Fall is not my favorite season. However, I do enjoy the cooler days with less humidity. I love the crispness of the air. I love the bold colors of the foliage on the trees, and watching the leaves drift gracefully through the sky to the ground. The smell of freshly raked leaves brings pleasant memories of raking leaves with my parents and of being able to rake leaves in my own yard as an adult.
When I was growing up, we had a decorative brass scale sitting on an end table next to the couch in the living room. The antique scale fascinated me with its intricate details etched into the brass. There were rubber grapes in the round trays on each side. No matter how much I wanted them to, the trays rarely hung evenly. I was always looking for balance. But, of course, unless you put the exact same weight on both sides there was really no way for the trays to balance—especially since these items were not chosen specifically for their weight.
In my own life I may often forgo “fun” for more serious activities. It just seems more natural for me to do that. But, when I am involved in a leadership role, for example as a handbell director, I make having fun one of the top priorities. (Of course, that would be having fun while they are in fact working very hard. But I have learned how to mix the fun with work, sometimes even disguising the work as fun.)
I was never so heartbroken about a celebrity as when I heard the news of Anthony Bourdain’s death in 2018. I was shocked, saddened, and still feel a deep loss. Of course, I never met him. I had only seen him on the TV shows he wrote and hosted. It was there I saw someone deeply in love with life, people, all cultures, food . . . and, I saw someone who experienced life as I did not. He jumped right in to taste new foods and to visit places all over the globe. He did this with an abandon I could watch and admire. I wished I had that drive and fearlessness.
I grew up with the idea that I should always be doing something or accomplishing a task. Life was filled with projects, to do lists, or always working toward a larger goal striving for something better. Recently I have come to decide that merely enjoying the passage of time may be what life is really about. Perhaps all I need to do today is breathe.
To survive we need food, water, air, and shelter. While art may not be vital to fulfill our basic needs, it makes life better. Having art in your life brings joy and keeps you in touch with creation. Art is everywhere and often costs nothing to enjoy.
When 1960 rolled around I was almost three years old. I grew up along with the music itself. These were my favorite songs during that time, not necessarily what I would choose now. As an adult, I have a broader knowledge of music from that era. Conspicuously absent are any Beatles’ songs. My older sister loved them and had their albums. Herman’s Hermits and The Monkees were my favorite groups.
This year the summer solstice occurs on Sunday, June 20 at 10:32 PM CDT and marks the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Many fun songs have been written about summer. The following are my Top Ten favorite songs about summer.
“Setting Realistic Goals” is the title of a chapter in a book I read in 2008. I don’t remember the contents of the chapter or the name of the book. I am sure it seemed interesting and important at that time. To set goals you need to know where you are going or, where you want to go.
We have a window box under our kitchen window. I am sure past owners must have planted lovely flowers there, I imagine the foliage being colorful and cheerful. For a number of reasons I have never planted anything there. The overhang all around our house is four feet deep and anything planted next to our house never gets watered unless I go out and water it. The house siding is board and batten . . . wouldn’t watering something on the house inevitably get the siding wet? Water is not good for wood on the outside of a house.
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