Day 340 July 10, 2011

white sculpture clay, glaze, acrylic paint

Today is a hot one.  May a cool breeze blow your way on such a hot day as today.

David and I spent many hours of quiet today in the new yoga studio, preparing it for its first class this Saturday.  At times I lay on my side, painting near the floor, or you'd find David removing the front door for painting, and then using the roller to freshen up the rope walls.  We placed props on shelves and then covered them to keep the dust off because some gyproc still needs installation in the entranceway.

This new space is leafy due to tall trees looming nearby and the neighborhood is quiet.  The studio windows face a wealth of greenery, so on a hot day like today we were blessed to have a cool space to prepare for our yoga community.  We feel so much gratitude, for a day such as today.

How was your day?  I hope you felt blessed.

Day 339 July 9, 2011

sugar snap peas

Tonight I picked my first sugar snap peas for a meal.  I've munched on a few over the last week, but today there was an entire colander filled to the brim with fresh, organically grown sugar snap peas.
Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.  When these peas are freshly picked and eaten they are so sweet I call them candy bar peas.

The air tonight has a freshly washed feeling because it rained all day.  My little broccoli transplants are very happy with this turn of events.  Tomorrow the sunshine is supposed to return so I think the garden will jump again in gratitude for the rain and heat.

Heat.  That is a lovely concept.  These old bones of mine love heat.  What do your bones love?

Day 338 July 8, 2011

detail of acrylic painting

Did I remember to tell you I painted my first canvas this spring?  With my daughter Jen's encouragement I just went for it.  She was buying a large canvas and paints and she just turned to me and asked, Have you painted a canvas yet mom? That question and the teasing smile on her face were all the encouragement I needed.

I did some sketching, some creative dreaming and a loose water colour treatment before I tackled the canvas.  I read a book on how to complete an acrylic painting after I'd started. Then there were the changes I made to the design as I worked from with my original idea.

Repainting some areas several times, standing back to see how it looked from ten feet away, just looking at it for a week or so to see how it looked on each new day, I finally felt satisfied.  Now I plan to make a series of paintings based on small parts of this canvas.  Simplify each one.  Nothing extra.  Minimize the design elements.

Have you done anything brand new, for the first time, this year?  Was it fun?

Day 337 July 7, 2011

green bean leaves

Yesterday my dear friend Denise, author of the blog 365 days of yoga and daily routine, decided to practise her five most challenging poses each day for the last month of her blog, so I followed her lead and decided to do the same.  Today I talked to David about this plan.  That was a good idea.

Once he saw my five poses he suggested I do one pose each day.  The poses are so difficult for me that I'll be doing preparatory poses that lead up to the final difficult pose.  Today he showed me how to work with padmasana.  Wow.  That was enlightening.  Deep work.

Thank goodness we have teachers :)

Day 336 July 6, 2011

footed vase inspired by Marguerite Wildenhain

August 4th is coming up, my last day to blog for this project.  It seems impossible to realize that my blog will end, but something else wonderful must surely be taking its place :) [that's the eternal optimist in me talking]

My fellow blogger Denise has listed her five most challenging yoga asanas and she realizes that one way to improve is to practice them, versus avoiding them.  I was such a silly person at one point.  I would intentionally show up late to yoga class just to avoid my most challenging pose that we always practiced at the start of the Saturday morning classes.  It really hurt my shoulder too much.  I had such pain somedays I would cry.  Slowly, slowly that shoulder has improved and now the discomfort is lessened significantly.  My tight upper back was part of the problem and the rest of it was a protective posture I'd learned after dislocating that shoulder.  So practice does help, and lots of patience.

My five most challenging poses at this point are tadasana [mountain pose], virabradhasana 3 [warrior 3], padmasana [lotus], pinchamayurasana [elbow balance], and parvritta trikonasana [revolved triangle pose].  I think Denise is right. I too will practise each of these poses for the next 30 days.

Namaste.

Day 335 July 5, 2011

Heat.  I was feeling it today.  At least ten watering cans of cold water to quench the thirsty plants in the garden, one long dip in the Avon River to cool off my sweated self and air conditioning became a blessing.

What was the weather like in your part of the world?  Steamy? Chilly? Foggy? Arid? Smoggy? Frosty?

Day 334 July 4, 2011

Lincoln teeing off



My dad loved to golf.  He did sport fishing too.  This photo is of my dad teeing off and from my best estimate, he appears to be in his early thirties.  I know lots of people who love to golf, I am just not one of them.  To each his own, right?  I prefer standing on my head, rolling around on a yoga mat, doing standing poses, and yes, I also love to swim.  I had my first swim of this summer yesterday morning in a chilly lake.  The sky was gorgeous and so was the lake.  What do you love to do on a fine summer's day?

Day 333 July 3, 2011

Chake's Crepes

If you are anywhere in the vicinity of Windsor, Nova Scotia (about one hour from Halifax) on a Friday or a Sunday, mid morning to early afternoon, drop by, run, walk, bike, or swim to this cafe / convenience store, to taste their delectable crepes Chake's Crepe's at Chaker's Rite Stop.  Pictured here is the luscious fresh strawberry crepe I ate today.  It is a chocolate crepe with artfully sliced fresh strawberries, whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar,  a swirl of nutella and a drizzle of homemade strawberry sauce.  In a word, yum :)

There are also many savoury crepe selections too with fresh cooked veggies, meats and cheeses!  Check out the Facebook page about Chake's Crepes too.  Hands down, best crepe I've ever eaten, anywhere.  Spread the word.

There is outdoor or indoor seating, ample parking is available next to the store, and the friendly staff treat you like family.

Day 332 July 2, 2011

creating a yoga studio space

So how do you create a yoga studio space?  Well in this case you have very good people involved in the study of Iyengar yoga.  They are serious about embodying the good intentions of the eight limbs of yoga.  When it is time to move out of a large expensive yoga studio space, a new, beautiful, more compact space is pretty much instantly made available to the yoga community's teacher.  Then when the teacher asks for help with the move, handfuls of students immediately volunteer to help.  A dedicated group of students continue to remodel and build the yoga studio space anew where they will soon continue in their study.  In the meantime, people practice at home until the new studio is ready to welcome them.

How can this happen, you say?  Well when you've known people who study Iyengar yoga for about twenty years in some cases, a feeling of trust binds you together.  You are willing to help each other.   In some cases these people also share their lives together beyond the studio walls.   The very best side of people shines in a situation like this.  Actually, in many other cases in life too, when you've worked together with someone for a long time you trust the connections between you.  Then the magic can unfold.

Namaste.

Day 331 July 1, 2011

Canada Day in Ottawa

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Here in Nova Scotia we are having a glorious sunny day.  David and I indulged in an ice cream cone today, the first of this summer season.  It certainly was good.  The doggies swam in the Avon River which made them happy.  On our drive to town I was impressed with the abundance of wild flowers of nearly every description by the roadside.  Some hayfields in our neighbourhood are stripped bare while others are waiting for their turns.  With good luck, the farmers will have a second crop of hay later on this summer.

With good luck...  Good luck to you today, wherever you are on this lovely spinning planet we call our home.