Kate's splendid Title IX - USAF recruiting

I mentioned this one a couple times when I ran my own ideas that used this stamp. It has multiple ideas that I need to steal. The positioning of the stamp is so perfect for the cancel - because it doesn't obliterate the stamp - just nicks the top. The tiny writing is so nice. And repeating the motif from the stamp, and making it larger, covers two of our design principles - repetition (one of the most useful tools) and scale - playing around with the relative size of an element. 

Karl and I have launched a discussion on the elements and principles of design. The topic has come up previously. It will keep popping up in a chaotic order because Karl and I are letting chaos be our guide. 

***

 Even though I missed out on the actual skater festival - I did take this one shot of the big promotional mobile unit that the USAirForce had brought in. I'd sure like to know what kind of conversation led to them putting actual service people into a mobile unit and telling them to go recruit skaters and skate boarders. I'd reeeeeeeeeally like to know how many people they sign up at skater events. On the bell curve of people who are going to be compatible with a military life style, I'd have to put skaters way out at the very far end of probably not good candidates.

Or, maybe the mobile unit just has to find places to stop along the way and they do some of these random events because they have time to kill between the logical events (like state fairs).  I was so tempted to go back and talk to the recruiters to see what kind of info I could get out of them. 

Last year's winners here in DSM. Apparently our skate park is one of the biggest -- so they came back this year.

And a photo of pony express riders because it was in a folder that I am clearing out - and they look like they would have been good skateboarders. I think the skateboarders are modern versions of pony express guys. 

Uncle Bob - *Farm* report

 

This is the yearly birthday envelope to my last living relative in Montana (of my parent's generation). He spent his entire life (until he retired) in the same house, farming and ranching. A high point of visits in the summer  - when I was a kid - was the acre of fresh produce they grew every year. 

My attempts at gardening in DSM were *fruitless* because of the wildlife (mostly raccoons) who ate everything. There is a huge park behind my house that is comparable to an interstate highway for providing hungry critters access to whatever they care to eat.

Last year I asked readers for tips on growing tomatoes - to pass along to my son who had planted tomatoes for the first time and had great success. I shared the advice, but neglected to explain that the old plants need to be removed in the fall. The big tangle of dried stuff (from last year) turned into a tangle of green stuff. He assumed they were weeds and he invited his friend who has a Roto-tiller to come over and till the spot so he could plant tomatoes. The friend pointed out that most of those knee-high *weeds* were actually tomato plants. 

Hunter cleared out the weeds and has a nice crop of volunteer tomatoes. Sadly, he thinks he can just leave these plants alone and they will reseed themselves next year. A new concept in gardening. <sigh>

I did appreciate his creative use of tree branches instead of going out and buying stakes or tomato cages. He has a couple large piles of branches left over from the storms that have been providing *volunteer* tree trimming services. 

To Lynne in July - Field trip to the PO

Leslie asked if there was anything to view on the new blog - not yet. You may view it in all its emptiness here: https://theelevatedenvelope.blogspot.com I still haven't figured out how to adjust Blogger so that I may leave comments on my own blogs. Grrrrr.

An idea from a while back that I enjoy doing, but, it is not easy for the scanners to read so, I resist the temptation to do it frequently. The stamp lends itself to the red-blue-yellow color scheme. Does the BigHelpfulBrother automatically think: Primary colors? Or is he still stuck on that those other three colors that are *primary* for some other thing - like computer screens or something. He never remembers the *rules* in my world and I never remember the *rules* in his world.

 ****

Des Moines built a huge skatepark right downtown on the bank of the Des Moines River. There is also a river walk that goes under the main freeway that cuts through town. On the other side of the interstate is the main post office. There was a huge skater festival that was starting on a Friday so the BigHelpfulBrother dropped me off, so I could wander through the park and then walk across to the PO and get a ride home with my son. 

Great idea - but, I arrived at 1:00 and they did not open until 3:00. The walkway down by the river was blocked off, so I had to navigate over to the post office through a tangle of streets and ramps. Eventually I got there and as I made my way around the building to get to where I was to meet my son I walked by this plaque. 

Interesting. The main PO came to Des Moines the same year I showed up for college. And then -- there appears to be a time capsule that they installed - and it was supposed to be opened in 2018. I wonder if they forgot. I will have to investigate and get back to you. 

The choice of stone wasn't very helpful with legibility.

The sublime and the ridiculous

 

Mike and I exchange envelopes from time to time. I keep forgetting to ask him if he is exclusively a Spencerian-writer - or if he does other styles. He has some computer skills, too, because he scanned the stamp and arranged additional flowers. I like how that one is running off the edge. 

Below is the back as well as the inside of the card and the front of the card. I have no idea what kind of flower that is - but it's perfect with the stamp.

Lets talk about the grid design combined with the organic flower. Even though flowers are very organic, this one has been flipped into the geometric world - which makes it much more harmonious  with the grid. The little black design is an overall pattern, but it leans towards organic. 

So basically, we have 3 elements - bridging organic and geometric.

This blurb was inspired by a recent conversation I started with someone about the elements of design. I think I've talked about them before. They are the basic building blocks of all things visual. I think they should be called the building blocks of art - but art and design seem to be two things in the world of art education. If anyone knows why they are split into two -- please let me know. 

That's our sublime for the day - here's the ridiculous.

I started a new blog. The Elevated Envelope. I'm thinking of cross posting and reposting so that I have a better archive where I can search stuff. Digging through the 5388 posts is just too much.

It's not a ridiculous idea - but it's ridiculous to think that I'll actually get it done. 

To Faye in July

 One of my favorite things to do with rubber stamps is layer them and get ghost images by not inking them every time I make an impression. This one is so pretty with the stamp. I also like the name and address spacing. 

***

If you read the blog yesterday - before 6am, CDT - you missed the P.S. that the full story about Clothesline Caps and where they came from will be popping up one of these days. Stay tuned. I will post an exemplar eventually.

***

I feel like the posts have been too much jabbering about filling up July - then a brief lull - and now all I can think about (to write about) is filling up August. Happily, I have a nice stack of mail from the July exchange - and I am pretty sure I will not have to skip any more exchanges. So we are about 50% back on track.

That's a joke. There never was a track. This is a random journey. None of us know for sure where we're going. The best we can do is brace ourselves for the unexpected.

April's July clothesline caps. Spelling rant

 This one looked better in real life. It's the traditional way to fill in the spaces in Clothesline caps. 

***

For those who love rants -- turn the volume all the way up. I am so tempted to insert some curse words. I've done about 10 posts in a row - and after this one will be stopping for the day. In one of the posts, I typed the word *observation* - it was the post with jabbering about being stoic and not complaining. 

The computer did the *highlight* thing of the word *observation.* When I right clicked on it to see what they were going to suggest - they suggested -ovservation. OK -- that is not a word. Or is it? I decided to do a search - and it is not a word - I was directed to the word -observation- OK - that's what I thought.

So, I went back three times - trying to get Blogger to accept the word -observation- and it just kept saying -ovservation-

Aliens. It has to be aliens. Or static electricity. I remember 3 decades ago - when the typesetting for graphic designers was done on paper punched tape - if there was some mistake - they would always blame it on static electricity. 

So that's my rant. I realize that it is just generic complaining and we all know that complaining is a big no-no. But, I do need to fill the posts. As much as I love Clothesline Caps -- I can't really think of anything to say about them.  Update -- I do have the full story of where they came from and will share it when the originator sends me the story - because she offered to write it out and send it - along with an exemplar. Stay tuned.

Old flowers to Maggie and Kate

I did several like this quite a while ago - and it would have taken too long to reach the blog and find the others. Hopefully, I didn't send one exactly like this to Maggie or Kate previously. As I recall, each flower is made up of a letter of the alphabet, repeated as if the letters are petals. I still like the idea and would have a lot of fun doing some more. A different stamp might have been better. Maybe that stamp on Maggie's would look good with the flowers done in lots of different colors. I think I need to try that..... hope I can remember ----

I like the stamp on Kate's. Which reminds me -- I still have to post the envelope from Kate with a title IX stamp that I love-love-love.

 

To Smashman in July - color theory

Here's one that should have had a second one enclosed. It was an orphan envelope and I loved the stamp with it -- but I couldn't think of anything really lovely to do with the writing. So - I tossed off a soft, loopy gray. It's OK -- Sometimes I just need to part with really pretty stamps.

***

Thanks to the BigHelpfulBrother who passed this link along. Some people have bucket lists of places they hope to visit before The End. I only had one thing on my list. I wanted to see the Northern Lights. But, then my son who frequents and lives in the far north told me that the wildly exciting photos I see online are more intense than the actual lights because of - well I can't tell you exactly why - but it has something to do with digital photography. So, my bucket list is complete. The only thing I wish I could/would squeeze in because it would have made a ton of my artwork better - is the study of color theory. 

It would not have taken long to learn - but - I never did. I guess I have about 25% of what I need - because I did have that semester in college about color from a pitiful instructor. Anyhow -- here is a rabbit hole for people interested in color -- and if you are young and hoping to enjoy many years of producing lovely artwork - take my advice and sign up for a course in color with someone who actually knows what they are teaching.

https://www.c82.net/work/?id=390

“It’s obvious that we don’t know one millionth of one percent about anything.” Comforting words from Thomas Edison. 

 

Janet's Rachael-inspired - cartouches

After I did the one in yesterday's post - to Jean - I thought I would try Janet. First problem, I did not allow room for 5 letters so the Et is squished. I tried a bolder pen for the outline and it was way too bold - but I forged ahead, thinking I might have some brilliant idea to save it. I did not. Then the last name left some awkward space. and it was looking grim - until I noticed the stickers that my grandson had given me. They are not a brilliant save - but they are better than nothing. In the photo - the colors in the stamp only look vaguely OK. It seems like they were pretty good in real life. I'm still crazy about that fun little cartouche. That's the word for a border thing that goes around something that is part of something larger. That's a clumsy definition. But it's way better than anything I found online. I don't think online definitions are always up on some of the things that are getting to be very old fashioned.

Maybe first one is OK. But, I think cartouches are not limited to ovals, scrolls, and rectangles.

1. 1. A structure or figure, often in the shape of an oval shield or oblong scroll, used as an architectural or graphic ornament or to bear a design or inscription.
3. 2. An oval or oblong figure in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that encloses characters expressing the names or epithets of royal or divine personages.
4. 3. A heavy paper cartridge case.
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. 
   
8. 
   

 

August Exchange Sign-up

There has been interest in getting a full alphabet of the clothesline caps - and I am working on it. It seems like Carol Pallesen or Sherri Kiesel is the originator. I'm going to try to contact them. Stay tuned.

Shout out to Rachael for the idea for this one. I'll repost hers so you can compare and see that hers is so much better. But I had a lot of fun doing this variation. If you want to receive this style - let me know when you sign up - and then I won't have to agonize over what to do. I love this idea so much - choose a design (or 2) and then let people pick what they want.

Sign up by sending me the following info in the exact format shown.

Indicate if you wish to include a handmade card rather than just an envelope - (CARDS)

Indicate if it is your (birthday) month and/or if you are interested in being on (2 lists).

Sign up is Aug 1-4. I'll send the lists out on the 5th.

I confirm that I have received your email - so if you do not hear from me, please resend your sign-up.

Jane Doe (CARDS)

123 Oak Street

Ames, IA 50110

janedoe@gmail.com

(birthday) (2 lists)

If you are new to the exchange, CLICK HERE for additional tips on how the exchange works.

Here is the inspiration envelope from Rachael -- cuter on so many levels. 

Alphabet to Patty - Yippee - open space for random stuff

Which is better - something I spend a lot of time on even though the result is less than wonderful or something that was fairly quick and easy but the colors are so perfect and the idea is decent? I guess I could do two envelopes for each person and post them before I mail them and ask them which one they wanted. But, I'm not crazy. Remember when I posted the list of all the words for being *not of sound mind?* I think there is a word that is fun that was not on that list. Wackadoodle. I'm resisting the temptation to search for the origin of that word and to see if it was on the list - because clearly, I am not wackadoodle.

This envelope was in the stack I did with rubber stamps - and I did not have any postage stamps in mind - just looked for good color combinations.

***

Yippee - I filled the month before July 15th. I'm going to leave this page as a placeholder for random things that come up during the last two weeks of the month. 

***

Any random thing that came up in July has been bumped to the August posts. Thanks so much for all the lovely mail that arrived in July.

Hot pink clothesline to Sharon - Stoic reminder

This is another one done with Clothesline Caps. I did the clotheslines in white colored pencil - very lightly drawn. Then I filled in the spaces with polka dots. This one makes me happy even though it is pretty simple. I do love the feel of the white Gelly Roll pens on most papers. 

***

Reminders for coping. Recently, I have noticed that some of us are getting a little re-frayed around the edges by the daily stuff. My antidotes are making things and refreshing my lessons on how to apply stoicism. The verdict is out on whether making things is soothing. It's currently July 12 and my deadline to get my 20 exchange envelopes in the mail is July 15 - and I have 5 to go - and a few of them did not make my eyeballs hurt. I apologize if this sounds like complaining. It's not. It's just an observation.

Here's a quick refresher course (from The Daily Stoic) on how to stoic-i-fy yourself.

Stop complaining

Complaining is easy. It’s as natural to us as breathing. Complaining is describing something—an event, an experience, a person—negatively without any indication of next steps or plans to fix the problem. It requires little thinking and zero action. Whether it be damning God, the government, the universe, faulty technology, slow Wi-Fi, the authorities, or traffic, anyone can find something to complain about.

But what good has complaining ever done anyone in the long run? Sure, shaking your fist at the sky and venting your frustrations can feel liberating in the moment, but has it ever changed your circumstances for the better, solved your problems or made you happier? We’re willing to bet the answer is no.

That’s why Marcus Aurelius said,

“Don’t be overheard complaining…Not even to yourself.”

Fine-line flourishing for ChuckM - Ann Patchett

This one might not show up very well on a screen. In real life - it is one that I love so much I had a hard time parting with it. I might have posted it previously - and would enjoy knowing how many years it's been in my stack - if it was easy to find on the blog - but it is not. 

***

It's been a while since I've recommended a book. Because I can't remember anything, I don't bother with new books - I mostly just re-read. Although, I saw a new book (through library download) by Ann Patchett, These Precious Days. I recall liking other books by her - but I don't remember which ones. This one is a collection of essays and the first two are good. I should wait until I am done in case it fizzles out, but, I'm on a tight deadline to fill up July.

I also downloaded an audiobook, Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife. I should have read it a couple decades ago. Chock full of stuff to learn before you are in your 70's. I'm only on the science part. Maybe the *art* part will have some good tips to put in some of the August posts - where I plan to post more art related topics.

***

I'm over halfway through the Ann Patchett book and there is an excellent essay on being inspired to do a hoard reduction of her house. So far, I am liking all of the essays.

5 labels to CathyO - summing up

Picture this one with the Celebrate stamp with the multi color polka dots. I thought I would put two on - and then the colors were off and they didn't fit that well - so I figured I would just put this one inside another one to CathyO. Back in June, I had taken some envelopes to my friend Jan's - and borrowed some of her rubber stamps. I really like this one - but as usual - I haven't done enough stamping to really come up with good ideas.

***

I paused to have the noon coffee when I realized that I could stretch this into a third day of jabbering. Smart Brevity is still on my to-do list and I can think of a bullet point way to tie up this topic. Although I can't find a bullet-point tool on Blogger. I'll use *'s.

* PARENTING can be complicated. There are a number of ways to approach it and it's not always clear if we were parented in a good way or maybe a not-so-good way. Personally, I felt like taking a different path with my own kids and being more *creative* since I didn't see my parents as very creative.

* Surprise, Mrs Wilson, your kids have almost nothing in common with you. They prefer to conform. I didn't alienate them, and have learned to just keep my creativity to myself.

* Are they GRATEFUL when I do random acts of weeding? Yes. Is it better to keep most of my observations to myself? Yes. Will my perspective make any sense to anyone else? Probably not. 

I'm not sure my bullet points are relating to each other and I forgot to establish the overview at the beginning. 

This does not seem to be either smart or brief - but, it's good enough. See you tomorrow.

To Mary in July - Passing the torch

Mary deserves something better than this because she has been so generous in sending me extra envelopes to post. I did a rough draft on regular paper and then grabbed this vellum (translucent) envelope from the stack of orphans. The ink from the Sharpies is so wimpy. Grrrr. Plus I can't get crisp edges. Grrr. Maybe her name just needed to be larger.

***
 Yesterday we reviewed my background and the young adult coaching I got from my parents. I am currently learning how to coach my son who has his first house which is 100 years old. I didn't get to coach my daughter and her husband because they chose new construction for their first condo and also their first house. I have one piece of advice for anyone who has chosen new construction. Be vigilant about maintenance and plan on moving when the youngest kid graduates from high school - or maybe college. Buying a 1949 house in 1979 - we went through all the usual things a house needs after 30-40-years -- and it's an endless process. 

At this point, it would be easier to just move - rather than do any more big projects.

My son was actually inspired by all the weed pulling I did and he did more. We even researched how to replace a couple broken pieces of flagstone and are excited to do that. That was last week. This week, I figured we would maintain the momentum. Silly me. Someone has lured him to a concert in Pittsburgh. <sigh> 

When he called to see if I was available for pet-sitting -- he said, "It's going to be really hot and I'm worried that you are going to pull more weeds." To which I responded sharply, "YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME."

It's a two-way street. Little does he know, it's too hot to pull weeds so I am going to paint his living room. Nanna gets the last laugh.

Title IX to Debbie - Chores for offspring

 

This style of writing is usually called Clothesline Caps. If anyone knows who invented it, please let me know. At some point, I will post the envelope (from CJ) that inspired it. I love these stamps and will keep talking about the one from Kate that I just love - and then one day I will remember to photograph it and post it. My July envelopes were another set where I had high hopes - and then I found a stack of random orphan envelopes to use up - it's a real mixed bag - but then isn't everything. 

I think I need to make a tote bag with the word *MIXED* on it -- and call it my *mixed bag.*

***

On the 11th, I wrote about sneaking over to pull weeds at my son's house and his not noticing. Marilyn left a comment about cleaning cars for both son and DIL - and they did not notice - so she's not going to to do that again. Mary's take on the situation was that it was a random act of kindness. A third person sent a DM commisserating about how her daughter has a meticulous house - and Hulk-sized dandelions in the yard. She's taking the *silence is golden* route.

This reminded me of my own parents - people who had household and yard maintenance skills that were way beyond anything I could aspire to. They were not intrusive, but during the early years, my mom was always quick with advice and offers to help. My dad gets the prize for being the all time best yard service ever. I feel as though we compensated adequately with season golf passes, a variety of other golf related perks and plenty of dining out.  

Eventually, I grew weary of my mom pointing out things that needed to be done so I instituted a rule that if she said anything out loud about something that needed cleaning - she would be the one doing the cleaning. Voila. I never heard another peep out of her -- except when the inside of the car windshield got that weird fog - she'd say, "Well, I guess I have to clean the windshield because I'm talking about it." 

This topic is going to stretch into another day. I'm really scrambling to fill up July.

CathyO's floral inspiration

This arrived in June, from CathyO - the design coordinates nicely with the stamp and she included a card - which included the inspiration - which was wrapping paper. It's always fun to see how people spin ideas. Wrapping paper is one of my favorite sources for ideas. It's been fun to watch my granddaughter (Alex) glom onto wrapping paper. Both of her parents wait like hawks to snatch it and throw it away. Nanna has a stash - and Alex spotted it in one of my closets. She asked me to keep it. Of course I will. I'm thinking I need to curate a *trunk* of *precious* items to be passed along to her when I fall off my perch.

It seems like it should be carefully packed in a beautiful old trunk - but all I have are about 20 Rubbermaid tubs. They are so generic. But, they stack so nicely and are so light weight. I guess I'll go with the tub. It's hard to know what her taste will be down the road. 

Day one of Smart Brevity didn't follow all of the rules. My train of thought went off the tracks.

Here is Cathy's inspiration followed by the card. So pretty. Thanks, Cathy.

SMASH's 4th of July & Smart Brevity

Thank you Smash for sending an envelope during the months I was not on the list. I was tempted to hold this one over to next year - but if I write 4th of July in this blurb, then it will pop up if anyone does a search for 4th of July. As I am following the suggestion discussed below - I need to remind myself to use words that are useful for searches.

The envelope included extra goodies:

***

Smart Brevity popped up on Axios - and I sure hope that Axios is not some crackpot scheme to take over the world and make all of us into zombies or food or whatever. They appear to be a source for news - both local and national. Several things have popped up that have been worthwhile (or entertaining).

So - when I saw Smart Brevity on Axios - I clicked on it - it seems to be a tool (or lessons) for writing - something I need.

• Smart Brevity® is how we break through. It’s a communication style built on brain science that helps you speak and write more clearly to engage staff and stakeholders. 

My readers are not staff or stakeholders - but, I am sure you will appreciate my efforts to offer *smart* blurbs every day and go easy on the jibber-jabber.

You may watch a short video about it here - or you may read the main points that I jotted down for myself. It looks like they are trying to get customers for their consultants. Let's see how I do with my own DIY program. Maybe I can monetize and scale and take my blog *public* or option a leveraged buyout. Clearly, the coffee is talking because I have no idea if those words even belong in the same sentence. But, I was wildly excited that I've nailed No. 3. 

Smart Brevity

1. Focus on what readers need not what I want to say
2. Sum up the main point and say it in one sentence and say it first
3. Write like a human - conversational
4. Bullet points - not long paragraphs
5. Be brief

People want simplicity and transparency 

Chuck's postcard from Glen (Italian vase) - Senior living part 2

This is called asemic writing. It is by the late Glen Epstein, who taught at the U of Iowa. He was quite a character so this might be actual text. The flip side of the postcard is lovely. Thanks to Chuck for sharing. 

Another image that ChuckM sent - and I downloaded it - but not sure where the email is - but promise to update this when I find it. At least the image has a label. Giovanni Gariboldi 1935 - so you can do an image search to see more of his work.

 Yesterday's idea was just a scaled down version of my bigger, better idea that's been rattling around for years. Some of my artsy friends and I keep thinking that we want to end up in the same senior living facility when the time comes. The only way that could happen would be if we created our own. We've all been to visit people in senior living facilities and the facilities are so cookie cutter in design. We can't picture ourselves in that kind of  environment -- and the thought of returning to some avant garde, bohemian *place* that was an ongoing art project has way more appeal. 

Of course we would need some staff to help with some of the stuff - so we would have a wing for artists who needed studio space as well as a roof over their heads. I'm guessing they would have to be in a soundproofed wing - but we'll figure that out. Maybe a couple students from our local culinary school. And a couple nurses from the nursing school and a hairdresser. I think I need to research how many different trade schools we have.

I used to pester MrW to bankroll this fabulous idea -- but he usually muttered something about legalities, insurance, blah-blah-blah and made a graceful exit. I guess I'm lucky he's put up with an artist for this long. 

Sarah's jubilee and sweet note - Senior Living

Sooooo pretty. I love everything about this. The idea, the colors, the kraft paper, the details, even the challenging to read address - that delighted some postal workers, no doubt. I do not normally share the personal notes that exchangers enclose - but I just have to share this one - because the penmanship is so cute -- and the sentiment is so sweet.

***

How many of you winced yesterday when you read the words senior living facility? Most of us don't have it on our wish list but considering how unpredictable life can be, those of us in our 70s should probably ponder what our options are. 

My brilliant idea popped up when I remembered Mrs. Weaver (80-ish) who lived next door to us when we were first married. She had Miss Moffitt. Miss Moffitt (70-ish) had no family and was happy to hang with Mrs. Weaver. Miss Moffitt aged out of the arrangement and then Loretta arrived. 

If MrWilson decides to take his dirt nap and leave me to fend for myself, I'm thinking I should find some artist who needs a place to live and just have them move in and trade helper-work for rent. As the guy who hired me during the years I worked as a graphic designers always said, "Artists are a dime a dozen." In a perfect world, it would be someone who wanted to be a calligrapher, too.

Leslie's tetherball and Gaga

Uber-fun idea from Leslie - to turn the tetherball into a J. And I even have an off-topic that relates to games for kids. The tiny dots of red are really nice - because she ended up with 3 sizes of red dots - and that's a good use of the design principle: scale.

  Here is a fun new game that I had not heard about. Grandson, Ben, has been playing it at his summer day camp. Gaga. Gaga is a fast paced, high energy sport played in an octagonal pit. The more players the better! Dubbed a kinder gentler version of dodge ball, the game is played with a soft foam ball, and combines the skills of dodging, striking, running, and jumping, while trying to hit opponents with a ball below the knees. Players need to keep moving to avoid getting hit by the ball. Fun and easy, everyone gets a serious workout.

Nanna might have to recruit some other kids to play if I build a Gaga pit for the grandkids visit next year. 

Here is a website with all the rules for anyone looking for activities for rambunctious kids.

Maybe I should start thinking of a way to tailor it for elderly people for when I end up in senior living facility.

https://www.gagacenter.com/nyc/about/what-is-gaga/

Chuck's *sunny* flowers - with apologies

In case you missed it - another one of those articles about the value of handwritten letters and notes. No mention of elevated envelopes - the frosting on the cake.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-13/why-handwritten-letters-and-cards-are-more-important-than-ever

Chuck's flowers look great on yellow and echo the round shape of the sunflowers - which are yellow. I wonder if anyone has come up with a non-yellow sunflower. That would be silly. Chuck sent me the design for his December exchange envelopes. Once again - ChuckM gets the award for being the most organized.

***

We are 4 days from the 1 year anniversary of me bonking my head. I've cluttered my blog with brain chitchat for a year now and my goal is to return to more art and design. On the other hand, I get some pretty fun feedback from my rants and some of the other random topics. It's hard to know what my *audience* wants. Let's just go with *variety.*

Apologies today because I ran across this tidbit:

Once in a while, get in the car without turning on your GPS, and try to navigate through the streets from memory.  A small 2020 study suggested that people who used a GPS more frequently over time showed a steeper cognitive decline in spatial memory three years later.

 We don't need to have our PhDs in brain research to have come to this conclusion. I will refrain from ranting about the insidious undermining of our skills by electronics. This was from the NYT review of a book by Richard Restak, The Complete Guide to Memory. The people in the comment section have a wide variety of agreements and disagreements. I'll let all y'all make up your own minds. 

https://quotlr.com/author/richard-restak

You knew I was going to research non-yellow sunflowers. A few sunflowers hombre into orange. I saw one that was all red and then this atrocity which deserves a full day rant, but, I am going to refrain. It looks like a blood clot in the middle - and then leak through on the bandage. Yuk.

5:23 am - I still haven't figured out how to leave a comment on my own blog - but, when I read this - I decided that it is not a bad flower - it is a bad photo. I'm sure in real life - it is a beautiful flower - and that someone could figure out a way to capture the beauty in a photo.

Kristine's list of people

 

I'm pretty sure I have not mixed up my Kristines/Christines - or my Milwaukee people. I have a heck of a time keeping people straight. Anyhow - I'm 99% sure that this is the same person who sent that very fun photo of her door in an email - that I posted yesterday.

Also -- it was delightful to receive another envelope that had a *fun name* instead of the generic *Jean Wilson* on the envelope. Janet was the only other person who responded to that idea. (Although Leslie sent one to MrWilson - and counted it as a non-Jean) Kristine added to the fun by pondering famous women who would be fun to visit with over a cup of coffee.

Here's my list: 1) Georgia O'Keefe. 2) Sacagawea - because she would have a ton of good stories. 3) Rosa Parks. 4) That woman who wrote novels and her memoir (in 2 or 3 volumes) - but I can't think of her name - she lived in South Africa and then moved to Europe. Someone will know who I'm thinking of. 5) Ray Eames, wife of Charles Eames - designers of the Eames chair. I'm sure some others will come to mind. 6) Phyllis Diller? I always think of her husband, Fang, when I am sharing the sillier things that MrWilson does. Artist, explorer, activist, author, designer, entertainer. Julia Child?

Kristine's door

There will be an envelope from Kristine tomorrow. She sent this photo of the inside of her front door. The label on the photo is Front Door Honors - which is a charming way to describe it. At the end of the year, she does what I call *sifting.* She takes them all down - keeps some and let's some go - and then starts over in the new year.

She wondered what other people do with their decorated mail. I keep mine until I run out of space and then I *sift.* When I taught, I would take some of the overflow to my classes so that students could help themselves to whatever they liked - and keep it for inspiration - even though it had my name on it.

We'd love to hear from other exchangers about what they do with their mail art. Leave a comment (if Blogger is in a good mood) or email me directly at PTEnvelopes-at-aol-dot-com

 

Rerun idea --- FLW desk and chair

I've threatened to pull old mail and re-run it and today's the day I did it. This was from 10 years ago and it is something that I could do today to get my last 5 exchange envelopes done. I missed my own deadline for getting them in the mail by the 15th - grrr at myself. At least we know that I am producing new stuff for the blog - plus I will have new stuff from exchangers. I would have liked this one better without that upside-down ornament - even though that was a favorite and inspired some ideas that I love.

***

 Shout out and thank you to ChuckM - who knew how much I would love this desk and chair design by Frank Lloyd Wright. The only thing better than the picture is the story that goes with it. Be sure to read all the way to the end - that's the good part. The envelope that I chose actually coordinates nicely with the desk.

When architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs a structure, he fills it with his futuristic looking furniture. In 1939, after designing an office building for the Johnson Wax Company, Frank Lloyd Wright dreamed up some of the most innovative office desk and chair sets anyone had ever seen. These long oval desks had three tiers, with a base and an upper part, held together by red aluminum pipes, and had three drawers on the right that spin forward, rotating when opened. The metal chairs have 3 legs with caster wheels, making it easy to pull out. However, with only 3 legs, office workers would sometimes fall off balance, and end up on the floor. When this was brought to his attention Wright simply said, “I am a proponent of good posture, this will teach them to sit correctly”. However, recent reproductions were made with four legs and no wheels, keeping everyone safe and the lawyers out of the picture.

CarolynC - end of brain week

 CarolynC sent this envelope which she colored in and assembled. The tiny little name in the corner is AnnaGrunduls.com and no copyright symbol. I did not see this in Anna's freebie section. She has coloring books, stickers, etc. Carolyn's choice of stamp is so perfect with this design and it fits in so well with the space left over by the name and address.

***

Thanks for letting me fill this week with brain talk. Since it is Saturday - we will put the topic to rest. But first, I want to say that it has been so interesting to participate in brain rehab with people who are involved with brain stuff and probably grow weary of hearing people say the same things over and over.

Maybe they just automatically agree with everyone - but I felt reassured when they agreed with something that dawned on me: Prior to serious brain issues - we don't really spend any time pondering what is going on inside our brains unless we have a headache. Then, if we injure our brain - we venture down a rabbit hole - where there is so much to learn - but memory and *stuff* is all *virtual.* There are no filing cabinets or DVDs or *hardware.* To look at it -- the brain is not that different from a fancy Jello dessert.  But - holy crap - it's running the whole show. Everything we know and feel is *in there* - but it's all virtual. 

It's *mind-blowing.* My best advice - don't bonk your head.

I ran across a documentary that I just loved-loved-loved. Do not be put off by Martha Stewart's involvement and narration if you are not a fan of Martha. There is nothing about her or her perspective in the film. There is some fascinating stuff about how people hone/home* in on what is beautiful to them. If you love nature and feel buoyed by being in nature, you will enjoy the parts about the transition from hunter-gatherers to living in dwellings - which eventually became towns and cities. And obviously - touches on how therapeutic nature can be.

Built Beautiful: An Architecture and Neuroscience Love Story. It's on Kanopy - and maybe other places.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10962762/

* for the word-nerds - I had to look up home in and hone in - because I couldn't remember whether they were interchangeable. They are. Zero in is another option.

Details if you are interested: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/home-in-or-hone-in

Patty's popsicle - 4th layer

A yummy popsicle from Patty. I won't show the note that came inside - but do want to mention that Patty has been working on her penmanship and it's looking good. She did a pretty watercolor and printed it for the notecard. The paper is pretty slick so I am doubly impressed with her penmanship. For some reason I am unable to get nice penmanship on slick paper. Or maybe I haven't tried hard enough.

 ***

I guess I will jabber some more about the testing - because I need to fill up July. This is something I learned that might be of interest. Although, I would not trust me to have any accurate information any more. There are 4 layers of memory. The top layer is the *input.* Is your brain accepting information?

If the information gets into your brain, it needs to *lodge* or *stick* somewhere. This happens in the front of your brain (2nd layer) - and this was where I had bleeding when I hit the back of my head and the brain whip-lashed and hit the front of my head. So, it makes sense that most of my issues have to do with information not sticking.

If the information gets *lodged* in your brain, it goes to the third level where it is organized and pondered. I do not know what the symptoms would be if there was damage to that function and I hope I never find out.

And finally, the 4th layer is your long term memory - and I guess we can all imagine how hard it would be to lose that part.

There will be one more tidbit tomorrow and then I promise - we will move on.

For all the neurologists and neuropsychologists and my rehab tour guides who have stumbled across the blog - yes, I did make up my own words - because I couldn't remember the correct words. I cared enough to go back and find them on the piece of paper where I am storing them.

1. Attention

2. Working memory

3. Learning/Consideration

4. Long term - two types - Free and Cued 

Mary's coffee - 3rd and final on testing

 This must be from Mary - as usual, I my downloads are all mixed up. Thank you to people who send images to share.  This is so cute. I wonder if she has a coffee stamp to go with it.

*** Add-on jabbering:

Here is the part that might be useful to anyone who is being screened for dementia. They dig back into the stuff that we were supposed to learn in school. I can't remember all the questions - but here are things you might want to review. Or, if you remember these things - you can feel confidant that you are retaining stuff that you might need. Shout out to ChuckM who remembered that Wistful Vista was the name of the street where Fibber McGee and Molly lived. That was not one of the questions.

What is the distance of the equator? I can't imagine why anyone needs this information - but it will be my go-to question for conversational lulls. I guessed 8,000 miles which would have gotten me 1/3th of the way around the earth.

How long does it take for light to reach the earth - from the sun? I had no idea and did not want to even guess - but they require a guess - so I said, "212,000 minutes" because I had just responded to "At what temperature does water boil?" so 212 seemed like a fun number.  Then the number 8 popped into my head - so I said, "No, wait, it might be 8 minutes." 

This made the person doing the screening laugh - because my numbers were so far apart - even for guessing. She did not tell me that I actually did recall a number that was pretty close -- it's 8 min and 20 sec on average. I looked it up when I got home. 

A few more questions I recalled: Who wrote Alice in Wonderland?  Who came up with the theory of relativity? Who was president during the Civil War? Who was Martin Luther King? What is the largest organ in the human body? Who wrote Hamlet? 

And ChuckM sent this link for the Fibber McGee and Molly fans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSULisujRYg

Leslie to Leanne - More testing

 This is a fun one - maybe watercolor - and then swoops on top - and some round stickers around the edge.  I should probably pick up some more polka dot stamps if they are still available. Thank you, Leslie, for providing extras so that I can get July filled.

***

While the non-verbal testing is wildly interesting to me, I'm not that bad at verbal parts - until it came to the dreaded story problems, involving math - without paper and pencil. Grrrr. I am good at story problems in math - but I must have paper and pencil. I struggled through and am pretty sure that I got them right or at least close and then we got to Mary who could bake 2 cakes in 30 minutes. So how long would it take to bake 15 cakes?

I quickly responded - 30 minutes. The tester looked up at me with an *I wasn't expecting that answer* look on her face - and asked if I was sure? I pointed out that I did not know how many ovens Mary had or perhaps she worked in a bakery with a commercial oven. Test-person chuckled - and agreed that the problem needed to be clarified. I doubt I get bonus points for pointing out vague-ness in the questions. 

Then we got to a problem that had so many variables I said - "Sorry, I can't follow any of that" - and we moved on to something else - which we will talk about tomorrow.

When I got home, I did a pop quiz on MrWilson with the cake baking question. His first response was, "How many ovens?" So - there are at least two people who are always looking for tricks in questions.