sprung ....

the sun came out while i was sitting on the dentist chair yesterday.

i decided right there and then that if i survived the root canal that i was going

 for an extra long, slow walk to take in some of that vitamin D.

well...i survived !!!

thanks to great anesthesia and 

my wonderful and extremely gentle-handed dentist,

i felt almost nothing at all and i was even able

 to doze off a few times during the procedure.

check out what i found during my stroll....

spring has sprung on the west coast !!!

i've been so busy and distracted lately that i almost missed the crocuses 

(the beginning of the symphony of blooms).

aren't they stunning?

i was so happy (after the walk) and relieved (after the root canal)

that i went home and finally took down the last of the christmas decorations.

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: embroidered cloth

had i the heavens' embroidered cloths.

enwrought with golden and silver light,

the blue and the dim and the dark cloths

of night and light and the half-light,

i would spread the cloths under your feet:

but i, being poor, have only my dreams;

i have spread my dreams under your feet;

tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

                                   -william butler yeats

did you do any embroidery when you were younger?

i did...it was my favourite subject at elementary school 

(waaaaay back when...when my family still lived in the philippines)

i think that is the reason i can't help but admire any embroidery work - 

especially work that has been hand made, hand crafted.

i found this yellow hand made top in a tinker trunk

at a second hand (not-really-thrift) shop while visiting the town of duncan, b.c..

the second hand, consignment store had a ton of treasures in it 

but a lot of it were priced so high i decided to just browse.

that is when i discovered the tinker trunk... with its 'everything for a twoonie" sign.

guess what was sitting on the top of the pile?

i very rarely wear yellow...(i think it makes my complexion look sallow)

but in this case, the embroidery overrides the sallow yellow,

especially on a grey and cloudy day (yup...the rain is back!!!)

wishing you all a very lovely wednesday !!!

erica

xoxo

joining lindsey for 'what i wore' wednesday

fun stuff: three on the needles

here they are...

all three scrap blankets (still on the needles)

two are almost done... and one is a third of the way through.

can you tell i knit for the colour play?

 i'm still in the middle of john lanchester's capital but have put it aside

because my copy of andre alexis' fifteen dogs came in at the library.

i haven't been able to put it down.

it is an easy read...the author tackles the questions of life and happiness 

and whether humans or our four legged furry canine friends do better at both.

what are you knitting?  reading?

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

dangling purple

hello monday !!!

hello friends...

i hope you had a restful, peaceful, restorative weekend.

we had two beautiful sun filled days which we spent:

getting plenty of exercise (there was not one but two advance step class offered and i couldn't resist- now my legs are practically jello from exhaustion), 

playing soccer, 

brunching, and checking out a new vietnamese pho place,

reading (my library copy of andre alexis' fifteen dogs came in), 

knitting, 

and walking the neighbourhood and taking in all the lingering christmas ornaments (soooooon to be replaced by cherry blossoms).

check out the purple danglers !!!

i am up early (almost done my mug of coffee)...and i am excited for the day.

it is going to be a busy and challenging week 

(with a dratted root canal right in the middle of it.. UGH !!!)

but i'm in a good head/heart space and think i'm ready for it -

 ALL OF IT.

wishing you all a wonderful start to your week !

erica

xoxo

evening of dance

you have to love

dancing to stick to it.

it gives you nothing back,

no manuscripts to store away,

no painting to show on walls

and maybe hang in museums,

no poems to be printed and sold,

nothing but that single fleeting

moment when you

feel alive.

                                - merce cunningham

our local high school just hosted two spectacular evenings of dance

it was heartwarming and so inspiring to watch 

these beautiful spirits give life and movement to music.

many of our community came (two full packed houses) to cheer our dancers on.

bravo to everyone...

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: winter hellebore

last time i checked...it is still winter.

but the mild temperatures have returned to the west coast

and the hellebores are in full bloom.

it reached 10 degrees celsius in victoria yesterday !!

harlow and i walked to do some errands mid day.  

all i wore were a couple of under layers and my thrifted green sweater.

i usually don't venture out, this time of the year, without lots of extra warm clothing, 

but found my brave after watching several joggers 

pass by our house in their t-shirts and shorts.

 we stopped several times to admire all the winter hellebores.

these deer resistant beauties seem to be a favourite in everyone's garden.

poor deer:  "go on...help yourself to all the little tulips 

but these gorgeous hellebores are all ours to enjoy !"

wishing you all a wonderful wednesday

erica

xoxo

joining lindsey for 'what i wore ' wednesday

fun stuff: more khaki

my khaki scrap blanket is growing.

i pick it up and work the needles many times during my day.

here it is photographed with the vessel that inspired it.

khaki and blue - who knew?

yes...i'm really enjoying john lanchester's capital.

the little room of rachell left a comment last week about how 

the BBC has produced a three part series based on this book.

toby jones (my favourite truman capote) plays the banker

...so i'm sure it will be worth watching.

also, i found a used, clean copy of cheryl richardson's the art of extreme self-care 

in one of the little free libraries during my walk around the hood yesterday.

i have a feeling that the universe is trying to tell me something !!!

what are you knitting? reading?

care to share?

erica

xoxo
p.s.  thank you so much to all who sent healing energy to help me 
get rid of that nasty nasty cold...it worked!!!

 joining frontier dreams and small things

happy on purpose

if you want to be happy

you have to be happy on purpose.

when you wake up,

you can't just wait to see 

what kind of day you'll have.

you have to decide what kind of

day you'll have.

                                   

                                      - joel osteen

today i am going to do happy things...
i am going to make and enjoy creamy, steamy, dark, happy coffee (at least twice today).
i am going to walk my happy, waggly-tail dog.
i am going to fill my cart with beautiful, healthy, delicious (expensive- yikes!!) fruit and veggies and maybe some chocolates (why not - right?).
i am visiting the library to pick up my holds and see what other inspiring reading i can find.
i am viewing several assisted living accommodations for my mom-in-love.
i am going to dance my worries away (advance step is on this afternoon --- hip hip hooray!!)
i am going to make a big, fat, healthy, happy salad for dinner.
i am going to knit while listening to a mindful meditation audio recording.
i am going to paint my toes happy, baby blue. 

yup...it's going to happen !!!

wishing you all a happy monday folks

erica

xoxo

aha !!!

the day you decide that

you are more interested in

being aware of your thoughts

than you are in the thoughts themselves

- that is the day

you will find your way out.

                                                      - michael singer

there is something i just clued in on...that i'm eager to share.

i had one of those aha moments where i found out i've been doing something totally wrong FOREVER. 
one of those revelations when someone/something finally points it out to you, that it takes everything to stop yourself from hitting your head to make sure it was working properly because you're wondering how it took so long to clue in on the first place!!!

OK...here it is:
positive thinking and forcing yourself to think positive thoughts is NOT a solution to help someone who is caught in a downward negative spiral of depression.

someone suffering from depression can actually become MORE depressed by the fact that they are unable to switch their negative thought patterns to more pleasant/happier/sunnier ones.  
this is because feelings of inadequacy may arise that can pull them further down the downward negative spiral.

isn't that mind blowing???? but, now, it makes so much sense.

i've always been a control your thought-control you mind-control your life kind of person.
if i'm feeling down, i change my environment, i exercise, i dance, i bombard my head with creative, positive thoughts.   
thinking positive thoughts is/was always my strongest defense against the dark forces.

BUT...the key note here is that my positive thinking strategy works for me because i have not really ever been (seriously/severely/chronically) depressed.

when someone is struggling (emotionally) and they come to me, i was always the first to try and persuade them to look at some positive/ brighter aspects of their lives.
so many people are struggling with mental health issues in our little community (there has been some very recent suicides...especially after the holidays), and now i realize that i and my positive-thinking-is-the-solution self did not help one bit.

how did i miss this important information?...clearly i had totally missed the memo!!! .

a better way is through mindfulness meditation - by practicing and getting the skills to face those negative thoughts and make some space around them.  
yup...making space and practicing gentleness and kindness and patience for ourselves as we face our difficult emotions.

here is a great book i found that explains things much better than i can...

sooooo much hard work....let's do it!!!

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: purple and mystery artist

welcome to another 'what i wore' wednesday.

i'm linking up with lindsey and the ladies for some fashion fun.

i don't know why, but i'm back to wearing and surrounding myself 

with a lot of purple again lately.

purple...purple...purple everywhere !!

purple t-shirts, purple sweaters, purple bed sheets, even purple original art.

the purple outfit was thrifted (like 99.999% of my clothing)

i live in easy, comfortable, pieces that i can wear in layers

 because of our west coast climate.

here in victoria b.c., there is always such a large change in temperature from the start of the any day compared to late afternoons...so layering is key !!!

this beautiful acrilic painting on canvas and all its purple tones was also thrifted.

i spotted it in one of my favourite thrift shops before holidays 

and fell instantly in love with it.

ian and the kids surprised me with it for christmas.

there is no signature on the piece and the ladies working the shop 

couldn't tell me more about it's previous owner...

so the artist remains a mystery.

so if you have any clue of who the artist is 

or have any similar pieces...let me know.

wishing you a beautiful wednesday!!!

erica

xoxo

fun stuff: khaki and capital

somewhere ... they say,  'life only gives you as much as you can handle."

well, despite everything that is causing a lot of stress in this little head of mine, 

i caught the nastiest of colds over the weekend (not fun at all...i tell ya !).

on a positive note, i got a lot of rows done on my khaki blanket,

 in between sneezes and coughs and trips to the kettle for more lemon tea.

 i was too dozy to read but i did start a new fiction before my sinuses broke loose.

a good friend of mine, a very successful real estate agent, gave me her copy
 of john lanchester's capital.

it wasn't a title i would have picked up on my own, 

(me - the anti-capitalist, the wannabe non-consumerist, and aspiring minimalist) 

but, to my surprise, it is proving to be a really good read.

there are plenty of characters to get to know 

and although i'm only a few chapters in,

 the author has presented a good grasp 

on the idea of finding true abundance in such 

a money driven-flip-your-real-estate

and move-on-to-something-bigger-and-better culture.

what are you knitting? reading? 

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

magic pill

suppose you read about a pill

    that you could take once a day to

                reduce anxiety and increase your contentment.

would you take it?

 suppose further that the pill

        has a great variety of side effects,

             all of them good:  increased self-esteem,

                empathy, and trust; it even improves memory.

       suppose, finally, that the pill is 

 all natural and cost nothing.

           now would you take it? the pill exist. 

it is M E D I T A T I O N.

                                                    - jonathan haidt

i came to my meditation practice when my kids were really young and 

i found myself so anxious about everything about motherhood.

i stumbled upon the wisdom of eckhart tolle through his book the power of now 

and i was immediately convinced about taking up the practice.
i was inspired by the way he would meditate on a flower or a tree, on a park bench.

more than sixteen years later...

i'm still working hard on this daily practice of focusing my mind/thoughts/attention. 

 slowly but surely, i'm increasing my ability to maintain that focus.

do it my friends...just do it !!!

it really is a magic pill free for the taking !!!

erica

xoxo

must learn to play the guitar

                           because 
                           i have known despair
                           i value hope

                           because
                           i have tasted frustration
                           i value fulfillment

                           because
                           i have been lonely
                           i value love

                                   - leonard nimoy

where did this week go?

it has been a really tough one for me and for many of those close to me, 

so a part of me is glad it is almost over.

when things are tough...you'll find me cycling hard at the gym and picking up 
words of wisdom from my fellow cyclists, filling my grocery cart with fruit, veggies and chocolate, walking the dog, reading philosophy, (not) cleaning the house,

and listening to lennon and maisy.

aren't these girls super talented?

really wish i could play the guitar !!!! 

(i'm still working on my new years resolution list.)

wishing y'all a good day.

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: comfy cozy

have you noticed i haven't done a what i wore post in a while?

this is mainly because my mirror room became a dumping/storage zone 

while i cleared the rest of our home of clutter for the holidays.

HA... yup, i'm a hide the clutter when company's coming kind of gal.

well this is my attempt at getting back to normal routine...

except for the fact that i didn't get out of my comfy cozy sweatshirt

 and yoga pants after coming home from the gym 

(don't worry...i showered and brought clean ones to change into)

and...except for the fact that someone came home early from his second day of school 

with what looks like the beginning of a cold (ugh...)

and the worst case of anxiety.

 

like lindsey, i started these what i wore posts as motivation 

"to get out of my daily uniform of jammies or sweats".

but somedays...you just have to wear comfy cozy (thrifted) ALL day and 

snuggle under a colourful comforter (also thrifted) with a warm cup of creamy coffee 

and talk your way through a tough day.

somedays...comfy cozy takes the helm and helps to shield ourselves 

from society and all its pressures that is all about results and achieving 

and being the best and doing it right.

tomorrow...i'm bagging some of that clutter and delivering it to good will.

tomorrow...we start again!!!

erica

xoxo