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Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Say Hello!

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , on November 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We Earthlings are in the middle of the Leonid meteor shower. It takes place this year from November 6th through the 30th, but will peak overnight tonight. Even better, the moon is only 9% full, so the only competition will be from human light sources. 

Leonid meteor shower: All you need to know in 2025

The Leonid meteor shower is back! Leonid meteors are already flying. The peak is on the morning of November 17.

Love this animation!

Meteor Showers 2025 – 2026 – American Meteor Society

So tonight, if you find yourself in a place with clear skies, look up. 

The Universe is saying hello.

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Photo by Paul on Unsplash

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Ripple Effects

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged , , , , on November 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Happy Kindness Day! Not that you should limit kindness to just one day, but a little reminder can be useful. And knowing that people around you are more predisposed to be kind today? 

That’s a good thing, and it’s catching! 

If you’re going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!

Some hardhearted souls may even question whether small acts of kindness really matter. Spoiler alert: They do! 

…

“And here’s the beautiful part: When someone receives kindness, they don’t just feel better, they become better.”

The bonus is that a little kindness is good for both the recipient and the giver. Win win!

How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

— William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice

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Photo by Daniela Matthies on Unsplash

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Future Memories

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on November 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We held two memorials this weekend, both opportunities to come together around happy memories and shared stories. It also got me thinking (in a positive way!) about what comes after—not in terms of heaven (or that other place) but how to live and the world you leave behind. 

Today is also Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada, an ideal time to think about those who came before and what they did for their world, and ours.

Given that, this quote seemed like a good fit for today.

Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.  

— Warren Buffett

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Photo by Andre Frueh on Unsplash

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Another Type of Magic

Posted in Other, tagged , , , on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“The closest thing we can get to a crystal ball is history.”

— Jennifer Lawrence

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Photo by Nicole Avagliano on Unsplash

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Nothing, and Everything

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , on November 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

My office is filled with random yet interesting items. Maybe a color caught my eye, or a puzzle, or a map (or a bit of pottery, a magic wand, a decoder ring, a set of travel watercolors, or or or). All things that spark my creativity or capture an experience I want to remember.

For example: Mr Man and I had a special dinner a while back. 

Appetizer: mussels steamed with a great deal of garlic and a perfectly reasonable amount of white wine. 

Flavor: excellent. 

Bonus: an unexpected gift, the tiniest pearl I have ever seen. 

Taking a picture of it was a challenge, it’s that small.

Yes, right there in the middle. The white dot. Nope, that’s not a spec of dust!

I keep it in memory of that night. It’s worth nothing, and everything.

“But the pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the back by God or the gods both.”

– John Steinbeck

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Photo by Ruth Bourke on Unsplash

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Some Days You Just Need to Watch a Baby Elephant Play with a Pumpkin

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on October 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Some days you just need to watch a baby elephant play with a pumpkin. If today is that sort of day for you, you’re welcome!

A baby elephant stole the show at Oregon Zoo’s pumpkin-smashing event | AP News

A baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo had more tricks than treats to show when handlers gave it a small pumpkin to play with during an annual fall event where giant elephants smash half-ton pumpkins.

Freaking adorable.

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Photo by Y M on Unsplash

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A Nice Reminder

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on October 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here’s an illustrated short by Rich Wells, capturing an epiphany he had outside a tire shop.

Graham’s Tyres – Rich Wells

“I thought l’d take the words from my notebook and make something visual.

A reminder to myself that all this everyday stuff – admin, errands, school runs, park trips, waiting in lines, meal times –

it’s all a gift”

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Photo by srinivas bandari on Unsplash

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Learning Stuff

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , on October 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s a brave act to embrace incompetence. What’s delightful is that it’s a temporary state.

— Michael Bungay Stanier

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Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash

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Art of the Possible

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on October 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.

— Ray Bradbury

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Photo by Bob Osias on Unsplash

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Lessons in Suspense 

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on October 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today, Mr Man is out in the woods being woodsy, and his cell connection is weak at best. He called with a story about an adventure, full of drama and excitement, near misses and impossible tasks. 

Ninety seconds into the tale, the call cut out. Oh no, I thought, he just set up the problem, how will he triumph? What happened next? I waited by the phone in anticipation.

Another call, another 90 seconds, another cut line, another moment of drama as he hung, metaphorically speaking, between victory and defeat. It happened again, then again. 

I started answering his callbacks with “And then what happened?”

After many episodes I got the whole story, and it was a good one. Let’s just say that most of us would have found ourselves stranded in the bush waiting to become a bear’s dinner, but through creativity, deductive thinking and mechanical know how, he found a way!

And I enjoyed an excellent reminder of the power of suspense in story.

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Photo by Leio McLaren on Unsplash

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