Today is Saturday, December 10th in Prescott, Arizona where I started this post at 4:00 pm. It is now 9:00 and the day is almost finished with an expected temperature range from 58-27 degrees F. Very nice for walking in the afternoon. Pretty cool for going out a night, which we did on Thursday around Courthouse Square.
I just got back from a walk with my neighbor, Barbara, and trust me, I need a break to catch my breath! I don’t usually drink coffee in the afternoon but since you are all here with me, I’ll finish what I didn’t have time to drink this morning. I know that sounds gross but it was delicious and I hate to waste it. It’s cold now, but even tastier than it was hot.
Reading This Week
- I finished reading Katherine Johnson, My Remarkable Journey, the autobiography of one of the mathematicians who helped launch the golden space age in the U.S. She lived to be 101 if you want some tips on how to live a long and productive life.
- I also finished Eat That Frog this week – a super simple read about how to overcome procrastination to get more done to have more time to spend with those you love doing what you love to do.
- I just started a book recommended by Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog called Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman. This is an older book, but the author contends that people can overcome depression by learning the steps to optimism.
- Finally, I’m reading Self-Editing for Fiction Writers on my Kindle.
Speaking of Lists
Also, thanks to Brian Tracy, I think I spend more time crossing things on my list and adding more things to do than I do working.
- On the plus side, I’ve added Vince’s name to lots of the lists, and we have plowed through lots of “stuff “to do’s” including getting the living room mostly painted today.
- I’ve accomplished my walking goal of 10,000+ steps almost every day along with quite a few leg exercises.
- From my walking partner, I’m learning a lot about what gets done around here in this complex and met many of my neighbors. She does tons of steps – we do live at 5,300 feet above sea level, so I can only handle about 5,000 steps at her pace before I’m ready for a break.
Blogging
Writer’s Quotes Wednesday is changing to Wednesday Quotes in January to make it as much of a photo challenge as a writer’s challenge. Many of us have a similar blogging pattern – sharing snippets of our lives, which is why Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share and Wednesday Quotes work well. Since I’ve been hosting WQW I have discovered how well using quotes augments any blog post. If you are artistic and want to join the “Design a Logo Contest,” you can get the details here.
“Memory as an article of faith often comes naturally to writers, who by temperament are likely to be diarists and record keepers, forever searching past events for elusive patterns – and forever believing that such patterns are to be found.”
Dara Horn
Anne Christine hosted the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – patterns this week, so my photos will be mostly a response to her challenge and Natalie’s PPAC, with my Christmas lights at the Courthouse, of course!
Lens Artist Photo Challenge – Patterns
“My big thesis is that although the world looks messy and chaotic, if you translate it into the world of numbers and shapes, patterns emerge and you start to understand why things are the way they are.”
Marcus du Sautoy
Last week I took several pictures for Patti’s Lens-Artist Challenge – diagonals. Then I forgot to post them. (that wasn’t on my list!) The pictures fit this week’s challenge just as well. I work on puzzles that I make from my photos. This photo from last week made a great puzzle with lots of diagonal lines.
When we solve puzzles, we look for patterns of lines and colors that go together. Here is how the puzzle looked at various stages of solving it. What patterns do you look for when you solve jigsaw puzzles? I bought a new screen and keyboard and I can’t keep Vince off my computer. The screen is at least twice as big as my laptop making puzzles a breeze to work.
Do you have a favorite type or color of dog or cat? We used to have an airedale/poodle mix. I loved the pattern of colors of his fur. So every time I see Airedale patterning I have to stop and meet the dog and sometimes they let me take a picture. Couldn’t you just love this pup?
I love these next two pictures taken in the Northwest where Nature dominates life. I thought the picture in Nine Mile Falls looked like an open yellow set of dentures had been misplaced on the side of the river. Do you see them? I don’t think they had ever been brushed, do you?
“Nature does not turn out her work according to a single pattern; she prides herself upon her power of variation.“
Seneca the Younger
“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience.“
Alfred North Whitehead
Finally, I loved the patterns we found on dahlias in Oregon. Then I saw this paper creation that reminded me of a dahlia. I guess I imposed my experience in perceiving the pattern.
Cee’s Challenges This Week
Washington state is where my California migrant students and their families traveled to pick apples. You can see why. Don’t they look luscious?
The Pacific Northwest has always been a favorite place of mine. Through the lens of a camera, you can be right there without smelling a skunk, getting bit by a mosquito, attacked by a raccoon, wet in a drizzle or a downpour, caught in a snowstorm, or working up a sweat and out of breath walking up to the top of a hill. Isn’t blogging glorious?
Inspiration This Week Presented By
- Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share/Photographing Public Art Challenge
- Lens Artist Photo Challenge – patterns Thanks, Leya.
- Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – apple red
- Cee’s Black & White Challenge – Nature
- Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – Macro
- Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Upcoming on Always Write
- December 14: Food: Delicious Delights There are still three more days to link to this week’s topic of winter/snow
- December 21: Holiday: Christmas or Winter Solstice
- December 28: Reflections on 2022/Writer’s Choice/ or YOUR WOTY Review Voting for the top design for 2023.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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