Inspired

Week #9 - How I Start My Day

Let The Day Begin!

 

This weeks photo prompt at 52 Photo's Project was to take a picture of my morning routine.  It doesn't seem to matter where I am in the world...this picture perfectly represents how I start my day.  

Thankfully, I'm retired and no longer have to jump out of bed in the morning...it's more of a slow easing into life.  I retreat back to bed with my cup of coffee (or sometimes tea), fire up the computer to find out what's going on with friends and family around the world and enjoy seeing and listening to the world outside my window.  

Here in Mexico, it's almost always sunshine with exotic (to me) bird song...as well as roosters crowing and trucks with gas, water, fruit and vegetables, touting their wares with gusto on loudspeakers....no, it's not all bliss!

I'm now caught up with the photo prompts...Yay!  I'm into the 3rd month and I've only missed one so far.  Things are looking up!

Week 7 & 8

We moved to a new town just over a week ago...San Pancho (San Francisco on the map) in Nyarit, Mx. (north of Puerto Vallarta).  I've just realized that time was slipping away and I missed 3 weeks of photo's on Bella's 52 Photo's Project!

Week 6 was Valentine's week and yes, the prompt was for a heart.  It wasn't for lack of hearts that I didn't take one, it was more a lack of "interesting" hearts.  By the time I realized the week was over, I still hadn't found one.

Week 7's theme was "mint"...and this was the closest thing to mint I could find...a paper fish tucked into the ray of a metal sun wall hanging in our bungalow.  It's painted on two seperate sheets of very thick watercolour paper and then assembled so that it's "3D".

 

 

The prompt for Week 8 was "People Gathering"...

 

Last weekend was the 14th annual San Pancho music festival. There was an amazing amount of talent and we felt fortunate to be here for this event.  Every evening for 3 days as the heat of the day cooled, people from up and down the coast converged on San Pancho's town square and enjoyed music under the stars.

I still have two more prompts to catch up on so I'll be back soon with those.

The universe seems to be sending me a message recently...to put my computer aside and get off the internet!  My beloved MacBook Air has crashed and I'll have to take it home for servicing as it's still on warranty.  I still have my ipad but the aerial on it isn't great and I have a lot of trouble accessing the internet.  Without Photoshop I'm not doing any designing and that's leaving me a little twitchy...which just shows me it's probably a good thing for me to have a few weeks of enforced downtime!  

All Dressed Up - Week #5

 Young Girl in White Dress on Dia de Candelaria, Ajijic, MX

 

Just as I was walking past Ajijic's Paroquia, the doors opened and out spilled the parishoners...but this was no ordinary Sunday service, this was Dia de Candelaria and a special occasion.  The babies were swaddled in flowing white gowns,  the children in beautiful white dresses and even a few boys in white satin suits.  They all gathered together in the town plaza, visiting, under the shade of the trees of the Zocalo.

 

The Paroquia, Ajijic, MX.

It was likely a day for Christenings as well as Dia de Candelaria but It was absolutely the perfect opportunity for me to snap a photo for this weeks photo prompt at 52 Photo's of "All Dressed Up"...even if the light was much too brilliant at mid-day for anything but an over exposed shot.

 

(Dia de Candelaria is a fusion of pre-Hispanic traditions and Catholic beliefs. Celebrated on February 2nd, it falls forty days after Christmas, and is celebrated by Catholics as the "Feast of Purification" or as the "Presentation of Christ at the Temple." According to Jewish law it was customary to bring a baby to the temple after that period of time had passed. So Jesus would have been taken to the temple on February second.

February 2nd also marks the mid-way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. This may be a vestige of an old Pagan Tradition, since Feb. 2 has long been thought to be a marker or predictor of the weather to come. Remember that in the States Feb. 2 is celebrated as Groundhog Day.  Information found here)

 

 

In The Closet

 

This is where I've been hanging out for the past week...yes, in my closet!  My amiga's took me to Ajijic's art supply shops and out I came with a canvas, paints and brushes under my arms.

I wasn't planning on doing anything here that required purchasing art supplies (and just how do I get this home if I decide it's a keeper?  No problem, they told me...just take it off the frame and roll it up!)  

I started off painting swirls and lines and then covered up what I didn't want and followed the lines and shapes that I liked.  It's morphing into something organic with seed pods and leaves and petals and....who knows what's next!  Every time I sit with it, I see something new and the next step reveals itself to me.  It's painting intuitively and allowing each step to inform the next.

It's not surprising then, that this is also how I'm endevouring to live my life these days.  Step-by-step.  Allowing this day...this moment...to inform me of what I want to experience in the next.  Not always easy but I'm working at it!

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying painting in this way...and not having a predetermined outcome.

 

Ajijic is keeping us busy...there's just so much to see and do. It has a very lively art, music and cultural life and there seems to be an endless supply of cafe's and restaurants to explore and enjoy.  If you're not into the arts, there are three golf courses in the area as well as a raquets club and thermal pools.  Add to this, a sunny and moderate climate and it's easy to see why so many expats have chosen to retire here.

I'll be back with a painting update soon...meanwhile I'll leave you with another poster that I created for Veronica Torres/Eloheim.

 

 

Adios amigos!

 

 

 

 

Cooling Down in Ajijic

We left the coast last week and travelled inland to the Lake Chapala area or "lakeside" as it's called locally...just west of Guadalajara.  The temperatures are much more moderate here at this time of year and it's also much drier.  No humidity...zip, nada, none and I'm busy slathering cream all over my skin which went into shock the moment we arrived...but it's a small price to pay to get my own zip back!  I actually have some energy again, not to mention a lot more understanding for those who live in high humidity areas of the world.

 

We're enjoying the views of the sky, the mountains and the lake in the distance from our Mirador (roof-top patio).

 

 

...and it's especially stunning at sunset when we sit here and sip our glass of wine and feel profoundly grateful for this experience.

 

 

We met up with friends who are wintering here and had a busy but fun few days when we arrived...including a night of food, flamenco and song.  What great energy!

I've also been busy working on a new project with Veronica Torres designing graphics for inspirational quotes.  I love the material and I love working with colour and balance in design so in all ways, it's really just a big LOVE project for me.  I feel quite passionate about the Eloheim material...it's practical and down to earth and yet spiritually inspiring too, so it's really a win/win thing for me.

I'll be posting them here from time to time...

 

 

...and I will be back again soon...much love to all,

 

Moon Dreams

Soaring...digital media (she art series)

Did you see the full moon last night?  We ate our dinner beneath the moon and stars while sitting at the ocean's edge and as the poets say, it was like a huge golden medallion shining brightly in the sky.  I've never seen a moon as golden before and I know there's a scientific explanation for it...dust or smoke in the air perhaps?...but I'm content to feel poetic about it's beauty.

iphone cameras are great at what they do, but let me tell you they don't do moon shots well at all!  This piece then, is my offering for the full moon.  I've had a picture of a figure riding on a birds back "flying" through my head for ages now and it needed to take form.

I've also been thinking of how much we limit ourselves and for so many reasons. It's often not even a concious knowing but simply an old habit or belief that's taken root and believed to be truth. Eloheim's class this past week covered this topic with the theme of "lies we tell ourselves".  We were each invited to look at our own "lie" and examine it for what it really is.  Mine came to me quickly as "stay small...it's much safer".

Of course it's always a process...this peeling away of the layers and what may be true in one area of life, isn't true for another. At one time this was a much bigger issue for me than it is now but I suspect for most of us, there's still some truth to it...and if not this "lie", then another.

 

As if to add a check mark to this observation, this came in my mailbox this morning from Patti Digh.  Today's "daily rock" is refine with these words...

 

 

“The process of discovering your fearless self is one of refinement, not adding.”

Steve Maraboli

Leo Tolstoy has said that

“truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.”

A process of refinement.

What non-gold can you wash away today?

(the rock is created by Kim Mailhot, aka The Rock Fairy)

 

If you'd like to sign up for Patti's daily rock of wisdom you can do it here.

It's still very hot here in Barra de Navidad, Mx, but we're keeping our cool by staying out of the mid-day sun (which is quite difficult for us non-early risers!)  I'm redesigning our business website with Wix and loving their plug and play format.  I'm also thinking of redesigning my blog with this site...maybe.

We leave here at the end of the week for the interior of Mexico and cooler temperatures.  The heat and humidity has given us two weeks of enforced rest, which I know we were in need of.

Sending much love, huge hugs and blowing kisses to all who stop by during your busy days.

 

Hace Mucho Calor!

I'm not whining...no, I'm loving it but my body is taking time to adjust.  Going from 0 - 30 C. (32 - 88 F) in a day, takes a little acclimation.

 

 

 art on the Malecon at Barra de Navidad

 

We're in the little town of Barra de Navidad, Mexico, which is just north of Manzanillo on the west coast.  We've been relaxing and doing a lot of nothing since we got here.  Every now and then we look at each other and think we should be out doing something and then we wonder why we feel that way (guilt at not being busy?)...and then we go back to reading or listening to favourite podcasts or playing around with new art apps on the ipod...and that's the end of that!

I'm sure we'll pull ourselves out of this lethargy/inactivity at some point and decide to do some exploring but at the moment the big effort of the day involves a walk to a cafe or beach side restaurant for something cold and thirst quenching.

 

paper 53...just using my finger 

I found this app...paper 53...on the very talented Alicia Burke's website.  It's a digital drawing app and I'm having a lot of fun with it.  It really needs a stylus for finer detail but I did the page above with my fingers.  The basic app is free but adding more colours into the palette and a wider array of tools to work with, are add-ons.  Sketches can be saved in many different "moleskine" journals within the program.  It's not complicated and would be fun for kids too.

 

 using Percolator...I haven't completely figured this one out yet but I like what can be done with it!

The other programs that I've been playing with are several photography apps that were recommended to me by photographer/artist Shane Robinson.  I've spent some time playing around with Percolator, PhotoForge 2, Big Lens, Photo Toaster and Iris Photo Suite.

Percolator takes an image and works circles into into it (as in my image of Molly above)...some abstract fun.  I love what Shane did with this app and would like to work further with it to figure out the blending a bit more

PhotoForge 2 allows limited layering and blending (as with Photoshop),

Big Lens gives an iphone shot the blurred depth of field backgrounds that you normally only get with a DSLR,

Photo Toaster and Iris both have image editing capabilities for iphonography (a step up from Instagram).

Two years ago I stopped lugging my heavy DSLR around with me on trips.  Last year I took my Canon point and shoot and this year all I have is my iphone.  Times change and the new iphone (which I don't have, btw) has the same number of pixels as my old Nikon DSLR!

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that I'm alive and loving the king size bed that I spend much of my day lollygagging around in and when I'm not there then I'm here...

 

 

sheltering from the sun in our roof top palapa

or even here...

 

bakery cafe in Barra de Navidad

enjoying this...

 

the gluten-free oatmeal/cranberry cookie is mine!

 

And maybe...just maybe...when I do come back here, I'll be out of bed by then!

Sending hugs and blowing kisses to all, dear friends,

 

Transformation and Refocusing (on wellness)...end of May check-in

Morning Light

(the book lying on the bed was one I picked up at the community center's recycling/resale shop in San Pancho.  Here's To You Jesusa! is a fascinating read based on the true story of a Mexican woman (Jesusa) who followed both her father and husband into war during the Mexican revolution and then later found herself alone and impoverished in Mexico city where she lived until her death in the 1960's)

 

End of May Wellness update

I realized that while I was numbering off the changes that I’ve made in the last year towards a healthier life, I forgot a major one…

Change #5…Last April I began a daily practice of EFT (emotional freedom technique) or “tapping”.  I’ve gone into detail about this here in a separate page so I’ll just quickly say again…it’s been a lifesaver for a chronic-but-reforming worrier like moi. 

As promised I’m reporting back with the results of my May wellness changes.  It’s been a great month and I'm sure the Mexican sunshine helped!

I continued to do the Milk Thistle cleanse while I was away and one change has been very visible.  I had several lipoma’s…two smallish ones and one that was fairly large.  The smaller one has completely disappeared and the larger one has shrunk considerably since I started taking the milk thistle.  I was scheduled to have one removed surgically, but it’s no longer necessary and I’m confident the larger one will also continue to shrink.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading into why this might have happened and what it might mean for other areas of my health. Although there hasn’t been a lot of research into it yet, (there’s no money for drug companies in herbs so as a result there's little research done), milk thistle cleanses the liver which is essential in the healthy functioning of almost every other system in the body.  It's been used for many years in Europe (specifically Germany) and there's been research done there on Milk Thistle, which confirms the benefits that have been known for centuries.

As for the effects it might be having on blood sugar levels and cholesterol, I’m going to give it another month or two and have those both checked out.

 

Putting Out Roots

I also continued to drink chlorophyll infused water but often found it a challenge to get the 6 glasses in every day.  I didn’t take the chlorophyll to Mexico ((I’m always a bit nervous about taking supplements and liquids both a) in my suitcase and b) through not one, but two borders, as we have to change planes in the US.) but I did continue drinking lots of water and I will say it's much easier to do the six glasses...and more...in a hot climate! 

This one is harder to evaluate but I know that both water and chlorophyll are beneficial so I’m going to continue on with it.

 

A Perfect End To Another Perfect Day

So…one month into it and I’m pleased with the results.  I’ll be back in a few days with my wellness changes for June.  Thank you so much for stopping by!

(all of the above photo's were taken in San Pancho, Mx....I haven't been out much with my camera since I returned home so I dug back into the San Pancho archives!)

 

 

May Mood Board…San Pancho

I’ve been enjoying the “mood boards” that I’ve found around the internet in the last few months so thought I might try one myself!  I’ve been picking up odds and ends on my walks since I’ve been here and today I layed them out together on my bed and took a few pictures.  I just brought my point and shoot with me so they’re not macro detailed but they hold some lovely memories of my wanderings through the streets and on the beaches of both San Pancho and La Penita.

On the left…a small ginger blossom left on my pillow this morning by the maid…a dried leaf picked up from the street, some odd “wingy” looking dried things, purple hibiscus blossoms, an almost dead plant whose lovely tendrils tantalized me (see below), a seed pod from a banyan tree (I think), a pink hibiscus from the neighbourhood, an oyster shell and various feathers.

 

…oh, I fell hard for this tiny and almost dead, branch of dusty tendrils!

 

...and my small collection of bird feathers gathered for the most part, from the beach.  I love the bottom part of feathers where they loose their smooth symmetry and fluff themselves out a bit wildly.

I haven’t had much access to the internet here, so it’s been ages since Ive been able to visit and check in with everyone.  By the time this is posted, we will be winging our way home…rejuivinated and refreshed.  (Lets see if we can hold on to a bit of this magic!)

Thank you all for your visits and comments…it always means so much.  Sending hugs and blowing kisses to all,

 

San Pancho Moments

 

We’re enjoying the moments. 

...the beach moments

 

...the evening sunset moments.

 

...each and every moment.

 

The heat and humidity are much higher than when we normally visit in January and February, but that’s OK…it makes it easier to stop and lie down for siesta. 

...it’s also quieter. 

...less touristas

...more locals to chat with.

Feeling sleepy.

...must lie down.

Back soon.

 

your amigo,

 

 

(San Pancho is officially, San Francisco, Nyarit, Mx., but around here no one knows what you’re talking about if its called anything but San Pancho.)