Get stuffed!

Well hey ho folks, it's that time of year again. The rains are coming, the pumpkins sprouting, and that means one thing: the harvest is upon us and it's time to get stuffed. So, in the spirit of ensuring my friends bellies were suitably bursting, we went on a 2 1/2 day cooking extravaganza. We had sweet potato, we had gingered carrots, we had turnip, we had mash, we had gingered carrots, we had baked butternut squash. This was then completed with a massively stuffed turkey with 2 kinds of stuffing, one being sausage leek and cranberry and the other being classique, if you will. Dessert was with 3 different kinds of yummies: cranberry cheesecake with a cointrea cranberry sauce, plus a pumpkin cheesecake pie and a traditional pumpkin pie. So yes, we, and the turkey, were well stuffed.

Now, while I would like to say that everything about last night's Thanksgiving activities were fantastic, there was one uncontrollable hitch that no one could do a thing to fix. In typical fashion, our dearest Alex came all the way from Dublin to enjoy in this orgy of gastronomical proportions, only to be slammed with an epic stomach flu to match. Braving it like a trooper, he politely sat, watching everyone mmm and groan at the food he couldn't eat, and THEN, he did the dishes! What a prince.

Anyhow, regardless of the abdominal discomfort, Alex is glad to be here and now that he is feeling a bit better, we look forward to getting out of the house today and checking some things out, like Spitalfields and maybe a play today or tomorrow. It will be good times. So anyhow, as we give thanks at Thanksgiving, I am just stoked that Alex is on the mend and will be able to enjoy his forray into London, if only a day delayed.

Returning to the Ether
Air travel, textiles, yoga and sunshine, the world over

Hellooooo everyone. Yes, I have returned to the ether after a lengthy absence of summer sun and fun. Weekends are prescious time spaces, but still, it is really nice to take a moment and chill with the people who matter: that's you folks. For those of you wondering what I have been up to in the last little bit, things were really busy with the International Training Programme at the Museum and after 4 weeks, our lovely friends from all over were shipped back to their homes and loved ones. That was a little interesting for some of our friends given the recent terror alert in the UK, where Wang's flight to Shanghai was cancelled, along with (I believe) the flights for the Egyptians and/or Iraqis. Luckily though, they were only held a day and this allowed for some much desired last minute London time. Shout out to Wang who sent the sweetest email about his time in London and forthcoming time at the Shanghai Museum. You SO know you are on the visit list. Second shout out to Mona who carried enough baggage for 3 people, even after I took the two massive bags of hardcover books off her and said I would send them by slow boat. How you ever got onto a plane with all that stuff and no excess baggage is the work of both miracles, smart packing, and some sensible offloading on your part. Miss you much and see you in Luxor!

Besides the training, we also had the visit of the Asantehene from Ghana, which was a great experience. I have now shaken hands with Royalty. Other cool things happening at the Museum are our plans to hold a March exhibition on the 50th year anniversary of Ghana's independence. We will be looking at some fabulous textile traditions in Ghana, some being the Kente cloth of the Asante but also some very interesting printed textiles. In the 60s when independence was growing in Africa, there wasn't much in the way of newspapers or television, mainly because of cost, literacy and language differences. But, the two things in amble numbers was radio and a plethora of printed textiles, both acting as propaganda for growing and ever changing African subcultures. It is a really fascinating thing to learn about, and I love hearing Claude (aka the French Malian Papa aka my boss) talking about his childhood in Mali, remembering migrant fishermen from Nigeria listening to radios while his friends played football, or the popular textile patterns he used to see as a kid.

The other big thing I did this summer was to participate in a week long Ashtanga yoga retreat on Ibiza at Ibiza Moving Arts (and can I just say that Sandra gives the most amazing and relaxing massages - I felt a good 25lbs lighter afterwards). I went with Henry and we had a fantastic time, meeting a ton of great new people and sharing some pretty amazing experiences (shout out to Perdi, Fee, Jay and Maren). We first stayed in San Antonio Bay, which was a nice alternative to the slightly club-trash San Antonio proper. But, we loved the Café del Mar/Savannah sunset part, which really got us into the swing of appreciating the beauty of each passing day. I'm also glad that Matt and Kath convinced me to join them at Hed Kandi that night, allowing me to have a great night dancing before retreating to the north of the island. Each day at the retreat involved 2 hours of Ashtanga self-practice, followed by an amazing breakfast. Afternoons were spent around the estate or at Baneiras beach, with 3 of the days having an additional afternoon practice (one being yoga nidra, my new mantra, on Friday morning). Anyhow, without going into all the details, let me just say that it was amazing to devote a week to one's health and I really advise it, particularly to anyone a little down or feeling unhealthy or just needing a break. I am so grateful for the amazing sunsets, the fantastic food and the terrific company. And, I am especially grateful for just being grateful. I think that is one thing that is often missing from busy lives and I am so happy to have had this great experience and time to reflect on the sweeter things in life.

Anyhow, I've been back at work for two weeks now and am enjoying all the big things coming our way. I am also really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Alex's visit, which should be super fun. Also, shout out to Jessica Crompy and Karma for the awesome last party-night last Saturday at the Circus Burlesque at the Working Man's Club in Bethnal Green. The two fun-loving lovely ladies are now back in Vancity but I am looking forward to March when Crompy and I can take another cruise of Spitalfields. Other than that, things are chill and I am just focusing on finishing my London book, looking up a place to take Portuguese lessons (for chatting with our Mozambican colleagues) and working on a video for my friend Kevin, a really talented lawyer-by day/composer-by-night.

Lots of love to you all and more posts to come!

~L

Katie starts chopping in 3rd Wave Truth Serum
Time to stir it up!

For those interested in dialogue on 3rd wave feminism, check some commentary by Katie Carlson (and a little by yours truly) on the subject which I agree is in dire need of some overhaul activity. To be continued...

Check out "Unforgiving Expectations" and commentary at: http://3rdwavetruthserum.blogspot.com/2006/08/unforgiving-expectations.html

Words of wisdom from Marcus Rooke

Stop writing cheques your body can't cash. Words to live by, particularily last Saturday night but moreso Sunday morning....

What is the significance of the beer?

There is this wonderful man at my work named John Osborn and I never am without a smile on my face while he is around (unless I am having a red card day, never reserved for him of course). But yesterday, I really enjoyed going over to the location in East London where he works, as the South African curators are looking at our collections there. It's nice because the offices are networked to the Museum so I can generally carry on with my regular work as if in the same place. But, going to the stores is also great because I get to see people like John, Heidi and Ryszard, who are always great to spend some time with.

Anyhow, yesterday John and I were talking about "Rome wasn't built in a day" kinda stuff and he mentioned a friend of his who is a teacher and sort of philospher. So one day the man has a large jar on his desk full of golfballs and he asks the students, "Is this jar full?" and they reply, "Yes!" And he says, "really?" So then, he takes some marbles and puts then into the jar, falling between the balls, gives it a shake and then says, "Is it full now?" to which they reply, "Well, er...yes!" Then, he takes out a bag of sand, pours it into the jar and says, "Is it still full now?" The students are a bit hesitant now but then say, "...yes...". Then, he finally gets out a can of beer, cracks it, then pours it into the jar. "Now is it full?" he asks, to which they of course reply a hesitant 'yes'.

Then, John's friend goes into explaining the purpose of the exercise. He says that the golf balls are the important things in your life, like family and health, and things like that. He says that the marbles are the other things like your clothes or your house or things that you have in your life to take care of or distract you. Then, he says that the sand are all the other little things like bills and stress or things that you take away from your life and are less good to have around. And then, one of the students asks: "What's the significance of the beer?" Then, the teacher replies, "Well, there is always some space in life for some beer!"

On the comments....

Ya, so apologies to those of you wanting to make comments but not being sure where to leave them. I guess that sometime while I was making some edits, I accidentally disabled the comments. So vent away! I hope to write something soon that will make you suitably irate in order to inspire you.

Holy Dinah, August is upon us!

I find it rather funny that it has been only 13 days since my last post and yet in the 5-day-work-week/7-days-a-week scheme of things, that is a really long time. I'm pretty sure I am not the only person who experiences days that stretch into weeks and months until a year later, you've somehow accomplished a whole whack of stuff in what seems like no time. But, do we give ourselves credit for it? I think it's easy to say that we do and that we should get over ourselves really, which is what I tend to say from time to time. But then, I also have learnt that there's something to be said for appreciating the small things in life that we might not give ourselves credit for....perhaps changes that we would like to bring about to make ourselves more learned, or more fit, or less cautious, or more kind or whatever. So my question to you is, what are the things you should give yourself credit for and be grateful for?

I guess the reason why I mention this is that the reasons for my lengthy absence from the ether of the internet are that I have been engaged in a lengthy smack up between priorities and the ever-ticking clock. And who always wins? Most often, it's the clock. In my case, I've been absent due to this International Training Programme, and though I love all the curators dearly (despite their random camera attacks where I am suddenly the target of 5-13 cameras intermittently/continually in need of capturing any particular moment), I just kinda need a break. I enjoy being a resource for groups of people who are new to London and want to see all sorts of things and I love making the best of their experiences. But when their experience is 4 weeks long, there needs to be a limit, particularly when I have a lovable but demanding Malian with non-ITP demands wondering where the heck I am with this or that document (bless Claude, who is like a French African papa to me!). Needless to say, a priority today was to put in a requisition for a Palm Pilot because keeping track of 13 people and a good 25+ tiny to extensive projects at a time is not easy.

I find it funny because I give my mom a hard time....she's always running around trying to do 10 million things in a day, especially challenging because she has an aging mother to assist from time to time. Christmas is exceptionally brutal simply because there are so many packages to buy and wrap, so much food to buy and baking to do, all these other side projects and all these functions to attend or misc. things to host. It almost makes xmas unbearable until we can finally get out of the city and breathe, with only the demands we really appreciate put on us, like going out to find our tree, or cook those big meals that the family really values. Those are the times that have meaning, that truly bring us back to what is important in our lives. So I now laugh at myself remembering that yesterday I tell her 'Rome wasn't built in a day!' as she plans for a family reunion next week. And it sounds cheezy and self indulgent but we're not building ourselves in a day either. I think of how difficult the last two weeks were, struggling to get even 1/2 of my workload done. And, I remember being so frustrated and tired in yoga on Thursday that I almost cried because I couldn't do a headstand. That's crazy! Considering I have degenerative disc disease, a remnant spinal/neck injury and really weak arms, I should have been thrilled to have even attempted the headstand!

My point is, sistah should really be taking some of her own advice. And, if I'm in that boat, maybe others are too. Sure we may have goals for what we want to accomplish or have happen in our lives. But, I think I would prefer to enjoy the ride on the way AND I'd like to see the value of even the smallest of accomplishments, even if they're as small as remembering to floss at least 3 days a week or keeping in touch with old friends or trying to hit that goal you've been thinking about for years (I WILL learn Portuguese this year! I am the little choochoo that could!). That kinda thing.

Special thanks to all of you who wrote and were missing my blog over the last couple of weeks. This one is for you AND for me, because it's nice to take time out from the mix to think about all those things that are really important. Thanks a ton!

Lotsa love! ~Laura

Thought of the day:

Can I bring a yellow and red card to work with the intention of using it to politely referee the BS that may or may not be going on at any given moment? I think yellow will of course be the obligatory warning to the red which ever-so-politely means say something else and I may verbalise you within an inch of your ability to control bodily functions. See? The red card is so much better. Instead of being aggro and pulling a Zidane with the office administrator, I can simply raise a polite hand, smile, and walk out the room. See how easy life would be? It's just that simple!