I Can Do Anything

 refs:

www.lonelyschnozz.com

How are you today? How did you start your morning? I used to start my morning with a fresh glass of orange juice, a stretch and a new resolve. I am luckier than some in that I rather like healthy fresh food. I don’t see it as something of a punishment or something I must try and make great effort to accommodate. So when I opted to stop drinking fizzy drinks, my liquid intake became just OJ, water and herb tea…

That was until I found out that the wholesome orange goodness that I thought I was imbibing was perhaps not as wholesome, authentic and good as I thought.

When I think of fresh orange juice, l have an image of countless fields of oranges on trees and a happy brown person with broken teeth and a worn out sun hat smiling warmly at the camera as he drops another zesty fresh orange into his full basket.

I have this image because that was what was sold to me since I was young. The truth however is somewhat different. The little brown man and his plump happy wife do not spend all day squeezing juice just so that I can have it fresh the next day! Here is the story of your orange juice and how it gets to your table:

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If you are like me you probably go for fresh orange juice that is not from concentrate in the hopes that you are providing your body with a sweet juicy drink with all the nutritional benefits of the fruit itself. However, when oranges are picked they are squeezed and the juice is stored in giant vats. Oxygen is removed to enable the juice to be able to hang around for up to year without going off. This process also strips the juice of flavors.

When they are ready to use the juice, the flavors are replaced using flavor packs designed by the same people that make perfumes for the big perfume companies. They also use industrial chemical processes to recreate the smell of orange. The idea that your juice is not overly processed because we have been encouraged not to buy from concentrate is not quite the whole picture.

Often we don’t reconsider what we are buying once the advertising message has numbed our brain into automatic repetitive purchasing. But it stands to reason that any fresh juice that tastes consistently sweet must have had something done to it as it is near impossible to be able to buy consistently sweet fruit. It also stands to reason that any fresh product that has an unfeasible shelf life will have had some industrial process intervening between it’s natural, simple state and you. Whilst the orange liquid that ends up on our tables might not be detrimental for you, (jury’s still out), for me it does not remotely resemble what I thought I was buying.

Why give up fizzy drinks? – I’ll get into that another time.

Sources:

‘What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice‘ Alissa Hamilton

Conversations with my own Doc.

I adore this image…

To me it represents a constant nudge in the ribs to stop looking for the rules and instead design personal disciplines that indeed others might choose to unquestioningly follow. If one is to live a life of ordered mediocrity it is necessary to read every rule book and imbibe the acres of typed bossiness that keeps the majority firmly in their place.

But all my heroes share that uncommon ability to walk blithely out of the door marked ‘Entrance’ and to yodel when everyone else is baa-ing.

What does this image mean to you????

refs:

Graphic design brilliance by Erik Johansson

Serene and peaceful with plenty of nature and natural elements. This is the picture perfect Formentera based home of Consuelo Castiglioni, creator of luxury fashion house Marni. It is an evocative build, parts of the house are almost biblical in feel and I don’t know about you, but it is in these kind of hushed, simple, low-tech environments that one feels able to ‘catch up’ with one’s true self again and throw out all the built up walls and pretense.

I can almost hear the impatient morning call from the neighbouring farms cock crowing through my speaker and smell the warm, freshly baked bread with a dipper of olive oil waiting to be laid out on the table above. That beautiful table setting seems like it would almost blanch if you were to place a processed burger in it’s vicinity!

Above is a rather magnificent wooden day bed from which to look out on to the beautiful views, swap the car fumes for the beguiling scent of fresh greenery and flowers while dosing off to the sound of a short intermission rainfall, before the main act returns refreshed and dazzling…the warm summer sun!

A mixed purpose area which serves as a thoroughfare but also with scatter cushions on the floor and chairs for just chilling.

The vibe is artisanal. Here accessories and fittings are handmade and heartfelt. The bedding from the local weekly open-air market or perhaps some handmade cushions from one of the nicest neighbours… Exposed beams and rough sawn doors add to the unfussy, authentic feel.

A stone bath with shamelessly unpampered walls. No paint, no wallpaper! And no sleek modern storage. No bottles of perfumed chemicals masquerading as luxury tonics to the natural human state,  just a sponge on the side with a bar of handmade soap! Haha! Can you handle it?!!

However, I rather like the juxtaposition of the shiny modern stainless steel kitchen island with the rough rustic edges. Very ‘un-Jesus’, but simple, polished and stylish nonetheless. The twin mats add just the right amount of decorative diversion needed.

Uh! Too beautiful for words…A light fresh breeze, the warm sun, a chilled drink, the right few people, beloved pets nonchalantly wandering around pecking or snuffling at discarded biscuit and breadcrumbs, a few jokes, an uncommitted discussion on something or other…another unplanned nap…then supper!

refs:

Exquisite photography by Francois Halard

One of the potential problems of modern life today is the constant access to instant gratification. Sure we all love to get what we want RIGHT NOW! But that erodes the ability to be patient. When we are not patient we tend to do rash things and rash is an opposite energy to gritty determination. The pioneers of yesteryear had both the patience and the determination to build things that have stood the test of time. Simply put, patience is indeed a virtue and without it we lack the determination to succeed at things of substance which also stand the test of time.

Here is one of my favourite stories about such simple determination and patience.

May Savidge lived in a little cottage in a town called Hertfordshire in the UK in the 1950′s. She had bought it in 1947 at the age of 35 and as a self taught home improvement enthusiast was slowly restoring it. She had used a builder to repair the roof, but everything else such as the brick laying, carpentry, glazing and stripping of the plaster she had opted to do by hand.

Then, one day the council informed her that they were going to demolish her house to make way for a road – a rash decision that would not be taken today as historical properties are now listed and protected.

Whilst Ms Savidge was renovating she had uncovered a lot of evidence that she was living in a home that dated back to medieval times, such as Tudor fireplaces and the floorboard wood work of medieval carpenters. It had been recognized as such by the architectural historians May had brought to see it. So she could not bear the idea of destroying such an important part of the national heritage.

The Lioness was awoken.

She dug her heels in and refused to move whilst she fought the council for the next 15 years! Then she came up with the impossible idea of relocating the whole house lock stock and barrel elsewhere. To get started she decided she would number each wooden beam and every pane of glass so that the whole building could be reassembled like a jigsaw puzzle. Because of her inexperience she used greasproof paper and crayons to trace over samples of brickwork so she could determine how thick to lay the mortar.

As the house was slowly dismantled she still had to remain in it, sleeping in the freezing cold, under the wintry sky exposed by a gradually disappearing roof. She would say, ‘ I just won’t have such a marvelous old house bulldozed into the ground. I’ve got nothing to do all day so I might as well do it myself.’

As more and more people got to hear of her story they would send her money to help her out. She eventually found a new place in Norfolk, in the east of England and began the arduous task of transferring the house literally brick by brick. It took a large lorry 11 round trips to carry every part of the house.

Once relocated to Norfolk, she stayed in a caravan with her beloved dog whilst the house was being rebuilt. It was desperately cold but she refused to give up stating that she was brought up on the maxim that there was no such word as ‘can’t.’

A whole two years later the framework was fixed to the foundation by a local carpenter and May had started on the brickwork. She had no experience of brick laying but was determined to fit each brick perfectly. It took a further eight years of May’s tortoise-speed building before the place could be made water tight and the roof added.

When she was in her 70′s she finally was able to move in and continued to build her cottage, climbing the scaffolding day by day despite her age. The Queen having heard of her endeavour and recognizing her strength and British Bulldog spirit had invited her to the palace in 1986.

As she got older, the work started to slow somewhat as she could no longer handle the heavy lifting. When she died aged 81 in 1993 the walls were up, the roof was done and it was her niece who put the final touches to her aunts dream with money raised from selling May’s valuable hoard of memorabilia. She had succeeded in moving her house across Britain, brick by brick so it would not be destroyed and it still stands today as a little bed and breakfast outlet run by that same niece.

…And today

To make a potentially unkind comparison, I had a friend who had wanted to explore renovating houses, selling them, then finding a new property to renovate buoyed by the profit of the previous sale and so on. As we chatted about the process and what would be involved, it became clear that some kind of caravan would be needed to sleep at the properties when the houses were not of commuting distance and my friend and his pals could then return home at weekends – or indeed any time they needed to…

That simple realization brought the plans to a screeching halt. The comparison is of course that my friend was a strapping man who would  have had the camaraderie and support of his pals throughout the job, compared to a lone woman who started the incredible move in her fifties. A modern caravan would be warm and dry, with easy access by car to travel home to warm hugs, showers, tea and biscuits, or potentially the property being renovated could be also lived in, as opposed to 25 years of single handed building with little respite.

It is our tendency as modern day folks to focus not on what we want to achieve but how difficult it might be that separates us from the pioneers or the May Savidge’s of the world.

Like most things in life, achievement is a matter of simple choice. We can opt to be the folks who can always splutter out 20 reasons why everything is impossible, or we can be the ones who persist and insist on only seeing the end goal.

The words above are from me. The pics and the original story is from ‘Miss Savidge Moves Her House,’ by Christine Adams with Michael McMahon.
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I have placed an affiliate link to Amazon below for those of you interested in pursuing this very interesting story. It is first time I have gone to Amazon and read a sneak preview, then found myself squeaking petulantly with great disappointment when the excerpt finished far too soon. P.

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A treat for those of you who are writers and prefer a little bit of solitude and nature to stir your imagination. This is a writers retreat.

Located on San Juan Island, Washington, the intention was to pull the writer into the solace and hum of nature and leave behind all distraction.

The cabin is glass walled with wooden slats that are raised by a hydraulic system. The slats can be pulled up at night, or raised for security when the occupant is away.

Then there is a 180 degree swivel fireplace that warms you on the shutter deck outside or heats you up cozily on the inside.

The minimalist finish and furnishing is simple and basic to keep you focused on that Pulitzer prize novel or blog! And a wide screen, flat screen, big screen, (I scream), TV set is anathema and deliciously absent in this particular setting.

Sublime.

refs:

Olsun Kundig

Unsocial intelligence…Huh?

Well all I mean is:

unsocial ~ not seeking the company of others…and y’all know what intelligence is.

This year will undoubtedly yield more tales of doom, gloom, financial unrest and woe. You have choices. Either follow the (justified) griping, moaning crowd or seek out your own independent future by carefully planning it, overcoming any interim setbacks and working diligently towards that end goal…however much you sweat, however long it takes.

Unsocial intelligence is knowing that your stance or opinion does not require a playmate or a consenting audience. It is being able to take on board information without taking on board the malaise and death of hope that hangs ominously above us currently like an unwelcome fart.

For every town with families squeezed by a newly restricted budget, there is someone buying 5 Rolex watches for an indifferent audience of trust fund pals. For every thousandth child starving in India there is someone planning this years skiing trip to Klosters, it will be their ninth holiday break of the year. For every mithering complainer there is someone, (exposed to the same difficult conditions as everyone else), head bent in concentration creating tomorrow’s Facebook, Harry Potter, Cirque Du Soleil, P.E.T.A, Jimmy Choo, Apple…They are doing this right now! What are YOU/WE doing?

‘The poor will always be with us,’ Jesus apparently mused and as He said this quite a few thousand years ago and the poor have not shifted despite decades of concerts and donations and centuries of good Samaritans, we can probably start to believe in his prediction right about now. Good people help where they can, but I have never found belly-aching to be a solution to any problem. So I entice you this year to resist the seductive call of the crowd and place your focus, skills and intelligence on an endeavour that will alter your own life for the better.

Isn’t it strange that whether we watch the news or choose not to, people are still killed, wars are still waged, and the public purse is still purloined by the corrupt people in charge? Unsurprisingly, this will happen regardless of your devotion to religiously staying up to date with these enervating, defeatist stories. Also, find any newspaper from practically any decade and you will find talks of high tax, protesting angry mobs, recession, unemployment and terrorists. Plus ca change…

However, I will add that unsocial intelligence is not lack of social contribution or sticking one’s head in the sand and hoping a problem will go away. It is more about using refined focus to gain the strength and resource to help oneself and potentially others where possible.

I wish you many glories this year.

I am a big fan of Amish simplicity. A self reliant community for whom everyone from the very young to the very old has a role. Their days are run at the speed of nature – getting up and retiring with the sun and communicating face to face with one another unimpeded by technology or enforced work distance.

Because everyone has a role and are engaged and busy, they are unlikely to turn to drugs and drink to solve boredom issues, or waste time vying to be part of some pointless clique.

They are lucky enough to know where their food comes from and exactly what is in it. No hyperactive children there!

They have low to no rates of depression and any problems are spread amongst the whole community diluting it’s strength.

And who would have thought that Amish simplicity would be rocked by frou frou designers who then spend inordinate amounts of money to achieve a similar inexpensive, rustic look?

I know they are not perfect, but there are some elements of their lifestyle that those of us occasionally left breathless by a new revelation of the depth of human cruelty and windswept at the haste of the very young to ‘grow up’ in all the wrong ways, would do well to even consider re-adopting for our own communities. Not least self respect, work ethic, wide eyed interest and wide eyed innocence.

ref:

csyork65