something amazing

i am home now.

doing my best to unpack & acclimate.

what a wonderful trip we had.

our trip was full of

"too good to be true" moments.

seeing with our own eyes so many

wonders of the world.

these things, i'll share here in time.

today, though, i want to share with you

the singular most amazing thing that happened.

the thing that brought me to my knees.

on sunday, june 23, the day of missy's celebration,

i knew i wanted to do something special.

i had plans to sit in a cafe and drink a toast

to my very favorite friend.

i waited to see how the day unfolded.

the post i had scheduled for the day

was not yet live, as i was 8 hours ahead.

it was full of the most special songs for her.

we were given a bit of free time in the morning,

with instructions to meet back at 11:55.

i headed out with marian & ally,

where we found handmade jewelry,

tiny stovetop italian espresso makers,

and the kindest roman people.

we were a few minutes late,

rushing back to our meeting place right at 12,

when i was stopped in my tracks

by yet another song.

all through europe, we were hearing the songs that i had

posted for missy here on my blog - coincidence?  no.

straining to listen though the noonday bells,

it hit me that this song was one

i had slated to play on this very day.

it was all i could do to stay on my feet

and to hold my camera still.

i stood there crying and videotaping,

feeling wave upon wave of raw emotion.

the boisterous church bells gonging at full-tilt,

missy wanted to make sure i didn't miss this.

she was there.

she was flooding me with her presence.

she is happy.

she sends her boundless love.

and i believe she knew

i would capture it to share with you.

when the song was over,

on shaky legs, i stepped closer

to drop some euros

into the musician's guitar case.

he could see i was crying,

and asked if his song had touched me.

i said, "you have no idea."

i told him why it meant so much.

he hugged me & gave me one of his cd's.

such a sweet man.

his name is vincent.

if you feel inspired to send him a note,

you can email him at

supervincenzo51@libero.it

here's the song i had posted for that day

afterward, we headed to a cafe,

a stone's throw from the pantheon,

where i drank a toast to her,

including all of you, dear friends,

who were sitting there,

with me & marian, with missy, with all of us,

in an outdoor cafe
on this most special day in rome.

salute, missy!
i love you!

♥

feels like home

i've just returned home from europe.
you can see my pictures on instagram:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

van morrison

wow.

i have a 20-year-old tape of this show

and i just found it on youtube.

he just wants to rock your soul, baby.

i'm in europe.

i'm posting pictures on instagram.

follow me:

http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

brandi carlile

this is so beautiful.

i'm in europe.

i'm posting pictures on instagram.

follow me:

http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

elton john

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

jackson browne

i'm in europe.

i'm posting pictures on instagram.

follow me:

http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

the beatles

who wants to do this with me?

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

today

is missy's celebration of life
& dance party!
wherever you are,
please do something awesome
in her honor

this special song {and accompanying Qi}
is from missy's dear friend, diana lion.



i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

shakira

a really dance-y song for missy

{and for cindy, who's in africa}

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

gabe dixon band

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

colbie caillat

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

diane birch

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

billy joel

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

ho hey {lennon & maisy}

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

happy father's day {& cat stevens}

♥ happy father's day, dad ♥

this is my cat stevens father's day song.

i'm in europe.
i'm posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

james taylor

today, i'm on my way to europe.
i'll be posting pictures on instagram.
follow me:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

♥

leaving on a jet plane

i am packing-packing-packing.
marian & i leave tomorrow
to travel in europe for two weeks.
we'll be in london, paris, florence, rome,
& the island of mallorca {off the coast of spain}.
we will be seeing pam in paris,
and anastasia on beautiful mallorca.

i'll be posting pictures on instagram
so you can follow along:
http://instagram.com/five_ten_fifteen

i have scheduled songs in missy's honor
for every day that i'll be gone.
so, there will be something new here
every morning.

IMPORTANT STUFF:
missy's celebration of life is
sunday, june 23, in kneeland.

there will be a second celebration
saturday, june 29, in lodi.

for more information,
please see missy's caringbridge site.

i'm playing john denver today.





♥

p.s.
ned is flying today
to visit grandma & pa in las vegas.
{i love you, neddy}


ned's backpack, in honor of missy

missy's poetry

many of you know that missy was a prolific poet.
twice a month, she met with the amazon writers,
hosted by the
humboldt community breast health project.
her book, the cyclic nature of promises,
is available for purchase
through the breast health project.

do you remember her poetry reading last year?
it is at the bottom of this long post.

another book of her poems is in the works,
and i will post details here &
on missy's caringbridge site when it is available.
{thank you, stephanie, for keeping me posted}

i did find this link on the HCBHP website.
with a recent poem:
http://www.hcbhp.org/writers_grue1
be sure to click the link & read the poem.
it is untitled, but could maybe be called
if i could be a flower.
i think she was a flower.

the breast health project is an amazing resource,
and gave missy so much support.
they actually help actual women
{friends of yours & maybe even you}
every. single. day.
if you are inspired to make a legacy gift
to the HCBHP in missy's honor, here is a link:
http://www.hcbhp.org/legacy

i'm re-posting this little clip of
stevie nicks singing wild heart.
i just love it so much.
singing with her is her sister-in-law, lori nicks.
their harmonies are amazing.
it was right when she wrote the song,
but before it was recorded,
and this version is just so raw and beautiful.
better than the studio version.
missy had a wild heart, too.

♥

the arcata eye

missy's obituary is in today's arcata eye.
it will be on northcoast newsstands all week long.

♥

why be normal?

this purple bumper sticker used to be on the back
of every vehicle missy drove.
upside down.
recently, she had switched it to
normal is relative, also upside down.

i'm so glad missy wasn't normal.
she was weird.
i'm weird.
i think you might be weird, too.
even if you are normal,
would it hurt to question your state of being?
i don't think so.

missy's mom, bonnie, will have some of these stickers at
missy's celebration of life on sunday, june 23.
just tell her "i'm not normal"
{and give her a nice, big hug}
and she'll give you one of your very own.
i will sadly miss missy's party.
i'll be in rome on that day : )
so these bumper stickers are one way i can be there.

please remember:
put it on your car,
upside down.

and honk when you see one on someone's car.

these bumper stickers are also available online
at the peace project:
http://www.peaceproject.com/content/why-be-normal-full-size-sticker-0
{let them know you are buying one in honor of missy!}

for those of you who are also unable to be there,
let's all vow to do something amazing
on sunday, june 23, okay?
spread some love and kindness.
plant some flowers.
dance in public.
wear a purple wig.
get your nose pierced.
get a tattoo.
that sort of thing.

today's song for missy is NOT normal.
i used to sing it to her like this:
oh, missy, you're so fine
you're so fine you blow my mind
hey, missy!
hey, missy!


♥

♥ love ♥

give yourself to love, by kate wolf

{this song was requested to be played for missy by her sweet friend, elaine}

i'm not sure about the video, just close your eyes & listen

love is on its way, by the jonas brothers
i took my kids to see them in concert in 2009.
i kind of think missy would get a kick out of me playing a jonas brothers song for her.

these songs are for missy,

and also for these guys.

my mom & pop.

today is their 52nd anniversary.

as in, they've been married since 1961.

~love~

♥

~ angels sing ~

missy left a note stating that she

wanted her memorial to be a

party!

okay, the bold + italics are mine, but the exclamation point is hers.

in her note, she requested this powerful song

~ angels sing ~

to be played at her memorial celebration.

her note also said that she couldn't listen

to angels sing without crying.

this is francine's song

{you can hear nymiah singing harmony}.

the "video" has 3 photos:

two are from missy's blessing way ten years ago,

just before giving birth to aliana,

and one is of francine, singing to missy

at the women's herbal symposium last month.

♥

francine & nymiah sing for missy

wow.

this is a true honor.

francine & nymiah are humboldt county treasures.

they sang to missy at the women's herbal symposium

the week before she died.

missy called to tell me how amazing it was.

the song they sang to her is called

~what if~

francine emailed the song to me,

and terri, from the symposium, had her photographer, darcey, 

search for a photo of them singing to her.
{francine is wearing the black dress, nymiah has the guitar, do you see missy's smile?}

marian helped me turn the song & photo into a video.

{thank you, to everyone who had a hand in making this happen}

oh, missy, i do hope you can see and feel the beauty here.

we love you so much.

♫ when i look into your eyes

it comes as no surprise

that i'm lookin 

into myself ♪

♥

jimmy cliff from cindy

missy's friend, cindy, is in uganda.

she is keeping in touch via caringbridge,

and yesterday,

she sent me a great story & music request.

long, long ago,

she & missy worked on a farm in maine.

on a beautiful summer day,

the two of them took a day off from the farm

to delve into fun, friendship, and this music.

an unforgettable, ecstatic experience.

♥

ripple from sara

sara has a truer understanding of
~gratitude~
because of knowing missy.

♫ if i knew the way, i would take you home ♪

read sara's story in missy's caringbridge guestbook.

♥

michael franti

remember when

myel & aliana met michael franti?

this is from his wikipedia page:

In 2000, Franti decided not to wear any shoes, initially for three days. 

Since then, Franti has chosen to go barefoot

except for occasionally wearing flip-flops as required

to board an airplane or to be served in a restaurant.  

Franti prefers to go barefoot.

♥

be brave

when i'm driving in my car,

i like to play radio lottery.

it's sort of like my magic 8 ball.

i say, okay, radio... what's it gonna be?

of course, now, i'm trying to channel

any sort of message missy might be sending.

this is the message from yesterday.

let's be brave.

♥