Sometimes Old Things Are New

 After finding this long lost blog (and all of the other ones) I think I am going to reinvest in working on them again. The one blog, "Stop Talking I'm out of Aspirin" has been in it's current format since 2005 and I don't want to lose that. Also, I think I am going to restart Canker Shores. I really hate that I screwed around and messed up the URL so many times in the beginning now I am stuck with listing it under the "Shore Throat News". Oh well. I am going to look into seeing if I can fix that.

Time goes by.

 Wow. It's been several years since I posted.

I think I want to change that.

I have had this blog for so many years.

It's almost more fun to go back and read it.

Moving Away From Plastics: Episode 3 - "Biodegradable Plastics". A Larger Look.

  I find it amazing that people with a global, earth friendly view, are buying "organic" goods that are packaged in plastic.  What is wrong with these companies?  I don't necessarily blame the people, I blame the company. 

Since the invention of plastic, plastic manufacturer's have always known since THE BEGINNING, that it is too expensive to recycle plastic, so it is not going to be done.  But seeing as how there was money to be made, they still went ahead with it.  Hence we have oceans full of the stuff. 

 But the manufacturer's of plastic have pacified us all, by chanting the mantra, "Recycle your plastic".  Who?  Who I ask you is actually doing the recycling?  

MYTH - Creating new objects.  Other than decking and fabricated lumber there really isn't much actual creating of new things going on on a large scale. Not all plastic is being re-man'd into new items. It takes a massive amount of energy (green house gasses on the rise) to render old plastic into soemthing new.    It is VERY costly so almost no one is doing it.  

Biodegradable plastics?  No.  They only break down into microplastics. So they still don't go away, but remain in our environment.  I am sure you have heard the news stories about fish genetically having microplastics throughout their systems.  And there was a news story about healthy pregnant women and their babies having microplastics in their little bodies, genetically passed on.  (I don't have a link for that one, but you can look it up - just don't look at some fly-by-night "news" site.  Use one of the actual NAB approved broadcast journalism sites. They are held to standards).

Some things are going to get a little bit more expensive if we start stepping away from plastics.  But other things may become cheaper.  Hopefully this journey will balance out in the long run, and ultimately benefit our planet.

Moving Away From Plastics : Episode 2 - "Biodegradable" Plastics. Not.

 Learning more about biodegradable plastics.

Unfortunately - they dissolve into microplastics.

Well poop.

And literally, what shall I do to use to pick up my dogs poop now!

Guess I better either invest in one of those little shovel/scoop contraptions (which is unwieldily on a walk) or maybe use a small sturdy paper bag.

I am also trying to use paper bags for the trash instead of plastic garbage bags.  Of course this means I need to empty the trash daily.  But hey!  I think that is ok, because it is a small thing when you think about how many trash bags we put in the landfill.  I little effort on my part is fine. 

Moving Away From Plastics: Episode 1

 I really hate plastics.  I hate what they are doing to our world.  I know a lot of you feel the same, but hey! No matter where you turn, or what you purchase, it comes with some form of plastic as part of it's packaging.

Undaunted, I have embarked on a journey toward scaling down my plastic footprint.

I started by looking at what people used to clean with "In The Olden Days" before the advent of soaps, and cleansers that we now take for granted.  Having done some living history on my own as a hobby (Living History is when you pick an era in time and gather together with others who are just a history nerdy, and you attempt to live for an entire weekend living as closely as possible to the original era.  This goes for clothing, and washing and eating and everything a person might do in a regular day).

Washing dishes and laundry : Boiling Boiling Boiling.

Any soaps that were available were mostly soap flakes/washing soda. While baking soda is somewhat different than Washing sodas, there is some similarity.  Back in the day, they used a spare amount of washing soda on any actual stains.  There were also many natural stain removers including milk, for certain types of stains. (If you have any chemistry skills they would suit you here). So they would treat each spot/stain uniquely and then bring the boiler pans up to boiling and drop the clothes in there while hand aggitating them with a long stick with knobs or tines on the end.  This was back breaking work but it got the job done.

What I am Trying :

I am only buying soaps without plastic packaging.  This so far includes, dishwasher soap in a box, laundry soap in a box, baking soda, salt, white vinegar in a glass bottle instead of plastic jug and bar soap without plastic wrap around it.

LAUNDRY SOAP - This is use in the laundry, but remember to add it FIRST before putting in the clothes.  I also use it to hand wash delicates if I need to.

DISHWASHER DETERGENT - In the dishwasher of course, but I also have many dishes that can't go in a dishwasher so I must hand wash them.  I use a concoction of Baking soda, salt, DW detergent and keep it in a shakeable cannister by the sink. I shake some into the soaking water and let the dishes soak for a little bit. 

BAR SOAP - Believe it or not, you can use bar soap to do A LOT! You can even wash your hair with a bar of Ivory (although the hair is VERY squeaky clean, I'm not sure this is a good thing for it.  It also leaves your hair with a weird texture). But it DOES clean your hair.  I just get my hands really wet and twilr the bar around in my hands until there is lots of frothy suds, then I wash my scalp really well, adding more if needed.  Make sure to rinse VERY well.

Bar soap also works nicely for the dishes that have been soaking in the detergent brine.  Just beware that  when you handle the dishes they are way more slippery than you might expect and you have to rinse a little bit better.  I try to hit them with a final almost-boiling-but-not-quite water.  If you are handwashing melamine, skip this step.  Boiling water will destroy your collectable melamine dishware. The way I use bar soap when hand washing dishes is to hold that bar in one hand while rubbing a wet washcloth back and forth over the top of it until it is nice a sudsy.  Then I just wash the dish as I would with a soapy dishcloth.  I also have gravitated away from the sponges we buy in the store.  The ones with the skritchy side...that is plastic.  So I buy those little crocheted "Missionary Dishcloths" and at the end of each day just pitch in in the washing machine.  This also helps with keeping things sanitary in the kitchen.

And surprisingly...bar soap lasts kind of a long time!

VINEGAR - Whether Apple Cider or White, both work well for cleaning.  White Vinegar can be put in a spray bottle to sanitize surfaces.  Apple Cider vinegar can also be used as a hair rinse after you've washed your hair with that bar of Ivory.  

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR CHEMISTRY IN THE HOUSEHOLD - Got kids that hate to clean? Here is something that may interest them.  If you have a slow drain or garbage disposal, throw a 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain.  Add a 1/4 cup of vinegar and maybe try to plug it up with the basket. Odds are great that it will want to bubble up like lava which is normal and means it is doing it's job.  Let this sit for about 20-30 min. Int he mean time, put that kettle on to boil.  After time is up, remove the plug form the sink and pour that boiling water down there.  For stubborn drains your might have to treat it twice.  If this doesn't clue you in to the fact that you don't need hazardous chemicals that come from plastic containers to get things done, then I don't know what will.

SALT - is also a wonderful cleaning tool.  It is a mild abrasive.  I have used it to scrub my cast iron pans. 

What to try next?

I hope to invest in some of those little shampoo / conditioner soap bars to see if they actually work.  Cost is also a thing. Some of them are SO  expensive and I am just not there.  I think the personal hygiene journey will be the next step to shed plastics in my life.

Art Flash Card Page

 George Seurat (Seurat-the-dot)

La Grande Jatte

George Seruat (Suerat-the-dot)

La Chahut

Vincent Van Gogh

l'Eglise a Auver-Sur-Oise

 Vincent Van Gogh

The Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh

The Bedroom

 Edgar Degas (Painted Ballerina's - but not here)

The Absinthe Drinker

 Edgar Degas

Blue Dancers

Edgar Degas

Dress Rehearsal on Stage 

Edgar Degas

Waiting

Claude Monet

Bains a la Grenouiller 

Pierre August Renoir

La Grenouiller

Claude Money

Le Jardin a Giverny 

Pierre August Renoir

Le Jardin a Giverny

Claude Monet

Water Lillies 

Pierre August Renoir

Water Lillies


Click here to return to your lesson

Lesson 4 - Georges Seurat

Let's run todays Art Flash Cards First, shall we?

Say each one aloud (it is really important to say them aloud as your eyes are looking at them.  Trust me. It's true.)

Click here to review Art Flash Cards

Today we add a new artist to our growing list: Georges Seurat.

George Seurat

"La Grande Jatte"
(Pronounced, "La Grond jot")

"La Grande Jatte" close up.

George Seurat

"La Chahut"

(Pronounced, "La shah-ooo")

"La Chahut" close up.

George Seurat was a pointillist. Pointilism is similar to impressionism in that it is used to capture light using tiny dots of paint to represent how the colours change depending upon how the light affects them. When you stand close up, or look closely at a section of an impressionistic or pointilist painting it is more difficult to make sense of the image you are looking at.  If you step back, the full image begins to emerge and make sense to the brain and the eye.

We jokingly refer to George Seurat as "Seurat-the-dot".  To help us remember that his art style is pointillism, or 'dots".
(All though his name is normally pronounced, "Syoo-RAH".)

To learn more about George Seurat you can visit this site.


As an activity, you may wish to make your own pointillistic work of art.  If you have paint, that's perfect!  If you don't have paint, you can use markers (just make sure you have some news paper underneath because markers bleed through to the other side and you don't want to ruin your desk or table.)  You can also use crayons and draw teeny tiny circles for the"dots".  If you really want to be crazy...if you have a hole punch, you can use your crayons to colour entire sheets of paper and then hole punch them. Use the little paper circles and a glue stick to make your pointellistic image. Also, if you have coloured paper you can use the hole punch to create your "dots" that way too.
You can also use dried beans of different colours to make an image.  If you used white beans you could colour them.  You could even use beads, glued onto the page. What about tiny little rocks you find in your driveway? Be creative!

Have fun with todays activity!

And remember - wash your hands.  The artists we have studied were not very good at washing their hands. And where are they today, hmmm?  Yeah. Think about that.  ;o)

Lesson 3 - Vincent Van Gogh

First off - Ok so I found out last night that yesterday was "National Crayola Day".  It dawned on me, even if you don't have any fancy shmancy art supplies, you can still recreate a master work using good old fashioned crayons! So let's all just bear that in mind, shall we? After all, the greatest works in art have often been created using the crappiest or least respected art supplies. I bet you could even make a rudimentary paint using eg whites and food colouring. Hmm...I'll have to  google that...later.

ANYWAY...


Alright, these are the works we learned yesterday.

Can you name the artist for each? Give yourself 1 point for each artist if you can name them.
Can you name the title of the painting?  Give yourself another point for each painting you can name correctly.

Possible points per painting: 2, for a grande total of 6 points.

Ready. Set. go.

Today we will add a new artist: Vincent Van Gogh
(He is one of my personal favourites because the story of his life is so poignant.)

"The Starry Night"

A closer look at the brush strokes in 

"Starry Night".

"The Bedroom"

A closer look at the brush work in

"The Bedroom".

"L'Eglise a Auver-Sur-oise"

A closer look at the brush strokes in

"L'Eglise a Auver-Sur-Oise"

** One of the interesting things that has been said about this painting is that Van Gogh painted it while he was in hospital at Auver-Sur-Oise.  Before Vincent became a painter, he studied to become a Priest. But for what ever reason had difficulty connecting with God in that environment.  Some have said that the reason he painted the Church at Auver-Sur-Oise with no visible doors had something to do with his experiences as a Priest.  Always searching for God, but never quite connecting Him.  

I hope he did in the end.

Read more about Vincent Van Gogh here and also here.

So today we have added to our Flash Card list, the following pieces.  Please say aloud, the name of the artist as you look at each image.  If you can, try to  pronounce the title of the piece:

Edgar Degas, "Blue Dancers"

Vincent Van Gogh, "The Bedroom"

 Claude Monet, "Water Lillies"

Pierre August Renoir, "Water Lillies"

Vincent Van Gogh, "The Starry Night"

Edgar Degas, "The Absinthe Drinker"

 Claude Monet, "Bains a La Grenouiller"

Pronounced: Ban ah La GRON-nooee-AIR

Pierre August Renoir, "La Grenouiller"

See prononciation above.

Well done!

Maybe if you have paint supplies you may wish to attempt to reproduce for make your own Impressionist painting using many tiny little brush strokes.
If you have no painting supplies then take some time to sketch something in your home or something you can see out of your window.

Lesson 2 - Friends Paint Together

Pierre August Renoir 

"Water Lillies"

Claude Monet

"Water Lillies"

Renoir

"La Grenouiller"

Monet

"Bathers at La Grenouiller"

Renoir

"Garden Pathway at Giverny"

Monet

"Garden Pathway at Giverny"

Renoir and Monet: Friendship and Art

The art world is often considered small and intimate, with many artists moving in the same social circles. This can sometimes lead to unexpected friendships and collaborations. This is especially prevalent within certain art movements, such as Impressionism. Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were two such painters that formed a bond both on and off the canvas.

Both of these painters are considered masters of the Impressionist art movement. Their styles do have some similarities, but also reflect a difference in their personalities. Claude Monet, who founded the style, often focused on light and emotion, while Renoir chose to make the people in his works the centerpiece. Although they both used soft colors and broad brushstrokes that the movement was known for, their pieces could never be mistaken for each other.  See More...

If you magnify each of the images you should be able to see how the over - all design gets lost in teh closed up.  Impressionism gives you an Impression, from a distance, of the picture.  When you get close you are lost in a million tiny brush strokes.  Each stroke representing shades and tones of light.

Monet would often set up several easels with canvases around his lily pond. He would begin in one place in the morning and paint how things looked form that spot in the early morning light.  As the day progressed, he would move on to the next canvas and capture how the light changed the colours at each place.

So our two new artists for the day are: (Say them aloud as you look at each picture)

"Impressionism is many small brush strokes, in many colours used to portray light."

"Monet was the first impressionist. " 

"Renoir was also an impressionist."

"Monet and Renoir were friends who painted together."

And now it is time to run Art Cards:

Name the artist and the name of the painter for each of the following images:

Lesson 1 - Art Flash Card Lessons - the online version.

Back in the day I used to teach art history to grades k-8.

Each week we would add a new Master Artist to our list to study.

I would show an image of one of their paintings, say the name of the painting, the name of the artist and then have the students repeat it back to me.

We would discuss the key features of that artist's style. At each class we would run through the list of flash cards, saying together aloud the artists name and the name of the piece. At the end of which time we would add a new artist "Flash Card" and discuss his/her work.  Usually after a brief talk about the artist, the class challenge would be select one of their painting or sculptures and try to reproduce it. I usually gave them a selection of three choices from that artist.

By the end of each school year, each student was able to accurately identify 80 masterworks and the artist who created them.

My daughter recently mentioned that, while she was quarantining, she would like to revisit these
"Art Cards" and refresh her memory.  Well they are buried in a rubbermaid tote in my garage right now, and I can't go hunt for them, but I figured I could recreate for her, an online version.

    -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  -

So today, being DAY 1 we will start with : Edgar Degas

"Waiting"

"Dress Rehearsal On Stage"

"Blue Dancers"

"Absinthe Drinker"

Edgar Degas: 
He is most known for his paintings of Ballerinas, although there are other subjects he painted such hunting, opera scenes (he was a HUGE opera fan) and other scenes from daily life.
But mostly Ballerinas.

Please Read his bio found here - Edgar Degas

So for practice what we do is look at each picture.  Each time you do, say aloud:

"Edgar Degas

He Painted Ballerinas"

For older students who have supplies on hand, you may wish to attempt to reproduce one of his images.  If you have no paint supplies, you may wish to simply sketch this image.

What is most important in reproducing master works is not that you create an exact replica, but do your best at truly seeing what is happening, and where on the page things are happening, and practice training your eye to see.

It is impossible to recreate exactly.  In the same way the everyone has different writing styles / penmanship, so it is with art.  Next week we will examine this very thing between two famous friends: Claude Monet and his good friend Pierre August Renoir.

This is a cool technique...

Art tip of the day -

Here is an interesting way to learn to draw vanishing points.  

The Long Unwinding Roads

What a month!

As some of you know my son recently came out regarding his alcoholism.
He nearly died.

Now, for me, it is a matter of coordinating his care with his care coordinators and his physicians.

I am kind of worn out and frazzled by it all, but as time goes on I will debrief here.

For  now, here is a link to a video that I think every high school in the United States should be showing (despite it's cheesy production values) :

This is a HUGELY informative film regarding the science of addiction and how it works through the brain.  It definitely illustrates how and why Addiction is termed a disease. I have now watched it several times.  It was done by a brain surgeon who, after his own medical issues, became addicted to oxycontin. Being a Mormon and shunning most things that can cause even the slightest addiction, he was blindsided by his own.

This inspired him to research more regarding the brain under addiction and he produced this film to explain the complex brain functions in layman's terms.

The film is entitled "Pleasure Unwoven".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clZQEGHTx6c 

Why?

Why must you do this? I feel like I am watching you die, slowly, before my very eyes, but you won't even allow me to help you or to step in, or to intervene, or even to share what you're doing to me. I told you not to make me this person. Even though you're not drunk, falling off a boat hitting your head and drowning, you are doing the same thing. You're putting me in the same position. You are making me into that person I begged you never to turn me into. Part of me is really upset in that all I get to do is pray for you, it seems. And yet really, praying is the most powerful thing I can do to override you and save your life.

Dem Dogs

Babysitting the Grand-Dogs

I sit here on the warm porch.  The sky grows orange purple and red.  Voices below chatting softly, but oddly not in French.  The air smells like sweat and incense.  The Black Dog lays his head upon my knee, while the Wolf casts her eye about the neighborhood.  Imperiously.  Looking down.  For she is Queen.

You might think that Chris and Scout are merely galavanting around the sunnier climes, but as of 3 and a half hours ago they are officially married.  I am extremely happy for them!  Chris and Scout are perfect for each other!  I am proud of them for breaking with convention and instead of shelling out for the big fat American wedding - which we all know is a RACKET - they have opted instead to marry in Malta and go straight on their honeymoon in Italy.