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!

... the best husband in the world, at least according to some.

Can someone please let me know what it means, "I have the best husband in the world"... because a husband put in new tiling, or supported a spouse during their degree work?

If you have the best husband in the world, period, that means every other married straight woman or married gay man has got the next best or next etc. And that kind of stinks doesn't it? To spend your life struggling and loving, tolerating and celebrating just to find out in the end that someone else got a better husband.

And if you have the best husband in the world, for YOU. Then that is sort of a mute point right? Like, of course. He is the One You chose. And that is cool and all but no need to mention it. Right?

How about,
I feel so lucky to be married to my husband! I am so happy he...
or
My husband really puts me over the edge at times but today he ...

You see for some of us, (me for example) our husbands are a trying lot. We love them every day but they are different than the husbands that hold your hand, or send you love notes or remember your birthday. They are still loveable and they still deserve merit.

Who else in the world is going to ask you to step up to the plate and make an effort even if your team is down. Even if your team has been down for years, and everyone knows it. The fact that you got up and stepped up is a mighty inspiring thing and your husband has been the one to give you this opportunity.

How about "My husband has a job that is eating him alive but he won't quit because he believes he is providing for his family in the best way he can."

How about "My husband is depressed and doesn't talk to me but I know that it isn't my fault and that going through hard times like these is not uncommon. I also know in time things will look differently. I am thankful that my husband trusts me enough to stay despite how he feels."

I guess how I would put it is,

I may not have the best husband in the world, but he is my husband. And I don't need you to appreciate this.

Beeswax windows.

Ok Go, White Knuckles.
Made me miss all my dog friends at home and all my dog loving friends and all my musician friends but ultimately made me happy
that they exist.
This video=joy.

http://www.okgo.net/dogs

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual discipline which is a consolidation of the highest physical and meditative techniques found in the teachings of Raja yoga, Shakti yoga, Bhakti yoga, tantra, Kriya yoga, Laya-yoga, Nada yoga and the pillars and Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. Kundalini yoga is called the yoga of awareness because it directly affects ones consciousness, develops intuition, increases self knowledge, and unleashes the unlimited creative potential that exists within every human being.

There are for me some interesting coincidences regarding Kundalini yoga.
First, I have been trying for a long time to address my broken tailbone issue and sense that I have a foundation chakra blockage-

According to yogic philosophy, the kundalini is a spiritual energy or life force located at the base of the spine. It is conceptualized as a coiled up serpent (literally, 'kundalini' in Sanskrit is 'that which is coiled.' Sanskrit kund, "to burn"; kunda, "to coil or to spiral").

The yoga that I have been practicing for years now is a form of Kriya yoga and involves a lot of breathing and of course meditation.

There is a woman from Germany who has been living here in Singapore for 10+ years who is a teacher and practitioner of Kundalini, and she is amazing! We have been taking classes from her for over 6 months now and I can't say enough about her class.
So absolutely effective, challenging and bridge building. Meditating after her class is a breeze! And if you know what I am saying, that ain't no meager praise!

I have a student I think is "fantasy poor", which means she can't really picture things. From my experience with her and her ability to remember math facts but inability to imagine how a geometric form might change or to draw a figure from imagination. The goal here is to help her remember. To work on memory.

This form here, (in the picture) I made up with her in mind. It is sort of an angel of form. To help her to remember pictures and images. I know it is hard for her. This form drawing came to me very sweetly and gently. And when I draw it, I feel a deep peace.

Attention! This is a post about the fictional lives of Movie personalities.
Please do not be alarmed.
If you tuned in to hear about more "serious" things than a middle aged expat's rantings regarding her mojo please disregard this silly piece!

The Phenomena of Actors (My husband and Colin Firth)

I don't really watch the current western cinema but that doesn't mean I don't have some sense of it. And I can't help but have an opinion about famous male actors. I am human after all.

I want to talk about the phenomena of attraction. And specifically about two actors, one American and one British. Namely, George Clooney and Colin Firth. Now, you may notice that I am not talking about Brad Pitt, or etc. Because I don't like to talk about people I haven't thought about, or people who just haven't weighed in yet (Javier Bardem ...) ok. Just let me make my point.

Now, I understand many women I respect have a powerful urge to petition George Clooney for at least a meeting. To see him. And honor him. And I understand this, to a degree, because he is, like Jimmy Stewart, the very essence of integrity and uprightness. And I too agree this should be honored. He has got a lovely mind, a gracious and kind manner. And once you see "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" you realize it is the voice too. Please let us not forget that he has a sense of humor, I mean once you have seen"Brother Where Art thou" or "Burn after reading" you know he doesn't take himself too seriously. And this too is an attractive trait. Take into consideration also,"Michael Clayton" and certainly "Good Night and Good Luck". Not that I was ever smitten or whatever you call it with George Clooney. I was more respectful of him. I don't know. I guess I am still trying to understand what it is that keeps Mr. Clooney so desirable. So marketable. Hmmmm.

Ok so I am still thinking through this. Right. So. As you know I don't (can't) watch movies out here in the Land of Culture Kill (Singapore) so I can say in all seriousness that I first rented the tv version of "Pride and Prejudice" And "Brigit Jones'Diary" rather recently. So the whole British phenomena of the C.F. thing never reached me, as I am generally immune to the movements of the masses. But I had seen at the movies, "The Advocate" (and loved it), "Valmont" ( I had previously read the original "Les Liasons dangereuse", and felt Colin Firth was a much more convincing Valmont then J.M., "Love Actually" "Apartment Zero" and of course "The English Patient" and "The Importance of being Ernest" ok ok I know George Clooney has been in more serious films but the latest, "A Single Man" shows the scope of things Colin Firth. But still begs the original question.

Is it really that ability to look into the camera? And be real? Or embody something that is real? Integrity. Compassion. Tenderness. Humanity. Possibly.

(Lately, the actor Jeremy Renner has been able to scoop that kind of feeling in his performances, "The Hurt Locker")

But I have to say every time I see a picture of Colin Firth, I just feel a "Oh look at that sweet, lovely man!" I just want to see him protected and happy. I have come to the conclusion that women from New England probably find more in his performances because we go more for the "dark, silent, intense, loyal types" than the flashy, charming, blue-eyed and smooth types. But my dear sisters, I should not speak for you.

Actually, come to think of it. My husband fits into the Colin Firth model!
Cool.

Still hammering away at the Waldorf Singapore website. I had the hardest time trying to changed the background color from black (depressing) to a watercolor painting. It would post just fine but when I would go back to it another day it would be back to black. Still not sure if the community actually likes it but you know people are busy and if they don't work on a project like this they don't know. I should just s.u.



I like to be able to keep to my word. One quote I continue to repeat, (to my H's dismay) is one from the bible, Jesus said, "It is not what man puts into his mouth but what comes out" that is important. This is sort of my personal motto. So, I finally made good with the promise to try to keep our house seasonal regardless of the lack of any discernible season here. Above, Booty and I felted some wool batting in fall colors and hung them from (the remains of) a local branch.



And yes it is Lantern Walk season. Here is my new pentatonic solid lantern. I just need to add a handle. The Kinder lantern walk is being held at the Botanic garden this Friday.



Finally finished my part in the Red Tent project which I wrote about a few months ago, (see labels).

Lots going on with the community. Yoga class started back up again today. I am trying to coordinate a new group of Playgroup facilitators. And H has been traveling out of Singapore every week now so I don't know how long this can go on. But since things change every day, (except my temper) we shall see what the great creator of all things funny and all things funny to others has in mind.

Thank you for posting this Ben.
Oh yeah. My sentiments exactly!

"Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose." Tim Wise

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Every day that rains in Singapore is a good day!
Original music by 50 foot Queenie (that would be me)!

Since Friday I have been a bit obsessive about the new website that Eric helped me put up for the Waldorf school. I can't stop tinkering with it and I don't think I will be able to "let go" for a while.

This upcoming week-end is a bit crazy. I have classes all day on Saturday, a workshop for parents in the late afternoon and I am hosting our Waldorf Steiner information table at the Love and Light Festival all day on Sunday. My part-time schedule has spoiled me a bit so don't think for a moment I am complaining.

I guess what I enjoy about my job is I am able to work with the very young child and the grade school child and their parents. But then also adults from other walks of life. Living in Singapore has really forced me to break out of my comfort zone and into areas I generally don't have a great deal of confidence. But when I look back at the end of the day, I think, How lucky I am!

My mother lives near Gainesville, Florida. She used to live in Gainesville before she and my step dad bought a home in a nearby town. My mother was brought up in Massachusetts and until I was fully grown and out of the house she espoused liberal views and instilled in me a feeling of respect toward all people. This all changed when she moved to Florida in the 80's. Now she comes out east only in summer and we argue about things like how a large latino population has redefined language in the US. She seems to believe that our language is dying because of all the non-english speaking immigrants. I believe it has been transformed by texting and emailing and all things conversation atrophying. "What about Europe?" I said to her one morning in my brother's back yard, "They speak several languages and no one language has suffered from it."

Gainesville, Florida has come under fire lately because of the planned Quran burning.

The Christian minister organizing the Quran burning, Pastor Terry Jones, has said he plans to go ahead in spite of concerns. He is part of the Dove World Outreach Center, a tiny, evangelical Christian church in Gainesville, Florida, with an anti-Islam philosophy.

I want to know what is happening in these retirement states (like Arizona and Florida)? Why are these elderly people so intolerant of other folks? Will the next generation of Arizonians and Floridians be more accepting?

I want to tell them all, in the words of my wise sister Rebecca, "different is not bad mom. It is just different."

Perhaps one of the tests of adulthood is the way in which we cope when we realize life isn't turning out the way we planned. I have, I confess, clearly failed this test of adulthood. However, as I realize it is a test, I am willing to keep my humor bone tuned to the obvious pratfall that my life has become. Rudolf Steiner, philosopher, once suggested that adulthood contains many moments where it seems we have personally placed an object on our own roof that will fall on our own heads!

For me this falling debris takes the form of people. These people continue to "behave" in ways that inspire me to "misbehave".
Some of these humans persist in the notion that I will not explode in fury when they continue to wave around the knife of irresponsibility. Some of them pat me on the back as I weep and then when the tears have duly evaporated begin anew their petition for the walking unconscious.

It is all a bit too much for a firebrand like myself. And living in Singapore doesn't help when all one needs is a break from the smithy's furnace.