Being a Multipotentialite

                                                                   Here I am! 

      Maybe my posts have already revealed this diagnosis! 

1) I joined another online school yesterday to motivate and challenge my beginning weaving commitment.

The school is called School of SweetGeorgia (https://www.schoolofsweetgeorgia.com) and includes all fiber arts. I need to delve into theories of color, design as well as the mechanics of my loom. This particular option was in my price range - $9 for month one and then $19/month thereafter. Or I may join for a year and add $148 to the $9 I already paid. I think it will be a great beginning for me as my rigid heddle loom and small backpacking loom have been dormant. 

I plan to create tapestries, but am not opposed to simply weaving an easy towel or placemat. I do NOT need another diversion but as a multipotentialite, diversions are commonplace for me.

2) We leave this park in one week. I am ready as is The Hubby. We are eager, very eager to return to hot Texas and the home we barely spent a few nights in before chasing the volunteer position up here in beautiful North Idaho.

3) Another diversion I am googling about is lamp redoing. I have a vision of a booth lit with rescued lamps from thrift stores and garage sales. This is certainly not a new idea. However, it is a lit up idea for me - a vision instilled in my noggin with gorgeous one of a kind lamps redone in a variety of unique ideas. Don't you think it could be brilliant? And I want my motto to be:

                              Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

Catching Up with Myself

It's been awhile since I have posted. No particular reason other than being focused on relaxing, reading and working in the Junior Ranger room here at Farragut State Park, Idaho.

It's coming to a close and for that I am grateful. Everything is hunky-dory here in the park. It's just that I want to be in my new-to-me home in Texas. I feel as if I am biding my time. I am more than ready to tackle all those projects we left after spending a mere ten days in our "new" home. 

What else have I been attempting? 

1) Reading and participating in Story Circle Network's book club that meets bi monthly. It's not particularly structured, more like conversing with a couple friends about the books and how it "sets" with one another. I may/may not continue with this zoom. The fee has been waived. We discussed Laura Davis' The Burning Light of Two Stars last evening.

2) Writing with Jill Badonsky twice a week. She provides funky prompts, not the usual stuff and I am entertained. I am going to post several poems I have written later this week. I pay $23/month for this opportunity - it's a month-to-month commitment.  The others are very gifted participants, both in writing and artistic endeavors. Yes, I feel inadequate, but that is why I am following Jill. She is VERY upbeat, witty and creative, Thus, her following seems to be very talented and creative.

3) Being with Granddaughter and Daughter here in the park. We have been to the beach and geocached. The latter took several hours and we found 7/8 boxes. It's a challenging program from the Junior Ranger room. The geocache backpacks are loaned for free and each contains a $200 Garmin with coordinates programmed in it.

4) Shopping on my days off at thrift stores finding children's books for my Little Free Library bookmobile. I am eager to resume our farmer's market visits on Saturday mornings. Goodwill has 49 cent children's books and they are lovely. I buy about 20 books each visit, maybe more.

5) No weaving yet. And that hobby was to unfurl this summer. I had better spend a couple hours after work today beginning the process, at least on the small hand loom. My granddaughter received a loom for Christmas and I have prompted her to continue the activity. She is interested is seeing my loom(s). Oh dear, I am not very knowledgeable yet.

6) Selling on Craigslist a couple towing items that Dave transported up here in the truck bed. I just listed the tow bar we used on the Scion when we had the Class C and the bike rack we used on the Class C. Money is lost as my asking prices are low, hopefully some interest will be shown. There is a Coeur d' Alene swap and shop site I should also be putting the items on.

7) Sitting by the fire and working on my current Bible study, Beth Moore's Psalms of Ascent. I love it. This is my first study by her. She is very popular among women, but alas, I have not been in the right loop for years. I read a recent autobiography of hers spontaneously and that started me on this particular journey. 

8) My fiddling has taken a back seat to everything. There is no reason other than sitting outdoors by the fire and hummingbird feeders is a delightful escape. I want to resume my hour per day fiddle practicing. I want to be back in the routine. 

For now, it's off to the Junior Ranger room for six hours of fulfilling my commitment.

Talk more later!

Review Mirroring It

                           

 “Sometimes we don’t know why we’re on a certain road with God until miles have made their way to the soles of our feet.” from Stepping Up, by Beth Moore.

Review Mirroring It

as life follows its curves

motives contribute to change 

the bends, the detours

of delights and disturbances.

the certain road might

vanish we are distracted

dismayed 

disappointed.

my feet are calloused rough

bunioned toes angle

unbecoming but functional.

soles know my story

a different kind of soul seeks

to transport me as that road

that certain road 

becomes where i have journeyed 

all along… 

through the years… 

and it’s ok.

The above poem was written this morning in response to a Jill Badonsky prompt:

• Open a book and grab a sentence, make it your own and keep going.

I am currently working my way through Beth Moore's Bible study, Stepping Up, on the Psalms of Ascent. I thoroughly enjoy her literary approach to this study. Needless to say, I love this particular sentence from Day One, page 13. I am just beginning and excited to have this resource.

More about Jill's class next blogging effort and the possibility of becoming trained in her method of creative life coaching.

Bob, The Gadget Man

I think it might have started with the spiral zucchini cutter. I didn’t have one so Bob generously gave me 

one, “Here’s your delayed wedding present.” I had just married Dave a few months earlier and was attempting to eat healthier pasta that summer. I did….twice!

Then we invited Bob over for homemade doughnuts baked in my air fryer. He just had to try it! Only he used a silicon doughnut making mold and gifted me with one. I tried his process once and returned to my metal doughnut pan baked in the ole’ oven. But then… I went doughnut - sugar free.

Most recently Bob gave me a small red and white plastic egg poacher/cooker to be used in microwaves. I have not tried it. However, the coffee lady at the farmer’s market uses one in her coffee stand to cook the egg for her egg/muffin/bacon sandwich. I watched the perfect egg emerge.

Bob’s most recent acquisition is not a gadget. It’s a major commitment - a Blackstone outdoor griddle. Guess the receiving line for gadgets has closed down. He is in the big time of grilling’. What to gift him with? He is out of my kitchen ballpark? 

How about a cast iron garlic roaster? Doesn’t every boastful dude, “I’m making tacos on my Blackstone,” need one?

A Day in the Junior Ranger Room

 Good Morning!

I am not there yet!

I am not in the most marvelous delightful area for ALL ages here at Farragut State Park, Athol, Idaho. 

I am speaking of the Junior Ranger Program located in The Brig which is a WW II museum! Farragut was the largest naval training base in the United States during WW II. Only The Brig structure remains.

The Junior Ranger Program is located in two rooms within The Brig, two absolutely beautiful rooms that were once the kitchen and mess hall for the officers. A well taxidermized mountain lion holds court over the entire first room, often causing small children to be alarmed and definitely amazed. As a facilitator in the room, I answer questions to the best of my ability while guiding the children and  parents/grandparents to circle the correct answer on a small clipboard at various stations. For example, the first station is about canines and felines, identifying tracks. Second station asks whether a bat is most like a human or a bird.

As they circumvent the room the final station is measuring the child's "wingspan" and then identifying a bird with a similar wingspan from diagrams on the wall. This station is very popular and often a parent's wingspan, similar to the 79" eagle, is measured by the children.

The last requirement for a Junior Ranger badge is to stamp several boxes in the park booklet given to each participant. The boxes are identified by activities the child has participated in within Farragut. For example, completing the clipboard activity is one box accomplished, hiking with parents another.

It is a marvelous program. Errin, the park ranger in charge, adds more hands-on activities annually to the rooms. This year there are puzzles yet to be opened and skull replicas yet to be examined.

Now it's time to put on my "Dedicated Volunteer" shirt and travel to the museum.

Come visit - you won't be disappointed!

Sunday Sanctuary

I am but a mere older woman seeking God's Way in this World of Much Uncertainty. Only a few find it, the Bible says. A few, although many seek, or do they? 

I am meditating this morning about a blog I follow. The woman who is about my age, maybe older, regards herself as an atheist. Why do I follow her? She writes about her life, her solitude, her enjoyment of nature, her delight in the simple things in life, her dog and often shares a painting. This all appeals to me. Seldom does she get political and/or religious in her postings. When she does vent in said manner,  I still follow her, even though her political leanings are not mine and most certainly her religion (Is atheism a religion?) is not what I choose. She evolved into this decision because of her experiences with organized religion and her treatment in the workplace subordinate to men. I understand all of this, every single syllable. Man's interpretation is not always God's meaning. 

The God I worship offers so much more than mankind's doctrine. My God's doctrine, although the Bible is puzzling to me at times, can be explained and illustrated as He leads me.

This morning's devotion includes the above familiar verse, one that I often just lope over. To slide into sinful greedy materialistic ways is easy. I do it frequently. However, it is more difficult to right my path, think of Jesus' teachings and follow His Way. It is challenging and not for the lazy and/or excuse-finding individual whom I often represent. 

I ponder the paths that I have followed 

                                               am following  

                                                   will be following in the future. 

Are the gates easy to open and walk through? If so, does that mean they are not God's Chosen Paths? It's very acceptable to have questions, to try and figure out options, our chosen paths and  purposeful plans.

One peek at this link gives an extended explanation. I have cut/pasted just a few sentences.

Matthew 7:13-14 meaning | TheBibleSays.com

Sadly, the gate that is wide and the way that is broad is the one most people travel. That way leads to destruction. But because people go by appearances rather than by faith, there are many who enter through it. Conversely, few people find the narrow gate that leads to life.

May your Sunday be a blessing in your corner of the world.

Summertime in North Idaho

From Farragut State Park, Athol, Idaho:

We have arrived safely after three grueling days on the road towing our 29' travel trailer. This is our home for the ensuing three months as I volunteer here in Farragut State Park. It is a particularly endearing gig in the Junior Ranger (JR) program. The designated rooms are in the museum which was the brig during WW II. The history of Farragut State Park is fascinating and I shall devote numerous posts to it this summer.

Today I am laid back, settling into our old site on Volunteer Row, readying the trailer to be our summer "cabin in the woods." 

Needless to say, the park is gorgeous, our site marvelous, the volunteer gig delightful and the neighborhood offers many new friends to meet - all volunteers in various ways.

I have been a volunteer here in North Idaho for years. However, this is only my second year here in Farragut, about a thirty minute drive from Coeur d' Alene. Previously I volunteered in Indian Creek SP on beautiful Priest Lake for seven years. I lose count each time I try to recall the exact summers.

Today there is nothing pressing. I am eager to visit the room and see what new artifacts and learning stations have been added. Suzi and Glenn, the other JR volunteers, will be there today.

Think it's time to build my first fire at 9:22 a.m. and drink my third cup of coffee.

bloomin' tankas

 

1.

as repotted houseplants

adjust to roots transplanted

renewed life … maybe

my roots need

regrounding

2.

temptation tiptoes 

as i acquiesce 

perhaps in another life

results were found  

to be rather pleasant

3.

maybe just maybe

in that other life

an oracle spoke….

did i follow and became

one pleasant bloom?

joanconnor 05/25/2023

Reading and Musing

Books are my go-to for joy and escape, information and entertainment. I have not always been such an avid reader. When raising my five children during those years of much responsibility, I did not read. I was just too tired if and when I ever sat down.

I just finished reading Anne Tyler's book, "A Spool of Blue Thread." It held my interest. Below is a quick summary of the book, cut/pasted from goodreads.com. 

  "It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon." This is the way Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The whole family--their two daughters and two sons, their grandchildren, even their faithful old dog--is on the porch, listening contentedly as Abby tells the tale they have heard so many times before. And yet this gathering is different too: Abby and Red are growing older, and decisions must be made about how best to look after them, and the fate of the house so lovingly built by Red's father. Brimming with the luminous insight, humor, and compassion that are Anne Tyler's hallmarks, this capacious novel takes us across three generations of the Whitshanks, their shared stories and long-held secrets, all the unguarded and richly lived moments that combine to define who and what they are as a family."

This just might be an interesting selection for our senior center bookclub that resumes in September. I have months to decide and during this interim there will be many more books I shall consider. 

I have recently been selecting books from the online library Axis 360 through our Kerrville public library. I peruse the offerings as one would peruse shelves in the brick and mortar building. Sometimes I read about a book that is new and place myself on the reserve waiting list. All this is online. Then I am notified when it is available for download. I like reading on my ipad or small laptop, but also have a Kindle I could be using.

I have many many books to read that I have purchased through Thriftbooks. I am trying to wean myself from ordering any more books. Next winter I am going to take each book and either read it or give it away - hopefully read it and then give it away. Of course there are books that will be permanently shelved - reference books for poetry writing and journaling and other interests.

Just yesterday I started delving into my weaving bags to see what has been collected - a small loom and yes, several books. I also found a video that had never been unwrapped. I think this summer I shall begin the new hobby of weaving. At one point in time I really was intrigued but did nothing about it except order the books and a couple looms. Have you ever done that? It's rather like putting the horse before the cart - acquiring the tools before I try any of it out. Perhaps this is going down another rabbit hole.

Off to peruse my online library for a new download.

In Limbo

               "This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Yes, yet another bird-chirping wide-expanse-of-the-sky-day here on my Madrona deck. I shall miss this grandiose view! It is truly a God-given, God-driven opportunity to greet Him each morning looking over the canyon of treetops and musing as perceived matchbox cars traverse on Highway #16.

I am ready to finish the packing and move into 100 Should Bee simply because it "should be" our new and final home here in Texas. This new house is mortgaged to the max since our home here on Madrona has not sold. We are contemplating renting it and must talk with the realtor this week.

I love to think of the possibilities in our new smaller home on a beautiful landscaped lot. It is very close to the Guadalupe River and kayaking could be my new frontier of entertainment. 

I contemplate the possibilities of creating a social and committed life to God in Hunt, Texas. We have visited the church there and are pleased with the reception and the Presence of the Almighty. There is a garden club (not sure) and a school (would love to substitute) and a country store with live music some weekends.

Cleaning will be prioritized tasks the remainder of this month - the movers come June lst. I hope to be very ready. In the meantime there is one more closet to peruse and pack. 

Blessings to count: 

1) The occupants of the Should Bee house are leaving three days earlier than originally told. 

2) There is a local yard man that hopefully will tend our half acrea. 

The Gift of Giving

It's time to catch-up, get remotivated and put the pen to paper. It has been nearly one month since I have caught you up regarding my whereabouts. 

We were spending a long weekend in Halletsville, Texas at a marvelous fiddle contest, the likes of which I have never experienced. The fiddles were played with such vim and vigor strings were flying across the stage. Several of the contestants were professionals, such as fiddlers with Asleep at the Wheel and in Lyle Lovett's band. I am sure there were more impressive connections that I missed or was oblivious to since I do not follow the fiddlers' circuit. 

I became ill the evening before we left and was prone the whole trip back to Kerrville. Then David got sick and had the wherewithal to test for Covid. We had it! For two weeks we stayed home and coughed our way to the finish line. Our strength was sapped. Fortunately we had started packing in April so the impending move was not affected by our inabilities to do much of anything.

We are almost packed and our move to Should Bee Drive is June lst.

In the meantime we are spending this Mother's Day weekend at a dulcimer festival in Glen Rose, Texas. I attended this festival many years ago. My wish came true yesterday. Jen came to our rv and took ALL the dulcimers, music, rhythm instruments, drums and paraphernalia for the raffle table.  The monies pay the performers and their housing for the festival. This festival is totally free for all who attend. It has been in existence for many many years.

I contributed two Blue Lion dulcimers (chromatic fretboard and bass), one McSpadden baritone, one original unusual dulcimer made in 1977 (Marietta, Ohio), and one psaltery. All the dulcimers were in excellent shape and their tone is absolutely awesome. I believe the older instruments have aged and the woods resonate with charm and tenacity.

And so I am going to lurk around the raffle tables, observe the comments and interest in these specific dulcimers. I will keep you posted regarding the results.

I hear you asking why I didn't sell the instruments that range in price from $650 to $800+ each. I am not sure there is that much interest in these specialized instruments - their values less than the original listed prices. Primarily the joy in being able to donate and support this program far outweighs a few hundred dollars in my pocket.

Off to listen to folks jammin' and performin' .....