Widow's Endorphins: Candlelight for Earth Hour!

Widow's Endorphins: Candlelight for Earth Hour!: What better way to observe the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour than with a candlelight dinner? Saturday, March 25th lights around...

Candlelight for Earth Hour!

What better way to observe the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour than with a candlelight dinner?

Saturday, March 25th lights around the world will be turned off for one hour from 8:30-9:30pm.  For your friends who may be a little dim, that doesn't mean all at once, but as each city arrives at 8:30pm. lights will be dimmed.

A decade ago, the World Wildlife Fund started Earth Hour as a way to raise awareness of climate change, and energy consumption.  Last year, more than 178 countries turned out the lights. Around the world, the lights on 350 major landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace, were turned off.

Rather than sit in the dark, have dinner or dessert by candlelight.  Earth Hour may be a time to rediscover the simple pleasure of candlelight.     

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Hello Spring!

Widow's Endorphins: Hello Spring!: It's the first day of Spring.  The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere started at 6:28:40am. The exact moment many around th...

Hello Spring!

It's the first day of Spring.  The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere started at 6:28:40am. The exact moment many around the world ushered in Nowruz, the Persian New Year.  This is a time for rejuvenation and fresh starts. Wishing everyone a glorious season, and an extraordinary year! 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Pour the Tea, and I'll Tell Ya 'bout Maewyn and Be...

Widow's Endorphins: Pour the Tea, and I'll Tell Ya 'bout Maewyn and Be...: You've probably never heard of Maewyn Succat.  Like many celebrities, his name was changed.  He grew up in a wealthy family in Eng...

Pour the Tea, and I'll Tell Ya 'bout Maewyn and Belleek

You've probably never heard of Maewyn Succat.  Like many celebrities, his name was changed.  He grew up in a wealthy family in England.  His Dad was a church Deacon, and the family was devoutly religious.  Maewyn wasn't.  At least, not until he was kidnapped at age 16, and taken to another country, where he was forced to work as a farmhand.  While tending sheep, he had a lot of time to think - to contemplate life.  He began praying.  He prayed for mercy, for freedom from slavery. Six years later, he made his daring escape by land and sea, on a kind of missionary's journey that would take him many more years to reach his homeland.

Back home in England, he studied theology, and fifteen years after his escape, he returned to the very country where he'd been enslaved.  He worked among the common people, and was outspoken in his condemnation of slavery.  He taught lessons about the Holy Trinity, using the leaves of the wild Shamrock as a teaching tool to talk about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Maewyn died at age 75, in Saul, County Down, Northern Ireland.  It was March 17th, 461AD.  Much loved, Maewyn was made a Saint.  He is celebrated each year on this day.  His day.  St. Patrick's Day.

Ireland is also famous for the transluscent, irridescent porcelain known as Belleek pottery.  It is so fine, that you can see right through it.      

The Belleek Pottery Works Company is 160 years old this year, however, the origins go back to 1849, when founder John Caldwell Bloomfield inherited his Father's estate.  The Castlecaldwell estate encompassed the village of Belleek, in what is now Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.  

Belleek is from the Gaelic words beal leice, meaning flagstone ford.  Flagstone, the kind you make stepping stones with, is made of feldspar.  In the midst of the Irish Potato Famine, during which one million Irish starved to death, Bloomfield worried how he could provide work for his tenants...and wondered what else besides feldspar was buried on his property. An amateur mineralogist, he had a geological survey made of the land, and discovered that in addition to feldspar, it was rich in kaolin, flint, clay and shale - perfect for pottery!    

Rose Isle, a small island within the village of Belleek, was on the Erne River.  Bloomfield decided it would be the ideal location for his pottery, with the mineral-crushing millwheel being powered by the River Erne.

He went into partnership with a London-based Architect who had a fondness for porcelain, and a Dublin Merchant with clientele and connections.  Bloomfield then moved heaven and earth to get a railway line to Belleek, so that coal could be brought in for the kilns, and finished pottery could be shipped out to buyers throughout the British Commonwealth.

He made good on his intention to provide work for the local people, hiring young apprentices and workmen.  He also ensured the high quality of the pieces, by bringing over 14 experienced craftsmen from Stoke-on-Trent, England.  Unlike St. Patrick, Bloomfield and his partners kept tight controls on the workers, fearing trade secrets would be leaked if workers left to go elsewhere.  Many of the Englishmen did just that, and what later became Lenox china was a beneficiary.

In 1893, the company hired Master Craftsman Frederick Slater (another Stoke-on-Trent craftsman) to lead their design department. It is believed that he modelled the 71cm (28 inch) International Centrepiece which won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1900.  The company recently discovered the original molds, and has been using them to recreate this work of art.

A lovely beginning to St. Patrick's Day:  a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea in a Belleek teacup.  Just what is Irish Breakfast Tea? Is it just another name for English Breakfast?  Although it varies from teamaker to teamaker, the general rule is that English Breakfast is a full bodied, rich black tea from China, sometimes blended with Ceylon tea.  Irish Breakfast is made with India's Assam tea.  It is more robust, and has a malty flavour.  It is also reddish in colour.  The heartiest of all, is Scottish Breakfast, which is a blend of China, Assam and Ceylon teas. 

This morning, raise a cup of tea (or mug of coffee) to Ireland's Patron Saint, St. Patrick!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Photograph of the International Centrepiece courtesy of the Belleek Pottery Works Company.
Parrot Tulips, Daffodils, white Freesia and blue Hyacinth from Florigens Design, Toronto.
My Irish Grandma's Belleek teapot and teacup in the traditional basketweave and shamrock design.  

Widow's Endorphins: Holi, India's Festival of Colour

Widow's Endorphins: Holi, India's Festival of Colour: Toronto is bracing for a severe late Winter storm, with up to 20cm of white powder (that's nearly 8 inches)!  Meanwhile, on the ot...

Holi, India's Festival of Colour

Toronto is bracing for a severe late Winter storm, with up to 20cm of white powder (that's nearly 8 inches)!  Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the people of India are celebrating Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colour, with a rainbow blizzard of coloured powders and street dancing.

You've probably seen it depicted in wildly choreographed Bollywood movies, and not known exactly what it's all about. Starting with bonfires during last night's full moon, the two day festival is a celebration of the end of Winter and beginning of Spring;  of the triumph of good over evil.  It is a time to forgive, and let go.  Really let go!  Dance in the streets!  Throw coloured powder in the air, covering friends and strangers in bright yellow, pink, red, green, blue and purple;  and then, toss water balloons!      

The creative wild child in me loves the idea of running through "snowflakes" of pink, purple and yellow.  The neat freak and hypochondriac are hyper-ventilating.  What happens if you breathe in all that powder? Does it harm the skin?  Does it wash off?  Is your hair going to stay green?  What's the street cleanup like the next day?

Even non-toxic powder made from cornstarch and/or rice flour will still cause eye, ear, nose, throat and lung irritation if you run through a thick cloud of it.  What's worse, some powders have been found to have finely ground glass and mica in them.  People have reported stinging red eyes, and a sensation of having sunburned nostrils for days afterwards.  Some have developed asthma.

The recipe for non-toxic, homemade Holi powder is simple:

1 Cup cornstarch (or rice flour)

1/2 Cup water

Few drops of food colouring

Mix the cornstarch and water to form a paste.  Add the food colouring, and blend thoroughly.  Roll into a ball, then, using a rolling pin, flatten into a disc shape.  Leave to dry overnight.  When it is dry, and cracked, put the disc into a coffee grinder, and pulverize it into a fine powder.  Or, put the disc between layers of wax paper, and crumble it, using the rolling pin. 

Once upon a time, colours were derived from plants.  Industrial age dyes, are very bright.  While dyes sold in North America are non-toxic, that is not the case in India.  Many chemical dyes, now illegal in other parts of the world, are sold in shops all over India.  The toxic dyes are made of such things as lead oxide (for black), which causes disorientation and kidney damage;  Mercury Sulphite (for red), which causes disorientation, skin and eye irritation;  and highly corrosive Aluminum Bromide (for silver), which causes skin, eye and lung irritation.

The solution is to Go Green!  Non-toxic, organic alternatives are now being promoted in India. Historically, beet juice was used to produce a deep magenta colour.  Sandalwood creates a red colour, and pink is created by adding wheat flour. Green leafy vegetables create - you guessed it - green. Henna will give a deep orange colour, and Turmeric is used to create a deep yellow.  None of these natural dyes will harm soil or water as they drain off during cleanup, and on a dry day, the wind just blows the powder away.

Once the party is over, it seems the entire country is showering and moisturizing.  Some stains take longer to remove.  To avoid this, there are things which Holi festival goers are advised to do before heading out into the streets.  In addition to sunscreen, celebrants are advised to apply coconut oil, olive oil, or Vitamin E all over their face, and any exposed skin. They're told to make sure the oil covers the earlobes, and the area behind the ears, as well as nails.  Hair is protected with coconut oil, or mustard oil.  Goggles are also advised.  I would go a step further, and add an N95 mask to prevent breathing in contaminants!

One blogger warned photographers to cover their cameras with a plastic bag, or a raincover.  Another photographer said that he removed all of the powder from his camera, by using the air hose at a local garage.     

     

One way to add colour to your life all year long, is with these "breathtaking" flare dresses and draped kimonos!

The vibrant colours of the purple Iris and deep pink Parrot Tulips now in wearable art:

http://bit.do/drapedkimono

http://bit.do/flare-dresses

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Thank You Fifteen Thousand Times!

Widow's Endorphins: Thank You Fifteen Thousand Times!: WE did it!  Widow's Endorphins just reached 15-thousand views!  Thank you, dear blog readers for your support these past two years...

Thank You Fifteen Thousand Times!

WE did it!  Widow's Endorphins just reached 15-thousand views!  Thank you, dear blog readers for your support these past two years.  Looking forward to photographing more of the flowers which bring me such joy!

Photograph Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Quiet Observation

Widow's Endorphins: Quiet Observation: Our ancestors lived in quiet observation of the world around them.  Letters to family in Europe describe the extremes of Canada's ...

Quiet Observation

Our ancestors lived in quiet observation of the world around them.  Letters to family in Europe describe the extremes of Canada's Winters and Summers, the exotic animals and plant life.  My Grandfather, who was born before the turn of the Century before this one, kept a weather diary, with his daily entries of rainfall, snowfall, bird sightings, planting and harvesting.

People have been observing nature for as long as we've been on the planet.  In the 1800's it became trendy!  Naturalists as well as ordinary men and women observed their world, and described it in words and illustrations.  Those who could afford travel, or who received sponsorship from a prestigious society, would travel to the far corners of the earth, and amass collections of rare plants, butterflies or seashells.  Today, their detailed drawings and notations are reproduced on chic home decor items. 

Categorizing specimens into family groups, and subgroups begins with observation.  In describing a flower, one considers whether it is part of a tree or shrub, whether it grows from a seed, or a bulb. The shape of the blossom, whether they grow on a single stem, or in a cluster, and whether they grow upright, or cascade downwards, are all important in distinguishing one flower from another.  Petals have different shapes, compositions, and textures.  Colour and pattern are very important distinguishing features.  The size and shape of the leaves, and whether the leaves are fine, or waxy, long or broad, are also important in classifying a flower.

Take a quiet moment to observe these images of Rabbit's Foot Pussywillow branches intertwined with a mixed bouquet of tulips...  

 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Pussywillows, Cattails and Other Tales

Widow's Endorphins: Pussywillows, Cattails and Other Tales:       Treasuring, remembering the promises of Spring    Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds, and roses. - Gordon Lightfoot, L...

Pussywillows, Cattails and Other Tales

      Treasuring, remembering the promises of Spring   

Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds, and roses.

- Gordon Lightfoot, Lyrics and Music

Pussywillows, Cat-Tails (1968)

Folksinger and songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot grew up in Orillia, Ontario, one of many small towns in Canada's Muskoka region that swell with Summer tourists each year.  Lightfoot, who now lives in Canada's largest city - Toronto - would have spent his youth walking along country paths near lakes and ponds where the Pussywillows and Cattails (Bulrushes) grow.

Lightfoot is a legend in Canadian singing and songwriting, with:  If You Could Read My Mind, Did She Mention My Name?, Sundown, Carefree Highway, (That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me, Black Day in July, and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, to name only a few of his recordings. 

Orillia is also home to the Mariposa Folk Festival, which was founded in 1961.  Over the years, Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Buffy St Marie, Richie Havens, Donovan, Neil Young, Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee, Barenaked Ladies, Loreena Mckennit, and Serena Ryder have all played Mariposa.  

Like the Summer thunderstorms which blow across Muskoka, the Mariposa Folk Festival had a few stormy years.  In 1963, after wild, drunken brawls in the quiet streets of Orillia, the town council banned the folk festival.  So, in '64 the Mariposa Folk Festival took off for the big city of Toronto, where Lightfoot performed, Early Morning Rain for the first time.  Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly, and like the butterfly, the festival has moved many times over the decades, and is finally back in Orillia.

On it's Mariposa Folk Festival website, there's a quote from performer Chick Roberts, who said in 1985, "The history of Mariposa is not of any one person, it's the history of an idea.  Changing hands over and over again, Mariposa becomes like a folk tale...the myth survives and continues to fire the blood".     

There's a Polish folk tale about how Pussywillows came to be.  Kittens were chasing butterflies near the riverbank, when they fell into the water, and began to drown.  The mother cat's cries for help were heard by the willow branches.  The branches arched over, dipping into the river, and the kittens clung to them as they were lifted safely to shore.  Every Spring afterwards, the little kittens would reappear on willow branches.

There are many varieties of Pussywillows, however, the two most common are the small, snowy white, pearl shaped Pussywillow, and larger, Rabbit's Foot Pussywillow in these photographs.  The iconic, big, fluffy Rabbit's Foot variety stands on it's own, or in a floral arrangement.

This being the Ash Wednesday, and the first day of Lent, it is worth noting that Pussywillows have a revered place in Catholic and Orthodox churches throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  Palms do not grow in Northern climates, so, on Palm Sunday, many churches in Europe give Pussywillow branches to their parishioners.  Pussywillows often appear in Easter floral bouquets,

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.