Civets of Siglap




Thank to Karin, our observant neighbor, we caught a glimpse of a Civet, local to our neighborhood of Siglap! These cuties are breeding successfully and live wild in our hood.
For more click here.

Thanks Karin!

There it sits.
Pulling everyone in
the moment they walk through the door.

Bali,

Your art studios, eclectic restaurants, and crumbling temple-palaces
reminded me of my forgotten funky self

this time around,
driving down your roads,
rice fresh from green multi-leveled fields
drying on sheets on the tarmac

you changed me
and I will not be boxed again.

Plus 15 makes ME!
A list inspired by Ben Lloyd's note.

If I was a musician I would want to make music like: Gillian Welch
If I was a playwrite I would want to be as universal as: Shakespeare
If I was a composer I would want to compose music like: Carl Orff
If I had a successful blog I would want it to be as lovely as: Kerryanne O’Reilly’s
If I was an architect I would want to build like: Gaudi
If I was a philosopher I would want to think like:Goethe
If I was a poet I would want to write like: Mary Oliver
If I was a painter I would want to paint like: Pablo Picasso
If I was a film director I would want to direct like: Kurosawa
If I was a celebrated chef I would cook like: My mum
If I was an animator I would animate like: Miyazaki
If I was a master teacher I would teach like: Wendy Margot
If I was a quilter I would like to quilt like Susan McKey
If I was a novelist I would want to write like David Foster Wallace
If I could be me, without any real or imagined obstacles I would live, like a true artist in the present moment.
Here and Now.

Washing Ardila the elephant!


We returned from Bali late last night.
I will admit at first I was not very excited to be staying at the Elephant Safari Park Lodge. The elephants were chained as they ate and their schedule required that they pick us up for dinner and conduct two safaris each day. I asked myself, "What are they doing for the elephants in exchange?"

The more time we spent with the elephants the more we grew to love being around them and envy their life as healthy retirees. Happy facts:

Each elephant has their own trainer that stays with them for life.
Each elephant is bathed by trainers and guests every day.
Each elephant is given ample opportunity to socialize, go swimming (which they love)and learn new things.
Every elephant gets one day off a week to hang out and EAT.
The elephants are treated with love, acceptance and constant care.

The resort was always spotless and beautifully maintained. Our lodge was simply but elegantly decorated and overlooked the elephant's feeding area. Every morning Tia waved to us from her spot. She had the cutest habit of tucking her trunk under after she waved. And altho' it probably meant she was hungry and asking politely for food, the way she did it was extremely charming and her expression so sweet.

By the end of three days Booty was scrubbing and caressing the biggest of the lot without hesitation. And marveling at the amount of poop these biggies produce.



The biggest laugh came from the youngest elephant, Guntham, a baby really. He was such a RASCAL! He would innocently reach out to anyone passing by and either grab their hand and pull them powerfully toward him or slap them forcefully. I figured out his game by the end of our stay and managed to "wrastle" with him playfully without getting taken down. The babies are not changed up because they tend to stay close to the moms but whenever Guntham was out in the training area we always got a good chuckle because he would grab things and cause a small amount of mischief.

One day we took a cab into Ubud, an artist community known world wide for its painters. I was set on acquiring my first real painting. I really wanted to buy a Kerry Pendergrast painting at Pranoto's but when we got their Booty was really jealous of my attention to Pranoto, (a very warm and welcoming man who was jamming with his 20 year old son in his studio when we arrived) and his wife Kerry. But it was hard to pick out a painting with the Booty clinging and running around the studio. Later I went to a gallery called Seniwati Gallery of Art by Women and found an incredible painting of two Balinese women that reminded me of a lesser known Picasso I studied at Bard College when I was 18. We picked it up the next day on our way to the airport.

The artist's name is Cokorde Istri Mas Astiti. She was born in Bali in 1948 into an aristocratic family that allowed her to study art at Udayana U in Denpasar, the capital of Bali. She has 5 children and is a woman of Balinese society. She likes to paint pregnant women and women from other cultures(tourists). Below is an example of her work(not the one I bought).



To see the painting I bought click on the Jakarta Post article about the dearth of support for women artists in Bali. That is MINE!

While I am not the most cynical American, this really puts the icing on the cake. I am a bit stunned that this could come to pass really.

Another patternless dress.
This fabric is more Indian Khadi but in Ethiopian colors.

No pattern. I have no discipline. But still wearable. Just.

Teff Peanut Butter Cookies are extremely crumbly but very tasty! Bob's carries a wide variety of flours, Teff being one of them.

"Teff is an intriguing grain, ancient, minute in size, and packed with nutrition. Teff is believed to have originated in Ethiopia between 4000 and 1000 BC. Teff seeds were discovered in a pyramid thought to date back to 3359 BC."
Whole Grains: Teff (Eragrostis) by Karen Railey

From Chet Day's Health and Beyond website

Teff is used in Ethiopia to make Injera, a pancake/crepe that sits underneath all the side dishes on a big giant plate to be shared (with hands) by everyone.



Today I am going to make Teff pie crust topped with raw date nut sesame mixture and covered in chocolate (with a dab of whipped cream).

Since I like doing everything the hard way yesterday I decided to re-tissue Booty's windows (as the sun is so bright in her room) without testing the paint I used on the white tissue paper. When it was dried the white paint looked like mud after I held it up to the light. I had to redo all of the panels.

Materials:
White trace paper and colored tissue paper with white acrylic paint mixed with water.
The Dr.Ph.Martin's brand looked muddy so then I used another brand and tested it first.
Method:
Tearing pieces and overlapping them with bleeding and/or non-bleeding tissue paper (depends on the effect you want)using watery white acrylic paint and then more white trace over the top to give a misty look (or not if you want it more stained glass looking).
I hung a wool batting angel over the side because that is where Booty sleeps.

In two other windows I made obscure castle shapes or whatever you make of them.

Some people just don't know how to express themselves.
Some people just don't know how to keep their skin on.
That would be me.

I have been paralyzed by my inability to keep my big mouth shut.
So I have designed a life whereby I can work and socialize but I don't leave the house. You see, when I do leave the house to go for a bike ride invariably my mouth opens and things pop out like, "Get off your cell phone or get off the bike path!!!" I also say kind things occasionally especially to families with children, elderly people, or dogs.

My H has the opposite issue. He wouldn't make a peep even if someone was nailing his thumbs together. So I made him his own personalized emoticons on those days he may want to share his feelings.
Indirectly.

Jack and the Beanstock was surely inspired by a Gourd vine.
We just planted some more gourd seeds and await a rapid growing plant. MB planted one 2 months ago and it has already produced a one foot long gourd and a 8 foot long vine. This is the most amazing plant I have seen!