fri 10-02 Individual red and purple flowers around the base of a pine tree just after sunset. White tipped pine cones on long green grass.

mon 10-05 Crowded at tai chi today, not enough room to do the form. Smoothing out the form, big circles, little circles, start a movement before the last is finished, waves and whips. Can't remember the movements if I try to do them differently. Still working on the breath.

wed 10-07 Walked through the trees at the south edge of the lake with Valerie at sunset. It was clouded over and getting dark. Ducks on a stoney shallow part, and two shore birds running along and piping. Sparrows on the path and the trees and bushes on either side. We stopped at a spot open to the lake and houses and the closed camp on one side and a large shallow pond on the other, with water lillies and rushes and trees on the far side, some beginning to change color. The voices of children in the distance behind us.

thu 10-08 Valerie dreamed of shooting stars.

sat 10-10 Drizzling, rain earlier. Lots of clover growing between the sidewalk and the curb, none too high, large leaves, different shades of green, water beaded on them, a light green crescent across some, forming a circle on the three leaves. Fallen leaves amongst the stems, two light blue chickory blossoms nearby.

mon 10-12 Tai chi, bend and strech, like a willow.

thu 10-15 Blue sky and sun for the first time in a week. Water beaded on a last red or pink rose.

sat 10-17 Head of the Charles, warm and sunny, people watching from the bridge. My way between lines of trailers blocked by long boats on shoulders making wide turns to barked commands. Someone yells heads up, and the woman pays to attention as the boat passes inches from her head. Crowds in the concession tent, food trailers setting up.
A ladybug landed on my gray tee shirt. I turned to face the sun and it flew away across the sidewalk.

sun 10-18 Hosted the FT discussion on poly spirituality. For me spirituality is a feeling of unity that goes beyond the material. I don't understand how the I that sits inside me and looks out and feels and experiences things can be explained just by physical particles and forces. Denying feelings for more than one person feels artificial and wrong. It denys the unity.
Two others seemed to say there is or might be a non material element to the spiritual. Two more associated the spiritual with a feeling of awe, and that it did not include a belief in the non material. Only one said he had no experience he would call spiritual. He later said the word spiritual had too many different meanings to be useful. There were sufficient chairs. Went to Buddha's Delight after.

mon 10-19 Seventh and last tai chi class, new session next week, only about five people so it wasn't crowded. Three places in the form, all when reaching down, where the arms are stretched and the legs are bent. Alignment, extension, aliveness.

tue 10-20 From Valerie:
. . . there was a "spiritual" sunset over the lake this evening. Peach and purple. Gorgeous. Judy is making chocolate chip cookies. I went out to take the garbage down to the street, and noticed that it was beautiful, clear night and Jupiter was shining brightly, so I suggested to Ken that we take out his big telescope and look at it, and we could see the bands and three of the moons. It was awesome. Then we looked at Saturn and I could see the rings quite plainly. Ken is outside again trying to find some nebulae for us to look at.

wed 10-21 At Coolidge Corner Clubhouse with Howard and Cheryl and a huge plate of teriaki chicken wings. Went home and tried to call Howard when Valerie got here, but Howard's cell phone didn't work. Valerie called anyway and we went back. She waved a curly fry in front of me when I was watching the woman on television. She knows my priorities.

thu 10-22 Went to the LWB discussion on touch in Somerville. Karl and Jack were there. People said touch varied a lot by person and by culture and by situation, Tigris and West Indians and poly gatherings touching a lot. It was mentioned that there was more touch than usual due to crowding. (I sat in the doorway.) Touch is used to communicate, particularly approval of a partners choice, while eye contact was used to express disapproval.

fri 10-23 Falling Into Place: A Shared Choreographers Concert, at Dance Complex in Central Square.
Right knee of jeans ripped, sitting on chair with arms moving.
Sudden three handed star leaning back at end.
In pajamas in a long heap, hand in front fluttering on floor.
Short black dress, moving back with feet crowding on each other.
Velcro hearts.
Long black mesh skirt, moving toes fingers shoulder, arms well defined.
Perched on shoulder.
Nice flowing turns in sections.
In black running.

sat 10-24 Orange red japanese lady bugs swarm on the white clapboards by the church door, in the warm afternoon sun, and on Valerie's new black and gold sign, redone for the installation of our minister.
Saw Alasdair Fraser at the Somerville Theatre with his new group, Skyedance. I got his new album, which I hadn't been able to find previously, and can't decide if the bird on the front looks more like a dove, a duck, or a gull. The name of the group is taken from the name of an album he put out in 1986 with Paul Machlis, who is in his new group, that included tunes from the Isle of Skye taken from a 1784 collection. His new album is call Way Out to Hope Street, from a sign in a Glasgow railway station. At intermission, Valerie said she hated the synthesizer and bass guitar. I was used to the synthesizer from another album with Paul Machlis, The Road North, and it fit with the strange sound of the pipes. I thought the bass was distracting because it was too loud. It was turned down during the second half. We both liked Chris Norman on wooden flute and piccolo in his sets with Alasdair on fiddle and with Paul on piano. From the program notes, it sounds like he also plays baroque music. Alasdair will be part of a show in Lexington on sat nov 14.

mon 10-26 Tai chi, yang principles. Full but not crowded. Spine stretch, bend forward vertibra by vertibra, opening each in back and not closing it in front, starting from the bottom, then staighten, vertibra by vertibra, opening each in front without narrowing it in back, starting from the bottom, so each disk is fatter and the spine is longer.

thu 10-29 Went to Thornton's with Howard, Elaine, Sandy, and Jerry for lunch. Had the same thing as last time, a bowl of soup and french fries. The soup of the day was even the same, beef barley. Thought I would get a cup because the bowl was so big before, but when they brought Sandy's tea, they brought a mug because so many people had ordered cups of soup, and a tea cup of soup seemed awfully small. After I finished, I ate some of Elaine's left over fries, so Howard turned his plate so I could have his, and Sandy started eating them too. Jerry said how good the fries were, made of real potatoes, and that they were inconsistent there. Then they took them away.

fri 10-31 Have been feeling nervous for a few days, like I don't want to sit still. I keep checking my mail and wanting to go out or to eat. I took a bath the other day to calm myself down. Maybe the tai chi is waking me up. Have been feeling occasional tingles in my abdomen, leg, back, wrist, etc. I hope it's just a phase.
Went to Amherst and Northampton today to look at books. Didn't find much, just one on the florentine enlightenment, then one in Lexington on the way home, and another copy of the Tao Te Ching at the Book Annex. The Globe bookstore is gone. They just redid the store and expanded a year or so ago. Covered eleven bookstores.

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