TUM: Arrow

This was a theme we all struggled with, for what reason I am not sure.  Arrows indicate direction, and most of us are pretty content if we have direction, and if the paths in life were so well labeled wouldn't all our decisions be oh-so-easy?  Fulfilment is at the next left, a little further on to the right is happiness, you will know you are there when you have passed comfort and security.  Don't be fooled and take wealth arrow, because wealth is not where happiness is at - although that road is very smooth and well-paved.  They have the money to build nice roads and even put in some street lights, so the going may seem easy but joy and happiness are not necessarily down that way - depends on your map though.

I bought myself a book recently, I mentioned I am nurturing my creativity and this book is about personal maps.  Creatively putting down on paper your journey from there to here, and from here to . . . well, who can say for sure.  For me it is a good way to understand what makes me happy, and to have a visual understanding of my journey, where I am on the road because I can see where I have come from and where I am headed.  I don't think I believe in fate, because that would mean like a GPS, our way through this world is already mapped out and we just get to be lead by the nose.  I think we are in charge of our destinies, we get to choose our paths for sure, but I do believe in synchronicity - unrelated events coinciding at an unlikely point in time but occurring in a meaningful manner.  Like going on a road trip only to discover that unexpected surprise that made you want to change your plans.

My photo this week:

I just liked this one, even though I had to stand in the middle of a busy intersection with my unruly dog trying to operate my iPhone wearing clunky gloves.  Touch screens don't work with gloves on - you South Africans wouldn't know that, but they don't.  And I nearly dropped my phone in the puddle trying to prove it.
Claire's photo - beautiful as always, she truly does find the art in everyday things, it's a gift:

And next is Mariette, hers was not what she wanted, she took another photo in the dark and snow which I think is actually pretty cool - visit her blog to see what I am talking about - still, this one does the trick and given the week she has had you can't ask for more than that!  I like that she included a slither of horizon and you just can't see where the arrow leads. 

And finally, my dear sister-in-law who swam a mile on a windy day in open water in 43 minutes!  Well done Linda!  Her picture reminds me how many 'commands' get thrown at you at once sometimes:

Originally I didn't think I would be able to take a photo, I have had a challenging week myself and so when my sister posted her blog, I was just going to steal her photo (sisters can do that, clothes, shoes, lipstick, photos, Tupperware - they are all interchangeable and you only have to return them if asked, otherwise they become yours.  It's the rule).  Here is Heids/my photo:

The end is right over there.  She also wrote a beautiful blog about ends and beginnings, and nothing is ever truly the end, everything always, always continues - just different than it was before.  Ends are just new beginnings, it is about transition after all.  Transitions and choice.  Too true.

Finally, the end of my blog and the beginning of next week's theme.  But I snapped this too on my walk the other day and in honor of cupid this week, just had to include it! 

Happy week everyone!

TUM: Shapes

Shapes - I thought I would photograph people, they come in all shapes and sizes.  But when I went out to clean up after the chickens this week and found three little eggs sitting in the nesting box my people idea flew out the window!  We have EGGS!!  My chickens are exiting adolescence, they are all grown up and are giving back!  Not only in the form of sustenance, but in material for my blog:

And the feather is beautiful, it was very artfully positioned but not by me, by my hen!  Creative little chicken ;-)

Mariette's photo also has feathers in it.  She has grown so much as a photographer over the last year, really, and this week her pic is just beautiful.  You have gone and done it now Mariette, you have raised the bar of expectation that I have when I open your photo each week - there is no going back, the pressure is on!

Claire sent through a shape that we have been challenged to decipher and whilst it feels familiar, it is just beyond my grasp.  She is planning to post the answer today, and I thought that if I held off I might be able to cheat and see the answer before my post but alas, Claire is smarter than that and is patiently waiting.  Do you have any guesses?

Linda brings in the rear this week with her photo, just beautiful and romantic and very Linda.  Her curtain tie backs which have yet to be hung:

The time to enjoy something this pretty Linda is NOW.  Set some time aside this Saturday or Sunday or soon and make a commitment to get them up (Happy Valentines day to myself from myself) so that you can love them every day.  Lovely photo, I love all the textures.

Something else has been the theme of this week, for me anyway.  I think following the journey of my fellow bloggers and reading their heartfelt posts about adversity, challenge, triumph and peace I have come to realize that there there is truth in that cliched saying about standing up after you have taken a fall.  No matter what happens to us, no matter what less traveled road our journey takes us on or the obstacles put in our path, there are so many examples of people who have overcome the most adverse circumstances to find peace, happiness and success that you have no choice but to believe that we are powerful, and we can change, we can make a difference. 

As in Paulo Coelho's book 'The Alchemist' - which you absolutely MUST read if you haven't, I think it should be required reading in high school - each of us set out to live our own personal legend, part of living that legend means letting go of and making peace with situations and experiences that only serve as weight in our backpacks, pain, regret, anger and what I call the 'victim mindset' are all things that make the journey difficult and the going slow.  Take them out of your backpack, look to the horizon and you will move swiftly towards your personal legend.

The pain and regret we leave beside the road are still a part of us, we are still affected by those experiences, they just don't need to cripple us, they don't need to define our present or our future.  They tell us where we have come from, not who we are or will be.  We shape our own destiny, and there are no victims here, only conquerors.

Team Up Mondays: Art

This was Linda's theme this week and I could have sent in hundreds of photos, but only because I am in the moment of nurturing my creative spirit.  My life is filled with so many 'have to's' and not enough 'want to's' and I found I was lacking more and more motivation to do anything, and getting up in the morning and surviving the day was just a chore.  It was hard to find the joy.  It was hard to face anything with exuberance and excitement so I decided ENOUGH!  I had to DO something. 

After meeting up with some girlfriends, and finding their creative souls were in need of some TLC too we started to look at various group projects, one was fibre art - creating a landscape painting from wool or animal fibre using a wet felting process.  Way fun, and that is underway but no where near ready to share.  Another project was doing some quick sketching exercises.  Sometimes sitting down with a blank piece of paper can be a little intimidating - you get drawer's block or feel overfaced.  But if you photograph cracks in the sidewalk and turn the cracks into creatures - well, that's like lying on your back and finding shapes in the clouds . . . very relaxing, and an easy way to find something within and take it down on paper.  So, without further adieu, my sidewalk crack art:

Some of the girls didn't get it at first, but it is a side profile of an old man with a pointy chin.  Working backwards, here is the sidewalk I used:

You should totally print it and make your own picture.  Start with an animal, I did and it is much easier - plus, the point is that it is make believe, so if he has an ear on his stomach and a tail on his nose that is absolutely fine - chanel Picasso!  Can you see my old man in these cracks yet?  Here is something to help you along:

From the same cracks, here is my creature:

I had so much fun with this project, it really did help clear the cobwebs away a little and get the pencil moving.  Next project was to look away, make a scribble and turn THAT into something.  I had fun doing that too, like I said, I could have uploaded a hundred photos and the thing that is great about these exercises is that they are quick, and you can work on them in 2 minute increments if you have to so 'I don't have time' is no longer an excuse I can use ;-)

Linda picked the theme this week, she photographed a sketch that has been hanging in her home since I met her:

I was instantly transported back in time to cups of tea in her house when our husbands had gone flying, or fishing, or wherever.  I knew it had a partner but couldn't for the life of me remember what it was, until I read her blog, then the penny dropped!  Aaahh yes!  Since it was her first choice for this exercise, I know she won't mind me saying that it is my favorite of the two.  It did set me thinking about artwork in other peoples homes, and I sat trying to remember the artwork hanging in the homes of all the people I know - a memory game that lead me to believe I need more vitamins or something to boost that little clerk that keeps files in my head (Linda's visual which I stole).

Mariette next:

It is of a Banksia vase she bought for herself in Australia.  It is beautiful.  Mariette had a sick little one and sent her photo in early, I need to be more like Mariette - get the job done, don't make excuses!  Kudo's to you my dear, and I hope little M is feeling better.  Interesting to me is that Mariette doesn't consider herself very creative, but she seems to be finding her medium in photography because she is getting better and better at it.

Claire:

This is of her antique sewing machine and I agree with you, they don't make things like they used to, it is truly artful Claire, and a beautiful photograph.  It seems that back in the day artisans took pride in their workmanship, functional objects were not only well-made and lasted years and years, but beautifully made too.  Mass production has made things more accessible to more people, but the pride is gone and so too the longevity, and I don't think the trade off is worth it.  Some things SHOULD be passed down from one generation to another.

Which leads me to share something else, a paragraph I found titled 'Reading of the Will' which speaks to what we ARE leaving for our kids . . .

Dear kids,
We, the generaion in power since World War 11, seem to have used up pretty much everything ourselves.  We kind of drained all the resources out of our manufacturing industries, so there's not much left there.  The beautiful old buildings that were built to last for centuries, we tore down and replaced with characterless but inexpensive structures, and you can have them.  Except everything we built had a lifespan about the same as ours, so like the interstate highway system we built, they're all falling apart now and you'll have to deal with that.  We used up as much of our natural resources as we could, without providing for renewable ones, so you're probably only good until about a week from Thursday.  We did build a generous Social Security and pension system, but that was just for us.  In fact, the only really durable thing we built was toxic dumps.  You can have those.  So think of your inheritance as a challenge.  The challenge of starting from scratch.  You can begin as soon as - oh, one last thing - as soon as you pay off the two trillion dollar debt we left you.
Your parents.

Kinda hard hitting, but it has a point don't you think?  Art is often about a message, so words can be art too . . .

Team Up Mondays: French . . um, no, sorry, I mean NIGHT

One, two, skip a few . . . and yes, I am missing a post.  Sometimes I think instead of trying to do it all, we should just cut our losses, prioritize and . . . take a big sigh.  Last week the theme was French, it was my theme, I took a photo of French radishes and the other ladies outdid themselves with their submissions but I never got to post them.  Sorry ladies, I do feel like I did you a disservice, and I deserve a whippin' - not the oh-so-gentle chastize from Mariette.  I know I am not worthy, and I will try to be a better blog partner.  I will try to be a better blog partner.  I will try to be a better blog partner. . .

This week the theme is Claire's.  We live 'in the country' by Boston standards, and 'the country' is defined by 30 minutes or more from the city limits of Boston, no pavements and no streetlights.  Hence, when it is a new moon and the theme is night and you walk outside everything is . . . black.  We have also had a week of below zero temps, so sticking around outside waiting for inspiration or the shadows to move was just not happening for me.  Claire did a phenomal job, her photo is suggestive and open to interpretation and I love it:

Linda used her flash, clever girl - why didn't I think of that?  I will put it down to brain freeze and congratulate her for being so BRIGHT!

Mariette is the clear winner this week, her photo is exquisite and should be hanging framed somewhere prominent:

Me?  I was a wimp.  I decided that night for me would mean something totally different, as in, something that would not require me to go outside.  The first thing I do when the sun dips below the horizon is slip my feet into these puppies (actually, often I don't wait that long, but shhhhh, don't tell!)

A cherished Christmas present from my mom-in-law when she saw what a beating my last sheepskins had taken.  Once these are lovingly wrapped around my feet, all seems right with the world, and everything seems achievable, or not that important.  I love them I do.  Mark still has his from South Africa, the ones we bought in Oudtshoorn located in the Karoo - sheep country:



I don't know how he has managed to keep his so good looking after nearly four years but ok!  Ryan's are more gentlemanly I think, like, smoking lounge gentlemanly, like, retire to the library gentlemanly:

And April, well, what can I say?  She is stylin':

That is it for me this week.  This was a fun challenge.  Next week we have a topic that should inspire some artful photos!  Till then, nighty-night, sleep tight.

TUM (Team Up Monday): "Inside"

Well that was a nice long rest from blogging!  Oh my word the end of last year was so crazy, and it has been a long time since I have been so happy to see the back of a year - GOODBYE 2011!!  And well hello to you 2012, don't you look like an adventurous little number?

And adventure is right.  I started off the year by falling off a horse and hurting my back and my hip - again!  Guess they don't call him Generator's Flying Gypsy for nothing and since his name is Gizmo for short, that little duck, spin, rear, buck move has here on out been dubbed 'The Gizzy'.  Makes you dizzy.  And feel fizzy.  Puts you in a tizzy.  Quizzy?  Where did that come from?  Oh and guess what?  36-year old women don't bounce.  In case you ever wondered, they go splat.

Besides having to pick up 50lb sacks of potatoes while being black and blue up and down, I got a flat tire . . . in the van.  I can change my own tire if I am in the RAV, but in the van I couldn't even FIND the spare tire or the jack so I had to call Mark and then simultaneously discovered something else was flat: my cellphone battery.  Sigh.  So I hauled my sorry black and blue ass back into the store, hitting my funny bone and then closing my head in the car door in the process  (don't ask! who needs THREE Stooges?) to phone AAA. 

So, my tire was changed and without further adieu, here is my photo for this week:

It is the inside of my van this last delivery day.  Claire sweetly called my van clean and organized, HA!  That's because she can't see what the hay bale did to the back, I won't be giving any hay fever sufferers a lift!  Speaking of Claire, here is her-growing-in-talent-by-the-second-photo:

Love that the cup is turned around, love everything about it, it's lovely!  Linda did a live shoot using a family member:

I hope you used one of those anti-static softening sheets Linda, otherwise your socks will stick to your kitty.  Wait a minute . . . that's not a bad idea!  She might be able to bring those wayward socks back from the other side of wherever they go when you put them in the dryer right before you never see them again . . . cute photo Linda.

Mariette's photo this week is from her desk at work:  

I love stones like these.  When Ryan was little he was constantly picking up stones and putting them in his pockets - so cute.  He still does it, and I have bunch of stones lying around the house that he has picked up.  I like the fire and ice of the two center stones.

Finally, rather sadly, we lost a hen today.  She was the smallest of our hens and not the brightest but very, very sweet.  We were outside with them and came in for a cup of tea, Mark went back outside to prepare for a trip to the dump and a hawk had just pounced on her.  Mark scared the hawk away but Sweetie was already gone.  The hawk refused to leave the area despite many attempts to scare him off, and the rooster and other hens were not to be seen.  We spent over forty minutes looking for them, I was walking down the street and calling out my usual 'pik-pik-pik' which usually brings them running when I heard soft reply.  Under a tree was our rooster and other hens, he had taken them to safety, covered them with branches and leaf litter and was lying quiet as a mouse, on guard.  All that was visible was his head, had he not answered me I would have walked right by them they were so well camouflaged.  I was so happy to see them safe and sound, and so, so very proud of our handsome boy for being so smart and such a good protector of his girls.   We sent out a 'chicken-wire' to our friends and neighbors advising to be on the look out, and all the chickens on our street were locked in their coops.  The hawk had to get his dinner elsewhere today. 

That's me for this week, I am done.  One week down and fifty-one to go in 2012.  I think I am a little afraid.

Sweeping Change

Isn't it funny how things work?  Do you remember my post a while back about McDonalds and the change being discarded on the floor?  Here you go -  Topic: Arbitrary
Here is a photo from that blog, in which I happened to glance down to find some change on the tarmac of the drive through lane . . . .

 

Well, I am here to say that there has been a development.  I did happen to call their customer care line and ask that my suggestion be recorded somewhere: this change should be collected for a good cause.  And I emailed too and attached my photo.  Of course, I did not hear anything back, and did not expect anything to . . . well . . . . change. 

 
On my way through the drivethrough for an emergency cup of coffee one very wet, rainy delivery day I stopped to pay at Window 2 and hesitated - then smiled, and proceeded to hold up the entire line for this very special photo:

 

What is that?  The chance for you to donate your change to change a child's life - to make a sweeping change with what used to be change for sweeping outside McDonalds!  Now, I am not suggesting that my email to them with my photo attached motivated this, but regardless it did more to lift my spirits than the cup of coffee.

Pa di pa pa paaaa - I'm loving it!!

The Boundaryless Limitations of Being Human

Part of being human means having a colorful history of philosophers, poets and deep thinkers from which to draw inspiration (and names for blogs).  These inspirations are available to commoners like you and I in the form of quick 'quotes' that wax lyrical on all sorts of things from the meaning of life and our role in it, to politics, relationships and the predictability or unpredictability of it all.  Isn't it quite fantastic that you don't need to be a literary scholar in this day and age to access these greats?  You only need to have an internet connection.  One of the reasons I think quotes from these greats have become popular (apart from the fact that they make us look smarter than we are when we recite them) is because over 2'000 years later they are still relevant. 

How amazing is that?  We have evolved, become civilized, built cities, travelled through space and conquered all land mass and Plato can still make sense of our crazy world, or at least give us another perspective.  And why is that do you think?  Human nature.  Whether your home is Rome B.C. or modern-day America we all have the same needs, desires, strengths or failings.  So in fact, how evolved are we really if we haven't mastered our own human nature a few thousand years down the line?  Do you think Plato would be disappointed?  Or do you think he would nod his head knowingly while stroking his curly Roman beard? 

One of the reasons I like Plato is his scorn for science and for the 'rules'.  It was his philosophy that it was more important to think about the stars and imagine than it was to study them in terms of distance and light.  Ideas are more real than the natural world.  I love that.  Ideas are more real than the natural world - be frivolous, treat the world as a stage, act out the life you want, don't sit in the audience.  Your idea is more real than reality.  Ha!  Those who have achieved great things first had to imagine they could, so the limitations of the natural world are a matter of perspective, isn't that so?

I guess perspective is why I have had such a tough couple of weeks.  I have a wonderful imagination, I can envision great and wonderful things and then I think secretly I think I am 'the one' - and no, not in the egotistical sense of being 'chosen' and somehow superior, but as in the Matrix reference where 'the one' Neo, in a world of 1's and 0's could flex his muscles and change the rules of time and space.  I want to change the rules of time and space.  I want to move like lightening, and be able to do it all - be a stay at home mom who never drops a ball and can give her children everything they need right at the moment they need it for all their lives, a successful and inspiring business woman who positively impacts her community, and still have time to wax lyrical about my own world and my role in it and find time to, well, play.  Unfortunately, one of the hardest lessons I am having to learn is that I can't do it all, there are limitations which cannot be overcome because time and space laws are not as flexible as I imagine them to be.  It is not so easy when time and our movement through it work by a set of rules our 'vision' is not bound by.  Was Plato only partly right?  Sorry to question you old man.  Perhaps we don't have to obsess upon laws but they do demand our respect and understanding.  

And just when I am at my most frustrated and my to-do list is two pages long and time is escaping me the penny drops.  Ah Plato, my valued and trusted companion, happiness truly is characteristic of a good life in which we accomplish our virtuous purpose and to accomplish anything you have to be an optimist with an idea.   The ideas of the optimistic are not affected by the boundaries of the natural world.  Rules limit you if you get too familiar with them, and whilst you can't change them, there is always an exception.  Other Greats and Heros overcame obstacles and against all odds and limiting rules to succeed - that's how they became exceptional!  So rules are fluid concepts subject to perspective.  It is how we observe them and what we do with them that determines how we are affected by them.  Therein lies my new idea (and Plato's very old one):  life is not about science, but possibilities.  Not the forrest, not the trees, but the space and light in between.