Adventures in Life and Thought

  Sigh Anew Sigh anew Love for two Could have been Should have been Touched by wind Gone again

  Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. ~Anne Lamott Finding, maintaining, and keeping our physical, mental, and emotional balance during times of stress and anxiety is as tricky as finding a perfectly secluded beach on which we can relax and recharge our frayed minds and hearts. But before we get to the part about managing our stress, let’s first identify the likely sources of our stress. Origins of Stress Life, at the best of times, has its own set of stresses. However, when those stresses are compounded by situations beyond our ability to foresee or control, the pressure rises in our lives. Are you affected by any of these? Financial crisis Death of a loved one School pressures Caregiving responsibilities Strained relationships Moving Loss of job Pandemic Natural disasters or severe weather Political upheaval Social unrest Mental health Health crisis and healthcare Buying or selling a home Family concerns Marriage Divorce Toxic relation

  You Never Thought Writing Fiction Could Do This For You Once your excuses are gone, you will simply have to settle for being awesome! ~ Lorii Myers Are you ready to be awesome? Well then, you’ll have to get rid of these excuses: I don’t want to write I can’t write I don’t have time to write I hate reading why would I want to write I’ve never read fiction so how can I write it I can’t find a pencil or paper I can’t spell worth a flip I can barely speak much less write Everyone will think I’m crazy I have no imagination And the list goes on and on… Okay, at this point, you’re a little interested but more curious as to how this will benefit you, right? Let’s get one thing out of the way before we begin. All first-time fiction writers are one peg below dummies. Until you’ve actually written a work of fiction, expect to be clueless. But in this case clueless is priceless because you don’t have any expectations or deadlines to meet. And there is no editor in the wings wearing a literary po

Book Review: Two Meals a Day Cookbook My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍 What a wonderful book! Mark Sisson’s story of how he changed his understanding of food, health, and diet to make a life-altering move in a new dietary direction drew me to this cookbook. The health and diet information is priceless, easy to assimilate, and also easy to put into everyday action. The recipes are scrumptious. I’ve tried several and nothing yet has disappointed me. I can see how these simple yet tasty meals can change the way I purchase food and prepare meals for my family. The ingredients are mostly things I already had in my pantry and not items I had to purchase at a great cost that I would use once and then sit on my shelf. This cookbook is one that I will use weekly, as I intend to try every recipe over time. I’m hoping that I will not only benefit from great meals but also from the health benefits that come from these recipes. I thank the author/publisher for gifting me a copy of this wonderful book. My opin

  I enjoy creating these page flip overs for several reasons. The first is that they allow me to use up lots of my scrap pieces of paper, fabrics, and trims. The second reason is that they are fun to make because anything can happen. Just tear, cut, and glue and see what you come up with.  What do you think? Versatile, pretty, and so easy to create!  Share this scrap-busting project with your junk journaling friends. Swap scraps and have a crafting session together. Wish I could be there also. Have fun!

Developing an Artistic Eye — Seeing is Both Visual and Perceptual “If the artist has outer and inner eyes for nature, nature rewards him by giving him inspiration.” — Wassily Kandinsky I was inspired to create the fiber art shown above from noticing the tiny weed-like flowers that grew between the cracks of my sidewalk’s paver stones. The very delicate plant contrasted deeply with the hard surface that doubled as a complementary background. As a fiber artist, over the years I’ve had to learn how to develop my ability to see ordinary things through an artistic eye. It’s been an ongoing process and one I enjoy immersing myself in often. I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned with you. The Artist’s Eye Most of us have this to some extent. We use a facet of this ability when we arrange our home decor or mix and match our clothing choices. We use our sense of position, balance, color, shape, and compatibility. My long relationship with fabric has given me an arena to expanded on

  Imagine you're a writer and you've just pushed the publish button on your latest story. What would you do then? Do you break out in a sweat, wring your hands, circle your chair, pace the floor, drop to your knees, or just sit calmly and wait for the inevitable? I usually jump up and bake cookies, do some laundry, or rearrange some dust — anything to take my mind off the fact I’ve just dropped my precious baby down that crazy rabbit hole — again. Writers deal with word-induced fear every day. Let’s examine a few of the reasons why.  Lack of confidence — No matter how much we write, how often we publish, or how well each story does, we sweat with renewed anxiety each time we send another story out into the world for others to read? Comments and feedback — Writers have fragile egos. It’s part of our creative genetics. The world we live in is not known for tactfulness, kindness, or acceptance of strangers. And what can be stranger than a writer who’s just published a new story? “