Fun in the Sun

Did I tell you how much I am enjoying my time off from the corporate world?
This week-end, we collected sap from our maple trees and have started boiling it to create maple syrup. I have uploaded a few pix for your enjoyment:

You see me baby sitting Big Bertha (it's hard work but somebody's gotta do it); then Paul checking on the boil; Paul and Yseult collecting sap for tomorrow's boil; Frika helping out;
I can't wait to sample the final product.

Yeah, sure, I miss work : )

Convergence

I had an intersting adventure over the week-end. I went to Merrickville with a friend to buy a gift at the glass blowers' place but the town was closed because of a planned power outage (it's a small town). Most of the stores were closed until noon - we ended up in a quilt store. Now I just read Plain and Simple whose structure is loosely based on simple quilts made of nine squares. Throughout the book, the idea of quilts floats around and permeates the atmosphere. As you know, I also read a book about Slowing down and so have constantly in my mind those two notions of simplicity and slowing down. I was happy to have an opportunity to learn about quilts.
Well, these days quilts is serious business. There are classes, and beginners are encouraged to buy special grids to help them calculate their creations. Right sizes of squares are sold in very nice fabrics. I asked ther lady if she herself did any. She said she made them for her grand-children. I asked if she used old material which carried memories of the year. She didn't answer. I guess I am too old school. People these days buy pretty easy-to-assemble squares and use patterns to stimulate their imagination.
So things are as you make them to be and slowness will only creep in if you let it. BTW, we had time to kill before the elcticity came back and we could buy our gift. We had to sit down in a cafe in front of hot chocolate and chat for an hour. Talk about the joys of Slowness : )

Plain And Simple

Plain and Simple was published in 1989 by Sue Bender and is still relevant today. I was reading it the other day - it is a woman's personal quest for meaning of life through her fascination with the Amish. I thought I would go through her findings and see how they resonate in my new life.
1- Value the process, product
I am working on slowing down. I became aware that I was reacting to internal pressures for speeding things up and have proceeded to change that. In the process, I am paying more attention to the way I am doing things and trying to improve every step.
2- Living in Time
Yeah - see above.
3- Celebrating the ordinary
Again, a conscious decision to do so. I decided to find joy in all things around me. When I succeed, I am less irritable. Nice side-effect.
4- Home
No change, really. My identity is not linked to a place and I don't thnk I have ever "inhabited" a home. I like it bare but can live in clutter. I am easy...
5- Community
Now this one has changed because of Freecycling (as my regular readers know). More virtual than what she refers to but it definitely exists.
6- Life is Art
Haven't given it much thought.I never thought of art as being separate from people or things, just as science is everywhere so - yeah, life is art. It is also science.
7- Limits as Freedom
Personnally, I think you need to free your mind to find freedom. I guess more choices equals clutter and makes the process harder. I think the limits increase your focus and that is valid.
8- Power of contrast
No thoughts on how that one could relate to me.
9- Choice
Here the author is saying how having more choices does not necessarily translate into more freedom. For me, it goes back to Limits as Freedom

Freecycling - a look inside

Ok, I have been freecycling for over a month now. How does it feel? Great! What do I like best about it?
1- Meeting like-minded people
I love dealing with people I would never have met if we did not share this passion about recycling. They are from all ages and all walks of life. In common, they have a smile that comes from sharing what they have or getting my stuff for free. You can't go wrong.
2- Helping others. I love when people post a "Wanted" ad. I scrounge around the house to see if I don't own something useful that I no longer need. It helps me, it helps them; everybody wins.
3- Discovering the area (picking up or dropping off items here and there). I suddenly have a reason for exploring the communities around my own. I just have a better feel for my surroundings. Now if I can just figure out how to update my profile (it doesn't stick when I do it) to reflect those newly-acquired skills...

Repetition

I have been going for walks in the woods around the house. I have become more adept at finding my way and figuring out where I am.
It is simple repetition really. You do it often enough and you get your markers. You make enough mistakes and eventually you master the task. It is nice to get a concrete illustration. My confidence is such that I now enjoy the excursions on the property. They were almost anxiety-provoking at first. Now, I feel more at home, more adventurous and I appreciate the outing a bit more each day. I can actually walk slowly and finish the loop in very little time because I know what I am doing. Shortly now the leaves will come out and I will have to relearn the woods. The dogs' view is closer to the earth. Visually, I don't know that it changes that much. I sometimes wonder if I would find my way more easily on all fours. Eventually, I will take pictures of the woods from their point of view, try and see it through their eyes. Next, to develop my sense of smell...

Musical Chairs

I had this flash the other day: the layoffs happening in the corporate world are akin to the kid's game of musical chairs. There is a dispassionate orchestrator who plays an innocuous melody while children skip around some chairs. Abruptly, without warning, the operator stops the music. There is a wild scramble, a jostling for position. Laughter, a collective sigh of relief. One person is left out. The person disappears in the background, is no longer in the game. A chair is taken away.
The music starts again, still innocent, though the kids themselves start eyeing each other. Again, the music stops, at random. Perhaps the one without a chair will sit in somebody's lap, hoping for a moment that he can keep going. But there is no mercy. He is unceremoniously thrown out and the same music starts again. The music is the unifying theme. The all-powerful orchestrator makes it linger, and taunts its willing victims.
There is less laughter, more suspicious glances. Round and round they go with more dissatisfied people on the sidelines until the interest wanes. Kids are ready to move on. But the game hasn't yet played itself out. We need a winner.
Finally, there is a winner. It is the person who is now alone. I never realized that was the goal...

Bookcrossing

I haven't read all the info on the site (too tired + these guys love to read so there is TONS on that site) but here is the gist of it. This is an organized movement to release books in the wild. You register on the site, get an ID for the book you want to release, and boom! leave it for others to enjoy. With any luck, the person who picked it up will go to the site and register it so you caan keep track of its progress.
The idea is to get books to circulate in a free un-hampered way as God intended... : )
Go on the site and read for yourself. It sounds like a lot of fun!
http://www.bookcrossing.com/