April 30: Writing Prompt #120-Art Appreciation

Do you need to agree with an artist’s lifestyle or politics to appreciate their art? To spend money on it?

Nope, certainly not. In fact, most of the time I don’t even know what their lifestyle or politics are because I choose art based on how it makes me feel and what I think about it. I don’t go and research the artist before deciding to buy it.  For example, two of my favorite pieces of artist in my home are my Bali Batiks.  I don’t know anything about the artist who made them except that he is a well known and popular batik artist in Bali, Indonesia.  My husband and I choose them because they are stunning works of art and they remind us of the beauty and culture of Bali that we fell in love with while visiting there.  The eyes of the people in the batiks literally pop out at you, and the colors and images in the art make the space where we have displayed them feel warm and familiar to us. And that’s what matters to me. I respect the artist for his talent, whether or not I would agree with his lifestyle of politics does not matter. 

April 29: Writing Prompt #119-Cringe-Worthy

Do you feel uncomfortable when you see someone else being embarrassed? What’s most likely to make you squirm?

  Yes, most definitely!! The most likely to make me squirm is when someone is either being degraded, treated unfairly, or generally criticized right in front of me OR WORSE with me as a witness who was asked to be there. Unfortunately, I have been subjected to this unknowingly, and while listening in quiet shock, I left the room and sobbed uncontrollably to those I felt comfortable with afterwards. There’s no reason, in my opinion, to ever treat anyone so poorly to the point that those in earshot would feel embarrassed over what the person being degraded had to endure OR to the point of making them cry and go home in worry and pain.  In fact, even in private, we shouldn’t treat each other that way.  That’s really all I have to say about that…

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you….” Matthew 7:1-2

April 28: Writing Prompt #118-Your Time to Shine

Early bird, or night owl?

Another easy one for me, a night owl, sure. Funny thing is, my current position requires me to be at work at 5:45 am, which means I am up every day between 4-4:30 am to get ready and start my commute to work by 5:10 or so.  Even with that, if I am smart, I get to bed between 7-8 pm, but lately, it’s been more like between 9-10 pm.  I just can’t help it. I’m not ready for bed that early. Problem with this is…by Friday, I am exhausted. So, I catch up on Saturday and Sunday and then start my weekday sleep deprivation routine over again Sunday night.  Oh well. Bottom line is, I can adapt and get up early when I need to, but I really prefer to sleep in (which means 6:30-7 am), then get up and take my time with the morning.

When the boys were little, they would ALWAYS come into my room and stand by my side of the bed until I woke up. I would often pull them into bed with me or have them go in the living room with some toys or cartoons and tell them to just give me until 7. I would say, “I’m not getting up until 7, okay?” Funny thing is, that has kind of stuck with me.  I usually wake up (when I’m not required to get up earlier) before 7, and then say to myself … “I’m not getting up until 7.” 

Final story about my night owl ways…my boss at “The Mole Hole,” a collectables shop at the mall where I worked when I was in college, had been scheduling me for opening shifts and noticed I became a better saleswomen later in the day, so she told me, “You’re better in the evenings, so I’m going to have you come in later and close with me.” And that’s what I did from then on until I left my job there to move to Kwajalein.

April 27: Writing Prompt #117-Wall to Wall

What do you display on the walls of your home — photos, posters, artwork, nothing? How do you choose what to display? What mood are you trying to create?

Displayed on the walls of my current home are:

1. Artwork and/or photographs from places I’ve visited or lived-This includes batiks from Bali that my husband and I picked out when we were dating, and I had framed for my wedding gift to him. The photographs are underwater and island shots from planes we dove on, sea life we regularly swam with, and the dock we launched from on our adventures in the Pacific taken by a talented photographer who also lived there at the same time as us. 

2. Artwork and paintings by family members-Both my boys participated in “Original Artwork” fundraisers for school throughout elementary school. I ordered a matted 8 X 10 print of each piece of artwork they made and have them hung in their rooms and bonus room areas. In addition, I am lucky enough to have a very talented mother-in-law who has not only gifted her son with a fabulous painting or two over the years, but has also granted my requests for paintings of my new hometown mountain, “Ms. Rainier.” J   

3. Family Photographs-Many of these are not hanging on the wall, but displayed in stand-up frames on shelves, but I do have a large frame of wedding party photos in our bedroom.

4. Poster prints given to me and chosen by my husband from before we even knew each other-We have a couple of framed poster prints that made the cut. Mine was given to me by a friend as a housewarming gift at my first apartment in college, and the other was one of my husband’s prints from before he moved to the islands. 

5. My grandmother’s roster plate-This is an antique plate, hanging above my pantry in the kitchen. It has hung in every place I’ve lived since my first apartment, including my homes in Kwajalein. 

6. Shelves with handmade pottery and wood carvings from our time in the islands-I have deep shelves to display the pottery I made when taking classes on the island as well as an awesome story plate made by the illustrator of our children’s book, “Have It,” which was given to me as a wedding gift. I also have woodcarvings of underwater creatures from Pohnpei, an island near Kwajalein where residents often travel for weekend getaways.

7. Coat rack with hats and Marshallese handicrafts given to me by students and friends-When I was first arrived in the Marshall Islands, I taught at the college there, and at the end of each semester, the students shower you with thank you gifts (mostly shell jewelry and other handicrafts). Over the years, I also taught English classes for the teachers at the public schools on the island of Ebeye and organized 4-H clubs and events for the students from the base and the islands. At the end of each of these classes or club years, the Marshallese students, teachers, and organizers ALWAYS expressed their thanks in songs, food, and gifts. It’s such a precious reminder to me of what I consider my most purposeful work there, and I ended up with so many handicrafts that I had to get a large hanging coat rack to display them all.  

As far as my reasons for hanging what I do and the mood I’m trying to create, well, I hang and display those things that have meaning to me, that represent a part of my life and our lives together.  I’ve never really thought about what mood I’m trying to create, but I guess it would be one of home…or at least what home is to me…my first home out on my own (the college apartment), my home in the island (which encompasses the largest amount of my displays), my home in WA (in the paintings from my mother-in-law of Mt. Rainier), my “on vacation” home (in Bali at a Yoga retreat-I would go there every year if I could), and my children, husband, and extended family (my heart’s home). 

What about you? What’s on your walls and why? 

April 26: Writing Prompt #116-Second Time Around

Tell us about a book you can read again and again without getting bored — what is it that speaks to you?

As much as I LOVE to read, I am not one to read a book over and over again…mainly because there are too many other books I want to read. In fact, at this very moment, I have no less than 5 books in a basket in my bedroom waiting for me to read them, and I have 4 more of various lengths and topics on my Kindle. So, what types of books speak to me? Well, I do like the occasional best selling fiction (the kind that usually end up in the movies not long after I have read them these days), but my favorites are non-fiction or historical fiction (books based on true stories or historical facts).  I love when people tell their stories in their own way using their own voice and creative genius. This is what I aspire to, writing with the kind of honesty, raw emotion, and creativity that holds a reader’s attention and makes them feel they have learned something or connected with the author in some way. I will never be a famous writer, but I will continue to write as long as I live, hopefully getting a little bit better at it as each year goes by.