Writing

I was thinking today about my writing, why I do it, and what I get from it. Initially, when I started blogging, it was just to do it, to test out the waters and see what blogging was all about. My first experience was fairly unexciting. No comments. No responses whatsoever.

 Then I found Blogstream (thank you Graffiti), and everything changed. Suddenly there were people who were not only reading what I wrote, but commenting, and not just commenting, but who appeared to enjoy reading what I was writing. What an interesting experience. I have had a few articles published, and have had a few comments about how people like my writing, but not to the extent I have from Blogstream bloggers.

 Over the last couple of months, I’ve written all sorts of different things. From my thoughts on life, to titbits about my life, to little stories based on my life. I am enjoying the writing more and more.

 I’m finding stories about my past, particularly my travels, are coming into my brain more and more. When I used to think about my travels, I dismissed them as unimportant, as things that just happened. I’ve never felt any pride in some of my adventures; or pleasure in many of the things I have accomplished. When my son was little, I didn’t tell him stories of when mommy was little. I don’t remember much of my childhood and that was part of the problem. However, I could have told him stories of his mother as a traveller, his mother as an adult. I didn’t. Now I feel the need to write these things down. To feel pleasure and pride in what I have accomplished over my almost 60 years.

 So for my son, my future grandchildren, these stories, some day, may make interesting reading. For me, right now, they make interesting writing.

 Thank you all Blogstreamers who have supported me and who have commented, most favourably, on my writings. Stay tuned. There will be more.

 Madeleine

Friday, 6 January 2006

I have just dug some of Monty's family out of storage, DeBunkem. Thought he might enjoy meeting the Australian branch of his family. Madeleine Saturday, 7 January 2006

Think outside your square

This post started from DeBunkem’s post “Turning the World Upside Down” and a conversation I had with someone tonight. Humans get stuck in their own little ruts. They tend to do things the same all the time, just because that’s the way they’ve always done it.

A story I heard many years ago (and ain’t the net a wonderful invention, I found it there. Now I don’t have to type it out, I can just copy and paste.)

The wife was in the kitchen fixing a roast. Her husband (when I heard the story, it was a friend) was in the kitchen helping her. He noticed that before she put the roast in the pan, she cut off the end of it and tossed it aside. Perplexed, the husband asked her why she had done this. She replied, "Well, it is what my mother always did!" So, the wife went to her mother and asked her why she always cut off the end of the roast before putting in the pan. She replied, "Well, it is what my mother always used to do!" So, the young wife finally went to her grandmother and asked her, "Grandma, why did you cut off the end of your roast before putting in the pan?" She replied, "Because the pan was too small."

To me, this has always been an example of people who think inside their same old square. They don’t question anything.

I have, over the years, often got into trouble by asking “Why?”. At uni, I got into trouble for asking our psychologist lecturer what happened to the other 30% of the population. He was saying that 70% of the population would respond in a particular way to a certain situation. So I asked, what about the other 30% of the population. When he told me that they weren’t important, I quit psychology. Many others in the group couldn’t understand my problem. They had never even thought of the other 30%.

Often it is difficult to think outside our square. How many times has someone said to you “Have you tried………….”. The simplest solution is often the hardest to visualise.

One of the biggest problems to doing things differently is the cry: “What will people think of me?”. Well, my friends thought I was crazy for vacuuming the patio. It was a bit of a pain, cause the tube bit kept getting clogged up, but it worked. Now they have vacuums specifically for outside work. Damn. I could have made a fortune. Maybe laziness has something to do with it.

Thinking outside your square comes up with some very interesting innovations, some very different thinking, makes people think you are creative and often makes for less stress.

If You Always Do What You Have Always Done.... 
You’ll Always Get What You Always Got!

What do I do, that I’ve always done the same way and how could I do it differently? That’s going to be my mantra for 2006

Madeleine

Tuesday, 3 January 2006

Household Horror

 To follow the lead of some others on Blogstream, here is my own personal horror story.

 I have a horror/phobia about spiders. I’ve been cleaning, and tidying in preparation for my new furniture to arrive on Wednesday. I suspect I have had lots of the little critters hiding in spaces that I didn’t know exist, but with all the cleaning, they are coming out of their little houses.

 Last night, just as I was off to bed, I spied one skittering across the floor. I leapt for the spray, the cure for all spiders. By the time I got back, he’d gone!!!! Now anyone with a spider phobia will know that you do not go to sleep while one of them is wandering around, alive, in your house.

 So where is the little creature? Hunting high and low. Finally got a torch and peered under the bookcase. There he was, his beady little eye staring at me in the light of the torch. Shhhhpppppppppppppppppppppppppp!!! Three sprays later and I’m happy that no spider could survive that onslaught.

 In my mind, I can still see his eyes, shining in the light of the torch. I don’t know what those beady little eyes were saying to me. I imagine, at different times, that he was saying:

1. don’t, don’t, don’t!! I’m only a harmless little spider. I’m sorry for invading your space. I’ll go away.

Or

2. try and get me you sucker!! I’ll come and crawl into your bed while you’re asleep.

 Whatever, he is dead. I checked this morning and he is definitely dead, dead, dead!!

 Madeleine

Tuesday, 3 January 2006

1^st photos of 2006

 

Just thought I would share some of these. This first one is for Graffiti who keeps making fun of my dawg, reckons she doesn’t do dawg things. Well here she is doing dawg things.

My name, Gezunda. In England they talk about the gezunda – the thing that gez unda the bed in case you need to pee in the middle of the night. Here is one in miniature. The bed is about 2inches high.

And the sunset last night.

Madeleine

Tuesday, 3 January 2006