Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas all you readers

I will be taking a short break from the blog, until January 4th, 2013.

Love, Joannexx

Late Night Soup

     I am on a diet but I sensed I was losing weight too fast and it felt too much to be safe so I am up again at 10.20 p.m. making potato-onion soup with bay leaf and rosemary and milk.

Quip of the Day

      Sometimes I hear a song and think, "That poor singer didn't get enough breastfeeding when they were a baby".

Mr. Postman

     Once upon a time there was an ant known as Mr. Postman.  He did his job in a lively sort of way.  He trundled along with his mail.
     One day he met a bee.  It stung him.  End of story you think, but no, he finished his route and went home and lay in bed, sneezing and coughing, for it had given him a cold, that bee.  Amen to that you think, but no, he lived and was much the wiser.  He never met with a bee again, you think, but yes.  But he avoided them like a plague.  Amen to that you think, but no, he had to as part of his job, for they were on his route and had to receive mail too.  

Journal

     Yesterday I noticed that my health was better than usual and has been for most of the last week, ever since I have been drinking Stinging Nettle Herb Tea every day.

Easy Reader: The Printer

      I have a printer.

      The machine makes a whirring sound.

      The light goes on.

      The paper is in the right place, I'm told.

      But somehow, it won't print.

      I don't know what's wrong.

Christmas Party

     I attended a Christmas Party today.  It was at the Mental Health Clinic and I was invited because I am mentally ill.  (I'm much better than I was...I've made a great improvement.  I'm no longer lying on my bed wondering what to do with the rest of my life, I'm doing it!)  The food was very good and I met two of my friends.  Then I went home you think, but no, then I went to an artist's materials store and bought canvas stretchers to put my canvas on, to make a painting!

Song Of The Train Driver

     I love to hear the sound of a train.  Last night I heard a train and here is what the train driver seemed to sing to me.  Sing it to the tune of "Clementine".

You are not going through the veil, dear,
Though you think you're going through the veil.
It is just the sound of a train, dear,
And you're so elated
You think you're going through the veil.

Journal

     Yesterday I made Christmas presents.  I was all tuckered out afterward and didn't even have puff to sew a 1940s Retro dress for myself.  Eventually it will get finished.

My Favourite Book This Month: Letters From My Windmill by Alphonse Daudet

     When I want a special treat, I oft times go on the Web to the site of the Gutenburg project and read from an online translation of a book by French poet Alphonse Daudet, entitled Letters From My Windmill (Lettres De Mon Moulin).  It is exciting, funny and wise.  It is also a refreshing change, being from a different culture and time in history than I am used to reading about.

Easy Reader: The Tudor Lady

     Once upon a time, there was a little girl.

     She had a homework assignment she couldn't complete.

     It was easy to some, but not to her.

     At ten o'clock at night, when all her other work was done, she came to it.

     "How do I do this, Mummy?"  she quipped.

     Mummy didn't know why she was crying.

     She asked her why.

     "Because I don't know how to make a costume collage of a Tudor lady."

      Her mother helped her and it was done.

    

Journal

     At dinner last night with two of my boys, Paul and Somerset, I asked them to tell me about a movie they had just seen, The Hobbit.  I thought I would like to read the book again.
     For Family Home Evening, we made up our own version of The Twelve Days Of Christmas.  We put up a Christmas tree and made rice pudding for treat.

Temper Tantrums And Where They Go

      I find a solution to temper tantrums is in words to the self.  So instead of screaming and crying,  or jumping up and down, I say, "Just be patient", in a calming sort of voice and the temper tantrum doesn't happen.

Adventures I Had At U.B.C.

     When I arrived at the bus terminal on my first day at the University of British Columbia in 1980, I thought wistfully, "I wonder why I'm here - I wanted to be at Art School".  But U.B.C. turned out to be an adventure.
      First I went around campus and collected cards from all the courses I wanted to take that year - that was how they did registration in those days.  My choices for first year were Sociology/Anthropology (The Inuit), English - the professor died and I was so sad, Portuguese which has increased my appreciation of Samba songs, Linguistics and Psychology.
      I loved to sit in the Arts lounge with my friends during a break.  When people saw me on campus, they didn't know quite what to expect.  I changed my appearance so often, someone said, "If you see someone you don't recognize, it's probably Joanne!"
      Some other courses I attended later on were Spanish 100 and 200 (200 had a fabulous professor and I took it over the summer semester when the weather was nice), 300 and 400 level Spanish courses (Spanish was my major) in Literature - I especially enjoyed reading the poetry of artist and flamenco dancer Federico Garcia Lorca, another Linguistics course, Art, Swedish, Theatre Stage Set Design and Costume Design, Classical Studies - the myths and legends of Greece, and Astronomy and Geophysics.
     I had a wonderful time in Dance Club of U.B.C. as well and in Amnesty International.

Chocolatey Fingers On My Wedding Album

     I let my children look at my wedding album with chocolatey fingers and I'm sure it has made them do well in school!  You may not believe me, but I think it helped them feel free to be themselves.

Acting

     When I was younger I attended Simon Fraser University for a short time.  What a splendid place that is.
      One of the courses I attended was an acting course where I performed a short monologue of an immigrant talking to customs officials at Ellis Island.  I remember feeling embarrassed skipping around the class singing On The Good Ship Lollipop on another occasion.  One day my class partner and I were rehearsing a squabble we had been assigned to act, while we happened to be in the washroom.  Another student came in to use the washroom and not realizing we were acting, thought I was really telling my partner off for real!  Suddenly I paused and said, "Oh, no, I've forgotten my lines!"  and then she realized we were just acting!  So funny.
     The other courses I attended there were: The History Of The Theatre which was marvellous.  We had lectures downtown and also watched thirteen plays of our choice at the Fringe Festival which was exciting.  At the end of the course we got to hand in our stream-of-consciousness notes in which we wrote whatever we were thinking about during the plays (this freed me up for a long time from years of torment from writer's block) and a wish-list of what we would like to see in the theatre in the future.
      Also included was a Theory Of Music course which I also enjoyed, where we got to fill out a workbook which was fun, and write a theory exam and an exam where we had to play the piano briefly (I was so nervous I fainted forwards towards the keyboard and just caught myself).  We learned a bit about composition which I found exciting.  Later I attended a Contemporary Music course where we got to choose the topic for our term paper.  I chose Klezmer.  We also listened to a variety of music and had lectures on it, and attended an early music concert and wrote an essay on what we heard.

Journal

     Last night two of my boys, Brigham and Somerset, and I attended the Ward Christmas Party (a ward is a congregation).  The dinner was delicious and I specially noted the coleslaw salad which contained cilantro, which is a favourite of mine.  I sang in Spanish.  It was nice to have something to contribute.
    
      Today I attended the Temple with my daughter and other family members came too, later.  Joy filled our day.  When I returned home I started baking focaccia bread and making lasagne for supper.  The kitchen smells good!

Chislehurst Caves

     One of the places my mother used to take visitors to see when we lived in England was Chislehurst Caves.  It was the spookiest place I've ever been.

Drinking Ginger Ale In Norway

      One year while my family and I were living in Sweden, we paid a short visit to the neighbouring country of Norway.  A family we stayed with had a daughter who showed me the trick to drinking ginger ale through my nose.  Oh how I wish I hadn't tried that!

Things My Mum Did For Christmas

     My Mum is gone now, but when she was alive, she did these things for Christmas:  she baked mince pies, bought a Christmas pudding, made turkey with all the trimmings, gave us presents, took us to church for a carol service on Christmas eve.
     One Christmas when I was quite young we lived in a big old house in England and I had the idea of peeking at the Christmas presents during the night.  Oh dear!  Mum had wisely locked the door to the room with the tree and presents in it, but the kitchen had a cupboard in it which went through to the living room where the presents were.  I snuck into the kitchen at about 2 a.m. in my jammies and housecoat and quietly slid the dishes out of one of the shelves and onto the kitchen table, and then slid myself into the living room and peeked at the presents!!  I was quite slim in those days.  My parents were not very pleased the next morning.  Oops!!!

Journal

     I practiced a song ready for the Christmas party.

Every Christmas Is Special

     Every Christmas has been special, but this Christmas I made homemade Christmas wrapping paper and homemade Christmas cards for my children.  I used a stamp and felt tip pens on art paper.

Journal

     Last night I attended a very nice meeting for the women of my church, the Relief Society Christmas meeting.  There was carol singing and treats including my favourite crab dip with crackers.  We sang The Twelve Days Of Christmas with new words with religious meaning from LDS Living Magazine.  We played a Christmas trivia game and we chatted with the sisters.

Skating In Sweden

     When I was a little five year old, we lived in Sweden for a short time.  While I was there I went skating and skiing.  The playground at a local school froze over and that is where the Swedish children I knew went skating.  I earned two diplomas in skiing.
     Another thing about winter in Sweden is there is very little light.  Flowers do not grow, so to brighten things up, the winter open air market in Stockholm featured brightly coloured feathers, dyed different shades to put in vases at home and beautify the dwellings of the people.

Adam And Eve

Journal

     I awoke in the night for a while and read a book, The Incredible Dream, by flashlight because my power had gone out in the lamp by my bedside.  I learned about all kinds of things.

Heaven - sent Blessings

1.  First of all, I want to say that I'm thankful for my piano.  I play it every time I can so that Heavenly Father might let me keep it, because I know sometimes He takes away blessings if we don't use them properly.
2.  I am of course most thankful for my family.  I love our family.
3.  I am thankful for rainy days.  They provide variety in our lives, as well as moisture for the crops.
4.  I am thankful for my eternal companion, wherever he is these days.  (He is my future husband, in case you were wondering who I meant by my eternal companion.)
5.  I am thankful for Konos, the homeschooling curriculum.
     That's it for today, folks!

Journal

     Yesterday I did laundry and attended Family Home Evening with my family.  We had a lesson on breaking through self-limitations, the treat was a fruit smoothie, and the activity was a video -The Legend Of Johnny Lingo.  It made us laugh.
     Today I got some work.  Hurray.  I dried some dishes and helped decorate a Christmas tree.

Burns Lake Special

     When I was in my thirties, I was married with children.  One day my husband and I decided to go to Vancouver to visit relatives.  We were living in Burns Lake at the time, in central British Columbia, fifteen hours drive away from Vancouver.
     While we were there we stayed at a relative's house and I attended private dance classes with Flamenco dancer Rosario Ancer.  Her husband played the guitar.  James, my husband, videotaped the classes whilst my son Brigham, a toddler, toddled around the dance floor.  Rosario called these classes Burns Lake Specials.

Brigham's Antics

     When I was a young mum, my son Brigham was always into things, he was so curious and intelligent.
     One day, when he wanted to be funny, he made his first sandwich, while I was on the phone.  He got bread, retrieved the mustard out of the fridge and made a mustard sandwich and ate it. I have it on camera and here it is.
     Another time he tried opening a canning jar by punching it to get the pickles out.  Nothing happened.  I opened it for him.
     On another occasion I found him with an orange and a can opener.  He was trying to get the peel off.  Amen.

Easy Reader: Olives

     My mother told me that mice come and eat your food if you leave it out.

     Later she left out about seventeen olives on a plate for visitors.

     They hadn't arrived yet.

     She went out of the room.

     I didn't want the mice to eat them.

     I was four years old.

     When she returned, all the olives were gone.

     I had been munching on them, I said.

     All seventeen green stuffed olives.

The Gypsy Dancer

      When I was young, I took a trip to Seville.  I travelled on the train and boat down from England.
      In Seville I did some art.  When it came time to return home, I still had not achieved my mission of attending Spanish Flamenco dance classes.
     At the station was a gypsy girl.  She had a bucket with which she was begging for money to make a trip to Madrid, the capital city, to live with her grandmother.  There she was going to make a living as a Flamenco dancer.
     We boarded the train and she sat opposite me.  She told me her story.  I shared my lunch with her of crystallized gourd and pears.
     At Madrid, she alighted from the train.  I travelled on to Paris, where I changed trains and took a boat across the Channel to England.  I arrived in England cold and wet and hungry.  My Aunt Gwen put me up for the night.  We parted company and I took the train to London where I attended classes with Flamenco dance teacher Tani Morena.
     About that time, I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called on a mini-mission (in London).  I went back to say goodbye to my teacher Tani.

Journal

     Yesterday was Stake Conference at church.  It was all most uplifting.

Journal

     I'm so dull, I know, but I'm sick again!!!

Once Upon A Time There Was A Potter

      Once upon a time there was a big potter with a big, bad attitude problem.  She had her quirks, dear.  She lived upon an island and kept pigs.  Once a year she went carolling.  Apart from that she didn't do much and people looked down on her, thinking she hasn't much money and what does she know.  But she thought she had the most exciting life of the lot.  After all, she had a lot of enemies.  They used to come after her and try to get her, but she always got away in time.  She was basically a good-hearted person underneath it all and was warned of danger.  Somehow she was always saved.

Journal

     I was inspired to pray to be filled with light, love and well-being.  This helped me feel better.

~

     I peeled and chopped 5 apples to make homemade apple sauce as we are eating latkes tomorrow for lunch.  While the apples were cooking, I danced to music on the stereo.

Easy Reader: How I Used To Skive Off School

     When I was at school (a long time ago) I used to skive off school.

     I used to pretend I was sick when I was just sick of school.

     I used to stay home and take the whole day off.

     Other days I would go to school and suddenly fake sickness at Gym time.

     I skived off recess in the playground and hid in the library.

     I once skived off an particularly long essay I had to write on the History of Art.

    

Easy Reader: Abbotsford

     Abbotsford has a cheery smile in the clouds.

     It has the most beautiful clouds I've ever seen.

     There is a special quality about the light.

     It is unlike the light anywhere else I've ever been.

     The City in the Country.

     That's what it is called.

Journal

     I had a good day yesterday at the Temple.  When I returned home I washed the floors.  I suddenly felt so much energy, the most I'd felt in months, that I went for a fast walk (usually my walks are very slow!)  Had an excellent sleep, and felt much purpose in life, which is always a nice way to start the day.  I've been praying for ideas.

The Scandalous Man Who Had Many Wives And Didn't Treat Them Fairly (Puppet Show)

Transcript:  Once upon a time there was a scandalous man who had so many wives he didn't know what to do with himself.  He didn't treat them all alike.  He treated each one worse than the last.  Eventually they all rebelled and ran away.

Dressmaking (Puppet Video)

Journal

     I've got two more Youtube videos to make to make it to my goal of fourteen Youtube videos.  The ones I've made already are:

1.  Part one of Songwords Of Birds And Planes
2.  Part two
3.  Part three
4.  3 Paintings
5.  The Waiting Room
6.  Grandpa
7.  Puppet Alphabet
8.  Okano Puppets In Switzerland
9.  Embarrassing Tales From My Youth
10.  Caring For Sick Ole Grandma
11.  Mr. Seaweed's Song To His Wife
12.  The Princess And The Conjuror

     Yesterday I continued making a modelling clay sculpture of a little girl holding a cat under a blossom tree.

Embarrassing Tales From My Youth (Puppet Video)

Three Paintings by Joanne Okano

Journal

     My sink drain blew again, after Brigham so kindly washed the dishes, and my landlord came back to fix it again.
      I cleaned out the fridge, and found a few surprises, as one usually does.

Children, Don't Worry

     Once upon a time there was a happy family.
     One day the boy in the family, Patrick, said a surly thing to his Ma.  She knew he loved her but he was just a little surly to her because she didn't listen to him.  He'd had it.
     She knew he meant well, but he was so hard on himself.  He thought she didn't love him anymore, for why would she?  he surmised.
     She wrote him a note to tell him she loved him, just incase he forgot.  So children, don't worry if you make a mistake.  Parents still love you and want the best for you.  Amen.

Journal

     On Friday night, I had yet another night without a boyfriend.  But on Saturday, I had a wild adventure.  I overslept.  No, that was Sunday.  I missed part of church.  Oops!

Journal

     Paul washed the dishes and was unplugging the sink afterwards with the plunger, when the drain blew and water came out on the floor.  My landlord came immediately when he found out about this and fixed it.