Artsy-fartsy I am not

Posted on January 28, 2015 by simplygiselle

I have never been able to comfortably embrace my artistic side; plain and simply I have none.

My mother was a brilliant artist in the true sense of the word. She could dance, sing (although she more often than not forgot the words which was always the joke between the family), played the piano (self taught), and kicked butt playing tennis against any single or doubles team that dare take her on… but her piece de résistance would easily be her painting. Pastels, charcoal, and rice paper, nothing caused a bump in her ability to capture the moment. Some day I will post her painting to share with the world and have her legacy live on forever but right now this is about me….

I am the last in the line of boys, and being the only other female in the family, her immense talent is a lot to aspire to. There should be some mom-daughter connection no?

Early on I learned I did not have the talent, nor did I have the patience. I have all of my father’s analytical genes (and also am my own worst critic). The highly organized (put it back where you found it and how you found it so you can find it again next time), the strict control of time (we don’t have time to stop we have a schedule to keep) and the deductive reasoning (if its not the air filter, the sparks or the timing, it is probably a gunky gas filter)… all very useful and practical in the world so I am not knocking it.

So why is it I still strive to be artsy-fartsy like my mom? I have taken to using a Groupon for ‘fun’ artistic afternoons with my daughter and do something different (none of this bowling or mini golf crap). The use of quotation in the word -fun- is there because I typically stress out more trying to complete the task rather than enjoy it’s process. Don’t get me wrong, it does not take away from the time spent with my daughter. We still laugh and crack jokes even if we are the only ones laughing, but the pressure to make it perfect, to get what I see in my head out through my hands, is close to impossible and extremely-extremely frustrating (did I mention it is extreme?!)

So the birch trees you see are another attempt at my striving to bond with my mother. After all, don’t we secretly wish that our children will take something special from us and pass it along to future generations? Maybe that is it; I disappointed her in that sense and am still striving to keep a piece of her alive while failing miserably. (Hmm Fraud where are you now?)

I am sure it will not be the last time but sooner or later I will get the hint; I am just not artsy-fartsy.

What is all this honking about!!

Posted on January 22, 2015 by simplygiselle

geese
It has been said that geese honk while in their formation to encourage the lead goose, for it is that one goose that bears the brunt of the work. What work – just flying is work in itself! The point goose is breaking the air surface and thereby spreading the air current outward. Each goose after the point goose has a lesser degree of air surface to break and makes it a bit easier for them to maintain flight. When the lead goose gets tired he falls to the back of the formation and another goose steps up (or flies up at the case may be). That’s what all the honking is about – working as a team, cheering each other on, sharing the work for the better of the group.

There is so much to learn from such a simple gesture. It goes beyond teamwork and beyond encouragement and it is all natural. They ‘get it’. There is nothing selfish or mean spirited in their quest to get from point A to point B. They don’t secretly wish for one of their feathered mates to fall from the sky so they can get a good laugh from it. They are just honestly praising the hard work and perseverance they are experiencing. What a great concept!

For me, listening to the geese is so self-indulgent I almost feel badly; they bring such a smile to my face while they are working so hard to stay aloft. HONK HONK

Euripides is one smart dude

Posted on December 29, 2014 by simplygiselle

“The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” – Euripides

Wait a minute, back up, you have not fully digested that statement from Euripides yet… you are not ready to continue reading on…read it again, let it sink it… wow powerful stuff, right!

We all acknowledge balance in our lives is key, but maintaining it is so difficult. It reminds me of the game, Don’t Spill the Beans. The pot is on a rocking device and as the players take turns placing a single tiny bean, if not perfectly positioned, the pot tips over and all the beans come spilling out.

Isn’t this what we are facing every day? Racing around to get the kids to school, all of their extracurricular activities, working full time, paying the bills, etc. etc. only to go to bed and do it again the next day… the monotony of running at 4000 r.p.m.’s daily with very few attempts to step back and regain or restore the balance because it is what is expected of us or ‘we don’t have the time’.

There is a great power around us, and in us, I have no doubt about that, but what we choose to do with that power is what makes us great…makes us a better person….makes us find our balance, naturally and without force. Embrace the power and energy like a big hug! The power is in your mind, in your heart, in your soul, throughout every inch of your body, just waiting for you to tap back into it and release it… (hmmm maybe I am getting a little too sappy…negative or realistic?)

It is thought that what energy you send out into the world comes back to you threefold, so why not send out the positive?! We could all use a little more positive and happy in our lives. It can be something as little as telling a passerby, ‘love those shoes’, but acknowledging each other with a simple positive vibe seems to grow, it changes that person even for the slightest moment, and no, they may not respond back, (you shouldn’t expect anyone to, that is not why you are doing it and some looks you get will be priceless and make you smile even larger), and no they may not pass it along, (hey.. that is on them), so why not? It didn’t cost anything, it didn’t take any of your precious time from you… so… Why not sprinkle a little bit of happiness in your life and heart by sharing it with others, and improving your balance? Throw out the entire pot of positivity to those around you and see what sticks.

Do whatever it takes to find that powerful balance without excuse. Don’t let that ‘pot of beans’ spill before it is too late.

My next cup of tea

Posted on December 21, 2014 by simplygiselle

I would like to order my next cup of tea, bottomless please.

A never ending perfect cup; neither too hot nor too cold, neither too sweet nor too bitter, with the slightest taste of honey that makes me lick my lips wanting that last droplet. The kind of tea that, when you close your eyes, you have been transported to another place and time and seems to last forever…

Maybe it is in the past, but maybe it is in the future, each sip is always different. Which do you taste first, the bitter? The mistakes made that you have tried to put behind you? Some are safely locked away while others give a glimpse to let you know they are lurking and waiting for the exact moment to ruin your complacency on any given day.

Sometimes the bitter is just missing someone you will never see again. You have safely compartmentalized in that velvet box, way way back, so far deep down, and then for no reason at all, BAM the tears start to fall-you don’t want to forget (you will never forget) but you also don’t want to remember…

Does the heat from the tea flowing from palate to stomach to thaw you inside and out? Remember the freezing cold days well below zero, shoveling, brushing off the car before the sun rises, or the chill you felt that made your hair stand up for no reason – just a perfect cup of tea can cure them all.

Maybe it is the sweet? The times where you made the right choice, saw the smile on someone else that was because of you, the simplest happiest moment just because… because you heard the perfect song, smelled the perfect flower with the perfect scent, heard the birds sing and laughed at what they may be saying…is it a song? a private joke? or stood in awe at the size and power of Mother Nature and what she can produce…the ocean waves, the bounty of snowfall, for that matter the beauty of each snowflake and its delicacy.

Yes that endless cup of tea has so much to offer; now I need to know just where to buy one.

Just.Let.Go.

Posted on December 12, 2014 by simplygiselle

You never really know what you are made of until you are faced with the challenges and choices you fear.

When faced with life altering choices do you play it safe or look at it as an opportunity for more and chance it – let the ‘gods’ play with you (as it were) as if you were a chess piece in the game of life?

Am I being face with such an ordeal because I have had it too easy, too content, for too long and now life plans to give me a taste of what others have to deal with on a daily basis or is it a turn of events-the next new path to exploring and growing?

I read a book many years ago, it was called, The Reluctant Messiah (great read). In simple terms, it says to just let go… stop fighting the stream’s current, be the blade of grass that stops clinging to the rock, and let the flow of water and energy take you for the ride of your life.

Much easier said than done… or is it? When is it time to just let go? When do we have enough faith in ourselves that we will be happy no matter what comes into our lives?

I am currently faced with the proverbial fork in the road and can’t decide. Clinging to the rock is comfortable; I know where I stand, I know what is coming from upstream and how to handle it. At the same time it is exhausting to continue holding on so tightly and not let myself be tossed around against the stream’s rocks, logs, and occasional slimy frog.

When? When will I know it is time to ‘just.let.go.’ ?

Springtime on our minds

Posted on December 2, 2014 by simplygiselle

Although officially the first day of winter occured just yesterday, here in New England we are anxiously awaiting the first days of spring and thoughts of warmer days, the smell of damp dirt, and the pop of color, that will come just when we think Mother Nature has abandon us. Enjoy these flowers from my father’s garden and think of the sunshine washing over your face….

Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge

Posted on November 18, 2014 by simplygiselle

The Leonard Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge can be seen from many angles but this one was taken by me while on our boat underneath (!) the bridge.

The bridge serves as the northern connection from and to Boston and is one of the widest cable-stayed bridges in the world.

During the summer we take the boat down the Charles River (love that dirty water) past the Harvard Yacht club, Boston College, the Hatch Shell, the Boston Museum of Science and finally through the locks which lead into the Boston Harbor. It is a lovely ride and beautiful view. If you ever come to Boston be sure to take a Duck Tour so that you can experience the Charles River and see the Boston outline with a completely different twist.

Let Freedom Ring!

Posted on November 17, 2014 by simplygiselle

One thing to be said about living in Massachusetts, most of the time the bleeding heart’s win and sometimes they lose – and when they lose in a big way, I want to sing the National Anthem until everyone’s ears bleed!

The Board of Health in the sleepy little town of Westminster, MA (more trees and deer than people = sleepy) tried to ban tobacco in town. Apparently the Board members have not heard of the Boston Tea Party where people get mighty ticked when you mess with their rights as citizens.

Nearly 500 people packed a hearing at a local elementary school on Wednesday night held by the three members of the Board of Health. Passions ran high, and the hearing became so unruly that the board chairwoman could not maintain order; she shut down the hearing 20 minutes after it began.

The crowd started singing “God Bless America” in protest as the board members left under police protection. Angry residents circulated petitions demanding a recall election for the board members.

Tobacco is not illegal and trying to ban it from town, thereby forcing its tobacco users to buy in the adjacent town, simply takes money (and according to recent studies more than just a few pennies, try one third of their revenue on the whole!) out of the local retailer’s thinly lined pocket.

Roughly 15% of the town’s populations (as of last week) have signed a petition to stop the madness with only 17% of the townspeople admitting they use tobacco products. Even the town selectmen have voted unanimously to oppose the ban!

Here is what one towns person had to say:

“They’re just taking away everyday freedoms, little by little,” said Nate Johnson, 32, an egg farmer who also works in an auto body shop, as he stood outside the store last week. “This isn’t about tobacco, it’s about control,” he said.

Is it unhealthy? Science has proven it time and time again, yes it most certainly is. Is it proactive to try to keep the youth from lighting up and creating more health care financial burden on the future citizens? Yes, that is true too.

But the Board of Health has completely overstepped their boundaries and even stated that they have a moral obligation to try to stop the young people from smoking. Really? Since when? Is Westminster now a dictatorship with the Board of Health presiding?

I am not for tobacco products, I have my own vice; wine. And if I lived during prohibition times I would set up a speakeasy in my cellar, secret entrance word and all.

So to the smokers and townspeople in Westminster, MA I say – –

LET FREEDOM RING!

this is just one of the many articles you can find online about this subject but is being cited as to where I was fired up enough to write about it and lifted some of Ms. Seelye’s info. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/disgusted-by-smoking-outraged-by-a-plan-to-ban-tobacco/ar-BBejwhZ?ocid=mailsignout