Cobalt Violet

"I will not die an unlived life ..."

2012-01-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

I love this piece of writing by Dawna Markova ...

I will not die an unlived life

I will not live in fear

of falling or catching fire.

Watercolor study

fall 2011

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid,

more accessible,

to loosen my heart

until it becomes a wing,

a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance,

to live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom,

goes on as fruit.

~Dawna Markova

I am off to have a little reunion with my high school girlfriends this weekend. Hope you have something fun planned!

It was a busy week last week, but I will be around to your blogs very soon!

blessings and light!

And

Have a beautiful weekend!

Begin with Kindness ... and Etta

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

BEGIN WITH KINDNESS TO YOURSELF

We are all in this together.

So when you realize that you’re talking to yourself,

label it “thinking” and notice your tone of voice.

Let it be compassionate and gentle and humorous.

Then you’ll be changing old stuck patterns that are shared by the whole human race.

Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.

(Start Where You Are)

Pema Chodron

watercolor still life study

fall 2011

Etta James has moved on to a kinder place but we still have her music to enjoy

and her passion and vocals at which to marvel!

I remember the first time I played her album on my brand new stereo back in 1997

and putting this song on repeat.

It is my favorite Etta vocal.

and it is amazing.

enjoy!

Have a beautiful week!

Blessings and light!

Colorful Chinatown and The Framing House

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

Three things I love about my framers at The Framing House

1. They are cheap.

2. They are very helpful and patient with me and all my questions (and how very long it takes me to make up my mind.)

3. They are in Chinatown.

I suppose the drawback is that I can't possibly go get anything framed without running across the street to the bakery for almond cookies. A little taste of buttery heaven!

I hadn't really thought about going to take pictures last week, I was more focused on the pastels I was framing, so these pictures were taken with crazy settings on my iPhone.

iPhone Chinatown

January 2012

mmmmm ...

Golden Dragon Gifts has fun and inexpensive trinkets ...

And this is where I got my 5.99 replacement slippers (in red of course!)

Love the red lanterns! They always remind me of the incredible cinematography in the film, Raise the Red Lantern, for obvious reasons. Every shot in that film was like a work of art!

This is a great little higher end shop called Realm that is in an old restaurant that opened in 1939. Wish I'd gotten a better shot of the ceiling but it was tough with the lights!

I think I need a neon Buddha. Just saying.

Raise the Red Lantern is an incredibly beautiful movie, visually, but subject-wise it's rough and quite haunting. Gong Li is amazing in it and it was worth seeing, for me, for the visual feast.

Each moment is a place

you've never been.

~Mark Strand

Hope this week, you are enjoying places you've never been.

Blessings and light to you!

Winter Moment

2012-01-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

~Thich Nhat Hahn

still life detail - unfinished

watercolor on paper 2011

Because you are alive,

everything

is possible.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Hope this weekend is bringing you

blessed moments

and much peace.

Let the Adventure Begin

2012-01-09T11:07:00.000-08:00

I ask all blessings,

I ask them with reverence,

of my mother earth,

of the sky, moon, and sun my father.

I am old age: the essence of life,

I am the source of all happiness.

All is peaceful, all in beauty,

all in harmony, all in joy.

~Anonymous Navajo

San Luis Obispo 2011

Pastel on Wallace with watercolor underpainting

Can you believe it? We are already a week into 2012! For the most part, I just finished cleaning up the last days of 2011!

I returned from spending the New Year with friends in San Diego, to emptying the hall closet for plumbing work, in the midst of yet unpacked luggage and Christmas ornaments. I pretty much have it all under control now and am feeling ready to get going with the new adventure of 2012.

My friend Karen, from Italian class, and I have decided to broaden our culinary repertoires this year so we began that little adventure Friday night. I had purchased a cookbook for my niece Rachel (Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle) for Christmas, which it turns out she already had, so I kept the book and this was the result ...

Guazzetto di pesce e fagioli

3 tablespoons evoo

2 large cloves of garlic (I used 3 and we halved the recipe!)

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1 pd cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup dried cannellini or great northern beans, cooked

good handful flat-leafed parsley coarsely chopped

4 white fish fillets, about 6 oz each (we used cod) cut into 2 inch pieces or left whole

lemon wedges and grilled bread (it was so yummy we didn't used the lemon)

So easy! (And better than it looks) Basically you are heating olive oil, throwing in garlic, a small amount of red pepper flakes, the white wine and halved cherry tomatoes over a medium heat. After that gets warmed up and the tomatoes soft, you throw in cooked cannellini beans and chopped parsley and cook another 5 minutes. Lay the fish on top and season with salt. Put the lid on and cook for about 10 minutes.

We started eye -balling everything because we used canned beans and they were absorbing the liquid so we added more wine (before adding the fish) and of course, as always, I more than doubled the garlic.

mmmm ... The recipe is definitely a keeper! It was delicious!!!

That night we watched a very entertaining documentary about an Italian guy in Rome, who put together a multi-ethnic orchestra of immigrants living in the Piazza Vittorio area. It was great seeing these musicians come together from different backgrounds and religions and create wonderful, fun music together.

At first the main guy has trouble finding musicians. When he asks around the neighborhood, if anyone knows anyone who plays, you'll see in the trailer, everyone shaking their heads no. The documentary is subtitled in English. Unfortunately, the trailer isn't, but you don't really need it. :)

Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio

Let brotherly love continue.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13.2

Hope your 2012 is off to a great start!

Blessings and light!

Happy New Year! Here's to new beginnings ...

2012-01-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

2012

Here's to

New Beginnings

Finding Peace

and

Being in the Moment

Here's to

Joy

and Friendship

and

Seeing the Beauty

Here's to ...

Being Open to Inspiration

and

Taking New Paths

Seeing with the eyes of a child

(maybe even playing in the mud!)

and

Embracing Love

Here's to being

The best version of ourselves ...

and

Seeing the Humor!

And here's to being grateful

for another year

Living!

Blessings and light

for a

Joyous

Amazing

Creative

NEW YEAR!

I saw this YouTube video on the great blog The Road to the Horizon. You might have already seen it but I thought it was pretty fun ... and gets more fun as it goes along, so keep watching!

The Power of the word

is real whether or not

you are conscious of it.

Your own words are the

bricks and mortar of the

dreams you want to realize.

Behind every word flows energy.

~Sonia Choquette

Goodbye 2011 ... Goodbye to the Bodhi Tree

2011-12-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

I love the relative emptiness of the days between Christmas and New Year's.

In the space of so much not happening, so much seems to be getting ready to.

You can almost feel all the forces coalescing for a new beginning.

~Marianne Williamson

I can't quite believe Christmas is over! I am back in L.A. unpacking and getting ready to re-pack for a little trip to San Diego. I am feeling so anxious about the new year. Not "bad" anxious but anxious for it to start! I feel like there is an inner momentum happening that I can't really explain!

I am having to say goodbye though, not only to 2011 but to a place I love and have come to count on. When I have been blue, or happy, or just looking for a new and different way of looking at things, I have gone there.

My favorite bookstore, The Bodhi Tree is closing. It opened in 1970. (It was made a bit famous by Shirley Maclaine in Out on a Limb.) Phil and Stan, who have run it for all these years are ready to retire. They are trying to sell the business but alas ... the neighborhood has gotten so expensive, that if the sale goes through (a few haven't) they will have to open it somewhere else.

Some places just have an amazing energy, especially bookstores. This one though? It has whole sections (not just a shelf or two) on Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and the Sufis, Native American Shamanism, Astrology, creativity, Judeism, Kabbalah, Saints, healing, psychology, books on yoga and breathing, music, candles, sage, healthy eating cookbooks and more incense than you have ever seen in your life ...

A seeker went to ask a sage for guidance on the Sufi way.

The sage counseled,

If you have never trodden the path of love, go away and fall in love;

then come back and see us.

~Jami (Essential Sufism)

There has always been complimentary tea in the shop and many times I would go in, have a tea and find a quiet corner somewhere to explore some new thought or way of seeing the universe.

I wasn't the only one ...

Asking good questions is half of learning.

~Muhammad

(essential Sufism)

It will close in just a few days, on the 31st of December. I went yesterday to say goodbye and there were more people than I have ever seen in there, buying 1/2 off books, CDs, essential oils and laminated images of the Buddha and anything else that was left on the shelves. The incense, candles and sage were gone, as were all of the wonderful jewelry and prayer flags.

Most of these photos were taken a couple of months ago before the big sale started.

A tiny slice of the incense selection they had ...

Clean but the mirror and the message shines forth.

~A Course in Miracles

Soul development should take precedence over all things.

~Edgar Cayce

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment,

full effort is full victory.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Does this path have a heart?

If it does, the path is good;

if it doesn't, it is of no use.

~Carlos Castaneda

A small section of the Buddhism area ... books beginning to disappear ...

And you?

When will you begin your long journey into yourself?

~Rumi

Throughout the store, all around the ceiling, pictures and images of teachers, prophets, saints and gurus ...

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

~14th Dalai Lama

The cat cleaning himself last night, on a nearly empty bookcase, in women's studies and feminism ...

Empty shelves in the middle that were filled with candles and candle holders ...

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor.

Do you know your next door neighbor?

~Mother Teresa

Some shelves were almost bare, signaling that it was actually going to happen. The store will indeed close. A mother and her adult son were taking photos of each other in the store. I wasn't the only one trying to freeze time.

I hope whether the business is bought or not, someone will create another sacred space here, of exploring and learning ... a place that inspires the spirit and propels us into a place within ourselves, to be the best version of ourselves. It's wonderful to have a place to go, that helps us to open that door, that welcomes us ... and says, We are all in this together and we will help you find a way.

I am feeling so grateful that such a place, found a place here, for so many years. Sometimes, though, we have to find that place inside ourselves. (but I will still miss it!)

The appearance of things change according to the emotions,

and thus we see magic and beauty in them,

while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.

~Kahlil Gibran

Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make,

not a place you must find.

~Wayne Dyer

Hope you have had a beautiful holiday with your loved ones.

May you have a safe and joyful celebration of the year to come!

Blessings and light and so much love!

p.s. ... saw this this morning on my friend Anna's FB page and had to share!

Season's Greetings

2011-12-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

2003

For years I made my Christmas Cards by hand. Then I started buying them, but always on the hunt for the most magical card I could find. Then in 2000 I decided to do a photo card, as a sort of goodbye to my car that I loved. I know it sounds crazy but when you have a vintage car, you get that way about it. I was selling it, and it had to be in my Christmas picture!

I couldn't quite stand there seriously next to my 63 Falcon, so this was the result ...

The photo at the top of the post was from a photo shoot with an old photographer friend, Howard. If I had sent it out in the original format I would just be a big dork (which still may be the case!), so I added the snow flakes (stickers!) and glued on photos of my birds which are obviously not that huge, so it made it funny and festive and less "modely." My dad scanned it and that was the result. Very high tech with the glue!

In 04 my friend John was going to Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and had an assignment. He was to shoot, as if it were for a magazine cover, for Santa Barbara magazine. He was using one of those huge old fashioned box cameras, on a tri-pod, with a big hood that goes over the photographers head, circa 1900. Now imagine we were in the water and the waves start coming ...

2004

Fortunately, we saved the camera from going in for a swim!

I'm not sure what made me think of Frieda except that she is someone who had animals and I already had the shirt and jewelry ... and the birds! My birds were actually at the "photo shoot" in my parents' backyard. The monkeys were obviously added later and very necessary for the comedic effect I was going for.

2005

With Beatrice and Shakti-Bird

In 2006 my Mom had gotten a beautiful Kimono and I thought, "I want my picture taken in that!" So, out came the fan and the 20 dollar black bobbed wig! After I cut myself out and glued myself on a page from my Japanese woodcut calendar, I thought it looked pretty festive!

2006

When I saw this dress (below) in my Grandma's costume collection, I knew. Christmas!! The photo was taken in the kitchen/dining room of my apartment in my new 20 dollar platinum wig and green false eyelashes. The earrings were a last minute addition, in line with the whole "not taking myself to seriously" objective. My friend John also took this photo as well as the kimono photo.

2007

I was too busy in 2008 during the holidays and for the first time in years ... no card! Then in 09 and 10 I just sent pictures of me looking healthy so people could rest easy after all my health craziness.

But this year? Back to fun ... and a wink to my love (and some would say obsession!) with Italy and Rome. Here it is! Roman Holiday 2.0!

2011

"Buon Natale!

And may all you New Year Dreams come true!"

For a little more holiday cheer ...

This one has my favorite! Frank's super swinin' version of Santa Clause is Coming to Town ...

I posted this writing from Marianne last year

but I think it's something worth reminding ourselves of every year ...

Life is sweeter, as millions of people throughout the world

consider the possibility that a higher love exists.

For one day we lay aside our cynicism- if not completely, then enough.

We lay aside our faithlessness and our judgments and our blame.

We embrace the notion of a light at the center of things

that casts out darkness and cast out fear.

Millions of people think thoughts of love on Christmas.

That is why it is an important day.

That is why it gives us joy.

That is why it is such a blessing on the world.

~Marianne Williamson

Merry Christmas!

Buon Natale!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeux Noel!

Feliz Natal

God Jul Og Godt Nytt Aar

Froehliche Weihnachten

Kala Christouyenna

Mele Kalikimaka

Nadolig Llawen

God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Ar

Krismasi Njema

Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom

Craciun Fericit

Merry Keshmish

Linksmu Kaledu

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Hyvaa joulua

Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Sawat Dee Wan Kritsamas

Bara Din Mubarak Ho

Srozhdestvom Kristovym

Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur

Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto

Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Selamat Hari Natal

O.K., I sort of lost track of where I was there, but you get the idea!

(and I hope they were correct!)

Blessings and light

Love, joy and peace

To all of you, my friends

And to those who live in your hearts!!

In gratitude,

Lucinda

A Christmas Tree Exhibition!!!

2011-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
They are green when summer days are bright,
They are green when winter snow is white.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!
How oft at Christmas tide the sight,
O green fir tree, gives us delight!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
You give us so much pleasure!

A Christmas Tree exhibition?! I couldn't miss it! I mean really, at only about a 50 minute drive, could you?

It's at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. An American Christmas runs until January 8th and it's pretty incredible and so creative!

Each tree represents a particular decade, beginning in the same decade as the Declaration of Independence. You cannot believe what they put on these trees! I don't have many distance shots in this post, because with my little "point and shoot" camera, you can't really see what anything is, from more than a few feet away.

There were so many "decorations" on each tree, reflecting what was going on in American society and the culture during a particular decade. (1700-2010) I basically picked the photos that weren't blurry since I wasn't using a flash. There was so much more than what I have shown here! You could go back over and over and notice something different every time.

1770-1779

1800-1809

Among other things, this tree (below) represented the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the country's size and the famous Lewis and Clark expedition which happened a year later.

I think this was the 1810-1819 tree, but I'm not sure. I just love having a wooden ship on a tree!

1830-1839 There was a lot of things going on this tree including Davey Crockett's coonskin hat, Sam Houston's portrait, references to the Alamo and the kindergarden movement.

I love the old book on the tree, with the rough woven ribbon ...

1840-1849

The frontier, westward movement, wagon trains and the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, as well as works by Poe and Longfellow.

1860-1869

Included a copy of the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's stovepipe hat and Emancipation proclamation.

1870-1879

The industrial Age ... a railroad boom, newly developing athletic sports like tennis and football and the establishment of Yellowstone Park.

1890-1899

1890-1899 The Ferris Wheel at the Chicago World's Fair, the establishment of Yosemite National Park .... the Happy Birthday melody ...

1900-1909

The Wright Brothers tested their Wright Flyer, Henry Ford introduced the model T, Sears Roebuck catalogs and mass production of things like Teddy bears, as well as a telephone and a newspaper with the tragedy of the San Francisco earthquake in the headlines ... all were represented on this tree.

1920-1929

The jazz Age, American prosperity, prohibition, Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh ...

1940-1949

1950-1959 with the 1960-1969 tree in the background ( Please click on photos to enlarge, for more detail!)

1960-1969

The photos to the left are veterans who volunteer as docents at the library ...

1970-1979

1980-1989

There were all sorts of things on this tree but I went with E.T.

;)

2000-2009

2010-2119 (Doesn't 2019 sound like forever away?)

Since we really don't know what the decade will look like, they put question marks on the tree and asked not only what will it look like when we look back but what do want it to look like?

What are your hopes and dreams for this decade?

What can we do to create it?

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Forever true your colour.
Your boughs so green in summertime
Stay bravely green in wintertime.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Forever true your colour.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
You fill my heart with music.
Reminding me on Christmas Day
To think of you and then be gay.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
You fill my heart with music.

English Lyrics Unknown Origin

(or a million origins)

Hope you are having an amazing week filled with holiday cheer!

And

Happy Hanukkah!

Welcome!

2011-12-19T22:40:00.000-08:00

Haul out the holly;

Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.

Fill up the stocking,

I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now ...

For we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute,

Candles in the window,

Carols at the spinet

Yes, we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute.

It hasn't snowed a single flurry but

Santa Dear we're in a hurry!

~ lyrics by Jerry Herman

Mame, 1966

Welcome! I have been inspired by so many of you, to share a little of my "at home" holiday spirit. I have a tendency to go a little overboard but I restrained myself a bit this year! (I know it's hard to tell!) I had a few friends from the art studio over one night, so I also set up an extra table for finger food.

As you can see I finally have seating in my living room! A lovely sleigh-bed my parents weren't using, fit perfectly between two windows! It's as if it had been built for just that spot!

Some of you might remember that, for a few years, I had made my living room into a studio space and had gotten rid of my big monster of a burgundy (circa 1997) overstuffed sofa. It was a nice idea in theory but not such a great set-up to have guests. Or as one of my girlfriends put it, "You need a spot to have gentleman callers!" Glass Menagerie reference aside, she was right. It's not good when your only two seating options are old, hard, bentwood dining chairs or the Sealy Posturepedic.

Some of what might look like Christmas decorations (the Indian and Pakistani pillows and sari fabrics) are actually there for year-round pleasure, but the lights and ... well, you'll figure it out, are the holiday adornments. ;)

The table runner is actually an old Japanese Obi I have had for years. Perfect for the hors d'oeuvre table with it's red and gold thread!

This little nativity scene was a gift from my parents' trip to South America ...

Small retable from Mexico ... another gift of my parents' travels.

I didn't go overboard in the powder room but it still needed a little extra glitz ...

Yep, the ceiling is a shiny black and the shade is a silk damask, from Silk Trading Co. which I am still in love with!

It's been ages since I have had more than two people in my place at a time. I used to throw dinner parties and shindigs all the time, so this felt like a wonderful renewal!

I made a toast to gratitude and bringing in new energy into my place! It felt wonderful!

My Dad informed me that today was the biggest mail day of the year. Of course, I found this out after my trip to the post office. No wonder the parking lot looked like game day at the L.A. Coliseum.

I went to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley last friday, for their Christmas Tree exhibit. So many fun ideas so I will be blogging that this week, along with Greeting Cards from Christmas past! Lots to catch up on!

Here is one of my favorite Christmas tunes!!!

The truth is that this time of year offers us a wonderful opportunity to rekindle the spirit of love and living life to the fullest.

With your expectations set on positive, here are some attitude adjustments to try:

I’ll let the holidays flow, rather than trying to make them fit into a fixed schedule.

I’ll remember that people are more important than things.

I’ll relax my expectations for myself and others this year.

I’m going to live in the present moment and enjoy each activity for itself instead of always thinking about what is ahead of me.

I’m going to approach the holidays with a sense of joyful anticipation and wonder, just like I did when I was a child.

from Wayne Dyer's Blog

12/8/10

For more of this Wayne Dyer post click Here

Many Blessings to you my friends!

December ... busy busy busy!!!!

2011-12-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

A bee is never as busy as it seems;

it's just that it can't buzz any slower.

~Kin Hubbard

It may indeed be the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (I happen to think so) but it's also the busiest, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of the "goings on."

A week ago yesterday was my Italian written final. 3 essays. I didn't even get to the last! You see, I get a little "involved" sometimes and forget I still have two more essays to write! For the first essay we had to write a proposal for a movie, which included the story-line, how we would cast ourselves and who would be our co-star. Of course, this is all in Italian. Oy. It was intense.

Like I said, I didn't get to the last essay, but I have gotten A's on everything else in the class, including the oral exam (last night) so I am sure I will be fine. Speaking of the oral ... hilARious. Flavio (il mio professore) put my friend Karen and I together with our young friend Karo, who is adorable and I am sure a heart breaker to all the 20 year old girls on campus. We had to write a skit about a guy (Karo) who is caught dating 2 girls. Funny stuff. Best Italian class ever.

Anyway, I also managed to get over to the Italian Institute of Culture (IIC) with my friend Marcello, for the opening reception of Deposito: Selected works from the Galleria del Deposito (1963-1969.)

It runs through February 2, 2012 if you happen to be in the L.A. area.

Designs by Rudi Gernreich

Love this blouse! So groovy!

"On display a collection of works from Galleria del Deposito (1963-1968) in Genoa including serigraphs, scarves, trays, multiples, and jewelry created by internationally acclaimed artists such as Getulio Alviani, Max Bill, Eugenio Carmi, Lucio Fontana, Jesus Rafael Soto, and Victor Vasarely, among many others. This show will highlight the critical connections between Eugenia Butler (as she served as the American representative for Galleria del Deposito) and the influential role Italian artists had on the L.A. art scene."

From what I gathered, these designs by Rudi Gernreich used textile designs created by Italian artist Eugenio Carmi, who was actually there there at the Institute that night. He was being interviewed on stage, giving an introduction to the exhibition and background on the Galleria del Deposito. Eugenio Carmi was born in 1920 in Genoa, so ... not the youngest of gentlemen but very charming! (Not shocking, I suppose, being Italian, and all. :)

Marcello and works by Eugenio Carmi

More of Rudi Gernreich's designs ...

How fun is this?!

December is birthday time as well, kicked off by my niece Rachel who turned 18 on the 4th!! We celebrated with a Moroccan feast and belly dancers at Dar Maghreb Restaurant in Hollywood. I am actually convinced that that might have been the most I've ever eaten, in a single sitting. I wanted to lie across the couches and take a nap!

Rachel being a great sport ...

These photos below were taken from substituting an art class at the Wizard of Art one Saturday afternoon. I just had to share them! These girls were in the same class, obviously bringing up the cute quotient exponentially.

Two Red Huskies in the Moonlight

pastel on paper

Natasha age 5

Man on the Moon

pastel on paper

Amelie age 5

Couldn't you just die? So cute!!!!

December also brought with it, a long overdue trip to the Korean Spa last Thursday. I say "long overdue" because my dear friend Shea has been trying to take me for my birthday for three years now! Something has always come up. Someone gets sick or I would have an audition ... Anyway, we made it!!!

I tell you, after soaking in various tubs and steaming ourselves into limp noodles, we got scrubbed almost every inch from head to toe. It was amazing. I am not kidding, my skin hasn't felt like this since I was 3! Smooth as a baby's bum! I highly recommend it. Perfect relaxation in the midst of the holiday season, if you can swing it.

That night, after the Korean Spa, was the opening of "Snap to Grid" at LACDA (Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts.) Snap to Grid is sort of a fundraiser and they except everyone's work. I thought it would be fun if my nieces and I were all in it together, so Rachel, Elizabeth and I sent in our digital photo images. Rachel, unfortunately, couldn't make it from Ojai, so Elizabeth and "represented" that night downtown at art walk! The parking was insane but we finally made it inside.

Snap to Grid 2011

LACDA

It looked cool with everyone's pieces up on the wall together. It became one large piece of art and was definitely stronger as a whole than the individual pieces themselves. (At least that's what Elizabeth and I thought)

Mine is on the far left ... it's Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome with a big ol' magical light beam coming through the window.

Elizabeth next to her piece (with the horn) and Rachel's piece next to it (with the candles.) They must have seen the same last names and hung them together. I will have to do a post of more of their photography and art. They are so creative!!!

The next day, Friday, was my birthday so I picked Elizabeth up at USC and we had breakfast at Bottega Louie in downtown L.A. It reminds me of being in Europe with it's cafe tables, beautiful displays of sweet treats and high ceilings! It was a smaller breakfast menu so now I am going to have go back on the weekend for the brunch menu. Outside of being with my niece, the best thing was the beignets! I don't think I'd had one since New Orleans, circa 1987!

Bottega Louie

That evening I met my sister Penny and 3 of my oldest friends for dinner at a little Italian restaurant, which was a beautiful quiet evening, followed by my Saturday pastel class the next day, a lovely dinner with my parents and catching most of Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer that evening. We finished off the night with a viewing of my "go to" holiday movie, Going My Way. I know I mentioned it last year but I thought I would remind everyone anyway. ;)

These are different videos from last year!

After having breakfast with my cousin Jennifer Sunday morning, I headed back to L.A. to host a pot luck reunion for my figure drawing/art studio pals at my place that night. At the risk of making everyone crazy and sick of me, I think I will post that later! Besides, I'm having my neighbor over for dinner in a bit. Tomorrow night? Making Pomander Balls in Highland Park.

Next week I am carving out time for quiet and reflection. That's the plan anyway.

OH! And guess what? Turns out that December 9th (my birthday) is National Pastry Day every year! Who knew?

Hope everyone is able to have some fun this holiday season,

make some beautiful memories for the future,

and not do anything they don't want to do!

Blessings, light and joy!

Joy & Poppieeeeeeeeees!!!!!!

2011-12-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

O.K., so I know I'm a little off season here, but showing off Christmas decorations and such is going to take some time with the contents of two closets and a large book cabinet strewn about my little one bedroom. This will be the third day of Dave, the electrician, being here. I will perhaps get into that in another post!

So, to the poppies ... I love them. They are so delicate ... (They would never have survived the crazy winds we have had here in Southern California this week!) and the different varieties hold different memories and attach themselves to different places in my mind.

Orange California poppies remind me of Sunday drives and road trips growing up in California, listening to 8 track tapes in my Dad's '66 GTO. I'd look out the window and point them out and think how important they were, our state flower, that it was illegal to pick them! That was what I was told anyway. I'm not sure if it's even true.

The red poppies remind me of Umbria and especially Assisi ... bits of red painted among the olive trees.

The giant white Matilija poppies? Ojai and my sister's giant poppy plant next to her driveway that blooms every spring and welcomes you to her home.

Poppies look like joy to me. Little reminders of bits of happiness, sometimes found in unexpected places. Funny that the Wicked Witch of the West would use them against Dorothy and her pals, but you know, a little nap along your travels isn't really a bad thing. ;)

California Poppies

watercolor 2010

From joy I came,

For joy I live,

and in Thy sacred joy

I shall melt again.

~Paramahansa Yogananda

California Poppy in Ojai

Dorothy and her pals getting ready for a nap...

(The ones with a heartbeat that is!)

Poppies

Assisi, Italy

I have merged, like the bird, with the bright air,

And my thought flies to the place by the bo-tree.

Being, not doing, is my first joy.

~Theodore Roethke

Finding Deep Joy

Matilija Poppies, The Ojai Foundation 2011

The really happy person

is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.

Anon

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

~Mother Teresa

Hope this weekend brings you unexpected joy and blessings!

My Favorite Soup!

2011-11-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

Soup is the song of the hearth

... and the home.

Louis P. De Gouy 1949

I have a habit of saving recipes from magazines and never using them. I also have several beautiful cookbooks that I look at, become very hungry, then pick up the phone and promptly order take out.

In the late 1990s I had a subscription for Food and Wine magazine, which had all sorts of lovely, appetite enhancing photographs but when the January 1999 issue showed up, I knew it was time to time to use the inside of my oven for something other than storage. (This recipe calls for baking pumpkin!)

The photo was gorgeous ... a beautiful rustic grey ceramic bowl that looked almost like old metal ... broth with bits of cilantro, avocado and a thin slice of lime, floating over pumpkin, black beans and corn ... mmmmmmmm!

It is now my hearty, go-to soup for fall and winter. You can substitute pumpkin for butternut or another sweet squash. It is also hearty enough to skip the chicken (I usually do) or even make it vegan/vegetarian soup with vegetable stock.

So, here goes ...

Chipotle-Lime Broth with

Chicken and Pumpkin

Sally Schneider

for Food and Wine

Mexico's lighter side January 1999

My version ...

1 small sugar pumpkin or butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds) halved and seed and sliced 1 1/4 inches thick

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 quarts chicken stock

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe- rinsed, seeded and thinly sliced (careful not to touch your eyes or inhale deeply. They used to carry them at my supermarket and stopped so I had to go to the little latin market)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 cups cooked black or pink beans

2 cups shredded roasted chicken breast meat

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus 1 lime, cut into wedges

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

salt

1 ripe Hass avocado, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven 400 degrees. Brush the pumpkin with 1/2 teaspoon of the oil and bake on a nontick baking sheet for about 20 minute or until just tender. Let cool, then remove and discard the skin. Cut pumpkin to 1/2 inch dice. (I do it a little bigger since I rarely do meat)

Heat the remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the onion, cover and cook over moderate low heat until soft, about 5 mins. Uncover, increase heat and cook stirring until golden. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant about 3 minutes.

In large saucepan bring the chicken stock to simmer. Add chipotles and cook 2 mins. Add pumpkin, onlin, corn and beans and simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken and cook just until warmed through. Add the lime juice and cilantro and season with salt. Serve soup in large bowls and pass the avocado and lime wedges alongside. (I float massive amounts of avocado because I love them.)

Chipotle chiles give the broth a smoky, spicy flavor.. A hefty squeeze of fresh lime juice just before serving is essential.

serves 6

Thanks Sally for such a wonderful recipe!

As you can see, I go a little nuts with the avocado and cilantro. As with every recipe, I double the garlic, try to use organic ingredients as much as possible and I use red onion because it has more anti-cancer properties than white onions. (I've heard that 3 times now, so I am going with it!) My market stopped carrying chipotles in adobo so I find it at a little latin market.

You all should check out Sally's beautiful cooking website and the articles in her archives, as well as her fabulous blog!

Beautiful soup!

Who cares for fish,

or game

or any other dish?

Who would not give all else for two pennyworth of beautiful soup?

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I can't believe it's almost December (my favorite month!) and that my Italian final is Monday night! I put up my mini tinsel Christmas tree and have made my holiday iTunes playlist, so I am ready to roll! Well, except that I haven't gotten started on Christmas shopping. Maybe I will just make everyone soup!

Blessings and light and good soup!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Without exception, I begin every day of my life

with an expression of gratitude.

As I look in the mirror to begin my daily ritual of shaving, I say,

"Thank you, God, for this life, for my body, for my family and loved ones,

for this day and for the opportunity to be of service.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

~Wayne Dyer

Gourd and Seed Pod

Texture Watercolor Study Oct 2011

Life has been a little crazy but I am feeling especially grateful today. Yesterday, my doctor called to tell me about results for an MRI I had last Friday and I AM FINE!

"Whatever was there before, is gone," she said.

Nothing like staring at the inside of big noisy plastic magnetic tube to put things immediately back in perspective! (Plus you really do feel like they are going to blast you into outer space!)

If you have ever been very ill, or had a big health scare, you know exactly what I am talking about. You become grateful for the "little things," that all of the sudden become big things. You get awfully grateful that you are able to sit down to dinner with your family, to call your best friend, or to take a hot shower on your own and get yourself to the bathroom at 2 am!

So today on the eve on Thanksgiving, here in the U.S., I would like to share this gratitude prayer for the body from Marianne Williamson's book Illuminata. I said this prayer every day (that I was lucid) when I was very sick in the hospital a couple of years ago and on many days since. I really believe that finding gratitude, especially in the most difficult times, heals us at the very deepest levels of our being.

Dear God,

As I rise up, I thank You for the opportunity

to be on this earth.

I thank You for my mind and body.

I thank you for my life.

Please bless my body and use it for Your purposes.

May I rise up strong today,

and may my body and soul radiate your love.

May all impurities be cast out

of my mind, my heart, my body.

May every cell of my being be filled with Your light.

May my body and mind both be illumined Your sake,

and the sake of all the world.

Amen

Prayer from Illuminata

by Marianne Williamson's

Thank you for visiting, for your friendship and for your inspiration.

Many, many blessings, love and light to you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

View from Assisi ~ in Pastel

2011-11-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

When the uniqueness of a place

sings to us like a melody,

then we will know,

at last,

what it means to be home.

~Paul Gruchow

I can't seem to resist doing pastel paintings of places I love, especially Italy.

When I am working on the pastel, I feel connected to the place, as if there is a dialog between myself and the far away place I miss so much.

I am expressing my love for it, and somehow it answers back ...

I will always be here ...

View from Assisi October 2011

Pastel with watercolor underpainting

If you haven't seen it already, here is my slideshow (with beautiful music, I can't take credit for!) from my first trip to Assisi.

All journeys have secret destinations

of which the traveler is unaware.

~Martin Buber

Hope you are all being blessed with an amazing weekend!

Hugs and light!