Bobbie's Five Things Request

Bobbie at emergingsideways, http://emergingsideways.blogspot.com/ tagged me to list five things you do not know about me. Get over to her blog and read some really fascinating Bobbie facts which go deep. I'm not sure yet how profound my own revelations will be but I've been contemplating this for the last two hours while sculpting a Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus out of Marzipan for the top of a Happy Birthday to Jesus cake. Whenever I glance over at Mary, sitting on wax paper atop my cookie jar she seems to be more squat. Marzipan is a very malleable medium. You probably didn't know that I was capable of sugar sculpture but this is not my first unknown thing. Here are my five self disclosures:

1. I am extremely impetuous. I tackle many things for which I have no experience whatsoever, such as making Marzipan decorations. I never research beforehand but grab an idea and run with it and learn while doing. I have yet to figure out whether this saves me time or makes the task longer. The famous Walker's Point Quilt Project, which came miraculously to an end with a presentation to the Church at Thanksgiving and to the community as a whole last Saturday, was a case in point. Most of what I knew about quilting before I started could have been written on the back of a postage stamp and still could, but the quilt is beautiful.


2. I have a mood disorder which is called hypomania, a mild form of bi-polar disorder. On the one hand, I believe this disorder may contribute to my creativity, while on the other hand, perhaps my creativity contributes to the disorder. When I am in a true manic phase, all creativity grinds to a halt because I can't concentrate long enough to finish things, have too many projects running at the same time and don't get enough sleep to be rested enough to be creative. Impetuousity and impulsivity are certainly linked to this mood disorder. While I still take anti-depressants to control the debilitating low mood swings, I have been off of lithium for nearly two years. I can control manic episodes by listening to feedback from those closest to me, resting more, and being more intentional about my life. Lately I have missed a number of nights of sleep because of a restless, elevated mood. While this gift of extra time resulted in the completion of the painting in the everlasting kitchen renovation, I am heeding the warning and will get to bed as soon as this post is finished. Ah, but will I sleep? (Surely this disclosure counts as more than five things in and of itself.)

3. I have managed to lose twelve pounds this year by eating salads and decreasing carbs. Now it is winter and that primitive part of my brain craves all those foods which will be my undoing. Perhaps just saying this in this space will encourage me to keep on with diet and exercise. I have felt better with those pounds off and my clothes fitting nicely. I've even felt sexy!!!

4. Some of you will know this, but I share it again anyway because it is a seasonal story and really belongs in Ripley's Believe It or Not. I am one of the few persons still living who has sung 'O Holy Night' in the Toronto Stock Exchange. This happened in the 1970's, a less politically correct time in Canada. It was a tradition that the old TSE would shut down for those few minutes when the woman from The Salvation Army sang that particular favourite carol. It was a respect thing, I think, back then, because, truth to tell, few brokers were christians. I'll write about the many facets of this experience in The Dawsonwood Diaries 'winter' edition...coming in three years time.

5. My website www.dawsonwooddiaries.com is up and running and while it is not news that I wrote a book, somewhat impetuously this year, it will be news that the website is functional. Please, you don't have to buy a book. Just go to the site briefly every day and get your friends to go to the site. Just hit it...because this somehow helps something that I don't understand, which is another example of how I launch into ventures without having a clue what I am doing. For instance, Paypal is working and people have received books through ordering them online...but I have yet to figure out where the money which they sent me has gone...that might involve research. Will I find it on my Visa as a deposit? Does Paypal hold it until I buy something from someone else? Does it lurk forever in cyberspace? Does anybody know the answer to that?

You see how ignorance can co-exist quite comfortably with wisdom...but I'm not proud of that!!!

Thank you Bobbie.