I have had 3 times in my life I have had to learn to 'dance' again. I don't think mine have been beautiful dances but more haphazard hopping around.
Everybody has traumatic experiences in their lives - they have 'weathered' all types of 'storms'.
I have 'weathered' the worst 'storm' I will ever have to survive, and I dance on...but sometimes I droop a bit, or maybe trip, but with God's help I stay on the dance floor.
This metaphor reminds me of the song Lord of The Dance. It is a beautiful song and tune. You can listen to it here, sung by John McDermott.
In the 1990's Michael Flatley, of Riverdance made the tune really popular with his Lord of the Dance tap routines. You can see one of his last performances here.
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| Cute pig picture source |
Wednesday already. My aim is to write a post to publish every Wednesday. Saturday was just not practical. It does take a bit of thought to write about things when nothing much happens in your life, speaking of which it has been a non-eventful week - too hot to do anything much. We cancelled Jade's proposed birthday night on Saturday as I don't have air-conditioning and it was extremely hot. We are experiencing the hottest summer on record.
Craft
The crocheted cardigan is coming on. (Click here to see the last post for details.)
Crocheting small flowers to decorate cards is the next project I have started.
For various reasons I am spending quite a lot of time at Peter's. I have offered to design and make Peter a low maintenance garden so he wouldn't have so much to mow, but as yet he has failed to take me up on the offer. So there is plenty of time to spend on craft projects, and I get bored doing the one thing so I have also made some polymer clay toadstools ready for some more projects.
Plants
Sunday was largely spent recovering from Saturday's heat. Peter and I popped around to Rhiannon and Bill's and Rhiannon had a new 'planter' on her fence.
This was a cows pelvis turned into a 'planter' for Spanish Moss.
Rhiannon has a collection of these bony 'planters' along her back fence with various succulents and Spanish Moss attached to them.
Jade and I potted up these succulents below, before Christmas and they have grown quite considerably. I prettied a couple of them up with dragonflies and toadstools, for gifts.
Decorating
Bunnings is my favourite shop (followed closely by Officeworks and then Aldi). My last trip to Bunnings saw me purchasing a box full of Gloss White and Aluminium spray paint for about $25. This should last me for ages.
I am in the process of spraying the surrounds of a cane mirror from The Salvos.
It was white but had yellowed over the years, so I began by giving it a coat of Aluminium. I find this seems to give objects a really good base for Gloss White.
The mirror itself is covered with glad wrap which was poked under the edge of the cane to keep it clear of paint. I hope it works. Now it just needs a few coats of white. I have just the place for it.
Poems
When I came across this poem, "Praise Song for the Day" , by Elizabeth Alexander, I didn't realise it was written for President Obama's inauguration. I actually thought it was written in 1962 which turned out to be the poet's year of birth. It was actually written in 2009. So I think it is a poem that crosses the boundaries of time.
Praise Song for the Day
Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.
We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.
I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.
Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?
Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.
When I read a poem, and it makes me feel or see something, at first it may not be easy to put it into words.
But I like this poem because it makes me feel positive. It talks about the day by day things, the sacrifices made in the past, and the possibilities of a bright future.
Our move into the future is a combined effort, with all of us involved, as we go around our day to day business. The poet asks the question, 'What if the mightiest word is love?'
While it is written for the people of the USA it seems relevant to us as we have a similar society and are linked so closely to USA. It is also a poem relevant to each individual reading it. We all want, 'something better down the road...where we are safe'. We all 'walk into that which we cannot see yet'. None of us knows the future.
But,'on the brink, on the brim, on the cusp' of something new, we hope we are all 'walking forward into the light.'
Let's just hope that 'on the brink' of Trump era, we are indeed 'walking forward into the light' and not backwards into the darkness.
'What if the mightiest word is love?'
Pigs in love picture source.
By way of finishing I would just like to tell you about Powershop. I changed
to them from Origin where I was spending around $125 a month on
electricity. By changing to Powershop it cost me $98 from 1st January to
13th February - around 6 weeks. It is a very different type of electricity
provider. You can purchase your electricity before you use it if you wish. I
changed over on line and was so pleased with my saving I just thought it was
worth mentioning.
Interesting sites
1.
Americans move away from meat.
The way Americans think about food is changing.They are moving away from meat toward a more plant based diet. Click here.2.
Presidential butterfly
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| Photo source |
3.
Tiny DIY Trailer Home
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| Photo source |
