it is a stream

sakura flowers are rolling down the hills and peacocks are rising up, flying up to kiss and greet the sun, getting scorched black and tough like (caw! caw!) crows flying further up and up into shadowy regions of mountains soaring with eagles and down below monkeys screeching and owls hooting with large eyes watching small ground mice running to and fro busy like so many ants so many ants busy like so many people on the mountains people in the oceans people rising up, flying up to kiss and greet the moon sun and stars, getting scorched black and tough and falling (icarus style) back down to earth earth to ground ground deep down roots (always back to the roots back to the mother back to the source going back home) home?
return home, go home (what?) but airplane waiting (saturday) to rise up, fly up, kiss, greet, get scorched, fall back down (no no no), ancient stories repeating endlessly (i don't even know the stories but i am acting them out) and the tears the tears the drip drop scorch torch fire burn face fire burn heart tears that drown rivers and pool into oceans and go drippling droppling off the round edges of earth to form so many stars and fresh galaxies and new moons and endless potentials that (it is so good to cry) and (we are ready) and (now) and (now) and (3-2-1...)
sakura flowers are rolling down the hills and landing on my chest to sink deep into my heart and further still into my soul so when i rise up, fly up, to kiss, greet, and... nay not the scorching
beautiful white moth, alive and graceful
time is up, then dying, dropping to earth
time, time, time then dead bodies compost into rich soil
seed, root, stem, leaf, bud, blossom, flower
pluck
flowers losing themselves by merging with the boiling water

taiwan blood family 台灣家人

small piece of a big puzzle :)
林 + 陽 = 寶

reality

reality changes in a week
landscape differences
new people
goodbye new old friends and hello to a brand new world
standing on the edge of yet another precipice
and i cannot see the bottom of this cliff
i know that there is gravity
and i trust
while fearing

but this time i am not falling
and i am not leaping
i am stepping forth perhaps in darkness
but held by so many invisible hands
and as much wisdom as can be held in 25 years of living
and 25 years of preparation
known or unknown
for
this
moment

i am stepping forth right foot in front of left
head up, shoulders soft, arms out
toe first, gentle and questioning
and then when yes it is safe
entrusting my heel to yes yes the earth
and then my left foot will follow
and then my right
and then my left
and soon enough i have walked to the moon and back

come. let us share this cup of tea and so many stories

wild spring wind

it is spring
toss me up into the trees with the flowers oh wind,
for i do not wish to go to school
such a wild wind blowing, tossing my hair
i am grateful for colors
grateful for spirals
and birdsong so wild, free, and wonderful
that i can only but dance drunkenly teetering
ready to fall off any slope
only to go clambering back up another
on unsteady feet slippery with fresh mud
smells of sprouts suckling deep into earth
popping with exuberant life of a fresh wild bloodred spring
sing me a song of caterpillar turned butterfly
testing new wings it never knew it could have

guava 巴拉

my life is taiwan guava. big and not quite round. little spots here and there and bumps and dips made graceful by especially the little pithy points of contact where flesh meets flesh meets flesh at the very dip drop bottom all the little hairs of so many detail. and then up to tip top of where stem (snip cut where has it) gone from stem branch trunk root tree to bear fruit fruit of (yes) guava. my life. green and sort of hard on the outside, a soft mystery on the inside. a sweetness so very sweet so very very sweet penetrating deep into tongue deep into heart deep into depths of nostrils and green vision and feeling into (woah) central center. being? seeds. so many hard rock rock seeds (all full of potential. unbroken, unrooted, seeds of potential.) they hurt the teeth. but the hardest part contains also the softest mystery and the sweetest flesh and
maybe it's worth it
to bite into the center also. but with discernment discernment discernment and care and attention to all the little details of where touch against nontouch of hard soft yellow color against soft hard white color colors all mix mashing together when crunched but when purely observed a simple explainable (yes) yes yes of just this: my life is taiwan guava. hard on the outside, soft on the inside, a mixed center of soft and hard... the sweetest of sweets surrounding the hard little seeds of unspoken hidden mysterious beautiful potential
i wonder

DIY: 發酵麵包!!!! :)

***做酵母(jiao mu/sourdough starter)!!!!!***

3 杯溫開水
2 杯麵粉

- 把原料放進一個大玻璃(buoli/glass)或陶瓷(taochi/ceramic)容器 (rong qi/ container)... 要給他足夠空間長
- 注意你的水一定要乾淨... 可以先把開水燒滾燙(guin tang/ boil the water)
- 如果你要, 也可以先泡一些有機(organic)乾果在水裡, 幫酵母發酵

- 把水跟麵粉在大容器裡混在一起
- 用棉布(mianbu/ cotton)鬆鬆的蓋住容器 (酵母需要呼吸哦!)
- 把它放在溫溫的地方 2-5 天... 看看天氣怎樣. 比較熱, 就會發酵的比較快
- 可以每天看一看, 攪一攪(jiao/mix), 給它唱唱歌...
- 它開始起泡泡, 和聞起來有點兒酸酸的, 他就好了!
- 把它攪一攪, 蓋起來, 放進冰箱, 就好了!

- 不要忘了它哦!!!
- 每個月, 或是每隔一個禮拜, 得做麵包啦... 或是最少要給酵母吃東西...
- (一部分酵母 + 一部分水) + (1-2 杯麵粉)... 攪起來, 留在溫溫的地方 12-24 小時, 再放回冰箱... 好了!

- 有太多酵母, 就可以送給朋友, 鼓勵他們也做麵包... yum yum :)

***做發酵麵包!!!!! (sourdough)***

又好吃, 又容易做... yay!

1 1/4 杯酵母 (先攪, 再糧)
2 3/4 杯溫的款泉水
6-7 杯全麥麵粉 (quan mai mian fen/ whole wheat flour)
1-2 茶匙鹽 (cha chi yan/ teaspoon salt)

- 攪起來
- 揉麵團! 揉, 揉, 揉 (rou/ knead)... 要最少揉 10 分鐘, 揉到它軟為止
- 放進有一點油的鍋子. 油讓他不黏 (nian/ stick) 鍋子
- 蓋起來, 讓他坐在那兒 10-12 個小時... 你可以出去玩... 讓它坐久一點沒問題...
- ...等好了, 他會有點兒黏. 再揉吧! 揉 3-5 分鐘... 把它分成兩半 (都可以)
- 把它揉成你要的麵包形狀 (xing zhuang/ shape) 以後, 用濕布 (shi bu/ wet cloth) 蓋 2-3 個小時 (它會長到兩倍大) (你去清廚房, 吧!)
- ... 烤箱預熱 (kao xiang yu re/ preheat oven) 375 F/ 190 C. 裡頭要擺 (bai/ put) 水, 讓他有蒸汽 (zeng qi/ steam)
- 烤 45-60 分鐘... 把牙籤戳 (ya qian/toothpick, chuo/ poke)下去看看, 沒黏, 就好了!

- 讓他涼快一下... 就能享受了. yum!
- 裝(zhuang/ to store) 在紙袋子 (dai zi/ bag) 裡... 可以放在外頭 1-2 個禮拜
- 多多做, 會越做越好吃哦! 你可以試得放不同種類的東西在麵包裡, 像不同的香料 (xiang liao/ spices), 草藥 (herbs), 堅果 (jianguo/ nuts), 乾果 (ganguo/ fruits), 等等... :)

travel update

yo! quick head's up:
leavin for china, end of february
won't be updatin this phog or using fb, until maybe july
so if ya want, connect with me now!

lovelove
JL

walk

as i step off the curb,
the possibility of turning left or right presents itself
both ways lead to great places
and either route holds the big empty bowl of possibility
of radically changing my life
and so, i choose
i turn
and keep walking