Thursday 13: 13 responses to Steve Jobs' passing

hen I first contemplated posting for Thursday 13, finding 13 quotes by Steve Jobs seemed like a pretty meaningful idea. (You can tell I wasn't exactly planning ahead with a post...) That would be easy enough... right now Steve Jobs quotes are EVERYwhere. But, most of them are pretty well known already. His interviews and commencement speeches have been mined for pithy, poignant statements for years, and rightly so. Steve's serious health issues of the past decade drew him to speak about how he chose to live in the face of mortality. That, and his long-time entrepreneurial huevos... a powerful combination.

As I was doing my quote research, I happened upon an article that featured responses to the news of his passing. There were quite a few thoughtful sentiments expressed from well-known characters in politics, technology and business. So, I thought I'd share my 13 favorites of that list:

Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter

Jack Dorsey, Twitter founder

Jason Hiner, Editor In Chief of TechRepublic at CBS Interactive

Jeff Jarvis, journalist

Joe Brown, Gizmodo Editor in Chief

Josh Linkner, entrepreneur and author

Larry Page, Google co-founder and CEO

Scott Simon, NPR commentator

Sergey Brin, Google co-founder

Shawn Blanc, technology blogger

Finally, I can't resist a few relevant words from Steve himself:

More info than you probably want, but I'm on a roll here: If you have time and interest, here's a piece written by Brian Lam (of Gizmodo) about his interactions with Steve Jobs relative to the iPhone 4 prototype debacle of 2007: Steve Jobs Was Always Kind to Me (Or, Regrets of an Asshole). 

For myself, I'm immensely sad for his family, naturally, and for all the rest of us, just a little bit. But mostly I'm glad that Steve Jobs lived the life he did (though shorter than it should have been), and that his impact will be felt deep and wide for a long time. He lived a big professional life, and drove people crazy with his vision for what could be. What a legacy.

I'm also glad for him that he got a chance to prepare to die--in my imagination, he probably didn't leave earth with things unsaid or unresolved. That's inspiring to me, to remember to live that way, every day, even without a cancer diagnosis.

What were your thoughts on hearing about Steve's passing? Anything thoughtful to share (all Apple haters can skip this part of the post, thanks!)?

For more Thursday 13s, go here.

Midweek reminder: I'm a sap, in case you'd forgotten

may have mentioned last year that I became a fan of the TV show Parenthood... I love the writing (Jason Katims, Friday Night Lights writer!), and I am a huge fan of Peter Krause (Six Feet Under! Sports Night!) and Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls!). But it is truly an ensemble cast, and I enjoyed the whole first season quite a bit.

I completely forgot it was coming back on this fall (I know, not a very attentive fan, huh?) and was pleasantly surprised to discover a few episodes stored up on Hulu+. A lovely surprise indeed. EXCEPT. I also forgot that I cry at EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. Man, what a sap. How is it possible to have nothing AND yet everything in common with a group of people on the stinking television?

Bless you, Ron Howard.

Craft reveal: Kim's birthday pillows

y dear sister-in-law Kim's birthday was in August, and I made a couple of pillows to add to her birthday package. True to form, out of sight meant out of mind--I meant to post the pictures of the completed pillows ages ago, but finally seeing them at her home this past weekend, I thought, better late than never, right?

I started this pillow before I took the hand applique class last winter, so this was fused applique with embroidered embellishment. The dots are French dots, and I could have gone a little crazier with those... I was worried about cluttering it up, but now that I see the picture, I think it should have had more...

Rather than do a ruffle around the pillow, I decided to make a ruched edge. I was happy with how that turned out.

I cut the flowers from a background, and arranged them on a different fabric background.

To go with the Carpe Diem pillow, I decided I would make a giant granny circle pillow, a la some pretty pillows I've seen on Pinterest. The fabric behind the crochet is the same fabric in the ruched border.

It's always challenging to work on crafty projects and want to share, but then need to keep them secret for a special occasion... I'm working on a few more projects currently, but trying not to stress about the 80 days until Christmas... tick tock, baby! It's a comin'.

Common Miracles, Week 21: My little blue dot

“Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.” 

–Pema Chodron

am aware (have been for a long time, actually) of my directionally challenged nature. If I don't pay close attention, I can end up on the opposite side of a city (Calgary, Alberta comes to mind), come up out of a subway and find myself in the Bronx instead of uptown NYC; I have frequently turned left when it was pretty obvious I should have turned right, and frustrated many a traveling companion. It can take me multiple times of driving (myself, not just being a traveling companion, that takes even longer) to a new, complicated destination, before I've got it down.

I was reminded of this just yesterday when navigating my way out of Seattle, and, finding myself on the flip side of I-5 than I intended, I pulled out the handy GPS on my iPhone. It was actually pretty hilarious how many times I rejiggered the "current location" to accommodate where I had ended up, as opposed to where I was supposed to be. It almost never failed that when the line said "go there" my little blue dot was going the opposite way. (The beauty of a 15-year-old traveling companion with his face in an iPad is that the frustration levels stay pretty low. Bonus.)

Why am I confessing this? Because it struck me that, as with road trips, so is life. How many times do I have to adjust, rejigger, adjust again and sometimes I've even had to turn around? It happens. BUT. At least I'm doing it. Moving. Changing direction as needed. There's nothing noble about picking a course and staying it, even when you know for sure your little blue dot is way lost. Yet, that happens all the time, doesn't it? Sadly, yes.

Before you think that I was wandering the hills of Seattle for hours, this whole thing was about 7 minutes long, before I got myself headed the right direction; I'm not sure Seth even noticed! But it was funny enough to me that I thought about it on the way home, reflecting how grateful I am for GPS technology (how much longer would it have taken me if I didn't have the blue dot feedback?). And I also thought about road maps--digital and otherwise--and decided that actually having a road map is a heck of a lot better than not having one!

(This quote applies to life, not actual driving road trips!)

When I think about where my blue dot is most days, it brings me a lot of joy.

The Common Miracles project started here. I really enjoy the prompt it provides me each week to think a little differently about things I might otherwise take for granted.

Friday night grateful moment

n this fabulous Friday evening, the night before Seth turns 15, I can't help but be extra grateful for my boy, and for all 15 of these years. He's a wonderful son, a kind and thoughtful young man, and it's just a pleasure to be his mom. I'm grateful for his hugs, for his laughter, for his jokes and riddles and quick wit, and especially for his open heart and willingness to communicate. I couldn't ask for a better son, no doubt.

I'm grateful for family. For our family just a few acres away, and for our family across the state and *even* in other countries. Grateful to have them, mostly healthy and mostly happy; and to get to spend time with them as well, even if it's not as often as we'd like. We're lucky to get a big dose of family time for Seth's birthday! Fabulous.

The sunshine has continued to bless us this week. I am always so grateful for sunshine! It's so nice to have a drawn out autumn, without instantly turning to rain and mush (knock on wood). It could frost here pretty quick, so I've been clearing out the produce, and the ripening is definitely slowing way down, but wearing long sleeves when I mow, and not having to worry about what time of the day I'm out in the yard for fear of heat and sun exposure, I just love that! Now if only it would last for another two months. Three, if I were really greedy...

I'm grateful for fall flavors. The pumpkin recipes abound on Pinterest, and I've been enjoying a bit of roasted butternut squash as well (I have a recipe to post soon, sooooo yummy). I'm looking forward to all the soups and stews of fall, the hot chocolate and apple pie. Oh dear, getting hungry just thinking about it... Here are a few pumpkin finds I might fiddle around with soon...

whoopie pies

pizza

soup

cauliflower pumpkin dip

more pumpkin soup

pumpkin latte

I had some really productive days this week. I love (and am grateful for) productive days, when the tick marks off the side of the to-do list are plentiful... and I also had some less-than-productive days. Those I am less fond of. But, each day brings another opportunity to get things done, and I also try not to be too hard on myself for the different pace that my weeks with Seth can have. It's a little amazing how much back and forth is possible with just one kid and a few after-school appointments. I have so much sympathy and admiration for my friends with multiple kids who have multiple music lessons and sporting interests... yowsa!

I'm grateful for a persistent nature. I've been called things *other* than persistent... but, well, I prefer to think of it as tenacious... persistent... yeah, that's it. I have been trying to figure something out in Photoshop for awhile, and have poked around ad nauseum online, asked for a bit of help from a few designer/photographer types, and spend way more hours (than I should, really) with my calligraphy scans and photographs, trying to get the two to mesh the way I want them to. I don't want to jinx things by saying I've got it figured out, but I'm getting it to work more often than not, lately, and I'm glad of that. Visualize a little terrier with something in it's mouth, grrrrr-ing. That's me, but in a good way.

I'm grateful for coffee. Nectar of the gods, I tell you.

Words, words, words. I do love the words. I was reminded this week of the importance of kind words, especially between loved ones. What one person thinks is a joke can be taken completely differently by the other party. Of course, this also reminds me not to take stuff people say so very seriously; really, who can't laugh at themselves a bit? Um, me, some days... But, this instance wasn't about me, and it was interesting to watch the interactions and learn a bit about myself and how I think I might come across sometimes as well. (Just ask husband about the eye roll. Oh yeah.) I am grateful for kind words.

Some of my favorite words from this week:

florida

focus

message

tunnel

still

I hope you have a blessed weekend with those you love. I plan on hugging my 15-year-old at least 15 times tomorrow!

What are you grateful for this week?

Thursday 13: Quotable

o, it's been awhile since I've done a quote-related post, hasn't it? I thought I would share 13 of my current quote "finds." I come across and save so many, but these are the ones that stood out, this month. Enjoy!

1. Don't ever take the fence down until you know the reason why it was put up. -G.K. Chesterton

2. Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions. -Hafiz

3. Never look back unless you are planning on going that way. -Henry David Thoreau

4. Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you. -Rumi

5. Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. -Vaclav Havel

6. Life is curly. Don't try to straighten it out. -Susan Scott

7. True peace comes with the discovery that we can respect the seasons of life with a spacious and undefended heart. In it we learn to trust, to rest in the truth of the way things are, to willingly accept the measure of joy and sorrow we are given. -Jack Kornfield

8. Be not the slave of your own past--plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience, that shall explain and overlook the old. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy. -Florence Scovel Shinn

10. If I were dying my last words would be: Have faith and pursue the unknown end. -Oliver Wendell Holmes

11. The fact is that very few things have so much effect on the feeling inside a room as the sun shining into it. -Christopher Alexander

12. I dream of an art so transparent that you can look through and see the world. -Stanley Kunitz

And I saved my very favorite new, and seasonal!, quote for last:
13. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. -George Eliot

Which one is your favorite? Do you have a quote to share with me? Please do!

Here are the other Thursday 13 participants. Play along if you like.

Ten Word Tuesday: Energy drain

Visions of pink bunny and drum from behind drooping eyelids...

Common Miracles, Week #20: Yes, that!

“Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.”
–Pema Chodron

ver have a thought that you want to express but can't quite find the words for it? Yeah, me too. I had that today as I was pondering which common miracle(s) to highlight this week. I knew what I was experiencing, but couldn't find the word for it. Serendipity? Blessed? Some odd kind of deja vu? A crazy love affair with autumn? Yes, a bit of each, but nothing really captured the feeling that followed me much of the day. It was somewhere between nostalgia and joy, but I couldn't come up with a word to fit my mood.

All my senses were engaged. Driving into town, I found myself singing--completely spontaneously--an ELO song, "Ticket to the Moon," and could practically feel myself back in 1983 (or was it '82?). When I was running this morning, all the autumn scents of dirt and moisture and even a bit of rot/death were warming up to the day; it smelled fabulous. I ate some butternut squash and chevre, and of course some figs. I got caught by a sprinkler when I was fiddling in the garden, and even though it was COLD for the first time in months, I loved it. All my senses were in a happy place. (And I swear, I didn't take anything. Really.)

Later, when I opened up my web browser to my blog and went down the sidebar to see who had updated their blogs today, I saw this headline: Do You Often (or Ever) Feel a Wonderful, Joyous, Childhood Feeling of Expectancy?, and laughed out loud. Total a-ha moment... yep, that's it! Wonderful, joyous, expectant. Heck if I know what I'm expecting, exactly, but that's the closest thing I can think of how to describe my common miracle for today. (And no, it's not a word either. I do wonder if one exists and I have a feeling a couple of my readers will tell me if there is!) (Brent, I already looked through the list of untranslatable words you sent my way, it's not there either, though I did not read through all 900 comments... it might be there, somewhere!)



I consider it pretty miraculous to live on this planet and be aware of how much pain and suffering there is every single day--among people close to our hearts as well as those we haven't even met--and to still know joy and wonder and expectancy.

OK, let me have it. What one word fits the description above?!

Keeping track of Common Miracles is lovely. To see how the project began, go here.

Link love

owntime on the weekend makes for a little information super-highway sharing... these links have been hanging out in my drafts folder for a bit, so here they are for your viewing pleasure!

Want to get inspired? Check out these four runners who are each running 100 miles for sponsored kids in Africa. Pretty cool.

A fascinating take on gender differences in competition, as told on Daniel Pink's (of Drive fame) blog.

I love the idea of publishing a book, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that one! Here's a great place to make them: Blurb.com. I'm full of ideas on this one...

Speaking of publishing, here's a funny list of buzzwords being decoded by various literary types... so you know if someone calls your book "wildly imaginative," well, they mean you were probably on drugs when you wrote it!

As you know, I've been on the hunt for great ways to keep track of lists and things to do, etc. Here are some savvy ideas from Lifehacker on using multiple calendar views (he uses Yahoo as his example, but I'm pretty sure I can finagle something similar in Google...).

Remember Flashdance? Well, these people do too, and decided to do a Flash-dance-mob in Chicago this summer. Pretty funny. I like the little girls who want to join in...



This is a bit of a startling story about blocking people on Facebook... this woman blocked her former adoptive (abusive) mother, for good reason. The startling thing is that the mother actually thought they could be friends.

A British woman tattooed a DNR order on her chest. Really. Click over to check it out.

Found a really cool site to create your own jewelry... with out those fiddly little pliers and my really bad hand-eye coordination! Looks like fun.

Jacob, keep your shirt on! (This has been billed as "Twilight in 4 seconds." Not having seen/read anything Twilight, I just find it amusing...) (Apologies to my Twilight-ish friends for diminishing Jacob's true impact, whatever that might be... I mean, other than just taking his shirt off!)



Sleeveface is a pretty self-explanatory phenomenon. Here are a couple of funny examples:

And here are more sleeveface examples.

More publishing: a pretty online magazine called Styled.

Jessica Hische, she of the fabulous drop caps I use religiously, writes a design blog as well, and her piece on pricing design work is really good reading for any creative type thinking about assigning a dollar value to their work. As usual with these kinds of pieces, the comments make for almost as interesting reading as the piece itself.

I could just repost kottke all day, but that would just defeat the idea of YOU going over and signing up for the updates yourself, which I highly recommend. There's always something worth reading/viewing over there. The piece about sending kids through the postal service is no exception.

This article on Whole Foods and how they get you to buy more of what they want you to buy made me chuckle a bit. Think you're too clever for them? Hmmm. (Of course, the author of the article is promoting his book, Brandwashed, so it's not like he's without an agenda...)

Don Miller's writing is always thought provoking and his blog is no exception. His latest post on leading others through fear is a good one--and actually led me to the very first piece I tagged in this post on the running team. See, full circle, this blog post is. Don't say I'm too scattered. Scattered, yes, but not TOO scattered!

And because I really care about you, I leave you with this bit of wisdom: Tom Selleck's moustache makes every movie better.



I hope there's a piece or two there that piques your interest. Happy weekending! I feel better just knowing I've shared.

Friday night grateful moment

t's that night again--Friday--and I'm grateful, I really am. Mostly that it's Friday night. But I'm also tired this week, and feeling kind of at a loss for real, unique words to wrap around my gratitude, so I'm going to cop out a little and express my gratitude through pictures... and even some pictures with words, too. (Of course.)

I have lately been really grateful and reflectful (Is that a word? Probably not. But I heard someone say funner and funnest in an interview yesterday, and so I'm just going to let a reflectful fly!) of our setting, the natural beauty of the valley. And as I drove to Spokane (and back) yesterday, I was filled with nostalgia for the Palouse as well...

OK, so there's no actual green up there right now, but the rolling hills are as beautiful as ever. (hills )

(wheat)

Kinda wow, eh? (clouds)

(swing)

(breathe)

Isn't that the truth? (autumn)

inner peace

lonely

 creator

I am truly grateful this week for health and home, for the challenges of life as well as the blessings, and for my place in the "grand scheme" of things. (OK, you're going to laugh, but I had challenges listed twice in that sentence above--challenges of life as well as the challenges. Ha. The blessings are many, truly, even if some days I forget that for a couple of minutes...)

I hope you get a little weekend time to reflect on your blessings too. What are you grateful for this week?