As regular as clockwork, Cee has tossed us another challenge to bear our souls and share our worlds.
Would you rather take a 2 week vacation with an organized tour or take a cruise of your choice? Can I just do both? I mean, I’m retired, I have nowhere I have to be. Both appeal to me in different ways. The cruise would be so relaxing, and offers a wonderful opportunity to get a taste of different countries, just enough to know whether or not you might like to visit again in more depth. An organized tour could be good, if it didn’t just go to the big tourist attractions, but led you off the beaten path a bit. How about I just take the cruise, but on days in a port I hire a local guide to show me the local attractions, including some that might be a bit obscure.
Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing? I did like swinging as a child. There was such a wonderful sense of freedom and being in command of my world on a swing, flying high into the sky (or so it seemed), with the wind in my face. I don’t know that I’d say I get excited when I see a swing now, but it would be nice to have one of those adult, fluffy chair type swings hanging from a tree in my yard. These days, I think my swinging would be more gentle – but I bet there would be days when an old-fashioned swing would be just the ticket – soaring high into the sky again.
What is the most important thing that you ever learned ? (I bet it’s not something you learned in school) I think the most important thing I ever learned was that I am a lot stronger than I would have given myself credit for. That there is a lot I’m capable of doing when I try. That I am a survivor. That’s a benefit of being a working single mom, struggling to survive on an income that does not allow for frivolity.
What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. I’m still having trouble being inspired or appreciating things. I’m weary – weary of what the world we live in is becoming, weary of ineffective leadership, not looking forward to the gray days of winter with it’s restrictive weather. But – I have appreciated some of this week’s sunrises, I appreciate having friends near enough to share a cup of coffee and a little camaraderie, I appreciate having the privacy of my own home and a yard that is large enough neighbors do not hear the words I speak from inside my house or out on my decks, I appreciate the warmth of my furry girl who likes to cuddle in bed on cool nights, I appreciate the contact with my kids and the knowledge that I will get some of their time during the holidays. I appreciate that I wake up mornings and am able to get out and about without assistance.
Playing with inks is a good diversion for some of my mornings, and I recently decided to play a little with my What’sIts creatures. Here are a couple that will end up being the front of a greeting card at some point in time.
Wanderings of an Elusive Mind 
Your oils are so delightful today. And yes, you can have both vacations 😀 😀
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Carol — “The most important thing I ever learned was that I am a lot stronger than I would have given myself credit for.” YES, INDEED!
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What is the most important thing you ever learned? What a very difficult question – but you answered it well. I suspect most of us would probably say something similar. For me, it would be “personality really IS more important than what you look like” and that this applies no matter HOW you look. Having mastered that one, you are truly free to express your unique personality, which will lead you to learn another important thing: you really can stop worrying what other people think of you. Once you do that, you’ll maybe lose one set of ‘friends and admirers’ but you will gain a whole new set of more genuine ones and you’ll be happier.
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You are so right – learning to accept and love yourself, warts and all, opens the door to real personal freedom.
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I don’t care how I get there, but I’d like to go to lots of places.
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Organized tour for me for sure. I want to do a bunch of Elder Hostel trips. They’re educational as well as interesting and often DO go to places that are off the beaten path. Plus they’re a little more affordable. I have never been on a cruise and I don’t know if I want to try one. I think I’d feel trapped on a big boat with thousands of my closest friends.
I loved swings as a kid when I could find one that wouldn’t lift out of the ground when I kicked high. Now days my neighbor has a big swing attached to a board high up in a huge tree. I took my 83 year old aunt over there this summer because she always talked about swinging as a kid and she grinned like a little girl again as she swung up toward the branches.
The most important thing I’ve learned in my lifetime is that life itself is short. And that changes the way I see everything. I hope I use that knowledge to make big changes in my life someday soon. But we’ll have to see.
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I have a friend that has done a number of Elderhostel trips with her husband. There was a group on the cruise my friend and I went on, but I think they’re Roads Scholars now.
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You’re right, I was thinking of Road Scholar.
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I like your creatures, such fun. I like the idea of both a holiday and a cruise too. On a recent trip to Bali we actually hired our own driver and guide for a few days to take us to out of the way treasures, such a wonderful idea
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The paintings are adorable!
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I love porch swings! My neighbor has a wooden bed swing I adore too! Your painting people made me smile today. I’ve never been on a cruise so i think your idea is the best of both worlds. It’s fun to explore, but to have someone be able to add some background on what you see is enjoyable. There are too many lessons I’ve learned over the years to include here….perhaps that should be a blog post of its own? November has begun colder than normal here. I’m hoping that’s not a sign of how is going to act. xoxo
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Whimsical paintings, aren’t they?
Yeah, as we grow older, we all realise that we are stronger than we believed we are ! That is one of the perks of growing old, I suppose.
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I don’t want an organized tour nor a cruise… both sound horrid to me, so you can have mine!
I like your WhatsIts!
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I love those little creatures!
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I like your “both” answer. I’m with you, why limit your imaginary travels unnecessarily. I liked to swing high enough to make my swing set sway, but not jump up. It was a delicate balance between the two. The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can only control the process, not the results. I’m much happier and accepting of people since I figured that out.
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