Simply A Moment | 7.15.24 …

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Today, I take a moment to enjoy …

… this Day Lily, growing in my backyard… I thought they had died…no blooms for several years. Imagine my delight when I looked out the window and saw a bloom! This is the second one in the past week!

… Solar Power. Since 7:15 AM-ish, workers have been in/out of my house, in the attic and basement…installing solar panels on the roof tops. The sun rises East; shines from the South; and sets in the West. All of this activity involving a crew of 5-6 workers, 4 trucks and 18 solar panels . My salesman brought flowers and Prosecco to celebrate. Totally unexpected and very much appreciated. We are currently under an “excessive heat warning”. The thermostat has been in the high 90s most of the day. As I pen this post, the temperature is 97 degrees. Tomorrow’s forecast: 100 degrees! Geez Louise, that is H-O-T!

… Junk Journal July. I am participating for the first time…in previous years, I flirted with the idea/challenge but that was the sum total of my effort. This year is (to be) different. I made my book – a cascading foldout – tho’ I’m not quite satisfied with it, so that’s probably going to be a re-do. There is a suggested theme for each day but one’s not obligated to stick to it. JJJ is a way to play with fabric and thread. It’s fun and exercises/challenges my creative energy and imagination.

The above photo – I may’ve shared before – of the black bear was taken by someone who lives about 6 -8 blocks from me. And YES! That is a real-life black bear, apparently checking out the June area house tour! The photo also appeared in the Washington Post, taken by the person who saw it leaving her yard!

And that’s the way it is on this very.HOT. Day in July! Stay cool!

Cheers~

“Happy Birthday USA”…

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This morning, on the Nation’s 248th birthday , those of us who live in the capital city, were greeted with a “Do NOT Drink the Water” alert! OK! OK! ??? Apparently, on-going testing revealed a problem and thus the alert. Not only are we not to drink the water before boiling but also, don’t brush teeth, wash face, etc , using water from the tap. OK! Got it!

We also apparently lost power for all clocks powered by electricity had to be reset. Done!

So, now – 8 AM EST – I’m settled in for Writers’ Hour with about 150 other “writers” from around the world, in our little “zoom spaces, writing alone but together.” Q: How does one create a habit? A: One day at a time … I’ve been engaged in this practice going on two years and counting. I’ve always – or so it seems, even during my childhood – started my day with a pencil and/or crayons in hand and paper. And slowly as I grew older graduated to journals and eventually, the computer tho’ I don’t know QWERTY – but who needs it? As the days have passed, my skills have improved, admittedly enhanced by technology’s anticipation of the word and filling in the spaces… I’m not into AI – artificial intelligence – tho’ I was initially intrigued. Decided I had enough of a challenge figuring out how I think let alone turning that over to someone/thing else…

Besides, I’m too much a paper and pen person to completely turn my daily journaling over to digital.

Tonight’s weather forecast suggests thunder and rain… if so, definitely will rain on the “parade fireworks.” Fireworks are not illegal in the District so I expect to hear a lot of zooms and bangs and bursts once darkness arrives. Depending on the atmosphere, we are sometimes capable of seeing and hearing the fireworks on the Smithsonian Mall – a distance of about 3.5 – 4 miles.

8:31 AM – Precautionary Alert re: Water LIFTED! “Tap water can be used for all purposes…” We end as we begin!

Happy Birthday to Ya, USA! I’ll drink to that!

Cheers~

Simply A Moment | 6.15.24 …

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It is the 15th of the month and over the years, I’ve generally blogged on the 15th. Today was to be no different. I started blogging in 2009 and have been on several platforms over the past 13 years.

In addition to drafting and publishing the post, also on my “to do list”:

  • Mail 2nd 2024 estimated tax payment -this requires a trip to the Post Office so I can get a stamped receipt documenting that the payment is postmarked accordingly – meeting the District’s requirement.
  • Grocery stores- two- for a few odds and ends: salad greens & dressing; grape tomatoes; salad dressing; pita crackers; etc… and Whole Foods for a pizza slice and a few additional odds/ends.
  • Starbucks for a latte. At SBUX, I decided to try a cold drink: Iced Tea Lemonade made with Peach juice…

Upon return home from PO, I was greeted with lawn care crew: What? Were they scheduled? No! Had sent email saying they were coming…Oh! That meant my grocery store run was delayed a bit. OK. I waited and once that work was completed, I left. Decided after the grocery run – to two stores, one Whole Foods, I’d stop at next-door Starbucks for a caramel brûlée latte. I opted for a cold drink, instead.

When I arrived home, I discovered that I didn’t have my Whole Foods purchase -especially my pizza slice. What?!

I made two trips to the car to make sure I hadn’t overlooked the bag. Just.Not.There! OK! WHERE?

I called my friend Pat to share my perplexing tale of woe; perhaps she could ask the “right questions” that would help me zero in and discover the answer to this question. We laughed, attributed the puzzle to our “advancing age” and commiserated. I even looked at my receipts from the day’s stops and decided I hadn’t made up the pizza, et al purchase from Whole Foods and Starbucks. And for the latter, I had the plastic cup from my order.

I called SBUX. YES! INDEED I’D LEFT MY WHOLE FOODS bag of purchases at SBUX ! Good News! And even better, they’d put the bag in the back for safekeeping/when the ‘owner realized her folly and called to see if indeed that’s where the bag was.’

Indeed!

#1000wordsof summer2024

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For the first two weeks of June, writers of every genre across the globe are participating in the global #1000wordsofsummer2024.* Totally free. Totally up to each writer what s/he aims toward and achieves, any day, any number of days.

Daily writing/journaling is not a problem for me. T’is a habit I’ve had nearly all my life – since maybe I was 2.5/3 years old, could hold a crayon and/or pencil, scribble letters and eventually words on a piece of paper. Journaling/Writing is how I start my day. Is how I’ve begun the day, daily since the mid 1990s…

My initial plan for this two weeks’ #1000wordsofsummer2024 stint was to establish a writing practice to end the day. Such a practice eludes me – I’ve been trying, off-n-on since 2019 (?) … I’ve even dubbed it Ten.10.X. The idea: identify ten things that represent the day, ranging from the weather to activity to thoughts, surprises, events, etc. So, I told myself: “Turn the calendar page to June and have at it!”

Well, I turned the page but I didn’t “have at it.” The seven o’clock hour usually signals that my day is rapidly approaching a full-on wind down. Shower. Dress for bed. Gather reading and WRITING materials and settle in for the balance of the PM. Occasionally, I’ll manage to watch TV, 8-ish to 9-ish but I usually fall asleep. And I DON’T write Ten.10.X. The thought rarely (ne’er?) crosses my mind! [Growl! Growl! Growl!] What’s a person to do?

Try a DIFFERENT approach. What a novel idea! (And the author – c’est moi- falls out laughing at her own witticism). The problem isn’t I don’t have the desire or the stuff to implement Ten.10.X, it just doesn’t cross my mind. So, I’ve concluded that my approach is all wrong. I need to focus on establishing a new habit: Interstitial Journaling So, instead of just writing a daily “to do” list, I create an evolving list- a daily “done”diary, record, tracker, ongoing summary of the day’s activities, accomplishments, inspirations, discoveries, postponements, words of wisdom, creative ventures, etc., written down throughout the day at specific intervals …

Perhaps I’m making this project more difficult than it really is. I will soon find out, providing I actually implement and experiment with the process. Clearly it’s a process I can create and control. I’m the boss of me! I turned to a page in my Full Focus Planner and this quote at the top of the page greeted me: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

Or as Gretchen Rubin says: “Onward!”

Time will tell.

Cheers~

P.S. This post is 469 words … and the photo of the lovely flower was in my iPhone photo library. I took the photo several years ago and Apple, in its infinite wisdom, decided to profile it today!

*There is a FAQ : 1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/ on Jami’s substack Craft Talk.

Simply A Moment | 5.15.24…

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…Back to the Future …

Graffiti used to annoy me “big time”! Across the country, around the world, it seemed – to me – that everywhere I looked, some “ones” had left their marks – on buildings, freight trains, bridge underpasses, the sidewalk, etc. Occasionally, on my walks I still see evidence of these snippets of someone’s art and feelings…but I’ve “grown accustomed to their face“…or perhaps inured …

I remember one day I was with my mother; perhaps we were on the Metro train platform. All around, on buildings and billboards – graffiti. I started to rant, rave…My mother, being my mother – calm, mature, very prescient – said to me: “Remember the cave man!”

Mais Oui! But of course! Stopping me in my rant. Giving me a new, different perspective, something to contemplate …and to remember.

Perhaps you’re wondering whatever occasioned this particular memory. Not a recent wave of fresh graffiti… Nope, t’is the fact that I’ve spent the past several days dealing with my own “graffiti” – random notes that I write on any and all available pieces of paper within my hands’ reach. I am sitting at my computer or reading a book or on a zoom call (I spend a lot of time on zoom) or making out the day’s/week’s “to do list”or reading a blog post, or, or, or… Suddenly, a thought “I’m to do/go/remember this” invades my mind. I reach for pen and paper and wind up with another errant item on my agenda. It all becomes – my own personal “graffiti”.

Perhaps too the plight of the graffiti artist/author… or just that of my disorganized and overwhelmed mind.

Not to be continued – hopefully!

Simply a Moment | 4.15.24 …

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Monday! Monday! Mondays! are generally fairly well filled with household chores: laundry; trash out for Tuesday’s collection; planning the week’s agenda…

Today’s list also included going to the post office to mail state income tax return and walking Hazel – or rather I should say, being walked by Hazel – to/thru the park. The weather was delightful: sunshine , warm but not too hot; and the park was filled with children, caregivers – all enjoying this delightful Spring Day – not only a Monday and TAX filing day.

One neighbor delivered a bag of apples and cheeses; another – who likes to bake – a little box filled with very tasty mini-cakes. I made a long overdue list of this week’s “to do”agenda; one item included making an appointment on Friday for a mani/pedi. It’s been way too long for this treat.

We’ve had a delightful Spring day – not too hot and I’m feeling that I “done good.”

Plus, I had 4 Zoom sessions. One’s coming up in a few minutes so I guess I’ll review this post one last time and hit PUBLISH!

Cheers~

Simply A Moment | 3.15.24

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My Christmas Cactus has a third bloom; it delights me so – and is a welcome symbol of a spectacular time of year.

Note to Self:

“I am writing this post in the DayONE journal app. Perhaps I can make this DayONE journal entry also the focus of my blog post – it’s the 15th of the month and on this date, each month I try to post to my blog*, this space that you are now reading. Also, every morning, 8 -9 AM, Mon-Fri, for the past two years and 15 or so days, I’ve been writing during Writers’ Hour, with people from all over the world, joined by Zoom and heralded by hosts and hostesses of the fantastic . Covering all the time zones in the world and offered M-F, four times daily, WH provides encouragement, companionship, camaraderie, celebration. The latter, for many people proudly share the advent of publication of their book or play… their writing!

How do I deal with uncertainty?

My aim is not to publish a book, persé; the closest format might be called a photobook tho’ my emphasis is on the words, not the photos.

Today’s DayONE prompt asks and my answer: …with uncertainty – pun intended. Life gets in the way of one’s plans. In my last entry, I shared that I was going to relocate this blog. I am still on that path though a wee bit behind. Determined it will happen; stay tuned!

Whatever. However. I have enough fodder that could/would constitute a goodly sized “book.” My aim is to create a new “publication date” so to speak. My assignment (to self): Get busy proofing the past two years accumulation of words and photos… To Get It Done! To take this habit and platform of focusing on writing nearly every morning that yields the results of my intentions and efforts.

I can do it!

WH is winding down; the music calling us back. I updated my journal entry. A word count is apparently a measure, barometer of progress and persistence. Today, I tallied 274 words. I think that’s a good start for my blog post for today and resumption of my aim to reestablish my goal to “make every day count.” I also added the hashtag #write24in24.

I love this quote’s photo background : sun rising over the mountains as a man climbs upwards on one. The word: CONFIDENCE in capital letters.

I think, wonder, if/that sometimes, perhaps many times, we are thwarted by our own lack of confidence in our abilities to create. I’m sure that relates to me and has all my life of 81 years and counting (hopefully).

To be continued. Stay tuned … and thank you for visiting and your support. Always welcomed and appreciated!

Cheers~

Best Laid Plans | 2.20.24…

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“Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist but in the ability to start over.”  This quote, from one of today’s emails, totally resonated with me…fortunately, on the one hand ‘cause I “can” start over – still- not to get too macabre/maudlin but the quote: “Ask not for whom the bell tolls …” does come to mind or my favorite biblical passage from Ecclesiastes : “There is a season…”.

A Twos- Day …

Best laid plans …

Just 9 days are left in this February month of the Leap Year…looking at my calendar, plotted out at the end of January, my intentions and adrenaline and expectations, erroneously high …”this month I WILL:

  • A, B, C… X, Y, Z…
  • 1…2…3…
  • Yes, No, Maybe …”

I debated, revisited, tried this, that, rescheduled … This month I will ( I didn’t) and other plans (dreams?) popped up on my agenda, lists and calendar … some done, most transferred to the next day, week, to “someday maybe”lists unless that particular day was the absolute last day ever to DO THAT THING! And April 15 is still nearly two months away and even that date is flexible, even if “at ruinous costs”…

I tried different calendars and ways to make lists… and I’m reminded of the old saying: “best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley…”

Fortunately I use pencil…and I have any number of calendars, list- making tools, both analog and digital formats. Perhaps therein lies the problem. Less is More? Hmmm…

Since January 15, we’ve had not one but two “significant” (easily described when winterS come and go with nary a flake seen) snow events. The first, January 15 and several days that week included seeing a fox in the back yard! Yep! A fox!

The second, not quite a month later, another measurable “snow fall”. There are still remnants on the deck and other areas where the sun doesn’t shine … but no further sightings of “the fox”.

Instead, this past week my view has been enhanced by the bloomin’ of this :

My Christmas Cactus Blooms!

Happy Holidays! And here’s to “Best Laid Plans”, Snow, Foxes, Christmas Cactus, and more February happiness surprises.

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~