Zine

 

There's a lot more waiting to upload and to talk about, but today it's all about love. 

I'll see you again soon.

News Diet

Toby rolled over on his back and said, "I'm on a news diet." 

"Well, isn't that a coincidence!" I exclaimed. "I'm on a news diet, too. But tell me, Toby, how do you avoid the news? I thought you don't have control over that live wire on the stall video camera that picks up the neighbors' news channels."

"Oh, mercy! when that thing starts blasting some wild know-it-all stuff, I go up into the hay loft and crawl between the bales so I don't hear anything."

"Hmmm. Now I wish I had some hay bales."

"Well, you have options to turn the news off. I don't. Sometimes I can't believe what humans are doing to each other and our planet. How in the world does your species get so caught up in hate and selfish, mean, scary stuff? Aren't you all a social species anymore?"

"I can't find any answers, Toby. That's why I'm on a news diet. It's getting me down." 

"Well, what are you doing to replace all that reading and watching?"

"I'm licking two birds with one stone..."

"Birds! where, where?" He was now right side up at full attention.

"Relax my friend. It's a metaphor.  What I'm trying to do is adjust my life to a night owl who sleeps late from my former, lifelong early bird life." I saw his eyes dilate again. I'd better lay off the avian references. 

"That's one thing. What's the other?"

"Change things up a bit. I'm gonna put artwork first--right there with my coffee. No e-news."

"How's that working so far?"

"Well, the coffee and art part is okay. I'm still working on meal plans. Smoothies are tasty but I'm starved an hour later so that's a bust. Now I have a brand new used blender that needs a home. Wish I could have given it to one of the grandsons when they had Keoni's car here."

"Gosh, you humans are so complicated. No wonder some of you have gone off the deep end. It's lots simpler being a carnivore. Bring it on!"

"Also, to get ready for the art part, I cleaned out every drawer, cabinet, closet, and shelf in my apartment. Winter cleaning I call it."

Does that feel good?

Yup!

He gave me a fist bump. 

***

And speaking of the Art Part, Here is the Arts Desk...

Wendy entered an image she took of two of her goats to the Mini La Mancha Goat Calendar photo contest, and here they are! The Misses November...

Congratulations! Wendy. Well done.

________

Jeanenne is soldiering on making quilts for family members...

***

We'll go now to the Weather Desk. There was a "snow day" in Missouri. So little came of it that Jeanenne's young nieces Harper and Della had to work pretty hard to erect a snowman...

________

Here in Pennsylvania, we've been on the edge of the cold slamming those just north a bit, but mostly we've had an extremely mild winter so far save for a couple of days just before Christmas. January was so mild that dandelions began to appear...

On my walk at the farm on January 15th.

***

Let's move over to the Practical Tips Desk. What do you do with all those pages of return address label stickers sent to you by various NGOs? They accumulate and it's sad because they have pretty pictures on them. I've never ever come close to using them all, even before email. Here's a solution...

With scissors, neatly cut off the address portion of each row of labels leaving a nice strip of interesting, pretty stickers. When you've finished all your pile of address labels, throw away the address parts, then mail the strips of picture stickers to your grade-school-age grand or great-grand as I did for my great-grandson Kingston to enjoy. Remember to include a small notebook of some sort so their home isn't decorated with stickers.

***

Next, we'll visit the Birthday Corner. The last living person in my dad's family is my Aunt Jackie--his youngest sister. Here she is blowing out the candles on her 95th birthday...

________

While I'm thinking of old times, I came across my first-grade class picture taken in Houston, Texas when I was six...

My feet are behind the school sign.

***

I think Toby would say that if he can get along with dogs, and Valerie and Tim's Nigel the cat and Izzy the dog can get along in the same house, then why aren't we humans finding a way to get along? Plus, I think he'd add, we're even the same species of mammals.

Well, it's time for a wrap. Be well. Take care of yourself and say hello to a stranger this week.

The moon and contrail and sunset.

***

Yet Again

I can't bear to look at what policemen did to Tyre Nichols. He was far more than the horror that crushed him. Here is his website, his photos...so we can know the man...

Tyre Nichols.

Catching Up

 

Come with me to...

The Art Desk!

Paula completed her September Yard Journal edition...

And, we were happy to receive several more entries from her Perpetual Journal. After you start the video, move your cursor away from the image and the control bar will disappear. The progression timing is slowed a tiny bit in order to read the texts.

Take a look at Paula's website where all of her Perpetual Journal entries are, and much, much more of her art can be viewed there as well.

________

On December 21st, I posted "Winter's Soltice" here in the blog. A little poem I wrote that morning about the tiny nursery school kids passing my window. I thought they and the teachers would like to know their outdoor walk that morning was an inspiration so I printed a copy and gave it to them.

On December 28th, I found the following clipped on my apartment door...

I can't stop smiling.

________

Valerie made three striking abstracts for Sonja and Jeff and family.

________

Jeanenne got out her watercolors to make her Christmas cards this year...

________

Honoring Craft-Making: In November, my friend Pat and I were invited to a "knotting party" by two Mennonite women, sisters Freida and Lois Myers. All year the two of them sew together patches into quilts that need to be "knotted" to fasten the bottom to the top of the quilt thus stabilizing the whole and keeping the inner lining from slipping around. Sort of a quick way to fasten the whole quilt without the more labor and time-intensive stitching done on classic quilts.

On most Saturdays of the year, the Myers have friends for lunch and 4-5 hours of knotting the quilts they've sewn during the week. We did three of them on that Saturday. When Frieda and Lois have a big stockpile finished they haul them to MCC Materials Resource Center which is the storefront of a warehouse that assembles donated goods into useful items for sale and to be shipped all over the world to the many ministries they foster. Their ministry is bottom-up--they ask what people need, then help them.

Here are a few slides of Frieda and Lois...

________

I finished this on the iPad in time for Elijah and Kingston's mom and dad at Christmas; then, I realized I could print it again! for their grandparents, Valerie and Tim...

...from a photo taken 6-7 years ago.

***

Now to the Sports Desk!

Elijah has been ramping up his basketball game including during the holidays when his Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Tim were there to help cheer him and the Royals on. From Valerie's phone texts...

And, not a bit left out, Kingston has been upping his basketball game, too. Here are  Jr Jazz men. I want to mention also in Sonja's text referring to the first slide, "The boy next to Kingston with the headband is disabled. He only has 1 arm and leg that functions. And he is really GOOD"

***

Christmas...

From John, here is our mini Christmas concert from Keoni and Aidan...

All was not smooth sailing on Christmas Day. Austin slipped on the ice and fell injuring her hip. She was then confined to her stall for 10 days. A couple days later she was feeling much better...

And, one of the die-out trees fell across the walking trail and the pasture fence...

from John

Later, after John recovered from his Covid bout, he sent this...

***

In January, Kingston celebrated birthday number eight. He had a very good time and the family came up with some texts from his earlier years...

***

Wendy sent this of Toby peacefully resting on a dog bed slung onto a porch chair...

_______

On their way back to Cincinnati in Keoni's car, the boys sent a picture to me. From Cincinnati Keoni then drove on to Houston. Neither they nor Wendy got Covid, just John and I. I had a nice walk with the boys and Christmas Day but then Covid stepped in. This is my current favorite picture of them...

They're playing "Funky Town"--another favorite of mine.

***

Plenty of Work Remains

 1964 Clip of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr and Dan Rather on "Face the Nation"

Thank You, Dear Friends

Yesterday was Day 5, the last day of quarantine. Today, my Covid test is negative. Dock medical admin asks that I mask and avoid crowded conditions for 5 more days which is what I have been and will continue doing. John is continuing his much improved Covid condition. Wendy still has no symptoms. All praise for the lift from your good spirit and all the good spirits combining amazing sciences for us from medical to million-mile images of beauty, knowledge, and mysteries. In our hearts beats the music of the spheres. Thank you.

Good morning on New Year's Day! And it is a good morning. The Paxlovid is definitely kicking in because I slept soundly and waking this morning I feel this covid illness has taken at least three back steps. 

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!!!!!

I'll be back soon!