Casa Milagro - Miracle House...The Symbolism of Landscaping

On my birthday in 2004 I bought my dream home, I named her Casa Milagro. Two years following my divorce with a transitional condo under my belt I was finally living in a neighborhood where I felt connected. Connected by the diversity, the character and the people. I was home. And yet, it took me a couple of years to embrace this open armed place we call Normal Heights.

I was completely connected to this house, in fact my first night here I slept like a baby. She was my sanctuary. Still is.

When I moved in the landscaping choices that surrounded Casa Milagro were sharp, thorny and in my words unfriendly. It felt a bit like a fortress, with the deliberate selections that were hugging the perimeter. Trust me when I say it would have kept the prickliest of porcupines out. It felt very fear based and I knew that it didn't represent me, my being and the way I see the world. Ultimately this had to change.

Three years later after being poked, stabbed and stuck by the plant fortress I was introduced to an up and coming landscape designer by the name of Kendra Berger and her company Revive Landscape Design. We met through a mutual friend and this meeting has set off a whole chain of events that is for a later story.

As a designer I had a concept of what I wanted for Casa Milagro, landscaping that was drought tolerant, soft, feminine, and welcoming to dress the perimeter of my little sanctuary. That's where Kendra comes in. I still had the lawn in a the time, so Phase I was about replacing the uninviting with the soft, friendly and open. At the same time I began creating mosaics, first on the niche in the chimney and the second still underway on the front wall.  The chimney mosaic is a replica of Picaso's peace dove and a sun motif and the front wall is called 'Homage to the Neighborhood'.

Phase I has grown in beautifully and as the landscaping has transformed, so has the owner.  Phase II included removing the lawn and we are in the process of completing the design of flagstone pathways representing the shadow of one of my Jacaranda trees, planting a dwarf fig tree, and continuing the softness all the way to the curb of the city street. As the landscaping has evolved, matured and softened my Casa Milagro, so too has my life and my being. Take care in what you plant...the seeds that you sow.

To be continued...as always right?

Planting Seeds

Several years ago I received a recommendation to seek out a man named Dave Towe. He is an aquatic therapist using warm saline based pools for his practice. I had amazing transformative experiences with Dave, healing really. As I do when I come across something I have a passion for - I tell everyone! Since then I brought several people to Dave's pool and even photographed one of the sessions. That too was an amazing experience. To witness another's healing experience.

Fast forward - one day I got a call from Dave. He was expanding his practice to include couples' work and asked if I would photograph that process, in the water. That day was off the charts, full of powerful intense feelings of love. You can see and feel it in the images that came out of that day. Those images are now a part of Dave's new book 'Warm + Water + Alchemy'.

Another seed was planted when I held a workshop on making books and as always I sent out a wave of marketing which ultimately led to another call by Dave to help him create a book. We met on Easter Sunday and three months later a book was born.

As the Creative Editor for this book, I had the privilege of being with images from many of the warm water photographers over the past several months, including my own. Part of this process was selecting and introducing quotes from both Rumi and Gandhi that hold hands with many of the images. This is truly a beautiful book that only begins to scratch the surface of Dave's profound work.

I invite those who stumble upon my blog to preview this book, become moved to own it, and treat yourself to a session with Dave. Always grateful.

In All Things Love

Warm + Water + Alchemy by Dave Towe | Make Your Own Book

Jacarandas at Night

The street lights come on

A childhood reminder

of days long gone

Now's the perfect time for

a game of hide and seek

But promises were made

that we must keep

To be tucked in safely

before it gets too dark

At first a soft glow

turning quickly to bright

Marking a summer's day ending

and turning to night

The Jacaranda tree grows

beneath the streetlamp's glow

With her branches in shadow

as if pointing the way home

                               - Lori Brookes

Coming into My Own, Coming into My Awe

Journal Entry: November 13, 2010

At 18 my life took an unexpected course and my childhood ended abruptly.  Skipping over a period usually attributed to developing a sense of self. The time referred to as the identity period, beyond the barrage of societal and parental constraints and contamination. Even though I took my life on as a highly responsible individual, mother, employee, and wife, when I looked inward my sense was that I had become stuck at 18...forever 18. Fast approaching another birthday I am reminded of and reflect upon my journey up until this moment and for the first time I sense the merger of my lost teenager with the woman I have become. 

Photo credit: Sonny Vyborny

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

I See You the Way That I Do

Does it make you uncomfortable,
I see you the way that I do?

Not that I don't see the imperfections.
Lord knows that we all have them.
It's just that I love them all too.

Was it rose-colored glasses?
At first it might have been.
But that color has faded now,
And my vision is anything but dim.

Does it make you uncomfortable,
I see you the way that I do?

BOOK REVIEW: SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS

BOOK REVIEW: SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS