My World - Bright Future Opening

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself.

Last week we were invited to a reception and dinner
to celebrate the opening of
Your Bright Future:
12 Contemporary Artists from Korea.

We started with the exhibition viewing and cocktails.

Fallen Star by Do Ho Suh
(publicity photo from Artshound.com)

From one of the videos
(also a publicity photo at artshound.com)

Christine Starkman (curator) and one of the artists posing.

Dinner:
Chicken and Coconut Milk Soup with Galangal and Shiitake Mushrooms
Grilled Sea Bass with Tomato Confit and Sorel Butter Sauce
Thai Basil and Pea Shoots
Saffron Rice Patties
Warm Chocolate Cake with Coconut Sorbet and Pepper Tuille
Not to mention the different wine with each course.

We had a lovely time and thank Christine for the invitation.
Sometimes it pays to do research for art exhibitions!

Camera Critters

It's Saturday so it must be time for Camera Critters!

One of my favorite animals at the Houston Zoo
is the meerkat.

I could watch them all day long.

The meerkat or suricate Suricata suricatta is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family. It inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats at a time, but some superfamilies have had 50 or more. Meerkats have an average life span of 12 to 14 years.

Here he is on sentry duty.

He caught me taking his portrait!
He turned his head as I snapped.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Be sure to visit Camera Critters to see other wonderful critters.

Postcard Friendship Friday - Thanksgiving Greetings

Postcard Friendship Friday is brought to us by our lovely postmistress, Marie.


Many years ago (20+), the Lillian Vernon Corporation
sold reproduction vintage postcards for the holidays.

This is one from Thanksgiving that I hadn't sent on its way.

Thanksgiving Greetings
A Turkey I bring you for Thanksgiving Day,
With wishes that plenty may e'er with you stay.

(The back is marked with "printed in Hong Kong exclusively for Lillian Vernon Corp". No date.)

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with delight.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be sure to stop by Postcard Friendship Friday to see more postcards
and visit with the lovely, Marie.

Gratitude

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy and Wealthy
by Christine Kane

Gratitude is more than being thankful one day a year. Gratitude is a practice. For some, it's a way of life.

Why do some people swear by the practice of gratitude? Why do these people have joy-filled and abundant lives?

In other words, why does gratitude make you happy and wealthy?

• Because gratitude is about presence.

It's about waking up in this moment and being here - really being here - and noticing what's around you. Most people are so busy thinking about the next thing, or about their horrid past, that they don't wake up and look around at their present moment - the only moment there is.

• Because gratitude is about honoring YOUR precious life.

Do you ever compare your life with someone else's? Do you ever wish your life were better and more like [insert famous person's name here]? Sometimes we can lose ourselves in wondering how we "measure up" to some standard set by our families or by the media. Comparison is the mind killer. The antidote is gratitude.

Gratitude requires that you validate your own life. (And you really don't have any other life, do
you?) It forces you to say YES to the gift that is you. The choices you've made and the changes you've gone through - they have brought you here. Even if here is a place that needs a little adjustment, that's okay. There are always gifts in any present moment.

• Because gratitude is about attracting.

It's difficult to attract abundance and joy if you are constantly saying "no" to what IS. You say "no" each time you focus on the future or past, or when you criticize something that is in your present moment.

Attraction is about saying Yes. When you say Yes, you shift.

Gratitude says, "Yes, I love this!" And then more of this is attracted, because the this is what you're focusing on.

• Because gratitude is about choice.

How you translate any situation is the situation. What you choose to see is the truth (for you).

This isn't proposing that you live in denial or phoniness. It's reminding you that your translation of any life situation is your choice. We've all heard stories of people who have ignored others' translations of their talent, their projects, their art, their looks, their lives. These people chose their own translations and succeeded. You always have a choice when it comes to how you look at things. Choose to choose gratitude.

• Because gratitude is about wisdom.

I think people believe they're being smart if they criticize, complain, and focus on the problems of the world around them.

Smart? Maybe.

Clever? Sure.

But not wise.

It is wise to look for and find the knowing place in your heart. It is wise to choose joy. It is wise to honor your riches. It is wise to focus on and grow the blessings of your life.

• Because gratitude is about recognition.

Use your power of focus to hone in on beauty and on what makes your heart sing. Recognize the spirit in your life. It's all around you waiting to be noticed. In the words of Franz Kafka, "It will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

• Because gratitude is about receptivity.

Gratitude makes you receptive. It makes you a vessel, waiting to be filled.

I carry a tiny notebook with me everywhere I go. In it, I write down song ideas. I write down quotes I hear. I write down ideas for stage stories. As I do that, I become more receptive, and more ideas and songs come to me. It's a tool that says to my subconscious, "Send more my way!" And the subconscious always responds.

Gratitude is the same way. It says, "I am receptive! Send more!" And more arrives.

• Because gratitude is about creativity.

Creativity is really all about attention. (So is genius.)

When I write a song, I build a relationship with that song. I spend time with it. I get to know it. I pay attention to it. Artists do the same thing with drawings. They spend time in rapt attention, and the drawing is born.

Gratitude is how we Live Creative. It is a creative act to notice and pay attention to the moments of your life. Some days it's an enormous act of creativity to find things for which to be thankful.

Start today.

And have a Thanksgiving of presence, creativity, and gratitude!

---

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 8,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Some Last Minute Goodies for You!

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Glaze

Makes 3 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle Glaze over cookies.

For Glaze:

Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl until smooth.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding With Brown Sugar-Yogurt Sauce

Makes 15 servings

12 slices cracked or wholewheat bread, cut into cubes (12 cups)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
2 cans (12 fluid ounces each) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
1 can (15 ounces) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup refrigerated egg substitute or 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Bread Pudding:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Combine bread and cranberries in large bowl. Combine evaporated milk, pumpkin, egg substitute, sugar, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium bowl. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture; stir. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish; let stand for 10 minutes.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm with Brown Sugar-Yogurt Sauce.

For Brown Sugar Yogurt Sauce:

Combine 2 containers (6 ounces each) or 1 1/2 cups nonfat plain yogurt and 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar in small bowl.

(These recipes are from our little local neighborhood newspaper. More pumpkin recipes can be found at The Very Best Baking.)

***

Get cozy with cranberries. The cranberry is an herb—but you already knew that, didn't you? For the latest word on the medicinal qualities of this favorite holiday fruit, check out the Encyclopedia of Herbs. And for some berry good cranberry recipes, there's Cranberry Cooking for All Seasons, featuring such delectables as Cranberry Maple Syrup, Cranberry Tangerine Loaf Cakes, Shaker Cranberry Pie, and (oh my goodness!) Nantucket Roast Loin of Pork with Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing. ( Cranberry information from All About Thyme: A Weekly Calendar of Times and Seasonings by Susan Wittig Albert.)