August's Birthstone--The Beautiful Peridot ~ by Grace Augustine

The word "Peridot" is Arabic in origin. This beautiful yellowish green gem is a variety of the mineral olivine. Olivine originates deep inside the earth's mantle and is pushed into the world through fissures in the earth's crust. Volcanoes erupt, lava flows and cools into basalt rocks, and that is where you can find the peridot. Gem miners locate irregular nodules in lava flows in the USA as well as China, Vietnam, Finland, Pakistan, Myanmar, and the island of Zabargad. 
It has also been found in meteorites that have fallen to earth. In 2005, peridot was found in comet dust that was brought back to earth by the Stardust Space Probe.
Peridot has always been associated with light. Early Egyptians called

it the "gem of the sun." It is believed that when this stone is set in gold, it offers protection from night terrors. 
"Early records indicate that the ancient Egyptians mined a beautiful green gem on an island in the Red Sea called Topazios, now known as St. John’s Island or Zabargad. Legend has it that the island was infested with snakes, making mining unpleasant until an enterprising pharaoh drove them into the sea. From the earliest times, people confused this stone—now known to be peridot—with other gems. It was one of many labeled as “topaz.”
"Some historians believe that Cleopatra’s famous emerald collection might actually have been peridot. People in medieval times continued to confuse peridot with emerald. For centuries, people believed the fabulous 200-ct. gems adorning the shrine of the Three Holy Kings in Germany’s Cologne Cathedral were emeralds. They are, in fact, peridots." (information from gia.edu)

Peridot ranges in price from $50.00 per carat to $450 per carat, depending on the graded quality. The Mohs hardness scale has this gem at a 6.5-7, so it is a fairly hardy gem.
The metaphysical properties of the peridot are many:

1. Good health

2. Restful sleep

3. Peaceful relationships

4. Inspires creativity 

5. Brings good cheer

6. Helps people understand destiny and spiritual purpose

7. Sharpens the mind

8. Opens the mind to new levels of awareness

9. Diminishes anger

Ultrasonic and steam cleaning may damage your peridot. Therefore, a short soak in a mild dish detergent and water, and a soft bristled toothbrush to get around the setting of the gem will restore its luster. Air dry or use a soft cloth.

All photos used are by permission of Riddle's Jewelry.

Know Your Librarian ~ by Ruth Ross Saucier

We all make assumptions. Every minute of every day we assume things, and many of those assumptions have to do with people.  So. What do YOU assume when I say, “I’m a librarian?”  

 Mild-mannered? Sensible shoes? Definitely a hair bun. Pencil behind the ear, maybe. Glasses for sure.  Long skirt. Dowdy. Shushing. Smart. Dependable.  Good, law-abiding citizen. Right?

 Well, you can be forgiven for all those assumptions, they are rampant. As a retired librarian, I have certainly noticed the reactions I get when I tell people I’m a librarian…especially if I’ve just told them I ride a Harley Heritage Springer. Many have a difficult time believing I’m a librarian.  But the ones that are the most interesting are those who make all those assumptions above, and act on it. . . like border guards.

 Yes, border guards.  I’ve been across the Canadian and Mexican borders many times. I’ve also flown to Europe a few times, and each time the reaction is utterly dependable.   They ask several questions like: What was your purpose in traveling? Where were you born? Did you bring back any purchases with you? etc. But every time they ask me what I do for a living and I answer, “I’m a librarian,” that is the LAST question they ask.  Doesn’t matter if it is the third question or the tenth question, it’s the last question before they send me on my way.  They can’t be bothered to waste any more time, I’m just not likely to be smuggling anything, because, well, I’m a librarian.

 Of course, if we want to understand how librarians are viewed by the public, examining the movies gives us a full range of impressions. I have a brilliant friend who once wrote a thesis about the public’s perception of lawyers as reflected in the movies. [She was a humanities major who wanted to be an entertainment lawyer, so the topic fit.  And yes, she’s now a legal VP for a major network.] Movies have long reflected public attitude toward many things: if you want to know, for example, who was perceived to be the #1 enemy of the USA in a particular time period, watch the action films from that period. Early James Bond often fought the Russians, for example.

 

Donna Reed, It's a Wonderful Life

A commonplace view of librarians comes from It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey pressures Clarence, his guardian angel, to tell him what would have happened to George’s wife, Mary, if George never existed. The conversation ends with a pathetic squeal of an answer that never fails to make me swear:

 

George Bailey: Where's Mary? If this is all real and I was never born, what became of Mary?

Clarence: [hesitates] Well... I don't... I can't...

George Bailey: [grabs Clarence by his collar] Look, I don't know how you know these things, but if you know where my wife is, you'll tell me.

Clarence: I... I'm not supposed to tell.

George Bailey: Please, Clarence, where's my wife? Tell me where my wife is.

Clarence: You're not going to like it, George.

George Bailey: Where is she? What happened to her?

Clarence: She became an old maid. She never married...

George Bailey: [desperate] Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?

Clarence: She's... she's just about to close up the library!*

So librarians are also old maids who have nothing to care for but the library. Whenever I hear this line, I am compelled to answer Clarence with an “Oh, F*** You.”  I’m only 68, though, so maybe before I die this compulsion will finally wear off. If you want a positive view of librarians, I suggest Rachel Weisz in The Mummy: beautiful, smart, and proud to be a librarian.

 This assumption is partly based on the Madonna side of the whore/Madonna complex.  Complex says women gotta be one or the other, and all librarians obviously fit on the side of good girl. But there’s another set of assumptions behind the Madonna label. The good, the prim librarian is ripe for fantasy: take a librarian home, and they rip off the glasses and let down the bun and become a tigress in bed.

Rachel Weisz, The Mummy

Same principle, I think, behind those who fantasize about seducing priests (or Vulcans): they’ve managed to overcome / seduce the inviolable, thus proving themselves the ultimate succubus/incubus.

While I’m sure that most librarians fall safely in the middle of the whore-Madonna spectrum, one has to wonder about those who do not qualify for the Madonna end of that duality. Are there real librarians who are not modest and law-abiding?  Since I adore demolishing the common assumptions about librarians and equally exalt brilliant writing, I will end by sharing my favorite quote about librarians. While I haven’t met any librarians who fit Mr. Schmader’s description, I can allow that they might exist. You’ll likely never know.

 

“Libraries are far from the rarefied cathedrals of secular humanism they pretend to be, while librarians are the shadiest creatures this side of the Russian mob. Scratch the adamantly bland demeanor of any librarian and you’ll find trails of broken hearts, bathtubs full of meth fixings, and covert careers in porn.” David Schmader, Last Days, 17 October 2002

 

 

*imdb.com ,  Quotations section for It’s a Wonderful Life.

Harvest Time!

Summer may not have arrived with warmth in Seattle last month, but the fruit crop didn't mind much. My strawberries weren't abundant this year so there weren't enough for jam. Though, my small raspberry bed thrived and for weeks my husband enjoyed the homegrown, homemade raspberry cobbler shown above.

Our plum tree produced a great crop in July. What to do with so many plums? I didn't need to get creative with a recipe as they were eaten fresh within days. Our tree is four-way grafted and a second crop of plums is coming in now.

First plum crop

Second plum crop

This is the best crop I've had from my red currant bushes! I enjoy currants mixed with my oatmeal in the morning, and they also make a great addition to raspberry cobbler. They look like ruby caviar, but I'm guessing they taste a lot better.

Fresh figs!

Late July saw figs ripening. These are now a favorite fruit of ours and we have one large tree, with a second one coming along. A third tree will be moved from the back yard to the front when it is dormant this fall.





Our backyard blueberry bushes gave us plenty of fruit for oatmeal, pancakes, and yes, more cobbler.

Foraging just a few blocks from our house yielded abundant blackberries that again resulting in a cobbler. I found a great site with desserts for two, and have made this recipe from several fruits, all of them turned out delicious and delighted the cobbler gobbler I'm married to.

Blackberries from vine to dine

With a small yard, I have to be creative with my plant placement and a few plants will be relocated this fall. Perhaps one of my most creative endeavors with garden produce was green tomato jam. With the sugar and spices, it tastes very much like apple butter. Later this month I will be making plenty of applesauce to freeze, and apple butter for bagels.

Secret Sauce ~ Jacquolyn McMurray

At the beginning of the stay at home orders for COVID-19, it seemed people who hadn't used their ovens in years started baking bread and sweet treats.

                        Photo by Rebecca Matthews on Unsplash

Since I've had more time at home than I've had in years, even I joined the trend and whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, two trays of brownies, homemade pizza crust, and some pretty darn good gluten-free, almond flour biscuits. And all that baking made me think about how those who came before us figured out just the right balance of flour, yeast, salt, and oil to form a loaf of bread that could be sliced and still hold together once the mustard and mayo were slathered on.

And that made me think about a TV program hubby and I watched about a high-stakes contest for the best barbequed meat. We giggled when the contestants kept referring to their "flavor profiles." These highly guarded, secret combinations of ingredients, are all about balance. A teaspoon of this, a dash of that, and they've created award winning recipes.

                         Photo by Ahmad on Unsplash

And then I thought about the concept of balance in other creative pursuits such as sewing a quilt, designing a building, or writing stories. Don't they all have their own form of flavor profiles? That special combination of balancing components to form a finished product? The secret sauce that makes some projects rise above the rest?

Take a look at the quilt my husband's grandmother gifted us. Although the fabrics are a hodgepodge of colors and patterns, the overall design is pleasing because Grandma followed a template popular since the 1920s--the Dresden Plate pattern. It is pleasing to look at because there is a sense of balance and order coupled with Grandma's special flair for mixing colors and patterns within the given structure.

                                  Photo by J. McMurray

Think about what it takes for an architect to design a multileveled building. She must adhere to some basic structural guidelines, and then use her creativity to give the building her signature look. 

                          Photo by Tobias Keller on Unsplash

And then there are the storytellers who understand that readers expect some semblance of underlying structure—a premise that Lisa Cron, in Wired for Story, claims is hardwired in our brains. 

                         Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

What makes our stories memorable is the combination of structure and our own secret sauce, our voices. Even if we can plot a story, if we don’t add our own secret sauce, our own distinct voice, our readers will set our books down before they finish the first five pages.

As a creative, what is your secret sauce? 

The How and Why I Create Art ~ by Monica Reents

I want to talk about the how and why I paint and draw while living with syringomyelia, a progressive spinal cord disease.

A quick, brief background, I was diagnosed at the age of 34 with syringomyelia and have been diagnosed with several other illnesses along the way. I also have Chiari Malformation, fibromyalgia, kyphosis, cervical degenerative osteoarthritis, and syringobulbia. Each of these has a long list of symptoms but I won’t get into all of that. For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on what and how I create art despite living with chronic pain. 

I love waking up early in the morning, absorbing the quiet of the world before it wakes, and sitting at my desk to draw, sketch, and color. This creative time is a wonderful way to wake up. It is time that I use for practicing, I just allow myself to make mistakes and to explore my abilities. This is a time when I am having to wait for my medications to catch up with my pain level, so I like to read or draw during this time as a way to distract my mind.

But it isn’t always as easy as sitting down and drawing. There are days that I have difficulty, or can’t, walk when I wake up. Laying in bed all night creates pain, incredible stiffness, and (sometimes) loss of mobility. I use my hands to move my legs when they won’t move on their own. Massaging my legs and lower back as my husband holds me up so I don’t fall over as I work on reminding my legs how to move. On days like this, it can take a few hours for my walking to return to normal.

Can you imagine not knowing if you will be able to walk in the

morning? And having that worry every day? Not everyone with syringomyelia experiences paralysis, or any loss of sensation or mobility. This disease can affect every part of your body, including your organs, there are no limits; so it treats everyone a little differently.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen every day. But I do wake up with a great deal of pain and stiffness every day. That part never changes. This is what I have become accustomed to, chronic, wide-spread, pain.

I am also a writer and attempt to divide my time as needed. But for the last few weeks, I have concentrated on getting my artwork seen and building an online store on my blog. It really began by accident. I wouldn’t say that I am a gifted artist. It takes practice, patience, and persistence. I have always enjoyed drawing and coloring, but I never took it seriously. But something happened a few months ago… I drew a dragon. That may not sound all that exciting, but it was fairly good if I do say so myself. It’s not perfect, it needs some work. But I’m proud of it as it is. I decided to continue exploring different mediums and chose to play around with my acrylic paint. That’s when the magic happened! I had discovered my ability (and love!) to create fluid abstract art.

It’s expressive, bold, and feeling. I’ve become addicted to the

colors and how they react together. I enjoy hearing what people see in them and how they interpret each piece. It’s like performing a magic trick. Every piece I do, says something different to everyone. It’s comparable to my writing, in that if I write a poem, it provides different feelings for each person that reads it because they will interpret the meaning to tie into something in their own lives.

Something I am still working on, is time management. Honestly, I think most people have some struggle with managing their time when working from home. And with the state of the world right now, that statement is probably even more true. I want to work on everything every day. But my body becomes easily exhausted and it can take days to recover if I’m not careful. I have always worked long hours and slept very little, but since my diagnosis, there has been a huge decline in the amount of activity I can handle at once.

I’ve attempted to implement several different techniques to

improve my level of productivity without overwhelming my body. So far, I’ve seen most of them fail. The simplest ideas are often the best ideas… balance. It’s all in how I balance my days that allows me to check off items on my to-do list. I never paint and do any type of housework on the same day. I try to limit my painting to half days (but not always successfully - it’s hard to quit). Splitting my day so that half of it is sitting at my desk writing, drawing, etc… and the other half doing housework or painting really is the best way I can divide my time. I would like to say that when I’m tired that I rest, but not always. That’s when I end up dealing with several days of complete exhaustion. I don’t know why I do this to myself. I don’t neglect my health by any means, but I choose to be busy.

If you are someone who lives with a chronic illness and works, whether in or out of the home, you will be able to understand some or all of the aspects of daily living that I chose to mention. Daily life with chronic illness is almost a contradictory of terms. Living / chronic illness. These terms go together, but it isn’t a seamless match. There are plenty of rips and tears in the fabric that hold these two terms together. You learn to balance and to cope in ways others will not be able to relate. If this is you, keep going. Do your best because that’s all you can do and it’s enough.

Being able to work from home, doing what I choose to do, is the

blessing that came from my diagnosis. Whether with words, paint, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, markers, or even crayons, everything I create is part of who I am. Being able to share myself in these ways is important to me. When I was diagnosed with syringomyelia, I was given one year to live. Those were very powerful words. Although I have beat those odds, I know how fortunate I am to have an opportunity to follow my dreams. And I don’t intend to waste the time I have been given.

Artist and Author Monica Reents resides in Kansas with her husband and dog, Bentley. If you are interested in knowing more about her writing or art, please contact her at the links below.

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