justBeConnected

Dialog Day: Doing Nothing

The Italians have an expression I love, "Il bel far niente" , which means "the beauty of doing nothing".

Hi, this is Charlotte for Dialog Day.

Americans tend toward busyness. They work hard, play hard, live hard.....it seems every waking  moment  is scheduled  for an activity or task, leaving no time for.......doing just nothing. 

By "doing nothing" I actually mean doing something just for your own enjoyment whether it's reading a book, listening to music, blogging or sitting on the patio listening to the birds sing.  Since we are all bloggers (or blog readers) I'm asking you to share the  website(s) or blog(s) you read just for fun  and why.

Not to learn, not to inform, not for inspiring you to create but just because you enjoy it.
Just because it gives you pleasure.

Mine is on my blog casa de Charlotte della luna.

Happy Thoughts

Hey, y'all!  Amber's back with another Thursday Photo Day theme.  I was channel-surfing this weekend and one of my favorite movies happened to be on - Hook.  Do you remember when the Lost Boys are trying to help Peter remember how to fly?  They tell him to think happy thoughts, and then they share some of their happy thoughts ("bugs" is always the one that stands out to me as absolutely hilarious) with him.

Well, I didn't just share that little tidbit of a movie for nothing - that's our theme this week!  Share your "happy thought" with us this week.  I'll have mine posted over here later today.

Getting to Know You Day: Tried and True Remedies

Hi everyone, it's groovyholly here hosting another week of getting to know you day here at CaC.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, things are cooling down and we're getting ready for the big chill, aka Winter! Usually with winter come colds, flus, over eating, over indulging (think Christmas and New Year's!), and just that run down, winter blues!  I'm fortunate to be very healthy (knock wood) but I usually come down with a cold or I just get run down, tired and sniffly. My tried and true remedy has always been tea. My Mum and I are from the school of "tea cures everything so drink lots of it."  Tea has always worked wonders for me, not just any tea, but the wonderful echinacea or even rose hip tea (rose hips are very high in Vitamin C) or the lovely blend for those pesky sore throats "throat comfort".   I'm also a firm believer in getting enough rest!  Women tend to be overachievers, so when our body is feeling low, we must relent and give it rest! Also, don't forget the healing power of a nice warm bath (throw some Epsom salts in there to take out the toxins in your body too)  I'm a girl who can appreciate modern medicine, but I also like to take a look at alternative medicine as well, especially since acupuncture has worked wonders for my headaches!  We all have some tried and true recipes for healing, so I'd like to hear all about them. Maybe we can learn something and keep those nasty germs at bay this winter! 

1)  What's your favorite form of therapy for when you've got a bug?
2)  Did your mother/father/grandmother/grandfather have a "cure" for certain ailments?
3)  How do you keep yourself healthy?  What special measures do you take to ensure your good health?
4)  Are there any methods of healing you've heard about that you'd like to try?
5)  Have you considered or done anything that your family/friends thought was wacky?
6)  What's one way you pamper yourself or a loved one when they're feeling under the weather? (Do you make chicken noodle soup? Grilled cheese? Let them watch tv in bed?)
7)  What helpful advice do you have for staying healthy?

I'll post my answers tomorrow, it's very late and I'm really tired.   Have fun. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.

5-A-Day Fruits and Veggies Swap-Mailing!

It's Monday, October 15 and those of you who are swapping fruits and veggies know that means:

POST OFFICE DAY



Time to gather up all your goodies, don't forget your recipe card, box it all up and mail it out to your partner who is anxiously waiting!  If you're going to be late for whatever reason, please be sure and email me so we're all on the same page. 

A little reminder: When you get your package, posting a picture and a little description on your blog/flickr/etc. is a nice way to thank your partner and I'll be showcasing those show-and-tells here next Monday.

Have a safe trip, Fruits and Veggies!

Saturday Try Day: Comment

Some times I like to look back through old posts here, at CAC.  I like to remember the ones that I took part in and consider "catching up" on some of the posts that I missed.  Something that I have noticed when doing that this week is that there used to be A LOT of comments posted here.  Like 40, 50, 60.  Recently it seems like those Comments have dwindled down.  The past several posts have had like, 4, 2, 0, 1, 4 comments each.

I know that I myself am often lax in commenting.  Sometimes it is because I don't have anything more to contribute to a post than what has already been said.  Sometimes I want to take the time to write something really meaningful, and then I forget...

I know that there are a lot of people who read this blog.  I REALLY KNOW that there are tons of people who love Melba and want to continue supporting her efforts here.  I mean, just look at the side bar of blog links.  And that is just the icing on the cake! 

This weekend, while she is away at The Creative Bazaar, maybe we can all surprise her.  For today's Try Day, I would like to request that EVERYONE post a comment here.    Seriously, whether or not you have commented before, whether you feel like you have something to say or not, whoever you are, PLEASE, leave a comment for our girl.  Tell her you love her, tell her she has awesome hair.  Tell her that you don't know her, but think she is cool.  If you don't have anything else to say, just say hi! 

For this weekend's try day, I CHALLENGE YOU...can we get over 100 comments on this post?  Pretty please?  If we do, I promise to choose a winner (completely at random), and I promise to mail them a fabu goodie! 

What are you waiting for?  Start commenting!!!

Dialog Day: Life Cards

Hi, it's  Charlotte once again with Dialog Day for Friday. The subject today is......You, of course!

While cleaning out a drawer the other day, I discovered a packet of business cards from back in the day when I had a little craft business. It made me smile because they were frilly Victorian style cards influenced by my frilly Victorian phase. A decade later I had very streamlined modern business cards for my job in corporate healthcare. 

Now I have no cards nor do I want any but I've been thinking how cool it would be if there were such things as Life Cards. A little something to give to new acquaintances or to include in gifts that would represent you, your life, your philosophy. Instead of telling the world what your employment is, it would tell the world what your heart is, what your soul is. You know, the really important stuff.

So I'm wondering, what would you inscribe on your Life Card?

What would my Life Card say?

Thursday Photo Day: Something New

Hey, y'all!  Me again, Amber, here with another Thursday Photo Day.  This week I've been trying new things and getting to know a new city, and I thought it would be a good theme for this week's photo day to post a picture of something new to you.  A new food you had never tried before, a new pair of shoes you love, a new friend you just met, anything that is new to you.  I'll be posting my pics later today over here.

Getting to Know You Day: Aromatherapy

Hello again everyone, it's me, groovyholly, your host this month for Getting to Know You day.  I got to thinking after my last entry and questions and wondered if anyone has ever really thought about the role that scents and aromas play in our lives.  I can remember my Mum telling me that our sense of smell was our most powerful of all our senses. I found this article here about using scents to help the quality of life for Alzheimer patients. I am fascinated with the power of scents and have always been able to recall wonderful memories simply by catching a whiff of a comforting scent, scientists are really starting to catch on to the power of scents and memories.  I worked with a young man who had lost his sense of smell in a motor cycle accident and recalled him saying he rarely ate, he had no appetite since he lost his sense of smell.  He often said food had no taste without being able to smell it.  How would we function without our sense of smell?  I think we overlook this very significant sense when we think of all of our senses. So today's questions focus on how powerful our sense of smell is and what memories and sensations are evoked when we catch the scent that brings us back to childhood.

1)  Throughout childhood and even adulthood certain people always smelled different to us, what scents remind you of a loved one?
2)  Are there any scents that remind you of a special place or time in your life?
3)  What are some comforting smells for you?
4)  Do you use any form of aromatherapy in your home or throughout the day?
5)  What scents evoke the most powerful memories for you?
6)  What are some of your favorite scents/smells?
7)  If you had to describe yourself as a scent (or combination), what scents would you be?

Well, hopefully those questions got you thinking and maybe reminiscing a little bit too.  My answers are posted here. See you next week.

Interview Day - Crafting With Love

Hi everyone!

I’m Jana, and I’m your host for Interview Days this month!  I didn’t really introduce myself to you all last week, so let me stop for just a second to tell you a little about moi!

My name is Jana, and I’m from

Indiana

… (hehe, that rhymed!) I’m engaged to be married in June, and loving the life I have.  I’m pretty new to the creative life, and am officially launching my creative business this weekend at the Creative Bazaar!

Now, onto the interview!  Who are we interviewing?  My awesomely supportive and creatively blossoming friend, Jami!

Hi Jami, and welcome to Create a Connection.  Thanks for interrupting your busy schedule to meet us here today.  You’re a pretty busy gal these days, huh?

Yes! This year, I've been realizing my dream to be a swing dancer. Going to practices and lessons and dances and just recently joining the Charleston Chasers swing dance troupe. I'm really proud of that, and really expect to learn so much within the next year.

I hear that you have taken up another new craft!  Can you tell us about it?

My friend Jennifer wanted to take up knitting, so she had me sit down with her to watch a how-to-knit video online. She's been doing well with the traditional needles approach, finding that looms limit her creativity, but I've been knitting exclusively on round looms for the past two months, or so.

It's like knitting cheating, really.

So what are you making now?

I am working on a scarf on one loom, and a beaded hat on the other.

I've made my husband 2 hats, and threatened him with more. A hat and scarf set for my mother-in-law. I just need to finish off the ends of that scarf for her and it will be complete. I've made mostly hats and scarves, and learned something with each one.

So are there any unexpected benefits to your new creative outlet?

Well, I've been getting closer to the memory of my late grandmother. Sometimes it seems like it's easy to let the memories of former family members just move along. But now I feel closer to my family history.  I inherited some of her yarn and my needles for my birthday. So, I like being part of my heritage, in a line of crafsty women. It's almost like I can smell my grandma after her bath (Dove and talcum powder), knitting on the couch under her bright light placed "just so", "watching TV". I like that a lot.

Jami, the reason I choose you to be interviewed this week, is what you DO with the things you make.  I always hear you saying you're making something to GIVE to someone.  What inspired you to use your new craft to bless others?

Well, what I love most about the raspberry "beret" that my friend Victoria made for me is that she had me in mind when she took the time to pick out the yarn and make me something that would make me happy. She knew I liked the big ol' floppy pompom, and she made one for me.

I love that aspect of knitting, that I can maybe make someone's day a little more bright, knowing that I cared.

I know sometimes people think that "Oh, a HANDmade gift is cheaper" and really look down on that, but I don't think they've checked out the price of yarn, lately. I also think that's really rude, because it doesn't take into account all the heart that goes into a knitted item, no matter if it is a hat or a blanket or a really intricate sweater.

So, I think your readers really get that...they understand that creativity is sometimes more than making themselves happy...it's putting their love into a work of art made specially for someone else.

I've really enjoyed tapping into that with knitting. Even if I'm cheating at it.

Feel free to visit Jami at her blog, and give her hugs.

5-A-Day Fruits and Veggies swap partners!

First I must say I am sorry this is posted so late in the day.  I hope no one has fainted from holding their breath.  But here they are, our partner assignments!  Everyone should have received an email from me with their information.  If you have not gotten an email from me, please let me know.

Jenna (Hostess) will be sending to Melba
Melba with be sending to Marie
Marie will be sending to Tammy
Tammy will be sending to  lovie
lovie with be sending to fabulousJEN*
fabulousJEN* will be sending to  Katie
Katie will be sending to Tiffany
Tiffany will be sending to Carolee
Carolee will be sending to Jenna

Your swap package must include:
at least one fruit and/or veggie themed item (preferably handmade)
AND
at least one recipe that features fruits and/or veggies

and whatever other goodies you would like to include.

Send out packages by October 15th, 2007