Rain not Shine!

The Art Bike Rally 2006 went off without a hitch. Except that it rained the entire time...it didn't pour! The "Pine Pony" took the prize for sure, can you imagine it actually worked? Check out more bikes....click here.

Capitol Beauty

This is the view on an average sunny Saturday morning, strolling around the Farmer's Market. What a regal building! 

' Tis the Season

Why I love May:
All the delicious goods I have bought from the Farmer's Market this week...

Asparagus: grilled, steamed or in soup
Morel Mushrooms: dipped in egg, flour and fried in butter of course
Arugula: spicy green good in anything
Coconut Macaroons: soft, flaky and unbelievable

I am totally enjoying the season so far. Plus, my Birthday is coming (May 22) and I have a 4 day weekend to play. Any suggestions anyone?

This week is very busy work wise for me, so I apologize for the lack of blogging activity. I am taking a class about a cognitive assessment tool to use to guide therapy....it's very interesting and also difficult to digest while sitting for 8 hours X 2 days.

The art bike parade is Saturday. Gear up and pray for sun.

Edible Mushrooms

My neighbor (age 8) found this mushroom growing in her front yard. She called me over to ask what it was, then thought I was crazy when I told her she should dip it in egg and fry it in butter. It's that time of year! I love Morals, they are such a treat. By the way, the going rate at the Farmer's Market is $24/pound. It's worth it to wander around in the woods, or in your front yard. 

It's a Wisconsin thing

After living in this state for a few years now, I've decided I should get to know it better. I want to explore and hang out with some cows. I think it's actually a really beautiful state. Here are some websites that tell all.

Not pronounced Wes-consin.
www.missprouncer.com
How do you say Chequamegon or Oconomowoc?? What about mayor Dave Cieslewicz? I must say there are words and places and full conversations I haven't had because I don't know how to pronounce these strange words.

Did you know that as America's dairy state, our 1.3 million cows actually produce a years supply of cheese for 86 million people? How much cheese is that? I eat a lot of cheese.

http://agency.travelwisconsin.com/PR/Tourism_Facts/Facts.shtm#FAMOUSWISCONSIN

We lead the country in cranberries and ginseng? Who knew?
We have the nation's largest muskie (a fish), the largest waterpark, and the largest farmer's market, plus the world's largest one day fish fry. Now that's something to be proud of. Oh, don't forget the world's largest display of prepared mustard.

???!!

And what about those Packers? Since Bret Favre isn't going to retire, we can all breathe a sigh of relief (another name I've never pronounced right). That was front page news in these parts. I can sleep at night now.

Did I mention how much I love football?
All and all, it's a strange state. I must say, but with many virtues and beautiful places.

Beautiful Day

 

April is OT month

Happy Occupational Therapy Month everyone!

I can get a little philosophical about my profession but I really do believe in it's foundation.
It's a cool job.

For all of you who are still a little fuzzy about what we do...

Taken from the AOTA website:

"Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. Occupational therapy assists people in developing the "skills for the job of living" necessary for independent and satisfying lives.

Every day, children and adults have or develop health conditions that significantly affect their ability to manage their daily lives. With the help of occupational therapy, many of these individuals can achieve or regain a higher level of independence. When skill and strength cannot be developed or improved, occupational therapy offers creative solutions and alternatives for carrying out daily activities."

Have you hugged an occupational therapist today??

Desire

Hello all.

It's been awhile. I've been busy.

I went home for Easter. It was a sweet time with the family. We watched some old videos just converted to DVD (so brilliant) of past holiday gatherings. It was good to see our family all together...the past couple years have been hard. Big changes, divorces, hard feelings, more time inbetween gatherings. It's hard to come together and feel complete with people missing. It's also hard to talk about these things because they are so personal, not really a topic for extended family gatherings. For me, watching those videos of happy times and sharing a laugh about so and so's hair or god awful style was very heart warming (it was the 80's). I wish I could heal the hurt and broken relationships so at least my grandparents could feel good about their family. It's very hard on my grandma. But there are some things one cannot touch. The best you can do is remember and share stories and know that the past is a part of now and change is the only constant. It's hard to let go of expectations about how you want your family to be. I struggle with that all the time.

I was listening to NPR yesterday and the topic was human desire. Pretty interesting stuff to me. Something I think about a lot is why we want the things we do and how to be satisfied and happy. This is simple and complex stuff. The author suggested that happy people desire the stuff they already have. In a way I guess this is the classic cliches of giving thanks, not taking for granted, counting your blessings...and so on. He also talked about the effect of natural disasters and death. How the bad stuff adjusts our life satisfaction and desires. How material items matter very little, and how thankful you can feel even if you have "lost everything."

A very sad event happened in my neighborhood this week. My good friend miscarried her 7 month old baby. The more I think about it, the harder it is to put any feeling into words. I know that we all feel the heartache of loss with them, a dream unrealized, a baby unborn. The depth of their sadness I may never touch.

But I do believe that the hard parts of life make the simple good things so much sweeter. I know that the pain of a heart ache is very real. But how amazing is it just to feel that much sadness all at once?

People are so resilliant. I see that everyday in the nursing home where I work. There are some completely heart breaking stories out there. How about the woman who's kids bought her a Caribean cruise for her 90th birthday and she falls stepping onto the boat in Florida, only to break her hip and have to be flown back to Wisconsin for surgery and a stay at the nursing home. She never did go on that cruise. Or what about the pilot in his 50's who was thrown off his motorcycle, only to end up with a spinal cord injury, paralyzed and totally dependent on people. He and his wife are going through quite a time. I think they will make it but it is a long hard road. He went from flying planes to needing someone to brush his teeth. How do people even keep on? His attitude is amazing to me though.

One thing I battle is this notion that we should find happiness in our own lives and be thankful for what we have after we see how miserable other people are. Like if you see someone suffering, you should be thankful that it's not you. True happiness comes must from within. I want to be grateful without having to compare my life to someone's misfortune. I do feel so blessed in many ways.

I haven't come up with any brilliant ways to ease suffering or help people with their pain. Mostly, as a therapist I just try to be there with people. Show them ways to move through the event, but also ways to just be where they are and have faith that it won't last forever. Change is the only constant.

It is the person who experiences a life with great width and depth, the sheer size of emotion that really feels alive. I would think that no number of trophies or diamonds or shoes would ever reveal life in a better way than through great sadness and joy. The author on the radio ended with an interesting question. What would you desire if you were the last person on earth?

Pretty Art Bike

Pretty Art Bike, Pretty Art Bike...
This is my second art project of the weekend...how creative am I?! This is a promo bike for the upcoming art bike parade. It attracts a lot of attention! You can't really tell, but there are sea shells glued to the fenders... 

Chickens for Chickens

This is some of the art created by a neighborhood after school art club. The theme is "Chickens for Chickens" and the kids have chose to make a series of chicken art that will be sold at a gallery for the month of May. All proceeds of this will go to Hefers International, an organization that buys chickens for families in places like Africa. I think the art is so adorable and they work so hard on this. So heart warming! 

Jack is very curious about Easter! I think he just wants to hunt the bunny...
These are Ukrainian eggs I made at the neighbor's house this weekend. It's a very tedious, complicated procedure that is a little like surgery, but way more colorful. We all enjoyed ourselves. My friend Jana cracked her finished egg open on her lap. It was funny. For everyone else. I also cracked an egg, though it was blown. It's funny for a second, makes you realize how much time and energy we put into such fragile little things. I suppose any craft is like that. 

Sundays

Today we went on a bike ride around the lake and stopped at a cafe.

I saw nothing unusual but did notice how many houses are for sale. Sunday is the day for open houses.

I decorated an art bike I will post a pic tomorrow.

My parents are here for the week. Very exciting!

Moab

This was the amazing view...desert as far as the eye can see, then snow capped mountains as the painted in backdrop...

Vacation Past

Today I was remembering my trip to Moab, Utah a couple years ago. What a beautiful place that is. The slickrock is a dream to bike on...
The red rock there is majestic.

Timing

On Wednesday (of this week), at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00am, the time and date will be:
01:02:03 04/05/06.

That won't happen again for 1000 years.

Daylight Strikes

What a gray weekend. This morning we had a cereal party. Everyone got together for cartoons and their favorite cereal. I brought Grapenuts as a joke and then another person (we won't mention names) also brought a box of the same. It was funny because it turned out to be the only repeat cereal that showed up twice. Who eats a full bowl of Grapenuts?! Seriously, it's more of a prescription than a breakfast. I like it sprinkled in yogurt but otherwise....yuk. I ate a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and rasberries. It was quite excellent. We all layed around on the couch and futon watching cartoons. I enjoyed The Simpson's the most.

Happy Day Light Savings everyone!
There's one good thing about it...
Now the cat is starting to wake me up at 6:00 AM instead of 5:oo like yesterday. I need to do something about him. This is our morning ritual. He jumps up on the dresser and knocks things off one by one, making the most noise he can and annoying me to the max. I sit up in bed and then he immediately jumps down and onto the bed. He crawls under the covers where he proceeds to attack my hands for awhile, then he calms down for 10 minutes and I fall back asleep. Next, he's back on the dresser. I jump out of bed and scamper through the cold kitchen to put some food in his dish, even though it is half full. He has a small snack, I fall back asleep. Fifteen minutes later, you know the drill, he's back up on the dresser about to push the alarm clock onto the floor. I jump out of bed ready for revenge. In the kitchen drawer I find the dreaded hairball treatment goop and plant a glob on the corner of his mouth. I figure he'll be licking his way to a nap. I head back to bed satisfied, because it had worked the day before. But no. Not today. So, I hear him use the litter box in our bathroom and then hop back on the dresser. At this point, I was swearing outloud. I push him out the door and close it behind him. You are all wondering why I didn't do this sooner...it's because I dread the thought of him needing the litter box and being locked out of the room where it is. Anyway, he made a racket trying to push the door open by throwing his body against it and didn't succeed. I finally got to finish my beauty rest. I just wish I could figure out what the heck I can do for him at that time of day! He is a persistant little #$*&@. Despite all of this, we still love him and it will happen again tomorrow, if we could just teach him the concept of weekends. Better on a Monday for sure.

Almost Spring

I was super bored today. Gray day, not quite warm enough to lounge outside. But I did document these important events. A red robin took a birdbath outside my window, he splashed around, excited for spring. A little blue flower is considering to pop out in my garden. It's very promising.

Bittersweet Perfection

I am feeling the depth of life today. No more silly talk of toilets and such. I can’t even write about it. How to find a positive spin on sad topics. To talk about life’s sad turns without being totally depressing. Is that the art of being a good writer? A good human? A good sister/daughter? A good blogger? Must I always find the positive spin before I talk about the sad parts of life with someone? What if I don’t know how to feel OK about it myself? I have such a critical voice in my head. I want everything to come out sounding perfectly planned. It is. But it may not be perfect. But what the hell is perfect really? Grrrr. I hate clichés. The questions that are asked so often. The phrases I write out of habit. What is perfect? How many times has that question been asked? Stupid cliché. I guess the problem is that the question has never really been answered. I have a theory about perfection but it doesn’t prove itself to me in real time and this is the perpetual problem. I believe that perfection is everything that is. That it exists and does not exist at all, both at the same time. Every word, thought and deed we all do is perfect, almost by default I guess. Perfection plays itself out again and again in life cycles. It is perfect that just as winter starts to drive all of us batty, the tulips start to sprout, bloom, then die. It is perfect that people meet and fall in love and break up. It is perfect that I am my own best/worst critic. But how does that account for the sad, seemingly imperfect parts of life? Can I say that aging is perfect? I am watching four people die these past two weeks. Slow, painful, laboring at life, bruised bodies from strokes and blood clots, aged hands, blue veins, short of breath. Where last week they were coherent, now they are hallucinating and speaking word salad. Is that perfect? Is that by default? I could put an up spin on this. But I’m not going to. I don’t want to fool anyone. That’s the problem with perfection. It’s not always beautiful at face value. It’s not always graceful. It’s not what we fight for. It just is.

I will never understand how this perfect life plays out. I fight against the urge to want to. Maybe that’s where I go wrong. I should be OK with wanting to understand. But I know it’s not possible. Mostly, I should know it is not my place to judge. Good or bad, perfect or not, life happens everyday. Perhaps the perfect part is change. I can always change my mind tomorrow and take this post off the internet. So, I guess this is leading to the positive spin part of my message. I want to fight that. The question that begs an answer goes unanswered in its own perfect way leaving me to feel the weight of life and all of its sweet and sad parts.

Random Acts

http://home.hiram.edu/hal/good%20deed%20ideas.htm

I was just thinking about anonymous good deeds, and how nice they are. Then, I googled it, and who knew?! Of course there is a web site. I would like to plant this seed for the coming week. Some are a bit ambitious for me. You won't see me out painting any sheds, sorry to disppoint. Hmm, I won't likely be tipping the grocery boy 50 bucks either. But still, I believe in good acts! I'll think of something nice and easy and cheap.

Ha ha.

Seriously, good acts come in so many forms. They don't have to be so elaborate, it can be as little as letting someone merge onto the beltline in traffic.

If anyone has any more ideas for me?

Noteworthy Blogs

For those of you into music...

This is a blog of note:

http://goodweatherforairstrike.blogspot.com/

Some good stuff to listen to.
I really like the band Royksopp (March 22), a great new technoish sound...

Secondly,
This guy is hilarious. Cracks me in half every time I read it.
http://elguapodc.blogspot.com