The Muse of The Day

Connecting The Dots

I finally stopped yesterday and I took a break. I know I have been gone from the blog scene for ever and a day. I appreciate seeing my inbox full with all your emails wondering if some tornado or health issue has ripped apart my life. Not so. However it did feel like all hell was breaking loose for a full, solid month.

Yesterday morning I was in Chattanooga a bit too early to get my food shopping done; I know not to show up first thing at the market before the produce folks have fully stocked their bins. So I stopped to have a cappuccino.

I had it at the Mean Mug, a coffee house in the heart of Chattanooga,close to the station with the Chattanooga choo-choo that we all have grown up hearing about in that song (for a blast from the past, click on that link). That part of town has that undercurrent type of artistic pulse that you can feel in your soul. The shops are tucked in, here and there, down streets that could use a repaving. They are a little hard to find, but once you do, you know you have found a gem. It is a little like antique store hunting. Once you find those gems, they get permanently ingrained in your memory. I seem to have an internal GPS for places like this.

The pubs and restaurants seem to have an uncanny ability to find chalkboard artists that really payed attention in penmanship class.

The decor is always a bit offbeat, not quite polished - almost as if on purpose...

just unpolished enough so that you feel like you have something in common with it. You; your body, your personality, your history - all of it, not quite perfect, not quite polished, but honest, creative and good to the core, both in principle and in action.

It was there that I decided to finally take a break. With me, I had my latest book purchase, The Forest Unseen, A Year's Watch In Nature. It is a book written by a professor of biology of his discoveries watching a very small patch of earth in the mountains, here, not far from my home in Tennessee. Look for it on the link, under "Outdoors", if you like Walden Pond by Thoreau, you will like this book. It is a modern day version that will make you look differently at your own slice of the world.

It was a good place (and time) to stop and connect the dots. I have been going ... and going... like crazy since I got back from my second trip. I know you are saying, "What trip?". I went out of the country, again, I had so much to share and so many photos to cull through that it all became overwhelming. I just couldn't get it together enough to blog. Life took over, on over drive, and things just fast forwarded until right now. When I stopped to look at the past few weeks, it was a long list that I had been swamped with.

For the most part, the long list consisted of all things motherly. A highlight was seeing my oldest, Nica, in a couple of performances.

The "low" light, and I mean to say VERY low light, had to do with all the pollen we have been cloaked in. This little bit is from a 15 square foot area in the porch.Two days after having swept it all clean, I had to do it all over again.

My youngest, Laela, is now on allergy shots.

What that means is that instead of five hours of daily driving, I am now, twice a week, doing seven so that she can get shots at an allergy specialist. I am looking at it from the perspective of seven hours of driving vs. my precious daughter breathing. It is an easy choice, though a very exhausting task. You know that I will be shouting for joy when the school year ends in May.

All this brings me to the thing I want to tell you most. Beauty is everywhere I look, even on days when I am bogged down with a heavy handed "must-do" list for the day. I can look back on my days by connecting the dots in terms of things I accomplished - like an endless checklist of dots that connect like a never ending "DNA twist", or I can can take a different tack. I want that "DNA twist" to give me life, not rob me of it. So rather than the dots being tasks that were accomplished, I want those dots to represent connections I made with other people. Privately, I will be keeping a "connect-the-dots list" of connections I have made with people. You, for example.

I want the common thread to be beauty. Beauty like these blossoms of the Mountain Laurel all over the mountain, opening now in it's own time, on the second and third weeks of May, in a cycle of it's own.

I am going to keep a log of how and when I have connected, and with whom, when the beauty factor was present and also was the overriding factor to notice. After a while, I hope I can look back and connect the dots, of beauty, if you will, and see if it is a better assessment of my life - a more true one, one with more lasting power.

So where do you come in? Ideally I would have all of you blogging, but I know that is a lot to wish for. If you have been on the fence about starting a blog, go for it, just post things to do with beauty until your own voice bubbles to the surface. Blogging is a way, though, that I can see the beauty you have to share. Some of you see my blog on Facebook, although I "get it", Facebook is hard to keep up with. I miss one day, and I may have missed your "beauty moment." If you have something beautiful to share, let me know in the "Comments" section at the end of my posts whenever you feel like it. If you want me to link it in to a post so others can see, I will do that. If you want to keep it just between us - no problem, I can see it via email. Either way, this life is a pretty difficult one, and recording the moments of beauty is well worth my time. Hope you feel like sharing with me.

Below is a quick video I shot while on my hike on Thursday. Some of you might think it is not that exciting, but I think there is beauty in it for you to see and hear.

Hoping to fill my "Beauty Book",

your friend,

Carolina

   

 

Taking A Cue From Mother Nature

I finally finished all of the stitches on the Blue Skies top. It is the rosebud stitch, but reminds me more of leaves on a vine. I am glad I have finished it.

I have been out hiking around my mountain ... "getting my feet wet" and thinking about going back to tackle what I started on the other blog. My ankle is not perfect, but with Spring here, I am chomping at the bit to get out and do some long hikes. I have been having breakfast out on my local, shorter hikes, here on the mountain.

You can't imagine how absolutely content I am to stop for a bite of breakfast out on a hike and peel my oranges listening to and looking at this:

  

Lately, Mother Nature seems to be on a roll. It is hard to walk more than ten feet at a time without having to pull out my camera and attempt to capture the beauty she has placed before my eyes.

If you enlarge that picture you will see all the bees that were collecting nectar while I was there. It gave me immense pleasure to stick my head in amongst the blossoms to shoot this picture and have all the bees buzzing around my head but way too busy to take notice of me.

There was even a butterfly.

Looking up at the sky filled my heart with hope. How can this be sooo beautiful?

I made it back to the house, inspired, and attempted to make a collar for a jacket that reflected what I had just seen.

OK, so it needs some work. Both the embroidery of the flowers and the free-motion quilting could use more practice. The point is that I got inspired by Mother Nature, took her cue, and went home and did something about it. It felt good to not think and just do.

On one of my hikes I also saw this, future leaves I believe:

The colors inspired me to try this:

I goofed on the flower pattern - it is supposed to have a total of six petals. At the point of taking the picture, I realized I was going on my seventh petal. I wanted this project to be well on it's way for next week, but it is simply not going to happen.

Mother Nature has been making an appearance all over the state. I love it.

I haven't photographed even a tiny fraction of the trees in bloom, but seeing them has been enough to propel me to work on inventing my own flowers.

I was accused, the other day, of not living in reality - of living a fantasy existence. I didn't respond to them as they were cloaked in bitterness. I have sadness and stress in my life too - EVERY day, but I push with all my might against it and choose to focus on the beauty this life is offering me. Let me reword that - it is not so much that I focus on the beauty around me and dismiss the intensity of the stress and sadness, but rather I put myself forth as a vehicle for the beauty that mother nature provides me. I guess the best way to explain it is that I try my hardest to re-express it, all of it: the color, the peace, the awe in it all.

If you are going to take a cue from something outside yourself ... don't you think that Mother Nature is like the top-dog of all cue providers?

?

I will remain in someone else's fantasy existence because it is my reality.

I have made it so.

Carolina

 

A Very Different View

I haven't quite figured out this new Typepad App on my iPhone. Supposedly I should be able to create a post from anywhere on my phone. So far it doesn't let me post a photo, talk a bit, then post another photo. You just might be getting them all in a clump. maybe it will teach me to just get on with it an not be so verbose.

24 hours ago, I was in the US. The flight down on Delta wasn't "bad", I just kept thinking that it was the most expensive one night stay ($700 to fly down here one way) that I had had in a long time ... all night long I played Twister with this flimsy little blanket and simply could not find a comfortable place to lay my head against without causing my Bose noise canceling head phones to literally flip off my cranium. Really. There must be a better way.
I rented an apartment smack dab in the middle of the arts district in Santiago- it has an edgy vibe ... you know ... the kind of vibe that is cool to watch but you wouldn't want your kids going out for a walk to experience it without you.

After finding my way, on my swollen-from-the-all-night-flight feet, to a place where I could exchange my one colored American money for gorgeous multicolored, clear window toting, Chilean currency, I bought a prepaid phone (cheaper than $4 per minute roaming on my iPhone) and set out to find some real food. I found this great little cafe where I downed a 10" tall glass of freshly made raspberry juice. It was worth the flight.
Oooh... Just realized my one letter at a time typing, here, has made me late. One of my drop dead gorgeous cousins is picking me up for drinks in 20 minutes and I am no where near presentable. I hope wherever we go to have drinks provides a drool bucket- he is THAT gorgeous. Daniela - do you remember Rodrigo? I will make sure to give him an extra kiss from you. Aren't I considerate?

Hoping this post actually gets to you. I will see you again soon if it all works out.

All the way from Chile,

Carolina

The Week In A Photo Blast

Most of my week was spent being a mother and a housewife. My husband was away on business, but the house still needed me. Yes, I am wife to the house, I believe I am married to the house. Early morning sunrises were seen from the window of my car.

Most of my drives were spent arguing with the newest licensed driver in our household. She has her license, and she is doing the actual driving, but I am just not ready to let her do the driving all on her own yet. I am praying and hoping the day comes soon when maturity takes a solid hold in her.

I spent my swearing quota for the year on this Butterick pattern. It says "Fast & Easy" ... they lied.

I am not to happy with the results, but I did photograph myself in it so you could see what I mean.

I was attempting to figure out how I can sew clothing for myself with all the bright colored fabrics out there and yet look ... mmm... not fruity or like I am wearing a quilt. I have a ways to go, but will continue working on the concept of wearing bright colors and having neutrals play a role in them.

I talked at length with my tree guy. His wife is dying of cancer.  Seeing him up there on one of my trees this week made me think about heaven. 

It was a very sad week overall as one of my dearest friends is also dealing with a difficult cancer.

I bought myself flowers to lift my spirits.

I must say, even though they are expensive to buy and not very "green" when you know they are being shipped from thousands of miles away, they do help.

Having the colors in the house propelled me to forget my Butterick disappointment and create my own pattern. I made a couple of dresses from it. I will try and photograph myself in them soon.

When the flowers started dying, I started thinking about just how short our lives really are and that there is beauty in all of it ... every step of the way.

I went out and did what any sane person would do. I bought more flowers.

It made cleaning the house an easier task. I must add here, cleaning my girls bathroom (below) made me question my parenting abilities. My little "ladies" are a bit more on the "piglet" side when it comes to bathrooms.

I put a few flowers in my bathroom too. We had the bamboo sinks crack and they needed to be replaced. Think internet purchases, delivery, plumbers ... "fun,fun"... NOT. When it is grey outside and there are flowers between our sinks, I don't dwell on the bamboo sink fiasco as much.

Melissa has been blogging on steroids lately, all her colorful projects made a quick side trip to Sew Be It in Georgia and the ensuing purchase inevitable.

Back and forth, back and forth to school.

Thinking, contemplating.

Realizing that with all the suffering there is in this world, it still is a beautiful place to be.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my week in photos.

See you next time,

Carolina

It's A Girl Thing

I hope you all had a beautiful Easter. I wrote my last post, of Easter memories, perhaps because I was a bit melancholy. I knew this Easter would be different because one of my girls wasn't going to be here for it. This Easter my oldest daughter and I, were left to our own devices. Without a family to cook for, I offered my oldest a "free pass" to do only what she wanted to do - she didn't hesitate. Before I was finished asking what she wanted to do, she had her answer- SHOPPING. Now, you must understand that there was NOTHING we needed to buy, but we went anyways. We shopped like we meant it. In order to do that I had to trade my mountains for the sparkling mountains of Atlanta, Georgia:

Instead of eating my Easter gourmet feast, we feasted at several upscale spots. My favorite, though, was Market, a swanky eatery in the heart of Buckhead, a shopping mecca for women who understand that shopping is a girl thing. Market is just one of several  restaurants created by Jean-George Vongerichten that serve out-of-this-world food. I dined like royalty. One of my most memorable dishes was a soup of puréed spring pea shoots with a parmesan foam on top. At my house... the "chef", your's truly, doesn't do "foam on food". You will have to make do with the one photo, below, and take my word for it that it was "fabuloso". It just wasn't the kind of place where a girl in cowboy boots can blend in and whip out a camera at the same time. The only reason I managed to take this one pic was because it was an empty area near the loo. 

We went to Atlanta with full intentions of doing marathon shopping. Many places, though, were out of our league. Several of the stores we entered had gorgeous women buying expensive gorgeous stuff while their gorgeous bodyguards/drivers waited at the door. Or at least that is what I thought was going on until I realized the stores themselves, like Louis Vuitton below, had been extremely thoughtful and kept me in mind when hiring very cute "bodyguards" to actually guard their stuff. 

For the entire weekend we wore our cowboy boots because we knew we were out of practice for marathon shopping after living on the mountain for so long and our feet had to be comfortable if we were going to last three whole days. The girls there, though, were wearing stilettos. It seemed like every store had a high volume of stilettos on the floor. 

With prices to match. In the past few weeks I have had over forty countries reading my blog so I will be very clear so that there is no miscommunication with the image below of the price of the shoe. Those aren't pesos, those are good old american U.S. dollars - three thousand, three hundred, and ninety five of them is what they want. I understand that shopping is a girl thing, but really, I could feed an orphanage in Vietnam on that for a year. My feet will never be that precious. 

I did get a chance to see one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie. The beauty of going all the way down to Atlanta to see my favorite store is that they had it SUPER SIZED. I was in Anthropologie heaven. Their clothing  and their house stuff is all right up my alley, but that is not the reason I go there.

I go there because I simply can't get enough of their displays. They are clever on steroids. Just look at how they displayed all these kitchen timers. Brilliant. I felt like I was reaching in for a lemon drop.

I also love that they never have stopped me from taking photos - in any of their stores. Whenever I go to a city, I stop into their stores for a jolt of creativity. Had I been younger, I would have been trying to work for their corporate offices in Philadelphia. click on this link if you really want to be jealous of all the creative people who do work at their corporate office. The link will take you to see photos of their parent offices at Urban Outfitters.

On with the shopping. We didn't stay in Buckhead the whole time. We also went to some of the cozier villages. I was a very good girl at the paper store in Vinings. Vinings felt a little like Santa Monica without the boardwalk or the homeless. Lots of quaint shops with spots to quench your thirst or get a healthy bite to eat.

If I may be allowed one more comparison to California: we also made time to visit Little Five Points. If Buckhead is the well-to-do relative, Little Five Points is the bohemian rebel in the family. It was very remmenicent of time I had innocently spent at Haight-Ashbury, in San Francisco, in my earlier days.

The vintage stores there, were killer. At the sight of the "gentlemen" hanging around the only vacant parking spot, I swore I would only use cash in this part of town. Do you think the two of us in cowboy boots stood out there? It was a very difficult thing to stick to not using my credit card as we wove our way in and around the vintage stores there. Stefan's was the best store of the lot: great selection, super helpful staff, no incense burning, and everybody wasn't ultra tattooed, pierced, or coifed in dreadlocks.

In the end, though, I suppose it was a good idea to not use our credit card in all the shops at Little Five Points. We probably would have loaded up the car if we hadn't stuck to our cash only policy. Nica ended up with a lovely pink vintage dress that she wore on Easter Sunday. She looked like a little, pink, asian, Easter confection.

Although it was a VERY different kind of Easter for both of us, we had a blast. Thanks to our treasured cowboy boots we faired pretty well doing back to back twelve hour shopping days. Now I am back on my mountain. I am glad we had our weekend, one on one. 

Some of you may ask "Why drive three and a half hours and shop 'till you drop when you don't really NEED anything?" For my daughter, it's a girl thing. If marathon shopping is not my cup of tea, then you might ask "Why did I do it?" It's a mama thing.

Let's Not Talk About It

My car, thanks to the lovely layer of ice covering my road, has a jaw dropping new gash on the side of it, but I don't want to talk about it. Let me show you the beautiful things that occurred today instead.

 

 

 

 

SHE is in transit

The past few days, here, have been bleak and cold. The sky has remained a deep grey, a grey so like the wool of a sweater I once knit for one whom never returned his love to me. It has not mattered whether it is morning or afternoon, it is as if my eyes had been veiled from the loveliness I know is beyond the the woolen cape engulfing me.

Our screened summer porch resembles frozen tears more than the retreat for late night get-togethers with friends that it becomes on sultry summer evenings when the ever present hum of the cicadas and the tree frog songs try to compete with our laughter. After a night of dense fog, we awoke to a frozen stillness.

Every bare branch and every evergreen bared the mark of the frigid temps on this mountain in the middle of nowhere.

But this post is not about the lock the weather has been holding on us, for this post is titled "SHE is in transit". I will let you have your take on it for a moment for winter solstice, on the eve of December 21, is almost upon us. She, to you, could mean "Lady Spring". When I look closely at the evergreen needles I see how the icicles have formed horizontally as the wind blew on each little needle of this pine. Up close, they remind me of asparagus, the first sign of spring's arrival in a vegetable garden.

They are a symbol of hope, of good things to come.

This afternoon we experienced a bit of a thaw for a few hours. Just long enough for me to begin to think about this "SHE". 

SHE will be here in the next few days. I have not made any preparations for her. SHE, I am calling Maggie. Maggie is not a relative, not a pet, not a child to be adopted, nor is she a friend or hired help. Maggie is coming here to stay. Permanently. I am hoping though that she will breath an extraordinary amount of new life into the year 2011 and thereafter. Alicia knows about Maggie, but she has been sworn to secrecy. I have kept Maggie a secret from everyone else. You will get to know Maggie, of course. I will tell you her likes & dislikes, and I will share with you all the details about the marvelous magical city she lives in. I am ill prepared to host her on a long term basis, but I will do my best to make the necessary adjustments on my behalf.

Many of you have given up on this post at least 400 words ago. The others, my heart is warmed, will have to wait until she arrives like asparagus and spring, changing my world completely.

A hint perhaps?

She will be there for me through thick and thin.

Anoother?

She does not fly, she travels only by truck. By the time she arrives, she will most probably feel like a solid block of ice, but no matter what mother nature has in store outside, inside it will be the beginning of spring, a complete rebirth of who I am.

Until then,   Carolina

Bring It On

It is 29° F  outside. Brrr. For those of you below the equator this is equivalent to living in a walk-in freezer. I miss the long days of sunshine, but I have to admit that the nippy cold weather bites my nose and makes me think of Christmas.

Although we don't have our Christmas tree yet and haven't even begun making Christmas cookies, the decorating has begun. I have lugged from house to house for YEARS my children's shoes from when they were little. At Christmas time I line them all up by the front door. As my children walk by them, they might pick up a pair in disbelief that once upon a time they might have actually worn such tiny shoes. Some of them fit in their palms. 

As they inspect their old shoes, I seize the opportunity to share with them a story about what kind of things they did or said when they wore those shoes. Being that both my girls are adopted, this type of story telling gives them a "past" that at Christmas time seems so important.

My favorite Christmas decoration is my collection of German smokers. You can see the little one in the middle of the photo, below, is actually "smoking". It actually is burning an incense that smells like balsam fir, or rather - Christmas trees.

Each one is different.

My favorite is the one below. As it smokes it turns around on it's base to a sweet tinkling melody. When I turn the base to wind it I am filled with the anticipation of Christmas. So yes it is wicked cold outside. I don't care. BRING IT ON.

 

Honey, I Am Home

One last summer fling in Savannah, Georgia. It is a place that feels like rushing is against the law, where even the trees in the streets seem to take their time growing old.

The waterways there seem to meander slowly - however it is nature fooling you for the tides move in and out at a speed that would make docking any boat a challenge, for the current is swift when the tides are doing their thing.

We were there because my girls where joining other home-schoolers in a hands-on Marine Biology class. I was just grateful to be in sandals one more time.

The days were spent learning on site at the Burton Center and on the beach,

in the water,

surf sleuthing with huge nets,

touching things that looked positively questionable yet magical,

discovering things like the large claw on a male fiddler crab is there ONLY for the purpose of attracting the female.

When not dissecting sharks or handling live animals native to Tybee Island where the class took place, trips into the marsh provided more than a plethora of learning, they also provided free mud masks and fun.

When it was all said and done, after 12 hour days, I needed a civilized break. Daddy knew just how to bring me back to life. We had lunch in downtown Savannah at Vic's On The River. This was the picture I took while I waited for a gourmet version of fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and tomato chutney.

When all the courses had been served and I had finished my cappuccino, it was time for a leisurly stroll through the downtown streets of Savannah.

I managed to make it through the afternoon without twisting an ankle - a miracle considering what was underfoot.

All in all, it was beautiful and educational. To quote Dorothy, though, "there is no place like home".

I am glad to be back. I missed you all.

 

Watching The Paint Dry

I thought I was all set with my studio desk. I made it, organized it, posted about it, and went upstairs to make dinner feeling pretty smug and accomplished. When dinner was done and the family was getting ready to settle in and watch a movie, I declined to join them and told them all I was too excited about my new desk top and was going to go work in the studio. Giddy, like a child, I walked into my studio feeling like I was getting the better form of entertainment for the night. I flicked on the lights and waited for them to adjust. Those super duper energy saver lights - the CFO's (compact flouresent) take a couple of minutes to "bloom" as I call it. While I waited I admired the grand expanse of workspace I now had. Pause. My table had a greenish tinge to it, I waited for the lights to come on full power and for that greenish cast to dissappear. Big, long, pause... still waiting for the lights ... still waiting ... green, Green, GREEN ??? The lights fully "bloomed", but my desktop still had that green tinge. Apparently, at night, that was the way the lights were going to make it look. Well, I would have none of it. I put some fabric swatches on it to see how well I could judge color, but it was a no go. A sleepless night ensued and the next day I was the proud owner of yet another power tool, a palm sander. 

Since then I sanded all the coating off - I needed the palm sander so that I would only take the clear finish off and not go right through the plywood. The belt sander I had would have been too much. Does it sound like I am quantifying my purchase and the addition of yet another power tool to my arsenal? You "betcha". Now that I had the egg yolk yellow sawhorses screwed into the plywood, I got to test the movability factor of my desk top. It was "no problema". Most of my week has been spent, then, on this desk. Sanding, 2 coats of priming, and many coats of paint later ... I am just watching the paint dry.

In an effort to give you something more creative to ponder, I am going to include 3 images of bridges I saw in Maine while we were on our summer road trip. Since this post is about my greenish hued desk top I think it's a good time to share these images with you. They are a bit "out there" on the color. I think it is important to push the envelope, if you will, with color. It makes you see things differently. Hopefully my desk will dry soon and I can get going soon on my other projects. See you then.   Carolina

 

 

  
 

Koda- CHROME

I love my husband, but one of his best features is also one of his worst. He is the kind of guy that doesn't dilly dally, he doesn't just sit around waiting for things to happen - he gets it done as expeditiously as possible. Most of the time that is a great feature to have but we just took a family road trip and I was privy to the other side of the coin - he didn't want to stop on the highway so I could get a picture or two for my blog.

 

Now , you must understand that he did pullover to let me take pictures whenever I wanted, whenever we weren't on the highway, that is. On the way to Maine I was busy stitching the quilt as it was part of our wedding gift, on the way back I had to find a way to entertain myself. Hence, the photos you are looking at.

 

 

But just look at those shadows. I couldn't help but notice the lovely patterns the shadows made. Many a trucker gave me an odd look as I stuck my phone out the window of our overly stuffed vehicle. I am sure I am not the first one to do that, but I am pretty sure I am one of the oldest.

I love all things girly,colorful, with a dose of vintage. But I gotta tell you these trucks are too beautiful to not notice. Don't you just think "quilts" when you see them?

Personally, I couldn't get enough of them. I find there is so much beauty in our world and it is not all found in nature.

 

From now on, if I am not driving, I will be taking pictures out the window with my little phone & loving all the patterns and reflections that are out there, and the love of my life will be happy that I didn't ask him to pull over for me.

 

Do you remember the Kodachrome song? It is right up there with American Pie for a road trip song. Do you feel the need to sing it full out?  Come on, I have sung it twenty times already. Jodi? Remember doing karaoke together in Aruba? Come on, click here and lets sing it together.
 

Until next time,  Carolina
 

 
 

 

Walk With Me

Walk with me on my mountain, past the things that have been put there by us

Past the tree with the bulging growths on it's trunk

 

Down the path to the lake past the bent tree

 

Let's make sure we don't miss the tiny wildflower meadow

 

nor the fallen Tulip tree blossoms
 

Step ever so gently upon the ground cover

  

Rejoice with me as I see Mother Nature's Mother's Day gift to me

 

and the everyday wonder of the Sassafras leaves

Wait for me while I ponder a while on life's little miracles 

and not just look at, but really see those that share this earth together

 

Just like you and me
 

Walk with me a while.