Posted on by Jessica Dofflemyer · 2 Comments

Fresher than Ever

Little did I know that while I was strolling an isolated beach and dancing barefoot with the locals on the day of the ‘new now’, there were monkeys in cyber space collecting data about me.  Release any images of the flying chimps associated with Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West.  I believe these ‘helper monkeys’ are friends – they’re Word Press monkeys, apparently, and they’ve been watching blog stats.

So what’s the haps in stats city?

Well, For the Archives got a check up by the monkeys and below you can see the appraisal via their nifty Blog-Health-O-Meter.  Looks like I’m fit as a fiddle as far as the primates are concerned.

On the same day of my stat status summary, this site had the most visitors it has ever seen.  In the past I’ve just hoped for enough readers to equal double digits. Yesterday nearly 80 people took a look (note to self:  photos of bikini clad women in paradise may help stats).  Maybe in 2011 I’ll crest 100 readers in a day.

Ultimately, it’s not about the site statistics.  I actually started For the Archives afraid anyone would see it at all.  But as this project has evolved, I have found the power of the writing and a desire to touch a common space of humanness with whoever reads the words (single, double, triple digits, no matter).

Word Press monkeys say that three 747’s worth of folks had a chance to scan the Archives in 2010.  We’re all on this trip together.  Let’s make the ticket first-class and keep it open-ended.  Remember to put on our own oxygen mask first.  Remind each other to enjoy the ride.

If you dig the Archives, subscribe.

Thanks for flying with me!

Your 2010 year in blogging

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,300 times in 2010. That’s about 3 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 82 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 177 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 109mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 6th with 41 views. The most popular post that day was About.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

About January 2010

2

15 Seconds of Grace December 2010

3

Love and Woo Woo with INXS August 2010
3 comments

4

November 6, 2010 November 2010
2 comments

5

You Are the Masterpiece November 2010
5 comments and 2 Likes on WordPress.com

Posted on by Jessica Dofflemyer

The First Day of 2011

I wake in the dark to an empty house, well-rested.  Brew coffee and write.

As the first shadows begin to appear in the early morning sun rise, I make my way to my car and drive to one of the most beautiful beaches I know.  My steps are the first imprints of 2011 on these golden sands, wandering slowly under a pinking sky.

Often during this time of year the waves are so big you cannot walk to the end of the beach.  This morning the winter swell is moderate, the tide low.

photo courtesy of Pepe Conley

I have an all-access pass to the place that is my temple.  Not a soul in sight.

At the fresh-water spring that flows through rock and thick green moss, I strip down and stand in the tall fall.  Look out at the vast ocean that stretches north into nothing but horizon.  Salt and sea mist rise and cool water anoints my crown.  Good morning!

In the afternoon Jeb and I load up my car with good friends and a big bowl of Thai squash soup.  The scent of garlic and curry wafts through the vehicle as we make our way to the Taro Patch where a community potluck is being held.  Hawaiian chanting, African drumming, songwriters and a didgeridoo.  Two couples get up and renew vows before the 400+ crowd in ‘sacred union’ ceremony.  There is interpretive dance that I think has something to do with a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

All of Kauai’s woo woo crew are here in a potpourri of bright batiks, Hawaiian prints, Burning Man accessories, fedoras and board shorts.  We are an eclectic family all perspiring together in the muggy grass.  But we’re happy by the riverside, in the sacred space of this place at the base of Kalalea – Anahola’s distinctive mountain.

Children run about safely unattended.  Jeb keeps scaling jagged lava rock and I can’t decide if I should pluck him down or just stop watching.  Elijah and John Dumas are on the stage singing about the freedom of living your dreams.  They’ve altered the standard “Happy New Year” so that we all may transcend time and space, by simply saying “Happy New Now.”  It’s New Year’s Day on Kauai.

The event culminates with a “Goddess Chant” but I’m confused to see all the women at the back of the stage and a man with the mic in the front singing about opening our hearts.  We gather our things and exit before I have a chance to see them come front and center.

Back home with friends, we eat a simple dinner of garden pesto and pasta.  Crisp bread and red wine.  For dessert, maple wafers and tangerines by the fire, while a friend from Tahiti tells tales of diving with dolphins in his thick French accent.  Jeb demonstrates how to make a blade of grass whistle in your hands.

From Kauai, I’m wishing you a beautiful new year and a most excellent ‘Now’!

 

Posted on by Jessica Dofflemyer · 2 Comments

Wild Goats, Floods and Writing Down Your Soul

The moon is back to the sliver that reminds me of that sunrise morning about a month ago.  I watched the crescent hold with Venus in the dusky sky, a jug of vinegar by my side and a broken washing machine waiting back at home.

Today Sears comes to service the washer and I’m back on Kauai, moving through thick, wet air and wiping down kitchen surfaces that grew green in the moisture while I was gone.  This island is a living petri dish.  My white, soft feet glow as they plant themselves in the high green grass of my yard, remembering what it’s like to see sunlight, feel earth.

In the time we’ve been gone the North shore flooded, Jeb’s room got a paint job, and the goat came to live at our house.

During our absence a dog scared the goat and she jumped the pen, taking up residence on my porch.  The deck has since been power-washed and only a few stray droppings remain.  Plants are chewed to nubs and a large gnash in the wood of the screen door prove that she came calling, apparently trying to chew her way inside.

For the most part all is well and in order.  This morning I’m up in the darkness, making coffee and coming to the keyboard in a return to my routine of writing.  I have lists of pieces that want to be written – stories that are longer than a daily chronicle of the everyday.  They depict experiences of transcending time and space, family legacies and ghostly visitations, park rangers and tire chains, undressing in co-ed changing rooms and the strength of vulnerability.

I ponder in this coming year of how to incorporate daily meditation, yoga practice, For the Archive posts, begin my short story collection, give Jeb more quality time, make more money and offer appropriate volunteer time at his school.

Seems at the coming of a new year we all can be a bit ambitious.  Hopes high for sweeping change.  I like the way my course is heading.  I have some ideas of where I’d like to steer it.  I don’t have all the details of how it will unfold but I keep coming back to following the thread.  Paying attention in the immediate moments to take the cues that life can offer.

Reuniting with a friend yesterday, I was given a book.  It had been recommended to him and he thought he’d get us both a copy.  He handed me the simple blue cover with the title in white letters  “Writing Down your Soul.” Should I choose a resolution for 2011, this title seems as apt a wish as any.