Tag Archives: meme

Mindapple over matterapple

Posted on December 12, 2008 by Dawn

Mon amour,  Clancy Frankenbacon , tagged me as it for this thing called a meme– it’s like a mind-virus…

A meme is any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.Wikipedia.

I think I am supposed to infect you all– so here goes–

We’ve heard that five servings of fruits and veggies every day keeps us healthy.  But, what about our mental health?

Andy Gibson has started a meme asking bloggers about their five-a-day to staying mentally healthy as part of the Mindapples Five-A-Day Campaign:  Mindapples is a social movement to promote individual self-management of mental wellbeing. The original “5-a-day” campaign encouraged people to take care of their physical health through simple daily activities, and we want to do the same thing for mental health. We aim to create a stigma-free public debate about mental wellbeing, simply by asking everybody the question: “What’s your five-a-day?”

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to join the Mindapples project and tell the world, what’s your five a day?

Here’s how it works:

  • Write a post telling your readers five things you do that help keep you mentally well (and answer any of the other survey questions too if you like)
  • Link to the Mindapples site www.mindapples.org
  • Invite five blog-friends to do the same (if you want to)

And that’s it.

So, what are my top five things to do every day, or every week to stay mentally healthy?

This is making a huge assumption that I AM mentally healthy, which I am expecting a prickly and hysterical rash of comments on….

( Me, In my mind today.  Erm, most days, actually.)

Here are my five daily goals/strategies (at the moment). Please be aware that this is a sliver of what a perfect life is for me– not my state of grace on a daily basis!!

1. Stay connected. In every way I can.  I have a bit of a “floating off into the ether” issue–( I think there was a fairie in the woodpile somewhere along the line) so I work each day to stay connected to friends, family, my husband, reality, the present .  I am a bit of a wacko worrier, so I try to remind myself to just “be here now”.  This has gotten easier with aging, but still something I have to remember to do.  My kids and family are great saviors in this area as well.  When I am not being swept away with parenting frustration and annoyance–

( HA!  Never miss a moment for a great  Twilight quote–  Edward: “You’re awfully small to be so hugely irritating.” — Breaking Dawn  )

the 2 poppets have the power to amaze me and fill me with so much love and adoration as to make me ache or spontaneously combust. When I am dazzled by a moment of their pure innocence or intense love, or raw observation– it yanks me right into what is truly essential and valuable in life.

2.  Do something.  Again with the ether.  I get distracted. I procrastinate.  I make a LOT  of lists.  Nevertheless I need to fight the compulsion to float around and instead, CREATE.  Art, handwork, crafts, cooking, reading, gardening, photography…. Any of these will do.  All about living an ART-FULL life, artfully.  That’s the thing… whatever the thing is you do– to do it artfully and be engaged.  I suppose I could and should try to translate this more to the mundanity of life– cleaning etc. But THAT’S and whole ‘nutha mind virus.

3. Be HOPEFUL. I swing a schizophrenic arc between blissfully positive and positively Eyore. If and when I notice the swing towards irritable and dour, I try to make myself jump ( or crawl) on over to the sunnier side of the street.  Or take a nap.  Both help.  Nothing good comes of depression and negativity.  Ever.  Well it has been responsible for some brilliant writing and art through the years… but in general, for me, not so much. Along with this goes LAUGHTER.  I do enjoy me some laughter. I am blessed with quite a few people in my life who can get me laughing so that I am hissing like a Mugsy.  They are bawdy, irreverent and at times shocking.  JIm and the 2 Erins are on the top of this heap. I am thankful for you all.

4. Put a stone in the soup. You remember the beloved book from childhood right?  Life needs a little garnish to improve the flavor.  I try to find inspiration each day– I get this through noticing the gorgeous world and life around me, reading books/blogs/enjoying the internet and it’s great resources, talking to others about interesting things, experimenting, exploring and ponderance of all-of-it.  This usually leads me to fits of my own creativity and….

5.  LOVE. Love. love. All of it and everyone.

I am going to tag  some lady energy.   Women that I very much admire – some from up close and some from afar- because I am really very interested in your answers.   Respondez vous s’il vous plait :) These are some people/blogs of wonder, which inspire me.  I am tagging more than 5, because well, I am greedy like that.

ERIN @ Quadruple Lutz, Chas. and C.S. Jewell (PLEASE!)@ Angryelvis, Lexi@ Pluckyfluff,   Lizz@ red dirt mother and Margie@resurrectionfern, Rachel Marie @ KnittyDirtygirl, Sarah @ the Homestead, Adrian @ Hello Yarn , and Jacki @ YarnZombie, Jacey @ Insubordiknit, ANd last but not least Lynn the  YarnWench

Posted in Home & Family | Tagged | 3 Comments

Brillante. Psst…. Pass it on!

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Dawn

Oh Thanks Pegga-dear for awarding me this super huge diamond garden sculpture( actual photo) a Brillante Weblog Award! It was so very very nice of you. If Ms. Peg hadn’t already gotten one of these, I’d give it back, and tell you what a great and generous specimen of a cowgirl she is. How she cooks like a demon ( Nigella Pegella, we call her– with a soft “G”), has a great family, is a wonderful artist and gardener, and an all-around super-hero kind of gal. She makes a great cuppa tea. Plus she knows a LOT of words that sound real, but are complete nonsense– She uses these with expert flair and elegance. Lastly, she is one of those folks you’d want with you on a deserted island ( or a dessert island!). She’d always know what to do for fun and adventure, and how to solve most problems. ( Plus, she could make something tasty and excellent out of whatever weird food there was to forage)

So with this award, I get to pass the joy around to 7 other blogs with delight, inspire and amaze me. Here goes.

The rules of accepting are as follows:

  1. Put the logo on your blog.
  2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
  3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
  4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
  5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Jimmy– you got your own, but you rock sweetie. If my Sister had one, it would be right at the top. Please tell her to start blogging! She is a shiny fountain of life. Also Steph of LOOP– please start a blog! Check out her un-earthly fiber in the meantime. She must have a gaggle of faeries working with her is the only way I can explain the beauty.

There are so many wondrous blogs out there– So many that I have yet to discover! Here are 7 that I check each and every day, and am always happy that I did! Please share with me your favorites in the comment section!! I would love to explore them!

After I made my list, I realized that what I love so much about these blogs is the spirit of creativity and sharing that comes to me through them. They share the spirit of their lives and inspire readers to be creative or think creatively or just look at the world differently and find beauty in it.

1. Resurrection Fern. I Just discovered this blog recently, through my dear sister, with the release of the now legendary ACORN NECKLACE tutorial. I am so very much in love with this blog. This lovely lass makes me want to move to Canada, and quick. Her photos and crochet work are amazing and so creative. The generosity of her spirit is reflected in each post, and wow, does she have a LOT of snail-friends!

2. Creative Everyday. I discovered Leah’s site through Jim. She does fabulous art and is an inspiration to all for being “creative everyday”. I love how she encourages ALL creativity–not just formal ART, but but making whatever it is you do creative food for your soul. It is that mind shift that can be life changing for people. I also love that most days she shares whatever cool and wonderful things she has found on the web. I always find something awesome in her list. Thanks Leah, and Jim.

3. Hello Yarn. Her site seems to be down at the moment, but will be back promptly, I am sure. Amazing site for fiber in all forms. Hand-dyed. Stupifyingly gorgeous fiber and photographs. Free patterns. Great clubs. Please check back until she’s back!

4. Knitting Iris. Another Sister recommendation. ( Get a blog, sweet Matryoshka!!!) First, I can’t get over the tumeric daisy socks. I LOVE them. Her photos are so great. The knitting is awesome and inspiring. The family. The crafts. The Mushrooms. The plants. The dyeing. Montana. It’s just all so gorgeous.

5. Javajem. This girlfriend of mine can TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH! I could look all day long. She knits like a fiend. Spins the same. Sews. Gardens. Travels. Posts great tutorials and has a generosity of spirit that is contagious to all who encounter her– in person or by blog. Jody– you rock, girl.

6. Red Dirt Mother. Another relatively new blog for me. I love all that she shares with us. Crafts, garden, Family/child/birth love, sustainable living, beautiful Oregon, Gentle living ideas and philosophies. Spirituality. The fair experiences. A total inspiration to me.

7. Salt and Chocolate. I could leave this description at the title alone, right? Someone else gave her this award– Just today! I am keeping her here because I want to share her around. She makes the most amazing healthy and beautiful food– and shares her ideas and recipes. She has a lovely family and shares their creativity and projects. Another shining spirit on the web.

Ok, it’s not that I can’t count. I just have a problem with limits. SO here’s a bonus–

8. Quadruple Lutz Erin is my very good friend and neighbor. She is a brand new blogger, but should have been doing it her whole life. She has a talent for writing and storytelling that is wonderful. She takes amazing photographs, by the billion. She is pee-your-pants funny. We were fast friends upon moving in. I loved her as soon as I heard from my daughter that she had a one-eyed mean hamster named Pepper. And she loves pigs. Her life is like WILD KINGDOM with kids and animals everywhere, yet through all of the crazy she maintains a red-hot sense of humor, a dedication to having an interesting life and records it all. She writes the best, most irreverent holiday letter you’ve ever laid eyes on. I barely survive them each year! Please check her out often, she will touch your soul. :) I should probably mention that she is a creative wonder too–scrapbooking and anything she comes takes up, she does with amazing creativity. And she cooks me stuff, and gifts me gnomes just when I need them the most.

Thanks everyone to making my day a little brighter.

Dawn

Posted in Delight | Tagged | 6 Comments