May 6, 2012 · 11:23 pm

Finding rest.

Today was a day of rest. And it was wonderful. The busy week and hard work of yesterday (I helped my sister move out of her dorm room that is on the second floor of their unit…wow, exercise!!!) was paid off by sitting for a bit this afternoon with my feet up (well, I also slept through my alarm 😦 ). Rest is healthy. Almost felt like an exercise in itself. 🙂

Do you remember when you were little and you had to take naps. I never wanted to nap, because I thought I would miss out on something cool. Now I wish I could nap everyday! I always love when I do get a nap in! Sometimes they are planned and I sleep for hours. Other times, I sit down to work on something, but instead my body shuts down. Like this:

I hope this week allows you to get some rest as well. Rest can even be like what I did today–I did not nap any, but I purposely sat down and took some time just to rewind and relax. Rest.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

More to come…

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May 4, 2012 · 11:55 pm

“Sometimes the night was beautiful…”

What a week!! Quick recap of big events:

I bought myself my first pair of sunglasses!!! I think they are pretty cool. 8-D (Yes, they go over my glasses–but they work great!)

I finished a painting. I tried Snapple’s new tea: Bret’s Blend Tea–Trop A Rocka. It has mango, pear, peach and cinnamon flavoring. Delicious! I got to talk to some friends from CO. My little sister comes home from college tonight! 😀 So exciting!!! 😀 We got to see some family friends who are in town and had dinner with them. And the biggest event of the week: yesterday’s hospital trip.

I had my annual 3-month MRI and doctor visits. It was a LONG day! I checked into radiology at 6:30 a.m. for my MRI. I got out around 9:30. Got a nice bruise on my right arm from the IV they used for the contrast. Went up to my regular doctor visits that lasted until 12:45 pm. Ate my sandwich on the run to my 1pm appointment for an ultrasound on my left leg to see how the blood clot is doing. I got out of there at 2:30. Back up for one more appointment and finally got to leave the hospital around 4 pm something. I was so tired by that time that as soon as I got in the car, I fell asleep. Thanks to my dad and mom for being there, because while I was sleeping, they were stuck in rush hour.

The day, although long, went well. It is my own battles of striving to be independent that cause me to build a defense wall when I attend appointments, especially when they are Occupation Therapy concerned. I like to do it on my own, even though my body is changing. And for me, it is harder to except the fact that my body is changing and getting more slow, than it is for me to adapt to changes. For example, when doctors ask me if I have noticed any changes…I say the obvious ones that I might be concerned with or notice getting harder to do. Then they ask my parents and they say things that I really have not noticed, because most often either I am used to it by the appointment so I forget the changes or I just don’t take note…like I can’t see myself walk, so I don’t notice how my right leg and ankle are working or seeming different. I am not mad at my parents for speaking these things, but my first initial reaction is to clarify with justification and try to prove that I am doing just fine. It is a hard day to sit and discuss about all the big to tiny changes noticed. It is not that any big steps are taken towards these changes–it is just discussing them. I think what frustrates me most is having to talk about all the options out there–possibilities–for when the time comes that I do need more assistance in maintaining my independence.

Independence. The word in itself is what I fear most I think. The thought of losing my independence causes me to strive to work harder to maintain what I can do right now in life. Like driving. The weeks following my blood clot, I could not drive and I struggled! When I was ready, driving and taking management of my schedule helped me get back towards feeling independent, even though I had just let go of my apartment. God only knows the future. He knows when I will need help and has surrounded me with an amazing family who helps me in more ways than I probably recognize and a team of doctors who have resources to help me as well. I just hope when it comes to that time, that I will have let go of my pride and recognize that I will need help. And not all help is bad. Not all help classifies me as helpless. Not all help labels me as disabled. The assistance at that point in time will enable me to continue to live independent for as long as I can. I must learn to embrace help, not build a defense against it.

I have not received the results for my brain and neck scans yet, but scans of the spine were stable. And the left leg shows stable as well. This is a praise!!! 🙂 Thank you for your prayers!

Last night before I went to bed, I went out to feed Muffy. The moon was bright, stars were shining, and it was a lovely warm evening!!! I sat on the patio and started humming Rich Mullin’s, “Sometimes by Step”. Of all the day’s worth of emotion, chaos of schedule, and long discussion…it was so nice to sit in silence. Just for a few minutes. No thoughts of the day spent or thoughts of tomorrow. Just a deep breath of wonder realizing how tiny I am in the universe, yet God knows me by name. He loves me and takes care of me. I am so blessed.

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April 29, 2012 · 12:56 am

April’s Pinterest.

The biggest gig these days for creative thoughts and stuff you like is Pinterest. I have been on the site a few times, but find it somewhat a bit of chaos, so I prefer magazines. 🙂 Needless to say, sharing creativity and what you like is splendid. Over the past week, I have been collecting “creative” thoughts. Some are more classified as a “Cool beans!” category. So this is my unofficial “pin” post of my interests. 🙂

  • Storing Chocolates

Yes, there is a way to keep chocolate around a bit longer!! My good friend who runs Street Church sure knew how to make a volunteer’s day during the stressful weeks right before finals. We would gather in the kitchen to go over the plans for the evening–the lesson, games, who is taking prayer requests, etc.–and then before you know it, someone has opened the freezer! We all knew what was coming next. CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a dandy idea! No, it is genius!!! Buy an extra bag of chocolate at the holidays, put it in the freezer and a few months later, pull out a few handfuls of the delicious treat!!!

  • Useful books

There are several things in this category. First, if you have limited bookshelf space or just want a different way to display your books, try putting a stack underneath your lamp. I have a small lamp that is sort of dull, because you can’t use a high watt lightbulb. I would make it shine a bit brighter just by putting it up higher. I am sure you have seen pictures of this…it is not an original idea. 🙂 The books I put underneath are usually ones that I have read, or that have a cool cover. (Never judge a book by its cover, LOL). My mom gets little books from the different places we travel. It is fun to sit down and read a few different ones when you have nothing else to do. You can also display them in a basket or on the coffee table for when company comes over–excellent conversation starter!

Take advantage of your library’s book sale. Be selective…maybe know what areas you are interested in and aim for those kinds of books. I got Homer’s The Iliad for 50 cents at our library’s book sale. “Cool beans!!” 🙂

Every reader needs a bookmark! My sister got me a magnetic one, which I think is a lot better than what I used to do: turn down the corner of the page I just ended. I like to get to a page that has a period at the bottom. It closes the train of thought. I am such a nerd. 🙂 Anyway, the magnetic bookmarks are neat, because if you want to finish just a paragraph then you can mark the line by putting the bookmark on the outer edge of the book, instead of on top like my picture shows below. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing.”

  • Tea and Cakes

This is the time of year that I start drinking tea more than coffee. My favorite is Snapple brand. Every cap has a “Real fact” and when you finish the bottle, you can recycle it or make it into a flower vase. 🙂 I also like the idea of putting a tea packet in a card to a friend. A lady in town sends me encouraging cards and adds a tea bag. I think it is special.

3-2-1 cake!!!

Our family friend, Denise, shared this “recipe” with my mom. Even I can make it! 😀 Trust me when I say, “It is so simple!!”

Ingredients:

1 Angel Food cake box

1 box of another cake (our favorites are Carrot cake or Chocolate cake)

water

Directions:

Mix the two boxes of cake in a Ziploc bag or container.

Using a 1 Tb measuring spoon, put 3 scoops of the cake mixture in a microwaveable mug. Add 2 Tb of water to the mixture.

Next, whisk the mixture until it is blended well and looks something like a frappachino.

Put it into the microwave for 1 minute. There you have it! So easy AND delicious!!! It looks like a sponge when it comes out. 🙂

Speaking of sponges: next time you are in FL, you should tour Tarpon Springs! It is a Greek cultured town with cute shops and they give tours of how they dive for sponges. It is like seeing an astronaut dive in the sea. 🙂 Very neat place! I visited a few months before my trip to Greece. So, my first gyros was from the states, but still delicious!

 http://www.spongedocks.net/default.htm

 Another neat place in FL is the historical Ponce de Leon lighthouse (hence the mug). We went there as a family and climbed the 203 stairs to the top. There is also exhibits and a museum in which you can see up close how a lighthouse works. Very interesting!

http://www.ponceinlet.org/index.cfm

  • Randomness Finds and Ideas

I finally bought a flashlight. But it is like a lantern! I tested it in my bathroom. I set it on the counter and could see great all around. Great find from Target for around $10.

I opened the Cheerios box to find an Obi-Wan pen inside. 🙂

Reuse gift bags that have been given to you. When I find things that I am not wanting or using anymore, I set them aside. If it is books, movies or nice articles of clothing, I first think if I know of a friend or relative that would enjoy them. It is a great way to give presents, get well/just because/encouraging gifts, and it is a way for the items to continue to be used instead of sitting on a shelf in the closet. 🙂 Thus, my recycling tip of the day!

  • Fashion trends

I use my flower clips not only for use in my hair, but also attach them to my sweaters like a pendant. It gives a little spunk to your outfits.

And last, best thought of the day!!! I was cleaning the bathroom and decided that I am tired of staring at my bathrobe that hangs on the outside of my door (which faces my room). I went on a fashion show business hour using the clothes in my closet and redecorated the hook with spring attire. It was so fun and now I have something like a “shopping” experience to stare at each morning when I enter the bathroom!! Fun!!!

To close, I will share my favorite “It is the month of April” joke. Ready? April showers bring May flowers, but what do Mayflower’s bring?

Did you guess??? 🙂 It is “Pilgrims.” Get it!?! HAHA. Happy end of April! More to come…

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April 27, 2012 · 9:38 am

Morning routines.

Yesterday, I had a hair appointment. Agenda: Turn curly into straight and trim. I think I had excellent results. I am excited to finally reuse my hair dryer and curling iron for a tad curl at the bottom. I like to curl my hair out using a big 1 inch iron. I have a history with curling irons. Growing up, I liked to curl my bangs with this, then add tons of hair spray:

In junior high, I decided braces needed a cooler hairstyle, so I let my hair grow really long and curled it in spirals at the bottom every morning. Ah, yes, those were the days of self-discipline to be in bed early and rise early without any help from a cup of coffee in the morning. 🙂 I still had my long hair in high school but found myself rushed for time in the mornings, so most often it was just long and wet when I arrived to school. I got my first perm my senior year of high school. I loved it. I loved not having to spend time in the morning drying my mass loads of hair when I could just put in a little mousse and be on my way! Since then, I have gone from long curly, to long straight; short straight, to no hair, to puffy hair growing in, back to short straight hair, curly and now straight. Grass always seems greener on the other side when I change from one style to the other. I decided that I am thankful for my hair, no matter how thin with random bald spots that it may have.

As kids, we liked to watch Little Women (1994), a movie based off the Louisa May Alcott’s novel.

It is a wonderful story of a family with four girls. Their father is fighting in the war (Civil War) and they are all becoming different ladies with their own styles, interests and dreams. They are not a rich family, but learn to bless others who are in need. One Christmas, they share their meal with another family, singing “Ding Dong Merrily On High” at the top of their lungs on the walk to their destination. The rich old neighbor has a grandson, whom they come to call “Laurie”; he becomes like family and in the end he does (along with his tutor, named John.) 🙂 Their stories of growing up together with sister times of tears and laughs, to finding love and starting their own families all in one piece is a joy to watch. I really like the story. We always joked about the movie, because growing up…the personalities of the four girls matched to my sisters and I almost exact. Which one of the March sisters do you think I am??

Meg

Jo

Beth

Amy

You can read here for descriptions in the first paragraph of the plot if you are not sure of their characters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women_(1994_film). You will note that it talks about the way they called their mother, “Marmee”. We adopted that into our family and still sometimes call our mom by that term. Very affectionate indeed. 🙂 Speaking of which, my mom did this artwork with stencils. It hangs in my room. I like looking at it every morning, of course, my hair is not always done that nice in buns or braids, but I do have a hat sort of that style just not with ribbon attached. 🙂

Sisters. I love my sisters. Sure, we have had our fair share of quarrels, but they are my sisters and always will be. We used to do our hair together in the upstairs bathroom. We talked to each other in the reflection of the mirror instead of turning our heads. No wonder I got so good at lip-reading. 🙂 I am sure we had some funny quotes about our hair, but since I cannot think of one, I will tell you my favorite off Little Women. The March family gets word that their Father is wounded and Marmee needs to travel to help him. They have little money, so Marmee sends Jo to ask Great-Aunt March (who has plenty) if she could spare some for the journey. Jo does not have the heart to ask for money, so she sells her hair. Jo takes off her hat coming into the room and Amy says, “Jo, how could you? Your one beauty.” HAHA. If my one beauty were based on hair, then I would be in quite a pickle. I am so glad God does not see it that way either. He sees the heart (I Samuel 16:7).

As I go get ready for the day, I will remember (1) God knows the exact number of hairs that are left on my head, so there is no need to obsess over my bald spots (Luke 12:7); (2) I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14); and (3) God will provide, so I do not have to worry (Matthew 6:25-33). That already makes getting ready in the morning quite a pleasant experience. Add a cup of coffee and sunshine…it is going to be a good day!

Enjoy your Friday. More to come…

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April 25, 2012 · 12:13 am

Unscripted.

Usually my blog posts have a theme. I think of different things and put them together in a blog, blending nicely into each other through transition verbs and sentence. In itself, that sort of represents my train of thought, which I have mentioned before, and how I go about being productive in a day. Today’s productivity was running errands after work and scheduling upcoming appointments. I go from schedule to schedule…everything in a timely manner and train of thought. Not tonight. I decided tonight I am not going to have any plans. No train of thoughts. No historical evidence or fun facts (well, I shall refrain). Just me. Unscripted.

The past few months, I have been struggling with finding my passion again. In Denver, I was so involved. I was dedicated to work and surrounded by college friends and roommates, volunteered every week to a street church downtown with kids–which was pretty much my joy of living life each week–and when I was in need of some adventure or time alone, I would go to the mountains just ten minutes down the road. You get to the top of the first hill and see out like a 360 view of the city. I spent a lot of time doing that, especially the last full summer I was there. In the moments of chaos during those months…just seeing the view from on top a mountain made me forget the valleys and shadows of life beneath. Not that here is not beautiful, but there are no mountain tops to see around. Maybe that is sort of significant to my passion. I left it on the mountain top as I started into the valleys. See my problem does not lie with the health related issues being the “valleys and shadows”. They are my mountain tops. How frustrating it is for me to know this! It is so backwards, but in the backwards of the thought…it makes sense. When I have health related things come up…the biggies like chemo, surgery or the blood clot…I have nothing to depend upon but God’s timing, provisions and strength. When I become stable, I find that my focus shifts…I find my own strength to depend on, “I can do it”, like proving I can on my own; getting back to work, I find my own provisions; and I take over my schedule of “things to get done”. It is a habit. It is a bad habit. Why should my life be at the mountain top only in my physical sufferings? Why can’t I remain at the mountain top…or at least the upward climb towards that place even on the normal days? I believe that is why God has convicted my heart to get more in the Word and prayer as of late, because I am entering my valleys again. I should be praising God even on my boring, normal days just like I do when I am in pain. Such different advice apart from the other endless bestsellers on these subjects saying it the other way around. But that is me. Unscripted.

Summit Venture

You know what was great about today though? Blue sky! It is most often a rare sight to see here. Blue skies, green grass. My favorite part is walking or driving through the “tunnels” of trees. They clump together and shade over so it feels like a green tunnel. I think it is so beautiful! Reminds me of a song by Rich Mullins called “The Color Green.” I just have to give you this link of his music video. I watch it when I feel like I am living in black and white. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Lx1D0gbTo.

Color is: Laughter, being creative, reading in a coffee shop while slowly sipping my cup of tea or chatting with a friend, walking with my mom in the evenings, playing Quicksand with my older sister and brother-in-law or chess with my little sister. Family nights watching “Shaun the Sheep”. Blending paints on a white canvas and coming up with a masterpiece in the end. Petting Muffy when he sits in my lap, brushing my teeth, writing my grandparents, creating new outfits out of old ones, suprise dinners with Dad, looking at old pictures, or seeing new places. Better yet, finding old postcards of places we have been to over the years. 🙂 Today I smiled when I waved to an old man crossing the road, seeing a friend at work, watching the ladies in front of me at the line in Michael’s chat with each other, mailing letters, getting a text from my sister about Lord of the Rings and eating marshmallows for dessert. Today I found myself being thankful for butterfly wings. They are so pretty. I saw a bunch of butterflies yesterday when my mom, sister and I were at a conservatory for plants and butterflies, birds and a mouse. Yes, a cute little mouse. 🙂

And that is me at the moment. Unscripted–in the beauty of stillness, a blend of colorful thoughts, and surrounded with love. Like this new butterfly…ready to spread my wings and fly.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is  the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

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April 21, 2012 · 2:46 am

The color red.

Think of the color red. What comes to mind? I see a bright red, almost like a Delicious apple. I see lipstick. I see STOP signs. These are the first things I think of when I say the word, “red.” Isn’t it interesting to think that we all see different shades of colors? My shade of red is not the same of your shade of red. Not sure where I heard that, but I did once…maybe in a science class. Just another example of how unique each person is. 🙂 (Don’t believe me? Look it up. I just did and found many sites to confirm.) 🙂

Red. Seems to be the infamous color of most major sports teams here in this side of the country. I see red every day at work…I even wear a red shirt. (Of course some have seen their better days. I have a red shirt with pink polka dots on the bottom. I was helping a lady get things out of her cart and did not realize that her Clorox was leaking…or had been leaking her whole shopping trip. The grand finale was all over my red shirt and hands. I was very clean, but the smell gave me a headache. To reduce the white spots, we colored it in with a red magic marker. Genius, but it is now fading with every wash.)

There are different tones of red. Have you ever stopped to see around you the different tones of colors? Red. It can have several different meanings.

Beauty: Male birds such as Cardinals–very bold red! There are also Robins…their chest is a shade of red/orange. The only other red bird that I can pick out in the crowd is named…are you ready for this? It’s named “Purple Finch.” What on earth?!? It is red! I don’t understand that one! But hey, we all see different shades of colors. 😉 I found a website where it names all the birds (primarily the North American birds) that have shades of red. Very interesting. http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/all/birds_na_147/110/color/2066/red

Old barns. (Why do farmers paint them red anyway? Is it for a specific purpose or just the classic farm look? Either way, I think they are beautiful to see among the farm-house and equipment.) There are also a lot of red fruits (which happen to be my favorite!) Strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, watermelons, raspberries, cranberries, grapes and apples–each designed in a different shade of red and also flavor.

There is beauty in red when I think of love. There are red hearts and red roses. Just thinking of love made me think of passion. Passion reminded me of lust. Did you know that “lust” is an actual shade of red? I just learned this! Of course in context and definition, love and lust have different connotations. Love, so much more than just Valentine’s Day. C.S. Lewis said,

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

There is a beauty in symbolism, such as the USA flag. As Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thompson said, “Red, [signifies] hardiness and valour,” (Duane Streufert. 2005.) There is a red ring within the Olympics five rings (representing the five continents). And of course Christmas. Red and green. There are obvious ones that I am not sure of the meaning. Why is Rudolf’s nose red? Or why does Santa wear a red suit? There are red berries on mistletoe, red strips on candy canes and the wise men gave three gifts to Jesus: Gold, frankincense and myrrh. I thought maybe myrrh was red based, but was not certain until I looked it up. It is. 🙂 I found this site so interesting! http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/botany/question2831.htm. And last, when I think of myrrh, I also think of red rocks. I lived near Denver’s Red Rocks amphitheater. Beautiful! There is also the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and my personal favorite that I hope to see someday: Petra (Mount Hor, Jordan). Truly beautiful!

From: http://www.oddee.com/item_89087.aspx (If you love history and architecture, then read this site. It is about the 10 lost cities.)

Practical uses: STOP signs, which were not always red. In fact there were no such things as stop signs at the beginning of the 20th century. You think seeing a person run a stop sign or run through a red light today is maddening, listen to this:

At a time when there were no driver’s licenses, speed limits or clear lane demarcations, the notion of a stop sign was revolutionary. In fact, aside from the occasional road markers letting riders on horseback know how far they were from the next city, there was no road or street signage at all. (Greenbaum and Rubinstein, December 2011.)

Sounds pretty chaotic! Even when they were put into place they were “a 2-by-2-feet sheet of metal with black lettering on a white background” (Greenbaum and Rubinstein). It wasn’t until 1954 that they turned red. There are other warning signs. I took this picture at an old mill. I thought it was hilarious considering my history of falling and weak ankles:

Fire extinguishers, EXIT signs in buildings, rear lights on automobiles, and flashing lights of police, fire and ambulance vehicles all contain red. People who take pictures like to take out red: reduce red-eye functions. Growing up, we graded papers at school with a red pen. Red helped you see your mistakes. Have you ever read the classic book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne? The scarlet letter is an uppercase A attached to Hester’s dress, representing the shame and punishment of adultry. Although I was not a big fan of the book in high school, I would like to read it again realizing that there is so much imagery and symbolism that I might not have understood before. My Bible uses red print in the four Gospels and Acts to show when Jesus speaks. When I paint, I have to be careful; red takes over the other colors. Sometimes the blendings make a deep blend of purple, which helped on my mountain portrait…but other times if I use too much red then it ruins the painting. Likewise in opposite cases, I add red to bring out some flavor of an otherwise dull piece of art. Red is so practical.

What do you see in red? I started out with a short hand written list. The more I thought of the color, the more came to my mind. Take time this weekend to enjoy your favorite colors, whether it is red or another. Red is not necessarily my favorite color, but it was a great place to start (it is the first color of the rainbow you know–at least from top to bottom. I learned it as ROY G BIV. Others learned it the opposite way with violet starting, VIB G YOR. Makes more sense to me the first way.) 😀 More to come…

References:

C.S. Lewis. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/c.s._lewis/

Duane Streufert. 2005, February 10. What Do the Colors of the Flag Mean? The Flag of the United States of Amercia. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.usflag.org/colors.html

Hilary Greenbaum and Dana Rubinstein. 2011, December 9. The Stop Sign Wasn’t Always Red. The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/magazine/stop-sign.html

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April 16, 2012 · 12:43 am

Cursive handwriting.

It is a dying art. At least that is my opinion. Not too many people I know write in cursive. A few I can confirm: my mom, my grandmas, one grandpa, and just a few older lady friends who write me cards. I really can’t say that I know anyone my age that writes pure cursive at all times. Think of how many generations wrote in cursive! It is almost like a language: when you stop using it or practicing, you forget it. I realized this during yesterday’s spontaneous lesson.

I just finished a book called, Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed The Declaration of Independence, by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese. It is a really interesting book! So often we only hear about the famous men such as John Adams, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. There are 56 signers and for most I had never heard of their names before, which means that I had a great history lesson reading this book! Fascinating to read about their upbringings/occupations, impact of the revolution, their duties during and after the war in public service, and how their lives ended.

Now, obviously, these men did a lot of writing. They corresponded to each other in letters, wrote documents and edited them using paper and a feather tipped in ink before the documents ever reached the printing press. And people think typewriters were a pain. 😉 Now, the signers names caught my attention: Some of their names are shortened, such as only writing the first two or three letters of their first name before they affix their last names; some signatures are big–such as John Hancock, who also had excellent penmanship; some are small, and others are a bit sloppy–such as Stephen Hopskins (Kiernan and D’Agnese. p. 38, 50).  Fifty-six signatures and they all had one thing in common (as far as writing style goes): they are all in cursive. Let me say that again. These famous signatures are written in cursive!!!

I thought to myself, “When was the last time I wrote in cursive?” The answer: probably 5th grade. We were required to write in cursive in elementary school, then had a choice in junior high of what our preference was in writing. I liked to write fast (still do), because I think fast. Cursive took me so long to write, so I opted for a sloppy something in between cursive and print. I sometimes use an uppercase cursive “L” for paintings, but that is about it. This was a wedding present for my best friend back home:

Thus, my thoughts all came to one conclusion: I must write in cursive! I borrowed Mom’s “feathered” pen–she had attached two fake daisies and leaves to the top of a pen, seemed feathery enough!–and off I started with vicarious intents! I got my “T” down, but my hand could not follow the motions that my brain was trying to remember. I ended up just sitting there at the table staring at a blank piece of paper. It was then I decided that if signer John Penn could teach himself how to read and write at the age of eighteen (p. 202), then I could relearn cursive handwriting! I googled “How to write in cursive” and found myself with oodles of practice printouts from www.abcteach.com. I found the experience enlightening. My dad noticed and said it was actually good Occupational Therapy. Genius! 😀 If I graded my practice sheets, I would probably given myself a B-. HAHA!!! Serious though, the “Q’s” and “Z’s” are somewhat ridiculous.

After a quick practice, I wrote a short paragraph. What do you know?!? My handwriting is actually legible!!! 😀

I enjoyed a short “back to school moment.” The hardest issue for me was not lifting my pen. A website called “wiseGEEK” says,

When writing cursive, never remove your pencil from the paper in the middle of the word. All the letters are connected together through a series of loops. This gives the letters an appearance of flowing together                                       (Conjecture Corporation, 2003-2012).

I am not sure if I will write all the time in cursive. Maybe here and there now that it is fresh in my memory and good therapy for my hands. Regardless, I think it is beautiful art within the written language (when written smooth and in the author’s own signature style). It is something that I hope we never lose completely. If you have not written in cursive for a while, try it! I think you will find that your hand remembers the motions of the letters quickly once you get started. Have fun and more to come…

References:

Kiernan and D’Agnese. (2009). Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed The Declaration of    Independence. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.

“What Should I Know about Writing Cursive?” wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Conjecture Corporation, 2003-2012. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-should-i-know-about-writing-cursive.htm.

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April 13, 2012 · 12:20 pm

Friday, the 13th.

I must be brief: 1 pm approaches!! Good thing I am not superstitious. I am not awaiting doom. I have already crossed paths with a black cat. Muffy is not bad luck…except for when he shows off his dinner on the back patio or the time he pranced in the house with a mouse head and dropped it on the kitchen floor. My parents were gone on a date and I knew Dad would be so upset if he found out. I put Muffy outside and cleaned the floor, topping it off with Lysol–much like a child putting on their own Reddi Wip on angel food cake. 🙂 Mom came home and asked if I had been cleaning…well, yes!–the kitchen floor at least. 🙂

Back to 1 pm. Momentous. My artwork goes up for display/sale at a coffee shop in town! 🙂 There are two coffee shops in town: one is real art focused with live music on the weekends and some tables are made of checker boards. The other one is their neighbor, but it is more a style where I would go to discuss philosophy or study history. It is very patriotic themed with old American paintings and documents aligned on the walls. It has a historic feeling to it. The outside patio is right on the river. A wonderful place to contemplate or enjoy a fresh breeze and shade in the heat of summer. My paintings are going in the first coffee shop.

I am both nervous and excited. All this week–after returning from my grandparents house over the Easter weekend, getting back to work, and last week of physical therapy–the focus has been painting and getting ready for today. Lesson learned: painters do not procrastinate. Not that I painted in a hurry–I am proud of my work and this has been a good experience. Usually my paintings are painted with a specific person in mind–a friend or a family member. Now I am painting for a broad/unknown audience. I used most of the same styles of brushstrokes, but really saw an expansion of something new…presenting a display that covers a variety of themes and colors. Some are a serious tone (an 18×24 mountain scene titled, Summit Venture) and some are an upbeat tone (an 8×10 bright-colored, five poppy flower scene titled, Polka dot Poppies).

My uncle is here helping my dad fix the back patio. Aside being an excellent carpenter, he is also excellent with art and music. He has given me great ideas and tips to make my paintings better. Biggest tip: bigger is better. 🙂 I look forward to painting bigger pieces this summer! Last night he was viewing my canvases and asked what my 11×14 was supposed to represent. I had aimed with fireworks in mind (but they are pastel colors…almost like the fading of the fireworks). I had glued three buttons on the bottom to match the colors and give it a bit more spark. The conversation:

Me: “This is fireworks.”

Uncle: “What is this?” (pointing to the buttons)

Me: “Um, people watching the fireworks??” 🙂

The fireworks painting also gave my mom and I a great laugh. She was helping me finalize the titles. We set up the study room like an art gallery then sat down and experimented with different words and titles. We were a bit stuck on the fireworks painting. It could almost be a touch of patriotic theme: The 4th of July. But again, too pastel. I finally blurted out, “Evening Fireworks.” I turned to my mom and she had that look: fireworks ARE in the evening! We laughed so hard I was crying!!! Truly a classic Mel moment! 🙂 We finally took my dad’s advice and named it, Celebration.

I must be off! Time is approaching quickly! More to come…

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April 5, 2012 · 11:22 pm

One step at a time.

Guess what happened at Physical Therapy today!?!?!?!

I WALKED IN A STRAIGHT LINE…ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF ANOTHER FOOT!!!!

Last time I have been able to do that was right after my surgery…freshman year of high school. Wow. 🙂 It was not fast and I was super wobbly, but I did it! All the practice of standing on one foot and other balance exercises have paid off. It must have looked something like a baby taking the first steps on their own. I was the only one in the room too! Usually the room is full of other patients. But no one saw it: only me, my PTA and God. 🙂

Habakkuk 3:19 says, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” My weak ankles reminds me of another girl with weak ankles: Much Afraid. Have you ever read Hannah Hurnard’s classic work, Hind’s Feet on High Places? Much Afraid is the main character. Although I have never read the original book, I grew up on the junior book aimed for children or teens. I remember her journey…from the Valley of Humiliation to the High Places. Her companions are “Sorrow” and “Suffering.” The journey is hard. But when she makes it to the High Places, the Shepherd is there. Such abounding joy follows. You can read the first chapter here: http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-0-8423-1394-0.pdf. If you enjoy that then I really recommend the book. I look forward to reading it soon myself!

I find that I can be like Much Afraid: timid, physically challenged (she has weak–and I believe crooked–ankles as well), set out on a hard journey and there are some days where the mind tells the body: “You will never make it.” I have been there. Life is hard. The joy of the celebration of Easter means that my companions do not have to be “Sorrow” and “Suffering”; although Jesus never said that I would NOT have them, but to have hope–because He is greater than these things. Jesus conquered death. I do not need to fear even in spite of them: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 [Italics emphasized].

Much Afraid’s story reminds me of my favorite song. Ever. I know I have said that I have many favorite songs, but this–this is my life song (so to speak). When I was little, I wanted to learn how to play it on the piano and sing it in church. It is by Cindy Morgan called, “I Will Be Free.” Instead of my own explanation, I thought it would be better for you to just read the lyrics. I also found a great video of her playing live, so you can hear the song and read the words at the same time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ySp0gktlN4.

The mountains are steep and the valley’s low

And already I’m weary but I have so far to go

Oh, and sorrow holds my hand and suffering sings me songs

But when I close my eyes I know to whom I belong

And who makes me strong

I will be free, I will be free to run the mountains

I will be free, free to drink from the living fountain

Oh, I’ll never turn back ’cause he awaits for me

Oh, I will be free

A wise man, a rich man in pauper’s clothes

A shepherd to lead us through the land of woes

Though many battles I have lost, so many rivers yet to cross

But my eyes behold the Son who bore my loss and who paid the cost

I will be free, I will be free to run the mountains

I will be free, oh, free to drink from the living fountain

Oh, I’ll never turn back ’cause He awaits for me, oh

Oh, I will be free, oh

Oh and I’ll dance on silver moonlight and I’ll walk through velvet fields

Oh, and I’ll run into the arms, the arms that set me free

Oh, I will be free to run the mountains, I will be free

Free to drink from the living fountain

Oh, I’ll never turn back ’cause He awaits, oh I’ll never turn back

Don’t you ever turn back ‘Cause someday, someday we’re gonna see

That we will be free

[“I Will Be Free.” Cindy Morgan. A Reason to Live. Sony, 1993.]

Have a blessed Easter weekend. I will continue my thoughts on life next week…

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April 2, 2012 · 10:16 pm

“A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…in the most delightful way!”

Sorry to disappoint you if you thought that I was going to discuss Mary Poppins. But that movie makes me laugh. Which leads me to my question of the day: HAVE YOU LAUGHED TODAY??

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” ~Proverbs 17:22

I just had a good laugh. I reread an email that my friend sent me a few days ago. She was telling me about her new puppy and his cute but funny habits. I did not find it as funny when I read it the first time. Maybe I find it funny now, because I am drained of energy from lack of a good night’s sleep, but regardless: I laughed. After last week’s tears, I laughed a lot this past weekend…got to love Shaun the Sheep!

I am not very good at telling jokes. The only time I have funny stories is when something happens to me: reenactment of a fall (which believe me, most often are funny afterwards!), mispronunciation of words, or stories of things we did growing up. Of course, these stories are better in person, because I can’t show my arm or facial expressions. 🙂 I could make quite a post of funny things. Here are a few:

The best story of falling is when I was on the steroid pills in college (If you are wondering why I was on these, read my “What is NF2?’ page for clarification). It was already after 11pm and I was SO HUNGRY!!! My roommate and I set out for Arby’s to get me something to eat. It had just snowed a few days before, so now things were a bit icy. Good thing my roommate was holding the food, because when we parked and I got out of the car, my feet found the ice! It happened so fast! My roommate saw my head, then didn’t. HAHA. It would have been a great movie stunt! Best part was that I landed sitting with my legs crossed like I just wanted to sit on the ice casually. 😀 I did not realize until we got to the stairwell that my ankle had a huge gash in it…my dad told me later that I should have probably had stitches. So now I just have this cool huge scar on the top of my right ankle.

I also just thought of another one that was pretty funny but not at the time it happened. In college, we lived in a stairwell unit–at least freshman year. They had cool names and you had brother dorms, etc. My stairwell only had five rooms, instead of the typical six–two rooms with three floors–because the bottom right room was a computer lab. I sometimes just wanted to get out of my room to study or write a paper so I would go downstairs to the lab. Worked great, because if I had to use the restroom or was hungry…I could just run up to my room. Genius! One night, I made mac and cheese. Now on a college diet, this is a big deal! I was headed down to the lab with my bowl of mac and cheese (still warm I might add), when I tripped on the stairs and out flew the bowl of mac and cheese from my hands. I made such a noise falling, most people probably only saw the mac and cheese in the air, because I had already hit the ground. It was so embarrassing! Like I said, I could pull amazing movie stunts. 😀 The girls of my dorm never let me forget that one!! Or the time that I baked banana bread but forgot the sugar. It was like termite hills. My roommates laughed so hard that one had to hold onto the counter top for support to keep from falling over.

We sure did some fun and funny things growing up! If we were not out throwing rocks in fresh cow patties (sort of like our own version of a “shot put” competition), then we were listening to Adventures in Odyssey while coloring, stamping or making creatures out of milkweed seed pockets. We also liked to ride in a tube down the irrigation ditch or take the row-boat in the pond out back. Pictures of me rowing that thing is hilarious enough! Those were also the days of “tape recorders.” Oh yeah! Just saying that makes me feel really old (my apologies to my elder readers for the phrase). No serious, the days of cassette tapes and Walkman! I sort of miss those! Once, my sisters and I recorded this whole cassette tape for our friends; we sang songs and did funny little “skits”. Pure joy and imagination.

The days of imagination! I think as I grow older, I imagine less. At least imagining on my own–of course painting stimulates the brain, but I consider that more “crafty” than imagination. Reading also creates imagination in a way I suppose. You have to imagine the character as the author describes–but like C.S. Lewis’ Narnia…when I read the books now, I see the movie characters–that is why it is best to read the books first! Though I admit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was super hard for me to read, so I just enjoyed the movies. 🙂 (We did reenactments of the movies, but you know–story for a later blog post! Still not quite ready for the world to see those pictures. But what can I say…we were pretty much obsessed!)

Have you laughed yet? I hope so! I just wanted to post something on a day like today where I just needed a laugh. I got my laugh and thought that I would share a laugh. 😀

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