End of SPRING

Our days are now full of heat 90 degrees, the air

conditioner is turned on and thoughts are turning

to summer vacations in cooler climes...

Summer is too soon here in Southern Utah as

my friend Caryn prepares to head home to central Utah.

One last play date and lunch at Kayenta's Coyote Gulch.

They just finished a street painting celebration.

Different organizations and artists participated.

with acrylic chalk, the paintings are faded but

are still visible. These are made by children artists.

Our favorite local cactus is full of huge blossoms.

It's a small plant but for two weeks it blooms,

then rests for another year and another Spring.

Good bye Spring and hello to Summer!

Youth Poetry Contest Awards Program

It's over, 53 entries from 18 different schools in Washington County School District and two home schools-grades 1 to 12th. Fifteen of the 20 winners came to read their poems and receive their prizes. Fun but lots of work! Thanks to our local merchants who donated the prizes: Redrock Bike, Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Chick Fil A, Apollo Burger, Paradise Bakery, 25 Main, Learning Express, Lasermania, Tuacahn Saturday Market, and Mountain America Credit Union-Sunset Branch. Organized by Lin Floyd of Dixie Poets with help from Shane Williams, Gary Christian and Shauna Williams of the Washington County School District.

Teaching a blogging class

We did  it, Five new to be bloggers.

WHAT:  'Creative Online Blogging'
INSTRUCTOR: Lin Floyd
Join our own 'Senior Sampler Columnist' and author, Lin Floyd, as she shows you how to make your own blog at www.blogger.com using a template. Bring your creative ideas and learn how to share photos, writings or a special hobby with the whole wide world or just selected friends and family. This is a beginner class where you can learn to create a blog like Lin's own blog at the following link: www.lettersfromlin.blogspot.com.

LINKS:
1. Get started here.
2. Feedjit-to keep track of traffic to your site

Article #242 Lighten Up

             Lighten up can mean different things like: not taking life so seriously or getting rid of burdens that don’t need to be carried on your own shoulders. As a parent, many of us feel that we are responsible for our child or grandchild’s happiness and progress in life. That’s a heavy burden to carry and can sidetrack you from focusing on your own growth and development after your children become adults. There comes a time of letting go after you’ve done your best to prepare your progeny for life’s trials and responsibilities. You don’t reject your adult son or daughter, but give them encouragement and emotional support while resisting the temptation to jump in and rescue them.

            Too many parents try to live through our adult offspring rather than taking the time to develop our own interests, friends and talents. Being a cheerleader for them is important, but it’s not necessary to get on the field and play their game. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 in the bible says… To everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

            Understanding where you are in time is important. The burdens you carry can be magnified if you add your descendents’ worries also. Allow them to feel the weight of their challenges, while you advise (when asked) and encourage their efforts. Let them do the growing and struggling while you set the example of how to live life, hopefully cheerfully and with positive energy for the great opportunities that are before each of us during our precious time on earth. NEXT TIME: Carpe per diem.

Why BLOG?

Soon it's time for me to teach another blogging class.

So I ask myself...WHY BLOG? Well it's a great place

to PUBLISH your photos and know if others see them

vs. dusty scrapbooks that sit on your shelves year after year.

Being IGNORED after all the work you put into them.

Blogging is more immediate and gets the ATTENTION

of your family especially if you link your post to Facebook

where it seems younger members of your family live.

It is a bit tricky to blog but not impossible with help

and with TEMPLATES it's really quite easy and creative. 

Having someone who already blogs helps lots

to go to with questions or one on one SUPPORTIVE help.

Come back later this week on Friday for my HANDOUT.

on how to blog if you want to start. It's fun and slightly

addictive in a good way connecting with others and

making new friends as you share your life online.

Cairns and Architecture

On our nature hike we passed cairns-

stacks of rocks to mark the path

we have no shortage of rocks...

trying to get an unusual shot, he's younger...

what a sculpture or architecture and it stays together

I did well to hike up here but my knee didn't like it!

Glue?

the road to Arizona...

too many cairns mark multiple paths

which is the right one?

Spring WILD FLOWER Hike

Time for the photo club annual trek for wildflowers nearby.

Searching the barren hillsides near our retirement community.

The endangered Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy, only grows here.

 Stansbury Cliffrose is quite healthy looking in our desert.

Indian Paintbrush are quite colorful and common here.

I think this is the Common Mullein and

has a purple flower at the top later.

I'm guessing this is the Weakstem Mariposa Lily.

Our guide was a retired Biology HS teacher who

knows his stuff. We are all novices but interested.

More Indian paintbrush?

I'm guessing Weakstem Mariposa Lily?

Hedge Hog cactus has beautiful flowers.

Gorgeous closeup but watch out for the needles.

Amazing how plants grow with little soil or moisture.

Soft and fragile vs. prickly and sharp!

Photographers hunting for beauty among the rocks!

Article # 241 Paradigm Shift

           A new word that I’ve learned is PARADIGM SHIFT. Well, heading to the trusty (?) source of all knowledge…the Internet, I found this definition: a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change. (www.taketheleap.com)

            I remember going through a change of thinking when I left high school and headed to college. With childish expectations, I thought I would live the fairy tale.  Surprise-I found that not every experience or person I met was positive or supportive. The world was challenging. Learning that expectations are pleasant dreams you hope will come true, it was time to grow up, regroup my look at life and move forward with new goals-a paradigm shift.

            Maybe this is what fuels the rebellion of teenagers and young people? As they look at the adult world, their disappointments can turn into anger and lashing out at the society they harshly judge. It’s NOT FAIR. Why can’t life be easier? Many escape into drugs or suicide, but for those willing to go forward the real life education happens in the day to day experiences of trying to find self, a purpose, a way to improve and develop their abilities. A change of thinking from one way to another is needed.

            In our strident world, it’s not easy to find your voice amidst the many competing issues and upheaval. How you cope with the violence that surrounds you and fills the newscasts and air waves? Why can’t everyone find a soul mate, a fulfilling occupation, and have a successful life. It’s so unfair, unless you make a paradigm shift in thinking.

            Maybe this is how life is suppose to be? Full of opportunities to make choices that can either move you forward or backwards in your development. Would you have it any differently? Force everyone to be GOOD? Bully them into the behavior you think is appropriate? That doesn’t work either. So make a shift in your thinking that maybe there is suppose to be opposition in the world either created by a higher power or a big bang. Life is is full of ying and yangs, opportunities and tragedies. Perhaps the real purpose in living is to learn from each experience, set your own goals and press forward with faith, energy and a new outlook? NEXT TIME: Lighten Up!

SURPRISE!

Last December 2012, I submitted four poems to the Southern Quill-

a local literary magazine of Dixie State University. Then never

heard anything: acceptance or rejection. So, I assumed the latter

until I tried to contact the English professor in charge of this

publication to see if it had ceased existing. I found out that

it's still there and one of my poems had been accepted!

I AM INVITED TO COME WITH 23 OTHER LOCAL POETS

to read my poem which will be published soon. HURRAH!

Balance vs. TOO MUCH

Had a great time teaching in my POETRY WORDSHOP class last Saturday about listening to NEGATIVE inner voices and overcoming them with two POSITIVES for each negative as we doubt our own abilities to do whatever. The YING-YANG principle. So guess it's time for me to do that in my life too. I have done so much in the past three weeks...major accomplishments like:

1. POETRY IN THE PARK-after a year's planning I successfully organized publicity, applied for and received grants, designed a website and flyers, etc. etc. We had 34 people come. Now I get to start all over by writing up program evaluations and begin planning next year's PIP in March 2014 making some suggested improvements. Trying to figure out how to delegate better and get others involved in helping me. A weakness I have!

2. Attended a seminar put on by REDROCK WRITERS GUILD the same weekend as PIP. Had a great experience learning from others and made some great contacts networking.

2. Enjoyed A FAMILY VISIT with my son and his wife and two little ones for Easter: colored eggs, had an Easter egg hunt, went to the park, planned several meals and played with the little ones. Even blogged about it and wrote a new poem about their visit. Managed to do a thorough SPRING HOUSE cleanup before their visit including washing windows. HURRAH!

3. Taught a creative productive and healing POETRY WORDSHOP last Saturday with 4 new students at AHA-Artful Healing Academy. Also wrote some articles for my SENIOR SAMPLER column and a few new POEMS.

4. Collected PRIZES from community merchants for the YOUTH POETRY CONTEST that I organized 3 years ago and got publicity out to the paper and the school district. Now it's time to organize the entries, judge all the poems, and award prizes on Sat, April 27. Working on getting help with this

5. Started attending a SEATED EXERCISE class regularly and trying to walk a little with my bum knee. It feels good and is a priority in my life as is encouraging and supporting my hubby. We are learning how to communicate better about feelings and goals in life. Most men are not talkers!

6. Attended another SOUL COLLAGE class and organized all my collages into a notebook, made a bulletin board with them at AHA. Showed them to my friend CARYN and we had a fun day shopping and lunching!

7. Continued working on my book DISCOVER YOUR VOICE AFTER DIVORCE or LOSS and organized a workshop to teach at church for singles-divorces, widowed or alone with my friend Carolyn.

8. Doing publicity for photo club IMAGE CATCHERS. I'm vice-president in charge of publicity. I know I volunteered but it's an interesting activity and I'm taking photos for the annual SCAVENGER HUNT and WILDFLOWER FIELD TRIP.

So, I attended CHURCH today and realized that I forgotten a friend that I said I'd HELP with her GENEALOGY. She completely FLEW off my computer screen. I started to feel bad and INNER VOICES had a try at me with "Some kind of friend you are, etc."

TIME for the positive inner voices to tackle that kind of self put down with two positives: I told my friend I had been too busy but would help her soon. I asked her to call me and I'll come over. 

I've decided you can try to be PERFECT but it's not POSSIBLE. On to new activities this week as I tackle teaching CREATIVE BLOGGING for our  COMPUTER CLUB this Friday and judge the YOUTH POETRY CONTEST! May not blog for a few days...

Busy Saturday

The birthday boy worked on his boat and watched 

the Masters golf tournament-a perfect day for him 

while I taught a new class for me Poetry WORDshop.

Strate # 3, only 15 more to go.

What a labor intensive project!

It's taking shape slowly but will be perfect when done.

Only four students, but we bonded and wrote some

awesome poetry. l-r Phyllis, Bonnie, Christine and Lura.

We finished the day with dinner at Iggy's Sports Grill.

Fajitas and no cooking or dinner dishes to do...hurrah!