Category: Blog

As this new year fast approaches I am ripe for something exciting and new to happen in my life, in large part because in my view I am straddling islands. I thought I had a vision of where I wanted to go in my life’s journey. But it just keeps twisting and turning, nothing concrete and stable for me to hold on to except knowing that there really is a God who is in charge of my life’s experience.

I pray and or meditate, whatever one calls that alone time we take with our maker. In my life every day is new and different. But with no knowing where I am going except to stay constant with the insecurity that I don’t know my future and sometimes feel like a boat without a rudder. I’m afraid that I am going to run aground at any minute; and my fairytale life that I’ve invented will be ended, and I will be stranded again, between the islands of thought, time and space.

I want more. I know I want more. I feel as if I am at the cliff’s edge, or in the space where the sea of my mind is lapping at the door of discovery. When will the two merge into one? Will I ever know where I am going or is this what life is? An ever present awareness that life, as a moving plasma of energy fields, sometimes drops a wisp of something beautiful into my midst where I may bathe in calm knowing that all is and will be well.

Live in the present through the garden. Live in the present through the painting. Live in the present and the past and the future through writing. After all, isn’t that the gift of being an artist? Isn’t that the gift that art gives us? You, me, and all of the world?

In art, as in life, it is the sharing. What we share and how we share with the world is the culmination of all our time in private quiet contemplation. No matter how reverent or irreverent we are, we are all each in our own boat moving through this sea of energy and emotions. Trying to get it right! What is right anyway? What is right from wrong? Sometimes the wrong way turns out to be the right way and sometimes the right way turns out to be the wrong way. For me, it is the moving fluid sea of eternity that keeps me excited, extends me as a human and propels me forward into the abyss; the abyss of time and space.

Bye for Now,

 

Francesca

 

 

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an hard-on to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Mimi please would you tell me a stow-wee about Byron and Amie.

 Anushka asks in her adorable little Spanish Basque accent. I was visiting with her on SKYPE. Anushka lives in Spain and I am in San Diego. How fortunate we are in this day and age to have ways to easily communicate with family and friends who may live on the other side of the world!

 Ok Anushka, you know, sometimes I feel like the dogs are almost human! When I talk to Byron he responds knowing what I say. Amie does too but she is an old girl, now 14 and a half. That’s like over 100 years old in human years!

 Byron, just a year and a half, is extremely active! He is past the “puppy stage” so he is respectful of the fact that Amie can’t do everything she use to do. But sometimes when the weather is cool Amie feels frisky and plays with Byron, even at times egging him on!

This morning, as on many mornings, Anushka, Byron wakes me up with his cold wet muzzle against my toe if it is out of the covers, or my face if he can reach.

 Byron is a large Standard Poodle. He stands on his back legs pressed up against the side of the bed as if to say “Mom, please let me out,” or “Mom come play with me and then let me out.”

 “Ok Byron where’s your toy? Go bring me your toy.” Byron bounds down and across the room as I sleepily lie there thinking “I don’t want to wake up yet. Give me a few minutes, Byron to come to this world out of dreamland.” But like a small child (dogs can have the intelligence of a three to four year old), Byron does not listen to my sense of reason. Before I know it he is back up against the side of the bed with a toy or a ball in his mouth.

 Ok, Byron go play with Amie. Byron jumped down and sailed over to her bed. Amie laying on her back with her legs in a relaxed position did not want to move. By this time I am fully awake and sit up in bed to observe what happens next. Byron moans and makes other little whining noises as he pushes a plush toy against her face. When this works to no avail Byron runs back to me with the toy. I then throw it back to Amie and ask Byron to try again to rouse her. Byron then goes back to Amie and starts gently biting her cheeks and neck and then he pushes her back with his head. Finally Amie starts interacting with Byron. Byron then grabs the toy and pushes it into her mouth. Amie then holds it in her mouth. After about 10 minutes Amie with her old achy body is finally up and moving around the room with the toy in her mouth the other end in Byron’s and they play tug of war for some time.

 All of a sudden they are both barking; they have spied a rabbit running very fast across the garden. I then spring up to let them out “have fun kids!”

 Now time for me to do my 100 crunches and go out into the studio to paint. I don’t need an alarm clock. Anushka, Byron is my alarm clock!

 Anushka bursts into giggles.

OK Mimi. Please tell me another stow-wee about Byron and Amie.

 Bye for Now,

 

Francesca

 

 

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an hard-on to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Thanksgiving is over…. gulp, it is now time for me to get ready for Christmas! A special blessing arrived this month in the way of a new grandbaby. I am anticipating the joyous season ahead!

BUT there is sooo much to do!!!! Lists miles long. This morning when my alarm clock went off—- Bryon, as usual standing up against the high bed with his front paws pushing his wet muzzle against my toe, as if he was saying,

 Mama, I want to go out!

 All I wanted to do was stay in bed all day and hibernate! It is 10:20 a.m. and I am still in my nightie. As I write I am drinking herbal tea; but I have not done my sit-ups yet and company is coming to dinner! Luckily there is a vegetarian lasagna in my freezer that I made about a month ago. I like to make food ahead and freeze it when I’m in a cooking mood.

Here is the Lasagna recipe:

Best Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles
2 Japanese eggplants
Spaghetti sauce, 2 or 3 different varieties or
home-made from Roma tomatoes from the garden
Mozzarella, Romano, Ricotta and Monterey Jack cheese
Fresh parsley from the garden
Garlic from the garden
I package mushrooms or a handful
One large or two medium onions

Slice eggplant thinly, drizzle with olive oil, salt to taste. Roast in oven about 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until tender.

Sauté garlic till brown, add onions, cook until transparent then add mushrooms. (Use coconut or olive oil.) Meanwhile, heat spaghetti sauce in a saucepan, add sautéed vegetables to the sauce. Then add chopped parsley and Italian herbs such as oregano from the garden, a small amount of red wine, cinnamon and nutmeg, salt to taste.

Cook noodles, drain in a colander, then put noodles back into cooking pot. Drizzle olive oil over noodles so they don’t stick together. In a casserole dish (about 9 x 13) coat bottom of pan with olive oil, sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Layer starting with generous amount of spaghetti sauce, then noodles, cooked eggplant, Mozzarella, Romano, Ricotta and Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat this process ending with generous layer of spaghetti sauce and grated Romano cheese over the top.

If freezing, wrap with Saran Wrap and then aluminum foil. Take out of the freezer in the morning to defrost. Remove all wrapping before baking and then bake at 375 to 400 for 40-50 minutes or until done.  When I have a frozen lasagna, as I do today, I give lasagna an hour and a half to two hours cooking time. I take it out 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before serving.

I’m also serving a fresh argulua and roma tomato salad, both from the garden.

Have Fun Preparing for the holidays!

Bye for Now

 

Francesca

 

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner. I am reminded of so many Thanksgivings of the past. Thanksgivings when I was a child growing up in Del Mar were always fun and exciting because it meant the beginning of the fun-filled holiday season. Even though I grew up on the ocean in southern California I can remember crisp autumn air filling my nostrils, burning a little from the cold; and the delightful smells of  fireplaces as the colder weather set in.  In Front of the Crackling Fire

I can smell my mother’s cooking and remember the fun and excitement of preparing the turkey. It was a family affair and my grandparents who lived right next door were always there at Thanksgiving feasts. My father LOVED Kellog’s Corn Flakes. My grandmother, who I called Mimi, always used this recipe that then my mother, her mother-in-law, used when I was growing up. My sister Wendy puts fabulous recipes on her daughter Rebecca’s blog. Follow this link and you will find other traditional dishes in our family. And not so traditional since my sister is now a vegetarian, but equally delicious!  For photos and step-by-step directions go to the website —  Girlsgonechild – Eat Well  There’s also a delicious vegetarian gravy and mushroom dish on this blog post of my sister’s!

 Traditional Recipe: Mimi’s stuffing

1/2 cup butter or olive oil

2 onions, chopped

1 BUNCH celery, tops and bottoms cut off, chopped

2 bunches parsley, washed and chopped fine, thick stalks removed (I use food processor)

18 oz Kellogg’s corn flakes

¼ cup raisins or currants (optional—you can also add a chopped and peeled apple)

2-4 teaspoons dried whole sage or 1 T fresh (or to taste)

2-4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 t whole dried (crunched up)

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons marjoram

Juice of half a lemon

1 egg, beaten

2 cup vegetable broth (about)

Toasted pine nuts or toasted almonds

Salt and pepper to taste

 From my kitchen windows I have a great view for observing wildlife in my garden. This morning while enjoying my Café con leche I watched as finches and other colorful birds foraged for seeds on the dried fall flowers. I also noticed one large bird perched atop an empty goldfinch bird feeder. I looked down and DRAT!!! There was the gopher mound bigger than last week. The dogs have had their breakfast and they are next to me in the house unaware of what is going on in the garden at the moment. As much as the gopher is a garden pest and I briefly thought Byron, one of my standard poodles,  getting totally filthy trying to kill it and missing because the gopher would just scamper deep into the earth or over to some other plants; I did notice that the gopher is actually cute. The birds were doing their thing while the gopher was digging her hole bigger and bigger and the resulting mound of earth was getting taller and taller. Every time the gopher pushes up more earth quickly and cautiously, she looks at me watching her and then goes down to push more earth up and out of her ever-growing home.

Right then a yellow breasted goldfinch, as if curious, walked over Mrs. Gopher’s house maybe looking for worms or grubs that the gopher might have unearthed from the deeper underground. The gopher then disappears for a bit but then cautiously reappears to continue her work.

For about the last five months I have been hearing a pack of coyotes quite close to my house, howling and yipping as they do when they have made a kill. Nearby here are many rabbits, voles and rats, enough to go around for barn owls and coyotes. I love hearing the coyotes. While I have yet to visit Africa, someday I hope to go on a photographic safari and hear the wilderness at night. It must be the most thrilling experience! I bet for those of you who have been to Africa, hearing a hyena or a lion roar in the middle of the night must, at the least, make your heart skip a beat!

Last summer, enjoying breathtaking sunsets with a friend,  I would become concerned for my dogs’ wellbeing. They are large dogs, standard poodles, but luckily have the sense to stay away from the wild dogs. I would call them into my house. As long as I am snug in the house with my dogs, I love hearing the coyotes howl! It lets me know that God’s wild nature even in this day and age is right outside. As I write this morning  I just saw a shadow cross my computer screen. I looked to my right–WOW a Sparrow Hawk is right outside my office window.

I am so thankful for nature, my family and friends!

This past Sunday the pastor at the church that I frequent spoke of the first Thanksgiving. The settlers had experienced so many losses and heartache and yet they sat down with the Indians in nature to enjoy a meal together and say Thank you God!

Thanksgiving is many people’s favorite holiday. I love the day because our whole country celebrates Thankgiving. One of my daughters who lives in Spain always has made it a priority to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family and friends. Yvette, in her way, is spreading our New World traditions to the Old World.

We should be thankful to the great man Abraham Lincoln who set Thanksgiving as a national holiday!

Enjoy being with your family and friends. Individual family traditions that for some of you includes feeding the homeless or giving a soldier far from home a hot meal.

However you celebrate your day, Happy Thanksgiving!

Bye for Now,

 

Francesca

 

 

 

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney illness will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

I buy all my ingredients for cooking at Jimbo’s Market (http://www.jimbos.com). They are a totally organic store and carry a great variety of items for people who cannot digest gluten, such as my daughter. She has celiac disease. We who live in California are fortunate because California has grocery stores such as Jimbo’s that carries options and varieties of foods to chose from for specific dietary needs. Jimbo’s carries non-traditional brands that are many times not available at the big-name markets.

My daughter did not know until several months ago that she has celiac disease. Yvette had a blood test that lets the person know definitively whether or not he or she has the disease. For those who have celiac disease, gluten is poison to their bodies. The good news is; once a person with celiac disease stops ingesting gluten, his or her body, within time, may have a chance to return to ultimate health. (http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/)

Yvette lives in the north of Spain with her family. There are more and more children being born in Spain with allergies to gluten or like Yvette have celiac disease. In our country too there are many people that have always had tummy problems but did not know their problems could all go away if they stayed off gluten. In my own family my sister and I feel that we are carriers of celiac and suspect that our father who died of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma might have had the disease.

In general, depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, anger, low energy, sleep disturbances, or loss of appetite interfere with daily life and may last for several weeks or longer.  According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), depression is persistent and can interfere with a person’s thoughts (cognitions), emotions (affect), behaviors, activity, mood, and physical health. In the general population, depression occurs twice as frequently in women than in men (APA, 2000, p. 354)

Researchers have observed an association between celiac disease and depression that dates back to the 1980s. In 1982, Swedish researchers reported, “depressive psychopathology is a feature of adult celiac disease,” as they found depressive symptoms in patients recently diagnosed with celiac. The researchers concluded that the depressive symptoms were the result of untreated celiac disease, possibly due to malabsorption (Hallert & Aström, 1982). A 1998 study reported one-third of individuals diagnosed with celiac disease also suffer from depression (Ciacci, Iavarone, Mazzacca, & De Rosa, 1998).  Adolescents with celiac disease also have higher than normal rates of depression: 31% compared to 7% of adolescents without celiac disease (Carta, Hardoy, Usai, Carpinello, & Angst, 2003).

Researchers are still exploring the link between celiac disease and depression. Most recently, a survey of 177 women with celiac disease found that 37% met the threshold for depression and 22% met the threshold for disordered eating (Arigo, Anskis, & Smyth, 2011).  (http://www.celiaccentral.org/mental-health/depression/)

Another interesting point — I notice that when I stay off gluten, although I don’t have a problem with it, I lose weight more easily and/or the weight stays off.

Gluten is in wheat, rye, and barley. Eating in restaurants can be a bit of a challenge when you cannot eat gluten because any trace of it is poison. It’s imperative to make sure that when grilled fish is ordered in a restaurant it doesn’t touch anything breaded that might also be on the grill at the same time.

Sometimes Yvette emails me, I think I was glutenized last night. Her term for being in a restaurant where, even though she painstakingly asks the chef and/or the waiter if they can prepare a gluten free meal, and then being assured that there will be no gluten she ends up being served some food with gluten.

Jimbo’s is so great because they have all the specialty items people need to stay away from gluten.

In my last blog post I mentioned the Organic Buckwheat Flax Baking Mix from The Pure Pantry Gluten Free and Delicious (http://thepurepantry.com) And it definitely is!!! Just thinking about those mouth-watering waffles makes my mouth start to water.

Pamela’s Brand, all products, are delicious too!! One key I have learned from my daughter is that it is much easier if the whole family choses to go gluten free when one or more family members have a gluten problem. I have a separate toaster that is just for gluten free toast. When buttering toast for breakfast one has to be careful not to butter all the toast with the same knife. Also, as my daughter Yvette reminded me, no double dipping into the butter! Any crumbs left in the butter will glutinize the next person who uses the butter.

Cooking gluten free foods can become a real art form. I was just visiting my younger daughter Erica whose close friend made us a delicious vegan meal, all gluten free.  Even my meat-lovin’ son-in-law found the meal delectable!

 In conclusion I am NO EXPERT but you can go to the computer and get lots of advice on this subject. If you suspect, after reading up on this subject, that you may have celiac disease, your first stop should be with your physician to get a blood test.

Happy balanced eating; vegetables, fruits and grains that are right for you.

Happy Cooking!

 Happy Painting!

 Bye for Now

 

Francesca

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Ok, you all know that I love to cook and entertain!

This morning I had brunch for Heather and Linda as a thank you for the beautiful work they did on the grandchildren’s room.  These two lovely ladies are the ones who made my dream a reality by sewing the drapes, pillows and coverings.

Heather actually remarked at breakfast that it was a bit stressful after I left for vacation until the creative process took over because they wanted to make sure they were creating my vision. I never had any concerns, but feel badly that they experienced the angst.

I do get it because when I am commissioned to paint a painting I go through the same process. I want to make sure the person or people are pleased with the outcome of the painting. It is sooo much easier to paint out of my soul what comes to me on my own than to paint what some one else has asked for in a work of art. But in the end, whether I have been commissioned or am painting for myself, the art has to come from that deep place.

Once the creative process takes over, just like Heather said, the project is so much fun!

 Brunch Menu:

 Fresh squeezed organic orange juice

Organic gluten free Belgian Waffles made with The Pure Pantry Buckwheat Flax

Crisp bacon “Applegate Organics Uncured Hickory Smoked”

Organic berries — raspberries and blueberries

Chobani Greek yogurt and Wallaby Organic Greek yogurt

Real maple syrup

Scrambled eggs

 

Happy cooking

Happy painting

Bye for Now

Francesca

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney sickness will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

 

Those of you that have read all my blog posts know that I had my knee replaced on May 4th of 2011.

Now thanks to a change in the weather as we segue into fall, among other things, I am only one pound away from my goal. I am sure I will meet the final goal tomorrow.

So guess what I did all day? Want to know!? OK, I will tell you, I have spent the day trying on all the clothes in my closet. Turns out it is a really good day for me to do this cleaning both physically and spiritually. Much was accomplished!

Practically NONE of my clothes fit!!! The only ones that do fit are some new ones that my girlfriend bought for me when she came to visit this summer and REALLY OLD — don’t tell…..vintage 80s!!!!! clothes that are way out of style. Or maybe not? Help! I need to pick up a Vogue and see what is IN!!!

I have taken most of the clothes and put them in another closet for giveaway or to sell to a resale shop. The few still hanging are ones that I want to have tailored because they mean so much to me sentimentally. Most of these are Christopher Collins Collection (www.christophercollinscollection.com), my daughter Erica Tanamachi’s couture business. Christopher and Erica were childhood friends who started Christopher Collins Collection in 2008. Christopher was in the top six contestants in 2010 Project Runway. Check these beautiful clothes out online.

It is a law of life that when we are afraid to let go we are not making room for the new and improved whatever… As I tried clothes on today different memories came to me, good and bad, and I thought WOW it is good feng shui to let clothes go!!!!!

I am now going down to a store in Del Mar that takes designer resale. Tomorrow I am going shopping! Pretty Woman, here I come!

Ok what does this have to do with art? Nothing! But I do the same thing when I paint over paintings I don’t like.

Happy Fall Cleaning!

Bye for Now

Francesca

 

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Until almost two months ago I stored my large paintings in a bedroom in my home. A dear friend mentioned several months ago,

Fran, you should store your paintings somewhere else and turn this room into a baby’s room for your new granddaughter.

This friend was expecting her first grandbaby. She designed and created a darling and elaborate room for her granddaughter who is now two months old. My own daughter called in a panic about a month and a half ago.

Mom, I’m concerned where Jade is going to sleep when we come down for the wedding in October. The porta-crib has become too small for her and she would fall out of an adult bed.

So I thought, gosh, I am going to Europe for a month, leaving in two weeks and I need to think fast. I called a young man who is a commercial painter but also does other projects and got the help I needed to turn the room into a grandchildren’s room. My girls say they will be done having babies after this one is born in November. So I will have four granddaughters. The room was painted a very pale pink. I then went shopping to Baby World and found a reasonably priced crib. Online I found a French day bed with trundle from Target. I asked a gal who sews upholstery if she could sew the curtains, bedcoverings and pillows.

The day before my trip I called an electrician and arranged for him to put a light fixture in the ceiling with a fan.

While I was in Europe with my daughter and her family I told my oldest granddaughter Anushka about the grandchildren’s room I designed and that was being completed while I was with her in Spain.

Anushka loved me to re-tell the story detailing the new room. She and her mother and baby sister were going to travel back to the states with me for the wedding of a close friend’s daughter.

Mimi Mimi Mimi stowy stowy stowy

(In her little Spanish Basque accent)

Ok what story would you like to hear?

Invariably Anushka would either like me to tell her about my dogs Byron and Amie and their antics, or she would ask to hear about the grandchildren’s room.

When she picked to hear about the grandchildren’s room I would tell her,

Ok Anushka the room has been painted a very pale tone of your favorite color,

PINK!

Yes Anushka, Pink, even the ceiling! ☺

OH, Big smile and little gasp from Anushka.

The curtain rod has been painted white and the curtains are a gauzy white fabric. There will be crystal beading on the curtains and a fancy valence with white roses made out of fabric. There will be a window seat that is pink with a cupboard underneath that you and your cousins can keep your toys in with open area on each end for books as well as toys.

There is a white crib on one side of the room and a white French daybed on the opposite wall. The window seat and the day bed will both be covered with colorful pillows of different shapes and colors with fringes and beading. All the colors are colors that compliment the pink.

Mimi will everything be mainly pink?

Yes Anushka with white bedding and lavender and green accents.

The wall to the right as you come in the room has beautiful colorful knobs that I bought at Anthropology, placed on the wall at different heights for my soon-to-number four grandchildren. You, Jade, your baby sister Mikaela and Jade’s soon to be born baby sister. Rebecca Woolf has a show on HGTV Child Style where I saw the great idea for this special wall.

On each knob I have put an outfit for each of you when you come to visit Mimi. Each of your names will hang on a hook above your clothes.

Tell me about my outfit Mimi.

A beautiful white dress that has three white roses on it.

Anushka proceeded to cry deep breathy sobs

But I don’t want a white dress I want P…INK!

My heart felt like it was going to break for her.

Oh dearest Anushka, please don’t cry. I think you are going to love the dress but if you don’t, can you keep a secret? I have a beautiful pink one too. If you prefer the pink we can trade it for the white one. I know you like really fancy dresses so that’s why I chose the white one for you.

Anushka immediately calmed down and fell fast asleep.

I left Spain after two weeks and met my mother in Germany to then travel on to Italy for a two week Road Scholar trip of Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.

Pat (my mother) and I parted and I traveled on to meet daughter Yvette and her girls in Brussels for two days. We then traveled back to California together.

We arrived home and Anushka ran upstairs as fast as her growing legs could carry her.

Gasp Gush…her mother heard her say,

Mimi Mimi Mimi it’s soooo Beautiful!!!!!! 

And she loved the dress but she asked to see the pink one too and took the pink one home leaving the white one here for next time she comes to visit Mimi. ☺

The room will not be complete until Mimi paints murals on the walls. One will be of Byron and Amie, the two standard poodles.

Glad to be back in the States!

Bye for now

Francesca

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney illness will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

I had a gentleman tell me one time Fran, the art that sticks with people is the art that is done with confident strong powerful strokes with the energy to back them up. There’s also a quote in the Bible, Hebrews 10, Verse 35, So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. (New International Version, 1984©) I love this message!

A contemporary example of outstanding confidence is the Rock Star Pink. She is so inspiring! Pink writes what she knows and she performs without fear. A circus performer at her best, she performs with wild abandon that rocks her world and the millions who love her and her music! Stretching her limits, taking great risks! This is a perfect example in my view of what we are to do in life. When we do this we can accomplish greatness in whatever our calling is in this world.

My best paintings are painted in this manner. I go to that deepest honest spot emotionally to bring something out of my soul that is real and true. This process can be exhilarating or it can be painful. It can be painstakingly tedious and seeming without end. But in the end, if I persevere, something beautiful emerges voilà on the canvas that I am satisfied within myself. Some of my best work has actually been a gift. It just emerges and I flow with it like being on a journey. Perhaps as if led down a path to an enchanted secret garden that sparkles in moonlight.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success a chapter about the 10,000-hour rule. His observations were that you need 10,000 hours to be a phenom. Also, some other interesting points he makes:

In fact, by the age of twenty, the elite performers (violinists) had each totaled ten thousand hours of practice. — p. 38

The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything, writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin. — P. 40

To become chess grandmaster also seems to take about ten years. (Only the legendary Bobby Fisher got to that elite level in less than that amount of time: it took him nine years.) And what’s ten years? Well, it’s roughly how long it takes to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness. — p. 41

When an artist can stand in front of the canvas and paints from a totally honest spot in body and soul, intentions may be realized through paint placed on the canvas. The painter’s job is to impart the painting that comes through her intellect, emotions as well as experiences and manifests itself on to the canvas in the form of art.

An artist is blessed with the ability to sway a person’s emotions with a visual creation. Artists that I admire Matisse, Picasso, Chagall, Mathew Smith, Van Gogh – what makes their paintings great is the inner essence of the artists soul that is shared with no reservations to the world! Once these great artists completed a painting that they considered good, the painting is then in the eyes of the viewer to interpret what she sees in the art. Art is then for the pleasure of being interpreted by the viewer. If a viewer asks me what were you thinking when you painted this painting? What does this painting mean to you? I might respond, how does this painting make you feel? What do you see in the painting?

Why do we like a particular piece of art? A painting may invoke in us a certain feeling or remembrance that we can as individuals relate to in some way. Why do we see the sadness in a particular painting, where another person comes along and sees only joy and happiness in that same piece of art? We as the viewer are drawing our own conclusion and experience transfixed by the vibrations and soul of the man or woman who painted the work.

Pink, a remarkable vocal and visual artist, works tirelessly to produce and perform her rock concerts. Flying high over audiences singing with deep passion the songs that she has written out of heart ache, despair, sexual feelings intensity and love this is why millions of people flock to by her CD’s and thousands to her performances. She is being real taking chances living on the edge preforming with precision what she has envisioned in her own soul.

Here’s to being Confident in the inner knowing of what is right for us in our own lives.

Filled with inner confidence we can strive to great heights!

Bye for now

 

Francesca

PucciI had a gentleman tell me one time Fran, the art that sticks with people is the art that is done with confident strong powerful strokes with the energy to back them up. There’s also a quote in the Bible, Hebrews 10, Verse 35, So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. (New International Version, 1984©) I love this message!

A contemporary example of outstanding confidence is the Rock Star Pink. She is so inspiring! Pink writes what she knows and she performs without fear. A circus performer at her best, she performs with wild abandon that rocks her world and the millions who love her and her music! Stretching her limits, taking great risks! This is a perfect example in my view of what we are to do in life. When we do this we can accomplish greatness in whatever our calling is in this world.
My best paintings are painted in this manner. I go to that deepest honest spot emotionally to bring something out of my soul that is real and true. This process can be exhilarating or it can be painful. It can be painstakingly tedious and seeming without end. But in the end, if I persevere, something beautiful emerges voilà on the canvas that I am satisfied within myself. Some of my best work has actually been a gift. It just emerges and I flow with it like being on a journey. Perhaps as if led down a path to an enchanted secret garden that sparkles in moonlight.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success a chapter about the 10,000-hour rule. His observations were that you need 10,000 hours to be a phenom. Also, some other interesting points he makes:
In fact, by the age of twenty, the elite performers (violinists) had each totaled ten thousand hours of practice. — p. 38
The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything, writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin. — P. 40
To become chess grandmaster also seems to take about ten years. (Only the legendary Bobby Fisher got to that elite level in less than that amount of time: it took him nine years.) And what’s ten years? Well, it’s roughly how long it takes to put in ten thousand hours of hard practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness. — p. 41
When an artist can stand in front of the canvas and paints from a totally honest spot in body and soul, intentions may be realized through paint placed on the canvas. The painter’s job is to impart the painting that comes through her intellect, emotions as well as experiences and manifests itself on to the canvas in the form of art.
An artist is blessed with the ability to sway a person’s emotions with a visual creation. Artists that I admire Matisse, Picasso, Chagall, Mathew Smith, Van Gogh – what makes their paintings great is the inner essence of the artists soul that is shared with no reservations to the world! Once these great artists completed a painting that they considered good, the painting is then in the eyes of the viewer to interpret what she sees in the art. Art is then for the pleasure of being interpreted by the viewer. If a viewer asks me what were you thinking when you painted this painting? What does this painting mean to you? I might respond, how does this painting make you feel? What do you see in the painting?
Why do we like a particular piece of art? A painting may invoke in us a certain feeling or remembrance that we can as individuals relate to in some way. Why do we see the sadness in a particular painting, where another person comes along and sees only joy and happiness in that same piece of art? We as the viewer are drawing our own conclusion and experience transfixed by the vibrations and soul of the man or woman who painted the work.

Pink, a remarkable vocal and visual artist, works tirelessly to produce and perform her rock concerts. Flying high over audiences singing with deep passion the songs that she has written out of heart ache, despair, sexual feelings intensity and love this is why millions of people flock to by her CD’s and thousands to her performances. She is being real taking chances living on the edge preforming with precision what she has envisioned in her own soul.
Here’s to being Confident in the inner knowing of what is right for us in our own lives.
Filled with inner confidence we can strive to great heights!
Bye for now

Francesca

Path:

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an hard-on to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney illness will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.

Lately I have been noticing a profusion of butterflies and dragonflies in north San Diego County. One day there were so many that I actually counted them; twenty-five butterflies floating about in the garden! I had just returned from an invigorating swim in the ocean that left my body feeling tingly all over! Seeing the butterflies and dragonflies floating through the garden overwhelmed my senses and gave me the feeling that I was living in a real-life Alice in Wonderland dream world. It’s moments such as these that I am inspired to paint.

My sister Wendy has been calling almost every day.

Want to meet down at Swami’s for a swim?

I am so grateful to her for turning me on to this wonderful amazing playground in my own front yard! The expression the best things in life are free really fits the description!

I have a friend here in San Diego who is a surfer and a fisherman besides being an excellent cook. He always has a fishing pole in his truck in case the fishin is better than the surfin. One morning last July he paddled out from Pacific Beach three quarters of a mile and caught a thirteen-pound halibut off his surfboard!

I have another friend and she fishes with her boyfriend from their kayaks down in south San Diego Bay around the Coronado Cays. My friend has seen a pod of dolphins swimming around the bay.

Everywhere one lives there are amazing opportunities for outdoor life. We just need to be adventuresome! It’s funny that we feel we need to go on vacation to do the fun things and if we plan it right we can have such fulfilling life styles doing fun things right in our hometowns.

When Pete and I were first married we lived in an apartment attached to my grandmother’s house. Peter and his buddies were civil engineers and would go surfing at lunchtime every day. I have a friend whose practice is in Del Mar and he walks to work, keeps a surfboard at the office, and goes surfin every day at lunch year round!

I have other friends who have just one car. The husband rides his bicycle to the Coaster and takes it down with him to work in San Diego. On his lunch hour he walks for exercise and rides his bike back to the train station after work. What an enchanting life style. Besides being green this friend has the enjoyment of incorporating exercise and outdoor life into his daily lifestyle.

One of my daughters and her husband live in a small town on the way to Point Reyes.
My son-in-law’s passion is cycling. My daughter shares his love for cycling.
In my view where they live is like living in Europe. They both work in San Francisco but totally utilize the advantages and natural resources of their beautiful environment.
They have had at times ridden their bicycles to work over the Golden Gate Bridge! Every weekend they take amazing bicycle rides to Point Reyes or different spots in and around Mount Tamalpais.

I admire my son-in-law. He comes home from a hard day at work and goes for a mountain bike ride! Great exercise and what a way to enjoy nature with all 5 senses!

Here’s to enjoying the gifts around us and incorporating them into our daily lives!

Bye for Now,

 

Francesca

Did somebody tell you about watermelon Viagra? If you’re concerned about sexual disorder, you have to study about it. Erectile dysfunction, defined as the persistent failure to maintain an erection to the orgasm, exerts an estimated 15 to 30 millions men in the United States only. Because some of symptoms are medical emergencies, it’s considerable to know what to do if they happen. On occasion kidney disease will lead to erectile dysfunction. As a rule, this may include high blood pressure, anxiety, or a venous leak.