Posted By Kathleen David on February 5, 2014
This was one of those weeks where things I am reading from all over the Internet and off of friends feeds along with the magazines that we get and new books that have crossed my path along with things I hear on NPR and the like.
One of the things off of NPR is that raising children is a joy but it is not necessarily fun. The book is entitled All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. I have to agree for me parenting has been a joy and there has been fun at times but raising a kid is a full time job onto top of whatever else is going on. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. Raising children has brought out the best in me both being a parent and a step-parent. The fun is fun but the joy gets me through the bad times.
In Time magazine this week (February 3, 2014) the cover says “The Mindful Revolution: The science of finding focus in a stressed out, multitasking culture”. The article is about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. We have taught ourselves how to multitask and use to take pride in it but now we find that multitasking has its own limitations and downsides so in our information overloaded world, we are relearning how to think/do things one at a time. It may not solve all one’s ills but at least it gives words to them and feelings. I have been meditating off and on in my life for a long time. I know I feel better over all after being mindful for a period of time. My focus has more focus. Finding the time can be the tricky part and I need to work more on that.
There was another article that I have lost from the Internet about aging and brains and how as we got older the brain becomes a use it or lose it situation. You need to think and challenge your brain to keep it in healthy shape. I had read other articles that have skirted on the issue but this one took it head on. It recommended focus exercises to help the brain continue to process and fire all those lovely neurons. I can tell where my brain is at based on whether I am able to do Sudoku quickly or if I cannot see the pattern. If I can pick up the patterns quickly I know my brain is “awake” if I can’t then I have a tired brain and need to be more careful about what I say and do.
I do try to be mindful when I am working on certain tasks. It is easier with some tasks then others. I call it getting into the groove. I have found that if I can be mindful (pay attention) to tasks I don’t care doing, I either find something within it that makes it worth doing or the task seems to take less time if I focus on only it.
I try to give Caroline my undivided attention when she wants to talk to me about an issue that is bothering her. I make sure she knows that she has been heard and listened to about whatever it is.
Does my mind wander? Boy howdy does it. Trying to get it to focus can sometime be harder than herding cats. Over the years I have learned how to quiet it and focus it on the task at hand. It hasn’t been easy but I can do it.
I am grateful for the quiet focused moments in my mind.
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Posted By Kathleen David on February 3, 2014
A couple of things happened that made me start thinking about this.
The first was that Caroline is sorting some of her t-shirts out of her school rotation but she loves to wear them at conventions. I asked her why she didn’t want to wear any of her avenger shirts or her Skylander shirts. She hems and haws a bit and then said because I don’t want to be told again that they are only for boys or why are you wearing a boy t-shirt are you gay? She does wear her cute Avengers t-shirt and her cute Thor t-shirt because the characters are done in a “cute chibi” style and that is OK for girls to wear. Now I am thankful that there are comic book related t-shirts that she does wear to school but I am also sad that there are other t-shirts she owns that are only for conventions where she feels like she is among her own kind. Exception to this is her Girl Scout Troop that is an amazing group of girls that let each other be themselves without judgment. I give a large amount of the credit to the two troop leaders who have done a great job creating this environment for the girls.
Caroline is reaching that awkward age where she is defining herself and she feels like “other”. What she can’t grasp yet is that all the other kids are feeling the same way. Now her “other” is a little more extreme than most kids but then her life is a bit different than most kids. We work on giving her support and showing her how her life is not that different but we do agree that her childhood is not the norm around here.
Last night Coca-Cola did a commercial of the singing of America the Beautiful, which I thought was a lovely commercial. It showed that even with our differences, we are America. Part of the song were sung in different languages and it showed all kinds of people across demographics and this country enjoying time together while consuming Coke. Apparently some people in this country didn’t appreciate the artistry of the commercial and were upset that they heard words that they didn’t understand. They screamed about learn the language and America for Americans. Guess what kids all the people in that commercial were Americans. It just was depressing to see such a lovely commercial and before the Seahawks next interception (I guess if your last name is Manning, there is a genetic need to throw picks in that stadium) there was protest about the commercial on the Internet. It made me sad.
What makes me sadder is this story about a 11 year old boy who tried to hang himself because he was being bullied for loving My Little Pony . Take a tissue and be warned that there are pictures of the kid in a hospital bed. His family tried all that they could to make sure he knew that he was OK and being a Brony was not a bad thing and it didn’t “make” him anything but a fan of My Little Pony. But it wasn’t enough. I am praying that Michael will make a full recovery and will go on to do wonderful things with his life.
I am glad we are recognizing bullying and other forms of bad behavior. I also recognize that this will not change overnight but at least schools are making an effort to make schools a safe place for kids to be.
I am grateful that Caroline can talk to us about what is bothering her.
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Posted By Kathleen David on January 29, 2014
We got about another three inches on top of what we had left on the ground from last week. Caroline had school so I bundled her up against the cold and she took the school bus. I have shoveled the walk and the driveway so we can get out the vehicles. Now I have to clear off the car and we will be good to go to Kung Fu today.
In talking to the folks around here, I find that we are all tired right now. We are tired of the snow and the cold. I think the cold is considered worse than the snow at this point. Part of it has been the consistent cold that seeps into your bones and never seems to leave. It has been so cold that during the last storm they put out sand rather than salt because it was too cold for the salt to do any good. Today is might get up into the 20s if we are lucky. So any thawing is going to happen because of friction (cars traveling over the roadways) or direct sunlight. It is not because of the temperature.
I swear all this cold is slowing my brain down to a crawl. There is a fatigue that sets in after being so cold for so long. It is OK in the house but one can feel the cold coming off the windows and into the house.
I am keeping an eye on what is going on in Atlanta. I had a number of friends and friends loved ones caught up in the traffic jam that was the highways in Atlanta. There is a lot of finger pointing and the like. Part of it was that the storm didn’t do what they expected it to do and the stuff that came down was the heavy wet snow that turns roads into ice rinks in a very short amount of time.
It did show how a city can come together and help people. People were offering their homes to stranded travelers. People went out and got food, water, and blankets to people stuck in unending traffic. People helped people get their cars out of trouble.
So stay safe everyone and warm. Warm is good.
I am grateful that our local plows have made our roads passable rather quickly.
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Posted By Kathleen David on January 28, 2014
I am drawing a creative blank of what to talk about.
I don’t have any in-progress pictures to show of things I am working on since it is all in my head right now.
So I am opening this to questions. What do you want to ask me about?
I can talk about pricing for art shows, how I make stuff, the history of puppetry from a creative POV, costuming both amateur and professional, learning to make dolls from Wendy Froud, building puppets, copyright, and all kinds of other crafty topics.
What do you think might sell at current conventions as puppets? Fandoms and the like.
But right now I feel a little in a vacuum.
I know I owe the puppet rod tutorial and once we get out of the deep freeze and I can go back to my workshop, I’ll do it.
So what do you want to know?
I am grateful for input.
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Posted By Kathleen David on January 27, 2014
Well it has already done that since it is 43 F degrees outside. Which is the warmest it has been in about three weeks. That will be over this evening when the temperature goes down to 12 F and we will be back in the deep freeze for another week or so. I guess I should enjoy it while I can.
South of us may be getting some snow. I expect the usual panic will happen in Atlanta for the French Toast items along with toilet paper.
We watched the Grammys last night. I didn’t realize until this morning that the gentleman who accepted the Grammy for Best Album for Random Access Memory was Paul Williams. He looked familiar but I didn’t put it together until this morning. Congratulations to everyone who worked on Random Access Memory. It is an awesome album. Also congratulations to Stephen Colbert for his Grammy win as well.
Caroline’s allergies kicked to about a 9 yesterday. I am figuring that something at the hotel kicked them off. I got her able to breath through her nose this morning so she is off to school. She learned at an early age that a stuffy nose was not a get out of school card.
Snow is sliding off the roof and making rather loud noises. There are falling large icicles as well.
I need to shift the couch cushions to even out the wear on each. It works.
Trying to sort out Crafty Tuesday for tomorrow. I have thought about and discarded the topic “copying vs. referencing”. But I know that is a rather sticky conversation. I guess I have been seeing an uptick in art that is basically taking photos and running them through some filters to make it look like it was drawing. And that annoys me. Referencing a photo while you draw is a tool in the artist’s kit. Tracing a photo or taking a photo and running it through some filters and declaring it art is not. Especially when the photographer put a copyright notice on the doggone picture and the “artist” erased it. If one points this out one is pilloried for being mean and trying to ruin the “artist” reputation.
Welp I should try to get something done today so off to do it.
I am grateful for decent awards shows.
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