SOME PUZZLING THOUGHTS.....

[THE FIRST PUZZLING THOUGHT--I CAN'T GET PICTURES/IMAGES TO COPY HERE. SORRY--TECHNICAL ERRORS TRULY PUZZLE ME.] 

Many years ago, I became intrigued by solving puzzles.

First there were picture puzzles--100 pieces! 500 pieces! 1000 pieces! Clues were in the pictures--if you were supposed to fit all those little pieces together and get a big picture of, say, a box of chocolates, well, you looked for the design of chocolate swirls, and wavy lines of the paper dividers.

Another kind of picture puzzle had only parts of the design, with significant sections left out. The thing that might be an elephant's ear was only a curve--it could be anything! Another twist was the two-color picture--black and white or blue and white; no hints in the change of color.

As I progressed in school, I also progressed in puzzles. After pictures, there were puzzles with NO pictures--puzzles with words only.

I have to confess--some puzzles are still a closed book to me. For example, unless an anagram is practically transparent, it can take me forever to untangle it.

In case you've forgotten what an anagram is, I can give you some simple examples. The word bats is an anagram for tabs. Same letters, different order; making a real word. In mystery stories, the sleuth is always looking at a jumble of 8 or 10 or more letters--and a perfectly good, understandable, word in English, and blurting out a totally different polysyllabic word (using every letter), which (of course) solves the mystery. I'll stand on the sidelines and applaud. Can't do it myself.

Another word puzzle that "puzzles" me is the crostic. (AKA anacrostic) It's a cousin to the crossword, but the clues are written in a separate area, each space is numbered, and those numbered letters are transferred to a larger area (also numbered). Eventually a series of words will be revealed, and you can read a quotation. If my explanation leaves you totally in the dark, search on anacrostic for a better one.

I've tried anacrostics with little success. But this type of puzzle is often used by characters in books and movies--the kind of characters who have super-brains.

Other types of super-brainy characters do their crosswords in ink. Inspector Morse was one of those.

-----

I am well acquainted with crossword puzzles, and have a regular date each morning with the New York Times Mini. It has enough quick answers to keep me coming back every day, and enough tricky clues to stimulate my brain early in the morning. And I've learned a couple of things--some answers keep me in the current usage loop, and others satisfy me that I still possess a working brain.

Another popular type of puzzle is the Word Search. Some people get through a whole book of them in no time, it seems; but I get lost with upside-down-diagonals. so I stick to the traditional crossword.

-----

Recently I came across a type of puzzle that I've not seen much. In an author commentary on parts of a PBS set of mysteries (Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, Marble Hall Murders) Anthony Horowitz said he likes three kinds of puzzles: anagrams, crostics, and lipograms. Well, we've looked at the first two. How about a gander at lipograms?

A lipogram is writing that leaves out a letter. Here's another one you can type into your preferred search engine and learn more than you ever wanted to know. It's been around since 6th century BCE, but makes reading a challenge sometimes, so it's not popular in my neck of the woods. 

Here's an example from Wikipedia:

 A pangrammatic lipogram is a text that uses every letter of the alphabet except one. For example, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" omits the letter S, which the usual pangram includes by using the word jumps.

-----

I know what you're thinking--Life is puzzling enough (don't get me started), why should I think about these wordy things? Well, why not? Keeps you from getting wound up in your daily life, gives your brain some exercise, and who knows--you may solve a mystery some day because of your puzzle habit!

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 

  

L I F E

It just has to be said: Sometimes life makes no sense. So today I'm throwing together thoughts/opinions of other folks who thought they had a handle on it. Ready?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life's more amusing than we thought. Andrew Lang

I have found that, if you love life, life will love you back. Arthur Rubenstein 

Life is 10 percent what you make it, and 90 percent how you take it. Irving Berlin 

The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Joseph Campbell

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. Mark Twain

 

 

Hope your Life is comfortable during these hot-hot-hot days of September!!

 

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 

 

 

EMBRACING CHANGE

As Autumn approaches, my thoughts naturally turn to the topic of Change. It keeps on coming even if I want it to hold off a little while. You know, just till I get something finished. And if you recognize some of these comments, yes, today's post is built on one I published several years ago. 

 

This time of year always finds me unsettled--not because of the weather, exactly, but because I know Autumn is progressing and will come to an end, and we'll be engulfed in Winter. I don't mean to hurry the seasons along. If it were possible, I'd slow them down, so I could savor the sunny days and the few warm breezes that come my way. Yet, change is inevitable--time passes, life goes on. Everything changes. Everything.

Today's thoughts on transition and change are visuals because I don’t have anything new to say about change.

 C. S. Lewis, known to many as the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia, became a Christian late in life and wrote many books about faith.

Maya Angelou is remembered for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, as well as for many volumes of poetry.

Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic.

My  story--my life--is in my hands. Staggering thought, isn't it?

One early morning gratitude--mumbled while your eyes are trying to open, before the morning jolt of caffeine, before your feet hit the floor--just one expression of thankfulness can make a difference in how your day starts, continues, and ends.

-----
Since change is inevitable, you--and I--might as well embrace it. Shall we give it a go? I don't promise it will be easy, or successful, or even enjoyable. But I say it's worth a try. It might even keep me from pushing too quickly into the future.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

The tree I love

LET'S HEAR IT FOR *GRATITUDE*

 

 

That's right - G R A T I T U D E.

Yes, I know it's August.

Yes, I recall Thanksgiving time is celebrated the fourth Thursday in November here in the USA.

And yes, I recall church liturgy reminds us to "give thanks" and some of those injunctions include the word "always." Or, "in all circumstances."

So right now, here in the last third of the eighth month of 2026, I am going to share with you some of my personal thankfulnesses.

Part 1 - Daily Life

My small town (pop. 12000-15000) has undergone changes. Yet my day-to-day existence remains recognizable and livable. Streets undergo construction to keep them up to date and safe. Businesses leave (due to the ups and downs of the economy) and new businesses come in to keep life viable. We have doctors, clinics, a hospital with ties to a large hospital only 20 miles away. We have a multi-purpose library to serve the needs of all ages, babies to elders. We can shop locally at large stores, or we can shop online--shipping is often from a nearby warehouse.

Part 2 -  Opportunities 

Now that Internet is a fixture of life, I can study anything that takes my fancy--online classes (for credit or not); hobby interests on websites devoted to teaching, trouble-shooting, encouraging, providing a virtual community of like-minded people like me. Without leaving my home, I can find answers to my art, quilting, knitting dilemmas. Or I can look up answers to questions that arise in the story I'm writing, currently medical info.

Part 3 - People

Late at night, I can shoot an email to a friend or family member. If I want a quick answer (earlier in the day) I can text. I'm not tied to the telephone for communication (medical providers recognize the value of a place for Internet Q & A). I can renew a subscription online, pay bills, and many other options.

Part 4 - What I Can't Do

Change the weather--tried but the website was always too busy to take my request. Physically return an unsatisfactory item I ordered. Get my teeth cleaned or have fillings replaced. Have blood drawn without going out to the lab. Reach out and touch your hand, give you a hug if you need one. I can weep with you, though you may not see it.

-----

I'm grateful for all of the above. No doubt I've left out something important, but there's always another time. (Only two months to November.)

Today I'm grateful that the weather is moderating, as the season begins to change. I am grateful for appliances that still do their jobs without complaint (some after many years of service). I am grateful that I can still get out and do some of my errands, and have the help of my youngest daughter so I can continue to live in my own home. And I am grateful for family and friends, neighbors and other folks in my community, who keep life humming along. 

Thank you for your support in reading and sharing your thoughts. I'm grateful for every one of you!

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 

 

 

 TOUGH TIMES . . .

Everybody has tough times . . . I've never met anybody who lived in a land of eternal springtime, little birdies singing, flowers blooming their heads off--and honestly, I don't think I'd actually believe it if I did meet somebody like that.

But I have met lotsa folks who have tough times of varying intensity and length, and from them, I've learned a little about how to navigate those rocky places in life.

Often, I've had mentors from my churches. They prayed with me. They recommended books and authors whose writings gave me a different point of view. They showed me how to turn difficult times into possibilities for growth. And the best thing of all, over the years I've developed a habit of looking for those ways on my own.

If you've been reading Thursday's Child for a while, you know I spend a lot of time reading. One of my favorite writers has been, and is, C. S. Lewis. I first knew his work when I was an undergrad English major--we used one of his books, The Four Loves, in a Middle English course. (Lewis was an academic in England.) A few years later, I made his acquaintance again when my oldest daughter brought home The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first of the Narnia series. And since that time, I've read many of his books on religious subjects.

-----

Recently, I've collected thoughts from various sources. Around Mother's Day, The New York Times ran an article about advice people had received from their moms. What fun to read! Some of those sayings I'd heard in my young life--things like "walk in the other person's shoes before you judge." 

But the one that stood out for me, and that I'd never heard before, was this: "If you try, you either win or you learn." Got that? Win or learn--not win or lose. In similar words, I've been reading that sentiment, "win or learn," for the past several years--mostly from visual artists, writers, and  teachers, who are absolutely convinced that mistakes are good things, because they help you learn something you didn't know before.

-----

A few weeks ago I watched a video on YouTube by an American artist I follow, Ellen Crimi-Trent. This was a follow-up video about her father. A few months ago, Ellen and her brother were helping their artist father downsize his studio; he had hundreds (literally!) of paintings, some framed, some not; and he was no longer able to paint due to poor health. The family members were clearing out the studio, selling paintings locally and online. They'd done this once already this year; now they were having a second sale, and the end was, apparently not in sight. Their father, the artist, could no longer hold a paint brush. I'm guessing he's in his 80s. 

At the end of the video, Ellen closed with this thought, "Take the time and space to enjoy every moment that you have." That really hit me where I live.

I wish you the same--time and space.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

 ROAD TRIP THINKING

Lilies--as a possibility

On a recent road trip to an appointment in the city, my daughter (also my driver) and I got into a discussion about the ways people navigate through life. 

**As an aside: We've learned, by experience, that it's best not to get into these deep talks on the way to the appointment, only afterward, when we're on the way home. That way, we don't miss an crucial exit on the freeway and possibly arrive late. Going home--not so much pressure.**

On that particular day, my daughter mentioned "deficit thinking." Not a term I was familiar with, but I grasped the idea. Pretty simple, really: thinking from a place of not having. Examples abound in all areas:

  I can't paint, I don't have the talent/supplies/money/connections . . . .

  My life is full already--I don't have time to paint/practice the viola/learn to quilt . . . .

  And my all-time favorite: I'm too old to _______. 

Okay, that's enough examples. We all know what "deficit thinking" means. If we haven't said it (or thought it to ourselves), we've heard it said. Boiled down, it's what we used to call "negative attitude."

Okay. Other side--"possibilities thinking." 

Got some samples to share? How about these:

  What do I have now?

  What can I do, even without a particular tool?

  What if I _____?

Basically, we're looking at what we can do based on what we already have/know/can try.

-----

Deficit thinking deals quite a lot in If-Onlys.

Possibilities thinking deals in What-Ifs.

So how can we shift from the minus type of thinking to the plus type?

Not as hard as you might think. Consider these:

    Do-Overs. If you're old enough, you were brought up on the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Hardly anything in life is a one-and-done. Why would painters, musicians, sculptors, quilters, and other creative folks keep on trying new techniques? Why would they explore a new idea, a new way of looking at the same subject? 

  If you watch the Olympics, do you think those performers got it right the first time? If they did, why did they continue practicing? (Sometimes for years!)

  Hindsight. The only reason anyone tries the same thing more than once is to assess the result. Could it have been larger? Smaller? Taller? Miniature in scale? Different colors/textures? That doesn't mean the first one was "wrong"; it means there were other possibilities--and how do they look?

  Looking in the Rearview Mirror. Another way to assess results. Put it away for a time to "cool" and take it out later. This is a technique often used by writers, who report errors and typos that appeared after a time away from the manuscript. Distance can be measured in time as well as physical location.

-----

Again from my experience, I suspect a lot of us hesitate to risk the try-and-fail of possibilities because (1) we don't want to waste time, (2) we don't want people to know we're less than perfect (or at least good) at something, or (3) it feels scary, especially if we haven't tried it before.

Going forward--how about leaning toward the Possibilities side? Leave Deficit Thinking for other folks to try. Or maybe, more folks will look at our positive efforts and decide to try them also.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

In Full Bloom

 

 

 

IT'S ALMOST AUGUST!

Okay, you're ready to turn your calendar page, right?

You scanned through the filled-in squares on your cell phone calendar, right? Mine has a couple of birthdays!

So you're ready to go! New month day after tomorrow. August, 8th month of our year, named in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus, in the year 8 BCE.

If you want to know more "awesome" things about August, check out The Fact Site.

-----

In my neighborhood, folks are keeping up with the lawn (heavy rains every so often keep us green, but also make mowing a necessity, whether we have the time or energy or not.

No doubt stores are crowded with parents filling shopping carts with school clothes and classroom supplies, plus the family groceries. I have to say, I don't miss that part of my life; getting four kids ready for a new school year was a job in itself.

-----

In these last few days before the big yellow buses trundle down the street to pick up students, there'll be last-minute swims, fishing trips, picnics, family visits with grandparents, maybe even a short car trip to a campground.

Once the school doors open, left-behind parents can take a deep breath, maybe drink another cup of coffee, and stop running so fast. Even leaving the house to go work will seem easier.

-----

August always signals for me the beginning of canning season. Even though I no longer have a garden to tend, nurture, and harvest, I think of my children who have big gardens and will soon be canning tomatoes, green beans, and squash among other delicious homegrown treats; then when the weather chills everything and fresh stuff is about gone, it'll be time to make jams and jellies.

Having done all those things in another life (long before I retired), I know how much work is involved. When I receive gifts of canned goods from my family, I honor the hard work and hours spent bending over plants they tend, along with the late night sessions with hot water baths and pressure cooking (for the canning processes).

-----

Wishing you a joyful August--wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whatever season you're experiencing.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child