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Friday’s Fresh Five! (3/16/12)

Posted in About me, Helping Others, Husbands, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2012| 2 Comments »

The rain forces me to do things that I ordinarily don’t want to do. The idea of cleaning out cabinets and closets rarely appeals to me, but since there’s been nothing but rain this past week, I’ve been in a nesting/cleaning mode. My husband hates it when I go from a laissez-faire wife to a neat-freak wife, because he knows all too well about the ripple effects!

#1 – In Love with Sumo!
Citrus oils are well-known for their cleaning ability and many cleaning products are infused with a citrus scent, but when you peel your first Sumo mandarin, the last thing on your mind will be cleaning! Sumo mandarins are the result of crossing a California orange with a Satsuma mandarin. They are seedless and are the size of oranges, but they are easy-to-peel and have an extremely sweet and juicy flavor, much like mandarins. Cut them in half crosswise and then into wedges to fully expose their beautiful flesh. Like other citrus fruit, they are high in vitamin C, foliate, fiber and potassium, but what’s even better, is that they are low in acid. Look for them in grocery stores now, but hurry! They are only available February through May. I found them at Whole Foods.

#2 – It’s So Simple
You don’t need a bucketful of industrial strength cleaners and you don’t need to spend a lot of money on gadgets that make your life easier. Just take a look at Real Simple’s list of ideas that make housekeeping easier. For example, try using used fabric-softener sheets with a little bit of water to clean soap scum off of glass shower doors.

#3 – Beauty in Everything
There is beauty in everything, right? Now there’s a photography website to prove it. At Beauty in Everything treat yourself to an assortment of great photographs selected on a daily basis. The collections can be viewed by date or by subject matter.

#4 – For Free!
Print out free custom calendars, soduko puzzles, pinhole cameras, customizable pocket organizers, iPod covers, seed packets and more by going to these sites and clicking on the links:

Useful Items You Never Knew You Could Print Out – The Ultimate Guide

Top 5 Useful Items You Never Knew You Could Print Out

#5 – Creative Math
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

George Bernard Shaw

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Enjoy your weekend!

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Shrimp and Romaine Heart Salad

Posted in In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A dinner outing with friends to a new market/deli restaurant provided me with memories of a salad that I couldn’t forget and inspired me to try making it at home. Picture half of a romaine heart sprinkled with fresh bay shrimp, bits of juicy, red, ripe tomatoes, chopped hard boiled eggs, crisp pieces of bacon, and drizzled with homemade Thousand Island dressing. It’s nothing fancy or anything original, but this salad shines on many counts. In a sense, it’s a delicious combination of a wedge salad and a chopped salad, but only better. Romaine lettuce is more nutritious than iceberg lettuce and the flat surfaces of halved romaine hearts are superior for holding toppings over a wedge. The toppings are also reminiscent of ingredients found in a chopped salad. It’s a versatile salad that can be prepared ahead of time and is beautifully served preassembled on a platter or on individual salad plates. For a larger group, this salad can be arranged as an appetizing salad bar. If you’re going the salad bar route, offer more than one salad dressing. For your convenience, I’ve included recipes for both Thousand Island and Creamy Blue Cheese dressings.

Shrimp and Romaine Heart Salad
Recipe by Linnell

Ingredients for Salad:
Romaine hearts (1/2 per person)
Hard boiled eggs, chopped
Bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
Ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Fresh Bay Shrimp, rinsed and patted dry
Salad dressing (recipes for Thousand Island Dressing and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing below)

Directions:
1. Cut romaine hearts in half lengthwise. Cut off bottoms of stems close to the ends (you want to keep as many leaves attached as possible). Cut off top leaves, so that all hearts are the same length. These tops can be washed and saved for another salad.

2. Carefully place two romaine halves at a time in a salad spinner filled with water. Let sit a bit, pour out water and spin dry.
3. Place romaine halves, cut side down, in an airtight square or rectangular container with paper towels lining the bottom. Add more romaine halves until bottom of container is covered. Cover with another paper towel and then the lid. If storing many romaine halves and the container is deep, place a layer of paper towels over the first layer of romaine halves, add more romaine halves, again cut side down on top of paper towels. Repeat this layering process until all romaine halves are carefully stored. Store container in the refrigerator.
4. Prepare salad dressing(s) and refrigerate.
5. Prepare toppings and refrigerate those that need refrigeration.
6. To plate salad, either place one romaine half on a salad plate, sprinkle toppings over it, and drizzle with salad dressing or arrange all romaine halves on a large platter and sprinkle with toppings and dressing. For a salad bar, place romaine hearts on a platter and place toppings and dressings in small bowls.

Thousand Island Dressing
Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon finely minced white onions
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper

Directions:
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well.
2. Place dressing in a covered container and refrigerate for several hours, stirring occasionally, so that the sugar dissolves and the flavors blend.

Makes 5 servings

Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
Recipe by Rachel Ray

Ingredients:
6 ounces (about 1/3 pound) double cream blue veined cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
2 pinches ground cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Mash softened cheese with fork in a bowl.
2. Whisk in the cream and sour cream onto cheese, the consistency should be smooth with an occasional small bit of blue.
3. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne pepper. Refrigerate.

Makes 4 servings

Linnell’s Notes:
1. At a recent party I hosted, I served this salad as a salad bar. Not knowing everyone’s likes and dislikes, I felt it was better to let my guests add their own toppings. About one hour before my guests arrived, I removed the romaine halves form the storage container and arranged them on a platter. I also spooned the toppings and both salad dressings into small bowls. All were covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until serving time.

2. Do not limit yourself to the toppings listed above. Substitute ingredients to suit your own taste and incorporate seasonal items. For example, use fresh crab meat instead of shrimp, or if fresh corn is in season, by all means use some fresh sweet corn kernels as a topping, etc.

3. I did not add very much salt to the blue cheese dressing because the cheese was already on the salty side.

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (3/9/12)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Health, Husbands, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Tap-tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap! Sounds from across my house make me stop and listen. “What on earth is making that noise?” I ask my husband. He replies, “It’s a bird pecking at the window.” “Really? I hope he doesn’t hurt himself,” I say as I head off in the direction of the noise. With wings fluttering wildly, a small gray bird hovers around my dining room window, pecks at it several times, and then flies off. I wonder to myself if he can’t see the pane of glass in front of him or if he is cracking seeds on the glass. When he comes back again, I see that he is a tufted titmouse, one of my favorite visitors at my bird feeders. With their large black eyes and Mohawk hairstyle (really their gray crests), tufted titmice are adorable little songbirds to have around. Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap I hear again and pick up my camera. He flies off to a nearby oak tree for a stop and then he’s gone, giving me only enough time to snap one quick photo through the window. Hasty research reveals that my little visitor is probably a macho-type of guy. He may think his reflection in the glass is a “rival” and he attacks it to maintain his status. Great, just what I need, more quirky male behavior around the house!

#1 – Lose an Hour
Don’t forget to “spring ahead” tomorrow before turning in for the night. Daylight savings time starts at 2 a.m. on Sunday, so set your clocks ahead one hour. For more information about DST, go to timeanddate.

#2 – Flax to the Rescue
Did you know that ground flax seeds, which are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, can be used in recipes as a substitute for eggs, butter and oil? Ameriflax offers recipes and provides the following substitutions:

For Fat
– Substitute flax for fat in your recipes, using 3 tbsp ground flax seed for 1 tbsp of margarine, butter or cooking oil. Flax can be substituted for all or some of the fat, depending on the recipe. Note that baking with flax, as fat substitute will cause baked goods to brown more quickly.

For Eggs
– Substitute a ground flax seed/water mixture for eggs in recipes such as pancakes, muffins and cookies. Use 1 tbsp ground flax plus 3 tbsp water – left sitting for several minutes – for each egg. Note that this will result in a chewier version of the recipe, with less volume.

#3 – Got Ants?
While writing Tuesday’s post on Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake, I came across an interesting fact about farina. If you have ants outside or inside your home, place some farina or Cream of Wheat where you see them. After the ants ingest it, it expands and kills them. Read “How to Get Rid of Ants Naturally” for more safe and effective ways to deter ants.

#4 – Color Inspiration
Whether you’re working on a small scale decorating or DIY project or on a large scale project like redecorating your home, you might want to look to the masters of painting for color inspiration. COLOURlovers took well-known pieces of art and made corresponding color palettes from them. For example, if you are inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, you might want to check out his color palette and use it on your next project.

#5 – Quote for Politicians
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”
-George Bernard Shaw

Enjoy your weekend!

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Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake

Posted in Holidays, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2012| 14 Comments »

When people immigrate to a new country, they often carry with them reminders of their homeland and a few cherished belongings. Old family recipes are both  – cherished and reminders of home. Mary Cannici says of her grandmother’s special cake recipe, “This recipe immigrated to this country from Sicily when Nonna was a little girl and her family came to Ellis Island.” The cake is a wonderful combination of a creamy ricotta cake and an egg-rich pudding. Farina, a finely ground cereal grain with a mild taste, is used as the thickening agent. Serve this versatile and easy-to-make cake with fresh seasonal fruit and you have the perfect dessert for brunch or dinner! Easter and Mother’s Day are just around the corner!

Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake
Recipe by Mary Cannici

Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1¼ cups (8¾ ounces) sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup farina
16 ounces (2 cups) whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
2. Bring milk, sugar, and butter to simmer in large saucepan and cook, stirring often, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Slowly whisk in farina until smooth.
4. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in ricotta and vanilla.
5. Let mixture cool slightly, then stir in beaten eggs until combined.
6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm.

Serves 15 to 18

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Farina can usually be found in stores that carry natural foods. Sprouts, Whole Foods, and health food stores often carry farina in the bulk bin section. Cream of Wheat is made from farina.

2. Be careful not to add too much of the farina at one time. Add small amounts of it slowly, stirring constantly, to prevent lumps from forming.

3. Although the egg custard flavor is more pronounced when the cake is served warm (after the 10-minute cooling period), it is trickier to serve warm since the texture is like a rough custard. After the cake sits for a while, it firms up and can be cut into squares.

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (3/2/12)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gardening, Health, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In the depth of winter, when most garden plants look ho-hum, camellias, with their perfectly-shaped glossy leaves and their delicately-layered blossoms, add incredible beauty to our lives. Don’t let the shorter days and the stay-inside-weather prevent you from recognizing and appreciating their winter perfection. Everything on earth has a purpose, even camellias.

#1 – Purposely Repurposing
The party’s over and you have plastic cups lying around all over the place. They’re headed for the trash bin, right? Well, what about this – what about using them to construct a hanging lamp? This lamp and many more creative ideas appear in the article Most Popular Repurposing Tricks of 2011. Not into hanging lamps? What about making a lunch box from a plastic milk jug or creating a home security device from an old webcam?

#2 – The World We Live In
The world we live in is an amazing place. By checking out this series of photos, discover sights around the world without leaving your desk. All the photographs are interesting, but I was most intrigued by the Danxia landform.

#3 – Stick To It!
Need help deciding which type of glue to use on a DIY project? Go to Design*Sponge’s post on adhesives. Glue descriptions and an easy to read chart take the guessing out of what glue to use where and when. There’s even a recipe for making a natural glue at home – a DIY glue for your DIY project!

#4 – Fat Fighting Fiber!
Browsing the internet the other day using StumbleUpon, I “stumbled” across a health article titled “Fiber Supplements – Which One You Need?” The article points out the difference between insoluble and soluble fiber and describes the types of fiber used in supplements. Did you know that fiber supplements that become viscous, help your body in two ways? They not only help you to stay regular, but they also help to lower your blood cholesterol.

#5 – Life is a Contact Sport
Life is a contact sport, but it should never be played without joy.

Based on Senator Robert Byrd’s quote about Ted Kennedy, “He believed that life was a contact sport but that it should never be played without joy.”

Have a lovely weekend!

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Bun Bun Noodles With Spicy Peanut Sauce

Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The directions state, “Let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before serving.” Yeah, right – like that’s going to happen! You will be hard-pressed to follow those directions after stirring the thick spicy sauce into the noodles. And after sprinkling fresh red peppers, carrots, green onions, cilantro leaves, and fragrant, toasted, sesame seeds over the saucy noodles, you’ll forget you even read the directions! This is a wonderful party dish because it can be made ahead and because it can be made to serve a few people or a crowd. For a fun presentation, serve the noodles in small Asian take-out cartons with a pair of disposable chopsticks tucked into each carton!

Bun Bun Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Recipe by Margaret S. Fox, former owner/chef of Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino

Ingredients:
10-oz. dry pasta – spaghetti or angel hair
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup low-salt soy sauce
1 tsp. chile pepper flakes
3 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
3 tbsp. corn oil

Garnishes: slivered carrots, green onions, red peppers, toasted sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until done, then drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are cold. Let noodles drain for about 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the rest of the ingredients until thoroughly blended. (You could heat the mixture very slightly to facilitate whisking, or set the bowl over the steam rising from the cooking pasta for a few minutes.)

3. Toss the noodles with the sauce. Let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before serving, or refrigerate and serve within 2 days. Always toss noodles before serving to distribute sauce evenly.

4. To serve, place a mound of noodles on plate and garnish with your choice of any or all of the pretty crunchy additions listed above.

Serves 4-6

Linnell’s Notes:
1. As the noodles and sauce sit, the flavors of the sauce meld together. Wait to adjust the seasonings until the noodles have sat in the sauce for quite awhile. I was tempted to add more pepper flakes, but was so glad I didn’t!

2. In the recipe Margaret S. Fox suggests using the least adulterated kind of peanut butter available.

3. I found it was not necessary to heat the sauce mixture in order to stir it.

4. If serving this as a main dish, protein in the form of shredded chicken or firm tofu could be added.

ENJOY!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/24/12)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recipes, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2012| 1 Comment »

Chirping up a storm, the birds in my backyard are letting me know that their feeders are empty. I look out the window to the feeding station and see that the sunflower seeds have disappeared and all but one-inch of Nyjer seed remains in another feeder. It’s a quite a job to stay on top of filling three feeders, a suet cage, and a hummingbird feeder every couple of days. Not to mention, hauling and storing the bird seed, cleaning and filling a bird bath and making sure my husband puts only bird-safe algaecide in our fountain. It’s a lot of work, but the sweet songs of thanks I hear every time I step outside remind me of why I do it!

#1 – Repurposing Phone Booths
The other day, my husband and I were talking about things that are becoming obsolete and one of the items brought up for discussion were phone booths. Shortly after that discussion, I read about John Locke, a Columbia architecture graduate who wants to convert New York’s pay phones into sharing libraries. To date, he’s placed bookshelves and books in two phone booths with mixed results. Read about his interesting project and see additional photos here.

#2 – Got Lemons?
Wanting to save the remaining Meyer lemons in my yard from being half-eaten and left to rot by pesky squirrels, I decided to look for yet another way to save them for future use. In the past, my husband has made limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur, but unfortunately, there’s only so much limoncello we can drink! I’ve also tried juicing the lemons and freezing the juice, but it’s such a waste of flavorful rind. This year I’m preserving the lemons in a more traditional way – in jars with salt and lemon juice. Read the New York Times article on “Preserving Lemons the Traditional Way” if you’ve got lemons and want to learn the technique.

#3 – Paris vs. New York
The introduction reads “Macaroon vs. cupcake, Proust vs. Salinger, bobo vs. hipster, bordeaux vs. cosmo.” These are some of the comparisons that graphic designer Vahram Muratyan illustrated with his minimalist-style portraits and they are included in his book Paris versus New York: a Tally of Two Cities.

#4 – An Arm and a Leg
A recent email from my fitness club contained a link to the Limbs for Life Foundation. After checking out the site, I became more grateful for my healthy limbs and more aware of the difficulties amputees face. Depending on the specific type, a prosthetic limb can cost anywhere from $6000 to $65,000 and possibly even more. Due to wear and tear of the prosthetic or growth of the wearer, prostheses have to be continually replaced. Most insurance companies pay a very small fraction of the cost and usually on a once per person per lifetime basis. Many leg amputees, who cannot afford to pay their share, become wheelchair-bound. If you want to learn more about Limbs for Life click on the link above or watch the video below:

#5 – Going Somewhere?
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are.”
— John Pierpoint

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

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Browned Butter Cashew Shortbread Cookies

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2012| 1 Comment »

Other than me, my husband’s favorite nut is the cashew. After one bite of these buttery, crunchy, cashew cookies topped with a creamy browned butter frosting, he’ll have to decide which nut rules his heart. Which will it be . . . the baked or the baker?

Browned Butter Cashew Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from Land O’Lakes

Cookie Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews

Frosting Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons fat free half & half or milk

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter just begins to turn golden brown (7-11 minutes). The butter will get foamy and bubbly. Immediately remove from heat.

2. Pour 1-1/4 cups browned butter into small bowl; pour remaining butter into another small bowl. Refrigerate both bowls of browned butter until cool (1 hour).

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Combine 1-1/4 cups cooled brown butter, brown sugar, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until well mixed. Stir in chopped cashews.

5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

6. Combine remaining browned butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Beat at medium speed, adding enough half & half for desired frosting consistency, until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled cookies. Top each with cashew half.

Makes 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Make sure to use at least a 2 quart saucepan to brown the butter. The butter will foam up as it is heated and you don’t want it to spill over on your stove top.

2. Cool the bowls of hot browned butter on the counter top before placing them in the refrigerator. You don’t want to lower the temperature of your refrigerator by placing something hot into it.

3. By the time I measured out all the other ingredients, the large bowl of browned butter had cooled sufficiently in the refrigerator to be used in the dough.

4. I used unsalted butter and salted cashews, because that is what I had on hand. I favor low sodium food, so the cookies tasted fine to me. For those of you who like food a little saltier, go ahead and add a pinch of salt to the dough mixture.

5. If the dough is too sticky to shape into balls, place it in the refrigerator for a while. Also, keep a small bowl of water nearby. Wet your hands with water before rolling the dough balls. The water helps to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

6. Because these are butter-rich cookies, I used parchment paper to cover my cookie sheets. Remember you can reuse parchment paper. After the cookie sheets have cooled, wipe down the parchment paper with a wet paper towel. Let dry and store paper on top of cookies sheets in your cabinet.

Enjoy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/17/12)

Posted in Aging, Art and Crafts, Health, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

Sometimes the ordinary can be extraordinary. Lowly landscape flowers shine in otherwise flowerless gardens; wet paint vibrates with energy creating liquid sculptures; one person helps another and both lives improve. There are many things that exist and happen in our everyday lives that we deem ordinary, but when reflected upon, they are truly quite extraordinary!

#1 – Photo of the Year
Freelance photographer Samuel Aranda was the recipient of the 55th annual World Press Photo of the Year Contest. According to jury chair Aidan Sullivan, “The winning photo shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event, an event that is still going on. We might never know who this woman is, cradling an injured relative, but together they become a living image of the courage of ordinary people that helped create an important chapter in the history of the Middle East.” While on the site, check out the other award winning photos and read the stories they tell.

#2 – Portion Distortion
Did you know that over the last 20 years ordinary food portions at restaurants have become extraordinary? 20 years ago a serving of french fries weighed in at 2.4 ounces and contained around 210 calories. Today’s increased 6.9-ounce serving of fries carries with it a whopping 610 calories. Take the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s Portion Distortion Quizzes and learn how many calories the increased food portions carry and the amount of activity it takes to burn off those added calories.

#3 –  Be an Extraordinary FOF
Are you a FOF? FOFs, also know as fabulous over fifty women, share their advice on the Fab 50 website which claims it is “The first online search powered by the wisdom of faboverfifty women.” The site offers age-related advice in a number of diverse subject areas such as beauty, beauty product reviews, book reviews, style, aging, and women’s health issues. The impressive list of Fab 50 founders reads like a who’s who list and includes the granddaughter of the founder of Bergdorf Goodman Mary Ann Quinson, fitness guru Denise Austin, author Lisa Scottoline, soap opera star Jackie Zeman, board member of General Mills and Herman Miller Dorothy Terrell, and supermodel Beverly Johnson. Women supporting women – it’s always a good thing!

#4 – Capturing Sound
Using the vibration from speakers playing music, German photographer Martin Klimas pours ordinary paints on top of a protected speaker and then turns up the volume. The paint shoots up in the air and Klimas captures the colorful liquid paint sculptures in flight with his camera. I love the Miles Davis pieces! Hmm . . . my husband has an old subwoofer out in the garage . . . .

#5 – Life is Art
Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.
Miguel Angel Ruiz

Have a safe holiday weekend!

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Seven Ways to Open Your Heart

Posted in About me, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Valentine’s Day is all about love and hearts. Reflecting on Zelda Fitzgerald’s quote, if there is no way to measure how much a heart can hold, do you really think you’re as happy as you can be and that life just couldn’t possibly get any better? With no degree in psychology or certificate in counseling, I offer you ways to open your heart, so it can receive more.

1. Love Yourself
If you don’t love yourself, how can you fully love others? I’m referring to love, not in a narcissistic way, but in a respecting, accepting, and valuing way. Buddha once wrote, “You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.” Think about it, if you don’t love yourself, are you capable of loving or valuing someone else?

2. Share Your Dreams
When you share your dreams with others, you open up a conversation about the “whats” and “whys” in your life. After sharing, your dreams may have an increased clarity and focus. Think of this sharing as a brainstorming session. The universe is listening and the “hows” of your life will surely fall in place. Plant your garden of dreams, tend to it carefully with the help of others and watch how it grows.

3. Love and Forgiveness
When you forgive someone, you open your heart. It’s often easier to lock up your heart and throw away the key when it is injured. Julia Redstone’s essay on Forgiveness sheds light on learning how to forgive. Here is an excerpt from her essay:

At the root of the difficulty in learning to forgive someone is mistaking the action of a person for their being, and not seeing that the two are separate.

Actions that people take are often wrong, misguided, or harmful to others, and these must be opposed or limited to the extent that is needed to protect the welfare and well-being of others.

But souls are composed of much more than their current actions, whether good or bad, even if these actions have gone on for a long time, and even if they are very severe.

Souls need to be judged on different grounds altogether. In order to judge a soul we must know that soul – something that in the most basic sense is not in the human province to do. We must be able to see the causes and reasons – the formative influences that permit a soul to carry out actions that are wrong. . . .

To stand in judgment of others, whether these others be individuals, groups, nations, or the world, implies a willingness to stand in the present while asking the past to justify itself. To forgive others, on the other hand, implies a willingness to stand in the future in viewing the past, while asking what possible future could redeem the past, changing its present course and bringing it more into alignment with what is right and good.

This is the place on which love stands, for love has hope for all possible futures for individual persons and for the world as a whole. Love does not rely on the present context of viewing mistakes, no matter what these mistakes are. It says: How can I bring the beloved one into a deeper knowing of the light that lies within them so that past darkness can be no more?

4. Help Others
There is probably no better way to open your heart than by helping others. When you help others, you help yourself. Studies have shown that those who help others are happier and less depressed than those who don’t. Stephen Post, PhD and co-author of the book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People wrote, “When you’re experiencing compassion, benevolence, and kindness, they push aside the negative emotions. One of the best ways to overcome stress is to do something to help someone else.” So when you’re feeling down and out, volunteer at a senior center, give money to a homeless person, adopt a pet from a shelter, etc. You’ll not only feel better, you’ll test just how much your heart can hold and perhaps, start in motion, a chain of opened hearts.

5. Just Listen
Open your heart to the words of others. People talk to you all day long and you probably selectively choose who and what you want to listen to. Listening is a skill and to be a good listener you’ve got to go beyond the words being spoken. Put yourself in the speaker’s shoes and try not to judge what is being said. Don’t formulate a response in your head and don’t agree or disagree. Merely give the person the gift of your undivided attention and the validation he needs.

6. The Freedom to Be Yourself
Allow yourself the freedom to be yourself or be true to yourself. How can you possess an open heart, if you are not living an authentic life? If you feel the need to continually censor what you do or say, you are either not comfortable with who you are or who you are with. To speak your truth should not be confused with permission to be disrespectful or rude to others, but it is to live a life free of any disguises or acts.

7. Live with Joy
Live your life with joy. Go outdoors and soak in the large and small wonders of nature. Use all of your senses – see, touch, taste, smell, and hear the world around you. Listen to music. Play a musical instrument. Sing. Dance. Run. Create something, anything. Laugh out loud. Smile from ear to ear. Feel deeply. Share. Open your heart. Love.

Note: Inspirational photo made using one of my photos and iPiccy.

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