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.

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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.

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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.)

i am going to live.....

 Written to a prompt by Abbey of the Arts with Hirsch' poem as inspiration.

I Am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic

Today I am pulling on a green wool sweater
and walking across the park in a dusky snowfall.

The trees stand like twenty-seven prophets in a field,
each a station in a pilgrimage—silent, pondering.

Blue flakes of light falling across their bodies
are the ciphers of a secret, an occultation.

I will examine their leaves as pages in a text
and consider the bookish pigeons, students of winter.

I will kneel on the track of a vanquished squirrel
and stare into a blank pond for the figure of Sophia.

I shall begin scouring the sky for signs
as if my whole future were constellated upon it.

I will walk home alone with the deep alone,
a disciple of shadows, in praise of the mysteries.

---by Edward Hirsch

I, most certainly, was not as sensory driven as Hirsch,  but this is what came forth for me:

i am going to live like a monk.

but what does that mean?

can i live like a monk and 

continue my social-pleasing life?

do i give up my classes online?

do i give up my peer groups of sharing?

do i surround myself with a 

constant cloak of quietness?

i am going to live like a mystic.

but what does that mean?

can i live like a mystic, meditate 

as i wash dishes

water plants

read responses to posts?

do i recluse myself?

do i pray by setting a timer?

how to quiet my distracted heart?

i am going to live like an artist.

oh, i know what that means.

i weave. i write. 

I can be an artist weaving

my threads into a God-inspired palette. 

this excites me, no questions arise.

I can be an artist writing

my words into a God-inspired poem.

what is left but life’s surprises!

what is left but empty warps!

what is left but blank pages! 

we wait, 

my artist and i for …….

His acclimations

His affirmations

His comforts

His directions

aware! i already have

His love.    amen!                                                                         joanconnor01/24/2026

Too Many Possibilities!!

 

 

Too Many Possibilities!!

The black italicized remarks are copied from googling/AI and my comments are in color:

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Having too many creative outlets, or "multi-creativity," is a blessing that can lead to "creative overload" or the "paradox of abundance," where overwhelming possibilities create stagnation. This is my situation, creative overload and then I do what I am doing right now. I write about the dilemma instead of tackling the project at hand. I google weaving looms instead of weaving, I google writing classes instead of writing. I go down “rabbit holes,” one by one.

Philosophy on this topic emphasizes using structured constraints, such as time-blocking or focusing on one project at a time, to transition from overwhelming ideas to meaningful output. Amen! Focus on one project at a time. Create output! Currently, I should be weaving and using my new looms, new yarns, new buttons, new “bells and whistles.” Rotate through my interests determined by needs and opportunities.

The "Regret Minimization" Framework: To choose between projects, imagine your future self at retirement and consider which, if left undone, would cause the most regret. Very interesting as I am and have been in retirement for years. I would most regret if I didn’t pursue weaving and harp playing. That is how I feel today (January 21, 2026). I have been given an opportunity to focus since so many “unfinished projects” no longer exist. I am feeling free and in the process of narrowing my options. I must not take on new hobbies but methodically work on each loom I now have and expand my social outings to include weaving and working with other fiber artists. 

Practical Philosophical Approaches:

• Structure and Flow: Use "calibrated creative constraint" to limit choices and focus energy. Calibrated Creative Constraint! What a marvelous phrase. I shall write it, read it, believe it, do it!!!

• Seasonal Focus: Embrace that artistic focus moves in seasons; intense interest in one area should be followed, even if it means neglecting others temporarily. I shall “neglect others” but alas, that is difficult to accomplish. For example, my desire to experience contemplative photography includes the acquisition of a new beautiful mirrorless camera. I cannot not pursue that interest.

• Intentional Output: Move from just having ideas to having a "system" to manage them, recognizing that you can only do one thing at a time. A system in order to focus - like giving a time schedule for each “idea?” 

• The "Unifying Umbrella": Treat multiple, seemingly unrelated outlets as part of a single, multifaceted personal brand or creative identity. I really like this option. I can experience my weaving, I write about it and implement my contemplative photography interest by taking photos that will inspire my weaving. 

• Write, Weave, Wander with a camera. Collect my ideas and structure them into a weaving with words! 

Key Takeaway: The goal is to move from being a "dilettante" (dabbling in many things) to a "multi-passionate expert" (mastering several things over a lifetime) by using structure to manage the overwhelming, yet beautiful, flow of ideas.  “Multi-passionate expert” - don’t you just love that label. The expert part is a bit overwhelming so perhaps I can be a “multi-passionate hobbyist.” 

Let’s meditate on the proper noun.

Saori Smiles

 

I am still wired from weaving yesterday with these fine folks!!!

I drove 2+ hours to the Wimberly Saori Studio yesterday to study with Kathleen Utts. https://www.wimberleyvalleysaori.com/about/

I had been there one time previously.......before the flood........before all was lost.......before I thought I would be starting over with a different Saori loom.

However, the magic reappeared. My loom with all its parts survived the disaster and is now a working loom in my "loom room!"

I did not take my loom to Kathy's workshop. It is a chunky loom, not foldable like those pictured, the models we wove on for six hours. It seemed like six minutes. Kathy's stash of yarns are better than any candy store could duplicate. Drawers open to beautiful yarns, towers spin revealing cones of imported yarns, within my arm's reach while weaving were sparkles and the most creative yarns one could imagine. 

In the photo above, I am the second one from the left. My weaving is the result of no plan, no pattern, no justification except that it is about the creative journey. Kathy said, "Let the weaving tell you its use, what it is to become, what life it breathes." 

I shall embellish it today with beads and perhaps a button to accent the pink. (Handmade buttons are my new interest. I shall blog about my Etsy button order as soon as I unwrap them.)

Our teacher Kathy Utts, is well known in the Saori world. She travels frequently to Japan, continuing her learning with the Saori family. Her soft voice, perfect stories injected with humor and delight, guidance with any problems, her wealth of Saori knowledge and so very willing to share.

It's all part of the package I unwrapped yesterday.

I arrived home at 6:30 p.m., a bit tired but feeling blessed to have a Saori studio within one day's drive to and fro and then to study under the tutelage of Kathy. 

Beginners relish the ease of Saori weaving yet once one gets the knack of Saori weaving the potential is limitless. Next, after I weave for a few months, Kathy is offering a November workshop teaching how to transform one's weavings into vests and jackets. 

I am hooked, heddled, loomed and ready to keep this commitment warped!

Guilt is a Downer

1) Each on of these guilt-driven phrases is so "right-on!"

2) I cancelled purchasing another loom and emailed the buyer at midnight. I feel guilty because I had accepted her counter offer and had set the date to travel two days to pick up the loom.

3) No money had crossed the table. I had gone to the bank and gotten the cash but had not sent a down payment.

4) The loom is wonderful, seldom can one buy a used Saori loom, but I did not need another Saori loom.

5) I think what prompted me to rethink this $1800 purchase was the struggles I am currently having warping the loom I have. 

6) Before the flood my loom was newly warped. It is a miracle that the loom survived with all its parts. The warp had to be tossed - paper and thread - flood-ruined. 

7) I emailed the seller at midnight and feel guilty this morning because I changed my mind. I already have more than one loom. 

8) What encouragement above is applicable to my situation?  There isn't an icon for "changing your mind and misleading someone," is there? 

9) I'm sorry, Melissa, but warping my current loom is discouraging me at this point in time. I shall pray that a buyer emerges, feels fortunate to have your loom, and pays you full price.

10) Think your purchases through, Joan, so you don't disappoint anyone from this time forward!!
 

Unplanned Creativity

 

Photo taken in my greenhouse 01/14/2026.

Oops, I did not date the planting of the seeds! I have so much to learn as each planting is certainly a scientific experiment.

Just for fun I used my arugula for the "unplanned creativity" prompt.  Then I googled the steps for displaying museum pieces, the required notations, the proper labeling. What fun to be a curator of arugula and giving artistic credit to our Lord, in this case The Divine She-God. 

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This is my response to The Scavenger Hunt: “Evidence of unplanned creativity. Describe it as if it were a piece in a museum of everyday brilliance!” (Badonsky prompt)

 Arugula 

Object Label

Artist: The Divine She-God

Title: The Arranged Arugula

Date of completion: WIP (work in progress)

Medium: Seeds on Organic Soil

Dimensions: rectangular planter (6" x 24")

Wall Label

Artist: She-God, Current Era, Cultural Significance confirming The Gardener can grow what is planted from seed.

Technique: Organic soil placed in box, seeds sprinkled gently, water added tenderly

Interpretation: It is Divine that the smallest seeds were allowed to push through coarse organic soil, peeking into the greenhouse environment with acceptance and “everyday brilliance.”

Benefits of Arugula:

Arugula is a superfood chock-full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and cancer-fighting compounds.

Arugula has been recognized since ancient times as a natural aphrodisiac, 

potentially boosting libido and sexual health. Rich in nitrates, vitamins A and C, and trace minerals, it helps improve blood circulation, increases testosterone levels, and blocks libido-reducing contaminants.