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Author Archives: dreaminofobx

Tomodachi

25 May

HPIM2114Seeing England from a fresh perspective

I don’t think I am immune to the beauty that surrounds me here in England, but after living here for 20 months, I must admit I have started to take some of it for granted. The neat hedges, the fluffy sheep dotting green fields, the storybook stone cottages with their thatched roofs, wisteria climbing up walls and dripping over doorways–I’m so accustomed to seeing these things that I don’t always stop now to appreciate them for their individual merits. These characterful features of the country’s landscape were once the primary focus of my photographs, but now they are more often in the background of candid portraits and architectural close-ups.

Fortunately, a very dear friend (ともだち tomodachi) has just arrived from Japan for a visit. Having moved here from Japan myself, I understand how different the land, the vegetation, the roads, and the houses look to her. In fact, she is so in awe that, as we’ve been driving around the past two days, she keeps saying, “It looks so fake!” It took me a moment to understand she doesn’t mean that in a negative way…she only means that everything looks so perfect, like it’s been designed for a movie set (she even said this yesterday in the howling wind and sideways rain). Or, more accurately, in her words, “It looks like Disney!” So today we tuned out the siren song of the outlet mall long enough to pull off on the side of a single-track road bisecting a field of rapeseed flowers, gilded and glowing under a brilliant sun. Witnessing her utter joy as she snapped away with her iPhone, storing images to share with her friends and family when she returns to her home halfway around the world, I was reminded not to take England’s natural beauty for granted. With but three short months left to enjoy it, I should be pulling off the road to capture my own memories every chance I get. Because, frankly, I don’t think even Disney could recreate this magic.

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Posts I commented on today:
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other participants’ blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts from the various blogging communities whose members have supported my efforts. At least one post MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)
Zoned Zebras (FlashTyme–The Blog by M.J. Joachim)  new blog of the day
My Top Three Terrible Traits? Is That Even Possible? (Janice Heck: My Time to Write)
W is for Welcome to Washington (Gwendolyn Rose: Living with a Corgi Princess)  another new blog!

 
5 Comments

Posted by on May 25, 2013 in How It Is, Observations, True Life

 

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Mercy

24 May

danny-bowmanPhoto copyright Danny Bowman

“Hi! This is Samantha. I must be in class, so leave me a message and I’ll call you back!”

Beep.

“I’ve paid $39.99 a month for the last six years to keep my daughter’s cell phone active, just to hear that message. She’s never going to call me back, but the smile in her voice gets me out of bed each morning. Samantha paid with her life for this man’s three-martini lunch. But as a father, I understand he is losing the same things I lost. Please consider parole. Free him to make a lifetime’s memories with his own daughter.”

Thanks to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for presenting another opportunity for us Friday Fictioneers to try to cram an entire story into only 100 words!

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Posts I commented on today (all of whom are Friday Fictioneers):
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other participants’ blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts from the various blogging communities whose members have supported my efforts. One post MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)

Friday Fiction–Listening (elmowrites)
Upgraded Service–Friday Fictioneers (Björn Rudbergs Writings)
Flash Fiction Friday–Scavenger Hunt (The Bradley Chronicles)  new blog of the day

 
11 Comments

Posted by on May 24, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Game

23 May

100_0382-001Question 91*
Would you rather play a game with someone more or less talented than you? Would it matter who was watching?

I’m game for a game any time. I like card games, board games, video games, sports. I’m happy to learn a new game (well, except for chess…I’ve tried and I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around that one) and have been a willing victim when my husband’s various office sports teams were short a few players (did you know inner tube water polo is a real sport?). As a rookie, I don’t always have the skill set required to be successful at these new games–or even some old, familiar ones for that matter–but I enjoy the participation. I play simply for the thrill of playing, so I’m not really picky about the talent level of my teammates or opponents. If it’s a game I’m fond of, like Texas Hold ‘Em or Scrabble, then I like being challenged by someone more talented than I, in hopes that my skills will eventually improve as a result. If I’m trying a new game, like tennis, I want to learn the rules, strategies, and tricks from someone who knows more than I do, although part of me does hope that my mentor will not trounce me too badly during the early lessons. Once I’ve got a handle on the basics, it galls me if someone tries to play down to my level. I can’t learn properly if they won’t bring it on!!

As for who is watching…I’m always self-conscious anyway, whether I’m learning something new or doing something I’ve done a thousand times, so that just really doesn’t matter. I can be just as embarrassed in front of my husband, my friends, or my colleagues as in front of my boss, perfect strangers, or Matthew McConaughey. I don’t enjoy looking a fool, but I’ve learned that it’s part of life and it won’t kill me. Someday, when my mad poker skills launch me to the top slot on the World Poker Tour, all those embarrassing rookie mistakes will make great anecdotes in a best-selling memoir. 😉

*From The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, PhD.

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Posts I commented on today:
Blue trees (Where’s my backpack?)
Five Sentence Fiction: Charmed (Crazy Flipper Fingers)  new blog of the day
24 May 2013 (Rochelle Wissoff-Fields–Addicted to Purple)

 
1 Comment

Posted by on May 23, 2013 in Deep Thought Thursday, How It Is, On Me, True Life

 

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Envisioning

22 May

 

Self-Improvement“A vision board is a collage or collection of images of tangible and intangible things you want in your life.”

I have a real vision board, much better than the one I created (above) on Oprah’s website today. Only it’s not a board. It’s a file folder stuffed with images and quotes I’ve cut out or copied down since high school. At the time, each one spoke to some deep part of my heart or soul–showing a path to answer some need or fill some void. I didn’t know while I was collecting all this stuff that I was actually gathering the component parts of a vision board. In fact, I’d never heard of a vision board until I read Rarasaur’s Prompt for the Promptless this week. I thought the snipping and filing was a manifestation of my innate (but so far under control) hoarding tendencies. Beyond the actual collecting, I really had no solid plans for all of this inspirational fodder.

After reading Rara’s links this morning (to the point of almost being late for work), and finally having an idea of just what sort of end product my clippings yearned for, I decided to have a go at making a trial vision board on Oprah’s website. In the interest of time I just chose images from the 500 or so archived at the site, although I had the option to upload my own. I added my own text, futzed around with the layout (why are there no rounded corners? no cropping tools? no borders?), and saved the whole shebang as a .jpg on my hard drive. I could now theoretically use the file as my desktop background, therefore ensuring the vision board is in my direct line of sight on a daily basis, as it should be.

The purpose of a vision board is to subtly remind you of what you want in life, to encourage you to envision success in achieving these goals; keeping your aspirations at the forefront of your mind makes you more likely to recognize alternative paths to fulfillment when they are presented. Therefore, the board must be easily and regularly visible (a major flaw in my current vision folder system). Assuming that your wants and needs will change as priorities shift, reality bites, and dreams come true, your vision board should morph as well. New images should be added, tired old quotes should be replaced, the layout should shift to reflect the importance of today’s dreams (some people like to start from scratch instead of rearranging an existing board, but I don’t think I can find that much free time). These requirements lead me to conclude that a good old-fashioned corkboard and some pushpins are going to be the best tools to build and maintain my real vision board. I have no doubt that there are computer-savvy folks out there who would find it just as easy to build an electronic version and update the content with a couple mouse clicks, but I am still a fan of hands-on cutting and pasting.

I’ve already got a whole pile of projects that need my attention, but I will add “create vision board from accumulated stuff’ to the stack. Maybe I should make that task HIGH PRIORITY and add an inspirational quote to my board naysaying procrastination–then I can envision a project list with all the boxes ticked and open myself to new ways to make it so.

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Posts I commented on today:
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts, one of which MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)

Today’s Writing Prompt: Dreams (The One-Minute Writer)
W is for Writing Groups (A Guy Named Soo)  new blog of the day
Cat Heaven Island in Japan–Photos (Janice Heck)

 
9 Comments

Posted by on May 22, 2013 in How It Is, On Me, True Life, What's She On About?

 

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Untouched

21 May

evening dandelionEvening Dandelion © Anthony Beyga

I can’t find my coffee mug…my wedding album…my grandmother’s quilt…my neighbor…my car; nothing is where I left it. In fact, if I hadn’t been home when it hit, I’m not sure I’d be able to find my own street.

I close my eyes and push lazily with a bare toe, setting my swing in motion, imagining it’s just another peaceful May evening in the park, the sun’s last golden rays warm against my eyelids. I open my eyes and ponder a perfect globe of a dandelion, fuzzy seeds ready to be launched to far-flung corners of the carefully manicured soccer field. Ironic that just one block over, the noble, gnarly live oak that has graced my front lawn for more than a century is now impaled through the side of the neighbor’s garage.

I lean back and pump my legs, hoping I can soar high enough to rise above the sirens, the cries and shouts, the scrape of debris being pushed around, high enough to see my husband walk through the devastation to find me here in the park, where our disaster plan says we will reunite.

 

Although I’d love it to be so, I just couldn’t work my schedule to be able to participate in StoryADay May. It’s a personal problem…it takes me hours upon hours to churn out any fictional story, no matter its length or how much prompting I am given. However, I fully expected to find lots of inspiration in the month’s worth of daily prompts, so I have been archiving them for future use. I decided to pull one out today, as I had no original inspiration of my own for this week’s Tuesday Tale. As instructed in the 2 May prompt, I went to the Flickr Explore page (never been to Flickr before…what have I been missing!?) and chose the first photograph that caught my eye. Okay, so most of them caught my eye for one reason or another, so I picked the first one that immediately led my sluggish brain to a story. My heart goes out to all those affected by the devastating tornadoes in the States this week.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on May 21, 2013 in Fiction, Tuesday Tales

 

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Elements

20 May
Kilauea’s lava meets the Pacific
Fire + water = earth + air
Waves lap at the encroaching lava
Ribbons of fire ooze into the ocean

When Ailsa at Where’s my backpack? asked for photos of the four elements in this week’s Travel Theme: The Four Elements challenge, I immediately thought of Hawaii. My experience on the big island, hiking across the lava fields of Mt. Kilauea to the coast, sticks in my mind as a time when the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water all came together. The bright orange fire of the lava oozed from the volcano until it encountered the cooling waters of the Pacific Ocean. When the two met, the water was vaporized, becoming air, while the fiery lava was cooled, becoming new earth.

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Posts I commented on today:
(In case you missed the reason for this, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, and though I posted every day, I was lousy at visiting and commenting on other blogs. So for each day in May, I’ve vowed to visit and comment on three posts, one of which MUST be from a new blog I haven’t yet visited.)

In Praise of Paper (Nouveau Scarecrow)
Travel Theme: Four Elements (Moments in Your Life)  new blog of the day
Friday Fiction: Every Journey… (elmo writes)

 
4 Comments

Posted by on May 20, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

Knots

19 May

100_1135-001
On Thursday, The One Minute Writer asked its readers very simply to write about a knot. The first knot that came to my mind was the Stafford Knot, which represents the county of Staffordshire, England. It can be seen everywhere in the county–emblazoned on road signs, carved into buildings, pressed into bricks, embroidered in military insignias (to represent the local regiments), embossed on police badges, glazed onto the bottoms of local pottery, and spray-painted as graffiti in area parks.  At a local antique fair I even picked up an old horse brass for my collection, cast in the shape of this famous knot.

The knot itself is nothing special. It’s merely an overhand knot, the simplest of the single-strand knots. Rather, its uniqueness lies in the mystery shrouding the true origins of the knot as the county symbol. For those who favor datable relics to ensure historical accuracy, it seems the earliest verifiable appearance of the knot was on a seal (now housed in the British Museum) that belonged to Joan, Lady of Wake, who died childless in 1443. How the knot came to be part of her seal, and from whom it was passed, are still unanswered questions. At the time of her death, her personal possessions, including the seal, passed to her nephew, Humphrey, Earl of Stafford. Humphrey adopted the Knot of Rope (thereafter to be called the Stafford Knot) as his badge and both he and his descendants used it to adorn the livery of their servants and retainers for easy recognition. In the feudal system, the townsmen of Stafford were lieges of the Stafford family, so they also used the Stafford Knot as a badge. Over time, feudalism ended and free citizens of Stafford adopted the badge as their own, ultimately including it in the Borough’s coat of arms, where it remains today.

For those who prefer their history a little more macabre, legend has it that the Stafford Knot really symbolizes the execution of three criminals sentenced to die by hanging in Stafford. It seems that when the executioner arrived in the borough, he realized he had only one length of rope. He thought it a bit cruel to hang the condemned one by one using the same rope for each execution, so he fashioned a knot that would allow all three to hang simultaneously. Who says there was no compassion in medieval times?

And those who like pure romanticism in their version of history will gravitate to the Dark Ages story of Ethelfreda, daughter of Alfred the Great, wife of Ethelred, Lady of the Mercians, and all-around bad-ass. In the early 900s, after her husband’s death, she assumed control of his armies and set about building fortresses all over middle England from which to harass and repel the invading Vikings. Legend has it that during a speech to rally local lords from three different geographical areas, she removed her girdle and said, “With this girdle, I bind us all as one.” Apparently, the speech worked, for the region became collectively known as Staffordshire.

Regardless of the true origins of the Stafford Knot, it is a beloved and easily recognizable symbol of Stafford and Staffordshire today, even making its way onto the dance floor where dancers move in formation to the shape of the knot. What clearer illustration of the motto, “The Knot Unites,” could one ask for?

Information for this post came from the Stafford Borough Council and the BBC.

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Posts I commented on today:
Paw-sing to Share Love (Wiley’s Wisdom)
Byron van Zant (Northwest Photographer)
Violin, looking for a new tune (galeriaredelius)  new blog of the day

 
3 Comments

Posted by on May 19, 2013 in Observations, Sunday Best, True Life

 
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