Mar16

Making Dreams Come True

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Irish Sheep

A number of years ago I made a decision on St. Patrick’s Day.  I set a far reaching goal for myself, a goal that for many would have been no big deal.  Planning a trip to Europe—well, lots of people do it every year.  But some never get the opportunity.

I was somewhere in the middle…

For me, travel was hugely important.  When I was a child, we always planned trips and managed to take one or two vacations per year.  The travel was never overseas, and some years we didn’t go very far from home.  But the magic was in the planning and the execution, regardless of whether it was a long weekend up north or a major road trip to Florida, an Atlantic coast resort, or the various southern states my family still called “home” many, many years after they took permanent residence in Michigan.

So what “big” decision did I make one special St. Patrick’s Day?  Why, to go to Ireland, of course!  My dreams of travel deep in my secret heart had always centered on Europe…to concentrate on exploring one wonderful foreign country per year.  Now that would be heaven.

For some reason Ireland seemed a good place to start.  It was exciting, but didn’t seem too intimidating for a first overseas trip…and I wouldn’t need to speak or understand a new language.  “We’re going to Ireland this year,” I announced that memorable March 17, after watching a cooking show detailing a recipe for a traditional Irish dinner we were planning for the evening.

Okay.  Now I was in the familiar planning stage.  The hardest part seemed to be to convince my boyfriend (new at the time) to “go for it” with me.  He’d never placed a lot of value on travel like me and wasn’t overly wild about the expenses involved.

Up until the prior year when I went solo on a two-week train trip that covered a lot of ground (another story), neither of us had been on a real vacation for over ten years.  Hard to believe for a dedicated traveler like me, but true.  Life has a special way of helping you loose sight of what’s really important, if you let it…

I’d had shifting priorities at work and in my personal life that had wrought some major changes upon those “vacation-less” years, not to mention my perspective.  So, in further emphasizing the significance of this travel goal, taking a trip to Ireland was a major decision for us.

I wasted no time and hurried to the bookstore that same St. Patrick’s Day afternoon to purchase some Ireland travel books and maps.  The next months were spent in happiest speculation as I plotted our route to circumnavigate much of Ireland.  I had only a half-baked idea of where we would sleep each night, reservations for a rental car, and a clutch of Bed and Breakfast vouchers.  Slowly, I was drawing my boyfriend into my dream.

Almost six months to-the-day later, my feet touched Irish ground.  I felt the harsh but magic breath of the sea as I stood on spectacular cliffs overlooking my dream.  I slept in small rooms and ate skimpy meals for the most part to conserve money, but there were a few special splurges in there as well.  I drank in every minute…the wonder, the fragrance, the bracing air, the surreal cloud structure, the stark monuments, and the sheep, of course.  And I watched someone I loved find their own magic in a dream brought to life.

And now, so many years later, I’m using a photo that’s ironically not even my own to illustrate my Ireland days.  Of all the things I saw and experienced, the sheep were the constant.  I loved their quiet dignity and their insolence.

Most of my numerous pictures are tucked away in a closet, waiting to be transferred into digital format; perhaps writing this will give me the spark I need to complete that task.  I think I hold off for emotion’s sake…I haven’t looked at them for so long, except for the ones proudly framed and hanging on our walls.  I believe I’ve locked Ireland away, back into my secret heart where the dream started.  There have been other trips to Europe since, and hopefully there will be some more in the future.  Actually, there’s been a lot of travel for me since then.  But Ireland was like a first love; its freshness and perfection will never be duplicated.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

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Mar2

Best Pictures you may have missed

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Movie Red Carpet sm

As I get ready to watch the Academy Awards, I realize I actually saw every film that’s up for Best Picture.  That’s right, every one of them-at the theater.  Not to mention a number of other movies that aren’t on that coveted list.  (It is not the first time, but some years I do miss one or two…I really am a movie lover, okay?)

Of course, I have my opinions as to which movie should win, as well as who should take the awards for best and supporting actors/actresses.  Looking at that list, I must say it was a great year for movies.  Some years, not so much.  But every movie on the list is excellent, and there were even more that could have been on there.

Two of my favorites that missed the Best Picture list were  Blue Jasmine and Inside Llewyn Davis.  Both only got a limited “art house” type release.  Both were great films.

I’m hoping, at least, that Cate Blanchett will win Best Actress.  I think I saw Blue Jasmine the first week it was released, back in July 2013, and I said she was going to get an Oscar as I walked out of the theater – a very early prediction, with lots of movies to come – but I called her then because I was so impressed with her role.  She was riveting…funny, sad, crazy.  She was perfect.  So good that I think she carried the film into a Best Picture status.  (Not to lessen the impact of Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, and the rest of the cast, who were great, too.)  Cate won a Golden Globe for Blue Jasmine, and now I can only wait to see if my Oscar prediction holds true.  She’s up against some terrific performances, not the least of which is Meryl Streep, yes…again, she was incredible in August: Osage County, another film that could have easily been on the Best Picture list.

But the other film that missed the final list, Inside Llewyn Davis, didn’t seem to ultimately get much notice at all in the various award categories.  It was a terrific, odd, and honest little film that was perfect in its own right.  Oscar Isaac was wonderful and the musical score was second to none, in my opinion.  I never get tired of the songs I downloaded right after the movie and can play them repeatedly.  It wasn’t exactly a feel good movie, overall, but there were some truly hilarious moments along with the starkly sad ones.  And the final scene is a very cool one for any true Bob Dylan fan.

They were both movie lovers movies – a little artsy…profound and sad, each brilliantly written, filmed, and acted.  I highly recommend them both, they were a couple of my favorites of 2013.

So, what picture do I think will win tonight?  Who do I think will get Best Actor/Actress awards?  My top votes for Best Picture go to 12 Years a Slave and Wolf of Wall Street.  I believe 12 Years will win.  Matthew McConaughey should win Best Actor – he was incredible…the role of a lifetime.  His competition is very tough, though.  If it were not for him – how to choose between Leonardo and Christian Bale? Of course, as I said, Cate Blanchett gets my Best Actress vote, and I’m pretty locked in to Jared Leto for Supporting Actor and Lupita Nyong’o for Supporting Actress.  Everyone nominated in those categories were truly excellent.  It was a year of exceptional performances – a great year for movie lovers.

Now, time to watch the Red Carpet!

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Feb23

Why I Get the Post-Olympic Blues

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Women white skates. Abstract background on a winter sports theme.

It goes way back.  Back to my first memories of endings.  Things like turning off the Christmas tree for the last time on New Years Day…following a map planner in reverse on the way home from Florida vacation…sitting on the porch the last evening of summer before another long year of school.

I always hated it when the party was over.  For me, endings have always sucked in their own special way.

The closing of the Winter Olympics is particularly poignant to me for some reason.  Okay, okay, I probably know why.  Like they say, so many things in life can be traced back to your mother.   And, since her childhood, my mother had been fascinated with Sonja Henie, figure skating, and the beauty of ice and snow.  For someone who hated the cold, my mother could always see the wonder in it.  For someone who was far from athletic, my mother loved the speed and power involved in figure skating.  Its easy to see why I love watching it so much; I grew up on it, at least as a spectator.  Not to say I didn’t wear my own skates for a while, but overall I was pretty graceless.  (They were good for some preteen date nights at the local ice rink, though…)

But back to endings.  My mother hated them, too.  And she made sure everyone knew it.  So I learned early to cling to the precarious good times and to dread their passing…for they may never come again.  And that was really what it was all about for me, the questions that endings bring.  For me it wasn’t so much about the fun being over for now, as it was about the question…will it ever be this good again?  Will the Christmas tree ever be as pretty again as it is right now?  Will my grandmother still be with us for next year’s Florida vacation?  Will a summer ever be as long and fun and smell as sweet  as this one did?

As an adult, I found out the answers, of course…so my questions were good ones.  I’m glad I took the time to ask, for it gave me an appreciation for the value of those elusive magic moments in life.

And for me, that’s why I love the Olympics so much.  Not only to enjoy the grace and speed and perfection that the athletes draw from their bodies in that most beautiful snow-capped backdrop.   But also, to bear witness to such magic moments of life, the triumphs, even if those particular ones aren’t my own. To know the questions the Olympians from all over the world surely must be asking themselves… Will I make it to the next Olympics?  Will my loved ones still be with me, then, as they are now?  Will it ever be this good again?

So I’ll watch the Closing Ceremonies tonight, as I do every Olympics, and I’ll get that same sappy, age-old ache in my throat that I get with endings.  But deep down, I’m glad that feeling comes, because it reminds me to measure my time and appreciate all the best moments.

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Feb14

Love Stories for Valentine’s Day

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Love Stories Pic (Custom)

I’m planning on seeing a couple of new movies this Valentine’s weekend – the reviews I’ve read aren’t particularly promising, but I liked the trailers, and I often find I don’t agree with the critics anyhow.  So, Winter’s Tale and Endless Love will most likely get my $ this weekend…

But in the meantime, I was thinking of the two very different love stories I’ve already seen so far in 2014, Labor Day and Her: the first taking place in the not-so-distant past, and the second, the not-so-distant future.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in Labor Day – mainly because it wasn’t what I had expected.  I love Kate Winslet and James Brolin, so I guess for that reason alone, I thought I would really love the movie – but I didn’t exactly love it.  And after giving it some thought, I realized it was because the love story I had expected was primarily between Kate’s and James’ characters, but the love story I got – the central focus of the love story – was really between Kate’s character and her son.  Or more specifically, the son’s love for his mother.  He is the point of view character throughout the movie…and its really his story, in my opinion.  When I think of it in those terms, I think I like the movie better in retrospect.  I was aware early on in the movie of that feeling I get when I recognize a character (in a movie or book) as someone I could see being in my own life…and her son was that person – yeah, I could see having a son like that.  We could all hope to, really.  Someone who is protective, but observes us with love, recognizing we each have needs separate from one another…even though we may struggle with what those separate needs might mean for our own place in each other’s lives…

He was a good kid.  His was a good love story, that rang true for me.

In the movie Her, the story was a little more in line with what I’d expected, but my biggest takeaway was thanks to a comment a friend made about the movie, that caused me to re-evaluate what I had seen, and how I view the world.  In this love story, a man (Joaquin Phoenix) develops a relationship with the intelligent operating system of his computer.  Really – he even views the relationship as “dating”.  My friend thought the overall concept was very sad…but for whatever reason, I didn’t see it in those terms.  Obviously, our technology is developing to the point where we can have virtual relationships without ever meeting a person…but what will happen when such technology actually comes to pass and it becomes possible to have a virtual relationship with a true “virtual” being, as in this movie?

Is it possible to be in a love relationship with “someone” that we know isn’t real?  This movie addressed that possibility, and I say…yes, of course.

I mean, really, most of us have at some point been more in love with the idea of a person, than the actual person – that’s dating, right?  That may even be marriage for lots of us.  And then what happens?  We get to know the real person, and maybe they don’t meet our needs, as a result…we either work through it together or we don’t.

What if there was a way to engineer an entity that understood us always, was always there to listen and say the right thing, was always willing to put us first?  That had no needs of its own, only ours?  (Actually, in the movie, the operating system turns out to have its own needs, but that’s another topic – this movie had numerous points for discussion).

So the original question is – if it were possible to have this type of a “love” relationship…is that sad?  I don’t really think so…as a society we may be moving towards such a solution for some people.  It could be the perfect thing for someone who is never satisfied with any one person…who is always seeking perfection – or their perception of perfection, which the personalized computer programming could provide.  But that’s my cynical view – mostly, I think such technology could address loneliness.  How many people are out there with only the tv and/or the internet for company?  What if they could find companionship and a kind of “love” relationship in this manner?  Overall, isn’t this type of technology just a conduit for reflecting self-love and self-affirmation?

These were two very different movies, but both focused on love stories – Labor Day…more old-fashioned in content, viewing the needs of three people in a relationship; and Her…with only one person really “in” the relationship: a love theme as old as time, but presented in a very contemporary and thought provoking way.

If you like love stories, I’d recommend both movies (Labor Day and Her) – but approach each with an open mind.

Happy Valentines Day.

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Feb6

Love Notes for Valentine’s Day

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This is my first blog post – just in time for Valentine’s Day!  If you can pull yourself away from shoveling the amazing amount of snow we’ve been getting (here in Michigan and lots of other places across the country), this romantic little card holder is fun and simple to make, using paints, stamps, beautiful papers, lace, ribbon, and metal embellishments.  The inside is filled with simply stamped note cards.  It’s rather elegant, I think, and useful too.  If you don’t care for the Valentine’s theme, you can use the same design for almost any occasion….

And, it would make a great gift!

It all starts with a plain wooden container from Michaels.  I applied gesso, then painted the inside and outside with burgundy colored acrylic paint and dry brushed Lumiere’s Sunset Gold acrylic paint on the handles to get that antiqued look.  I stamped the sides with a Hero Arts flourish stamp using embossing ink, and heat set with gold embossing powder, then adhered a wine and black brocade patterned scrapbook paper with adhesive.  I also gold embossed the “love letter” stamp (by Impression Obsession).  Then I aged the entire container with Black Soot Distress ink (by Ranger), trimmed with black lace, and wrapped the handles with gold thread and a burgundy ribbon.

Finishing the front was fun…I love chipboard and crackle paint – it always adds a great touch.  I painted a Bazzill chipboard heart with Rangers’ Tarnished Brass Distress crackle paint, then over painted with a bit of the Lumiere gold, and distressed (when dry) with the black distress ink to highlight the cracks.  Then I added a metal key from 7 Gypsies, a keyhole by Bead Landing, and wrapped it with black wire.

The cards inside were simple.  I used Stampington and Company stamps (the large heart and sentiments) and Lynne Perrella Valentine images by Paper Artsy.  Then I tied my notecards with coordinated silk ribbon (I love doing that) and set them off with a wisp of sparkly netting.

I hope you enjoyed my post and that it has inspired you to come in from the snow and create art!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I invite you to visit my website at stampzeni.com, and follow me on Twitter (@stampzeni)

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