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Rangewriter

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Rangewriter

Tag Archives: creativity

The magic of Christmas

20 Tuesday Dec 2022

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Christmas, creativity, friendship, memories, nostalgia

Christmas, despite its over-commercialization, has always been my favorite holiday. My mother went out of her way to make it special. There were always many small, but thoughtfully chosen and individually wrapped gifts under our Christmas tree. Mom couldn’t bear to see trees die needlessly for holiday decoration; therefore we always had an artificial tree which could be carefully stowed away each January and reused the following December. And she filled every inch of the house with old, often crumbling, yet always special ornaments and decorations handed down from her mother.

When I was about 14, my new stepfather brought in small trees for me and his daughter, my new sister, to put up in our rooms. This was a huge extravagance, but a wise ploy on his part. He could have written a book about how to endear oneself to a step-child.

I have put up a Christmas tree every single year since then, even the occasional years when I would be out of town during the holiday. Like my mother, if left up to me, I use (and reuse) an artificial tree. And I put old and often crumbling ornaments on the tree and around the house. These items remain special because they see so little daylight. Warm memories spring up as I free them from their layers of tissue paper. Nostalgic thoughts of people who’ve been part of my life—some of whom are no longer present—hover. Putting Christmas away always feels just a tad sad, like watching a kaleidoscope of leaves drift to the ground, leaving trees to face winter starkly naked.

Among my treasures is a collection of ornaments that has outgrown its storage box several times. One of my friends is both craftily handy and artistically talented. Each of her gifts through the years is adorned with a hand-crafted ornament. We’ve exchanged many gifts. Placing these ornaments on the tree is like looking through a stack of photo albums. Her creativity has marked our passage of time and our friendship. It also marks her artistic journey through many styles and creative pursuits through the years.

I gaze at the ornament that proudly commemorates 1980. It is not the oldest of the collection, but oh my, that was so long ago. Cris and I were both so young. And neither of us was aware of just how young we were or how long and deep our friendship would grow.

I hope you all have a love-filled and stress-free holiday filled with pleasant old memories and perhaps making new memories to savor in future years.

Gallery

Check your bias at the door

09 Tuesday Nov 2021

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

creativity, Diversity, implicit bias, Infinitely Polar Bear, love, Mark Ruffalo, mental illness, unconscious bias, Zoe Saldana

I’ve spent the better part of my life trying to curb knee-jerk judgements. It’s difficult to fight the urge to …

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Gallery

Downtown walkabout – 3

05 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by rangewriter in Photography

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Aaron Paul, art, Boise, Colby Akers, creativity, Freak Alley Gallery, graffiti, Idaho, murals, public art

This gallery contains 21 photos.

In my last post I mentioned Freak Alley. We’re on our way over there now, but along the way, there …

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Gallery

All that junk I can’t remember? It no longer matters!

06 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

creativity, education, future, innovation, Is knowledge obsolete, learning, School in the Cloud, technology, the Cloud

This gallery contains 3 photos.

I often hear people lamenting over what kids today are NOT learning: Oh, they don’t teach them to write cursive …

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Gallery

Where do our brains go while we sleep?

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

creativity, dogs, dreams, relationships

This gallery contains 1 photo.

I had the craziest dream last night. I was with my mother, who has been gone from this world for …

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