Food and Inspiration (not necessarily separate)

Nighttime tends to be the time when homesickness hits the hardest, after the day's beauty and distractions wear off.
So naturally Carleigh and I put this nostalgic energy to good use...food!
(Don't worry we get our daily dose of p90x to balance out the addiction)

Here are a few of the creative and incredible dishes we've made so far:

Our own sweet potato fries...with Thousand Island dressing

Ritz filled with peanut butter, dipped in chocolate and frozen

Our favorite carbonated orange drink popsicles

Breakfast for dinner: eggs with sausage, feta, and green peppers

       

In the above photos...Greek yogurt with raspberry jam. 

And we just one upped ourselves grilling peaches and adding Greek yogurt, raspberry jam, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Sometimes words just don't do justice. 

Also, I realize I haven't talked much about school (yes Auntie M, I'm still taking classes!)

Today in my black&white photography class, I FINALLY had my first print from a roll of film I took last week. 

After the many tedious steps I was able to hold in my hands the fruit of my labor and I felt as close as I've ever been to a proud Mom.

To my surprise, my Theory of Art class was the most inspiring class I had today. 

The painting teacher here at HISA, Neva Bergemann, came to speak to our class about her own work and what inspires her..and for the first time I wished I was taking seven classes instead of six so I could be in her class. 

Despite the fact she claimed to speak best through her painting, I found her explanations and quotations just as beautiful. I realize simply writing her quotes won't necessarily convey the inspiration I felt, or explain the context in which she said it, but I write them out of a need to share pieces of that beauty. 

"I tend to paint that which consumes me, in order to understand it"

"There's nothing more permanent than the temporary"-on explaining her trip to Paros turning into living here.

"You paint with your body and mind and soul, sometimes subconsciously" 

"You choose what you want to leave showing, and what you want to hide. All the layers play off each other"-on her background colors mixing in with the subject. I made a connection about the intermixing of the past and present. 

"I'm a happier person when I paint..so he supports that"-on her husband

"Pomegranates, olives, fruit all have almost a human-like sensuality"

"Nothing is just one color"

"Everything is an influence or something to draw on"

"Sometimes you don't need a line, you know that the object ends by what's behind it"

"In pregnancy there are so many opposites. The fears, and the calm and joy. It's the most astonishing experience"

"I wanted to convey the power of a person. A refusal, an embrace. It's meant to be alive"

"The way I had tried to make her be, just wasn't her"-on trying to pose her daughter for a painting

"I'm not trying to change the universe, I just want to represent my world"

"Each time the memory is in a new place, it's not static"-on the trouble of working on the same painting over time. 

Two of her amazing pieces: