Category Archives: Community

Art Every Day Month – Day 7

I traced my hand. I tried not to over-think what to do with it. I wanted contrast and boldness. The result brought to mind a mandala.

Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself. The mandala contains an encyclopedia of the finite and a road map to infinity.

Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes “a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness.” It is “a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence.” Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.

It is said by Tibetan Buddhists that a mandala consists of five “excellencies”: The teacher • The message • The audience • The site • The time

An audience or “viewer” is necessary to create a mandala. Where there is no you, there is no mandala. (from: You Are the Eyes of the World, by Longchenpa, translated by Lipman and Peterson).

—The Mandala Project

I have a world in my hand. So do you.

<mandala - art every day month 08 - day 7

“World In Hand” / 7×10″ sketch paper with ink and marker

After Eight Years

For the first time in eight years, I feel hopeful about the future of our country. I am thrilled with the historic presidential election results.

In his famous Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln urged every American to take on “the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far nobly advanced.” That work remained unfinished, though, for a century and a half. For despite decades of civil rights legislation, judicial interventions and social activism — despite Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King’s I-have-a-dream crusade and the 1964 Civil Rights Act — the Civil War could never truly be said to be over until America’s white majority actually elected an African-American as president.

That is what happened Tuesday night, and that is why we wake up to a different country. Yes, the struggle for equality is never done. But we can start afresh now from a whole new baseline. Let every child and every citizen and every new immigrant know that from this day forward: Everything really is possible in America.

–Thomas Friedman, Finishing Our Work

It’s not looking so good for Prop 8 and Prop 4 here in California, though.

Art Every Day Month – Day 2

My effort today is less art and more craft. (Not that knitting isn’t art, but a simple dishcloth is pushing the concept; now a lace shawl or something akin — that is art.) However, this is what I created today. Recently Husband purchased a knife sharpening kit and sharpened all our very dull blades. This has made cooking much easier and more fun; however, we learned the hard way that we cannot wash the knives with my hand-knitted dishcloths. One of them was shred to bits, and so this one replaces it.

art every day month 08 - day 2 - pink dishcloth

I spent a lovely afternoon visiting with a relative — a second cousin on my father’s side of the family. She was a fascinating person to talk to and before I realized it, I’d been there nearly four hours. I learned a couple years ago that I had relatives in the Bay Area, but without a premise for contact I didn’t pursue it, and I was busy, so the time wasn’t right. My parents recent visit catalyzed the connection.

Claire had a rough day today. I felt her gums, and she has an upper left molar coming through, plus the rest of her gums are very puffy. She has new words, though: all done, bird, cracker, excuse me (coo-mee), gate mouse (mess), pear. She mimicks what she hears really well.

It Was Fun

Claire’s still a little young to understand Halloween, hence the lack of a fancy costume this year. Among the many animals she likes is the owl, so she was happy to wear this outfit. We went to Westgate Mall where the majority of stores participated in trick-or-treating. The place was hopping! Next year we may go out into the neighborhood, but since it’s raining here today, this seemed like the best plan. She doesn’t have much interest in sweets generally, though we did give her little bits of gummy bear, and she ate them. Her favorite prize was the large brown leaf she found on the floor, which she clutched in her right hand as we made our rounds.

halloween 08

I Have Been Remiss

This has been a busy week, in part because we welcomed a new little person into the world. Our friends, M&K, gave birth to a beautiful daughter on Tuesday, October 28. (M&K are Claire’s godparents/emergency backup parents.) Because I don’t know how public they want this information to be, I withhold particulars at this time. But she is healthy and beautiful, and in about a year she and Claire will be active playmates.

And to all: Happy Halloween!

massive carved pumpkin

Massive pumpkin at Uesugi Farms

Random Stuff

We have not had a working oven since Thursday night. The lock mechanism (operated by computer) got stuck shut. We’ve used the lock since Claire began crawling to keep her from climbing in or pulling the oven down on top of herself. Two people had to come out Friday (the first one wasn’t fluent in English and his manager came out after him to work on it); a part needs to be ordered. We do have a stove that works, however. It’s a new stove, installed March 2007. Bummer. We rent, though, so we won’t pay for the repair.

Claire came down with a little cold on Sunday. Today was the worst of it, I think. Another tooth has also been emerging, so she’s been a wet, snotty, drooly mess, poor kid. We’ve been staying mostly home which gives us cabin fever.

Tomorrow she and I will go get our flu shots. Whee!

My energy has ebbed in accord with hormonal fluctuations. There must be something about the body’s preparation for conception that draws all the energy inward. Once my period starts all the energy comes rushing back. I expect to be perkier by the end of next week (and I dearly hope sooner). The earlier sunsets don’t help with this low energy.

Tomorrow a young woman will come to assist me for a couple hours and get to know Claire and our routine. She will be a regular babysitter, probably every Wednesday for a couple of hours, plus an occasional evening for Husband and me. The fee is extremely reasonable at $10 an hour. It still seems like an extravagance for me, but I remind myself that I rarely indulge in manicures, lattes, clothes, etc. And we pay about the same amount of money every month for cable television which I rarely watch, so I guess $20 a week for sanity is affordable. It’s cheaper than therapy, even if I were to hire her twice a week!

Across Generations

My father is a private man. I am not like him in this regard, but we share the traits of introspection, intensity, and curiosity. He is a man of his generation, which meant our relationship sometimes felt distant to me when I was younger; he was focused on providing for his family’s needs, and expressing tender emotion was not a language he knew well. His love comes out as worry and preparation against difficulty. As I grew up, he was serious and strict, and I was stubbornly resistant in subtle, and later blatant, ways. But a grandfather’s relationship with his grandchild is different by orders of magnitude. I wondered how my father would interact with Claire. What I witnessed was the unfolding of his delight and tenderness, of patience and amusement and amazement. I’m sure I was once the recipient of similar expressions, but I was too little to register them, and so it was a reward for me to observe them together. Claire brought him book after book to read, and she enjoyed playing the What’s In Grandpa’s Shirt Pocket? game. This photo of them is a gem.

grandpa and claire

I’m One Of The Lucky Ones

three generations 1

Unfortunately the camera didn’t focus properly when Husband took this photo. The composition is perfect, the poses and smiles capture a moment of happy synchronicity. Just pretend the fuzziness is a result of viewing the photo with tear-blurred eyes (tears of joy, of course).

My mother was only 20 years old when her mother died at age 56 of breast cancer. My mother was married and living in Texas (my father was in training in the Army there); she did not get to spend time with her mother in that last year of her life.

Mom went on to have four children with the nearest immediate family living 150 miles away, in an age when using the telephone long distance was expensive. There was no such thing as email. Money was not overly plentiful, so trips to see family were not frequent events. Somehow she had the emotional fortitude to make a life for us: nightly dinners, handmade clothing, decorating for holidays, nursing our illnesses, washing, cleaning, marketing on a budget, introducing us to books and libraries, songs, and so much more. She always imagined she would become a grandmother. After 44 years it happened, and because of some health challenges, it was 45 years before she got to be with her beautiful, lively granddaughter. But at last it happened.

Taking care of a busy little child meant that our conversations were broken and scattered. We did not have any private mother-daughter time. However, the last day of the visit she pulled me against her as we sat on the sofa, and I sank into her gentle body. We all talked as I leaned against her, and she patted my arm as only a mother can. I couldn’t keep the tears back, but I tried to be quiet and discreet as I wiped my eyes.

As I drove to the airport, we held hands. And we hugged and kissed at the terminal.

She has the softest skin, my mother.

The Arrival

The much-anticipated visit is happening! My parents arrived late last night from the east coast to meet Claire. Right now they are still sleeping to recover from a very long trip, but very shortly there will be the first encounter. I plan to take lots of pictures and videos this next week.

Our Weekend

Saturday we went to a friend’s first birthday party. There, Claire discovered that she does like cake and frosting. She just wasn’t interested two weeks ago, on her birthday.

frosting face

And today we went to the Oakland Zoo. She was thrilled to see giraffes, elephants (her favorite animal as far as we can tell), snakes (a close second), zebras, birds, lions, tigers, monkeys, and otters, among other animals.

fascination up close

I didn’t take a lot of photos because I wanted to actually experience the outing and see the animals, but I did love the vivid colors of this Blue-and-Gold Macaw.

maccaw

We are tuckered out and going to bed!