Number 6 'Diamonds and Rust' and Joan Baez.

Joan Baez is another musician, singer and songwriter
I have always enjoyed.Her authenticity and 
 commitment to the Peace Movement have never
weakened, and as years have passed I feel that
her voice has grown even better.

   I came across her album'Diamonds and Rust'-years
ago and loved the unique style, the poetry and imagery
within her compositions. The title song has been the most
popular,perhaps because of its connection with
 Bob Dylan, but  the others too I feel have a freshness that
is very appealing.
           Here it is then----nostalgic, sad,and beautiful.
                                                    Mo.

                                                 

Number 5----I can't leave out Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven.'

He is generally recognised as one of the world's
leading guitarists of all time, and I love his songs
 and music.There are so many to choose from but
this song written after the death of his  four year
old son is so poignant,-a beautiful sad love song
among many.

In this performance -1999,  Madison Square Garden
he has been through many dramatic ups and downs,
I feel this is a true, agonised plea for peace of mind.
So moving!
                           Mo.

                                                                           

Just had to sneak in this one too----it's lovely.---enjoy it!

                                                                

And for number 4----- Katie Melua--'The Closest Thing To Crazy.'

The first time I heard this song was on 'The Ultimate Smooth'
 album and I found it so good. I listened from a distance,
not really hearing but being aware of its drawing power.
Later I listened closer to, and found it  really lovely.
Such a clear  voice,  a song that seems to come from the
 soul  with purity, depth of feeling and beautful music and lyrics.

                                                           

Enjoy the song and enjoy the weekend!
                                Mo.

'Groovy Kind of Love' for number 3.

The song today is in lighter mood. So many of the sixties 
songs had this lightness, a lively beat and rhythm,
but still able to convey emotion.'Groovy Kind of Love' is for me
one of those'catchy' numbers that I often find myself
humming to years later.---Good for slower dancing too.
Of the two versions I know, it's the Mindbenders that I hum to,
 I know that the one by Phil Collins is very popular, but for me it's
that more carefree mood that wins the day.Maybe it's nostalgia,--
I don't know, but I know it's the version that I always recall,
and it makes me happy.What  do you think? 

                                               

Wishing you a groovy kind of day!
Mo.
 

Love Song number two-------

 As I said yesterday, I find it impossible to decide on a
limited number of favourites, I love so many, each with its
own unique style and appeal. Some happy, some sad, some
evocative, some haunting,----but to me so memorable in
their own way----

                                                   

The first time I heard 'Annie's Song' it was James Galway
on the flute, and it was so beautiful that it moved me to tears.
It was wonderful to then hear John Denver and realise that the
lyrics are just as effective as the melody.The simple, natural metaphors
touch the soul. Somehow it's a song that I just couldn't
leave off my long list!

                                                   


Hoping that they both make your day lighter!
                                          Mo.
                                                 

                                                    



                      

A week of love songs------and number one is-----

I decided that I'm in need of some relaxation,
inspiration and motivation, so what better than
 a week of Love Songs? I am certainly motivated
 and inspired, the trouble is with the relaxation side.
Songs and tunes keep tumbling into my head by the dozen,
 they go on and on  and on-----! So I've decided to choose
 them  fairly randomly, not as absolute favourites
 in an ordered way ,-simply songs that I love and enjoy,
songs that  let me feel happy and  uplifted,----


                                                       

The first time I heard this I felt it was different from their usual style,
the same clarity and simplicity though.I love the lyrics and ofcourse in its
simplicity it lends itself to various interpretations. I heard a later
version by Paul, and I felt that It was spoilt by too heavy backing.
Just can't complain about Ray Charles' version quite a contrast. ---hope you enjoy them!----I'd love to know your choices.
                                     Mo.

                                                        

                                                 
                                                                                                

TODAY'S PAINTING------a mandala for keeping cool ----and some cool jazz.

'So Cool.'----acrylic on stretched canvas18"x24"

This time of the year here in Malta is that time of transition

in terms of the weather. Each year I face the same predicament.

Our flat faces north and is cold; round the corner, the apartments face

 south and a totally different scene weatherwise. There it is hot!

Not just hot, -very hot.Walking out becomes difficult

as to what to wear.Start off with sweater

and soon perspiration is pouring.Wear a sun top

and on returning to the flat I am rushing to find warm woollies.

On off, on off is the theme.------

However soon, and suddenly our flat will betransformed,----

it becomes very very hot! You see as well as facing north 

it is also a penthouse, so during the summer months

 the sun beats dow on the roof relentlessly.Forgotten are those

cold winter days spent longing for the heat

now it becomes an even stronger longing for those cool

autumn breezes.We humans are a contrary lot aren't we?

Never satisfied!

Anyway, I'm taking the positive approach and getting ready.

Hot pinks and reds in the sittng room are now being

replaced with soft greens to cool the atmosphere;

and this applies to paintings too.The mandala painting above

can simply be enjoyed or used as a  focus

for meditation.So if the heat grows to unbearable heights

I'll just 'switch off', slow down, and take a lovely cooling trip into

 the centre, where I can bathe in the waters of imagination

and enjoy a refreshing, revitalising peace.

and then, maybe a little cool jazz.

Ad just incase I am sounding ungracious and ungrateful

please know that I am talking lightly -not

over-seriously. Look at this morning's sunrise,

with its shades of pink melting into a silver sea.

How could I look at this beauty and not feel from

deep in my soul a gratitude for the wonderful

blessings of nature?

Mo.

What amazing talent! ---Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye.

 It's monday morning and it is dull, dismal and rainy here!
So let's have something uplifting, inspiring and light.
If anyone can chase away the clouds---
(I was about to say 'blues!')-  these two can..
What amazing talent these two characters had.
They were larger than life both of them,
with their smooth animated style,
 and their love of life simply radiates. ----I love them both,
and I love this  performance.So if you need  an energy boost,-try this:-

Mo.

My painting and prayer for Pentecost.

Dove of Peace.

Today on the beautiful feast of Pentecost(Whitsunday)

my prayer is that the Holy Spirit comes again as promised,

with all the fire of his love, to refesh and re-energise us

as that New Creation who will finally restore the world to everything

it should be, -everything it really is.

 Mo.

As an afterthought I've added a repeat of 'Una Paloma Blanca' -as  I

feel that the lyrics and symbolism of this lovely tune synchronise perfectly with the theme of Whitsunday.

----and what a beautiful sunrise this morning----full of hope and promise.

 Mo.

                                                                                                                                                                        

Super-organised------I'm sorry, -not me!

How I would love to be one of those super-organised tidy people

the neat,smooth types, calm, unruffled, with never a room out

of place let alone a drawer. Oh no! Their drawers  and cupboards

 are ordered with meticulous, streamlined efficiency, colour co-ordinated, and sweetly fragranced too. Every room gleams, cushions are plumped, and

 each tasteful ornament is carefully placed-----and dusted!

I have to say that my untidiness hasn't quite sunk to the

level of the picture above, it's more of an occasional clutter

 that serruptitiously grows and suddenly closes in on me so to speak.

We have the computer in the bedroom, and I work here with

books and papers that seem to grow into accumulations

of unnecessary piles.It's only when they reach precarious heights

that I attack them with a vengeance, resolving as I do so

never to let this disorder enter my life again.As for the bookshelves

well, maybe my longstanding allergy to dust stems from a

deep seated subconscious aversion to the activity of dusting.

Anyway I will continue to try to reach better levels ;

on the other hand it may be wiser to approach the whole

theme with balance and caution,----I may end up with a worse

problem:-O.C.D.----obsessive compulsive disorder syndrome,

and I'm sure that would be worse.

Mo.

Messy Room by Shel Silverstein.

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!

His underwear is hanging on the lamp.

His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair

And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.

His workbook is wedged in the window,

His sweater's been thrown on the floor.

His scarf and one ski are beneath the T.V.

And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.

His books are all jammed in the closet,

His vest has been left in the hall.

A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed.

And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!

Donald or Robert or Willie or-----

Huh? You say it's mine? Oh dear,

I knew it looked familiar!

.

Joey's favourite.------back to the sixties!

 Joey- (of the coffee shop) is frequently reminiscing

about the music of the sixties,-playing it too.Ofcourse I love this

because for me there is no music like sixties music. 

I know that one of his favourites is Paul Anka, and I recently

 came across a video that I am sure Joey will enjoy.

 So----- for Mary and Joey, to thank them for all our welcome

morning cappuccinos and their good company.------

Then----



----and now.----2007



Happy Listening!
Mo.

Loneliness-----a recurring theme today?-----Imagine------

How can it be that today, with our development of

 mass media and communication, that I am strongly aware

of the theme of loneliness recurring  so often?

This doesn't seem to apply only to those people living alone,

it touches the lives of old and young, rich and poor,

sick and healthy.Recently a youngish friend, living a seemingly

actively social life said to me with feeling---'but we are all lonely

aren't we?'

Is this because in the midst of an increasingly materialistic, bureacratic

de-personalised society we are losing the ability to

trust each other, to reach out wih a real caring and

sharing, a warmth and love that lets each other feel safe,

secure, needed and cherished.Is there too much surface

feeling, too much superficial caring,  too much convincing

ourselves that we are loving and living realistically,

too much manipulation of what is true,

too much looking after ourselves?

How tragic if our world develops in this way!

For me, the only way through this is to constantly be aware,

-to try each day to reach out  wih  genuine warmth

unconditionally,to feel deeply that we all need this

real sense of belonging with each other;

to nurture trust, appreciating that it is a quality so fundamental

to a breaking down of fear, suspicion, isolation, and loneliness

that there always has to be sincerity and truth  in all that

is said and done.----Not an easy way sometimes, but I believe

it to be the only true way.

Mo.

'Tulips' are today's painting.-----Grace, elegance, and perfect love.

'Tulips.' ----acrylic and oil pastel on boxed stretched canvas----60x60 cms.

Tulips are not my favourite flowers, sometimes in rows

 in a garden they seem too orderly, too exact and precise,

yet when they open out in full bloom I find them really  beautiful.

They are very satisfying to paint though.There is something

 about their uncluttered simplicity of line and form

that inspires me. Often that soft sheen, that semi-translucent

lustre when caught in the sunlight,is captivating .

The clear colours  a delight too, ranging from the

purest white to the passionate depth of crimson.

Sometimes I see each one as a chalice, the black, velvety

depth sheltering the essence - that individual quality

that each flower holds.

The symbolism is fitting too; grace, elegance, and perfect love.

But then all flowers are smbolic in their own uniqueness,-and all

have a beauty that belongs entirely to them.---What would life be without them?

Mo.

'The temple bell stops, but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.'

Basho.

Monday morning-----say no more!!

                                                               Mo.

A salute to the sun---and life.-----with yellow socks!

They drove up just after sunrise the other morning

the old couple in the Beetle car. Theirs was not as 'flashy'

 as the one above, more a well-kept 1972 model, with a rollback

top and rather dusty, faded paintwork;-eye

catching none the less.They parked just below us

close to the sea.

She was a sturdy looking woman strikingly dressed in

flowing  Summer kaftan  and matching sun visor. He -

much more frail, shuffling along laboriously until she

placed him gently on a nearby bench in the shade of the tall palm.

There he sat peacefully, while she strode purposefully to the sea

kaftan flowing.------With firm strokes out she swam,

turning to wave now and then and he responding

with a smile and an uplifted arm. There

he sat,dosing a little, head nodding, jaunty hat a touch askew.

jazzy summer shirt, and yes----bright canary yellow socks!

Somehow it was the socks that brought a lump to my throat.

Back she came, visor and kaftan  elegantly in place,wakened him

gently and helped him into the car.Off they drove, top rolled back

 to let in the breeze. In that moment I had no doubt as to what next.

---A good place to dine, alfresco ofcourse;somewhere with

a lovely view.Here they would  recline,relax, and sip

chilled,sparkling Prosecco,---in fluted glasses ofcourse.

Such a sweet, sad, funny, touching moment,---

.what a brave salute to the Sun and Life.

I found myself wishing them well and praying that their 

joie de vivre will long continue.

Mo.

                                                                         

Painting for today----'Blossom Time.'-----and oh----that lilac!

                        Here in Malta, Spring can be such a lovely time.
                        A time  when the air is fresh and gently warming.
                        It's a transitional moment  held softly between the
                       cold winter winds and the intense summer heat.

                                 Suspended in time, this moment.
                                  Held in light with beauty
                                   so fragile it lifts Eternity into it
                                    and blossoms in perfect incandescence.
                                                                 

I have to say though that I miss Spring in England, especially in a
 little English garden where the blackbird sings his early morning song
and the Mother thrush is out digging for worms. The cherry blossoms
 scatter the grass and oh - the scent of the lilac! That unforgettable
sweet , nostalgic scent, ----how I miss it!
                                                  Mo.


Painting-  ' BlossomTime.'-----Watercolour and oil pastel.

                        
                                                             

FOOD---GENETICALLY MODIFIED----safe or not?

                                                                                    

I was concerned to read in monday's issue of The Times of Malta
 that John Dalli,  European Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner
has accused opponents of his decision to allow cultivation of
 genetically modified potatoes,of scaremongering.

'It seems that instinctive fear  and suspicion has taken hold
among European consumers due to scaremongering----'

              How sad that a politician in that position should
make a blanket statement such as this.One feels that he must 
be completely unaware and uninformed that there are many
intelligent, rational, moderate people, -scientists among them
who are gravely concerned about the dangers of the development
of genetically modified food.  Are they not considered justified in
voicing their opinion?

It would seem that Mr. Dalli is prepared to disregard anything
that gets in the way of innovation.

'.We cannot be responsible for reducing Europe to an innovation backwater.'

I feel this is a worrying statement!

As for me, I feel that any development, scientific or otherwise that
interferes with the natural rhythm, order, pattern
and cyclical  system of the planet, infact the cosmos,
 is touching on the unknown in a way that is potentially
extremely dangerous for Humanity.

I hear that the next topic on the European Committee's agenda
is to be 'Animal Cloning.' !
                                 Mo.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Food and healing.

                                                                

        I've always been interested in eating in a simple healthy way, long 
before it became fashionable to do so. I try never to become fanatical,
or make a fetish out of eating, I just believe that we have been
 provided with food in natural abundance ,and that if we were
 able to work with nature to preserve  and nurture this, seeing that
 everyone had enough, then the world would  certainly be a happier place.  

I feel too that food should be  enjoyed in its natural, unadulterated 
state, and that meals should become part of the rhythm of life and living.
It seems that this pressurised society  encourages 'instant eating'
with no time for appreciation, relaxation,and a sense of communion with others.
 How sad  when many cultures we would call primitive  regard meal eating 
as a sacred ritual and truly understand the need to love and respect food.  

                                                            

I came across this video as a simple introduction to whole foods and
 I like the uncomplicated, straightforward approach.Annemarie Colbin has a doctorate in the subject yet she is able to convey her message simply and without fuss. Her website is interesting,----a lot of information here.Her books look interesting too, I'm especially drawn to the latest theme -'Whole Foods for Strong Bones.-a Holistic Approach.
                         http://www.foodandhealing.com/

So  take a look if you have time, I'm sure you will find
something to interest you.
                                           Mo.
 

Monday morning------but I'm thinking positive thoughts!

                                                                            
   Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.    Perez Prado and orchestra.

       IIt's monday morning again!----and before I start complaining
and thinking about all those negative possibilities that could
emerge, I'm turning my thoughts to all things positive.

I have much to be thankful for. This morning began with a peaceful'
early walk by the sea.Still dark but a rosy dawn just peeping
through and  gentle stirrings of bird -song.----A leisurely breakfast,
and all the signs of a beautiful Spring day with the sky now a beautiful
cloudless blue.

Spring ofcourse means blossoms, and later on the way to the studio
blossoms will line our way.The oleander, the mimosa and the 'heady'
scent of the 'mock orange',-philadelphus I think it is.

So what does it matter if there is some intrusion of inevitable
noise and clutter later in the day? I will take these beautiful moments
 of sight,, sound and smell to invigorate me as and when I can,
appreciating them fully for their energy and refreshment.

And indeed what better way to add to this than by taking
a few minutes to soak myself in that catchy tune
by the Cuban Perez  Prado and his famous orchestra,----I know
that I'll be humming it all day,---and you may even catch
 me dancing down the street!
                            Mo.

Sunday morning--- songs and scenes.

                    ;

                               Joe has been teaching himself the guitar and one

                                of the songs he has been practising is the lovely song

                               'Una Paloma Blanca'. I came across the seventies hit

                                by George Baker and his band and I love

                                the pace and simplicity of their interpretation.

                                It is sad to know that they 'split up' in 1978 due

                               to pressure. In this video they seem to be genuinely

                               enjoying the experience.How terrible that so many,

                               beginning careers with joyful anticipation become

                              increasingly dominated by media, agents,

                              public demand etc. and lose the initial joy of creating

                               something they love.I feel that we are seeing this

                              more and more today in a world where the prime motive

                               is money,---to me this just doesn't make sense.

                               Anyway, this song has brought joy to many,
                           and I hope it brings you some too this Sunday morning.

Sunday morning sky.

Sunday morning -coffee shop scenes with Mother's Day flowers.

Have a good day!

Mo.