Thursday, February 26, 2009

Color Theory

The purple reign of fall and winter is over and hope springs eternal in yellow. It's far from mellow. The color gurus at Pantone chose Mimosa, a bright and warm yellow, as the "it” color of 2009. QVC buyers have responded with jewelry, fashion and home decor in similar sunny shades.

Yellow is an optimistic color said to stimulate communication. Maybe that’s why my living room holds so many lively conversations.

It stands to reason we’d need a happy hue during this time of economic doom and gloom. There may be deeper political reasons at play in yellow's sudden popularity. It's the color of liberalism in many countries, according to color expert Kate Smith. Are we now painting the U.S. “yellow dog democrat?” Hmmm. I’ll stick with decorating theories.

Warm yellows work well with other bright colors and also when grounded with neutrals. Try it out with inexpensive accessories such as throws, pillows and pottery. Other popular colors blooming in spring’s palette include: fuchsias, grays, greens and roses.

Go get some color.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Missing the G-Spot

I'm no money wiz, but I'm pretty sure our country's economy isn't going to orgasm with this stimulation. The link below is a helpful resource for understanding the stimulus package. I'm a Republican who voted for President Obama. Clearly, I want change. But let's slow down and talk common sense.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/02/01/GR2009020100154.html

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Columbian Romance

Today is the day you'll see many guys pathetically rummaging through the few remaining bent or inappropriate cards, rushing the jewelry counters or trying to make last minute dinner reservations in vain. It must be Valentine's Day.

Here's my advice to them. Be romantic all year long and you might get a reprieve from the over-priced stores and restaurants on the holidays and birthdays that somehow always seem to take you by surprise.

Most women would prefer your daily attention to a box of Godiva. My husband has finally figured it out. He brings me coffee in bed every morning. Now that's a token of affection in my book and a winning situation for both of us. Happy Valentine's Day. XOXO

Sunday, February 1, 2009

SPAM and the Afterlife

What is life's greatest mystery? Everyone playing the board game answered "the afterlife" - except me. I said, "SPAM." Who eats that stuff?

It's denial. I find it difficult to get past the dying part, let alone what comes next.

As a kid I had the whole St. Peter and the pearly gates imagery in my head. It seemed like Club Med in the clouds. No thanks. Lying around with nice folks listening to harp music sounded boring. The devil was offering really cool door prizes downstairs. Besides I liked the heat and was afraid of heights.

Catholic schoolteachers tried to flesh out the concept for me, but there were contradictions. Mr. Nicoletti taught me there was no hell. Maybe not so coincidentally, he is my favorite teacher. A year later in a new school, a nun asked me to explain hell in class. Thinking I was prepared for this trick question, I loudly proclaimed there was no hell. After turning three shades of fiery red, she told me I was headed there. I think that was my first travel assignment.

Confused as a teenager, I read about the Tibetan Book of the Dead and devoured books on philosophy and the occult. My idea of the afterlife was far from tidy.

As a young adult, I was a reporter for a Catholic newspaper and The Philadelphia Inquirer's religion section and interviewed many dealing with death and spirituality. The different perspectives taught me that thoughts on an afterlife are highly individual and can be beautiful.

Now that I've lost loved ones, the afterlife has become a real thing rather than an abstract idea. My childhood notions no longer fit. Now, limbo is just the time spent waiting for an editor to get back to me and purgatory is having my father-in-law over for dinner.

Hell can be right here on Earth. Some create their own and others are damned to an awful destiny of poverty, abuse and more. The unfairness of the latter is life's second greatest mystery.

This brings us to reincarnation. Last year, I read, "Many Lives, Many Masters," by Brian L. Weiss, M.D., a prominent psychiatrist who specializes in past life therapy and hypnotic regression. His research is compelling, but I'm not sure it matters to me if I was a 14th century butcher or will be in the Martian army in the next millennium. The here and now is all I know. This fact makes this life all the more precious.

I believe in a Heavenly afterlife and accept that I'm on a need-to-know basis. And, I don't need to know yet.

One thing is for sure. With it's long shelf life, SPAM will be there.