Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Farewell Tooth Fairy Farewell

There she is right above as she played a farewell tune~

****

And it's all plain in black, white,
with shades of gray.

When a simple snack needs it's time & place,
not time for popping just yet...

It has often occurred to me that it's when the adrenalin flows ever so rapidly, things get done.
Like driving out of town into the city, with proper directions. I can do it quite well & the anxiety dissipates, replaced with a focus & force so accurate is my sense of purpose.

This occurred only yesterday yes it was time to face the music, dental time. Chomp, chomp, chomp as these incisors were no longer as effective as they once were. Still this one was attached though cracked down deep into the root. Never trust a a batch of whole grains, & I also need to add, sift it yourself first, & be aware~ tiny pebbles!

Like so many of my generation our dental experiences back then had been rather poor-to-nil. Mine was on the rather atrocious side, nil might have been better. After begging my parents for a visit to see the dentist my mantra being, All my friends are going. An appointment was made. This proved classically horrid as the man who was my parents dentist of whom my mother often told her friends, "Dr. Pots has a light hand I never mind going." To this day am not about to figure that one out other than to say, How in the world does one have a light hand with a pick & a drill? The sound effects you guessed it, the booming reverberating tones of highs & lows, in an office atmosphere of strong toxic smells, & glaring lights. I saw Dr. Pots only once. I could have made myself return to endure more, but even to my then 15 year old thinking, when you're about to go on an explore deep into a mine the numbing agent of choice could be a bit more substantial than a Cherry Flavored Q-Tip. Needless to say this unsavory encounter with Dr. Pots has colored my dental experiences evermore.

I fast forward to now, & what has been an ongoing dental saga over the years of having had the per usual last rites to a tooth root canals, have had 2 only 1 took. Caps, crowns, & presently my 3rd emergency tooth extraction. Time flies, but I am a much more relaxed & accepting dental patient, & due to my husband's encouragement for the past several years have been seeing his dentist twice a year except for the various emergencies that continue to pop up. And here I am wow on the other side of yet another one getting used to the Tooth Fairy's rejection of my real property~ location location! This time it's an incisor midway to the back. With ice, & proper care this abyss will find it's way to close & to heal.

Am decades now since my past encounter with Dr. Pots, but will always remember his light hands. Not. These notches that some of us wear on our dental belts in life,- the molars, bicuspids, & incisors, when they hurt, they hurt & when they're all in good working order all I can think to say for today is~ Yes the movies sound great, & some popcorn too, but gotta hold the butter. Too many cals. Now let me think... which side is it ok to chew on..?
Ok I need to remain patient am still in healing mode, how's by you.... ? Hoping aok.






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© Mother Lightning of Mother Lightning's Peace Garden



Sunday, July 22, 2012

For The Love of Bikes





Above are some of the bicycle images I love to accumulate. Bikes in all sorts of colors & shapes are true kenetic art. I never tire of a good day of cycling or a good view from where I perch. Yes we do take a spill from time to time, a bit too much sand, slippery or wet, but nonetheless it's always a good feeling to get back up on the bike & log on those endless miles...

***************

& what we have right here is one of the views of where yesterday's picnic was, what a happening event that all was, as the people & the views~ truly awesome!

We attended a picnic for the members & the families of the cycling group my husband's a member of. It was a lovely way to end the week & a good way to enter into a new one. I myself am a casual rider, this group of cyclists my husband's a member with are extremely devoted riders & log on hundreds to thousands of miles every year.
It's been an excellent opportunity for him to ride with a level of athletes of whom he enjoys the challenge & the comaradity.

Cycling for me remains a wonderful freeing experience, & no matter which level we do it at it's all good. Yes very good indeed!






Please feel free to share this link http://thepeacegarden.blogspot.com/

© Mother Lightning of Mother Lightning's Peace Garden



Friday, July 20, 2012

Jazz, Chaos & Who Do We Think We Are...




Last night my husband & I attended a performance of the David Liebman Group at the Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Ct. My husband is the musical aficionado as he's been a natural guitarist since his boyhood days. I'm pretty much a listener & appreciator of all music, though jazz does take a bit of an open mind sometimes to delve into for me. We certainly enjoyed this quartet immensely, though some numbers of course resonated more soothing than others. When experiencing jazz know that you will often times be kept on the edge of your seat, as the energy is palpable & often raw. It was an excellent concert, & one the things I so enjoyed doing was watching the faces of the performers, especially the quartet's leader David Liebman who had a deep look of concentration & satisfaction of what he was doing for his life work.

The concert last night got me to thinking, jazz does do that make one think, & then awakening this morning to a lead in news story, thus more thoughts~

Who are we, & what the h^#* are we doing anyway?

There's no true way to even begin to answer this one, as we're all evolving, a work in progress.
Human beings are complex creatures, & I certainly have no hesitation in acknowledging that. I do think our only moments of pure perfection were at the time of our births, & then due to the hand of humankind, a lot truly was pretty much out of the hands of that baby who grew up decades ago to be molded upon by the others, & the human being like any organism knew instinctively only to survive & function as best as they could. For better & for worse...

We see this all the time on the news, in our neighborhoods, in our own families & the world. No one really wants to sit down & hear the long heavy details of what has become of that sweet baby in the nursery decades ago, by the hands that did the molding, unless of course it's become a news item, or one is a specialist in these matters. What often times happens quite serendipitously is when that baby in the nursery grew up & made it out of the controlling realm of the kingdom of who's perhaps toxic hands did the molding, but had enough protection for survival then much of those ancient toxic experiences can be directed & channeled into something positive. Thus the arts.

One of the very first thoughts I have when learning of a rather horrific incident that has been wrought on the innocent by the hands of another, I often wonder what molding & toxic exposure was done to the perpetrator. The bio of course of the individual who chose to be a Corella Develle, or a Darth Vader type. Gardens, gardens, gardens of life! Some are most beautiful, as the garbage & debris are recycled in a most positive & useful way to compost down to essential valuable nutrients. I do believe the pained & tortured souls of many of the artistic types we so love, have whittled, & refined themselves down. They have created an exercise of having surviving their exposures in the kingdoms of the Corellas or Darths in their lives & are doing what it is they need to do in order to survive. It is plain & simple an enduring need to live, endure, & produce when they can. We are all in this together, & can't change or control the past, but we can control the grip it has on us, to not let it drown or disable. To make art not war, is what motivates the artistic soul, for not only is it personal, but a matter of our mutual survival as a specie & a citizen of our world, our pure blue marble the third planet from our sun.

The David Liebman Group closed their performance with two numbers, one was Lonely Woman & the other Turn Around. After listening to Turn Around the prenounced thought of it all being controlled chaos came to mind. Below is a link to the Dave Liebman Group with one of their performances in Paris. I couldn't find his version of Turn Around to share, but I'm sure it's out there, as I think it's a Miles Davis composition of whom he played with so many decades ago.

Feel free to give this link a try last click it did work, enjoy*~












Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Gray Skies & Peaceful Thoughts




From where I was standing this afternoon it seemed as if I were witnessing an additional storm of the century for what came down the first 10-15 minutes or so was hail, yes hail in July! After my late morning ride of traveling the countryside to find my way to my new hair dresser Megan, I surprisingly arrived on time, as her salon is a bit way off the beaten path. It seems as it really doesn't matter if I'm on time or not, as Megan keeps to her own beat, & when she's done with one person, she's then 100% with you. Not really any sooner. I find this to be a-ok as I've been pretty much on my own schedule these past few years anyway so it all suits me well. It's worth it to have my hair done by an individual who is well versed in dealing with the kind of hair I have- coarse & curly, & who has a positive attitude when working with it.

Before going to Megan, I had been going to Julie for several years. Julie is way way out of town. Megan's only out of town with one way. Both gals do an excellent job with my ongoing hair project, but due to my mother's condition which escalated at the end of 2011 & since she continues to live way~way~way beyond my town at the other end of the state, to do all the traveling especially to make it on time for the regularly scheduled appointments for her treatments & such, I needed desperately to rein in some of my excessive travels, & to find a way to lessen the miles & the directions I choose to trek.

I was at a mini pause at the time today's photos were taken, which caused me to stop, look & listen. Yes it was a day with it's good share of chaos, but that was good, for it always forces me to stop, look, & listen to what's going on on the inside of what truly is,~ the heart of the matter.








Monday, July 16, 2012

An Update From The Artist's Studio~

I would like you to meet our friend & teacher~

Laureen Hylka


My friend S* & I met Laureen about a year ago at our friend Sharon's booth of handmade retro classical aprons at the Martha's Herbary Craft Fair,
Pomfret, Ct.
We've been enjoying our weekly art classes, they are quite mind expanding especially when we delve into the new possibilities that the art of oil painting presents, each & every time.
Laureen's recent collection of work are about to be dispersed to the various galleries. Bittersweet for S* & I as we will miss these pieces, but know all too well that they will be going off to grace the homes & collections of the various art lovers who have discovered this jewel of a talent, & most fortunately they'll be enjoying these works by Laureen
for many years to come.

Because Laureen's studio is so very uplifting & accepting of all styles & levels of artistic development, I can honestly say it's been a true blessing to attend these classes with no expectations other than to play a bit, & to explore what it is the paints have in store for me each & every time.

Below is my first work of the day which was somewhat inspired by the energy of the upcoming Olympics. After this painting was done I said to myself, yes this captures those thoughts~

Team USA
*
~Going For The Gold~


Our friend S* completed this charming still life today. Her eye & talent are finely in sic with how she goes about capturing the nature of what she has in mind. Her dad also was a talented artist, & she seems to have inherited his natural gift~
The painting below is a new technique that Laureen encouraged me to try, & I must say that doing art is one of my most favorite things to do in order to remind myself to be experimental, & to not be afraid to take some risks...
This work is part of my~

Universe Series~
A last view of some of our favorite art, all to be framed & packed up in a few days & to be going, going
well you know what I mean....


It was a really good weekend, spent a lot of time mulching at the main Peace Garden in between the hot blasts during our heat wave here. My husband is way into cycling, & in between each of us doing our thing we were able to go out with some good friends Saturday night to see the new Spiderman movie. All four of us gave it thumbs up, so if you get a chance put it on the top of your list for an awesomely fun time!

My friend S* & I were able to make it to our art class today. It's always an exhilarating process learning to be one with the colors letting this ongoing experience of working with oils take us up, up & away~ !










Friday, July 13, 2012

From The Charles River Back to The Garden




It has come to my attention that some of us, we'll all have to figure out our own particular reasons as to the why, some of us nonetheless have been hardwired to tolerate some aspects of what is toxic. Sort of like sitting upon a toxic waste dump, a Love Canal & not truly realizing it until we've removed ourselves from it. For some we know it has been tragically too late, & for the others surving, & living a life with the accumulated ill effects, it is just that, a real day-to-day, survival-mode.

Once we see it all more clearly, take in our lives without the blinders or the masks, we may at times have moments of pain, still it is worth it, & oh so very much! As long as we can we shall do so, walk the path to clarity & peace. Individuals who realve in causing pain in others are truly not oblivious of what they are doing it's just that they have gotten themselves into this sort of loop, & just don't want to give it up. It's a sad thing all way around with that for the very people who are sometimes the most pained by loneliness keep refusing to learn the golden rule. By refusing to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, the loneliness that they are experiencing becomes multiplied due to what they are choosing to cast upon others. Kindness & empathy can be taught to very young children, but unfortunately many of the children who have not received this valuable lesson even into their elder years, when they grow up, & walk among us & when there are repeated meetings & encounters of a mean spirited nature, the healthy natural reaction can at times be of the others is an avoidance due to a deeply rooted aversion. Thus this can grow in sections of life's garden.

My garden is no exception, but with a little creativity, texture & color all fifty-nine* shades of gray can, & do find a way to sparkle.. , & of this too I am so very thankful,~ !


*************************


Would like to thank my FB friend R.B. for sharing his knowledge of the fifty-nine shades of gray. Thanks~ R.B.






Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Have Thought It Over




Yesterday was a busy one as had been expected so here we are now back at the ranch so to speak. For today's photos am including some items which captured my imagination as we we strolling about. My mother who's medical appointment was scheduled to take some four hours or so by her medical team provided my husband & I a window of time to get out there & walk a bit. Our days of driving back & forth into New Haven can be hours of sitting, of which we've experienced if we don't mix it up can have some unhealthy consequences on this end. Thus we've learned.

The streets of New Haven were lovely yesterday, it's a city of interesting architecture yet a bit edgy in corners. We enjoyed the sunshine, but mostly the shade as the city does magnify the heat of the day from all the pavement & sidewalks. It was a nice surprise to spot some unusual paints too at the local artist's supply shop, that along with some really cool bookstores & cafes we were all set to make lemonade out of a day that due to some elements of a portrait could have been all lemons.

Compassion & kindness are always the key, no matter the mindset of another, & practice does make better. Never perfect, here on earth, we're only human.

So went a day.











Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Robotics & Inspiration In An Artist's Studio






Good morning Peace Garden peeps, just about to leave the house as today promises to be a very busy one. Rosie II my newest assemblage creation , & inspired by a robot of the same from the TV show the Jetsons, was just completed yesterday. As you can see she has a rather serious look, but that's how it should be as she's off to the main Peace Garden in a few days as there's a lot going on there this season.

After properly crowing Rosie II yesterday with a decades old colander, & the silk flowers you see her wearing, it was time to get it all together to meet my friend S* on time so we could travel in together to our painting class.
It all worked out quite well, as we got a lot of painting done & are having loads of fun learning about the application of these beautiful oils. Next time I hope to include a few more paintings here on the Peace Garden blog, by the time I got my camera out yesterday a lot of the projects were all neatly put away.

Time flies~!












Sunday, July 8, 2012

Dolly Speaks~





Hi everyone, am filling in for M.L. this morning as she's about to get real busy washing & organizing the pickings from Ken's organic garden of yesterday. She said she has sooo many woofderful veggies that she's gonna have to share a bunch. Yeah that's what she said on the phone yesterday to her brother-in-law, who is first in line on today's sharing list, [pant pant] you know how it is with us dogs, no sweat!

Also I got wind that the project she's had in mind for their orginal
Peace Garden here is finally~
woof-oo, gonna come together! Let me tell you this idea of her's has been in the works for years now & now it's just a matter of her per usual artistic placement, you know that kind of thing those humans do. For me, I'd much rather have a bone, & if I wag enough perhaps she'll give me the last one she's stashed away, [actually am not much of a wager, it's my eyes that do it]. That last bone is in with what's left of the popsicles. Popsicles, popsicles wu-oo she goes through them like water, just give me a good marrow bone any day!










Saturday, July 7, 2012

Organic Gardening, An Ongoing Education






Well I did it~ Got up early say about 5:45am or so, but the neighborhood chickens were probably up a bit earlier. Had some java, put on some cool but not really cool, gardening clothes & it was back out there to visit my new friend Ken & his wonderful half acre organic garden!

For today's picking I learned a lot about carrots, & picked some along with summer squash, zucchini, & even some basil. Onions too, along with a fine head of cabbage. Ken taught me a lot about potatoes, the picking & the digging of them. What can I say, am originally a Bronx girl, & any green space back during those early formative years was few & far between. Do I love living with all this green space? Ya gotta believe it! I never ever tire of it, the things I do tire of is acquiring more & more information learning that the powers that be never, it seems ever get enough exploitation of our natural resources. Last night I watched an episode of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS, his guest for the entire broadcast was Erin Brockovitch. She has a new documentary out which addresses the exploitation of one of our most important resources Water which ought to be a real eye opener for everyone!

Will the world wake up? That's my question. Am hopeful that it won't be when it's too late. We're all doing our part, one little garden at a time.

Thank you Erin Brockovitch for never, ever throwing in the towel, & being out there with intelligent dialogue, staying on course with honesty & spark!

Below is a link to a recent interview with Erin Brockovitch, which includes a trailer of her new movie- Last Call At The Oasis


If you have a chance to check it out let me know what you think. You can email me at-
turtle.ckc@gmail.com or just send a note to this blog at~ thepeacegarden.blogspot.com












Friday, July 6, 2012

First Friday Putnam, Ct., Living In The Here & Now

Here we are at Ann's wonderfully energetic shop
Flying Carpet Studio
Main Street, Putnam, Ct.

Ann just introduced us to her new friend award winning professional photographer & artist
Paul J. Toussaint
Here's Paul with just a few of his latest works.

It's early on in the evening for Putnam's First Friday with people just beginning to gather on an Andy Griffin style Main Street USA.
A few photos of a very old building on the corner with a mural in process as thankfully this building goes through a renovation process.




We're fortunate to live in a rather modest & lovely location here in Northeastern Connecticut fondly called The Last Green Valley. Located in The Last Green Valley is the quaint town of Putnam. For several years now Putnam, Ct. has been holding a rather new-old fashioned event called First Friday. On First Fridays, the first Friday of the month from May-December shops are kept open late into the evening, street performers stroll & do their thing along with the areas excellent restaurants offering up their fare. Early evening is a good time of day to stroll along the river. Popping into a shop along the way often times we are greeted by the familiar face of friends & neighbors of our close knitted community. These kind of hometown events always evoke a warm & friendly feeling of knowing that we're living in the right place for the here & now. Living in the present, & fully enjoying each & every moment makes it all
seem just right. Which it is.






It's That Time of Year


It may very well turn into a hot & steamy one today, nonetheless will work on keeping it cool & will be back again real soon.




Monday, July 2, 2012

Global Warming The Storm Within



The Storm Within

As folks close to me have know the past six months or so have been down right turbulent in my neck of the woods. What precipitated this tone is the fact that my mother has experienced several horrendous health episodes. Her situation is stable now & she is doing very well, considering her challenges going forward.
For us, well when a family member is in crisis the individuals who oversee their care are not immune to the turmoils of working at creating a good balance admist the storms. Hence our situaton on this end at times. I will say progress continues to be made both for my mother & for myself. I will forever consider myself fortunate to have the world of art readily at my disposal. Coloring, painting, cutting & pasting as far back as I can recall has always been my way of rest & relaxation & now that I'm all grown up what I've come to realize is that the ultimate gift my connection with the arts has always been a pealing back it's sharing with me an insight...
Microburst



After The Storm



Poetry, prose, & the visual arts, form a lifeline that enables me to be lifted outside the ordinary muddle. With this bit of distance I can finally not only gain a healthy prespective, but look within to afirm that hope does spring enternal...