The Narrative Within

Spicy Dreams on Paros

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Art for Housewives

On my way to and from the beach at Livadia, I pass near a spice shop, με τη σεσουλα (“with the scoop”), which sells many spices and herbs predominately from the island. And, having a weakness for spices, I try to be very disciplined and walk by without going in but am not always successful. So, on one of my non-successful days, I walked in and bought a bag of dried St. John’s Wort as well as some dried wormwood. Wow.

με τη σεσουλα (across from The Ancient Cemetery)

I’ve already written about how much more I dream while on Paros (HERE) and that was before The Wort. Now, if you go on internet and look-up St. John’s Wort, you will find that it is often used as an anti-depressant. Luckily, I’ve never had the problem of chronic depression. But I must admit that in the past 3 years, I have had much anxiety in terms of the future. And it’s not psychological as much as it is just Common Sense. The world is getting spOOKier and spOOKier every day with or without my participaton. Of course I worry about myself, but my main consideration is for my kids—will they be able, in the future, to have an income and will they be able to have water. In other words, will they be able to survive. So, with this in mind, I bought these dried leaves and made myself a tea. That night I had a dream so intense that I still remember it. This caused me to go back to the net and look up The Wort in terms of dreams to understand what had animated my animation. And apparently, St. John’s Wort stimulates Vivid Dreams. Many people are into Lucid Dreaming, the awareness that you are dreaming. Not me. When I go to bed at night, all I ask for is a good night’s rest and not something else to think about. Many years ago, I did some dream analyzing where I had to wake up every morning and immediately write down my dreams before I forgot them. What a stress! But one dream in particular gave me needed information. And another time a dream told me where to look for a pair of lost earrings and I found them. But what the real purpose of dreams is we will probably never know.

Dreams are thoughts in disguise.

Walking to Livadia for my swim, I also pass by the Ancient Cemetery (above fotos) which faces the sea. Excavations there revealed some of the most important Aegean funerary monuments dating from the 8th cen. BC until the 3rd century AD.

Related links: Introduction to Sigmund Freud’s Theory on Dreams + The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud (1900)pdf + PAROS+ Paros related links HERE

p.s. Jo of Cranky Ceramics sent this link regarding the use of St. John’sWort while taking medications

Posted in Paros | Tagged Ancient Cemetery of Paros, lucid dreaming, St. John's Wort, vivid dreams | 2 Comments

Mavis Ngallametta and Wonderful Weaving

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Art for Housewives

Mavis Ngallametta

Mavis is the leading elder for the Wik Women Weavers working in Aurukun (Aurukun is an Indigenous community in far North Queensland, Australia). She makes baskets from found fishing nets, raffia and marine rope. Before, her ancestors would make baskets from grasses. I’ve previously posted about making coiled baskets but these made by Mavis have so much soul to them that it was impossible not to post about them.

Mavis
INDIGENOUS ARTISTS BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO GHOST NETS

Basket by Mavis Ngallametta

Making a basic coil basket is not really that difficult. First you need something to coil, like a rope, and then you need to keep the coil in place.

Making a basic coil basket

Hose & cable tie basket at Instructables

The Stories of Aurukun, more artists + Brian Jewett’s ticket bowels + basket made from newspapers tutorial on youtube +

I found out about Mavis’ work thanks to Marisa Ramirez’ tumblr.

Posted in People | Tagged Baskets, coiled baskets, Mavis Ngallametta, Weaving | 1 Comment

Orange Peels and Mosquitoes

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Art for Housewives

«If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito». Dalai Lama

This year the mosquitoes on Paros seem to be particularly huge and animated. I was told it’s because, due to lack of funding, the annual disinfectation did not take place this year.

I generally don’t have any problems with mosquitoes biting me because of the huge quantities of garlic and pepperoncino I eat. But they still come around zizzing totally disrupting my biorhythms.

Mosquitoes are bothersome and useless. Spiders, frogs and lizards may nourish themselves eating them but there are other edible insects as well. Plus mosquitoes not only bite and make you itch, they also can cause malaria.

Looking for a natural repellent, I read that the smell of an orange is repulsive to a mosquito and will keep it away. So you can rub orange peel on your skin and/or burn the peels. To burn the peels, you can make orange candles or use those plug in devices but, instead of the toxic strips, use orange peels cut into rectangles. I also have been spraying around the house a mixture of white vinegar and water that really seems to help.

Recently on Facebook, I’ve been seeing instructions on how to make a mosquito trap so I made one yesterday – will update as to whether or not it works. But this evening, the house seems to be relatively mosquito free!

Quick and Dirty Mosquito Trap

p.s. Jo of CRANKY CERAMICS suggested using carnivorous plants to fight mosquitoes. Sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about these plants but will check the net for additional info.

Posted in Living With Less | Tagged How to, mosquitoes, natural mosquito repellent, Orange peels, Orange skin, Oranges | 14 Comments

Daisy Zamora, Caresses and Rings

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Art for Housewives

On Paros, I read alot more fiction than I do while in Rome. Luckily, my friend Connie has tons of books and has no problems lending them to me. The other day, she suggested I tried reading some poetry, too. That’s how I learned about Daisy Zamora.

Daisy is from Nicaragua and, like Bianca Jagger, is beautiful! And, also like Bianca, she is a political activist. Daisy explains that “A poet must be a witness to her time.” And for this reason, her poetry is flavoured with the sensations caused by the Nicaraguan Revolution. Her father was arrested in an attempted coup against the Somoza dictatorship when Daisy was only four years old.

Connie lent me Riverbed of Memory (City Lights, 1992) and called my attention to a poem entitled “What Hands Through My Hands” (Què Manos A Travès De Mis Manos). It describes the hands of Daisy’s grandparents and of her parents and of her own hands. And it’s this history of hands that leads her to ask:

When I caress your back,
the bony protrusione of your feet,
your long sturdy legs,
what hands through my hands caress you?

So once again, an eulogy to the hands. For without them, we can’t be touched.

Why not embellish those loving hands with some rings?