“She was not a slowpoke grownup. She was a girl who could not wait. Life was so interesting she had to find out what happened next.”
–Beverly Cleary
Life is full of them…those mostly metaphorical peaks and valleys.
I must keep this brief. My laptop appears to be in full-blown destruct mode, but at least I’ve still got my phone.
For another share of my song to a fresh group of blog readers, thanks to Steph from:
Don’t Look Back A Song – Bold Blind Beauty
For another successful lesson. Having two in a row is a definite improvement, to start with.
I’ve learned all of “Twinkle Twinkle” now and I am particularly thankful for the patience of my teacher.
She sits with me and repeatedly corrects and informs and instructs. I needed to work on wrist movement, in particular, and she tried to help me with what she called the “peaks and valleys” action of the wrist. It has to do with the amount of pressure put on the bow as it slides back and forth across the strings.
I don’t do as well at practicing all that on my own, at home, without her being right there to correct me when I am losing the flow and moving off the mark, and I start to forget proper technique, by the time another week rolls around, which leaves me feeling as if I am right back where I started from. I suppose that’s not the case, but clearly, at this early point, I need her instruction to keep me on track.
To whom all of this comes second nature to, I imagine she has to have a certain something to be able to teach what she, herself, has known since she was much younger.
For children’s stories that I grew up on, like so many story lovers.
Beverly Cleary turned 100 this week and she is still going strong. Just such a landmark milestone deserves recognition.
100 amazing facts for Beverly Cleary’s 100th birthday
My brother and I grew up reading her books. Children’s fiction IS Beverly Cleary.
For my own personal, neighbourhood clothing boutique – soon to open.
🙂
Shopping, for clothes for me, it’s not easy. I can’t see the merchandise and I don’t know what looks good on my body shape.
Sure, I know things I like, am not lacking when it comes to opinions, trust me. It’s just difficult to know where to start when you can’t see what you’re doing.
I have my sister, who is really one of the only people I trust. She is only two years older than me and we have always shared clothes, even after we no longer lived together, but she has a family and a life and I hate to always depend all on her.
I could go the online shopping path, but still I can’t see the items on the screen, and they don’t always have enough information to base decisions on.
Yes, a small issue, but we all have issues when it comes to shopping for something to wear, but now I have a personal connection, right in my town. Hope to find out more in the weeks and months to come.
For a guest post on a blog I’ve long admired.
How I Found The Courage To Break It Off & Take A Chance On Myself – Single Strides
It’s strange I talk about remembering where I was when the earthquake in Japan of 2011 happened, and then they have another one, five years later, to the exact day that I am featured on this blog.
For a day with my nephew. He begins school in the fall )boy does time fly) and there won’t be any more of these days left.
I complain a lot that my life, my days aren’t filled the way others/ are, how I’d like, but at least I have that flexibility to be with him while I still can.
For brief flashes of time.
My laptop began to self-destruct, it’s true, but I still had 5-10 seconds where my voice software would speak, in which to read or write, before the whole thing would go silent.
The machine I’ve been loaned, after my mishap last year, is something like ten years old. It has started making this revving noise. Not good.
But at least I could publish smaller blog posts, very brief, but still something.
For the strong women of past and present.
This week, both on the same day, was also a birthday for Anne Sullivan and Emma Watson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Sullivan
These are both women I admire. Anne was the famous teacher for Helen Keller and Emma Watson IS Hermione Granger, in the “Harry Potter” films.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Watson
She is now doing great things for women and all of equal rights and humanity, if I may be so bold.
Both these women are feminists in my opinion. They both worked/work hard to show that female does not have to equal less than or incapable of bringing about a change in the world.
For the chance to cheer up a friend who was having a particularly bad day, when I shared my song with him.
This friend is currently going through some hard times, and they could relate to my lyrics.
I wrote this song for the same reason I love to listen to music by other people. It soothes me and I wrote
in the hopes of offering a few minutes of comfort to another.
For the brief flashes of time that VoiceOver works, which now seems to be back to longer periods, just so very suddenly, as I write this.
I started out this post, thinking it might take me all night to put together, as I could only do a few seconds at a time and then had to let the laptop rest before attempting it again.
Oh how tedious.
😦
Well, suddenly now it is letting me write for an extended amount of time, just like it did on Thursday night, but by Friday it was back to its destructive behaviour.
Not sure how long this most recent improvement will last, but I am taking full advantage while the good times roll.
🙂
Now, I may just write long into the night, as who knows what fun this trusty old laptop has in store for me when I wake.
“Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not thee one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.”
–Anne Sullivan
Her Headache 
Oh my lap top is dying a very slow death too! I think it has something to do with dust. A computer friend of ours said that every couple of years you need to get it “blown out”. We had a lot of renovations done and he said that drywall dust had probably got in to it. What happens is it overheats and then the driver basically says “Screen shut down. Performing crash dump” and then I have a heart attack for like a half hour.
I cannot play an instrument to save my life. I tried the clarinet but was grossed out with the spit valve and was like “no thank you”.
Shopping — I honestly never even thought of it. Something that I do without thought…I won’t ever take that for granted.
I hope that you have a wonderful week.
I was asked if I’ve recently taken up smoking, as apparently tar can get into the fan. I have not.
🙂
Yes. I prefer the violin and the bow to the clarinet. I play the clarinet in high school, but I didn’t like it for exactly your reason.
Sorry about the laptop – how sad is it that we feel so crippled without them? Mine is slowly but surely telling me it’s time to replace, too.
Have a great week – practice that violin!
Very sad. Oh the times…
😉
I had my lesson tonight and even if I didn’t notice the improvement, she did.
😊
practice is always tough… in the midst of (a) lesson, it’s always so clear, understandable and duplicatable…. then, even though you know it had it, it somehow disappears.
I used to then practice up to where I forgot-how-to-do-that, hoping that momentum would jog my memory! very frustrating, but eventually, with practice I was able to forget more and more complex parts…lol
total respect for your taking on the violin! 2 ‘unguided’ physical parts to learn! (I had piano lesson, pretty simple in that the note was in the same place every time! But non-fretted instruments? ayiiee!
keep up the good effort.
(I liked your Anne Sullivan quote. In a similar vein, I try to remember a martial arts admonition, ‘get knocked down 10 times, get up 11’ simple and direct.)
Thanks.
😊
I thought that particular quote fit the theme of the post.
I always enjoy your posts, they are thought-provoking and endearing. Your spirit speaks to my spirit and I honor that connection, thank you for sharing these pieces of yourself with me (with us) ❤
My pleasure.
💙💛💜
I appreciate you reading my thoughts.
I really enjoy the quotes and facts and people you populate your posts with. I always feel as though I come away richer for having read.
AUUUUGH to your laptop issues though. SO frustrating and I hope there’s some kind of quick fix you can use to make it all better and keep functioning.
And HOORAY to the upcoming boutique! Maybe they will have personal shoppers who can help (another interesting conundrum and an aspect of life I’d never before considered – how DOES one get clothing which works, if one cannot see it and has no one trustworthy to convey an opinion? Such a little thing and something I take completely for granted).