Prattlings – Page 7 – Random Thoughts

Each Day is a Sentence

each day is a sentence Each day in our life is important and it’s a shame that we waste so many of them. I’m guilty too, we all are. Occasionally I read about some extraordinary person who claims to live every day to its fullest, wasting nothing. The most successful people around claim to wring the most out of every hour.

I don’t know that it’s necessary for everyone to be one of these Ultra-A Types, but we do need to be aware that each day of life is important. Each day becomes part of the foundation upon which our tomorrows are built. Each day we add another piece to the structure. We choose whether the day will be one of regrets, accomplishment, or sloth. As we build, we shape the eventual outcome. Continue reading “Each Day is a Sentence”

Difficult Does Not Mean Impossible

Difficult does not mean impossible All too many times we look at a situation or task and say, “That’s impossible”, but what we really mean to say is “that’s too difficult for me” because there have been many times that the impossible only remained impossible until someone did it.

At one time, the “experts” insisted that man could not fly. Then others invented the hot air balloon and the airplane. Then the experts insisted that the airplane would never fly faster than the speed of sound. Then others developed sleeker plane bodies and stronger materials, and now jet fighters routinely fly faster than sound. There are so many examples where greater understanding made the impossible possible. But someone had to believe it was possible and work hard to find the way.

I know a couple of fellas: Dan Netherland and his son Chad who hold numerous Guinness World Records for feats of strength and doing what others could not. Both will tell you that they accomplished this through training and perseverance. Hard work.

J.K. Rowling (an author you may be aware of) gave a commencement speech at Harvard University in 2008 in which she lauded the benefits of failure and hard work. In case you missed it:

You and I may not be revolutionary aircraft designers, or superhuman, or billionaire authors (yet), in fact we may often look at the road ahead and lament, “Oh, this is impossible!” But, we can look around and see that the impossible is done on a regular basis. Doing the impossible — even when it’s a matter of being so for me, given my circumstances and skills — doesn’t mean it can’t be done: just that it takes more work than would something easier.

If it is really important, don’t give up. Don’t get sidetracked. Don’t allow set-backs to dissuade you. Thomas Edison is quoted, in regards to the light bulb, as saying, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Eventually, he found a way that did work and accomplished the impossible. So can we.

You Can’t Have That

Marie drove our truck to work, as usual, but I needed some stuff so I borrowed Mom’s car. I wasn’t going to be hauling lumber or anything.

I wanted a surge-suppressor, power strip for my new desk. I’d found one on Amazon: a Belkin model with 8 outlets spaced so at least one will work with a power brick and not cover another plug and it has a 90° wall-plug so it will allow the desk to sit closer to the wall. Good price too, but will take a week or so to get here and I have to pay shipping unless I order $35.00 worth of stuff to get the free shipping. I didn’t need $35 worth of stuff and it really rankles me to pay $6.00 shipping on a $9.00 item.

I looked on the (cringe) Wal-Mart web site. It showed a 6 outlet model of the same brand. It was on sale (being closed out, quantity limited) but it showed the Newport store carried it and had some in stock.

Wal-Mart was my first stop. Continue reading “You Can’t Have That”

The Writer’s Corner, A Work Space of One’s Own

Writers Desk I have always said that a serious writer needs a work space of one’s own in which to write. For one thing you need a place that is out of the main flow of family life where distractions abound. For another, if you work on the dining room table, you are always having to pack up your stuff and move out of the way. This is not much of an issue if you only write short pieces and have little in the way of notes to keep up with. But if you write longer or complex pieces – or a novel – you use a good bit of material you must pack away every time you pack off.

I have an office of my own in the building that is my woodshop: an old mobile home a 100 foot walk from door to door. That room served as my office for furniture making: communicating with customers, designing furniture pieces, ordering parts and materials, bookkeeping, and file storage. It also had a mini kitchen (tiny fridge, toaster oven, and a coffee maker) so I didn’t have to trudge through snow, rain, and mud to get home for lunch (and mess up the house).

This had many advantages. Continue reading “The Writer’s Corner, A Work Space of One’s Own”

Mog’s Christmas That Almost Wasn’t

Mogs Christmas You know how some commercials just make you smile? Budweiser has produced many of their Clydesdale based advertisements that have warmed my heart. I came across this Christmas ad from Sainsbury recently and found it humorous and heart warming.

Published on Nov 12, 2015: the new Sainsbury’s Christmas Advertisement presents a CGI version of Mog the forgetful cat (known to many through the children’s book series by Judith Kerr) as she sets off a chain of unfortunate events which almost ruin Christmas for the Thomas family. Can she pull it all back to save the day?

Continue reading “Mog’s Christmas That Almost Wasn’t”

Firewood Splitting Assistant

Tim is a friend of ours. He used to be our next door neighbor and would help me cut and stack firewood, but a couple of years ago he and his wife were offered a great deal on a house she had always admired and they moved down the road. He’s still one of my best friends, just a more distant neighbor.

I had the truck today — because I was doing a dog transport for the local animal shelter — and decided to stop in and see Tim on my way home. We talked for a while. His dog made it known that he needed to go out for a walk. As we were leaving, Tim said, “Hey! Do you want some firewood?” He pointed across to the far side of his property where recent winds had broken off a small maple tree. He’d already cut it up but had no use for the wood. We use firewood for heat, so I’m always glad of a gift of firewood, especially when it’s already cut up and ready to load! I thanked him and loaded it up.

firewood load I figured I’d back the truck in to my loading dock, roll the wood splitter out onto the dock, split the wood as it came off the truck and stack it. Since it’s green wood, I won’t be able to burn it this year, it needs to season first. I’ll stack it on the far end of the “ready to use” wood stack and hope we don’t burn through the whole stack this winter.

Before getting started, I went inside to check messages and check on the dogs. While I was inside someone in the area decided to start some target practice with his blunderbuss.

Blondie Bear is terrified of gunfire. (Read More…)

A Snooze Button for My Brain

Daylight savings time ended last night and we turned back the clocks before we went to bed. A good thing right? We get an extra hour of sleep! Or most do.

If you depend on an alarm clock to get you up in the morning: congratulations on your extra hour of rest. I haven’t used an alarm clock in close to two decades. I have an internal clock that wakes me each morning between 4:00 and 4:30. Usually. On some occasions, when I was feeling poorly, it lets me get some extra rest.

It worked reliably for me this morning, my eyes popped open as my brain played reveille – time to get up! I checked my watch (reset to standard time): 3:00. “No, no, no, Brain, remember: the time changed.” Continue reading “A Snooze Button for My Brain”

Adventures in Mechanicland

I took our pick-up truck to our mechanic shop yesterday morning because the check engine light has been coming on and the engine runs rough, especially in wet weather. It rained all last week, so it ran rough almost all the time.

I had them scan the computer: “multiple misfires”.

My pet theory has been that a spark plug wire was going bad. When it gets wet it arks to the block causing a misfire. What they said supported my suspicion. Continue reading “Adventures in Mechanicland”

Facing Fear

Someone is getting in some target practice with what sounds like a civil war cannon. As the BOOM rolls around the valley, Blondie goes nuts. She is filled with fear by gun fire, thunder, firecrackers, cars back-firing … you get the idea. When we encounter such things she attaches herself to me. If I’m sitting at the table working she will shove her head into my arm pit and peer up at me, “Save me Dougie, save me!”

Today I’m working in the kitchen, so she’s a fear filled foot-wort. Every time I have to shift position, she shifts too. It’s kind of a pain. But then I remember that I too have been dealing with some fear and self-doubt issues. Continue reading “Facing Fear”

Share for Quality in Life and Corn

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year at the fair he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So it is with our lives … Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

– Author Unknown