Art and ideas for creative living
I finally sat down, exhausted, and looked around me. Piles on the floor creeping towards me, carefully engineered desktop “filing” teetering, bags exploding over boxes, one inspiration after another layered on work surfaces…. I have done it again. I creatived myself into a mountain of mess. My mind never really stops. The creative ideas come… Continue reading In the mind of a creative
As the season and sunlight slips away, nature plays its visual tricks of on us. The chemistry of color takes hold and the natural world around us becomes neutralized. But we don't really notice the loss of color though, because when neutral is played against itself, subtle becomes vibrant and all the negative descriptions of… Continue reading The beauty of neutral
I haven't written much about my gardens this year. It has been a rough, slow start for most of them. My breast cancer slowed me down in the spring when I should have been tending to their new growth, the continual sprummer rain and darkness on beds that were planted for dryness and sun mooshed,… Continue reading End of summer gardens; lessons in life
I got to Canterbury Farmers Market late last week, but in time enough to grab the last small basket of local sweet cherries: half to eat, and half to pickle. The season is fleeting—and our own Sour Cherry tree was loaded—so I got busy with all things cherry. Here is one unusual way I came… Continue reading FOR THE LOVE OF PRODUCE: pickled cherries
The last of the spring asparagus, the largest wintered-over beets: I just had to grab my final taste before they disappeared at my Canterbury Farmers Market. As part of my self-imposed summer challenge* of preparing fruits and vegetables in a way I have never done before, I came up with this recipe. Grilled beets—sugars caramelized,… Continue reading FOR THE LOVE OF PRODUCE: grilled beets with asparagus salad.
Breast cancer; in case you were afraid to ask. It was sixteen days of radiation after a successful surgery…just in case. During a season when I had little time to be in the art studio, I just had to do something artistically expressive so I turned my daily shoes and accessory choices into an art… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. RECAP: lessons in art and life
Confetti falling from the sky, the roar of cheering crowds, bands playing... Not really but that is what it felt like on my last day of treatment. All my techs—past and present—were there, the nurses, the office staff and my doctor were there. And so were my shoes. Walking in past the clerical station.... Office… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 16
Frisky feet. Feelin' a little Italian yesterday, like kicking up some heels. It was my second to the last treatment. A friend who had just visited Italy once told me how amazed she was that the women there could manage walking on cobblestone streets in really high-heeled shoes. I thought I would channel the likes of Sophia.… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 15
Bitter-sweet today. Excited about the 3-day week-end marking my third-to-the-last treatment and also finding out that this was the last time I would see one of my techs. I hadn't anticipated the feeling of loss...these gals have become comrades. Bonds have formed; like being in the trenches together at DSW. But back to the story....… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 14
I felt like I was getting a cat-scan. Flat on my back, all eyes moving up and down my body from head to toe and back again. Tech: You kind of have a metallic thing going on today. Me in my head: Oh, is that what it is? I was just playing off the texture… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 13
Not-so-casual work day for me seeing clients. Decided to pull out the dashing cruel shoes that make a statement despite the pinching of older toes. It was worth it. New tech: Those are AWESOME! Old tech: Wow, those are awesome! Feeling very satisfied and accomplished I was magnanimously able to change the subject steering the… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 12
A day on the run for me—figuratively not literally. Have you seen me running on the road? I think not. My version of running; up and down the freeway, up and down the stairs, standing for hours, bending, lifting... I thought for sure someone would comment on my ergonomic asymetrical sneakers but apparently most everyone else besides… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 11
Day off yesterday and raining. I had planned a trip to the seacoast to take a long walk in the down pour with Claire and then both of us out to lunch with Jane (the other one). I needed dual-duty shoes. Nothing screams rain-and-out-to-lunch than a pair of red rubber boots! While seated in the… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 10
Techs: Look at those shoes...(looking harder, bending down, inhaling)...the insides are a different print!!! Me to myself: I didn't even remember that the insides were different. Yes, breath taking—if I do say so myself—and how fortunate that I thought to choose that dark eyeshadow in exactly the same shade. One never knows when the inside… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 9
Tech 1: We can't stop now. We're in too deep! ....said to the observing Nurse Coordinator who had just received the explanation for our shoe antics. Tech 2: Do you always change your toe nail polish to match? Me: No, but for this game I am. Techs: Wow. Out to the lobby where Delightful Woman… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 8
Well summer hit here today—94 degrees!—so it required sandals and a celebratory color. Since all the daffodils faded in the heat and I was not yet done with their cheery countenance, I decided to mimic them instead. People are amazed that a "winter" type coloring can wear yellow but my skin is quite golden and when a… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 7
Well THESE created quite the reaction! Picture this; me in an extra-large johnnie—billowing, bunchy so my neck disappeared, no waist, down to my ankles, baby blue—with these shoes coming out the bottom! Techs: [Very studiously] I LIKE those shoes. Me: You challenged me yesterday so I had to try these high-heeled shoes out again. Techs:… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 6
Week two, day 6 and it was cold, windy and rainy—spring in New England. Had to pull out some winter boots but it was worth the effort. Techs: THOSE are cute…boots? They are high. Me: Well, actually not that bad because they are thick under the ball of the foot so it reduces the actual… Continue reading 16 ways, sixteen days. DAY 5
ALWAYS click-through to read my posts on my website; it's so much better! On a Facebook click anywhere on the post and it takes you there OR if you receive them by email click on the title of the post and it will take you there. Since I include lots of photos and art layouts,… Continue reading How to read my blog posts
Mother; the giver of life. While it takes two to tango, the carrier is whom we call Mother and who we give credit for life. And while biologically some of us have carried and many of us have not, it is this essence of mothering that I want to honor today because all of us… Continue reading We are all mothers #2