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The Cloudy Day & Link Up On the Edge #309
Last weekend, we went on a little road trip to Pennsylvania to deliver a very special graduation gift to a very special young woman. Her name is Kallyse and I was the teacher’s aide in her preschool class when she was 4 years old. I quickly developed a very special bond with this incredibly witty and smart, kind and beautiful young girl. After that one year in her preschool class, I accepted a job somewhere else and the classroom teacher, Scott, had only been filling in for that year while the permanent teacher was on maternity leave. But for that one year, Scott, a young man in his first teaching…
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A Visit to John Brown Farm & Link Up On the Edge #308
During our recent family weekend trip to Burlington, Vermont, and Lake Placid, New York, we visited John Brown Farm in Lake Placid before heading to Olympic Stadium. I was wholly unfamiliar with John Brown before stumbling upon his farm on the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation website when I was searching for things to do and see in Lake Placid. I am so glad that I found it because it was a powerful and moving educational experience for all of us. John Brown was an American abolitionist born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, the fourth of eight children of Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, a…
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Family Day Trip to Burlington, Vermont & Link Up On the Edge #307
In yesterday’s post, 5 Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Weekends, I shared a few photographs from last weekend when we went on a little family road trip to Burlington, Vermont. Now I will tell you about our trip. We reserved a hotel room in Plattsburgh, New York, which is approximately a 3 1/2 hour drive from our house and just a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain into Vermont. I have gone on many ferry rides but this was my first one where you take your car with you. I really got a kick out of sitting in the car while we floated across the lake to…
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Random Friday Stuff & Link Up On the Edge #306
Y’all, it has been a super crazy week and I am completely wiped out. Ralph wanted to participate in Clayton’s Theater Week which is a week long summer theater program for children ages 5-16 held at the beautiful Clayton Opera House in Clayton, New York, situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. The opera house is just one block from the Harbor Hotel where I just attended a wedding wearing this same kimono. I was really excited when Ralph expressed an interest in something other than video games and quickly signed him up for stage crew before he changed his mind. The Young People’s Theater of Clayton is…
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Mental Illness as Enlightenment & Link Up On the Edge #305
I just ran across the following paragraph that I had added to my running list of potential writing topics a long while back. I figured since I have nothing in mind to write about today I might as well address this topic. Are people with bipolar disorder closer to the universal energy field? We go up and down with the tides. Lunatics were called such because it was believed that their moods were affected by lunar changes. Maybe mental illness is actually less of an illness and more of a state of higher evolution. Maybe what we call mental illness is actually the very thing that makes us more in…
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The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book: Jewelry with a Story & Link Up On the Edge #304
Welcome to The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book! This is The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book. A series that I co-host with Nancy where you can choose whether you want to share a Good Buy (which is an item you are really exited about) or a Good-Bye (which is an item you are going to say good-bye to, previously known as a Bad Buy). Every month you can choose which item you want to submit. A Good Buy or a Good-Bye. We will provide the theme for each month. Photos should be submitted to us by the 10th of the month with a few sentences explaining why it is a Good Buy or Good-Bye. The theme for July is Jewelry with a Story.…
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The Healing Power of Gratitude & Link Up On the Edge #303
I have been wanting to write this post for quite some time now but have been lacking the motivation to actually sit down and start the words flowing. Then I received the little nudge that I needed this week when I read Jennifer’s post, How To Manifest Easily, where she lists the practice of gratitude as the first of eight tips for manifesting exactly what you want. “Practicing gratitude helps shift the focus from a lack mentality to a grateful one, which leads to attracting better circumstances. Pause and take a moment to notice the things that bring you joy.” Curated by Jennifer In my experience, not only does the…
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Reminder: The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book-Jewelry with a Story & Link Up On the Edge #302
July’s Good Buy/Good-Bye Book is all about Jewelry with a Story. Do you have a special piece of jewelry with lots of sentimental value? We want to hear the stories behind your most interesting jewelry, where it came from, and why you love (or hate) to wear it. What is The Good Buy/Good-Bye Book? It is a monthly series that Nancy and I both publish on our blogs on the 15th of each month. Anyone who would like to participate and be featured can send us their photos with a short description explaining if the item was a Good Buy or one that you will be saying Good-Bye to. You do not…
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Festival Camping at Smoked Country Jam & Link Up On the Edge #301
We had the best weekend ever at Smoked Country Jam in the wilds of Pennsylvania. As usual, I did not take very many photos at all. I didn’t even take one single picture of the bands who played at the festival and I didn’t get any photos with any of my friends who I saw there. But it doesn’t matter because I was present and living in all of the beautiful moments that happen at festivals like these. About a thousand memories were made in those four days and that can happen with or without photographs. I combined the few pictures that I took with the few that Jeff took…
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On a Journey to Tranquility with Zen Spirit Malas & Link Up On the Edge #300
I was first introduced to the practice of meditation when I was about 8 years old. However, it was more in the form of visualization, which is a little bit different. Where meditation is a restful practice meant to give your body an opportunity to heal, visualization is a more active practice designed to prepare us for future states of high performance. Why Meditation & Visualization Aren’t The Same (And How To Use Them) gives an excellent explanation of the differences between these two practices of mindfulness and how both are beneficial for us either separately or used in tandem. My first introduction to any mindfulness techniques came from my…
