Hoyt Arboretum.

Today, I spent the afternoon at Hoyt Arboretum.  I have loved arboretums since my childhood in Nairobi, Kenya. One of my most vivid memories of Nairobi is going to the arboretum with my family. I think my intense love of trees comes from going to the arboretum. I remember looking at the different varieties of trees and visualizing one day seeing the trees in their natural habitat.  I am happy to say, this is something I have been able to do in all of my travels.  When Mahesh and Reina were little tykes, I taught them to hug trees while on a hike. I would tell them trees had special magical powers and would replenish their energy with a simple hug!

Needless to say, their friends thought both of them to be a bit strange watching both my children hugging trees on nature hikes. Soon, though, they had their friends hugging trees too. Trees are the lungs of this planet; I will never be able to chop a tree down.

My afternoon was indeed idyllic, I am happiest when I am amongst my trees. I took many photographs, and looked at a multitude of trees, plants and flowering bushes. The arboretum is about a fifteen minute drive from my apartment, so I plan to go there often.

The day today was perfect, highs were in the eighties and a soft breeze was present. After my trek to the arboretum, I headed home and still had enough time to paint.  I had been waiting for one of my oils to start to dry out so I could add details. The paint had dried enough to allow me to do just that. Painting is a natural endorphin for me; right now all is well in my world! 

Painting heaven!

Today, I spent my entire day painting.  I used to do that on a regular basis, but it's been years since I have painted one painting after another.  My first composition was calla lilies, I did that in oils.  I prefer to paint outdoors in oils, I find that I can paint quickly in oils.  Couple of hours later my painting was done and I was on my way to the next painting.

My second project was in acrylics, a painting in the genre of Goddesses.  I grew up in a culture of being surrounded by beautiful Goddesses. In Hinduism, we have a Goddess for knowledge, prosperity, a warrior Goddess, a love Goddess and the list continues. My hosts here at Glencullen have a beautiful wooden sculpture of a Goddess from Bali adorning my front door; she became my inspiration!  I am going to take my time painting her.  Most likely I will paint the Goddess in between painting the outdoor oils.

On another note, my knee continues to be pain free.  I am anxious to have an injection in my left knee.  It's been strange to be pain free in one knee and still have pain in my left knee.

Painting does the mind good!

Prolotherapy in Portland!

Today, I did go and see Dr. David to have a session of Prolotherapy.  This is not some new-age treatment, it's a treatment that has been practiced by MDs Homeopaths and Naturopaths for the past fifty years.  The only problem is that mainstream western doctors don't know about these remedies because they are taught to look at the human body through surgical or drug induced solutions only.  Prolotherapy is where the doctor injects dextrose into the knee joint to stimulate the healing process.  Since dextrose is an irritant it stimulates the body's response to start healing the irritated area, thus causing for the ligaments to become stronger.  This is in laymen's terms.  If, you need more information on this process Google prolotherapy and read more.

All those years of running and walking countless miles on hard pavement didn't do my knee joints any favours, so finally now I am getting some relief without cutting out part of my knee as my surgeon suggested!

With the one injection I received today, my right knee is already feeling better than my left knee.  I am looking forward to be able to walk, hike and dance pain-free!

My wonderful son Mahesh, spent the day with me.  Held my hand while I was being injected; I am a very grateful mother. 

One pastel done, at least 29 more to go!

Yesterday, the clouds parted allowing us to see the sun.  So, I ran out to my idyllic park-like backyard; pastels in hand and started expressing myself creatively. It has been years since I have worked in pastels, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them.  To begin with my hands felt a little unsure, but as I let go of expectations and began to enjoy the process; the leaves of the rhododendron plant started to take form, pretty soon I didn't notice the passing of time and found myself totally immersed in my composition.

I am happy to say, I was very pleased with the final outcome of my very first art project here in the Northwest-- the summer of at least thirty paintings.  That is my ultimate goal!

After having completed the pastel rendition, I even had time to make dinner for Mahesh and Sara.  We enjoyed a home cooked meal and conversation.  My first week here has been perfect. I am not used to the rain and overcast days, but everyone keeps telling me sunny days are ahead.  I have put in my order for clear blue skies.  

My hosts do have a pool that I will be able to use; I plan to swim a lot!

Today was another overcast day, the atmosphere thick with moisture, as the rain drizzled.  I invited myself to Mahesh's house with a bribe to make his favorite 'masala chai'; it's a prized family recipe of spice tea.  It was a perfect afternoon for that.

Tomorrow I am going to see a doctor about my knees; I am going to start Prolotherapy.  It's a way for knees to begin healing without drastic measures.  I am hoping I will be a good candidate for this procedure. I will write more tomorrow about my adventures!

Visualizing my paintings.

Today the day was spent in writing and visualizing the paintings I plan to create.  The writing was done for my e-newsletter I send out monthly. The visualizing is a process I go through before I put brush and paint to the canvas. I walked around yesterday, taking in the atmosphere of the Northwest.  It's so different than living in Oklahoma. I came from 90 degree weather to a high of 57 degrees today; quite a chilly difference!

I think my paintings are going to have a very organic feeling to them here.  In the past I have painted Goddesses, or Oklahoma landscapes.  Here I feel they will have a softer look to them.  It will be interesting to see what I produce.  Except for the three paintings I painted for my sister's office last summer, I have not painted at all in the last four years.  Time was when I could not go a day without painting or creating something.  I am truly looking forward to painting this weekend.

A day of leisure.

It was an overcast day, no rain though, so it was pleasant to walk around in the wooded area surrounding my wonderful rented home. I have already scouted out three locations for paintings. The weather looks like it will cooperate this weekend, I may be able to paint outdoors. I am looking forward to that.

After my early afternoon walk, the day was spent getting familiar with my new surroundings. I kept getting lost yesterday while driving around, so the first order of business was go to the AAA office and get a local map of Beaverton/Portland. I love maps, they are a security blanket; I can always find my way home!

I found a local Indian grocery store, there is nothing like the aroma of an Indian grocery store, so familiar and inviting.  I want to be able to prepare my son's favorite dish from his childhood, for that I needed Basmati rice (the best rice on the planet!) and I needed chick pea flour. With my new map in hand I ventured out feeling very capable of finding the store and more importantly getting to my son's home and back again without getting LOST!

I was able to find the store and get to Mahesh's home without any problems. The evening spent with him and Sara was very pleasant.  Sara had made an enchilada dinner, which was sumptuous. Conversation over dinner about Mahesh being an extra in an upcoming television show was exciting. My son the actor! 

Glencullen, Oregon.

I arrived in Portland yesterday evening after a long eleven hour drive-- too grueling! The drive through the Columbia River Gorge is spectacular, though after a while I was tired of the winding road and the amount of effort it took to stay focused on driving and not being awestruck by the sheer beauty of this region.  I was able to drive the entire day with the top down, the weather was perfect; cool with a clear blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky every so often.

At the end of the day, I was glad to be at my destination and anxious to see Glencullen my home for the next few weeks. I was not disappointed, Glencullen is an oasis hidden in the heart of a busy city. I am surrounded by acres of perfectly manicured landscaping, with a babbling brook, gazebo and a charming wooden bridge across the brook. Meandering paths leading to a host of contemplative locations; along with towering trees, and foliage picked by my hosts Judi and Mike to enhance the already stunning location.

By the time I arrived yesterday it was too late to visit my son and daughter in law. That was the first order of business today. I woke up eagerly to find the easiest way to get to my son's home and I was off. Getting to spend the day with Mahesh and Sara was the high point of my day. We spent the entire day catching up with each other, there will be many more days such as these, I am happy to say. We have already made plans for dinner tomorrow night as well as for Saturday night.  How wonderful it is to be able to see my son everyday.  I am very fortunate indeed!

Ogden, Utah!

The drive today was long and tiring. I was on the road by 9:30 a.m.  I drove through Kansas, then Colorado, north towards Cheyenne and then west towards Salt Lake City Utah.  It rained for the entire day. To begin with the rain was a drizzle and I hoped soon it would be over and I could drive with the top down, but the rain Gods had other ideas, they made sure it rained all day and at times hard blinding rain! When it wasn't raining, there was plenty of fog to slow things down; it reminded me of my time in Scotland, the terrain even looked like the Scottish highlands. The fog hung low over the landscape giving it an eerie other world feeling. It felt as if I was driving into another dimension.

Wyoming is an interesting state, I don't think they have a large population, the land is sparsely populated and it seemed people were just driving through to get from one point to another. Towns were too few and far in between with service stations dotted here and there. It was too tempting to speed but I kept my lead foot in check since the road conditions were not optimal.

Tomorrow looks like another long day, but I hope to be in Portland by nightfall.

Goodland KS.

So, the first day of the epic summer of painting has begun.  I left OKC at 2p.m. no use in trying to leave any earlier, it's just not in my genes! The car is packed so full, I don't think there is room for one more item. It was great to be behind the wheel of my awesome car, cruising at 100 mph; weaving in and out of lanes listening to some of my favorite songs on a CD prepared for me by my daughter and son in law. 

Driving north through Kansas is not the most exciting route; the landscape is flat and the road stretches out in front for endless miles.  The fields had been plowed, I am assuming ready for the next crop.  I am always amused by the roadside billboards.  Some of the ones I encountered today were; "Christ is THE Lord", another was "Abortion is killing what God created", another was "If you died today where will you spend eternity?" My family and friends who don't live in the Bible belt don't understand billboards like these. Religion is a personal matter, not a subject for a billboard and certainly not a place that admonishes people. My answer for the last question would be "I will be spending eternity with all the souls being reincarnated over and over again."

It's much cooler here in Goodland, I hear thunder outside, I am glad to be off the road and in a comfortable hotel room for the evening.  Tomorrow will be a long day, I hope to get an early start (for me early is being on the road by 10a.m.!) This trip north is going to have to be a quick journey.  I am anxious to get to Portland, see my son and daughter in law and begin my painting sojourn!  I will write more tomorrow from where ever I end up.