Jewel-Toned Bottles

Happy New Year!  For those of you making resolutions let me recommend those put forth by one of my personal heroes, Jill Conner Browne, also known as the Sweet Potato Queen.  Jill urges people to make resolutions they can succeed at in order to boost their self-esteem.  One of her favorite resolutions is to "Eat More".  Needless to say, and so I won't.

One of my resolutions this year is to create projects with a recycling twist to them.  Another is to use metallic paint, which make projects simply pop.  Prang metallic paints, user friendly and inexpensive, are available online.  I discovered one overstock site that has a set of twelve 16 ounce bottles of Prang metallic for $33.  Explore and see what shiny things you can come up with.

This project is simply torn, used dryer sheets glued to glass or plastic bottles with my favorite adhesive, gloss gel.  Assemble your supplies of glass or plastic bottles, old brushes about 1-inch wide or foam brushes, gloss gel, and used dryer sheets cut or torn into squares that are 2 inches or smaller.

Simply brush gloss gel onto an area of the bottle, apply a piece of dryer sheet and brush a bit more gloss gel on top.  Continue until the entire bottle is covered and has a nice textured look.  I sometimes do two layers or more simply to get more texture, which I like. 

When the bottles are dry, which is generally in a day or so, dab on a few colors of the metallic paint, sticking to basic matches like green and blue or orange and gold.  Of course, gold simply looks great with everything.  Some of the bottles have an added piece of bead trim at the top, stuck on with gloss gel.  When finished, these bottles make lovely vases for artificial flowers or simply as a grouping of glowing bottles.

Happy Creating!    Happy New Year!

Laughter

Personal from the Saturday Review - "Important notice:  If you are one of the hundreds of parachuting enthusiasts who bought our course entitled 'Easy Sky Diving in One Fell Swoop," please make the following correction:  On page 8, line 7, change 'state zip code' to 'pull rip cord'."

I was recently given a copy of the book "Head First, the Biology of Hope" by Norman Cousins.  Cousins is the gentleman who had wonderful recovery results from serious illness using all that the medical community had to offer along with laughter.  His recovery astonished the medical community and he became an advocate, teacher and fellow researcher on the relationship between human spirit and wellness.

The part of the book that especially caught my attention was the section that talked about the practice of using  "Laughter Wagons" stocked with humorous materials and other items likely to amuse residents in nursing homes.   One group of Laughter Wagon volunteers wear buttons that read, "Warning: Humor may be hazardous to your illness."

Other suggestions in the book include sending a resident a book of jokes or silly toy instead of flowers.  Other suggestions include silly sculptures, comical photos, and mobiles. Or why not consider a joke or riddle of the day on breakfast trays or on a bulletin board?

During this time of year when it's too easy to focus on all that needs to be done and other stressors of the season, it might be good to share a chuckle rather than stories of our all too busy lives.  And while humor and a positive attitude do not change the reality of lives, it can influence the way people deal with their reality.  As Cousins advises, "Don't deny the diagnosis.  Try to defy the verdict."

"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."  Mark Twain

Light Up Your Life

This is about following my own advice, which is to Just Go Play.  (See November 14)  I started playing in my art studio everyday, placing playtime at the top of my priority list.  No, I have not created anything that will land in a gallery, but I'm having a great time.  My focus is to re-do and spark-up plain items or to recycle packaging material into works of art.  I'd like to share one of my pieces with you, and maybe inspire you to take some quiet, creative time for yourself.

I began with one of those paper lamps that you can purchase at Pier 1 and other such stores.  This one has been hanging around our house for about 10 years.  I combined this with yards of ribbon that I've also collected over the years. Most of the ribbon was purchased for pennies at garage sales. 

I attached the strips of ribbon to the top of the paper shade with my favorite adhesive, gloss gel.  I'm now waiting for some additional strips to curl (they're wound tight and held together with tape) so I can add them as a final embellishment.  The lamp now looks a lot like a hot air balloon and glows beautifully in our living room. 

I'm also looking at other lamps in our house and imagining them embellished with ribbon or strings of beads.  Also, some of my chairs don't stand of chance of escaping unscathed.

Happy play time!

Puzzle Cards

This week's project was to decorate some blank puzzles that I purchased from Dawn Wooderson of WoodSong.   The puzzles we used were 8.5 x 11 and by placing a layer of removable contact paper onto the backs of the puzzles they remained wonderfully stable while we decorated.  Our plan was to make them into some kind of a greeting so the could be disassembled, placed in an envelope, and given to a friend or family member for the holiday season.

Our medium of choice was acrylic paint but crayons or markers would also be good on the paper surface of the puzzle.  Even the most timid artist was able to paint their puzzle.  After that we stenciled on designs and lettered on greetings freehand with additional paint or wrote with marking pens.

One of the participants decided to keep her puzzle together and keep it in her room.  Others had already chosen family members who would be gifted with their creation.

For those wishing to purchase puzzles Dawn has puzzle blanks available in:
   8x5.5   12 pieces    pkg of 12 for $7 or pkg of 24 for $13.50
   5x7       9 piece with frame  pkg of 12 for $7
   4x5.5    9 piece     pkg of 24 for $11
   8.5x11  12 piece   pkg of 12 for $16
Prices do not include shipping.

The best way to order is by email - wwodsong@aol.com.  Dawn will then contact buyers to get payment information.  Best yet, Dawn is offering a 10% discount until the end of the year for those who mention seeing this offer on the Second Childhood Creation blog!

These puzzles proved to be an inexpensive and fun project for our weekly gathering.  Also a unique way to create a holiday greeting!

Just Go Play!

I recently watched a TED video that got me thinking about play.  The speaker is Charlie Todd.  You can go to TED.com and find his name under speakers.  His topic is shared absurdity.  I loved the event he staged where dozens of people dressed in blue polo shirts and khaki pants went into a Best Buy and stood around.  Or his no-pants event on the New York subway.  And most of all, I was moved by his insights into play.

As children, we were often told to just go play.  Or, perhaps, we've used this phrase on our own children.  It's also probably true that no one actually sat down with us when we were children, or we never actually sat down with our own children, to explain the benefits of play or what exactly play is.  Children naturally know how to play.

I know that I never even considered whether telling my children to play included talks about future benefits in the job market.  "Don't color, build something with your Lego's so you can put that on your resume'!"  And when I Googled "play benefits children" this morning I got 289,000,000 hits.  Conversely, when I Googled "play benefits adults" I got 81,200,000 hits.  Does this mean that play is much less important for adults?  Or is play simply a time waster for children who are too young to hold a good paying job?

As professionals, who are focused on activities, can we ensure that residents are engaging in an activity and not simply observers?  Not that easy if I focus on creating an activity with all the correct criteria.  But what if we decided to just play, which is important and incredibly beneficial for all adults. Check out Charlie Todd.  He's not only motivating but the video is a good giggle.

Aftermath

Yesterday our Tuesday afternoon group met.  The idea was to work on our Christmas table decorations.  This is a long term project that we started a few weeks ago by creating some paper to cover boxes before we'd add some ribbon.  We also painted the insides of clear ornaments.  But that wasn't the high point of the afternoon.

As I reported last week I had a creativity meltdown and couldn't get an idea to take shape the way I had envisioned.  As a fallback plan we painted small flowerpots in fall colors and added some silk flowers along with a bit of bling. 

When I arrived for this week's session the residents were happy and excited.  It seems that there had been a luncheon and their creations were used on the tables.  The women at the luncheon marveled at the pieces and asked where the facility had purchased them.  When they heard that they were made by the residents they asked if more could be made and sold at next year's craft sale.  Some of the residents from the Tuesday group were in the area and heard and saw the commotion. 

It was immensely gratifying for the residents to have their work acknowledged.  It was a lesson for me in going with the flow.  Not all plans go according to plan.  And that's OK.  Creating community is, perhaps, the most important thing we create.  The rest is bonus.

Improvising

Success is Being Together!

My original idea was to paint pots, place some kind of branch-like object into each pot, and then attach leaves inscribed with "things to be thankful for" onto the branches and call them our Thanksgiving centerpieces.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.

The problem occurred when I tried to find branch-like objects that would work without actually skulking around in the middle of the night, hacking away at the neighbor's shrubs.  Time to shop!  I finally found some glittery branch-like fronds that I thought would work.  Problem was, as I worked on the idea at home, that the frond were so lightweight that any amount of weight on them brought them down and the whole thing began to look like a spider.  I am not thankful for spiders, though I'm told that I should be.

I obsessed about this, trying different ways to attach and different things to attach, until about 2 hours before the group was to begin.  Then I did the next best thing and sat down with a good book, forgetting about my creative "challenge".  I also reminded myself that the purpose of the group is to have a good time and create community, along with creating the project at hand.  So why not get out the bags of artificial flowers and make Thanksgiving/fall centerpieces.  This thought occurred to me about an hour before the group was to meet.   

We began by painting our flower pots a dark green.  Onto that we dabbed copper and iridescent yellow.  Next we pushed a piece of florist foam into the pot and stuck the glittery fronds along with silk flowers into the foam.  A good time was had by all.  Our tables are lovely.  Good things happen when we go with the flow!

Communication

I was recently shopping at Marshall's, hoping against hope that I would find something that would make me look ravishing, world-wise, and capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.  Dare to dream.  I did manage to find a pair of jeans that did not make me look ridiculous.

In the next aisle over was a young couple - she, looking through sweaters and he, dutifully tagging along.  After a few minutes he said, "I thought you came here to buy shoes."  I guess with communication would come understanding.  Not all men understand the communication of what exactly is going to happen when some women go shopping for shoes.  Not all women understand the understanding of some men when they hear a woman say that she's going shopping for shoes.  Do you think that men and women should shop separate from each other?

I believe that it's important to know what we're communicating, and what the other person is hearing, when we use words.  I also believe that it's important to be aware of what we're communicating with our facial expressions and postures.  Once again I was at a training and had some professionals come up to me and state unequivocally that their residents will not do activities.

Flash back to an enlightening weekend spent learning about myself at an event known as Landmark Forum.  When dealing with communication and behaviors, the participants at The Forum, were asked to consider the question, "Who am I being?"  If a spouse or child is difficult to deal with we were urged to ask, "Who am I being that this person is behaving that way with me?"  This was not done to assess blame, but rather to examine other ways of being with that person. 

Bottom line, as anonymous said, "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."  Perhaps it's simply a matter of changing the way we do what we do.  And then learning how to walk and chew gum.

Christmas Centerpiece - Part 1

This year we decided to get a jump on Christmas and turn our centerpiece project into two sessions.  For session one we made our gift wrap print that would cover our boxes.  Session two, still to be completed, will have us covering boxes with our original papers and adding ribbon and a star to the center.  That session will happen in about two weeks, giving us a session in between to create a holiday gift for giving or something for Thanksgiving.

At home, a few days before the session, I made up samples, using red, green, and gold acrylic paint, of what the paper could look like.  I used simple stamping tools that included cardboard tubes from paper towels, corks, and strips of cardboard that were dipped into paint to make lines and dots.  The samples looked like this.

If it's one thing I've learned over the years of doing projects with seniors, is that their ability to interpret projects takes creativity to new levels.  Their stamped papers looked like this.

Guess Who's The Class Clown

For the sample box I cut the paper into two inch squares and pasted on the squares, overlapping as I went along.  For our group session we'll cut their creations into large enough pieces to cover an entire side of a box to better exhibit their work.

Enjoy your holiday projects!

Witches and Monsters and Fun, Oh My!

This week we did a quick and fun table decoration for Halloween.  Next week we're going to start on a more complex Christmas centerpiece project for the tables, interspersing their creation with a Thanksgiving project.  The holidays are upon us!

For our Halloween project we used mailing tubes for bodies, Styrofoam balls for the heads, a bit of paper for arms, and pipe cleaners for hands, hair on our monsters and witches, and the handles of the brooms.  We also used pony beads on the faces for mouths or noses, depending on where they landed on the face, and some googly eyes.  To attach the head to the body we used my favorite adhesive, gloss gel.

Supplies:
  Styrofoam balls
  Mailing tubes or Pringle cans or some such tub
  Craft paint - purple, green and black
  Googly eyes
  Pipe cleaners
  Pony beads, optional, you could paint on mouths and noses
  Paper to create wrap around arms, broom bristles, and witch hats
  Gloss gel
  Pushpin for monster neck embellishment (every monster needs a bolt in his neck)
 
We began by painting the mailing tubes for the bodies, black for the witch and green for the monster.  I painted the Styrofoam balls ahead of time at home because they took a bit of time to dry.  I did the witch heads green and the monster heads purple.

Googly eyes were then attached to the heads with gloss gel and a pony bead pushed into the head for a mouth, or sometimes a nose.  When the pony bead landed in nose position a mouth was painted onto the face with a small brush and some of the black paint used for the witch body. 

To get matching paper for the arms I painted a brown paper bag on one side with the same paint used to paint the monster's body.  Next the painted paper was cut into a two-inch wide strip.  Gloss gel was spread onto the inside of the paper and a small loop of pipe cleaner set onto the end with an extra dab of gloss gel.  Finally, the strip was folded shut and glued onto the body.

Witch hair was made by winding a bit of pipe cleaner around fingers or paint brush handles to create little springs that could be pushed into the side of the head below the hat.  Monster hair was two short pieces of pipe cleaner stuck into the top of the head.  Meanwhile, helper, Cathy, sat to the side constructing witch hats and brooms.  Brooms were fringed paper wrapped around a pipe cleaner and glued in place with gloss gel.  Hats were made by googling "making witches hats out of paper."  The real directions used compasses and protractors.  We used paper plates and jar lids to make our circles.  Not as exact but fully functional.

To attach the heads to the mailing tubes a goodly amount of gloss gel was put onto the rim of the mailing tube and the head set in place.  Next the head was lifted off of the mailing tube and the circle of glass gel imprinted onto the head marked the place where an additional amount of gloss gel was dabbed onto the head before it was once more placed onto the mailing tube to dry.  Witch hats were then attached with gloss gel and the final monster touch of a pushpin into the neck completed the projects.

Resting With Friends After a Job Well Done

Nice to Know Notes:
Because our mailing tubes had a cover on the bottom we were able to insert a few stones into the tubes for weight.  Although yarn would work equally well for hair and brooms we happen to have a considerable supply of pipe cleaners.  And as Miss Piggy said, "You got to go with what you got!"

Attitude

I recently spent an afternoon in a social situation with some acquaintances that I'm in contact with on a rather infrequent basis.  One of the women in the group is an absolute strobe light when it comes to attitude.  She enters the room with a beaming smile, tells about all the wonderful things going on in her life, and draws out people and their stories.  She physically applauds other people as they relate incidents from their lives. 

One would think that this woman has a charmed life.  Not exactly.  For work she's a nurse in a hospital unit for children.  She deals with children and dying on a daily basis.  In her personal life she is the mother of a mentally challenged daughter who is now a teen with the mind of a toddler.  Yet she celebrates every small ability that her daughter has and every small accomplishment that her daughter makes, sharing with other the wonders of her special child.

The day we were together was a rainy, cloudy fall day.  "Isn't the sky lovely when it's overcast like this," she said.  There is no false bravado in this woman.  Just an ability to look around and see and celebrate what's good in life and what's good in others.  I'm grateful for people like this who I can call to mind when I'm doing the drama queen bit over some small inconvenience in my life.  Thanks, Cathy.

Meetup

Last night I attended our local book discussion group at the library where we discussed "A Reliable Wife."  I liked the book and the group, which led me to invite the group to my house at the end of this month for an evening of Yahtzee.  I've been meaning to get together more often with people that I enjoy being with but one thing always seems to lead to another and such things keep getting pushed to the side.  The invitation is out there and I'm excited to have an evening with friends, old and new.

As the book group was preparing to leave one of the women, who was new to the group, came up to me to tell me about groups that meet and share common interests.  The groups function under the title Meetup.  According to her understanding, these groups began 10 years ago after 9/11 as a way to help people connect in their communities.  She said she's been going to a Scrabble Meetup group that gets together once a week, during the day, to play Scrabble.  The members of this group decided that they didn't want to drive after dark so set up their meeting time to accommodate this group decision.

I searched the Meetup site in my area and found walking, biking, dining, yoga, meditation, vegan, moms, and singles groups, just to name a few.  These are offline clubs, as opposed to the hundreds of online friends a person might have as they sit home alone.  

Numerous studies show that people with friends have better health, both physical and mental, and live longer.  As people who work in a caring profession it's also important to care for ourselves.  One way is by nurturing friendships.  Meetup makes it easy.

Our Paper Quilt

Artfully Arranging

At long last our lovely quilt is finished.  We did it using 10x10 inch designs that were colored in by the residents using crayons or markers.  Markers gave a darker more vibrant color while the crayons resulted in lovely, soft shades of color.  Next, the residents arranged the squares on a piece of black poster board.  Finally, the squares were attached and the board was hung as a wall hanging.

What I especially liked about this project was the many levels of involvement.  Residents were able to choose designs that were of varying skill levels and also choose either crayons or markers to work with.  I like when participants can have choices about the project.  I also like group projects and projects that can be prominently displayed for residents and visitors to enjoy.

Our Lovely Quilt

One oversight in this project - we did not make copies of the designs before they were colored in for a repeat performance of this activity in the future.  Live and learn!

Thirty Days

In July I posted about a TED presentation given by Matt Cutts who challenged people to try doing something for 30 days, stating that anyone can do anything for just 30 days.  Right on, Matt!  I said that I was going to take up that challenge and report back on the results.  Well, Matt was correct about one thing.  It is possible to do something for thirty days, whether it's an exercise, eating or cleaning course of action.  But something else happened during those thirty days.

I found out that I accomplish more during the day if I have a check list to follow.  I found that I had a less stressful day if I attack the check list first thing in the morning, rather than telling myself that I could get to my tasks later in the day.  I found out that I can quite easily become an obsessive person.  But the biggest surprise of all came when I realized that there were some things that I passionately enjoyed doing and some things that I eventually decided I could live without.  The surprise part was realizing the things that I enjoyed as opposed to things that I thought I should be doing.

What I enjoy, or how I spent 30 days this summer.  I found that I thoroughly enjoy reading, cooking, and cleaning.  I am now in the midst of purging my house of unused objects and general clutter.  I found that such a home is EASY to maintain and a delight to live in.  Plus it absolutely freaks out my husband who had heard me state in regard to cleaning, "After four years it doesn't get any worse".

As far as cooking I'm finally using all those cookbooks that I've collected over the years, which led to the creation of my recipe blog.  My current experiment is with raw foods and the incredible world of raw foods beyond salads.  Exploring flavors has become a delight for me and a terror filled experiment for my husband who thinks that Twinkies are a major food group.

And finally, summer reading.  I've read more books these past few months than I generally read in a year.  A great resource for a reading list is the book "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair," by Nina Sankovitch, which led to her "read all day" blog.  Check out the blog for 365 book reviews on books written by 365 different authors. 

Well, have you tried anything for 30 days?  Any discoveries about yourself?  I'm still using my daily check list and accomplishing more of the things that I love to do which gives me more time to explore other options for my life.  Who knows where this may lead.  I'm looking forward to finding out.

Silk Scarves Revisited

Orange Pink and Yellow Scarf

I recently visited a facility and conducted an activity period where we dyed silk scarves with bleeding tissue, a project that I've shared in the past.  The challenge to working in the space provided was the lack of space.  I love a challenge.

First of all, it was obvious that we'd not be able to set up the Styrofoam board that we usually use as a base for the scarves.  Long story short - I experimented at home and came up with a quick and easy method to dye the scarves using a minimum amount of space.  The trick is to place the scarf on a piece of plastic that's slightly longer and and about two and a half times wider than the scarf.  The scarves, of course, had been soaking beforehand in a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water for about 30 minutes.  This removes the sizing and makes the scarf ready to absorb color.

Once the scarf was in place on the plastic I covered half of the scarf with selected colors of bleeding tissue, the Spectra brand, which is absolutely the best.  The tissue was already cut into squares that were about 3x3 and I used 4 to 5 layers of tissue to provide a rich color.  Next, I folded the other half of the scarf on top of the first half of tissue covered scarf, patted it down, and spritz it with water using a spray bottle.  Finally, I folded the scarf into the plastic, which was actually a piece of drop cloth cut to size, and rolled it up into a sausage shape.  At this point it was a matter of squeezing the plastic enclosed scarf for about a minute to make sure that the color was being absorbed.

Voila!  Once unrolled and dried with a hand held hair dryer the scarf was lovely and ready for the final steps, which include allowing the scarf to rest for 24 hours, and then giving it a final 30 minute vinegar water soak (1/4 cup vinegar to a quart of water) to set the color.  A final clear water rinse and pressing and the scarf is ready to wear. 

Note:  Scarves we use are the 8x54 silk scarves available online from Dharma Trading.  At present they are selling for $2.39 each or $2.24 if you purchase 12 or more.  What a deal!  Spectra bleeding tissue is available online from Dick Blick.  Drop clothes are available in any paint department. 

Final Note:  Make sure you use colors that will bleed well together.  Blue and yellow will create green while red and yellow will create some lovely shades of orange.  Enjoy!

Music and More in Iowa

A facility in Iowa recently took me up on my Music and More offer, so off I went to a lovely little town just an hour past Dubuque.   The plan was to play my accordion, musical instrument of ages, and then retire to the dining room for an activity, namely, dying silk scarves with bleeding tissue.

As I arrived early I was given a tour of the facility by the Activity Director, Lisa.  We headed for the dining room where lunch was in progress.  I was immediately struck by the atmosphere in the dining room and couldn't help but comment.  As the lunch progressed the staff went about their business with pleasant smiles, while the residents ate and visited with each other.  When the staff did speak to the residents they spoke to them as if they were cherished friends, not a task to be accomplished.

After lunch, when the resident gathered for the music, they were full of care for one another as they got themselves seated.  When the music began the residents spontaneously sang along.  As for the activity, I decided to find a less cumbersome way to work with the scarves by eliminating the Styrofoam boards.  Yes we did!  That new and improved scarf dying method will be posted on this blog early next week.

Thanks to Lisa, the staff, volunteer Irene, and the residents for blessing me with a beautiful day.  How fortunate they are to live and work in such a caring facility.

The Far Shore of Aging

For those of you who have not yet explored the American Public Media program, On Being, (formerly, Speaking of Faith) with Krista Tippett, I highly recommend this series of programs.  I recently checked in and found a presentation. The Far Shore of Aging by Jane Gross, author of The New Old Age blog at the New York Times.

Gross addresses issues of aging and care-giving.  Currently, a large portion of the population is involved in the care-giver roll as seniors live longer, but not always healthier, lives.  She calls this the in-between time when people are caring for their parents but also caring for themselves.  The other in-between happens as caregivers are caught between guilt and exhaustion.  As care-giving professionals it's nice to have resources that address all the issues that are faced day to day.

To listen to the entire podcast, which aired on July 21, Google "On Being".  There you'll find a wealth of food for the spirit with a new program posted every week. 

What's Cooking!

Lately my involvement in healthy food and recipes has grown and outgrown this blog and taken on a life of its own.  Constant researching and tweaking of dishes along with foisting some of my favorite discoveries on friends has expanded into a new creative outlet - a separate recipe blog at loveyathemom.blogspot.com.

The name of the blog comes from the usual sign off I use on letters and emails to family and friends - Loveya, The Mom.  And this blog is filled with not only love but longing.  I have a great love of good food and a longing to be able to enjoy such food without placing my health in jeopardy.  For those of you who have not yet heard the annoying fact, today's generation of young people, for the first time in modern history, will have a shorter lifespan than their parents.  It seems that fast food consumption along with the myriad of processed and/or modified foods that fill the shelves at grocery stores are taking their toll.

So join me at my new recipe blog, which is easily accessible by clicking on the "Recipes" link under Resources at the top of this page.  One of my goals is to nudge people toward consuming at least 75% of their meals from the vegetable category.  Another goal is to find delicious foods that contain easy to find ingredients as well as to introduce readers to new ingredients that please the palate.  Yes, my focus will be on vegetarian dishes with a strong bent toward vegan, as I believe in the benefits of such an eating plan.

Good food, good health, and lots of energy.  What a great payoff for just a little more effort!

Loveya
The Mom 

   

Quilt Design II

This is one of my favorite designs for the quilt squares that we're coloring for our wall-hanging, paper quilt.  It's also one of the most difficult to explain.  But here goes.

The name of this design is called Rick's Paradox and is done within a triangle.  The first four triangles in the example show the progression of the design, while triangle #5 shows the finished design.  You begin, as shown in triangle #1 by drawing a straight line from one of the sides down to a corner.  Next, turn the triangle and draw another line from the next side down to the corner.  The red lines in the drawings show the line that's added.

Turn the triangle once again and draw your third line, always bringing your new line to a point against the previous line.  Continue turning and drawing lines until you come to the middle.  As you can see in sketch #5, the design looks as if it is a swirl design in spite of the fact that the entire design is made up of straight lines.

A nice size for the triangle would be about 5x5 or larger.   While some residents might become proficient at drawing the design, others might color it in a two or three color pattern.  A great addition to a wall-hanging quilt.

Cork Trivets

Three Trivets

In the past we've made cork trivets for our arts and crafts group.  The first time we purchased the wooden frames, which were a bit pricey.  The second time we had a generous volunteer, handy with woodworking, who said he could whip up the frames in no time.  That he did but declared that the job was a bit tedious and required way too much time.


But being the recipient of a multitude of corks from a local restaurant I knew there had to be an easier and less pricey way to do the project.  So I got out my favorite adhesive, gloss gel, and wondered if I could simply stick the corks together without a frame.  Voila!  It really works.

Trivet Done in a Pattern

I simply put a nice dab of gloss gel on the parts of the corks that would be touching and they stuck together quite nicely.  Next I let the trivet dry for a few days.  As I final step I'm going to gloss gel them to a base of cardboard, perhaps covered with a nice wallpaper scrap.  I also have some thin pieces of cork tile that might work as a base and give the trivet a little more stability.  An easy project and a delightful way to spend some time together!

Fennel, Optional

First I'm going to give you the original recipe, which is so delicious and easy.  Then I'm going to give you the options.  The reason that there are options is because I went to the produce department of our local grocer and asked if they had any fennel.  The person in charge looked at me as if I had just asked for the head of a walrus on a platter.  No, you won't find fennel in every produce department.  When you do, however, it makes one tasty summer salad.


Ingredients:
  1 bulb of fennel, sliced thin
  1 small red onion, sliced thin
  olive oil
  balsamic vinegar
  1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Simply place the thinly sliced fennel and red onion on a plate, sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and top with the Parmesan cheese.  I have made this original version as listed above and it's delicious.  But not every dish works out as planned

One particular day I couldn't find fennel, or the head of a walrus, so I used napa cabbage.  You could also use regular cabbage but I like the mild flavor of napa cabbage.  Also, I had planned to make a meal out of this salad so I began with a layer of lettuce from the garden before I put down the napa cabbage and red onion.  And finally, to give the dish a bit of color, I added some slices of tomato, which look amazingly like red pepper in the picture.  Actually, almost any veggie would be lovely.

For the non-vegetarians a bit of chicken or tuna or crispy bacon could be added.  

Enjoy!


 

Thinking Inside the Box

Here's another group of designs that can be used for a paper quilt wall hanging.  All of them are based on a checkerboard design with slight variations on that simple pattern.  These variations can create more interesting and sometimes challenging patterns which allows for participation at various skill levels.

The most basic checkerboard design shown is made more complex by doing an X pattern with a second color inside the uncolored squares.  For even greater complexity sections of the X squares can be colored in, which was done in some of the sample squares.

The dark blue pattern is simply straight horizontal lines intersected by wavy vertical lines.  The green and blue design has the vertical lines going off at a slant.  Both of these designs provide larger spaces for coloring in but could be made more challenging by drawing the lines closer together.

The orange designs has both the horizontal and the vertical lines drawn on a slant, with the white space decorated with a circle.  Triangles, squares, stars, or simple stamps could also be used to decorate the uncolored squares. 

The sample shown is simply a piece of card stock divided in four with designs made with markers.   Remember to keep it simple, create community as you create your designs, and sometimes know that it's alright to think inside the box.

2011.5

Yes, it's half way through 2011 and many of us have conveniently forgotten our New Year's resolutions.  So maybe it's time for a 2011.5 resolution.  I was inspired along this train of thought by a TED video.  Have you discovered Ted.com yet?  Give it a look.

This week on TED a video by Matt Cutts urges viewers to try something new for 30 days.  Cutts goes through his own list of new adventures.  He wrote a novel, which is basically a 50,000 word book, which comes out to less than 1700 words a day for 30 days.  Cutts says that his novel is no good, but he now has the right to introduce himself as a novelist rather than a computer scientist.

Other adventures on Cutts list included riding his bike to work for 30 days, not eating sugar for 30 days, and taking a picture every day for 30 days.  The gist of the presentation is that small changes are sustainable, so it's possible to do just about anything that you've always wanted to do for a period of 30 days.

My 30 day goal?  I also watched a TED video that said that people who announce their goals are less likely to do them.  I'll let you know in 30 days.

Swiss Chard

My Happy Swiss Chard Bed

This is not so much a recipe as an Ode to Swiss Chard and its abundance.  Last year I planted four rows of Swiss Chard and was buried in it.  This year I planted two rows and am still overwhelmed by it's ability to thrive.  Next year Swiss Chard has an iffy future when it comes to my garden.  Perhaps it's the vegetable scraps that I bury in my garden that turn to compost and nourish my crops.  Whatever.

At any rate, if any of you are also suffering from veggie overload, I have a few quick recipe ideas about how to dispose of your surplus.

One of the good things to know if you're dealing with crops such as Swiss Chard and other green leafy vegetables is that they wilt when lightly steamed.  That means that you can get rid of a very large amount simply by searing it in a hot pan with just a little bit of oil.  The water left on the leaves from washing the greens provides the necessary moisture to create the steam.  Then, for your more finicky eaters, just slather on a tablespoon of butter.

No takers on that?  Steamed greens can also be added as a lasagna layer or chopped fine and added to the top of a pizza and camouflaged by a light sprinkle of cheese.  Chopped and steamed greens also blend well in casseroles, especially those made with rice or pasta. 

Still in need of ideas?  Large, shiny greens can also be added to floral bouquets.  Can you hear the desperation in my voice?   You should see my flower bed's lettuce border!

Dad

Last Friday, on June 17th, Dad died at 6:40 AM.  He was 96 years old.  I was called on Thursday at midnight by the nurse on duty at the nursing home and told that Dad would probably not make it through the night.  After sitting with him for two hours I went home to get some sleep.  I returned at 6:15 in the morning, greeted by the nurse, and told that she was happy I made it back in time. 

Dad's passing was a gentle event.  It left me with a great feeling of peace.  I believe the nurse knew, through experience, what a gift it is to be with loved one's at the time of their death.  The biggest problem for me is that I've been going to the nursing home every morning for over four years and feeding dad his breakfast.  I feel as if I'd been fired from a job and now need to readjust my mornings.

The celebration of dad's life was a happy and slightly raucous occasion.   People described dad as one of the kindest and most humorous people they had to privileged of knowing.  My brother, Dan, read a list of dad's sayings, including his critique to golfers - "The trouble with your swing is that you were standing too close to the ball after you hit it."

Thanks, dad, for all the great words of wisdom.

"I was waiting for such a long time, she said.  I thought you forgot.  It's hard to forget, I said, when there is such an empty space when you are gone."  Brian Andreas - Story People.

Four Little Words

One of my new favorite books is a small publication entitled "Four Word Self Help, Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives" by Patti Digh.  I wrote about attending a presentation by Digh back in April.  In this book of hers, Digh (pronounced to rhyme with sigh) distills wisdom for life into four well-chosen words, suggesting that the complexity of life may well lie in simple actions. 

In the section on generosity some of the four word statements include, "Show up for someone" and "Be kinder than necessary."  Under community Digh advises readers to "Create your own tribe," "Let other people in," and "Give up toxic people." 

The four words that caused me many moments of reflection came from an incident in Digh's life when she was relating to a friend all the things on her to-do list that were eating up her time.  Her friend asked her what in her life gives her the greatest joy.  He listened as she explained her passion for writing and then asked, "Patti, what would it take for you to clear your calendar so you could do more writing?"  Digh concludes by musing that sometimes out "stop-doing" list needs to be bigger than our "to-do" list.   Summed up in four words - "Leave some things undone."

I hope you have a chance to pick up some of Digh's books, all of which are filled with thoughts about being alive in this world and seeking a life of quality.  She also challenges readers to write their own phrases of four word self help.  Try it for yourself.  You can do it!

Ode To A Watermelon

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a real recipe, unless you count the fact that you have to cut something up and put it in a bowl as meal preparation.  I have been known to stretch lesser incidents into facts of great merit.  What this really happens to be is a bunch of facts about the goodness of watermelon and an attempt to get out of cooking for a whole day.  Doesn't that sound like a worthy endeavor?

This all came about because one of my dear friends, Molly, told me that every now and then she takes one day in the summer and eats nothing but watermelon for the whole day.  Sometimes she might repeat this kind of a day depending on the weather and the availability of sweet melons.  She said that this makes her feel really good because there is so much water in a watermelon (hence the name) that her kidneys get a good flushing.  I believe it makes her feel really good because she doesn't have to cook for a whole day.

Anyway, the temperature has spiked up into the 90's and our local grocer has sweet, seedless melons on sale for $3.50 each.  But not wanting to rush into anything that might be detrimental to my health, I Googled "watermelon" to find the nutritional lowdown.  Of course, there was not complete agreement on all of the facts, as one site said that a cup of watermelon contains 2 grams of fat and all the other sites say 0 grams of fat, but on one thing they all agreed - watermelon is really good for you, but don't tell the kids.

First of all, watermelon is packed with some of the most important antioxidants in nature and is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene.  Yes, that's the same antioxidant that's found in tomatoes, but I'd much rather sit down to a bowl of watermelon chunks.  Maybe that's just me.  This means that watermelon helps fight inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis.  When paired with green tea, watermelon  may greatly reduce a man's risk of developing prostate cancer.  One article suggests brewing up some green tea, chilling it, and whirling it around with some watermelon chunks and a splash of lime juice in a blender.

Well, the list goes on and on talking about macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction and insulin sensitivity, but that was not the information I was seeking.  The questions of the day were, how can I pick out a good watermelon and will eating a whole watermelon make me fat? 

To choose a good watermelon, according to one expert, look for a melon that is heavy for its size with a relatively smooth rind.  Also, look for  an area that has a distinctly different color from the rest of the melon - a yellowish or creamy tone.  This is the place where the melon rested on the ground and probably means that the melon was allowed to ripen on the vine.  Melons without this marking may be negatively affected in taste, texture and juiciness.

As far as the impact on my girlish figure, it seems that watermelon is about 92% water. which explains the kidney flushing properties.  Calorie wise, a whole watermelon is only about 1000 calories.  But the best part is the impact that a day of watermelon has on my attitude.  Just imagine a day of eating whenever you feel like simply by dishing up a bowl full of watermelon chunks.  I highly recommend cutting up an entire melon early in the day so the prep work is finished once and for all.

My own regime was to begin the day with my usual smoothie, have a large, lovely salad for lunch, and spend the second half of the day munching on melon.  A great day, indeed, with very little time spent in the kitchen.



 

Quilt Design I

We're about to embark on an ongoing project.  The idea is to draw and color quilt squares and then hang them directly on a wall or attached to ribbon in order to make a quilt wall hanging.  For this project we're going to use some of the designs that I learned in a mini-course that I took this spring.  The designs are easy to create and result in some awesome patterns.

This first design is done by laying out a square of dots that are equidistant apart.  On the samples shown the dots are 1.5 inches apart. A smaller distance would work but I wouldn't get much

Dots and Beginning "S" Lines

larger than that.

After the dot pattern is set begin by making the letter "s" from one dot to the dot directly below.  When all the dots are connected in one direction, turn the paper 90 degrees and repeat, creating "s" sided squares.  Don't worry if all of your "s" lines are not exactly alike.  It will still look great.

Finished Square

When your designs is finished you can color in the squares in any number of patterns.  The materials used in the examples are card stock and a black sharpie.

We'll be showing more simple designs in the next week or so and also our final quilt.  What a fun and easy way to quilt!

Summer Soup

This is a cold vegetable soup recipe I came upon, changed a bit, and served to two different sets of guests.  All requested the recipe.  It takes about 30 minutes to prepare but can be made a day or two ahead.  Nice way to use all that great produce that's on it's way.  Keeps well in the fridge. 
Serves 8 to 10. 

Place in a blender:
  6 Roma tomatoes
  1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
  4 cloves of garlic
  fresh basil and dill to taste
  2 T lemon juice
  2 t salt or to taste
  2 T olive oil
  1/4 cup raisins
  1 red bell pepper, chopped
  pickled jalapeno to taste (optional)

Blend well on medium speed.
Slowly add 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes while blender is running.

In a large bowl combine:
  5 more Roma tomatoes, diced
  another 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
  1 avocado, peeled and diced
  3/4 cup frozen corn
  1/2 sweet yellow pepper, diced

Poured blended mixture over the chopped vegetables in the bowl and stir well.  Chill and serve garnished with finely chopped parsley. 

Enjoy!

Two Questions

The other day I stopped at my favorite yarn shop.  After purchasing a few skeins of yarn for projects that were skittering around in my brain I stopped at the counter up front to get a coffee drink to take with me.  Behind the counter was a quiet young man wearing a top hat and stripped apron.  He is the question man.

Regular or decaf, milk or soy, hot or iced, here or to go.  I thought that was the about the extent of his questions.  Then, while concocting my iced decaf latte with soy to-go he asked, "So, what have you done so far today that was fun?"  Silence.  Think, think.  Then I told him that I had just played my accordion at the nursing home for my dad.  Then I thought, did I really have fun, or was it simply on my Friday morning to-do list?  What can I do to make sure that it's fun?

He seemed satisfied with my answer and we talked about the resurgence of the accordion, and I taught him the definition of perfect pitch.  Perfect pitch is when you toss an accordion into a dumpster and it hits a banjo.  Some people actually think that that's funny.

But he wasn't finished.  Next he asked, "What do you have planned for later today that you're really excited about doing?"  I didn't have an answer.  I just never thought of planning my days with those questions in mind.  What have I done that's been fun, and what's in my plan for the rest of the day that has me excited.  It seems I've been coasting through my days guided by a to-do list.  It seems that I'm sinking into the state of becoming a human doing instead of a human being.  Silence.  More silence. 

How about if I start every day with those two questions.  Maybe check up on my progress at lunch.  I think I'll give it a shot.  I'll let you know what happens.

Summer Sandwich

It came to my attention that I did not share a recipe last month, which is inexcusable as I have been trying new recipes right and left.  This month there will be extra recipes that are just perfect for the warm weather that is now creeping across the country.

This particular sandwich is made in a pita pocket bread and can contain almost any vegetable that can be cut into thin strips.  I've included my favorites in the recipe below, but don't be afraid to experiment.

Ingredients:
Beets, carrots, peppers, and/or radishes cut into thin strips
Sprouts - alfalfa or mung bean or your favorite
Pita bread
Magic sauce, which consists of a mixture of:
  1 t honey
  1 t mustard
  1 T mayo
Play around with the ingredients of the sauce until it's to your liking.  

Warm the pita over an open flame or in a hot oven to make it pliable.  Cut it in half if need be and gently open each half.  Insert the veggies of your choice.  Top with sprouts.  Drizzle on some sauce.  Absolutely delicious.

Confession -   For those of you who have not caught on yet, I am a vegetarian and so all of the recipes I'm sharing are vegetarian recipes.   Also, I was out of beets so the sandwiches in the picture contain daikon, tomato, sprouts and sauce.   Still delicious.

Weaving

This is a simple project that requires just a bit of prep time putting together the base, which consists of some light, plastic fencing edged with duck tape.  For two of the edges I used a plastic edging that someone donated to our project stash.

I did the prep work at home and then took the edged pieces, along with pieces of ribbon and other simple embellishments, to our Tuesday activity group.  Because we used the plastic with the larger holes it was rather simple for the residents to weave the ribbon.  We did have some rather wide ribbon, which we cut down the middle to make sure that all of the ribbon strips were a bit narrower than the holes.

The actual size of the base we used was about 12x15.  The residents wove along the 12 inch length, making each row quite manageable.  Because we added flowers and butterflies the finished projects will be hung on resident's doors to encourage warm spring weather to hurry along.

Oops

The other day, while visiting dad at the nursing home, another visitor that I've come to know stopped by with news and pictures of a new granddaughter. There were smiles and excitement as we marveled over the peaceful smile on the babies face and the amount of beautiful, dark hair.  I enjoyed the pictures and handed them back to the new grandmother, who then handed them to the CNA who was there.

It was only after they left with the pictures that I realized that none of us had thought to share the pictures with the two residents who were sitting with us at the table.  Even though it was the memory care unit, both were women who are communicative and known to all of us.  But there they sat, smiling as we talked about the baby, but not included in the picture viewing or conversation.

How sad that we so unconsciously contribute to making the senior population invisible.  So sad that we've also taken away their voices.  A number of years ago there was an uproar over security cameras in senior care facilities.  The argument against them was that they would infringe on the privacy of the residents.  Perhaps they could also be the eyes and the voice for the residents, documenting their lives for our edification and/or education.  Sometimes it's just too easy not to see.

Unhook Your Buttons

There are some wonderful advantages to aging.  For one thing, aging keeps a person from the option.  When an elderly relative of mine would lament, "Don't get old!" I would always ask, "What's the option?"  Aging means you haven't yet experienced that option and there's still time to clean out the junk drawer, or whatever you see as necessary in order to fulfill your personal definition of success.

The other advantage of aging is the gift of time which offers the opportunity to develop perspective.  The word, impossible, can morph into the words, I'm possible.  And then there's that blessed gift of time that allows us to better understand our most interesting selves.  We get to see, if we're brave enough to look, our quirks and foibles, but also our strengths and beauty.

In the foible department, I've finally come to recognize some of my personal buttons.  You know, those things that annoy the dickens out of me.  My hot buttons.  What those actual buttons are is irrelevant.  How I react when one is pushed becomes the issue.  You know those discussions that are like a hamster on a wheels.  They go round and round and never get anywhere, and yet we engage in them because...?  Beats me.

So what, I asked myself, would happen if instead of reacting to one of my favorite protagonist's annoying remarks (am I biased, or what!) I simply smiled.  What if I responded with, "That's an interesting way to look at things."  Another smile.  I'm here to tell you that it drives that particular friend absolutely crazy!  It also slows me down enough to listen and sometimes find out that they do have an interesting way of looking at some things.  Emphasis on the words interesting and some.  I'm not yet in the running for sainthood.

So try unhooking some of your hot buttons with the people in your life.  It will give you more energy to develop the you that you long to become before this age thing runs out.  And it will drive those disagreeing people crazy!

What You See Is What You Get

Visions of Spring to Come

Time for a motivational speaker that will knock your socks off?  Go to TED.com and under speakers look for Caroline Casey.  This is a woman who was fortunate enough to have her parents lie to her, if omission is a form of lying.

Once again, her story supports the adage that we live into our beliefs no matter how askew they might be of what other people consider "reality".  This short video makes me wonder if reality should be ranked right next to normal.  Two very interesting words.

A word of caution.  If you Google Caroline Casey the first listings you'll come up with are for Caroline Casey of Coyote Network, a visionary activist.  OK.  I've had the experience of hearing this Caroline Casey present at a conference I attended and she was another rattle your beliefs type presenter.  But if you scroll down about a half dozen listings you'll see the Caroline Casey TED listing.

Great viewing while waiting for spring to burst forth.  Come on, Spring!

Disclaimer:  One of my creative writing teachers said that I was not allowed to capitalize the word, spring, unless my name was Emily Dickinson.  So much for obeying all the rules.  I repeat.  Come on, Spring!

Meeting Patti

In my last post I referenced a book, "Life is a Verb," by Patti Digh.  By checking her blog I found out that Patti was scheduled to speak in various large cities around the United states, and also in Menomonie Wisconsin, a town of about 14,000 people and numerous cows.  Serendipitously, Menomonie is but a four plus hour drive from my home and on the way to Minneapolis.  Is this making any sense to you?  Hold on!

The night of Digh's presentation in Monomonie was the night before my husband and I were planning a weekend in Minneapolis.  There's more!  My husband is a truck driver who drives to Minneapolis and back.  He would actually be in the area the morning after the presentation and maybe (big maybe) he could convince the company he drives for to allow him to leave their semi-trailer at a truck stop for the weekend.  We could then meet the morning after the presentation and save hundreds of miles of driving.  Of course they wouldn't let him leave a trailer for the weekend, I thought.  But of course, they did.

Early in my reasoning process (does this sound like I was being reasonable?) I almost brushed aside the possibility of hearing an author that I greatly admire.  How foolish.  I continue to learn that stepping into plans nudges things into place.

Patti Digh was beautifully marvelous.  The first 100 attendees received a free copy of her new book, "Creative is a Verb".  Yes, I did.  I also purchased "Four Words Self Help: Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives" and "What I Wish for You: Simple Wisdom for a Happy Life".  I also learned that life presents itself in response to effort.  That's a really big thought that's going to take a bit of time to process.

Thanks to Patti for the beautiful evening, to the company that allowed one of its trailers to park for the weekend, and to my husband for stepping into these plans with me.  A good time was had by all!

Lightening Up

I just held a garage sale.  The idea for this event came to me through a number of happenings in my life.  First, I attended a presentation by a feng shui practitioner who encourages people to rid themselves of 90% of their possessions.  Her question behind this suggestion is, do you own your things or do your things own you?  Upkeep and storage of items caused me to use my energy on things I didn't necessarily want to be doing.

I did not hit the 90% goal with my sale.  I aimed for 50% and hit about 20%.  But even at the 20% mark my husband and I notice a new calmness in the house.  We now have space to breathe.  Things I seldom or never used no longer take up space.  Did I really need 6 pie plates when I never bake pies?  I saved my favorite pie plate for quiche baking, but a rectangular pan would work just as well, especially with a crustless quiche.

The second catalyst for my garage sale came from reading and mulling over the book, "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh. The book is based on the time that Digh cared for her step-father during his 37 day end-of-life experience.  It was a mere 37 days from his diagnosis to his death.  She urges people to ask themselves about the important things in their lives - what they are and how to bring them front and center.

My goal this year is to simplify.  I'm also being more thoughtful with the use of my time and energy, allocating them to the people in my life and to those things that I always meant to get around to.  Spring sunshine and 20% less things to take care of seem to be a good start for me.

Paying Attention

The other day I was visiting a senior care facility at mealtime.  It was also at this time that the RN on duty was passing out meds.  She was going at a pretty fast clip, but still taking time to interact verbally with each resident.  Her comments were upbeat.  This enabled her to dispatch her duties with little or no resistance from the residents.  But maybe she was going a little too fast.

As she approached one woman in a wheelchair the resident immediately picked up her water glass, obviously knowing the drill.  "I can see that you're a lefty," the nurse said in a cheerful voice.  "You picked up your water glass right away with your left hand when you saw me coming."  The resident didn't comment.  An appropriate comment from the resident might have been, "Did you notice that I don't have a right arm?"

Just a little extra time.  Just a few seconds more.  Slowing down to inhabit their space and their world for just a little while.  That shouldn't be too much to ask.

Pretty Kitty Waste Basket

The reference to a cat in the title of this piece has nothing to do with the finished project presented this month.  It has everything to do with the container that's recycled for this project, namely, a cat litter jug. 

To create this project we simply cut the tops off of the containers so they resemble a small waste basket.  I did this with a box cutter to start, and finished off with a scissors.  Next, we took scraps of paper and some embellishments and attached them with our favorite adhesive, gloss gel.   This is most easily done by brushing a section of the container with the gloss gel and placing a piece of decorative paper onto the section.  We used paper cut into 2x2 inch pieces.  Torn pieces of paper would also be nice to use.

It's good to start your first row about an inch from the top.  The row that you place above that can then fold over the edge of the container and create a nice, smooth edge around the top, even if your container is cut a little uneven.

As far as choice of paper you could use old greeting cards, pictures from magazines, or old calendars.  When the project was finished one of the activity people took the containers home and coated them with a few coats of polyurethane.  This did not seem to affect the paper or the embellishments.

Besides using these containers for waste baskets, they could also be used to store magazines or mail.  So very pretty, and the residents loved them!

Dry Clean Only

I recently attended a presentation by a feng shui practitioner.  It had a good news/bad news effect.  Coupled with the "Spring Cleaning" bacteria that infects my psyche at this time of year, my house and possessions were in trouble.

Being the type of cleaner that I am, living by the motto, "After four years it doesn't get any worse," I approached my cleaning enthusiasm cautiously, starting with a few simple areas.  But finally, I had to face my nemesis.  Namely, my bathroom.

Although the above mentioned room is sanitary, if you don't count dust bunnies, the room had one irksome cleaning dilemma.   The shower curtain, which in spite of it's beauty, had collected a bit of soap scum on one of its corners.  Aside from that it hangs there in all its glorious gold and cream brocade, sporting a little tag that says, "Dry Clean Only."  And so you ask, who would be the idiot to purchase a dry clean only shower curtain.  Guilty as charged.

Realizing that I was unwilling to live any longer with the soaped up corner, and also unwilling to take a shower curtain to the dry cleaners, I grit my teeth and threw the shower curtain into the washer, wishing it the best of luck.  The worst case scenario would be a ruined curtain which would allow me to shop for a new one.  There are worse things in life.  Magically, however, the shower curtain came out of the washer in pristine condition.  Soap scum gone, fabric unscathed. 

Isn't that the way it goes.  Sometimes we live with irksome conditions, unwilling to take a chance and ask that simple question, "What's the worst thing that could happen?"   Armed with this success, the rest of my rooms, and perhaps other parts of my life, are in for some makeovers.  My new question is, "What's the best thing that could happen?"

Why We Talk

I recently read an article with ideas on why people talk.  Instinctively, I'd probably respond that people talk in order to gather or give information.  The article took a different slant and caused me to take another look at my interactions with the senior population.

According to the article, we talk in order to make ourselves known and to position ourselves.  We make ourselves known by revealing things about ourselves and making a noise that tells other people that we exist.  We position ourselves by getting reactions to, and repeating our stories that get positive reactions.

For instance - if a young child you know, such as your own child, a grandchild, a niece or nephew, or some other small person, does something that you consider interesting or note worthy, it's likely that you're going to share the story with those you come in contact with.  So, you might come to work and relate that this child corrected a teacher in math class and proved that they (the child) had a better understanding of the subject matter than the teacher did.  You tell a co-worker who says how proud you must be and what brilliant children you have in your family.  Score!  A story, obviously, worth repeating throughout the day.  You bask in the accolades given to someone that you know.

But what if the reaction you encountered ran something like, "What a belligerent little snip that child seems to be.  I only hope you're watchful so the child doesn't grow up to be a mass murderer!"  Whoa!  Get that reaction a few times and you might file your story in the "Do Not Share" file.

So we tell stories that will reflect positively on ourselves and on those who are part of our lives.  There are also those stories where we're wronged or where we're heroes.  These seem to be some of our culture's favorites. 

So how does this affect the senior population in our care?  All too often, when I work at or visit a facility I observe staff talking to each other instead of talking with the resident that they're dealing with.  Whether it's feeding or exercising the resident, the staff member, all too often, is talking and looking through the resident.  This is, of course, normal.  That's because we're generally not going to get a reaction from the resident about the incidents we have on our story board for the day and which we consider worthy of note.

The other thing I've observed is that many times when a staff person passes other staff in the hall they greet each other, even though they both may be pushing a resident in a wheel chair or walking with a resident.  Most often the residents look detached from what's going on around them.  As an experiment I decided not to greet staff who are with residents.  Instead, I'd make eye contact with the resident and give a greeting.  It's amazing how their faces light up and they come into the present, delighted that someone is aware of their existence.


Finally, I'd like to give recognition to the vast majority of staff who share themselves, listen, and are present to those seniors who are cut off from social interactions in so many ways.  It's a kindness to give them their opportunities to make themselves known and to appreciate the lives they led in the past and the time their sharing with us in the present.  You are a blessing to their lives.

Thank you for all that you do.

Quinoa and Veggies - Recipe for Life

This probably won't even qualify for sharing a recipe with you this month, which will make a little more sense once you read through the rest of this entry.

To begin with, the following recipe calls for, among other things, celery, small carrots, frozen peas, brown mustard seeds, paprika, coriander, and cashew pieces or sunflower seeds, all of which I did not have in the house when I decided to make this dish.  Did I go to the store?  Guess again.  I substituted frozen carrots, broccoli and cauliflower for the veggies that I didn't have on hand, prepared mustard for the mustard seed (is that legal) and I ignored the rest of the missing ingredients. 

The recipe also calls for soy sauce, which I had on hand, but failed to add.  Go figure.  Just one of those days.  And isn't that what life is sometimes like.  As Miss Piggy would say, "You got to go with what you got."  She also said, "Never eat more than you can lift," which I consider words to live by.

But on to the recipe in its original form.  What you do with the recipe once it's in your hot little hands is up to you.

Quinoa and Veggies

Ingredients
  2 cups cooked quinoa
  2 T cooking oil
  1 stalk celery, sliced
  1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
  1 cup frozen peas
  1 t brown mustard seed
  1/2 t dry ginger
  1 t paprika
  1/2 t ground cumin
  1 t ground coriander
  1/2 t turmeric
  pinch cayenne
  1 T soy sauce
  1/4 cup cashew pieces or sunflower seeds
  1/4 cup chopped parsley - optional

In a large, shallow pan heat the oil.  Add the mustard seeds and cook on medium high heat until the seeds begin to pop.

Add the carrots, celery, peas and nuts and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining spices along with 2 T water.  Cover and steam until the veggies are tender.  Mix in the quinoa and steam for a few more minutes until everything is hot.  This would be a good time to stir in the optional parsley. 

Serve and enjoy.

OK.  You'll notice that the picture with this recipe is not a picture of quinoa and veggies.  That's because we ate it all.  Every last bite.  It was simply delicious in its cobbled together form.  The picture included is dad at age 96 and still finding things to smile about.  Isn't life just full of wonderful moments!

Pretty Paper Part Two

As promised, I have pictures of what we did with the decorative papers that we made by painting brown, paper bags.  The most simple thing to make would be cards, which we still might do in the future.  For our recent gathering, however, some residents combined our handmade, patterned paper with bits of other paper and ribbon to cover boxes to use as plant stands.  There are always those plants with trailing vines that could use a little bit of a lift above the fray.

Some of the other residents used the patterned paper with other paper and bits of ribbon to cover boxes that can be used as trays for their dressers.  A good place for earrings and other odds and ends.  I did some larger pieces of paper, which I'm planning to make into wall hangings.

And as always, we created a sense of community and a sense of fun.  And isn't that the whole point of activities!