Feeling fragile? Frayed, or afraid?
Yes. Hi. Me too. There’s a bunch of us in this…boat, this space, this era.
I want to share two things I’ve been leaning on a bit when the pressure of words and feelings builds up.
Number One: I try to capture magic sensory moments in my day. This morning it was the unexpected scent of wild roses on my walk. Yesterday it was the gentle breath of the air when the wind finally dropped. And a couple of days ago, at the Dump, it was this stunning image inside the glass dumpster:
Someone–maybe one of our community’s glass artists?–had dumped a large pile of crushed glass on top of the usual bottles, and then, in a fit of artistry I guess, added a small glass sea star on top.
I took that photo, then got everyone else at the dump to take a look themselves. Voila–instant joy, in a dumpster.
Number Two: You know the game Bananagrams? It’s lovely, and I recommend it. But my sons and I play a variation on the game that we call Scramble. I won’t describe Scramble here, because it’s as fast & furious as it sounds–lots of fun, but not at all restful or comfortable. But SOLITARY Scramble is both. Here’s how it works.
- Dump all 144 Bananagrams tiles out and turn them blank-side-up. 2. Turn 4 letters over and try to make a word. If you can’t, keep turning over tiles until you can. 3. Once you have a word, continue turning tiles, one at a time. But (HERE’S THE FUN PART) 4. Try to fit each new letter into an EXISTING word before creating a new one.
A few rules, of course. Adding letters to existing words requires re-arranging the word. You can’t just make something plural, change “bask” to “basking”, or “world” to “worldly”. You CAN change “bask” to “basket,” or “world” to “whorled.” Or even “latrine” to “relating.”
Get it?
Unlike regular Scramble, where you’re trying to use letters before your fellow players do, Solitaire Scramble is deliciously slow. Deliberate. No backsies–whenever you’ve used a letter, you can’t later move it to another word! So take your time.
Hint: pay attention to “ING” and “ED” and “TION” possibilities. If you find the 4-letter-word minimum too challenging, start with three.
And if you’re both careful and lucky, you might just end up with a PERFECT ROUND, using up all 144 letters:
Now THAT is comfort: a good 45 minutes spent on nothing but language.
Anyone else? Comforting little moments to share? My spirits will thank you.
Wing's World 
What fun! But Lousier. Wait! Got it! My eyes first read it as Louiser. Well done!
Love and blessings,
Lorna
Hahaha, a Louiser would be maybe someone who wrote better than Ms. Penny? or just a fan?
I’ve just come back from time in the Mojave, my favourite place on the planet. Perhaps you saw some of my posts about it. The line between heaven and earth is very, very thin, and at times — like when you see the Milky Way out there — non-existent. Profoundly nourishing to me. And it’s odd, because, while I’m out there most often by myself, I never feel lonely, at all. I feel the company of the Divine, strongly: the weird naked geology, the volcanic formations, the J-trees, the life in general. And most of all, the Quiet. The preserve, which is nestled between I-15 and I-40 east of L.A., doesn’t have the famous places that Death Valley or JTNP have, that everybody feels they *have* to go to. Blah blah Zabriskie Point. Blah blah Scotty’s Castle. Blah blah Badwater. And so on. There’s just a whole lot of glorious nothing with no amenities (a lot of _amen_ in that) — so not many people. I could wax for several blogpages about it. But I feel alone *here*, in the megalopolis, not out there. Perfect place to decompress and digitally detoxify and refuel for the next bout of neurotic overbusiness. Check out my pictures, if you haven’t yet 😉
John, I’d love to. Can you email me the link? Gretchen.wing@gmail.com
They are all on my facebook page. If you can’t access that, I’ll email them to you.
Oh, of course! I’ve barely been on FB these days…but I’ll find you there.