START GIVING.....

If you feel moved to help him help others... this is how.

Mr. Narayanan Krishnan

Akshaya's Helping in H.E.L.P. Trust

9, West 1st Main Street,

......Doak Nagar Extension,

Madurai 625 010. India

Ph: +91(0)452 4353439/2587104

Cell:+91 98433 19933

E mail : ramdost@sancharnet.in

We need to open our eyes and look at all the ones around us who are hungry too...not just in other countries....there are many in need....even in our own communities...maybe even our own families

Roots of She: LOVING YOUR BODY

Jamie over at "ROOTS OF SHE" had a very good post about changes our bodies undergo over time...and her final thought provoking question was:

How has your relationship with your body changed over time? What has been important along the way?

WOW did her post open up the flood gates in my brain. I have been dealing with these same issues now for a while myself...and it has definitely made me step back and think about a lot of things.

Like Jamie started out...

I think I am still in the semi-pissed off stage, disbelief...something. I have never had issues with my body, even when I have gained weight in the past I would still be able to function and do anything I wanted. I could always rely on being able to do everything.

I have recently had a few health issues come up with my body I am being forced to deal with....one of them being issues with my knee and the simple act of walking and being able to get around well enough to do simple activities of daily living. I am still young and never honestly felt I would ever have any problems with anything like this. I have always been there for me...to do everything I needed done and for those around me...like my son. I was told I needed a knee replacement already...but I am too young..as I would outlive the knee replacement and have to have the surgery twice or even 3 times..and each time they are less successful. There are days I cannot even walk from my office to my kitchen (I work at home). I hobble around worse than my grandmother who is 88 years old. I wonder how I will be able to mow my yard this summer in this house I finally decided to commit to buying under land contract last April. How will I be able to physically do many of the things I will need to do? Things I have always done...but now can't. I can't even climb on a chair to change a lightbulb. I do not at this time have oodles of spare money to pay someone else to do many of these things for me...and I cannot imagine going back to apartment life.

I have issues too with weight that has been ongoing and OFF-going now for years. WHY I just do not get the excess off and keep it off is something I still work on. It ticks me off that I started out with my first job as an exercise instructor and always took care of my body and was in good shape and now I just don't give a crap. I mean I do..but I apparently really don't if I cannot manage to get my weight issues under control. Bending over is near impossible now because of my enlarging abdomen....I look like I am pregnant but I am not. Tying shoes is like holding a basketball in my lap and trying to work around that. NO fun...this alone ..these things alone...should make me want to change and while I DO want to change it all seems like such a big effort. It was not an effort before...or I had made it routine. Not sure. NOW everything is an effort. Not being able to move my body to walk let alone exercise is not helping. I have to plan simple outings on good days and now I never even know for sure if I will have a good day. Things I would like to do with my son already I wonder if I will be able to. This disturbs me..and yet I remain the same. I am not really even making little changes anymore. I have become a slug at best. I seem to be allowing myself to deteriorate. I have to ask myself why.

I have issues too with another problem regarding some glands....and different things in my body being out of whack....possible tumor...a rare disorder....and it gives me many symptoms too that I all along just thought was due to my being overweight or out of shape or my bad attitude.

Stress I know can take a toll and it is now more than ever with my body. I try to adapt and just breathe and go with the flow...just float.....but lately I feel more like I am drowning and no longer even floating.

I also go off on these incredibly long verbal/written tangents such as this...no explanations why. Maybe because I get out so little and have so little outside interaction with others....

Of course this can all easily lead to depression. So I struggle with that..and truly TRY to keep looking up....and knowing that somehow it will all work out. BUT my belief is being jostled a lot...and sometimes I don't think I really believe anymore. In a lot of things. This just makes me mad and sad that I cannot believe in certain things anymore or certain people anymore.

sigh......so my life is changing...always changing as is yours and everyone else who has managed to stick with this long tirade of words to actually finish reading it.

I focus on now...but also am anxious about my future...and know if I want to be able to MOVE and DO things in the future I have to make some serious changes NOW. I fight it I guess. I am the spoiled child stamping her feet...NO I DON'T WANT TO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! but I know I have to...maybe I can change that word "HAVE" to another word....

I look at my 88-year-old grandmother and how all of a sudden now she cannot easily crochet...something she confided in me last night was the reason she kept living all these years....(she crochets things to donate for babies in hospitals and cancer patients)...that gave her something to do. ..but now her hands are really troubling her from neuropathy and her hands can no longer work for hours anymore to crochet. Her feet and legs have also developed the neuropathy in them..so she loses balance and falls. She has been so young and spry all these years and now at 88 she too is facing change where her body just won't do for her anymore what it always has. ALWAYS HAS....

Am I lazy? Too apathetic? Too tired? All the above? Something else?

I do not have a answer. If I did I guess I could easily become rich by selling it online as a $97.00 course....cause everyone is looking for THE answer..but THE answer will be different for each of us I think.

Hope we can all enjoy the journey. I am thankful at least..even if I struggle to move around..that I am still HERE to be able to make the journey!

To read more comments and stories check out ROOTS OF SHE here or press the button on my side bar. You will be glad you did!

ROOTS OF SHE

mini pumpkin muffins....so YUMMY!

I decided to try a new recipe....this is what I will be having for breakfast in the morning. They are soooo delicious and will be even better with fresh brewed coffee! I will post the recipe if anyone would like it..

today was a perfect day for roast chicken....

and boy does my house smell good now!

January 2011 - Full Moon Dreamboard - The Full Wolf Moon

January-Full Wolf Moon Dreamboard by postthelove on Polyvore.com

I think somewhere along the way I forgot these were DREAM boards and instead have been using them as a VENT board or HEALING board or transformation board...something. Lately I have not believed too much in dreams for myself and in fact have almost seemed to have lost touch completely in that regard. This in turn has made me a bit bitchy? A bit grumpy? A bit growlier? I mean I am nice enough to those around me and all that...but inside my head is burning ...my heart is about to explode...and I want to show my teeth and take back all I want for me and my son...before time runs out. Yes..there almost always seems to be a CLOCK in my dreamboards somewhere....so I guess this reflects all these pent up feelings I am experiencing now....hard to see the magic at the moment though I know it is still there...and maybe that is why I chose the cute little magical dolls and figures at the top left of the board. No clue yet..more to think about and ponder. And let's not forget...fire...we can be refined by fire....so...anyway...that is all I have to say this time round.

woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise!

Hallmark movie " Pictures of Hollis Woods"

Local artists teach Sissy Spacek to carve for her latest role.

I SAW THIS MOVIE SUNDAY AND LOVED IT...NOW I WILL HAVE TO CHECK THE BOOK OUT AT THE LIBRARY. I LOVED THE CARVED DOLLS MADE IN THE MOVIE...THE ONE HERE LOOKED JUST LIKE THE GIRL IN THE MOVIE. IT WAS CARVED OUT OF A SMALL SECTION OF A LOG. I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO DO THAT...TO TRY THAT AND END UP WITH BEAUTIFUL CREATURES LIKE THESE DOLLS...

When Hollywood execs descended on the Canadian city of Victoria, BC, they were pleasantly surprised to learn that local artists could provide the support needed to bring their latest film to life.

The finished likeness of Hollis created by Michael Léger.In the made-for-television movie Pictures of Hollis Woods, Sissy Spacek portrays a retired art teacher with a passion for woodcarving. Although Spacek had virtually no prior experience in woodcarving, she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty preparing for the new role.

Pictures of Hollis Woods is based on the Newberry Honor book of the same title by Patricia Reilly Giff. Jodelle Ferland plays the role of Hollis, a young girl who has spent most of her life moving from one foster home to the next. Spacek’s character, Josie Cahill, bonds with Hollis and together they explore Hollis’ artistic talents.

Michael Lèger created working props for the carvings used on the set of Pictures of Hollis Woods.Throughout the movie, Spacek’s character works on several different sculptures, including a likeness of Hollis carved from Garry oak. The in-process scenes required several stages of carvings to be used as props. The movie also required Spacek to know some basic carving techniques for the scenes to be realistic. Luckily for the producers, carvers Michael Léger and Norma Lofthouse were there to lend their expertise. Michael Léger, a film prop sculptor whose work has appeared in X-Men 3 and the Chronicles of Riddick, discovered that producers were planning to shoot the movie in Victoria. As executives arrived to set up their office, Léger stopped in with his portfolio, introduced himself, and told them that he carves wood as a hobby.

“I talked to them, and showed them my portfolio,” Léger said. “They told me that I was a perfect fit!”

Léger created two sculptures used in the movie; a sculpture of Ferland’s character, Hollis, and a similar sculpture of another character, cousin Beatrice. The process of the Hollis sculpture began with concept sketches, then Léger created a 3D model from clay. The script called for the sculpture to be created from Garry oak, a protected species on Vancouver Island. The Oak Bay Parks Department gave Léger a piece of Garry oak from a storm-damaged tree.

“The oak was quite hard,” Léger said, “but at the same time, it takes small details well.”

Despite the hardness of the oak, Léger carved the pieces using hand tools. “This is the first movie that I had the opportunity to carve wood for,” Léger admitted. “Most other movie props are carved from Styrofoam.”

Filming for the movie is not necessarily done in a linear fashion, and the script called for progressive views of the carving, which had to match perfectly. To account for this, Léger made resin casts of the carving at various stages of completion. Oak was grafted onto the casts so Spacek could carve the sculpture on film. The movie’s paint department added a faux finish to make the casts match the original oak branch.


Norma Lofthouse provided specialized instruction to make Sissy Spacek’s carving appear authentic.

Léger demonstrated mallet and chisel carving techniques for Spacek, but the script called for her to spend more time whittling. With Léger’s limited experience in that style of carving, he called on local artist Norma Lofthouse for assistance. The two carvers met while demonstrating at a woodworking event and bonded while sharing adjoining booths. Lofthouse, who considers herself a “whittler,” specializes in caricatures and rustic carving. Léger recommended Lofthouse as a whittling tutor.

Lofthouse, a retiree who spends her time whittling and teaching beginners how to carve, relished the chance to share her skills with an Academy Award-winning actress.

“They checked me out beforehand,” Lofthouse said. “I got a call from the studio, and they asked to come and talk to me. We are working with sharp knives, so they wanted to make sure everything would be safe. They rented some of my tools to have them checked out.”

Lofthouse taught Spacek the basics of carving: how to carve safely with a glove, the basics of sharpening, and the basic cuts (paring, pushing, and stop cuts).

“Sissy was a quick study—a natural,” Lofthouse said. “She’s such a warm and gracious person. She was fascinated by the sound of the knife cutting through the wood. The tactile nature of wood really caught her attention. She told me she would like to continue carving.”


Lofthouse met with Spacek at a studio workshop in downtown Victoria where artists make props and sets. While Spacek didn’t ask a lot of questions, Lofthouse noted that she seemed to absorb everything she taught her. The producers of the film also commissioned Lofthouse to carve a primitive bird in different stages of completion. During filming, Spacek worked on the bird to add to the authentic artistic atmosphere of the movie. “They hired me to teach Sissy to carve,” Lofthouse said. “It was important for me to be as professional as possible. I didn’t even ask her for an autograph.” Lofthouse took home many happy memories from the experience and Spacek took home several carvings as gifts from other local carvers.

Sissy Spacek fills the lead role in Pictures of Hollis Woods, but woodcarving plays an important part in the movie. In the Hallmark film which airs at 9pm EST Dec. 2, 2007 on CBS, Spacek’s character uses art and carving to connect with a troubled youth and to forge a bond that transcends generations.

gorgeous sunset January 16, 2011....

I was walking into my laundry room to do some laundry when I happened to notice some orange glow coming in my back window. When I looked out I saw this most gorgeous sunset...so I snapped a few shots. Isn't it beautiful??

made a delicious homemade quiche tonight.....

and it was sooo good. My uncle Sonny stopped by for a bit so I invited him for supper. He loves chocolate so I also stirred up a batch of homemade Baker's One bowl brownies with fudge icing. Fresh coffee....quiche....brownies...snow outside.....cozy inside....it was a good night!

my 2010 full moon dreamboards....

I made a new slideshow of my dreamboards as my first one did not really show my boards too well. This one allowed larger photos....

Another photo album by Smilebox

Illusions...to dust...to vapor...

I spent years envisioning you
an imaginary you
until this past year
when I realized
once again I have been fooled
purposefully conned
diligently deceived

I never knew you at all
you were only what I thought you were
or thought you could be
hoped you might be
but never were
never could be

you were a mere illusion
a dream
purporting to be so big
so voluminous
so perfect

but in reality
so little
so minute
so flawed

so deficient

your vanity encompassed you
smothered you
instead of adding to your power and morality
your enormity
your strength
it paralyzed you
reducing you to a molehill

in my mind's eye you have become decrepit
incapacitated
passive
prostrate
impotent

you are so small
I can no longer see you
or any portion of you
not your imaginary eyes
or your imaginary heart
I no longer hear your imaginary words
or feel your imaginary longings

my incredulity has turned me into a crag
my skepticism into a scoffer
my cynicism into sarcasm

I am slightly Siberian
a bit frosty
almost apathetic
barely breathing
appropriately anesthetized

I complete the motions of my days and nights
I move forward not looking back
my brain rousing from its slumber
engorged with enlightenment
like a water balloon about to bust

meanwhile your brain
and everything you thought you were
lies shriveled at my feet
the size of a grain of sand
mere dust that I easily blow away

Copyright ©2011 man and Sipping The Vast Spring

Oreo balls....not just for Christmas....

I can see these decorated for Valentine's day, Easter, or even July 4th and Halloween...these look pretty simple to make too! AND I think I would prefer calling them OREO TRUFFLES!

ENjoy!

Ingredients
1-18oz. pkg oreo cookies (regular size, 3 rows of cookies)
1-8oz. pkg cream cheese-block
4 oz white chocolate almond bark


Directions
1Add oreos to food processor and blend until fine. 2Add cream cheese to oreo crumbs and blend until dough-like. 3Chill mixture for 15 minutes then roll into bite-size balls. Chill balls for 15 minutes. 4Melt almond bark in microwave according to package directions. Dip chilled oreo balls in melted chocolate using fork so chocolate can "drip off". Set covered cookie balls onto waxed paper and let set aprox. 30 minutes. If using sprinkles or decorative sugars do so before chocolate sets. I usually do a dozen at a time sprinkling after each dozen.


I imagine you can use milk or dark chocolate instead of almond bark if you like.....I think that would be good too!

Sunrise this morning, January 2, 2011

My cat woke me up to see this beautiful sunrise....

Sunset....January 1, 2011

CLICK ON PHOTOS to see larger version...

We have been having some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets the past couple of days. This sunset was January 1.....have you noticed it is staying daylight a little longer at night?

sunrise on New Year's Eve morning....

This morning I am trying to do something new...getting ready to really honestly sit back and reflect all that has come to pass in the year 2010 in my life. I want to reflect on what has happened, what I did, what I learned, and what I would still like to do or perhaps have done differently. There is always a lot to contemplate this time of year ...and I think that is one reason many get depressed.

But seeing this gorgeous sunrise this morning reminded me of how bright the future can be...our next days...my tomorrows, your tomorrows. We only have to take a brief moment to find a bit of beauty and light already within our immediate environment, each of our small little worlds. I just happened to be walking by my front door and closed window blinds when I noticed an orange hue peeking between the cracks..and when I looked out this was what I saw. Hope of a new, bright day.

So as we head into this new year, I want to remain focused on that. Lightness, beauty, brightness, hope.

I want to wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, safe, prosperous, and blessed new year!

My 2010 Full Moon Dreamboard review....

This photo album created with Smilebox

December 2010 Full Moon Dreamboard - the Full COLD moon....

Things Left Unsaid by postthelove on Polyvore.com

I guess I have been feeling a little of the COLD aspect of the Full COLD Moon this month. A few things have happened this year to really snap me back to reality in regards to people and how many are not whom they try to portray themselves as being. You would think one would learn this and remember it for future use...but...I guess I still believe in giving one the benefit of the doubt....or believe in honesty and integrity....truthfulness...only to find once again I know few around me that understand these qualities and characteristics. SO...I have had my eyes shaken open and now they are WIDE open.....my sense of dreams feels like a bug that has been stomped on...left with broken legs and body to wiggle around on and not get anywhere. Things are weird right now and I have a lot of things that have been left unsaid....for there is really no reason to say them other than to make myself maybe feel better....as it will not change a person....or reality...or even me. It changes nothing but wastes a lot of energy. Maybe I should record it on tape and burn the tape or something...I don't know. Part of me is a little ticked off ...not at the entire world...but a definite select few. I am over it though at the same time....because I realized it is their problem and only mine if I allow it to be and it is so not worth it. Life is too short....life has too many possibilities to allow creepiness and crap to seep in.



So...after spewing out this first December dreamboard....I went back to attempt another...one to maybe help me see my way into the coming new year....



okay...here is my second December moon dreamboard.

December Full Moon Dreamboard part 2 - The Full Cold Moon by postthelove on Polyvore.com

I know I still believe in magic and dreams and that I am the one in charge of creating my own reality. This is a very magical time of year and I absolutely refuse to let anyone destroy that for me. This next year will be a time of growth for me....of making dreams come true and accomplishing goals....of determination and hard work...of changes.....and to be honest...I am tired of waiting around for my life to sort of happen on its own....I gotta make whatever happen happen if I want it to....so look out 2011!

Christmas is coming ...the goose is getting fat....

and wow...I have not eaten meat for a week! I have been craving more veggies ....and enjoying eating them more. It is very odd for me because for years I have been the opposite of a vegetarian...more a carnivore. BUT recently after thinking about animals again and how they are raised and killed and seeing some pretty horrific video feeds....and well...just NOT craving meat as before since I have been taking my prescription strength vitamin D....I have gone meatless.

I have had more energy had less heartburn and generally felt much better since doing so.

NOT sure I will become a 100% veg head.....but.....I now know I do not have to eat meat all the time and I am fine and feel good.

Meanwhile I got our Christmas tree up and decorated...my son's tree up and decorated....now to clean up the house a bit this week...and we are going into the holiday season simple.....slower...and enjoying it more. I am not overdoing the decorations....we are doing more local holiday events...and watching more holiday shows on television and listening to more holiday/seasonal music.

I have been accomplishing more at home...and slowing making huge changes. I am thankful.

My body is a little weird now...and I am still anxious about a few things pertaining to that...but I know longterm all will be okay regardless..one way or another.

How are you coping so far this holiday season??

The Fiction Project » Art House Co-op | We build art projects and communities

The Fiction Project » Art House Co-op | We build art projects and communities

November 2010 Full Moon Dreamboard - The Full Frost Moon

I am not sure what this board means....I just went through and picked some items that appealed to me....I see some magic in there....a few memories from the past....snowflakes..snow...glitter...snowmen....wishes...I have had a really hard time lately with my attitude and trying to hold onto the magic that I usually always have...especially this time of year.....but I think the DISJOINTED snowman is sort of representative of how I have been feeling emotionally lately...though I have not given up on my dreams and the magic of life itself....I do however realize there are a lot of people in the world who are just crap and do crappy things and well..enough said.