good reasons for loving fridays

i'm home today!


hooray for Fridays ... I say. And who doesn't! I suppose someone who's Monday began on Friday wouldn't like Friday's too much, unless of course they had a job which entailed testing chocolate or ice cream or mattresses, or how long it takes to fall asleep under a down comforter, or playing with puppies all day. I suppose then one would love their Monday which was really Friday for everyone else, and then the people who loved Friday wouldn't like Friday so much anymore because they couldn't wait wait to get back to their ice cream and chocolate, mattresses and puppies. That said ... what the heck is this post all about anyway?

oh yes, today is Friday. And I have many things to do, but being a free bird on Fridays I flutter around and do the things that give me great pleasure, one of which is shopping for silver findings, such fun, and the others entail eating comfort food like macaroni and cheese and playing with my two unmannerly parrots, my sweet doggies and extremely chubby cat. Such things don't really take getting used to. They are sort of the frosting on the cake of life. Such things are Fridays made of!

i happen to have a rather stealthy parrot climbing up my back right now. He's tired of seeing me type, because he wants me to take him to the kitchen where he can really have some fun. Mr. R is a Dusky Headed Conure and he is very silly and full of play. Problem is, parrots, unlike dogs and cats, rarely nap. They can play non stop all day like a child with ADD ... and with the same attention span, or lack thereof! Needless to say, parenting a parrot is not for the faint of heart, nor the sleepy. The one really good thing is that you can, of course, lock them in a cage and toss away the key ... then go take your nap. I suppose if you are thinking seriously about getting yourself a parrot, that is, something a bit more troublesome than a parakeet or cockateil, I would recommend you borrow one for a month from a friend. At the end of which time, you may have a change of heart! Lovely though they are ... breathtakingly beautiful, in fact, they are also very bright, constantly searching for fun, food, something to chew, and companionship. They don't like being alone but prefer to be in the midst of the flock with all the accompanying noise. And if there is not enough noise, they will gladly create some for you!

right now, ms. L is chewing on my mouse, and mr. R is climbing up an electrical cord. Ahhhh yes. The wonder of parronting.

as you know, i've been working hard to keep up with my New Year's resolutions ... well, thank heaven's I have a whole year. But I have been doing my 4 days a week of exercising ... which by now has merely caused me excruciating pain in my upper arms and thighs! Practicing my guitar, per my son's instructions ... which has left me with burning fingertips that waver between shooting pain and absolute numbness (just wait until the calluses form, he says! I've been reading my books ... now I have two going and finding it hard to get in that 1/2 hour a day! I can, alas, make macaroni and cheese, a good Greek salad and a pretty tasty shrimp curry.

Today, I'm thinking that chocolate brownies would make a quite tasty vegetarian dish ...

I wonder if I have any baker's chocolate? ....

a very misty Friday

home today and i hardly know where to begin. It is the day to bring down the tree and remove the last vestiges of Christmas....



time for the penguins to stop their chorus for another year...



the wreaths on the chandalier must go ... and copious dusting must ensue...



the ornaments must be wrapped and stored...



the little tree, once lush and fragrant is now dry and eerily combustible seeming! it appears cramped in its little corner, sans brightly wrapped gifts beneath it's boughs, now dropping needles and begging to be returned to the earth in the annual "Kelly family" ceremony ... the burning of the tree (before it burns us, of course!)... we, a secret band of pyromaniacs, watch enthralled as the first match is tossed and it goes up in flames with a gasp ... that could've been our living room, we each consider wide-eyed! Still ... always a sad day this! (You're not convinced)



out my window, the cedar is still green and the hazelnut bare... the sky is a dusky grey, the landscape blurred by the rising mist from the earth...



another year begins for us all.

And then there's Mr. R... the imperious green conure, for whom this....



is just another day to make trouble!

With that... i begin the list:

learn to play an instrument -- number one son has offered to teach me guitar! i begin by learning a strange rock riff he feels will 'limber me up' ... sore fingers and tennis elbow later ... ouch?

make three new pieces of jewelry each week ... oh, that one's easy! Right?

take a photography class to shoot my jewelry better

take a class on birds nest rings (the ones with the big, fat gemstones wrapped in silver wire)

learn one excellent vegetarian recipe a month. (Oh, I must've forgotten to mention i went veggie this summer ... for the LAST time!) Not so easy when one must cook meat for the natives. But my thinking is, a good palatable vege dish will perhaps replace meat for the natives, too!

lose weight ... i shall say no more!

exercise 4 x weekly! (good heavens! who's writing this list, anyway?)

write one paragraph per day, whether it be poetry or prose

complete daily studies of A Course in Miracles

take 1/2 hour to read my favorite books each day!!!

take time to have fun with my friends WEEKLY! Go to breakfast, dinner, drinks, dogwalking or laughing over the phone

go to the stables once weekly to be around my favorite animals in the world

invite a friend to dinner at least once a month!

volunteer ... the humane society?

toss out all non-essential things in my home ... give them to the Good Will ... simplify!

purchase a good, sturdy bike and stop driving to the grocery store ... use pedal power!

do the 21 day Master Cleanse! Gaaahhhhh ... this will most certainly be the subject of many blogs entries!

Sign up for the Masters in HR Certification at UW in September

Sit for the SPHR certification exam by summer

get a pedicure before summer

relax more....

have more fun....


(sigh....)

remembering a feathered friend

last year I lost a beloved friend to the wind. A parrot. It was a terrible accident, all too familiar among bird owners, forgetting her wings had grown out, my husband who'd been carrying her on his shoulder all afternoon, walked outside in a rainstorm for some simple task, and she spooked and flew into the trees. Having no experience with flight, having weak breast muscles, a heart not accustomed to bouts of flight, a life in captivity ... well, the odds were against her. We never found her again despite days of combing the woods and calling, placing posters everywhere and her picture on the internet. The storm raged on for several days. We lost hope. Hawks and eagles frequent the area. A beautiful blue-green bird would hardly go unnoticed. Especially one who had trouble navigating the skies.

Arwen was a rescued bird. She'd lived in a small cage with a previous owner who finally decided she didn't want her any longer, she was loud and aggressive, apparently, and sold her to a local pet shop. I visited that shop one day to buy a toy for my dog. Arwen jumped on my shoulder and with her face nearly pressed into my cheek, stared sweetly into my eyes. Well, what could I do? I had no previous experience with parrots, but decided I couldn't live without her. I took her home that day. She was an absolute joy to our lives.

Sadly, we didn't have her long enough... hardly knew her ... but completely loved her.

Sometimes when I walk in the woods near my home, as I did today, I have a pang of emotion that runs deep. So many times when she was afraid it was necessary for her to look directly in my eyes for reassurance, sometimes crawling inside my shirt to peep out from my collar and survey the world from that safe place. I'd promised to protect her forever from the loneliness she'd come from, from abuse, from any imagined harm that might befall her, confident that she'd be with me forever... for her, a good 40 years!

She was just a bird, you might say. But if you've never lived with a parrot, you could never know the intense, loving bond that is formed with these amazing, intelligent birds. As great as that with a beloved dog. Perhaps even greater.

I have two young parrots now, just a year old. Both as sweet and smart as can be. The bond is already stronger with these two, because they've only known love and kindness and both lack the mistrust that Arwen possessed when she first came to live with us, having previously experienced how deceptive a relationship with humans can be. These two play exhuberantly and fearlessly, laying on their backs with their feet up in the air, silly and childlike. Many parrots mate for life and their flocks are tight family groups of older and younger siblings. Aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers ... just like ours. Thankfully, these two will never know anything but friendship, kindness, gentle hands, and loving care.

I guess this month I've thought much about her loss. I know there was a lesson to be learned. Something about letting go of attachments in a universe where death and loss are everyday occurances. As are exquisite beauty, birth, compassion, virtue and hope.

Had it not been for Arwen choosing me that day, I would've never known about parrots. I would've never made the decision to bring two of them into my home! The door of their cage is opened every morning until they go to sleep at night. They have their play area, and plenty of toys, and then they have me ... their biggest toy. Their favorite toy, too, I might add.

Just as I am writing this loving tribute, little Mr. R., the dusky headed conure, popped the Escape key right off my laptop! Just in case I waxed too poetically!

(Above is a photograph of Arwen in my husband's hands, getting a head rub! But it took time to get her to this point ... initially she wouldn't allow anyone to touch her back. Once she came to trust us, this was one of her favorite things!)

Sunday afternoon, after much talk of rain... the sun shown and the day was warm and beautiful. And again, this morning is perfect. Not too warm, nice and breezy. I haven't decided whether I will continue my painting spree or reorganize my shop today. (I just learned last night that "spree" was an old Scottish word meaning "cattle raid!") Neither enterprise seems particularly appealing today ... a third option is to take the day off and head to the seaside. But that wouldn't be very productive, would it?

Still weighing my options. May your day be fabulous!

~L

future work in progress

I've been searching for sometime for very pale blue turquoise and having no luck. I found these lovely rounds, although not the blue I really wanted, but I think I will settle this time. The key is antiqued brass which I plan to somehow include in this piece as a pendant.

As turquoise is blue it is associated with the sky-blue color of the throat chakra and therefore increases the power and clarity of that particular energy center, assisting the wearer with finding their own voice and speaking their truth. Somehow, in my mind, the key signifies opening that particular gate or portal and setting free an extraordinary life purpose and authentic story in the world.

But, alas, that is the extent of my creative spark today, my studio needing a good cleaning and major feat of organization. Then of course ... there are my friends....

Can we play?

Guess they win.

Later.... ~L

digressions in decorating

believe it or not, and you'll probably believe it because why wouldn't you ... I am blogging from my bed this morning. I woke up at 6 a.m. and was unable to get back to sleep so made myself a cup of tea and some toast with jam, grabbed my laptop and headed back up to bed. The number one "young man" of the house (favorite son and only son) presented me with a nifty lap table on my last birthday for just the purpose of writing in bed ... so here I sit, blogging away in the half light of morning with two dogs strewn across my feet. What more could anyone ask for?

this rather askew-seeming photograph below was taken at this angle for a purpose, and that is to show you, my dear fellow bloggers and blog visitors my new accent wall.

this weekend I took on the very daunting task of painting an accent wall in my dining nook. The painting part was not the daunting part ... although I must admit to my embarrassment, I absolutely despise prep-work ... I much prefer just opening the can of paint, rolling it on fast and furiously and getting it overwith so I can stand back and admire my handywork... but, this time, I did things right. I taped off the woodwork and adjoining walls with blue tape and even spackled the multitude of nail holes behind the big mirror... so ... that's not the daunting part. What's really really daunting is the choosing of paint colors!

I really liked it when the illustrious KMart had that great line of Martha S paints that all were in the same color family or appropriate contrast on the artist's color-wheel and matched up perfectly. KMart has since closed in our area ... well, I think you must go to the big city to find them now and my little corner of the universe is too backwoods for them, if you can imagine anywhere being to backwoods for KMart! So, I was left to my own devices. Lucky for me, and I don't come by luck easily, I'd managed to remember the name of the Dutchboy brand of paint I'd used in the kitchen! Hooray! So I merely found a chip and laid it against about 5 zillion other chips and agonized for about an hour and finally came up with a dark olive.

I'm very happy with the result and took a photograph for posterity ... although I usually change my wall colors every year out of sheer bordom, much to my husband's chagrin, poor man! And probably next year, I'll have had enough of accent walls and this one will too go by the wayside in a splash of inspiration. But, for now ... it's rather pretty ... sort of moody as the art critiques are so fond of saying, and despite the fact that I suffered a crick in my upper back and right shoulder due to this project, I decided to forge onward...that I must also have an accent wall in the living room and in one day, prepped and painted an additional, much longer wall and must say, it looks overall pretty neat!

In the midst of my painting fury, with furniture pulled out this way and that and paint pans and brushes atop tables in the midst of spread out newspaper here and there and the 6-foot step ladder being dragged throughout the house, I took a break and at this moment, I can't remember just why I needed to leave the house on said break, but I did. I ended up having to take the "young man's" car ... and what a mess it was let alone on empty! Being a good mother and somewhat over indulgent mother and probably a really verging on bad mother, I filled up his tank and ran his car through the car wash ... yes, he thanked me. But, what I was going to say was, while I was out and about taking my paint break I actually decided to run through the McD's drivethrough and get myself a cup of coffee, having heard that they do a pretty good java. Guess what? It was one of the best cups of coffee I've had in years! And, they put the cream in for me (well, how nice of them!) ... AND ... it cost a whole heck of alot less than Starbucks! Now ... it wasn't a Latte ... granted ... it was merely a regular cupa joe with some half and half added. But, it was rich and hot and ... well, just thought I'd mention a good thing.

Today I am still on the painting spree (or will be when I get out of this bed anyway) and will probably finish off my entryway, which is a sweet little place with a domed ceiling. Now, that sounds really fantastic doesn't it? But, my entryway is about big enough for an ant family to enter and turn around twice in because I live in an 80 year old Sears and Roebuck kit house. Cute, but just a tad... impractical. Impractical by today's standards because our furniture is so big! How do we get the big furniture of the 90's onward into a little dinky house built for the mini-people of the 50's?

You know what the only problem with writing in bed is? The mouse keeps sliding off the pad ... either that, or the pad gets bent up like a fortune cookie and the mouse is only able to get its signal out via the wormhole effect... thus the curser is flying all over the darn page!

Okay... that being said... I think its time for another cup of tea. Thanks for stopping by.
~L

sunday driving

Today I decided to take a day trip to Bainbridge Island, which is just up the peninsula from where I live. Not sure really what I had in mind, but thinking perhaps I would visit some garage sales. Turns out, I drove all the way to Winslow, the little town at the edge of the island where you catch the ferry over to Edmonds and from there, Seattle and parts unknown, and decided to go sight seeing. I parked the car on the street, lugged my bag up on my shoulder and headed off on foot.

Sun blazing down, all the morning mist having dissipated, and a vibrant breeze filling the air -- some lucky dog somewhere was enjoying a barbecue! Being as it is Sunday, most of the really sweet shops were closed but I stared in windows, nose pressed up against the glass, thanking heaven I couldn't get inside ... so many wonderful things to be wished for and possibly obtained! I did visit Bad Blanche's furniture store and drooled over a sofa table, circling it quite a few times before deciding the wood was too reddish ... walnut I'm thinking, and would blend in with my fir floors and ... it just wouldn't give the punch I was looking for. The other reason being, I am a rehabilitated impulse buyer. This wondrous gift (the rehabilitated part) was given me when I decided to take a fun job ... a short-term, part-time stint in one of the cutest shops in the world ... The Apple Crate in Tacoma. What I realized was, each day a new shipment came in I opened packages and thought, I have to have this! The next day, I'd come back and say, I really don't have to have this. And...by the third day, whatever I thought I couldn't live without had totally lost its luster usually... that being the case, it takes me a good three days to determine whether something is really worth buying or not (there are exceptions, such as ... a garage sale find that will probably never pass this way again!) So ... Thanks Apple Crate! You did me a great service, and I should think anyone else requiring some like-therapy ought to get themselves a nice little retail job in the shop of their dreams for one summer. Believe me ... it works.

So back to today... I window shopped mostly, and did not spend. Nothing that required dying for. I traipsed through several galleries and looked at jewelry ... not to purchase, but just in an artistic sense, I love to look at materials and color and gems and workmanship. I wandered through a nursery, smelled fragrant flowers, fingered petals and dug my fingers into dirt... and considered how I might plant a particular border in my garden. I stopped at Starbucks and indulged. I met three very nice tethered dogs, waiting for their dining owners I suspect, and had friendly conversations with each of them.

I came home from my day's outing pretty much empty handed... with nothing but a book about Seattle's best women entrepreneurs and their great little shops and the powerful desire to visit them all! Next time I'll catch the ferry, cross the big water and shop the city. I must drag one of my dear friends along with me for that day's adventure! Of course, I'll bring a camera and share that day with you.

Home at last and the weekend winds down. We're having baked cod for dinner. It's in the oven right now and smells heavenly. 7pm and a breeze rustles the trees, dogs lie stretched out on the cool floors, birds chatter in the other room and the cat lies on her back on the sun-warmed deck. Vera stops in for a McVitties Irish Bisquit, which she takes from my hand and rushes back to her tree. Alone for the moment, other than, of course, visiting with you.

Blessings ... ~L

post party irish soda bread

last night was the big birthday bash ... which has nothing to do at all with Irish soda bread, but I thought I'd mention it nonetheless. The Olive Garden, 6 teenagers, two glasses of wine (for me), acres of pasta, a very large bill and one chocolate bar-cake later ... well, the survival instinct kicks in, doesn't it? I've also sworn to no longer refer here to my new "young man" as a "man child" ... from now on it will be just ... young man. I asked, what is the greatest thing about turning 17? He's not exactly sure, except somewhat likes the idea that now he can go to R-rated movies on the up and up. You mean, I said, you no longer have to sneak in to see The 300 when you paid for Harry Potter? Exactly. They think we don't know these things, you know.

At the end of the night, us grown ups fell into bed snoring away, much too partied out, all that cake and pasta and giggling being too much to handle, and the "children" went off to the movies. This morning, two teenage boys are strewn across two living room couches, still snoring away at 10 a.m.!

I, getting my due rest, was up quite early this morning (7 something, what with dogs and cats and parrots and roosters to feed) and decided to make a loaf of Irish soda bread, and thought I'd include you, dear friends, in on it ... so here it is.

First I made myself a nice cup of tea (always required) .... then I began: Preheat oven to 375!

Combine:
2 cups of unbleached white flour and 2 cups of stone ground wheat flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 tspns baking soda
2 tspns organic, raw sugar (honey is fine, too)
1 tspn salt
2 tablespoons corn starch

whisk it all together ... I like to use a flat bottomed, plastic bowl .... that way, I do the whole process in the bowl and clean up is a snap! I am by no means a cook or baker at all, but this one thing, I've got down to a rather fuzzy science!

Add 2 cups of low-fat buttermilk and combine the dry and wet ingredients with a spatula... squishing it all together until well combined and has a sort of "chunky" texture... like this....


Note: It's best not to handle the dough too much, as this is a heavy farm-style bread, and over mixing will end up with a springy texture that just doesn't do it justice.

Here's the only messy part: Shape the dough into a round mound sort of thing (sorry, you will need to use your hands here) and finish with a dusting of flour.

Using a sharp knife, make a cross on the top. (Sort of like a hot, cross bun!)

Place on a cookie sheet that's been very lightly buttered with a thin sprinkling of flour over it. Stick it in the oven for 40 minutes. When you pull it out, wrap it immediately with a towel and place on a cooling rack. I wrap it in a paper towel and over that I wrap it up with a kitchen towel. This keeps the crust from becoming as hard as a rock and breaking everyone's teeth! Let it cool about 10 or 20 minutes.

Then, slice it warm, its really to die for with butter (I know what you're thinking; So What ISN'T to die for with butter!) You're right. Nothing, except dirt, possibly! The crust texture should be "crusty" ... but not like a piece of bark ... that's why the towel part is important! This is a wonderful, hearty bread. Great with bean soup or stew or even for sandwiches! Easy to make, quick and you can put it on in the morning and have fresh, warm, farm-bread with breakfast!

Hope you enjoy it!

Happy Sunday! ~L

the morning constitution

the dentist reassured me my tooth would give me no further problems ... and so I went to breakfast to chomp on some eggs and toast just to make sure ... and plenty of hot coffee with cream, too. And you know what? It held up? No problem yet. Tonight I'll try some popcorn just to make sure.

When I came home, I pulled on my walking shoes and the dogs and I headed off to the park for a morning run.

leaving me in the dust they are off to explore the road ahead ... what fun! plenty of bushes to be marked and smelly things to roll in before she can catch up with us...

where is that slowpoke? Better wait up. we don't want her to exert herself too much! Poor decrepit old devil.

.................................................................................................................................................

As I sat in the dentist's chair this morning, I did some very important thinking. Why all the most important thoughts seem to come when I'm about to be tortured, I'm not sure ... but, this is what I realized, when I'm home and should be working, I seem to find a zillion other things to do, none of which have any real purpose other than to take up a good portion of my day, by the end of which, I can honestly say I've done nothing.

I've decided a list is in order. A list of things to do so my day will appear to have some reasonable format and that things I set out to do in my head, I actually do ... as in, physically DO THEM, not just think about doing them and having done that, think I'm done. Make sense? Nor to me, really. Still ... I think its a good idea.

that will be the subject of my next post ... my list ... or ... how to prioritize my day ... something like that.

til then, then ...

the secret life of one particularly spoiled kitty cat

need I say more.....

pitiful.... ain't it....