora),
* Chinnamustaka (A decapitada),
* Krishnakrora (A que amamentou krishna),
* Jagadgauri (Mulher dourada de fama universal),
* Annapuma (A que traz fortuna),
* Pratyangira (A bem proporcionada),
* Singhavahini (A que monta um leão),
* Mahishamardini (A que matou o demônio Mahisha) e
* Kali (A negra), esta a mais conhecida de suas manifestações.

O mantra de Durga, ou Durga Hridaya Mantra, proporciona proteção feminina, consciência, sexualidade e segurança. Deve ser entoado oito vezes ao dia: Om Em Hrim Klim Camunda Vicai Namah.
Dentro da tradição tântrica e hindu há dez divindades relacionadas com Durga que conferem atributos variados. Seus dez mantras de sabedoria (Dasha-Mahavidyas) são:
• Bhuvaneshuari (sustentação da vida) é a deusa criadora: Om Bhuvaneshuari Namah.
• Matangi (poder de dominar) é a deusa energizadora: Om Matangi Namah.
• Kali (poder sobre o tempo) é a deusa controladora: Om Kali Namah.
• Bagala (destruição do negativo) é a deusa protetora: Om Bagala Namah.
• Chinnamasta (distribuição da energia da vida) é a deusa iniciadora: Om Chinnamasta Namah.
• Dhumavati (domínio da natureza) é a deusa desafiadora: Om Dhumavati Namah.
• Tara (recriação da vida) é a deusa libertadora: Om Tara Namah.
• Bhairavi (modificações na vida) é a deusa tecelã: Om Bhairavi Namah.
• Sodashi (aperfeiçoamento) é a deusa preservadora: Om Sodashi Namah.
• Kamala (restauração) é a deusa dos poderes: Om Kamala Namah.
Entoe esses mantras 108 vezes ou em múltiplos de 8

Nota:  Oito é o numero de Inanna.

Online Again!

Four weeks after the move to the new apartment, fi-na-lly I'm back online... this also means the phone is connected!
We had to cancel the tranfer of our old number, as the company could/would not install the web/phone lines. Always different excuse.

In the end, we gave up, contacted a different company, that came and installed all the very next day after our call.
Enough enrolação, at least in this small area of life!

Quotes from Judith

From Judith Gayle, at Planetwaves:

Bengali poet, Rabindranath Tagore gives us a look at the inner workings of growing consciousness here:

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers
but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain
but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look to allies in life's battlefield
but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved
but hope for patience to win my freedom.

...
And Tagore gave us a definition for faith, a lovely one, when he said,

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart got right to the heart of it when he said,

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

I'll leave you with a favorite from T. Golas; I think of it as the final prayer bead.

"Go beyond reason to love. It is safe. It is the only safety."

Emotions vs Feelings

For the purposes of this discussion, let's differentiate between emotions and feelings. Emotion is that highly charged state that comes upon us, described in the East as the restless tiger pacing the jungle of our minds; we are advised to simply watch it pass, uninterrupted. Feeling is more in tune with our intuitive capacity in that it sends a signal advising us of the energy we are dealing with.
Feelings are like signposts; they function to inform us of the terrain ahead. We cannot, in actuality, get our feelings hurt -- that's our ego that's yelping. But we can get painful feelings from another person who does not seek our well-being; more likely than not, they are more mindlessly focused on their own desires than on anything we might need from them.

(... have to find where I got this quote from!!!)

Ripples of Loving

In Beautiful Road Home: Living In The Knowledge That You Are Spirit, the channeled entity White Eagle writes:

"So, keep on keeping on living the life which your inner voice directs, kindly, lovingly: giving help wherever you can, giving love and sustenance to this great work of illuminating all life. Your life is like a pebble dropped into a pool of water, creating ripples endlessly. You do not know the end of a word, a thought, an action."

— Judith Gayle

Little house on the prairie

This little house on the prairie (well, maybe not the prairie?) was built by Cody. You can read her story here, or click on the image. The plan she used was the "20'x30' 1-story cottage plans".

These build-your-own little houses and cottages are from J. Show and CountryPlans.com