Weekword=Simplicity via Christine E-E

Well Christine talked me out of my little snail shell and back to the blog, at least for a little bit to stretch my legs and see how you all are. I've been hard at work on my Sketchbook Project 2011 book (that I procrastinated with till last Saturday :P) and actually making progress, but it's a time suck for sure. That poor planning on my part, coupled with not getting anything accomplished at work for the last few weeks before the break, and the inevitable all-hell-breaking-loose pile up of dung right before the semester begins, has kept me way too busy. I'll post some pictures separately of my Sketchbook so far, but for now, let's get to the Weekword for this week, simplicity.

West Side Market in Cleveland Ohio

Mango fresh greens salad with peppers and plantains-fav dish

From my garden, I loved this little watermelon, he was so cute!

Xmas cranberry-mandarin cookies I baked via a recipe from a local foodie girl poorgirleatswell.com

My garden the first week trying it out :)

It's something I think we all think we want. We yearn for it, discuss it in relation to our politics, our taxes, or hopes for our mental wellbeing, and yet, it seems to elude even the most arduous achievers among us. Simplicity implies a collective audible sigh of relief and peace; a veritable inexhaustible source of comfort and ease from that which we almost always are-a writhing bumbling bundle of needs and wants and requests and responsibilities and intricately complicated complications. For example, I have a particular interest, given that I live in one of the most fertile valleys in the entire world, for sustainable, local, seasonal, organic, food (I think the flags over that mouthful would be something like locavore/slow food movement follower). It seems rather silly to not appreciate completely the huge array of delicious produce that is grown right here in my proverbial (and actual) backyard, and the call to eating in this way is often described as "simple eating" to emphasize to prospective acolytes and naysayers how "easy" it is to change your eating habits to a "comfortable",  more "harmonious",  style that may lead to better health and a smaller carbon footprint. Now don't get me wrong, eating mindfully for me is a huge part of my ethical ideals about what I can do on a daily basis to help the planet a little and myself-I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food and where it comes from, how it got to me, how it was produced, and what it means on a bigger scale, and I'm not sorry one bit. It's just that, well, quite frankly, it's not simple and it doesn't lead to this ideal of "simplicity" that it's purported to be.

It takes a lot of work to be simple damnit.

I think that's really my point here, and it's not to under appreciate the intention behind the word, it's to show to those who read my babble and to myself that maybe simplicity is nice to think of, but I think it's a mistake to expect that the way it has been portrayed in modern society as the cure to ail the stressed out    hyper hipster yuppies and granola mammas is realistic. Instead, I think I'm going to try and revel in the bath of stress I've got going on around me-the complicated underpinnings of my day to day existence, the tangled web of my mind trying to play catch up with all the files on my desk, the involved, elaborate, compounded craziness of it all....and laugh. And love. And let go of trying to exude so much simplicity :)

Peace and love and marshmallows on ceilings (this is pointed at Aimee over at Artsyville since she shared a funny incident involving the little white things and her children) to all you wonderful people out there. Go enjoy Christine's blog and the other people who come out to play weekword at http://silverlinings4me.blogspot.com/-they're all amazing, creative folk.