Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on June 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday’s goals were far-reaching but I am happy to report that, with the help of a foolishly optimistic outlook and a healthy dose of yaupon tea, I completed all but one task.
(That final task was to make banana bread muffins, and while I was looking forward to them, let’s all be honest and admit that extra tangy lemon meltaways and dark chocolate brownies are always going to be higher on the list.)
So it’s still Tuesday (the worst!) but things are still looking pretty good.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, bees, Thoughts on June 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Busy day today, and the good news is that I made up with Excel, we did a ton of yard work and now have outdoor space for the summer, pruned trees, trimmed lawns, happy birds, and the clover is in full flower. It was a very satisfying day. In fact, you could say that I’m as happy as a bee in clover.
And I am pleased to say that they were very happy indeed.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, health, nature on June 6, 2023| 1 Comment »
We woke to hazy, yellow skies and multiple air quality warnings. Putting the trash out was an odd experience. The morning air smelled like a winter’s night by a wood-burning fireplace. In June.
While still dry from the recent heat wave, Ottawa is not on fire but a lot of the areas around us are. Many of those places are upwind.
The internet may be a hive of scum and villainy but I do love that it has a map for everything. Searching for “wildfire smoke map ontario” brought me to this informative site:
Well, that explains it.
Ottawa’s air quality is currently rated a 7, or high risk. What does that mean?
At-Risk Population:
- Avoid strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also avoid outdoor physical exertion.
- Find out if you are at risk
General Population:
— Ottawa, Ontario – Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) – Environment Canada
- Reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.
In good-ish news, a high-quality mask will provide a reasonable level of protection against smoke and its particulates. As a population, we are much better equipped for such events than we were pre-pandemic so, I guess that’s something?
I also see that the smoke is blowing south to the States. Sorry, family.
Stay healthy, stay safe!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, nature, Thoughts on May 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »
My lawn is lovely, with white and purple and yellow flowers. The dandelions are going gangbusters, as they do. And I’ve just been out front tidying them up in the hopes that my neighbors won’t get too stressed out about our lawn’s diversity.
In that vein, I give you a brief history of that underrated flower, the dandelion.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, art, creativity, Thoughts, tutorials on May 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I find myself wanting to try out a new project. I don’t have time and have no idea where my watercolors ended up, but this tutorial caught my eye. Perhaps it will inspire you, too.
Painting whimsical watercolor birds, a tutorial | The Kid Should See This
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, blog posts, creativity, nature, randomness, Thoughts, Writers on May 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
As it is Tuesday (and even worse, Tuesday after a holiday), my to do list is… extensive. Please enjoy a random post and some entertaining ostriches.
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Roll the dice for a random post: Click this link or the image below.
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, constraint, creativity, inspiration, making stuff, sheep, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on May 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I like crafting in general, I like weaving in particular, and I like the freeing nature of creative constraints, so this “sheep to shawl” competition is right up my alley.
In a Sheep to Shawl competition, you have 5 people, 1 sheep, and 3 hours – NPR
Each team is made up of one sheep and five people: one shearer, three spinners, and a weaver. The team has three hours to shear the sheep, card the wool, spin the wool into yarn, and then weave that yarn into an award-winning shawl.
It’s not exactly the same as NaNoWriMo or drabbles or the 24-hour story challenge we recently did at Writers of the Future (crazy, fun, and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be:) but it’s in the same vein.
Here’s to artists exploring boundaries everywhere.
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Posted in Favorites, Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, choice, freedom, libraries, reading, Thoughts on May 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Like many of you, I love libraries. Like, a lot:
Run, Don’t Walk | J.R. Johnson
Passport to Wonders | J.R. Johnson
Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson
Inquiring Minds Want to Know | J.R. Johnson
Books Neverending | J.R. Johnson
Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson
I don’t love that some people are trying to control what others can read in libraries. If this is happening in your neighborhood, what can you do?
How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg
Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.
I was also glad to see this policy on Intellectual Freedom And Controversial Material at my childhood library:
The libraries have a responsibility to serve all segments of the county. Materials useful to some may be objectionable to others. Selections are based solely on the merits of the work in relation to building the collections and to serving the interests of readers. The libraries attempt to represent all sides of controversial issues. Their function is to provide information, not to advocate specific points of view.
Reading preferences are a purely individual matter; while anyone is free to personally reject books and other materials, this right cannot be exercised to restrict the freedom to others.
Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no cataloged item will be placed on closed shelves, except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft. Items may be placed on temporary reserve for specific class assignment or projects.
Responsibility for what children and young adults read and view rests with their parents’ and/or legal guardians. Selections will not be inhibited by the possibility that controversial materials may come into the possession of children or young adults.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, birthdays, family, memories, Thoughts on May 13, 2023| 1 Comment »
Today would have been my grandfather’s 113th birthday. I’ve written about him on this day for the past two years, and I thought it would be nice to keep up the tradition.
My previous birthday posts about Grandpa:
Eleventy-First, with Memories | J.R. Johnson
My grandparents lived in Chicago for most of my life but when they retired they became snowbirds, the kind that fly south for the winter. Later, they moved down there permanently. My grandfather walked the beaches south of Cape Canaveral and found, among other things, the bleached white skeletons of Echinarachnius parma, otherwise known as sand dollars.
I saw live sand dollars for the first time on our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They resemble their skeletons only in shape, and even that is unexpectedly flipped upright. Check out the images in the article below.
9 Fascinating Facts About Sand Dollars
The sand dollar—or “sea biscuit,” or “sand cake,” in other parts of the world—is purple and hairy in its prime.
Grandpa used to collect sand dollars and give them to us kids, a tiny piece of a magical, tropical land far to the south.
I still keep one on my bookshelf.
Happy birthday, Grandpa.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, home, Thoughts, ugh on May 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Still sick, but back to work. Slowly.
“I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before.”
— Sidney Poitier
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