Wordless Wednesday

Mandala Monday

Here is my challenge.  To publish a mandala either created or photographed each Monday.  This first one is one I did five years ago.  It was during my “Courage To Teach Retreat” workshop and we were to make a prayer flag.  Looked at it recently and realized I had created a mandala.

Interesting that two words have stayed on my mandala,  look here. This is a brave act this week, to share my art.

Happy Monday.

Wordless Wednesday

Dahlia Mandala II

Sunday Scribblings: Coffee

This has been brewing since Friday.  I know Chatsworth, a stone’s throw from my child hood home. I know the Metrolink, travelled it on vacation from Burbank Airport to Simi Valley and back.  My brother and sister-in-law use the service many times in the course of a year.

My heart goes out to those families of victims from Friday’s crash.

 

Drinking a cuppa joe

The headlines read:

“total destruction

“worst accident in the history

of Metrolink”

bold Ethiopian Harrar with blueberry notes

cannot assuage fears:

could family, friends been

riding to a weekend, they would never see.

would someone let me know?

I search cyberspace

Praying not to see familiar names

A childhood memory away

A family member away

Drinking a cuppa joe

 

For more coffee rich offerings, visit Sunday Scribblings.

One Single Impression: Spectacle

honeybee sunflower
pantooned pollen collector
august spectacle

mandala dance
honey dust sprinkled

Please visit One Single Impression for more on the topic of “spectacle”

Wordless Wednesday

Light Within

Three Things: A Meme from My Niece

 

My niece did this survey.  I learned some things from her like I read  (most of it) on of her favorite books, Emily of New Moon this summer and she makes stacks of papers, ( I make “perpetual piles of personal papers”.)

1. What is your favorite fictional character from a book or movie?
Karana from Island of the Blue Dolphins.  Love that girl, her independent spirit and her life alone on a island for 18 years. And Skippyjon Jones, a cat who wants to be a chihuahua, sassy!

2. What are your 3 best physical assets?
My hair, my laugh (is that a physical asset?) and my legs( my dughter recently said she thought my legs looked great for my age. Ha! )

3. Name 3 attributes you would be proud to pass on to your children.
My girls are grown, this is for the grand kids:
passion for learning, be a sponge, love of reading and writing
openess to be loving, willingness to admit your mistakes, and loving kindness to all
love of the natural world

4. Name 3 attributes that you hope not to pass on to your children.
Stubborness
Messiness: remember the four “P”s earlier in the post?
Struggles with time management
5. If you had to give up one of the following things FOREVER, which would you choose? 1. All makeup. 2. Flat iron/curling iron. 3. Razors (laser hair removal isn’t an option).
Probably number 2, I really do not use them now.

6. What do you think is your best quality?
I am compassionate and love to laugh

7. What is your worst quality?
I am messy.

8. What would be a perfect day for you?
A snowy day, fire going, time to hang out with my husband, time to write time to nap. We are cocooned in our home.

9. Where is your favorite place you have ever visited?
The southwest.  Something magical about Canyone de Chelley, Bryce Canyon, and the desert.

10. Name something you are really good at?
I am a good at being a school library media specialist.

11. What are you most shallow about?
When I discovered two cavities in the front of my mouth that people could see.  I was horrified and everyone knew it!

12. What is something you’re a little bit conceited about.
My job?  I think it is the best in the world.

13. Name 3 things you are embarrassed to admit.
I was having trouble driving with out being terribly sleepy (now diagnosed with sleep apnea)
I procrastinate when it comes to taxes.
I want to create a computer free day a week for myself.

Thank you, Apophenia for the tag.  Anyone can play along.

Tuesday Tidbits: I love Libraries

Hagerman Library, Idaho, Summer 2008

This little library was named “Library of the Year” in 2006. I just had to show you this sweet library where my friend lives.

I know. You might think, “well, I hope she likes libraries, she works in one!”. But I it is just that I have rediscovered my love of th public library during this last year.  I needed to listen to the Newbery Awards on the way to work.  I knew that my colleagues would soon tire of me asking to borrow their books on tape. So I turned to the public library.

What I love is getting on-line, choosing books and picking them up at the nearby library, Gladstone Public Library. (It is less than 2 miles from my house).  This experience has taken me back to my childhood.  That period of time before is was fashionable to purchase books from the local independent book sellers (did they exist?) or Barnes and Noble or Borders.

I went to the library a lot.  Put the colored dots on the peacock to show I had read a certain amount of books.  Got the certificate for summer reading.  Bugged my parents to drive me to the library and when I was old enough, rode my bike there.  I swear it is what made me choose to become a school library media specialist.

The borrowing of the books on tapes made me rethink my compulsion to run out and buy the latest and newest books available. So now I am borrowing books again.  It seems to line up better with my committment to be a bit more green, a bit less of a consumer, and to lighten the amount of stuff I collect.  And it use to be I could take my books back to Powell’s and get moneyfor them.  That’s is not so much the case anymore with Internet sales.

Do not get me wrong.  I still buy books.  It is just that I don’t need to drop a lot of money on books that I am not sure I will like.  I can borrow them.  Case in point:  I checked out a couple of Allende’s books as potentials for our book club.  I could not get into them so I am glad I didn’t but them.

There is a bond up for our local library.  I am hopeful it will pass, it would mean a new library.  If it does not pass, then some libraries will close.  I feel a need to work to get the bond to pass.

Do you go to the library?

Only 26 days until the Second Kidlit Blogging Conference. Wow!  Are you registered?  Do you have your room reservations?