Harper Valley

Lovely Day

   

Anyone enjoying this GORGEOUS Florida weekend?  I sure am.  My lovely day started with a trip to Clemon's Produce for a renewed supply of rabbit food.  Look at all this food I got for $16.00!  Such a deal.  I would have spend twice that much at the grocery store.  The big bonus was the strawberries...half a flat for $4.00.  What??  Talk about a good deal.  That's stupid good.  The cashier said they'll only be that cheap for a day or two because of this weekend's freeze.  They had to pick them or they'd be destroyed.  And to top that off...they had no way of shipping them North because of all the ice storms up there.  So that means lots of extra strawberries in Florida this weekend.  Works for me!

I knew my cheap berries would go bad in a hurry if I didn't preserve them.  So I trimmed them up, froze them individually on a sheet tray, and after a few hours they were ready for Ziplocs.   Perfect for smoothies, snacks and desserts.  Look at those succulent ruby red gems!!!

 

After that, I purged my kitchen and threw out two trash bags of junk.  Then I walked down to Lake Underhill for some peace and highway.  For those of you who don't live here, SR 408 runs right over the lake, and while it's not exactly quiet, it's amazingly tranquil.  The constant swooshing of cars sounds like white noise...a concrete ocean, if you will.  I met a few friends along the way.  What a lovely day.  Hope you're soaking it all in too!

 

   

 

Random Act of Everyday Creativity #32

OK everyone!  Here's this month's Random Act of Everyday Creativity.  Are you ready???

Project 32: The next time you go to a party, leave a note for the host.**

Say that it was a great party.  That everyone was having a good time.  That you enjoyed yourself spectacularly.  And be sure to relay some details, like bits from overheard conversations, the reaction to a certain groove, wild speculations on who might have made out, imagined scenes inspired by real incidents, who left in a huff, and who drank way too much.

If you happen to have a Polaroid camera, bring it along, take some pictures during the party, and leave the images with the note.

A great place to put the note (and photos) is under the host's pillow or on his/her nightstand, right in front of the alarm clock.  That way, after all the guests have left, the music has stopped, and the lights throughout the house have been turned off, the last thing that the host will see before he/she crashes is your note of appreciation.

** Idea adapted from the book 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity.  This book is full of "offbeat, exploratory, artistic projects: memory inducing and life-affirming writing exercises; photographic assignments that capture the essence of fleeting moments and times that you wish could last forever; exploration of the arts - from the culinary to the literary; ideas for gifts from the heart...ideas to document and preserve the little details that make up the life you are living..."

Coffee & Coloring

 

When was the last time you colored?  Probably a long long time ago, right?  Most of us think of coloring as child's play...but grownups can do it too!  This afternoon, I spent some time enjoying a Christmas gift from my sister, Jill....a meditative coloring book.  I've been super sick this week and forced myself to relax today instead of the usual errands and chores. 

Many times, my relaxing turns into all-day couch potato-ing. So today I turned off the idiot box, broke out my most fave grownup drink (can of Starbucks Iced Coffee), turned on some Mozart, and dug up my colored pencils.  Coloring is a great way to unwind.  It's pretty mindless and there's little artistic talent required.  It can be tedious at times.  But oddly enough, the tediousness seems to be what relaxes me.  I get so into what I'm doing that I don't think about anything else..just what's in front of me. 

Try doing this when you need to ~chillax~ ...or when you'd like to spend time with the favorite children in your life.  They can color Dora while you color an intricate butterfly.  Even older children like it.  I used coloring as an art therapy project with the women we visited in China.  Most of them were late teens/early 20s, and I was amazed at how much they loved it.  You can use markers, crayons, colored pencils, or whatever you have around.  

Ruth Heller makes some great books!   She has a wide selection on Amazon.  Once you're on the website, you can also type in "adult coloring books"...you'll be surprised what you find. 

p.s. While coloring, you may find yourself being critical of your work or over analyzing your color choices.  When this happens, bring your mind back to what's in front of you, and remember...you're not selling this to the MoMA.  It's just coloring.  =)

 

 

 

NYC & Poconos Adventure

 

I'm baaaa-ack!  After a week in the snow and ice, I came home to 30 degree weather.  What's that about???  I suppose my trip prepared me for this freezing week in Orlando.  =)

I had quite the adventure up North last week.  My friend, Julia and I trotted ALL over NYC for a few days.  That city will tear you up!  There is so much activity and culture and life to soak in **whew** I was worn out after three days in the Big Apple.  The rest of our group joined us later in the week, and we all drove over to PA/The Poconos for skiing and snow tubing.  Our resort in PA was...hmmmm, what's the PC word?  Rustic?  Let's just say we used the term resort very loosely.  But we survived and had a blast!  Your accommodations don't matter so much when you're with friends who can make the best of it.  Good Peeps = Good Times.

What a jolly ole time I had away from home!  Even though the trip was exhausting, just being gone for a week was good for my soul.  My normal life barely crossed my mind.  I laughed a ton, observed different ways of life, interacted with people from other countries, admired beautiful art and landmarks, ate some fabulous meals, ate some gross meals, rode in lots of subway trains, experienced the snow in a whole new way, and reconnected with some friends I haven't seen in a while. 

The picture above is one I took in Central Park.  It was snowing when I snapped this shot.  See below for a slide show of my entire trip.  Enjoy!

Snow Sabbatical

Hellooooo out there!  Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking a little break this week -- a Snow Sabbatical, if you will.  On Tuesday, I'm heading up North to spend three days in NYC...and then over to PA to play in the Pocono Mountains.  Yes, I am leaving this absolutely gorgeous Florida Winter to experience a real Northeast Winter.  The predicted highs in NYC are in the 20s, and down to the teens in The Poconos.  Yowzah!

I finally broke down and invested in some decent snow boots.  After traipsing around Colorado in Skechers tennis shoes, I learned that falling, sliding, and fear of frostbite can really put a damper on one's fun.  Imagine that!  Check them out...I fell in love with this shade of green!  Aren't they cute? 

I'll be back soon, so don't stay away too long.  Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Jasper is my trusty packing assistant....

 

....while Stella supervises the whole operation.

The Scrapbooker's Creativity Kit!

Lookie what I got in the mail this week ---> Claudine Hellmuth's latest creation: The Scrapbooker's Creativity Kit!  This kit is complete with a book of unique design ideas -and- two card decks for prompts.  One deck is full of colors.  The other deck is full of words.  The idea is to draw one card from each deck.  Or you might choose to draw an additional color card as Claudine did in the example below.  She drew Food + Pink + Red.  From there, she created a project that included these three elements.  Of course, they need not be literal interpretations of the words...they're just ideas to get your brain warmed up.  

Claudine says this word prompt technique is tried and true.  And she knows her stuff because she is famous.  Hahaha!  OK, it's not because she's famous (although she IS famous)....it's because she is a truly talented artist.  I know this for sure because I took one of her collage workshops, which was WAY wonderful.  One look at her art and I think you'll concur.   

If you're not a scrapbooker, you could still use this kit to spark ideas for collages, greeting cards, mixed media projects, paper crafting, paintings, or whatever.  Let your creative juices persuade you!  They always know the way.

After I posted this, Claudine mentioned me..mentioning her..on her blog.  Check it out here.  Now I'm famous too!! 

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Word and color prompt cards

 

Claudine's collage = Food + Pink + Red

 

Layout examples by contributing artists.  The book is full of sample layouts using additional word and color combos.  This one is Change + Blue-Green + Celery Green.

To Breathe Again...

 

Look at all this crap!  Can you believe it?  What you see above represents the measures I've taken to breathe freely again.  The nice Fed-Ex lady brought me three very large packages stuffed full of these lovely items. 

I've been been on the allergy train since I was about 13.  Over the years, I've used every pill, spray, and serum known to man.  Eventually they stopped working.  So I was recently re-tested and learned that I'm now highly allergic to 30+ airborne inhalants.  Crazy, huh?  So I'm going big this time.  I took the plunge on the allergy drops (2-3 year commitment).  And I pumped up my allergy  paraphernalia (see above).  I also picked up some asthma inhalers.  And last but not least, I had a nasal procedure performed that should make my airways more free.  Whew!  After all this, I should definitely breathe better soon. 

My allergy doctor recommended that I keep my kitties out of the bedroom???  If you have cats, you know this is an absurd and impossible notion.  Cats are: The Fast & The Curious.  However...I have been trying.  I kicked Stella and Jasper out of the boudoir, but they're not pleased.  We've had howling, whining and crying in the Harper household.  Not only are they bitter about losing their bedroom, but I think they're afraid of the air purifiers.  They keep lurking around the devices without really getting near them..you know that low crawl that cats do with their eyes peeled for danger.  It's quite hysterical. 

Since they were forced to find new hiding spots, they discovered more interesting places to hang out.  This morning, I found Jasper camped out in the litter box closet.  He stayed there for hours in protest, and I couldn't even lure him out with treats!  Only a cat could be so mad that he would choose lounging near a toilet vs. relaxing on the couch.

 

New Year. New Beginning?

New Year.  New Beginning.  Right?  That's how it's supposed to go.  I'm always excited about the promise and hope that a new year brings.  But along with my excitement usually comes a little sadness to see another year gone so quickly.  I'm relieved to be free from the holiday madness, but melancholy about taking down my Christmas decor.  Things just seem too normal (i.e. BORING) once the New Year's festivities have died down.  And I love the idea of New Year's Resolutions, but I'm not so sure they work...a least they don't for me!  What I'm trying to say is that my experience with the New Year is a bit love/hate.  Bittersweet, if you will. 

Whenever I feel dubious about moving into a new season of life or a new year, I'm reminded of a pop song lyric from 1998 - "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."     --from "Closing Time" by Semisonic

Maybe it's cliche.  Maybe it's trite.  If so, it became that way for a reason.  It's a fabulously true quote!!  Maybe you met your goals for 2008.  Maybe you didn't.  Maybe you met a few of them.  Maybe a few new goals crept into the mix.  Maybe life took over and shifted your priorities completely.  Whatever your situation, let's all look back on this year and celebrate our progress and victories!  Each step forward is just that...it's forward!! 

Whatever your New Year's thoughts are....I think we can all agree that January 1st is an excellent symbol for starting over and renewing commitments. 

Wishing you all prosperity, wisdom, and joy in 2009.