The New Year is fast approaching. How do you want yours to play out? Has this past year been one where you followed your desires? Did you introduce something in to your life that you had been missing, or that brings you enjoyment? What would you like most from 2009? When it comes to this point of the year NEXT year, what would you like to be able to list as the BEST thing you did all year? Can you introduce something in to your daily schedule that takes you closer to that goal?

Things to think about for the New Year;

    ✓    focusing on peace between nations
    ✓    finding our similarities rather than our differences
    ✓    what really makes you smile
    ✓    tuning in to the rhythms of nature
    ✓    listing out your GOOD points - your accomplishments and abilities


Check out this little video for 5.75 more questions you can ponder as well. It's one I have recommended previously, and I like to check it every once in a while myself to see if I am keeping on track along the way. Bookmark it and do the same.

To start off with the first item on the list, there's a music video below that is a combination of Jewish and Arabic with English subtitles - a celebration of peace.

To help you tune in to the rhythms of nature, check out this website:http://healingwithnatureshelp.weebly.com

The rest I will leave up to you, and I leave you with my wishes for a fantastic 2009. May it be a healthy and happy year for you.

Well  .... I said a few days ago that we may not have snow for Christmas this year. A few days later it started snowing and has hardly quit since! I can tell you I am certain we will have a white Christmas this year. It makes the world sparkling, clean and beautiful, but ..... I find that winter with snow and cold weather makes me want to hibernate! I want to be snuggled indoors. Preferably with my eiderdown quilt. Somewhere near the heat.  With a warm cup of cocoa. I would love to curl up and do nothing but read or watch the deer outside, but work still has to get done, and there 'ain't no body but me' doing it. I do try to sit in the chair by the window and watch the deer or just enjoy the snow for a while each day and appreciate how beautiful it looks. It won't be here for ever, and it makes me look forward to the spring sunshine with anticipation. But winter does make me want to just sit and do homey things like sew or knit or something and it is an urge I have to fight off regularly.


I am happy for it though. The colder temperatures too. Perhaps it will kill off some of the bugs that have been plaguing the trees in the forest if we have a good cold snap for a while. I'll just haul out the long johns and warm socks and slide in to the boots and go. I find if I button up and head outside to do some shovelling or go for a walk I am more energetic when I come back in. Warmer too. It snowed for most of the day yesterday and during the night, so I had several inches to shovel off the drive and sidewalk today. Had a chance to gab with the neighbour, as he was out doing the same thing. The deer wandered in the field until I came in doors, then they crossed the street and came through my yard to see what I had to nibble on. Not much out there for them right now, but they look healthy in their winter coats.

This one found sound bits of fir branches that broke off when I was knocking down the heavy patches of snow. Love how lush her fur is.

It amazes me that they find any food at all when it's all covered with snow, but they seem to survive each winter looking healthy and fit. I don't begrudge them eating my plants in the winter. Wish they would leave some for me in the summer  but I guess I can't have it both ways!

My posts may be rather sparse until the new year, so best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and may you all have the best year ever for 2009! Despite all the turmoil in the world, we can carve out a peaceful spot for ourselves if we work at it, and continue doing what feeds our soul.

So I leave you with this Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad song for Peace to enjoy.

I have been tagged in a meme by Oza Meilleur, so this post today is a response to that. For any of you that don't know what a meme is all about, they are information patterns that replicate. Usually, you and I are the ones that replicate them, because information can't exactly replicate itself. It is a phrase popularized by Richard Dawkins. If you want to know more about the idea, Susan Blackmore has a TED video on her studies and theories of memes. The idea is that memes  function on an evolutionary basis. Natural selection occurs when people choose to replicate  patterns of information that make the most sense and fit in with other memes in use (ie if it is handy or fun you will pass the idea on to your friends).They replicate across time and space because you and I talk to each other and pass on ideas or patterns of information that work.

The information pattern for this meme is as follows;
go to the sixth page of your Flickr photostream
pick the sixth picture there
post it to your blog
tag six other bloggers

Well, I don't have 6 pages of flickr photos  cause I hardly use my account there, and I couldn't even be as deep as Oza (who also didn't have 6 pages) and choose the 12th picture, because I only have 8! So my choices were irrigation sprinklers, coloured leaves or a walking path .......... I chose to go with photo number 6, trying to keep as close to the instructions as I could. I really WANTED to choose the coloured leaves, but figured that wouldn't be fair because the idea in this meme is you take what you get and work with it... and it can end up rather interesting. So....... the photo below is #6.

Here is my exciting photo #6!! A circulating sprinkler I uploaded to my Squidoo page about garden irrigation.

The next thing is to figure out how this could work into something interesting for a blog post.

The reason I uploaded it in the first place - or even TOOK the photo was that it is part of my lens on garden irrigation methods and what might be the best method for conserving water in your garden. Now THAT is an idea that should become a meme. People need to replicate the idea of "water conservation" when planning gardens!  If we all did it, we wouldn't waste so much water. Which I suppose is a good tie in to the "Water's Edge" ..... and nature's connections on this blog. But the sprinkler itself is kind of a meme as well. Someone came up with the idea, created it in reality, and it has spread most everywhere that there are gardens.

Now - how can we spread the conservation idea so that it is easier than the sprinkler? Any suggestions? If you do, pass them on to all your friends and create a few memes yourself.

Firstly, all fall I have been patiently watching and waiting for the mountain goats to come down far enough to get photos of them. So guess what - yesterday they were right down on the highway and I didn't take my camera because I was going Christmas shopping and didn't want it in the car while I was shopping!!!  So, I saw them - but I can't show you.  : (  Maybe next time I will take my camera along regardless! The  Bighorn sheep where down on the highway too, but I see them near quite frequently regardless of the weather. And I do have photos of them from one other day, so will share them with you.

A small part of the herd that wanders this particular territory. None here with the big horns, which probably means they are mostly female and young ones. This was taken early fall.

It felt a little bit like Christmas while I was shopping in the mall and visiting family because all the decorations are up, the carols are being played, the Salvation Army kettles are out and the volunteers are ringing their jingle bells - but we have no snow yet. Don't know if we will get any before Christmas this year. Tonight is so foggy I can't see down the street. Makes it hard to drum up the spirit with no snow when that is the image for Christmas. I know that there are places that never have snow on Christmas - where it is summer time right now. But Christmas with snow is the image that has been drummed into my head all my life thanks to advertising, Christmas cards and stories.

I think it may be time we changed that to some degree. This is becoming a much more global world. People of all countries are connected with the click of a mouse. The image of Santa and his reindeer landing on a snow covered roof - hanging stockings on the mantle and leaving milk and cookies by the fireplace for an imaginary person must seem rather vague and meaningless to many. As will the image of well-dressed healthy people sitting down to a meal of over-abundance and a tree surrounded by ' perfect' gifts.

I am not being Scrooge-like nor trying to act like the Grinch, but I do think some things need changing and the only way that will happen is if we stop buying into an image that doesn't fit our own reality.  Ideas such as creating new traditions that are meaningful to your family group and letting go of traditions that are unrealistic under your present circumstances; buying only one or two specific people gifts (drawing names from hats); and donating time to help others less fortunate are often suggested as ways to reduce the stress associated with the Holiday Season. 

The Canadian Mental Health Association has 12 Tips to Reduce Holiday Stress  which include things like;

- make a budget and stick to it
- be realistic
- seek support
- take a breather
- forget about perfection
- don't abandon healthy habits
- set differences aside
- learn to say no

Basically, what they are suggesting is that we stop trying to live up to an unrealistic illusion of what Christmas is about, and take an honest look at our own feelings and desires. Underneath it all, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ if you believe in the Christian faith, and if you do not, it has become a time to be thankful for the friendship and support of those who are near and dear. It has only become a time for 'exorbitant' gift giving to suit big business. If you spend the rest of the year paying off your debts, it serves a purpose - you pay interest on the amount all year long.

So let's all take a close look at who we want to say thank you to this year, and say it in a way that does not put us in to bankruptcy. Check in with your own 'spirit' and find out what will make it happy - what will fill you with joy and happiness. What can you do for others to say thank you.

Some of my own ideas are as follows;
1.  Find a project that several members of the family group are interested in and each contribute a share of time and energy to supporting that project ie;

- volunteer as a group at the same soup kitchen ... you get to spend time together and you help others at the same time,

- contribute as a group to a chosen project ... if each person contributes $20 and you donate as a group to a charity, it connects you to the other group members, makes you feel good when you look at the total, and can be affordable for tight budgets.

- pick one of your hobbies or learn a new one and spend time during the year working on creating gifts that can be contributed to charities. Quilting is an example of this (and yes I know, not everyone can or wants to do quilting- but it is an example of what I mean). 

2.  Could you put together a book, song, poem, scrapbook or something creative for each of your family members and trade them. Perhaps a list of all the wonderful things you feel about that person set in a frame. 

3. Get together and do something as a group. Skating, cross-country skiing, or walking for those who are fit - playing card or board games for those who are not. Do something different as a family group. 

Think about what you are good at and what gives you joy, and create something from that place within you. Share it with the world. That, after all, is what giving and sharing is all about. It's not about the state of your finances. And from my point of view it is something that should be done all year long - not just on one day, but beginning with this one day is a start at changing our list of priorities as to what is important in this world. 

Would love to hear your thoughts on what Christmas means to you and what you might like to do differently. What is the most important part of the holiday season to you?

Just finished reading an article in the June/July 2008 issue of 'Scientific American Mind'  titled 'Let Your Creativity Soar' in which Robert Epstein , Julia Cameron and John Houtz discuss their thoughts on creativity and offer some ideas on how to encourage it.

The feeling is that creativity is not "only granted to certain people. Rather it is something that anyone can cultivate, using a variety of methods." This coincides with what I have thought for a long time - not through any scientific testing or studies, just through my own hunches and intuition. We tend to put the creative ability up on a pedestal and think that it is something we are not equipped to do - but we are. The brain has the capacity to be extremely adept at coming up with new ideas and solutions to challenges. We just need to encourage it and practice.

There are several methods to encourage that ability suggested in the article, the main ones that Robert Epstein lists as four competencies to have are;

- capturing
- surrounding
- challenging
- broadening.

He suggests that when you have ideas you must capture them. Write them down, record them somewhere so they don't get forgotten. You must surround yourself with interesting things and people to stimulate your imagination. You must face your challenges and solve them - and in doing so, you make new connections in the brain. You must keep learning new things, as the broader your interest range, the more interesting your ideas are.

This is my "Great Big Idea Book".  I know, I could put it all on a small pda or something simple and electronic - but I am a visual and tactile person. I like to have something in my hands to look at to spur my creative urges. This binder holds photos, sketches, ideas jotted down, cards with quotes and research info on - you name it, it's in there. You can see on the front I have written 'Order out of Chaos', which I thought rather appropriate at the time, indicative of the chaos these ideas can create in my mind if I just leave them to rattle around!

Julia Cameron's suggestions of course included the 'Morning Pages' that she is famous for promoting - sitting down first thing in the morning and writing three pages. About anything on your mind. Petty nuisances, dreams, aggravations, it doesn't matter. They are meant for no one else's eyes to read, they just clear out the brain of the monkey-mind chatter and give you a clearer focus for the day. They can be used to capture the ideas you have had during the night. She also suggests the 'artist's date' where you plan in to your week a period of time that you spend just poking around places that excite your interest. Browsing random books in the library or book store - going to a museum to look at and absorb what you see - playing with fun creative stuff from a dollar store - going to a play. Anything that stimulates and challenges your mind to see and think about new things. And of course, spending time walking outdoors. She too has found the importance of being in nature and observing, as well as the beneficial effects for the brain of walking.

This one is my 'morning pages' journal, started when I first began to read Julia Cameron's books "The Artist's Way", "Vein of Gold", "Walking in this World", and "Finding Water". It's a three ring binder and when I fill it, I remove the pages to a file and fill up with new, blank pages ready and waiting to begin again.

John Houtz expresses the importance of exercising that creativity - of working at it - of being disciplined in giving it attention and expanding the possibilities for your mind to work with.

It's a great article for ideas and understanding the processes involved in being creative. Also, if you check out this link to a video with Robert Epstein, you will be amazed at the process the pigeon uses to get at the banana! Epstein also has many books to help encourage your creativity on his own site.

Being creative means creating something new - whether it be an idea or an actual 'thing'. Playing around with all the wonderful creative tools we have these days can be not only fun, but productive as well. Sometimes, if I just want to play I will - having no particular end use in mind. I just create stuff. Frequently I will find a use for it at a later date. Sometimes much later. I have found things I worked on years before that I can incorporate into something new now. At the very least, I can re-use the idea or technique in a new work.

Yes, it means I have a couple of art portfolios just filled with 'stuff' ..... but those are building blocks for something in the future, to my mind. A small example is the picture below.

What I have used here is a sketch of some berries on a branch, an old letter I found, a rubber stamp kit, and some old onionskin paper.

It may not be considered a million dollar masterpiece, but it serves a purpose framed and hanging on a small wall with other similar work.

Often we think that each work we create has to be the ultimate sale-able product, and it doesn't. Sometimes we need to just create ... period.  People look for simplistic things and for works that do not demand our ultimate attention to appreciate. In other words, they just want something innocuous to fill the space on the wall - something that blends in (and something that matches the couch!)

If we deny those creative urges that may not lead to the 'ultimate masterpiece' we also deny creativity itself. By placing judgement on what ideas are good enough to pursue, we often toss away many that could lead to something important. I feel it is our duty to follow them and see where they lead. So create something just for fun - play with the tools available and experiment. Try all kinds of crazy things. With the knowledge you gain you will be farther ahead when you begin your next 'masterpiece'. The freedom you experience will open new doors in the creative mind, and it can have an effect on your daily life as well. You begin to allow the creative process to be applied to other challenges. The results can be very satisfying and free you from constraints that may be holding you back.

This is a small detail from a large painting where I have combined several pieces of 'play' in the work. There are photos, rubbings and sketches incorporated that I had previously created just having fun and experimenting with my tools.

Try it, have some fun, and then just set the creations away for future. I can be fun - and creativity should be fun.