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Blog No. 153: Tyler Henry's Brain, Pádraig Ó Tuama Poems, Gordon Lightfoot Tribute

November 24, 2023

Tyler Henry's Brain Scan

This is truly fascinating in my opinion! Tyler Henry is one of the most well kmown mediums of our day and Dr. Drew set out to have a look at his brain while Tyler was doing a reading of someone to see what kinds of activity were present in his brain. The results are truly amazing and indicate something highly unusual is going on in his brain...

Watch this video to see Tyler Henry in action reading Steve-O and what the activity in his brain indicates.

Tyler is the star of a reality show entitled Life After Death. If you are interested, here is an episode from that Netflix show

Pádraig Ó Tuama Poems

How did I miss this guy? Pádraig O’Tuama. Wow, what a beautiful person, a poet, an Irish theologian, a reconciliation mediator. Poetry and storytelling in in his blood, as it is to many Irish people who grew up with exposure to poetry from an early age. Here is a beautiful poem that just struck me...

THE FACTS OF LIFE
That you were born
 and you will die.
That you will sometimes love enough
 and sometimes not.
That you will lie
 if only to yourself.
That you will get tired.
That you will learn most from the situations
 you did not choose.
That there will be some things that move you
 more than you can say.
That you will live
 that you must be loved.
That you will avoid questions most urgently in
need of your attention.
That you began as the fusion of a sperm and an egg
 of two people who once were strangers
 and may well still be.
That life isn’t fair.
 That life is sometimes good
 and sometimes better than good.
That life is often not so good.
That life is real
 and if you can survive it, well,
 survive it well
 with love
 and art
 and meaning given
 where meaning’s scarce.
That you will learn to live with regret.
 That you will learn to live with respect.
That the structures that constrict you
 may not be permanently constraining.
That you will probably be okay.
That you must accept change
 before you die
 but you will die anyway.
So you might as well live
 and you might as well love.
 You might as well love.
 You might as well love
— Pádraig Ó Tuama, from Sorry For Your Troubles

HOW TO BELONG/BE ALONE
Written by Pádraig Ó Tuama
Listen
It all begins with knowing
 nothing lasts forever,
 so you might as well start packing now.
 In the meantime,
 practice being alive.
There will be a party
 where you’ll feel like
 nobody’s paying you attention.
 And there will be a party
 where attention’s all you’ll get.
 What you need to do
 is to remember
 to talk to yourself
 between these parties.
And,
 again,
 there will be a day,
 — a decade —
 where you won’t
 fit in with your body
 even though you’re in
 the only body you’re in.
You need to control
 your habit of forgetting
 to breathe.
Remember when you were younger
 and you practiced kissing on your arm?
 You were on to something then.
 Sometimes harm knows its own healing
 Comfort knows its own intelligence.
 Kindness too.
 It needs no reason.
There is a you
 telling you another story of you.
 Listen to her.
Where do you feel
 anxiety in your body?
 The chest? The fist? The dream before waking?
 The head that feels like it’s at the top of the
swing
 or the clutch of gut like falling
 & falling & falling and falling
 It knows something: you’re dying.
 Try to stay alive.
For now, touch yourself.
 I’m serious.
Touch your
 self.
 Take your hand
 and place your hand
 some place
 upon your body.
 And listen
 to the community of madness
 that
 you are.
 You are
 such an
 interesting conversation.
You belong
 here.

Krista Tippett had a gentle conversation with Pádraig Ó Tuama in 2017. Amazingly apropos to this day about conflict resolution...

Tom DiMenna & Eddie Holm: Gordon Lightfoot Tribute

Gordon Lightfoot died this past year—perhaps the biggest Canadian folksinger of all time (Leonard Cohen is his only serious competition in my opinion). I have always been a big fan of Lightfoot and his music brings me back to my teenage years and youth in general.

I spent last weekend being a groupie and going to a concert of my friends Tom DiMenna and Eddie Holm in New Hampshire, who have joined forces as a Lightfoot tribute band. Tom is a wonderful guitar player and singer and Eddie accompanies him beautifully on bass guitar. Their sounds meld so well as they perform much of Lightfoot's catalogue, including all our favorites.

Below are a few short clips of the concert at the St. Kieran Community Center in Berlin, NH for your enjoyment. Please check them out and help them grow their circle by following them on instagram, youtube, facebook and on Tom DiMenna's website too… If you like what you hear, please feel free to share with friends too. I always try to help people get more exposure for what they do well…

Tom and Eddie will be performing again on January 19th in Belfast, Maine at the Basil Burwell Community Theater and on January 20th at the Rex Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire, if you happen to be in the vicinity.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, probably the most well-known song of Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot’s Race Among the Ruins

Love this Gordon Lightfoot song Steel Rail Blues

Sundown written by Gordon Lightfoot

Foot tapping to Gordon Lightfoot’s Rainy Day People

Painting of the Week

Quote of the Week
"Most of our lives we live closed up in ourselves, with a longing not to be alone, to include others in that life that is invisible and intangible. To make it visible and tangible, we need light and material, any material."
--Anni Albers

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by the Hammond Museum's Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/blog-1...

Blog No. 152: A Conversation with Heather Cox Richardson, Carolyn Doelling on Aging, Collard Greens for Thanksgiving

November 17, 2023

A Conversation with Heather Cox Richardson

She's brilliant. There is no two ways about it. Heather Cox Richardson knows her history inside out. Boston College professor, prolific author, publisher of the nightly current events newsletter Letters from an American, she needs no notes, total date recall, no confusion about who did what and when—-not just recent history but way back too….I have said it before and will say it again. Heather Cox Richardson is a national treasure and as our country's history professor, is singlehandedly elevating our knowledge and consciousness of our American history. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”—Edmund Burke
And on the more hopeful side, a quote from Mahatma Ghandi: "Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always."

Her latest book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America is out and she wrote it to read like short essays you can read in segments before bed. As part of her book tour, here is a conversation she had with fellow historian T.J. Stiles at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco at the beginning of November.

Carolyn Doelling on Aging

74 Year Old Model Proves Age is Just a Number

I've written about Carolyn Doelling before but she never ceases to amaze me so here she is again in an interview on The Grio.

After retiring from a career in corporate philanthropy and fundraising, as an older woman Carolyn felt invisible. She fell into modeling after voicing those feelings to a local clothing boutique owner, who asked her if she would be interested in modeling for them. Carolyn agreed and soon realized that this could become a platform for her to advocate for older women (and men too) to take on new challenges, to let go of the fear of aging, and the idea that it is never too late to reinvent and reboot oneself. She also started dressing differently, adding a lot more bold colors to her wardrobe, a reflection on an attitude change to counter the feeling of invisibility. It worked! Doelling shows us that adding years to our lives doesn't mean we are over the hill--leading by example that success can come to and in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and that it is never too late to seize the day.

Collard Greens for Thanksgiving

This simple collard green recipe is a nice addition to any heavy Thanksgiving meal and can serve as a healthy antidote and cleanse to all the traditional Turkey day fare.

STIR-FRIED COLLARDS
Recipe from Yung Chow Adapted by Joan Nathan, courtesy of the New York Times Cooking app.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS

3 bunches tender collard greens (2½ to 3 pounds total)
Salt
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
A few grinds of black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
½teaspoon granulated sugar

PREPARATION
Step 1
 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a bowl of ice water ready. Wash and trim the greens, and cut into 2-by-3-inch pieces. Blanch in batches in the boiling water for 1 minute (begin counting after the water returns to a boil), then immediately transfer to the bowl of ice water. Drain well. Lift the greens up by handfuls and squeeze out the excess water, then spread out on a kitchen towel and pat dry.
Step 2
 Heat a wok or skillet over high heat (medium-high if you have a powerful stove), then season with salt and let it brown lightly. Add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir until lightly browned. Add the greens and pepper and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Stir in 2 tablespoons oyster sauce and the sugar, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/blog-1...

Blog No. 151: Gabor Maté and the Situation in the Middle East, Me and Bobbie McGee, Human and Animal Connections

November 11, 2023

Gabor Maté and the Situation in the Middle East

Like many of us, I am trying to make sense of the events in the Middle East since the atrocity that took place in Israel on October 7th and for that reason I have hesitated to write about it…The issues are so charged on so many levels. So hard to sort out this very difficult and complex situation, which is replete with complicated history and emotions running so high.

My college roommate Claudia referred me to this conversation between Gabor Maté and his daughter Hannah that took place on October 28th, 2023. His thoughts make a lot of sense to me. Maté is a Hungarian/Canadian Jewish physician and author, a leader and expert in his field of adddiction, childhood development and trauma, and a Holocaust survivor himself whose grandparents were put to death in Auschwitz. He has dedicated a lot of his energy for much of his life attempting to improve Israeli Palestinian relations.

As Maté states, "It is almost impossible to speak about it without emotion—it doesn't matter which side you are on. It just brings up so much history, so much pain and frankly so much trauma that it is difficult for us to engage with the rational parts of our minds when our emotions are so overwhelming in the light of such devastating events."

"Nothing will justify anything that happened on October 7th because that is not justifiable. But at the same time, if our intention is to move forward, to create some basis for peace, we have to be able to understand the experience of the other…" No easy feat when emotions run so high…and the pain is so deep…

"When we are emotional and only emotional our perspective narrows. It becomes defensive and we get consumed by self defense and attack. Understandable but that doesn't lead to peace…what leads to peace is a willingness to understand the experience of the other and for us to to be guided by the parts of our brain that are adult… and that happens in the mid frontal cortex where empathy insight compassion and self awareness are modulated."

For Maté the essential question comes down to this: Are we going to move forward or are we simply going to repeat the traumatization and tragedy of the decades? I think this talk is worth listening to and considering…

Me and Bobby McGee

Always loved this song--many of us did, judging by the amount of musicians that covered it--everyone from Willie Nelson, The Grateful Dead and Gordon Lightfoot to name a few. What i didn't realize is that although Janis Joplin was the one who made it famous, it was Kris Kristofferson who wrote it along with music producer Fred Foster...

Below you will find several of my favorite versions of the song, beginning with my number one, Janis Joplin's classic and probably her most famous song, which sadly came out posthumously just a few days after Joplin's death. Kris Kristofferson, who was at one point Joplin's lover, did not even know himself that it was to be included on her album Pearl until it was released.

Janis Joplin's version, Me and Bobby McGee

I discovered this wonderful version by these four greats: Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, and Ronnie Hawkins.

Here's a nice duet with Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson

The Highwaymen version by country greats Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson

And the simple gem of a version by Gordon Lightfoot

This is the first version Kristofferson originally gave to Roger Miller to perform. .

The song was actually based on a true story of a crush Foster had on a secretary named Bobbie McGee. Here is the history.

The Highwaymen ***Johnny Cash***, ***Waylon Jennings***, ***Willie Nelson**, and*** ***Kris Kristofferson***.

Humann and Animal Connections

I found this video above on social media and halfway through it, it occurred to me that not only do we underestimate animals but maybe our fear reaction not only alienates us from the animal kingdom but also spurs a fear reaction on the part of animals. The man in this video is just sitting there quietly observing, remaining calm, and the bear he has known for so long approaches gently with no malice. I am not telling you to go out there and try it yourself--this man obviously had a long term relationship with this particular mother bear but it just made me wonder....When I think of my personal reaction to bats, bears, and other wild animals I might encounter, I know I give off vibes of fear....and we all know that animals defintely can smell that.

I went in search of other unusual stories of close bonds between humans and other animals that we as humans would usually avoid and discovered this amazing video below

Painting of the Week

Old Crow Medicine Show mixed media on canvas 55” x 55” $8500

Quote of the Week:

"It is okay to be heartbroken for more than one group of people at the same time.
--Anonymous"

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/blog-1...

Blog No. 150: Artist Tomas Saraceno, Dolphin Communication, Ted Lasso and Mr. Rogers (Copy)

November 5, 2023

Tomas Saraceno

Hot Air Balloon made out of recycled plastic bags

Solar powered hot air ballon with a message:

I took this photo above of my late husband Gert many years ago at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen and it has always been one of my favorite photos of him. At the time I probably knew the name of the artist who created the translucent sphere with live plants but forgot it and often wondered who he was. Well, I just came across a photo of a really cool hot air balloon made of recycled plastic bags and looked up who made it and realized it was one and the same artist I had loved so many years ago from the biosphere exhibition.

His name is Tomas Saraceno and he is from Argentina. He is one of the most interesting artists I have come across, combining his profound interest in nature and how we as humans interact with it on our small planet. His multidisciplinary art is both cerebral and down to earth and is very hard to categorize as he is truly an original thinker. His subjects cross disciplines and include but are not restricted to explorations of cities in the sky, nature and our interconnectedness, vibrations, climate justice and air pollution to name a few.

Saraceno had an exhibition recently at the Serpentine Galleries in London where he explored his fascination with spiders and their webs. "Spiders are essentially blind, at least according to human standards. This, however, does not stop them to create an image of the world through the tremors they send and receive through their webs,” he remarks. "A spider-web is more than a specialized instrument for transmitting seismic signals, it is “an extension of the spider’s body, it is the embodied cognition of its mind. Through it, spiders can orient themselves and communicate with other species.”

Saraceno knows that humans are not separate from the climate of the world and in fact, his interest in spiders has a lot to do with their webs, which he sees as integral and inseparable from the spider itself, just as we humans he sees as interconnected to the earth. This is the overall message he wants to convey as he sounds the alarm on climate change.

If you want to dive deeper, here is another interview with Saraceno on The Art of Noticing.

Coolest spider web I ever saw (in Nosara, Costa Rica)

Dolphin Communication

Here is an adorable video that caught my eye involving a young toddler and a dolphin in an aquarium…. Thought it might bring you some joy…

Dolphins have always been one of my favorite animals ever since I was a kid. It probably started with he tv show Flipper, which my sister and I absolutely loved, but it went way beyond that…and I have always thought that humans were anything but superior beings in the animal kingdom. I read a book How Smart Are Animals when I was six or seven and then I remember being fascinated by Margaret Lovatt and her experiment in Gregory Bateson's lab in the Caribbean, where she actually lived with a dolphin in a waterproofed upper floor of a lab, flooding the indoor rooms with a couple feet of water. Her bed was elevated slightly above the water and would allow the dolphin to live comfortably in the building with her for three months.

Click to hear a short documentary on human’s attempt to communicate with dolphins.

Recent sightings of dolphins in southern California, home to nearly 450,000 common dolphins.

Lessons from Ted Lasso and Mr. Rogers

THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM TED LASSO

1. "Be Curious, not judgmental."

2. "Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing."

3. "I have a really tricky time hearing folks that don't believe in themselves."

4. "Change isn't about trying to be perfect. Perfection sucks. Perfect is boring.

5. You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It's a goldfish. It has a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish."

6. "For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It's about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field."

7. I think that if you care about someone and you get a little love in your heart, there ain't nothing you can't get through together."

8. I think that you might be so sure that you're one in a million that sometimes you forget that out there, you're just one of 11." (about teamwork)

9. "Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn't it? If you're comfortable while you are doing it, you're probably doing it wrong."

10. I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that's being alone and sad. Ain't no one in this room (world) alone."

WISDOM FROM MR. ROGERS

"All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."

"Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero."

"As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression."

“When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way."

t's good to be curious about many things.”

"Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime's work, but it's worth the effort."

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

"The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they're doing, and they love it in front of others."

To watch Ted Lasso from the beginning.

On one of the last days of my sister Judy Smilow's life, she wanted to spend the afternoon with me and she decided to go to the movies to see this film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. We sat holding hands, laughed and cried, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Painting of the Week

Back working in my beautiful Maine studio on the ocean. work in progress…

Song of the Week:
Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Source: https://pamelasmilow.substack.com/p/blog-1...

Blog No. 150: Artist Tomas Saraceno, Dolphin Communication, Ted Lasso and Mr. Rogers

October 28, 2023

Tomas Saraceno

Dolphin Communication

Click to hear a short documentary on human’s attempt to communicate with dolphins.

Lessons from Ted Lasso and Mr. Rogers

Painting of the Week

Song of the Week:
Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Blog No. 148: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Wiser Than Me, A Little Lift and Songs of Peace, Wahat al-Salam-Neve Shalom

October 21, 2023

Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Wiser Than Me

Photo courtesy of ***Ryan Pfluger and August Image***

Women are wise. We all know that. And older women are even wiser. So says me and so says Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has dedicated a new podcast to exactly that subject…Beginning in April of 2023, through her podcast Wiser Than Me, she has conducted interviews with such luminaries as Isabel Allende, Fran Liebowitz, Ruth Reichl, Jane Fonda, Diane Furstenberg, and Amy Tan, to name a few. Take your pick of any of these conversations-—they are all good! I especially like the Isabel Allende one for her openness and honesty and the Ruth Reichl one for her descriptions about food and what she says about perfection.

A Little Lift and
Songs of Peace

In light of all the horrors occurring around us, and because we all need a little lift and a laugh from time to time, here are a few things that should definitely raise your spirits, even if it is just temporary. If you click on one thing, don't miss clicking on Lipstick--if that doesn't make you laugh, nothing will.....

And here is a small selection of songs for peace:

Pride (In the Name of Love)
U2 Bono

Give Me Love
by George Harrison

Imagine
John Lennon

Peace Like a River
Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick

Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom

Poster designed by Hunterwasser to raise funds for the village.

Being busy working hard in California, I hardly had time to be glued to the awful news coming out of the Middle East these past couple weeks--and am only now catching up and realizing the depth and breadth of the horror that is occurring in Israel and Gaza. It felt too important to ignore writing about it but I struggled to find the words to describe all the emotions swimming in my head around this conflict. When I asked a wise friend if she could recommend an article I might cite in my blog about the subject, she suggested I write about Neve Shalom/Wāħat as-Salām, a village half way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, whose name and mission stands for "oasis of peace."

Founded by Egyptian born Father Bruno Hussar, Neve Shalom/Wahat as-Salam is comprised of 70 jewish and arab families, in hopes of creating a model and context in which peace is possible. In Hussar's own words; "We had in mind a small village composed of inhabitants from different communities in the country. Jews, Christians and Muslims would live there in peace, each one faithful to his own faith and traditions, while respecting those of others. Each would find in this diversity a source of personal enrichment."

It is the residents' hope that it can be a model for a different kind of future. And since it all starts with our children, the stories emanating from NSWaS and its school provide a glimpse of what might be...The young children of the primary school have yet to be tainted by hatred and historical grievances. "They epitomise the potential to rise above ethnic and national origins, underscoring the importance of liberating ourselves from our own biases."

Though nothing is perfect, I hope this offers a glimpse of what might be...

Photo of the Week

This is a part of a series of photographs I took while visiting Dachau, one of the first concentration camps built by the Nazis in Germany. It serves here as a reminder that anti-semitism is alive and well and we must do everything in our power to combat it as well as all other forms of hate that exist throughout the world…

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Blog No. 147: Andrew Speier Firefighter, Tips for a Better Life, Chicken Spinach Stew

October 13, 2023

I’m still in the Bay Area with a big selection of my art and available also for private appointments through Tuesday. If you happen to be in the Berkeley/Albany area, you can contact me for details to come to my last home show Sunday afternoon. You can reach me by phone 917-239-3789 or by email at pamsmilow@me.com for details.

Andrew Speier Firefighter

The bicycle drawing I gave him circa 1970 which he uncovered in a move and which prompted him to look me up.

Andrew and fellow firefighters working in the pit after 9/11.

I recently got reacquainted with an my old friend, Andrew Speier, who goes back to our early teenage years when we were both involved with American Youth Hostels bicycle trips (AYH)—we continued a friendship afterwards around riding our bikes to crazy places. Most memorable for me was riding down from Westchester and across the George Washington Bridge. Andrew was a bicycle fanatic then and today, some fifty odd years later, he still is!

Turns out Andrew did a lot of things in between our AYH days and now, including choosing a brave and heroic profession as a firefighter. He became a firefighter in the Pacific Northwest in 1977 while attending the Evergreen State College in Olympia. He worked for the New York Fire Department from 1985 until 1991 in midtown Manhattan on Engine 54, Ladder 4 and Battalion 9.

His company was one of those to respond to the events of September 11, 2001. He found out later that day that all of his fellow firefighters from the 9th Battalion were missing (and tragically he found out later had perished). So, true to form as the helper that he is, he got on a plane and two days later was digging in the pile, trying to uncover survivors. He stayed for a month doing that hard and heroic work. Andrew kept a compelling diary of his experiences then and an article was also written about his experiences in those early days after the tragedy—it originally appeared in Fire and Rescue Magazine and I share both with you here.

Andrew continues to do this heroic work in Washington State as Battalion Chief with the McLane-Black Lake Fire Department in Olympia, Washington.

Andrew today as Battalion Chief and Rescue Instructor in Washington State.

Andrew and his lovely wife Renee and two friends at the end of their Buffalo/NYC bike ride October 2023

Simple Tips for a Better Life

Everyone has ideas about how to live your best life. I thought I would include some of these tips from notable people here.

My favorite is the advice of Mark Twain

Deepak Chopra had some good ideas too about life.

And Henry Miller, although he talks more specfically about writing, has some good tips about living a creative lifestyle...

Chicken Spinach Potato Stew

LEMONY GREEK CHICKEN SPINACH STEW
by Sarah Di Gregorio
Courtesy NYTimes Cooking

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 red or yellow onion, finely chopped
8 large garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
1½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 pound ground chicken
1 heaping tablespoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary (leaves of about 1 large sprig)
or 1½ teaspoons dried rosemary
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Black pepper
1½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 3 medium), scrubbed and chopped into ½-inch chunks
6 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 large lemon (about ¼ cup juice)
1 (8-ounce) bunch mature spinach, stems included, chopped, or 1½ cups frozen leaf spinach
¼ to ⅓ cup lightly packed roughly chopped dill
Crumbled feta and crushed pita chips, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1
In a large pot or Dutch oven, warm the oil over high heat. Add the onion, garlic and salt and cook, stirring, until the onion and garlic are softened and just starting to brown, 5 minutes. (Decrease the heat to medium-high if necessary to prevent scorching.)
Step 2
Decrease the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, rosemary, oregano, red-pepper flakes and several generous grinds of black pepper. Cook, breaking up the chicken into crumbles, until the meat starts to lose its translucent pinkness and is turning white, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir well to combine. Add the chicken broth and half the lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Bring to a rolling boil and then lower the heat to maintain a very brisk simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are nearly tender, 15 minutes. Step 3
Add the spinach and dill, to taste. Continue to simmer briskly until the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes more. Taste and add some or all of the remaining lemon juice, as well as more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve in bowls topped with feta and crushed pita chips

Painting of the Week

The bicycle drawing I gave Andrew Speier circa 1970.

Charity of the Week:
Doctor's Without Borders

Blog No. 146: Alain de Botton on Love, Jimmy Carter Guinea Worm Eradication, Autumn Song Playlist

October 8, 2023

I’m in California, criss crossing the state through October 17th. Let me know if you want to see some of my new work. I am doing shows in San Diego/La Jolla and the Bay Area and am also available also for private appointments. You can reach me by phone 917-239-3789 or by email at pamsmilow@me.com for details.

Alain de Botton on Love

I don't know about but it seems that everywhere I turn there is another podcast, article, or talk about relationships: the secrets of successful connections, how to get along better, the ingredients of a successful marriage and how to define and find love...Something we humans all tend to seek...Maybe it is because we are so little connected these days since we are all so busy on our phones...

For a definitive discourse on the subject, I looked to an On Being interview that Krista Tippett conducted with Alain de Botton, Swiss-born British author, public speaker and founder of The School of Life, The interview is entitled The True Hard Work of Love and Relationships." To quote him, "Love is a painful poignant touching attempt by two flawed individuals to try and meet each other's needs in situations of gross uncertainty and ignorance about who they are and who the other person is but we are going to do our best…that is a much more generous starting point…"

On the ancient Greeks and their pedagogical view of love: "One of the greatest insults that you can level at a lover in the modern world apparently is to say "i want to change you." The ancient Greeks had a view of love which was essentially based around education. "Love is a benevolent process where two people try and teach each other how to become the best versions of themselves…They are committed to increasing the admiral characteristics…"

A lot of wisdom here. Well worth the listen or the read...

Jimmy Carter and Guinea Worms

Jimmy Carter with a device that eliminates guinea worm larvae from drinking water

Always nice to hear a success story, especially when it involves a wonderful former president who just turned 99 and the end of a terrible, extremely painful disease. Through the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter has dedicated his life after his presidency to doing good on so many levels, including his work on human rights, tropical disease eradication, world peace and his most notable work with Habitat for Humanity.

Since 1986, The Carter Center has led the international campaign to eradicate Guinea Worm disease, an extremely painful and debilitating disease that at that time afflicted 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia. Working closely with ministries of health and local communities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and many others, to date the worldwide count of Guinea Worm cases is now down to an astonishing 6!

Autumn Songs

Here is a nice playlist of some of my favorite songs to welcome the Autumn Season...

Simon and Garfunkel Leaves That Are Green

The Mamas and the Papas California Dreamin/

Painting of the Week

Midnight Moon, mixed media on canvas, 54” x 84” $8500

Charity of the Week:
Robin Hood Foundation

“Robin Hood is New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. We support low-income families by building and fueling the most impactful nonprofits across all five boroughs that are elevating people from poverty.
***Over three decades, we’ve invested more than $3B in New York City to ensure low-income families are on pathways needed to realize economic mobility.”***

Blog No. 145: Stolpersteine and Hannah Goldrich, Cassidy Hutchinson, Barbara Streisand Sings Avinu Malkeinu

September 30, 2023

Hannah Goldrich and Stolpersteine

Stolpersteine (Stumbling Blocks) in Germany

The German artist Gunter Demnig's work has always combined art, performance and provocation in public spaces and his most notable project to date has been the manufacturing and laying of stolpersteine (stumbling blocks--small brass memorial plaques placed in the pavement of Germany and other countries across Europe to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution). Those honored include Jews, Romani people, LGBTQ+ people, the disabled----all those persecuted for their religious, political and social beliefs under the reign of Hitler's National Socialist Party.

An old and dear family friend Hannah Goldrich and her family recently travelled to Heilbronn, Germany (also my mother's hometown) to lay stolpersteine for her relatives who were such victims. Her hometown newspaper, The Eugene (Oregon) Weekly published an article about her life and her return to Germany to lay the brass commemorative stones. Hannah's parents, Max and Trude Victor were responsible for my family's living in Usonia, the cooperative community where I grew up (they knew my mother back in Germany), and they were a major influence on me. I look to the way they lived their life as a model of how I want to live mine...with their love of art, design and culture. To this day I fashion my life on the old school European cultured way they showed me growing up.

Gunter Demnig, artist and creator of the stolpersteine

Cassidy Hutchinson

Enough, tell all book released Monday 9/25/2023

I don't usually get into politics here but if there is a hero amongst us, it is 25-year old Cassidy Hutchinson who is wise and gutsy way beyond her years. Nor am I often in awe of a conservative card carrying republican but she is one with integrity, single-handedly standing up for what she considers right and the truth against very strong powers to be. Hard to believe she is was only 24 years old when she testified before the January 6th committee..

She has a new book out called Enough (if they had asked me, I would have named it GUTS!). I listened to it on tape nonstop since it came out on Monday--couldn't put it down. If you want a true insider guide to what really went on behind closed doors in Trump's White House, this is the book...It's chilling! and Cassidy Hutchinson is a true patriot for coming forward against very serious threats...If our democracy is saved, I attribute a lot of the rescue to her....

Barbara Streisand sings Avinu Malkeinu

You don’t have to be Jewish to bask in the beauty of this song….

Thought this was apropos of the Jewish New Year, especially after Yom Kippur when some among us take stock and atone for our sins...Israel is in the fight for their life as a democracy and what is going on there can just break anyone's heart.. .I'm taking you back to better days of hope with Barbra Streisand's beautiful singing of Avinu Malkeinu for Simon Peres (1923-2016), his favorite song, in 2014. It asks God to have compassion for us and our children and to help bring an end to war and famine and cause all hate and oppression to vanish from this earth.... Hope for peace, justice and democracy--we all need that right now.

Let's not give up on the dream!

Painting of the Week

Charity of the Week:
Robin Hood Foundation

Blog No. 144: The Soul of Money, Creative Shopping Bags, Taking to the Streets

September 23, 2023

The Soul of Money

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book...The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist was written in 2003 and reissued again in 2017 but it is just as relevant today as it was back then...In it, through great storytelling of her myriad experiences all over the world trying to combat world hunger, Twist explores the pervasiveness of money in our culture, the ideas behind scarcity and sufficiency, our attitudes towards "poor people" and how with a shift in perspective, aligning money with soul, one can actually manifest one's most soulful interests and commitments in an arena where profound and lasting transformation could occur. . Twist believes that when we let go of trying to get more of what you don't really need, which is what we are all trying to get more of, it frees up immense energy to make a difference with what you have. It is a must read! Don't just leave it to me or my friend Eddie who recommended it after a conversation we had about money. Below are a few more notable recommendations about this transformational and inspirational book:

"To anyone who wants to transform their lives and the world, I give this book my highest recommendation.
--Deepak Chopra

I want to warn you, your life will not be the same after you pick up this book. The Soul of Money delivers a message that will move, inspire, and touch your soul so deeply that you will not be able to live your life in the same way."
--Paul Dolan, President Fetzer Vineyards

"Lynne Twist's eloquent book, The Soul of Money, is an indispensable resource for all those interested in transforming their relationship with money and its influence in their lives..."
Charles Garfield, Univ. of California Medical School, SF

Lynne Twist is a global activist and has been her whole life. She has taken it upon herself, through her work with The Hunger Project and her organization The Soul of Money Institute, to tackle many of the world's deepest problems, fighting to end the scourge of world hunger, alleviate poverty, empower the status of women and girls, and work towards environmental sustainability and social justice. She definitely is one of our unsung heroes...

Shopping Bags

As a wonderful graphic designer, my friend Jill Korostoff has a knack for finding cool and clever visuals to put a smile on our faces...Have a look at these creative and different takes on mundane shopping bags. They made me smile...

Taking to the Streets

I grew up with a German mom that escaped Nazi Germany in the nick of time. She got out late but she was one of the lucky ones who did. I grew up haunted with the question of how something like that could have happened, how the people either didn't see it coming or did and just wanted to believe nothing would come of it...

What worries me a lot these days is that we are just sitting ducks, watching our democracy taken away from us right before our eyes, and we just think it can't happen...I've been screaming for a while, asking where are the organizers, why aren't they demanding we take to the streets. Demonstrations I believe helped stop the Vietnam War. Civil disobedience does work. Boycotts do too. Why, now of all times with climate armgeddon on the horizon and democracy in America in grave peril are we just sitting there...

Well, this past weekend we did show up in the streets en masse. It was climate Week here in NYC and the UN General Assembly is in session so many world leaders were in town...And 75,000 of us came out to demand the end to fossil fuels. It was envigorating, inspiring and gave me renewed hope...Let's make it a habit. God knows there is enough to protest about...

Painting of the Week

“We See Trees” mixed media on canvas 54” x 80”

Charity of the Week:
Jane Fonda's Climate Pac

***“I started Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which is laser-focused on one goal: Do what it takes to defeat fossil fuel supporters and elect climate champions at all levels of government.***
***I believe this is the most important thing I will do in my lifetime.”***

Blog No. 143: Biko's Manna, Roz Chast I Must Be Dreaming, Alison Mesrop Caterer

September 16, 2023

Biko's Manna

I came across Biko's Manna, these three adorable and very talented kids straight out of Johannesburg, South Africa while fishing around instagram. The three siblings come from a long line of musicians and have been playing music for most of their lives. They have gone viral--they are all over instagram, tiktok and youtube. Their enthusiasm and good humor is contagious--a pure joy to watch: Biko has a beautiful, resonating voice and she is accompanied by her brother Manna. Her younger brother Mfundo picks up the slack with background dancing and a big broad smile...

Here are a few videos where you can see and hear them in action. In fact, they are just straight off a tour in the United States. If you have any doubt about their talent and the sheer range of their abilities, listen to their virtual concert below. And if this leads you to want more, search social media--they are all over it.

Roz Chast I Must Be Dreaming

I've always considered myself kind of an outsider in the way I think--I usually go against common knowledge and the way many people feel about things... As an example, I encouraged my daughter not to take AP classes in high school--she was already on overload with school and track and I felt sleep was more important than loading up on college credentials. I didn't go to art school because art is something very hard to teach--I was highly motivated and didn't need the push and didn't want to be heavily influenced by someone else's aesthetic. As a painter, for my career I operated outside of the traditional art world. It just never felt like my people...

So this is probably why I love Roz Chast--she has an unbelievable sense of my kind of humor, is an unconventional thinker and is honest about it and not afraid to show her vulnerability. And that's why I am so excited that she has a new book out--I Must Be Dreaming--it is going straight to my birthday list! I always want to hear her take on things--and it is on one of my favorite subjects: dreams...

If, like me, you want to find out more about her, here is a great interview she gave to the Paris Review back in the summer of 2021. It is a long one but well worth sticking to. In it she explains her creative method, her approach to "art" and I love the way she avoids pretension like the plague... And here is her most recent interview from the New York Times about her new book...

Alison Mesrop Caterer

There are some caterers in New York that fall under the radar and Alison Mesrop is one of those...she is a superstar in the world of delicious food and she serves a large population of very famous people but quietly. I love her cooking and every time I have a party, I turn to her. Her menus are delicious, abundant and innovative...and she takes the stress out of any gathering one might have, whether it is a small dinner thing or a large wedding or other huge event...I share with you a couple of my favorite of her dishes, complete with recipes...

Ali can be reached via email: AliMezFood@aol.com.

ALSATIAN ONION TART

For the crust:
1/2 lb. all butter puff pastry (she uses Dufour), thawed overnight in the refrigerator
Parmesan cheese
Remove pastry from refrig just prior to rolling out.
Sprinkle work surface liberally with parmesan cheese.
Place the pastry on top of the cheese and sprinkle more cheese over the surface of the pastry. Roll the pastry to a thin 13" x 9" rectangle--(the cheese prevents sticking.)
Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees on the middle rack until golden...about 15 minutes.
The topping:

2 lbs yellow onions; thinly sliced
1 stick butter
4 tsps. kosher salt
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 pound gruyere cheese, grated

In a large saucepan melt the butter, add the onions and saute over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until caramelized. (approx. 30-40 minutes). At the very end, add the wine and cook for about 30 seconds longer.

Assembly:
Spread the onion on crust and top with the gruyere.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling slightly.
Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into slices of various shapes and sizes with scissors or a pizza cutter.

TUNA TARTARE ROLLED IN CUCUMBER

Combine 1 hour ahead of assembly:
1 pound sushi grade tuna, cut into very small cubes
3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
1 inch knob of peeled ginger; grated
1/4 c. finely minced red bell pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. hot pepper flakes (optional)

With a good vegetable peeler, cut approx. 30 strips of 2 english cucumbers

Assembly:
Place about one generous tbsp. of the tartare at the bottom of each strip
Roll up tightly. Garnish with tobiko and shisho leaves (optional).
Place in a small baking pan lined with paper towel and refrigerate until serving time.

Cucumber alternatives:
wonton triangles or tortilla chips

Painting of the Week

Think of All the Beauty Still Left in the World mixed media on canvas 59” x 72”

Charity of the Week:
David Hogg's
Leaders We Deserve

Founded by David Hogg and Kevin Lata, Leaders We Deserve is a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and State Legislatures across the country to help defeat the far-right agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future.

Blog No. 142: Carl Jung and Synchronicities, Oprah Deepak Meditation, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

September 9, 2023

Carl Jung and Synchronicities

How many times do you think of someone and the next second the phone rings and it is that person? How often do you remember someone who is no longer alive and then their favorite song comes on the radio...or you have a dream and a symbol from the dream appears the next day at your breakfast table? Or you repeatedly see the same sequence of numbers over and over again...?

I didn't realize that it was Carl Jung that coined the term "synchronicity" to describe “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events where something other than the probability of chance is involved.” Jung believed that these occurrences are directly related to the observer’s mind, and serve to provide powerful insight, directions and guidance, according to Alec in his newsletter Arts of Thought.

I for one feel that synchronicities come at me all the time these days and although I often chalk it up to mere coincidence, I do wonder deeply and am beginning to believe that there is something much more to it... I try to pay special attention to these events when they do happen and feel somehow that, like dreams, they lead me to a shift in consciousness that connects in a bigger way to the universe...they also give me comfort...They say that seeing these signs is a good indication that one is shifting to a higher vibrational frequency and evolving into a more fulfilled version of oneself. I would like to think that is true...

Here is a twelve minute crash course on synchronicities. Stick with it if you can in order to hear the absolutely amazing story of Esther and the $1 bill...If you want to hear more personal stories, here are some more examples of people's stories about synchronicities.

"Synchronicity is the sense of the numinous--a powerful feeling of wonder and awe that lifts us outside of ourselves, taking us outside of the everyday routine of our lives and connecting us with the divine."--Carl Jung

I welcome any of your synchronicity stories--things that have occurred to you that you consider more than a coincidence--I would even go a step further and say that if you email me your stories at pamsmilow@me.com and include the names and emails of three friends who you think would want to receive my free weekly blog in the future (please warn then first), I will send you a free animal print of your choice from my website as a thank you.

Meditation

I am no expert on meditation. In fact I am a total beginner but I thought I would share with you the meditation I try and do every day. It is one led by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey, where they pick different themes and explore it in a 21 day series. Some of these series are available free on youtube in segments and the one I am doing now is on Perfect Health. (they have had series on gratitude, getting unstuck, and the energy of attraction, to name a few). What I like about these meditations is that both Oprah and Deepak offer a short beginning introductory talk, where they speak about something useful to work on, and then they present a sanskit mantra and then complete silence for the next ten minutes or so. I personally don't like guided meditiatons where they talk all the way through--I find it distracting. I am not even sure I am doing it right but I just sit there, try and push any thoughts that come in out of my mind, say the mantra over and over and try and focus on the ever changing blankness of the colored screen behind my eyelids... The whole process takes about 20 minutes or less...and I do it once or twice a day...

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Official Portrait, courtesy ***Franmarie Metzler; U.S. House Office of Photography***

After seeing Mitch McConnell freeze twice in the past month or so on television, I had a new revelation that our government is truly being run by corpses--people well past their prime that should not be clinging on to the power for the sake of their egos...I have nothing against older people--i am one myself--but it is time to introduce a new guard. Thankfully there are some of these younger people stepping up right now and they need to be supported.

Alexandra Ocasio Cortez is one of these people--and already elected for the third time, she is becoming a young old timer...From waitress to congresswoman from New York's 14th congressional district which includes the eastern part of The Bronx and part of north-central Queens, AOC, as she is known, recently gave an interview in the New York Times where she talks about what she has learned since entering congress. I found the interview interesting and I hope you will too.

In the future, I plan on featuring a few more of our up and coming young leaders...

Painting of the Week

Blue Bird at Midnight with Moon mixed media on canvas 18” x 80”

Charity of the Week:
Unicef: Morocco Earthquake Victims

Blog No. 141: Salagnac Architects, Spirit Children of Fontaine Manse, The River by Mary Oliver

September 2, 2023

Salagnac Arquitectos

Salagnac Arquitectos Offices in Nosara, Costa Rica

Growing up in a Frank Lloyd Wright community, I am well aware that architecture has a tremendous effect and power to influence lives. On our recent trip to Costa Rica, we stayed in a beautiful home designed by award winning architects Evangelina Quesada and Lucca Spendlingwimmer of Salagnac Arquitectos, a Costa Rican based firm who pay special attention to simplicity and beauty and give new meaning to the concept of inside/outside. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, they "promote the maximum integration of the building and the environment, in order to diminish the impact it causes on nature." In this type of architecture, "human comfort can be accomplished by means of efficient energy consumption systems, bioclimatic design strategies and advanced technology. This innovative architecture integrates, in a creative way, the environment, technology and aesthetics."

If I ever build a house, I would definitely consider hiring them to design it. We were in Nosara, Costa Rica in the rainy season. Afternoons were spent sitting comfortably outside in covered areas with glass roofs, and with the huge glass windows, even inside one had the impression of literally living in the jungle. And as a bonus, there was also a fun interplay of reflections throughout the whole house...

Spirit Children of Fontaine Manse

This is a good story! A friend recently turned me on to Snap Judgment Radio (Storytelling, with a BEAT), a podcast described as "mixing real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic, kick-ass radio."

I usually stay away from ghost stories because they scare me--but this 12 minute one, The Invisible Children, based on Kathleen Mcconnell's book Don’t Call Them Ghosts: The Spirit Children of Fontaine Manse- A True Story" didn't frighten me at all. In fact, I found it an intriguing story about kindness and open-mindedness...a ghost story with a heart.

The River by Mary Oliver

I've had quite a few rivers in my life lately. The Damariscotta River in mid-coast Maine, the mighty Hudson, the Nosara River in Costa Rica. This Mary Oliver poem seemed apropos...

THE RIVER
by Mary Oliver

In one day the Amazon discharges into the Atlantic the equivalent of New York City’s water supply for nine years.

Just because I was born
 precisely here or there,
 in some cold city or other,
 don’t think I don’t remember
 how I came along like a grain
 carried by the flood—
on one of the weedy threads that pour
 toward a muddy lightning
 surging east, past
 monkeys and parrots, past
 trees with their branches in the clouds, until
 I was spilled forth
and slept under the blue lung
 of the Caribbean.
Nobody
 told me this. But little by little
 the smell of mud and flowers returned to me,
 and in dreams I began to grow dark,
 to sense the current.
Do dreams lie? Once I was a sad fish
 crying for my sisters in the glittering
 crossroads of the delta.
Once among the thick reeds I found
 an empty boat, as narrow
 as a man’s waist. Nearby
 the trees sizzled with the afternoon rain.
Home, I said.
 In every language there is a word for it.
 Deep in the body itself, climbing
 those white walls of thunder, past those green
 temples there is also
 a word for it.
 I said, home.

Painting of the Week

This super large collaborative painting sold yesterday in Copenhagen. So happy it gets to stay in Denmark. Available in poster format.

Charity of the Week:
Maui Food Bank

Blog No. 140: Bird Watching in Nosara, Costa Rica, Ice-Cream Truck Short Story, Schumann's Kinderszenen

August 25, 2023

Bird Watching, Cosa Rica

I kept track of all the birds I saw in Costa Rica with the help of my eyes, a pair of opera glasses (not that great for bird-watching but better than nothing) and a kayaking guide named Gabriela Brendle of NaturTours Gabriela who was excellent at spotting these often shy creatures and being able to identify every species we saw. She also pointed out four crocodiles that I would have preferred not to see...

Orange-Chinned Parakeet. My favorites and by far the noisiest

Ice-Cream Truck Short Story

I always loved when the ice cream truck came around. My favorites were Chocolate Candy Crunch with the chocolate bar inside…I liked the creamsicle, the strawberry shortcake and the chocolate eclair too.

I have had a subscription to the New Yorker Magazine for years but these days I seem to fall further and further behind on my reading of them. That's when plane rides and trips come in handy. I bring a big stack of them and try and make my way through...

This Canadian writer Souvankham Thammavongsa's short story called The Ice-Cream Truck touched my heart and I share it with you here (I hope I haven't violated every existing copyright law in the process). Ice-cream trucks definitely fall into my category of "things I love." The ice cream, of course, but also just the sound of the approaching bells that never fail to get my heart fluttering with excitement, even today!

The Ice Cream Truck by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Not a lot of good sounds could be heard on our street. Police sirens and ambulances. Next door, a man often yelled, his shouts sometimes quickly followed by a soft thump. On our television, a movie played: a building being blown up, gunfire, and flames. We weren't supposed to watch things like that, but my brother and I were home alone. I was ten years old and he was eight.

Our parents had told us to keep the television loud so that it would sound as if there were an adult with us. They'd shown us the places we could hide together, if we felt scared. In the bathtub with the shower curtain drawn. In the closet beneath a pile of clothes. When they were not home, we weren't allowed to go outside. We couldn't ride our bikes or look for pretty marbles on the ground.

It was summer. There was no school to go to, and it cost too much to hire a babysitter to cover the time my parents worked, even just a teen-ager saving up for a prom dress. We didn't live near grandparents. There were no cousins next door, no aunts or uncles in the neighborhood to go to. So it was just the two of us.

"You hear that?" my brother asked me.
"What?" I said.
"The ice-cream truck."
I listened. And there it was. That tinny little sound twinkling somewhere nearby.

When you hear an ice-cream truck on your street, it means that someone has thought of you. It means that someone thinks you deserve something good in the world, and you don't have to imagine that for yourself all by yourself.
That day, the ice-cream truck came to our street.
I slid the chain off the door and unlocked it. I grabbed my brother and we ran outside to the curb. The sound of the ice-cream truck was so loud, so close. My brother and I waved it down.

The ice-cream truck stopped for us.
We were frantic in our joy, screaming out what we wanted to eat, and for some reason the man in the truck made it for us. We got what we asked for and ate quickly, trying not to let the summer heat take it away from us. We licked our fingers, hands, wrists. And we laughed for no reason other than that we could.

We hadn't noticed the ice-cream truck leaving. We hadn't noticed its loud music pulling away, growing distant.
My brother looked over at me with sudden sorrow, and said, "I forgot to pay. Did you?"
I forgot, too.
I understood then why ice-cream trucks maybe didn't come to our street. Why, when we'd heard the ice-cream truck before, it was always a street over, where there were brick houses with front lawns and sprinklers and bright flowers.

We promised each other that we wouldn't tell out parents. We wouldn't tell them that we'd gone outside. That we'd eaten ice cream. That we hadn't paid. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons about small blue people who lived inside mushrooms.

I am forty-four years old now. I will be forty-five this summer. I hadn't heard an ice-cream truck in my neighborhood in years, but a few weeks ago there it was. Faint, twinkling. There was no one to ask, "You hear that?" I could go outside now without having to tell someone. I grabbed some cash and ran.

I didn't know exactly where the ice-ream truck was, but I moved to where its music felt loudest. I closed my eyes and followed what I felt.

When I opened my eyes, I saw someone who looked like my brother. A little boy, running. I knew he wasn't my brother. I reminded myself that my brother had grown up and that he had died just last year. Whoever this little boy was, he knew where he was going. So I ran in the same direction.

And there it was, the ice-cream truck, in a parking lot. I got in line like everyone else. When it was my turn to pay, I gave the man in the ice-cream truck everything I had, a twenty-dollar bill, and I told him to keep the change. The man gave me a standing ovation.

I took my ice cream with me and ate it in the sunshine. I deserve this joy, I said. I deserve it all."

Schumann's Kinderszenen

What can I say...I just love this piece of music: Schumann's Escenes d'infants op. 15 (Kinderszenen, Scenes from Childhood) played by Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich. And here's another version of it by Vladimir Horowitz. At one point I could play it on the piano and I hope I can get there again--it's probably been thirty years since I last sat down at the piano I had in my studio at the time and tried...

Products of the Week

Our new **Tea Towels** are in with some BRAND NEW COLORS! Based on botanical images from an antique book from the 1850’s, I then collaged on top, transforming the staid prints into a more contemporary and jazzy look…a great and affordable option for a housewarming gift. $25 each. https://www.pamelasmilow.com/tabletop-kitchen

Charity of the Week:
Maui Food Bank

Blog No. 139: Empty Your Mind, Michael Moore Again, Exotic Tartar

August 18, 2023

Empty Your Mind

One can never be reminded enough...

And more thoughts on how to stop the mind's chatter below:

Michael Moore Again

I usually like to leave politics out of my blog because I want to write about things that lift our spirits and politics these days really just brings us down. But I know that we can't just throw our hands up in hopelessness--we must get up and fight. For that reason I make an exception and bring you Michael Moore, one of the biggest fighers I know and one I admire so much! This is the latest substack post that appeared in my inbox a few days ago and I always find him so right on...

And even though it is all over the news, I include here a copy of Fani Willis' indictment of Trump et al for those who may have missed it and want to read through the whole thing...

Exotic Tartar

This looked so delicious and so summery that I had to post it. It is exactly the way I like to eat and it's perfect now for our stay in Costa Rica. (courtesy @_sunchef)

INGREDIENTS

Beetroot Layer
💜1/4 Beetroot, cooked
💜1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
💜Pinch of Salt
💜Black Pepper
💜1 tbsp Olive Oil

Avocado Layer
💚1/2 Avocado
💚1/2 tsp Sumac
💚Pinch of Salt
💚Black Pepper
💚1/2 Lime

Mango Layer
💛1/2 Mango

💛1/2 Red Onion
💛Handful of Coriander
💛1/2 Lime

Painting of the Week

Bird Scroll (Mint) 48” x 72” mixed media on canvas

Charity of the Week:
Maui Food Bank

Blog No. 138: Musician Sixto Rodriguez, Artist John Casado, Quotes on Love and Friendship

August 11, 2023

Sixto Rodriguez 1942-2023

Known as Mama Africa and the Empress of African Song

*Swedish Filmmaker* Malik Bendjelloul and Sixto Rodriguez

The world lost a beautiful soul this past week--singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez--whose amazing life story is a true modern day fairy tale. The only saving grace is that I hope he runs into my late husband Gert Mathiesen somewhere up there--Gert thought it was the most amazing story of our generation and he couldn't stop talking about it...and after reading this article/obituary, I realize this quote by Alex H. Krinsky in Relix sums up his sentiments to a tee: “This was the greatest, the most amazing, true story I’d ever heard, an almost archetypal fairy tale… It’s a perfect story. It has the human element, the music aspect, a resurrection, and a detective story.”

Here goes:

Rodriguez, born poor in Detroit, Michigan was playing guitar and making music for much of his early years and although producers recognized his enormous talent ("the next Bob Dylan," they said), and two albums were produced, record sales never took off. In fact he hardly sold an album (he had two: Cold Fact and Coming from Reality) in the United States.

He made his living doing odd jobs, carpentry, heavy labor and demolition work while living in a modest dwelling in downtown Detroit. He raised three beautiful daughters there and although he continued to play music for himself (and even make an unsuccessful attempt to run for public office), he remained poor and unknown.

Here is the fairly tale part of the story...unbeknownst to him, all the way on the other side of the earth in South Africa, his record was a huge hit, selling more copies than any other record of the time. In fact, a whole mythology developed around the life of Sixto Rodriguez and what they thought was his untimely mysterious death, and his album became a symbol and a rallying cry of resistance to apartheid. To say he was beloved in South Africa is an understatement.

The story unfurled as record store owner, Stephen Segerman got curious one day in the late 90's and started researching what ever happened to this talented musician. I will let Rodriguez himself and Swedish film director Malik Bendjelloul tell you the rest of the story in an interview they did with the Weekly Comet.

For those who haven't heard his music, you are in for a real treat and for those who don't know his story, you may be surpised to hear how something like this could actually happen in this day and age. It is all documented in an Academy Award winning film entitled Searching for Sugarman, which I highly recommend!

John Casado, Graphic Designer, Artist, Photographer

Since I have been dabbling in portraits lately, this one above caught my eye and I decided to look into who the artist was. His name is John Casado and it turns out he is a well-know graphic designer and advertising guy, who is also an artist and photographer. Here are a few of his portraits that struck my eye.

Little did I know that he designed the original packaging for the Apple Macintosh Computer and many album covers, and also had his hand in an Academy Award winning short documentary film entitled Why Man Creates.

Quotes on Love and Friendship

If you ask me why I feel so rich in life, it is because of deep relationships that I have cultivated over the years. Growing up in a cooperative community made me realize early on the importance of connection and I try hard to make the effort to stay in touch with people I care about. Here are a few quotes that mirror my thoughts on the subject:

"The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light. Gentle work. Steadfast work. Life-saving work in those moments when life and shame and sorrow occlude our own light from our view, but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another."
--James Baldwin

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust

“Don’t let the moment pass. Don’t let the people you love walk by you without letting them know how you feel about them, because life slips by, then it’s over.” – Louis Litt

“Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.” – Elbert Hubbard

Paintings of the Week

A recent sale to a home in Middlebury, Vermont. Green Garden, mixed media on canvas, 51” x 51” approx.

Charity of the Week:
Maui Food Bank

Blog No. 137: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba, Texting, Van Jones Words of Encouragement

August 5, 2023

Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba, South African singer, songwriter, actress and civil rights activist.

Whenever I am feeling I need a lift, I put on this song: Pata Pata sung by Miriam Makeba. Guaranteed to make you smile and dance, even if you are sitting down. Turn up the volume! For me it serves as an injection of joy, straight into the veins...

Here she is on the Ed Sullivan show live in 1967:

And with Harry Belafonte on their 1965 collaborative Grammy Award winning album: An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba from

Poem on Texting

TEXT
by Carol Ann Duffy

I tend the mobile now like an injured bird We text, text, text
our significant words.

I re-read your first,
your second, your third,

look for your small xx,
feeling absurd.

The codes we send
arrive with a broken chord.

I try to picture your hands,
their image is blurred.

Nothing my thumbs press
will ever be heard.

Van Jones Words of Encouragement

Van Jones, TV Host, Author, Political Commentator, Changemaker

Great words of wisdom and encouragement about living your passion from one of my idols, Van Jones, of CNN and Obama Administration fame..

IF YOUR DREAM HAS NOT YET COME TRUE: I want you to consider something. Fifteen years ago, I was about to turn 40 years old. For the prior 15 years, I had been a dedicated, hard-working, rabble rousing activist in the Bay Area. I had done a few things in Oakland & San Francisco that I was proud of. But my team and I had barely scratched the surface of making any kind of a real difference locally. And I certainly had not made any national mark, to speak of.

Jana, my wife at the time, pushed me very hard in 2007 to go away on a spring writing retreat to finish a manuscript for what would be my first book. I'm so glad she did. The book became my first bestseller. And it set me on the path to the Obama White House.

My friend Natalie Foster this year found my name written inside a closet at the same retreat center (where she was working on her own book). And she sent me the photo below.

The guy who scratched his name inside that closet in 2007 had never been on national television, had never helped pass federal legislation, had never met Prince, Oprah or Jay-Z, had never been inside the White House and had never worked for a cable news organization (CNN). None of those things even seemed POSSIBLE, at the time.

And remember, I was already almost 40.

Since that spring, so much has happened--good and bad. I feel like I have lived several different lives since then. I don't know what the next 15 years have in store.

But I do know that I could easily have given up...or settled...or compromised to live a life far beneath my potential. Luckily I had someone in my corner who pushed me to chase one more dream.

And that one chase changed everything for me and my family.

So let me be that person pushing YOU tonight. There is something inside you that wants to shine in a brighter way. If you give yourself to it, in 15 years (or maybe much less time) your life can be unrecognizable to you. I promise. And the world (or at least some important part of the world) could go for it.

So go for it.

Seriously.
(Yes, I am talking to YOU.)

Paintings of the Week

A glimpse of my exhibition at the Waldo Theatre, in Waldoboro, Maine which will remain up through Labor Day. Photo credit: Eddie Holm

Charity of the Week:
National Coalition for the Homeless

Blog No. 136: UFOS aka UAPs, Quilts, Roasted Caesar Swordfish Recipe

July 29, 2023

UFOs aka UAPs

The idea that UFOs may not be so far-fetched after all is just now coming into the mainstream, after being dismissed as quackery in the past. Just ask investigative reporter Leslie Kean, who way back in 2010, came out with a very comprehensive book on the subject entitled UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record which was basically ignored by the powers that be (or so they said). Now, greater transparency is being called for and thirteen years later, a congressional oversight subcommittee just held a hearing on the subject, which was aired live on CNN, featuring three retired military veterans, retired United States Air Force officer and former intelligence official (David Grusch, former Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves, and retired Cmdr. David Fravor) who were willing to testify, amidst past threats of stigmatization (and even death) about the existence of these unidentified foreign objects as seen over the years by military and civilian pilots alike. If you are curious and want to learn more, Leslie Kean spent an hour sitting down with Ezra Klein on his podcast about a month ago talking about the subject. P.S. It looks like Kean's book was optioned by Lasse Hallstrom, another of my favorites, so stay tuned for a movie coming out hopefully one of these days soon...

Let's just hope, that if indeed we do discover alien life, that we don't immediately assume them as enemies and start shooting in typical human fashion...

Quilts

Noah’s Ark Quilt, 1890-1910, Nova Scotia or Quebec, Canada

Whenever I am in the area of Lincoln Center, I always like to stop in at the Folk Art Museum, which aside from wonderful exhibitions, also has a great museum shop. Yesterday was no exception and I came upon a very cool quilt show. There was even a live music concert going on in the background to accompany the visit.

Often constructed of leftover scraps of material and clothing, quilts are an example of the people's form of art, all about reinvention and regeneration. I have never felt comfortable with the differentiation between art and craft. The way I see it, functionality does not lessen the creative spirit. I disagree with the idea that craft is of lesser value than the luxury status that art has. "Craftspeople traditionally made items that have a domestic function; This distinction gave the crafts a lower status, and craftspeople were considered working class, while artists often moved in high society circles." Snobbism at its best.

This small show is a great representation of the variety of these treasures, often past down through generations. Here is a small selection for those who are not here to see it in person.

Greek Mythology Quilt by Raymond Bellamy

This modern day “quilt” by Geri Farkner is made of junk mail, paper and cardboard packaging, holiday cards and old tickets.

And here are a few more of my favorite quilts not included in this show:

***Work-Clothes Quilt with Center Medallion of Strips by Annie Mae Young (born 1928). Click image for a slide show.***

Roasted Swordfish with Caesar Dressing

I avoided swordfish for a long time because of its high mercury content. But once and a while can't hurt I guess...and this recipe makes it worth it.

INGREDIENTS
For the sauce:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 T anchovy paste (comes in a tube)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup mayo
1 T grated lemon zest
3 T lemon juice
salt and pepper

6-8oz swordfish per person
A couple of stems of green onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
2 T capers
lemon wedges for garnish

Blend the garlic, parsley, anchovy paste and Dijon mustard first in a food processor, then add the mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice and 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and pulse it again a few times to combine.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. With roasting it needs to be cranked up! Cover a sheet pan with foil, place your swordfish steaks on the foil and Salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of the sauce over both sides of the fish and sprinkle some minced green onion over the top. Let them sit for about 10 minutes.

Once you're ready to cook just slide them in the oven and set your timer for 12 minutes. When the time is up, remove the pan from the oven, cover the fish with a piece of foil and set the timer for 10 additional minutes.

While the fish is resting, heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium high heat and toss in the capers. (This it totally optional, but a nice touch with flavor and texture.) Let them sizzle in the oil until they get crispy and a little browned (the cookbook says this takes 30 to 45 seconds but in my kitchen it was more like 4-5 minutes... I don't like oil splatter everywhere so maybe my oil wasn't as piping hot as the professionals get it...)

Serve the fish with a few of the crispy capers sprinkled over the top and a fresh cob of corn - this dish was everything I was hoping it would be, and was well loved by the entire family. Enjoy!

Photo of the Week

My musician friend Eddie Holm took this out of my window one night when I was still up in Maine. I think it is such a beautiful photograph and thought it was perfect to go with the otherworldliness of this week’s blog post…

Paintings of the Week

I love making these tree pieces…on my studio wall today. 60” x 22” each, mixed media on paper (to be mounted on canvas), $4000 each

Charity of the Week:
National Coalition for the Homeless

Blog No. 135: Loreena McKinnett, Megan Rapinoe, I Bet You Haven't Seen This Before Social Media Group

July 22, 2023

Loreena McKinnett

Photo by johan.abit via Creative Commons/Flickr

I recall the moment when I heard Loreena McKinnett's music for the first time like it was yesterday. My friend who introduced me to her music told me to go listen in my car, where I had the better sound system. When Dante's Prayer came on, it was one of those moments when the music seemed to reach into my soul and grab my heart. Music has a way of doing that but this was different--it went deeper...

Loreena McKinnett is hard to classify. Her music is totally original and falls somehwere beteween folk music, Celtic music, world music and new age. In fact, everything about her is original. She had the confidence to maintain artistic control of her own career where she has self-produced seventeen albums and owns her own record label, choosing not to take the conventional route...

Here is a wonderful interview with her from the Canadian arts and culture podcast The Gould Standard. And in her own words: "Music can be incredibly universal. In the Sufi world they talk about polishing the mirror of your soul and that there is something transparent that is so directly connected from your own heartbeat to someone else's heartbeat and I know that as a performer, as an artist I am constantly working towards that end...Am I just being a technician and singing a song, or am I going across that barrier to a place which is where you are so much closer to someone else’s soul? For me, that’s a central part of what I try to do.”

If I am any judge, she has succeeded 100 percent.

For a good selection of her music, here is a link to her Live in Paris and Toronto album and another to her Greatest Hits. She is on tour now so check out her extensive schedule in Canada and the U.S.

And if you want to get into the weeds (not my normal upbeat message but very important), McKinnett has written an appeal for us for us to wake up to the detrimental effects of Big Tech on the music industry and on all of our lives...the article appeared in the Toronto Star this past week. "Whoever owns and controls the media has their hands around the throat of our democracies." Well worth the read.

Megan Rapinoe

Women's FIFA World Cup Soccer is just beginning and superstar player and political activist Megan Rapinoe has just announced her retirement--this is the last season she will play for Team USA. Rapinoe has been such a shining light and an ambassador for human rights, standing up and leading the way for equal pay for women and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Here is an interview she did with Glennon Doyle that I found interesting and a link to Time Magazine's article on her, where she made the cover.

I Bet You Haven't Seen This Before

So many times I stumble on things--case in point with this social media group I BET YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS BEFORE. (Thank you Godfrey Desh for your inspirational stories that uplift the soul.) Here is one of those stories:

"I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me. He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water, and orange juice.' Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a lassi since I’ve never had one before.' Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have Good Housekeeping magazine, Reader’s Digest, The Bible, and a Travel + Leisure magazine.' As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.' And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the heater on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me. Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts. 'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?' Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about power of choice one day.' 'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.' 'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!' 'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.' 'That hit me right,' said Wasu. He continued and said, 'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.' 'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said. 'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.' Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. Have an eagle life ahead.....
I hope we all decide to soar like an Eagle and not quack like a duck." And thank you too Patti Huckaba and Summer Grace Vanni for the share.

Charity of the Week:
The Robin Hood Foundation

Paintings of the Week

Three Tree of Life paintings getting ready to be sent out to a client in Virginia.

Blog No. 134: Usonia Homes, Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce, Feng Shui

July 15, 2023

Usonia Homes

This is the house I grew up in, designed by Aaron Resnick. It was built into a hill—half on level ground, half on stilts, with the carport below.

Roland Reisley, one of the few surviving elders of Usonia. Click image for a recent Wall Street Journal article about him.

Interior of the Reisley House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Click image to see other FLW interiors.

Many of you know that I grew up in a very special cooperative community called Usonia in Westchester County, New York founded by Frank Lloyd Wright and disciples of his. Beginning in the 1940's, a group of true pioneers, our parents, got together and built Usonia: a cluster of 45 mid-century modern homes in the middle of the woods, with the aim of forming a socially connected, tight knit community and an alternative to the typical suburban communities cropping up at that time. A combination of forward thinking architecture, the beauty of nature, and social connectedness has made this place endure and thrive eighty years later. We just had a Usonian Celebration and Reunion this past weekend and all I can say to describe the event is "magical," "inspirational," and I feel swollen with love. Although my original immediate nuclear famiily (my dad Mel, my mother Edith and my sister Judy) are no longer on this earth, I know that I have my Usonian family to rely on and that has made a tremendous and everlasting difference in my life...

Usonia grew out of a certain time in history--out of the coop movement, right after World War II, many circumstances that were ripe for the birth of a community like Usonia. Add a very visionary forward thinking architect and his disciples--our parents were just so unique in being true pioneers in the biggest sense of the word at that time. As a child growing up there, I felt totally secure and considered other adults as parental figures and peers as brothers and sisters. Everyone was on a first name basis (no adult wanted to be called Mr. or Mrs.), refrigerators and houses were open and we were free to walk in and take a cookie out of a cookie jar, or get a band-aid for a skinned knee. Each of the 45 homes had an acre and a quarter on a circular plot, with lots of common land and no fences allowed.

Usonia has many lessons to teach the world about community spirit and connectedness, about how to raise confident and successful children, how to venerate nature and how important for our well-being it is to surround ourselves with love and beauty. A film crew led by filmmaker Diane Bloom of Chapel Hill, North Carolina was on-site throughout the whole weekend capturing Usonian voices old and new and photographing the beautiful homes in hopes of a future documentary.

If you are still curious and are the type that likes going through old family photos, here is a slide show of 400+ photos Usonia Past and Present created for the event.

And a book, Usonia , New York written by community elder Roland Reisley

Peruvian Chicken Recipe

A few nights ago I had an appointment to show some art and ended up having dinner with them too--old friend Laura Filancia and her husband Josh Katz. After settling on two painitngs for their living room and office, Josh prepared the most delicious of dinners: Peruvian Chicken with a rich green sauce. It was so good that I have to share it with you here.

PERUVIAN-STYLE GRILLED CHICKEN with Green Sauce Recipe by J. Kenji López-Alt. Courtesy Serious Eats

INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken 3 1/2 to 4 lbs., butterflied
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

Pat butterflied chicken down with paper towel. Combine salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, garlic, vinegar, and oil in a small bowl and massage with fingertips until homogeneous. Spread mixture evenly over all surfaces of chicken.

Light a chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.
Place chicken, skin side up, on cooler side of grill, with legs facing toward hotter side. Cover grill, with vents on lid open and aligned over chicken. Open bottom vents of grill. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 110°F (43°C). Carefully flip chicken and place, skin side down, on hotter side of grill, with breasts pointed toward cooler side. Press down firmly with a wide, stiff spatula to ensure good contact between bird and grill grates. Cover and cook until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 145 to 150°F (63 to 66°C), about 10 minutes longer. If chicken threatens to burn before temperature is achieved, carefully slide to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until done. Do not leave the lid off for longer than it takes to check temperature, or chicken will burn.

GREEN SAUCE:
Combine jalapeños, ají amarillo (if using), cilantro, garlic, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and vinegar in the jar of a blender. Blend on high speed, scraping down sides as necessary, until smooth. With blender running, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sauce will be quite loose at this point, but will thicken as it sits. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Feng Shui

Harmony and Serenity in a home in East Hampton, New York

I have definitely heard of feng shui and kind of thought I knew what it was but if you asked me to describe it, I would have had a hard time putting it into words. I certainly knew that the importance your home environment plays on your sense of wellbeing--and preach that all the time when I am selling my art--but not how exactly this old Chinese tradition fit into that picture. I recently came across this definition from the Daily Om website I subscribe to and it explained it like this:

The art of feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice focuses on Qi, a force of positivity and is about placement and letting the energy flow freely throughout your home and your life so you can thrive. Our living spaces can be nurturing homes for our bodies and souls when we make sure that our surroundings accurately reflect who we are as individuals and who we aspire to become. No matter how positive and creative you may be in your inner world, if your home or work surroundings are contradictory or present energetic barriers, you are likely to find it difficult to manifest all that you desire. By paying attention to the flow of energy around you, you can align your inner intentions with your outer realities to make your life a conscious act of creation. We can look to the ancient Asian art of feng shui for guidance. Since the words “feng” and “shui” mean “wind” and “water,” you may want to walk through your home and imagine the way these elements would flow through your space. You can evaluate whether or not your home is a balanced ecosystem that would allow a plant to flourish. Look for signs of debris that might obstruct flo; clutter acts like hurdles placed in your path, blocking you from creating what you want in your life. Once the obstacles are recognized, however, they can be removed to let energy flow freely throughout your home and your life so you can thrive. Your home can be thought of as a metaphor for your life. A neglected space may correspond to a lack of growth in your career or personal relationships. By shifting your perception, you shift the way you direct your energy and attention, which can enable you to make the changes you need to actively create the life of your dreams. If you need some assistance, you can always turn to a feng shui practitioner, but the most important thing is that you understand what resonates with your core in order to feel alive and nurtured by your home."

Feng Shui is complicated and becoming an expert is no easy feat. But press here for a few tips for starters courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

Charity of the Week:
The Innocence Project

Painting of the Week