In addition--20 things I am glad to have done. 2009

1. Had both a son and a daughter to teach me all sorts of lessons.
2. Had a baby at a birthing center with no drugs; home the same day
3. Ran a marathon.
4. Wrote a few novels.
5. Got one published and reveled in the book signings.
6. Planted a garden
7. Visited some great American Cities: New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago, San Diego, Dallas to name a few
8. Taught some classes on art, writing, journaling, LIFE
9. Traveled to Europe (England and France). Thanks, Nate.
10. Visited Disney World and Vegas. Two places I thought I would hate and ended up loving. (I bow to you, Kathy.) And visited California wine country. One place I knew I would like and I was right.
11. Researched my family tree
12. Been interviewed for newspaper, radio, and television.
13. Rode some rollercoasters in spite of my fears and aversions.
14. Watched my brothers and sister become parents
15. Engaged with other women in a deep way with spiritual work/group dynamics.
16. Started my own website
17. Painting my paintings and the art shows that followed.
18. Experienced the magic of Moondance (my friend's summer retreat) with family and friends.
19. Read over 60 novels out loud to my children.
20. Gained some great friends. Actually, the month I wrote the first list is the month I met 4 of our best friends of all time.

20 things I am glad to have done--written in 1996, age 27

1. Had a baby
2. Got married
3. Went to a foreign country (Canada and Mexico)
4. Learned to knit. (Thanks Darcey and Karen!)
5. Made salsa
6. Visited New York City
7. Traveled in a airplane
8. Made my prom gown
9. Grew my hair past my shoulders
10. Hosted Thanksgiving
11. Floated on my back in a swimming pool during a lunar eclipse
12. Pulled off a surprise party
13. Fixed a flat tire
14. Ate sushi
15. Graduated from college
16. Took music lessons
17. Gave a speech in public
18. Camped in the great outdoors.
19. Learned some French
20. Saw a President in person (Bill Clinton)

Taking a whale for a walk in NYC

I already said I went to NYC and saw my first Broadway show. I guess the reason I haven't gone to shows is that I'm always at the museums. The occasion for this show was my son's chorus trip. They've gone in the past years, but we never went with them. Jonah brought the papers too late or finances were an issue. (They always want the money around the holidays.) But this was his last year to go, so we went and saw Phantom. Of the choices, I would have picked Lion King, but Jonah wanted Phantom, and it was his trip. The musical was in the afternoon, which left the morning in NYC open. We were being dropped off at 10 and had to eat and be back to the theater by 1:30. What to eat? What to do? We could go to a museum, but that would leave little time to see much and we'd still have to pay the $20 admission. I suggested walking to see the renovated Grand Central Station with its shops and restaurants. I also suggested walking up to Central Park. I tried to get Jonah to participate in this pre-trip planning. The most I could get out of him was that he would like either pizza, a barbecue joint, or chili for lunch.

I thought the excitement of the city would wash over him once we got there. I was wrong. Once we were actually in the city, Jonah was sullen. I don't like big cities. UGH! I used an analogy with my mother-in-law telling her it was like trying to walk a whale around NYC on a leash.

He eventally agreed to Grand Central Station after my iPhone indicated it had a bookstore. So I started walking quickly in the direction of the station. Jonah plodded behind. At one point I almost turned around and told Jonah to keep up, but then I had an A-HAH moment. Why should he keep up with me? This was his trip. We weren't pressed for time. I slowed down to his pace. It was hard. I like to walk fast. But I tried to look around and really absorb the city rather than getting ot my destination. Later, we opted for brick-oven pizza across the street from the theater. (Never my choice but I was able to get my favorite topping--eggplant.) I don't know if Jonah knows how I struggled to let him have the trip his way. Maybe he doesn't even think it was his way.

Day later, I heard a radio interview about mindfulness and how parents always rush their kids. I am terribly guilty of this one. It talked about present moment and teaching moments. The best way to show kids the power of now (a la Tolle) is to let them see you as a parent be totally immersed in the moment. If by totally immersed in the moment they mean running around like a crazy person shouting, "Let's go, we will be late! MOVE!" then I have it covered. I think I even rush my kids when we are ahead of schedule. Mark is the same. So, we have some work to do when it comes to teaching our kids to be in the moment. I think for me, it'll take a few more walks around the block with a whale on the leash.

Checking the list

A while ago, let's call it mid-nineties, I wrote a list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime. Not quite a bucket list. I only had 17 things on the list with room for more.

1. Visit all 50 states. I am at about 28 states (a few more if you count sitting on an airplane in an airport). I may just get another one this summer.
2. Travel over an ocean. check
3. Publish something. check
4. Paint a mural. check minus. I did paint a small mural in my daughter's bedroom. Not sure if that is what I had in mind, but it is cute.
5. Perfect Salsa. check. Had a great batch this summer.
6. Own a log cabin. Not yet. The Little House on the Prairie dream is still alive.
7. Write a novel. check.
8. Teach a class. check.
9. See a Broadway Show. check. And the reason I am blogging. I finally saw my first Broadway show on Saturday. You would have thought that would be an easy one.
10. One year, make all of my Christmas gifts. No, and I really have no desire to do this one. I am taking it off the list.
11. One year, make none of my Christmas gifts. I think I am taking this off my list, too. I don't think I really have ever had a year where I didn't make something, however small.
12. Learn to dance--for those slow dances at weddings. Haven't done it. Can't say I am chomping at the bit to do this one, but never say never.
13. Get a professional massage. check.
14. Take a cross-country motorcycle trip with Mark. I have no desire to do the motorcycle thing, but a cross country trip with Mark and/or kids intrigues me. We have done a 10 state, 10 day, 40 hour-in-car trip in 2000 with kids ages 3 and 5. I think that was pretty gutsy and fun.
15. Have a foreign exchange student. One of my biggest regrets is not doing a semester abroad in college. I guess this is to make up for it. We haven't done this yet, but I could see it happening. Conversely, I'd like to see Maren and I setting up shop in Paris for an extended stay, Jonah and I in England touring castles, and Mark and I in Italy.
16. Make clay pots with Mark. No. He was taking a ceramics at the time I wrote this list. I guess I got a romantic notion. My daughter is taking a class now. In our living room, you will find an example of ceramics by each of the four of us. It would be fun to take a family ceramics class.
17. Make a quilt. check. It is a lame quilt, but it fits the definition.

It isn't on here, but I thought for sure that run a marathon was on this particular list. check.

I think I am going to have to make a new list of 20. But that is for another blog. Also, at the time I made my original list, made a list of 20 things I was glad to have already done. Again--another entry.

Cob Studio

A few weeks ago, my daughter had a long play practice, so Mark and I took in the sites. We went to Terrain Garden Center which is a real treat for the senses and unlike any garden center I have ever been. Go for a whole day with a bunch of girlfriends and make sure to lunch in their greenhouse. Mark and I also hit Chaddsford Winery for a barrel tasting. This is probably the most well-known and one of the best wineries in PA. I especially like their select vineyard Chambourcin wines

But, like I said, the play practice was long, so Mark and I didn't stop there. We capped off our experience by attending an open house at Cob Studio, a ceramic studio built in cob construction (the only of its kind in PA) about 4 years ago. The place as an aura of enchantment. It is bigger than it looks with meandering earthen shelves, a wood stove guarded by handmade tea cups, and an organic form that makes it seem as if the whole structure grew out from the ground like fungi. Quite hobbit-like, with reclaimed windows and colored bottles set playfully in the earth, hay mix. The place of whimsy houses ceramicist and holistic health counselor, Cara Graver. It is where she gives classes, has tea parties, hosts organic suppers parties, and creates her own work. My daughter is taking a ceramics class this year at her school. I'll need to get her there over the summer to see the place and perhaps create. Maybe I'll bring my mom along too, for the tea and scones. No website for the place, but Cara does have an email list. The Cob Studio 1281 Green Lane, Chester Springs, PA 610-469-9509.

Although our entire Sunday experience was fun, we saved the best place for last.

Hail storm

We had a bad hail storm recently. I had taken a picture of a tree on one of my walks. The next day it was gone. I am glad I took the time to notice it.

Latest Breakfast craze

I have a new breakfast thing going. Bob's Red Mill 6-Grain hot cereal with flax seed. Make it in the microwave. Add a splash of milk. Some blueberries. I could add honey, but I add toasted coconut which seems the most decadent thing in the world. I refuse to look at the nutritional information of the toasted coconut. It is helping me get my anti-toxins, omega-3's and fiber. I actually have started craving this now. Pretty good for someone who is usually in muffin mode.

I have also started taking vitamins with breakfast. I don't know what the results are. Perhaps I'll never know. I am looking for energy and if it can help focus my brain, keep me healthy, help my joints and help me live a longer more productive life, so be it.

Still drinking my 16 oz of coffee. Black. Thought about giving it up for some sort of tea. Seems more spa-like. More in line with a morning yoga practice. I don't know. I recently gave up all sodas. I was drinking about one coke zero day at lunch time. Wanted to be done with chemicals. We'll see. I'm not on some drastic health kick, but if I can make a few gradual changes, it may be worth it.

Site redesign

I am thinking about redoing my website, but feel I don't want to devote my life to do it. I've dsicovered www.easysite.com. Don't know if it will work for me, But I love the concept. HMMM? Anybody with any experience here?

Soul Pancake

I was listening to an interview with Rainn Wilson of the office. He was talking about his Bahá'í Faith. This is a religion started in Persia in the 1800's and, at the risk of over-simplifying, has as a basic tenet, the unity of major world religions. I am somewhat familiar with people of this faith, as many of them, without a presence nearby, have chosen to worship at our church, Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster. You might correctly infer from the name of my church that unity is something I believe in too. The world is getting smaller. Multi-culturalism is the result. Unity makes sense to me. Domination of one culture over another or one religion over another--not so much. So you can bet that I was listening to the interview and nodding often.

Rainn said that Bahá'í has many names for God, but this is true in most churches. God the creator, God the redeemer, God the merciful. But Rainn mentioned one name in particular. God the fashioner. This is God as artist, designer. I have taken and taught a curriculum in my church which is called, You the Creator. It focuses on the creative process which is a mirror of God as creator. Rainn went further to describe creative work as prayer.

This isn't new. I studied a bit of the work of German Idealist Philosopher G.W.F Hegel who claimed that art, along with religion and philosophy was a primary means through which spirit was manifested.

Often when I write or paint, I am so "in the moment" that I cannot help but to think that I am a puppet of or a magnet to spirit energy, completely bypassing the intellectual and emotional realms. Call it what you want: prayer or meditation or lifeline. There is something to all these claims that creative work is sacred work. Rainn Wilson started a new website for dialogs of spirit and art--without the woo-woo factor. www.soulpancake.com Check it out.

The Pink Side of the Mind

Have you heard about the book The Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink that Oprah gave to each member of the graduating class of Stanford? I heard an interview with him recently, and it made me want to run out and buy a copy of the book for each member of local school board. In this economy, I just bought a used copy for myself.

A description of the book from Daniel Pink's website ...
"Lawyers. Accountants. Computer programmers. That's what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of "left brain" dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which "right brain" qualities-inventiveness, empathy, meaning-predominate. That's the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times."

In the interview I heard, Mr. Pink reasoned that any jobs that can be mapped out in logical sequential steps (such as technology, accounting and some forms of law practice) are the jobs that are being shipped to Asia. The U.S. of A. is entering a new economy in which a new set of skills will be necessary. He outlines the main skills (the six senses) in his book. These include play, empathy, big-picture thinking among other things.

Ironically, the traits that Pink espouses will be important for a healthy economy and successful job search of the future are exactly the kinds of skills taught in art classes, classes that are being cut out of school curricula at a faster rate than folks cutting out cereal coupons during Our current economic downfall.

I am not going to kick the accountants and other left-brained thinkers while they are down. They are not dinosaurs by any means. I have always advocated a whole mind approach. Though it may seem like I am a right-mind cheerleader--it is only because society has put down creative thinking with disempowering labels of flakiness and woo-woo. In order to achieve balance, I have had to stick up for the creative, non-verbal, non-linear hemisphere. Take back your woo-woos and give me an R!

I am still awaiting my copy Pink's book. I ordered it days ago. I am sure I will more to say when I actually read it. (I am anticipating a lot of AMEN, Brother Pink!) But for now, I wanted to personally go on record as saying: I think our country will soar if traditionally left-brained thinkers add some of these new skills to their repertoire, and if traditionally right-brained thinkers (who, out of survival, have already acquired left-brained skills) are valued for their gifts.

My son is entering the high school next year. With that comes a whole new focus on future careers. I am so glad that this book and the Johnny Bunko comic accompaniment have crossed my path at this time.

Coffee, Tea and Me

I am precise in my coffee drinking. 16 oz a day. I need to do it that way so my caffeine is regulated--or I get headaches. At home I drink it black, but in the world I have been known to add cream. I like a dark roast mostly but I have been known to enjoy a few offbeat and limited number of flavors: coconut, blueberry, southern pecan, pumpkin. For the last 2 1/2 years I have been making coffee with my single cup Keurig machine, but now that I am getting into composting, I am trying to get over the waste of the cartridges. I am going to be using more of the individual filter and try my hand at making French Press coffee each morning.

I do seek out cafes for coffee. I love Dosie Dough in Lititz, Wyomissing, and Lancaster. Before my workshops at Radiance, I have been known to stop for coffee at Prince Street Cafe. I love their mugs. White and squared off. They fit in my hand. The outside rim is square, but inside is round. Somehow this is comfortable to my coffee-sipping mouth. At home, I have a menagerie of mugs. I tend to choose them for my mood or to match my pajamas. I especially like my lavender grid mug (gifted to me in 8th grade by my best friend) when I am wearing my lavender polka dot night shirt (gifted to me by my college roommate).

But this week, I found mugs at Ikea that are similar to the mugs at Prince Street Cafe. The only difference is that the lip is completely round. I tried them out this week and love them. Call me crazy, but I think the coffee tastes better in them. I am a girl who loves white dishes, so even though I will miss my dose of morning color, I like these. I guess my other mugs will be relegated for my decaf afternoon tea, Earl Grey or Lemon Ginger. For some reason I like a big chunky mug of tea, but prefer my coffee in a sleeker cup. But here is the thing. It feels a little like my religious life. Searching for the best possible experience before settling in and making it my ritual--a ritual to add meaning and launch me on my path.

Walk--on the Wild Side

Since getting my iPhone, I have renewed my walking practice, but just in the last two-three weeks, I have revved it into high gear. I used to vary my walks and runs. Lately, I have been walking the same 4 miles (which is actually 2 miles out and back) and doing it daily in an hour's time. It has become a meditation of sorts. The terrain is challenging and the views are wonderful. I don't always go at the same time of day, but I am really studying the route. I watch the way sunlight changes the view. I notice when the farmer tills the soils, bringing up the black bulging earth. I watch the way the green is trying to push its way into the landscape. I notice baby goats. The flow of the stream--or not-- in the case of ice. The smells, some good, some foul. I notice if I get tired at the same point in my walks or if I am getting stronger. I notice the litter. I have come to realize that if I stop and nod at a cow or sheep, they will nod back to me. Sometimes I take pictures of the cows. The birds are in pairs now--flitting around. I saw cardinals, blue birds, robins, morning doves, and something small like sparrows or finches--brownish.

Yesterday I looked out of the fields. They were yellow brown with just enough green trying to come through that the color seemed to pulse. Against this backdrop was the Amish schoolhouse. The children were playing and most of the girls were wearing bright purple windbreakers and lavender skirts which really popped against the wanna-be chartreuse of the fields. I wanted to take that pictures, but felt it a little disrespectful. I feel like poetry should follow, but I am still taking it all in.

Updates on my little bits of social action

I am coming to this place to keep myself accountable. I thank anyone who is reading for helping in that. Most of these things are items I said I would do. I just need to say, "I did them." Helps me to feel pride and move on to further action. Feel free to post your own ongoing action--nothing is too small. We need to inspire each other and keep each other going in this time of flux and opportunity.

*Still eliminating catalogs as I get new ones. As they come in, I go to catalogchoice.org. I have even been doing this for the catalogs I do like (Today I got Title Nine and DharmaCrafts--both of which I love) because I don't really need to be spending right now and if I have money to burn, they do have a presence online.

*Refurbished the dirt in my square foot garden (SFG). Put a grid in place over it. Strung my trellis. I am ready to go on this SFG project. Hubby took down the kids wooden swing set. I am going to convert the spot under it to a new SFG bed. Mark took the platform off the top of the playhouse. We are converting that into a stage for Maren, our actress.

*Started composting. Bought a kitchen composter with a carbon filter (for smells). Bought a 32 gallon round plastic garbage can (no wheels) with animal proof locking lid. Mark drilled small holes for air in a grid pattern. Each hole about 4"apart, on the sides. I am alternating my brown and green layers, watering to damp sponge wetness, and rolling the bin once a week. We shall see. Composting is what I promised to do for the "I pledge..." campaign.

*I have scheduled a paperdoll workshop with kids and their mothers at the local shelter to fulfill half of my Starbucks pledge to give 5 hours of service.

*Wrote letters to my PA congressmen and the PA Secretary of Education to ask them to support the reinstatement of PA Governor's Schools for Excellence. I couldn't be at the rally in Harrisburg today, but my heart is there.

Studio to-do

I put off cleaning and organizing my studio as long as possible, but I was inspired by a few things--the Clutterbugs on Oprah, The book View from the Studio Door, and Spring. Maybe something else, but I can't think what it might be right now. Anyway, I knew I wanted to get my supplies--especially my painting and workshop supplies in order. Here is a view of two of the walls. I am thinking of turning my closet into a sewing nook, but that has yet to happen--and might not for a while. Sewing just isn't a priority--though I did recently spend a couple of hours in a sewing store, for fun. But, I am coming out of a rut and this do over has really made me feel good. To think--it only took me a day to accomplish and according to the odd paperwork I found in piles on the floors, I'd been putting this off for over 6 months. I reconfigured my filing system and even cleaned out my email in-box. I am feeling pretty slick right now and that almost anything is possible.

You'll notice a pillow on the floor under the desk, next to files--bed for my pug. He doesn't like it. He'd rather be in the way of my rolling chair where he has a view of the door--but I tried.

You'll also notice that I left out the embarrassing before pictures. I do have enough room to now lay down a yoga mat and do yoga if I so desire. Also, in the corner directly behind my desk chair is the painting station. That is still not optimal yet. I need better lighting, a corkboard, to remove the clock, and get my table set up the way I want it. At the moment, it is just an easel and the end of my sewing table and a few taped up pictures. Hopefully it will be coming soon.

I am thinking about making every Friday, a clean and organize day. Maybe. It sure felt like a good way to start the weekend.

Demise of PA Governor's Schools of Excellence

Economic hardship. Budget cuts. I understand that we need to make hard choices. Our state education system just cut the leaders of tomorrow out of the budget. Gone are the Pennsylvania Governor's Schools for Excellence: five-week, boarding summers schools for students of promise. (High school students need to apply, audition, interview etc. to be accepted into these prestigious programs.) It cost about $2.7 million to run the 8 programs that make up the schools: Agricultural Sciences (PGSAS), Arts (PGSA), Global Entrepreneurship (PGSGE), Health Care (PGSHC), Information, Society & Technology (PGSIST), International Studies (PGSIS), The Sciences (PGSS), and Teaching (PGST). Once again, mediocrity rules.

This is devastating to an educational climate that is already prejudiced against achievers. No Child Left Behind has been great in getting kids who are just shy of the middle line to raise their scores--so necessary for schools to keep their funding. This is where teachers and administrators and school boards are concentrating their efforts (often at the expense of arts programming--another of my gripes). But kids who naturally do well on the tests are getting the shaft. Why concentrate on helping those kids fulfill their potential when they can be left on autopilot and meet expectations held by the state? If I haven't be vocal on this issue, it is because I am busy supplementing my own kids' education by taking them to museums, watching documentaries, reading to them (yes I still read to my kids, ages 11 and 14) and getting them involved in extra-cirricular activites.

Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones and herself a past student at PGSA says it this way:
"How, in a nation that idolizes its infants and children, can we find it acceptable to abandon them on the cusp of making their dreams - dreams that will be greater and more important than our own - become realities?"

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial 'Scandal for Schools' says this in : Why cut great programs for the best students?' published on 2/7/08, "America needs super-achievers to scale the heights as much as it needs underachievers to meet firm standards. Nothing is more important to a nation lagging in science and math and seeking to stay internationally competitive than to encourage a culture of high achievement among its youth."

I am biased. I spent two summers at the Pennsylvania Governor's School of Arts: one as a student going into my senior year and one as an assistant instructor just graduated from college. It is not an understatement to say that this program changed my life. In many cultures, youth are sent out on a vision quest. PGSA was mine. I spent the summer with other kids who were at the top of their game in the arts and teachers who were dedicated to catching my attention while they had it. No sweating for grades. We were in this for the pure experience. In my summers at PGSA, I made jewelry, sculpted, learned improv, saw my first independent film, learned to draw in a new way, wrote poetry, learned to knit, learned sign language while teaching deaf students, read some great new authors, attended dance and theater performances, learned about art history, took leadership training, and learned photography skills. And here's the kicker--only about half of that was part of the curriculum. The other half happened as a result of hanging around other creative kids who were blooming in this environment.

A year after I went to PGSA as a student we had a reunion where two alumni were given awards for their leadership over the past year. What had they done to take the arts and the experience of the school back into their communities? The competition was steep because these kids were on fire. I didn't win. Didn't even come close, though I had done much upon my return including helping young kids write, produce, and create a puppet show. In an era of arts funding cuts, this kind of leadership is a real boon to the community. And the loss of it, is devastating.

I am personally going to be writing letters to my PA state congressmen (Mike Brubaker and Tom Creighton) in the hopes that this program is one of the first to be reinstated when our economy gets up and running again. We cannot afford to ignore our brightest scholars. My kids are entering 9th and 7th grades next year. My hope is that these schools are back in time for them to strive to earn the title Govie.