List of questions

A list of interesting questions:

1. Describe your note-taking style and habits.
2. Do you believe that we are all here for a reason?  What might the reason be?
3. What comes to mind when someone uses the phrase prolonging the magic?
4. Have you ever done something just to feel the danger, or to feel alive?
5. What is your favorite cliché?
6. How do rainy days make you feel?
7. What is the most amount of money you have had at one time?
8. Write a celebrity crush list.

Definitely interesting questions.  Some inspire deep thought, some require very little, some are just feelings about something or an observation.  Just quickly to go through these eight questions:

#1 - Note taking.  When I was in elementary school, we had to learn how to take notes.  My teacher would write outlines on the board for us to copy.  I HATED it.  It was several years down the road when I realized how important knowing how to make an outline is.  Kids in schools don't learn this anymore.  It's too bad.  Important skill that is being lost.  One that can make report writing easier.

#2 - Of course we are here for a reason.  Why?  Too deep to go into.  There is also a very basic physical reason why we are here.  Don't understand?  Time to have a long talk with the parents.

#3 - "Prolonging the magic" - I guess is another way of saying anticipation.  Sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the actual thing.  It's like Christmas.  I love Christmas day, but the month long anticipation leading up to it is even better.  I guess in the phrase "prolonging the magic" is not quite the same.  It would be like waking up on Christmas morning and finding out you can't open presents or eat the turkey dinner until tomorrow, when Grandma is scheduled to arrive into town.

#4 - Have I ever done something just to feel the danger?  Not really.  Nothing dangerous anyway.  I guess I've done some things slightly on the rebellious side just to do it.  I suppose driving the golf-cart-like vehicle in the dark, at it's highest speed through the walking paths of the park I work at, just because I can, could be an example of this.  Not necessarily dangerous, though.

#5 - Favorite cliché?  "It never rains but it pours."

#6  - How do rainy days make me feel? I love rainy days.  They make me happy. They can fuel my sadness if I'm having a sad day.  They can make me feel nostalgic.  They make me think of magic, too.  Not magic tricks, but like magic in a wonderful fairy tale.  Hard to explain.....

#7 - The most amount of money I've ever had at one time?  I don't really know.  In my hands?  In my bank account?  Stashed away in a secret hiding place in my room?  Don't know.  Not telling.

#8 - Celebrity crush list?  Not putting that here.  I have one, don't get me wrong, but it will not be revealed here.  Sorry.

No reason for this post.  I was looking through a list of journal-prompts.  Some of them inspire deep thoughts.  Many I found among the list, I wouldn't want to answer, such as "If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?"  First off, I don't really know.  Secondly, I know it could never happen, so why torture myself with the idea.  Thirdly, if I could, most of the world wouldn't care what it was I had to say.  Fourth, I don't think it is a question that should ever have an answer.  If we only have one thing in our lives to say, our minds aren't thinking creatively anymore and I couldn't bear that.

Can I live in Middle Earth, please?

After a mostly dry monsoon season, we've had some weather the last few days.  We were told to expect an epic storm last night.  Perhaps what we experienced last night was epic for the area, but it was nothing more than a thunderstorm that lasted for about 5 minutes.  I love a good thunderstorm and last night's was just too short.  I guess I'll take what I can get out here.

I love the woods.  Living in a small cabin, deep in a green forest with a stream running close to the cabin is, to me, a lovely idea.  If I could, I would have a summer cabin like this.  I want to sit under the eave of the cabin, with my loom and weave the hours away while listening to the wind blowing through the trees and the stream gurgling as it runs past the cabin.  At night, I would drink hot chocolate while reading and/or writing by the light of the fire in the hearth.  Doesn't that sound idyllic? Of course, I might get bored weaving every hour of every day, so I would also have a garden to tend, I would learn to spin and I would take long walks through the woods.

What a lovely idea.  Of course, I know that living this way has its hazards.  There are wild animals to fear, one must hunt for food, there are the elements to fight, and I suppose after a while, I would get lonely.  I don't really like the idea of wild animals or being at the mercy of the elements, but to live that way I would have to accept such realities.  Plus, I like clean clothes, but I don't fancy the idea of hand scrubbing everything.

After much thinking, I realized I want to be an elf who lives in Tolkien's Middle Earth.  They live in beauty and have much control of their environment.  The elements do not bother them and they are skilled in protecting themselves if something evil should cross their borders.  Yes, I want to be a Rivendell Elf.  Surrounded by beauty, art and music. 

September 22 is Hobbit Day.  I plan on celebrating Hobbit Day by not wearing shoes, making and eating seed cake and not having any adventures or doing anything unexpected.  Since I'm not into the brewing of ale or the smoking of pipeweed, I will brew root beer and light a scented candle in whose fragrance I can enjoy.

Of course there will be real life to attend to and I will be required to drive kids to school, home from school, and to the various activities that several of them have that evening.  No matter.  A Hobbit does not let such things dampen their spirits when it is a day of celebration.

My dream home:

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

photograph by Nuno Silva

http://nunovix.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1bpax

Philosophy by Molly: The Sphere

I graduated from college at the age of 21.  I was young, yes, but I was married and had two college degrees.  I knew all I needed to know.


Or so I thought.

At that time, I knew I wanted a Master’s degree in library science.  I wasn’t able to do that school of study at the time and it has waited until now.  I still want that degree, but since then, I have found there are so many awesome things out in the world to study and learn about.  Areas of study that I never knew about when I was 21.  Since then, I’ve learned about linguistics and the fascinating history and evolution of languages.  I wish I had known about that in college.  I would have taken a class to learn more about it.

I now realize that I was very limited in my “sphere” of knowledge.  My mother was a teacher.  My parents are smart people.  They taught me many things.  But I got to college and met someone who was going to study Interpersonal Communications.  I had no idea what that meant.  How did he find out about that kind of degree? His sphere of experiences was quite different from my own.  My parents taught me what they could from their sphere of knowledge and experience and that is what I went out into the wide world with.

Mom and Dad aren’t into spicy foods.  So, most of the foods I ate fit into the “mild” category.  I met my husband, who loved extra sharp cheddar cheese and spicy foods.  I found a new side to food I had never known and liked it!  Hubby had never listened to The Beatles growing up.  His parent’s weren’t Beatles people.  Mine were, so I grew up with The Beatles.  I had never heard of Pink Floyd until my husband introduced me to it.  Now, we are both Beatles and Pink Floyd fans.  We shared our favorite books with each other.  Hubby had never read The Never Ending Story and I had never read The Lord of the Rings.  Now we have.

I grew up in a big city with plenty of opportunities for culture – symphonies, theater, art and museums.  My husband grew up in a tiny town in the western USA.  He knew about camping in the wilderness and not in a state park.  We each had our spheres and when we married, we combined those spheres into a much larger one.

I look at my children.  They have had experiences that I never could have imagined.  We’ve moved around the country and have lived on the East Coast, the western desert, and a Pacific island.  We’ve hosted five exchange students from four different countries.  We’ve explored new foods, talked about many areas of study, and introduced them to a wide variety of music. I believe my children’s sphere of knowledge and experience when they leave home is going to be much larger than mine was when I left home.

Still, I have no doubt that my children will get out in the world and discover new things.  I hope their sphere will continue to grow.  It’s an amazing world out there.

Entry #500 and a guest blogger

After thinking about how I could celebrate my 500^th blog entry, I decided to have a guest blogger – my 13 year old son. 

As I’ve mentioned before this son is funny.  A natural ham.  His is also very smart.  I hope that as he continues to grow and learn, he will use his talents and brain for good.  I’m proud of his accomplishments.  He just gets funner to be with each year he grows older.  So, without further ado, I’m happy to present my son, whom will now be known as Stonehelm the Wise.

Philosophy of Life according to me:

When doing a maze begin at the end and go on till you come to the beginning; then cheer like a lunatic.

Believe in yourself when seeking the truth.  Party when you find it.

When the student is not ready, then school appears.

If you think you're free, do not get caught by the cops!

If you chase two rabbits, be sure to bring a gun.

The 4 elements of summer: 1. Cook-offs 2. Watermelon 3. Root beer 4. Sunburns.

The best things in life are groovy.

Music energizes the soul. Silence is just plain creepy.

Ninjas are good, pirates are bad!

Irish Oxter Song

(To the tune of “Rubber Ducky”)

Irish spring, you're the one!
You make oxters so much fun!
You make me smell like
beer and bacon toooo!

Irish Spring, for a bit
You make me smell like armpit
I like it so that makes
It okkkkkkkkk!

HEY!

(Molly here: Oxter is the Gaelic word for armpit, and son’s favorite deodorant is Irish Spring)

Stonehelm the Wise just started his own blog.  Take a look and enjoy the laugh you are sure to get.

Philosophical ideas

About a year ago, I discovered the Philosophy and Pop Culture series.  Before then, I had never studied philosophy and really didn't know much about it.  These series of books are essays people have written about the pop culture topic.

I started with The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy.  I loved it.  I didn't understand everything they talked about.  I haven't studied philosophy before and I don't know the different philosophers. Some of the essays I didn't agree with the view of the author.  Some of them really caused me to think deeply about various topics.  I loved those.  I started thinking in a more philosophical way.  Why couldn't Uncle Andrew understand the animals when they spoke, but the children could?  Deep, deep thoughts at work here.

Since then, I've read The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy, and I'm currently reading Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy and Pink Floyd and Philosophy.  The next one I want to read is The Beatles and Philosophy!

The Lord of the Rings wasn't quite as good as I had hoped it could be.  The Alice in Wonderland has been challenging to read.  It deals with nonsense and logic, as the Alice stories do.  I'm just not up on all the "great" philosophers and their theories.  I don't understand a lot of it.  It is highly illogical to me, but I'm not sure if it's nonsense or not.  Pink Floyd has been interesting.  I don't know their music that well, but such interesting music with such bizarre words and thoughts have lead to some seriously interesting essays.  I've only read a few, but I've liked them.  One of them discussed how music can form images in our heads.  Sometimes in the form of pictures and sometimes in the form of notes, music, or time.  I have found with me, there are a few specific songs that have the power to form images in my head.  When I tried to explain this to my Hubby, I just sounded dumb. This book has shown me that I'm not the only one who has that experience with music.  Weird and fascinating all at the same time.

We also have in our library Star Wars and Philosophy.  My 13 year old is attempting to read this.  I'll read it when he is done.  I would love to see a NeverEnding Story and Philosophy.  I'm sure that would be very interesting.

I never thought of myself as philosophical until I started reading these books and realized that I do have a tendency to think deeply in a philosophical way sometimes.  For good or for bad, I love to philosophise.  My husband and I are very different in several ways.  I've pondered what it is that makes me obsess about some thing in particular and Hubby doesn't give the same idea a second thought.  Hmmm, deep thinking at work here.  Too bad I'm not articulate enough to explain my ideas here like the authors of the essays in the book.

If you will excuse me, I'm going to go ponder this problem for a while.