Today
http://www.maryobrienart.com
Today
Partnerships, Birthdays, Yoga, Spanish, and Astrology
We just celebrated Ruby's 9th birthday...
It was such an awesome and simple celebration, surrounded by family, beautiful weather, a swimming pool, and sushi. I finally, FINALLY engineered several baked recipes that not only our girl, but everyone could enjoy. Pumpkin Muffins for breakfast, and Lemon Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting for dessert. These recipes are so good, I will post them on my next blog.
By the way, did you know that this week is National Eosinophil Awareness Week?
On May 15, 2007 the House of Representatives passed HB 296 forever making the third week of May National Eosinophil Awareness Week. During this week we ask people to try and eat like someone you know that as an eosinophilic disease. This year’s special week is Sunday, May 13- Saturday, May 19. Comment with your e-mail and I will send you a sample diet!
I love that this is celebrated on the very week of Ru's birthday, and we suspect that HB 296 was passed on her 4th birthday, the very same year that she was diagnosed.
Kris and I had the opportunity to observe her Yoga and Spanish classes at Khalsa Montessori that day...
Two of Ruby's Besties sitting with her en espanol, Anusha and Meghna:
Another recent experience that has stuck with me and cycled through my windmill of thoughts was the 2012 Conference of the Seven Ray Institute. I attended with my dear friend, celebrant Erin Schlabach, in support of another amazing friend, esoteric astrologer Heidi Rose Robbins. Heidi Rose's father, Michael Robbins, is one of the world's foremost experts on esoteric astrology. Thus, growing up in this vocabulary and continuously looking through the lens herself, so is she. He sets his watch to feel for himself what Pluto conjunct Venus feels like the minute it occurs, and has the ability to look at you, or even a photo of you, and know your moon, sun, and rising sign, if not your actual birthday. Heidi can look at your chart and know when the good, the bad, and the ugly have hit in your life, and what strengths and weaknesses you are equipped with to deal. Even a single reading with her will bring you to tears, and give you a bright new perspective you will not soon forget.
There were so many fantastic things to soak in. The group that day was intimate, less than 100, but included astrologers from every corner of the planet. I apologize in advance because I am recalling this from memory and had not written down any names! It was a pleasure just to listen upon all of the accents during the debates. Just prior to our first break for the day, Michael asked that all of the 7 Rays please keep there seats/areas tidy, or at least under control so that the 3rd Rays would not experience any needless organizational anxiety. Everyone laughed, of course. One of the speakers noticed Erin and I and remarked upon the very dynamic play of energy between us, as we laughed and Heidi explained that we had been close friends for years. He nodded knowingly and went on to describe what our relationship must be like with astounding accuracy.
The afternoon lectures were inspiringly intellectual, I watched and listened with pure glee and wished that this is what going to church is. I love the order, the precision, the fact that it is a map, the layers so deep. The first lecture compared the life charts of three geniuses; Mozart, Einstein, and who else? Jeffrey Dahmer. Whoa and wow to the similarities and differences, and the perspective through which each served an amazing purpose through their lives and the mercy of the energies. The second lecture was a detailed analyzation of the life of Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti allegedly came into this life as a progressed soul (this was not his first spin around earthly life), and possessed phenomenal intrinsic wisdom (he could hang with the physicists, but not because he had read the books). The theory being presented was that during this past lifetime, he had managed to personally grow not only past a third life milestone of developement, but into a fourth (and again, I am telling this poorly). The crowd went wild, and the mastery of these scientist came to light! This theory was up for intense debate because, though there were enough markers to prove it likely, it missed several seconds in time, and this planet and that planet though aligned, were not in perfect measure, etc. The math, science, astronomy, physics, spiritualism, and passion of this debate was the best thing I had witnessed in years. I'll be back April 2013 in Mesa, AZ...
We Two Do What We Do
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum
It was difficult to determine the champion of the Ruby vs. brush stare down...
The Khalsa Montessori School Spring Carnival (Amazing. Many thanks to Brian Flatgard, the entire PTO, and countless volunteers!)
Who says peacocks don't fly?!
Upholstering Jay's 1937 Cadillac LaSalle
Phase I: A custom back seat.
Isn't the body style of this auto gorgeous? My friend, Jay K., bought the shell of the car and is the process of building the rest. It is the ultimate collage. It inspires me!
I am honored to be lending a hand on the business of upholstering this bad boy.
Foundations of a back seat: plywood/pressboard + various foams (some of which Jay took from an abandoned sofa. That's right: this project is now green!)
I'll skip the shots of me figuring it out and just get to the ones where it looks like I might have a clue what I am doing!
"How about we make progress and then clean it up later?" Asks Jay. (Clue that I might be obsessing)
A job worth doing is worth doing correctly. Don't rush me, Jay.
Progress! The chair of the seat looks smooth and snug, and the seat back is still buckled because we stapled it all together forgetting that we had not installed the Velcro or O-rings. Rookies! A simple fix for another day. See you soon for Phase II!
November 2010 Photo Shoots
Ahem. Apparently I have not written a blog in 98 days. Oops.
I'm back. (Many thanks to the sweetest yous that came looking for me!)
So! I do not claim to be, nor to I pretend to be: a photographer. I will get around to learning that art form one fine day, but in the mean time I am simply a great lover of creating pictures with a camera. My photos are quick, conceptual rough drafts. That's all. (Smile)
As you may remember, about this time last year I declared that nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" like a Holiday Card Photo. My team and I wanted to explore several themes this year, but the process was compromised by the fact that my old Canon point and shoot (Right? I told you I'm not a photographer!) suffered a sudden and untimely death literally during the shoots (which all took place within 24 hours). And so, many thanks go to my dear friend, Agent Povinelli, for her time and for the use of her iPhone! And... excuse the blurry quality and high contrast that we ended up with!!!
This next one pokes fun at the generic "Catalog Family." Ruby is a major fan of catalogs. She drags them around for months, takes them to school (and to dinner, and to the bathroom), and memorizes them. Late one night after she had gone to bed, Kris and I picked one up and began to make fun of it a bit. Who is this family in their coordinating pajamas purchased ONLY for the holidays? Look at the father's bleached, gelled, and perfectly feathered hair... he really signed up for this? Funny, until you get a load of the Catalog Mother... she is a real treat herself. Hmmm. Of course their pajamas, slippers, stockings, towels, napkins, fleece pullovers, sleeping bags, travel gear, and bedding are all monogrammed... and as it turns out, The Catalog Family has the most fashionable names of them all!
And, of course, there was a grand finale. Whew! It was not easy to talk Kris into this one, though Ruby seemed to think it was a fine idea. These were taken at dawn at a preselected hospital Emergency Room about 35 minutes from our house. Agent Povinelli and I needed a bit of a pick me up at the Starbucks on the way, and as we sat in the drive through fully clad as Mr. and Mrs. Super, you could see him wishing for instant death, or at least complete invisibility. Ahh, but those Starbucks employees perked right up when they saw us. Oh, did they smile, gather, giggle, and wish us well!
It is, on the surface, just amusing. The Super Family, one injured, departing the E.R. Also, it feels a bit autobiographical. My family has been through it! Especially with health and well-being challenges! But we get back up, dust ourselves off, smile, and carry on as if it is business as usual. By golly.
Though it was dawn, there were several passers-by. The essence seen in the next shot was a bus driver employed by the hospital. She approached wide-eyed on her way into the building and I said to her, "Oh! You look very official. Will you pretend to hand me these prescription bottles for the next several shots?" She shook her head "No," meaning, "Oh geez, I guess so..." and then Povinelli shouted, "You are going to be in their Christmas photo!" This woman had just looked me in the eye, declared, "Girl, you are messed up!," and began to walk away when this photo was taken:
Do note that Kris couldn't help himself: laughing and having a great time...
Happy, happy holidays all! Sending you love and warmest-ever wishes.
Blood Into Wine DVD/Blu-ray Release!
Hello, Friends! I am so excited to finally announce:
The nationwide retail release of DVD/Blu-ray for our film, Blood Into Wine, is September 14!
We would be honored if you would also support us by adding us to your Netflix or Blockbuster queues...
Tickets still available for DVD release parties in:
Boston
New York
Las Vegas
Arlington
Screenings continue in:
Flagstaff
Tempe
Paso Robles, CA
New Orleans
Warsaw, Poland
Porto, Portugal
Please join us in the celebration of an amazing film about amazing people accomplishing amazing (and delicious) feats.
Seeds
After completing a four month production cycle in April, I have thus far spent my time in May puttering. Dabbling. Reading. Thinking. Eating. Planning. Planting. Voila: my baby herb garden!
And my first spring stab at night and day blends of herbal sun teas. Delicious. The one on the left is a chamomile/peppermint/lemongrass called Cha Cha at Adagio Teas (a pretty magical place if you do enjoy tea), and the second is a berry blend.
Actually, the whole purpose for this particular order of teas was to help Ruby, who has been having trouble sleeping. She drifts off to very heavy slumber in the evening with no problem, and feel free to throw a party in her room or vacuum it with the lights on, but then she wakes up around 2 AM and lies awake for hours and hours. I thought the chamomile might help. It sure did! The first night we gave it to her following dinner and her usual bed time routine (bath, teeth brushing, prayer) and then tucked her into her bed. Kris walked by her room several hours later and called me, "Um, Mary, you should see this..."
There she was, passed out cold on the floor of her room, in front of her bureau, drawer open, wearing two nightgowns and clutching her toothbrush. It seemed that she had sleep walked through a second night time routine! Hilarious, but also a little sad and very vulnerable! I really wish I had taken a photo. She didn't wake at all that night.
Recently I received an e-mail from my friend Elli saying that they had a dead tree in their yard, a Weeping Acacia, that they were going to get rid of; did I want it? My brain almost exploded with ideas, it was a super fun moment just thinking about the potential of this.
"How big is it?" I responded.
"7 or 8 feet," she wrote back.
Perfect.
When I arrived to help them dig it out (and yes, Kris and Jay actually did all the work. THANK YOU, Kris and Jay!) it was obviously taller than 8 feet. By seven or so feet.
"Rounding error!" said El. We laughed.
Hmmm. How to get it home? Who cares, it's even better looking than I expected. Will it fit through a double doorway? Barely? I'll take it.
It was no easy task removing it from the ground, because of course I insisted that I wanted the root ball in tact (THANK YOU, Kris and Jay!) Then they tied it to the top of our Forester (!) and brought it back to our house. Awesome.
So now I have this rare creative opportunity with a wily 15 foot canvas. I wander outside every morning with my coffee just to look and dream up the plan. I find there is an unanticipated sense of responsibility that I have for this guy because I cannot possibly improve upon it. It would look stunning just propped up or even suspended horizontally in an appropriate space. It already has such lovely features:
Aside from fantastic intertwines I love to see how branches changed their minds mid-growth to completely change direction. I won't get around to tackling this until the fall, though right now is by far my favorite phase of all creative endeavors: ideas phase. Seeds.