April and May by Tom Wolfe

 Since it is getting close to Easter, I wanted to talk about one of my Easter pieces.  This is "April and May" by Tom Wolfe from the Cairn Studios.  As you know, I have been collecting gnomes since I was in the 4th grade.  Those were made by Tom Clark in his Cairn Studios.  Tom Wolfe was an artist that worked in the studio that often collaborated with Clark on pieces.  Wolfe's specialty was animals so whenever you see a Cairn piece that has both gnomes and animals, chances are it was a collaboration between the two artists.  This, however, is solely a Wolfe piece.

Mom gave me this sometime in the early 90's. Every year I got several Cairn Studio pieces, and I had never received any of the animals before.  I absolutely love it. I use it every year to decorate for Easter.  Sometimes it is my centerpiece.  Sometimes I use it around the house somewhere.  But they are always out to help me celebrate the holidays. I hope it get them out this weekend as I prepare for Easter.  I'm not sure where I will use them, but rest assured that they will be displayed!

Prayer for change

 

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Set your intention to spend your day with your mind inclined to see the good everywhere. 

Quote of the Week

 

Using my exercise equipment in the garage

 One of the things that I need to work on is losing weight.  I've gained a good deal of weight over the past year and it's starting to affect my health.  My back is constantly hurting, and I know that a big part of that is because of my weight gain.  My back is not used to carrying all of this extra weight.  And, frankly, neither am I.  I don't like it and I need to fix this before it gets too out of control. It's time to start working out.  

I have some good exercise equipment in my garage and so I am working on getting the garage in order so that I can actually use the equipment in there.  I've got some free weights and there's an exercise bike in there.  Everything else is really boxing related.  I have a heavy bag, a speed bag and a double end bag.  I love using all three of them and need to use them.  It's great exercise, good cardio. And it's also a good way to release stress.  

Most people don't know that I have been a boxing fan for most of my life.  I never talked about it growing up because it did not fit into people's perceptions of who I was, so I just kept it to myself. Once I got into my 30s, I decided I wanted to explore it more.  I joined a boxing gym and trained there weekly. It was pretty awesome.  When I lost my catering job in 2017, I had to stop going because of finances.  So, I started doing things at home and using training vids on YouTube to enhance my workouts.

I just let things slide by the wayside for too long and it is time to reverse that.  I have all of this equipment that I enjoy, so get that garage cleaned and get my ass out there and shed a few pounds.  I can do it.  Will you be in my corner?  

Playing House

 I went through a period of my life when I was ashamed of the child that I was.  I hate that.  I hate that I felt that way, but it is what it is. I have worked through that and now really happily remember that child.  If you did not know me back in those days, I was a big girl.  Plain and simple.  Now, having said that, I never wanted to be a woman and I do not want to be a woman.  I was simply a very effeminate child and was drawn to things that were stereotypically for girls.  That is all. 

The reason that I am bringing this up today is because there is a part of me that is revisiting some of those childhood things that I did.  It was a time when I was very free and I was completely authentic to myself.  I thank God every day that I grew up in a time before social media.  I really doubt I would be here today if it had existed back then.  But I digress. One of the things that I loved to do was to play house. This was something that I did by myself.  It was mostly pre-kindergarten days.  Mom stayed at home in those days and while we did things together, a lot of time was also spent by myself, and I would find fun ways to occupy my time. 

I would pretend that I had a big house and all of these rooms and all of these things.  I would take care of the house.  Sweep the floors, wash the dishes, vacuum the rugs, etc. And I loved it. Mom would eventually use that to her advantage to get me to help with things around the house.  To me, it was a game.  It was something fun.  And now, as an adult, I am learning to love playing house again.  If you follow me on Facebook, you will now that I love to cook and set my table.  People have asked me why I do that if it's only for myself.  And I tell them that this is what I enjoy.  This makes me happy.  As much as I love to use the heirlooms that have been passed down to me and connecting with that history, doing this also puts me in touch with my inner child.  That child that was, in his own way, very fearless.  That brings such a sense of peace and balance to my life.

Playing house as an adult makes me happy.  Even though I don't have a partner or children, I do have family and friends.  And getting in touch with my inner child through the things I do in my house is giving me the confidence to include my family and friends in my life more. That is all. 

One Moment in Time

 Last night while I was going down my YouTube music rabbit hole, this was one of the songs that played.  Whitney Houston put out so many great songs that I often forget about this one.  It's very inspirational and wanted to start my week out with it.  Enjoy!