wishing you a holiday season filled with joy, wonder, and peace
beth
Dec24
wishing.
wishing you a holiday season filled with joy, wonder, and peace
beth
Category Archives: Life
Dec21
A survivor’s story.
‘Surviving Sue’ is a compelling memoir written by the daughter of an extremely dysfunctional family matriarch, Sue. Sue stormed through life, loud and bold, without boundaries, fueled by mental illness and substance abuse. Through all that she endured, the author/daughter, Vicki Atkinson, found her way through one extremely challenging situation after another, with compassion, strength, wisdom, and a survival instinct.
While managing life with her mother, Sue, and advocating for her disabled sister, Lisa, Vicky became a licensed therapist, married, had a child, and carried on with her life as best she could. In spite of all she went through, Vicki came out the other end knowing that her mother Sue’s illness was not all that she was, she was also funny, an artist, and someone who loved to take on causes helping others.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone as an engaging read, and a master class in resilience, strength, and compassion for the human condition. With a will and a way, great things can be overcome. This is a memoir you will not soon forget.
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This book is available for purchase from: www.eckhartzpress.com/shop/surviving-sue/
Kindle version available on: Amazon.com
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”my mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive;
and to do so with some passion, some compassion,
some humor, and some style.’
-maya angelou
—
Dr. Vicki Atkinson, Consultant and author of “Surviving Sue”, Licensed Professional Counselor, Believer in People, Possibilities & Potential 😉
Vicki’s blog victoriaponders.com
Vicki’s podcast sharingtheheartofthematter.com
Source credits: ‘Surviving Sue’ by Dr. Vicki Atkinson, published by: Eckhart Press, Chicago, IL, USA, July 2023
Dec19
who you are.
so proud of my dear friend
breeda kelly miller
who had an idea
that grew
into her one-woman play
‘Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home’
performed around the world
and
into a book by the same name
and
at long last
the airing of her play on *PBS this past monday.
where i had the pleasure of watching it on televsion with her
bravo, breeda kelly miller
your family would be so proud of you.
—
‘we all have different gifts so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.’
-fred rogers
—
Detroit PBS brings live theater back to TV Monday with “Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home.” True stories of an Irish immigrant, brought to life by her Michigan daughter. Join Breeda Miller and me at intermission and after. On TV or online locally at https://www.detroitpbs.org/live-tv/wtvs-hdtv/ — Mon. 12/16, 8:00pm ET
Dec17
hair.
i love having kind of free spirit messy-ish hair
each day is a new hair adventure
but after spending the night at my daughter’s house
i woke up in the morning
with hair wayyyyyyyyy beyond
the messy-ish look
looked around
found this spray
gave my hair a light mist
wondering what would happen next.
—
“i like to walk around with bare feet and I don’t like to comb my hair.”
-beyonce knowles
Dec16
needles.
—
“oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, thy leaves are so doomed.”
– doug coupland
—
poetry credit: brian bilston
Dec13
freeze frame.
Hot springs enthusiasts are hoping for Arctic temperatures in Canada so an annual hair-freezing contest can go forth later this winter. The yearly competition began in 2012, launched by a spa in the Yukon territory that has since produced some hilarious pictures.
In the town of Whitehorse, a 10-hour drive from Juneau, Alaska, bathers dip into the naturally warmed waters at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs. If the outdoor temps are cold enough, people can make their hair freeze into wacky shapes.
Contest categories include best female and male, best group, best facial hair, and a people’s choice award, and every category winner receives a $2000 cash prize.
“We kick off the Hair Freezing contest as soon as the temperature drops to -20°C or lower,” said Satyam Jain, a spokesperson for The Hot Springs.
“We usually keep an eye on the forecast to see how long the cold temp will last and start the contest anytime between December and March.”
Their website includes instructions on how to freeze hair:
- Dip your head in the hot springs and wet your hair completely. Don’t worry- freezing your hair won’t damage it.
- Allow the cold air to slowly freeze your hair. Keep your ears warm by periodically dipping them into the hot water. Be patient–all wet hair will eventually freeze, this includes eyebrows and even eyelashes.
- Once your hair has become pure white with lots of frost and ice buildup, ring the bell near the pool entrance and have our staff come out to take your photo!
Everyone is hoping for a cold winter so the spa can continue their long run of contests and for more fun to be enjoyed by the visiting bathers.
—
“a lot of people like snow. i find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.’
-carl reiner, american comedian/writer
—
source credit: nice news
Dec11
for those of you missing the wp snow
Dec10
spirited.
‘is that the real santa, or just an elf?,’
you might ask yourself
during that annual office christmas party
at some point
there is often someone
who really goes all out
feels the spirit
be ready.
—
“don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!”
-author unknown
—
photo credit: midcentury vinatge
Dec9
you’re out of line.
in late 2022, a farm owner noticed a few sheep on her farm in inner mongolia walking in a circle. eventually, all 400+ sheep in her herd started walking in a continuous, perfect circle for 12 straight days.
—
without a landmark humans cannot walk in a straight line.
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Humans are masters of navigation. Over the course of history, we’ve developed tools to help us explore not only Earth but other planets. Yet strip away all those tools, blindfold us, and tell us to walk in a straight line, and inevitably we become a directional mess, turning in tight loops. Many studies in the past have cataloged this phenomenon again and again. Without some form of reference, such as a mountain, a building, or even the sun, humans are incapable of walking in a straight line, no matter how hard we try. It happens whether we’re blindfolded or just lost in the forest. So what’s going on.
We don’t know for sure, but scientists have been able to rule out some popular go-to explanations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Germany discovered that body asymmetries (different-sized legs, right-handedness vs. left-handedness, etc.) didn’t account for such vast misdirection. Additionally, the idea that people can’t correctly calculate the movement of their legs doesn’t explain the tight-looped pattern. The scientists theorize that with every blindfolded step, a very small directional discrepancy from a straight line is introduced, which then compounds with every additional step. Without the aid of visual references to unconsciously correct for these discrepancies, blindfolded people are poor at navigating a straight line, and will inevitably begin walking in tight-looped circles. While this theory explains why we do this, scientists aren’t sure of the biological how (though they think errors in the inner ear may be to blame). For now, this straight-line conundrum remains one of the many mysteries of the human brain and body.
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‘i keep a close watch on this heart of mine
i keep my eyes wide open all the time
i keep the ends out for the tie that binds
because you’re mine, i walk the line.’
-johnny cash, ‘i walk the line.’
—
– Length (in miles) of the longest straight line possible at sea, connecting Pakistan and Russia
19,940
– Highway #10 is the world’s longest straight road (149 miles), in Saudi Arabia, per Guinness World Records
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source credits: newsweek magazine, interesting facts
Dec3
a simple wish.
december
the gingko tree
under a cold blue sky
in a spectacular moment
drops its golden canopy
over tiny hints of snow
gracefully welcoming
the coming of the next season.
—
‘december is a simple wish that brings spectacular moments.’
-author unknown
I didn't have my glasses on.... 