by Roxanne -

Let’s Play

When do you play? Most of us played blissfully as children. Play is bliss. We become lost in time, in joy. What brings that back to you today?

For me, play is spending an afternoon with my cousin doing whatever strikes us, playing the piano, cooking with DH, reading and writing, walking, kayaking and swimming. But many other things too, like an evening with friends.

Anything can be a source of play – even Post-it Notes – as you can see in this creative film, Deadline.

Play a little today.

You may also like Doll Houses From My Childhood, Paper Dolls, Roller Skates & Gum Chains, and Walking in Spring.

by Roxanne -

Prairie Walk

Here’s what I encountered this week on the prairie –

Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar

Lots of color! The prairie absorbs heat – meaning the air actually feels noticeably cooler as we walk through it. Natural air conditioning.

Global warming means that weather becomes more extreme (record heat, as in July in 50 states) with more severe storms and droughts. Prairies help to resist global warming by moderating the temperature, taking CO2 out of the atmosphere and moving surface water/moisture down deep into the ground.

If you like, consider planting a prairie of your own. A small group of neighbors can easily create a larger one using open space in your neighborhood.

There are many kinds of prairies to choose from; rainwater, woodland, wetlands, savanna, shoreline and more.

Click Prairie Restoration for information, check out their plant catalog or visit a Prairie Store near you!

You may also like Prairie Walk (July) and White Prairie.

 

 

by Roxanne -

Power of Reframing

In previous posts I wrote about the importance of how we speak about things as well as the importance of how we frame things.

It’s important because our survival depends on our ability to see reality clearly. The way we frame things helps us to see clearly (or not) so we can make necessary changes.

Here’s an inspiring short film – Story of a Sign – that demonstrates this.

You may also like Power of Framing, Truth or Consequences, and Myth of Objective Reporting.

by Roxanne -

“It Takes a Pillage” – Bulldozed Homes

Here’s a Yahoo article from Time by Stephen Gandel, “Bulldoze: The New Way to Foreclose”. Gandel states near the article’s end;

Certainly, the idea that we are at the point where banks would be better off knocking down houses that reselling them shows there is still something very wrong with the housing market. But what is clear is that banks and others are at the point where they are ready to try something new to boost the housing market. And that is a good sign for the future.

Really? Wow. Bulldozing will “boost the housing market” or “is a good sign for the future”? Talk about clueless . . . then again, who owns the media?

Let’s review:

Push dubious sub-prime loans on consumers, collect fees/points from consumers, illegally fail to pay fees to county title recorders via MERS, illegally break up and resell the same bad loan to numerous investors, hedge these same loans to collect BIG profits because the loans were set up to fail, collect interest, payments & foreclosure fees from the homeowners, collect bailout $$ from U.S. citizens, resist any loan modifications, then bulldoze these homes.

Can you say “loot and pillage”?

Seriously, how is stealing life savings, evicting millions of families from their homes and bulldozing them any different from the pillaging done when one country is invaded or conquered by another?

And all of this is being done with the sanction of a government you and I elect and pay, in order to represent OUR interests.

Ask yourself, “For whose future is this a good sign?” Who benefits?

At last check, within hours of appearing on Yahoo News, this article garnered 6,531 comments – overwhelmingly negative. Most along the lines of “Bulldoze the banks!” Maybe people are beginning to wake up.

You may also like Home Prices Free Fall, Financial and Economic Crisis an Accident? Think Again, and Greek’s Resist Public Bank Bailout.

 

by Roxanne -

Popsicle Days

Remember popsicles? If I recall they came in cherry, orange, grape, lime, banana and root beer. As a child, I remember that my Grandma Rose always had several flavors in her freezer for us when we visited.

Dreamsicles were orange popsicles with vanilla ice cream in the center. Unfortunately only one stick.

Popsicles came in pairs, “twin pops,” so you could always share half with a friend. Marketing that encourages sharing. I like that.

 

You may also like Doll Houses From My Childhood, Beachy Days and The Jewelry We Keep.