The N Word

Navigate


Just for fun I am using a picture that our German friends took last week when we took them on a hike to Silver Creek Falls. More on that adventure on the other blog.

Though our first thought is nautical Navigate has a wide range of uses.

Read the map. . .use the GPS. . . can also be
Read the face. . . listen to the implied words.

We navigate life and some of us don’t stop to ask for directions.
I’m guilty. . . . .are you?

The M Word

Meditate
I feel strongly about Meditation.
I think we should all take time to do it.

Unfortunately Men as a group don’t know how and don’t want to learn how to do it. They would just rather fall asleep. That is their definition of Meditate.


I have favorite place I go for my meditation. In my head that is.

At the age of 13 my family lived on a remote piece of property. It was in the midst of a forest on an obscure river here in Oregon.

Trees were everywhere, in fact it was a piece of logging property.

Dad made a tree house in the middle of 5 sugar Maples. It was just a platform, not a covered house. But at the age of 13 it gave me a place to escape an 11 year old brother and an 8 year old sister. I did a lot on dreaming on that platform as I looked to the sky covered with a quilt made of large green maple leaves.

To this day I use that place to meditate in.

Find your place, go there and often.
Teach your children how to do this especially your sons.
Let them learn the advantages of meditation, they will appreciate it and you 10 years from now.

Playing with Knives

It has been many MANY months since I have put my art work on this blog. A dry spell had me in it’s chains.

In February I watched an Etsy video that introduced a puppet maker. Not your ordinary one by any means. The best part is that he was located in Portland. After exploring his website I saw he was conducting wood carving classes to learn to make a Marionette Puppet. WOW, and they were dark and eclectic puppets, just my style. So I signed up.

Now you will see my, hopefully, weekly progress.
Tools
An F clamp
A beginners wood carving knife
A Kevlar glove.
Pencil
A BIG eraser (in my case)



The Teacher is Geack, pronounced Jack sorta.
Here is his website.

WE began the first two lessons with creating and drawing a character.

I stared with Nelly. This is who I eventually would like to make. But soon decided that I wanted to learn to do old men first with their wrinkles and such. So I switched to Xavier.
He has a bit of a beer belly and lots of loose skin on his face. Bald with long grey hair to put in a pony tail. The character’s personality comes from someone I met in Germany over 10 years ago. But the physical look is going for my cousin Warren. No he doesn’t have a nose like Xavier. I am sure he will appreciate my attempts, if not I’ll just hit him with Xavier’s wooden leg.



Actually shaving off wood from a block is fun. Cutting out chunks is hard. I will have to strengthen my hands more. This takes a lot more Umpf than a needle and thread.
Here are my first cuts. Not so pretty. You have to get a 45degree angle to take out wedges. I seem to go shallow.


Then I practiced a bit more and got a better bite out of the wood. The eye is much better here.


Then on my own I tried a small face. Can you see him? He is very rough.



Today is lesson 3 and we should come home with the head to carve. This is getting exciting.

Xavier likes Snuff so he will have a nose that can appreciate snuff. Weird I know. But this guy really does exist in Germany. He likes Beer, Women and Snuff. And he is a lot older than me.

Ich Liebe Dich

Liebe
Did I put the criteria for the ABC’s to be in English?
Nope!
I have just spent 5 days with a bunch of German’s in my house. (thus the pause in my blog) Wonderful, funny Germans.
So the word Liebe comes to mind for my L word.
Translation – Love, sex, devotion, adoration.

Like English it can mean many things. When the British use it, it is an endearment of sorts. Hello Love, or Must be off, Love.

Add ling to Liebe and you have Liebling or Favorite, Darling.

Add the S and you have the adjective Liebes - Kind, Sweet, Cute, Welcomed

Adding a letter is like adding frosting to the cake. The cake is good by itself and the frosting just enhances it.

Love is good by itself and just as good in other forms.

It's a family affair

The Letter K

Kith & Kin

Due to my love of historical trivia this phrase, for it is not just one word, I find to be a fun and quirky saying I like to use.

Kin is an old word for family. Though old (1377) it is still used today.
Kith comes from the same period in time but has been lost along the way. It means to know the area or land.

This begs a moment of reflection.
The phrase “I know his Kith & Kin” really is a strong and personal statement. “I know his family and the area of which he comes from”, shows a personal connection. Not just “I know him”, but people that are connected to him and the area he grew up in or lives in. You understand his way of life and the influences that molded his personality.

This simple and old phrase says so much. It is eloquent and powerful.

Juxta Moment

The Letter J
Juxtapose

For the longest time I didn’t know what this word meant. I loved the sound of it. But then again I like the sound of Jabberwocky.
Once I found out what Juxtapose was and how it fit into my vocabulary I liked it even more.

Did you know it is a fairly new word. It was first used in 1855ish.

And now to use it in my daily life. . . .
Today I received my new work laptop. I had to send in my old Dell and have all the information migrated (transferred) to the new HP laptop.
Now I find myself juxtaposing the two and developing some harsh opinions.

Don't look behind the Curtain

The Letter I


Illusion

There are those who feel illusion is a falsehood, deceptive. Perhaps those who have this attitude are actually paranoid that they are somehow missing something or being deceived.


Does the Pea hen feel deceived when the Peacock with all his plumage is actually just a little grey bird like her?
Or does she laugh at the pretence and work the Peacock must go through to obtain and maintain his illusion.

I applaud illusion. It takes so little to be plain/normal, it takes a lot to create an illusion.

It’s the motivation that is the culprit of dissention.

Snarky Cashiers

Not everyone's husband likes to shop. For that matter, not every guy will shop with Coupons and brag about the DEAL they just landed.

Jerry is not like other hubby's when it comes to shopping. With one HUGE exception.
He will not go into the Dollar Store or a Goodwill (thrift store). I had to escort him for his first visit to the Dollar store here in town last December. He really feels it is beneath him to purchase anything there.

So it is an unspoken agreement that if there is shopping to be done that is over $50 he does it, and under $50 I do it.

He visits Costco weekly. Yes Weekly, me? well it is about every 3 months for my visits.

Yesterday was one of those weekly trips for him. with a $150 rebate in hand he went the the register with the BIG Kitchen Aid mixer. . . a $70 piece of beef (New York steak loin) and 2 dozen red roses.
The cashier said "Wow you must have been really bad. That's some major kissin' up."

No, he wasn't in trouble. He just had $ burnin' a whole in his pocket. If he was tryin' to make up for an offense I had better NOT get a kitchen appliance!

"In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen”

The Letter H

Habit


How long does it take to build a habit? Some Doctors say 3 times.
I don’t think so.

Tell a 7 year old . . .3 times to Pick Up Your Backpack and put it in your room.
It didn’t work with my now grown kids and it isn’t working with the 7 year old grandson.


But does it take less effort to stop a habit?

Hmmm, Smoking? Yes it takes a lot more.

Eating. . .A whole lot more.


Doing the exercise that the Doc wants me to do. Sigh yes it takes a lot to start that habit and very little to stop it.

So today I will start a habit. (If you announce it will it make it happen any easier?)

I will Hug my hubby at some point each day when he least expects it.


Start a habit that doesn’t create Fat, Lung disease, or $ problems.

Start it today.


P.S. the picture is a slight nod to my Catholic upbringing. Now that is a Habit I broke!

The G Spot

Gravity
A necessary evil.


It holds us here. . . .Good thing. . . So we don’t float out to an atmosphere we can’t breath in.
It holds us here. . .Bad thing. . .We can’t fly without apparatus.

It brings things down. . .Good Thing. . .the apples drop the snow falls, things come down to our level.
It brings things down. . . .Bad thing. . .Saggy boobs, flat feet, double chins. . . .bird poop.

The F Bomb

Focus


What helps you focus? Silence? Turn the TV off, the radio off, phone off, quiet the kids/dog/cat/Spouse.

A new pair of glasses? Did my eyesight really change that much in 3 years?
A companion/coworker? That needed encouragement to stay on track, don’t fall off the wagon.




Making a list?
If it isn’t on the list I won’t buy it.


Threats? If I don’t get the bills paid I will get that damn collection call
Rewards? If I get this done I will be satisfied with myself





I know this is the hardest part of my day, staying focused. It is detrimental at work. And it shows up in my review each year. Only they don't call it Focus they call it Prioritizing. Ha, If I really prioritized they (work) would be at the bottom of my list.

Damn that paycheck.

SNOW DAY!

THE LETTER E

Enthusiasm


Bubbly, giggly enthusiasm is contagious. Spread it with abandon. No sanitizer hand gel needed. Show it all day, Show it to everyone. Choose the smallest thing or the grandest thing. BUT show it and share it.
Kentucky got excited because I had a box big enough to make an airplane out of. I really didn’t want the box cut up. But his enthusiasm made me join him as we cut holes and taped wings and spun a propeller. I am glad I joined him in his project. It made a better end to this day.

I took these pictures a few days ago when we had the SNOW DAY. No school so I had to pinch hit for mommy. The desire to make snow angels was so great. Here is Entusiasm at it's best.
Notice anything similar in each picture?

No it's isn't the angel shape in the snow. . . .

No not the hats and gloves. . . . .

Why did they all have thier eyes closed???


Because they were drinking in the delight of a snow day that only a child can relish.

The D word

Dignity

At first it may present itself as conceit or pompous, but DIGNITY is more internal. To carry yourself or conduct yourself with Dignity is the goal. Your every action should be worthy of the life you have been given. Show your parents Dignity by being the child they are proud they raised. Show your spouse Dignity by being worthy of their love. Show your children Dignity by setting an example of the adult they will aspire to be.
Only you can bruise your Dignity, by letting yourself down. No one else has the power to do that.

A touch

Caress
Touch is a most powerful tool. Caress a child and they trust. Caress a spouse and they acknowledge.

The caress can be to sooth a pain, adjust a fallen lock of hair, a playful nudge.

But most importantly a Caress starts with CARE. The movement, touch, connection that starts with Care. You care, they care, we care. Caress and Care.

ABC's

This is a confession, I do not have the patience for some of the Blog world games. The 365 days of picture taking (Jaci I commend you on doing it), the giveaways, The tag it Tuesdays, etc.
I also confess I read mommy blogs. Not just my own daughter's blogs, but other ladies who I don't even know. I pipe in with Grandmotherly advice every once in a while, but over all I just enjoy the laugh.

I ran into one that was having a really hard time and she decided to write a word a day that would help her make it through just that day. Starting with the alphabet so she would only have to do it short term, 26 days.

I liked that idea. 26 days I can commit to. She encouraged her readers to think up words for her as well. So besides posting my words in her commit section I am going to put them here on my blog.

I encourage you to come up with a word a day to help you through the tough and fun times. Since this started yesterday (March 1) I will have two words for today. Let's see if I can make it 26 days.


In the voice of Elmo. . .Today's letter is A and the word of the day is AIR.


AIR
Appreciate the AIR around you. Remember that simple things can bring joy. Not just that you are alive to breath the air. But what the air does for you. It blows in the trees and cools you on a summer day. It carries fragrance to you to enjoy or not. But that means the your nose can appreciate the scents or warn you of danger. Air fills your lungs to oxygenate your blood.
Today show you appreciate Air and those around you will notice. bake cookies/bread so the house smells great when they come home. Or burn a candle so the fragrance will gently relax everyone in the house.
Embellish Air and appreciate it.

P.S. yes that is our hot air balloon in the pic, Dear Mirays.


And for March 2 . . Today's letter is B and the word of the day is Bounty.


Is there Bounty in your life? No not the paper towel or the candy bar, but in your cupboard? Do you have enough food that you can choose what you eat for each meal? Do you have Bounty in your Closet so much so that you can choose what you will wear each day. Do you have Bounty in friends who will catch you when you stumble. Is there Bounty in your family who will care for you in sickness and health. When we look at our Bounty we can then know that we are better off than the majority of the world and our problems seem smaller in comparison. Appreciate your Bounty but don't flaunt it.