Running Away

Over the past week I've had the pleasure of sitting down with several friends, sharing a cup of tea and catching up on one another's lives.

What has been fascinating is a common thread running through nearly every single one of these conversations.  At some point during each visit, these women have expressed a secret longing or deep desire to "just run away".  What's interesting is that my friends are not using phrases like, "I need a vacation",  "I need a break", "I want to incorporate some change".  No, each one has said these words "I wish I could just run away".

This resonates with me.  I have felt the same way.  I too have spent some time lately day dreaming about running away and making a fresh beginning.  In fact the desire for a fresh beginning was the catalyst for My Turquoise Kettle Life.  It is my attempt to live intentionally, be true to myself and to create a new chapter in my life while remaining physically rooted in the "old" life.  Some days its working and some days I wrap my arms around my husband's neck and whisper, "I just want to move away".

On those days I find myself to be quiet, contemplative, wondering, could we?  What would that look like?  I spend time on the MLS real estate internet site plugging in a search for an oceanside house in P.E.I. or Nova Scotia.  I picture myself painting in a converted barn/studio overlooking open spaces and ocean vistas, my dogs sleeping in the open doorway, while just beyond them windswept grasses bow to the ocean breeze.  In my new life I'm growing my own vegetables, painting brilliantly and  my life is above all quiet, very very quiet.

POP!  The logical/practical side of my brain reels me back in with arguments of aging parents, my family, friends, fears of the unknown and what if's.  What if I hate the place? What if I actually don't want such a quiet life??????

Sigh.  I try to analyze what actually seems so attractive about running away.  For myself its the excitment of designing a life from scratch.  The feeling of escaping sticky relationships and people's expectations (is that awful for me to admit?).

So for now, My Turquoise Kettle Life is here.  My daily challenge is to be selective about how I spend my time, energy, creativity, even my finances.  There will always be needy people and situations and while it is important to be generous, it seems that most of the women I know are at risk of giving too much of themselves away. We need to be reminded that not every good cause needs to be our cause and not every problem needs to become our problem.

So I'm not going to run away today.  What I will do is work to create a life and a home that is an oasis, a little refuge where, when the world gets to be much too much, I can run away to.

Thank you for taking the time today to visit My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a peaceful day,

Sandra

Eat, Play, Love Animal Rescue

Kudos to the Eat, Play, Love Animal Rescue! http://eatplayloveanimalrescue.blogspot.com/  and it's co-founders, Samantha Emberly (my daughter) and Emily Morgan (my niece).  These two young women are already veteran animal rescuers working towards saving, sterilizing and finding permanent homes for the neglected and abandoned dogs in our area.

With Quebec's big "moving day" just around the corner, many dogs and cats will be abandoned as their owners move to new apartments and houses.  The fortunate ones will be dropped off at no-kill animal shelters; others will be left at shelters where they will be housed for a few days, hoping to be adopted, before they are euthanized.  The least fortunate will be those pets left behind in vacant apartments without food or water. 

While we often wonder ,"Who would do that to their pet?" Perhaps a better question is, "Who will work to remedy this sad situation?"  

In order for foster-based rescues to function and provide services, they need individuals and families who are willing to temporarily care for a dog or cat until the pets can be placed in a permanent home.  The foster family needs to provide a safe environment for the animal and food.  All other costs including, medicine, veterinary visits and sterilization are the responsibility of the rescue organization.  If, for some reason, the animal does not adjust well to the foster family's situation, the animal is removed and a new foster home is found.

Adopting an abandoned animal may be one of the most rewarding decisions you will ever make.  Far from being "damaged goods" these pets seem to be extra appreciative of finally having a family that is willing to make a "forever" committment to them.  In the summer of the year 2000, our family adopted  Abby.  She was an amazingly gentle dog who had been abandoned on a country road.  She enriched my life and our family life daily until she died in February of this year. 

Abby

Abby had been so perfect that I decided I wouldn't adopt another dog. My heart was broken.  Emily and Samantha understood the situation better than I could and began to look for another dog for me to love.  A frightening drive in a blinding snowstorm at the end of February out to the Monteregie SPCA, resulted in our adopting Zack a seven year old adorable mutt. 

Zack

A month or two later, I accompanied Samantha to the local dog pound to take photos of the adoptable dogs to post on-line.  When we arrived, a gentleman was dropping off a beautiful cocker-poo (a cocker spaniel/poodle mix). As we bent to pet and admire her we were told, "Take her if you want her, she won't have a chance at adoption, we'll just euthanize her.  She's already fourteen years old."  Samantha didn't miss a beat, "I'll take her!! I'll find her a home."  This dog's family had recently moved to an apartment and found they were not able to keep her.  As I waited in the parking lot with this lovely "old girl" her master passed by and got into his van.  She began to wimper and pace.  I tried to soothe her, "It's okay, you'll be fine",  I whispered to her. As the van pulled out of the lot and drove away she began to bark and watched the vehicle intently until it passed out of sight.  By now this "old girl" and I were both crying!

Grace

This big adorable dog sat on my lap for the 25 minute ride from the pound to my house, by the time I arrived home I was already smitten.  I wasn't sure how I felt about having two dogs, let alone what my husband would think of the idea.  Thankfully my (awesome) husband took one look at the dog and said, "She's a beauty, are we keeping her?"  We decided to give her a brand new name to go with her new life.  My husband suggested "Grace", it suits her perfectly and it was by God's grace that we arrived at the pound when we did that day.

Thank you Samantha and Emily for doing what you do and to the foster families and adoptive families of these animals.  Thanks also to all the family and friends of Eat, Play, Love Animal Rescue who have donated pet food, supplies and funds to help the rescue to continue to save neglected and abandoned animals.



Plus a huge thank you to our vet Dr. Janique Arseneau whose expert and tender care of all our animals is appreciated beyond measure.

If you think you or someone you know might be able to temporarily foster an animal in need or adopt a loving companion for life please visit the Eat, Play, Love Animal Rescue website  http://eatplayloveanimalrescue.yolasite.com/ , or blog http://eatplayloveanimalrescue.blogspot.com/ 
 or e-mail them at  eat.play.love.animal.rescue@gmail.com .


Thank you for taking the time to visit, My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a pet-icularly wonderful day.

Sandra

The Spaces In-Between

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the spaces in-between things.  In my quest to understand and achieve a simplied life, the spaces in-between may be a helpful clue. 

Early Saturday morning I was gardening, pulling up weeds and digging out those stray shoots that begin to encroach on the next plant.  I like to see the rich dark soil between the plantings.  Some perennials that had grown to double their size I cut back and others I  dug up completely and gave to my neighbour. I prefer planting in distinct clumps, not blending into one another in a helter-skelter fashion. 

I realized that this desire for space in-between in my garden is also true of other areas of my life.  For example, I find that in our home giving things some breathing space creates a more serene atmosphere.  From the amount of furniture, artwork and accessories in a room, to the way we handle storage in kitchen cabinets, the refrigerator, closets and bookcases, space makes a difference. 



Personaly, I prefer to open a kitchen cabinet and be able to see and reach the appropriate glass than to find all the glasses jam-packed together like concert goers in a mosh pit. Likewise for coat closets. On more than one occasion,  I have welcomed guests into my home, taken their coats and then discovered a) there are no empty coat hangers and b) I would need a crow-bar to wedge another coat into this closet.

For us, part of the solution has been deciding to live with less.  Quite honestly, we simply own less than a lot of people that we know.  We're not martyrs, we have just come to believe that we don't need to own most of what is advertised.  We plan our purchases and weigh the benefit to the "cost" of owning the item, including storage and maintenance.  We are seldom spontaneous when shopping and are much more likely to rationalize ourselves out of a purchase. 

Creating space in-between works in terms of our time, energy, money even our thinking.  It is helpful to building in "spaces" in your day when you can have a little down-time.  Coffee breaks and lunch hours were meant to give us some "space" in the workplace, yet they are hardly beneficial if we work through them, spend them with co-workers criticizing our employers and/or jobs, or fill them with errands and then hastily choke down a sandwich and a soft drink in the car. 

Is there somewhere you can go during your day to be alone?  A park, a path, a spot by the water?  We know a young father of four children.  He told us that sometimes he pulls into his  driveway after work and just takes a few minutes (a space) alone in his car to transition from work-mode to family-mode. 

Another aspect of creating space in our lives and homes goes back to the gardening analogy of weeding. Creating space requires a regular "weeding out".  Weeding is best done frequently and in small doses, otherwise it can become an enormously overwhelming job.  Weeding out the clothes, linens, appliances, tools, books we no longer use is essential to creating space.  Likewise, and much  more difficult, is a weeding out of activities, habits, relationships, financial patterns that no longer serve us well. 

Try to picture your life today as a garden.  At this present moment, how would you describe this garden of your life? Has it been nurtured and tended to?  Is there a healthy amount of space in your garden?  Are some plants overtaking the garden and need to be trimmed back a little? Maybe some weeds need to be pulled and discarded completely.  Is it generally neglected and needing some extra attention? Perhaps it is overly manicured and formal, not allowing your creative side to flourish.  It's your garden, you get to be the designer.  Just be sure to allow yourself some space in the garden of your life.








Thank you for taking the time to visit My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a beautiful day,
Sandra

Celebrate Someone You Love - Simply

Last Thursday was my dad's birthday.  Words cannot describe the love, admiration and respect that I have for this man.  He is understanding, encouraging, a gentle listener, my lifelong cheerleader.  My dad doesn't like anyone to make a "fuss" over him, he doesn't want gifts, he'd never  mention that it was his birthday if you didn't know (or if you forgot, as I did when I was sixteen!). 

To celebrate him, I was planning a small family supper and wanted it to be simple (of course) but also special.  It was a beautiful summer day here Thursday so I set up a long table on my front verandah.  This table is just an old slab door that we set on a pair of wooden (Ikea) legs, it sits eight very comfortably and ten very cozily.  A couple of off-white tablecloths that fall to the floor, a handful of daisies plucked from my garden and placed in a vinaigrette bottle. This setting, against the backdrop of garden shrubs and flowers, was simple yet elegant.

The menu was equally easy; barbequed burgers, salad and delicious lentil brown rice burgers (recipe below) for those of us who prefer the vegetarian option, and of course a birthday cake.  When you take the focus off of elaborate and often expensive meal preparations you can relax with your guests and enjoy the conversation, the laughter, stories and memories. That evening we sang "Happy Birthday" and sat around the table chatting until the sun dipped below the trees.  My husband commented a few times on what a lovely evening it had been. 

What about the special people in your life? When it is all said and done, what remains?  Really only love.  How you loved and how you were loved.  There are six months left in this year.  Could you find a way to celebrate six special people?  Could you do it in a way that is simple and sincere?  If you have found a way to celebrate someone special, send me an e-mail at sandra.myturquoisekettlelife@gmail.com and share your simple celebration details.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a simply beautiful day,

Sandra

Here is the recipe for  Lentil Brown Rice Burgers. 

Lentil Brown Rice Burgers (makes 8-10)

1 cup (250 ml) green lentils (don't worry - there's no soaking required!)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp (5ml)of oregano (or Italian Seasoning)
1/4 cup (60ml) of onion finely chopped (or chives)
2 cups (500 ml) of cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp (2ml) steak spice or to taste
Pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking

Put lentils, garlic, oregano and onion into a medium-size sauce pan.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil for 4 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Check at least 3 times during simmering, stirring occasionally; if water has reduced by too much add about 1/2 cup (125ml) (goal: get lentils to absorb water, but not burn). If there is excess water after cooking, carefully drain it off.  Cool lentils 10 minutes.

Combine all ingredients into a food processor (or similar gadget) and whirl around until things begin to stick together.  Form mixture into patties about 4 inches in diameter. 

Preheat skillet with olive oil. Place patties 4 at a time in skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until slightly browned.

Place on toasted burger buns and enjoy.  To freeze, allow burgers to cool and wrap individually in plastic wrap.

Thank You For the Canvas!

Last week I wrote about the fun I had in the studio painting on a big canvas (36" x 48").  It was a wonderful reminder that good things happen when I follow my intuition, act on my ideas and avoid over-thinking or over-analysing my creativity. 

One afternoon shortly after that, my doorbell rang and there stood my long time friend, Jennifer, with an enormous blank canvas.  Jennifer had read my post and decided to donate this amazing canvas, (48" x 48") which she had had in storage for a while.  I was dumbfounded and delighted all at the same time.  "Take it and enjoy it!" was her advise to me.

Well Jennifer, enjoy it I certainly have!  I put the canvas up on the easels (I needed two together!) last week.  For several days I wandered in and out of the studio looking at the blank canvas and wondering what it might want to be.  Finally yesterday I began working on a landscape.  I laid down a yellow sky and an orange landscape as my base colours and working with a pallete knife, I spread colours over colours until I had a painting that I am quite pleased with. 

The fun of using a pallete knife is that it encourages me to be a little wild with the paint and prevents too much concern about the details.  I went through a period when I only used the pallete knife and had so enjoyed the process that I thought I must be "cheating" somehow and forced myself back to the brushes.  What a killjoy!  Hopefully I am finally learning to let myself have a little fun!

Again, thank you Jennifer and thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Wishing you a fun day,
Sandra

On Being

On Tuesday I explained how I try not to overschedule my time.  I used to be a maniac about my to-do list.  On Mondays I would look at the previous week's list and transfer anything not yet done to the current list and then I would add all the new things to do.  I loved the list!  I'd put it on the fridge and get great joy from crossing off items as they were accomplished.  Sometimes if I did something not on the list, I would add it to the list afterwards so that I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off!  I would show my husband the list..."Look at my list!"  I'm not sure if I was complaining about it or proud of it. 

Why did I do that?  Was it because I worked part-time and needed to prove I was still busy?  People would ask me, "How are you?"  I would answer "I'm really busy."  That isn't even an answer to that question!  My very wise husband once asked me, "What are you rushing through all of this for? What do you want to get to?"  I had to admit that all I really wanted was to try to get "all this done" so that I could finally rest.  The earlier I could fall into bed at night, the better.

This past February we lost a very dear friend of ours, Michael Leonard.  Mike was only 29 years old.  He had been born with the condition spina bifida and spent all of his life in a wheel chair and many months at a time in hospital.  His condition meant that he needed assistance to do what most of us take for granted. Physically he really couldn't do much.  But Mike had a personality, a smile and spirit about him that was magnetic.  He loved people, especially his church family.  Michael and my husband had regular Tuesday night get togethers.  Sometimes they'd meet where Mike lived, sometimes they'd arrange for the adaptive transport bus to bring him to our house to play a few hours of billards.  Often they'd meet in a hospital room with some take-out food.

My point is that Michael didn't need to do anything to be special and important.  He was about  being and not doing... being thoughtful, being supportive, being funny, being an encourager.  About two weeks before Michael passed away, he'd heard that our beloved dog Abby had died.  He was the first person to phone me and say how sorry he was to hear our sad news.  Maybe because of what he'd been through Michael was able to cut through the superficial and get to the heart of the matter and to the hearts of those who mattered to him, which was pretty much everyone he met.

You will of course understand why at Michael's memorial service it was standing room only.  There were line ups at the open microphone of people who wanted to share how Michael had impacted, encouraged, changed them.  His closest friend wrote a song about him and performed it.

Finally, it wasn't really hard to give up the "to-do" habit.  These days I'm trying to do a little less and be a little more.  Thank you for the inspiration Michael.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a wonderful day just being you,

Sandra

Thinking My Way To Simple Living

Once June arrives I begin to think about how to live even more simply.  Over the last dozen or so years I have managed to let go of some ideas and a lot of stuff that once complicated my life.  I would have to say that letting go of "ideas" has been much more effective than eliminating the "stuff".
This is because our ideas or thoughts are ultimately what drive us to do what we do, buy what we buy, spend what we spend.  If I don't change the way I think, what I value, what motivates me, my actions will not change either.  Sure I can give away half my wardrobe, but if I still believe that I need certain clothing/shoes/accessories to be beautiful, soon my closet will be bulging again.
Here is a quick list of the ideas that I changed or focused on, that allowed my life to feel less cluttered.

• My health is a priority.  Every day I exercise, make mostly healthy food choices, quiet my mind, practice gratitude.
• I choose not to overschedule my time.  Being busy doesn't mean I am more important, it just makes me more anxious.
• Who I am is not measured by my annual salary or by my mode of transportation.
• Avoid negative (fear based) media and chronically negative people.
• Am I using my talents?  Am I being kind?  Am I really listening to people? 
• What am I spending my money on?  Does it line up with my priorities?
• Just because the rest of the group/family/office/friends  is/are participating, if it's not an activity I enjoy or I'd rather spend the time/money doing something else....I just say "No thanks."

A WARNING:  At first people wont' always be receptive or supportive when you change your priorties or your habits.  They may try to guilt you into doing what they want you to do.  I have found that even discussing "simple living" makes some people uncomfortable or defensive.   It is contrary to the way our society works and what is expected of us.  That being said....don't allow it to deter you.  If you can begin to accept that this really is your life, and that you are not here only to meet the needs/wants of others, then you can make one small change that will lead to the next...and who knows where that will take you.

And what of my summer inspired simplification?  I have been using my new clothesline rather than my dryer.  I like the old fashion-ness of standing in my garden early in the day, pegging the sheets to the line, the squeaky sound my line makes and watching the sun and the wind dancing with my laundry.  I have also given myself permission to have a less manicured garden, I don't need to tackle all the gardens in one day, I can do a little today and a little....next week (maybe if I feel like it). 

Thank you for taking the time to visit My Turquoise Kettle Life.


Have a simply wonderful day,

Sandra

Size Does Matter

It wasn't long ago that I wrote about the importance of not being miserly with my artist self.  Because this is an area that I struggle with, I realize that I need to gently remind myself on a regular basis that it is ok to: a) schedule time to paint b) not answer the phone while painting and c) buy paint supplies.  Now buying paint supplies may seem beyond obvious, after all how can one paint without something to paint on and something to paint with?  Well the answer is one cannot.   Unless one is being miserly with one's self.  Then one often finds one's self painting over existing work (not always a bad thing) or painting a format that is too small, or on traditional canvas when one really, really loves large format gallery canvases.

Hmmm.  Last week I shared with you my little painting of the kettle.  I painted over an old painting that I wasn't particularly fond of.  But the canvas was small (16"x20").  I painted a few more little canvases last week that left me feeling dissatisfied (ok... left me feeling angry).  The problem is I love to work BIG!  The second problem is I'm a cheapskate with myself, especially my artist self.

Saturday night I had a dream about a BIG canvas, I saw a very large single iris painted on it.  The background was loose and some of the canvas was left unpainted.  The next morning, with gratitude for the inspiration, I bought the largest canvas that fits in my car (36" x 48").  In the studio I began to sketch from some photos I had taken of iris' in my neighbourhood. 

Background was painted first

Painting the background first, I let it sit overnight.  I peaked into the studio today at 4:30 am and I was still satisfied.  I loved the pencil lines of the flower sketch and didn't want to loose the flowing organic feel of the drawing.  I decided to keep the sketchy feel of the flower by drawing over the pencil lines with a watery charcoal grey colour and then filling in some areas with washes of greys, yellow and black.  Other areas I let the canvas show through. 

Detail of Iris

It is very much "me".  I feel happy, creative and content.  I will try to remember that I need to be generous with myself because sometimes size really does matter.

Thank you for taking the time to visit My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Have a creative day,

Sandra

Permission to Paint Badly

I hadn't picked up a paint brush since my retreat nearly three weeks ago.  I can be very creative coming up with reasons that I can't take a morning to paint.  Pushing past the sniggly excuses, I gave myself permission to just have some fun with the paint today... no need to create a great work of art....just get in there and throw some paint onto a canvas. 

I found a painting that I had done a while ago that was the result of another day of  throwing some paint around and decided to use it as the background for today's little experiment.  I wasn't sure how much of the background I would want to have showing through in the new work so I used a watered down white (acrylic) paint, with damp cloth in hand to serve as my eraser.  I began to "sketch" out the subject, in this case my turquoise kettle.

Once I have what I think is a good "rough sketch", I hold up the painting in front of a mirror.  This will immediately allow me to see if anything is really off.  This is especially useful in portraits where I may have painted one eye lower than the other, for example.

detail of  sketching with white paint

When I am satisfied with the sketch I begin to fill in the subject with a light hand because I want to make sure that I don't cover too much of the background, remembering that I want it to play a role in the foreground.  It's always easy to add more paint, it's a little trickier to remove it!

I continue working with an almost dry brush technique creating layers until I have the desired effect.  I try to be sensitive to the light and shadows on the kettle, but allow myself the freedom to invent also.  I let an area of the background show through on the kettle to create interest and I used the dark background as part of the shadow below the kettle without filling it in, I just painted the lighter yellow ochre around it.

I let this sit on the easel overnight.  I am always amazed how I can be satisfied with a painting while I am working on it, only to get up the next morning, wander into the studio and wonder, "What was I thinking?" 

Such was the case with this little painting.  The next morning I found it very boring, too much of the subject just plunked there.  I gave myself permission to ruin the painting.  This is always helpful and allows me to "push" and experiment.  Playing it safe in painting is the equivalent of creative suicide. 

I block off an area of the kettle that I find the least interesting and fill it in with a white wash.  Below it is a piece of textured paper that I glue on with matt medium. This will dry transparent.

Using a spatula and lots of different colours I spread paint on the  blocked off area until I have a pattern and texture that pleases me.

I find the word "transformations" from a magazine and glue that on too.  When that dries, I smudge on some paint to help it blend into the background a little better and then wipe off the excess paint.

Now I'm really beginning to have fun and the studio is a mess (both good signs).

I glue a small shiny rock onto the painting (where a handle would be on the lid) and glue a red rectangle near the top between the two contrasting sides. This by the way picks up on and repeats a red rectangle that was in the original background (to the lower right of the kettle).

I paint around the edges of the red rectangle to suggest a door. I enjoy incorporating symbolism and words in my work.  For me the concept of transformation is a choice, we can choose to walk through the door or play it safe and remain stuck where we are.

So far I am satisfied with the painting I've done today.  Maybe tomorrow morning it will be a different story... If so, I'll just give myself permission to ruin the painting all over again!

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Sandra