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image credit: partyideasinabox
Jan8
wind.
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image credit: partyideasinabox
Jan7
a message for the world.
lesvos, greece.
volunteers have
a message for the world
made from refugee life jackets.
—
credit: open homes open hearts u.s.
Jan6
pie.
j. leach
local english teacher and writer
has launched
a wonderful new business in my town called,
‘why not pie?’
it’s a virtual bakery
where she
creates homemade pies
each week
for pickup or delivery.
she’ll try most any flavor you request
using locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible.
this is really a win-win situation in my eyes
and i can’t wait to try one.
or more.
—
—
if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch,
you must first invent the universe.
– carl sagan
—
credits: current magazine, reddit.com, whynotpie.com
Jan5
‘you can make anything by writing.’ – c.s. lewis
what’s that little table for, peaches?
it’s where i like to write sometimes.
when?
when it’s quiet in the morning.
can we do it too?
yes, let’s have a writer’s workshop.
when?
right now.
how long can we write?
for as long as you like,
and i hope that you’ll write forever.
Jan4
books, the children of the brain. – jonathan swift
behold the golden tower.
whoever enters
shall do so
at the
risk and joy
of
gaining
something
they may
never
have imagined.
Jan3
do not stop.
—
image credit: wordables
Jan2
bombs for bees.
the bees could really use some help. in the last 10 years, a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder (ccd) has killed off huge numbers of honeybees around the world. it’s normal for beekeepers to lose 10–15 percent of their hives each winter, but beginning in 2006, beekeepers started reporting losses of 30–90 percent. scientists believe ccd may be caused by a combination of pesticides, parasites, and a decline in wildflowers as more and more land is developed.
this is where seedles come in. each “bomb” contains wildflower seeds packed in compost and brightly colored clay. “planting” them is easy: you just throw them on the ground and wait for the rain, sun, and soil to do their work. the candy-colored seed bombs “practically grow themselves,” says the company’s website.
there are six varieties, one for each region of the country, so bee lovers can be sure to plant native flowers that will thrive in their area.
seedles are the brainchild of ei ei khin and chris burley, a couple who initially hoped they could get people to plant a million flowers. they surpassed that number in 2014. in an email to mental_floss, burley (now the company’s “pollinator-in-chief”) said they’ve since set their sights higher: a billion flowers for the bees.
they are especially concerned about the interdependence between honeybees and our food supply. of 100 major american crops, 70 are pollinated by bees; without them, we might not have apples, almonds, carrots, or avocados. to encourage interest and awareness in the plight of the bees, seedles partners with local food companies to give out free seed bombs. because they’re pretty, simple, nontoxic, and foolproof, the seed bombs make great educational tools.
—
credits: seedles, mentalfloss, kathy horowitz
Jan1
new year wish.
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image credit: fairie magazine
Dec31
thoughts to remember in the coming new year and moving onward, courtesy of mr. rogers.
mister rogers on love
love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like “struggle.” to love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.
by far the most important aspect of rogers’s philosophy is the idea that you have to work to keep loving and caring about someone. it’s not a thing that happens once and then ceases. it’s a constant, lifelong process.
Mister Rogers on caring for others around you
if you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. there is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.
Mister Rogers on civic duty
we live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. it’s easy to say “it’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.” then there are those who see the need and respond. i consider those people my heroes.
rogers believed deeply that other people’s problems were also, on some level, his problems. he was careful to take the time to meet with as many fans as possible when he was out in public.
Mister Rogers on change
often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
the concept of hope was incredibly important to rogers, who spent many an episode of his show trying to help children see past the big, scary thing right in front of them, be it divorce or the bathtub drain, in favor of what might be coming down the line.
Mister Rogers on peace
peace means far more than the opposite of war.
peace, like love or like hope, is an action one can take, something that can be done, not just something that might arrive.
Mister Rogers on solitude
solitude is different from loneliness, and it doesn’t have to be a lonely kind of thing.
most episodes of mister rogers’ neighborhood open with long sequences where it’s just him, talking directly to the camera, in a very calm, soft, still voice. they project a sense of tranquility that feels a little dreamlike, which is probably why the show was so successful. rogers understood that kids (and adults) like, and need, to be soothed now and then.
Dec30
welcome to my fairy garden, one and all.
nothing i love better
than to see
children, adults, pets, families
in
wagons
strollers
on foot
on bicycles
walking
running
skipping
being carried.
stopping by
to pay a visit
to the fairy garden
in all four seasons.
chatting
playing
smiling
bringing gifts
acting out stories
taking tokens
noting changes
moving things
telling secrets
making memories
leaving special things behind.
spending a little quiet time
with the fairies
before they head
back into life
in a
busy grown-up world.
—
child of the pure, unclouded brow
and dreaming eyes of wonder!
though time be fleet and I and thou
are half a life asunder,
thy loving smile will surely hail
the love-gift of a fairy tale.
– lewis carroll
I didn't have my glasses on.... 