I’m pretty sure someone out there needs flowers today. Is it you?
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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways’
Because It’s Monday
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Mondays, Thoughts on January 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
How to Get Where I’m Going
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, procrastination, Thoughts, woodturning, Writers, writing on January 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today’s debate: Do I push ahead on the story idea upon which I am currently stumped, update the family cookbook, or head to the workshop for the first time in ages?
The good news is that no matter what I decide, I’m likely to make progress on at least some of these fronts (or on something else entirely, but whatever, progress is progress).
Productive procrastination for the win!
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Useful Advice on Art, or Anything Really
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #theCreativityWars, creativity, Thoughts, writing on January 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s cold here today and I mentioned to my mother that we had condensation on the windows.
Now, you should know that my mother is very artistic and has an arts and languages background. She’s been to the creativity wars, you know?
Here’s what she said:
Great advice, right? And while I didn’t have enough condensation to draw anything real (and oh right, I can’t draw anyway, see above lopsided grimace for proof), the important thing is that I didn’t stop there.
I woke up thinking about Impressionist art (as one does) so I decided to try my hand at computer aided pointillism using this tutorial.* Here’s the result.
Thanks, Mom!
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* I also learned that Mary Cassatt, one of the “three great ladies” of Impressionism and an artist who focused much of her work on the social and domestic lives of women (subjects often ignored by male artists), was from Pennsylvania.
The Wonderful World of Waffles
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, memories, Thoughts on January 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
After a long hiatus, I have returned to the world of waffle making. They really are delicious.
My father used to make us the best weekend waffles. Even the batter tasted great. The leavening made little bubbles that popped on the tongue.
For whatever reason, this week I got it in my head to make waffles. We had a cream-based seafood stew and as I pulled it out of the fridge I thought, “Chicken and waffles!”
For the uninitiated among you, chicken and waffles is a thing. A delicious, savory, creamy Pennsylvania Dutch dish that etched itself in my culinary memory from childhood.
The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch version consists of a plain waffle with pulled, stewed chicken on top, covered in gravy.
— Chicken and waffles – Wikipedia
Obviously, seafood is not chicken, but hey, I thought, close enough. I want waffles! Crispy outside, fluffy inside, what’s not to love? After a deep dive into the long-term storage situation I excavated the waffle maker from the bottom shelf of the basement cupboard. A not-so-quick cleaning* and dinner was served.
I made extra because waffles freeze well and if you want a quick dessert, say, don’t need more than visit to the toaster and a healthy dose of maple syrup.
Have we taken advantage of that fact?
Maybe!*
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* Sadly, in my experience waffle makers tend to be plagued by poor design and are difficult to maintain. Our current version is no exception.
* * Um, yeah. Hundred percent yes.
To Be a Light in Darkness
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, quotes, Thoughts on January 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I’m working on a bouquet of smaller projects today, so I’ll leave you with this thought:
“I don’t care what you do in life, but challenge people with greater power than you and defend those with less power.”
— Nick Clooney, to son George
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A PSA for the USA
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #PSA, free, stupid Covid on January 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This is for all my American readers out there.
Need a free Covid test and / or N95 mask? This is your lucky day!
Omicron just waves as it floats past cloth masks, and surgical masks (while a marked improvement) aren’t always ideal. What’s better? An N95 mask. Unfortunately, top-quality masks aren’t cheap.
The good news? Most of us can reuse N95s, and there are ways to get these masks for free.
There has been a lot of press about this but in case you haven’t heard or don’t have the links, here’s how to take advantage of these free offers:
- COVIDtests.gov – Free at-home COVID-19 tests
- Free N95s: Here’s how to get free masks from pharmacies or community health centers
Stay safe out there!
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Wisdom, with Bear
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Thoughts, writing on January 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.”
― Lorraine Hansberry
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Everything It Is, Then
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, inspiration, life, quotes, Thoughts, writing on January 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications.”
― Nora Ephron
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Past is Present & Future
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #AfterCovid, England, history, inspiration, Thoughts on January 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I love history. Not the memorization of dates and tests and such, but that moment where you realize in a sudden, visceral way that the past isn’t ever really gone. That the present is built on its bones.
I also like the idea of uncovering that past, either via literal bones or the items that people leave behind. Gold is nice and all (not least because it lasts) but I have a soft spot for the ordinary. What was once worthless, like a broken pot, a used envelope, translucent blue glass jar or a single button, becomes a window into the everyday.
A window in time, if you will.
From museums to restored footage to dragon bones (ok, not exactly but still) and virtual reconstructions, there are a lot of ways to see the past.
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I tend to prefer the more tactile alternatives.
My mother used to take us out to a friend’s cabin in the woods. In winter we helped her gather sap for maple syrup, but in summer my brother and I would head to the stream at the base of the hill. The water had cut a small cliff into the shale, and if we were lucky and good we could find fossils.
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Here are two examples of hands-on history I think would be fun to experience.
The fossil hunters of the Jurassic Coast
… with the West Dorset cliffs eroding at such a rapid rate, scientists alone could never hope to save even a fraction of the fossils emerging onto the beaches before they’re swept away by the waves. This has left amateur collectors as key partners in the fight to preserve the area’s extraordinary fossil bounty for study and display, and has, over the past two decades, fuelled a huge rise in the number of people visiting the local beaches in search of prehistoric treasures.
… the majority of the things salvaged from the mud are more recent—often medieval or later—and are small, humble reminders of what people used, maybe loved, and eventually discarded. Exploring the shore as a mudlark is like conducting a swift, simple, satisfying archaeological dig, with almost no digging at all.
More fun for the future!
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The Choice
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Thoughts on January 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate… I choose love.”
― Johnny Cash
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