A New Project

I am officially on break now!  What a great feeling.  Though the spring semester was awesome in many ways, it had some challenges and by the time it was over, I was exhausted both physically and mentally.  I have three weeks to rest before summer school begins.

Some of you have asked about the writing deadline that I mentioned in my last post.  I was writing a short magazine article about what it is like to be a visually impaired photographer.  In the course of writing that article, I realized that I am not spending as much time with my camera as I once did and as I wish I did now.  Because I am a person who needs strict discipline to accomplish anything, I have created a new project for myself, a photography project.  My goal is to take pictures every day for the next hundred days and post one each day.  Beginning today, this will take until August 22.  I am calling this endeavor "Visual Cents."

Other than to take and post the pictures, I have set no other parameters for myself.  I don't guarantee that each day's photos will be good pictures, but I will try to make sure that they each have some redeeming quality.  Some days they may be artful photos.  Other days they may be recollection, or silly, or just about anything else.  I am trying to be open to the possibilities of the process.

This project is not intended to replace my regular blog posts.  I still plan to write and include photos when  appropriate.   I thought about creating a new blog just for these photographs but since they will be part of my day throughout the summer and my title here is "All In A Day" it seemed unnecessary.  I don't plan to write anything to accompany the photos.  Photography is the art of communicating through pictures.  I am going to let each image say what it has to say.

I would be grateful for any comments along the way.

We'll see what happens.

What Mom Really Wants

For the past couple of weeks the newspaper, TV, radio, and every business who has my email address has been telling me what mom really wants for Mother's Day.

According to Amazon mom wants a Kindle.
According to Barnes and Noble she wants a Nook.
According to Apple she wants the New iPad.
According to Ross she wants a blouse and a purse.
According to Kroger and FTD she wants flowers.
According to Victoria's Secret she wants lingerie.
According to Staples she wants printer cartridges.
According to Macy's she wants a mixer, waffle iron and electric skillet.
And according to the restaurant industry mom wants to spend the day eating her way across town.

I wonder if anyone asked mom what she wanted.  Sure, maybe a Kindle or a Nook would be nice.  I personally prefer the iPad.  A blouse means more laundry.  I don't think it is mom who really wants the lingerie.  (Nice try, dads!)  Printer cartridges??  For real??  And why does mom need all of the kitchen appliances if she is going to eat her way across town?  Oh yeah, so she can cook the other 364 days, or 365 as is the case this year.

Though many of these things might be nice to have, I'll tell you what mom really wants.  Mom wants to know that she's appreciated.  Mom wants to know that all those times that she put others before herself did not go unnoticed.  Mom wants not to be taken for granted.  Mom wants to know that she is loved.

If you are wondering, this mom was not disappointed.

Weber and I were out of town this weekend - having nothing to do with eating our way across town or sexy lingerie.  Erin stayed at our house and took care of the dogs and cat.  That is a huge help to us and the dogs were much happier at home with her rather than at the kennel.  She also left us dinner for tonight in the fridge.  That was much appreciated as I am up against a writing deadline and didn't have time to cook when we got home.

I greatly appreciate all of these things, but she gave me the best Mother's Day gift a week or so ago when she sent me this video link with a message that said, "This reminds me of you."

It's nice to know that I have made it past the middle of the night feedings, the terrible twos, chicken pox, book reports and science fair projects, puberty, proms, 472 sports games a week, and everything in between and my kids are still speaking to me.  Being their mom is the best job ever!

Thanks for making me a happy mom.  I love you.

April's Five Fabulous Finds

RENTTHERUNWAY

Anyone who knows me knows that fashion is not my deal.  A comfy pair of jeans and an over-sized shirt are my idea of personal style.  So why did I include this, a website where one goes to rent designer dresses, as one of my Five Fabulous Finds this month?  Sometimes it is fun to venture into foreign lands even if we feel a little ridiculous doing so.  Offspring No. 1 introduced me to RENTTHE RUNWAY.  She is a fashion maven.  And, she recognizes and respects my personal style.  I love that kid!  Anyway, because she is a fashion maven, she knows where to go for clothes.  She got her dress for our wedding from RENTTHERUNWAY and I must say that she looked awesome!  While Brooke was home, we logged onto the site and “shopped” together.  She pointed out all the dresses that perhaps I could wear if by some rare chance I found myself in a situation that required me to give the allusion of having any fashion sense at all.  The truth is that I might be willing to wear the dress; it is the appropriate (Translation: high-heeled) shoes with which I have serious issues!  But, you never know.  I do have a wedding to attend next month.

EURO-CUISINE YOGURT MAKER

We eat a lot of yogurt.  Like most things, it is better when it is homemade.  When you make it yourself you know exactly what is in it.  Plain yogurt is exactly that - plain yogurt.  It contains nothing but milk and yogurt cultures, which came from the last batch of yogurt that you made.  Vanilla yogurt contains milk, cultures, vanilla, and tyour sweetener of choice in the amount of your choice.   When Weber and I married, we made intentional decisions about what kitchen “stuff” to keep.    The general rule was that there was no place for single use appliances and gadgets.  It is surprising the things that did not make the cut. The yogurt maker is now one of the few single use appliances in our kitchen.  It is possible to make yogurt without such an appliance.  In fact, many people use a heating pad to keep the yogurt warm while it processes.  For me, however, when it comes to mixing food and bacteria, I want to make sure that this relationship happens correctly.  The yogurt maker assures that. It maintains the exact temperature necessary.  To quote Goldilocks, “It’s just right!”  For this the yogurt maker earns every square inch that it occupies in the pantry!

HOMEMADE BUTTER

Not only do we make our own yogurt, we also make our own butter.  I ran across a cookbook not too long ago entitled Bake the Bread Buy the Butter.  I haven’t read the book so I’m not sure why the author commands this.  I have to assume that it must be because the truth is that it is not really any cheaper to make your own butter.  (Just like it is not any cheaper to knit your own sweaters.)  It certainly is not because butter is difficult to make.  Butter-making has become a weekly ritual for Weber.  It is kind of a Zen experience.  Each week we buy a pint of organic heavy whipping cream.  This and a stand mixer is all that is necessary.  You put the cream in the mixer bowl with whisk attachment and turn it on.  After about ten minutes the liquid and fat begin to separate.  A little more beating and the butter turns yellow.  The key to successful butter making is to squeeze every last drop of the liquid from the solid.  Once this is done, rinse the butter under cold water and store it either in the refrigerator or in a butter bell on the counter.  It’s easy!  My advice, bake the bread and make the butter.  It’s worth it.

EATING FROM THE GROUND UP

Based on the fact that we make our own butter and yogurt, why I like this blog written by Alana Chernila really needs no explanation.  Check out the link.

I am really not obsessed with food.  Well, maybe I am.  Well, my obsession is not with eating food but with the importance of developing a meaningful relationship with the food that we allow to enter our bodies.  I want to know the food that I am eating as intimately as know the person with whom I am living.  How we feed our bodies is as important as how we feed our minds and souls yet, as is evidenced by the statistics surrounding weight related disease in this country.  so many people these days neglect this extremely important relationship.

MARBLE COMPOSITION BOOKS

I admit that I am a slave to technology.  I have a computer, an iPad, and an iPhone; and, I use them all daily.  I also use an “old-fashioned” marbled composition book daily.  Here on my blog I chronicle many of the important, and a fair number of not so important, aspects of my daily life.  These posts are written on the computer.  But every morning I handwrite several pages in a marbled composition book.  These are the pages where I sort out all that is going on in my inner world.  Some of the ideas that I write in these books make it into blog posts, but not all of them.  You guys should be thankful for that!  Just trust me on this one.  I like these composition books because the covers are sturdy, not wimpy like spiral notebooks.  The pages don’t get bent back.  The binding is sewn.  I don’t have to worry about pages tearing out like with a spiral notebook.  Composition books come in many colors and in either college or wide ruled.  And, they are cheap.  They are the perfect repository for all those thoughts, ideas, questions, and complaints that we all have but are better kept to ourselves.

Farewell April.  I’m looking forward to the May flowers.

All Ears!

We're all ears.

Listening is one thing.  Obeying is another!

Obsessive Knitting

It's not Christmas or any one's birthday but I have spent a lot of time knitting over the last couple of weeks - at least a lot of time for me.  I don't have as much time to play with my sticks and string as I would like.  But as I said, over the last two weeks I have been knitting obsessively.  We've eaten out every breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks, worn the same pair of socks and underwear during  said time frame and the dogs have had to forage for food in the trash cans and litter box because my knitting and I could not be parted for trivial things like cooking, doing laundry and feeding the animals. 

 Just kidding.  It hasn't been quite that bad . . .but almost!

The strange thing is that this manic knitting has been on the kind of project that I don't normally enjoy - toys and dolls.  I don't particularly like making stuffed animals and dolls because when  all of the knitting is done all you have is a bunch of little pieces that require sewing together.  I despise sewing lots of little pieces together.  Probably because I am not particularly good at doing it.

All that said, I really wanted to make this particular doll.  At first I was discouraged by the 2,714 pieces that the pattern said were necessary - everything from hair bows to basic body parts.  As I stared at the instructions, all I could think is there must be a simpler way.  I set out to uncover this elusive simpler way.  I was bound and determined to find a way to knit this doll in one piece and in the round. 

I am happy to say that my mission was successful!  I managed to knit the entire doll and her clothing in one piece.  There were a few accessories that needed to be sewn at the end but compared to the way the pattern was originally written they were no big deal.

Meet "Emily. 

 She may be the first knitted doll with albinism.  I can't prove that though I personally have never seen such a doll.  She has fair skin and white hair with a slight cast of yellow.  Like those of us with albinism, she also knows how important it is to be protected from the sun so she wears big hat to complete her ensemble.

Isn't she precious!

Emily will travel this summer to be part of a fundraising raffle where she will meet her new family.

Prayer as Art as Prayer

Saturday is usually our chore and errand day but today we decided to make it a “date day.”  The cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping will get done eventually.   Today was a day to enjoy the beautiful weather and each other.   We rode the DART train which gave Weber a break from the stress of driving in Dallas.   Imagine my surprise when I ran into one of my students on the train!

We headed downtown to the Asian Arts Center where the monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery are creating a sand mandala.  This is an annual event, one that I have wanted to see for several years but never have.  It was amazing!

The monks spend a week creating this intricate mandala (sacred circle) by carefully and prayerfully tapping tiny grains of colored sand onto a pattern of chalked lines.  I believe that this mandala was started and Monday and is to be finished tonight.  In a ceremony tomorrow, the sand that is this beautiful circle will be swept up and dispersed into a local waterway.  What took many men a week to create will be erased in minutes and carried away by the water.  This ritual is symbolic of the Buddhist precept of impermanence.  We should be fully present and live into the now because in an instant this moment will be gone forever.

As is usually the case with both museum exhibits I was sure that photography would not be allowed so I did not take my camera.  Imagine my surprise when I overheard someone ask the docent if photography was allowed and he said, “Yes, but with no flash.”  In that moment I was disappointed that I did not have my camera and excited that the camera on my phone has the potential for taking decent pictures.  In a recent interview Annie Leibovitz was asked what kind of camera she preferred.  She said that she has become quite fond of the camera on her iPhone.  If its good enough for her, its good enough for me.  So, all of the photos in this post were taken on my phone and have not been edited.  Somehow editing them seemed contradictory to living into the moment.

The monk is holding the tool used to place the sand.  It is a  hollow cone.  The sand is filled from the widest end.  The smaller end has a tiny opening.  To apply the sand, the monk taps the cone causing small amounts of the sand to be released.  

This is part of the altar that stands near the mandala.  In the last picture you can see that  a  picture of the Dalai Lama is placed in the center.

The mandala

The pots of colored sand

The chalk lines showing the parts of that mandala still to be completed.

The tools used.  At the top are the cones that are filled with sand.  There are also compasses, a few pots of sand and pillows that are used to rest their non-drawing hand. 

This is my favorite picture.
"Prayer becomes art becomes prayer."

Through prayer the monks create these magnificent pieces of art.  Witnessing it draws us into prayer.

After being enveloped by the power and beauty of the mandala and its creation, we boarded the train and travelled a few stops to a movie theater that is showing the movie Bully.  This is not a movie that one “enjoys” but is a good movie.  There is no mystery as to what it is about; its title says it all.  This documentary looks at how widespread bullying is in schools and its devastating effects on children, their families, schools and communities.  Sadly, bullying is an epidemic that no researchers are investing time, energy or money into finding a cure.  This task is falling to the families of those children who have succumbed to bullies and taken their own lives.

Bully was far from the romantic comedy that often becomes a date movie however, I am glad that we saw it together.  As educators, it is our job to do the best we can to keep each of our students safe from physical and emotional bullying.  This may not be easy but it is necessary.  Every student, teacher and administrator has a moral responsibility to commit to reducing bullying in our schools.  If we can slow the spread of this awful dis-ease in our schools perhaps we can then keep it from spreading to our workplaces, highways and other public places.  

Despite the seriousness of the movie, we had a fun day.  Every now and then it is healthy to break from the normal routine.  Weber and I needed to do that today.  

One Cannot Live By Bread Alone

One also needs a cat!

We shared a simple Easter meal for nine at our house. Simple means that we had black bean soup, chicken tortilla soup, a fresh green salad and warm homemade bread. That is about all we could muster after our Holy Week and Easter obligations at church.

The weather turned dismal about the time everyone was on their way here. This delayed their arrival by a while. I tried to have everything ready so that we could eat as soon as they arrived. I set the table, got out the butter and salad dressing, and arranged all of the serving necessities. Apparently I made a few miscalculations.

I thought that I had gotten the bread basket set out and lined with a clean napkin so that as soon as the bread that Weber made came out of the oven, it could b e placed in the basket. Seemingly what I thought was a bread basket is more accurately a cat bed. I don't know how I could have been so confused! Consequently, the bread rested on the bread stone and the cat in the bread basket.

In case you are wondering, by the time we were ready to eat, Frankie was sufficiently rested and had changed venues. And I had changed the napkin in the basket.