AMANDA'S BASKETS: Quiet Tuesday

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Quiet Tuesday

Well, I didn't make it to the Gulf. I got a late start to this morning...why does that matter?   Well, remember I am currently living in a small metal box AND I have two kitty companions.   Although I leave the windows open, I do close the door when I leave. Also, I do not leave the air-conditioning on.   So it can get a bit hot which would not be too good for the kitties.

So, I need to be back before the heat builds up which means an early start.   The Gulf will have to wait until Thursday.

I am attending a webinar tomorrow afternoon on 'Making Unique Marks'.   The focus will be on the book "Doodles Unleashed".   It should be interesting and I'm looking forward to it. I am discovering that there are more and more webinars available online and most of them are free.   It presents a great avenue for interaction with artists and authors in the comfort of your own home.

Have you ever heard of the online magazine 'Persimmon Tree'?   It's a magazine dedicated to sharing the creative works of women over sixty.   I just finished the latest issue and highly recommend it.   The internet site is (http://www.persimmontree.org/) and best of all it's free.

So, back to the whole concept of time and it's apparent speed. I often wonder how much of my time is taken up with superfluous activities and even more to the point, what/who defines superfluous?    Is reading a mystery or playing scrabble electronically superfluous?    How about listening to talk radio or watching tv?   How about organizing?

I know that each of us has to make those decisions for ourselves but what criteria do we use to make those decisions? Does the amount of time spent on an activity enter in?   Or does time only matter when the activity is not productive? And who defines productivity? And where does multi-tasking fit into the picture?   Are we really saving time when focusing on more than one thing at a time?

Questions, questions, questions!!!   That seems to be all I have.   I hope to tackle these questions in future posts.

For today, I will leave you with two pictures which to me exemplify beauty...one on a grand scale and one on a more intimate scale..

Thanks for visiting...

Have a great evening...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

So in looking over your habits what did you find? Some popular good habits folks have are: Meditation, exercise, journal writing, flossing, reading and walking up early. Some not so great habits included smoking, saying yes, swearing, tolerating folks, not sleeping enough, always complaining and constantly making excuses. Do you have more good habits or more bad habits? Is it time to change? If so, start with the easiest bad habit to change, not the hardest. This will give the best chance of success. Decide on the best way for you to change your habit. Worry too much? Set a time to worry and then stop. You may have to stop yourself several times at the beginning but keep it up and you will worry less. Or, alternatively, write the worry down as well as options to stop the problem. Just figure out which way to stop is best for you.