PostSecret

One of my favorite spots online is Postsecret. If you haven't checked it out, do. It's always interesting.

I got to meet Frank, the man behind PostSecret, in 2006. It was one of the highlights of that conference for me and I also got to meet Rosalyn Carter, if that gives you some idea of how much I love PostSecret.

You have to check out the website every week, because he doesn't offer an archive of the secrets. Sometimes he will have the previous week's also viewable.

Of course, he now has books out with secrets in them.

Maybe that's what I need to do - get rid of the blog archive - and publish a book. And after I sell 2-3 copies to my closest friends, and I buy one, the archives would be back.

Happiness by Toe Ring and Foam Foot

Do you ever realize that something in your world is making you happy beyond what is reasonable? I'm having that experience lately with a $1.99 foam foot. I bought it in Gallup, New Mexico a couple of months ago. It's designed for displaying toe rings in stores.

For some reason, as soon as I saw it I wanted one. I have a few toe rings, but probably not enough to fill up the foot. But, it "spoke to me." When you can get something that costs less than two dollars that speaks to you, I say if you have two dollars it's a good way to spend them.

I have to say, it has been a good purchase for me. Whenever I run across another toe ring somewhere in the house I can't wait to stud one of the slits in the foam foot with it.

A few weeks ago I was on prednisone and one night when I looked up the side effects, one of those listed was "inappropriate happiness," which I was certainly experiencing. However, even though the prednisone is long gone, the foam foot is still giving me a great deal of happiness - inappropriate or not.

I figure you might as well take happiness anywhere you can find it and by whatever means possible - foam foot included.

Afghans for Afghans

If you are a knitter or crocheter and want to share your talents in a meaningful way, check out http://www.afghansforafghans.org/. It's an effort to provide blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the people of Afghanistan.

I'm not a talented enough crafts person to do this, but it seems like a great idea.

Pilsen Kansas Church

I took this photo in early April at the Catholic church in Pilsen, Kansas. Sunlight was streaming through the stained glass window and leaving this large statue with a glow.

Pilsen, Kansas is a Bohemian Czech community and the church reflects this in the stained glass and statues it has. I'll be posting more photos eventually.

Rose Bush

I took this photo in June of 2007. This rose bush was a bargain purchased on clearance a couple of years ago and it has become one of my best flowers.

I bought another rose bush this year - a pink one. I'm going to wait to plant it until the middle of the month. I hope it does as well. I planted three year before last that did nothing. Of course, I'm sure that was a problem with the bushes and not me. Right?

You may remember I wrote about pruning this one this spring, before it started getting green. I tried reading online about when to prune and I read everything. So, I decided to just do it and see what happened. Well, I'm happy to report that pruning in the spring, before it gets green, is apparently OK, because it has lots of green leaves all over it now.

Shopping Ain't Like Mama Did It

Some time ago I went out to buy a card for my digital camera. I was at WalMart to get some other things so thought I'd just pick it up there, figuring they'd have a good deal on it anyway.

Well, they did have it. They even had a good deal on it.

The only problem - I couldn't purchase one.

It's a store who's business is to vend products. It seems that the combination of store wanting to sell and customer wanting to buy would be a win-win situation.

But, not so fast. The customer cannot take the tiny little card in its hermetically sealed foot tall plastic package off the peg on which it hangs. It is somehow locked onto the peg. You have to go find an employee with a little widget that opens it up so you can buy the product. Of course, not just any employee who happens to be nearby, but the employee who has the little widget.

Well, I didn't have time to invest in all of this so I thought I'd just go to Office Max a couple of blocks away.

Of course, one can't just purchase products there either. An employee has to go to some inner sanctum and return with the product you've requested. At least it was on sale there.

Is it the customers who steal so much (the Walmart system would lead one to believe) or is it the employees who steal so much (the Office Max system supports this theory)? I realize it's not the fault of employees and I do my best to be pleasant to them.

I just know it makes shopping a huge pain. I just want to buy a freaking product - one you sell - would you please make it possible without involving a half dozen other people?

And they wonder why internet shopping is increasing in popularity...

Tea Lover

I'm not sure exactly when I became a tea lover, but somewhere along the way it happened. Years ago I worked with a woman, Carolyn, who was a devoted tea drinker. It was around the office in the cabinets and so I started partaking every once in awhile. Before I knew it, I had become a tea drinker.

Then I started "going to tea," which is a whole different kind of experience. I absolutely love sharing tea with others.

Of course, tea has a whole assortment of beautiful accessories that go with it. I bought this amazing little set at a Goodwill store in Wichita a year or so ago.

Tea has come to mean a number of different things to me. It speaks to me of "home," not the home in which I grew up, but the home I've made for myself. It reminds me of quiet contemplation. And it can also be a lovely time shared with friends. What else is so versatile?