Monthly Archives: April 2019

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Bonjour – Bakery & Bistro

Last week, I stumbled upon the most delightful place……. Bonjour Bakery & Bistro located at 45 Heritage Way in Kalispell, Montana.  Please click on the following link for site specific  information about this amazing place: Bonjour Bakery & Bistro

Bonjour.interior

The atmosphere is enchanting.  Chandeliers and white twinkle lights.  Jazz music and heavenly aromas.  Silver mirrors and a pale blue ceiling.  All of these touches make those that enter feel like they have stepped into someplace extraordinary.  The truth is that you have entered into a magical place.

Bonjour.orchid

This is a place that recognizes that the little touches mean as much as large gestures.  There are so many exquisite little touches.  Orchids by the cash register and cut flowers on every table.  The collection of demitasse cups and sliver cake molds.  Being cheerfully greeted when you enter.  The artful arrangement of cookies on plates and pastries on trays.

Bonjour.pastries

More than cookies, cakes and pastries, Bonjour Bakery & Bistro serves coffees in unique flavors like lavender and honey cinnamon.  They make soups, sandwiches, bread, quiche, chocolates and, of course, macaroons.

Bonjour.cakes

Above is a picture of a chocolate tower, cake, Madeline and macaroon cookie trees.

Bonjour.cupcakes

They also make cupcakes!  From left to right there is lemon with lemon curd filling, triple berry, coconut, double chocolate with chocolate filling and vanilla.  Having tasted the the lemon cupcake with lemon curd filling, I can honestly say that it was perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.  Very flavorful!

Bonjour.Artists.work

When talking to the people working at Bonjour Bakery & Bistro, one of the ladies said that the owner really wanted this to be a unique experience.  With that in mind she hires artists for decorating the cakes and cookies.  The above photo is one of the artists at work.

So what does a charming bakery have to do with creative living?  Besides the fact that the bakery is an amazing creative experience in and of itself, it has to do with one of the most important things a creative person can do….. self care or being good to yourself.

Most creative people are very good at getting their creative work done, sharing their time, energy and talents helping others and taking care of the demands of daily living.  Where we really trip ourselves up is when we don’t take care of ourselves or have thoughts of scarcity.  The more that you drain yourself to get things done without taking care of yourself, the less you have to give.

Think of your creativity as a well.  You put the bucket in and draw out water for a creative project.  You draw out water to work at your day job.  You draw out water to be a care giver.  You draw out water to volunteer.  The list of things that deplete the water in your well of creativity is endless.  It is your responsibility to do things that fill up your creative well.  Going out to a bakery and ordering a coffee and pastry.  Purchasing tulips out of season.  Eating your favorite childhood cereal for a snack.  Going on a vacation.  Going for a walk.  Or just going outside.  Whatever it is that helps fill your well, do it!

Scarcity thinking is thoughts that we don’t deserve to be treated well.  That we can’t set healthy boundaries because we don’t deserve to take care of ourselves.  Scarcity thinking allows others to take advantage of us when we are needing self care the most.  Scarcity thinking drains the well faster than any other areas of our lives because it goes along with thoughts that we are unworthy, undeserving and inadequate.  When this is happening, no creative work gets done.

I’m going to tell you right now, if you are reading this blog, you care about your creative work and life…. YOU ARE WORTHY!  YOU ARE DESERVING!  YOU ARE ADEQUATE!

Take time to treat yourself.  Take time to take care of yourself.  Take time to visit the Bonjour Bakery & Bistro.  Take time to pamper yourself.  Take care of you.  Your creativity will thank you.

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Celebrating Poetry

April is National Poetry Month in the United States.  Poetry, to me, is a celebration of language and the nuances of words.  In recognition of national poetry month, I thought I would share some poetry and some of my favorite poets with links to their blogs.

To start I wanted to share a poem from my childhood.  The following poem is one that I read while in grade school but could never remember the poet’s name.  If you click on his name it will take you to a poetry site that shares more information about him.

Trees

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

 

D. Eric Hanson is an inspired poet and personal friend.  He has written two books of poetry.  The first one is entitled Acedia and the second one is Psychology 101.  Both are filled with heartfelt words of love, sorrow, loss, hope, humor, etc.  Really all of the emotions that can be experienced.  I have also used Eric’s beautiful words in the following blog posts: Making Decisions Based on Love or Fear, Poetry to My Eyes and Ears and Masks .

Below are two of Eric’s poems.  For those of you who have taken the creativity classes that I teach, I think you may catch the clever use of words in the poem “Mourning Pages.”  For the second poem, the humorous realization that one is indeed a poet.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do.

Mourning Pages by D. Eric Hanson

See how the pages
Change colour after
They have been written upon.
The crisp clean white
Becomes a dull
Tarnished light grey,
As if through writing
The paper has blotted
Some small portion of
The darkness of my soul.

Scripto Ergo Sum by D. Eric Hanson

Notebooks full of spidery hand
And little scraps of paper;
Some stanzas hint a kind of plan
Ethereal as vapor;
The need to write that overwhelms;
The words that within burn;
The soul now master of the helm,
Which for expression yearns;
To live a life a vagabond
And flow through it carefree;
The things of which I am so fond
Do in reality;
All reveal that I’m a poet
Wouldn’t you just know it.

 

I  also wanted to share some of the creative, interesting and exciting blogs from the WordPress community that focus on poetry.  They are listed as follows with brief descriptions.

My friend, Shantanu, writes a wonderful and creative blog Ckonfab made up of poetry, prose, flash poems and short stories.  This past fall he wrote a story that was the feature of a series of posts.  Each time a section was posted, I could hardly wait to find out what the next part of the story would be.  If you are not already familiar with Shantanu’s writing, it is definitely worth checking out.

Ben Dwyer posts a haiku poem a day.  I started following his blog and the beautiful haiku poems a little over a year ago.  He uses his own photos to accompany his poems and they are as beautiful as his written words.  I look forward to reading his haiku’s every day.  Please check out his work by clicking on this link Haiku.blog.

I just recently started following the work of Jason A. Muckley and his blog. entitled Poems for Warriors.  He writes about a wide variety of subject matter.  Another thing I like about Jason’s poetry is that he writes poems using different formats and techniques.  He is also very good about explaining different types of poetry and their formats.  Jason’s poetry is definitely worth looking at.

My friend Debby writes a delightful blog post called Thoughtsmith by The Typewriter.  Her poetry touches on universal themes of love, motherhood, nature and meaning of life.  I can honestly say that every time I am reading her poetry my heart is touched.  You definitely need to check out Debby’s poetry.

I have been the blog site of  Elan Mudrow called Smidgens for not quite a year.  What I like about this blog is the link between the photos and poetry.  A lot of Elan’s poems and prose is about nature and the relationship between people and nature.  Elegant and fascinating, this blog is one I am glad to have discovered.

I started following a poetry blog entitled Brian Just Brian written by Brian Nettles, last summer.  His poetry is emotionally intense and exquisitely written.  He also writes short stories and is working on a novel.  Please check out his creative work when you have a chance.

I have been following the poetry blog The Moonlight Reverie for the past two years.  The poetry on this blog focus primarily on love and relationships.  Every poem is exquisitely written and a pleasure to read, even the saddest of her poems.

I have greatly enjoyed the blog Dread Poets Sobriety  by Alexander Blaikie.   What makes this poetry blog so much fun is the commentary Alexander writes before and after his poems.  The other nice thing about this particular blog site is the wide range of subject matter covered in the poetry.  You never know what subject will be turned into poetry next.  If you like a side of humor to your poetry, this blog is for you.

The poetry of fauxcroft is often about humanity, love or relationships, environmental concerns and the call for one to be the unique individual they are meant to be.  I have only been following this site for about six months.  Many of the poems are thought provoking.

More than just poetry, Arenas Del Tiempo which translates to Sands of time blog site has music, stories, photos, art, quotes and much more.  All of the work posted on this site has been inspiring.  I hope that you are able to check it out and enjoy it as much as I do.

What I love about poetry is that it can be very simple or made up of complex rhythm and rhyme schemes.  It touches every subject from love to food, environment and nature to the inner conversations of ones mind.  Not every poem speaks to every person.  But the poems that speak to your heart and soul, will inspire you forever.

I hope that you will take the time to explore the wide wonderful world of poetry this month and always.

Happy National Poetry Month!