One word ... Chocolate!

The movie "Chocolat" has always reminded me how much interest I have had in the idea of making my own chocolate, conjuring visions of mixing and preparing  wonderful chocolate creations, opening my own shop, watching passersby taking in the aroma as they are mesmerized by the array of choices and then ... I moved to Belgium. 


Belgium, where some of the best chocolate in the world is made. I have tried many different chocolates over the last year and tried finding someone who spoke English to teach me how to make my own. I took a "class" at one shop that was more of a demonstration and lesson of what chocolate is than an actual class on how to make chocolate. What a disappointment. Then last month, I stumbled across an ad for classes at Rende-vous Chocolat. Voila!! The classes I have been looking for are taught here? And it is only 5 minutes from my house? Who knew??

So today, I took my first REAL chocolate making class and of course, I loved it!! I got dirty (well, if you call getting chocolate all over yourself dirty), made some lovely boxes, learned to temper chocolate and met some wonderful people. This could well be the beginning of a wonderful venture into the chocolate making world.

Finding my niche

Being an artsy person, I find myself with a bit of a conundrum.  Where do I put my focus? It seems the more time I have on my hands, the more I want to do. What started with creative roots and early encouragement from my father was stifled for so many years. Now that I have the time and means to follow this innate desire to create, I feel like a "kid in a candy shop". I want to paint, do wood work, make stain glass, sculpt, take photographs, scrapbook, quilt, sing, act ... and the list goes on and on. So the question comes down to "how do I find my niche"? 

At present, I am most comfortable with the use of multimedia in my projects. For example, incorporating everyday objects into my paintings. Perhaps that is the area I should focus on. Hmmm ... 

Torn Between Two Lovers

As I sit here watching a show about El Dia de Los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) celebrations in Mexico, I find myself torn between a love of technology and a love for the simple life.

I love everything about technology and each new discovery or invention excites me to no end. I thrive on finding ways to increase my knowledge about new gadgets or new technological advances in almost every arena. Of late, Google is my passageway to this knowledge base as it leads the way to this web page or that youtube link that will tell me more about these new advances. I watch shows like the Gadget Show and turn on the Discovery Channel whenever I can. Because I am not presently in the states, I have to rely on whatever means I have at hand to locate the information I am seeking. I am lucky in that I have friends who keep me up to date on the latest innovations as they hear word of them. I also subscribe to clouds that allow me to locate many of the sites I might otherwise have difficulty accessing.

But I also love the idea of moving off the grid, returning to the simpler pre-computer life. Turning off the TV and shutting out the unwanted news that could alter our way of thinking or life itself. Logically, I know that the feasibility of living off the grid is a long way off but the allure is still there. Packing up and moving to the mountains, far from city life. My vision is actually a place that one would need to hike or drive an off-road, eco friendly vehicle (there such an animal, yes?) in order to get there. I actually really like what Ed Begley, Jr does. Bicycling to create electricity (power TV, radio, other machines), growing my own food stuffs, etc.  Hmmm ... something to ponder further, perhaps one day ...