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10 Rules
Corita Kent’s 10 Rules, as seen in this feature by The Great Discontent caught my attention and curiosity lately. Rules with a certain cheekiness and lightheartedness, collected by a devoted nun? Love it. As outlined in TGD’s article, Corita Kent’s 10 Rules has several versions, but the most recognizable it the poster laid out by…
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The Week in Between
Last night my wife turned to me, “Today was Tuesday, right?” We talked about this weird week between Christmas and New Year. The frenzy of choir concerts and family gatherings is over, nearly all the Christmas baking has mysteriously disappeared. But the next thing has yet to begin. I’m not sure what day it is.…
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Zine: Where the Wolves Hooowl
Here’s an 8-page zine I made about our Wolf Howl Hike back when the snow was deep and the nights were cold (ok, they’re still a little cold). It’s interesting how we share the stories happening in our lives, isn’t it? These days we can snap a photo of something we did, and share it…
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Making Things Out of Junk
One of our kids returned proudly from pre-school one day holding up a creation made entirely from objects rescued from the recycling bin. If we were unsure what this random glued-together collection of cups and sticks was, exactly, so was she. But it was her creation, and that was enough to call it something like…
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Making the Rounds
In his book Keep Going, Austin Kleon references the US Postal Service’s unofficial slogan in describing his family’s morning walk routine. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” This morning, on a day where the Canada Post has been delayed or…
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This is Nature
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins (along with her late husband, Doug Tompkins) worked to establish conservation areas stretching millions of acres across Patagonia on the southern tip of South America. I was inspired by an interview in the documentary 180° South, where McDivitt Tompkins (possibly quoting Gary Snyder?) stated, “You can’t protect what you do not love.”…
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Fetch and the Fear of Missing Out
Growing up we had an energetic Cocker Spaniel named Gus who loved playing fetch. He would chase down slobber-soaked tennis balls for what seemed like hours. When I would throw one ball, he would race to retrieve it. But when I wanted to have some fun I would throw two balls. Instead of running to…
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Creativity is Subtraction
Austin Kleon has some great advice on creativity, and following his first rule, I stole it (but check out more by clicking on the image): Kleon is a generous artist, and I like that. I also like his art, called “Newspaper Blackout”. Armed with only a Sharpie, he creates poems by removing all the “unnecessary”…