Saturday, December 31, 2022

Off the Clock!


 It is time to celebrate the 2023 New Year!
Did you make a New Year's resolution?
Creative writing, joy-baking, and continue
knitting and crochet for me.
To wonder with joy! How? 
The answer is simple: by reading, research, 
and other seeds of the wide-ranged
conversation as saying goodbye to the
2022 year.
For me, it is a non-stopped curiosity of
something new unfamiliar or unexpected
that turns into a kind of joy and excitement.
Cheers to the enthusiasm and excitements!
(Tomshinsky, December 2022)

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Remembering Dr. Maria Christina Regueiro




 Rest in Peace! 
Your legacy, leadership, 
and professionalism will continue
to live in academic programs and
careers in education that continue
to change lives for the
betterment of the local community and 
the society in large...

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Joy and Delight


Joy and Delight

Stories of people who capture joy and delight in everyday are around every corner in unexpected way. The author's task is to find the wonders in the details and cherish the joy, fight for it, and give it away to make the kindness loud.

Courage. Leaving a comfort place to move to the unseen shores takes courage. Courage comes from confidence and self-assurance. Courage grows and happens where education and knowledge meet the experience and professionalism.

Home. Home is a place of togetherness. Home, sweet home is more than a roof over the head. It is the place where everything started: first memories, first steps, first feelings… Because of any families, their well-loved moments and the contender, wrapped in the family’s delightful love.

Laughter. Laughing on the jokes that bring out the kid in you. Laughing from the belly makes feeling hopeful.

Libraries. Any library is a special place that energized us.  My pulse quickens when I walk through the stacks of books. I feel like an explorer that is surveying the uncharted shores. The unknown worlds are here waiting to be discovered. Every book has a glimpse into glorious history, promising future of ideas and words of those who dream them. Every aisle of bookshelves in the library is a pathway throughout the forest of trees of knowledge. Every catalog is a reference to the clue to the location of the information, facts, and data. What on Earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee? “There is only one think better than a box of new books, and that is a box of old books,” – as they bring the unconditional joy and contentment.

Life. I am here, on the planet Earth because of my parents. I am a professional and always was a working mother. Besides, I am a Florida Author, poetess, love baking, knitting. Recently, co-worker called me ‘the Renaissance person.” I always tried to live life to the full. Personally, for me there always was a big joy and delightfulness to welcome, cradle, and raise a new life. Squeezing tiny fingers that resembled my own, knitting little boots for a newborn, celebrating life, acknowledging, preserving the memories are some components of life. To stay positive and share the joy with others: speak well, respond well, create well, because there is a delight in the everyday routine. The quality of life connected in the devotion to your family, professional responsibilities, and society in large. We are standing on the shoulders of people in our life from the past and bringing the traditions in the best way we know, and by doing it, we are building the future. Past, present, and future trinity of life allied historically, sociologically, and even in individual physical health issues.

Love. What is love? I would say, it is reaching out for the hand that was waiting, a who has a hand for me to lean on. Love is a powerful force of life. It is this binding element of dual attraction that steers our emotions and physical health. Love comes in different kinds of hear affairs. Beatles sang, “All you need is love.” No secrets, much about love remains a mystery. Life experiences taught us that it can be nurturing, humbling, and healing, and it is typically worth every ounce of efforts. By the way, there is a book written by evolutionary anthropologist Anna Machin titled “Why We Love.” Only in the dictionary, the word ‘love’ comes after the word ‘life.’ In retrospective, love makes life possible. 

Magic. There is the magic of presents as we are wrapping the joy of happiness for celebrations. There is a process to find or to handmade unique or custom-made pieces, with love and on the look for just the right gift for the right person. There is a joy not only for the receiver’s end, but also on the giver’s side. Gift your delight! 

Memories. Memories are everywhere, often tucked in the albums, or associated with books. There is a joy in turning every page. Memories are in the stack of old greeting cards saved as the momentum of communication between two or more people. All the memories connected to people and moments. Memories, moments, and recalls make good stories. Reminiscences of the letter’s correspondence are priceless because handwriting letters are treasures of memories wrapped in a ribbon with a bow, full of personal love and warm regards of dual affection.

Nourishment. Chopping, stirring, mixing – offering the first taste from a spoon. Sharing the meal with your family and friends. Such a delight to gather around the table over comfort food draws its magic from the harmony of joy!

Traditions. It is important to hang onto the traditions. They held to connect the past to the present, from old long-held traditions, which continue to spark the delight, to new traditions that might open the hearts and minds to new beginnings.

Wisdom and Gratitude. Handwritten letters written cursive on stationary paper and mailed to the unmet pen pals and scribbled on note cards to friends both are not only in good manners and etiquette, but they are the simple traditional messengers of joy, kindness, and delight. To thank the dinner host for a homemade meal, acknowledge the person who took the time to prepare the special gift or present, wrapped it, signed the greeting card, is more than a protocol of politeness, it is a sign of wisdom and gratitude.  

Ida Tomshinsky @ 2022

Monday, December 19, 2022

It all comes down to this...

 








it all comes down to this:

in our imperfect world

we are meant to repair

and stitch together

what beauty there is, stitch it


with compassion and wire.

See how everything

we have made gathers

the light inside itself

and overflows? A blessing.

(Stuart Kestenbaum)

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Leisure


 Leisure

William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance,



Friday, December 16, 2022

Gratitude...Do it!


Tis the season to have a "full supply" of gratitude

for all people, places and things. Gratitude is what we for its recipients to

give back to the giver and is magnetic as it leaves an

unforgettable trail when celebrating during this time for its recipients to follow.

Having gratitude is an attribute revealed when celebrating during this time of 

year and is a reminder to be thankful "on purpose."

Here are a few ways to express appreciation:

    Do it verbally. Speak kind words of appreciation.

    Do it privately. When no one else is around, be gentle in expressing 

    your true appreciation and gratitude.

    Do it publicly. Others need to know and appreciate what a blessing it is.

    Do it often...not just once a year at the birthday or an anniversary.

    Do it generously. Go the extra mile when you buy a gift for someone

    special whom you love and appreciate.

    Do it quickly. Do not wait several months or years to express it.

    Try to establish the habit of responding to an act of kindness within seventy-two hours.

    Do it cheerfully. When express your gratitude, 

    do not do it grudgingly as if it is a pain or an effort.

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues."

(Cicero)


Star Theme

 

"Working together, 

tiny stars light the Universe. 

That's the power of a Teamwork."

STAR theme stands for:

S=Stop putting off what is important

T=Take time to give thanks

A=Always be ready for a great opportunity

R=Reach out to someone you have lost touch within your past.



Christmas Sock Exchange!











Forget about the Ugly Sweaters party, 

instead, this year do a Sock Exchange party. 

Buy a pair of fun and brightly patterned 

and stuff them with an assortment of small treats. 

Tie them together with a bow. 

Memorize the party with a picture 

of everyone in their new socks!

If you like socks, you may obtain the book entitled

Sock: History and Present by Ida Tomshinsky.

Easy to purchase at www.amazon.com



Saturday, December 10, 2022

National Letter Writing Day


 

A good handwriting letter is a creative act, and not just because it is a visual and tactical pleasure. It is a deliberate act of exposure, a form of vulnerability, because handwriting opens a window on the soul in a way that cyber communication can never do. You savor their arrival and later take care to place them in a box for safe keeping.

 

KEY WORDS: Handwriting, art of writing, tracing the history of writing as method of communication and storytelling, cursive writing, fine penmanship, letters and notes, library hand

 

Once upon a time it was a little girl who just learned how to write letters of alphabet and put them together. She did not know yet the right spelling of words and ask her mom to right down the words for her on piece of paper that she could copy them on the holiday greeting cards. And the world would know that the girl is not little anymore and that one more person obtained literacy and is learning to read and write with a proudly display. Who does not remember to receive a card written by a niece or nephew? All these cards and creative home-made envelopes, letters written by children were then read with a smile and put away in an old sentimental purse or a shoe box with other letters as kept memorabilia. 

(Fragment from "The Art of Writing Handwriting Letters and Notes" publication)

Friday, December 9, 2022

"Are You Ready for a Winter Story?" Photomontage


    



 Winter Wonderland. 
Santa Klause has a storytelling session.
He brought a bag of toys and a cake
for celebration.
Frosty, the Snow Man, welcoming the guest.
The bear, Mr. Forest got cozy with little Suzy.
Charly, the dog, cannot wait for the cake tasting. 
Little puppy Joey mesmerized with Christmas story.
2022, December