You're feeling down. Nothing is going your way. The dog ate your slipper. The toaster burnt your bagel. Now the fire alarm is going off. It's that bad. Your first instinct is to withdraw, focus on yourself. There is a nagging urge in the back of your mind. The desire to buy something, eat something, ANYTHING to fill the void of despair! This is not the answer my friend. It may seem counter intuitive but the best way to make your day is to make someone else's.

     There is a TV in every house.  Ever since it was invented, people have been coming up with new ways to make it better, less expensive, more innovative.  Along with the TV changes, there have been more and more TV shows every year.  Last year in particular, I found that I was unable to keep up with all the shows that I wanted to watch.  Our evening schedules revolve around what show is on that night.  Monday’s, “24,” Tuesday’s, “NCIS” and “The Mentalist.”  Wednesday’s, “Lost.”  Thursday’s, “Bones,” “Smallville,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”  Friday, nothing.  When all of these shows ended for the summer, I felt like I could breathe again.  Suddenly, I had so much free time on my hands.  I didn’t have to finish my dinner before eight.   I didn’t have to rush home to make the beginning of every show.  I didn’t have to make time to watch all the shows I had taped.  It was remarkably liberating and it opened a whole new box.  A lost art;  board games.
   

Color is a major reason why painting entered my life.

The thermometer on the dashboard read 12 degrees. At nine in the morning on Sunday, I was the only fool in the parking lot at the base of Sergeant Mountain. I weighed my options carefully, wondering what the loss would be if I didn’t strap on my snowshoes. Something about this quiet morning was intimidating – maybe the loneliness of the mountain, or the canine howl of the wind. For one reason or another I kept imagining myself with a broken leg, half-way up the mountain side. On the other hand, if I wanted to see a snowy owl then cold was in my future.

This is a new blog

    When Teddy Roosevelt came across a rather cuddly looking bear on one of his many hunting excursions, he decided not to kill it. He brought the image of the cute bear back with him and soon after the first "teddy" bear was made. 

Over the three years I've studied at COA (College of the Atlantic), I've met some of the most interesting people in all my life. Farmers, blacksmith apprentices, beekeepers, bloggers, vegans, transsexuals, massage therapists, Mainers, Italians, Mexicans. The list goes on. The student body and COA community are an entirely diverse wild smorgsasbord of misfits and eccentrics matched with socialites and braniacs. We all have a shared interest in protecting our Mother Earth through the interdisciplinary teaching principles of Human Ecology.

Oh how nice to avoid drafty winds down the front of your coat!

What does true love really mean?  I always thought it was something made up, only in movies.  Something that was only tangible in the intangible world.  Of course, I wished it was real.  I wished like every other sane person that there was someone in this world who was my one true love.  It doesn’t help that I am in love with Disney movies.  I’m 18 years old, and I’m not ashamed to say that Disney movies are still my favorite of all time.  I always loved the happy endings, and almost every one had a true love’s kiss.  This all sounds very cliché, but I know everyone thinks these thoughts on those rainy days, watching old romance movies, sighing into a pillow...    

A Gravestone for a Civil War Veteran from Lamoine, Maine