tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143108242008-07-08T22:50:43.376-04:00Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comBlogger483125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-70388300348388733622008-07-08T15:53:00.004-04:002008-07-08T18:48:37.790-04:00

I have an urgent need to tell you my Fourth of July weekend outdoor experience, my small-scale "hero story." Now this episode was not bold, instead mildly stupidly reckless, and yet a fine little adventure with some lasting satisfaction. Sunday afternoon I felt a strong pull to take my little inflatable Sea Eagle kayak out for a paddle on nearby Jordan Lake. It had been too long, and the sun

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-25835576628034959512008-07-04T15:49:00.002-04:002008-07-04T15:51:55.729-04:00

For people of the USA, there's never a better day than the 4th of July to make a significant and positive bold move. If you do make one, be sure to report it here. It will inspire all. If you like this post, please bookmark it on del.icio.us, share it on StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg. Thanks so much.

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-71839687329544660412008-07-02T11:50:00.003-04:002008-07-02T12:20:09.033-04:00

To the first person to comment here who can plan to attend, I'm giving two tickets to this Saturday's Raleigh performance by the Brussels Chamber Orchestra. It's the American premier of this group and they are hot; their second American performance, to be held in the Hamptons next week, just got a nice calendar notice in The New Yorker. Setting up the Raleigh appearance is the very bold

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-91346599985854767612008-06-30T18:57:00.005-04:002008-07-01T11:50:06.980-04:00

I recently finished watching the full six years of The Sopranos TV series a couple of weeks ago, in sequence in my living room on Netflix DVDs. Through the last weeks with the famous "Mafia" family, I had come to dread the inevitable end of the disks, so great was my attachment to these people. I even did that dumb thing that people do--that I thought I'd never do--when someone close is

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-81843119274837826012008-06-30T17:38:00.005-04:002008-06-30T18:35:53.631-04:00

Last week, during my stay-home-and-clean-up-the-house vacation, I finished this little craft project that I'd let sit for about two years. Because of popular demand (one request, thank you, Mamie) I'm displaying it here. I mean for it to go outdoors, hanging from a tree near our little "farm" pond. But I hung it up overnight in front of the curtains in the den, and decided for the moment that

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-53187441446539186312008-06-25T13:37:00.003-04:002008-06-25T13:45:02.255-04:00

Many emotional stages to this process: last night I felt my efforts at helping Bob clean out his junk room weren't being properly appreciated. I had a talk with Gandhi who reminded me that we need to refrain from focusing on the fruits of our labors; "do the work and then step back." Also had a talk with Bob; there were points on both sides. Today I'm feeling much more appreciated. I feel I

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-82219631041478144362008-06-24T19:38:00.002-04:002008-06-24T19:49:41.324-04:00

Hoo boy. We have taken on something large here. Yesterday morning Bob and I started on his "junk room," which is also the kennel location of his 125 pound serious-shedder of a dog. This morning Bob likened the process to remodeling; it tears up everything and leaves it a mess for a long time. It's satisfying though. We're making progress. And I'm also doing smaller projects that are

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-68395575786332168662008-06-22T16:30:00.003-04:002008-06-22T16:42:08.730-04:00

Since I last blogged, I finished beading a two-foot image of a fish and did all of the pile of mending for Bob and me (3 prs. pants, 2 shirts, a scarf, a vest, and a gardening glove). The pile was mainly winter clothes. Oh well; they're ready for next year. Cleaning and reorganizing mean different things to different people, obviously. I'm very happy with this progress. Tomorrow I will

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-85046708216465381812008-06-21T16:06:00.003-04:002008-06-21T16:15:50.067-04:00

This coming week, my husband Bob and I are staying home to clean up. We had this "vacation" planned before I stayed home last week being sick, but I've rallied in time to pitch in; though I may forget what my office looks like in the meantime. The work-at-the-house week doesn't officially start until Monday when we'd normally go to offices. But I thought I might get a running start this

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-66802292243443027242008-06-20T10:04:00.005-04:002008-06-20T11:31:58.528-04:00

I just stumbled across a blog on a kindred subject: The Growing Life, about the blogger's creation of a life and career outside of corporate institutions. "One of the great tragedies of human existence is that so many of us toil for another person, who is in turn toiling for someone else, who is working for someone else’s interest. And on and on. There are entire corporate chains of command

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-66553036884106572152008-06-19T16:20:00.002-04:002008-06-19T16:39:07.037-04:00

I just started reading a book from my stack(s) that my hand felt magnetically drawn to. The title: The Five Things We Cannot Change...and the Happiness We Find By Embracing Them. The author: David Richo. I hadn't even reached the discussion of the First Thing before the book had reminded me very memorably that: the difficulties we each encounter are our chances to learn, expand, and shine.

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-10860727200561545792008-06-17T12:09:00.002-04:002008-06-17T12:28:01.597-04:00

Rarely has anyone so bold emerged from such a timid beginning. Last night a 2.5 hour documentary on Eleanor Roosevelt aired on my local PBS station. I hadn't planned on watching, though I knew it was scheduled. I told myself I already knew that story. I happened onto it by accident, though, turning on the TV just as the program was starting. I was fascinated through the very end. And not

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-46171067479654814472008-06-16T16:00:00.003-04:002008-06-16T16:18:19.557-04:00

Advice from our wise commenters on healing boldly: From Mojo: "Take your time..." From Billie: "...When we get sick like this it's a direct message to take time for our 'selves'; and slow down our pace." Debra W: "Part of living boldly is knowing when to just say no to everything else, so that we can give ourselves the time that we need in order to heal. It is very important to learn when that

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-83239727859867893042008-06-14T17:53:00.003-04:002008-06-14T18:08:15.060-04:00

The bug I was thinking of as sniffles turned out to be pneumonia. As the germ turns!! It was certainly a surprise to me. I tend to downplay any health problem, because I've never had one to amount to anything. But other people kept telling me that this situation was not looking good and I finally went to a doc. One person had actually refused to do business with me, said we'll talk another

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-46579939982707814602008-06-09T17:58:00.000-04:002008-06-09T18:02:16.466-04:00

Got a bug. Can't talk now. Back soon. If you like this post, please bookmark it on del.icio.us, share it on StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg. Thanks so much.

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-12915029876444788102008-06-06T11:29:00.004-04:002008-06-07T13:17:01.475-04:00

If you haven't seen this already, go to Youtube and listen to Professor Randy Pausch's last lecture--on how to live--which he gives knowing he has pancreatic cancer and has been given a life expectancy of two to four months. I had a sore throat the day I saw it, and was moving kinda slowly. The video of this gutsy, charmingly immodest, athletic, gorgeous, smart, and nice 47 year-old facing

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-76441481674584189202008-06-06T10:17:00.001-04:002008-06-06T10:19:13.203-04:00

Yesterday I carried on here about my bold move in managing to send a photo from my camera to my blog. Riding the swell of confidence and accomplishment from that, I took on a biggie: I learned to make my own letterhead envelopes on my own printer. Not without difficulty, as you can see from this off-the-mark attempt at a return address. (By the time I'd gotten to this point, I was almost

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-2462850902373359762008-06-05T10:35:00.001-04:002008-06-05T10:37:43.812-04:00

This strange structure--a water tower, I think--is about 12 stories high. And there's someone walking around on its sloping upper surface, adjusting those wires that hang down. That guy has a job that takes daily courage. Maybe he's used to it. But I can't believe he doesn't get a stomach wobble now and then. I pulled my car in beneath this tower yesterday, while in the process of

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-10020341288396201262008-06-03T11:25:00.005-04:002008-06-04T10:53:49.435-04:00

My friend and office partner Carrie Knowles decided recently to create in her spare time an annual international music festival in the Raleigh area. Not that she was lacking for things to do: she's a writer and visual artist and mother of teenager. It began thusly: Her oldest son Neil Leiter, 26, plays viola in the Brussels Chamber Orchestra which was already scheduled to come to the U.S.

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-37734619408350995832008-06-03T10:30:00.005-04:002008-06-03T11:01:49.027-04:00

My eccentric garden benefits from some of my husband's bold and imaginative ideas. This owl and another totem pole he used for years as posts for a badminton court. When joint troubles ended badminton, he got them moved into the plot that I devotedly cultivate. They're ever a mysterious surprise when I notice them again . I'm glad I didn't marry the kind of guy who would use a couple of

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-52223802909050622472008-06-02T15:27:00.003-04:002008-06-02T15:36:19.559-04:00

Brava to Yvonne of NYC who has initiated a 30 day writing plan. "...My fear of not ever writing anything is finally starting to outweigh my fear of writing and failing at it. And second, while I am pretty content with everything in my life right now--I often go to bed with this emptiness inside of me, this void that something is missing. And I think it's about creating something that makes my

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-31224052687072183032008-06-01T15:30:00.003-04:002008-06-01T15:55:57.296-04:00

I love funky gardens and think they're such a fine form of art and self-expression. My own garden is a bit peculiar. And the current issue of Domino Magazine ("The Guide To Living With Style") reminded me of the pleasures of other people's odd plots. Have a look at Tony Duquette's and Madame Ganna Walska's Lotusland and Robert Kourik's. Or simply Google "eccentric gardens." There are

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-72583166619843206502008-05-30T16:47:00.002-04:002008-05-30T16:49:31.081-04:00

I forgot to bring my laptop from home to my office today, and my husband has my car. So I walked to the library some distance away to do this, and my time is running out after checking my email. But here's my point: I worked on two projects today, WRITING IN HANDWRITING. Got to some good stuff. I think the change did me good. Sort of like that fellow who took his laptop to the produce dept.

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-26381090936856180352008-05-29T19:04:00.003-04:002008-05-29T19:28:10.777-04:00

"In the words of renowned writing instructor William Zinsser: 'Any invention that eliminates the fear of writing is up there with air conditioning and the light bulb.'" From an article in the Ottawa Citizen on e-mail and texting. One way to deal with hitting a wobbly moment writing is to pretend I'm simply writing an e-mail. Or a blog post, which almost always seems to fly straight from

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14310824.post-75240115495490801052008-05-28T17:56:00.004-04:002008-05-28T18:30:09.221-04:00

I'd intended to focus here on a cool post I ran across called "4 Ways to Motivate Your Melon". The guy who wrote it, Scott Ginsberg, had hit a wall trying to write it, so he implemented one of his own techniques for getting the juices flowing. He moved his writing location to the produce department of a local grocery store. The change did the trick. The resulting piece is entertaining and

Peggy Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14504076672775821088noreply@blogger.com