Paved Roads, Baskets, Intentions

I can't believe it. After I take in my car for service Saturday morning, I put the nose to the grindstone and finish writing first drafts of the last two chapters in my textbook. It should only take me this weekend if I'm focused. Angie is gone and Dean has to work in the office prepping for a big meeting. No new Netflix are due in the mail and I've watched every last English period film on streaming that I can stand. There should be no distraction.

Yes, it's long overdue. I was reading Douglas Adams' wiki recently and found he is credited with the lovely quote, "I love deadlines. I love the whoosing noise they make as they go by." Unlike Mr. Adams, I hope my tardy writing habits never become cause for my intrepid editor and I to be locked together in a hotel room for three weeks!

Yes, that's only the first part of writing a book. There are still versions and revisions, test questions, case studies, student exercises, parts, introductions, and appendices. But, having the nucleus of the book done will feel so good.

Now, let's see what I have to say Monday morning. Stay tuned...

ETA: Sunday - My goodness. I have learned so much writing this book. Seemingly every time I think I know something, or the source of it, I am surprised to find misquotes, vagaries, and redirection. My research estimate is always low...

SoulPancake & Project Conversion

Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on The Office, co-created the site SoulPancake. It is an attempt to create an on-line, contemporary place to talk about spirituality and life's big questions. It's interesting, if, sadly, geared towards someone younger than me.

I also am rather uncomfortable with Mr. Wilson's faith, Baha'i because of their ambigious to negative stance on homosexuality. If it wasn't for that sticky point, Baha'i would be a pretty cool religion, as religions go. It is rather focused on individual righteousness without judging other people. I'm down with that much.

Within that framework, then, I am skeptical of SoulPancake. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For some reason, I don't buy that it is as cool as it seems. But then, they have a feature called Life's Little Lists, that is a tool to help a person consider their inner life. It's these parts of the site that make me forget the other shoe.

The current question is, "Name three things that you and only you can do for yourself." As a strong believer in self-determination, of course this appealed to me.

1. Only I can determine whether I am really ticklish.
2. Only I can decide how I will feel about or react to another person's behavior.
3. Only I can see my dreams.

I don't think I've posted about it here, and since I'm feeling religulous today, and since it also happens to related to Baha'i it reminded me, I'll point out for those interested in comparative religion, Project Conversion. This guy is trying on 12 different religions, one per month for a year. Fascinating project. I highly recommend it. I am intrigued by his work on his own spiritual journey and connection to the divine through the windows of these faiths.

Next in the religious post series, my musings on My Favorite Mormon, Ken Jennings, my recent trip to Salt Lake City, which included a trip to Temple Square, and why Mormons are so gosh darned nice.

Zen and the art of cleaning out one's track ball

Wow. Do not let your track ball mouse go without a regular cleaning. Mine seemed to be sluggish today. I finally popped out the ball and pulled what seemed to be felt pads off the three contact points for the ball. They were actually dust and debris. Now, the mouse cursor moves so fast I'm having a hard time controlling it. Note to self.

Now, I have to do something about the lunch crumbs in my keyboard...

The herd increases

I became the wife of an urban chicken farmer this weekend. Dean had talked for a couple of years about getting some chickens. We can legally have 8 chickens in the city limits.

Interesting to note that chickens lay eggs regardless of whether they are fertilized by a rooster. It's preferable not to have a rooster if the chickens are laying hens.

This weekend, we went to a chicken show for Angie. She is in 4-H and has really taken to showing and judging chickens. She borrowed a chicken to show and did a great job with it. She also was happy with her work in the judging portion.

We have four chicks in the basement two Black Star, one Dark Brahma, and one Spangled Sussex. Angie wanted a sleeping bag last night to spend the night with them. It was so precious!

They are really precious. On the 30th, we're having 4 more. For sure, two Buff Orpington, and either one Silver-laced Wyandotte and one Light Brahma or two Silver Wyandotte.

I just wanted a couple of the buff color, so I'm happy. My chickens will be named Priscilla and Henrietta, which seem like right fine hen names. I get to name at least one Orpington and one other.

Dean has 5 weeks to build the coop. This weekend, he worked on clearing the area of the yard.

I'm looking forward to working through Julia Child's egg chapter in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

So, in all it is quite the family venture we're in. You'll have to stop by for an omelet.

Are you in your feet?

I've been taking meditation classes with Kim Trimmer. One class a few weeks ago, as we were practicing yoga before we sat, she asked, "Are you in your feet? Not are you aware of your feet, but is the essence of you in your feet? Do you inhabit your entire body?"

What an amazing question. I would say, as I think most of us would, that I am in my brain, or I am in my heart, but rarely do we inhabit the whole body. The body is a vehicle that the brain or the heart or the soul drives. I like the idea of trying to really be in the whole car.

I have been embracing another quote from class, paraphrased here - You are not a human being having spiritual experiences. You are a spirit having human experiences. Or, said another way, one I've enjoyed for years - You do not have a soul, you are a soul.

Be in your feet!

Tasty, Tasty Copycat

Since moving to Seattle, Dean and I have discovered an immense love of Indian cuisine. I bought Madhur Jaffrey's seminal cookbook Indian Cooking last year. I was looking through it this weekend to find some meals to prepare, and couldn't decide which sounded tastier.

So, like Julie Powell discovering Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I'm diving in to Indian Cooking with plans to make every dish in the book and then self-obsessively blog about it.

Amazon says it is "over 100" recipes, so 103 maybe? I'll count for sure and starting posting the tasty results post haste.

For Alysen, a post about design

Well designed things give me a sense of peace. I love taking a break from work and perusing Design Milk or Dwell.

I get a weird combination of amusement and enjoyment from Unhappy Hipsters.

A smooth line, a well placed roof line, a seemingly random yet purposefully placed splash of color in the exterior world calms my inner world mightily. It is a mindful meditiation for me.

Around the new year, Design Milk had a post about great new calendars. I instantly ordered one from an etsy shop The Made Shop. I got it in red to match my office decor and I simply adore using it multiple times a day. Its lines and structure are so beautiful.

I think that's a big reason why I love my iPhone. Great industrial design appears so simple and elegant. When I interviewed for my current job, one of the interviewers asked me to talk about some phrases, one of which was 'simplicity on the other side of complexity'. That is great design. It often takes immense effort, but when done well, it looks so easy.

Consider design, not just function in your decisions. It really can make all the difference.