Wednesday, July 18, 2012

What do I wish to start....?

Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday's question is "What do you wish to start?"

I have stacks of  "startings." Pieces of art. Pages of stories. Notes with ideas. Journals of inventions.
I sit back and just think about them all. I ponder the meaning of "start."

...to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.
...to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.
...to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place.
...to be among the entrants in a race or the initial participants in a game or contest.
...to give a sudden, involuntary jerk, jump, or twitch, as from a shock of surprise, alarm, or pain.
 
I have lots of those. I have set out, suddenly go into action, spring, dart, been in several races, and I have jumped, jerked and twitched.
 
I have a stack of stuff/ideas/art that is languishing. Doubt comes in. Procrastination. Soft addictions. Time consuming distractions.
 
I wish to start...finishing.
I wish to start completing what I started. Art, stories, ideas...round them up. Decide what the next steps are. Even domestic projects. I started to organize my closet - get it done. 
 
I want to start finishing the ideas and dreams. Move. Rise and issue forth. Bring tangible results out from the void. The recipe is "dream and manifest, think and do."
 
Start to finish.
 
If you can dream it, you can do it. 
Walt Disney

 
 
Join in! Check out Jamie's blog here.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

If Anything Was Possible...






If anything was possible I would wish for...

Funny how my imagination FLIES with ideas...then stops, "oh noooooo." Then opens again, then closes again. A fantasy begins to form, the POOF! "the voice of reason" makes it disappear.

I get annoyed.

OH, BE QUIET! you naysayer voices inside my head.

So much time is spent in turmoil with the inner-naysayer.
How much freer would I be without it/her/him/them. What would be possible for me if I were free?

And...what would be possible without all those real people out there who seem to always know more than me and make it her/his business to tell me how wrong I am..or how much I don't know...better take this class and get that certificate... THIS is the best book to read and THAT is the best thing to do...I've been doing this for X-many years and therefore....

*sigh*

Why do we create these inner barriers...and why do people become literal barriers?

If anything were possible I would wish for ALL the Naysayers, Critics, and Negative People to ... go away. Join together and have a great time naysaying and criticizing each other...but leave me alone.

I know what I am doing. I am making my own choices for a reason.
If I do not ask, it may mean I am content on my path, EVEN IF it doesn't look right to YOU...it may be the perfect fit for me.

If anything were possible, I would wish for a world (inner and outer) free of Naysayers.

Say I...




(It's Wishcasting Wednesday over at Jamie Ridler Studios!)

Monday, July 9, 2012

Rock Creek Cafe and Bows and Arrows

Breaks are needed! Sometimes you just have to drop what you are doing... go do something else!

The 4th of July was coming up fast on the calendar and we realized...we had no plans! So...we found some fun...and had a great day. A drive up to Rock Creek Cafe to eat some barbeque and watch Roni and the Flight perform!

We checked the map to find out where Rock Creek Cafe was....and it was....waaaayyyyyyy out in the middle of...nowhere.

We drove up Hwy 50, through Placerville...and drove through some beautiful countryside.
Then we came upon a single lane bridge that scared the ba-googles out of me. Josh was all serene... "Look at the view from up here..." Me? I was in the fetal position screaming, "JUST DRIVE TO THE OTHER SIDE!"

Yes. Some photographer I am. I should have been aware and appreciative and taking pictures.
Whatever.

Wow. We found Rock Creek Cafe...out there.

Rock Creek Cafe, 9100 Rock Creek Road, Placerville.

Rock Creek Cafe has been open since 2007 (I believe), and has been doing great! So, if you are ever out in the middle of nowhere outside of Placerville...definitely check them out!

Frank Ethridge - one of the owners...bringing out the barbeque!!

All you can eat barbeque buffet!
"Family style" seating!
We were invited to the Cardboard Boat Race! Cardboard and duct tape...that's all you can use btw...
Roni and the Flight performed...BONUS POINTS!! Back in the corner, playing bass, was Heidi Ethridge...another owner! Serious fun...and then they did some Led Zepplin. I was completely won over!!! (ok, I was already won over and Roni/Flight was REALLY how we ended up there...but by the time they pulled the Led out...I was REALLY won over!)
GREAT fun...and ate lots of barbeque and peach cobbler...and some berry cobbler...and then...
ohhhh, before I forget, the Finnon Lake Dam reconstruction project is now finished and the Disk Golf course is now open.

To find out more about Rock Creek Cafe (they cater too) go here...

On Sunday...Josh and I, still feeling adventurous, decided to go to the new location of Bows and Arrows. I used to browse through Bows and Arrows when they were on L Street, but I had not been to the new location on 19th.

WOW.

Trisha Rhomberg and Olivia Coelho did a GREAT job with the new space. I think it's a brilliant business move...They still have the vintage clothing and accessories (and some new things) up front...the back of the store is the cafe...and out in the very back is a wonderful patio...


Out on the patio...looking in.

Lots of plants!

Misters going full blast and a shade canopy. It was extremely comfortable outside!

Eggs Benedict for me. And it was DELICIOUS!!

Josh had the pancakes with the Peach Thyme syrup. I had a bite...also delicious!

Coffee was good! (always important!)

another view...

The patio is doggy friendly. This cutie kept begging me for food. Would only let Josh pet her, I had to come up with food. Which I didn't have. Because I ate it all. Because it was good!
On Sunday, July 15, Bows and Arrows will be having a quarterly handmade shopping event and bazaar called "Makers Mart." This mart features local artists and crafters. Josh and I participated in Makers Mart years ago...a LOT of fun!

On Sunday, July 21, Bows and Arrows will be involved with "Bacon Fest..."

ok...get it? Bows and Arrows is happening...find out more about everything going on here.

We've had lots of fun...now it's time to get back to work!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Who Do You Wish To Become?

Jamie Ridler posts the question "Who Do You Wish To Become...?"

I am incredibly curious as to what some of the other bloggers have posted, but I am holding myself back! Not easy! What will they say? How do they handle this question?

It's a good one!

I think about it. Check my journal...go outside and look at the gorgeous full moon. Feed the stray cat. Check on bread dough rising in the kitchen. I realize...

My answer is simple.

I wish to become the best me that I can be.

And the best me isn't about being an artist, or writer, or [fill in anything]... It is about who I am without all those labels. It has been a difficult week. I didn't always have the best of me showing. I had an evening of "spinning out" as a beloved friend calls it.

But I "spinned out" incredibly well, and then bounced back from it with just as much....energy.

Perhaps this IS the best...I can be horrifying with amazing skill...or make something of incredible beauty...or cook with wild passion. It is all me.

The best of me is about pushing and gusto and reaching and trying and passion...and not worrying about the "right" punctuation.

I wish to become the best me that I can discover....and it will take my entire lifetime.

For more about Jamie Ridler click here.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Morning Pages - July Kick-off

Jamie Ridler has awakened some of us to the practice of writing 'morning pages' starting today, July 1.

"The Artists' Way" and "Vein of Gold", by Julia Cameron, introduces us to the practice of Morning Pages: to begin your day by writing...BY HAND... three pages of dumping out mind chatter. Ok...that is definitely MY definition!

I did pages for awhile while reading The Artists' Way...then lost the habit. Again, I did morning pages while reading "Vein of Gold"...and dropped the habit. And something here I do not understand. I LOVE doing morning pages, and yet, I keep dropping this activity that I love? What is up with that?

Doing morning pages is a total brain bath. I write everything down. From thinking that the journal I am writing in is 'larger' than most notebooks and maybe a page and a half is the same as three other sorts of pages... LOL. To wondering which bill to pay...to hoping that the next art piece will come together like I see it in my head. I yell at others and myself. I write about when I stop writing to feed the stray cat. I comment on the weather. Anything goes. Anything. It is freeing and enlightening.

Writing my morning pages gets SO MUCH out of my head. Morning pages burns off the crap that seems insistent on building up...and, the best part...morning pages always results in at least, AT LEAST, one nugget of amazing truth.

Yes. Why would I walk away from this delicious habit?

Check out Jamie's blog where she talks about Morning Pages...click here.
Julia Cameron LIVE/The Artists Way blog is wonderful...click here.

My favorite is "Vein of Gold." I have just decided that I'm going to dig that book out and go through it ... again.