today we have started a garden with my students, they put the seeds in soil and watered them. very humble beginning of a big project we are joining. the school got the grant for land conservation, so it’s pretty incredible that we can be a part of this labor of love. we have a few raised flower beds and are looking to add more. Today we planted seeds to grow cilantro, bell peppers, basil and lettuce. we could potentially grow other vegetables as well, they say tomatoes and strawberries, technically those are fruits but we could still grow them here in Oregon.
Blessings
my students in the newcomer center are learning English and integrating into a new culture. they are all very different yet united by the same goal. beautiful young people full of hope and optimism. after finishing high school they have to start a new adventure in the new country they now live in. I am wishing them the best of luck!
When new life begins you have no time to dwell on old grudges, stirring the cup and inflicting suffering on someone else. When a new chapter is here you couldn’t care less about what others think it should be like or it should develop into, the world is YOUR oyster, don’t let other people decide what it’s going to be/look like. You only have one life to live, so do it well and stop trying to indulge every creature under the sun. It’s not happening… unless you are chocolate, even then… even then someone might object.
The new year of Dragon is coming to bring peace, prosperity, success… I want you to make it happen today as if there is no tomorrow. Your future is in your hands. Good fortune to you and yours in 2024! Live long and prosper every day in every way.
Chinese New Year – Year of the DRAGON, Due February 15, 2024. 24th Annual Chinese New Year Swap.
The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar. The holiday falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Each year the New Year in China falls on a different date than on the Gregorian calendar. Dates range between January 21 and February 20. The Chinese New Year 2024, Year of the DRAGON begins on February 10, 2024 – the second New Moon after the Solstice.
The “Spring Festival”, beginning on the new moon, is the start of Chinese New Year, and is China’s longest and most important traditional festival. It is celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, which consists of both Gregorian and lunar-solar calendar systems. Chinese New Year can begin anytime between late January and mid-February. The Chinese New Year’s festivities end two weeks later on the 15th day of the first month (Full moon) and is celebrated with what is known as the Lantern Festival. The Chinese horoscope predicts that the Year of the Dragon in 2024 will bring luck, wealth, and power.
There are many traditions/beliefs associated with the New Year: The Chinese believe that as they enter a new year, they should start a new beginning. They pay off all of their debts, purchase new clothes, paint their doors, and even get new haircuts in order to have a fresh start. The night before the New Year begins, it is important to completely clean the house and sweep it. If you sweep or clean on Chinese New Year Day, it is bad luck, because you are sweeping out your good luck from the New Year. The same goes for bathing/showering. Instead of washing the morning of Chinese New Year, you are supposed to bathe the night before, then wait until the day after to shower again. Otherwise, all your (New Year) good luck gets washed away. New Year day is spent with family and friends, and usually there is a big family dinner. Flowers on the table each flower has meaning, fruit in bowls, and each traditional dish made, symbolizes something.
For this swap, your cards can be depictions of this year, 2024, which is the Year of the Dragon. But you may also depict any Chinese New Year Animal, and there are 12 Chinese New Year animals to pick from. Usually the U.S. post office (as well as the Canadian Post Office) releases a stamp to celebrate Chinese New Year. This year the post office is offering a blue rat. This stamp calls to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon dance often performed in Lunar New Year parades. This three-dimensional mask depicting a rat is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk art crafts created during this time of year. It is not available yet, but I will post a link when it is.
You can have the the Spring Festival, or the Lantern Festival, or red envelopes, or peonies, pineapples, mandarins, kumquats, or koi. You can create cards about New Year beliefs/celebrations/traditions regards things to do, and other items which are BAD LUCK to do.
You can have celebrations such as Lion Dancing, Dragon Dancing, Dragon Boat Races, parades and/or fireworks. The dragon is a very popular symbol for the Chinese New Year. It is a symbol of strength and good luck. A Chinese New Year celebration would not be complete without a giant dragon parading down the street. The dragon costume is always very colorful and can be up to 100 feet long. People inside the costume make the dragon move up and down as it zigzags past the spectators.
You can have Chinese New Year traditions, like the gifting of money in red envelopes/red pockets. On Chinese New Year, it is good to be a single person because all the married people give unmarried people red pockets with lucky money inside. Others say red envelopes are only for children.
Fish, which are synonymous with Chinese New Year, Koi in particular. Koi are very positive symbols and the different colors all have their different meanings! So when you fill you Koi pond, make sure you get the right color mix! All very feng shui!
You can depict flowers. Flowers are great alone, and can also make excellent backgrounds. The Peony is known as “flower of riches and honor” or “king of the flowers”, and is used symbolically in Chinese art. It is a flower much favored for Chinese New Year. The Narcissus is a symbol of the beginning of a new year. It is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity in Asia. Cherry Blossoms symbolize spring, the new year, and new beginnings. Daffodils are for luck. Peach Blossoms feature in the Lunar New Year celebrations.
You can depict fruit such as mandarins or kumquats, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity. In Lam Tsen there is a Wishing Tree where people throw Wishes tied to Mandarins into the Wishing Tree. Pineapple is considered a auspicious fruit for festive season. There are always pineapple tarts in every home during the Chinese New Year. Red Lotus seeds mean fertility. And pistachio nuts are lucky.
You can add Lucky Coins. Tie the coins together by red or gold string/ribbon to activate them. Group them in 3s, 6s or 9s. They obviously attract wealth! Odd numbers are better than even numbers. You can have fireworks or firecrackers. There are many beliefs about why fireworks are used. One belief is that the noise of the fireworks is supposed to scare away all evil spirits, allowing the new year to begin without misfortunes. ( Taken from https://atcsforall.com/ )
If you really want to be rich, you have to make money in your sleep. Do you know how to make money in your sleep? I do but I am afraid I can’t tell you. It’s a big secret. Can you keep secrets?
Some people are rich but they don’t even know about it. Others might not be rich but manage to live a happy life. Is being rich or poor determines the level of happiness? Or is it just what the media promotes aggressively to people like you and me. I don’t have an answer. It helps to have enough money for basic needs, but even basic needs can be defined differently. If you ask your friends, Is it a need or a want? answers will vary. I sometimes feel that it has all been taught to us by the country or the culture we find ourselves in.
In my family I didn’t get educated about money at all, the only rule was ‘Easy come – Easy go’ philosophy. It seems like my parents didn’t plan much for the future because future was going to take care of itself, right? I believe the optimism came straight from the fact that they had their own dress making business and the expectation was it will never stop growing. It was in the late 80s – early 90s, just around the time Soviet Union fell apart. I think we all had this positivity early on in life. But the thing is no one told them that other countries might take over the market in the near future since the borders open. The business was doing okay in the late 90s but nowhere near it used to be. And honestly they didn’t know any other ways to make it to the top and become illunimati. I am joking of course but financial literacy wasn’t taught or spoken about.
Today Financial Planning is a high school subject, I can share it with you if you might be interested. It has some useful stuff, for example, how to budget and invest wisely. Saving for a rainy day, is it a viable idea for your country and culture? When it comes to money there are two ways to approach it, you are either proactive or reactive with your financial activities. So in my family and culture everything money-related is reactive. If you earn a bit of cash you’d better spend it all now, who knows what might happen to it tomorrow? In the culture I am married to the money related questions are always proactive, you have to plan, you have to save, you have to know what you’ll be doing in 30 years. It’s a very important aspect of American culture and mentality. In my humble opinion, it’s beneficial knowledge to have for making good life choices. If you want to have a better insight into it, check out the topics on Practical Money Skills.
Passive income is a very popular topic these days. Do you have an investment that brings you profit? It’s a very exciting thing if you already have some experience playing this game, stock market is one way to do it, but I personally don’t have first hand experience, I am boring, the way I play this game is very defensive. Some of my friends are a lot more adventurous, they bought bitcoin, bonds, CDs and what not. The idea was to have them for passive income and savings for a rainy day. As you might know, stock market is not doing very well at the moment and crypto is also has seen better days.
So how should you invest to be on top of things? My number one strategy is Invest in Yourself. What I am trying to say is you might want to get educated / trained / certified for the job of your dreams. In my case it has never been a waste of time or money. Invest in intellectual property, that you think will grow in value. The best way to do it is building your equity / brand producing something worthwhile. You see that I am not very specific here, there’s a lot of room for creativity. In the long run, it can be a hit or a miss. But if you enjoy working on / creating it, it is a benefit in and of itself. Another way to invest in yourself is to have a healthy lifestyle today so that you could be happy tomorrow. Happy because you can go places and see the world later in life. Finally, having healthy relationships can be the biggest win ever, I know lots of people who saved their time and money not hiring lawyers for all kinds of legal reasons. It goes both ways, choose wisely.
Here is a question for you:
Would you rather go on a trip around the world to spend a ton of money and protect your mental health or
Save every dime, so that you could hire best therapists and buy best antidepressants available?
I know supporters of both extremes, I wonder if there’s a golden mean, I am still curious to hear from you. What have you learned about money management that is worth sharing?
Read the reposted poem by Michael Jordahl and let me know what you think about it. Share and comment.
as a child of nature, now is the time to clean my own slate and unclutter my mind; to let go of the past and forgive what is due; to lay bare my soul and begin things anew –photo by me
Art lovers, welcome to the summer art in the park season! With nice weather and the end of school year, feels like life is finally back to normal if there is such a thing. Adventure awaits because we are here, ready to rock, ready to roll, how are you feeling? Is there a special trip you have in mind or just a local gig you would hope to join?
Since the spring cleaning is already done, feel free to go out shopping for new wonderful things to make this summer even brighter, even more fun! Beach towels, a new hat and sun screen… finish the list. I am also ready for the hikes as the snow is finally gone and we can go explore. Do you agree?
Donate something to make you feel relieved and fulfilled, I did it and it helps to be the captain of my ship and master of my soul. Reading and writing some poetry can be a nice outlet for the emotions that have been bothering you for a while. Journaling is another thing that the doctor ordered, write it, burn it, get rid of the load you don’t want to carry. I am so ready, are you?
Why I quit my job 