#409 • Valentine's Day Breakfast

 

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Of all the Valentine's Days I have lived through, this one requires a major dive into chocolate. A swimming pool of chocolate. No, an ocean of chocolate. It won't make me feel better in the long run, but it will for a few luxurious mind altering hours.

This Valentine's Day also reminds me to hold on to universal truths. One of them is that Love wins in the end. Another one is karma. Of course karma applies to eating chocolate too!

Valentine's Day Breakfast • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#408 • Flowers in My Oatmeal

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Valentine's Day is coming up and my thoughts immediately turn to chocolate. Since I have chocolate in my oatmeal for breakfast every morning, I got to thinking about the alternative - flowers. According to an article in Psychology Today, flowers, not unlike chocolate, trigger all kinds of happy chemical reactions in our brains too.

Happy brain chemical #1 - Dopamine is triggered by the expectation of a reward. Flowers were a huge reward in our evolution because they marked the coming of abundance after a long hungry winter. Bright colors signaled valuable nutrition for our hunter-gather ancestors. They balanced their diet by scanning for spots of color.

Happy brain chemical #2 - Oxytocin creates the feeling of social trust. Flowers communicate the intention to invest effort in a relationship. And they convey a respect for fragility.  

Happy brain chemical #3 - Serotonin is released when we advance our social importance. No one likes to admit they care about it, but failing to stimulate your serotonin makes us feel low. This is why we’re always looking for ways to trigger it. Many of our healthy social rituals exist to satisfy this natural urge.

So there you have it. A scientific case for throwing flowers into your oatmeal every morning if you don't have any chocolate on hand!

Flowers in My Oatmeal • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $350

#407 • The Brumal January Moon

 

 

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 It's cold out there today - and what would a good cold snap in Maine be without an accompanying frigid arctic wind whistling down from old man winter's pursed and icy blue lips.

Cold as it relates to temperature is relative for sure. Two of my brothers who live in southern California's desert hibernate when it dips below 60. Here in Maine, if you say you're cold it's got to be 20 below and blowing at least 40 if you don't want to have to endure jokes about being anemic.

Just for the hell of it, and running out of adjectives to describe cold, I looked up synonyms and got the so so frigid, frozen, freezing, etc. But sprinkled in the list here and there were some adjectives I'd never seen before.

Algid: Severely chilled or chilling: Mona was thinking that it was the most algid day she had experienced this winter. Latin word algēre, meaning "to feel cold."
"This world is the country of Algid, where Snow discovers that she is a long-lost princess destined to inherit the throne from her evil father."

Brumal: Indicative of or occurring in the winter. Latin: brumalis, from bruma winter.
"He shivers in the brumal blast; hungry he chirps before your door."

Frore: Frosty, frozen. Middle English froren, from Old English, past participle of frēosan to freeze. "The beast wept as the frore hills weep in the thaw, and the tears splashed big into the agate bowl."

Gelid: Extremely cold, icy. Latin gelidus, from gelu frost, cold
"She seemed to be unable to tear herself away from the sight of the austere Aniene, with its gelid waters."

I'm partial to gelid myself.

The Brumal January Moon • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250

#406 • Holiday in the City

 

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I had never experienced holidays in a city before I moved to Portland. It's different than the countryside - the lights, the bling, the hum and buzz. But it's still magical.

I'm not in the city this season, but took a drive through the other day and was still enchanted by all of the fuss. It's been a difficult year, but somehow the effort city people have gone through to brighten up the season is still sensational.

During this challenging time, hold light in your heart.

Holiday in the City • 8 x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#405 • A Holiday Lesson in Letting Go

 

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Let's face it, no matter how hard we try to create a festive holiday vibe around the house, our clever little feline friends always find a way to bugger the whole thing up. It's a simple but profound lesson in letting go...of everything.

A Holiday Lesson in Letting Go • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#404 • Distraction

 

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We could all use some distraction right now, or I could for sure. I was going to post this on Wednesday, but got...distracted. 

We artists are lucky. We can go do some art when we feel like escaping the world. It's also a great way to get outside of ourselves for a minute or two.

Distraction • 8" x *" watercolor framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#403 • Calling All Witches & Bitches

 

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 I pray that all good witches and bitches ride with the power of the great full moon this Halloween to vote with all of the feminine compassion, selflessness and healing energy they can muster. I pray they vote for the love of all children and the planet they will inherit, for understanding to be shared by all families, neighbors and their communities, for the healing of all states in this wounded country, and to keep the light of equitable justice burning for all.

Calling All Witches & Bitches • 8" x 8" framed to 12" x 12" • $250