Saturday, March 26, 2016

Yes, this is my book!

Yes, this is my book, "Liana's Garden,  by L Y Daum." I have always liked when writers used initials. It made me wonder who they were and if they were male or female. I decided to write under my birth name because, this was a new birth for me and this is who I came into the world as.

This is a story of sisters, relationships and the many bumps they shared. There is laughing, yelling, crying, forgiving, and a few surprises along the way. I hope my reader will laugh, cry and connect with the women in this story. Just maybe, they will give some thought to letting go of the pain, anger in own their life and embracing forgiveness.

Friday, July 17, 2015

My Dreamcatcher

This is my photo,
I love dreamcatcher, I have a number of them in my home. I have a friend that enjoys making them. The funny things is, she isn't Native American, her husband is and she understands so much. She made my dreamcatcher with blue, black, yellow and white beads.

 I love eagles, so she placed a bird and a few purple  stones for my birth month on the dreamcatcher. She makes them personal, each one is different. I brought this one to keep near me when I'm writing. When I went to Oregon in late May, I  found this eagle. The eagle has great vision and a free spirit. I always thought of the eagle as the protector of the skies and could fly so near our Creator.
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I wanted to know the meaning of the bead colors she gave me. I got this information from a site called "Dancing To Eagle Spirit Society."

I learned, the ring is for mother earth and the web is for the spider. The web will catch the bad dreams, and the good dreams would know their way through the web . The blue bean is for father sky, our Creator. Black is for two roads, one is for help and peace, the other is about self destruction.

I read the white was the White Nation. It is to acknowledge the white people and their ancestors.They hope to find a way to work together for the good of all the people. I have yellow on one of my dreamcatcher. Yellow is for the sun rising everyday and new beginnings. I found this to be so interesting and it made me want to learn more about this cultural that is a part of my ancestors. My paternal side had Blackfoot.

Native Americans have a strong belief in the earth and all it has to give us. If they killed an animal, they used every part of the kill, nothing is left unused.  It really is nice knowing a little about other people's beliefs.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Head to Heart

I took this picture on a trip Upstate New York, so peaceful there.



We tend to do re-pair jobs on our lives. Don't do minor re-pairs, do a complete re-construction from head to heart. What I'm saying is don't keep going over the old so much. The pat is the past, go to the present and maybe the future will have you walking side by side with the love of your life. Happiness is a little over rated, so search for the joy in life. LyDaum

Friday, June 12, 2015

Lo has been very busy!

My Photo Vegas strip
My photo of Vista House state Park, Oregon











Lo has been traveling a bit. First a trip to Portland Oregon. My oldest son, Simo married his lovely lady Peggy. My son finished college there and the relationship bloomed. They returned to New York a few years ago. We all returned to Oregon for a wonderful wedding. We had a lovely wedding in the Greek Orthodox Church, Then a fun reception with some Greek dancing,everyone had an amazing time.  This was not my first visit. When my son was going to college there I had gone to see he a few times. It was great showing our friends the Pearl District, which I knew well. Great coffee shops, lovely little shops for clothes and many product made in Oregon.There are so many art gallery in the area. The people are so friendly and everyone moves at a very nice pace, no rushing like in New York. My husband enjoyed all the beautiful waterfalls.  Multnomah Falls is just breathtaking. On the way to the airport we stopped at the beautiful Rose Garden Park. So many colors and different roses, just lovely.  I had never seen the Vista House Crown Point, Oregon State Park. What an amazing view. The green forest, mountains and the blue water was so awesome.

Next I returned home on Monday and Friday I was on another plane to Las Vegas NE. I was attending another wedding, my sister daughter was getting married. It was nice seeing family I hadn't seen in awhile. My sister lives in Germany, her children live here in the states. This was my very first trip to Vegas. I must say, I not a gambler at all. I did try the machine a bit and lost! The wedding was in a very nice chapel and after we had dinner at a very nice Brazilian Restaurant, Pampas. We stayed at the Paris Hotel and Casino. I found it so strange to come down for breakfast at 8;00am and people are in the dress clothes, drinking and playing cards. I guess it's true, Vegas never sleeps.The couple wanted to have dinner at the famous Gordon Ramsay Restaurant. I had beef wellington, it was like butter, worth every penny and it was a lot of pennies! Lol I had my first look at the Hoover Dam and the amazing Grand Canon. I must return to see more of the Canon, it just takes your breath away.  Not happy with the 104 heat at all.

Monday, March 23, 2015

I'm finally ready

Photo taken by Lois Xenakis in Chios, Greece

I remember walking by the water in Greece this fall. I was trying to find the peace and joy I had lost. I would sit by the rocks and just look at the open sea and ask for calm and a feeling of peace to be returned to me. I came home in the winter and decided it was time to let this all go. This pain and unhappiness had been holding on to me for far too long.

I do hope all this soreness will relieve me of all the pain and the feeling of begin lost. It has been with me for three years. I just couldn't move forward. It was like I was in a deep hole and I couldn't get out. Maybe I didn't want to get out. Maybe it was easier just staying there and feeling sorry for myself. I was always a strong and positive person, so this was very new to me.

I think there was a part of me that just gave up and just accepted what that nasty disease had done to me. Not only did it take one of my breasts, it took part of my spirit and I didn't know how to get it back. I needed to shake this negative crap off of me or I would lose myself completely .

I was saying all the right words to everyone, not sure I really believe them, I knew it was going to be hard. I thought I believed there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I just didn't know there would be so many detours in the road. It was as I’m driving through, they decided to redo the road. That was not cool at all.

I had started the reconstruction after the Mastectomy and it was done very badly. I put everything else on hold. I made the choice to have it re-done and re-size the other one. I wonder how women can go through this. Why because they want stronger, stand up and salute breasts? All I want are two the same size if possible, really.

It hurts like a B and I have two drainage tubes, one on each breast. It is so hard to get up from the bed. I feel like a 90 year old woman. I sleep on my back when I do sleep, which I hate. For the first time I feel like I’m taking my life back. I’m sore as hell, but there is a calmer feeling in me that I have not had in a long time.

I have never liked the word “Survivor.” I have always used the word, “I Won.” Well I have “Won” my battle finally. Here's to Taking a new path, coming soon.

Photo of and taken by Lois Xenakis

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

St. Patrick's Day

Photo credit: History of St. Patrick’s Day (www.history.com)













What a wonderful day to be in New York
You got to enjoy a wonderful parade.
It's St Patrick Day in New York and we know
how the have a parade!
It is said we host the largest parade in the world.
Let's just enjoy and be happy people!
Hope you are wearing your green today.
Make sure you enjoy a nice cold beer!

Enjoy here

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Saving Eliza

Photograph of book taken by Simos Xenakis
Eliza is a lovely little girl who has been touched by a very nasty disease called Sanfilippo Syndrome. Sanfilippo is a rare genetic condition that causes fatal brain damage. It is referred to as a childhood disease because most patients never reach adulthood. At present, there is no cure for this devastating disease.
Eliza was featured in a 3 minute video made by visual artist, Benjamin Van Wong, for the Saving Eliza campaign. The video touched everyone's hearts and raised over one million dollars for the cause.

Benjamin teamed up with photographer, Ivan Makarov, who created the third edition of Plus One Collection. Plus One is an annual coffee table book featuring photographers from all over the world with proceeds of sales going to various causes. I was so happy when I learned that my son, Simos Xenakis', photo would be a part of this wonderful cause. This is his second time being featured in the book, which is filled with so many amazing images. It's a great way for these photographers to get exposure, but it's a bigger blessing to be a part of any wonderful cause that helps.

You can click here for more information on this year's book project.
Photograph of book taken by Simos Xenakis