Category: One Little Word

1 January 2025|

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Happy New Year!!!

I’m finding it hard to believe that today is the beginning of not just a new month but also, a new year! When did 2024 go? Where? As I look around my office/craft studio, everything looks the same ~ even the December calendars that are still on the wall. Guess I need to do something about that.

This has been a very quiet day; no doubt, people are still recuperating from last night’s festivities…I’d planned to watch the ball drop from NYC and promptly slept through that! C’est la vie. Imagine my surprise this AM when I logged onto my iPhone and found a text message from a long-time-ago – I’m talking easily 50 years – old boyfriend. We had not kept in touch.

Apparently though, t’was much easier than my finding a couple books I’d been reading last night! Somehow they disappeared this morning. I’d searched high and low, several times, to no avail. Really could not figure out where the books were? A real puzzle…

As I started to go downstairs, I turned around and looked at the bed… Was that a hump I eyed under the spread? Hmmm. I walked over to the bed that I’d made up earlier, ran my hand across the section of the bedspread that looked a tad suspect and , Lo and Behold, YES! There were my books, under the spread, patiently waiting for me to discover and retrieve them. I personally think t’was the Time Thieves who’d discovered the error of their ways.

Whatever, I had my books and a story for today’s blog post. Which brings me to my 2025 One Little Word : JOURNAL!

Yes, JOURNAL was also my word a while back…I don’t know exactly when the first time was …I need to research that. But, JOURNAL seems fitting for 2025 – especially since I’m kicking off the year/month with Junk Journal January 2025 and I’ve several other journaling projects underway/or being formulated.

Who knows what other surprises are in store for 2025?

Wishing you your best year ever!

Cheers~

all the words …

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James Clear, in his/today’s weekly 3-2-1 Thursday email newsletter, invites readers to :

“Think about something you have been trying to make progress on recently. What is a completely different line of attack for solving it or a wildly different approach you can explore?”

I have a laundry list of “things”. I frequently meet ideas that entice…and I’m “on it!” Sadly, most likely will not come to fruition. Rather, I wind up falling deeper into Pandora’s box/hole. I have been around for a long time and this “condition” is not at all novel. In my work life, the “condition” served me well, as the genesis of an idea that was later translated as a grant proposal for federal and/or state funding awarded the library system, thus enabling services to traditionally un or underserved populations. For example: persons with hearing disabilities or those in the county’s detention center or adults who were “functionally illiterate”.

About two dozen years ago, I started blogging. Over the years, I’ve managed to maintain some semblance of presence in the digital world via my blog. I’m coming to the conclusion that 2024 will be my last year in this arena. My plan is to ‘live”, revisit my One Little Words one day each over a month or several. I’m hoping to answer questions, such as : How did the word show up ? What were the significances? Impacts?

Over the years, a former virtual assistant/friend’s husband made wooden replicas of my words…there are a total of 32 words, tho’ not every letter of the alphabet is represented. Since I have 32 wooden words and there are only 12 months in the year, I’m thinking I’ll visit 2-3 words each month. I won’t be sharing in abc order but rather, as a mood or season prevails.

My word to begin this year of “one little word revisit”, is WRITE. In 1976, when I first started working in the library in Prince George’s County MD, I “found” a key. Neither I nor my Admin Aide knew its origin or purpose. I wrote her a note, attached to the key: “File under “lost keyholes.” She did. Every time I recall this story, I laugh out loud, a huge smile on my face. Years later, my friend gave me a key with the word “WRITE” engraved on it. For the past twenty plus years, I’ve begun my day “writing.” It is indeed a habit that is as much a part of me as are my hands, mind, memories, routines and practices of every single day. I begin each day ‘s journey, pen in hand, prepared to write.

Cheers~

in with the new | 2024 …

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I started this post on Sunday, 12.30.23, listening, as I have most Sunday mornings, to the wshu radio musical program: Sunday Baroque. I know, feel it in my bones, that I’ve been listening to this radio musical treat for at least 24 years of Sundays… Sometime, earlier in 2023, the program’s start time shifted. It appears to me that streaming took over. I know I can/could figure it out or at least contact the station or consult the website but I haven’t…”Next week,” I tell myself… the good news is this Sunday I get to tell myself “next year”! Solving this puzzle goes on – to the top ?- of my 2024 list…

What happened to Monday?

Today, Tuesday, 2 January 2024, I am writing this post during my daily 8 Am Writers’ Hour zoom session. I started this gig in 2022 ? (date escapes me ) and have been “faithful” to starting each day, M- F and within the 55 minutes circle of time, to writing. Some people do a word count; I haven’t —-yet!

This is the time of the beginning of the New Year when many resolve to make this the “best year ever.” I do not exclude myself. My plan is to “get my life in order” which is no small feat – I’ve been focusing on just that task for decades – and I do mean decades! Some days I win. Some days, I manage to take those three steps forward, backwards…

Many also choose a word of focus – a one word to guide one’s actions throughout the year. In my writer’s room, I am surrounded by my words, gathered since 2009, when I first started this practice of focusing on a single word for 365 days to help guide my thinking and actions. My first word : JOY.

This year, rather than choose a single word, I’ve decided to revisit all my words chosen and incorporated in my daily life these past 14 years. I have almost all those words in wooden form, each made for me by a dear friend’s husband.

I’ve shared the fact that I am also a big fan of Gretchen Rubin, as she often describes herself: “the Happiness Bully.” I first “met” Gretchen via her book, The Happiness Project, a 2009 publication. I have purchased and read all her Happiness -themed books; I listen to her weekly Happier podcasts with her sister, Liz Craft, also a writer, and prior to Covid’19 pandemic, attended her writer’s book tours (also with her sister). This year, 2024, I am participating in the year-long Happiness Project Revisited .

And, for me, a major component of Happiness is staying true to my daily intentions to bring peace, calm, order, via implementing beneficial habits to my daily life. One of those habits, dare I say life long, is writing. Write2024 also happens to be this year’s focus to listeners of Gretchen’s and Liz’s annual challenge. Again, dare I say “ A match made in heaven” ?! (Currently I’m typing this on my iPad and it is being uncooperative with making an Interabang: a combination question and exclamation mark. Grr!)

It is 10 AM. Writers’ Hour has been over an hour and I, distracted trying to make the Interrobang on the iPad, lost track of time as well as my train of thought. I see I shall have to take a photo of my words, A – Z…

To be continued…Do you have a word for 2024? Please share in the comments and a link to a blog post if you wrote/published.

Write On!

Cheers~

Welcome Summer | 6.22.23 …

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My dear friend Laura sent me a box of “happy mail” that included a variety of stickers and my 2023 word: Happier. Thanks Laura and Jeff! Made me happier, for sure.

Recently, I bought a new iPhone; I intended to have the old phone become a backup; somehow, my “old phone” disappeared. I was totally baffled. What had I done with it?! I was convinced the “Time Thieves” had somehow managed to get involved. Where might those phones be? For several days, I methodically went through every box, drawer and shelf in my craft room – the place I remembered I last had the phones. Nothing. I decided that I had one last place to look: my sewing studio… Holding my breath, I opened a drawer… THERE THEY WERE! WHEW! I was one happy camper !

I’m finding I’m really attracted to butterflies; I think this attraction has been around for a while, as I look through my art, quilting stash and photo archives. I saw this display today on my trip to the library to pick up a couple reserves. Fun! And the tag line is spot on. Makes me happier.

Saturday, 10 June, was “World Knit in Public Day.” The weather was perfect, low 80s and low humidity. I decided to walk to Zeke’s, our neighborhood coffee shop that is definitely open now that Covid is on the wane. (I got my 4th booster 6.14.23!) I retrieved a knit piece that will eventually be a dishcloth; it’s a simple garter stitch and I thought it might be a good way resurrect my knitting.

I shall make one more attempt to reteach myself to “cast on,” a definite required knitting technique.

On this the second day of summer, it rains! Welcome! The upside is the heat associated with a DC summer is not a factor, at least not today! That indeed makes me happier as I am not a fan of summer heat nor winter cold.

Now that it is summer, what’s making you happier?

Cheers~

Week #21 – Happiness|

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     Week #21 started with a bang:  
    Monday, I went downtown to The National Mall – there were people all ages from all over the world – lots of school trips. The weather was lovely, a perfect Spring day!  I specifically went to meet Juliann, F2F, who was visiting. We’ve been Zoom and FT and ALP friends for several years; this was our first Face-to-Face meetup, ever. T’was a delightful day, spent mostly at the African American Museum of Art and then a bite to eat afterwards …  Visit her blog to see a photo of the two of us …
    Tuesday, in comparison, quiet time for me.   Wednesday, I was in seventh heaven: The London Writers’ Salon sponsored a special interview/chat with Maggie O’Farrell– author of many books, her two most recent: Hamnet and Portrait of A Marriage.
Along with all the others in the audience, I was captivated, hang- ing onto her every word. After the session, I promptly checked my two local library systems for her memoir : I Am, I Am, I Am. As luck would have it, both dc public and pgcmls (Prince George’s County, MD) library systems had copies available – one of which I now have in my reading stack, started Thursday night after …

         Thursday, I met two friends for breakfast and a long overdue gathering. We were           so busy catching up, eating, etc, we forgot to grab a picture to memorialize the                     event. But, that’s OK; our hearts are warmed and the memory of our gathering,                   indelibly impressed on our minds…

Friday, I waited all day for a service call re: my washing machine. It walks.                      The service tech arrived at 5:15 pm. No service performed!Suffice it to say, I was                  not a happy camper! Second service call scheduled for Wednesday.

Friday’s fiasco not withstanding, in the overall scheme of things, I am more                           happier – as Gretchen and sister, Liz share on their twice a month Saturday  podcast.         What’s making you more happier these days?  Have a great holiday!

Cheers~

Apologies for the disatrous formatting – last three paragraphs. Word Press strikes again and frankly, I’m too irritated to bother.

 

simply a moment | 4.15.23 …

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A quiet day, punctuated by a delightful 2 PM afternoon walk, bright blue sky, and colorful flowers in the ground, pots and on trees.


Before and after my early afternoon walk, I spent time on several Zoom calls with scrapbookers from around the world, sharing, gathering ideas and making plans to document daily our individual lives via photo and words, the last week of this month, April 24 – 30. This is a project I’ve done off and on over the past 10 or so years.

In today’s mail, I received a surprise package from my Delaware friend Kathy, filled with scrapbook papers, embellishments and ephemera ~ perfect for the upcoming week’s documentation. Most of the items are yellow and I have the perfect yellow 6 x 8 album waiting in the wings. Yes! Yellow is absolutely my favorite color. Just the thought makes me happy.

These moments today clearly made me happier… and I hope they have the same effect for you!

Cheers~

Color Makes Me Happy

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Spring in Washington DC has arrived! Several years ago, my word was “color.” In all its glory, my daily walks -even on those days when it was a tad, ( a lot ) chilly – have been a sheer visual delight. Spring and Autumn in the nation’s capital are generally beautifully colorful. Come, join me on a quick tour .

Yesterday, Friday, was rainy and cool… t’was still the best for the work Mother Nature does to provide daily colorful journeys and happy Spring memories.

Happy Spring!

one little word | 3.28.23 …

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3.26, was Friendstitch Sunday … the six of us always, always look forward to these monthly gatherings, now in the 9th year. This past Sunday, we met at Michelle’s and were greeted with gorgeous spring flowers: daffodils and amaryllis. For Christmas 2019, I gave Michelle (and the others, each) a bulb… Michelle has the magic green thumb. We were delighted to see the amaryllis in full bloom. In addition to being treated to a spectacularly colorful array of flowers, we had an absolutely delicious meal. Yum! The memory of Sunday makes me happier…

My walks, most days, weather permitting, I am greeted by the constant display of signs of Spring: magnolia and cherry blossoms, daffodils, maple trees and forsythia bushes. Delightful.

For the past year, I’ve focused on s-l-o-w-l-y retelling my AmaZe – about me, A-Z – life story that I hope to publish as a memoir style photo album/book. My goal is to have completed this project close to June 1, 2023…If I meet this self imposed deadline, I’m confident I’ll be happier!

The star is a needlepoint I found as I’ve been weeding my stash of projects – a project long overdue but also one that has very tangible results. And this too, makes me happier.

You know, happier is a good place to be! What’s making you happier these days?

Cheers~

Attention!

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… Catching my own is more than a notion. A lot vies for mine, as evidenced by the “plethora” – a favorite Norman word – of notes, both sticky and un – that I write, on whatever’s available, usually with a pen. And, as I am prone to handwrite, know that I avail myself liberally. Quite.

I believe Habit was my word for 2019. A chosen word for any given year – and I’ve been choosing one since 2009, easily – doesn’t just disappear when the clock strikes 12:00 AM of the new year. The words become and stay a part of one, forming a “dictionary,” so to speak.

I began writing this post during Writers’ Hour last week – I had only typed 92+ words. Note to Self: remember I have Apple Notes on all my devices and can not only type but also write with the Apple pen and my voice, i.e., the microphone, which comes in handy when walking, too!

I think I want to embrace the “technology” just so I will a) break the habit of writing on assorted pieces of paper and b) have more time to spend exercising my creativity vs shuffling through random notes and thoughts and ideas and, and, and…

Doing so will, I am 100% certain, result in my being:

… less, disorganized, frazzled, overwhelmed, scatterbrained;

…more creative, experimental, fulfilled!

… Happier!

What’s one small thing you might do to make your life happier?

Cheers~

*Dostadning: https://www.dostadning.com/home

PS.
Photo taken on a walk earlier in the month of a left-over Holiday yard display.