20151120 Happiness = New Words + New Melody

Happiness is listening to the radio on a long drive home after a satisfying day of work, with a beautiful, pink-clouded sunset filling the sky all around me.

Happiness is finding a program on the radio playing songs Stephen Sondheim said he wished he'd written. Among the selections was one I'd never heard before, a lump-in-the-throat-joyful-AHA-moment-feeling-at-the-end sort of song, written for a voice just like mine.

Happiness is coming home to discovering that I already have the sheet music for this song among the books on the shelves in my studio.

Happiness is setting a goal to learn to sing and play the song this week. I will sing it for others sometime soon, in the hope of giving them that same lump-in-the-throat-joyful-AHA-moment sort of feeling it gave to me :-)

New Words, new melody. This is happiness.

I'm not going to come right out and tell what the song is. Not yet. Though there is a big fat clue among the words you've just read.

And here is another big clue.

©Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Mehndi Heart in Hand: FREE DOWNLOAD Bookmarks

On 3/22/11, I decorated myself with mehndi designs (henna) as a way to mark an important rite of passage. I knew that by the time it faded I would be well on my way to better things.

Today, I celebrate the return of spring and a return to health after 4 months of difficulty, culminating in surgery and a brief hospitalization. (Nothing life threatening, just one of those things.) Most of all, with a deep sense of gratitude, I celebrate the broad circle of friendship that has made the Divine more tangible to me through many thoughtful acts of kindness. I'm convinced that the compassion that surrounded me during this time was the best medicine of all.

In celebration and as an expression of my gratitude, I decided to use this occasion to share my first FREE PDF DOWNLOADs. There are no strings attached except for your solemn promise, on the honor system, NOT use them for your own or anyone else's monetary gain.*

At the bottom of this post, you will find links to click to download or print the files and instructions to follow. You will need Adobe Acrobat or some other program for viewing PDFs. These will enable you to make the bookmarks shown above, another of similar design with a more secular theme, or both. Your choice!

They are arranged 5 per page for each design. I recommend printing on card stock or cover stock.

I've designed these bookmarks to be an affirmation that each of us can make a difference for good through our simple, personal acts of kindness.

I created these to send out as a "thank you" to the many friends who were there for me during my recovery. Some provided home cooked meals, others shared DVDs, several stopped by for a chat and helped out when my husband was unavoidably away for a couple of days just a week after my return home. These are equally my way of saying "thank you" to friends and family far away who sent messages of encouragement.

I have friends and family members from many different belief systems and a wide range of religious traditions: Christians of every denomination, Jews, hindus, Buddhists, unitarians, pagans, wiccans, mystics, humanists, atheists, agnostics, and Hare Krishnas. I have learned much from each one. All have in common a desire to make the world a better place through the use of their unique skills and talents. The power of love is their unifying belief.

That's why I chose to include two separate designs.

Yes, I attend a Christian church. That's the path of belief I've chosen for myself, the community I've joined for the work of building lasting relationships, for experiencing and wrestling with the Divine, and doing the work of Love that can't be done by one alone. Still, I don't believe that Truth can be contained in one book or one building.

The "Heart in Hand" Bookmark, the one on the right above with a spiral on the index finger, is the more secular of the two. Since many of my friends are active in the arts, I chose the following quote:

"In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

FREE DOWNLOAD: Heart in Hand Bookmark

The "God's Love Letter" Bookmark, the one on the left above with a cross on the index finger, was intended to have special meaning for my church friends. Its text reads:

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world" ~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

FREE DOWNLOAD: God's Love Letter Bookmark

INSTRUCTIONS

(also also included on each sheet)

1. Select a bookmark PDF, save and/or print it on card stock in your choice of color(s). I used beige. You may need to adjust your print settings for scale and centering. These images were set up for 8 1/2 x 11 inch with very narrow margins.
2. Using scissors, cut just inside the guidelines to make arm shaped bookmarks. Feel free to adjust the shape to your liking as you cut. Punch hole for attaching tassel at location marked.
3. Cut 10-12 inch lengths of ribbon, yarn, of raffia in your choice of color(s). Fold each in half and tie or loop through the punched hole to attach. Then, if you choose, separate the strands of yarn or fray the raffia to make a fuller tassel.
4. Sit down with a cup of tea and a good book! Or pencil personalized notes to friends on the back of each bookmark and give as gifts.

(c)Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

*These are copyrighted images. PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED to duplicate for personal use, to give as gifts, or to raise funds for non-profits supporting social justice and the environment. NOT to be sold for personal or commercial monetary gain. Contact Kay Pere for additional information.

POETRY: Autumn Sunrise

AUTUMN SUNRISE

As I in morning stillness stood

Face pressed against the window sash

To watch an endless feathered flock

Dark silhouettes with dart and dash

Flood across the opalescent sky

Dimly on the glass I saw

Inspired Mystery made plain

My breath inscribed a spectral heart

Upon the frigid windowpane

(c)2010 Kay Pere~Effusive Muse Publishing

[Photo taken at sunrise at Gove Hill Retreat Center, Thetford, VT.

Poem written this morning 10/30/2010 from life lived joyfully. I only wish I had taken a picture of the foggy heart that appeared on my window as I gazed out at birds and sunrise, breathing deeply of beauty.]

SONGWRITING: Awakened by the Muse

I was awakened by the Muse at 5:00 this morning (after getting to sleep past midnight last night.)

Grabbed bedside pencil and paper, diligently wrote down the stanzas in my head. But the Muse insisted I get up and go to the piano.

Now I'm online researching Greek mythology for lyric content at her request.  

Ignore her and she goes away to pout. Don't want that.

UPDATE: 20090615

This was one of those rare songs that essentially wrote itself. Two double verses plus a chorus (AAB AAB form), multiple layers of meaning, literary references, chords and melody, all came together within a very short time.

As soon as I'm able to play this song fluently enough, I'll post a rough recording and put up the lyrics.

I want to shorten the distance between song creation and proliferation, not worrying so much about having "radio ready" recordings before letting songs leave the nest for the first time. Trying to short circuit perfectionism and keep it real. I want to open a window into the process as it happens.

Heed the the Muse!

ECO ACTION: 2nd Farm Share & More Tag Saling

I'm a big fan of abundance on a shoestring.

Another armload of gorgeous vegetables today from Studio Farm.

I didn't make it to the farmers market to pick them up.  I thought the market was 10-1 today as it had been during the winter.  Spring and summer hours are actually 9-Noon.  Also, I'd stopped at every tag sale along the way between home and the market.  When I arrived the park was empty.

So, I arranged to go out to the Stonyledge Farm this afternoon to pick them up instead.  I was greeted by several happy free-range chickens as I got out of the car.  Belinda and Ed were very accommodating.

This week's CSA half-share included (photo above, clockwise from top left): a very large head of tatsoi, a generous helping of mustard greens, 2 heads of kale (I think), chard, 3 small heads of loose-leaf lettuce (red and green), spinach, a bunch of fragrant mint, chives, mixed greens with flowers, half-dozen very large eggs, and several long rhubarb stalks.

And the fate of last week's veggies was as follows:

• Tatsoi stir fry with garlic scapes, onions, sesame oil, brown basmati rice, scrambled egg, and 5 chinese seasoning.
• Eggs: used 2 in stir fry, 2 in tapioca pudding, and 2 hard boiled.  They turned the tapioca pudding a wonderful shade of yellow that just can't be matched by grocery store eggs.
• Spinach, kale (or was that mustard greens?), and broccoli rabe all steamed and eaten.
• Lettuce used for several salads, shredded for black bean burritos, and in sandwiches

All delicious!

As of this morning, I only had a little lettuce, a few garlic scapes, the 2 hard boiled eggs, and some rhubarb remaining.  Because it was so fresh when brought home last Saturday the lettuce is none the worse for a spending a week in the refrigerator.  Much, much better than store bought.  The remaining lettuce and eggs will become a salad for dinner this evening, with rhubarb crisp for dessert.

In spite of the doubts I expressed last Saturday we ate our way through the vegetables quite easily. If I hadn't gotten involved in a project, lost track of time, and ended up skipping lunch a couple of times this week we would have completely emptied the vegetable drawer in time for today's pick up.

One of the reasons I signed up for this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share was to learn.

I wanted to learn about new foods, new ways of cooking familiar foods, new insights for my own garden, and to experience the feeling of enjoying an abundance of fresh healthy food on a regular basis.

I wouldn't have chosen to put all these greens in my grocery cart if I'd been buying them at the super market, but I've learned that what looked like a lot of fresh spinach and kale turned out to be just enough to accompany several meals when steamed.

Just right, not too much.

Tatsoi stir fry was also a first for me and it turned out great.  I wouldn't have taken a chance on this at the grocery store, not knowing in advance what it would taste like or how to cook it.  At the farmer's market, though, Dot Wingate gave me simple verbal instructions for cooking it when I picked up my share.  It couldn't have been easier or tastier.

I figure that nature has a wisdom of its own.  The abundance of fresh greens available in spring is probably just what our bodies need to restore themselves at the end of winter and get ready for summer's active season.  These greens were loaded with flavor and probably lots of good healthy stuff never find on a food label.

I know that I can't remember ever feeling healthier.  Looking forward to more.

__________________________________________________

Here are this weekend's fabulous tag sale finds (photo above, clockwise from top left):

For a GRAND TOTAL of $27

• 3 variagated solomon's seal plants
• 7 antique hand-painted china dessert plates, signed by a (locally) well-known local artist
• 8 Books: "Lectures and Biographical Sketches" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Complete Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier," "Little Songs of Long Ago", "Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain," "A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative" by Roger von Oech, "Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook" (to give), "The Food-Lover's Garden," "Neal's Yard Natural Remedies"
• A small, 1 page-per-day diary for writing down little daily happy things
• 2 pocket charts (teaching tools)
• Kitchen Stuff: a pastry knife, a blue-green resealable glass jar, a garlic press (actually I'll use this for extruding clay, not garlic), a cookie press, AND a sturdy 10 inch cast-iron skillet--I'd been looking for one for a long time (favorite find of the day).
• Misc: 1 new package of binder tabs, 2 new plastic pocket folders, an awl, a very basic digital camera with cable and software (tested and works on PC), two pair small sharp scissors (I keep losing my nail scissor, not good for one who plays piano and works with clay), an artist's paintbrush, a small hot plate, two colorful coin purses, a set of magnetic words (for songwriting play), and 9 new tennis balls (to turn into teaching toys).

Here's close-up of the hand-painted china plates.

Do I really need any of this?  Probably not.  Is it truly frugal to buy things I don't need?  Again, no.

On the other hand, these things will be used and enjoyed.  No additional resources were consumed to make them.  Each piece has a story and a connection to others.  I'm giving a good home to things that others no longer wanted, like bringing home abandoned puppies.

And I had a good time in the process.  I like the experiencing of happening upon things unexpectedly.  I like the feeling of discovery.

Now, I probably need to go through our house and liberate a few of my unused possessions so they can move on to homes where they'll be appreciated.

RECIPE: Apple Crisp

If you're worried about the health effects of butter and sugar, then this isn't the recipe for you.  Personally, I consider them to be essential parts of a well balanced diet.

The apples that provided the impetus to creating this recipe were the last of our locally grown apples from the farmers market, kept in storage in their basement since last fall.  Not great for fresh eating, but perfect for baking.

Another Kay's Kreative Kitchen original.*

FOR THE FILLING:

• 6 c apples**, cored and sliced with skin on (variety of your choosing)
• 1/2 c sugar (I used 1 cup per another recipe and it seemed a bit too sweet)
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Wisk together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Toss with apples to coat and pour into a 2-quart glass baking dish. [I used my "new" 10-inch round pyrex pie plate ] Sprinkle lemon juice over apple mixture.

Optional: sprinkle mini-chocolate chips over the apples in the dish.

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 1 cup all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
• 3/4 c quick or old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 c (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

In the same large bowl used above, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.  Mix with hands until coarse crumbs form.  Spread over apple filling in baking dish.

If you anticipate that the crisp may bubble over while baking, place the baking dish in the middle of a large cookie sheet before placing in the oven.  Bake about 40 minutes at 400F, rack in middle position, until filling bubbly and topping is golden brown.  Allow to cool slightly before eating.

*Ingredients and methods were re-combined from recipes found in: "The Lily Wallace New American Cook Book", 1943; "Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book", 1962; "Good Housekeeping: 100 Best Dessert Recipes", 2004.  The addition of chocolate chips and lemon juice were entirely my own idea.

(c)2009 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

RECIPE: No-Knead Honey Oatmeal Batter Bread

Just out of the oven.  Another original recipe from Kay's Kreative Kitchen. 

This bread requires no kneading and can be made without getting out the mixer.  Makes a sweet, moist, chewy flavorful loaf.  For a crunchier crust, mist the oven with water just before putting bread in to bake.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 pkgs Active Dry Yeast (equals 4 1/2 tsp)
• 5 cups All-Purpose Flour, divided (I use unbleached all-purpose flour)
• 1 cup Apple Juice*
• 1 1/2 cups Water*
• 1 cup Quick Cooking Oats, Uncooked
• 1/2 cup Honey**
• 1 Tbs Butter (plus additional to grease pans)
• 2 Tbs Sesame Seeds (optional)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together salt, yeast and 2 cups flour.
2. In 2-quart saucepan with spoon mix water, apple juice, oats, butter and honey over low heat.  Heat until very warm (120-130F)
3. Gradually add liquid mixture into dry ingredients and whisk together until blended.  Whisk an additional 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.  (This can be done by hand or using an electric mixer)  Beat in an additional 1/2 cup of flour to make a thick batter; continue beating 2 minutes.  Stir in about 2 1/2 cups additional flour, enough to make a stiff, sticky dough that leaves the side of the bowl.
4. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place (85-95F) about 1 hour, until doubled.
5. Stir down dough; divide in two and turn out into 2 greased 5x9 inch rectangular bread pans.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).  Let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes, until doubled.
6. Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake 40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from pans immediately to cool on a wire rack.

* May use 2 1/2 cups of water in place of water and apple juice for a bread that's slightly less sweet.

** May use either honey, maple syrup or molasses to sweeten.

(c)2009 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Sharpie Luggage

2 hours to wait in an airport + 1 silver sharpie marker + 1 cheap carry on bag = TADA!  Art on Wheels

Would have done more but the sharpie was already mostly used up and ran out of ink.  Will pack a fresh one for next time.

As it was, I so focused on what I was doing that I nearly missed the boarding call for my plane.

While I worked (played), the public address system intoned repeatedly:

"Attention airline passengers.  Increased security measures require that all passengers maintain close personal contact with their items at all times.  Unattended items will be promptly removed by law enforcement personnel.  Additionally, report all suspicious items or activities immediately to airport personnel.  Your safety is our priority."

Close personal contact with my items?  Hmmm.  

Though I certainly was attentive to my carry-on bag, did this qualify as a suspicious activity?  

Got some funny looks as I sat on the floor scribbling on my bag, but no one reported me.

(c)2009 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

Turntable Turns the Tables on Time

I've just returned from a trip to California for a family visit and work on a special project.

I dug into the stacks of old 45s, 78s and LPs we listened to as kids.

Took my ION portable USB turntable and converted childhood memories into digital audio files (wav and m4a), complete with all the nostalgic crackle, pop and hiss.  We played those records by the hour, way back when.

The turntable is durable and lightweight, fit easily into my carry-on bag, raised no eyebrows passing through airport security, and was easy to set-up when I arrived.

When I got back, I found an amazing website that has dozens of Kiddie Records and their associated artwork (jackets, books, etc.) from the mid 1940's through early 1950's available for free download.

[I should make it clear that I wasn't around to hear these records when they were new.  They belonged first to my older brothers, my parents and grandparents--already scratched and well loved by the time I came along.]

What does all this have to do with the creative process or living a more contented life?

It's all about reclaiming the vividness of happy childhood memories.

Creative art making is dependent upon the ability to tap into childlike playfulness and curiosity at will.  What better way to access this mindset than to revisit joyful times from ones distant personal past?

For me, the pull of these old recordings was irresistible.  As I played them I found myself wearing an unsuppressible smile.  I finally had to get up and gave in to the urge to dance around.

For me, living a contented life is all about enjoying what is.  Happy memories from my childhood are things that will always be mine to enjoy.   They cost nothing and offer a guaranteed high.  

They also have the added benefit of helping to free my creative work in the present.

When I revisit the things I enjoyed as a 5-year-old it becomes impossible for me to take myself or anything else too seriously.  This sort of time travel enables me to approach my art with the  spontaneity and fearlessness I felt back then.  I can transport those feelings into the here-an-now on the scratchy strains from an old 45.

Now if you'll, please, excuse me.  I'm going to go listen again to my favorite well-worn recording of "I'm a Little Teapot," then the "Hukilau" song,  followed Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians playing "Stumbling" (link to an original piano roll MIDI file).

(c)2009 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

QUOTES: "Miracles" from "Leaves of Grass"

WHAT shall I give? and which are my miracles?

Realism is mine—my miracles—Take freely,
Take without end—I offer them to you wherever your
feet can carry you, or your eyes reach.

Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the
sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the
edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love—or sleep in the
bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at the table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a sum-
mer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds—or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down—or of stars
shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new-moon
in spring;

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread
with the same,
Every cubic foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass—the frames, limbs, organs, of
men and women, and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

~ Walt Whitman, from Leaves of Grass, 1867 edition

[excerpted, read the poem in its entirety HERE]

STUDIO WINDOW: other things to think about #1

Because life is not all gloom and doom, not all health concerns and financial contraction. ..

I'm going to make an effort to post quick snippets about happy everyday things, as an antidote.

#1 OUTSIDE MY STUDIO WINDOW

There is a dogwood tree right outside my studio window who keeps me company as the seasons change. In the past few weeks it has lost all its vermilion leaves. A fine filigree of branches remains, outlined against the sky.

All day squirrels use its branches as a highway from one tree to the next. Fat grey clowns in flannel suits, they carrying nuts too big for their mouths to hold, performing acrobatic feats as they hurrying past on their way to some secret cache.

Occasionally one will catch sight of me watching through the window and freeze in place, as if hoping to become instantly invisible. This is usually followed by loud, menacing chirping sounds and wild waving of a long fluffy tail. The cat may be intimidated by such antics--I just smile.

My studio window faces west, with my computer monitor on a desk in front of it. This morning, over the top if my screen, I watched the last quarter moon on her way toward the horizon. This evening, if I'm lucky, I'll catch sight of a brilliant sunset sky behind the silhouette of my companion dogwood tree's branches.

These are my simple joys today.

:-), Kay

QUOTES: "To say that she had a book..."

"To say that she had a book is to say that her solitude did not press upon her; for her love of knowledge had a fertilising quality and her imagination was strong."

~ Henry James, "The Portrait of a Lady", Chapter III (1881)

BOOKS: Library Sale

I love books.  Especially good used books that can be had for next to nothing.

This was the week of the annual book sale at our local library.  For far less than one might spend on a single, new, hard-cover book, I brought home 17 barely-used, new-to-me books:

COOKBOOKS

• No Salt, No Sugar, No Fat Cookbook, by Jacqueline Williams and Goldie Silverman
  
• Plain & Happy Living: Amish Recipes & Remedies, by Emma Byler
• Better Homes and Gardens Complete Book of Baking
• Herbs are Good Companions: To Vegetable - In the Garden, To Cooks in the Kitchen.  by Adelma Grenier Simmons (founder of Caprilands Herb Farm, Coventry, CT)
• The Pasta Machine Cookbook, by Donna Rathmell German
• The New Book of Favorite Breads from Rose Lane Farm, by Ada Lou Roberts
• Perfect Pasta: 100 Suppers in a Flash.  Rodale Press
• The Complete Guide to Claypot Cooking, by Bridget Jones [seriously!]

GARDEN AND HERB LORE

• The Complete Book of the Greenhouse, by Ian G. Walls
• Crockett's Victory Garden, by James Underwood Crockett
• Dandelion, Pokeweed, and Goosefoot: How the early settlers used plants for food, medicine, and in the home. by Elizabeth Schaeffer
• The Healing Herbs: The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of Nature's Medicines, by Michael Castleman

OTHER

• Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman's Sourcebook, by Paula Gunn Allen
• Field Guide to Gestures: How to Identify and Interpret Virtually Every Gesture Known to Man, by Nancy Armstong and Melissa Wagner
• Blow a Bubble Not a Gasket: 101 Ways to Reduce Stress and Add FUN to Your Life, by Janie Walters [The book actually smells like bubble gum!]
• Cat Massage: A Whiskers-to-Tail Guide to Your Cat's Ultimate Petting Experience, by Maryjean Ballner
• The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit, by Don Campbell

ADDITIONAL READING

Also, last Saturday at our great big yard sale, I rescued a copy of "The Wind in the Willows,"by Kenneth Graham, from one of the boxes of kids books we had for sale.  I'd never read it as a child, so I started on it while sitting in the shade during lulls in business that day.  Just finished it yesterday afternoon.

I was surprised by the  poetry of the prose and the sophistication of the vocabulary used in a book intended for children.  It was first published in 1908.  It's heartening to think of the respect given to the intellect of children in a book such as this, discouraging when compare with the mindless entertainment provided for children by today's media.

Today I just returned borrowed library copies of "Northanger Abbey"* and "Persuasion"* by Jane Austin.  I'm in the process of reading through her works, for the first time, this spring and summer.  Read "Emma"* a few weeks ago.  Have checked out "Mansfield Park"* to begin this week.

[*Skip over plot summaries in these links if you don't want to spoil reading the novels for yourself.]

Though Jane Austin's books were written nearly 200 years ago, the characters described within their pages demonstrate that human nature has changed little over the last two centuries, if at all.

In this light, I'm able to view my own encounters with difficult characters less as a matter of personal bad luck and more as the inevitable result of living and interacting with others.

(c)2008 Kay Pere ~ Effusive Muse Publishing

GAIA LUNA: Demure Dogwood

When rain drops grow heavy, the kousa dogwood tree outside our front door bows low in greeting, just as its Japanese ancestors might.

  

Delicate geishas with powdered faces nod politely while I balance on our top step, screen door behind me held open with right elbow and hip.

I am the awkward tourist, camera in hand.

They giggle demurely behind leafy fans.

(c)2008 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing

GAIA LUNA: Strawberries-First Harvest

Today the strawberry harvest began.  I picked them as the sun was coming up, just enough fresh berries for this morning's breakfast cereal.  A precious taste of spring sunshine.

There have been home-grown berries for breakfast almost every day since last June.

First, at the beginning of June '07, there were the fresh strawberries from the 9-foot circular bed at the center of Gaia Luna, planted the year before.

Then the blueberry harvest followed--enough gathered fresh each day to last through September of last year, enough frozen to last until just this week, all from just three bushes.

Another season of little miracles begins today with this handful of beautiful strawberries.

BOOKS: Slow and Messy

Recent reading has included topics often pointed to as character flaws in our hurry-up and get organized culture--slowness and messiness. 

While I'm sometimes criticized for moving too slowly and being habitually untidy, I find these characteristics to be essential for my creativity and enjoyment of life.

I need time to think and an abundance of materials around me in order to do any original work. Without the freedom to savor life at an unhurried pace the joy goes out of it.  I'm willing to live frugally with both time and money, foregoing things like TV and many consumer goods, to maintain the balance that suits me.

Apparently there are many others who feel the same way.  "In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed" by Carl Honore explores the Slow Movement as expressed through the food we eat, the ways we choose work and live, and the ways we relate to one another.  

I highly recommend it.

I've just begun to read "A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder," by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman.

Already I'm feeling better about the messy though functional piles that surround me here in my studio.

This book asserts that the hidden costs of organization can, in many circumstances, out weigh the benefits.  It challenges the culturally held assumption that messiness is always detrimental to productivity, offering examples and research in support of the opposite view.

Three chapters into this book, I'm excited to see where it is going. I've begun to breath easier after releasing a huge load of guilt over my perpetually untidy surroundings.

Even my reading habits don't flow in an orderly manner.  I'm not a one-book-at-a-time kind of reader.  I wouldn't want it any other way

At any given moment I'm in the midst of reading dozens of books, fiction and nonfiction, on a wide range of topics, spanning various historical periods.  Ideas bump up against each other in the slow turning of pages.  They linger together and form new relationships.

Given the choice, I'll let the value of original thought and enjoyment of simple pleasures trump swift and orderly completion, every time.

BTW - On the frugal front, I unsuccessfully attempted to find these books through the public library before resorting to used copies through Amazon.com.  Ownership does allow the luxury of making marks and taking my time.