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Easter Greetings

April 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

lilyBy Irene Conlan -

For many Easter is a holy celebration of the resurrection of Christ from the dead after his crucifixion.  For some this is a time to celebrate Passover (March 30 – April 6) -  commemorating the biblical event of Hebrews’ escape from enslavement in Egypt. For others it is the beginning of Spring and represents a time of renewal and growth.  And some celebrate the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs – lots of chocolate – and fight over who gets to bite the ears  off the chocolate bunny. Some ignore it completely.

Together, however, we can celebrate the gift of free will and a loving God who gave us this exquisite gift of choice.   Click the link below for my gift to you.

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=2295609851550&source=jl999

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Celebrating Green and St Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
While you may or may not want to be “wearing of the green” on St. Patrick’s Day, you may still bring the best of luck to you and yours with any type of celebration to welcome and open the door to Spring, which is part of the St. Pat’s Day festivities. It is just so enjoyable to go from the lackluster bland colors of Winter to the vibrant and enticing shades of green and Spring.

One of the staples of a St. Patrick’s Day dinner is Irish Soda Bread. There are so many different recipes available on the ‘net that you can pick and choose to your heart’s delight. This bread is so named because “baking soda” is the leavening agent and the “X” cut into the top of the loaf is a sure fire way to ward off any evil spirits that may be lurking around. Watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade from New York City is a relaxing way for family and friends to get into the “green” mode. Sipping cool and refreshing coolers or ice cream treats, or if you prefer a hot beverage, such as green tea with mint, Irish coffee for the adults, or even minty hot chocolate with whipped cream that has some “green mint” candies crushed into it just adds to the day. The “cockles of your heart” will be warmed and ready to have thoughts of corned beef and cabbage, and all the trimmings.

The first St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in 1737. If you are into authenticity, then going to “Dublin” is easier than you think. You don’t have to cross an ocean, just go cross country. There is Dublin, CA., Dublin, OH., Dublin, N.H., Dublin, GA., and even Dublin, VA.

Hallmark proclaims that it sells over 12 million St. Patrick’s Day cards and greetings that are sent each year. Opening up an envelope with a wish, such as “May your neighbors respect you, troubles neglect you, angels protect you, and heaven accept you” makes for a great day indeed.

I grew up watching the Chicago river turn green each St. Patrick’s Day; okay, a nicer shade of green then the norm for that river. Using tons of vegetable dye, the ‘ol Chicago River becomes a “green” flowing river for a few days, which is a truly beautiful sight from the windows of some of the tall Chicago Loop buildings. It makes you want to turn to the person standing next to you and offering, “May the best day of your past, be the worse day of your future.” Kind of nice!!!

Kissing the Blarney Stone is a legend in Cork, Ireland. A good way to re-enact this tradition is to kiss the cook that makes home-made blarney stones for dessert. Using your favorite cupcake recipe, just follow the directions and bake. Cool the cupcakes and then frost with any snowy white frosting and cover the entire top with green tinted coconut. Just add 1 tbs. water to green food coloring till the green is the shade that suits you. Put the coconut in a jar, add the colored water, place a tight-fitting lid on top and start to shake that jar to some really hot Irish jigs. When the coconut is tinted evenly, dry on paper towels and then add to the top of your very own Blarney Stones.

Shamrocks and gold coins cut from shiny colored paper is a great decorating tip for tabletops. You can even place initials of your guests on the underside of the coins, and before setting the table with goodies, give everyone one minute to try and pick up as many of the coins with their initials on it. Then they can buy dessert items that they choose, that are just sitting on a side table waiting to be snatched up for the right price.

Corned beef and cabbage is a mainstay but with a bit of “green” imagination, any side dishes can be made that carry out the theme of the day. At the end of any meal, pass around a green bowler hat that you can make from construction paper and fill it with well wishes and blessings that are sure to please. Your family and friends will enjoy opening up their special notes with sayings such as, “May God bring good health to your enemies’ enemies” or “May you live to be a hundred years with one extra year to repent.” So toast St. Patrick’s Day and Slainte’ to you (pronounced Slan-cha and means “Health”).

Wishing everyone the opportunity to celebrate St. Pat’s Day inexpensively and in fun ways. Remember – If you ever wonder what God thinks of money, just look at who he gives it to.”

Enjoy.
©March, 2010
Arleen M. Kaptur

Arleen Kaptur has written extensively for newspapers and periodicals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arleen_Kaptur

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A Spring Tonic To Renew Your Creative Faith

May 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Celeste Varley     http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Celeste_Varley

If the slow start to spring reflects your own artistic lack of umph, here’s a spring tonic.
You might think you cannot make a painting if you can’t draw anything.  Or, you can work endlessly on a piece and it seems to go nowhere, or stay unresolved.  If you have just finished a big painting, you may feel spent.

So what can you do at times like this?  Do you close up shop and conclude that you mustn’t be much of a natural artist, or you’d always be head over heels in love with some image or piece you’re working on?

I wouldn’t buy that if I were you!

There’s a simple fix for your spirits that anyone can use, whether you’re an experienced artist or still a wanna-be.

This is what I do, and you can too.

Go out and pick up old plywood boards.  They could be rectangular, or not.  One of my   favourite pieces has a very irregular shape.  You might need to wash off hunks of mud.

It helps to have access to a workshop, garage, or backyard with old pieces of wood lying about, or at least a partner, friend or neighbour with the same.  Access to a beach with lots of junk washing ashore is an excellent source for your adventure.

Ready for the highly technical bit?

It’s a lot like lying in a hammock looking at cloud formations.  Turn each over on all sides and from all angles.  What you’re looking at is the wood grain.  See the grain pattern with soft eyes.

Eventually some form will jump out at you, like a familiar landscape, a wheat field, a shoreline, or who knows, even a prehistoric bird.

You don’t have to draw anything!!!

There’s lots of paintings waiting for your discovery out there.  When you find one that catches your fancy, simply follow the wood grain with quite watery acrylic paint, toning the colours to suit what you’ve found.  A knot hole could be a sun, moon, or eye.  Ripples could be the forest floor or sand on the shore.

There are photos of two of mine on my website, which I’ll describe here:

Medicine Beach is the exact outline of a small bay on this island already there in the grain of a piece of plywood.  This painting which looks just like the ocean from the shore of Medicine Beach is made by the Infinite, not me, I swear.

All I drew – if drew is the right word – was the horizon.  This line wasn’t in the wood grain, and it isn’t even straight ! The shape of the point jutting out is exactly like a beach here called Medicine Beach.  By keeping the paint very watery it looks like the water’s edge, where you can still see the sand ripples below the water.

If you find it, it’s yours.

After finding and teasing out this beach, without contributing much more than a horizon line, the feeling was of renewed faith, and having been given a gift.

Morning Star is a city sky line seen in the distance from the long dry grass of a field.

The extent of my contribution to Morning Star was a couple of slivers!  All I did for this one was break off some of the layers of frayed plywood so it was uneven.

Then I saw what looked like a distant city, and painted lines of dry grass across the cracks for a field outside the city as my vantage point.  Two knot holes made the Sun and Venus, the morning star, hence the title.

This was another renewal of creative faith.

To find a gift waiting for you, to help it become visible, is an incredible feeling.  It’s a little like getting away with something, you know.  And you are.  You’re getting away with delight at some of the gifts all around, just meant for you to find.

It’s finding gifts that only you can find, and that makes you feel quite special.  And you are.

About the Author

Hello,  I’m Celeste Varley and it is my passion to help people seeking spiritual development to find and explore their own inborn potential for visual expression. Once you learn a new way of seeing, you can access and express deeper feelings that are normally hidden.  If this article speaks to your heart, you may want to see more “Fresh Horses” articles on my website.  Check it out and see if it’s right for you.

Celeste Varley http://www.heartsongstudio.com

Discover, uncover & recover your wild creative potential!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Celeste_Varley http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Spring-Tonic-To-Renew-Your-Creative-Faith&id=1090271

 

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