10,000 Piece Jigsaw

For a child, it is in the simplicity of play that the complexity of life is sorted like puzzle pieces joined together to make sense of the world.

--L.R. Knost

The Best People In The World

Julia Child said, "People who love to eat are always the best people."


I'd like to expand the Best People honor to those who send books in the mail.  Because books are what I keep finding in our mailbox, and it makes me feel lucky.  Like, I know some of the best people in the world!


The books are not for me.  But because I live here, I get to read them too.


Last month, our friends from Connecticut sent C Clementine.   She arrived in the nick of time, because once you are done with the dozens of Junie B. stories, there is a little hole in your heart.  Clementine will fill it. 

This month, a friend sent Miss C two autographed books from the series Getting To Know The World's Greatest Artists: 


Frida Kahlo
and
Jacob Lawrence



The friends who sent the Clementine book are mothered by a woman who is a Good Mailer.  This means if you visit her and leave something behind at her house, she will promptly send it back to you.
While here over the summer, as she and her daughters were packing up to drive hours back home, we tore the house apart looking for flip flops.  Black flip flops.  When they were 30 minutes gone, I found the flip flops under a pile of dolls.  I have them all set in a bag to send along.  I am aiming to go from Terrible Mailer, to SubPar Mailer.  If I can get them sent before the year is over, I will have  made progress.  Who needs flip flops in December?  Doesn't matter.  Baby steps. 


The friend who sent the autographed artist books lives in Boston, home of adorable book shops.  Last year, she sent C a book called The Great Serum Race.  Miss C wrote the thank you note on her own:

Thank you for the book about diptheerya. 

Everybody needs a good book about diptheerya to cozy up with on a cold winter night. 


While reading about other awesome books, I found a website that supports all sorts of excellent children's stories.  Also, they sell  Frida Kahlo socks.  And, Zora Neale Hurston shirts.
A Mighty Girl.
Have you been to A Mighty Girl?  Next time you must buy something, stop by.  It is mighty wonderful and full of delightful books.  And did I mention, Frida Kahlo socks?

Tis the Season

There is an organization called WomenArts.  Their mission is to "empower an international community of women artists and allies." 


It was founded by Martha Richards 20 years ago.
Today she turned 65 and WomenArts turned 20.  She wrote a post celebrating both and it inspired me, so I'm sharing a few excerpts:

I want to emphasize the point that WomenArts started with a small group of women gathering in my kitchen and talking about our dreams.  Once we started talking we were able to identify positive steps we could take to move towards our goals.

I encourage all of you to do the same this holiday season. Take time to think about what you would like to accomplish in the coming year and then figure out whether there are people who could help you. Maybe you will gather with friends to start a new organization as I did twenty years ago, or maybe you will create some ambitious new work or plan a spectacular event...   Whatever it is, please know that there are women here at WomenArts and all over the world who are rooting for you to succeed. 

I have one more birthday wish.  As you are sending out your holiday greetings, please take a few moments to contact your favorite women artists and tell them what you love about their work.  This simple action is much more powerful than you might think.  I have learned that you can often give someone the courage to keep working or try something new just by listening to them carefully, acknowledging their hard work, and finding kind, supportive things to say.

What a great birthday wish!
In the spirit of that idea, I am listing three women artists who have inspired me.  There are others, but their work is not online yet, so I am going to hassle encourage them to git on it.






My three merci:




Thank you Leah.
Leah  heals with her words as a story teller and writer, and with her touch as a massage therapist.  She gets inspired by ideas and then forms groups, she gets inspired by books and then organizes readings.  She makes things happen.  If you want to dive into your dreams, contact Leah.  She just finished a two year program.   About dreams.  How cool is that.




Thank you Alli.   
Alli selects beautiful fabric and goes to her attic to turn it into things.  She lives with all boys: husband, sons, male dog, male cat.  Her attic has been declared "penis free zone" and it is where she creates beauty and more beauty.  She kicks arse with a sewing machine. 




Thank you Christine. 
Christine paints and teaches and lives by intuition.  Twenty years ago she dreamed of living in Hawaii and now she lives and paints in Hawaii.  You can find her work at Maui Hands.






"Give and Take" by Christine Waara





Crayon purse by Allison Clark



A class taught by Leah, titled,
"Who’s Wicked? Taking Another Look at Rapunzel"






If you have someone you know who creates things you love, or someone you don't know who creates things you love, send them a thank you for creating.

The What's Underneath Project

Plastic Surgery Haiku

I came across Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please, and flipped open to several poems she'd penned about cosmetic surgery.  A sampling:

Asymetrical

looks cool while cheek implants are  

less interesting

I have no idea

If you are angry or sad

Since you got fillers 

A face-lift does not

make daughters comfortable

when you chaperone 

30 Days Has November

November is National Novel Writing Month. 
Interested in writing a novel?
Go to NaNoWriMo.org


I will not be writing a novel this month. 


Instead, I will be doing National Essay Writing Month. 
Come visit me at NaEsWriMo
I'll be writing an essay a day.


You can read along, write along, or both.


The goal is: Quantity, Not Quality. 



After November 30, I'll be back here, with no more stories left to tell.  All essay-ed out.


Happy November.
See you in 30!

BOO!

The Mutter Museum in Philadelphia has all sorts of freaky real things on display.  Many of them in jars. 
These are not the kind of things one would want to see in one's canning pantry.


There is a display of skeletons from a certain period of history where corsets were all the rage.  Like Malibu Musk of the 90's.  The skeletons are of the female variety.  And their rib cages do not look good.  They are a bit bent, a bit brittle.  In short, it looks like "beauty is pain" is clearly defined in their bones.  But hey, this is what it takes to make it appear that we, the female variety, have no organs!    What's that you think you see?  Evidence of a stomach, a spleen, a liver?  Nonsense. 
 
(The Mutter Museum is a great place to tour, should you ever find yourself in the City of Brotherly Love.  Their slogan: "Are you ready to be disturbingly informed?"  If you say yes, click on! )





Corsets, are apparently, back.  It's called "waist training."
I have heard of dog training.
I have heard of marathon training.
But waist training, I think, results in the above photo. 


So, it is with great pleasure I present to you a cartoon reminder that having organs is not so bad.
These princesses, with organs drawn in, are not horrible!
Maybe beauty is having organs, and uncracked ribs and a good belly laugh at the idea of waist training. 






If you want to see Ariel with a stomach, Pocahontas with a spleen, and Aurora sporting a liver, click here.)