(Z) Zuzu's Petals

We are all familiar with the great classic movie, "It's A Wonderful Life".


Every Christmas holiday my family curls up near the tree with a bowl of popcorn and a box of tissue. And then we act as though we've never seen George Baily before- or felt that familiar twinge of wishing we had a "do-over"...of wondering what life would be like if our choices had been different.


There are still parts of ordinary days when I have regrets - mostly about the things I didn't do. What if I had finished college? Pursued my writing or art? Put off marriage and raising a family? Started a healthy lifestyle years ago? Saved my money wisely?


But, yet, I know that all my choices overlap... that they are pieces of a bigger puzzle,woven tightly into my happiness and my well-being... that my experiences are layers of lessons that make me who I am today.


I think we always assume that given the opportunity, a "do-over" would bring nothing but a more desirable outcome. We rarely imagine that changing the past might offer us only heartache and struggle.


But we'll never truly know.


That's why we should embrace every day. Don't wait till it's over to do the things you want to do. Take chances. Be bold. Reach out. Dance.
You lose 24 hours of your life everyday. It gets shorter, older, less full of energy and power.
And you've only got one chance at it.


It took George Bailey a trip back in time to be grateful for the present.And he came to realize that there will always be struggles, misfortune, and unfinished dreams.


Feeling Zuzu's petals in his pocket made him aware of the moment. The now. The chance to make this day better. He suddenly knew that nothing is sweeter than family and friends and the reality of new possibilities.


So-
Hold tightly to your Zuzu petals. 
Grasp the moment.
Be happy. 
Sing. 
Fly.
Don't live in regret, but rejoice in today.
Because after all, it is a wonderful life!

(Y) Yesterday

Today is brought to you by the letter “Y”… 
(And I beg forgiveness from the Beatles…)
 
Please sing along with me today, won’t you?
**********************************
Yesterday...
I could run and laugh and I could play-
Now I'm thick and soft and turning gray-
Oh, where the heck is Yesterday?
 
Suddenly,
I am twice the gal I used to be-
and there are wrinkles hanging over me-
Oh, how'd I change so suddenly?
 
Why I
had to grow- I don't know-
I'm not that wise-
I did something wrong, now I long
for thinner thighs.
 
Yesterday.
I was firm and set like hardened clay-
Now it really sucks to feel this way-
Oh, please come back, my yesterday!
 
How I
got so old, no one's told- they didn't say-
I wonder why -and now I cry
for Yesterday…
 
Yesterday,
I smelled like flowers, bright and gay-
Now it's beans and sauerkraut and hay! :( 
Oh, where the heck is Yesterday?
 
Yesterday,
I could hear and see and dance away-
Now I'm bent and blind and... “What'd you say?"
Oh, how it sucks to feel this way...
 
Yesterday,
There were no chin hairs in my way
Or  those flashes- (hot as Bobby Flay)-
Oh, how did I lose my Yesterday?
 
Yet,
I know days will go-And I, with them-
So I'll stay- But I will pray
For yesterday…a.a.a....

...yesterday.

(X) Xylopyrography

David Stanley

Xy`lo*py*rog"ra*phy ( n.) The art or practice of burning pictures on wood with a hot iron.

Remember wood burning kits when you were a kid ? 
You usually got to practice burning a peace sign into a sliver of wood or on a leather patch. The smoke was stinky- and the result ? Not so good...


Many artists have taken that simple tool and created intricate and beautiful works of fine art. 

Here are a few of my favorite examples. (Click on photos to see detail)

Nedra Denison

David Stanley

David Stanley

Dino Muradian

Frank Drummond

Kenan Eroglu

Pierre Larribau

Daniel Wright

Roy Hewson

So- next time your little cub scout asks for a wood burning kit for Christmas, you might indulge him. 
Who knows where it might take him? Maybe to explore xylopyrography!      

(W) Wrong Turn

Have you ever seen the movie Wrong Turn? It's a crazy slasher film from 2003 in which a group of deformed, inbred hill-folk go on a killing spree. And a handful of college students are plunged into a torturous and bloody nightmare- due to some bad decisions.  Of course,the primary mistake they make, (as the title implies)- was a wrong turn. 

Setting out on a fun adventure or a fantastic weekend is always perfect in one's mind. But sometimes there are obstacles, detours and unseen changes that alter the ideal trip.


Every single morning of every single day, I lay in bed and tell myself that today is going to be the day. 
I'm setting out to make a new me. 
I've mapped out my future in detail -and it includes healthy food, daily exercise, hard work and wise choices. 

It means flossing, moisturizing, budgeting, and being kinder.

I've penciled in days of creativity, volunteering, baking, sewing, and simply meditating. 

I've polished my compass, set my GPS, and made my plans. I've memorized the path in my head and I'm sure how to get there.


But you know what? I never get there. Somewhere along that bright sunny road, I make a wrong turn. 


I'm too tired to floss, too lazy to moisturize, too busy to help someone. Too broke to do crafts, too crabby to be kind, too stressed to balance my checkbook, and too weary to bake.

And all those obstacles make it impossible to continue down that perfect path.

Oh, there are days when I make it to the first rest stop. Complete mornings when I've counted my calories and walked half a mile. And I think I'm doing great.
But then, right smack dab in the middle of the road is a chocolate bar. 
Yes, there's room to go around it- and there are ways to ignore it completely and continue heading straight.
But do I?
No.
I make a wrong turn.

And that's when bad things begin to happen. That's when I throw caution to the wind and live for the moment. That's when my plan is shredded and completely destroyed by foolish temptation.

I'm constantly making wrong turns. 
On days that I've mapped out kindness, some jerk cuts me off in traffic and I swerve onto a trail of road rage and wickedness. 

Those times I'm set on getting organized, I suddenly acquire various body aches- and then sidetrack to a napping spot.

Days when I have plans to draw or paint or write, I see that the roadway needs mowed and weeded and swept- so I do that instead.


Life is a series of wrong turns. 
If you're lucky, there is paradise waiting around an unscheduled bend.

But if you're like me, there is probably a bunch of genetically mutated hillbillies with machetes ... waiting there with a bag of Hershey Kisses.

(V) Vinegar In Our Veins

I'm not sure the reason for it, but my family has always had a fondness for vinegar. Any type of food that we could season with pickling brine was fair game, and apparently there was always an ample supply of it in the cupboard.


My roots are of Croatian and American Indian, and while researching Croatian recipes, I did find Pickled Pineapple and Vinegar Pie, both which make my mouth water at the mere thought of it. There was also Balsamic Chicken, Sour Cabbage Rolls, and Warm New Potato Salad, which includes vinegar.

Perhaps like the Italians love garlic, we Croatians love the tartness of vinegar. 

Or maybe we're just weird.


One of our favorite treats as youngsters was bologna in vinegar. Mom always bought the thick sliced Blue Bell brand and we would cut it into bite sized squares, drizzle it with vinegar and salt, and have our fill. Even today, I occasionally find pickled bologna in the grocery store and find it just as tasty as our homemade version.

Our neighbor had a gooseberry bush and even those little green fruits weren't safe from our vinegar jar. Although they are supposed to be picked when soft, red and sweet- we plucked them while they were crunchy and sour- only to add an extra wallop of sharpness with vinegar and salt.


We experimented a bit with apple cider vinegar, pouring it on sliced oranges and apples, dipping carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers in it, and simply eating vinegar soaked cabbage with our fingers. And when we were finished, we sometimes drank the leftover vinegar- sipped it like fine wine.


There was a time when I would not even taste a green bean without vinegar on it, and I was appalled and angry that school lunches did not include pickled green beans. My fourth grade teacher made me clean my plate one time and I gagged on every green bean. If only there would have been a shot of vinegar handy! I could have enjoyed recess that day with all the other kids...


As I've matured, my taste in food has also. I rarely crave pickles, seldom buy bologna, and love green beans today without the help of Heinz.


But there are still times when I'll slice an apple, dab it with vinegar and salt and enjoy that sour treat. And of course, cucumbers are not the same without a little rice vinegar added.


Just thinking about vinegar has me wanting to explore and try some more civilized recipes from my Croatian background.


Warm New Potato Salad? 

Sounds perfectly vinegary!