Ayurveda, Yoga, and the Gita

I wrote about my New Years Resolutions. Now that the year is half over, a little assessment is due.
(This is a long post, so I give you some more cat pictures, which have nothing to do with the post, but so what.)

1. Make friends.

Well, I have made many acquaintences. And there are a few women I have met at yoga with whom I really click and plan to go to get coffee. My friend Laurel is coming back from Italy soon, and that will be a great help. Just being in yoga class and being on a first name basis with people has lifted me out of my funk a bit. And I have been painting with my friend Frank Serrano. He is one of the best painters in the country and a great person.

I have realized that just being in social situations is so important to my mental health. Mark has been working all night lately to meet a deadline, and after being alone all day, I find myself walking to Trader Joes just to be around nice people. Even just to talk to someone about coffee or cereal. I hope that doesn't seem too pathetic.

2. Be Happy.

This has been a big change. The combination of practicing yoga, meditating, and socializing has had a big effect. I haven't had a relapse of the blues at all.

3. Become a Yogi.

Finding yoga has been life changing. I mean, I plan to make it a lifelong habit. Yoga is a journey. There is always more. More to learn, more that it can give me, more that I can give back, more I can explore my limits. There are people of all shapes and sizes doing amazing things in the classes. Even a 60 year old woman who can go up into a handstand and do a split no problem. I am doing things that I never thought I could. Poses that six months ago I thought were impossible, I can now do well. I had a breakthrough the other day where I was able to drop back to a backbend and then stand back up from it. I was thrilled. It is very good for the self esteem.
Yoga combines the mind, spirit, and body. All three have to work very hard together. It is so exhilarating and peaceful. I usually have a big smile on my face the whole time.

And it has introduced me to wonderful philosophies and ideas. Like Tantric philosophies and Ayurvedic studies. I like the Tantric ideas because they seem very human and real to me. Unlike some aspects of Buddhism or Christian ideas, where attaining enlightenment means painful self sacrifice or the renunciation of all things pleasurable. Tantric ideas celebrate the idea that we are manifestations of divine energy put here to experience it's own divinity through the physical body, through giving, sharing, and finding your purpose or dharma. I like that.

Ayurveda is a 5000 year old 'science of life', which is it's literal translation. It is based on the idea that everything in the world is made up of 5 elements: Ether, Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. In the aspect of humans, we are composed of these elements in terms of the three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata is Ether and Air. Pitta is Fire and a little Water. Kapha is Water and Earth. Depending upon how much of each of these doshas we have, our constitution or Pakruti, is determined. Ayurveda is concerned with every aspect of life. It bases happiness and health on three things: sleep, sex, and food. Ahhh, yes. So true. But it encompasses all aspects of life: aromatherapy, color therapy , massage, herbs, food combining, and daily rituals. It sees all those things, including food, as an aspect of gaining and keeping your ideal balance, which is different for everyone.
I have been applying many of these ideas into my habits, which I learned from going to an Ayurvedic master, Mary Alice Quinn.
And I have been enjoying the benefits. I learned from Mary Alice that I am 55% Pitta, 30%Kapha, and 15% Vata. Which means I have a lot of Fire. That explains why I love cool dry days. And that I have a lot of Water and Earth, which is why I am thick and sturdy. Ha.

So I feel I have made good progress on the resolutions. I need to work on the make friends a bit more. Did anyone else make any resolutions? How did you do?

Celebrity Sighting

Last night Mark, a few of his fun Family Guy pals, and I went to see Live Free or Die Hard. Yes, not my first choice. I am just not that aggressive into going to see movies. That, and there just isn't that many that I usually want to see. So, Mark, who is way more into seeing movies than I am, usually (drags) takes me to a movie he is very excited about.
It was a very fun, completely over the top movie, and the guys were so into it that it was even more fun. At the opening credits, Mark's friend Dom shouted, 'John McClane!!!'. And everyone in the theatre cheered and applauded. Geeks.
The very best part was after the movie in the lobby. We were just standing around waiting for the bathrooms, when Geena Davis walks into the bathroom. She looked awesome. I think she is 50 years old, and still looks like she is 30. So I followed her into the bathroom. Don't worry, I didn't knock on her stall for an autograph. She was with a friend and her friends kid. When they came out they met up with a guy and walked out. Don't know who the guy was.

It is so fun to live where the celebrities do.

Cato as Superman

Here is Cato in his Superman pose.

Extreme Oil

Mark and I stayed up WAY too late Saturday night. Not because we were out drinking or dancing. Nope, we couldn't stop watching PBS. That's right, we are animals.

Extreme Oil was on, and it was fascinating. The show inspired us to want to know about what the oil companies are doing. They are so powerful, and pretty much everything we use in our daily lives is made from oil. The very structure of society is based upon our consumption of it. Amazing, considering it has only been a little over 100 years since the industrial revolution.

After watching a few episodes, I am frightened, angry, and feeling pretty powerless. But I recommend watching it anyway.

More Florida Paintings

Cats, Wedding, Lisa Gerrard

While on the plane Sunday, Mark and I had fun passing time by looking through the thousands of pictures we have taken of our cats. I don't care how pathetic it seems that
1. we have thousands of pictures of our cats, or
2. that we look through them for fun.
We noticed that Clouseau started very early in perfecting his lounging poses. This cat is way more comfortable reclining than any other position.

We went to Mark's step-brother Ken's wedding in Orlando this past weekend. (yes, I just returned from Florida a week and a half ago)
The wedding was the usual array of beautiful bride, handsome groom, drunk groomsmen, yummy food, corny DJ, etc. Mark and I enjoyed seeing family that we rarely get to see. And I met many members of my new family for the first time. And we pretty much stayed in the hotel the whole 36 hours we were there. And we spent a total of 20 hours travelling. And I don't really like being on airplanes much. *sigh*

And last week Mark and I went to see Lisa Gerrard in concert at the Orpheum Theatre, an old opera house. The LA Times reviewed the show here. Thanks to Dez, I found out about it in time to buy tickets. Thank you, Dez! I basically sobbed with emotion the whole time. I was still floating the next day. The most beautiful sounds ever made by a human being, weaved into compositions of music. I can die more satisfied now.

Paintings of The Forgotten Coast

Greetings!
I wouldn't be surprised if there is absolutely nobody checking my blog anymore. It has been so long since my last post, I know you have become weary of hopefully checking and then disappointed when there is nothing, nothing, nothing. And you gave up on me. Don't blame you.
But I am back! Come back! This is what I have been up to. All these paintings are of Apalachicola, Florida. An incredible old oyster, sponge, and shrimp harvesting town, with a rich history and with the friendliest people you could hope to meet.

Premature Escrowization

We changed our minds. And the bank declined our offer. In that order. Sorry, folks. I know we got everyones hopes up, and now I am eating my hat because of all complaining I did about the annoyances of apartment living in the last post. We are still looking and open, but a monthly payment quote from the lender was so shocking that we had to sit down and really think. With condo association fees($315!), property taxes, mortgage insurance, homeowners insurance, and the actual mortgage, the payments would be $3200 a month. And this is on the cheapest, littlest, beat up old condos in foreclosure. Most nice new condos are starting at $600,000, and houses start at $750,000. We could do the $3200, but we would have not much money left over each month. No trips, no dinners out, no new shoes, no art supplies, no yoga classes, no funky neighborhood. Jeesh, why is it all so difficult? Why can't I be making more money?
So we will wait and hold out for a place that we can't live without. And hopefully prices will go down to at least $300K (please!), and in the mean time we will save all that extra dough that we would have been spending on the condo, and in 5 years we will have over $120,000, which will be a small downpayment for something then. So we are very happy either way.
What would you do in this situation?

Make Me An Offer

We made an offer on this condo, which was very scary and fun at the same time. The pictures are not all that great, I apologize. For some reason all the blinds were closed when we were there.

So far this has been the nicest one. All the others had one or more things with which we decided we could not live. Like a bedroom with no windows. Or a labyrinth of hallways to reach the door, or someone living above you. I mean, seriously, you would think that $400,000 would at least buy you the privilege of quiet ceilings.

This one had two floors, like a real house. A private entrance, like a real house. And it is a lot bigger than most condos. 2 1/2 baths, 2 bedrooms, a seperate dining area, walk in closets (2!) with a private bath off the main bedroom. It is close to bakeries, groceries, and liquor stores, and a very short drive to Whole Foods! And the kitchen is an actual room, where more than one person may fit. All for about $40,000 less than all the others we looked at. (foreclosure)

All of a sudden, though, the things we will miss about our current neighborhood seem so nice to us. We will miss the funky coffee house around the corner, the walks to Trader Joe's, walks to Thai, Mexican, Greek, Japanese, the best bagels, or the best soup and sandwich cafe, a quick walk to the bank, our fantastic, awesome neighbors, and so many trees.

But we absolutely will NOT miss the dreaded trips to the laundromat that smells like sewer, the complete lack of hot water pressure, our next door neighbor with the extra loud motorcycle that he like to take out on Sunday mornings, the arranging of our lives and days around parking nightmares, having to run out first thing in the morning in your jammies to move the car because you forgot it was streetsweeping day, carrying groceries or laundry across the busy street, coming home to find NO parking anywhere, so you get a $50 ticket because you HAD to park on the next street.

Most of all, we will be so happy to not send our landlord any more of our money. He has enough of it already.

What My Cats Do All Day

They lounge and give you annoyed looks when you take their picture.

Condo Hunting

Well, maybe it's Christy and Amy, who are both looking for houses, that really got us started. Mark and I spent last weekend looking at condos. Yes, we are tired of sending our lousy landlord money every month and seeing nothing in return. We have lived here 2 and 1/2 years and the only thing that has been done is a termite bombing. I am pretty sure it is the only thing that has been done since the building was built in 1938.
It is a tough to get over the fact that our only option is a condo. My lovely friends have the sweet fortune of actually looking at houses. I have lived in a house a total of maybe 3 out of my 35 years, so maybe that's why I yearn for one so much. That and the fact that now I can't have one. Most of the condos here are apartment buildings from the 70's or 80's that are termed 'condos' because they are for sale. Here are some pics of one we saw. It was about 700 sq. ft. It had one window total on the bottom floor with the world's tiniest kitchen. There wasn't even a space for a couch or a TV, but there was an ugly fireplace with Three's Company mirrors and fake brick. It can be yours for $400,000. That's $3200 a month with all the fees, etc. Actually, if it was bigger we might have considered it. The horrible carpets, windows, and fireplace could be remedied. (We are thinking that we should just wait for an earthquake; They bring down costs.)

In spite of this, I am very cheerful and hopeful! With patience, we will find a great place, in a nice neighborhood, on a quiet street, with many windows, and a patio! Wish us luck!

Blogging

I have learned a whole bunch of good things from lurking around the blog world. I have found some blogs that I love, like Dooce, Whoopee, and a couple of vegetarian blogs like this and this, along with my friends' blogs that I visit pretty much every day. Thanks to Christy, Dave, and Amy.
I have to vent on this one thing I came across the other day which made me so upset Mark had to force me to close my computer and walk away. Wonderland is also a favorite haunt of mine. She's funny and keeps me up to date on current issues. This post made me so unbelievably upset. The kind of mystified, terrified, no-this-can't-be-happening upset. I do live mostly in my own little world, and I like it that way. Then something like this comes along and punches me in the stomach.
Read the post and you will know what I am talking about. Along with other Southern states doing similar things, South Carolina is about to put into effect a Bill(if passed by the Senate) forcing any woman to view an ultrasound before she can get an abortion. I am not going into a debate about abortion, and that is not the real issue for me. The real issue is the forcing bit. I don't agree with forcing anyone to do anything. If I want to go get a pint of Ben and Jerry's and eat it in front of the TV at 1am, should I be forced to look at the clogged arteries of a cadaver before I am allowed to buy it? Will they pry open my eyes with fishing line and hooks and hold my head down?
I wanted to post this for the 5 people who read my blog and hopefully spread the news as to what our politicians are doing.

Burning Burbank

When I said that I would tell you about my 'exciting' life, I was being sarcastic. But I actually have some exciting things to tell you about.
For the most part LA is pretty boring. No thunderstorms, no hurricanes, no hail, no snow, not even rain. Yes rain. In the past year less than 3 inces of rain has fallen here. All the smog grit, exhaust grit, and sand grit just swirls around (it is still nice here, come visit!) with nothing to wash it away into the Pacific ocean. So at this time of year, the winds blow, the temps rise, and, voila, wildfires! Yay!
I was in Hollywood yesterday, when about 1pm I saw this big orange and purple cloud billowing up from behind the hill. It looked like it was about a quarter of a mile away, but it really was 5 miles away. It was a BIG cloud. Mark called me up and told me there is a fire in Burbank, and I headed home. I wasn't worrying at all until I saw how freakin' close it was to our apartment. So I was in a controlled panic mode as I parked and ran inside. Okay, kitties are still alive. Whew. It smelled like a campfire. A really big one.
The hills behind our apartment were smoking with areas of erupting flames. It was about a tenth of a mile away. Too close. I went out to get closer, and was immedialtely struck by the scale of destruction. The beautiful green hills are now grey and barren with tree skeletons here and there. I started to tear up thinking of all the baby birds, squirrels, and scared critters that died a horrible death. It was pretty much under control by this time, about 4pm. I was then dumbfounded by the quickness of the fire, In a matter of a couple of hours hundreds of acres were burned to the ground. Jesus.
These pictures are from right across the street, and then from walking a few blocks toward the fire. By Southern California standards, this was an insignificant fire. But for me this was just too freaky. (In Connecticut, backyards don't spontaneously combust.) Mark came home, and we walked down together, and I noticed what seemed to be every firefighter and police officer in LA County setting up camp on Forest Lawn Drive. There were dozens of firetrucks. And I was so amazed at the volunteers who brought stacks of water and meals for the firefighters. I was walking by all these men and women who were ready to risk their own lives to save mine, and I can't describe that feeling. I was speechless.
I have to mention the helicopters. The persons piloting these helicopters are part insane and part heroes. There were power lines, other helicopters, thick smoke; I was awestruck yet again. They were amazing.
So we went home, back to an apartment that I appreciated so much more than yesterday, and so thankful to have all my stuff and to have my kitties. Life is okay.
Turns out, it seems like a couple of kids stated the fire. Nobody was hurt, and no property was lost.

Yes, I Still Love You

Yes, I am still alive. And yes, I know it is not that difficult to put up a silly post now and then. So here is a silly little post. Clouseau and Cato have been terrific models. Clouseau is demonstrating his 'come hither' look, and Cato is enjoying my new lamp.

I promise to update you on my super exciting life this weekend.

When You're Married to a Famous Artist

Last night was Mark's opening at the Copro Nason Gallery in Santa Monica. It was a three man show with Joe Vaux and Dan Quintana. It was well attended, and Mark sold three out of the five paintings. A wildly successful first time!! I am delighted and thrilled for Mark. He deserves all the recognition and reward for his tireless hard work. I had to take pics of the paintings with the beautiful RED DOTS next to them!

Update: Cats, Taxes, and Art Show

For the first time in oohhhh... too many years to even remember, I have my taxes done before April 14th. Mark and I waded through our piles of receipts and papers, wrapped them in tidy looking folders and little clips, and proudly presented them to Ronnie. Ronnie is a full time actor/part time tax preparor. Chuck, the head tax man, kept coming in to check on us because he couldn't believe people could laugh during this process. Well, you don't know my husband. A laugh a minute, Baby!

Also, here is a sample of the desperate, starving, neglected kitty-cat stares we get when coming home.

And most importantly, tomorrow Mark has his work in a real big time LA art opening. Here is the link to his work and the gallery site. His work is already getting a lot of attention and admiration. It won't be long before he is famous. Am I proud of him? Maybe, just a little.

Pears, Pears, Pears

I went to the grocery store to pick up mustard and stuff, and I saw these little baby pears. They were this beautiful red and gold color. I had this urge to paint them. It's nice when I have that urge with fruit, because most often I have it with faces and people. But it's difficult to just grab someone, put them in a bag, and take them to your studio. Not to mention that it's probably illegal anyway.
So this is the result so far of my painting obsession with them.
I need to go back and get some more.

Those DAM Paintings

I took a few shots of some paintings that I really enjoyed when I went to the Denver Art Museum (DAM) with Christy. The red one was one of Christy's favorites. I wouldn't have been able to choose a favorite, but I have posted some memorable ones. I really loved the intimate little portrait of a man by Bastien-Lepage.
Also, there is a photo of the outside and inside of the museum. There were no right angles anywhere inside or outside. I am sure that architecturally this is quite a feat, but the effect it had on me was vertigo and queasiness. The artwork was displayed beautifully, and there were stations throughout the museum where you could sit and look through books or listen to music or watch videos. Very nice. Overall the collection was interestingly diverse, with everything from gothic to Native American to contemporary, including installation and video.