Tuesday, November 25, 2008

EARTH'S DARING SWING AWAY FROM THE LIGHT AND BACK

     Although our weather is mild again after some chilly days, we see each day getting shorter.  I'm convinced that one reason for lights and celebration during the shortest days of the year is to distract us from darkness.  Still, darkness has its benefits of retreat and gathering round the hearth.  Once when I lived in Cambridge, MA, I attended a Winter Solstice celebration I will never forget.  It seemed very English, with Elizabethan old scale music and jesters and tumblers in colorful costumes with bells on their turned up toes.  I enjoyed the pageant enormously!

     As for the turned up toes, I read in a novel recently--I've already forgotten which one but it could have been by Georgette Heyer, a superb writer--that shoe toes made in that style did not kick up mud as other toes do.

     For those of you who are looking for special gifts for friends and loved ones, here are a few I've found for you and mentioned in past posts:

FOR THE PARENTS ON YOUR LIST: Nicole MacKensie's ebook and on line class. There is no work more sacred than raising children.  See the curiosity based parenting method.  No punishment. Free e-class. Learn to set rules and consequences that develop respect naturally… Plus have fun in the process.

http://patricia77.momhasfun.hop.clickbank.net


FOR THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER: Start with James Siew's ebook of humor. Click Here!

FOR YOUR WRITER FRIENDS: Good nuts and bolts advice. HOW TO WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN E-BOOK by Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale. Click Here!

Enjoy the benefits of darkness and the celebration of light!  Trish/SwampWalkingWoman

Thursday, November 13, 2008

SURVEY

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND TO THESE THREE QUESTIONS.  SEND YOUR RESPONSE TO MY EMAIL BOX: triciajean1@yahoo.com

1)       What do you need most from an encouraging and informative blog?  That is, what one thing stands between you and the happiness and success you deserve?

2)      What do you want to find out more about?  (What the heck is this thing called life?  The internet?  How to prosper?  Raising children?  Other?)

3)      Tell me about you.  I love to hear about my readers and their lives.  Your stories help me know how to help you the most.

     I'll thank you by sending a fr_ee gift.  Best, Trish/Swamp Walking Woman  

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

THANKSGIVING MAGIC

    Hello! to all my friends on the World Wide Web.  Connecticut, USA, is a lot cooler today than the last time I posted.  Halloween has come and gone.  On the trail by the brook yellow and red maple leaves lie on the ground while burnished oak leaves gleam in the afternoon sun, their  turn to shine.  To everything its season.

     From our different cultures we approach the holiday season, preparing for Thanksgiving in the US.  Most of us know now that the first Thanksgiving was created in the 1870s.  (If you doubt this, see Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen.)  Yet, for many, the tradition of sitting down to a special meal among family and friends has gathered a meaning and warmth all its own.  We don’t need it to have been factual in origin.  A few of us are even willing to admit that our ancestors weren’t nearly as nice about moving to these shores as the writers of grade school text books wanted us to think. 

     One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that my own forebears committed crimes against humanity when they settled New England.  It was not a peaceful migration.  Perhaps that is why peace is still so hard to achieve.   And why I’m dedicated to promoting world peace.

     After Thanksgiving, families begin to prepare for Hanukah, for Kwanza, for Christmas, and sometimes Ramadan, depending on the year.  We become more prayerful than ever for peace across the planet.   And now, with internet communication, peace is possible.  That is why I’m offering you a chance not only to enjoy the holidays and pray for peace, but to do activities that create peace and safety in your own families and neighborhoods.

    We seem to have brought forward into present day life many of the less than satisfying behaviors of past generations.  If you are part of a family where a holiday gathering can become tense, argumentative, or rowdy, if you worry about how you and others will behave during visiting, consider how you will speak and listen to others.  Because I know busy people don’t have time to look for the resources they need, I’ve been trolling the internet for you.  Here are some treasures:

1)       An inexpensive course in simple communication to get you started on a peaceful holiday season.

Click Here! 

2)       For parents dedicated to raising happy free children, here is the Happy Free Children, Teachers and Parents Resource Kit, helps the children you nurture honor their innate wisdom and respect those they live amongst as well as their planet home.

Click Here! 
               

3)      One way to promote peace in the family is to keep children busy with projects they enjoy.  Here are some suggestions I found for you on Little Kid Crafts.

Click Here! 

4)      And an exciting resource on arts and crafts for grownups,

Click Here! 

5)     Beyond the holidays, and by beyond, I mean transcendent in its appeal, Michael Harvey has put together some information we can really use.  This is for anyone who wants to go easy on planetary resources and save mega-money on electric bills.  His mission:  To educate communities and individuals on how to live a more comfortable, cost effective, and pro-planet lifestyle.  Learn how to build your own inexpensive solar panels and wind mills.  See in these pages how to build a more efficient life, one that is kind to the planet and to your pocketbook.

Click Here! 

It’s clear to see why this last one would promote peace by helping us consume less and give back more.  Happy Holidays to All.  Trish, also know as Swamp Walking Woman


Ps.  Send me your email and I'll send you a fr_ee gift.  triciajean1@yahoo.com