Give With the Gravy, Davy

I have this great book called Folk Tales for Reading and Telling, by Leila Berg. It was published in 1966 and it is totally charming. I have to thank either Martha or Tess for saving it from the dumpster for me.

I think that Leila is still alive and living in Britain. Based on the obscure nature of most of my obsessions, I honestly wasn't expecting to find much information about her, but she has been published in this century (the paperback edition of her autobiography, Flickerbook, came out in 2001.) She celebrated her 90th birthday in 2007.

I found the full text of Leila's introduction to Folk Tales, as well as many of her stories, here.

I have emailed Leila (through her son) to ask her if I can transcribe one of her Folk Tales here. So we'll just have to wait and see...(is this more boring than most of my posts? sorry)

Get a Move On, Tucson

This was April 2007 B.C. (Before Cats) and we haven't taken a big trip since then. We are itching (ITCHING!) to travel.

Wash the Dishes, Aloysius

I don't make a lot of drawings, so I get as much mileage out of each piece as possible by scanning stuff when I think of it. This is just a little postcard-sized sketch with markers. I'll bet some of you remember seeing it before! This is an Iowa farm that Jeff and I found on a backroads ramble in May 2005. I also don't know what this has to do with washing dishes, but I'm fascinated by the fact that "dishes" sorta rhymes with "Aloysisus". Who would think that it's pronounced "Alowishus"?

Sounds Like a Plan, Stan!

Here is a kind of handbook for living well which was sent to me by my friend Demas back in January. Not only was I really touched that he thought to send it to me, but I really like every single piece of advice listed here and that almost NEVER happens! These pearls of wisdom are too pearly to be wasted in a mere email, so I'm giving them a permanent home on the glob.

HANDBOOK 2009

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about