There's a full moon, and I found a little chart with moon names by month. Some are indigenous and refer to natural phenomena such as flowers blossoming -- mountain pinks in April-- and some are colonial --wolf moon.
For very interesting and knowledgeable posts on moons and their goddess significance, check out Debra, She Who Seeks. She also does a lot of funny non-moon blogging and has a fairly new blog, Beautiful Woman of the Day, definitely follow that.
And so you know I'm keeping up with my August challenge, this was today's video
I thought it would be good to do this before I went out walking, because I was a bit stiff Saturday morning. It wasn't so gentle, but it was great.
And I was reading the latest feature from a writer acquaintance who just turned 90. She's impatient with her slowness, moving, walking, even thinking. But she's proud of being gainfully employed, her words, at 90. Hmm. I wonder about that.
There's so much more than being paid. I think to her it means her writing being taken seriously. But I dispute that a little, too. Unpaid bloggers, particularly those of us who have written and sold their print work, are still being read and noted. Anyway I think I'm coming from a different viewpoint about the value of work. I don't think it's limited to dollar value, or even related to it. Me, musing. Please weigh in.
It's very quiet here this week, Gary away for maybe ten days, neighbors on the other side in India till September. That means no renovation from either side for now.
They employ moonlighting contractors which means evenings and weekends are full of hammering and drilling and whining electric saws. My own repairs were done daytimes, so the evenings were quiet.
And in other good news, my Senior Freeze check arrived, refunding me the increase in property tax over my base year. Just in time to pay the next quarter taxes! And the check I wrote for the house repair has cleared, so all's up to date.
Next I have to replace the heat pump at the condo. That's a big expense. But the current heat pump ran flawlessly for 23 years, so there's that.
Happy day, everyone, happy birthday to everyone born in August! That includes blogista Ellen D, 75 today!!
I'm learning to just sit outside, no book, no tablet, just watch and listen. There's so much happening it's hard to keep up, what with birds, insects, squirrels, flowers, trees, clouds. It's a busy world.
Then I turned to my year of poems, and found the one for the day is a Sylvia Plath worth pursuing on your own account, about childbirth.
I agree wholeheartedly that the true value of work should have nothing to do with money. There were so many things I loved to do and was proud of and the question was always “But can you make any money from it?” That destroyed the joy in creating, the joy in activity, the sense of accomplishment. The question is “Does it make you happy?”
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you see the sense of accomplishment being cancelled by dollar value. I feel that way, but a more materialistic view would be that there's greater accomplishment in exchanging work for money.
DeleteIt certainly helps to get paid to meet one’s needs and more. But, for me, the accomplishment should be the work itself. I’m not a very good capitalist (and have been inconsistent throughout my life).
DeleteWhat a moment of synchronicity. I just stepped in from taking a photo of the rising moon at 6.46pm, Sunday evening. I then sat down to read this.
ReplyDeleteIt never occurred to me but writing is something you can do until a very old age. A celebrity neighbour has become very decrepit, but still writes very well. His body ails, but his mind does not.
Hours of noise from home renovations and from building sites are very restricted here, and enforced.
If you retain your mental sharpness, you can continue in some of the arts, but most people tend to become repetitive, and written out. The friend I mentioned has become very predictable in her work, I suspect because her physical world has shrunk and along with it her stimuli.
DeleteRelish the peace and quiet. That's actually one of the things I really appreciate when (rarely) we have a blackout. The quiet whirring and whining of appliances ceases, the house settles on its haunches - it's blissful.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true. We really don't realize the undercurrent of noise all the time until it stops.
DeleteThere’s some validation about being paid for work. For several years I hung photo prints and sold a few. I am almost sorry that I did now because it seems very bold to have done so. I’m would have been nice to give prints away, but I don’t know how that could have happened.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it has to do with self identity, if someone is willing to exchange money they've earned for a piece of your work.
DeleteThe only real thought I have about the being "gainfully employed" is that I think it is important for some people to feel that they are capable of earning an income. Or, something of an income. As someone who has done almost everything in my life without payment or monetary award, I still find it hard sometimes to feel that my work has been valuable. I know that's not true but our society definitely sends out that message constantly. I know my work has been valuable but...has it been valued?
ReplyDeleteWord play.
Glad your check came in.
I thought you worked as a nurse for many years? And yes, there's a difference between valuable and valued.
DeleteMost of my work as a nurse was at a birth center and it was an on-call situation. I never made much money there. I also worked for Weight Watchers and again- not much money to be had doing that. I always felt I had to fit whatever I was doing into the needs of the family which, looking back, may have been good or may not have. I don't know. Glen worked long, long hours and wasn't available for much of the every day business of family.
DeleteI admit that I made things to sell when I created pottery. That was an intention for some of it. Then there were things I made for my own satisfaction, and didn't even want to sell. The shelves are still full of them, mainly sculptures. Working for one's own self, to just see how creativity can push yourself into somewhere new and different, is entirely different than having a product in mind which someone else might like...at least for me.
ReplyDeleteYes, these are perennial issues.
DeleteInteresting question about being 'gainfully employed'. Being an artist of any sort in a small community certainly doesn't lead to making much money, at least not in any sort of way that can be relied upon. In my experience my local community looks upon my work as being 'craft' as opposed to 'art' so therefore the expectation is that I should be giving it away for mere peanuts. They can't grasp the concept of being paid at least somewhat of an hourly wage and are quite affronted when I ask them if they themselves would be willing to work for way below minimum wage. It's geographical because if I lived in an 'artsty-fartsy' area, I could command prices that seem outrageous and yet people would happily pay. I have decided that I do my landscapes for my own pleasure and I am sticking to my price so if any happen to sell it's a bonus.
ReplyDeleteA lot of those high priced pieces don't sell in any community! It used to amuse me when people would say well, look what they're getting for these pieces! Not realizing there's a difference between asking and getting.
DeleteThanks for the shout-out about my blogs, Boud! I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI like to enjoy my many interests for their own inherent value, for what they mean to ME. The only one I ever monetized was my interest in law, because I had to make a living and that one paid well. When I was a kid, people always wanted me to use my interests or talents for competitive purposes, like something had no value unless you could win an award for it or beat someone else at it. I always resisted doing that because that's not why I was pursuing my interest. As an adult, people tell me to monetize my interests if I can -- put ads on my blog, try to sell some art, make cards of it and sell those, etc. Again, I don't do any of that. The joy I get from my interests/talents is all the reward I need. And it's the same with retirement. Unlike many who I know, I don't try to "keep my hand in" doing part-time or occasional paid work. I don't need the money or the validation that comes from that. My time and my life are my own now and that is more than sufficient!
There goes a woman who knows what's what! There's always that insulting oh you could sell that! As if that proved something.
DeleteDon't they say..."if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life"?
ReplyDeleteWork: "activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result". Doesn't say it has to involve payment or trade. But in our society...money is the measure. ;)
I wonder about opposing doing what you love against work, as if work is a thing to avoid. Work, the right work for you, is the greatest joy there is. I'm sorry for people who think work is an awful burden. But I know people who do.
DeleteA coincidence that you should mention birthdays on today August 10th because it is my 75th birthday today! Yikes! I feel old and was thinking that it is all downhill from here but I'm encouraged by blogs I read of people having fun adventures, creative activities, reading, laughing, enjoying time with friends and times of peace and quiet... So on I go into the future...
ReplyDeleteI often enjoyed my work as I had a feeling of accomplishment when I did something well.
Happy birthday! Oh, to be 75 again! No, it's far from downhill, you still have plenty of fun to go.
DeleteI am a prime example of the true value of work not being all about money. I ran a horse business for 20 years. There is a saying. "How do you make a small fortune in horses? Start with a large one."
ReplyDeleteIf this posted twice it's because it wouldn't post, then disappeared so I wrote it again.
Too true. Anything hands on with animals is not about the money.
DeleteIt's interesting how we all pay such attention to these moon names now. I see stories about them in media and everyone talks about them, but when I was a kid, I never knew the full moons all had a name. Did you? It's just funny how that traditional information seems to have re-entered our popular culture. Or maybe I was just clueless -- entirely possible.
ReplyDeleteI grew up knowing some of them. Harvest, Hunter's, Wolf, and a couple of others. Maybe some cultures have been connected more than others.
DeleteOur daughter is an extremely talented artist constantly turning out new work in a never-ending variety of genres. But she doesn't try to sell them (which drives me crazy) and recently explained that the creation is all the pleasure she needs.
ReplyDeleteYes, money is irrelevant. I used to say a serious artist is a person with a day job. You need to protect your art development from the pressure to sell.
DeleteThey don’t make heat pumps like that one any more, Boud. We had one which last two years.
ReplyDeleteThe warranty is longer than that. That's a bit worrying, considering the serious cost
DeleteIn the dictionary "gainfully" is defined as "in a way that serves to increase wealth or resources" so, yeah, I'd say pay is a high priority for her, or else she'd phrase it differently.
ReplyDeleteYes, see Debby's comment later for more on this.
DeleteAs usual my moons are the opposite from yours.
ReplyDeleteI have found one that tells me the moons from the indigenous.
I’m not interested in getting paid. I just enjoy reading about other real people from around the world just living their normal lives. And I happy to share mine with them too
It's a great internet advantage, interesting daily lives all over the planet.
DeleteI consider my photography for fun and not work. If I was being paid for it, I'd consider it a job and that wouldn't be fun.
ReplyDeleteIn the future, after my caregiving job, I wonder if I'll work at something else.
Art, a good servant, a bad master! Caregiving is a massive job, and yes, you do wonder about later. You will have a lot of talents to pursue.
DeleteThere is something wonderful about making a living, doing what she loves.
ReplyDeleteShe's never made a living at it, always been supported by a spouse, well two in succession, but she does get paid for work she loves, that's true.
DeleteI think every pulls their sense of self worth from insi that is a feeling that money cannot buy.de themselves. She gets hers from being employed and earning her way. You see it another way. I will admit to this. My marriage imploded in a horrible way. He had been priming the children for that, telling them 'if you choose to go with your mother, you will be poor forever. You will never be able to go to college,' etc etc. I had no clue about these talks. Ironically, he wound up in deep trouble and in prison. His good job gone. I was on my own with three children. I worked so hard because I wanted to give them everything they lost. I set my own value on providing for my kids. So I kind of get that 90 year old woman. It might not be the money, actually...it might be that knowledge that come what may, she can take care of herself.
ReplyDeleteThat's a capsule story of a life of heroism, Debby, thank you, and an astute observation. Yes, I wonder if she has that sense that she can earn, no matter what. She's from, and continues in, great affluence, but maybe you're putting your finger on it, that she's proving she could have managed anyway. That fits in with other things I've observed in her. You gave me an eye owner
DeleteI was saying eye opener when suddenly it published, oops. Blogger playing around.
DeleteI think that I might like to sell (some) quilts for money, but it would be a lot of additional work (or total luck) to be paid for the effort put into them. I've always worked a job and made quilts in my personal time. I give them all away, mostly to family but sometimes to my kids' teachers or therapists. I've also donated many to strangers -- like the 7 that I sent to Ukraine after Russia invaded. Last year, someone who came to give us an estimate for work at our house (the business owner, not an actual worker) saw my sewing machines and a quilt, then commented that my sewing "better be lucrative". His mouth truly dropped open when I said that I've only ever given quilts away because I quilt for the love of it. I hope that I gave him something to think about.
ReplyDelete