Please help stop the us-them thinking. Having been born in the United States of America, I am an “American.” I have no other citizenship (and I do not wish for other citizenship). My differences from every other person are vast - for I am unique as any other - and, I enjoy the camaraderie of those whose experiences have crossed mine if only for support in growing through them or in understanding the challenges to overcome.

Thus I might participate in religions, clubs, fraternities, or etc. I might study countries from which my ancestors fled. I could find affiliation with others of the same history. I might find interest in philosophies and in cultures and I might take on qualities of them... Yet I am American. Not Artistic-American or Catholic-American or Purple-American or ... I am what America is. Blended together and still pure in it's unity. American.

Too often people call themselves Asian-American, African-American, Mexican-American, Latin-American, Caucasian-American - when they are native to the USA by birth, or when they are citizens of this country by choice - and not citizens of another country or nation.

These distinctions separate the citizens of the USA rather than uniting them, and this perpetuates us-them thinking. If you have dual citizenship, then by all means hyphenate the countries-nationalities … otherwise … let us be "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We are a country like a blended family ... Yours, Mine, Ours ... Ours. Let us cherish the common threads and respect the individuality that makes the USA so interesting. People of color - red, white, and blue.

Golf is my link to understaning my life lately. I am learning lessons of persistence, focus, staying in the moment, feeling it all come together in one divine moment when the club face meets the ball and propels it to just the spot intended ... and it feels as if swinging the club in the wind ... whoosh. Holy whoosh.

MARDI GRAS FOR REACH

It was with delight that I created a mask for the fundraiser benefiting Hanford Reach Interpretive Center.

I opted to theme it for the regional wine country, utilizing colors inspired by New Orleans (purple, green, gold) and adding a touch of platinum to highlight the piece. Entitled Quin du Vin (Harlequin of Wine), the mask is one of my favorite creations. May it fetch a fine fortune for the cause. May I find more opportunities with the local group 509 Artists. UPDATE: The Mardi Gras event reportedly raised $11,000!

Put yourself out there, even if it requires wearing a mask!

Tri Cities, WA is a very giving community. If you are building or remodeling, the Habitat for Humanity provides a great resource for obtaining refurbished items or for donating those that you are swapping out ... for more information, look at the Habitat Surplus Store. Like the good advice from Bob the Builder - "reduce, reuse, recycle."

PLAN PLAN PLAN Just as it is important to find the right LOCATION, planning is key to building your home - or to any project. If you have no plan, develop one. Begin with a search among the customizable blueprints that are available from current builders ... or, develop YOUR idea with the help of an architect.

Looking for a certain style? Want Tuscan, find a builder who specializes in the Tuscan look. Want Traditional? find a builder with that expertise ... There are a lot of "middle-of-the-road style" builders who capture the style that is customary in their market - they create lovely homes to meet the typical desires of the local client.

If you don't find the right rub with a builder of your style, don't dismay. Every builder can create every look. However, when one specializes in a style, or has experience with an approach, that is one less learning curve that has to be navigated.

Ultimately, it is key to find the builder with whom you "click" - the one in whom you feel confident and the one you can talk to about your needs, ideas, etc. It is a bit like dating, isn't it?

IN YOUR SPACE

Going green is the new "black." There are many ways to recycle, reduce, reuse, regenerate. Take a hint from nature and make like a flower drawing from the environment to give back... If we don't start considering these things, they won't happen. However, when we do consider innovation and outside-the-box ideas, we propel ourselves into a new arena of possibilities.

The best eco-innovations will work with your lifestyle. For inspiration, consider The Sustainable Dance Club. A Rotterdam architecture firm and a sustainability group built a dance floor that converts energy from people dancing into power for the lights and music.

Okay, so you might not be designing a night club ... but doesn't this make you want to get into the groove? And, we can all start simply by taking cans, bottles, glass, jars, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, paper, etc., and stuffing it into the appropriate bins at the recycle centers around town.

My soul taps me on the shoulder with a reminder that it matters not how you approach GOD, only that you do.

Choose your portal: resonance, atonement, a prophet, a son, a daughter, a guru, a witch, a queen, a king, a pauper, a church, a temple, a mosque, a cave, a park, a friend, a family, a chance, a moment, a lifetime ... and respect the portals of others.

If - when - you are confident in your self, you will wish to share your experience only in an effort to motivate and enlighten others to pursue their own path with renewed vigor ... never to convince them that your way is the only right way. While

I prefer to embrace a myth of life that captures the spirit deep within history to make it all ... survive ... every incarnation. Thus, none is for naught. And I weave the very fabric upon which I stand. Creating with threads through time and space, person and place, ... pairing up ideas like a food with wine ...

Pairing, like Ogdoad gods, where each pairing represents the female and male aspect of one of four concepts, water (Naunet and Nu), air (Amunet and Amun), darkness (Kauket and Kuk), and infinity (Hauhet and Huh). Or as in the legend of Horus, the concept of domination.

As expected during the ever-changing footprint of humankind, the Vatican was built upon the grounds previously devoted to the worship of Mithra (600 B.C.) and eventually devoted itself to a tapestry surrounding Jesus. So I wonder when my threads will strengthen around the concept of my CREATOR - S/He who made us in order to experience ItSelf among us and through us. For deep within my heart I long to be at one with and cradled in the arms of the eternal Parents. Safe. Warm. Loved. Unconditionally.

Perhaps, to become deserving of the reunion, we only need reach to one another with the very same unconditional love with which we were created ... Perhaps.

My style is "Mod"

Sparse but impactful, my home is my showcase. Color is used with care. Furnishings are sculptural, purposeful. Modern style always works in my home.

Modern style is a warmed-up version of contemporary, which keeps the clean lines, but pulls in more color and texture and uses softer materials.

It is interesting to interpret Modern while combining it with other style disciplines. In the past, I have decorated or designed in Modern Minimalism, Modern Spanish, Modern Mission, and, most recently past, Modern Mediterranean (pulling in elements influenced by Greece and Barcelona) and a brief dip into Modern Loft. Now I am working to pull together Modern SubUrban - this one is exciting. I am in the throws of creation. This is my passion.

What's left? you might ask. For the future, I have visions of Modern Pueblo, Modern Desert, Modern Sante Fe ... So many ideas, so little time.