Flowers and Sand

Recently, the sun did a glorious job of illuminating my dining room table. It's a rare occurrence, first of all, because the only windows in this room face north and secondly, the sun rarely shines here! This accidental, very Stonehenge-ish , multi-colored moment was all thanks to a bunch of grocery store flowers and a decorative cloth I picked up a long time ago from Buddhist monks.

This little table cloth (for lack of a better term) reminded me of some photos I took almost a year ago of Tibetan monks creating a sand mandala and meant to do a post on. I bought this one many years ago from another group of monks from the same monastery. For being people who don't go in for worldly possessions, they offered an excellent selection of merchandise and even took credit cards.    

        

 Other cultures have always fascinated me and I'm not sure if it's simply curiosity or just plain nosiness. Anyway, last March, The Mystical Arts of Tibet tour stopped by our town and His Madness and I visited the monks who had set themselves up in the conservatory of our local art museum. They were there for a week to create a sand mandala, peddle their merchandise, play music, dance and bring spiritual healing, inner peace and kindness to east central Wisconsin. 

The monks were from the Drepung Loseling Monastery first established in Tibet but exiled to India when the Chinese Communists took over in 1959. The photo on the table is of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Yellow Hat School of Tibetan Buddhism. That's one of the actual hats they wear for ceremonies on the far right and I'm so sorry we missed seeing that performance! This day I was there mainly to gawk at all the fabrics and marvel at their patience. They were about half-way through the sand painting when I took this photo.  

Looking out at the courtyard from the conservatory there was definitely a contrast between the rich brocade fabrics and jewel-toned sand with the winter landscape. Being more familiar with other forms of Buddhism than Tibetan, I have to admit the courtyard seemed pretty zen to me.   

Creating the mandala and then deconstructing it is meant to represent the impermanence of all that exists. (Personally, that is something I try not to think about.) It's these rituals that set Tibetan Buddhism apart from the other forms, such as Zen. Looking at their schedule, they performed quite a few rituals each day. I must confess that I was most intrigued by the actual materials and tools as well as the whole process of creating a sand painting and would've loved to give it a try! 

I couldn't get a good photo of those little bowls of sand, this is a cropped section of the first photo with the two monks. Apparently, it's not regular sand but white stones that they specially grind into sand and dye with opaque inks. The sand is applied using metal funnels called chad-pur. It's supposed to be dense enough to stay in place. Can you imagine taking out hours of work with one sneeze! That may also explain why they wear sleeveless robes in winter. 

After a week of careful work, there was a consecration ceremony and then the whole thing was carefully swept up into an urn. Half of the sand was given to the people who came to watch for blessings of personal health and well-being. (HM still has some in a film can from many years ago when they were at the university.) The other half was taken to the river and released back to nature to spread healing throughout the earth. Luckily, there's no shortage of lakes and rivers here however they did need to cut a hole in the ice to get all the good vibes to wash around the globe.

There was an accompanying exhibit, Tibetan Portrait: The Power of Compassion by Phil Borges. It's a series of beautiful photographs that also include stories about each person. You can see his photos here. Both of these are definitely worth checking out if they come to your area.  

Burt and Ivy are still recovering from Mardi Gras but they will be back soon with more adventures 

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

As usual, I'm late getting out the holiday decor but apparently Spenser is on top of the situation.

When it comes to Valentine's Day there aren't many decorating options. Apart from the ubiquitous hearts, all I have is a string of lights, some kitchen towels and an assortment of empty, heart-shaped candy boxes. It took Burt and Ivy nearly forever to scatter a few hearts around and hang up the one string of lights. On the bright side, it shouldn't take too long to get it all down! 

This is embarrassing to admit to but I have a hard time tossing out empty, heart-shaped candy boxes. Sometimes I hang onto them for years. It's a silly thing to do and I try not to keep more than will fit into one plastic storage bin, along with the other valentine stuff. They're so pretty but hard to recycle.

My over abundance of empties (or trash, to be precise) is the by-product of the local Oaks Candy Store. The same family has been making hand-dipped chocolates, in the same building, since 1890. Who knows how long they have been supplying the hoarders in town with these retro boxes!

Occasionally I find a special one elsewhere, like this little gem that came from Target. It was on clearance after the holiday and the chocolate candy inside was really tasty.

You can actually strum the elastic strings but the best part has to be the pick!

Not all Valentine's candy comes in a fancy box and there is something to be said for the kind you can eat by the handful. M&M's are Ivy's favorite because they're colorful and not messy but it's not like they're going to melt in her hand anyway.

Since His Madness was up for baking some cookies, Ivy persuaded him to swap out the usual chocolate chips for her Cupid's Mix M&Ms.

Once they were baked, Burt shared his thoughts on M&M's versus chocolate chips in cookies. After a brief discussion a general consensus was agreed upon. 

While everyone liked the crunch from the M&M's, the chocolate chips tasted way more "chocolatey". The pink and white M&M's also failed to deliver aesthetically, so maybe the regular ones with brighter colors would've looked better? Guess we will just have to eat them up so we can try again!  

While the cookie were baking, Ivy decided to spiff up the coffee corner. As usual, it turned out to be more decorative than functional and with way more chocolate than beverages.  There are four different kinds of chocolate, no tea whatsoever to go in the pot, a jar of cocktail cherries, coffee and some spoons for stirring in the non-existent sugar. It needs some work. 

Or we could just face the fact that to us, this holiday is basically all about chocolate.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for stopping by.

2-2-2020 and also Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! Basically, I had nothing in mind to write about today but not making use of a palindromic date that fell on a silly holiday seemed like a real shame. In spite of its ridiculous premise, I do look forward to Groundhog Day. Not enough to jump in the lake through a hole in the ice or get up at dawn to look at a woodchuck, but more as an occasion to mark the half way point of winter  This morning, I happened to wake up just before dawn and to be honest, couldn't really tell which way the prediction was headed. I did think our magnolia was looking pretty all covered in fresh snow though. With luck, in a couple of months it will be covered in white blooms.

Before the sun was actually up, there was a lot of fog and that usually means a cloudy day. (It's not like there hasn't been anything but clouds in these parts for weeks.) Then the fog disappeared and it was a bright, sunny day! An expected but pleasant surprise.  

So, Backyard Burt, our local springtime prognosticator and rodent stand-in, has officially seen his shadow - from the patio, because it's a slushy, muddy mess everywhere else. This means we will have six more weeks of winter - as if that was a big surprise. Actually, it was 51°F. this afternoon but we know better than to take Backyard Burt, Sun Prairie Jimmy or Punxsutawney Phil seriously. Next week it could easily be -20°F. with gale force winds and three feet of snow. 

Whatever the weather turns out to be, we're halfway through winter and spring is getting closer!

Spencer, googling palindrome.

Thanks for stopping by!

Plants & Pineapple in the Snow

There really isn't much going on up here in the frozen north right now. I used to love being outdoors in the winter, going skiing and ice skating or just walking in the snow. There was a time when I couldn't wait to go hurling down the steepest hill on anything I could find - inner tubes, sleds, a piece of cardboard - but cafeteria trays were the best! There was a killer hill next to the food service at my college - but no one ever died. These days, after spraining my wrist curling ribbon in early December and then twisting an ankle taking down the Christmas garlands, walking across the driveway is the about as risky as it gets. I still love winter anyway. 

Filling the bird feeders is one of Burt favorite wintertime chores. Doing something nice for others always makes him feel good. He's kind of at a loss for what to do with himself after the holidays.

This morning the bird feeder looked really cute with this dusting of fresh snow on its little roof. The decorative bird house behind it has fake snow on its roof (as if you couldn't tell) and sometimes it's hard to tell the real stuff from artificial.

His Madness, inspired by all the photos on Facebook of our friends enjoying themselves in Cancun, brought this pineapple home from the grocery store for brunch. I'm definitely not a beach person but I wouldn't mind being on a veranda somewhere in the tropics, sipping a cocktail and watching the sun go down. Maybe next year. I'm beginning to see the wisdom of taking a vacation right after the holidays. It seems so much more appealing than chipping ice off the front steps!

Meanwhile, back at brunch a mystery was unfolding.

"OH, NO!" says Mr. Pancake. "What happened to the pineapple?"

Turns out, it was to the upper right, just out of all the photos, duh.

Following the ritual sacrifice of the fruit, its top became a popular headpiece. He wore it all day and it never fell off! Although, it did fit right in with the orchids and banana leaves on the curtains, which usually come down when the plants move inside. How did I totally forget to do that? In my defence, last year Mother Nature sent us snow for Halloween and rain on Christmas, it was confusing. 

After watching the wildfires in Australia and out west, I decided to work on reducing our carbon footprint. Making donations to help the wildlife did make me feel a little bit better but I've always felt guilty about all the energy it takes to keep the lights on for my basement garden. 

Last fall we had an unpredicted freeze that killed off a few of the outside plants that typically lived in the basement over the winter. That left fewer plants to deal with so now the basement is only home to the ones that can live without supplemental lighting and, in the case of the Ivy's namesake, not survive an invasion of spider mites.

There are a few ivies and some flowering plants that can't fight off an infestation of spider mites and my house is cursed with those little buggers. They're nearly microscopic and even though a lot of plants aren't bothered by them, they can kill a susceptible variety (especially the pretty flowering ones that were gifts) in a matter of days.  

Somehow they never liked the basement much, so the most vulnerable plants were safe in the fluorescent garden. Well, safe from spider mites at least. Oafish cats are something else.

So far, so good and with January almost over, there's only a couple months to go!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

This is a little late, as usual but it should be okay to wish everyone a Happy New Year for at least the first week of January! It is sad that the holidays are over but there's no reason the parties have to end. As far as the internet is concerned, there is always something to celebrate, all you have to do is google it. For instance, the first was not only New Year's Day but also Hangover and Bloody Mary Days. While yesterday's honorees included Swiss Cheese and Science Fiction. I'm hoping to finish this post before the Drinking Straw and Fruitcake Toss Days.     

Wednesday, December 4th was National Cookie Day. You can never have too many Christmas cookies and His Madness did his best to pay homage to the occasion - it was two weeks later but still before Christmas. It's the thought that counts, they are unofficial holidays after all. 

 These are Polvorones or Mexican Wedding Cookies, the ones in the previous photo are Polish Tea Cakes and he also made Norwegian Sandbakkels. A trio of multi-national treats to munch on.

The 4th of December is also National Sock Day and according to the description, it "recognizes the rarest of all lasting unities, the marriage of matched socks." Obviously, that is not the case here but these were two of my most favorite Christmas socks - ever!  Since I lost their mates, I've worn them anyway and I believe they belong together. To me, they match. 

There is a National Christmas Tree Day but I would never have to patience to wait until December 8th to pick out a fresh cut tree. All of the good ones would be gone! Plus they need to sit unadorned for at least a couple of days to expose any huge, gaping holes between the limbs. This year there was just one but it was a doozie. Fortunately, it's now facing the bookshelves. 

Do we need a Garland Day? Maybe there should be an occasion to celebrate questionable Christmas decorating choices. The globe really doesn't get dressed up for the holidays. Burt lost his balance while he was helping to hang it around the french doors. It does look good though, maybe next year?

Here's Stewart, caught trying to sneak a drink from the tree stand. He eventually gave up but last year his bad habit resulted in a visit to the vet. His veterinarian told us fir trees are less toxic than pine and although it's not good for them to drink the tree's water, the resin is what is most harmful. Take Your Cat to the Vet Day isn't until August.

Finally, on the 23rd of December there was our (mostly) annual Festivus celebration. (Some years we just don't have the time to squeeze it in.) Our Festivus Pole has always been a ski pole because it was the only thing called a pole that we had on hand. Back in the day, we didn't realize it was supposed to be unadorned and made of aluminum. Whatever works. This year we skipped the Airing of Grievances, voting on the Festivus Miracle and the Feats of Strength because we all agreed Nancy Pelosi already had those covered.

Speaking of Festivus Miracles! This is the second year in a row that the Christmas Cactus has actually been blooming on Christmas Day. 

Putting electric candles in the windows during Christmas was a tradition in the community where I grew up and I occasionally see them around town these days. My mom, aunts and both grandmas lived in big old farmhouses and had to have at least one in every window. While looking up silly holidays I ran across an important one, Worldwide Candle Lighting Day. It's observed on the second Sunday in December in remembrance of the children who have lost their lives, whether from disease, war or by accident, whatever the reason. It all started in 1997 with just a few people lighting candles from seven to eight o'clock and now has spread around the world and next year I'll join in, too.

Soon it will be National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day, no kidding, it's January 6. Yikes! I feel like I just got it up, ha! What will Spenser do without all those bins to occupy?

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Christmas.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2020!