An Unusual Breakfast
I don't normally eat cheese, but my body is demanding protein at the moment so I'm offering a spread of delicious wedges, fruit, nuts, and artisan bread. I won't touch that creamy stuff in the center though. Too much rich bovinity for me.Not pictured but part of the table are honey dew melons and, of course, blueberries.
The figs are also a little beyond my spectrum. Too gooey.
As usual, my favorite part of the array is the perfectly crunchy crusted grainy heavenly mainstay of life.....bread.
A taste of Spanish wine will round out the celebration and set me off into the week contented, refreshed, and repaired. Protein anyone?
posted by jm at 2:14 PM
29 Comments:
It's the time of year i guess. Like you, I rarely eat cheese, yet, i find myself enjoying some smoked gouda with crisp apples from the farmers market for lunch. The smokey flavor delights me somehow and speaks deeply to me of the season.
A Redtailed Hawk sits on the top of my powerpole he's also looking for a bit of protein this AM.
I wonder about wine for breakfast though??? Maybe it's the time of day i eat breakfast. 5:30ish this morning.
Eos is opening the morninggate and i'm off to ready for another day of Open Studio. Yesterday was a delightful blend of people. Many came from LA area, wrriters predominated so the day slipped by very pleasantly.
Yes, wine for breakfast would put me under for sure.
In France, this would be a dessert plate. And there's probably a selection of sheep or goat on there that I could eat with my cow allergy.
Tseka, I am SO glad you are having a good studio tour! Maybe having Mercury Rx in your birth chart means that you have an easier time with these periods.
Wish I were down there with you.
Throw in some dessert pears and serve later in the day for me. Mornings I'm a coffee & toast person.
tseka, I have a thought about the goodly numbers of people who come to visit your little community . . . perhaps in their hearts they dream of the possibility of living there & writing or painting too. Which inclines me to the belief that when it's time for you to move back to your beloved northern islands, there will be many who are interested in pursuing their dream & wish to buy your place there. :-)
mmmm. smoked gouda and apples for breakfast. I just so happen to have both in the house today.
Onward with another coat on the bedroom walls. I ADORE this color. (though I miss my luminous green) It's neither grey nor blue nor green but all of them at the same time in different lights. I would not have had the energy yesterday to do it except Lee came over and helped.
Gouda is a great cheese. I managed a cheese shop once (alone, no employees to boss)and it was a wonderful education.
cow allergy? No bovine at all?
Speaking of bedroom walls, my frustrating nonfinishing Aries has a bathroom to paint to complete a project.
Can I do it? I'm so terribly sidetracked.
Your color choice sounds wonderful Casey. I've got to choose paint colors soon for my house. But I've been under the weather -- and going out too much at night. Do you all have experience with Tarot? I've been sick for a while (feels like a cold that drags on -- with some coughing and sore throat). I recently had this tubing for a heating system put in. Since then I've heard of two people who said the tubing made them sick, (and I worry that I'm very suggestible) but most people say there should be no problem with it. So I used the Motherpeace tarot deck, and asked if the tubing was making me ill, and got Death reversed. The odd thing about this is that reversed, the snake and death figure are up at the top of the card, which is where the tubing is, in the ceiling above my bed. But I'm hoping the card reversed means instead that my fears are exaggerated, as it would be hugely expensive to replace. I'm mostly trying to stick things out and hope I get better. Any ideas? Thanks.
And I will eat any figs and gooey cheese left over. Yum Yum
I recently got the Death card too. I usually like this. A good sign that a step forward is imminent. With all this Scorpio going on, endings and eliminations are happening everywhere. Whatever waste is impeding progress. A lot of people have been sick or acting out negative impulses. I've noticed, though, that people are getting more aware of what they're doing and what's happening to them.
I would caution against hocus pocus with all this Scorpio, although it's possible, but I doubt that it's the tubing. It usually isn't that simple. Always inner psychological factors are the source.
Neptune(paranoia) just went direct so it very well could be exaggerated fears coming the surface to be realized and diminished.
The house issue won't be resolved for a while as we talked about earlier.
Sore throats are usually trouble with communication. Not speaking up. Not being understood. being crowded out. Not getting needs met.
Coughing can be various things. Sometimes money as in coughing it up. Sometimes taking in others' ideas that you don't want and diminishing your own self expression. Sometimes getting rid of these negative statements from others when excessive. I just went through that myself.
Depending on the symptoms, colds are often relationship issues. Backed up tears if sinus congestion is there. Doing too much can bring them on too. And also taking in too much from the collective, so the cold can bring attention back to personal needs.
Cutting back some activities might be indicated and a look at what is escapism and what has concrete value. Maybe a little introspection for the moment.
Also the Scorpio planets are crossing your 2nd house Saturn money fears. This is temporary, although the issue is a lifetime one. But in a few weeks it should be back to the normal agony.:-)
Thank you jm. As usual, a lot to ponder, but I'd rather this situation be paranoia, which with luck I can sort out in my head, than reality. I was thinking too of what you said on another post about taking the blows life gives us as part of the flow. I was driving downtown and felt really ill, but then realized that I was putting a layer of bad feeling on top of what I was really feeling. If this makes any sense. Being ill wasn't as bad as I was making it.
Also I met a wonderful artist the other day, who, like our turtle, said she waited until she was ready -- she's now in her mid-forties -- before showing her work. She said making her paintings is like doodling and that they are flowing and easy for her, though it wasn't always this way. Her website is www.JoannaWhitney.com, though it is impossible to get a real sense of the work from the web; they vibrate with life in the "flesh." She seemed a perfect example of waiting for the right moment.
I was putting a layer of bad feeling on top of what I was really feeling. If this makes any sense. Being ill wasn't as bad as I was making it.
I think this is one of the keys to a good life. Recognizing the relative magnitude of events. If we need some heightened drama, we'll diddle with our heads to feel these fears sometimes just for the sensation. Imagination rarely matches reality. Not supposed to.
I learned this again recently. I've had a series of discomforts which for me have been awful. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to pass out from the fear.
But I talked to a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in awhile. Turns out she had a massive hemorrhage from her nose, blood gushing in rivers, paramedics called, and she ended up in surgery. She desribed the unforgettable terror and it put things in perspective for me.
I think we know when things are really serious. We have excellent self preservational skills.
I love the story about this artist. Thank you juju. Going to check out her work now.
She seemed a perfect example of waiting for the right moment.
Or maybe the moment waits for us.
Many of the artists I've known have not courted success. Maybe even avoided it. They preserve their complete freedom and autonomy even if huge sacrifices are required. Not all, though.
Most are always reaching for the next vision and lose interest in what they've already done. The market can interfere. They are far more interested in color, shape, illusion, etc. than people and the market hype. Once success comes, I think we get locked into the contract, repeat ourselves, and have to give up some creative freedom. I know people will argue this point and at first success can inspire new directions and improvement, but deep down I think artists are afraid of the bondage to approval. Yet they need the audience. It's a hard road. If success comes, I believe it's better later on as Joanna is doing. In the end I think its all happenstance. It would be advisable for an artist not to fear success. There is a trade-off but it's unpredictable how it will work out.
The greatest artist I knew started drawing as a tiny child. He was written up in the local paper at 10 years old. He was so good it was astounding. His father's desk was sacrosanct, none of the 7 children could go near it, except this child who was allowed to use it for his drawing.
He went on to art school and some commercial work as a young man but soon dropped it all for the pursuit of his vision as an oil painter.
In the meantime he did so many creative things I could barely keep up. Everything he touched became a masterpiece.
He had a patron who bought his work throughout his life and had small successes, but they didn't really seem to interest him. He was most of all trying to master oil painting, his greatest challenge.
At about 60 years old he started painting religiously and in a new way. He was riveted. It was in these last 9 years that he finally felt he was expressing his vision with some adequacy. Then I believe when he felt his work was done, he died.
He left the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen.
I never really knew for sure if he missed worldly success. I tend to think not.
So I think success is neutral. It's exciting at first but most likely disappoints a bit later. I think the best approach is to keep on working and let success in if it comes, keep an open mind, but not pursue it too obsessively or have false expectations. Ideally it should probably be a natural event coming from the evolution of the work. The work itself probably knows the right time.
I think you are right about success. And I talked about this with Joanna. Some, though certainly not all, artists who get hit with success early, have a hard time moving beyond doing what they know already pleases. I like your idea about the work knowing the right time.
And now I'm trying to adjust to this time change and the sun setting early every day.
I love when DST is over...I'm a morning person and I want the sun up when I'm driving to work. And I really start to resent daylight savings time at this time of year. I've never seen the point to it...you use as much energy in the morning as you save in the evening. Silly law.
I love when DST is over...I'm a morning person and I want the sun up when I'm driving to work. And I really start to resent daylight savings time at this time of year. I've never seen the point to it...you use as much energy in the morning as you save in the evening. Silly law.
YES!!! And from what I understand they plan to extend the darn thing starting next year. Who makes these decisions anyway?! Bureaucracies . . . mind killers!
Who makes these decisions anyway?! Bureaucracies . . . mind killers!
ha hah Neith, my tired brain processed this as who makes these decisions anyway?! Barnacles
Ja that actually seems appropriate.
And you would be correct that many creatives are moving here is is now called by the LA Times "the new Bohemia" Many people are moving here. It's interesting observing.
Hej Juju.
I read your comment about your discomfort. There is an insidious upper respiratory illness going around the country. The symtoms sound a lot like what you are experiencing. More malaise than a putting you to bed illness. Bronchitis-lite. Some good echinacea purpurea in mother tinture might be helpful(homeopathically prepared is best-maybe from Boiron...i hold a Doctorate in Homeopathic Medicine). I wouldn't ignore it especially if upper respiratory illness is your weakness.
As to the tubing. I would not discount the possibility that it is contributing. Many people are sensitive to products made from petroleum- plastics, until they have a chance to outgas a bit. If you can afford it you may wish to buy a HEPA filter and run it near your bed at night and near where you sit in the daytime. I would not live without one ever again, makes all the difference! We live in our sealed little boxes and our carpet and our furniture outgas all sorts of chemicals, in ordinary times we may tolerate them but with an infection they can carry us past our tipping point.
Best wishes for a radiant recovery soon.
Extend DST? Huh? Everywhere or just in certain locations?
OMG!
There is an insidious upper respiratory illness going around the country.
I think I had it. It was so weird since I never get these things. Is that the price for joining this collective family? I must adjust. it's that permeable membrane of mine.
I took goldenseal/echinacea and it knocked it right out.
Yeah! I was wondering about the DST. I think they've been talking about this for a long time though. Good question about who makes these decisions that mess with so many people's bodies.
Some, though certainly not all, artists who get hit with success early, have a hard time moving beyond doing what they know already pleases.
It's the schtick. Most get trapped in it. It's hard to imagine before it happens but money, adulation, and success are potent and they have a momentum that is almost impossible to resist. People change. The public usually demands more of the same.
And there is always the downslide after the rise, so making it later in life leaves a smaller decline and probably at thet age, more acceptable.
The buildup to recognition is really the most exciting part. After getting there, the fear of losing it really comes in when before it was never a factor.
I got bronchitis every November when I was a vegetarian. I also drank soy "milk" at that time. It would last for 2 or 3 weeks, endless coughing, esp. when trying to sleep. After I quit the soy stuff, it went away and hasn't come back. It may be that soy suppresses some immune function that we don't know about.
There are all kinds of mixed reports on soy. many years ago a naturopath told me not to eat it...because of my slow metabolism. I eat tons of tofu now and that too has come under fire, but seems to work magnificently for Oriental women.
I think it's individualistic. The byproducts of all food digestion are harmful, but each body behaves differently. The string bean could be bad? Who knows?
Joe, you're up late? Must be the extra hour!
It's interesting. I got some edamame(green soy beans) and I can't eat them. Something is wrong in there.
Here's a link about the changes in DST being instituted in 2007 - it adds a month total.
http://tinyurl.com/dqj4k
That business about out gassing is so disturbing . . I know this old house has it's drawbacks but being airtight is not one of them. Which makes it a healthier place to live than the super energy efficient new homes! It seems there are so many instances when we get contradictory information these days, it's difficult to chart a course thru the maze. And the good information we have shared here has proved very helpful to me. Thanks all! :-)
It seems there are so many instances when we get contradictory information these days, it's difficult to chart a course thru the maze.
You aren't just whistling Dixie. Too much info. I'm training myself to ignore a lot of it and trust my instincts. But I also have a drafty house which I feel very comfortable with. And the liver takes care of toxins anyway. Moon/Joops in Sag have good ones. An amazing organ. The human machine is a marvel.
I completely agree about info overload. I think it's probably another WMD: weapon of mass distraction.
Interesting about DST... some researchers believe that our exposure to artificial lights during the dark half of the year (including TV, computer, neon, fluorescents, etc) disrupts the body significantly. And we've been over this here and elsewhere, but I'm tempted to try to sleep more this winter and do less chasing around, although for that second one, I'm in the wrong line of work.
<< Home