Unravelings

One more, can't resist

 

Another shot of Arazi Ron took yesterday.

Arazi the elegant dog

 

Now that I have made fun of Arazi and the sticker on his nose, here is a shot Ron took yesterday. Pretty handsome, isn't he? (both Ron, who you can't see, and Arazi, who you can)

Sushi dog

 

Ron left a bit of sticky paper in the car from a sushi tray and Arazi seems to have discovered it. He sure looks mortified, like he's saying "please get this off of me!"

Kids everywhere

 

I'm visiting my friend Leslie in Olympia, WA. One of her Pygora goats had kids last week. The are so cute I am taking one home in my carry on bag. She really doesn't need two.

The five Ps

5 P’s for creative people.

Thanks to Hlen Driggs of Jewelry Artist Magazine for sharing this information with all us creative types. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter!

1. Passion. Love what you do; have enthusiasm and excitement for every part of the process. Equalize the unpleasant by giving it the same attention as the pleasant.

2. Play. Be open to approaching the usual, customary, or repetitive tasks you face in a new way. Kids do this with ease: just watch them use an empty cardboard box.

3. Practice. It is important to master your craft through repetition. Once you’ve done something many times, you’ll have the confidence to do it well every time you do it.

4. Patience. Trust yourself to go through a series of tasks in the amount of time each task requires. Sometimes, it is better to finish well than to finish fast.

5. Perseverance. Don’t stop when you hit a bump in the road. Commit to finding a way to solve a problem in your own timeframe, and don’t abandon it entirely.

Swarovski D:Light

D:light is an instant eye-catcher. With this watch, Swarovski has – for the first time – developed and launched its own movement and presents a unique crystal setting technique which blends avant-garde design and precision.

The final result: a watch that gives pure pleasure. Both contemporary and futuristic, D:light shows you dare!

The Manning Boys: We don't like the dark

Dear Char: You would never guess what happened to us yesterday. Mom and Dad went to a friends house and left us outside. They decided to go to dinner and it got late and the sun disappeared and it got darker and darker and darker. We had never been out in the dark except to hurry and potty before we go to bed.

We were really scared so we tore up our toys and threw the cotton all over the back yard, dug up the rocks by the back gate and peed on the concrete. They were really mad but we made them feel bad for leaving us in the dark for so long. They ended up petting us and giving us an extra chewy. We Vizslas are really smart.

Love, Payton and Eli

Color and shape

I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.

---Joan Miró

A question from Eli and Payton

Dear Char:

Well, here we go again, asking you another question. This one has us baffled. Can we run our legs off? We heard Mom tell Dad that we were going to run our legs off. That would certainly be funny, not funny HAHA, just weird funny. We really think she meant to say that we were running her legs off. That would be even funnier.

Mom does say the craziest things.

Love, Eli and Payton

P.S. Sure hope we never give our Mom a black eye like our cousin Arazi did to you; we would be in deep, deep trouble. Hope it feels better soon!

Give it Away (it comes back)

© by Dr. David Weiman

All rights reserved

Back when I was the marketing director for all of the Wendy's restaurants in Southern New Jersey, we ran a 'crew incentive' one month.

Everyone on the staff was given a stack of coded coupons that were good for a dollar off a meal. They handed these coupons out to their friends, family, the mailman, strangers, etc. The crew member who had the most coupons redeemed won a prize.

That was one monster of a month.

And it demonstrated two things. One: People like getting something for free, even if it's just a dollar. Two: People feel good when they can give something to someone else.

Judy is a friend of mine who uses this same concept in her hair styling salon. She had custom-designed 'gift certificates' printed up. The certificates have a $10 value. But she doesn't sell them: She gives them to her best customers to give as gifts. Why? Because her best customers are the ones most likely to recommend that their friends, family and acquaintances get their hair styled by Judy.

And now they not only get the opportunity to turn someone on to a great hair stylist, but they also feel good when they hand a friend a $10 gift certificate to be used on their first visit to Judy.