Monday Musings

Following our family tradition, we traveled to a  local Christmas tree farm  the day after Thanksgiving. We arrived shortly after opening time and were able to promptly board the trolley to ride up the hill to the area of the farm being utilized for harvest this season. This particular business is an excellent caretaker of their trees, allowing harvest from only one section at a time and promptly replanting in the spring. Frosty’s system is finely organized: you choose a tree, place your tree pole green end up, and a tree cutter is at your side within minutes. The rest of the process is effortless: a ride back downhill, this time on a tractor-drawn trailer with hay bale seats, to the main building to pay, then well-marked signage to the pickup area. Meanwhile, the tree was bagged up on the hillside, delivered car-side, and secured to the roof. Unfortunately, the tree farm staff did not accompany us home to assist with unloading, carrying up a flight of entry stairs, across the...

What is Joy and What Does it Say About Us? Dr. Pamela King   Joy is our delight when we experience, celebrate, and anticipate the manifestation of those things we hold with the most significance — like a birth or graduation. Sorrow is our response to the violation, destruction, or deterioration of such sacred things . We can choose to live a joy-filled life by accentuating the positive. This week, the US, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a time to focus on gratitude. But gratitude doesn’t have to be time-limited; it can become a daily practice. Joy needn’t be complex; it can arise from simple experiences we can observe in daily life, in nature. Thinking pure, kind thoughts can enable continuous joy. We don’t have to strive to someday reach joy; joy can be with us as we move through our everyday lives. What brings you joy: a person, an animal, great music, a stroll in the woods, or a quiet nook with a good book? Whatever the source, embrace joy. You can follow the Author on her  Webs...

Where are you on this floating orb we call Earth? Can you find your location on a globe, paper map, or GPS? To accomplish this task, you must use Geography. A more detailed definition of the word and science is available on  World Atlas . The first map was etched into a clay tablet in 600 B.C.:  Imago Mundi , the Babylonian Map of the World. The initial mention of “geography” appeared in a book titled  Geographic  by Eratosthenes of Cyrene in the 3rd Century B.C. This wise man is credited with calculating the circumference of the Earth and inventing the latitude/longitude system. One of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece, Thales of Miletus, created the foundation for the scientific study of geography by developing many mathematical and astronomical rules. The Romans used geography in the expansion of their great empire. They built 50,000 miles of roads, canals, aqueducts, tunnels, and mines and went on numerous military expeditions. The whole Roman Empire (Middle East...

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it is affectionately known by writers. It is a thirty-day challenge to write the first draft of a novel or at least 50,000 words. The initiative was founded by Chris Baty in San Francisco in 1999. It became a nonprofit in 2005, and the  current Website  and format was launched in 2011. For some creative, productive individuals, a month may be sufficient to get the initial kernel of a book on paper. For most, the time period is just the beginning. Others may use the time to continue to work on an existing project. Some writers are “plotters”: they meticulously outline their novel thread before putting pen to paper to start their book. Others are “pantsers”: these Authors jot down their stories as the ideas come to them. I use a combination of the two processes. I start a list of general concepts and main characters, then begin to type. The NaNoWriMo website provides tracking options. A graph shows how much progress the ...