Category: This & That

A little bit of this and a tad bit of that

Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher

Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher

Posted on by Mama

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My Secret Subject is:
Every so often a dreamcatcher must be emptied of the nightmares it catches.  Who does it and why?

It was submitted by: www.someoneelsesgenius.com

Hmm. . . this is a tough one. Mainly because I haven’t a clue when it comes to my dreamcatcher etiquette. While I am familiar with the design and basic concept of this legend, I had no idea that one said catcher ever got full or needed to be emptied. Sounds like a dirty job to me — we might want to call in Mike Rowe for this one.

The reason behind my dreamcatcher naiveness is probably that I’ve never given it much thought because I’m not a big believer in superstitions. Okay, so I eat black-eyed peas on new year’s day,  but that’s because I love those little beans and I like forcing the rest of my family to eat just one “tastes like dirt” pea (my husbands words, not mine) once a year.  

Now don’t get me wrong, I love all the stories, history and interesting ideas behind many of the superstitions, some of which are almost as old as time. I find it amusing to see how these mysterious beliefs have been handed down through the ages and how they make perfectly logical people act in silly, serious, irrational or even reverent ways. Don’t you dare spill a speck of salt in front of my husband and not expect him to toss a few grains over his shoulder. As for me, if I thought about the repercussions of every ladder I walked under, umbrella I opened indoors or black cat that crossed my path, I think I would worry myself sick.

So let’s get back to dreamcatchers. Since my knowledge of this Native American legend was so limited, I decided to do a bit of research and found an article at Lifescript.com titled “The Truth About Dreamcatchers,” so it must be accurate. Right? A dreamcatcher is made from a wooden circle and some type of “string” woven to resemble a spider’s web. Apparently there is significance in how the threads are woven, and there definitely needs to be a hole in the center of the webbing.

The legend states that if you hang a dreamcatcher over your bed while you sleep, the good dreams will go through the hole in the middle while the nightmares become ensnared in the webbing. I have no idea what happens to those so-so ones that are just epic day-in-the-life head movies that go on and on but never end. . . But I digress.

So this is where it gets really interesting. According to “The Truth About Dreamcatchers,” when the sun comes out in the morning, all the captured nightmares just evaporate. Evaporate? Well, this indeed is good news for me, because now I no longer need to employ someone to kick my nightmares to the curb (or cart them off to the recycling station) and yes, Mike Rowe, you’re off the hook.

*****

If you want to read more of the fun, here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

 

Dancing In the Rain — Free Print

Dancing In the Rain — Free Print

Posted on by Mama

DanceInRain2.0Well, it’s raining. . . again. The poor Midwest has seen so many clouds this past month that we’re all begging for just a few dry days and a little bit of sunshine — myself and my water-logged garden included. Of course as I was cursing the clouds this morning and rearranging my son’s Thomas track yet again, one of my favorite quotes popped into my head.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

While my current circumstances may not be quite what the anonymous author intended, it did make me smile a bit and reminded me that at least I’m not living through a drought like the folks in California.

If you would like to print your own chalkboard quote, you can download an 8×10 pdf file here. If you are interested in an 11×14 file, please e-mail me at [email protected]

Download 8×10 Print

This is my own design so feel free to print it for personal use, but please be kind and don’t use it commercially without my permission. Thanks and enjoy.

 

 

Secret Subject Swap — Memorial Day Memories

Secret Subject Swap — Memorial Day Memories

Posted on by Mama

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My Secret Subject is:
What is your best and/or worst Memorial Day memory?

It was submitted by: www.southernbellecharm.com

weddingpicOh shucks, this is such an easy one for me. You see, my husband and I of almost 12 years now tied the knot on Memorial Day weekend 2003. That, and the only other Memorial Day that sticks in my head was a crazy girls trip to Padre Island after high school graduation. . . but my husband may not appreciate it if I didn’t put him tops on my list. Just kidding, babe; you know you’re number one.

Although we married a bit later in life than most, we only managed a long weekend for our wedding and honeymoon both, because my husband-to-be had just taken a new job and hadn’t earned a lick of vacation. Of course that didn’t stop fools in love, and after a February proposal we promptly set a date for Memorial Day weekend. Let me tell ya, my mom and I can execute a wedding like nobody’s business and three months was a (semi-) breeze.

We married in a little white church in Farmington, Arkansas, and had the reception outside under a tent. The morning was filled with thunderstorms and lots of rain, but somehow the sun came out early enough to dry the ground but not enough to raise the temps. As it turned out, it was a perfect day for a wedding, especially when you’re the one getting married.

After the ceremony we drove through crazy dense fog to Roaring River in Missouri for a weekend getaway together. The trout fishing wasn’t fabulous, but we didn’t really much care. Hmm, maybe my new husband cared at the time, but he didn’t let on. I won’t tell you about the big fish that got away (as my love-struck hubs went running for the net he forgot in the car), because that seems to be a reoccurring theme in my trout fishing adventures. But trust me, it was huge.

As we quickly come upon another Memorial Day this month, my husband and I will also be celebrating another year of marriage, which always make the weekend special. Sometimes it doesn’t quite fall on our anniversary, but it’s usually somewhere close. The very best thing about it being a holiday weekend (other than honoring the men and women whom have served our country) is that we often get to take a short trip to celebrate. (That and it helps me remember that I better buy a gift and card for the special man in my life. Sometimes, I can be such a guy.)

*****

If you want to read more of the fun, here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

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