SHE'S BERTHA, I'M MARTHA

Recently, I was looking at all the blogs that I follow when I happened upon "Art in Red Wagons" blog. And there she was...Martha...just waiting for me.

Now, back in high school my maiden name was Buthman. It was pronounced "Booth" not "But" but I rarely heard it pronounced properly in those days. My cousin, Gary, (who lives in Santa Cruz and has two boys who both surf and whose pictures I have posted here) did it right when he made the last name a nickname and spells it "Boothy". Now everyone he knows pronounced it correctly.  But that wasn't the case when I was in school.

My sister is eleven months younger than I am and was in a grade behind me in school. But we both hung out with basically the same friends or at least some of our friends overlapped a bit. I got so sick of hearing it mis-pronounced that I used to preface it with "It's Buthman...rhymes with Ruth...she's Bertha, I'm Martha". And so that last part stuck. Forever we have been known as Bertha and Martha to each other. So, when Kim posted a photo of her latest works of art (matchboxes that she hand-decorates) I just had to send away for the one that had the story about Martha on the inside.

According to Kim, that phrase "pull up your socks Martha" is one that speaks to getting some backbone, standing up for yourself, speaking your mind so-to-speak. At least that is what I remember, maybe I'm wrong. But no matter what it actually means, I loved this little story in a box. And so it sits, on my mantle, just like you see it here next to my hand-carved little men. And I am old enough to remember having worn garters on my nylon stockings! What a pain in the "you-know-what" they were! But that was all we had. And that was just in the 60's. Not so long ago really. We had really great music but we were not that advanced on so many other levels.

So, thank you Kim for all your hard work and for sharing your work with the public. You can look at her blog at www.artinredwagons.blogspot.com I think that you will enjoy her beautiful photography, her beautiful water-colors, and her great ideas for so many other things. She has an Etsy shop too. Talented lady! You should see today's post of some sweet little knitted crowns she made for two lucky little babies! Where do people who have small children like Kim get all these ideas AND time to make them. I must be doing something wrong! It's all I can do to post on this blog occasionally.

I'M A MEMBER

Recently, I became a member of "Team Brilliant", an effort to raise money for John Ptak, the husband of author Patti Digh. John had to undergo some surgery for kidney cancer and unfortunately did not have health insurance. A group was formed to raise $100,000 in 37 days and they did it...they raised that much money and more. It just goes to show you what people can do when they really set their minds to something.

Patti Digh has a blog that is titled "37 days" and that is why they chose that number. You can Google her and find out all about her. She has written many books including the one that I know best "Life is a Verb". I am proud to be a member of "Team Brilliant". John and Patti seem to be going about life-as-usual and have their same great senses of humor. I guess it is all in the attitude, isn't it!!

When I last looked the total was $102,270. Isn't that incredible? But what is sad is that they had to go about this kind of fund-raising in the first place. Where are we as a nation when someone has to go into surgery knowing that they do not have health insurance? Isn't it bad enough having to face the bad news of a diagnosis of carcinoma without the stress of worrying about where the money will come from? No one in our country should go without insurance or the ability to have a surgery if needed. No one. Yet, there are people who want to abolish Obama care. For what reason? I am flabbergasted, gobsmacked, and every other word I can't think of right now as to why Obama care seems like a bad idea to some. Oh well. Hopefully, if one of "them" has to have a much-needed surgery, they will have the resources available to them to raised over $100,000 in 37 days. They might not have the same sense of humor though. Or "Team Brilliant"!

FENG SHUI IN THE GARDEN

Last Saturday my daughters and I went for a drive so that I could see the art show at Fine Eye Gallery. Along the way, we stopped in at a few shops, one of which is my favorite little garden shop. As I walked around inside, I noticed lots of things that I have at home and commented to one of the customers that I encountered. She commented that we might all have a few of these things but it's definitely the shop's "way" with staging them that makes them so appealing. I agree.

As I walked around the outside I snapped a few photos of things that appealed to me and noticed that "I have that metal rack in my yard", "I have that chair in my yard", "I have that wood cook stove in my yard", etc. Yes...but is it the same? Well, not quite, although I am really working on fine-tuning my yard and the way that I place things so that it does have that appeal to others as well.

Maybe it is as simple as feng shui in the garden. According to what I have been reading, there are eight distinct areas in the yard that will help you achieve maximum benefit from feng shui especially if you use each area for activities related to the part of your life that it governs.

But, maybe it's just as simple as having a good eye or knowing just what feels right. I overheard one of the customers tell her friend that day that this garden exhibited good taste and made junk feel chic. Some people just have a knack for making junk look and feel chic, don't you think? The stuff they collect or have in their homes and gardens is not just run-of-the-mill or trendy. It has patina or rust on it and has a place of honor in the garden. Every item is cherished and made special just by the way it is showcased. I love that old saying that I have heard repeated over and over throughout my life: one man's junk is another man's treasure. And, I find it exactly right.

There also has to be a balance of light and shade in a garden. Light isYang and shade is Yin. In order to have balanced Ch'i in your garden these two need to be balanced as well. Ch'i flows from areas of yin to yang and back again constantly so it needs to keep moving smoothly. Encourage sunlight and provide shade in your garden. I know that I like the way my garden looks early in the day, before the hot sun comes out and washes out all the color. But, it also needs the sunshine to make the flowers grow. If it were all shade then I wouldn't have the benefit of a vegetable garden or bright flowers that like to grow in the sun. I do encourage shade-loving plants on the shady side of my home and I have been planting many varieties of rhododendrons and azeleas in that area. I can't wait until next Spring to see all the colors explode.

Soften a shed with plantings; paint it a pale blue or green to diffuse its functionality. Is a garden structure just ornamental? If so, take care to site it correctly on your property and possibly leave the roof open to let the ch'i flow in and out.

These are all new concepts to me but I am going to take them to heart when I continue to plan my garden in the years to come. I noticed from reading that ch'i likes to move in curves and bends rather than in straight lines. Perhaps this is why I love the maples that I have planted. And the oaks, with their curvy leaves, seem to be situated just right in my garden. They also provide that much needed shade when the sun is at its hottest mid-day. And I just read that I shouldn't leave large areas of flowerbeds empty for several months during winter as this will have a deadening effect on the ch'i in that area and also the part of my life governed by that part of the garden will suffer too. So very interesting! I will plant things have have some winter interest in those beds and allow the bed to have something living instead of remaining empty.

Each day I learn something new. Each year I learn even more. For me, that is the secret to life and what keeps things interesting to me. I never want to get to a point in my life where I feel like I know it all. I want to continue learning new things and growing younger as I am growing older. Is that a paradox? Perhaps to some it might be. But not to me. If it weren't for this grey hair (of which seems to be getting more grey and more thin the older I get) I would swear that I was still 18...OK...maybe 40...but isn't it all relative?? And isn't 60 the new 40?