Origami Genius

Make yourself a glass of tea and watch this, full screen, to see an origami genius doing his masterful work. Okay ...  full disclosure … many would find the first 15 minutes boring. But not me. Like I say, get comfortable and have a nice cup of tea whilst you watch. Yes, you can skip to the end, but it is far, FAR more impressive if you watch the whole thing. Think of it as a Zen exercise.

Perhaps my favourite thing in the world to do, is to read about a genius or see their creations, and genius comes in diverse forms. This is serious origami, here. The long initial process, called pre-creasing, reveals the complexity of Juno Könkkölä’s task. As I watched, I pondered the work involved in mapping all the pre-creasing. It’s a magnificent craft, origami, when done at this level of expertise.

Gave me goosebumps.

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I’m good at dieting.! Not good at keeping weight off, but excellent at dieting. I lost 49 pounds between June of last year and the end of December. Then I put most of it back on. I like baking and really like eating my work. Specifically: pies, tarts and cakes. Every day. 

I tried being disciplined this year, after losing all the weight, and failed. This time must be different. I’m not trying to lose the weight quickly like I did last year; I’m merely changing my diet and I’m hoping to be as successful with this change as I was with Marijuana and Diet Coke. I’m minimizing carbs and seriously upping my intake of vegetables and only enjoying something baked when I’m dining with a friend or hosting guests.

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Wednesday’s heavy rain and wind undid all the work I just finished clearing up the yard. Sigh. There are zillions of branch bits and one large limb. But, sunny days I’ll be out there. I’m not feeling so overwhelmed by all the work it takes for this old guy to maintain Pinecone Park. I’m thinking of my chores as opportunities. 

I realized long ago how valuable Sheba is in terms of my wellbeing. She compels me to take a forest walk twice or three times a day. In the same way, the upkeep of the land gets me outside every sunny day. Working a little slower now, and much happier.

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I’ve moved past anxiety about the front lawn and planning a re-invention. I’m going to price fencing and getting ducks or chickens, and landscaping alternatives. I don’t want to make the front yard Deer-proof (total fencing), a plan that required watering, and I don’t want fake grass or bark mulch.

I love the idea of ducks. I’d hire a backhoe to dig a hole for a pond (of as yet unchosen material). I’ll fill it with water and then use pond water to feed the front and edible gardens. This way, I’m not using more water and the pond will be kept clean for the ducks. Also, they’d get lots of sunshine. I may, however, come up with a different plan. Maybe paving stones. I’ve the Winter to consider solutions.

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We’re not sleeping in the van after all. Her Highness and I are invited to stay at John and Bunny’s after the wedding. I’ll leave the wedding at 8:00.

Have I told you this before? Truly, the most torturous social experience of my life was a wedding where I knew only the bride. It was at the yacht club, so I spent all my time pretending to be interested in the trophies and historical memorabilia of the club that lined every wall and displayed in cases. That way, I had my back to everyone.

And then, I could speak. This time I know two people, the groom and his brother, and my speech could be mighty challenging. I genuinely want to be there and see Don, the groom, was a fine friend when we were in junior high school. I admired him as much as I liked him. And I liked his brother. 

I like to face challenges infrequently; I don’t want to feel imprisoned by my speech and social anxiety. If I get cabin fever this Winter, I hope to visit Vancouver friends. I’m feeling far, far more confident about venturing out because I don’t have seizures any more—in the past six months, I’ve had maybe three, and very mild ones.

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Today begins with my little dog walking group, then I’m making cream of Asparagus soup and my favourite Corn dish with Manchego cheese and jalapeños. And if, as predicted, it gets sunny in the afternoon, I’ll start cleaning up the lawns (or what’s left of them) from the storm detritus that fell early this past week.