To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
Mahatma Gandhi
Happy 88th Birthday Grandma – I love you!
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December 2, 2010 in Celebrating, Quoting by Colleen | Permalink
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
Mahatma Gandhi
Happy 88th Birthday Grandma – I love you!
November 13, 2010 in Being, Celebrating by Colleen | Permalink
Happy Saturday!
How are you? Enjoying fall? It’s been a pretty terrific one here,so far, lots of dry days and beautiful evenings, with enough rain to keep it interesting and moist. “The night was moist.” Do you remember that from Throw Momma from the Train? I love that movie. Danny DeVito, you are wack-a-doodle and make me laugh.
So, to happenings as of late. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your lovely comments and support during my campaign to be a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. You guys are beyond terrific. Truly. As for Mr. Fallon, he isn’t banging down my door, but it’s out there, as they say, and I just feel in my bones that something marvelous will come of it all. Indeed I do. If anything, I certainly have a great appreciation for anyone who writes and directs. Those one minute films take a lot of effort!
The first four photos, as you are likely to have surmised, are from Halloween (if not, maybe you should put down that cocktail!). The hubster is, you guessed it, a crow! Aren’t his wings lovely? I am water and definitely drawn to the abstract. We had a grand time at our friends Satan (Stan the Insurance Man) and the Bar Wench’s party. There were many fine costumes, yummy drinks, and good food, like sausages wrapped in Pillsbury croissant dough. I kid you not, those are the height of splendor in party fare! I ate more than my fair share.
We also spent a lovely rooftop evening at a fund raiser for one of our new favorite places, Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. There was an awesome band called Stumbleweed (traditional bluegrass for all your high lonesome needs), cocktails served up from the stellar and local House Spirits (the Bees Knees!), and lots of delicious food prepared by Opal Creek’s uber-chef Rebekah. Not surprisingly, we met some very fine folks just as interested in keeping this gem of a place intact for the ages, including the architect for the rather deluxe and tallest building in the the blurry photo below. How cool to be engaged in conversation and ask, “Would I know any of your work?” and have her grin and say, “Well, yes, that building right there.” Huzzah!
Finally, a little update on the Subaru. After some reflection, we’ve decided to donate it to charity. The hubster is a happy bicycle commuter three days a week, rain or shine, and we just don’t need it. Besides, the Portland Rescue Mission has what looks like a pretty terrific program that trains people to work on cars like ours before selling them to benefit their charity. It’s a pretty sweet deal all around. I am even slightly grateful to the thug who stole our car for bringing this about. Life is pretty sweet.
Be well!
Tags: Jimmy Fallon, Oregon, Portland
September 16, 2010 in Celebrating, Quoting by Colleen | Permalink

It is never too late to give up our prejudices.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Happy Anniversary Mom and Daddy – 42 years!
Tags: Quoting
August 25, 2010 in Admiring, Celebrating, Reading by Colleen | 3 comments

Exciting news everyone!
My friend Kelli, of African Kelli, has just had her first book published, and last night, her very first reading. I can only imagine the butterflies, joy, and magic in Phoenix! A dream come true.
This moment is even more special for me because it gives me hope that my book will one day be out there, too. As well, my good friend Colleen designed the cover, and rather beautifully, don’t you think?
I am hoping we can all make it a bit sweeter by buying our own copies (mine is on the way). Let’s get her to the top of the Amazon list!
Under the Same Moon, by Kelli Donley
Abena Udate was selling mangoes on a humid market day in her Mozambican village when she caught the eye of a wandering foreigner. Kidnapped and brought to live in suburban America, the African teenager struggles with the glaring cultural and social differences of her new life. Abena is expected to play along with her kidnapper’s story — she’s just another hungry child plucked from a desolate country and saved by foreign adoption — or else. As her younger brother Kupela searches for clues to explain her disappearance, Abena must decide whether to remain with a family she doesn’t love for a life of luxury, or find a way home to those she loves in a world of despair.
Support an emerging writer – buy it here!
Tags: Books
July 21, 2010 in Celebrating, Remembering by Colleen | 3 comments

I’ve been thinking all morning about the past year, the 365 days since I had my hysterectomy. So much of what I feel is a jumble, of memories, and emotions, and wonder. Did all of that pain and suffering really happen, and to me? Despite the fact that I have four scars to prove it, it is hard to fathom that I ever was different from the woman I am now, one glorious year later.
For right now, all I feel is gratitude and a deep in my bones feeling that all is right, utterly and perfectly so, with the world. Part of it is the physical progress I’ve made over the past year. I feel so much better. I am not in constant pain. I’m on a very minimal dose of hormones (soon to be none, I think), and I’ve lost the weight I gained on the awful ones. I no longer need to take iron to cope with the massive surgical blood loss, not to mention the huge deficit every time my period came calling. I am a healthy woman, inside and out.
Most importantly, I feel an immense sense of gratitude for the ways I took care of myself by letting go. I let go of the notion that my pain was okay, that it wasn’t interfering with my life. Sure, I had innumerable ways of coping, of managing, but, looking back, I can’t honestly say that I was truly living. To be even more honest, I didn’t believe I deserved to experience that other life – the one where I was a good and valuable person, one who didn’t need to suffer. What a difference a year makes! Now I know, and in this moment, the only moment that I have, feel truly deserving of a joyous post surgical life.
In this life, I don’t have to fix myself to be a success. I can ask for the help of doctors, nurses, and the people I love. In this life, I am not ashamed of what I cannot do and very proud of what I can (Write! Bake! Garden!). I matter. I am important. I am worthy of all that is good, great, and spectacular! So are we all. Thanks for being part of my journey.
Happy Birthday Buddy! I love you!
Tags: Endometriosis
Colleen Sohn
writer. photographer . dreamer
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