Your prompt for JusJoJan January 4th, 2026 is “arms.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
One of my favorite stupid jokes came around when my kids were in grade school. Long ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Where does Admiral Ackbar hide his armies?
In his sleevies.
Okay, that wasn’t the prompt.
According to Linda: Today’s prompt is courtesy of the most charming Cheryl. Thank you, Cheryl! Please be sure to visit Cheryl’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already
Why is it that these appendages bring so many visuals? Cheryl talks of the warmth of loving arms. Yet as in the joke above it brings up groups of military troops. Or weapons. Or parts of chairs?
But, I like Cheryl’s take best. Nothing is better than being held or holding loved ones even pets in our arms.
Today is the day I reflect on possibilities. I don’t resolve. I have never found change in pure willfulness. Instead, I think globally, universally, and down to cellular possibilities. The things I want to delve into with thought, prayer, and desire. Some say cellular is universal. Reflecting on how the atom looks like a solar system keeps my thoughts meandering. When we think of the word ‘enthusiasm,’ we learn that it breaks down to ‘God in you.’ And that is when I draw the conclusion that if I feel excited, and if I spend the time being mindful about it, I can breathe a spark into a flame. Writing about the ideas helps me to decide if it’s worth it for me. We can’t be everything; we can’t be perfect. But we can grow in areas we feel drawn to.
Last year, in October 2024, on the advice of a friend (thanks, Yve), I found an old financial journal and turned I into a piano journal. In a few days, I will have filled all the pages. I started by sitting at the piano just long enough to enjoy the feeling. Sometimes that was to play a scale or diddy, as long as I could feel the joy. The minute it felt like work, or was in any way painful, I got up and walked away to do something else I might enjoy. But I wrote the bits I did, how long, feelings about the piece, and a bit of a grade of how well I did. Not to judge myself, but to watch for improvement and have a recording of what worked for me.
I have gained confidence and skill, going from five-minute gigs to over an hour. I even did a couple two-hours stints. I loved being deeply into the music, filling my heart with beauty. Not of my skill, but how it all works. I will be looking for a new music journal. It doesn’t need to be much, and I am sure I have an empty something with lines around here.
What I won’t use is my everything journal. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. Isn’t it gorgeous? It came with its own pen (I may replace it with an erasable, as a perfect journal will hurt me if I have a bunch of scratch-outs).
Now I need to write my first entry. Shh! No peeking! Possibilities are popping. And I must meet them with mindfulness to cultivate enthusiasm. New habits await.
Decades ago I was in this community musical. Just chorus, but it was so fun. Oliver songs make me so happy. Even if singing about poverty, codependency, and stealing don’t seem appropriate topics to have any glee about.
Peck and puck are left over. But Shakespeare did give us the hockey puck, yes?🤣 Okay, be nice. I do have chickens who could peck… the seeds at your feet. Why didn’t this stream take me anywhere? Guess I’ll just pack it in now.
Without notifications, I wouldn’t be online at all. I turn them off on most apps as it is just too much online time. The only ones I respond to are comments. Even then, I’m horrid at keeping up. My eyes still don’t like reading either on the phone or computer.
Sorry my jot needed more. But that was all I came up with.🥺
On days like today you can see clearly that it is the small things that make all the difference.
The small thing I’m referring to today weighted in a little less than 8 pounds, and a head full of hair. I can’t believe it was- um-a long time ago this day. Most of my small things are near or at middle aged. Give a mother a break. Who worked harder that day the birther or birthee? Happy Birthday big guy. Glad we got to talk today
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 10th, 2025 is “echo.” Use it any way you’d like. Thank you, Dan for the prompt! Please be sure to visit Dan’s blog. Enjoy!
Let’s try an echo from the past. It is Friday. So how about Finishing Friday? Best I could do on short notice.
So, smiling turtle is coming along. The bottom is almost done.
These slipper socks were supposed to be for my son, but I found they fit me instead.
They are comfy!
Just as I was going to restart my son’s sox, but my brother, who lives with us, asked for a pair. So I’ll make his first. They are coming along.
I’m trying to teach myself to improvise and play something more modern than classical. Modern beats are hard for me. I’ll get there.
For a while, I had to do very little as the bottom two knuckles of my left thumb started hurting. It went up my arm, all the joints and into the scapula. So all knitting, crocheting, even violin, and ukulele had to stop. Even the piano hurt when I’d hit notes too hard on the side of the thumb. It made me so sad.
Luckily, it is getting better. But I’m still giving the crochet and the strings a break. Meanwhile, I’m trying morning bed yoga and include hand, arms, and shoulder stretches. That is helping the sciatica stabs, too.
Back to the prompt. I wish I could go somewhere to hear an echo. Somewhere so in Nature and isolated that a whisper would repeat back. It is such a great sensation to live through. I’ve been in caves that had that kind of sound. And the acoustics were so great that when my mom and I sang out it sounded like the most beautiful sound ever.
I can’t even go to town, make phone calls, or answer calls that are not from friends or family. Certainly, even though I took two years of speech, I cannot get up and give a speech. So many things I can’t do because social anxiety can make me all sweaty and shaky. All words leave me.
But I can sing when I have practiced and love the song. I’ve even done some soloing. Just as long as there is a distance between me and the audience, I don’t have to talk to anyone afterward. I’ve loved being in a couple of musicals. Given the chance to exercise my voice and memorize the words, I could work up SHY with gusto. But clap, and I will return to hiding in the corner, reading my books.
This was a fun space adventure. Most of it is planet-bound, but quick spoiler: there will be space.
Look, this is a fast-paced book. The narrator, Emily Woo Zeller, seamlessly switches characters and emotions. I’m sure the paper book is good, but I have to admit that I can’t imagine not hearing it. But it made a bad bedtime book. I didn’t want to put it away. I probably should have been a book for three nights, but I couldn’t stop.
The main character, Noa, is quite persnickety, but that is required of the movement leader and the spaceship’s pilot. But it gets in her way. She doesn’t know who to trust. All she knows is she needs to save people from being tortured or killed. Noa is flawed but likable. I found myself rooting for her.
If you get the chance to read/listen to the book, I think you will love it, too. It is on Audible. Please give it a try.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
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