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One Inch of Art for a Week

In October, my neighbor and I went on an open studio tour in our neighborhood.  At one studio, the nice woman gave us both a handful of 1” squares and encouraged us to try to find the time to make 1” of art.  Miraculously (or maybe she knew exactly how many squares she was handing us) I wound up with seven squares.  I resolved to set aside a time to make one inch of art for a week, as a tribute to my artist friend, MaryBeth Leonard.

A few years ago, MaryBeth created a project for herself she called “A Drawing a Day for a Year.”  She catalogued all of her drawings on a blog and even wrote great descriptions and stories about each drawing.

Those little squares sat in a pile on my hutch for five-ish months. I looked at them every day.  Eventually, they began to turn into clutter, and I decided that it was time to act.

The first thing that I did was set out all of the squares on a sheet of paper and tape them down.  There were all sorts of fun colors and deciding on an order and a pattern gave the project a defined scope that made me comfortable.

Next, I decided to choose one medium for all of it.  Instead of colored pencils or markers or crayons, I decided to use my collection of teeny nail polishes.  Sort-of weird, but also sort-of artsy.  I like the dimension that you can create with nail polish, I had a bunch of different colors, and it would be a challenging medium.  I would use the bottle brushes and a toothpick to apply the paint.

Another interesting component of using nail polish was the patience factor.  I learned this lesson the hard way when I tried to add different colors without letting the first step dry. Once I figured that bit out, it was a nice part of the process to step away from the work for a few minutes at a time.

I left the whole project sitting out on the dining table all week so that I wouldn’t forget.  I liked not having to set up my art supplies to get to work on my project, but I don’t like having stuff just sitting out all the time.  Obviously, this is why serious artists have studios.

Here are the results of my inch of art experiment.  Maybe I’ll stick with writing.

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Kitten Day Dreams

After I wrote about the kittens’ nighttime sleeping routine, I began cataloguing where they sleep during the day, the locations of kitten day dreams. 

Even though they have the run of the house, there are around a half-dozen places where they are most likely to be found during daytime naps.  This simplifies kitten inventory.  Yes, I will go around the house at least once a day making sure that I can locate both kittens. Even if all of the windows are closed and no one has gone outside.  Do I think they have gotten out?  No, not really.  They are very good about waiting at the door but not trying to get out.  But one of them has accidentally gotten stuck in my closet at least once and the thought of having to clean up what could happen if a kitten is trapped in there for too long gives me nightmares.

They still really like the front room which was the kitten nursery when they first came home.  That room gets a lot of sun and is always warmer during the day; I like hanging out in there too.  There are a bunch of nice little kitten-sized nap spots that they will rotate through over the course of a day.  One of Anabel’s favorites is a basket full of blankets.

I keep their travel crate open on the floor next to my desk.  When they very first came home, they would go back in there to sleep, it was their safe place.  The vet encouraged me to leave it out and open for them; if there is an emergency of some sort, it will be easily accessible, and they will be used to it.  Anabel doesn’t really use it anymore, but after I have been sitting at my desk for a bit, Sally will head in there and sack out for the day.

Sally also has a wicker chair that is HIS chair.  Anabel likes to sleep on Mr. Man’s desk chair.  Once, he was gone for three days and she barely moved.

There is also a sort-of perch that Mr. Man created for them that consists of a crate, covered with a towel, on top of an end table.  This is a favorite place for both of them, it is usually just a matter of who claims it first.

I like that I rarely find them hiding out under furniture.  Occasionally Anabel will go hide out under the futon.  Unlike Emma, whose default was under the bed, that is the last resort place to look for Anabel.

When I used to work at the dining table, they would keep my company by taking their naps in there.  They both had their designated chairs and after they took a lap across the table to inspect my materials, they would retire to their designated chairs.

I have yet to catch either of them napping in the living room.

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Got Hay Fever? Have you tried the Neti Pot?

Here is another health remedy from the strange-yet-effective file.

Have I told you before about how I went through that phase with terrible allergies?  About how I was miserable all the time and even gave up yoga? One thing that helped me survive that phase (and I continue to use now) is the Neti pot.

One day, I was watching random Oprah reruns and there was Dr. Oz.  He was promoting/demonstrating the Neti pot – a little tea pot style thing that you would use to wash out your sinuses.  Basically, you make a little bit of warm saline solution, then you pour it in one nostril, and it comes out the other.  You do both sides, then you are good to go.

I knew that saline solution could be helpful – I remember rinsing with salt water after getting my wisdom teeth out, it made sense that it could help flush and reduce inflammation in your sinuses.  It still seemed like it would be terrible.  But I was so miserable that I decided to try it.

I headed to Whole Foods where the nice gal in the health and beauty supply area knew all about it.  Her tip was to make sure that you really blow your nose well after you rinse.  Then I picked up a container of regular NON-iodized table salt and headed home to try it out.

And…

It was life changing!

Seriously, it really does help.

I became a Neti pot evangelist.  I would tell anyone with allergies to try it.  My sister always has terrible allergies and I really gave her the hard sell.  She wasn’t having any of it.  Finally, I told her that one day she would be so miserable that she would be willing to try it.  That day came and she has never looked back.  These days she is the one who reminds me to use my Neti pot when I start complaining about sniffles and sinus problems.

Here’s what you do:

  • Take your little Neti pot.  Here is an Amazon link to the one that I have.
  • Add ¼ teaspoon salt (non-iodized table salt).
  • Fill with warm but not hot water (should be close to body temperature).
  • Stir.
  • Lean over the sink (just a little, you don’t need to bend way forward) and tilt your head to one side.
  • Breathe through your mouth.
  • Put the spout against your top nostril and pour.
  • The water will come out your bottom nostril.
  • The package recommends using one pot-full per side, but I usually just do half-and-half.
  • After you’ve done both sides, lean over the sink some more.  After all the water has drained out of your nose, give it a good blow.

Few warnings:

  • Make sure that you are using processed water.  I use tap water, but if your municipal water supply is questionable, you might want to use bottled, distilled water.
  • If you are completely stuffed up, it won’t work.
  • If you use too cold or too hot water, it won’t feel good.  Shoot for water around body temperature.
  • If your sinuses are really unhappy, it might be a bit uncomfortable (like a slight burning feeling) but you will still feel good afterwards.
  • I also don’t recommend using it before going to yoga class or any other kind of exercise class when you will be bending over.  I’ve had surprise reminders that I just poured a bunch of water up my nose (drip!).

Let me know what you think!  Happy Hay Fever Season!

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Lyric Voices

Last Saturday we saw program 5 of San Francisco Ballet’s 2019 season, Lyric Voices.  It was a mixed bill of new work, two ballets that came out of the 2018 season’s new works festival and one brand new piece.

The entire program was very good.  The pieces were complimentary but not derivative and none of them were too long (thankfully!).  This is the kind of dancing that San Francisco Ballet excels at, the dancers are confident and energetic in these kinds of pieces.  There was a lightness and energy to the way that the dancers executed the interesting and appropriate movement vocabulary.

Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem

The first piece, which premiered in the new works festival last spring, was Your Flesh Shall Be a Great Poem by Trey McIntyre.  The piece was inspired by a photo of a grandfather who he never knew and dealt with themes of loss and longing for connection.

The movement had a lightness, an airiness to it.  McIntyre used a clean, classical movement vocabulary that brought to my mind Balanchine’s mid-twentieth century, neoclassical ballets.

Four of the six movements of the piece very obviously supported the narrative.  I have not been able to decipher the literal meaning of other two movements, one of which was my most favorite dance in the piece.  It was a pas de trois featured Sasha De Sola, Jennifer Stahl, and one of the male dancers who was not the grandfather character.  It was just gorgeous.  For some reason, I am stuck on an idea that Sasha and Jennifer were fireflies.  Whatever they were, their dancing was powerful, clean, and warm.

I will look forward to seeing this piece again and hope to see more work by Trey McIntyre in San Francisco Ballet’s repertoire. 

Bound To

The second piece was Christopher Wheeldon’s contribution to the 2018 new works festival, titled Bound To.  The concept for this piece is the way in which we, as a society, are “bound to” technology and disconnected from the people around us.

In the opening movement, the dancers are all mesmerized by their cellphones.  When they do interact, at least one of the dancers is completely distracted.  The piece then transitions into a series of movements in which the dancers do not have their devices; however, their interactions are still somewhat distant, as if they no longer know how to connect with other people.  In the final solo of the series, this dude loses it.  Everyone goes back to their phones and leave him for dead.

I found myself wondering how this work will stand the test of time.  Will it be something that anyone will want to stage in 20 years?  Will it be “of its time” in a good way?

“…two united in a single soul…”

The title of Yuri Possokhov’s world premiere comes from a line in Metamorphoses by Ovid pertaining to the Greek myth of Narcissus (book III).  The idea of reflection was explored in virtually every element of the piece and was strongly established by the memorable opening scene in which the orientation and direction of each dancer created a powerful hall-of-mirrors effect.

This ballet was gorgeous.  All of the elements were interesting and unexpected – the set, the music, the costumes, and the dancing.

The minimalist set elements were well utilized throughout the work but my favorite effect was at the end of the work.  A black-and-white camouflage pattern projected on the floor reflects the image of a skull on the massive metallic teardrop upstage center.  That moment was a particularly eerie, powerful, and clever use of the scenic elements.

Daria Novo’s musical composition included several arias by Handel sung by a countertenor (the highest male singing voice) and music by Handel was combined with electronic effects throughout.  The singer, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, appeared onstage and interacted with the dancers.  I thought this was a fantastic and effective way to combine operatic singing with dance.  He symbolized another facet of Narcissus.  It was like the singer was telling the story as the dancer showed it.

A great night at the ballet was had by all.

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Cat Scratchers

As any cat caretaker knows, giving kitty somewhere to scratch is not only important for the cat’s happiness, but for the survival of one’s people furniture.  Finding the right cat scratcher however, is not as straightforward as it seems like it should be.

Traditional cat scratchers are generally rather monstrous, unattractive, and expensive.  And it is not uncommon for cats to completely ignore these monstrosities.  I feel like I should invest in one because it would give my little furry loves a fun place to climb and nap and scratch, but they are just so awful.

These days, there is a whole other category of chic cat scratchers that are generally minimalist and not covered in shag carpeting.  Unfortunately, these are also usually even more expensive, and I can’t seem to bring myself to rationalize the splurge.

Fortunately, there is another style of cat scratchers that I find satisfactory functionally as well as budgetarily – the cardboard cat scratcher.

When these first started coming out, they were usually just a flat rectangle of bias-cut cardboard.  These days, there seem to be all sorts of new shapes and larger sizes available at my favorite discount home furnishings store.  I must not be the only fan.

Most importantly, Anabel and Sally are also fans of the cardboard cat scratcher.  We have quite an assortment and at least one of them will use at least one every day.

I saw a tutorial online about how to make your own cardboard cat scratcher.  It involved cuttings many, many strips of cardboard, then gluing them together.  Sort of like making your own butcher block.  And much like making your own butcher block, although it is not particularly complicated and would be extremely budget friendly, I still have no interest in attempting it.

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Just Kidding! Happy April Fools’ Day!

Happy April Fools’ Day everyone!  I hope that your day is filled with shenanigans that everyone can laugh about when you get to the part when someone says, “just kidding!”

When I was working on my blog schedule and I saw today was April 1, I immediately thought that I would come up with some sort of practical joke for today’s post.  The more that I thought about it, I began to get this icky feeling.  What about X? No, what if someone actually tries it.  What about Y? That just seems mean.  What if I claimed that some big, hairy, audacious goal of mine had come true, and then at the end said, just kidding?  It seems counterproductive to turn a goal into a joke.  And so on.

Maybe I’m superstitious. I just couldn’t come up with something that I didn’t feel uncomfortable about putting out there into the universe.  And we all know how things can take on a life of their own on the internet.

So, I chickened out.

I’d rather use my energy to give the universe stories about kittens.  I don’t mind sharing my failed attempts at gardening or achieving a flat stomach.  And I have no compunction about giving lackluster productions a less-than-stellar review. Having fun and joking around is wonderful, but I just felt uncomfortable about trying to play a practical joke here.

Then, I decided to google “April Fools’ Day.”  The first thing that came up was an article about how Microsoft has banned pranks. In an article on The Verge, they report that a memo has gone out stating that, “the data tells us that these stunts have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles.”

Apparently, it’s not just me. Massive tech companies are trying to avoid pranks that could be taken the wrong way as well.  Why is it so hard to try to joke around these days?  Does no one have a sense of humor anymore?  Is it political correctness?  Or the culture of busy-ness?  People are likely to react first and think later, potentially blowing anything into a massive issue.

Once, many years ago, I instigated a harmless practical joke on my beloved boss.  We asked the receptionist to warn us when she was arriving, then left a ransom note on her desk and the entire staff absconded to the break room. Since she would arrive most days to a lively and productive workplace, the ghost town environment was unexpected to say the least.  Shortly, she arrived at the breakroom to find us all with bagels or doughnuts or something.

I don’t remember if this was before or after the time that she returned to work after knee replacement surgery to find that we had replaced her desk chair with a wheel chair, but she certainly seemed to take that joke in better humor than us pretending to have kidnapped her whole staff.  Probably because we were all diligently at our desks when she arrived to the wheelchair surprise.

I guess that the moral of this story is that if you want to play a practical joke on someone, know your audience and do it in a controlled environment, like in person as opposed to on the internet.

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My Midlife Cabaret

Calm down!  This post is not about my midlife cabaret.  I promise that I am going to stick to only singing in the car with the stereo turned up all the way (I don’t want to hear my singing either).

No, this is about a one-woman show that a friend of mine invited me to.  His friend from college had written/produced/was starring in it.  He knows that I am always up for an adventure and that I love interesting theatre. When he brought it up, I enthusiastically said “yes!” immediately.  What was there to consider?  A one-woman show in a performance space above a bar in North Hollywood on a Sunday night?  I am hard-pressed to come up with a reason to ever go to the valley, but Juliet Fischer-Schulein’s My Midlife Cabaret certainly was one.

Getting there was surprisingly reasonable (getting anywhere in LA in under 30 minutes is always a surprise).  We found our seats (right up front and center) and settled in.  I quickly realized that I was probably the only person in the place who didn’t actually know Juliet.  Everyone who did (basically everyone else there) was so nice which was great reflection on her, and I was looking forward to getting to meet her after the show.

The pianist and drummer took their places on the teeny, tiny stage.  The first thought that flashed through my mind was the poetry reading scene from So I Married An Axe Murderer (don’t you just love that movie?).  How great would it be if this show was all beat-style poetry and chain smoking?  It wasn’t of course, this was a cabaret after all.

Well, I certainly didn’t have to wait until after the show to get to know a whole lot about Juliet. She was a Rockette!  She got in trouble for kicking too high.  She had this whole wonderful life in her twenties performing on Broadway in A-list musicals.  And then she met her now-husband, fell in love, and decided to give up her career for happily-ever-after suburban life behind the orange curtain.

She was very open about the not-a-Hallmark-movie parts of her life that led her to create this show.  We’re around the same age and I could totally relate to what she was talking about (except for the part about having kids – I never fell for that trick).  Much in the way that she lost herself to her mommy-life in her thirties, I lost myself to my work-life during those years.

#midlifecrisis, #cliché, #trueanyway

I was just so proud of her.  For being so talented and disciplined, for keeping herself in great shape (she would have gotten in trouble for kicking too high if the Rockettes police had been there), for creating this whole show herself, and for being so open and brave to talk about things that are really hard for people to admit.

Today, if someone asked me how I knew Juliet, I would tell them that had seen her show and that she is my sister.  I’m so excited that she has rediscovered her creative voice and look forward to hearing what else she has to say (or sing).  I would like to thank her for inspiring and encouraging me to continue working on my creative path without even knowing it.

Here’s a short YouTube video about the show.

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Happy Persian New Year

Today is the vernal equinox, Persian New Year, a date that has been celebrated as Nowruz (“new day”) for over 3,000 years.  I think that celebrating the vernal equinox is a wonderful idea – days are getting longer and warmer, things are beginning to bloom and grow.

This tradition is celebrated in a secular manner in Western and Central Asia and the Caucasus.  It grew out of the traditions of ancient Persian religions such as Zoroastrianism (the first monotheistic religion) in which an important concept is the connection of people to nature.

I remember celebrating Persian New Year (Nowruz) at my grandmother’s houses when I was growing up.  The highlight was always the haft-sin (pronounced “haft-seen”) table.  This is a display that is set up in advance of the new year which contains seven (“haft” in Farsi) items which begin with the letter “sin.”

  • Sabze – literally translates as “greens.”  For the haft-sin display, sabze is sprouts of various beans and grains that are grown in/on dishes on the table.  This symbolizes rebirth or renewal.
  • Samanu – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ.  This symbolizes wealth and fertility.
  • Dried fruit/Persian olives (senjed) – symbolizing love.
  • Vinegar (serke) – symbolizing the patience and wisdom of age.
  • Apples (sib) – symbolizing beauty and health (an apple a day!).
  • Garlic (sir) – symbolizing medicine.
  • Sumac – a Persian spice.  This symbolizes the sunrise of a new day.

Other items that tend to be included in the display are:

  • Candies (sweetness)
  • A mirror (reflection)
  • Candles (light)
  • Painted eggs (fertility)
  • A bowl of water
  • Coins (prosperity)
  • Goldfish (life)
  • Hyacinth (grown from bulbs, not cut flowers)
  • A “book of wisdom” could be a religious text or a book of poetry or literature

Food is a big part of any Persian celebration and Nowruz dinner is no different.  In addition to the usual assortment of different kinds of pollo (rice) and horesch (stew) of there is a certain pollo that traditional to eat for the new year made with these little tart berries and I want to say orange peel and almonds.  Fish is always served.  And kuku sabzi – a sort of herb frittata.

There are lots of other traditions that are part of Nowruz celebrations as well:

  • You are supposed to do a big spring cleaning before the new year – all the rugs, the windows, etc.
  • The Wednesday before Nowruz is a celebration called Chanar Shanbeh Soori, which translates literally to “Red Wednesday.”  On this night bonfires are lit to beckon enlightenment and happiness for the new year.  It is traditional to eat super delicious Persian noodle soup – ash a reshteh – which I am now thinking that I need to find a recipe for and make (it is seriously SO delicious).
  • On the new year, children are given gifts of fresh bank notes (new money) from elders.
  • Thirteen days after Nowruz is called Sizdah Bedar (“nature’s day”) which is celebrated by having a picnic.  This is also when the haft-sin table gets cleaned up.

On that note, I would like to say, “Eid-eh shoma mobarak” (happy new year to you) and wish you happy spring!

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Sleeping Beauties

News flash: cats sleep a lot.

Ok, not actually news at all.  As I sit here writing, I am surrounded by sleeping kitties and it made me think about how funny they are about where and when they sleep.

Of course, there are daytime sleeping spots and nighttime sleeping spots.  And while in some ways it seems like they will sleep anywhere, Anabel and Sally can be fairly particular about their nighttime sleeping spot.

Both kittens come to bed with us at night.  Sally knows when bedtime is and he will sometimes beat me there.  Anabel likes to wait until no one is looking and then she comes to bed too.  Neither of them snuggle with us though.  They both sleep down by my feet. 

I used to have a blanket on top of the duvet.  One night, Sally started going crazy and was attacking the blanket.  He would scratch and bite at it.  I kept throwing him off of the bed and throwing him out of the bedroom, but he kept coming back (no, I didn’t close the door because…cats) and raging at it.  Mr. Man was not happy.  Finally, I took the blanket off of the bed and then he was fine.  He had just been upset with the blanket.

The kittens resumed their nighttime sleeping position.  It was a tenuous detente because I was worried that at any moment Sally would get mad at the duvet and attack my new down comforter.  At some point during the next few days a sweatshirt or something wound up on the foot of the bed.  The kittens made a point of sleeping on top of it; Anabel seemed especially happy about it, so I left it.

After a bit, Sally started getting mad at that shirt too.  Yikes!  Ok, let’s put that in the hamper.  How about if I get a clean shirt out of the drawer?  Oh, he likes it!  Happy kittens, phew.

So, now we have a system where I leave a t-shirt out on the foot of the bed for the kittens to sleep on.  Every few days I switch it out for a clean shirt.  The kittens love their spot and we haven’t had any more incidents with trying to kill the bedding.

On one hand, I really would like to be able to sleep with my legs stretched out.  One the other hand, when I wake up in the morning, I find adorable snuggling kitten vignettes that make my heart overflow with happiness like the bubble run-off of a poorly opened bottle of champagne.

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Are You Recovering Today?

Well, yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day, a day when everyone claims a percentage of Irishness (real or imagined) in order to justify indulging in beer (green or not), whiskey, corned beef, and wearing green.

So how did a day commemorating the arrival of Christianity to Ireland, become a drinking holiday?

Ah, ha!  Because Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking would be lifted for the day.  If Lent is your deal, then I hope that you made the most of St. Patrick’s Day because now Lent is back on.

Traditionally, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated with religious services and feasts.  Modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day began as a way for the Irish diaspora to celebrate their heritage.  Eventually, it became a tourist holiday within Ireland and many of the practices common in international celebrations were adopted there.

What about the snakes?

It seems unlikely that Ireland ever had any snakes (too cold for reptiles).  At some point, the lore about Patrick’s efforts against the Druids (the Celtic professional class – spiritual leaders, healers, judges, and teachers) became his vanquishing of snakes from the island.  Poor Druids.

What’s the deal with shamrocks?

Three was a significant number in pagan Ireland.  It is speculated that this helped Patrick with his evangelical efforts – the legend is that he may have use shamrocks to help illustrate the holy trinity to the pagans.

Not an actual shamrock

Sunday Funday

This St. Patrick’s Day also happened to be Sunday Funday, a somewhat recent designation for Sundays spent brunching and partaking in other day-drinking activities.  The term first appeared in the Urban Dictionary in 2006 (what did we call it before then, just Sunday?). Sunday Funday traditionally should begin with mimosas (preferably bottomless) and/or Bloody Mary’s.  The objective is to party hard enough to pass out early enough to be fresh and ready to start your week on Monday morning.

So, my question for you is: are you recovering today?