Voting Day

The photo is of celebrating 4th of July. I know there are a lot of messages today circulating about voting, but I am going to add one more. GET OUT AND VOTE! I plan to. Some people say this presidential election is one of the most important elections in history. I'm not sure I agree with that because our country has gone through many things, both good and bad. But our current economic situation, along with our country's foreign relations, does make this election an important one. Next to those two issues is our health care climate. I was not happy with the passing of the current administration's "Affordable Health Bill", but I hope people are not naive enough to believe it can be undone quickly. I know people who are voting for Romney because they think his administration can undo the bill before all of it is in place in 2014. That gives the administration only one year. Even if it begins the process of change, something has to replace it and creating a new program to implement in a year is something I cannot fathom. Another thing I'm not sure people are really taking into account is the cost. We talk about the current deficit and want the budget to be cut, yet changing … [Read more...]

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Third-person narrative

I have an interesting writing exercise for you. It is one I use to stimulate creative word use. Take an everyday happening and describe it in a third-person narrative. The length does not matter. It can be one sentence to 250 words. Have fun! I look forward to seeing your stories.   For example, the following is a writing exercise I did while in Malaysia:   Though she missed the opportunity to spend a few more minutes with her husband, keeping him company down the elevator ride from the 24th floor to ground level and following him through the hallway, up two short flights of stairs and through the large parking garage to the front of the complex where he catches his ride to Kulim, she chose to take a morning walk anyway. Usually, she sits on the stone chairs around the concrete table on the front patio, reading the free paper provided to the residents and talking with her husband until his driver arrives, and from there embarks on her morning adventure. This morning is different. It has taken longer for her to get cleaned up and dressed than she anticipated. Shortly after he leaves, armed with her camera, bus pass and a few ringgits she follows the … [Read more...]

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Fuzing glass

Have you ever fuzed glass? I hadn't, but I recently took a class and found out how easy it is. Actually, getting out of South Minneapolis was harder than the class. Artistic creativity, which is a big deal to me, has been sneaking in through the cracks of my busy life. In the last couple of months, I took a painting class and a glass pendant class, both through the blessing of Groupon discounts. I had a hard time finding the host of the pendant class, Glass Endeavors, in South Minneapolis. It is on 31st Street in an unfamiliar area. I arrived on time, though I took a couple of wrong turns and guessed my direction. My guess work was pretty good coming in, but when I left, I took a tour through various neighborhoods as I meandered in a direction that I was hoping was west. Anyway, the fascinating part of creating the pendant is the clear coat of glass is actually under the design. The grade of glass we used melts together in the kiln and the design slips underneath the clear glass. You build the pendant in layers, with the bottom being the background color, and the clear sandwiched between that and the design. Spaghetti noodles of different colors create the straight … [Read more...]

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Date night

I had a date last night! Actually, it was yesterday afternoon. Since I get off work early in the day, my husband, Ron, met me at work and took me to the IMax theater at the Minnesota Zoo to see Born to be Wild. It's a movie about Daphne Sheldrick and her lifetime of saving orphaned elephants in Kenya, and Birute Galdikas and her work with orphaned orangutans. I was so excited that I spent the day at work telling everyone about the date! I love elephants and orangutans, but part of the excitement came from going to see a continuation of a book I read - "Walking with the Great Apes" by Sy Montgomery. The book, published in 1991, is a triple biography about three women who dedicated their lives to research and care for a single primate species - Dian Fossey, mountain gorillas; Jane Goodall, champanzees; and Galdikas, orangutans. I was going to see some of what Galdikas has done since 1991! Orangutans are an amazing animal. They look a bit awkward as they lumber along the ground, but their is a slow, patient gracefulness as they move about in the trees. They also appear to have a sense of humor. One orphan who was rescued and kept as a pet tore the kitchen up, dumping flour … [Read more...]

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