Cactus, Succulents....why not?

                                                   

                 (The above is a delightful little book I checked out of the library. It can be purchased on Thriftbooks for $6.39.)

Maybe it's because my flowering plants haven't flourished.

Maybe it's because I like to learn new stuff.

Maybe it's because I think cacti and succulents are almost indestructible. (I am sure they are not!)

Maybe it's because no one else I know is a cactus guru.

                                                    So here I go................

I am not a cactus guru yet, but now I have to put my interest where my dollars have been recently spent.

I have purchased numerous cacti and am about to figure out exactly what I have. 

I purchased "rare tiny cacti" from Walmart and a couple larger healthy looking cacti from Lowes this past week.

The greenhouse is calling this early morning. By the time I get to it the sun will be up, if it's coming up, and I will be using the plant identifier on the phone to zero in on what I purchased. 

Focusing on cacti makes sense to me. You water less, you worry less, you take from their strengths and resilience. Of course some have spines and gloves need to be worn. You have to be careful with some folks too.

I did purchase special soil, first online, not a big bag. Now I have a large bag from Lowes. 

It's a foray into the Land of Happy Cactus! It's a foray into one more learning experience.

                                       Come with me. Let's see where this venture takes us. 

                                              Maybe I will even produce some blooms!

                                                              

The Bible and Poetry

 

I just ordered the above book from Amazon.  Wanting to know more about poetry in the Bible, the following review excerpt makes the book quite desirable:

Prose seeks to lock down ideas with logic and clarity so there is no wiggle room.  Poetry, by contrast, is all about wiggle room. 

Poetry is all about “glimpsing” something — say, the kingdom of God — without constraining it by rules and tenets, without defining it.  Poetry is about open-ended ideas and images that are there to be “explored.”

Prose tries to build a room and determine every item inside that room. 

Poetry stands out in the open — whether in a desert or a city or in a jungle — and is awash with a great deal of thoughts, emotions, sensations, some of which are to be expected but others, such as a bird suddenly flying past at eye level, are unsettling, maybe in a pleasurable way but maybe a distressing way.

https://patricktreardon.com/book-review-the-bible-and-poetry-by-michael-edwards-translated-by-stephen-e-lewis/

I am quite sure that this book will entail focusing, quiet meditation and prayer. All these are qualities of action that I seek.

                       *                   *                 *                *               *

When my husband retrieved the mail from our Hunt, TX "mail van" the other day, the post office dude said something about "no books today." I had no idea he was paying that much attention or perhaps, I do order many books! Then my husband told him of our losses, including all the books I had owned. I guess I am slowly regaining a library of joy and imagination. As Dolly Parton has created her Imagination Library for children, I too am in the process of such a creation.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Today's Miracles

 

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN What a Great Quote! I agree! So many miracles occur each day as i ponder and plunder through work and play.                              today my miracles will be  the dishwasher the coffee maker the slow cooker the weaving loom's magic mechanics  the greenhouse holding its emerging little seeds   the cacti that i am trying to find just the right sunlight to nourish  the remarkable birds that i feed  the birdseed that is new to me and to the doves, the redwing blackbirds,  the goldfinches, the cardinals, the sparrows, the black-capped chickadees so many miracles and i am just beginning my day. blessings to all creation!

Colorful Thoughts

                         I keep returning to thoughts about color! 

            This is undoubtedly due to a prompt from Jill Badonsky's "Creativity is my O2" class.    

                                               https://themuseisin.com/workshops-trainings

Here's the prompt from Jill:

"Spot a Color That Refuses to be Ignored

Find a color that pops: in clothing, packaging, a reflection, a tiny detail.

• Writing: List five metaphors for that color that have nothing to do with color (e.g., “This

red is a decision I haven’t made yet”).• Art: Make a quick abstract patch of that color, then add two supporting colors that make

it feel even more itself. Title the little patch with a verb, like “Leaping” or

“Remembering.

Isn't that a wonderful prompt? I am going to weave through the prompt and see what emerges on the loom.

I will choose a color that blends with the weaving that is now on my Saori loom.

Or I could just begin a new weaving on a lap loom, but I think the Saori is calling me today. 

"toodle doo and I will report back"

Internet Class Turmoil

I am not quite sure I feel this way! I am not experiencing despair. However, I shall not sign up ever again for so many simultaneous classes. What was I thinking???

I did this once before and thought I had learned my lesson!

I do believe that I spend too many hours on the internet now that I am signed up for six classes. Each class is internet-centered. Here is my current status:

1) beadisciple: This is the class on various religions using Protero's book, God is Not One, which is excellent. However, the class includes watching several videos and of course, interacting on a group site.

2) Abbey of the Arts: This class is integrating spirituality into daily practices following Christine Valter's book, The Artist's Rule. I have access to this class following the prescribed twelve weeks so can review and "catch-up" later.

3) Call of the Page: This class involves submitting tanka, waiting one week for the crtitique, taking another week to submit more tanka. There are three submissions total. This class is not daily, but requires thought throughout the week - good thoughts on what to write.

4) Creativity is My O2: Jill Badonsky's pricey class with a zoom for two hours each week. I enjoy this class but don't feel it is worth the hundreds of $$$ I spent. Think again, Joan, before you sign up!!

5) Coming...Chelsey Clammer's class on Editing: Coming next week. Her classes are currently my favorite writing classes and I am a returning student. She wants to help me publish. I am dragging my feet because submitting for publishing is time-consuming.

6) Alison Wearing's Memoir Writing class: I find this class to be relaxing. The modules will be available following the class. I am already behind, but check in (on the internet of course) to see what is evolving. I applied for a scholarship and received the $200 deduction from the $500 total fee. It is a good class so far.
 

And what will I do with all my time once these classes are finished? 

I shall weave. I shall practice harp. I shall spend time outside with my new camera and my new bicycle.

I shall be a bit more hesitant regarding how I spend my $$$ and which classes deserve my energies.

In the meantime, I must tend to my memoir writing class for a few moments this early morning.

Memoir Writing With Alison

I applied and received a $200 scholarship from Alison Wearing's Memoir Writing Class. 

https://www.alisonwearing.com/memoir-writing-ink

It is a commitment for three months. The learning curve will be phenomenal. My goal is to write better 

hopefully write a memoir with amazing success. Hooray for older women's successes, right?

And so I shall faithfully write as Alison instructs. I like her persona, the short videos, the prompts so far.

Thank you for this opportunity to whomever made the decision to help me financially.

This is not the only writing class I am taking, nor is it the only online class to which I have committed 

my money, my efforts, my time. I am reminded of "The Little Engine That Could" (Watty Piper, 1930)

I feel blessed to have all of these boxcars on my train track. Within each car is joy, challenges, 

opportunities and assignments.  I like this metaphor of a train. I think that the engineer might be

 overloaded at times. She may need to sort and shuffle the various boxcars. There may be weeks when

she just unhooks one or two and returns to pick them up.

Leaving the train yard now and heading to memoir writing lesson #1 and maybe #2.

I will keep you posted!

😘

Flood Tankas

The few paragraphs below and the two tankas were written for an assignment in a Call of the Page class. I enjoy these classes very much and the feedback from Alan and Karen is valuable.

https://www.callofthepage.org

Daily I drive alongside the Guadalupe River,  the river that flooded here in the Hill Country July 4, 2025. Seventy-one adults and thirty-seven  children drowned.  With its mini-sunami-like power, river banks were meaningless. The destruction was overwhelming. Kayaks hung from trees as helicopters flew relentlessly for hours, days, weeks searching for the living, the dead, victims of all ages.

Recovery is underway today.  Recovery from losing a home, all contents, all vehicles. We are not alone! Now seven months later four volunteers just left our home today, finishing up minor details.

Cruising on the newly black-topped road, I gaze at the river. It reveals the familiar enormous barge positioned in Ingram Lake, the section of the Guadalupe right before the dam. This barge with its huge crane is dredging the waters, still searching for the missing remains of two victims. The crane brings up the dirt, the sunken trees, the huge trunks and roots and drops its “catch” into what I would call dumpsters. The load is then hauled away. Does the river care that so much of its contents is being carried away? What do scientists say about relocating the material? 

I have heard that fifty percent of the trees were damaged and/or removed from the area alongside the river. It is very believable. I can see the houses across the river in full view. Their sloping landscapes to the river are barren. The land between my route on Highway #39 and the river is barren. The river’s rocky bed is visible, blatant with white bleached rocks from the sun. What was it like before the swarming waters swallowed the undergrowth and trees? Has the path of the river changed? 

I read that the river will eventually heal and reshape. I will also. We both need time.

Tanka #1

I travel alongside the Guadalupe

the menacing river now meanders

around a newly revealed

naked rockbed

dusted with death

Tanka #2

one enormous barge

laden with large containers

a crane hoists heavenward

stretches up then down

dredging for death

Ideas = Creativity = Gratefulness

                                                                                                          (anonymous)

 Someone shared the above wonderful "poster" on my Facebook page"Creativity is My Oxygen" class.

                                     *                   *                  *                * 

I am happy this morning to have finished my Grateful Gathering online training.

I am joyous this morning because I have possibilities for my two tankas due this week in my tanka class.

I am comfortable with my ongoing beadisciple class learning about other religions.

I am continuing with the videos on the Abbey of the Arts online classes knowing if I miss one or two they are available following the twelve weeks. 

I am thrilled with my volunteer position at the Christian Women's Job Corps here in Kerrville. What a wonderful organization and I am just getting my toes wet, so to speak.

I am pleased to have received a scholarship for the Alison Wearing Memoir Writing online class. This is going to be my commitment for the next several months. 

I am grateful to have woven with Debra and Darlene at The Rogue and Skein yesterday. I like what I am creating.

I am looking forward to writing the remaining haikus for my zine book on watercolor paper that I just ordered from Amazon.

And finally I am grateful for the successful bookmobile giveaway we had at the Farmer's Market yesterday here in Kerrville.

💕                             💕                                💕                                💕                                      💕

Living Longer

 

Below is a simple list of how to live longer, just good old reminders!

Today I am contemplating the best things in life....ageing.....being an octogenarian.....living with a 98-year old husband.....maintenance?

From Psychology Today here is a partial list of points in self-caring for this elderly lady:

• Sleeping 7-8 hours per night.  I do this religiously, sometimes 9 hours!
• Keeping your brain active. Yes, crosswords. Or whatever brain games you enjoy. Weaving and my musical instruments keep me quite alert. Restringing a harp is going to awaken nerve endings I never recognized before. 
• Spending time with people you love and value. Yes, with husband and children. Sometimes this is difficult. Kids are busy and I seldom see a couple of them.
• Managing stress with tai chi, meditation, mindfulness exercises, or cultivating a flexible mindset. Flexibility is a "go-to" for me. I try the "m-words," but my thoughts are so disruptive. The tai chi class at the senior center filled immediately. Folks are gravitating towards these options.
• Finding a purpose or a way to contribute to others. Yes, a thousand times, yes. I am going to contribute to other by volunteering at the Christian Women's Job Corps and also seeking a second opportunity. I tend to "take on too much," so am moving at a slower commitment pace. 
• Savoring the small and large pleasures of life. Eating out, visiting my greenhouse daily, planting a few seeds, watching the birds feed in the backyard, getting my new electric bike running...of course the harp playing, the fiddle, the piano, writing and weaving.  
• Quitting smoking and other unhealthy drugs. I am cutting down on wine every night. It is really making me tired....and my sugar intake needs monitoring.

This all is familiar but I like to remind myself that sometimes I am doing the best I can with self-care.

Studying Various Religions

The class started today, learning about other religions The curriculum will teach me so much I didn't know even about my own religion, Christianity! By studying other religions I will be taking a stronger stance regarding my Christian convictions. For that I am grateful.

The class is titled, Passionately Christian, Compassionately Interreligious with the above book required reading, our main text. However, the teacher promises extra resources which I relish.

The introduction has already challenged my belief system. It is hard for me to accept that every single human being in another religious element will go to hell. That is not where the book begins but it has taken my thoughts there.  I shall never forget visiting a Unity church in Coeur d' Alene once and before I was seated, the lady usher informed me, "We do not believe in a hell."

The class is lengthy, twelve weeks covering the largest eight religions in the world. 

Class introductions took up most of the first week's assignment. Then watching videos by Dr. Sathi Clarke was inviting and very informative. I now have downloaded a worksheet outlining six dominant categories to understand other traditions. For example, #1 is to determine the Supreme Being or principle within the specific religion. What instills meaning and gives value to a particular religion?

Yes, I anticipate that this course will demand focusing and wrapping my brain around ideas and principles new to me.

Hang in there, Joan, are my thoughts this morning.

Blessing for Learning the Harp

I am taking harp lessons online. I attempted to learn the harp thirty years ago for a very brief period, so must treat this experience as a beginner. The adventure is becoming quite addictive. Oh, regrets that I did not "stick with it." Phooey on regrets! The experience is now!

 I am choosing to spend my final years progressing with harp technique and simple songs. 

Dear God ……

bless this harp as it vibrates its strings

sometimes right  sometimes wrong

bless this metronome as it tick tocks

sometimes fast most times adagio

bless this tuner tucked in my phone

as strings are slightly turned 

seeking the unattainable perfect pitch

bless these fingers aching from

arthritis or gardening or harp technique

bless alice with whom i connect 

online each week 

bless the laptop adjusting the camera 

as she views misshapen hands 

bless this harp as it brings 

each note

each chord 

each phrase 

each song

to glorify Him!!

(This blessing is a result of my online class with Abbey of the Arts. Today's assignment is "Writing a Blessing for Beginning Creative Work." The class follows Christine Valters Painter's book, The Artist's Rule.)