rajafacesbothways

It's All In the Mind

Imagination is a wonderful thing.

Sat on the snow-covered rooftop, sipping wine and soaking up sun's Vitamin D while pretending I'm in Salzburg, Austria at a ski resort.

Okay. Rooftop? Mountaintop? It took 2 glasses of wine to get there. But having been to Salzburg, it only took a bit of added imagination to overlay one experience over the other. And NO technology required.

Sun Catchers

Next to my loft (behind the left three windows above the green awning) is Suzanne's shop and my sun deck. Not only do I have a back porch, I also enjoy a huge rooftop "playground", rent free.
While sitting there this afternoon, a full rainbow encircled the sun--never saw that before!

Also have been exposed to the many uses of PhotoShop at the studio across Main Street. I suppose with it, one could create a ring around the sun.
I still prefer the real thing.

Fresh Exposures--#11

1.  Am having my own Kurosawa Film Festival, viewing Seven Samurai, Dreams, Rashomon, with a few more on the way through Netfliks--including a Documentary of his life and work. I think viewing a body of any fine artist's work is very revealing.

2.  Moving along on the Trixie and her Cows book, based on the mural in last year's exhibit. I'm following the story line of the mural but, typical of any creative project. it's taking on a life of its own, Each page is  a collage, incorporating some unused materials and ideas.

New Experience--#11

According to Volvo's manual, the car's timing belt replacement is 50,000 miles; The Norse Horse had gone about 52,000 miles on the last one so I called Catfish to make its appointment.  Here's the reaction at the garage:

"That seems like too soon--Ah'm gonna check around. No point in replacing it if you don't have to." They called back later.Their research found that 65,00-70,000 miles was safe enough for my car.  "We like to make money, but we don't want you spending it unless it's necessary."

Over the years, I have never had an automobile garage try to save me money. I've always  been at their mercy and they know it. That's one of the pleasures of living in this town--many know how hard money is to come by and try to help each other save where they can.

And what if the present timing belt doesn't last? The car isn't worth more than $400 anyway, so I'll just "shoot it".

Fresh Exposures--#10

1.  Saw the work of artist Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson, giving me some ideas that I may try to incorporate in the Trixie and her 17 Cows book I'm working on now.

2.  Listening to J.S. Bach CD of piano by Simone Dinnerstein (Goldberg Variations) while working on book. Karen said Bach's music makes good listening while working; I'm finding that to be true. Beethoven and Mozart absorb more listening attention.  With Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, and Keb Moe music, I end up dancing around my loft.

3.  Had a massage, a monthly goal this year, investing in maintenance of something besides the Norse Horse.   

No Ruin in the Runes

Every January for fun, I cast 6 Rune Stones (out of 25) to direct my awareness toward the new year.

Rune Stones were ancient stones with runic inscriptions that date back to the Middle Ages in Icelandic countries; using them is considered to be consulting an Oracle. It's not like getting your fortune told; it is knowing the will of the Divine to direct your choices. I record the meanings and check at the end of the year to see how true the directions are. Often there are strong coincidences that are hard to explain. Who knows.

My first casting indicated major changes, reversals, hard work to achieve my Karma. Ugh! So I tried again. (raja faces both ways) The second resulted in the same outcome but an easier path. Both hinted I'm at a gateway to new beginnings. And moving onward. Actually, sometimes just stagnating has a certain appeal.
They never indicate that in my life.

Fresh Exposures--#9

Any new exposures this week were related to food and drink. Good deal.

1.  Plum soup at a Polish Christmas Eve dinner.
2.  English Boxing Day party.
3. Learned that by immersing the handle of a silver spoon into the top of an opened champagne bottle the unused champagne will remain bubbly for 24 hours. (under the rare assumption one can refrain from drinking it all upon opening)

Fresh Exposures--#8

I wasn't exposed to anything new last week. I totally stagnated in growth of experiences.
A relief.
Tonight I'm going to check out the full moon and Mars, separated by a degree or less as they appear through the clouds. An unusual occurrence, but maybe I've seen it before and forgotten. Or maybe not.

Either way, one can't get too much exposure to looking at and reaching for the stars.

Fresh Exposures--#7

1,.  A new board game--Cranium, is a fun game of challenging minds.  There is less recalling of nouns, (to me a real plus) than Trivia Pursuit, resulting in more creativity and laughs.

2. I succumbed and attended a luncheon with my dance class, mainly to try the restaurant in Lexington. It was a strong reminder why I have avoided this for 8 years and will probably never do it again. Being surrounded by nice women being pleasant is a descent into hell for me. It's a fun class but I only want to dance with them.
I slipped out before desert and the group photo. Awwwk!

Festivities--Week #6

Every parade here is a new experience. From my window, I just watched this year's Christmas Parade. It included:

The Mayor wearing a Santa cap, throwing candy from the back of a convertible.
She was followed by a prancing Jazzerize group, a flatbed truck of Cub Scouts with a leader in a Rudolph Cap; 3 people on horse back; Beef O' Brady's yellow Catering truck and the Dept. of Homeland Security Mobile Command Unit van.

Then came two Brownie troops; a Living With Autism groups riding on a Scott County firetruck;  a Time Warner Cable Company float and a float with 3 wooden crosses hung with Christmas lights bearing a "Remember the Reason for the Season" sign. (that confused me--maybe they take the lights off and reuse it at Easter).

A couple more floats with waving kids, then the Southern Stallions Honor Chorus; a dozen people wearing green shirts walking their dogs and ending with another fire truck.

This fire truck had Santa waving and tossing candy.
Okay. It wasn't Macy's and New York, but it also didn't deplete the nation's supply of helium.

I hope you city folks appreciate the "on the scene coverage" of downtown festivities--it doesn't get any more exciting than this.