Author: Becky

Thursday & productivity

I woke up with the determination to finish the chapter I’m working on. It’s taking TOO long. I started with water and a brunch board so I could eat while I read what I have so far.


Cheese crisps, hummus, celery and carrot sticks, Genoa salami, and mild cheddar cheese. With water.


Little emblems nearby to inspire me. These would make sense if you could read the chapter.

A pause here to discuss music. I began this chapter last month, and the next artist was Stevie Nicks. Up front, let me say that I still enjoy Stevie Nicks’s music, but this became a bit of overkill.


Stevie Nicks: 3 CD “Enchanted” box set; “The Other Side of the Mirror”; “Street Angel”; “In Your Dreams”; “Trouble in Shangri La”; “Time Space: The Best of Stevie Nicks.” These don’t include the Stevie I have on vinyl.

I realized Stevie was actually dragging my keyboard around, so there were times I didn’t listen to music at all while I wrote in May. I finally completed the Stevie playlist with relief. I did light her candle with my day’s intentions so she’d still feel like a part of things. The Notorious RBG wasn’t judging me, so neither should you, when I moved on.


Nirvana: “Unplugged In New York”; One Republic, “Human”; Oasis: “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” I have so much One Republic I could have listened to if I’d wanted to blue tooth my iTunes, but it was bedtime, I was tired, and no, I didn’t finish the chapter.


But I made good progress, so that’s a win, and I didn’t even stop to color so I could plot, though I did have these recent acquisitions at the ready. Coloring will definitely happen on pages from these, because they show a number of style and fashion icons and brands, including MY FAVORITE BEATLE. My favorite Beatle is not my musician character’s favorite Beatle, but I understand why and am okay with that. HIS favorite Beatle’s Wings song is included in this chapter. It’s closer to the end than I am.


Note to Lynne: I watch this video with a huge lump in my throat so please remember and watch it when you’re reading the road chapters in Book 6 (so close to being finished!).

Coloring

Since I’ve written most of the day, and I’m exhausted and I should be in bed, and I forgot to play music so I have nothing to show you that I’ve been listening to, here’s a random post about coloring.

I ordered a coloring page from an artist referred to me by a social media friend. The artist, who I knew only by her social media name “Duchess of Lore,” provided this Artist’s Statement back in March of 2022.

I am joining in on the #makersforukraine initiative. This piece features a Ukrainian woman wearing a vinok – a traditional Ukrainian flower wreath. These flower crowns are an important symbol of Ukrainian culture. I was inspired by the beautiful work of @third_roosters. The piece also features 2 common nightingales, which are the national animal of Ukraine.

Working on this piece has helped me channel my profound grief over the war in Ukraine into something tangible. As the granddaughter of Estonian refugees who fled Soviet terror during WW2, the horrors the Ukrainian people are facing now hit close to home. My heart breaks for everyone who never asked for this monstrous injustice, including the people of colour experiencing extra barriers in fleeing Ukraine and finding refuge due to racial injustice, as well the Russian citizens who do not want this war and face imprisonment if they protest – which many continue to do despite the consequences.

This piece is available in my Etsy shop as both a digital download and a physical print. You can also purchase a version with just the line work, so you can colour it in yourself. The link to my shop is in my bio.

All proceeds will be donated to The Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal run by the Canada-Ukraine foundation @canadaukrainefoundation.

Only a couple of months after that, the artist had raised more than $1500 for the foundation from sales. I purchased a copy in the form of a coloring page in March of ’22. I didn’t start working on it until last month. I had to limit myself to short sessions because it’s very detailed, and I needed to be considerate of my eyes. I finished it today.


I absolutely stand with Ukraine.

I believe the artist is Elizabeth Lennox, and here is a copy of the original artwork as she created it.

Tiny Tuesday!

I mentioned that I’ll be sending my parents’ grandchildren some of my mother’s Christmas decorations. I haven’t done the Christmas bin reorganizing yet, but I’ve made a few tentative steps toward other things I plan to send them. I’d wanted to find photos that would go along with those things, which was a good opportunity to grab an activity from the Tiny Pleasures book.

After going through Mother’s photo albums, then the two boxes of her loose photos that are nicely divided, I sort of found what I was looking for. Or at least something I can make work. Ironically, everything I found was in my own photo albums from when the grandkids were all pre-teens. I should have had faith in myself and my camera obsession and checked my archives first.

It’s always fun to reminisce, so I’m proud of myself for not going through ALL those photos or being tempted by my other photo albums so I can get back to work on the Neverending Saga. On that project, I have a goal I want to meet before June 12. We’ll see. I’ve never written any of these books as slowly as this one, and I’m not sure what that means.

Monday: Mood

In honor of Memorial Day, this is my 1996 photograph of Glenna Goodacre’s Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Goodacre, who died in April 2020 from the aftereffects of a brain injury, had an illustrious career as a sculptor and painter. A good article about her in the New York Times includes this:

While she was best known for her Vietnam and Irish memorials, she said those pieces, with their serious subject matters, were exceptions to her larger body of work. “I am a very positive person, so most of my work tends to be upbeat, if not downright happy… I don’t do morosely philosophical pieces like some artists. It’s just not in me.”

I’m a pacifist, not inclined to glorify war, but I’m also the descendant of people involved in many U.S. conflicts, including the American Revolution, and the daughter of an Army veteran who saw combat in WWII and served through the Korean and Vietnam wars. I recognize the sacrifices of service members and their families especially on Memorial Day, which commemorates those who gave their lives.

In keeping with the theme of my photo, I researched women who died in service to the U.S.

Ninety percent of women who served in Vietnam were volunteer nurses. Eight American military women were killed in the Vietnam War. Fifty-nine civilian women were killed in the Vietnam War.

Women who served and died in other U.S. military efforts:

Since the attack on America on September 11, 2001, a total of 152 women deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria lost their lives in service to America.

In Desert Shield and Desert Storm, although women did not serve in units whose mission involved direct combat with the enemy, some women were subjected to combat. Five Army women were killed in action.

There were some 120,000 women in the United States who were on active duty during the Korean War. Most of the women who served in Korea were nurses. Females also served in support units in Japan and other Far East countries during the war. In all, eighteen women were killed during that conflict.

During World War II, as many as 543 women serving with the armed forces died in war-related incidents, including 16 nurses who were killed by enemy fire.

One hundred and eleven Army Nurses died overseas, and 186 died stateside, all while serving the country in World War I.

Although no nurses were killed in combat in the Spanish-American War, 153 died from diseases during the war (including one, Clara Maass, who perished from yellow fever after volunteering to undergo Army experiments on that disease).

Historians estimate that as many as 1,000 women may have disguised themselves as men and served in the Confederate and Union armies in the American Civil War. Some historical records verify the fact that over sixty women were either wounded or killed at various battles during the war.

There are no records from the American Revolution for women who might have died while in service to the colonies, either near battlefields as camp followers or disguised as males who fought, or serving as spies or informants for the Continental Army. Though women were sometimes killed in battle-related incidents, fatalities were not statistically broken down by men, women, or children.

It’s also notable that many Native American women served the military in various capacities including combat in the Revolution and the War of 1812. My limited search found no records of fatalities. In the past, I’ve done research on the Buffalo Soldiers, Black Americans who fought and died in the American Indian, Spanish–American, Philippine–American, Mexican Border, and World Wars, but Native women in combat on behalf of the U.S. was new information for me.

We recently removed the two light posts we once used at Houndstooth Hall to display the flag on holidays. Tom was able to put our flag in a holder left above our widows by the Hall’s former owner, who was retired military. This is Tom’s Instagram photo, taken today.

Saturday thoughts

Our washing machine became possessed last night just before we went to bed. It turned itself on. Then the control panel wouldn’t light up. Tom unplugged it with a prudent “I’ll think about it tomorrow” attitude (though he also did a little research online and hoped he knew the problem). So far, we haven’t washed a load, but he does seem to have found the magic process to exorcise the demon. Fingers crossed.

While he was away volunteering today, I continued the manic need to organize and purge stuff. The end result is a much better organized cabinet in the writing sanctuary; many things put away after MY having that “I’ll think about it tomorrow” attitude for a few months; and a lot more reorganizing and labeling in my corner of the office.


You’ll have to take my word for it that my desk drawers are cleared of unnecessary stuff, those shelves are arranged much better, and that little green caddy, still loaded with office supplies, lost a lot of useless things and what’s left is better organized.


My little “fun” table where I blend essential oils, do a lot of my intentions rituals and random other things, all while overlooked by Superman, Darth Vader, and Batman, not to mention two Yankees and Cubs baseball fans, is cleared of random stuff and ready for whatever’s next…clearing crystals, looking at oracle cards, or enjoying breathing/meditating time.

In that first photo, maybe you noticed Aerosmith’s Joe Perry watching you from the wall on the upper left. One of the things Tom has been doing is moving photos (so far more than 25,000) from older, still working computers (I have one more that requires a consultant before we’ll know if those photos can be recovered). Today, he focused on my old HP laptop. I’m not sure it’s been turned on since 2017, unless David used it when he visited. The wallpaper on it was a great shot from my former job. It’s a nice photo, but three years after being laid off, I’ve long-since moved on. Tom decided to be funny and create a new wallpaper from among the laptop’s photo files, which apparently included a scan of the Joe Perry photo (I mean, why WOULDN’T IT? It’s Joe Perry!).

This is what greeted me the next time I glanced at the laptop.

Probably Tom’s just glad when one of my musical crushes is still on the planet. (RIP DW, TP, EVH, SRV, JL, GH, DF, and TH).

This week, sadly, we lost another legend. Tina Turner overcame one challenge after another and never seemed to lose her zest for living, her hope and optimism, her strength, and a phenomenal magic unparalleled by any performer in my lifetime. The tributes being paid her by her peers and her fans from every spectrum show the kind of impact she had. She truly was simply the best.

Celebration

Tomorrow (May 26) is Timothy’s birthday, and because he, as well as Rhonda and Lindsey, have other commitments for the weekend, we all agreed that they’d join Tom, Debby, and me tonight for a birthday dinner. My part was making a salad, cleaning broccoli for steaming, and buttering the rolls before they went in the oven. Tom did all the cooking and baking for the main course of beef stroganoff. I baked a lemon cake with lemon frosting. It wasn’t pretty, but it was tasty.

A few snaps from a fun night of family, friends, and dogs. (When shown with his cake, Tim is mostly looking down at Pepper, who brings enthusiasm to every occasion.)

Happy birthday (a bit early), Timothy!

Belated Hump Day

Yesterday, Lindsey finished the Lean To (that’s my new name for the “shed,” aka “onsite storage” space). Below is supposed to be my next job, but I’m avoiding it.


Fifteen bins of Christmas decorations and ornaments that require reorganization and some purging. Tom and I made this a major effort a few years back, but these things have a tendency to increase, and some of them are not stored as efficiently as they could be. Also, there are some things of Mother’s I plan to send to some of her grandchildren. They should have a chance to decide whether there’s anything they want, and if not, they can donate it. My feelings won’t be hurt.

Instead of that, today, I worked on reorganizing the craft shelves in the office and getting them in order. There were things to purge from those, too, but mostly we have the room now to put some of that into the Lean To or on the Hall’s closet shelves. Plus everything is labeled now, so I can find what I’m looking for!


Top shelf is fabric for doll clothes. Beneath that, sketch books and coloring books! (And I just added four more. Ridiculous.) Next shelf has my cases of 45 records (undamaged by 2017 flood!) and the albums I either replaced or could save in 2017. Quite a far cry from the hundreds I once had. The shelf below that has to do with writing: the 1990s drafts of the books I’m working on now; the Moleskines that are filled with thoughts and souvenirs; and my Magnetic Poetry collection. The bottom shelf has a couple of bins of mementos (one says Lynne, because she’s the only one who might want any of that if I kick off), and that’s the Christmas box I keep inside the house all year, with all the info I need for Christmas cards, plus tape, pens, gift tags, etc. Things that I require before we start decorating at the holidays.


Those are coloring supplies, craft papers, and stamps and stencils on the top shelf, along with something I got I think my 2022 birthday, from Rhonda and Lindsey. I need to share it on here sometime. It’s very Zen. Yes, the inside of the door from the part of Mother’s china cabinet (we saved the hutch top) that was too damaged to keep post-flood remains on full display: her 1996 Clinton-Gore bumper sticker. Next shelf is all my sewing stuff. It had been here originally, then I used that shelf for albums, and I missed looking over and seeing my sewing machine. So much of that was organized for me after the Harvey flood by Lindsey that I barely had to do anything but add some labels. Next shelf down is all kinds of crafting supplies, newly labeled, which is so helpful for me. I also consolidated supplies from a bunch of little containers into that red, green, and blue “tackle box.” I once used that for painting supplies, and I’ll never forget seeing it float through the backyard during the flood. It got cleaned up and put in the Lean To, and this is the first time in almost six years I’m using it again. The green cubby on the bottom shelf has a lot of the stuff I used for collages (I’m about to be doing more of those) and the elephant print cubby has more fabrics. I finally purged the rest of the fabrics from the Lean To, and now everything for sewing is inside the office/craft room.


The last set of shelves has all kinds of paint supplies on the top shelf: paints, brushes, palettes of many varieties, canvases of several sizes, varnishes and finishes, and a bucket of bottle caps! Next shelf down is household files that I use all the time, and accessibility is so much easier than the file cabinets that were flooded and put on the curb. (We lost a lot of paperwork from the bottom drawers.) Next shelf down is Aunt Gwen’s sewing case, EMPTY containers should they be needed, a bag of the items I use for space clearing and energy work, and a box with stones, rocks, and pebbles I use as needed to replenish Aaron’s Garden or to put in the column candle holders in the writing sanctuary when the candles are gone and I put tea light candles in them. Bottom shelf is all empty containers, should any new supplies need them or to be used elsewhere, as needed, in the Hall.

That’s it!

When everything in the Lean To is back in place, I’ll share photos. Tom forbade photos before the work was done because it looked like a large and sloppy family of hoarding raccoons might be living there.