life is art

Life is art. Everyday we create, or recreate, our personal masterpiece. Masterpiece? I like to think that mine is a work in progress. People are compared to art because we all possess unique, subjective beauty, we tell stories and evoke emotional responses. Each person is a unique "piece." Humans, like art, communicate emotions, stories, and experiences. A person's life is a form of self-expression, similar to how art conveys messages.

Art is also something we do, a verb. It's an expression of our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires, but it is even more personal than that: it’s about sharing the way we experience the world, which for many is an extension of personality.

I really like this analogy. It puts art on such a personal, everyday playing field. Take your canvas or lump of clay or musical instrument, your smile or your wit, your grocery list or your to-do list or your dinners-for-the-week list, and share your most beautiful story.

Life is art.

 

monday's mulling: groundhog day

Groundhog Day, celebrated every year on February 2, is an unusual holiday that stretches back hundreds of years to European traditions and ancient times.

Why this date in midwinter? Groundhog Day stems from an ancient Celtic celebration called Imbolc, rooted in astronomy and marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. 

Groundhog Day is a quirky holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada. It’s a fun way to break up the winter season and look forward to spring. It’s based on the belief that some animals can sense seasonal changes, and their hibernation patterns will indicate the coming weather.

According to weather lore, if it’s a clear or sunny day, the groundhog will see its shadow and return to its underground home. This means six more weeks of wintry weather. If it’s a cloudy or snowy day, this plump little prognosticator will not see his shadow which means early spring weather is right around the corner.

The first official organized Groundhog Day celebration in the United States was held in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and has become a popularized annual tradition. My brother, one of the many accountants in the family, worked on an audit in Punxsawtawney, PA for a few years. One evening he and his boss were at dinner and the restaurant was selling wine made at the Groundhog Winery. The server gave him the story about the winery, that it's home to Junior and Sis, two cute little groundhogs who are rumored to be 3rd cousins of the famous forecaster Punxsawtawney Phil. 

Cheers to you, Phil. After all the snow and the many days with below 0 temperatures, we sure would welcome some early spring weather. No pressure at all...
 

it's that kind of sunday

We are bombarded every single day with news that is bad, upsetting, unsettling, depressing, discouraging, frightening, painful, troublesome, distressing, frightening. The list goes on and on and on...

Goodness and kindness get overshadowed by the bad, upsetting, unsettling, depressing, discouraging, frightening, painful, troublesome, distressing, frightening....

You can't control what shows up in your head but you can control what you do next. Look for stories and actions that overshadow all the noise and negativity. Engage in a random acts of kindness - a simple, non-premeditated actions that brighten someone's day - or a good deed. When you pass along a kindness, that gesture may soothe a soul, bring a smile, or give hope that perhaps the world may not be so bad after all. 

In the big picture, random acts of kindness may seem small. But no matter how small, little kindnesses make a big difference. Remember...

“Treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are.”

~ Roy T. Bennett

dayton's precious natural resource

If you fly into the Dayton airport, you might notice an informational signboard about water as you walk toward baggage claim from Concourse B. 

Dayton benefits from a plentiful groundwater supply known as the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer (GMVBA). Formed thousands of years ago by glaciers, the GMVBA is made up of loose, coarse sediments such as sand and gravel. This natural type filtration results in very clean water. Replenished by water that seeps down from the overlying rivers, this aquifer serves as the sole source of drinking water for the entire Dayton region. The City of Dayton provides drinking water to 400,000 people from this underground treasure.

The aquifer is stores approximately 1.5 trillion gallons of water. Rivers, streams, and lakes quickly recharge the aquifer, making the groundwater truly a renewable resource.

Around town you will notice “No Dumping” signs on sewers and storm drains. These signs educate the public that storm drains lead directly to waterways (rivers, lakes, oceans) without treatment, making it crucial to stop pollutants like oil, paint, or pet waste from entering them. The city officials realize what a precious resource we have and want to keep Dayton’s natural resources as clean and safe as possible for years to come. I just hope the data centers stay away from our area. They use up an incredible amount of water to cool the servers. (Google reported using more than 6 billion gallons in 2023).

 

the friday feed: gougères

Gougères. What an elegant way to say cheese puffs. 

A few weeks ago, I took these to a gathering and the hostess had asked that we bring an hors d'oeuvre to share. My refrigerator was still full of post-Christmas foods, with an especially large quantity of cheese. The kids had brought some cheeses for a charcuterie tray and we had received some gifts of assorted cheeses from friends. When it was time for everyone to return to their homes, no one took cheese. Everyone was cheesed out.

When my friend requested the appetizer, my immediate thought was a cheese tray, and instead of crackers I would get a little fancy-schmancy and make gougères.

Gougères are a baked savory pastry made with a French choux dough mixed with cheese. They have a reputation as being difficult, but they're really not. They're more fun than anything. To make them you combine liquids (water, milk), butter and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Add flour and stir madly into a smooth paste. After allowing the paste to cool a bit, you work in eggs, one at a time. Then add grated cheese, pipe onto a baking sheet and bake. This dough is the same as a cream puff dough; the cheese makes it a savory bite.

On the chance gougères are left over, they can be frozen and then reheated for a special snack.

peaceful

Just another pretty winter sunset. The sun gives the patches of ice on the street a glow and the air grows colder as daylight disappears.

 

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion on January 28, 1986. Among they crew members killed was Judith Resnik of Akron, Ohio. She joins a long line of space pioneers from the Buckeye State. Ohio has a remarkable legacy as the Birthplace of Aviation with over 25 NASA astronauts. The well-known, iconic Ohio natives include John Glenn (first American to orbit the Earth and later the oldest person in space), Neil Armstrong (first man to walk on the Moon), and Judith Resnik (second American woman in space and first Jewish woman in space). 

Do you remember where you were when the Challenger exploded? I do. I was at home with my 16-month old son, watching in awe of the space shuttle talking off, the powerful rocket boosters launching it into space. And then, just a little over a minute into its ascent, the Challenger exploded. The awe turned into horror and disbelief. 

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On our drive to Cleveland, it was the same ole, same ole drive, a little snow on the ground as we headed north. It was a beautiful, sunny, cold day with no indication of the snow that was to come. An IIK Transport truck caught my eye with its Russian writing on it. I wondered if IIK Transport was a Russian company doing business in the US so to pass the time on the drive, I did a little research. Just so you know, IIK Transport is an American trucking company headquartered in Bridgeview, Illinois, and utilizes a diverse, immigrant-heavy workforce, just as many other trucking companies do. The presence of Russian text on their trucks likely reflects that their drivers, owners, or operators are from Eastern Europe or Russia, and serve a multi-lingual driver base. The things you learn while passing time on a 3-hour drive.

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Snow storm Fern was the looming topic for this past week. It came, it dumped, and now we are moving on with 20" of snow blanketing the area. Grocery store shelves have been restocked from the panic buying, the city snow plowers putting in heroic hours and effort to get the roads cleared for people to be out and about safely, the sun shines deceptively bright, not indicative of the below zero temperatures. The schools are still closed and I know parents are anxiously awaiting those doors to open again.

While in Cleveland, I did manage to get my Frozen Feet Challenge walks in. Dress warm enough and you stay warm. While trudging along, this mailbox made me do a double-take and gave me a little chuckle. What a contrast. A beach scene surrounded by snow. Only in Ohio. I took my gloves off, fumbled around in my pocket to get my phone out, dropped the phone and my fingers got colder. Anything for a photo to tell a story.