First of all, please forgive me for this long absence.  My life has been swirling and whirling and all good things in and around me and so much to write about I don’t know where to begin!

Guess I’ll start with the present and work my way back.  😉

Just returned last night from an amazing conference in DC called Revelation put on by the astounding Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith of the Agape spiritual organization in LA along with his beautiful and musical wife Rickie Byars Beckwith.

---

 

I met, hugged and was inspired by Neal Donald Walsh, author of all those Conversations With God books. By the way when I say “hugged” I mean he walked right up to me that morning before giving his powerful talk and offered me a hug!  😀

I will share one tidbit.  When asked of all the messages he felt he received to write about, which was the most important to him, he said “Your life is not about you.  It’s about everyone’s life you touch and the way you touch it”.

There were so many powerful speakers and performances there (Agape is full of creative talent) that I couldn’t begin to synthesize it all in this small format.  I just feel totally transformed and will write about a specific story of revelation I experienced myself once the dust settles here a bit.

Let’s see if I can embed this video which captures some of the amazing energy at the conference at the Sat. night banquet.  Chaka Khan!  If you look closely you can see me dancing toward the back…I’m in turquoise.  😉

Ok I can’t quite figure it out but you can click on this link. 

 

I met up with my friend Max there who I’d not seen in three years.  We’ve gone to this conference together four other times.  We were approached by so many people who remembered us. We truly are magnified and the sum of our parts multiplies when we are together..we have that kind of energy.  It was great to see her and of course we had tons of laughs and tears too.

(by the way, anyone who followed us during the Scott Peterson trial knows us as Katie and Jordy–an article about our wild ride is found here)

Before I went to Revelation, I went on an Odyssey with my father back to rural Mississippi to filter through all of the family heirlooms that have been stored there for almost two decades.  Let’s just say there was a large shed on the property of a lake house filled with memorabilia, photos, furniture etc , most destroyed by every kind of strain of mold and fungus you can imagine.  Yet we were still able to salvage so many treasures- including this Santa Claus portrait by my Aunt Natalie that was my #1 hoped-for.  It was moldy but it’s restorable and it’s back with us now after being buried in there for too long.

clearly he has made this exact face all his life

My dad and I would sit at the kitchen table each morning reading each other letters he’d written to his parents from boarding school, letters my mother wrote when she was dying, essays my father wrote in school, found his father’s very full passport and death certificate.  There was so much to explore and it was quite a profound bonding for us.

 

---

 

 

I also saw a whole lot of wildlife there!  Foxes on the property, two alligators my Uncle John took us to try and find (we did!), armadillos, opossums and tons and tons of hummingbirds.  One even flew in to the house and was flying around the kitchen!

On our long drive way home we visited the Carlsbad Caverns in NM which were AMAZING.  I’d love to go again to see the bats swirl out…wasn’t on our time frame.

Between those trips, I found another treasure and did one of my favorite activities–restored a piece of furniture.  I’ve been redoing my entire downstairs, giving it a facelift and in doing so, let go of my dining room table replacing it for a sleek kitchen island which I’m sitting at right now in this bright open space typing!

before and after

But I did need a table for when I do have company for dinner…so had an idea about a “gate leg” table to have against the wall and pull out when I need to…perfect for my small space and multi functional.

I could barely believe my eyes when I found one on Craigslist for $50!  I’d also been wanting to try out this new “chalk paint” process (Annie Sloan paints) so spent three times the price of the table on supplies and I’m not kidding when I say I did this table in ONE DAY Sunday before last.  It was super easy and fun.  When I have a moment I”ll sit down and do a full tutorial on it as you know I took pics every step of the way.

I can’t wait to host a dinner party now! Soon!

Well that’s a quick recap so you know I’ve been super busy enjoying life and hope you readers out there have been as well.

Life is good!  And I will end with the view I’m enjoying right now.

But more like this as my friend Yolanda, who made and gifted me with this beautiful block said “you have the world’s largest coaster” when I told her how I was gonna use it. 😉

Be well out there!

xoxo