Find them, turn them, work them.
Stones. Ideas. Individuals.
posted by the other Joan @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
Red Queen Day
Friday, June 30, 2006
The Art of the Day is: Polishing Gems
Find them, turn them, work them.
Stones. Ideas. Individuals.
Find them, turn them, work them.
Stones. Ideas. Individuals.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The art of getting traction
What I mean by the art of getting traction is what one needs to stop spinning one's wheels.
I feel like I'm doing a lot lately and not getting much done (negative). If I could get some forward momentum, I think a lot of what I've been doing will amount to something. Like car wheels on water or ice, if I can make a better connection, I'd go forward. In winter, you put down some salt, an old piece of rug, a cardboard box under the wheels and move off the stuck spot. Plan a) change the surface. Sometimes you get out of a stuck spot by rocking back and forth. Plan b) change direction to change the surface. Sometimes you get someone to help, by giving you a push. Plan c) enlist help. Sometimes you get a car with four wheel drive, or traction control, or some mechanical advantage. Plan d) change the vehicle. Change seems to be the operative word here. There is also something delightfully perverse using winter images on hot and humid summer days.
What I mean by the art of getting traction is what one needs to stop spinning one's wheels.
I feel like I'm doing a lot lately and not getting much done (negative). If I could get some forward momentum, I think a lot of what I've been doing will amount to something. Like car wheels on water or ice, if I can make a better connection, I'd go forward. In winter, you put down some salt, an old piece of rug, a cardboard box under the wheels and move off the stuck spot. Plan a) change the surface. Sometimes you get out of a stuck spot by rocking back and forth. Plan b) change direction to change the surface. Sometimes you get someone to help, by giving you a push. Plan c) enlist help. Sometimes you get a car with four wheel drive, or traction control, or some mechanical advantage. Plan d) change the vehicle. Change seems to be the operative word here. There is also something delightfully perverse using winter images on hot and humid summer days.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:47 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Art of the Day is: the art of taking turns
Interesting. I was part of a new group last night, and we had no firm agenda, we were kind of exploring what it was that we were going to be, agreeing that we were going to be, and overall I think it went well. The exception was when someone said something that I didn't want to talk about, didn't want to deal with, and all the tension in my body went into my neck muscles, and I guess I tried once or twice to move them on to another topic, but other people picked up the thread, and I just sat there in tension. Eventually we moved on, but I'm still wondering about the group dynamics of it all, and trying to tell if I've got my place right. Was I "in charge" and should have tried harder to change the topic, was I the only one who was uncomfortable, and therefore should have spoken up for myself, or let it go? And why did it bug me?
Interesting. I was part of a new group last night, and we had no firm agenda, we were kind of exploring what it was that we were going to be, agreeing that we were going to be, and overall I think it went well. The exception was when someone said something that I didn't want to talk about, didn't want to deal with, and all the tension in my body went into my neck muscles, and I guess I tried once or twice to move them on to another topic, but other people picked up the thread, and I just sat there in tension. Eventually we moved on, but I'm still wondering about the group dynamics of it all, and trying to tell if I've got my place right. Was I "in charge" and should have tried harder to change the topic, was I the only one who was uncomfortable, and therefore should have spoken up for myself, or let it go? And why did it bug me?
posted by the other Joan @ 7:45 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The Art for the Day is: The art of juggling
In my sophomore year at college, David Chambers taught the class (those of us who remained the day before Thanksgiving break) the rudimentary techniques for learning to juggle. We used apples and oranges, and the room was fragrantly fruity by the end of the session. I continued to practice, and although I am far from expert, I can juggle. I am limited by the fact that I juggle finger to heel of the hand, and not side to side, but it is proof I am not totally uncoordinated.
The art of juggling is also a metaphor for having many things going on at once, lots of things up in the air, and the ability to catch them before they crash. This also takes practice. Some people are quick to associate this with attention deficit disorders, but those folks need outside stimuli like rollercoasters and horror movies for excitement. We jugglers create our own excitement. And besides, the concentration it takes to physically learn to juggle requires the kind of attention and determination which seems counter to attention disorders. IMHO.
In my sophomore year at college, David Chambers taught the class (those of us who remained the day before Thanksgiving break) the rudimentary techniques for learning to juggle. We used apples and oranges, and the room was fragrantly fruity by the end of the session. I continued to practice, and although I am far from expert, I can juggle. I am limited by the fact that I juggle finger to heel of the hand, and not side to side, but it is proof I am not totally uncoordinated.
The art of juggling is also a metaphor for having many things going on at once, lots of things up in the air, and the ability to catch them before they crash. This also takes practice. Some people are quick to associate this with attention deficit disorders, but those folks need outside stimuli like rollercoasters and horror movies for excitement. We jugglers create our own excitement. And besides, the concentration it takes to physically learn to juggle requires the kind of attention and determination which seems counter to attention disorders. IMHO.
posted by the other Joan @ 12:58 PM
0 comments
Monday, June 26, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The art of playing together.
Last night I went to a bluegrass jam session in Waltham. It was made even more pleasant by knowing the Kaufman brothers (who were playing together for the first time in years), but what impressed me was how each individual (and at one point there were 15 players) cued off each other, listened to each other, while fingering and plucking. Hand/eye/ear coordination, impressive, yeah, sure, but becoming an entity, the sum greater than the parts, that impressed me the most! Live music, seek it out.
Last night I went to a bluegrass jam session in Waltham. It was made even more pleasant by knowing the Kaufman brothers (who were playing together for the first time in years), but what impressed me was how each individual (and at one point there were 15 players) cued off each other, listened to each other, while fingering and plucking. Hand/eye/ear coordination, impressive, yeah, sure, but becoming an entity, the sum greater than the parts, that impressed me the most! Live music, seek it out.
posted by the other Joan @ 7:56 AM
0 comments
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Entertaining
"I believe that since the world began,
the most I've ever had
is a talent to amuse.
Hey, ho
If love were all"
Noel Coward
I know when I visit friends I don't expect to be entertained. I don't assess their housekeeping efforts, and I'm happy to drink a tea or coffee and just enjoy their company. Not so when people visit me. I think this is (at least) a two headed monster. One monster head has my mother's face and voice: Put it away, what can I offer them, it's important to look well.
The other is more about engaging, amusing, and "putting on a show". Presentational, both of them. One "how will I be perceived", the other "how do I take care of them".
Directions to self: put the monster in a box, lock it up, and obey Red Queen Rule #2.
"I believe that since the world began,
the most I've ever had
is a talent to amuse.
Hey, ho
If love were all"
Noel Coward
I know when I visit friends I don't expect to be entertained. I don't assess their housekeeping efforts, and I'm happy to drink a tea or coffee and just enjoy their company. Not so when people visit me. I think this is (at least) a two headed monster. One monster head has my mother's face and voice: Put it away, what can I offer them, it's important to look well.
The other is more about engaging, amusing, and "putting on a show". Presentational, both of them. One "how will I be perceived", the other "how do I take care of them".
Directions to self: put the monster in a box, lock it up, and obey Red Queen Rule #2.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:16 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 23, 2006
The Art for the Day is: The Art of timing
As in "It's all in the timing".
PS: the last tea dyeing was 4 parts green to two parts apricot-ginger (w/black tea and rosehips). It smelled really good, and I'm beginning to see the back of my tea cupboard.
posted by the other Joan @ 9:27 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Friendship Maintenance
Checking in. Keeping in touch. Encouraging. Listening. Exchanging ideas, jokes, insights. Being honest. Being forthright. Accepting. Complementing. Looking out for their best interests. Not revealing their secrets, keeping confidences. Sharing joy, recipes, sources and resources. Spending time. Remembering events, occasions, and keeping promises. Reciprocity. Kindness. Comfort.
Checking in. Keeping in touch. Encouraging. Listening. Exchanging ideas, jokes, insights. Being honest. Being forthright. Accepting. Complementing. Looking out for their best interests. Not revealing their secrets, keeping confidences. Sharing joy, recipes, sources and resources. Spending time. Remembering events, occasions, and keeping promises. Reciprocity. Kindness. Comfort.
posted by the other Joan @ 11:13 PM
0 comments
The Art of the Day is: The Art of House Maintenance.
This includes recurrent tasks such as cleaning the cat litter, and throwing out the junk mail, and repetitive tasks like washing the dishes and vacuuming, and today it includes larger one time (one hopes) investments in infrastructure, like replacement windows, painting, and (stop here to wipe sweat off brow) replacing air conditioning units.
There is a part of me that wonders when I became an air conditioned person. I don't remember having air conditioners when I was growing up, but I don't remember it being so hot and humid either. Maybe it was because I lived in a house that was built at the turn of the century and had really high ceilings. Maybe it was because we stayed at the beach so much.
Anyway, today is not so oppressive as yesterday was, so I'd better get on with all those other repetitive tasks I put off yesterday.
This includes recurrent tasks such as cleaning the cat litter, and throwing out the junk mail, and repetitive tasks like washing the dishes and vacuuming, and today it includes larger one time (one hopes) investments in infrastructure, like replacement windows, painting, and (stop here to wipe sweat off brow) replacing air conditioning units.
There is a part of me that wonders when I became an air conditioned person. I don't remember having air conditioners when I was growing up, but I don't remember it being so hot and humid either. Maybe it was because I lived in a house that was built at the turn of the century and had really high ceilings. Maybe it was because we stayed at the beach so much.
Anyway, today is not so oppressive as yesterday was, so I'd better get on with all those other repetitive tasks I put off yesterday.
posted by the other Joan @ 9:37 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
The Art for the Day is: The Art of Keeping your Cool.
posted by the other Joan @ 11:29 AM
0 comments
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of talking to children
posted by the other Joan @ 11:05 AM
0 comments
Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Art of the Day is: queuing
Waiting in line. Striking the proper attitude between patience and death stare. There is probably some kind of inverse proportional analogy to be made between time waiting and wanting to strangle someone.
Waiting in line. Striking the proper attitude between patience and death stare. There is probably some kind of inverse proportional analogy to be made between time waiting and wanting to strangle someone.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:19 PM
0 comments
Friday, June 16, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Public Speaking.
I’ve just come back from my nieces’ high school graduation. Brava M! Ausgescheisnit J!
This graduation took place in Burlington, Vermont, where they don’t take themselves too seriously, and the emphasis for most of the speakers (except the invited speaker, who no one clued in) was on amusing the audience. Garrison Keillor has it right, when people go through a long tough winter, under pressure from the elements, you get them speaking on a warm June day and they effervesce. There was the class speaker, on his way to a scholarship paid Harvard education, and you can see him schmoozing some auditorium filled with corporate types at a convention a few years hence. The faculty speaker, a school alumnus, regaled the crowd with tales of comparison between his class and this class. Even the class president, a caricature of the most popular girl on campus, played her part with the self deprecation of Judy Holiday in Born Yesterday. Equally impressive was the way the principal handled all the various accents on the multicultural mix of students’ names.
Yes, it was too long, sure it was too hot, but as an American rite of passage it was right on.
I’ve just come back from my nieces’ high school graduation. Brava M! Ausgescheisnit J!
This graduation took place in Burlington, Vermont, where they don’t take themselves too seriously, and the emphasis for most of the speakers (except the invited speaker, who no one clued in) was on amusing the audience. Garrison Keillor has it right, when people go through a long tough winter, under pressure from the elements, you get them speaking on a warm June day and they effervesce. There was the class speaker, on his way to a scholarship paid Harvard education, and you can see him schmoozing some auditorium filled with corporate types at a convention a few years hence. The faculty speaker, a school alumnus, regaled the crowd with tales of comparison between his class and this class. Even the class president, a caricature of the most popular girl on campus, played her part with the self deprecation of Judy Holiday in Born Yesterday. Equally impressive was the way the principal handled all the various accents on the multicultural mix of students’ names.
Yes, it was too long, sure it was too hot, but as an American rite of passage it was right on.
posted by the other Joan @ 5:40 PM
0 comments
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
The Art of the Day is: TCB
Taking Care of Business. That is to say still working on the list from 2 days ago and adding more, but crossing some off.
An aside: I need to be kissed, and not in a decaffeinated way.
Taking Care of Business. That is to say still working on the list from 2 days ago and adding more, but crossing some off.
An aside: I need to be kissed, and not in a decaffeinated way.
posted by the other Joan @ 10:29 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Dyeing
In particular, Tea dyeing. Specifically matching several different shades of beige.
Black or Green? Earl Grey or Stop and Shop? Choice and experiment. The story of my life.
The upshot was the tea that was needed was chamomile, which needs a vinegar set bath, btw.
In particular, Tea dyeing. Specifically matching several different shades of beige.
Black or Green? Earl Grey or Stop and Shop? Choice and experiment. The story of my life.
The upshot was the tea that was needed was chamomile, which needs a vinegar set bath, btw.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:38 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 12, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Modernization
I suppose you could call this adaptivity as well, but in this case I'm talking about going back to something and tweaking it up to date. It's done in publishing by updating later editions. I'm supposing in art it is taking on new techniques (like when you realized you could copy and enlarge something on a xerox instead of doing it methodically and laboriously by hand). So that is true in programming and computer graphics as well, learning new programs, and conforming to new standards, but modernization sounds like a very old fashioned, slow word to describe cyber evolution. Slow is relative.
I suppose you could call this adaptivity as well, but in this case I'm talking about going back to something and tweaking it up to date. It's done in publishing by updating later editions. I'm supposing in art it is taking on new techniques (like when you realized you could copy and enlarge something on a xerox instead of doing it methodically and laboriously by hand). So that is true in programming and computer graphics as well, learning new programs, and conforming to new standards, but modernization sounds like a very old fashioned, slow word to describe cyber evolution. Slow is relative.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:33 AM
0 comments
Sunday, June 11, 2006
What I have been doing
I am writing this instead of cleaning off my bed so I can sleep in it tonight.
I cleaned off all the hard stuff, books and papers, and let the soft stuff keep me company.
I am writing this instead of taking all my work receipts and putting them in order.
I did some sorting through receipts while waiting to have coffee with a friend. I will try to paste them up, so I can send them out in the mail tomorrow. Reimbursement is a strong motivator.
I could be researching graduation presents for my nieces, or packing the presents I’ve already gotten for them, or writing out the cards I’ve picked up for them.
Other than moving some of the pieces I’ve already purchased to the same place, this has not been done.
I could be doing a scale drawing of the wall in my front room, to see what configuration of bookcases and storage units I should buy.
I cannot find the sheet ‘not to scale’ where I wrote down all the measurements. I will try to find it one more time, before I re-measure everything.
I might go down to the basement and reorganize the stuff I mean to keep and the stuff I want to get rid of.
I did 10% of this. Maybe 8%.
I could vacuum the cat hair off the couch.
But I didn’t.
I could be studying the next chapter for the group discussion I’ve joined.
I read through all the posts in Chapter 1 and 2. I will try to get through Chapter 3 before bed.
I could be rewriting all of my web pages so there are no more tables for formatting.
This may take a while, but I’ve scheduled time to work on it tomorrow.
I could be watching Akira Kurosawa’s Ran.
Monday night? Tuesday? Netflix, no late fees.
I could be putting together a wash.
And put it in the dryer? Probably
And bring it upstairs? Possibly
And fold it and put it away? Probably not.
It’s possible I could undertake to throw out all the junk mail,
From the dining room table. ½ way done.
alter the dress for a friend,
began, not finished.
redo my portfolio (in perpetuity throughout the universe),
not today.
put away any left out winter clothes, throw out old spices, touch up the paint holidays,
no, no, no.
and stop thinking about how to contact someone.
Yes, and contacted them!
Dance more. Eat less. Remember to floss my teeth.
Ongoing.
I also steam set the appliqués I’m working on for a project, went to the bank, bought fabric, but didn’t find trim for dress alteration. Bought a piece of fabric to make scarves or belts. Found out about a new website. Received encouragement, and hopefully gave some as well.
So far, so good.
I am writing this instead of cleaning off my bed so I can sleep in it tonight.
I cleaned off all the hard stuff, books and papers, and let the soft stuff keep me company.
I am writing this instead of taking all my work receipts and putting them in order.
I did some sorting through receipts while waiting to have coffee with a friend. I will try to paste them up, so I can send them out in the mail tomorrow. Reimbursement is a strong motivator.
I could be researching graduation presents for my nieces, or packing the presents I’ve already gotten for them, or writing out the cards I’ve picked up for them.
Other than moving some of the pieces I’ve already purchased to the same place, this has not been done.
I could be doing a scale drawing of the wall in my front room, to see what configuration of bookcases and storage units I should buy.
I cannot find the sheet ‘not to scale’ where I wrote down all the measurements. I will try to find it one more time, before I re-measure everything.
I might go down to the basement and reorganize the stuff I mean to keep and the stuff I want to get rid of.
I did 10% of this. Maybe 8%.
I could vacuum the cat hair off the couch.
But I didn’t.
I could be studying the next chapter for the group discussion I’ve joined.
I read through all the posts in Chapter 1 and 2. I will try to get through Chapter 3 before bed.
I could be rewriting all of my web pages so there are no more tables for formatting.
This may take a while, but I’ve scheduled time to work on it tomorrow.
I could be watching Akira Kurosawa’s Ran.
Monday night? Tuesday? Netflix, no late fees.
I could be putting together a wash.
And put it in the dryer? Probably
And bring it upstairs? Possibly
And fold it and put it away? Probably not.
It’s possible I could undertake to throw out all the junk mail,
From the dining room table. ½ way done.
alter the dress for a friend,
began, not finished.
redo my portfolio (in perpetuity throughout the universe),
not today.
put away any left out winter clothes, throw out old spices, touch up the paint holidays,
no, no, no.
and stop thinking about how to contact someone.
Yes, and contacted them!
Dance more. Eat less. Remember to floss my teeth.
Ongoing.
I also steam set the appliqués I’m working on for a project, went to the bank, bought fabric, but didn’t find trim for dress alteration. Bought a piece of fabric to make scarves or belts. Found out about a new website. Received encouragement, and hopefully gave some as well.
So far, so good.
posted by the other Joan @ 6:22 PM
0 comments
Poetry in Me
When I started writing this blog, it was as an exercise to find out what I was interested in writing about. Just doing something every day, and see what subjects or interests emerged.
Recently, and ironically, as my part of the world has experienced a very wet spring, I’ve been experiencing a dry spell. I’ve noticed my entries getting terser and terser, and then I noticed a pattern of terseness throughout my posts, and realized that I’ve always written that way. Folks who know me, know I’ve been known to speak that way. And it continues with a preference to define things rather than name them. In high school I wrote poetry (who didn’t?) and that was the beginning of my journaling.
So, today, rather than berate myself for writing short entries, I embrace my style, and acknowledge the poet, or the impulse to poetry, in me.
The Art of the Day is: Poetry
When I started writing this blog, it was as an exercise to find out what I was interested in writing about. Just doing something every day, and see what subjects or interests emerged.
Recently, and ironically, as my part of the world has experienced a very wet spring, I’ve been experiencing a dry spell. I’ve noticed my entries getting terser and terser, and then I noticed a pattern of terseness throughout my posts, and realized that I’ve always written that way. Folks who know me, know I’ve been known to speak that way. And it continues with a preference to define things rather than name them. In high school I wrote poetry (who didn’t?) and that was the beginning of my journaling.
So, today, rather than berate myself for writing short entries, I embrace my style, and acknowledge the poet, or the impulse to poetry, in me.
The Art of the Day is: Poetry
posted by the other Joan @ 4:32 AM
0 comments
What I should be doing
I am writing this instead of cleaning off my bed so I can sleep in it tonight. I am writing this instead of taking all my work receipts and putting them in order. I could be researching graduation presents for my nieces, or packing the presents I’ve already gotten for them, or writing out the cards I’ve picked up for them. I could be doing a scale drawing of the wall in my front room, to see what configuration of bookcases and storage units I should buy. I might go down to the basement and reorganize the stuff I mean to keep and the stuff I want to get rid of. I could vacuum the cat hair off the couch. I could be studying the next chapter for the group discussion I’ve joined. I could be rewriting all of my web pages so there are no more tables for formatting. I could be watching Akira Kurosawa’s Ran. I could be putting together a wash. It’s possible I could undertake to throw out all the junk mail, alter the dress for a friend, redo my portfolio (in perpetuity throughout the universe), put away any left out winter clothes, throw out old spices, touch up the paint holidays, and stop thinking about how to contact someone. Dance more. Eat less. Remember to floss my teeth.
I am writing this instead of cleaning off my bed so I can sleep in it tonight. I am writing this instead of taking all my work receipts and putting them in order. I could be researching graduation presents for my nieces, or packing the presents I’ve already gotten for them, or writing out the cards I’ve picked up for them. I could be doing a scale drawing of the wall in my front room, to see what configuration of bookcases and storage units I should buy. I might go down to the basement and reorganize the stuff I mean to keep and the stuff I want to get rid of. I could vacuum the cat hair off the couch. I could be studying the next chapter for the group discussion I’ve joined. I could be rewriting all of my web pages so there are no more tables for formatting. I could be watching Akira Kurosawa’s Ran. I could be putting together a wash. It’s possible I could undertake to throw out all the junk mail, alter the dress for a friend, redo my portfolio (in perpetuity throughout the universe), put away any left out winter clothes, throw out old spices, touch up the paint holidays, and stop thinking about how to contact someone. Dance more. Eat less. Remember to floss my teeth.
posted by the other Joan @ 3:57 AM
0 comments
Saturday, June 10, 2006
The Art of the Day is: Evolution
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the some place.
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the sane place.
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place.
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the some place.
It takes all the running you can do to keep in the sane place.
posted by the other Joan @ 9:11 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 09, 2006
The Art for the Day is: The Art of Observing Clouds
If you live in New England this spring, this is an art you have had plenty of opportunity to practice. Several folks over the past month have looked up at the sky and said to me:"If I were to paint that, those colors, no one would believe me". I've been looking at clouds (from both sides now) more as forecasters than canvases, but there is an art to forecasting too.
If you live in New England this spring, this is an art you have had plenty of opportunity to practice. Several folks over the past month have looked up at the sky and said to me:"If I were to paint that, those colors, no one would believe me". I've been looking at clouds (from both sides now) more as forecasters than canvases, but there is an art to forecasting too.
posted by the other Joan @ 7:53 AM
0 comments
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
The Art for the Day is: The Art of Singing to yourself
I caught myself doing this yesterday in the car with the windows down, and the people in the next lane looking aside. I sing to myself a lot. Not usually in the shower, although it's true that the water and the walls make you sound terrific, but in the car, at the computer, while I'm cleaning house. For what it's worth, this is a cappella singing, not singing along with a radio or CD (although I will do that in the car). I sing when I'm happy, for the most part, or blue, and it tends to be an eclectic mix from show tunes, to folk songs, to rock standards, to arias.
As a kid I remember being sent to my room over doing something wrong, and working out my anger in an original recitative. Hey, there's another epimetheism. At the time I had no idea I was being operatic.
I caught myself doing this yesterday in the car with the windows down, and the people in the next lane looking aside. I sing to myself a lot. Not usually in the shower, although it's true that the water and the walls make you sound terrific, but in the car, at the computer, while I'm cleaning house. For what it's worth, this is a cappella singing, not singing along with a radio or CD (although I will do that in the car). I sing when I'm happy, for the most part, or blue, and it tends to be an eclectic mix from show tunes, to folk songs, to rock standards, to arias.
As a kid I remember being sent to my room over doing something wrong, and working out my anger in an original recitative. Hey, there's another epimetheism. At the time I had no idea I was being operatic.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:39 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
The Art of The Day is: The Art of taking exquisite care
posted by the other Joan @ 8:54 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 05, 2006
The Art of the Day is: knowing what gear you are in.
I’m not in neutral. I’m not in high. I’m moving right along at a not too quick pace. I’m trying not to slip into neutral, and there is no pressing reason to be in high. I’m in running errands mode. Going more or less at the speed limit, with the flow of the traffic, getting things done without rushing. Maybe I need to be on a busier road. Maybe it’s a function of procrastinating. Well. Maybe so.
I’m not in neutral. I’m not in high. I’m moving right along at a not too quick pace. I’m trying not to slip into neutral, and there is no pressing reason to be in high. I’m in running errands mode. Going more or less at the speed limit, with the flow of the traffic, getting things done without rushing. Maybe I need to be on a busier road. Maybe it’s a function of procrastinating. Well. Maybe so.
posted by the other Joan @ 5:57 PM
0 comments
Sunday, June 04, 2006
The Art for the Day is: Finding Things
So, when I’m stuck for something to write, I look up some old pieces that I was too shy, or too emotionally involved with to post. This has worked well in the past. I usually can revisit the thoughts, and edit or append enough of what is going on to make it work. But not today. And there’s no value judgment in that. I’m not dodging old issues, they are just over ripe, they were true at the time, but now are not important, or the lesson has been learned, the conundrum (impress myself w/big words spelled right the first time!) resolved.
No drama. Just hitting my marks. Finding lost objects (very satisfying!) and only two more objects to find, that I know of. Losing and finding things are important to me. I don’t like to misplace things. I don’t like not knowing where things are. It’s not so much whether they are in the right place, so long as they are in a place where I will find them. If I lived with many other people having a right place might be more important, but today that’s not my problem.
So, when I’m stuck for something to write, I look up some old pieces that I was too shy, or too emotionally involved with to post. This has worked well in the past. I usually can revisit the thoughts, and edit or append enough of what is going on to make it work. But not today. And there’s no value judgment in that. I’m not dodging old issues, they are just over ripe, they were true at the time, but now are not important, or the lesson has been learned, the conundrum (impress myself w/big words spelled right the first time!) resolved.
No drama. Just hitting my marks. Finding lost objects (very satisfying!) and only two more objects to find, that I know of. Losing and finding things are important to me. I don’t like to misplace things. I don’t like not knowing where things are. It’s not so much whether they are in the right place, so long as they are in a place where I will find them. If I lived with many other people having a right place might be more important, but today that’s not my problem.
posted by the other Joan @ 10:40 AM
2 comments
Saturday, June 03, 2006
The Art For the Day is: Separating the Barometer in my Head from the Barometer of the Weather.
New and unwelcome understanding of the cliche "under the weather". We've been having a series of storm fronts come through, and I'm becoming an expert at timing them. Like a hangover without the drinking the night before. Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. Eyore's first language should have been Yiddish.
New and unwelcome understanding of the cliche "under the weather". We've been having a series of storm fronts come through, and I'm becoming an expert at timing them. Like a hangover without the drinking the night before. Kvetch, kvetch, kvetch. Eyore's first language should have been Yiddish.
posted by the other Joan @ 8:36 AM
2 comments
Friday, June 02, 2006
The Art of the Day is: The Art of Cooking Fiddleheads
Thank you, Sarah E. Brown, for being a DAR and long established New England scion, with the knowledge of the delicacy of fiddlehead ferns. If it weren't for you, I would never have thought to eat them, and now whenever I do get hold of them, they remind me of late spring in Western Massachusetts, early barbeques, and the taste of green.
I most often just saute them with some garlic, oil and a bit of tamari, maybe throwing in some sesame seeds at the last minute, but sometimes I marinate them and throw them on to skewers of vegetables, meat or fish, and grill them. Fiddleheads are here, summer is coming.
Thank you, Sarah E. Brown, for being a DAR and long established New England scion, with the knowledge of the delicacy of fiddlehead ferns. If it weren't for you, I would never have thought to eat them, and now whenever I do get hold of them, they remind me of late spring in Western Massachusetts, early barbeques, and the taste of green.
I most often just saute them with some garlic, oil and a bit of tamari, maybe throwing in some sesame seeds at the last minute, but sometimes I marinate them and throw them on to skewers of vegetables, meat or fish, and grill them. Fiddleheads are here, summer is coming.
posted by the other Joan @ 10:57 AM
0 comments
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Some days "It takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place". This blog is to chronicle the running, and point out the interesting things, people, places, I meet on the way.
About Me
- Name: the other Joan
- Location: New Hampshire, United States
I've lived in all 4 New states, NY, NJ, NM, NH. I grew up as far away as you can from Manhattan and still take the subway.(I used to put subway tokens in my penny loafers so I could click my heels three times and go home). I've sung solo in the Parma Opera House. My brother and sister are twins. I believe that people want to be used, but they want to be used well.
Links
Previous Posts
- The Art of the Day is: Conquering Procrastination...
- Passover pix
- alephbet
- The Art of the Day is: Maintaining Motivation.
- hello world.(and other ways of starting over)I tho...
- Take care of sounds /pounds and the sense /pense w...
- Happy (belated) year of the Tiger.
- sometimes it takes all the running you can do, the...
- yes, I know. no one is here.It's fall, againrainin...
- Hey ho. I'm feeling like I should be writing again...
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Red Queen Rules:
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own plate - Be yourself,
it's who you do best - Every problem has
a family