OSOW!!!

OSOW??? Yes, dear friends.... I am Officially Sick Of Winter!!! Despite the beautiful hoar frost, fluffy mounds of glistening snow and the reprieve from pesky insects, winter takes its toll on the human psyche. I dearly wish I could escape the deep freeze! Another 6-8 weeks to tough out... OMG! I am hallucinating about sandy beaches and palm trees...help!

Energy Drain - Endurance Test

Consider all of the extra effort it takes to bundle up to survive the cold each day, dig out your car, shovel walkways, etc. For the first few weeks it is invigorating: "I am this hardy, vigorous Canadian woman!" But after a while it just becomes a hurdle to getting to where you need to go and a robber of energy - energy you need to make a living and to do the things you enjoy!

ROCK Star

For example, on Friday my car got stuck just leaving the work parking lot at lunch hour - I was able to "rock" the car and get out. (For those of you unfamiliar with this technique, you go from forward to reverse rapidly and repeatedly until your car gently bounces out of its entrenched position.)

So, after lunch, I parked on the street, worried that I would have trouble driving out of the big lot after work - I am at the back of the lot, so there is about half a city block to go to reach the exit. There is a 2-hour limit on parking in front of our office building, but I knew we were closing early because of the heavy snow fall. Well, guess who had to get pushed out at quitting time? The snow had filled my wheel wells on the passenger side, and without extra manpower pushing my car (three co-workers!) I would've been there a very long time, digging out with my gloved hands, as my small shovel has "gone missing" from my trunk.

Needless to say - the main roads were like bombardier trails and the side streets were impassable. I had to forgo my Friday workout because I couldn't get there! Crazy & frustrating! Bears have it right - accept the miserable weather, fatten up and sleep 'til April.

Heaven on Earth!

My Dude xo

More Toscana... my little guy just had a blast! He now compares everything to the Italian experience, having had "the best of the best"!

I Dream in Colour!

Had some time today to go through my photos, in between errands and loads of laundry - felt so wonderful to dive into the Tuscan landscape; I could feel the sun and smell the air. I was wishing I had the time to go to my studio and paint today, but that was not the case - the yellows, greens, and coral colours were all calling to me.

Surreal Beauty

When you land in Firenze you are struck by the velvety green folds of the landscape - personally, my breath caught in my throat, it was so amazingly lovely, and a rich loden green unlike anything I have other seen - that is Toscana!

Driving north to Pisa, and then to the coastal city of Livorno, peaches, pinks and brighter yellows used in the buildings brighten the landscape. Here are a few of my favourite photos from my March 2010 trip to that glorious place - hope you will enjoy and feel the Italian sunshine xo!

Apples, Chicken, Comfort, Art

So very very cold this weekend - really makes me want to hibernate! No excuse not to get my laundry done, I suppose; standing by that hot clothes dryer and dreaming I am near the Mediterranean in the summer.... hmmmmm.... I can work with that -- thank goodness for my over-active imagination!

I am also thinking it is a good day to roast a farm chicken and to actually sit down and dine with the kids. There have been too many gobbled meals and far too much nibbling while standing/noshing in the car! I feel like a "wanted woman" ((...and, no, NOT in the romantic sense, btw)) -- just grubby, pasty, distracted; on-the-lam-from-joyful-living with a Tim Horton's ham & Swiss in one hand! It's a "get 'er done" kind of life, what can I say?

Homage to C. Dukes
Highlight of the week for me last week was definitely the visit to Caroline Dukes' art studio - so amazing to see everything in place years after her passing, and to see some of her major works in their birth place. Strange to think that in a few months those canvasses will be in other spaces, including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Also tremendously encouraging to see another female artist beginning to make use of Caroline's space. What a great view from that atelier/lucky gal -Winnipeg looks so European from those windows! Brought me waaay back to long afternoon hours spent in figure drawing and painting studio sessions -- my student life seems so luxe and indulgent to me now LOL :) Can't imagine having that time on my hands - just surreal; fantastic! I am so grateful for that experience in my life.

I still can't quite believe I have a couple of C.D.'s rough sketches from the Apple Pickers period -- can still remember visiting her studio with all of those big canvasses, freshly painted and glowing, around tiny Caroline. They were dynamic, vibrant and summer-like on that cold winter evening; what an extraordinary treat.

So today I am thinking that I will make some classic baked apples for my kids and fill the house with cinnamonny and savory chicken goodness. A hearty, heart-felt gastronomic celebration of thanks for the influence of a gentle artist on my somewhat grey little life.

Pam's Baked Apples

Ingredients:
4 Granny Smith Apples, cored
4 teaspoons butter, portioned
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash cloves
Dash nutmeg
Few grains of salt
1 Tbsp. real maple syrup
2 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup water or apple juice

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Core the apples, but do not remove the core right through to the bottom -- you need to have a little "cup" to hold the filling. Place apples close together in a oven-proof baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, spices and nuts. Spoon these evenly into the cored apple cavities. Evenly drizzle the maple syrup inside each apple and top each apple with a teaspoon of the portioned butter. Pour the water or juice into the dish, around the apples. Loosely cover with foil and bake 35 - 40 minutes. Apples will be tender,but not mushy when ready. Serve as-is, or with a bit of cream, whipped cream or ice cream. A nice breakfast paired with oatmeal, a side with dinner, or homey dessert.

Quick, easy and delish xo!

Perfect Sunrise

Well, it's one of those white-on-white mornings on the prairies - just a few grey lines and faded brown blurs to let me know my house is not floating inside a giant cloud. At least it's a bit milder... (maybe -15 C) but oh I love and crave those brilliant blue skies that stretch for as far as I can see; not to mention the HEAT! Still can't quite believe that I was born here...

Craving Summer & Sun

I spent a bit of time last night editing through some photos taken this past summer - 2010 may have fallen short for many of us in many ways, but in our part of the world we were treated to exceptional sunrises and sunsets - some kind of celestial consolation prize. I have truly never experienced a year that treated me to such beauty each and every day.

So, here a few canvasses painted by the universe, to put a little colour and warmth in your day. xo!

Heart of Influence

I read a notice in the local papers this week about the selling off of the works of Canadian fine artist, Caroline Dukes and my heart sank and soared at the same time - I have thought of Caroline many times over the past years, and had not realized she had passed away in 2003.

Apparently, I have missed a retrospective exhibit of her work at the Winnipeg Art Gallery - where the hell was I? Under some mushroom of busy-ness no doubt and not listening attentively to the messages of my heart.

You see, I had the privilege of visiting Caroline's studio in the Exchange District of Winnipeg in the late 1980's when I was a young art student and Ms. Dukes kindly invited our class to her atelier. At the time I was polished on the surface but raw with sorrow inside due to the recent lost of my first baby in pregnancy. My visit to Caroline Duke's studio that evening was a profound experience that soothed, delighted, and inspired me.

Gentle Generosity
Caroline was completing her Apple Pickers series - glorious, loosely painted, large scale, figurative pieces. She was physically delicate and pale - a quieter woman who was warm of spirit, focused on her work and yet very humble of her achievements - a lovely, lovely individual and fine artist! I recall how she offered us all a selection of teas and tinned biscuits, like we were her family or close friends - and how welcome to students who didn't have much on a cold, winter night.

Her generousity, kindness, fresh painting style and resilience influenced me greatly (Caroline, born in Hungary was a Holocaust survivor) - I was also working on allegorically themed artwork, and favoured a loose, scribbly, dreamy style to stark realism. I felt ((and often still feel)) more connected to my artistic inspirations by expressing myself in this manner.

Thank you Caroline for touching my heart and teaching me to open my heart to art and through art.

((http://www.ccca.ca/artists/artist_info.html?link_id=143)) see more works of Caroline Dukes

Impeccable With Your Word

My best friend is reading the New York Times bestseller, The Four Agreements written by Don Miguel Ruiz right now. As I am already reading two books ((The Snowball (bio of Warren Buffet) and The Love of Reading by Robert Adams)), but I AM quite captivated by what I have heard about Ruiz, I have asked her to give me updates, and she is very kindly obliging my interest! The ideas the author promotes are said to be based on ancient Toltec teachings - teachings which allow us to eliminate patterns of self-sabotage and thus enjoy richer, more rewarding lives. So the ideas of personal empowerment and balanced living appealed greatly to me!

The Four
Also, as my mantra this year is EMERGENCE, any support that nudges me along my creative path is welcome. There is much more to the Ruiz book I am told, but for starters the four agreements are as follows, and they are to be repeated each day after the phrase "I choose to honour the Four Agreements".

1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don't take anything personally
3) Don't make assumptions
4) Always do your best

I don't know about you, but if you have been disappointed enough in life and in business, number two will be the toughest area to re-train! ("number two" indeed! LOL). Particularly for creative people as we tend to pour every cell of our person into what we do each day.

Creation, Creation, Creation
The word EMERGENCE came to me in the last few hours of 2010 and immediately inspired images of a woman completely submerged in dark blue water swimming upward, toward the light. It was at once peaceful and exciting; quiet but with the buzzing anticipation of the surface-breaking splash and the raucous sounds of life above, in the sunshine.

For many years I wished that I could be different and felt quite guilty about my twin urges: to create art and to write. Society and even close family and friends are not always appreciative or understanding of artistic souls! The artist's vocation can be seen as low in value and frivolous/flaky.

In recent years, through the support of three dear girlfriends (Wendy, Gail and Carol - all wonderfully creative women!), I have come to appreciate that this is simply "who I am", and that the world needs people like me too - just like the world needs doctors, accountants, mechanics etc... (Thank you, my girlfriends, for loving me as I am and encouraging me simply to be and to enjoy my state of being!).

Vrooooooom!
So, needless to say, I am really revved up for a year of productivity relating to my art. Whatever inspires you, I hope you will trust in the path and follow it with great joy and an open spirit. We aren't meant to fight life all the time; life is truly for the living. To be continued :)

Finding Focus

My holidays were a little on the fuzzy side this year - not so much "warm and fuzzy", but just fuzzy! Caught this bad upper respiratory virus that was making its rounds -- can't imagine what this would do to a less robust member of the species, as I rarely get even a common cold. The up side of this inconvenience, is that it makes me much more appreciative of my good health -- it really is an amazing gift and while we enjoy good health we should accept no excuses not to thrive and succeed.

Can't or Won't?
So back to work today and really felt good to be focused once more on our clients and projects -- I really accomplished a lot in my first few hours back in the saddle, and it felt just awesome. Now that my days of herbal tea and cold meds are over, I am enjoying complete mental clarity - my mind feels like a race horse! So, entering the new year in a positive frame of mind, I have decided there will be no excuses, no negative mind-sets - only forward motion toward a defined purpose.

Fuel for Success
It also feels amazing to have all of my favorite healthy foods on hand to get me through the busy work week - actually (likely due to my virus) I didn't go overboard with holiday meals this year, but I am missing my regular workouts as our trainers needed some well-deserved R & R too! Looking forward to returning to my regular exercise routine and adding the occasional fourth workout to the mix. Here is my yummy Winter Squash Soup recipe - easy to make and good for the bod - enjoy xo!

Winter Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium to large butternut squash*
(*acorn squash or pumpkin can also be used – use about 3 lbs. of squash)
3 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
2 large leeks – white part only, finely chopped
4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1½ tsp. sea salt
Fresh parsley, chopped
Croutons, to taste
Toasted pumpkin or squash seeds

METHOD:
Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Wash and dry the seeds and toss with 1½ tsp. of olive oil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; place seeds on foil covered sheet and toast seeds on upper rack until lightly browned. Remove and set aside to cool.

Place squash halves on baking sheet and bake for approximately one hour until the flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Allow squash to cool and them scoop all pulp out of the rinds. Melt butter (or heat oil) in a large soup pot. Add in the leeks and ginger, cooking until tender – about 5 -10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Stir in the squash along with the broth, cooking an additional 20 minutes. Use a potato masher to stir the soup occasionally and to break up any bigger chunks of the squash. Remove the soup and puree or use an immersion blender. Return soup to pot to heat through and serve garnished with parsley, croutons and toasted seeds.

Makes 6-8 servings.

NOTE: for a change, try throwing in a little leftover chicken breast and a spoonful of salsa or chopped tomato

Green! Green! Green!

Apparently green is the new black... January is the traditional time for reflection, renewal of purpose and tied in with that are all of the resolutions for improved health and fitness. It's all good!

Buzzword = KALE!

Wondering if any of you have tried Kale Chips? A bit of buzz among my fitness connections on this one... will have to try it out. I am thinking it may go the way of yams and yam fries in my house -- can't fill the void now that my kids have developed the taste for the healthy, oven baked french fry replacement - hard to squirrel away a few to take for lunch the next day; actually impossible :) Anyway, I love kale and I am thinking this could be a nice, quick and healthy side to a meal of baked pickerel (walleye) mmmmm...

I first got into kale one winter when I began to have problems with nose bleeds. I suspected they were are result of the dry, cold winter (it was December) but I had never had nose bleeds before, and they kept on starting up (a tad inconvenient at work, and a bit scary for me personally), and so I went to see my doctor as a precaution. She advised me to increase my intake of dark leafy greens to get more Vitamin K - an important nutrient for blood clotting. A week or so of adding spinach and kale to my daily diet and voila, no nose bleeds since (over three years).

So that was my introduction to kale. I would stir fry it in a small amount of olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper and splash with a bit of wine vinegar for variety. I also incorporated chopped kale in place of beet greens in my borscht (the beet greens were not nice in the store at that time of year). For those of you unfamiliar with kale, it is slightly rubbery in texture as compared to spinach greens, and the taste is very mild; slightly cabbage-y.

While comparing kale chip recipes online, I also found a great, free nutritional analysis site where you can look at different foods. What I like about this site is that it functions quickly and also provides values for the raw food, versus cooked variations. ((http://www.nutritiondata.self.com/)) Check it out!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
6-8 ounce bunch of fresh kale
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp. apple cider or red wine vinegar

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash kale and separate leaves into 2-1/2" morsels ("chip" sized!). Dry kale thoroughly on paper towels or in a salad spinner. Place kale in a large Ziploc bag, add in the oil and gently toss and massage the kale pieces through the bag to evenly distribute the oil. Place the leaves in a baking dish and distribute so that all leaves are exposed evenly. Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on desired crispness.

Sprinkle baked chips with salt (and pepper, if desired) and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Hope you will try and enjoy xo!

Get Your Motor Runnin'

Whew! Made it through another holiday season. Still not 100% healthy, having been knocked to the floor boards by one nasty virus December 23 -- and here I was, so damn proud of being cold and flu free for several years.... well, that old "pride cometh before a fall..." saying definitely applies here ;)

Time to Be - Time for Me?
A couple of sleeps and I'll be back to the rat race - wonder if I will be able to handle the pace??? (excuse the bad rhymes, btw, completely unintended and likely a by-product of my never-ending virus LOL!).

Just mulling over what to do today -- my guitar has been dormant in the corner for a while - still would really like to be able to strum a few tunes by the campfire or at folk fest (I know - dorks r us!). I am also itching to start a new canvas, but not sure of the inspiration -- something abstract or photo-realism or... Also, I do have paint (wall paint!) touch ups to complete in my little dude's bedroom and the chalk paint door panel to start/complete. And... I would like to just get outside and walk or skate -- if only it wasn't freeze-in-your-tracks-deathly-cold!!! Yes, viral girl is officially cooped up :(

Fuelling Creativity and Happiness
I have been reading a bit on health and nutrition - trying to get myself in a good head space for a successful "first quarter" and beyond! Was reading a bit from Dr. Oz -- specifically his green drinks. I am thinking this would be a good way to gulp down my mid-morning veg: spinach, celery, ginger etc... we'll see, I like all of the ingredients. Here is the recipe for you to try - hope it is a nice boost to your first week of the New Year. Just think of the odd looks you'll get from co-workers as you slurp the thick, dark green goo... fun stuff indeed xo!

Dr. Oz's Green Juice

Makes 3-4 servings - Ingredients:
2 cups fresh spinach
1 head of chopped celery
1/2" slice of fresh ginger root
1 bunch parsley
2 apples, cored and coarsely chopped
Juice of one lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:
Blend 30 seconds, or until smooth. Enjoy -easy to half this recipe.