Merry Christmas 2013!

It's Christmas! Whether you celebrate it or not I hope you're spending time with the people who matter most to you and keeping warm and safe. 

Because few, if any, people will be checking blogs during the hols I'm only publishing a single entry this week. 

It's nothing fancy or special (check back for my Year End Summary on the 31st!) - just some delightful shoes which will have been given as a gift today. They were a super fun project, one of so very many over the course of the last year. I finished them back in October so I'm giddy to finally get to share them. 

I hope they are well received.

Merry Christmas to all! 

I was given free reign with these, told only to make them 'Christmassy'

They were a lot of fun to design and paint. Especially the baubles. 

Finding LED shoelaces was just a bonus, really. 

May your Christmas be full of light, love and laughter. 

Sushi - The Art of Food

Just last weekend I was in Canada on a secret visit which involved a lovely wedding on the river bank and spending time with my nearest and dearest. It's been eighteen months since I've been home (A word I find conflicting as I find I am just as much 'home' in London as I am in Calgary) and seven days hardly seemed like enough time to pack in all the catching up and bonding I have been craving for about sixteen months.

I managed to squeeze all the pips out though through a variety of different get togethers and gatherings including a wedding party breakfast, dinner at the Calgary Tower and a lunch of Peter's Drive Through enjoyed atop a hill overlooking the city.

For me family and food go hand in hand and one of my favourite days across the pond was spent with my wonderful grandma, who just happens to be Japanese. My now lawfully wedded sprout enjoys food as much as I do and had repeatedly said that she'd really like to learn how to prepare sushi. I figured who better to ask than my grandma, who agreed emphatically. What was originally just going to be me and my partner trying our hand at hosomaki and saimaki, turned into a family affair.

Over bamboo mats and sticky rice it occurred to me that there doesn't seem to be a single member of my family, my new sprout included, who doesn't exude a strong creative energy in everything they do. As we all took turns making the absolutely poetic rolls of sushi you could see each individual style coming through, be it an eye for detail or a flair for the extravagant.

It was delightful when, afterwards, we all sat down and enjoyed our edible art over fantastic conversation.

It was last Sunday that this wonderful gathering occurred and this weekend my partner and I decided to test out our new found skills to see what we could remember and what new things we could drum up.
Clare prepared the Miso, as she'd been taught by my aunt just last weekend. The result was absolutely smashing and made with a twist as she used a 'salad mix' of seaweed so along with the traditional green, red and white algae could be found.

We prepared the rice and veggies together and she cut up the salmon and tuna.

With all our ingredients spread before us we set out our sushi mats and went to town on what we had thought would be too much rice. It was true that we were only able to make three rolls and two nigiri, but when we were finished we still had a feast that could probably have fed three if I'd not been one of them.

I think it's important to remember that there is creative energy in everything we make and do. Even if you're not painting/drawing/sculpting/writing/acting as much as you'd like, you can always find ways to bring creativity into the little things, like the food you have to eat any way. This incredibly beautiful meal was fun to make, delicious to eat and way better than anything instant or microwavable.

Family

Upon completing The Hermit I decided he needed an honoured spot upon my wall. Wall space is limited so I've had to start storing some of my completed works at the end of my bed. Choosing which card to add to those no longer on display wasn't too difficult. As much as I love what I created with The Devil, it has been up for ages. I took The Devil down, shifted the Love card to that spot and placed The Hermit where Love had been above my bed. Stepping back to admire my handy-work I suddenly noticed something about the four cards I have chosen to keep up on my walls.
Tarot cards are intertwined with astrology and you may have noticed they all have symbols next to their titles. Each symbol is somehow representative of the cards meaning and usually one or both of them will be a star-sign.

The Moon is Pisces, The Hermit is Virgo, Love is Gemini and The Hierophant is Taurus. To put it another way, my mum was born in early March, my dad in early September, my brother in late May and myself in early May.

Family has always been very important to me and I don't believe that this display was accidental. I find it fascinating that my four most favourite cards at the moment represent four important people in my life (And yes, I am the most important person in my life, as you should be in yours.) and that each card is actually a pretty good representation of the role they play in it.

The Moon is about dreams, potential, magic and inspiration. It often represents a writer or storyteller. My mum has always encouraged my creativity and admired my writing and I have always loved her ability to tell a story.

The Hermit is about self reflection and introspection. Through my dad I have learned that it is better to listen than to speak without thinking.

Love is about loving yourself, loving what you do and loving those around you. I don't think I have a better example of unconditional love than the feeling of respect, admiration and pride I get when I think about my brother.

And finally, The Hierophant. This card is about wisdom. When someone says I'm wise because I share a thought or idea I read or heard that just seems to make sense, I feel a bit funny. I didn't say it or write it or teach it, I just processed it and decided it made sense. It might not one day and something else might make sense. I don't think this is the measure of wisdom. I was musing on this one day last week and I consider the teachings of Aristotle, Buddha or Maslow to be no different than Newton 'discovering' gravity. Gravity was always there, he just paid attention. Self actualisation isn't a new concept and nothing I say hasn't been said before and won't be said again. For me, I like to think wisdom is about knowing yourself and being aware.

I'm happy to say that I have no idea who I am most days and I sometimes think that I only get more confused and less certain with time and experience. I'm happy to say it because I know I'm not the only one and I know I have a really good team backing me up, even if they are 4,000 miles away.