Simply divine, simple pleasures
Thoughts for today:
In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.
John Churton Collins
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ah, the good life - simple pleasures that are simply divine. In the hustle and bustle of every day living, we often are too busy, too caught up in our activities or too stressed to fully appreciate life's simple pleasures. Habituation is an evil and insidious disease that prevents us from fully living in this moment and reaping all the joy that we can experience. We are so busy looking forward with great expectations or looking back to make comparisons rather than enjoying the present. We often miss out on the full extent of the moment's pleasures and then need to create another moment with the expectation of even greater pleasure. Or even worse, we fill our days with meaningless activities, simply to avoid being alone or to fill some void in our lives. To me, that is the greatest tragedy, for it is not our deeds that define who we are and our life's purpose. Yet we desperately continue to reach outward when all we have to do is quietly look within.
* Dinner out Friday night with friends - good food and good companionship
* Boychild spent Friday night with his buddy and they played together all day on Saturday. His buddy's parents took both boys out to dinner on Saturday and then to see the movie "Nacho Libre". This greatly pleased me because I really didn't want to go see this movie. Boychild spent an hour last night, sharing his pleasure and excitement about this silly wrestling movie.
* Plans for today include a trip to the store for more chlorine for the pool and some shorts for Boychild. This afternoon will be spent in the company of a friend, swimming, chatting and making burgers on the grill.
* The desk here is a mess, filled with all kinds of kumihimo supplies and braids. (Thank you columella). I pulled out my marudai and found that Yoda ate 2 of the tamas, the weighed, wooden spools - silly dog!! I've made some simple replacements that are not perfect, but will work for the time being. I found a copy of Jacqui Carey's book "Beginner's Guide to Braiding. The Craft of Kumihimo" which has many beautiful designs and great instructions. Right now I am finishing up a braid made from ribbon and my next project will be a beaded braid, then a braid made from craft cord made on the foam marudai. After that, I am going to try hollow and honeycomb braids made on the wooden marudai. I've made flat braids on my square foam marudai and on my round marudai. I've made a braid design with hearts and another with chevrons. I found this item
http://www.braidershand.com/takadai.html at my favorite kumihimo supply site. Wouldn't that be a sight to see in use at Artisan's Row???
* Friday's mail brought a great surprise that will make my life much simpler. I am so very grateful.
* Plans have been finalized for our trip up north! Boychild and I have spent time online, looking at the places we will visit. Another adventure for us - we are so excited!!
* One of my friends finished 6 long months of chemo this week!!! Her medical journey continues, but at least this part is done.
* I feel very good.
Today is Father's Day, a holiday that we do not celebrate here. My Dad has been gone for a few years now and I miss him, but I don't. My Dad was not musically inclined, but these lyrics from Dan Fogelberg have always touched my heart:
The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
I am the living legacy
To the leader of the band.
Lesson learned ~ After the drama of the last six months of my life, I have learned a difficult lesson. There have been times when one of my friends have gone through a challenging time and I have said "Let me know what I can do to help you." Having heard that many times during the last six months, I realize that I wasn't making my friend feel good by my offer, I was making myself feel good. In the future, should one of my friends experience a difficult time, rather than offering to help them IF they ask, I am going to do something and not wait for them to ask. I've learned my lesson - it's not only the big things that make a difference, it is the small, simple and unexpected things that help so much when times are difficult. The books that came from afar, the small gifts to make me smile, the gift card for our favorite restaurant, the cards that made me laugh, the phone calls that allowed me the opportunity to share my thoughts and fears, the package of craft supplies left on my doorstep - all these simple things made a world of difference in my struggle. Yep, this lesson has been learned!
In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.
John Churton Collins
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ah, the good life - simple pleasures that are simply divine. In the hustle and bustle of every day living, we often are too busy, too caught up in our activities or too stressed to fully appreciate life's simple pleasures. Habituation is an evil and insidious disease that prevents us from fully living in this moment and reaping all the joy that we can experience. We are so busy looking forward with great expectations or looking back to make comparisons rather than enjoying the present. We often miss out on the full extent of the moment's pleasures and then need to create another moment with the expectation of even greater pleasure. Or even worse, we fill our days with meaningless activities, simply to avoid being alone or to fill some void in our lives. To me, that is the greatest tragedy, for it is not our deeds that define who we are and our life's purpose. Yet we desperately continue to reach outward when all we have to do is quietly look within.
* Dinner out Friday night with friends - good food and good companionship
* Boychild spent Friday night with his buddy and they played together all day on Saturday. His buddy's parents took both boys out to dinner on Saturday and then to see the movie "Nacho Libre". This greatly pleased me because I really didn't want to go see this movie. Boychild spent an hour last night, sharing his pleasure and excitement about this silly wrestling movie.
* Plans for today include a trip to the store for more chlorine for the pool and some shorts for Boychild. This afternoon will be spent in the company of a friend, swimming, chatting and making burgers on the grill.
* The desk here is a mess, filled with all kinds of kumihimo supplies and braids. (Thank you columella). I pulled out my marudai and found that Yoda ate 2 of the tamas, the weighed, wooden spools - silly dog!! I've made some simple replacements that are not perfect, but will work for the time being. I found a copy of Jacqui Carey's book "Beginner's Guide to Braiding. The Craft of Kumihimo" which has many beautiful designs and great instructions. Right now I am finishing up a braid made from ribbon and my next project will be a beaded braid, then a braid made from craft cord made on the foam marudai. After that, I am going to try hollow and honeycomb braids made on the wooden marudai. I've made flat braids on my square foam marudai and on my round marudai. I've made a braid design with hearts and another with chevrons. I found this item
http://www.braidershand.com/takadai.html at my favorite kumihimo supply site. Wouldn't that be a sight to see in use at Artisan's Row???
* Friday's mail brought a great surprise that will make my life much simpler. I am so very grateful.
* Plans have been finalized for our trip up north! Boychild and I have spent time online, looking at the places we will visit. Another adventure for us - we are so excited!!
* One of my friends finished 6 long months of chemo this week!!! Her medical journey continues, but at least this part is done.
* I feel very good.
Today is Father's Day, a holiday that we do not celebrate here. My Dad has been gone for a few years now and I miss him, but I don't. My Dad was not musically inclined, but these lyrics from Dan Fogelberg have always touched my heart:
The leader of the band is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through
My instrument
And his song is in my soul --
My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man
Im just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
I am the living legacy
To the leader of the band.
Lesson learned ~ After the drama of the last six months of my life, I have learned a difficult lesson. There have been times when one of my friends have gone through a challenging time and I have said "Let me know what I can do to help you." Having heard that many times during the last six months, I realize that I wasn't making my friend feel good by my offer, I was making myself feel good. In the future, should one of my friends experience a difficult time, rather than offering to help them IF they ask, I am going to do something and not wait for them to ask. I've learned my lesson - it's not only the big things that make a difference, it is the small, simple and unexpected things that help so much when times are difficult. The books that came from afar, the small gifts to make me smile, the gift card for our favorite restaurant, the cards that made me laugh, the phone calls that allowed me the opportunity to share my thoughts and fears, the package of craft supplies left on my doorstep - all these simple things made a world of difference in my struggle. Yep, this lesson has been learned!