Posts that focus on the frogs (projects) to be consumed (thank you Mark Twain!)
Two giant, daddy-hop-toad-sized frogs occupied a substantial portion of my plate this summer. Never mind a plate, they occupied a) a 7-foot tower of Ikea shelving and b) 39 cubic feet of air space respectively, in a storage space 8′ x 10′. And each frog weighed a half a metric …
Here we are, a year into our pandemic new normal. And there my dear Mama is, a year of coronavirus-induced isolation in. Days checked off on the calendar in her pretty room at the adult family home. Maybe the one from The Nature Conservancy. Maybe the one from Alley Cat …
There, now we have a month of good luck ahead of us. Or so I hear. Rabbit, rabbit. Some of you may have said that first thing this morning. And for those still slowly rising – get to it, it could bring you good luck all month long. Rachel Martin, …
I have had music and warmth on my mind this week. Not because life has been particularly full of either; if I’m honest, it’s been the usual February cold, damp and dreary. But because February 1 is my new year’s day, a day fit for optimism, I’m going to bring …
New Year’s Day is the western world’s touchstone for resolution making. There’s plainly something about that 01/01 date that appeals to many of us, like a celestial reset button: Press here to change your life! But not for all of us, or at least not for all our lives. For …
Sometimes the only way out is through. (It was either Winston Churchill or Rodney Atkins offered the world this gem of wisdom, I forget which.) Taken as a kernel of corncob folk wisdom, I suppose you could do worse. Especially if the hell you’re going through is a combination of …
Art for Art’s Sake Press is based in scenic, downtown Olympia. We have majestic views of the Olympic Mountains from our harbor, and — when the cloud-cover cooperates — equally grand views of Mount Rainier. Overlooking downtown is our splendid Capitol building with it freshly scrubbed dome. At water’s edge, …
I bought Marie Kondo’s first book on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up right after it came out. It had an enchantingly simple take on clutter: Hold the object, and if it doesn’t spark joy, bless it and send it out the door. Someone, somewhere, will probably find the joy …
Elsewhere in America this past week — including just up the Puget Sound in Seattle and further north to Bellingham — snow was piling up to people’s second-story windows. Here in Olympia, at least in the lowlands and at sea-level, winter made a half-hearted attempt to be fierce, failed pretty …
Inspired by a New York Times Smarter Living column last January, and knowing I had a multitude of frogs to consume in 2019 (banking, vehicles, books, computer accounts, & etc & etc), I bought myself a set of Best Self journals. Once in hand, of course, I had to figure …
