A "Leo" Day

I had a very "Leo" day yesterday. If you've been reading my blog, then you know that I'm in the midst of a self-improvement campaign entitled "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci." I think Leo would have enjoyed my Saturday. First, I made a trip to an open house at Lucie's vet clinic (okay, I have no idea if Leo liked dogs. Let's pretend that he did!). I bought a clever little invention there called a 'furminator.' We'll see how well it works on Lucie's thick coat. Then Lucie and I took a lovely walk at the marsh. I began my final French CD...lesson 29 of Pimsleur's French III while we strolled. In it I learned how to open a checking account and ask for an ATM card. This will be very helpful if I ever realize my dream of living at least part time in France. A quick trip to the Winterset Farmer's Market for tiny onions, mesclun, Swiss chard, radishes and yellow zucchini, and we headed home. I left for the 5pm service at church by mid-afternoon, so I could make a stop at the Des Moines Arts Festival. This 3-day event is huge and draws artists from all over the country and Canada. Luckily the weather cooperated this year as it's held outside in Gateway Park in downtown Des Moines. I'm only good for about an hour of browsing, so this was perfect timing. I discovered some wonderful artists this year. One of my favorites was Emerson Matabele, the awesome photographer who shot the image above, "Mama Africa." Click here to visit his website. I most appreciate his people pictures all shot in third world countries and all reflecting the souls of his subjects.

I even made a purchase in support of the arts! I visited the booth of Louise Valentine, Canadian fiber artist. She makes hand-painted silk scarves in the Shibori method, an art form from 8th century Japan. I fell in love with a silvery-gray piece. It's a long piece of silk twisted, gathered around marbles and left to dry. The artist then formed it into a necklace. Yes, it was 'way too expensive, but I love it. I feel like I've gotten two pieces for the price of one...a necklace and a scarf!

So, my "Leo" day took me to France, Africa, Japan and Canada; it helped me discover language, art, the natural world, and invention. Leo would be proud!

Speaking French

One of the ways I'm already 'thinking like Leonardo' is learning to speak French. I began this journey in 2005 before my first trip to France, and I've continued using the Pimsleur method all the way. I think there are probably many good ways to learn to speak a foreign language, the best being to learn as a child, but Pimsleur seems to work well for me. Each audio lesson is 30-minutes long and consists of listening to and then repeating out loud the words and phrases as the instructor indicates. It starts easy, of course, and gradually the words and phrases build on each other so that you can eventually carry on a simple conversation. You learn how to greet and introduce people, ask for directions, and most importantly, order a glass of wine! I've found on my trips to France that this goes a long way in making me comfortable. And I've been told that I really don't have much of an American accent...gotta like that! It's funny, but when I'm speaking my little bit of French, I find myself feeling French. My voice softens, and I speak in a higher, lighter tone. I 'sing song' my greetings as the French do. I begin to imagine myself strolling down Blvd. St. Germain, carrying my red Longchamps bag, my neck swathed in a bright Hermes scarf. Reality check! I'm actually walking the dusty dirt road behind my house with little Lucie scouting out the route ahead.

I'm almost done with my Pimsleur French III CDs. I thought this was the last set, but as I researched this blog entry, I found they've added an advanced set. I guess French IV will have to suffice until I can move to France and immerse myself in the language!

PS...if I'm going to learn to think like Leo, should I plan on learning Italian next?

To Think Like Leonardo

When Edith stopped by here a couple of weeks ago on her way to Wisconsin, she mentioned that she was listening to a book on tape while she drove...."How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci." Intrigued by the title, I visited my almost-best-friend, Amazon.com and purchased a used copy. It arrived last week and what fun I'm having with it. I've always been a Leonardo fan; seeing the Mona Lisa in person was a thrill. Even those of us who snoozed through art class recognized the Vitruvian Man and The Madonna of the Rocks in the movie, "The da Vinci Code." Most people also know that Leonardo was a genius whose notebooks were full of designs for a flying machine, a helicopter, an armored tank, a machine gun and a submarine. And almost every kid around can tell you that Leonardo wrote in secret code...backwards writing that you can only read by looking at it in a mirror! I'm certainly no genius, but I believe this book can encourage me to think more creatively. It's divided into 7 parts each corresponding with a quality found in Leo's life: curiosty, willingness to test knowlege, continual refinement of the senses, willingness to embrace uncertainty, balance of art and science, cultivation of grace, and recognition of inter-connectedness. Each chapter begins with a self-assessment exercise. I'm beginning with curiosity (Curiostia, in Italian). Here are a couple of the questions that I can answer a loud "YES!" to...
I love learning...yes
I am involved in learning a language other than my native one..yes
When I hear or read a new word or phrase, I look it up and makea note of it..yes
I am a voracious reader....yes!
My first exercise to stimulate my mind after doing the self assessment quiz was to write 100 questions at one sitting, writing quickly and without a lot of laborious thought. Then I organized those questions into broad themes and selected my top 10 questions. My instructions were then to put the questions away for awhile. I'll go back to them later, I guess. I struggled to come up with 100 questions! This thinking like Leo might be a real challenge for me!

In case you want to know which painting of Leo's is my favorite, click here.

Summer Vacation Frustrations

This is my destination for my summer vacation. Well...not exactly right here at the Roosevelt Arch located at the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, but about 2 blocks north. I'm yearning to get to a cozy little house on Stone St. in Gardiner, MT--home of Travis, Becky, Parker and Chase. My work schedule and and kids' summer schedule dictates this trip must take place sometime between Aug. 3rd and Aug. 13th. Yesterday I spent hours on my computer pulling up every travel search engine I know trying to make this work without spending a fortune, arriving at midnight or having to get up in the middle of the night to catch a plane. I even thought about driving. Yikes! At $4+ for a gallon of gas, this 1200 mile trip could get really pricey. And then there's the worry that my 1999 vintage, high mileage RAV 4 might poop out along the way. I tried flying out of Des Moines, Omaha, and Kansas City. I tried flying into Bozeman and Billings. I tried flights that get me into Montana at midnight and then getting a motel and rental car and driving down to Gardiner the next day. Or leaving on a 5:20am flight out of Des Moines...painful, but do-able. I even pulled up Amtrak to see if I could get anywhere close (that's a 'no'). I almost pushed the 'book it' button on a flight out of Kansas City. It left at a reasonable time for me to make the 3-hour drive to the airport. I hesitated and hesitated. Then I saw why I couldn't make myself complete the booking. There was only 30 minutes between connecting flights in Denver! That's cutting it 'way too short for me. Even a 10 minute delay could make me miss the connection; it just isn't reasonable to take that chance. Sigh....back to the drawing board. I finally decided to bite the bullet and book something outrageously expensive and inconvenient. Twice I selected those flights only to get the pop-up message that 'unfortunately all those seats are sold out' and please make another (more expensive, more inconvenient) selection. In frustration, and almost in tears, I logged out.

You know...maybe I'm simply not supposed to make this trip!

Into Great Silence

I watched the most incredible 3-hour film yesterday called "Into Great Silence." While I've given you an Amazon.com link to purchase it, I won't recommend that you do so. This film has no plot, no dialogue, no music, no voice-overs to explain what you are viewing. What it does have is 3 hours of the experience of living as an ascetic monk in the Grand Chartruese monastery deep in the French alps. And this experience is absolutely amazing! You become as one of the monks living in the monastery; you experience the ebb and flow of their lives spent mostly in silence and structured around the bells that call them to prayer and ritual seven times a day. The sounds you hear are the sounds of their work: bells, Gregorian chants, chopping, shoveling, the rattle of dishes, the scrap of their boots and sandals down long, stone hallways, the calling the animals. You can almost feel the bitter cold as one monk clears the snow from his garden plots. You feel their intense joy as the monks slide down the mountainside in play.

No, I don't recommend that you buy this film...unless you are prepared to spend 162 minutes in contemplation, meditation and being intensely introspective. And also be prepared; you will ask yourself questions.

Happy Camping!

My friend, Edith, is spending the summer at camp....what fun! She stopped here last week enroute to her summer job at Red Pine Camp and couldn't have been more excited. She was a camp counselor there for a couple of summers when she was in her twenties. She and some other camp staff alumni decided to reprise their young adulthoods and return this summer. They will be helping a whole new generation of young girls grow up, become proficient in several outdoor sports and activites, and learn the value of friendships developed without the distractions of TV, video games, and shopping. Located on a beautiful lake outside Minocqua, WI, the camp has been in operation since 1937. Last year a group of alumni put together a plan to purchase the camp which was in danger of being sold. Pleasant T. Rowland, creator and founder of American Girl dolls and camp alumni, set up a foundation to save the camp. Thanks to her and other dedicated camp alumni like Edith, Red Pine Camp will continue to serve girls and give them an unforgettable North Woods experience.

I can hardly wait to hear Edith's camp stories and see the wonderful photographs that I know she'll be taking this summer. I want to go to camp, too!!

Floods of 2008

I haven't been ignoring my blog; I've just been pre-occupied with the weather and the news. Iowa has been slammed by violent storms with heavy rainfall the past couple of weeks. Now all the major rivers in the state are flooding. They've just issued a voluntary evacuation order for downtown Des Moines; Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are already in the midst of the biggest flood events in history. They're calling this the "500 Year Flood." I'd hoped to have a picture to post, but none right now.

I'm fine at my place. It just needs to dry out enough so I can mow the lawn. And I'm getting really tired of muddy little paw prints on the back porch. I need to teach Lucie to clean up after herself. More later....

Ancient Paris

I admit it...I'm addicted to blogs. Don't tell my boss, but I check quite a few of my favorites every day at work. One of my favorites is one called "PetersParis." When I visited Peter's blog today, he had a fascinating entry about the Arenes de Lutece. I visited this ancient site on my last visit to Paris, so I was intrigued to read more about it.

Okay, here's another confession. In my heart of hearts, I've always wanted to be an archaeologist. When I was growing up, girls just didn't do such radical things. We became secretaries, teachers or nurses, but only long enough so we could find a man and get married. Even though my best friend and I read the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" and I snatched up every National Geographic magazine I could find that had articles about the pyramids and ancient Egypt, I caved in to the culture of the times and became a nurse. But, I'm still fascinated by anything ancient or even just old. Imagine my almost orgaistic pleasure, then, when I clicked on a link in Peter's blog and found this fabulous website about ancient Paris!

I really think I'd make an awesome archaeologist. Do you think I'm too old for a change in careers?

Bad Weather....again

I thought when winter was over I wouldn't have to whine about the weather anymore. Well, surprise! Here I am again....whining. Iowa has literally been pounded with bad weather this spring. Rain, thunder, lightening, wind, hail, tornadoes. We are on our way to setting a record for most tornadoes in any spring. The previous record was 1,280.; we're almost there. We're already 3 inches above normal for rainfall. If you've kept track of the weather news, then you know that Parkersburg, Iowa was leveled two weeks ago by an EF 5 tornado...the strongest the weather service records. Last night this bad weather really hit home. I was awake on and off all night as it crashed and flashed and poured rain. When I got up at 5:30am and looked out the window, I thought the backyard looked a little funny. As it got light enough to see, I realized what the funny thing was....water from my creek. If you've been to Red Bell Farm, you know that a small creek runs behind my house. Normally, it is ankle-deep in the summer, wade-able, and at the bottom of an 8 foot drop off. You also know that from the bank of the creek there is a gentle slope upwards to my back porch. This was the view this morning from that back porch! That's Haybranch Creek flowing thru my back yard. The road to the north had water running across it, and I worried that the road south, my route into work, might also be under water. Fortunately, it wasn't.

The creek falls almost as fast as it rises, so by the time I left for work an hour later, it looked like this. I could already see grass where an hour before I could only see water. I measured 4 inches of rain in a flat-bottomed basin sitting next to the porch. I heard on the TV that East Peru, just south of me measured almost 7 inches of rain overnight! By the time I got home this afternoon, the water had subsided a lot. The creek is still out of its banks by the corner of the corral, tho. The bad news is....it's forecast to do the same thing tonight...driving rain, hail, thunder, lightening and possibly tornadoes again. It might be a long, sleepless night. Think good thoughts for me, Lucie and Sissy.

Fireflies

If someone asked you what's your favorite thing about the place you live, what would be your answer? Okay, so ask me...Evelyn, what's your favorite thing about living in Iowa? Fireflies! They are particularly profuse this year...seems like there are hundreds of them flickering in my yard at night. I took Lucie out last night right before bedtime and was mesmerized by these tiny flying bugs. Knowing I could never get my own photo of them to share with you, I googled this one of fireflies reflected in water. Pictures just don't do them justice, tho. You have to experience their magic in person. Watching them is sort of like watching for a shooting star. If you stare in one place, you miss them. You just have to continually scan the yard to catch their twinkling lights. If you want to know more about the science of fireflies, click here. I prefer to simply see them as a magical mystery of summer.