MIKELL'S HIDDEN TREASURES
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Treasures from Carrie

2/28/2018

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" . . . for all the beauty you add to the world, and to my life especially  . . . "

I can't imagine a better way to describe Carrie's gift to me than the sentiment she included (above) in the gorgeous card she created.  Just look at the way she has packaged these treasures! The attention to detail and the intricate laces are pure delight. 

A few weeks ago I was painting roses and there was a photograph of the vase Nancy gave me in one of  the pictures. Carrie mentioned that she had the tray to match it. It never occurred to  me that she would pack it up and send it! She included a card, an embroidered linen doily, a crabapple candle that smells good enough to eat, and a candle holder adorned with stars and berries!  

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The Zen of Seeing - Dr. Frederick Franck

2/28/2018

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.​Dr. Frederick Franck is an author, artist, and oral surgeon but even more notably, a spiritualist.  He sees the sacred in the everyday beatify of life, and uses seeing and drawing as meditation. ​He worked  with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa to provide services to those in need.
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Hiroshima - The Unkillable Human
This sculpture depicts a man's silhouette flashing against a wall when the nuclear bomb was dripped.
One of Dr. Frederick Franck's sculptures in the Peace Garden in Harrisburg, PA 
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Frederick Franck has been on my mind recently for several reasons. 


First, we passed his sculptures at the Peace Garden in Harrisburg along the Susquehanna River several times when I visited Pennsylvania recently. I've painted his sculptures numerous times over the years - with vibrant spring and summer floral plantings, the earth tones of autumn, and stark black, grays and whites of winter. All were given as gifts over the years, but the photos above will give you an idea of the power of his work,  
The Peace Garden was created in 1990 by the Harrisburg/Hershey chapter  of the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). The garden was created in response to a speech given in Hiroshima by Dr. Bernard Lown, President of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which earned a Nobel Peace Prize. The garden features three sculptures that remind us of the devastating destruction, yet also acknowledge the continuation of life and the human spirit in spite of inhumane decisions. 
Second, I'm including several of his quotes in my overview of my course on Exploring Rainbows this spring. He makes a differential between looking and seeing, and notes that we would fall to our knees in horror if we really saw what was on the evening news.
​We have become desensitized, but that's another post. 
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"Merely looking at the world around us is
 immensely different from seeing it."
​"When the eye wakes up to see again, it suddenly
stops taking anything for granted."
~ Dr. Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing

Third, his book practically fell off the shelf when i was in my office today. Books have frequently jumped off shelves to get my attention - in bookstores, libraries, my own book shelves. One even saved my life and that is not an exaggeration. When books jump,, I pay attention. So for today's treasure, I am sharing my long time love affair with the work of Frederick Franck. 

If you aren't familiar with his work, I suggest you consider looking him up. And if you really see his messages, instead or merely looking at his words, you'll see life in a whole new way. 
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Birthday Weekend!

2/24/2018

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Mycenea brought me a gorgeous bouquet of roses!

"Orange roses - a literal mixture of yellow and red, orange roses 
were seen as a bridge between friendship symbolized by yellow roses and love represented by red roses. They can be an expression of fascination, or a gift to say 'I'm proud of you."  Aw! Hope so!
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Mycenea, Nancy and I met for dinner at Rockbass and shared appetizers and desserts as well as lively conversation. The food and view were divine. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Harrisburg. 
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The Millennium Music Conference featured almost 400 artists and bands through the Harrisburg area. Mycenea's band, Pleiades, with Ross Kennedy and Chuck Kembring, was featured at 10:00 p.m. at the Coliseum on my birthday! A once in a lifetime gift and a memories I cherish!
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Our stay at City House Bed and Breakfast gave us easy access to both the east and west shores. There was a peaceful serene feeling throughout with gorgeous views of the beautiful Susquehanna River!
Our trip was overflowing with fun that ended much too soon! Thank you to Nancy for planning weeks ahead to ensure that my birthday would be filled with memorable moments!

The festivities continues when I returned home! Mycala took me to the Melting Pot for a full course fondue experience!  We had cheddar cheese fondue with veggies, breads and applies followed by the house garden salad. Next came surf and turf with a variety of vegetables and six sauces. The meal ended with Pure Chocolate fondue with cookies, cakes, marshmallows, strawberries, pineapple and bananas. Bliss!
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This morning I journaled on my new couch, enjoying my roses! One of the best parts about going away is coming home!
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More Roses

2/21/2018

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Today I decided to paint roses on the journal I made before giving it as a gift. The rose on the cover also has the recipient's name so I'm not going to share it because I don't want to take the chance that she might see it. She has no idea it's coming!
But I will show you the rose I painted on the first page of the journal next to the lace pocket. I love the way it turned out. It has a raised effect. I was delighted that it didn't seep through the hand made papers. The paper has such a delicate look but will be perfect for journaling, and I can be assured that pens and paints won't seep through!
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Also painted and sent out a few cards today - one to a friend whose mother just passed, a get well card, a birthday card and one to send congratulations.  It seems there are reasons to send them as quickly as the paint meets the paper. Roses are appropriate for so many occasions. 
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Inspiration

2/20/2018

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Creative Thinking

2/19/2018

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The snow has melted but yesterday's snowmen parade is still on my mind. Creativity changes everything.
We have had a series of car break-ins in our neighborhood and a few more disturbing incidents. The neighbors have rallied and there have been no further incidents for several weeks. Community camaraderie and yesterday morning's surprise have given me renewed hope. 

Yesterday's gift has prompted me to repost a section of something I wrote previously about creativity.

My most valuable aha in regard to the power of creative thinking occurred in Washington D.C. when we attended Colin Powell's celebration of the 100 Best Communities to raise young people in the country. Harrisburg, PA was proud to be included - we won twice - and the highlight of one trip was listening to the stories about other winning communities across the nation. 

The one that most impressed me was a group of young people from a  town in West Virginia in economic decline. Coal mining had been their main source of revenue, but it was no longer lucrative and the young people were leaving their families and friends to find work in other areas. There was a sense of hopelessness as more and more people left, having given up on revitalizing the town. Their paradigm was the only way to make a living there was through coal mining.

Could anything be done in a coal mine other than mining coal? They began to consider the characteristics of the mines and a young man in junior high discovered that the temperature in a coal mine was ideal for raising fish. A new industry was born and the town began to thrive. Families were able to stay together and the quality of life improved by quantum leaps. 

We underestimate the value. Had you considered one creative thought from a middle school student could have the capacity to impact the economy of an entire town for generations to come? I hadn't, until I heard their story. 

Creativity goes far beyond arts and crafts, music, and our traditional limited associations. It can change economics, improve our perceptions about the value of a community, and guide us to health focused - iinstead of illness and medical focused - lives, We can learn to see the world and ourselves differently. And through those perceptions, if we take action, even in seemingly simple ways, we can make the world a better place. 

One of my favorite creative thinkers is Roger von Oech. His books have been around for decades but his suggestions have yet to be incorporated into most of our daily lives.  If you haven't had the pleasure, I think you'll be delighted. 
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Kindness and Creativity!

2/18/2018

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This morning Zippy and I started out for a walk and were greeted by a parade of mini snowmen - one on every car on the block! Unfortunately I always take longer to journal on Sunday mornings because I list Sunday Successes and goals for the week ahead, so they had already started to melt by the time I got out the door. But if you look closely you can see a mini snowman on each car! Aren't they adorable? Didn't cost a cent but created a memory I'll never forget! Kudos to the creator(s)! It is amazing what imagination combined with thoughtfulness can do! I'll be using these images in my course on creativity!
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A Vintage White Rose

2/17/2018

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My violet post was the last in the series of herbs that are associated with love and romance. There are many more but Valentine's Day has come and gone it seems a good time to close. 

For those of you who check in from time to time, you know I love roses  I have them all over my house and recently I've been living with, and painting, white roses. But one of my favorite white roses has been around for a very long time. 

Today's treasure is my great grandfather's white ivory rose autograph book from January 1, 1899. At one time the velvet cover appears to have been a bright red but it is faded from age. The softening makes it ever more beautiful. I feel that way about a lot of vintage treasures - buildings, fabrics, people . . .
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This is the first page in the book. 
​The penmanship is exquisite. It may be difficult to read so I've included the inscription. 


Mr. Albert Shuey
Bainbridge
Indiana
New Year's 1899
Albert was born on November 4, 1876 and died on January 31, 1951.He was 23 years old when he started this autograph book. I don't know who gave it to him or much more about it. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it when I was a little girl and decided to leave my autograph. I'm not proud of my contribution. It's not nearly as elegant as the rest, but I loved the book and wanted to be part of it.  Years later, my grandmother laughed and told me she thought he'd want me to have it.. Maybe it's just as well that I left my mark. No one else seemed nearly as impressed with it as I was. 
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I have no idea what this says! I must have known at the time?

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This is one of the first autographs in the book.

January 1, 1899
​Dear Cousin,
Leaves may wither,
Flowers may die,
Friends will forget you
But never will I.
Guess Who.
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Here's another. 

January 1, 1899
When you get married 
And your old woman gets cross
Come over to our house 
And eat apple sauce.
Ever remember Dec - 29, 1898
Ida

This little book, plus some posts I'm planning to do based on a recent exhibit I visited, have inspired me to begin a new category for my blog posts - vintage. This will be the first.

There will be more from this book - there are 40 pages and I'm only including a few for now.
There are autographs from Daisy, Albert's wife (his fiancé at the time), and later from his daughter, my grandmother, and some very cynical entries from my mother. Apparently I wasn't the only family member inspired to leave comments after his death. 
It's an interesting mix and gives me some insights on my family. 
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A Book That Takes Its Time

2/11/2018

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An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness
 Irene Smit
Astrid von der Hulst
and the editors of Flow Magazine


Today's treasure is several mini books within one, and also includes cards, a 30 page journal, numerous pages for reflections, a fold out map, stickers and cut outs! Below you'll find a sampling of the hidden treasures inside. 
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A few months ago my friend Janet gave me some wonderful magazines and since then, I've fallen in love with all things FLOW! I was doing a search for more magazines  and found this book by Flow's creators. It is a hardback book, yet even less expensive than the magazines, over flowing with delights!
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There are colorful tear out cards with a space on the back to add your favorite memorable moments and instructions on how to use them.
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The Joy of One Thing at a Time Booklet has thoughts and quotes on being present in the moment and space to add your reflections.
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There is a fold out Time Line with cut outs and instructions and cards with colorful quotes to use in snail mail, as book marks or affirmations.
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There is a 30 Day Journal with questions to guide you.
This is just a small sampling of the book's contents. It truly is a book that takes its time, encouraging present moment awareness, time to learn, create, reflect, to let go and ending with time to be kind. You will see life, and yourself, in a gentle, kinder way after you experience this book. 
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Still Painting Roses!

2/11/2018

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Preparing the layered metallic backgrounds and adding the gold trim can take longer than painting the roses!  These colors delight me but they don't always translate well through the camera. 

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    Welcome!! I’m Mikell (pronounced Michael). If you love spicing up your life with herbs, recipes, decorating and crafts, symbolism and rituals like I do, I hope you’ll sign up for  my newsletter and free Enhancing Your Life with Herbs e-book!

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    Mikell 

    Mikell is a writer, artist and professional treasure hunter, finding the greatest treasures in the wonderful people who enter her life!

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