Finding the magic

It's Spring Equinox. Stop, drop, and OM.

  My last post http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2014/03/year-of-wood-horse-talisman.html got me reminiscing about some of the other ba-jillion times I seemed to randomly find something absolutely brilliantly symbolic and/or metaphoric, causing me to say to myself, "wow, I'm up to my tits in deep magic here."  Being that we're right on top of Spring equinox, I thought I would share the story of the artwork pictured above(and below)and how I created it.

  It all started about 5 years ago, a few days before that year's Spring Equinox.  I was walking through the neighborhood with Ruby when she was at an age when she was constantly finding "treasures" on the ground that were very important and I absolutely had to save them in my purse.  A purse that was starting to bulge with pinecones, stones, bottle caps, and other cool detritus that a five year old finds fascinating and collectible.  Anyhow, as we were crossing the street she bent down and picked up the letter "O" pictured above. In case you didn't recognize it, it's one of those linking toys for babies and toddlers that one could use to make a chain and perhaps attach a pacifier to the stroller. It was a little worse for wear but into the purse it went where I promptly forgot about it.  
  Until two days later, on the Spring equinox when I was walking in a completely different neighborhood and I looked down to find an "M" shaped linking toy.  I didn't even know they made M's!  I thought they only made O's.  But how else are you gonna spell OM? Right?
  Anyhow, to commemorate this juicy gift of symbolism from the Universe I had to incorporate it into an art piece.  Ever since I became a busy mom I've been making my artwork by starting out with second hand paintings.  Just a little time saving trick I came up with.  A couple of weeks before, my neighbors happened to be getting rid of this velvet beauty with the maiden and the wolf.  So I painted the frame bright blue, glued the OM and some other tchotchkes to it, and added some painted polka dots for good measure. 
  Looking at it I am reminded to stop, drop inside, and go to the OM place.  Or the HOME place. Stillness. Balance.  Like the equinox. The balance between the play of seasons and day and night.  To me there is always a magic about the time around the equinoxes.  The stillness feels still-er but somehow fuller too. Like a deep, deep pause and preparation. Renewal. Connection. Unconditional.  Love.

year of the wood horse talisman

I actually found this piece of driftwood on the beach with a hole in it and the letter "H" bored into by an insect apparently cosmically attuned to symbolism.

  So when I was in Mexico http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2014_01_01_archive.html a few weeks back, taking my daily walk on the beach, I looked down and boom, there was this sweet little piece of driftwood.  The fact that it already had a perfect little hole in it was what initially caught my eye.  Upon closer inspection I noticed that it also featured a number 4 engraved into it (no doubt by a very talented bug).  But after it rode around in my pocket for awhile, the dust and sand was jostled off and the 4 turned into an "H".  Well, huh (?), I thought.

  These cool, cryptic communiques via found treasures from spirit are par for the course in my world but I was a little stumped this time. (Also par for the course.)  It wasn't until I returned home and back to my internet surfing habit that I was barraged by articles on the Chinese New Year and the impending Year of the Wood Horse. (Starting January 30, 2014) Here's a good overview from Mystic Mamma: http://www.mysticmamma.com/happy-year-of-the-horse-2014-astrology-and-insights/. To be honest, I'm not a big follower of astrology. Not that I'm against it, it's just usually information overload for me.  So to "randomly" find an actual piece of wood with an actual "H" on it, just days before the start of the year of the wood horse, well, maybe I should pay attention.  It sounds like I (we) may be in for some fun, freedom loving, action oriented, hold on to your hats, creative energies this year. But for god sakes stay grounded.  And buoyant.  Let's not forget buoyant.  Like my little driftwood friend out on an adventure that found itself on a pretty pink lucky necklace and the star of a blog post.  I just gotta stay in the saddle and hold on to the reins.  And by reins I mean intention and gratitude.  That always keeps my horse pointed in the right direction :).

Hawthorne Berry Elixir

A Wondrous and Earthy Hawthorne Berry Infusion Experiment

Remember back in October when I picked a bunch of "haws" from our hawthorne tree and decided to make a hawthorne berry cordial? http://thedelightist.blogspot.com/2013/10/pumpkin-carving-walnut-crushing-booze.html

before

  Initially I set out to make a hawthorne cordial and a schnapps.  Which is a way of saying I was going to infuse booze (brandy for the cordial and vodka for the schnapps) with the haws then add some sweetness with honey at the end.  However, when I tasted my infusion after a letting it sit for about 7 weeks, I decided sweetness wasn't the way to go.  It had an absolutely lovely, woody, earthy, but indescribable flavor that to my tastebuds, would not be improved upon by adding sweetness.  On the other hand it wasn't compelling enough on its own so I cautiously let a stick of cinnamon bark sit in there for one day.  And then added a few drops of orange bitters to round out the flavor.  These additions really brought out its essence and turned it into something one would very much enjoy wee dram of by the fireside. Perfect for sipping on a wintery evening. Everyone who has tried it has been surprised at how delightful it is. And possibly surprised by the fact that I haven't poisoned them with an unfamiliar berry.  Actually hawthorne berries are very medicinal:http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/November08/healingwise.htm. And can be used in many different ways:
http://wildcrafty.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/what-can-i-do-with-hawthorn-berries/.   I will definitely be doing this again next fall.  Maybe I'll even branch out into making the jam.

Snow Days Portland Style for the Newbs

  Hi all. Greetings from frosty ass Portland, Oregon. We are currently encrusted in multiple layers of intricate crystalline structures. Oh.    I mean snow and ice.  It probably won't last much longer though.  It's just not our thing.  Sorry snow, it's not you, it's us. We really lack commitment and apparently so does the snow. It hardly comes around anymore. We only plow 10 percent of our streets.  We barely have the energy to salt or sand. We just need our space man. But it was great while it lasted.
  Lots of folks have moved to Portland in the last few years and we really haven't had a snow/ice "event" in 5 years so I think it's a good time to review snow day etiquette. First and foremost snow day = mental health day for the vast majority of Portlanders.  I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or anything but if you're a "non-essential" worker you really need to stay home.  Look at it as a get out of jail free card. Bonus: almost everyone is aggressively cheerful due to the surprise mental health day and impending fun.
  Rob (the husband) grew up here and wanted me to pass on these helpful hints:

RE: Snow.

Facts:

1) The City of Portland does not salt the roads when it snows.  ( See all the old cars that are still around, love them for their artistic values, or hate them for their lack of gas economy, and the safety features of a brick, they are still around because of the no salt attitude ).

2) The drivers in the City of Portland do not know how to drive in the snow.  This is not strictly true, but we mostly lack these basics: snow tires, snow chains, practice driving in the snow, salt ( see above ).

3) We have hills.  When it snows, all side street hills are reserved for sledding, all major street hills are reserved for people who like to slide their cars into other cars, street signs, and other ( soon to be ) debris. (Okay, the hills are not "officially" reserved. It's just an unwritten rule -Jen)

4) Four wheel drive will not help you stop.  Driving fast just because you have a four wheel drive vehicle may lower your intelligence quotient and increase your damaged vehicle ownership.

Solutions:

1) Go home and have a "snow day".  Get a bottle of scotch on the way by the grocery store ( or, whatever, more beer, but beer can be heavy to carry while wandering around in the pretty snow covered city ).

1a) Go home before the snow starts.

1b) Seriously, get the fuck out of work and go home before everyone else decides to go home and you get stuck on a freeway watching the gas tank slowly empty as you stare at the back of the same car that is artfully cutting back and forth in front of you making no more progress than the other car that slid off into the ditch.  And the pretty snowflakes fall.

2) You may think you can drive in the snow, you may have been able to do that in your home state ( California? ), but we have things here that you did not have there.  We have hills, we have no salt, and we have other drivers that do not know how to drive in the snow, who are now between you and your destination.  They have run out of gas, and are abandoning their cars in the middle of the road / freeway / that hill that you need to have momentum to get up, or, at the bottom of the hill you just started down.

3) Walk.  To the store, to the liquor store, to the bar.  Preferably, go to a bar that has a good view of a freeway on/off ramp.  Or one with the Snow-pocolypse playing on the TV.

4) Keep the streets clear for essential personnel : fire brigades, bartenders & barista's, grocery store workers ( sorry, grocery store RESOURCES/TEAM PLAYERS/OTHER workers but you're our lifeline to beer and cookie making ingredients.  Thank you for your service.), police, the sheriff's secret police, other nebulous government agencies.

5) Once the snow has stopped falling, go sledding and wassailing ( bring the scotch )

 Thanks Rob.  Well said. Very helpful indeed.

 This just in: Rob has an addendum.  Clearly he's on a roll tonight. Here goes:

Re:

Snow in Portland:

And another thing, why do some of you insist on shoveling the show off the sidewalk in front of your house?  If you are trying to prevent injury, it's very counter productive, because, at the end of a snow event/apocalypse/happy fun cute time, there is usually a round of freezing rain, to give everything that was snow covered a nice candy coating of crunchability.  Except your sidewalk, which has become a skating rink for the unwary.

  

  Once again, thanks Rob. Clearly you have a natural, "let the snow be snow, man", shovels be damned, aesthetic.  I like that.  It seems to go with our general Portlandia zeitgeist around the handling of winter weather.  Okay everyone, back to your cookie making, knitting, sledding, drinking, sledding, sleeping, etc..

  

Mexico trip!

 Hope you enjoyed these pics from my trip to Mexico. I would like to express my thanks to the anonymous artists who created the beach art and jungle graffiti.  I would also like to thank my friend Karen for moving from a gorgeous little beach town and having six cats that needed to be moved from Mexico to the US thereby requiring the services of Renee and I to help move them. Thank you to Alaska Airlines for having an "only two cats per human" rule.  They practically forced me to take a beach vacation.  Thanks to the bartender at Bar Camaron (conveniently located near the big rope swing) who made us the "mug-o-ritas".  Also thanks to Jo Roxie, the Aussie lady who took the picture of Renee and I at yet another establishment that featured the winning swings/margarita combo.  And last but not least I'd like to thank Rob and Ruby for valiantly holding it down in Portland while mommy went off to "Camp Margarita".  Love you guys!

Jen's Christmas Round-up or It Looks As If An Elf Threw Up In Here (Possibly because he ate our gluten free Christmas cookies)

All Hail the Christmas Branch

 Pictured above is a closeup picture of our Christmas branch.  Which is kind of like an alterna-tree that we've been doing for, jeez, fifteen years? 

It's so hard to capture the majesty of the Christmas branch

  I think it all got started when we were feeling broke around the holidays but we had a small rag-tag pile of ornaments in need of hanging. We found a downed branch and hung it from the ceiling with picture wire and never looked back. (Actually we're on our fifth branch because we keep the branches up year round sans decorations)  It's just so dang magical to lay on the couch and gaze up at the twinkling lights, the twenty years of memories the ornaments represent, and the shit-ton of tinsel.  The tinsel really makes it. 

 As a bonus it's cat and toddler proof. Moving on:

Yes, that's a Ninkasi beer cap on the Christmas tree

 Cookies!  Decorating!  Disappointment and disillusionment.  Oh well, it was fun anyhow!
  My mom was a painter and so am I and grew up looking at Christmas cookies as yet another avenue for self expression.  We labored over each cookie and judged people who merely sprinkled their cookies with green and red sugar. (My apologies to the minimalists out there.)   In the last few years my dad has joined us in our traditional explosion of sugar and food dye.  This has also resulted in a more painterly aesthetic.  Or maybe it's the wine.  Or the horribly misshapen gluten free sugar cookies I tried this year.    Never again.  Sorry Rob.  We had to get creative with our interpretations of these mostly amorphous blobs.  So this happened:

The Dreaded Elf Puke Cookie

 Also not likely to be pinned.  Anyhow, if you're in need of one more utterly inspirational holiday idea, I present to you The Snow-P Mobile.  A thrilling combination of Legos, an old pope reference, and an LED lit ornament we found at a big box craft store last year.  Happy Holidays!

It's pronounced "snope"

Easy Pom-pom Garland Made Out of Up-cycled Yarn

Here's a great family friendly craft project that would also be a really good holiday gift idea.

  I love yarn but I don't know how to knit.  Yeah yeah, I know I could totally learn how to do it but ain't nobody got time for that.  So meanwhile I'm relegated to making pom-poms.  When I first attempted to make pom-poms I used the "card board disc" method.  Yikes!  My pom-poms looked like crap.  So I decided to shell out a few bucks for some pom-pom makers I found online by a company named Clover.

 Not only do they work but they're fun and gadget-y in a way that's appealing to kids.  Which was awesome because I initially came up with this idea for a holiday craft fundraiser at my daughters school a couple of years ago.  The kids seemed to really like it and cranked out those pom-pom balls like nobody's business. Although the younger kids (5-6 year olds) needed a bit of assistance.
  I was able to get a ton of yarn cheap at my local second hand art/craft/whatever store called Scrap.(http://scrappdx.org)  It's this awesome place where businesses, artists, and crafters can donate unused and leftover materials.  Keep it movin' people!  Also, in another one of my magical manifestation stories, when I had the original idea for this project but I was in a little bit of doubt about it, I came by a huge bag of colorful yarns.  Literally.  I was riding my bike and someone had put a large bag (about 20 or so skeins) of various colored yarn out on their curb. Which in Portland is the universal signal for "please take this off my hands, I have no use for it anymore". Anyhow, I think unwanted yarn is fairly easy to come by.

The base for your garland

  The other thing you will need is something to attach your pom-poms to.  Fortunately they now make these pre-knitted skeins of yarn.  If you can't find these, perhaps you can finger knit this part.  My 10 year old learned how to do this at school so there's a good chance you know a kid who has this skill.
  Making pom-poms is one of those rare wonderful, trance-inducing, meditative activities that is also enjoyable by the whole family.  At one point I had Rob, Ruby, and my dad all diligently focused on making them for the school fundraiser.  This is also a great activity to do while listening to audio-books.  (And avoiding "screen time")  Our absolute family favorite (we've gone through the series twice) is the Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett.  There are three books all together: We Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and The Wintersmith. http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/index.php/us/books/the-wee-free-men  
 They were available at our local library.  You will not be disappointed.

Pom-poms with their tails, all ready to
tie on to your garland

  Okay, so now that you have made a bunch of pom-poms with "tails" and haircuts to make them nice and round, all you have left to do is tie them to the pre-knit part.
  Cut the length of the pre-knit yarn the length you want your garland to be.  Lay-out the pom-poms in a manner that is pleasing to you.  IMPORTANT: if you have different sizes, make sure to balance the sizes.  For instance, the bigger balls should go towards the center to avoid having a lopsided garland, as they are heavier.
  Helpful tip: use a closed safety pin much like you would use a needle threader to thread the "tail" through the pre-knit yarn strand. 

  It's a great Christmas decoration but I think it can work all year long.