Today could use a little pick-me-up, so I give you…
Pandas in the snow!
And now I’m smiling 🙂
Posted in Funny, Likes | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, fun, pandas, pick-me-up, snow | Leave a Comment »
I ran across a draft letter I wrote several years ago, and I’m kicking myself for not sending it. Why? It was a condolence letter to the husband of an old friend of the family, and I realize now that I never felt like it was good enough to send.
L. and her first husband were close to my parents when I was young, and as couples split apart and merged in new formations, L. remained part of our circle. Even when she remarried, moved away and I hadn’t seen her for years, L. occupied a warm place in my heart. Then she got sick and died, and I didn’t know what to say to the new husband I’d never met.
Still, I searched for a card. I bought a stamp. I drafted a letter. I didn’t send it.
Running across the draft, I realize that what I might have said was less important than the impulse to share what L. meant to me. Here’s my draft, names abbreviated:
Dear P.,
I wanted to write to say how sorry I was to hear about L.’s passing. You know my father M. well, of course, and L. was a good friend of our family for years.
L. was many things, an academic, a family friend, wife, mother, upstanding member of the community and snazzy dresser. She was kind enough to invite us to her son’s bar mitzvah. The energy was happy, swirling, bright and compelling, much like L. herself.
When I think of L., I remember her smile, her warmth, the care she showed for those around her. I think of her dancing.
I am so sorry for her loss.*
Perfect? No, but it was good enough. What lesson do I take from this? What will I tell myself the next time?
I wanted it to be perfect because it mattered. But I had it backwards. I understand now that because it mattered, it didn’t have to be perfect.
* * *
Reach out. Share your feelings.
Send the card.
* * *
* * *
* Note following a discussion on this with my father: I debated using the more typical “sorry for your loss” but decided that while I was deeply sorry for P., what I meant in the bigger picture was “I’m so sorry she’s gone.” So I used “her loss.” Told you it wasn’t perfect, but that’s ok.
Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, condolences, learning, perfection, writing | 1 Comment »
After crawling its way across the US, a huge storm is hitting the Northeast right now. It’s strange to look down south and see weather I’m more used to associating with Canada.
Our weather is bright sun and blue skies today, so I’ll have to empathize by tracking weather maps and making my own snowflakes with this fun online Snowflake Generator.
To my family and friends, and all those caught in the storm, stay safe!
How to shovel snow like a pro — in the least painful way | CBC News
Snow Shoveling Safety Tips | Travelers Insurance
* * *
In looking for projected snowfalls, I found this article on Harriet Tubman:
The role weather played in The Underground Railroad
“When the sun sets in the winter at, say, 3:30 and doesn’t rise until 6 or 7, you have much longer to travel. During the day when the sun is out, it’s much easier to see somebody in the woods — to chase somebody and follow someone.”
I also hadn’t realized that Tubman was taught to navigate by Black Jacks, or free African-American sailors.
* * *
I’ve used this image before but it’s pretty perfect for this, so here it is again:
Posted in Other | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Harriet Tubman, snowstorm, weather | Leave a Comment »
I always wanted to be able to draw. In high school, I had a friend who was a wizard with a pen. It was a form of magic, really, the translation of life to page. I could just about manage a creditable human eye and that’s it. The eye’s match was beyond me; the second one was never quite the same. I spent a good bit of my time in French class trying to improve (apologies to my French teacher) but eventually gave up and turned my hand to personalized on-demand poetry for my classmates. (It’s amazing what you can do with a hard deadline.)
I was better at the poetry. But I still wanted to draw, at least a little.
Thank you, computer graphics!
I’m not a wizard, but I was able to fill at least some of that gap with Illustrator, Photoshop and the like. And of course I write, another way to translate life to the page.
* * *
In art and life, find a way to do the things that call to you. The path may not be the one you expected, but it can take you to your destination just the same.
Posted in Favorites, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, J.R.R. Tolkien, magic, persistence | 2 Comments »
In general, I like being home but these days I’ll admit, at times my thoughts stray to travel. As in, “Oh yes, once upon a time we used to go places and see things” and “There was a whole world out there, remember?”
And then I ran across scans of an old travel journal and had the fun of paging through the journey. Visiting the Swedish royal palace, discovering my brother’s previously hidden talent as a navigator, outrunning a swarm of mosquitoes, champagne in Stockholm, eating fish cheeks, taking tea in a converted windmill.
It was all lovely, even the insecty bits. And I’m pretty sure I’m not just saying that because travel has become one of those mythical ideas, like unicorns and shaking hands with strangers.
At the very back of the journal I rediscovered my father’s bird list. I think it was made after the trip, and there’s something precious about our layered handwriting, anchoring our shared memories to the page.
* * *
Posted in Holidays, Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, birds, Europe, family, journal, OnceUponATime, travel | 1 Comment »
Look, obviously you’ve heard this story before. Princess grows up, escapes arranged marriage with dullard from the kingdom next door, falls in with the wrong crowd, is kidnapped and sold into slavery across the sea but conquers all to become a highly-trained assassin, mycelial mage or dragon groomer.
I mean, honestly, these things happen all the time.
Posted in Writing | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, SelfRescuingPrincess, StorySeed | Leave a Comment »
This morning, I realized that when I’m noodling over a topic and want to know more, I tend to think in Google searches:
long hair
long hair styles
easy long hair styles
no fuss long hair styles
what to do with all this hair
so much hair!
covid hair
oy
Just me?
Posted in Funny | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, CovidHair, GoogleAteMyBrain | Leave a Comment »
Mr Man needed some distancing and max occupancy signs, so I had a little fun. Here are a few examples:
Moose, yes, dragon, yes, cat, heck yes, but two dinosaurs in one lab? What was I thinking?
Posted in Entertainment, Funny | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, cats, Covid, distancing, dragons, TRex | 1 Comment »
Ugh. I slept not well, feel not 100% well, and it’s Tuesday, the most demanding of my work days. But! I have decided!* Today will be a not bad day. Probably.
How do I know that this is true? Because already one thing has gone right. No spiders in my straws.
As you may remember, I usually have a smoothie for breakfast, the kind with chia and hemp seeds and other ingredients that require big straws. You may also know that I have a soft spot for the planet and the critters who live here (even creepies like spiders), so I don’t use plastic straws. A thoughtful friend gave me some cool metal bendy straws for my birthday (thanks, L.:)** which are terrific for things like lemonade and iced tea, but for smoothies, I like glass.
That’s them on the right. Sturdy borosilicate glass straws*** with rounded ends, thick enough for thick liquids but clear enough to see if anything has crawled inside during the night. Like a spider.****
It’s only happened once, but coming this close to sucking up a house spider first thing in the morning? Not something one forgets.
So, how do I know that today is going to be a not terrible day? No spiders for breakfast. I count that as a win.*****
Hope you have a not terrible day too, but if you don’t, remember that it happens to the best of us!
“But I am very poorly today & very stupid & I hate everybody & everything. One lives only to make blunders.”
― Charles Darwin
I think of this quote a lot on bad days. Just keep going. You’ll get through it.
* * *
* I find this sort of declaration works better if exclamation points are involved.
** This photo shows other cool gifts as well, like the fun person-shaped tea infuser and spice rack. I try not to be too saccharine, because sometimes life just really is hard no matter how much positive thinking one applies, but starting off the day feeling both grateful and fortunate helps.
*** My straws came from a company called GlassDharma but they’ve retired now. They passed on their lifetime guarantee to another company called DrinkingStraws. I haven’t tried them yet but their straws look fun.
**** For a while we were getting spiders in all kinds of weird places, like the blender and yes, straws. My guess is that it the light refraction in those places looks something like water to them, but that’s just a guess.
***** The spiders are off doing what they do. I don’t kill them.
Posted in Food and..., Likes | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, Darwin, friends, spiders, straws | Leave a Comment »
Mondays and Tuesdays are my busiest work days, so I asked Bernie to stop by and keep you all company.
Yes, #Berniesmittens is a thing right now and why not, I think we could all use some fun. (I believe I’ll call it a Bern, or one unit of unself-conscious fun.) Want to make your own fun with Bernie? The image is here.
If you want your very own version of the mittens, I have semi-sad news. The teacher who made those mittens can’t keep up with the thousands of requests that came her way after the inauguration. Interested in making your own? Check out this guide from The Guardian:
How to make Bernie Sanders’ inauguration mittens
Or do what most of us are doing when we can, and stay inside:)
Posted in Funny, Likes | Tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #BerniesMittens, OneBern | Leave a Comment »
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