I Blog, Therefore I Amount to Something

My Mom doesn't see my blog, because she won't use a computer. Great idea-- print some of it for her!  I had wanted to try out making a photobook with InDesign, so I cobbled some stuff from this blog into a layout and uploaded it. 

http://www.viovio.com/

It was only $14 for a 20 page photobook, and it came out looking pretty slick.  I was happy with it, and mailed it off to Mom. 

Mom called t'other night to say she had read it. She must've been impressed: "I never thought you'd amount to anything, but it seems like you know how to do all kinds of things!"

I asked, "Why did you think I wouldn't amount to anything?"

She said, "Oh, because of your messy desk."

But if self-publishing is all it takes to amount to something, I've always amounted! My very first diary when I was a little kid didn't say "Keep Out", it said "I hope you enjoy this diary." :-) 

Opinions please-- up or down?

Which way is "up" on this fabric?  I was gonna make this into a medieval outfit.  (I know it's about as authentic as a zipper, but it's what's in my stash and it's about to become medieval.)

So should the pattern be oriented this way...

or this? 
Addendum, "the child"  who thinks it should face down, says it WAS designed to be up, but looks better down.
Rephrase:  does it look better up or down?   :-) 

Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul

As usual, with books I check out from the library, I only found time to read a couple chapters of it on my way out the door to bring it back.
What I got from the little bit I read was extremely enlightening and maybe even life-changing.  I need to prioritize "playtime" for myself, not just the kids?
Yes, really. 

When I think about "playing" on purpose, as defined by the book, I feel something best described as a whiff of fresh air, as a sign of hope.

I often wonder if backwoods equals backwards, and I've been in the woods a whole lot.  Just a natural hermit I guess, I'm more comfortable among trees than among people, but you can't stay in the woods ALL the time! 

Here's Stuart Brown defining "play" for a group of engineers: 

 

PLAY by Stuart Brown, M.D.

The Institute for Play

Video: 
A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.