Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Two short shares for the Wild at Heart...+

Some sweet words for the spinners, from shivian.    A little tale for my fellow Germanics, from GardenStone

When I am preparing myself for meditation (of any sort), I find the need to clear my mind is needed before I can center myself.  As I understand it, this is a need for many who practice meditation.  The easiest way for me to Clear is to play a game of Solitaire. Complete with solitaire rules of my own choosing & using an older Old Navy deck that has a backing of shiny red, with a white circle in the center, & a shiny green dot in that center.  It only takes a few minutes, but it works to shed the outside world every time. :)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuesday Thoughts

Volunteers are some of my favorite people.  Such driving desire to put others in need ahead of yourself are a lesson for being grateful for all that a person has & incentive to share with others what you have a bounty of.  Two of my favorites are a young woman, and  
this wonderful group.





























































































































































































































Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tuesdays' Topic is...

an awesome post from Kallan.  A great read stripping the rapid hyperbole away from the job of President of the United States.  A thought near & dear to my heart is that once a citizen accepts the post of President of the United States, their personal politics is set aside.  As is their loyalty to an immediate family.  Once elected, a citizen is supposed to govern a secular nation composed of multiple ethnicities & faiths, is supposed to look upon the nations' children as their own.  A citizen duly elected who cannot fulfill this post as such, must be immediately impeached & removed from office.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

(New Year, New You) Lesson Learned?

This weeks' prompt is to reflect on what I've picked up on these past nine weeks.  Lets' see...

1) I've learned that setting goals in a more public setting works to get things rolling with a minimum of whiny reasons why I can't.

2) The fog is beginning to thin out now, enough so that I might actually be able to format legible questions during the next nine weeks. This, I will add, is an exhilarating feeling.

3) It has become stridently clear, seemingly through some vague sort of osmosis, that what interests me, what I find is my touchstone, above all else...are the Elements, is Stone & Stars.  Theme song?

4)It really helps to review stated goals every two weeks, because I find that I get so involved in the minutia that I forget what my overarching goals are.  It also helps to minimize distractions...of which there is an incredible amount.

(New Year, New You) response to Asking For Help

  I haven't ever been told that I think I'm invincible. I have frequently, however, been termed a 'freak of nature' & told 'uh..*no*one thinks like you do' (the later when attempting to debate politics/life & said as a way to dismiss my argument). 

  I do experience great difficulty expressing what I'm thinking, however. For a great portion of my life I have felt that I'm off-center (intellectually, at least) by a dimension or two. Whether this is due to my learning disabilities or due to my enjoyment of the art of critical thinking..which is obviously not shared by the majority of American voters, I don't know.   I am also quite aware of what happens when a person expresses thoughts & opinions that are in the minority.  Sometimes, the consequences can be severs, especially when one must needs share space, & room/board.  So...while not adverse to asking for help, along spiritual lines most specially, it isn't going to happen in an arena as public as a blog.

  In more mundane matters, I have no issues asking for help as needed. In knitting, Lion brand yarn has some wonderful instructional videos on YouTube.  In embroidery (prefer cross-stitch) , I ave been doing it so long there isn't much to ask.  When I try new fibers, however, there is a newsgroup I know to ask.  In the kitchen...so many mistakes, so many areas to turn for help, so many times I've binned something too embarrassing to eat! Technically, still looking for a tutorial in how to understand & improve a blog, how to fully utilize a laptop, & if Kindle Fires are worth saving up for. 

Upon the Question of Heirloom seed or not...

I like the idea of heirloom seeds.  I like the idea of history in the soil.  `However, I'm not nearly enough of a fanatic to avoid hybrids out of hand...unless they're from Monsanto.  Not that I'm against GM seeds in theory, but Monsantos' business practices are nastiness personified. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

I don't wanna...

..do anything I need to be doing!  I just want to sit around & read my birthday-books.  *pout*  Then again, I breathe in, breathe out, & decide to bake cookies firstly (from a cookbook which is part of Daughters' birthday present....don't want to be giving a bum of gift!).

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

(New Year, New You) Shoulder to the Wheel

This weeks' prompt is the equivalent of pushing through advanced labor, if by contractions I mean specifics needed to get to goal.  For me, it's setting down & picking up pencil & pen. Sitting still is a bitch. & I know that once I get started in, I don't like to stop for a hours at a time...

Specifically, setting pen to paper in studying German, setting pencil to paper with a layer of interfacing in-between to alter patterns (since I don't do numbers, literally, this is always a tiring process with a satisfactory end), & sitting butt to chair to improve my meditation/visualization skills.    *sigh*


Response to (New Year, New You) Glamor & Me

This prompt was an easy one. It's one that I've incorporated into my goals at the getgo.  Downsizing junk & fluff out of the closet & improving my wardrobe.  My wardrobe, to call it such is quite charitable, must needs touching up in order to present myself appropriately.  I don't wear dress slacks as they take so much tailoring to get it to fit properly.  I have my favorite skirt pattern ready to go, & hope to be able to hit up Jo-Ann fabrics this week-end.  Also, light-weight flannel for winter nightgowns, cotton for spring/summer.  Still looking for the perfect classic blouse pattern...semi-tailored, really like 'camp shirt' cut, detest ruffles & bows.  For my birthday present, my daughter & grandchildren bought me a lovely new sewing machine :)
     I also, & more importantly, need to get back into a regular exercise routine.  What type will depend, somewhat, on what the doctor says this Friday.

Response to (New Year, New You) Maps....What if you don't have a sacred place?

    This prompt was rather a rough one.  Not that I don't love maps...I do! I can amuse myself for an entire afternoon going through various distances in the current Rand-McNally Road Atlas.  Following a map in real-time, is, of course, a vastly different thing ;)  It's just that I don't have a place which I would call Sacred.  I put this down to being born into a military family.  My father was in the Air Force until I was 16, & he had a very itchy foot.  Not that I saw much overseas, but spent much time moving between Michigan (Dads' hometown) & Nebraska (Moms' hometown).  Both small & given to looking at a person askance once you've moved & returned.  I had moved 40 times before I hit high school.  The closest I get to Sacred are the stars above.  So long as I can see the stars, I feel safe, content, expanding...I'm smiling just writing the word :)
     I find peacefulness when I retire to my private space up on the third floor.  I set my mind to mulling over an issue & then get to whatever will occupy my conscious mind...cleaning, cross-stitch, music, looking up to the Moon outside my window.  Within 24 hours of setting my subconscious  to work, of asking for help in deciding, the metaphorical bricks drop upon my head.  Well, it's more a feeling of, literally, having an invisible brick wall suddenly drop in front of your face.  Can be an odd, if not obvious, hint that an answer approaches.
     In this instance, I just asked for clarity on what's going on within my goals. I was feeling stuck in fog & not sure why.  The brick walls dropped were a quote:
                         "When you find it hard to decide which things to focus on and when to say 'No', maybe
                           your purpose isn't working."     Jurgen Appelo
the turning up of The Tower in outcomes for tarot, the word 'Minnesota' popping up unexpectedly (which I had previously dropped), & then this upon the new moon on the 23rd.  Which, since my distaste of the colour pink is incredibly known, I found rather perverse of the Ancestors to put up! However, the music made me laugh in delight, & 'Plum Blossom'.  Thinking the damn pink showed up as I dropped the Mn. word in a fit of pique. ;)