The authors use the Quaker concept of ‘right relationship’ as a framework to build a new global economy based on respect for the environment, sustainability, fairness, and the complete well-being of people – both material and spiritual.

I wonder what it would look like if we followed all the different parts of it? I think this is a project or a book in the making.

those little bits of leftover misc vegtables go well in soup broth – store them int he freezer until you are ready for them – I know you do this already – or make fried rice with them – that’s for lunch for me today.

Love the bread site – Clint figured out a similar recipe for me using spelt flour that really couldn’t be easier. we’ve been eating a LOT of bread here lately, including my first ever current bread. yum yum. This will get us through the cold snap.

I think you could def. sell something like this reproduced by hand. Sometimes if what you are trying to do just seems too complicated maybe that’s not the right solution for you right now. I think they would be more precious as original pieces.

I decided that when I resume art sales I’m going to buy a fancy printer because I really struggled as well to find high quality printing that was not outrageously expensive.

I love the pots idea. We did something similar in our first rental and loved it. The look reminds me of jars of spices and things out on a shelf. unpretentious and real life, but beautiful. Celebrating the beautiful in the everyday.

about shaving the castile soap for detergent – i grate it by hand using a fine cheese grater, then put all the ingredients in my cuisinart to blend into finer particles. it is a little bit of work, but i find it kind of fun and relaxing. it gives me an opportunity to listen to the radio or a podcast while keeping my hands busy (as if they aren’t busy enough with all my other tasks – ha!). i found the soap (dr. bronner’s brand) in the natural food section of our grocery store.

That link is broken! Not sure what is up

You know what I was thinking was that a simple line drawing like that would be easily hand-embroidered. Maybe just one line of it (line 2?) on a t-shirt or the whole thing as a wall-hanging.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one, Angie!

1) See the end at the beginning:
I’ve turned many times to Baha’i writings for guidance on all sorts of topics and found my source of inspiration there. Of course, “how to’s” are still hit and miss and come through trial and error. Here’s a couple of quotes from Abdul-Baha that may help you focus on the end goal:

“My meaning is this, that in every aspect of life, purity and holiness, cleanliness and refinement, exalt the human condition and further the development of man’s inner reality. Even in the physical realm, cleanliness will conduce to spirituality, as the Holy Writings clearly state. And although bodily cleanliness is a physical thing, it hath, nevertheless, a powerful influence on the life of the spirit. … The purport is that physical cleanliness doth also exert its effect upon the human soul.” and again

“External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a great influence upon spirituality.”

2) When do I do all of this?
Determine a schedule, stick to it and work on other things around it. If it’s going to be Sat. morning for 3 hours, so be it! All hands on board, Mark and the boys need to chip in. You need to be the working captain! Have a list of things that need to be done that day. If you stick to it, picking toys off the ground is all you need to do during the rest of the week.

3) Assign Tasks
Give the boys responsibility: a little at a time – when they play during the week, make sure you help them understand, they need to put it away when they are finished . Their job on Sat. morning will be to put their room in order – maybe their weekly chore can be taking the sheets off their beds, vacuum & dust their room, even fold clothes from the dryer. Their daily habit might be to help mom set the table, make salad, clear the table & even wash dishes. Teach them how to do a thorough job (you’ll have to be patient here

4) Do deep cleaning once in while only
Clean fridge, exterior of cupboards etc. may need once in a month, whereas carpets (especially if you have pets), curtains, windows etc. need to be done at least once a year. Don’t try to do everything everyday, every weekend etc.

5) Learn from good examples
If you like something that someone is doing, ask them how they do it! In turn, your kids will learn from your good habits, they often observe and repeat behaviour. So don’t obsess over things and show your stress, just do it.
Kids love order (as you mentioned, as soon as you clean they destroy: this shows that orderliness inspires them to be creative with their toys!) and they love schedules, so take advantage and make it fun!

6) Love it!
If you leave it, no one will do it, so go ahead and enjoy it! It’s good exercise and you get a sense of accomplishment at the end of it. Reward the little ones for good job: milk shake, pbj sandwich, frozen berries are all good snacks.

It’s still a challenge for me but I try to stay on top of it so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

Hope this helps.
love always,
m.

Of course it is for sale. I am so glad you like it! It makes me so happy when people enjoy these little paintings. It is painted the right size for a smaller IKEA frame. around 8.5 x 11 – but a bit smaller, IKEA frames ore in metric and sort of strange sizes – bu inexpensive, the one I use is $14.00. This painting is $60.00 – unframed. hugs.

Nice to hear from you! I hope that you and family are well…

So um I cant remember where I got wordpress from originally. I think I linked it through the web hosting service. It ends up being so that I can use my own URL rather than the wordpress tag. Its been good. I cant wait to read your blog!

Could you please please do a workshop or two at the retreat??

There is actually a home a short walk from our place that looks like a converted barn. There are a few interesting places nearby to us that appear to be old acreage properties and farm houses that have had the city grow all around them. There is even a road that’s not paved … it’s a bit odd, feels like a rural village in the middle of Calgary. Take a ground level walk with Google maps: http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5400+Dalhousie+Dr+NW,+Calgary,+AB&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=25.255285,55.722656&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=5400+Dalhousie+Dr+NW,+Calgary,+Division+No.+6,+Alberta&ll=51.107464,-114.166982&spn=0.000749,0.001701&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.107491,-114.167026&panoid=X6HUVwsJU42Ba4NQ4lRyxQ&cbp=12,358.94,,0,5
(you can see the red barn-house.)

I met a lady the other night that might be interested in art classes for her teenage son (but she says her son is so busy with hockey six nights a week she’s not sure when he’d fit it in.) Do you have classes for kids this age? Maybe I could pass on some information anyway for when he has time – a summer workshop maybe?

PS: Hasn’t the weather these past 3 or 4 weeks been amazing (and some really cool sunsets and skylines!) HUGS

How did you do the acrylic transfer? Was it like a t-shirt transfer sheet?
Ingredients: acrylic, water … anything else?

The following fact I mentioned in Bath and I think it was Cam who questioned the validity, and as he always says “need citation”. So I found the fact:
That Calgary is the same land area as New York but the density is far less:
New York City: 8.2 million people / 830 sq. kms = 9,879 ppl per sq. km
Calgary: 1 million people / 745 sq. kms = 1,342 ppl per sq. km
This has tremendous impacts on the viability of many planning ideals…

Any thoughts?
Karolina:)

Here is a question and/or issue I have always struggled with in terms some of the broad visionary statements often included in Municipal Development Plans, any thoughts/ideas:
what does walkable mean?
I think that cities need to be walkable and built to the appropriate human scale, but my challenge is that often we take ideas from California or Florida (i.e. new urbanism movements) where the climate is much different and try to implement them in cold climates. How does one walk in -20 C and gusting winds. I believe it can be done and solutions have not been effectively explored meaningfully in Canada, especially in Alberta. How do we create warmer more inviting spaces that are more comfortable in winter, that protect us from harsh elements and capture heat from the sun…
any suggestions/thoughts?
I have other perplexing issues…but I will pace myself:)
Talk to you soon…
Karolina

She basically said that she was surprised I only have one bias, and shes curious how this bias affects my work.

Hmm. Me too. I will talk about it more sooner I am sure. Probably in the podcast. Or on Thursday. I just feel I do a lot of editing on the blog, some conscious, some sub-conscious, and I want to be clear. Yeah, thats it.

I’ll check out Dimension Zero! I am typically a folk-acoustic, alternative-country kinda gal, but hey – I can be swayed!
I’m glad I could have you on the site! I hope folks check out your work. Excited to see what things you make in the future! – Maybe Mark and I can chack out a concert one day – when a babysitter is available!

I’m afraid the Holiday Men aren’t online at the moment as the site that hosted it has gone down. Me and Andrew will work on rectifying that.

Regarding the music, I’m not sure if you listened to all of the tracks, but you may have been listening to the very hardest one we have, which would account for the heavy screaming. Dimension Zero is more of a radio friendly track with a bit of everything. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

Great work, Angie and Mark. You’ve got a new regular listener

Long live Blueiage!

If you had drawn the drawing first and then painted the trees it may make you feel that the drawing was the center and the trees were added on, but it would make no difference to the viewer.