May 2011

Philosophy for All of Life in One Taxi Ride
For real. Toronto last Friday. Nuf said.

Apr 2011

You probably remember Dr. Kate from my August post...
Well, after finishing that Ph.D. last August, she moved to Berkeley where she's happily doing post-doc math things. This month I'm introducing you to her cat, Batman. Here, Batman's exploring Kate's new rug. It's called Little Field of Flowers and it's designed by Tord Boontje and made from wool felt by Nani Marquina. Batman and the Field live with Kate in her perfect Berkeley apartment behind the garden I showed you last November. As usual Kate's introducing me to lots of new things: the Field re-defines my concept of "rug." I do have a better basis for understanding this than I do string theory... and I hope you will join Batman and me to expand your rug-universe, too.

Mar 2011

My world returns to black and white...

Yes, we had a few days that tempted us into thinking winter was ready to retire, but Sunday morning brought this new scene at my home... and further delay to vivid Kodachrome moments.

In the meantime, Pantone has announced their Colour of the Year for 2011. They're calling it Honeysuckle (aka PMS 205 U for my fellow graphic peeps). The honeysuckle I grew up with was cream with little edges of yellow, but I'll take Pantone's pink interpretation as a beginning for a spring palette. I put in a little swatch here to get us all started. My little postmark bee has already donned new spring wings. You?

Chinese New Year 2011

February 3 finds a New Moon in Aquarius
and signals the Chinese New Year: Year of the Golden Rabbit

This year’s combination of metal as an earthly sign and the rabbit as a heavenly sign results in the year of the Golden Rabbit for the first time in 60 years. This Rabbit is associated with compassion, sensitivity and flexibility and is expected to bring stability -- sometimes through change.

The New Moon in Aquarius always reminds us to make a difference within our group and community networks.

And as every New Moon represents new beginnings, maybe you'd like start something new by making your own New Moon Wish. One of the most imaginative ways to understanding a New Moon is through creative intention setting, using a process known as New Moon Wishing. Jan Spiller coined this phrase in her book ‘New Moon Astrology’ (2001 Bantam). Some people keep a New Moon Wishes Journal.

The year of the Golden Rabbit seems like a good time to start mine.

Feb 2011

The days may be getting shorter...
but they're still long and dark and winter's fully entrenched. We've had snow and snow and tonight's forecast is for snow: the worst storm of the season. Every dark cold evening as I walk from the Jane Subway Station to my new west-end digs, I pass old landmarks from my past. One such is the Odeon Theatre. Built in 1948, it went dark about seven years ago. One night recently as I walked I discovered its new light: this new sign installed above the marquee. I stood across the street and rejoiced.

Look! It's been renamed in honour of the near-by river and it's slated to re-open soon. Maybe even this month???

The dark days of winter won't seem nearly so long with a near-by flick. See the Thai Classic Cuisine sign reflected in the Humber's window? Seems like a suggestion for a tasty combo. Stay tuned for more news as it happens.

Dec 2010

Belated because...
I've been moving! Chaos clearing is slow but steady.
My new address is below, if you ever use snails.
Phone remains the same.
Have a great holiday time.
NOTE:
Just under the postmark is this year's Amy, an amaryllis. She came early as house warming observance from Leslie. She loves all the sun.
I do too.

Nov 10

Autumn in Berkeley...

Visiting Dr. Kate a couple of weeks ago, we explored , walked a lot and ate some amazing food. We had Mexican food, of course... and Burmese food... and Brazilian sandwiches... and locally grown and harvested veggies and seafood.

One meal that falls into the last category was at Chez Panisse. Owner/chef Alice Waters' philosophy is to serve the most delicious organic products only when they are in season. Over the course of three decades, Chez Panisse has developed a network of local farmers and ranchers whose dedication to sustainable agriculture assures the restaurant a steady supply of pure and fresh ingredients.

As a part of her commitment to provide food education to youngsters Alice Waters created the Chez Panisse Foundation, establishing a strategy to transform the quality of school lunches that includes a model garden and kitchen programme on the grounds of a Berkeley public school. Called the Edible Schoolyard, this garden is directly behind Kate's home. This archway is a part of that garden. Go here to see more: http://www.edibleschoolyard.org

Oct 10

Frangipani memories... almost

You know about frangipani. They're the flowers for making leis. When I was a little girl there was a funny song about a frangipani sung by a woman whose name I never knew. I didn't understand what made the song funny. The lyrics may even have been rude, but I was too young to know just why people were laughing. The fact is, grown-ups laughed at that song and I loved it. I can still remember the fun and the laughter and a little of the tune... but none of the words.

Enter Google: I've learned so much about frangipani... AND... I've found some lovely songs. Seems lots are inspired by these petals and their pungent fragrance. But none of these found songs are the One. Guess I'm still on my own.

These particular frangipani flowers live outside my son Peter's office in Barbados. I bring them out now, as the days are getting shorter to remind you of the sun... and to remind me to remember something.

Sep 10

Tea Time...
Summer's truly winding down, even if the temperature here in Toronto is setting new record highs. School's starting and Labour Day announces the season's last hurrah. With all our re-adjustments to the serious parts of the year, I invite you to regenerate gently and genteelly over a quiet cuppa. These ladies in a window at the Eaton Centre offer a glimpse of high tea redefined. Go ahead: put on your own hat and finery and lift a cup. Remember to hold your pinky finger up!

Aug 10

I'm so happy to announce...

In November of 1981 my little girl Kate started to Montessori school at the age of 2. Becky was her first teacher. She obviously started things off right. This morning Kate successfully defended her doctoral thesis and is now Dr. Kate.

Next she will begin post-doctoral studies at Berkeley.

Wherever you are, please join me in raising a glass in honour of all her hard work and her joy, which I share with tearful glee.

Jul 10

Time to focus on summer now.

Canada Day was July 1st and US Independence Day was July 4th. Here in Toronto we've had the heads of 20 countries meeting behind walls and tall fences to talk about Important Things. Their meetings were marked by demonstrations and some violence and many, many arrests. Then the Queen came for a social visit. I wonder what she in her perfect hat thinks about it all?

I'm ready chill in our so, so hot summer sun now and try to put it all into some sort of perspective. We gotta make some hay while that sun's a-shining: nature's therapy. Let's all get out there and enjoy, eh?

Jun 10

Hello Mary Lou!

When I was about five or six years old my favourite doll was named Mary Lou. She had real hair--long blond hair--with real barrettes. I loved dressing her up and combing her hair into different styles. That year for my birthday my mother made Mary Lou a complete wardrobe, along with her own closet from an oil-cloth-covered fruit crate and little coat hangers from bent wire. Mary Lou was probably a teenager, but this was long before Barbie and her sexy shape. Mary Lou was one of a kind.

I don't know when Mary Lou actually disappeared from my life. I got older and I guess we passed her and her extensive wardrobe to a younger girl.

But I do remember her so fondly. I see girls playing with Barbie and I think how my Mary Lou was so much better. After all she came with all my mother's focused attention and imbued love.

Waiting for my bus the other day I think I found Mary Lou again in this store window. Like me, she's thicker around the middle and her hair's shorter. But look at her smile. She's got a snazzy dress and fuzzy puppy slippers. Credence Clearwater said it: I knew Mary Lou, we'd never part, so hello Mary Lou. Goodbye heart.

May 10

Happy Luke Skywalker Day!!!

May Day happened and I didn't send you your calendar. No, it wasn't another broken arm, as a couple of you suggested (thanks for your concern)... I was just enjoying some lazy time and ignored my responsibility to youse guys.

So here's your calendar. Get out your light sabres today and transform your world. Wake up those May flowers. After all, they can come even if your April, like ours, was remiss in the showers department. Also, get your salsa ready for tomorrow to wake up yourself.

PS. Some of you report using my calendars as I do, on your computer desktops. If you'd like a higher resolution version go here every month:

Higher Resolution Postcard for Your Desktop

Apr 10

An invitation to a journal... of sorts.
My recent acquisition of an iPhone has involved me in searches for Barbie-esque outfits for its adornment and in endless browsings of Apple's App Store to satisfy it's voracious appetite for activities. My latest addition in the latter category is a little something named Project 365. It invites me to take a picture every day with my phone and save it in the app's minute calendar... then I may add a pithy caption. I have decided to embark on this little adventure AND to incorporate a 6-word limit to the captions, as inspired by Larry Smith's book, It All Changed in an Instant.

I offer you my first entry dated Mar 29th along with this caption: En route to shop for Lucas.

I am also hereby inviting you to join me in a little techie journalling of your own. Let me know how it goes.

PS. Some of you report using my calendars as I do, on your computer desktops. If you'd like a higher resolution version go here every month:
http://www.beedance.ca/calendar_HR.html

Pi Day 10

I'm not sending you activities this year... well just one: go to http://www.google.com and check out Google's Pi Day logo:

Then do a Pi Day search of your own to find loads of activities including new Pi-Ku poems at NPR. I'm celebrating the day by doing no math at all.

Mar 10

All Canada Celebrates Tonight

I lived in Vancouver when I first came to Canada in 1976. The post-hockey-game Robson Strassse crowds the television's showing us tonight bring back a number of very fond memories: trees and trees and trees, rain, warm people, rain, hiking and rain. As a graphic designer new in Canada, I found myself visiting grocery stores and asking who had designed this or that remarkable store or package. The answer was frequently the same: someone in Toronto called Don Watt.

25 or so years later I found myself in Toronto working for Don Watt, himself. During that time I was asked by an associate to lead a workshop for new immigrants starting their own businesses. My topic was managing design as a part of their business assets. I asked Don what advice he would have for them and he generously gave me over an hour of his valuable time. He used examples from his own body of work to demonstrate his different points.

That body of work included part of the cockpit design for the Avro Arrow and developing the re-design of Loblaws stores, the No Name and President's Choice brands, Wal-Mart Super Centres and packaging, the Home Depot logo and more recently the Metro stores and packaging. One of Don Watt's most famous and enduring designs is the Canadian flag. Don passed away in December of last year. I have been saddened.

Tonight as I watch the Canadian Olympic men's hockey team celebrate their victory with the Canadian flag draped in front of them, I feel the impact of Don's body of work... and I feel the imperative of my own. After all, my monthly calendar habit began while I worked for Don. Over the years he has encouraged these monthly missives. I dedicate this month's calendar to his memory.

Feb 10

The promise of spring
begins on the first day of winter...

Every year Leslie gives me an amaryllis and I name her Amy. I plant each Amy during the holidays and rejoice in her rapid and eager growth. This Amy is especially enthusiastic. She has already produced these four luscious blooms PLUS another shoot bearing their Siamese twins. Amy's promise of spring will be set in bold face and underlined as this second shoot waits for these blooms to fade then rushes in to replace them with four more.

Have a great month. For such a short one, there's a lot to celebrate including Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Family Day, President's Day for those further south... and yes, Amy's strutting promise of spring.

Jan 10

Here’s to a whole year of plenty!

I'm sure you took that very deep breath last month and now we're all on a new path... the first decade to begin with a TWENTY!

We each have our own definitions of plenty. In this case I'm showing you plenty of radishes I saw in Brooklyn in November. I invite you to stop a moment right now and define what kind of plenty you want to create in your world for this fresh new year... and for this fresh new decade.

Then every time you see a radish, remind yourself of your determination and rejoice in all your opportunities.

Dec 09

Take a big breath...

...and get ready to say something. Something like Happy New Year. That no-sound before you say the first word is the sound of autumn turning into winter. Sometimes, of course that no-sound is accompanied by the sound of walking through fallen leaves. But before they fall, each leaf takes that big breath and prepares itself for the Big Changes to come.Then it simply exhales and wafts. We're in the habit of seeking the sounds, of course. No-sounds elude us. Evidence of the no-sounds though is always in the sound that follows.

Wait for it: the snow may fall silently, but its exale involves all of nature and reminds us to change how we walk, lest we make that sad falling-on-ice crunching sound. So.... take that big breath and rejoice in the exhale... and waft a little this month.

Nov 09

Wi-Fi?

November, I'm sure you'll recall, is the month of remembrance. Remember when we needed wires to communicate?

Wait a minute! Just last week as I left work I heard an enormous chattering overhead. Looking up, this month's calendar shows you only a small portion of what I found. Twas some kind of blackbird convention. The topic being so vociferously argued: where will they all rest and have a friendly chat of their own when our com-wires are finally truly gone? Some said trees. Others objected because leaves get in the way of eye-contact. Then, looking at the pedestrians below, one said they could just chat on the go and never rest again. I left them squawking and phoned to pick up my messages as I walked on.

While you're doing your traditional remembering this month, please remember Kurt Vonnegut on his birthday, the 11th. A good day to remember the man who taught us the horror of war as a result of not dying in Dresden. If you don't know, go read Slaughterhouse Five...or rent the DVD if you want to remember faster.

Oct 09

Sorting and saving...

Remember the hats from last month's calendar? Well, these boxes come from the same home... this time from the artist's workshop. Reminds me of Virgo's imperative to sort and organize... always with an eye to aesthetics. Just look at these boxes so carefully covered in wallpapers from the Past. Of course, when they were covered the wallpapers might have been from that day's Present.

Some people save screens and keys and springs and metal movie misc discs... and some save stamps. They call that collecting. This month's calendar invites us all to collect AND to collect in style. Have a great October

Sep 09

Entrancing entrance...

This summer Kate spent a couple of weeks house and cat-sitting for friends whose apartment shares this, the house-owner's entrance. These hats make me want to name the people who wear them. Any suggestions among real or fictional people? Jay Gatsby? Gene Kelly? Eliza Doolittle?

And look! Every time people come and go the game continues. Maybe I need to adjust my own entrance to include an adventure... you?

Aug 09

Rainy day in Speightstown, Barbados

Peter lives south of here in a place called Paynes Bay. Just last week I rode the coastal bus to Speightstown to wander these streets, visit galleries and have a great lunch on the beach. Yes, on a covered patio because the rains were as heavy as they were short. I spent a great time in Barbados with my grandsons and Peter and his friends. I met an artist named Bill Grace. It was a gallery with his work that helped attract me to Speightstown. Go here to see why: http://www.billgraceart.com

I could do a whole 5 years of calendars with the orchid pix I took. I'll include some of them another time. This time I want you to enjoy a quiet day knowing the rain will cool you off and leave the world full of quiet reflections and the possibilities of distant horizons.

July 09

Strawberry Social Time... for Canada Day.

Last month Kate went to Germany for a math conference. They spent time talking about things with surfaces and proofs... then they went for walks and explored the Black Forest. YES, they DID have Black Forest cake and YES, I do have the pic to prove it. I also have this glorious strawberry pic to prove that strawberries are delicious everywhere... and that, in turn, proves we're all one big, juicy world.

It's time now to celebrate our oneness while we honour our homes (and our flags, Don).

Jun 09

Hey!... Happy June Fool's Day!

I'm the designated June Fool this time. Knowing that my son would be visiting from Barbados, I prepared this calendar last week. Peter and the boys arrived as scheduled bright and early this morning before school and I was excited, then forgot to send this out. Today's still the 1st, however, so I claim I'm not really late, even if you're one of those who won't see it until the 2nd.

This month's pic is of the Luke Skywalker and Mother's Day tulips that Peter sent last month. We're having a cold, wet week and I like looking at these as reminder that spring will probably get finessed entirely... and we'll go directly into summer any time now. Maybe it'll happen in time for the Beach Blues Festival in a couple of weeks. We'll all complain, of course. In the meantime Peter will return to Barbados and Kate will be off to Germany soon.

Moi? I'll stay at my new home in the Beach and go to the aforementioned festival. What about you?

Happy Luke Skywalker Day

OK, I admit it: I've been taking antihistamines for my stuffy head cold and lost track of the date... until Peter sent me Happy Luke Skywalker Day flowers!
So... better late than never, eh?
At least you can still go get a cold cerveza and kick back for Cinco de Mayo while you ponder this...
About 390,000 people listed their religion as Jedi in the 2001 Census for England and Wales. In Scotland the figure was a reported 14,000.

May 09

Happy May Day... from the Great Wall

Another of the pictures my son took when visiting China last year... seems perfect for an observation of May Day, the great International Labour Day... celebrated in China as a public holiday. In the 1990s they extended the holiday from 1 day to 3 days, then the Chinese government made it a 7-day holiday, allowing millions of Chinese people to travel. In 2008 the People's Republic of China reduced the holiday period back down to 1 day. Now this year China's southern Guangdng province resumes the weeklong May Day in a bid to revive a sagging economy.

Whether celebrated for only 1 day or for a week, it all seems quite different from dancing around a May Pole or delivering Hallmark baskets filled with flowers to friends and neighbours.

However you choose to celebrate, we can all agree it's spring and time to move our festivities outside!

Apr 09

A litte bee-foolery...

I offer here a little fun in honour of a silly day. With left-over inspiration from Pi Day, I challenge you to send captions, as Pi-Ku or not.

Mine attempts the Pi-Ku form... Line1: 3 syllables, Line 2: 1 syllable, Line 3: 4 syllables.

2 bees, er
Not
2 bees. 1 more.

14 Mar 09

I PREFER PI
Not all of you are lucky enough to have a mathematician in your family, so in honour of my cool math-geek daughter, let me encourage you to celebrate Pi Day on Saturday, March 14th. In the American way of writing numerical dates, that's 3/14. In the rest of the world it doesn't work that way. Some celebrate July 22, or 22/7, which is the approximate fraction of Pi. I choose the more exacting decimal configuration and it has the bonus of also being Albert Einstein's birthday: this year his 130th.

Did you notice? The title of this entry is an appropriately cool and geeky palindrome (penned by one Lily Cee to celebrate Pi Day last year). Here are a few Pi activities to get your celebration started.

1. Write a Pi-Ku.
That's haiku with a difference: First line has 3 syllables, second line has 1, and the third line has 4. Here are a few examples from NPR:
------
So Southern
I
Can’t say Pi right.
------
Three point one
Four
et cetera.
------
Math is hard
I
failed algebra.
------

2. Create your own Pi music HERE.

3. Visit the National Geographic Pi Day Blog for Pi fun that never stops:

4. Bake and eat a Pi pie.

5. Make and drink a Blue Pi-Tini: (from Think Geek)
Ingredients:
• 3.14 oz Blueberry Vodka
• Measure diameter of glass in cm, add Pi times the glass radius squared oz. of vermouth divided by 10.
• Splash of Blue Curacao for colour (optional)
• Frozen blueberries
Preparation:
1. Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes while chanting Archimedes' name.
2. Shake 3.14 times.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Drop in a few frozen blueberries as cooling garnish.

Mar 09

The colours of hope...
Here in Canada, March has entered with bitter cold. Does cold count as a lion even without winds? OK, there were some winds in the afternoon. Whether lion or lamb, we have a lot more winter to anticipate... and endure.

Last summer my son and his two perfect boys took a trip south where they visited their grandfather in Oklahoma and their great grandmother and great uncle in Louisiana. Along the way they encountered lots of sights including this colourful pair, which I offer as reminder and encouragement for winter to relinquish itself for our amazement... again.

Feb 09

The month that celebrates LOVE returns...

Happy Chinese New Year 2009

The Chinese Year of the Ox begins today. This particular Ox year is Yin Earth... both additional descriptors that enable the Ox to be at it's best. Known as the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work it points to our need to be stable and persevering this year.

Fortunately, the Ox doesn't require the process to be boring, too:

There's an ox in a box.
She, yes, SHE...
Is there hiding from a fox,
While she eats bagels and lox.
Full of mox-ie (she's
Vaccinated against small pox),
That rox her sox.
She proclaims
On her blog...
At vox (dot com).

I, on the other hand.
Proclaim this Ox
Offers us
A whole year of
Hugs and kisses.

oxoxox
To all of you.
Pass 'em on all year.

B

Jan 09

Ta-Da! Our final bow of the year...
You probably call it a New Year's Eve party... I call it a big cast party. It's the party where we celebrate our memories of the year past, bow out 2008 and make room for 2009 —all to wild and noisy applause! Now we're ready to welcome 2009... new roles, new costumes, rehearsals, rewrites and acclaim!
Break a leg in 2009!
In the meantime, here's one of my past-year memories...
5 years ago when I danced and danced...

Happy New Year 2009!

Hey, there's no picture! Turn on your speakers and listen to my freshly-minted mp3 sound file to find out why!
... and have a Great Year!

Click here to listen to my 2009 poem...

Dec 08

2 Thanksgivings This Year...

In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October. It's associated with harvest time. This year I travelled to visit KC in Ann Arbor and from there we went to visit his sister Joanie and her husband Dick where we enjoyed a glorious sunny day and a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings in honour of American Thanksgiving.

Seems we always think of pilgrims and Indians and turkeys when thinking of that American Thanksgiving thing. Yeah, BUT, (as KC's internet browsing discovered) the first declared Thanksgiving holiday in the US was associated with the American revolution and was held early in December of 1777. From that time onward it was re-declared every year (sometimes twice a year!) usually with dates in late November or early December--until 1941 when President Roosevelt signed a bill making it a national holiday falling always on the fouth Thursday of November... and opening the doors to football and the Macy's parade now in it's 82nd year... and the official beginning of Christmas shopping.

Of course, in Canada we had our Santa Claus Parade the week before to kick off our own shopping spree. I guess it takes us week longer to do our shopping here.

This month's calendar shows Joanie's and Dick's turkey-ready table overlooking this small peaceful lake that was trying to freeze over in preparation for this winter's onslaught of skating and hockey and snowmobiles.

Lots for all of us to be thankful for... whether we do it with one turkey day or two.

Now get out there and shop!

Nov 08

November 11th is Kurt Vonnegut's birthday.

We watched from our easy chairs as the Olympic torch burned in China. My son Peter sent these pix from his Beijing sidelines: first a Beijing parking lot for market vendors. Yes, zillions of people peddled zillions of goodies to a market on zillions of bikes. Their drive to thrive economically is set against another sight for which we need no caption.

The Great Wall always reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut.

In his book, Sirens of Titan, I encountered Salo. From a world called Tralfamadore, he' a robot explorer built many millennia earlier to carry a message to a distant galaxy. His spacecraft is powered by the Universal Will to Become, or UWTB, the "prime mover" which makes matter and organization wish to appear out of nothingness. A small component on Salo's spacecraft breaks, stalling him in our Solar System. He requests help from Tralfamadore and hangs out on Titan waiting patiently for the part to arrive and observing distant planets, including our own Earth. Salo's fellow Tralfamadorians respond by manipulating human history so that primitive humans evolve and create a civilization in order to produce the needed replacement part. It turns out that the Great Wall of China (as well as Stonehenge and the Kremlin) is visible from Titan and is a message in the Tralfamadorian geometrical language informing Salo of their progress... so far.

I invite you to celebrate Vonnegut's day on the 11th. Is there something you feel compelled to do to encourage Salo in his long wait?

Oct 08

I • A M • O F • T W O • M I N D S...

Every month I face the same dilemma: what shall I put on my calendar? Sometimes I've taken an image during the month that I've sort of earmarked as possibly calendar-worthy. Sometimes I just search through my old graphic and image files and see what has been lurking that might become calendar-worthy with some help. Sometimes someone else sends an image that becomes calendar fodder. Recently I even seconded some of my mother's early work.

Tonight I find myself facing the end of the month—again— and having nothing in my files ready for the new calendar. Kate has been visiting from NYC so my time is limited. Should I pore over the old images again? Should I ransack my old design files again? Should I grab my camera and take a new and purposeful image? Of what?

As you can see, I've decided not to decide. I'll just sit here and mull. Sometimes simple inaction is the best thing.

Sep 08

Flags Outside and In

KC visited from Ann Arbor and brought this gift of little Tibetan prayer flags. They are traditionally found on rooftops, mountain passes, river crossings, gardens and other sacred places in the Himalayas. I hung mine on my curtain to enjoy in errant wafting breezes all day. The Tibetans hang them to promote peace, compassion and wisdom and they believe the energy of the prayers and sacred mantras on the flags are blown in the wind and will bring joy, happiness and good health to all who see them as well as their families, loved ones, neighbours, and all people throughout the world.

Here I share the flag's wishes with all of you. After all, KC wrote a book about compassion. We all have the responsibility to keep it moving... wherever the wind blows.

Aug 08

Those Three Little Words

Breath halts
In anticipation.
Yes, I know
What's coming next.
Quiet now
I contemplate
How the threeness
Of the words
Call out core of being.
Like Beethoven's
Dum, Dum, Dum
...then
Dum.
Three resolve
Into One.
Chords complete.
I sit quietly
In the knowing.
Here,
I share vision.
I close eyes and

Bite

Into

This

DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE

...then

YUM.

July 08

O Canada! Happy Birthday to You!

Canada Day found us at Harbourfront along with thousands of other celebrants. Many opted to stand in line for the ferry to Centre Island. Our view from the shade showed us people learning to canoe and kayak, people walking and watching, ferries and other boats and Centre Island in the background. Lots of kids and dogs, lots of music, lots of sun and lots of water. A perfect day.

June 08

Spring's Greeter... Friend or Foe?

North Americans decry
Dandelion's ubiquitous invasion.
Japanese praise
Her unwavering tenacity.

Grown-ups call her weed,
Endeavour to eradicate.
Kids just can't wait for her
Summer seed-blowing crown.

To a person standing on a piston
The world goes up and down.
Seems a lot rests
On our point of view.

I suggest we choose
The piston or the world.

The dandelion doesn't care.
She'll be here long after
Our own seeds face distant
Yellow-topped challenges.

........Bette
........Toronto
........1 June 08

While you ponder your own point of view, let me encourage you to enjoy the dandelion's reincarnation in your path. If you gather the greens before the blooms appear they're less bitter and delicious added to your salads. For the blossoms, let me suggest this surprising Dandelion Blossom Syrup. It's a traditional European recipe that you can use it as a substitute for honey in any recipe to make it "wild."
........4 cups dandelion flowers
........4 cups water
........4 cups sugar
........½ lemon or orange (organic if possible) chopped, peel and all
Note: The citrus is optional, it will give the syrup an orangey or lemony flavor. If you want the pure dandelion flavor, you can skip the citrus.

Put blossoms and water in a pot. Bring just to a boil, turn off heat, cover, and let sit overnight. The next day, strain and press liquid out of spent flowers. Add sugar and sliced citrus and heat slowly, stirring now and again, for several hours or until reduced to a thick, honey-like syrup. Can in jars. Makes a little more than 2 cups.

Happy Luke Skywalker Day
Polish your light saber today... and celebrate tomorrow with a couple of spicy tacos and an icy Tecate.

May 08

His name was Bill Robinson...
AKA Bojangles

Bill was born May 25, 1878. Orphaned as an infant, he was reared by his grandmother, Bedilia Robinson, who had been a slave, but he ran away at the age of seven to start his dancing career. No one knows how he came to be called “Bojangles” except that it appears to have been a somewhat generic nickname for vaudeville dancers. Bojangles Robinson danced in all the vaudeville halls and night clubs in the South and North. He changed the face of tap dancing forever, moving it from the buck-and-wing shuffling developed by the slaves to the lighter and crisper sounds we know today. He was already famous when he started his film career, which brought him to the whole world.

Was Bill Robinson the “Mr. Bojangles” Jerry Jeff Walker wrote his famous song about? Probably not. Instead of doing jail time (inspite of his two famous vices: ice cream and gambling), Bill Robinson donated his time selflessly to raise money for charities and lived in Harlem as the locality mayor. He died in 1949 and his funeral was the largest attended in the history of New York City. Adam Clayton Powell delivered his eulogy.

Maybe Jerry Jeff Walker didn't write about Bill Robinson, but he did find a way to link us with the universal joy and spirit that makes the Bojangles in each of us want to dance.

May 25th is now named as Tap Dance Day in honour of Bill Robinson. Get out there and do a few flaps, cramp rolls and shim sham shimmies to celebrate. I will.

Apr 08

My secret is out...
After all these years in the design mileau, I've decided to fess up. If you're someone who has had reason to read my resumé, you have seen that I have a degree in art from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Tis true. You probably thought, however, that my speciality was graphic design... or, as we used to call it, "commercial art." I admit to letting you assume that. I probably even encouraged you. After all, that's the industry you've found me in for years and years.

Today, tho, I'm announcing to everyone who wasn't around then: my speciality was sculpture. I was fortunate enough to study under a very talented man from England named Philip John Evett. He was a great influence with his guidance and non-stop puns. Go here to see what he's up to these days. www.philipevett.com

This month's postcard features a limestone carving I did then. I call her Wishful Thinking. She greets me at my door every day when I get home.

Mar 08

Realities in triplicate...
1. March has 31 days and all of them are herein included.
2. This epistle finds us still covered in snow in Toronto.
3. My snail-mail box shows proof of (2) above... even if it finds itself somewhat of a (well-designed) relic in today's e-age.
March entered with gentle lamb-like flurries, so I guess we should brace ourselves for an eom lion in the form of dramatic winds with snow and freezing rain. Time for us all to enjoy some good warm rental movies and Monopoly and Scrabble.
Bake something round and celebrate...
...the perfection of the circle

Feb 08

Some scrapbook memories...
OK, you already know I'm an artist and you probably know my daughter Kate's an artist, too. I think it's high time you learn where it all started. My mother, Elizabeth Pollard, started her career about 1930 as an architect working for the firm M.C. Kleuser in Dallas, Texas. She designed several homes, a school and the clinic reno shown in the newspaper clipping above. The effects of the depression cut that career short. She went on to other things then married and had me. In her later years she discovered oil and watercolour painting. Like the Mexican courtyard scene above, many of her paintings involved architectural subjects... not a surprise. Here's a little surprise, tho: see that clinic? The addition was for several doctors among them a Dr. Carrell. That was 1931. In 1963 I was studying sculpture at Trinity University in San Antonio and one of my classmates was a painting student named Richard Carrell Fisher... the grandson of Dr. Carrell. Here's wishing you a warm and romantic February, filled with fond memories of your own place in time and the pleasures of creating fresh new ones.Leap Year Day...
Just buzzing by with your special Leap Year Day to add to your February calendar. How come none of you wrote me about my short-changing you with your Feb calendar?

Jan 08

Hopes... Wishes... Resolutions...
Now that the season of indulgence is past, we come to the season of change... The time we look for ways live up to our ideal potential. This month I offer you a taste of my personal determination to bring the best into my life. In this case, a glorious healthful drink presented with full visual impact... plus, it offered olfactory delights as well as crunchy topping for texture. How many senses does that make? (Thanks for Éric for the friendship and the pic.)