The business of caring.

Whoa!! My mother is 88! I still can’t believe it. Once upon a time, when she was 69, I thought that was old. (Forgive me, all 69 years old people out there.) In my know-it-allness, I wrote:

For quite a while I been seeing li’l signs of age coming on in she. These signs does scratch like a long-claw creature at me window in the night, wanting to creep in. I does get impatient, and I does push she to be aware, be conscious, pay attention. But now and then I does wake and see that me impatience is wearing a mask, and behind the mask, it is really fear stalking me. I witnessing a strong woman becoming a li’l fragile with the years.

So we trundle along, she age-ing, me fear-ing. I want to grab the steering wheel from she so that I ain’t got to worry when she drive into town alone. But I know that taking away a person independence is the worst thing to do. Besides, she gon put up such a fight I gon be the one huffing and puffing on the floor.

I decide that, today, rather than quiver with fear, I gon rename she birthday Affirmation Day.

Maybe one day, I gon find in me some of she courage, I ain’t gon quiver like coward whenever life dash two hard blows ‘pon me. I gon stand firm like she.

That, my friend, is an excerpt from a book about life with mother. You can read the book here: Big Ole Home By De Sea.

Mum watering my sister’s plants.

Life with the elderly can suddenly shift from fun to difficult. Many caregiving-offsprings have to resign from work to care full time for their dear loved ones. Sometimes, they need assistance and this, dear Reader, is where you can come in. There are just sooo many jobs in the caregiving business. I’ve even heard of entrepreneurs starting their own businesses, hiring staff to go out and do the actual, physical care. 

I must warn you, looking after the elderly requires TONS of patience and empathy. You have to be willing to listen and to know how to respond. 

And that, dear Reader, is where the training business comes in…if you can teach others how to care for the elderly, that’s your business right there.

If you’re a daughter caring for your elderly loved one, here’s a site that might help you: https://daughterhood.org/newsletter-archive/

All the best in everything you do. Sending light and love.

P.S. (Remember to check the MONEY tab for ideas to start your very own business.)

Paper And Glue, Part Two

A few posts back, I asked this question: 

What if all I had was paper and glue to make a living?

Well, here we go, one delightful example! IF YOU LIKE TO COOK, HAVE A LOOK!!

Check them out at:

Lisa-Tana Kitchen Helpers Stickers Sheet.

Y’know what I’d do with these stickers? 

I’d write notes to invite friends over for coffee, pizza, daal and roti, cake.

I’d stick them on the back of envelopes as a seal.

If I had a cooking business, I’d use them in communication with customers.

Oh! I’ve found out they don’t have plastic on them…soooo environmentally cool!!

There you go…one way to use paper to create a small biz for yourself!

Get talking.

What if you could start something that makes conversation the reason we go? Fire up your imagination…what can it be?

The beauty of straw.

Have you ever thought of how something as simple as straw could be used in the most fantastic ways? With straw, you can make delicate things such as paper, or strong structures such as walls.

The Amerindians of Guyana, South America, make straw from a special palm tree. The straw is used to create the most exquisite handwoven items. Here’s one of their attractive placemats to be used on the dining table. To be honest, I’d display it on my wall!

This being Amerindian Heritage Month in Guyana, let’s celebrate the hand made straw of the Indigenous People.

Once, my mother made a delicate ladies’ straw bag…and guess who purloined it…walking proudly with it around town!

My father!!

I kid you not. 

It was pretty, embroidered and all. I imagine the flowers looked something like this:

According to my mother, she who can stretch a tale to fit the occasion, my father was proud of her bag, creating a stir on busy Water Street, and whilst she described the scene to me, I imagined pedestrians craning their necks and staring! 

It’s a long, amusing tale, if you want to read more, hop over here:

My father’s straw-bag for ladies.

I will soon be looking at some of the ways we can use straw to earn a living.

Paper and glue can help you.

Hello! September is Amerindian Heritage Month in Guyana, South America. The Amerindians are the Indigenous People of the country, the first people who were there before everyone else!

They live in the interior of the country, but they are not cut off from the rest of the population. This means that we, the coastland citizens, have been privileged to see their wonderful craft. They make some of most exotic beaded items, handwoven baskets, and so much more. 

They also make small figurines of the wild animals found in the Guyana jungle. Here’s an example…this is made with the sap of the balata tree. This is Kaieteur Falls (the largest single-drop waterfall in the world). The golden frog lives near the waterfall.

You can read more here:

September is Celebration Month.

The balata figurines got my imagination revved up. What if all I had was paper and glue to make a living? It’s actually not that crazy an idea! You’d be surprised to see what creative people do with only that, and yes, you can too. I will add the list of things you can make in to the Money List. Watch that space, my friend.

A spare piece of land.

A few months ago, my brother took us to visit his friend who had some spare land at the back of his home. When I say “spare”, I mean massive spare. Acres of green until the horizon.

The home was a few miles out of town, far from the city crowd. That day, the sky was a piercing blue, the weather was extremely warm. There weren’t many trees to cast shade across the land which, by the way, was lying fallow. 

Oh my goodness!

My mind raced with all the marvelous activities my brother’s friend could host on that fabulous spread of green. Many of the activities wouldn’t cost me much. I day-dreamt about using the earnings to host more fantastic activities that would increase my earnings.

Seriously, what would you do if you had a spare piece of land around your home, out of town?

Writing this reminds me of the list I’ve recently sent to the owners of an orchard. The list contains a set of ideas that could be used to make the orchard a vibrant place for visitors. I will upload the list in the money section…look for LAND.

In the meantime, here’s a fun piece that will take you faraway, into the rainforest of South America: 

Fasten your seatbelts for this!

Happy travels, me hearties.

Imagine this!

Imagine this…

…a world without imagination.

What would we have?

Nothing.

No songs, films, clothes, jewellery; no art, bridges, towers, patios, benches in the parks, no bicycles or scooters, roller skates, skateboards…get my drift?

Look around you if you’re in a restaurant or a café, a home, bus, the subway. Anywhere indoors. Look at the roof, the windows, the floor. Every single human-made thing has come from someone’s mind, from someone’s imagination. And it’s highly likely that that mind has been fed with books.

Why then would you want to shy away from books? Books teach you about people, they show you how to observe life, how to engage your senses, thus helping your imagination to grow even livelier.

Want to give your imagination a good nudge in the right direction? Have some fun! Imagine if books could make sounds, imagine what sounds we would hear as they march into homes and schools and community centres what a tamasha, what a drama…what sounds would they make, those books?

Want to know more? Read here:

Commotion in de home.

Don’t forget to check out the Money tab to help you find ways to earn!