Friday Five-Camping OUT

Mother Laura posted: "Friday Five: Summer Camp
We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime at Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times weeks at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp."

So, here are my camp recollection's:

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
I was sent to day camp one year. It was a strange experience. I think I was too young to understand exactly why I was there and what it was. We did crafts, that weren't exactly art, and thus weren't creative to me, ever the snob-everyone did the same thing-even at that age I didn't like that! I think my parents couldn't afford a traditional camp and I don't remember any of my friends going away to camp, either.

2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
If it doesn't have an bathroom in my room and a chocolate on my pillow, not interested.

3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
Never had the chance, though when I was looking for a job as a counselor, that choice often came up, ;-)

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
Well, we were staying in a nice hotel in the Canadian Rockies, it may have been Lake Louise, and we had the sliding glass door open to our room, when we saw a blur our of the corner of our eye and a chipmunk came running into the room, grabbed the Lindt chocolate from our pillow, and was gone in a flash (true story!) I loved those chocolates, too!

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.

I search you tube under ' camp songs' but was not inspired, so I added a little 'y' and came up with this gem and it cheered me up, so I share it with you! I hope love is in the air for you.

Gone over to the Eastern Side

above
This is the Yantra I chose to work on-It's symbolism is communication but also the need to release stress (YES!)
My friend Laurie and I are taking a class in meditation and painting Yantras. We take these classes every once in awhile, usually at the NY Open Center a haven for open thinking usually about Eastern Thought, Meditation, Budd ism, Art and other topics not found in other venues.

Yantras are ancient Vedic sacred diagrams used to activate healing and centering meditative states. Creating them is both an art and a healing practice. Apparently we will study nine yantra designs that correspond to nine qualities of body and mind essential to well-being: radiance, nourishment, passion, intellect, expansion, bliss, organization, uniqueness and spirituality; and then select, draw and color a yantra design of our choice.

This from the catalog: "From the basic elements of the square, the circle and the triangle, we will discover how to design a dynamic visual meditative diagram, working clockwise from the outer elements towards the central point of stillness, or bindu, the source of happiness within. While we prepare each yantra, an accompanying mantra is recited to fully engage our senses in the meditative process. The mystical energy of yantras connects us with deep facets of our own natures as we create them, and they become empowerment symbols we can then place in our homes." I really like the meditation and chanting part, but the geometry part is getting to me and I have to buy a longer ruler. And some more paint And an eraser. And some Tums.

You Really Must See This!

We'll See How it Turns Out-Monday

"Monday, Monday" with the Mama's and the Papa's