Category Archives: Getting Older

A Potpourri of Thoughts and Ideas

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Here it is July, 2018 and this is my first post of the year because this year my art activities have been slim.  I’ve had nothing to write about.   But I’m coming back to “life” and enjoying new discoveries every week that I hope to share with you in the future.  My blog will have a broader focus drawing from my  encounters (recipes, books, movies, places, gadgets, art-making, programs,) – whatever I find interesting.  I hope you’ll find it worth the “read” as I know your time is precious and there are many ways to spend time on-line.

Potpourri
I looked up the definition for potpourri and when I read it, I thought this is just what I want my revisioned blog to be – a mixture of thoughts, ideas and actions.  So welcome to my journey.  I hope you decide to stay on for the ride.

Working On Depression
Depression has been my driver for the past two years and frankly I’m tired of it but it’s a hard demon to conquer and I seem to be one who can not tolerate the anti-depressant drugs offered by modern medicine.  As a result I’ve spent way too much time sitting in my chair with “poor me” thoughts or staring at the TV or an open book.  I don’t want to be an old lady “stuck” in a chair.  I want to be the “youngest” active and involved old lady you know!  

In March I decided to give up the chair.  The most important thing I started doing was writing morning pages every morning before the day got rolling.  I learned about morning pages from Julia Cameron in her book “The Artist’s Way” and I did them when I first moved to Arizona. I stopped doing them years ago but I never forgot how helpful they were whenever I lost my focus.

 

Morning Pages Are Transformative!
Every day I write three pages (two pages if they are college ruled!) of whatever comes to my mind.  When I begin I have no idea what will turn up on the page.  But what I do know is that when I am truly honest with myself helpful thoughts emerge.  I write about problems, disappointments, feelings, frustrations and progress. 

My pen reveals alternative solutions that I wouldn’t have thought of sitting alone in the chair.  Writing like that is like talking a problem over with a best friend but instead it’s me! The result is that my days have become brighter and interesting.  My life is becoming manageable and actionable. I look forward to starting the day!!!

If you are stuck inside your life, I encourage you to journal daily for several weeks.  See what happens.  You may find new ways of dealing with your problems and solutions you never thought of before.

Re-discovering Sketching and Watercolor
One of my art interests has been watercolor sketching.  Years ago when Ed and I traveled, I did watercolor journals to record our trips.  It’s been at least 8 years since I’ve done much sketching or painting.  I realized that wanted to “dive” back into sketch-booking.  

I’ve been especially inspired by Barbie, my sister who does amazing watercolor journals.  So, one of my new  goals is take taking on-line classes to develop my drawing and painting skills.  

Recently I’ve found YouTube to be a great source of free lessons and I’ve also started taking Craftsy art classes.  www.craftsy.com    I signed up for their “Unlimited” version  so I can take all the classes I want from their catalog for a full year.  They have 600+ classes to choose from!  Now I don’t have to wonder what to do with myself when I have free time.  

Right now I’m enjoying the Craftsy class offered by Marc Taro Holmes.  He is a well known Urban Sketcher and a very sharing person.  I subscribe to his blog. https://citizensketcher.com  The international Urban Sketching group has a monthly magazine “Drawing Attention” which I enjoy. Each month it features articles from sketch artists all over the world. https://Urbansketchers.org  It’s a good place to view many different styles of rendering with ink and watercolor.

The Joys of Cooking
One of my favorite activities is cooking.  I don’t do it every day, but I do cook several times a week and experiment with new recipes and food combinations.   When I discover a winner I like to share it with friends.  

Recently I had lunch with my friends John and Barbie.  They are both great cooks.  John fixed us broiled salmon and it was terrific!  This past week I tried his technique, and it was fast, easy and delicious!  Thank-you John!

John Nemo’s Broiled Salmon
Ingredients:
fillet of salmon (about a pound) — the thicker the better; preferably consistent in thickness if possible
olive oil
mayonnaise
chopped preserved lemon (about 2 Tbsp.)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400.
While waiting for the oven to fully heat: prepare a flat baking pan or sheet by covering it with a piece of foil.  Lightly coat it with olive oil and sprinkle on a bit of coarse salt and pepper to add flavor and prevent sticking.
Place the salmon on the sheet with the skin side down 
Spoon or brush a thin to medium layer of mayonnaise on the top.  
Sprinkle with the preserved lemon.
Once the oven has reached temperature put the fish in the oven and and bake for 4 minutes.
Turn on the broiler.
Blast the fish under the broiler for two or three minute until the mayo bubbles.
The duration of broiling depends upon the thickness of the fish and your desired level of rare to well done eating of salmon.  I like it very tender so I do it for 1 minute!
Remove from the oven and let it sit for 2 to 10 minutes before serving.

Note if you don’t have preserved lemon use grated lemon rind in the mayo and maybe a some lemon juice for additional flavor. Don’t worry if the mayo and lemon ooze all over the foil on the baking sheet.

A Problem Solved! Garbage Bucket Cover
You never know what kind of creative solution lurks inside your head.  Morning pages to the rescue!!!

I have an under-counter slide-out rack for a garbage pail.  It’s very convenient and I use it many times a day.  But in the summer in the desert, it gets smelly.  One way of dealing with this is to take the garbage outside every day.  That means a daily trip to the dumpster with a mostly empty large trash bag. I can put the food waste in a counter-top container lined with a plastic bag and remove it.  That works but I don’t like the garbage on the counter where I see it.  I much prefer the under-counter solution BUT what to do about the odor.

I’ve found a solution!  I made a lid out of mat board with a duct tape handle.  Now the lid covers the container  and minimizes the smell no matter what’s in it.  When I need access, I simply slide and dump.  When it’s filled I remove the lid and tie up the bag and take it to the dumpster!!

Feedback Please
I’m already working on the next post, but I do welcome your feedback.  Is my new approach interesting? useful? What kinds of topics would you like me to write about?  What can I do to serve you, my audience better?  You can get back to me using the contact page.  I’d sure like to hear from you.

Share with Others
Putting this together always takes more time than I think it will.  This post consumed about 10 hours to plan, write, edit, take photos and proof.  I enjoy doing it, and I’d love to share it with a wider audience.  It would help if you could forward the link to friends who might also enjoy receiving it.

Thanks, in advance.
Love, maybelle

Starting the New Year

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For over ten years on January 1st I have formed my personal intentions for the new year.  In keeping with this tradition this year one of my intentions is to post on my blog at least once a month. So here’s my January post just in time!

Living the single life

My life has changed a lot.  Now I am a “committee of one” – a role that I reluctantly have taken on.  It’s so much easier when there is someone present to be witness for each other and to share in decisions.   Ever since I read the book “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo, I’ve been making an effort to simplify my life.  Part of this is driven by the aging process – I am being forced to simplify in order to cope with changes in my physical strength, stamina, memory and ability to focus.  I’ve discovered there are real benefits to slowing down and enjoying the moment.  Having too many choices can be immobilizing.  I’m doing things that make me happy whenever possible.   Big projects cause me stress and anxiety.  I’m finding that accomplishing little projects bring me great pleasure.

I made the decision to refocus my art-making on drawing and sketching, casual watercolor and stitching.  All of these activities offer potential for creative expression but are portable and don’t take up a lot of space. I’m no longer submitting my work for juried shows or taking intensive art classes that go on for days.  I’m limiting my travel to short trips of 3 or 4 days mainly to visit my sister.  And I’ve discovered on-line classes that I can take at my own pace.

 

Self Care

This refocus has allowed me to be more involved with taking  care of myself through exercise and good health practices.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even tho I live alone I enjoy putting time and effort into food preparation.  After Ed died, I expected that this would be a chore.  Instead it has become a creative adventure.  Recently I’ve started to ferment veggies to make my own probiotic foods. I’ve had fun developing original recipes that give me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I’ve started attending a regular Feldenkrais class that has helped my lower back become stronger.  I’m even getting a monthly facial- something I had never done before.  I’ve begun going to the movies by myself and enjoying it!!!  I plan to continue this blog but I expect to be writing more about my new life as an active and creative “crone”!!!  and sharing it with you.

An Encounter with the Flu

One of the big challenges this month was dealing with the flu. This was traumatic as I seldom get sick and Ed wasn’t here to take care of me!  For years I have gotten a flu shot and this year was no exception.  But the day after New Years I realized that I had the flu.  Granted it was a mild case but it kept me down for eleven days!  I discovered some interesting alternative treatments on-line that seemed to help moderate my symptoms.  I learned that oregano oil is both an antiviral and antibiotic!  Fortunately I had some on hand and so I put several drops on a spoonful of yogurtand gulped it down fast.   Ugh – tastes terrible but I did it for several days and feel that it knocked out that virus.   (Next time I’ll use oregano oil capsules.)

I developed an ugly chest cough which I treated with Ricola cough drops and Sambucus (elderberry syrup)  I drank camomile tea with ginger, honey, lemon and 3 fresh basil leaves.  Water was my best friend and my hydration goal was to drink a half cup every hour.  On the eleventh day I woke up without coughing so I pronounced myself cured and took a walk around the park to celebrate.  Just last week I read that golden kiwi fruit is being successfully used as a flu“treatment”.  There is documented evidence that if one eats three a day when they first have the flu symptoms the virus is killed within three days.

It’s too bad family doctors don’t offer these kinds of alternative treatments for colds and flu.  Of course I don’t know if my self-determined approach cured me,  but my on-line research alerted me to these alternatives, and I believe they prevented me from landing up in the hospital with pneumonia.  Three cheers for the internet.

On-line Classes

I’ve been taking a most enjoyable and interesting on-line class with Australian sketchbook artist, Liz Steele (www.sketchingnow.com).  Her training is as an architect, but her love of rendering has made her a highly regarded Urban Sketching Teacher.  She has developed unique and original approaches for sketchbooking.  I’m taking her newest class “Watercolor Sketching” and learning how to work fast and juicy!  I’ve had to “unlearn” some “bad” habits and I’m enjoying the results.  Here are two versions of an assignment she gave us – working juicy – one wet on wet and the other waiting for paint to dry before painting the adjacent areas. Each painting was done in about 5 minutes!   I’m only half-way through the class.  The first two weeks focused on painting skills and soon we will be adding drawing to the formula.

I’ve also enrolled in two on-line photography classes, which focus on developing skills using iPhone apps and working with digital photos to create composite art.  There are so many interesting classes one can find on the internet.  I  never got involved until I took a class this past year on creating mandalas as a spiritual practice.

Happy Making Activities

Kale and Garlic Soup

2 slices bacon, chopped

6 cloves garlic sliced (or grated)

4 – 5 cups finely chopped kale – no thick stems

1 quart of chicken broth (I like Costco’s brand)

Place bacon in a 2-3 quart saucepan and render the fat over low heat.

Add the garlic and cook gently (don’t brown)

Pour in the broth and add the kale.

Bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer.

Cook 30 minutes or until the kale is nice and soft.

Fresh Flowers

When Ed was alive he often brought home fresh flowers.  I miss his little gifts of love, so in his honor I almost always have fresh flowers or a blooming plant on the dining table.  This is the orchid I got to celebrate his 80th birthday.  Every time I pass by it or glance across the room, it brightens my spirit and makes me smile.

I share all this with you as an example of one way of creating a solitary life with a positive focus rather than being enveloped by grief and melancholy.  Our lives are impermanent  so the gift we have each day is to live as fully as possible.

To be continued next month…….