My Thoughts on… Me, My Kid and Life

I’ve always created… well, maybe not over the past few years but I’ve learned to create through technology and have needed to create in that realm… for now.

Nonetheless, I’ve always involved Sophie in the process of creating. Creativity isn’t limiting. Math in the educational system is finite. There came a time when it would have been a bit ridiculous to excel Soph further in math. So the question became ‘How does one stimulate their child without boundaries?’ Being ahead in school is a boring subject. Yes, it’s great and wonderful but, honestly, only to a certain degree. I remember when Sophie was in the 5th grade and was tested for grade level - as all homeschooled kids in FL were done at the time (and probably still are). Her reading skills were at a 12 grade level and all of her other scores were beyond where they needed to be.

In my opinion, you want to allow children to excel at their own rate and in their own way. It was clear Sophie needed the option to go continue learning and thinking without limits. How does a family offer that to their child? Simple. Art.

Art allows children to freely and openly create without limits or boundaries. It’s an infinite educational tool. Creativity allows for expansive thinking which allows for new ideas and inventions.

One of the classes I took in school was a sculpture class. One of the styles we worked in was Reliefs. These were projects we need to create at home and bring to class with us once finished.

Sophie likes to create with me. Often we have painted or created art side-by-side. I felt, as a mom, that it was my job to allow access to the process but not to control it. In doing so, I believe that over the years Sophie has developed her own style - which during her time in France she lost do a large degree but is now rediscovering.

The art in this blog was created by Sophie at the approximate age of 5 or 6 years-old. She hasn’t asked me to throw them away. In fact, she liked the tanner piece without realizing it was her own work. That’s what happens when you put things in storage.

Note on Art: The top piece is a plaster relief made inside a box which was later removed. the objected used to create the art are all found objects. The sun, for instance, consists of nails for the rays and a rubber rim (possible used for car or plumbing??). The mom’s dress is a door hinge. Her hair is made of twisty-ties. There is no paint involved in this piece. Etc…

In the second piece, the plaster relief has been painted lightly. The use of found objects is much more prominent with springs sticking out and bolts prominently displayed in the heart.

There hasn’t been much time to write lately as life as become increasingly busy while I walk down the life I’ve designed for myself and am happy to live…

Nonetheless, sometimes one just needs to stop and share. This is one of those times.

Last night, Sophie made the absolute best pasta in an avocado and chicken white sauce. Delicious!

I have no idea where this child learned to cook, it certainly wasn’t from me. I’m guessing it’s out of her imagination and from recipes online. Wherever she got this talent from, it’s clearly here to stay! And I’m all the more well-feed because of it!

I had no idea what the noise was until Sophie answered it.

Poor Sophie. She’s a sickie! Time to rest and watch movies.

I said she caught Jeffrey’s sick bug. She said that you can’t get sick from a dog. Jeffrey got sick. Then Sophie got sick. You do the math.

Soon she’ll feel better and be ready to run about without her jacket on defiantly claiming ‘you can’t get sick by not wearing your jacket!’

Jeffrey came home sick from the dog sitters. After a couple days of him not getting better we needed to take him to the vet. He had bloody diarrhea that got worse over time and was eventually bright red.

Sophie was taking Jeffrey out to go to the bathroom and at some point, Jeffrey couldn’t hold it and spewed his deep red bloody diarrhea down nearly every one of our 16th century wooden cascading stairs as he desperately tried to make it to the door.

When you tell a child ‘having an animal is a big responsibility’, they don’t really get just how much of a responsibility it is until they have to do something like clean up the staircase. I suppose it is similar to not knowing how much of a responsibility a child will be until they are with you. You know you have to feed them and give them shelter, but it’s all the other things you don’t realize you’ll spend so much time and money on.

Even adults don’t necessarily realize how much effort and expense will go into caring for an animal. I read somewhere to expect to spend $1000 a year on an animal. Ha! That might cover food, but it doesn’t cover vet visits, grooming (if you’re into that), doggie hotels, toys, dog carriers, airplane and train tickets, and doggie clothes. Jeffrey only has one jacket. it’s red and matches a Sophie’s jacket. Nonethless, things you never thought of end up costing tons of money.

Jeffrey never complains when he’s sick and if it weren’t for the condition and color of his bowel movements there would be no sign of his sickness at all. He has the sweetest disposition of any doggie I’ve ever met. We were lucky to have met him and honored to have him as part of our family.

Jeffrey came from the pound. He’s a pure breed with impeccable manners. He was clearly well cared for before becoming a member of our family. He is so well-mannered that most likely he was groomed to be a show dog. It is my guess that something either happened to the owners, or Jeffrey didn’t cut the mustard of a show dog so the owners got rid of him.

The only time Jeffrey has ever had anxiety is when he first came to live with us and we would pack for a vacation. He would get so nervous and worried. But after a couple vacations he realized that everything was okay and he was no longer considered about such trips. It didn’t hurt that he absolutely loved his dog sitter - who happened to have the very bad habit of feeding Jeffrey directly out of his hand. Jeffrey would come home begging. I had to ask the dog sitter to please stop, as each time Jeffrey would come home after a vacation, it would take several days to rid of him of his newly developed bad habit.

Jeffrey was about 7 months old when we got him. He is now about 3-and-a-half-years-old. He is the most wonderful doggie in the world. We are blessed to have him as part of our family. He is already feeling better after one day of being on the medicine and eating bland, overcooked rice and well-cooked white chicken. All he needs is his meds, good food, and lots of love and cuddles.

What a nice world it would be if we were all as happy as Jeffrey!

Las Ramblas is lined with lovely stands selling everything from flowers to bunnies.

Barcelona’s Las Ramblas leads from the Square when the airport bus dropped us off to the Port where we caught our cruise ship.

Last year, I took my first solo trip since Sophie was a couple years old and I took a three day holiday to Toronto, Canada. The four days I spent in Barcelona were incredible. I needed a little ‘me’ time and immediately felt at home the moment I arrived in this lovely, laid back city. Sophie refered to the style as ‘Hippie Chic’. I suppose it is fair to say that there is a range from casual, travel-the-world hippies to Hippie Chic. In any case, I felt quite comfortable there and was quite pleased to have the opportunity to share some of it with Sophie during my second visit to Barcelona.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about Barcelona were its street performers. The costumers are unique and the performers work hard to make their money and treat their job with the respect it deserves.

Throughout Sophie’s life, I have always had her put the coins in the buckets of the street performers. I know where my money goes when I support artists on the streets. It goes in their pockets to directly support them. It feels good to give a deserving street performer my money.

Street performers represent true anarchy, true freedom from governmental rule, true individuality. These are people who can take their craft with them when they travel. They can always support themselves if they are willing to work. Street performers own their own destiny. I respect what they do and I enjoy giving them my money.

I want more artists in the world and know that when I support street performers I directly supporting and encouraging the livelihood of an artist. When I support a street performer my money is not going to a machine that serves a business rather than a person. Instead, my money is going directly to the person with no middleman involved. Supporting street performers allows me to support the world I want this world to be.

This is a pic Sophie took sometime back when I still has long hair. I’m guessing it was about a year ago… when the video camera was new.

Our regular digital camera had been on the blink recently, so we brought the video camera as a backup. The digital camera has since ‘disappeared’ - most likely on the train from Basel-to-Strasbourg. Sophie was kind enough to download the video camera pics so I can try to salvage some shots from our vacation.

The digital camera has cool lighting in the above shot, maybe night scope was on? The video camera takes very sharp photos, much sharper than those taken with the digital camera. Though, I don’t care for how the video looks. It reminds me of exterior shots from Soap Operas. But… as it turns out, the video camera takes great regular photos!

Dusk is a lovely time in Piraeus, Greece for taking tourist photos of the area as the light caresses the camera with it’s loving touch.

Here are a couple of our pics from when our cruise ship was docked at the Port of Piraeus and while Sophie and I were walking back to our ship, the Norwegian Jade.

Before Sophie and I went on our 12-night Mediterranean cruise we did a little research into cruising. It was our first cruise so we wanted to have some idea of what to expect. We were even able to research our specific cruise line (Norwegian Cruise Line, often known as NCL) and ship (Norwegian Jade). In fact, there were several online cruise reviews from people who had taken cruises on the same ship just before us.

We weren’t expecting good food, good service, or good entertainment. I was expecting a large vessel on the water to take me to six countries over a span of 12 nights. We received good food, generally good service and usually passable entertainment! I had exactly what I wanted… a vacation on the water.

The above photo is of Sophie in our favorite restaurant, Grand Pacific. Most of our dinners were enjoyed at this restaurant. It is rare that I find myself with ample time to take for myself to just enjoy my time and my environment. Part of this trip was about finding time for me. At the Grand Pacific, I had the opportunity to dress up and enjoy both the lovely things around me and the food being served to me.

The cruise was cheap. Cheaper than I had expected. Each person cost $499, plus taxes (which came out to approximately $750 per person). We didn’t eat at any of the specialty restaurants as the majority of the reviews had been disappointing. We ate at the four free restaurants - Blue Lagoon (24 hrs), Garden Cafe (Buffet Style), Alizar (2nd nicest of the free restaurants but casual wear is permitted), and the Grand Pacific (no jeans allowed). Although I gambled, I didn’t gamble much or lose much. We spent nothing on alcohol or other specialty drinks which many people were realized to be very expensive when the bills arrived on the final day of the cruise.

The add-ons just didn’t interest me. I considered getting the spa package but there wasn’t an indoor pool, and I was more inclined toward the outdoor jacuzzi at night. I considered the Sushi Bar but Sophie wasn’t interested in it.

The cruise ship has several art auctions that I wouldn’t recommend unless you know nothing about art, never plan on learning anything about art, and would be happy to spend way too much on a Dali, Chagall, or Picasso lithograph that will never see the value of the investment because lithos like these will still be made long from now until there is no longer a demand for them.

There is no value to be held or to increase therefore the glory in owning one of these pieces must be purely personal. For example, when you look at the Dali you purchased on the cruise and it makes you happy to know you own it and purchased it on your cruise in that knowledge lies the value of the art.

Is that personal pleasure worth the price. That would depend on you. As stated before, if you plan on never learning more about art, it is quite likely that this little pleasure is well worth the price of the piece. But know that is what you are buying and why you are buying it before the purchase.

Perhaps part of the reason we enjoyed the cruise so much was because we had reasonable expectations.