Day: 03/05/2010

Lines, Boxes and Rules

64 Arts

Can I just start by saying how absolutely exhausted I am by the phrases “coloring outside the lines” and “thinking outside the box”? (Of course I can, it’s my blog!)

  1. I like to color inside the lines. It looks neat and tidy and everything is in it’s place and there’s nothing wrong with that.
  2. I like my box: I know where all the walls are and it’s roomy enough that I don’t feel claustrophobic.

If it’s your first time here or you’ve somehow failed to notice: I’m a very creative person. Both sides of my brain stay quite busy and I come up with way more ideas that I’ll ever be able to use. The above points don’t interfere with that one iota. Why?

Because I don’t feel the need to buck authority or tradition at every turn. I have a lot more time to create because I’m not eternally focused on how to disrupt convention or be a renegade, I’m in my box, doing my thing, and bringing in whatever I need when necessary. (Not that I think all who employ those catch-phrases are, but I’ve met a lot who think just that.)

Comforting things about lines, boxes and rules:

  1. They give us a framework to create in. Sometimes having all the options in the world is a hinderance instead of a benefit. You can spend way too much time picking out a dozen colors that will just look muddy when all combined into once piece whereas if the rules say you create with 2 complimentary colors, your options just narrowed. You pick between half a dozen pairs and get on with the creating instead of changing your mind a handful of times and then having to fix the mess the unlimited options led you to.
  2. A line is a path, a road, and just because someone already mapped it doesn’t mean there’s nothing for you to discover as you travel it. There’s 2 sides to each of those lines, too, the inside and the out and there’s nothing that says you can’t decorate on both. Sometimes our work looks better against a blank wall whereas other times it’s nice to have a background that coordinates and enhances. But the lines are there to show someone who can’t read our mind what parts go together.
  3. A box can be the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced (in a good way). Whether it’s a deadline (self-imposed or otherwise) or a set of parameters you cannot deviate from, it’s a challenge to be creative with limited time or materials. But it can be done. If you concentrate on what you have and immerse yourself, instead of bellyaching about what you could be using if you had your own way and one other thing, you might just be surprised at what you can come up with.

But, Scraps, what’s the big deal? So what if people “think outside the box” and go a little off-plan?

What if those plans are for your house? What if the contractor thinks the architect was nuts and moves a wall here, a beam there, takes out an eave here and puts in an arch there? Not only are not getting the house you wanted, it may not be structurally sound!

Now I’m off to color a picture. That I drew. Those lines are exactly where I want them 🙂

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Daily Doodle for Thursday:

Okay, so it was harder than I though to come up with something to draw each day. But, with the topic above bouncing around in my head, it did get the pencil moving, at least.

I don’t always do weekend posts but I have one last drawing topic in mind so at some point Saturday I’ll have something ready to go. Time is uncertain as there will be visual aids that need creating. Best way not to miss it, of course, is subscribe to the RSS feed 🙂

50 Shots of America–New Hampshire

Sips

We’re already up to our ninth state, New Hampshire, which ratified the Constitution on June, 21, 1788. (So much for coincidental dates, I suppose we can save that lotto ticket!)

The Granite State was, of course, one of the original 13 colonies to rise up against British rule and I’m a bit confused as my sources (read as: Wikipedia) claim that our last state, South Carolina, was the first to declare independence from Great Britain and now New Hampshire wants that honor. You know what? Allowing for a certain possibility of error AND the zeitgeist that undoubtedly roosted in the minds of the various colonies, I’m gonna let last week’s statement stand and just go with the fact that they both had the idea at or around the same time.

I never said I was good at history, folks. This is, after all, about cocktails. I’m just looking for something interesting to base a drink around and holy cats are all these original colonies starting to sound alike! Moving on…

One of the salesmen at my office is from New Hampshire and is a very nice man. Based on he and his wife being the only New Hampshireans I know, I’m going to go with the presumption that all from the state are similarly lovely people as well as equally puzzled about the concept of sales tax and it’s various exemptions. Because New Hampshire has no sales tax or personal income tax (with the exception of dividends and interest), which is very cool. But before you start packing up and plan to move, you should probably also know that NH has one of the country’s highest property taxes as a result. It’s all a balancing act.

Just like mixing drinks! (Nice segue, there, doncha think?)

Blackbeard’s Orchard

1.5 oz Apple Juice(1)
.75 oz Spiced Rum(2)
.25 oz Goldschlagger(3)
splash Maple Syrup(4)

Combine all of the ingredients over ice in the mixing vessel of your choice(5). Shake like a leaf on the top of Mount Washington and strain into a chilled cordial or double shot glass.

Apparently Blackbeard the Pirate (2) used the Isle of Shoals (just off Hampton Beach) for, among other things, his honeymoon and it’s rumored that some of his treasure (3) is still buried there. Granted, it’s possible the treasure is on the Maine side of the Shoals but let’s not stop the inspiration train rolling, shall we?

Even though the state fruit of New Hampshire is the pumpkin, they do a considerable amount of agricultural dealings in apples (1). Then there’s the annual spring open houses at the sap houses (4); you’ve got some considerable sweetness going on in that state. And, despite the annual PorcFest (Porcupine Freedom Festival), this drink is rather smooth thanks to the addition of the maple syrup.

Finally, we kitcheny types owe a major debt to Mr. Earl Tupper of Berlin, NH, as he invented the wonder that is Tupperware(5) in 1933. For that reason I would suggest you forgo your usual cocktail shaker (be it the 3-piece or Boston versions) and, instead, mix up a batch of these for your next home party in the Quick Shake for that extra bit of special.