Out with the Old & In with the New… 2012

December 31, 2011 in Creativity, Personal | Tags: , , , , | 2 comments

It’s the last day of 2011, and here we venture into a “new” year where we renew our cheque writing habits and scratch out the 1, and replace it with a 2, and initial the error. But, that’s just a technicality.

Really, the New Year always seems to have a refreshing sense of renewal, a clean slate, a second chance, a new step, new energy and resolve, a dusting off, a shedding of old, and a new determination of marching forward. I love the sensation, yet, the realist in me says “it’s just another day”, and nothing has changed. Thank goodness, the spiritual side of me chooses to embrace the illusion of newness, and pulls up the new clean agenda with hope.

New Year’s resolutions can become a dangerous concoction of expectations, unattainable aspirations resulting in disappointments, so I step around the ritual with caution. One of the people I have “met” online, and follow is entrepreneurial mentor Chris Brogan. He offers us a suggestion to replace the over zealous resolutions by choosing three words for your 2012 guiding track. You have to dig deep inside and figure out what words resonate with how you would like to drive your year. I like this.

So… in the spirit of Chris, I would like to write three words that represent for me my departing year, and also my arriving year.

The main energy for 2011, for me, involved family, and some new steps towards my business. I learned that there will always be difficult challenges in life, and the other challenge is to balance it all, without guilt, with laughter and pleasure.

2011: Showing up, leading, cocooning

2012: Embark, Focus, Manage

Happy New Year to you all. I sincerely wish for you a road of good life, with good lessons, and laughter. And, if you would like to share three words with me, here, I would be honoured.

Cheers!! :)

Our inspiring neighbourhood... Happy New Year

Which Christmas category is yours?

December 23, 2011 in Personal | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 comment

Blogging at Christmas

Nostalgia:

Moping, being artistically depressed, and longing with unrealistic tendencies for a past that probably had it’s problems, too, but in hindsight were cozy, Kinkadishly perfect. Now you altruistically give to strangers, whilst pining for the “old days”, which means when you were a kid. *cough, cough* … Or, you just miss certain people…

Bah Humbug:

Humbugs are a British candy – not particularly exciting, brown striped (boring), and well, I think, kind of “bah”… or was that “BLAH”? Do I need to say more? Bitter…. (As an old term, Humbug also means “hoax or gest”.)

Woohoo It’s Christmas!:

Consumerism raises it’s excited head; you rush about hysterically (in the good manic way) playing beat the Christmas clock (with Christmas tunes), getting cards sent off, presents in the mail, the perfect food planned & cooked. You try to visit everyone you have ever known in one or two weeks, you consume tons of wine in a justified manner (it IS, after all, Christmas!). And, on Christmas Day or Eve you jump around in silly glee for all the goodies you get to open and share, maybe.

So.. this time of year for you? Under which category do you fall?

Moi?

I bounce around all three. I know, it’s a wishy-washy answer but I do tend to relate to Charlie Brown. Staring at the Christmasy animated screen saver at my chiropractor’s for the last few visits made me nostalgic for my old country home, and the warm lights in the snow. Then I spotted a glitch. No-one in this ideal community with it’s frozen pond skating rink in the center were actually walking together. The little computer generated people were programmed to avoid togetherness, and stroll solo. Not terribly cozy!

Whew… I felt much better, and returned to bah humbugness (it’s easier, right?). That was a close call. But, then I heard Bing Crosby singing in the background and nostalgia caught me again. ARG…

Christmas was my small family’s favourite time of year. Everyone was pretty relaxed, mostly, and we made a lot of our gifts. Creativity was bubbling, and mysterious. Dad insisted on singing his favourite Frank Sinatra songs. And, we lived in the country or in early days, a little town of Banff. It was picture perfect and we had fun.

Times have changed, obviously, so now the challenge is to accept Christmas as a different celebration, and to enjoy it with a new perspective. Not always easy but, possible.

I wish for all of you a peaceful, warm, friend and family filled time. And, if you don’t have that, I wish for you, peace within. Even if you are in the Bah Humbug category, buy yourself a special coffee and, go ahead, smile and wish someone well. You might be surprised how it warms your heart!

Nature clearing the way for the Muse…

November 13, 2011 in Inspiration, Personal | Tags: , , , , | 2 comments

Kaleden in the Okanagan

Since our film editor friends moved to the Okanagan to become vineyard masters, I have dreamed of picking grapes for them. (My first job as a youngster, outside the family business, was picking strawberries. Gathering food from the earth seems to be something in my blood.) Plus, there seemed to be a bit more stress floating around, and my instincts plucked at my sleeve to get back to doctor nature.

Picking merlot grapes (and the bucket became a container!)

 

My dream came true last weekend. A perfect sunny, dry weekend in the Okanagan draped itself out for us to dive under grape leaves and discover the bulbous clusters of merlot grapes.

Abundant merlot grapes!

I was in heaven, and Peter seemed pretty happy, too. Between the four of us, we picked over a 1000 lbs of grapes before the light faded to dusk. Ahhh… good healthy tangible work.

While I was picking I never thought of anything else. Nothing. Just me and the grapes. The best meditation ever!

Peter happily picking grapes!

But, that wasn’t the end.

Nope… We were taken on a journey that would usher us into the late night of wine making.

However, we did have the odd break for wine tasting,  cheese savouring, and other food making, bien sur!

The steps to wine making were new to me, so everything was an adventure. A focussed healthy physical experience.

Loading up some of our buckets of grapes

Once all our grapes were in the building, we loaded them in the bins, passing them through a crusher. This is to help separate the grapes from their stocks. The merlots were  a bit stubborn so we had some grape handling to do as well! (no feet)

Crushing the grapes, catching most of the stocks

Once all squished into the bin we had to leave the grapes sit for awhile.

Wine consuming, I mean tasting, time!

Later in the evening, we had to decide whether to wait until morning to siphon off the juice for a rosé, or seize the moment before bed.

After testing the colour a few times, we concluded everyone had to get off the couch and head out for the “pressing”.

Which we did. And, it was the right decision.

Squished grapes into the press (see the juice!)

Pressing! Those grapes make you work!

The remaining crushed grape "cake"

After 2 pressings- our final result.. varied rosé

The juice we siphoned off will sit for 6 months before being bottled next April.

After this enriching weekend, we will never look at a grape again in the same way.

The following days, once returned to the city were calmer. And, I was clearer and able to listen to a very important bit of advice that came to me in my solitude. The muse could finally confer with me without any interference. I reevaluated a situation and made a wise decision.

Thank you to our friends for the opportunity to meditate with the grapes. (And, make some wine!)

 

 

I remember Lucille Ball had a little bit different experience with her grape crushing time in Italy! Not so meditative!

Halloween Memories….

October 30, 2011 in Acting, Creativity | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Little witchy Trilby!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

As a little girl, I LOVED Halloween! It was my favourite time of year. I guess that’s why I ended up in the performance arts. Dressing up, being something else, make believe, PLAYING…. all such fun things to do as a kid.

As an adult, we tend to let go of our playful tendencies as the worries of the quotidian life creep in and take over. But, this doesn’t serve us well.

Playing is just as important, and relevant, no matter what that inner voice tells you – (“you look silly”, “this isn’t serious enough”, “playing is for kids only”)!

I would love to hear about your great Halloween memories, what were some of your costumes, and adventures?

Even if you are not going to dress up this year, how can you find a way to celebrate the kid in you?

 

Poetry Saturday? Or Sunday?

October 23, 2011 in Creativity, Personal | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

I think we decided on twitter that it would be Saturday… but that was just yesterday.

So.

Here I am with a wee poem from last summer.

Air

Little sparrow

Gasping for air

Canary saying

Don’t go in there

Yellow dash

Yellow pile

Sparrow tips toes

Backward

Wings not yet

Clipped.

Yellow bird on our PEI land

Yellow bird on our PEI land

 

Summer 2011 poem…

October 7, 2011 in Creativity, Personal | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

This summer I was helping my parents make a significant change in their life. It was a very challenging time. To cope, I showed up at my journal nightly, wrote an entry and a poem. Not all were works of art, but as I briefly speak about on my website, I showed up. And, it was good for me.

In a bold move, here is one:

Dandilion

Dandelion

Murky tear

Dandelion
Staying staunch
Wind pressing
Shaking her
legs
Fuzzy head
Barely intact
Big whoosh
Seeds part
Doing what
They’re supposed to
Bare stem
Bleeds a
White speck
of juice.
A murky tear.

Jam… As My Therapy… yes, Jam…

September 15, 2011 in Inspiration, Personal | Tags: , , , , | 7 comments

The summer has passed without a wee blog post or two from me. I have a good excuse.

It was one of those periods in life where you suffer, you grow, you pull your hair out, you cry, you pretend you’re a stand-up comic to get through moments, you rise to the challenges, you defend, you protect, you want to kill, you pack, you lug, you accept angelic help, you write (journal), you question, you are a hero, you are blamed, you are loved, you create, you be-friend, you pretend, you don’t sleep much, and….. somehow, you survive.

Now that I’m back in our humble abode, in Vancouver, I look for ways to return to me. To my life.  I find I long to get rid of stuff, move us into a bigger apartment, and change my old habits. It’s a positive thing.

One very comforting activity came back to me in a reminding gift from my friend, Paula: a welcome home card with encouraging words, and a little jar of yummy homemade apricot jam.

Jam.

Oh yeah. I remember. I like making jam. I love picking fruit, and turning it into something.

So, that’s what I did.

Proud of our berries

Proud of our berries

I was fortunate to be able to catch the last of the apricots (thank you for being a delayed summer), and also gather blackberries in my neighbourhood with my friend. (free fruit is even better!) And, I “holed up” in my tiny kitchen, and happily got into jam making. Ahhh… bubble, bubble, toil, and NO trouble….

A tweet from Angela (@Tyranngosaurus) wanting to know my recipe prompted this post. So bear with me as I reveal my easy Blackberry and Apple Jam recipe  for her.

Blackberries from my 'hood

Blackberries from my 'hood

4 large apples (800g), 800g of blackberries (you could use your Saskatoon berries, Angela), 1/2 cup water, 4 cups of sugar (approx.)

Apples are a great natural pectin

Apples are a great natural pectin

Peel, core, and finely chop apples. Combine apples, berries, & water in large saucepan.

Bring to boil, simmer, covered for about 30 minutes or until fruit is soft. Measure fruit mixture, allow 3/4 cup sugar to each cup of fruit mixture (I actually cut down on the sugar and it turns out fine… hate using too much of that white stuff!).

Using a little less sugar

Using a little less sugar

Return fruit mixture & sugar to pan, stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil, boil uncovered, without stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until jam jells when tested. Pour into hot sterilised jars; seal when cold. (I seal when hot and listen for the *pinging* of the lids closing down as they cool.) Makes about 6 cups.

Trying not to spill!

Trying not to spill!


Some Trilby tips (I’m not really an expert): get softish apples so they melt away with the berries. Apples are really good as a natural pectin so you don’t need to add any fake pectin. And, don’t be nervous about playing with the measurements, especially the sugar. It always seems to work out for me. And, if your jam is a bit liquid, don’t worry, it’s great on yogurt & ice cream!! That’s our specialty, even with firm jam!

Funny how a simple  “back to basics” action can calm the soul. I wonder why? It doesn’t really matter, does it? We now have some good treats for our winter blues, and some special gifts for those valued people in your life.

What do you do to get back to yourself?

Jam therapy

Jam therapy

Permission for sombre in the social media world?

May 5, 2011 in Personal | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

I had a thought. A question. Something I was wondering about. And, wondering if you ponder it as well.

Do you feel that with all the opportunities to express, share, and be present with social media platforms, blogs etc, that you have to or should be positive all the time? Do you sense there is no room for some difficult or more sombre truths of your life? Do you think it’s bad business to share harder moments, or challenging “I hate these times” moments?

"Dali in the Alley" by Chara Berk Photography

Sometimes I feel that way.

I post a gratitude list at the end of every day, finding it a good way to appreciate the positive aspects of my life, regardless of the type of day I’ve had. It’s a good way to go to sleep. My ritual (inspired by a friend) has helped me especially when I slip into examining what is NOT working. (guess we all do)

But, sometimes I wonder if gives a false impression. Your life appears successful with very few bumps in your social media streams. Then… does that affect your readers’ viewpoint of their life? “Wish my life was as interesting as hers” …kind of the same idea of comparing your life to a movie where they avoid all the quotidian because, well, it’s just not interesting in a film.

A tad philosophical  I know but.. I’m curious. Do you allow yourself to share some of those tougher moments? And, if you do, what kind of feedback do you receive? And, how do you feel if you do reveal these darker occasions?

I remember hinting on twitter I was having a tough moment one time. A friendly, compassionate connection “direct messaged” me to see if I was okay. We ended up having a private message exchange and I have to say… it was a cathartic and helpful.

Perhaps witnessing a vulnerable moment via social media can help us, as readers. It might give us an opportunity to give some warmth, and also know we are not alone. A good thing, yes?

I guess we can assume that life being what it is, everyone is surely having  “moments”, but keeping it private. (most of the time)

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Passion at its youthful best….

April 30, 2011 in Inspiration | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

When I was a kid, I remember lining up my teddy bears (a very motley crew that I loved very much) on the couch, putting on a “record”, and getting my conducting stick out. The songs were simple Christmas tunes with choral singing. Away I went!

I never got quite as passionate as in the following video, but I don’t think I really wanted to be a conductor as much as the 3 year old boy’s talent reveals. His joyful actions are such a testament to true passion. I love watching his unbridled enthusiasm, right up to the end!

In case you ever need to inflame your passion, or an energetic shot in the arm, watch this! Rediscover the 3 year old in you and fall off your chair with energy!

Negative feedback? … Just keep going…

April 29, 2011 in Creativity, Inspiration | Tags: , , , , | 2 comments

My Dad once said, “Don’t take no for an answer.” My Mom was equally bold in her advice. It was good.

When I decided to audition for “Le Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique”, one of my French teachers rolled her eyes, and exclaimed (en Francais) that she knew French people who had tried to get in and didn’t make it. Certainly an “anglophone” had NO chance. I decided to not go near her during my preparation time, avoiding her black cloud energy. It was tough enough without her input!

So… you can imagine the delight I had when I announced to her that this “anglophone” had made it through two auditions and 2 days of observation, and was accepted. She was as they say in Quebec “bouche bée”… mouth agape!

The following post by Geoff Talbot reminds us of famous people and their (wrong) naysayers. A reminder to take opinions with a grain of salt.

Do you have a similar situation to share?

…Famous Wrong Predictions…

In the world of art & entrepreneurship be encouraged… when it comes to innovation no one really knows  anything…

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.”  Opponents to Edwin L Drakes plan to drill for oil in 1849.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles in 1962.

Read the rest at Seven Sentences by Geoff Talbot…

Social Media

Follow tjbuffoonery on Twitter

Twitter Updates

 

January 2012
M T W T F S S
« Dec    
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.