– Jane
· · · Jane’s Thread · · ·
What Is Your Time Worth Today?
I enjoyed cleaning my Logitech keyboard last week and thought I'd tackle my slow-operating vacuum cleaner today. I took the dust receptacle apart and saw (online) that you can run water through the filter. I noticed that it didn't flow easily. On closer inspection,...
I Missed a Day
I've been tracking each day of this quarantine with a list of to-do's in my master notebook. It's my way of maintaining sanity, some sense of normalcy and, dare I say, accomplishment. Yet, today when I went to record the tasks at hand, I saw that I had blanked on...
Weird Al Made My Day
When I concentrate on my personal progress, the difficulties over which I have no control will iron themselves out. That was a sentence in my daily reader yesterday that could not be more apropos for April 2020. I'm always reminded in the Serenity Prayer to accept...
Is It Okay to Be Okay?
I was encouraged this morning reading Madeleine Albright's Op-Ed piece in the Times, Resilience in the Face of Disaster, particularly Bill Clinton's quote, "the quiet miracle of a normal life." The more routinely I go about the day's tasks, the more normal I feel...
Anyone Else Out of Control?
I was speaking to a friend this morning who expressed her upset at the way the man she shares space with vacuumed the living room rug. In other words, It wasn't her way. Instead of advising her, I shared a recent experience that felt like a similar loss of...
What’s Getting You/Me Through This Time?!
Have you let go of perfectionism recently? In light of the world crisis, I decided that it's okay if: My meditation posture isn't totally erect There's a morsel of almond butter stuck to the glass jar I'm recycling (don't yell at me!) I don't know how to keep zoom...
My Bell Broke and Sparked This Post
Yesterday I mentioned the 7pm sound salute to hospital workers in NYC that I participated in, until the clapper in my Tibetan bell fell off and it was silenced. If this was a different time, you may not have heard that story. But since these are such different...
Laurie Klein Made My Day
"It's our job as creatives to put good stuff back into the world," Laurie Klein, my friend and creative guru, declared during our virtual zoom dinner this evening. Although we hadn't spoken in a few years, I received an invitation to and attended Laurie's "virtual...
A Small Good Thing Courtesy of Katie Settel
Raymond Carver's short story, A Small Good Thing, has given special meaning to that phrase. In his narrative, a tragedy occurs for a young family. But, in the midst of their sadness, a moment of caring soothes their spirits. During this quarantine, many small good...
The Wild West of My Apartment
For most of my career, as I've given advice to the self-employed, I've urged delegating, particularly in the arena of the home. Let go of laundry, cleaning and other jobs someone else can perform at a lower wage. That way you can put your best talents toward the...
Keeping Calm; Carrying On
Today (written on Sunday, March 22) is Day 7 in my count of sheltering-in-place. You may have gotten a head start on me as I didn't begin until last Sunday night. But I'm following the rules, going out for occasional groceries and attending a socially-distanced...
Positive in Attitude Only
The only thing that didn't get canceled recently was a Penny Rug class I'd signed up for months ago at the Guilford Arts Center in rural Connecticut. My good friend, Liz Alpert Fay, was instructing, and I'd easily convinced two other close friends to join...
Marie Beattie – A New Kind of Client Need
Marie has counted days in her new role since its inception. Today is Day 3437 in a job she did not apply for, wishes had never been assigned, but one at which she excels beyond any human's expectations. Since Saturday, October 2, 2010, Marie has served as the...
What 3 Things Do You Want?
There's a heart-warming and affirming documentary on Netflix called Harold and Lillian that will inspire movie fans as well as creatives who love what they do. Its subtitle, A Hollywood Love Story, tells you about the unusual marriage of two major contributors to...
Very Gail – Another Extraordinary Entrepreneur
When I received this beautifully calligraphed envelope early in the New Year, I knew exactly who it was from. Gail Brill has been a friend since the early 2000's, but we haven't been in close touch since she moved to Saranac Lake in 2003. It took receiving her...