Writing A Book, Bidding A Job, Prepping The Orchard

    

      The past two weeks I’ve immersed myself in three  projects:

      Project# 1 has been putting together a bid on a commercial project. (see blueprint above)

     Project #2 Writing a book.

     Project # 3 Replanting the Apple Orchard

      Project #1  has brought with it  a learning curve  that has left my mind smoking @ the end of  each  day.   Don’t get  me started on government red tape.  If a person isn’t smart enough to  wear safety glasses when  cutting steel, or keep their electrical chords out of standing water then no amount of “tool box”  meetings are  going to help and they should probably  find a different job.

     Project #2 is a continuation of my adventure from last September.  I am  two thirds way  through the rough draft of my book “On The Trail Of Lyman Dillon” 

       It is a combination journal   and collection of true stories ( horse thieves, blizzards,  lost children on the open prairie ,a  four  foot tall  white wolf,  Native American midwives delivering white settler’s babies,…..)

     Here is a photo of my wife and I just after I crossed the finish line of my 84 mile adventure:

      Project # 3 involves   replanting  38 apple trees in the orchard for the third time.  This week I took the time to mark where the new trees will go:  If  you look real close you might be able to see the yellow flags:

     We’re still shooting for Saturday April 4th 8:00 AM if you want to be a part of history     (An apple tree planting party-  if you’re reading this, you’re invited-  remember, I will dig the holes with an auger so it won’t be that hard.)

      It’s been a spell since I written anything on the blog, didn’t want anyone  to think I’d  given up blogging.  I’ve  invested most of my creative  energy in this book manuscript.

    What have you been up to?

The Bucket List- Handout for week #3- Leisure

      

   

      This Tuesday evening will be week # 3 for me.  I’m teaching a 4 week class I’ve titled” Creating Your Own Bucket list”- a spin off from the movie by the same name.  I’m also using the book When I relax I Feel Guilty by Tim Hansel.   Some of you expressed an interest in seeing the material I’m using.  Here is a portion of my handout for this week- a series of quotes from the book.    We’re going to gnaw on the subject of Leisure.  I would love to get your reactions to any of these statements- they might even find their way into my presentation on Tuesday.  DM

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Bucket list/  Week #3/ Handout

Definition of Leisure: freedom, rest opportunity, time, unhurried quietude, peace, relaxation, stillness, repose, peace, composure of manner, quiet ease and dignity of bearing, calm, reprieve, interval.

 

Statement: “To many, the word leisure has an unsubstantial sound. It is like smoke through our fingers. It confuses us, and therefore we mistrust it. Picture postcards cast magic glamour over places to go and things to do, but the nature and essence of true leisure still eludes us.” 

Statement: “Part of the confusion about leisure is the result of using as synonyms (for leisure) a number of overlapping and ill-defined terms such as play, game, recreation. Another difficulty lies in the fact that some define leisure as a certain type of activity, while others define it as a state of mind.   One tradition conceives of leisure as free time not devoted to paid occupations. The other, much older, classical tradition conceives of leisure as cultivation of the self and preoccupation with the higher values of life.”

Statement: “Most of us do not know how to handle leisure.”

Statement:” We have yet to learn that true leisure is not idleness, and that leisure is each man’s touchstone with himself and his inner resources. We haven’t yet decided how much value to give to the leisure of our lives. As a result, we don’t know how to put it in proper balance with work.”

Statement:Leisure is more than just non work. It is….a catalyst for new experiences, new ideas, new people, and new places.

Statement: In order for this to happen, three things must be done. First, we must be convinced of the importance of quality leisure in our lives- not superficial play but true leisure. Second, we must understand how to practice quality leisure. We cannot assume it will just happen. It doesn’t. Third, we must then act on what we know to be true. Reading a book on the subject is not enough…..This takes effort, courage, and discipline as well as a little craziness.”

Statement: “What is the first things you think of when someone says the word leisure? What kind of images does it bring to mind? ….largely because of our media, leisure has come to connote comfort, convenience, luxury something planned by someone else…it is above all, fun, easy and expensive. It will meet our needs even though we aren’t sure what they are, and it only requires approximately two weeks out of the year. This assumes two of the most basic messages of our media- you must go somewhere in order to be happy, and you must buy something.  This poses a lot of problems. The first is so many people believe they can’t afford leisure, they put it off into the future and live that life of suspended anticipation, habitually making plans for a special event that is always in the future. Life is always a rehearsal and they never quite get on stage. They can never quite afford it. Enough is never quite enough….we hold such high and expensive and materialistic expectations of what leisure should be, life never seems to be able to match it.   This brings us to the second myth, which is , in some ways even more pathetic. In this situation we watch all the commercials, read all the articles, dream all the dreams, and then even go so far as to save all the money. We work extra jobs to make sure we’ll have enough money to really have fun this time. And then by the time our vacation arrives, we are in such a hurry to have fun that we actually suffocate the hours with our expectations. Unable to relax, we can’t really enjoy the gift of time we’ve been given, and all too soon we discover ourselves back at work. Predefined happiness never seems to quite come alive. The result is we end up with an imitation that looks like a vacation, and sounds like a vacation and sometimes even feels like one, but it just doesn’t taste right….”

Thoughts , comments, questions?

 

 

You’re invited- help restore a barn from the 1800′s

   

      There were two old barns on our property when our family  moved here 1995.  If you’re a regular reader to this blog, then you know we already use the big red barn  to host an  annual music festival we call “Applejam“.    What you may not have known is there is another  old dairy barn on our property that dates back to the 1880′s or before.    You can still see the ax marks on the beams:

 

 

     Currently this older  barn is sitting empty.  It is in need of a lot of TLC.     Our long term plan is to restore this relic from the past and  use it all year round for receptions, parties, and music festivals.  If you would like to contribute to this project financially, let me know.  I am willing to donate all of the man power-  (I’m a general contractor by day.) we need $75,000 to pull this off-  if this is something you’d love to get behind leave me a comment and we can talk more.    We are in the midst of setting up a 501 (c) (3) non profit corporation- to support the arts (music, authors, artists, poets)   so, if you love  history, or  the arts,  this is the perfect  way to invest in both.    I’ll close with this  poem from another wordpress blogger:

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The Old Barn
By
J. Carl Brooksby

When I see an old barn, my thoughts return home
To the place where I lived ere I started to roam.
I think ever fondly of our barn full of hay,
Where, as youthful children, we would frolic and play.

We’d tie ropes to the rafters; we could climb there with ease,
And pretend we were men on the flying trapeze.
We would fly high and low; we’d swing and we’d sway,
Then, when we got tired, we would fall on the hay.

In the sweet-smelling hay, we would lie on our backs
And look at the sunbeams in the sun through the cracks.
We’d play “cops and robbers” and fall “dead” on the hay;
There were so many games that we children could play.

We could play “hide and seek”, there were places to hide.
There were kittens to play with and horses to ride.
We could drive in the milk cows from the field down below;
Never get them excited, but drive them in slow.

Now, the barn is not there: there are houses instead,
But those ever sweet memories are still in my head.
I can never forget the contentment and charm
Of those sweet summer days that we spent in the barn.

     

2009 Bear River Singer/Songwriter Music Series In the Works

     The Native Americans called the river that runs through our area  “The Bear River”

     Since  September of 2002 we have hosted a music festival at our property the Saturday after labor day.

       This past Sunday evening, we  sat in the living room of  Scott and Michelle- singer/ songwriters who have   appeared at 3 of our events. 

     We were at their house to talk about a block grant available locally for events like we’ve been doing.  I’d  talked with two people involved with dispersing the grant in  December, the chairman said to me, “I could get behind something like that”  

       Her parting words to me were, “Don’t be shy about requesting funds.  We are “weak” in this area, your community could use more of these.”

   Which brings you up to speed as to why we were  sitting in Scott and Michelle’s living room on a Sunday evening…..

     Michelle   suggests, instead of a one time event, “Why not do a whole series?”

     Now this  is the  type of person I love to brainstorm with.

     By the end of the evening, here  is where things stood:

    A series of (7) concerts   beginning May 16th.

      Here are the other tentative dates we’re working with:

      June 27th, July 25th, August 29th, September 26th, October 31st and November 28th.  They are all on a Saturday night, start time 7 PM   a $10.00 suggested donation per person, with a  portion going to a local charity.

       For those of you Applejam Fans….this is not Applejam  (That would Fall on September 12th.)  I’m still pondering if I want to host Applejam if we’re doing these  events…Michelle says “Yes”, I’m still undecided.

       All of this is tentative/ pending the financing comes together.

     On the evening of September 26th, we’re thinking about  hosting  a “Women’s circle”

       Michelle described  it to me like this:

” A Women’s circle”  where 3 separate artists would take turns playing  an  original song…the other two would join in as they felt comfortable…so you’d have a one of kind jam session unfold right before your eyes…can’t you just feel the creative energy?

Writing Your Own Bucket List- A Peak At The Teachers Notes

    “The Western mind and culture leave little time for leisure, prayer, play, and contemplation… Henry David Thoreau offered first prize to the man who can live one day deliberately.  But this is not  an easily accomplished task.  Quiet minds, which are established in stillness, refuse to be perplexed or intimidated.  They are like a clock in a thunderstorm, which moves at its own pace.”    From  When I Relax I feel Guilty by Tim Hansel

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   I read  Tim Hansel’s book in the in the early 1980′s and am reading it again as I prepare to moderate a Kirkwood  class titled “Writing Your Own Bucket List”      Listen to this:

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     “What are the first things you think of when someone says leisure?   What kind of images does it bring to mind?  Largely because of our media, leisure has come to connote comfort, convenience, luxury, something planned by someone else, styled in accordance with someone else’s view of what produces happiness, usually dependent upon material things….It is above all else, fun, easy and expensive.  It will meet our needs even though we aren’t sure what they are, and it only requires approximately two weeks out of the year. 

    This assumes two of the most basic messages of our media- you must go somewhere  in order to be happy and you must buy something.

      This poses a lot of problems.  The first is so many people believe they can’t afford leisure, so they put it off into the future and live that life of suspended anticipation, habitually making plans for a special event that is always in the future.  Life is always a rehearsal and they never quite get on stage.  They can never quite afford it….Since we hold such high and expensive and materialistic expectations of what leisure should be, life never seems to be able to match it.

     This brings us to a second myth, which is, in some way, even more pathetic.  In this situation we watch all the commercials, read all the articles, dream all the dreams and then even go so far as to save all the money.  We work extra jobs to make sure that we’ll have enough money to really have fun this time.  And then by the time our vacation arrives, we are in such a hurry to have fun that we actually suffocate the hours with our expectations.  Unable to relax, we can’t really enjoy the gift of time we’ve been given, and all too soon we discover ourselves back at work.  Predefined happiness never seems to quite come alive.  The result is that we end up with an imitation vacation that looks like a vacation and sounds like a vacation and sometimes even feels like one, but it just doesn’t taste right….”

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     Since most of you won’t be sitting in the classroom with me, I decided to post some of the material I will be using on this blog.  It really is too good to keep to myself.  Like I mentioned a minute ago- I read this book 25 years ago- I’m not being melodramatic when I tell you, this book has shaped the course of my life in a profound way-  I can draw a line directly from this book to our running a  Bed and Breakfast, the annual music festival we host,  the 84 mile walk I took this past September, etc, etc.

Thoughts, comments, questions?

Writing Your Own “Bucket List”

      At the end of your life, as you’re laying on your death bed, I’m guessing you’re not going to say to yourself…”Boy, I wish I would have put in more hours at my job”

     I’ve signed up to teach a 4 week course at our local community college I’m calling Creating Your own Personal “Bucket List”   a spin off of the movie by the same name.   Do you know what’s funny- before the movie came out, I had  been working off of a personal bucket list for at least 10 years- didn’t call it that, but that’s what it was…so when I saw the movie, I thought to myself…hey/ those guys stole my  idea. 

     Here’s the course description:

     Treat yourself to four weeks of fun, laughter, and personal reflection.  The Bucket List is a list of things you might want to do before you “Kick the bucket.”  Local Author and teacher DM will act as a facilitator using various activities to help you begin your own bucket list.  Class size limited.  Begins Feb.3 4 weeks  6:00 PM- 7:30 PM     $35.00

 

     Here are some tidbits from my class notes  since chances are, you won’t be able to make it:

    As the facilitator of this class, I will have succeeded  if : 

A.  By the end of the week 4   you to have a list  of at least 10 items on it.

    We will discuss :

     What is leisure?

     What does “relaxing” look like to you?

     What’s the difference between  leisure, relaxing  and hedonism?

I have 4 or 5 handouts,  3 guest  speakers in  mind (besides myself) , an excellent book  to recommend and a movie to watch. 

 In the early 1980’s I read a book by Tim Hansel called  When I Relax I Feel Guilty.    It had more of an impact on my life than I realized at the time….here are two excerpts from the book:

     “ If I had my life to live over again, I’d try to make more mistakes next time: I would relax, I would limber up, I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips, I would be crazier… I would eat more ice cream and less beans; I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. You see I’m one of those people who lives life prophylactically and sensibly hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them…”

     “Do something unusual. Be an experimenter. Meet new people, try new experiences. Let people think you’re loony. Wear a funny hat or put your shirt on backwards for a day…’ Hug a tree, fly a kite, wear a button, jog in triangles. Go for a long walk in your bare feet. Poke some holes in your rigidity. This is not a time to be timid. Take a chance, it’s worth it.”

    Thoughs, questions, comments?

How I “Nurture” My “Raw Ideas”

     I awoke this morning with a “raw idea”….Here’s what it looked like: 

     I would like to take our love and interest  of live music to the next level.   (that’s the raw idea). 

    (Can’t you just FEEL the energy)

  ( Quick comment-  this is NOT a “New Age” mumbo-jumbo approach to life…I can just see somebody new to my blog  see this photo and think I’m  advocating some type of voo-doo spirituality….it is just a word picture….nothing more)

     So what would that look like? (taking our love and interest of live music to the “next level”) … I don’t know. 

     All I know is every time we host something    It seems to “scratch an itch” in my soul.  I feel energized when we do them. It brings together the spiritual and relational components of my life. At this early stage of the game, money is not a factor.  I just start brain storming…Since I have a spouse who has learned that just because I have an “idea” doesn’t automatically mean I’m going to do something…she feels safe  allowing me to verbalize what’s  going on in my head….and I in turn love to bounce my thinking off her…

    It reminds me of a board meeting where someone  is standing by a large easel w/ a black magic marker writing down everyone’s ideas….the first stage is just to  get the ideas on paper…after that, you can begin to look at what’s realistic,  are there any creative ways to make it happen..etc

    Now if you think I”m all smoke and mirrors,  you obviously don’t know me…lots of exciting,  energizing, out of the ordinary things have happened  the past 29 years because we’ve learned to “think outside of the box”. …and typically they cost very little when it’s all said and done.  I’m just pulling back the curtain of the D and M  boardroom. Consider yourself privileged

 

        It occured to me as the Mrs and I were looking at it (the raw idea)  some people do not know what to do with one when they get one…or sadder still, maybe it’s been so long since they’ve had one, they wouldn’t recognize one if was delivered to their home this afternoon, wrapped and ready to go.

         Right out of the gate I will tell you, today’s post may be a little abstract – but I’m doing that on purpose.

     I’m not talking about pursuing a life of hedonism, I’m talking about getting in touch with how God has wired you…identifying activities and interests that will add balance and enjoyment to your life.   Some of us need to relearn how to play…Especially those of you w/ high pressure jobs or life situations  (mom’s  w/ little ones in tow for example).   

  January 2007  I wrote a post  “50 things to do before you die”  These thoughts take off from there.

   Here’s a quote by Tim Hansel I love:

   “ If I had my life to live over again, I’d try to make more mistakes next time: I would relax, I would limber up, I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips, I would be crazier… I would eat more ice cream and less beans; I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. You see I’m one of those people who lives life prophylactic ally and sensibly hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them…”

     “Do something unusual. Be an experimenter. Meet new people, try new experiences. Let people think you’re loony. Wear a funny hat or put your shirt on backwards for a day…’ Hug a tree, fly a kite, wear a button, jog in triangles. Go for a long walk in your bare feet. Poke some holes in your rigidity. This is not a time to be timid. Take a chance, it’s worth it.”

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     Any questions, comments or suggestions?