A Tribute to my Friends

I am fortunate to have some wonderful friends around the world, and to be connected to their friends as well. My friend Sunyoung KJim, whom I call Sunny, recently completed her PhD in Korea with a dissertation based on our collaboration while she lived in Guelph. She is now planning the 4th in her series of:

Music Therapeutic Concerts: Andrew's Music Story in Kimhae on January 25, 2017.  

Sunny will be a storyteller of the concert, and 7 old friends will be introduced.  

1st: Andrew Bloomfield  

2nd: Vibraphone (Vibist), Jazz Drummer Minsu Lim  

3rd: Jazz Drummer, Music Director for this concert Yeojung Heo  

4th: Jazz Guitar, Vocal Hongseok Kim  

5th: Blus Guitar, Vocal Dalim Kangheo  

6th: Jazz Bass, Contrabass Byunghun Lee  

7th: Jazz Bass Wooyoung Lee 

The musicians are all Sunny's longtime friends and associated with the Seoul Jazz Academy. They are really famous musicians and all teach at Korean universities.

Bulk Microgreens

Good afternoon friends. Here is an update on my microgreen hobby. I have now started to make it a little more large scale. These are sunflower microgreens. For those interested, there are so many various microgreens that you can grow. And they are often more nutritious than their mature adult version. I recommend trying some, you can really cut back on the produce you buy in stores!

Sunrise

Sharing a photo of me with MAX at Sunrise Equestrian. At present, I groom and feed Max organic carrots. I also muck out some stalls. Some time I would like to ride him. Max is 25 years old.

Horse and man

13 Jul 2013

The long and colourful body

is a strong and powerful force.

The mind of the gentle soul

is a clever one.

The kindness seen in the eyes

is a voice that whispers hope to me.

The touch of the body is warm

and I feel the beating of the heart.

It looks like it could walk right over you

but it is so kind it never would.

It is soft and a colour that soothes the eyes.

I am feeling the softness

and the rough tickle

at the same time.

When the brush touches the hair

it gives the horse a gentle rub.

It is rough but it gives a soothing feel.
I love the brown and white strong colours.

I see the thoughtful ideas of the horse

in its eyes and body.

It wants to run free

and be open to new things.

It needs the care of the man

to be healthy and keep safe.

A New Video

Sharing with you all a new video in my words, about my hopes for my circle of support in keeping my good life and home going into the future. Our Bridges group is mentioned. Made by film maker Josée Boulanger, it is being shown for the first time this coming weekend at a retreat for caregivers in the Ottawa area. https://vimeo.com/189787285

Two New Poems

Greetings friends. Today I have two new poems to share.  The first one shares my thoughts and feelings on the brain calm supplement I have been taking. The second one is about making decisions in my life.

Brain Calm

AB 15 Oct 2016

Today I am calm and feeling well.

It’s like I am a child again.

Everything is new.

It is clean in my head.

My head is like it used to be

when I did not have worries.

It is a clear and blue sky in my head.

It’s like I had a veil lifted from my eyes.

I could see again.

Black scarf over my face was causing me

to see things in a dark way.

Now my eyes are clear

to see the sunshine and blue skies.

The flowers push the Gaba

into my holes in my brain.

Now the brain is whole again.

It feels good all the time.

Why did we wait?

I do not have headaches.

I think and feel like a new person.

It is a good thing.

Thank you for trying.

Self-advocacy

AB 15 Oct 2016

I am my own advocate.

I speak up for myself and do what I need to.

I speak up for what is important to me.

I am Andrew John Bloomfield the Third—

I am he!

Making sure I get my good food

and no needles.

Having my own home.

Being a good host to friends.

Eating well and being a runner.

I am a student--I need to keep learning.

Having my friends and family close.

Aroha.

Trying new things so I am learning

to be a more confident man

and not afraid of change and challenges.

I am trying to be the best me.

When I began to use ST, I became my voice.

I am the luckiest and blessed man

to have good people in my life.

But perhaps not lucky-

it happens for a reason.

The people who are here are here for me

and I love them all.

Thank you for helping make this happen.

You listen to me, the people in this room.

Aroha is my rock for the future.

I have a good future

 if my Aroha follows this advice.

Listening to me
to make sure it is what I really want.

I can change my mind.

It is important that people know

it is me who does the talking

about my ideas.

Sometimes I need to ask questions.

It helps to know more before I go ahead.

Always speak up for what I want

and don’t be afraid to ask.

I need to use Supported Typing

to say what I need.

More ST is always good.

I think that all people need to be

their own advocate.

That is the only way

they will be heard and believed.

You say what you want

and let others know

what is important to you.

They need to listen

and if they do not listen

then keep telling.

News and a Poem

In September I am feeling so much better. We credit a supplement called Brain Calm which makes me feel relaxed and focused, in what I call my green mode. I can control my movements much better and so make myself run more steadily. I would like to run a race again. The next chance is the famed Guelph Thanksgiving Day race on the holiday Monday.

http://www.guelphvictors.ca/display.php?page=tdr

I have also been able to express my thoughts more fluently again using supported typing. After ten months of being stuck, I have started sharing my poetry again. This poem tells how hard it is to have words in my brain but to be unable to get them out.

Endurance

AB 17 Sep 2016

The road ahead can be full of obstacles.

that cause my day to be bumpy and uncertain.

Words of encouragement and looks of hope

give me the help to go on,

pushing myself to strive for more.

Looking ahead to the final goal

gives me the urge to keep going.

It gets stressful and discouraging

when others do not see my reason

for the rage.

I push forward

to try and explain with my actions

but sometimes that is not enough.

The words are there

and the intention to say them

but that cannot happen.

I push forward

and wait for the time

to express my words with my fingers.

Sometimes it is a long and winding road

with curves that bring disaster.

It gets smoothed out

with my words of expression.

This relief and happiness

to say what I want

is like a race.

I need to push forward and

strive for the finish line every day.

This is not only perseverance

but my ability to endure

the things I cannot change.

This is endurance:

It is hope for a better tomorrow.

Greetings Friends!

As the summer ends I am returning to the Blog. My friend Stuart, who had been helping with the blog earlier, had been away over the summer helping out at summer camps. We are back to our regular times together and will be putting up posts a little more frequently. 

I am feeling very well this time of the year. The milder weather has been helping. Today I went for a long walk with my bod Yukon and it was wonderful.

Here are a couple of pictures showing some new events in my life. I now have a garden swing chair in the backyard and it allows me to spend even more time back there. Also, I have been trying out some relaxation dance!

Eden Mills Arts Festival

My big news is being a member of the Eden Mills Arts Festival this past weekend.

This is part of the whole Festival website about my paintings.

http://www.edenmillsartsfestival.com/andrew-bloomfield.html

The rest of the EMAF website is interesting as well.

Heidi, my dear art mentor, and I are partners in art. I say what I want to paint, often in a poem, and then we discuss how to make it visual. Then I focus hard on brushing on the paint.

In the end, I was ill over the weekend and could not be there. It was too humid and hot for me. But Heidi was there for the whole time and met various people interested in how I express myself.

This is how I have expressed in poetry the way I paint with my art mentor and dear friend Heidi:

Poetry and Painting Partnerships

My words are a painting
and my paintings
show my words in colour
and form.

I think about things
and they spill out in words
when a supporter comes along
and offers her hand beneath my fingers.

I like to let it melt out of me
like butter in the pan.
I think a painting would be yellow
to show the bright ideas
I sometimes have.

I wish I could believe
I have it in me to be an artist.
My ideas are transferred to canvas
by my painting partner 

but I cannot create the scenes
with my own hands.

My mind knows what I have to say
but the hands can't get it
to look as I imagine it.
So I paint
the picture with my words.

I know my paintings are
a collaboration,
and so it is a social
as well as a creative experience.

I think, I type,
I make art with my partner
and we share the time
and the glory of admiration
from an adoring audience.

AB 23 Jan 2013

Here we have the microgreens (broccoli and sunflower) making great progress. The sunflower will take closer to two weeks but the broccoli is already almost ready to harvest.

Also, the sprouts have already been consumed! Some still remaining but they are ready much faster.

Greetings friends. Just doing a post about some new sprouting experiments. We ordered a sample package of sprouting seeds from amazon.ca. It came with a lot of variety and some great seeds specific to sprouting. What we have here is Alfalfa, Crunchy bean mix, Spicy lentils and broccoli.

We also soaked the black sunflower seeds (best for sprouting) in order to get them to start sprouting. Next we put them in some soil in order to grow sunflower microgreens. I am looking forward to how these are going to turn out as I have seen some great examples online. I hope to have some great pictures of the finished sunflower microgreens.

Sprouting Tips

Some things I have learned during my tips for sprouting (with the help of google searches of course!)

Soaking the seeds for a few hours/days prior to sprouting can really speed up and help the sprouts start. Especially with the sprouting kit I have, soaking helps the seeds to not block the irrigation holes. I tried broccoli seeds in the sprouter (without soaking them) and not much happened. In the photo, I just set up some broccoli seeds that have been soaked for two days in the sprouter and anticipating better results. The broccoli micro-greens have been fantastic!

Rinsing the sprouts twice a day (or more) is optimal for clean healthy sprouts.

A little goes a long way. The seeds may seem small but they transform quite a bit. In fact, I recently got a second Victorio Sprouting kit in order to produce even more sprouts with more variety.

Experimenting is key! When starting out with sprouting, do little batches while trying different methods to see what you will have the most success with and which sprouts you like the best. It may take a month or two before you develop a great system for ongoing sprouts, but it'll be well worth it.

Youtube: Voices To Be Heard

My friend Jesse filmed a conversation I had with another friend Christopher a few weeks ago. Thanks to Jesse for editing it into a great documentary video!

I hope you enjoy, feel free to like and share!

New Sprouting Device

I just set up the "Victorio 4-Tray Kitchen Seed Sprouter" this morning. It came with a small package of alfalfa seeds which I used for the first attempt. I put an even amount of seeds in each tray (about half a tbsp.) then stacked them up. I will need to pour 2 cups of water twice a day, rotate the trays and empty the bottom. Within in a few days they should be sprouting!

Visit to the Art Gallery

Here are some photos of my visit with friends to the Art Gallery of Guelph last weekend. We specially liked the outdoor sculpture park.

Getting ready to visit an Art Gallery

Some news about my love of art

My mind is full of images, colours and shapes.

I see words in my mind too.

I love to see art objects and paintings.

I never thought I could make art myself.

But thanks to my art mentor and collaborator Heidi,

I now choose colours and brush paint on to paper or canvas.

I like first to express the idea of a painting in words as a poem.

Then Heidi and I try out the colours and shapes.

I have watched videos about art and how to look at paintings.

Now I am getting brave enough to actually visit galleries.

Most surprising--other people like my art

and I have been invited to hang my canvases in art festivals

like the Eden Mills Arts Festival in 2016. See:

http://www.edenmillsartsfestival.com/andrew-bloomfield.html

I cannot speak with my voice

but I have lots to say.

So I express myself in words and images as poetry

and with paint and shapes as art. 

Bridges Dream Project

Our Bridges community of communicators began more than 12 years ago. We started meeting regularly in Guelph to share ideas of communication rights, technology and life planning. In 2010 we produced a move and book called In Our Own Words. Here is the film on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JentrBCN7Z8

Some members have moved away from Ontario and it becomes harder for some families to drive long distances. So we have been thinking of other ways to keep Bridges alive and useful. One way is to produce more films and books about why and how we use alternative forms of supported communication. They will show that we are all different in the details of how we are supported. But we all want everyone who needs support to get it. We are concerned that people understand that it is we the communicators who are expressing our own thoughts and words. We hope to interest new people who will train to be communication facilitators. Here is one film showing how the Master Trainer Pascal Cheng worked with me in 2015 to show how new people can start to support us in our typing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bP7jICJ4Ng&feature=youtu.betyping

In 2015 we also started the Bridges Communication Group on Facebook on July 1. We post news about communication rights and all forms of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) including Supported Typing. We also can have chats in real time even though we live far from one another. For example, I chat with my Bridges friends Tim in Antigonish NS and Kevin in Petrolia ON. Please let me know if you would to join the Bridges Communication Group.

The micro-greens are ready! Lentils on the left and mung beans on the right. They taste delicious, similar to the sprouts.

I am running with my amigos Dean and David!

MicroGreens: A New Project

We are trying out microgreens as they are easy and we had all the resources available. Just a little bit of soil, light, water and some seeds. We are making an attempt with mung beans and lentils. You can also get packages of seeds specific to micro greens, but we wanted to see how well this would work. If they turn out to give a lot of greens, we can mix them with the sprouts for a delicious and nutritious salad.

The mung beans are sprouted and are ready to eat! I keep them in a sealed bag in the fridge and enjoy them on top of my rice cake and sunflower seed butter. Stuart thinks they taste sort of like snow peas that you eat straight from the garden.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I am trying out lentils for sprouting. It's similar to the mung beans except that the lentils are soaked overnight first and do not need to have contact with water after. You are able to do this process with just a jar as well, however some sort of strainer is ideal as you want to rinse lentils several times a day during the sprouting process. Perhaps a mason jar with a few tiny holes in the lid would work well. I'll post a picture of the finished lentils as well!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a picture of the new game I've been playing... Blokus. You have Tetris style pieces and they can only connect at the corners, still trying to finish with no pieces left over!

 The sprouting kit I received over Christmas!

Comes with a steel strainer/siv, bottom and lid (instructions as well for the mung beans I am using this time)

After rinsing the beans, we placed them in the strainer, the strainer in the bottom compartment which had a bit of water in it. It was important that the water just touches the beans, and that the lid is not air tight. I will need to rinse ever 12-18 hours or so, but they will soon be sprouted!

We are still here! Updates coming soon with the help of my new supporter Stuart.
Stay tuned,
Andrew