Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
With no power, we had a very different type of Halloween. No trick or treaters, conventional style. No one left their homes due to downed live power lines. Our trick or treat was purely at mother nature’s behest. A freak snow storm. Cold darkness with orange candlelight and convivial togetherness huddled around a continually stoked … Read more
Yesterday we got 10-16 inches of snow. It was odd to see snow on the trees while they still had leaves. Today, many branches are down due to the weight of all the snow that was captured by those leaves. We are without power for the indefinite future… When just the first two inches were … Read more
In recent weeks I’ve been pondering the list below, posted by my brother-in-law on Facebook. I regularly do pretty well on about half of them, and at least one of them is a huge struggle for me. Do you want to join me in earnestly trying to do all ten daily?
Looking for Your Face From the beginning of my life I have been looking for your face but today I have seen it Today I have seen the charm, the beauty, the unfathomable grace of the face that I was looking for Today I have found you and those who laughed and scorned me yesterday … Read more
Overtly exploring the connection between art and spirituality, these two non-objective works were literally meditations. Aurora Borealis (oil pastel) by Polly Castor
Feasting off a friend’s bumper crop of tomatillos, we thought this soup was particularly delicious. Give it a try… Tomatillo Soup recipe 3 tilapia loins (or could use chicken) 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound chopped tomatillos 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced 4 cups stock 1/4 … Read more
Yesterday, on a rare lazy Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves browsing in this consignment shop. Photos here were taken with my iPhone; I did not expect to wish I had my camera! My youngest daughter has been setting up still life arrangements to draw recently, and this shop was rife with them already assembled everywhere … Read more
This movie is about a father walking a pilgrimage through Spain on the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James, to honor his son who was killed in the Pyrenees during a storm on the first day out while walking it. In the process, this dad comes to both understand and … Read more
Here is some fodder for abstract paintings… Cut one in half and it is a completely different experience of pattern and shape. Inspiration and beauty are every where!
I really enjoyed this thoroughly researched historical fiction which depicted the circumstances surrounding the first Native American’s matriculation through Harvard College in the 1660’s. Told in period language and utilizing the native tongue in many places, as well as Latin, it was particularly good to listen to on CD. I would recommend this engrossing read, … Read more
Often we think of heaven as an arrival, either here or hereafter, but wisdom eventually teaches us that actually it is more about the journey than the destination. Today when praying, I considered the possibility that heaven was that marvelous long sought after moment when our ultimate potential has been fulfilled. What then, though, I … Read more
Mug and teacup making is not an exact science. There are aspects of each of these that I like as well as things I do not like about each of them. One of these days, will I be able to make one I like everything about? The big polka dot one is a good size … Read more
“Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something much better: that we can become oak trees.” E.F. Schumacher Sept/Oct Quest Magazine … Read more
This I just painted of a stunningly memorable afternoon in Kent with my friend Jill. We do not have colors like these this year…
I took a friend’s recommendation that every husband and father should see this movie, and went to see it with James. I am glad I did. I would give this movie five stars, not for its B rated cinematography, but for bringing home a strong message of the importance of fathers having good relationships with … Read more
