Yoda Soda Thoughts

Okay, so I finally got cold in South Dakota

Friday, January cold, 2004

Hello everyone:

I take it back ... the brash statement, "I've been here for 17 months and I've never been cold." I got cold a couple days ago. I got up, got dressed, fed the dogs and cats, sat down to look at the paper and have breakfast, and realized I was COLD. So I did the sensible thing: turned the thermostat up to 72 degrees and went back to bed, which is the warmest place in the house. I guess it was inevitable; paradise does have a few flaws. :)

And I rearranged my office in the basement so that my desk is directly under the hot air vent in the ceiling. It actually was a brilliant move; i have more room, and am using the space much more efficiently. I'm planning on adding a large office/den onto the house in the spring. will almost double my main floor square footage, and I won't have to deal with a basement that refuses to be comfortable either summer or winter ... and the biggest plus ........ i'll have a 6 foot window looking out to the North, which is a glorious vista of lawn, trees, space and across the road a cornfield and farm house beyond. It has all the advantages of living on a farm, without actually being that isolated. I'm in the last house on Third Avenue heading north, if you ever come by.

The animals are all welll; getting older, but still vigorous. They don't spend much time outside; more like out the door, whizz, back in the door. The cats have also wised up; if they go out, it's only into the garage area, and within minutes they are looking at the back door with very large eyes.

I'm off to Florida (yayyy) on February 17 to be in my niece's wedding in Pembroke Pines on February 21. I plan to visit friends, have breakfast at Carol's Kozy Kitchen in Miami Springs, and hang out with my friend, Carol Everett. We're looking for her spring visit to SoDak when she'll come to stay a month and see more of my great state. She's still speechless from the trip last July. I think the Cathedral on the Prairie in Hoven , the flyover of the B-1 bomber on the 4th of July in Frederick (my town of 250 people), and her 3 day trip to the Black HIlls with my sister, my niece and baby Isabelle left her with a permanently stunned. We're looking forward to a great trip this year, maybe even an RV weekend, if it's warm enough in April.

I'm also VERY EXCITED to be doing a keynote speech at the Southeast Regional Coaches Conference in Raleigh, NC in April. Their theme, The Architechture of Great Coaching, is brilliant, and I'm very much looking forward to spending time with friends and colleagues.

Champ, the kitten, will be 4 months old on February 1. He's so special I can hardly express it. His little stripes are getting darker, even on his tail. He's a brown and pink-striped kitty. He has golden eyes. Wow, what a beauty. He's a little small for his age, but is very healthy and the absolute love of my life. ....... well, there are a few others ... I have to figure how to put a picture of him on the blog. You''ll fall in love.

I joined the YMCA to start a regular exercise routine. My dear brother Gary gave me two months free for Christmas. It's a 28 mile drive and of course peeling off 3 or 4 layers of clothes, but the pool is big and bright and WARM, and the dressing room area and hot tub and very inviting. So maybe this self-care will help with the cold-induced aches.

I am as happy as I can remember personally and professionally. It's a blessing. Hope you find the peace and freedom you deserve, as well.

Until tomorrow, shirley

Merry Christmas Update: travels, conferences, and Champ the kitten

Hello everyone:

Been a long time since i posted to the blog. Here's an update.

November was very very busy:

Champ, the kitten :::::::: had another serious health scare, but we got it under control in about 3 days. He's doing wonderfully now, by the way. He will be 10 weeks old on December 10th. He's getting stronger and very playful, especially with my other younger cats. Althought his stripes are getting more visible, he is still a pink cat; I don't know if his fur will ever be orange. He's a beige-y pink, and i have to watch my feet since he's about the same color as the carpet. I still crate him at night, but he's loose in half the house in the daytime. He hasn't figured out how to climb the gate yet, so that's the next challenge to keep him safe when he gets the run of the house.

Coaching Research Symposium ::::::::: Denver, November 13 prior to the start of the ICF conference. How spectacular was that!!! One day of hanging out with researchers, psychologists turned coaches, and other technical people. Dr. Tony Grant of the university of sydney, australia, gave the Symposium keynote, and i hear that his tape was the best seller of the entire Conference!!! Not surprised ... he gave us a look at how the research community sees coaching ..... as an emerging profession that needs evidence for all the results/benefits we've so far just asserted as being true. tony presented an extensive literature search of papers written about coaching, the earliest of which was in 1937. While the approach is from the field of psychology .... and tony's field is coaching psychology ..... there are solid roots for coaching as we know it in studies of human change and human behavior from recognized scientific fields. Tony calls for a scientist-practitioner in coaching; one who not only understands research but can do it. Yes, that's where we are now. I'm very excited about this next generation of coaching student.

Absence of You Seminar ::::: Chicago, November 15 and 16 was an opportunity to check out a Coachville offering that has received favorable and unfavorable reviews. I think the confusion has arisen because this is not coaching training ..... this is personal development training for the coach. It uses the 12 Core Dynamics created by Tom Stone and translated into coaching language and style by Tom and Dave Buck, which are essentially an overview of the source of problems a person might have. While I found the training interesting ... and really love Tom Stone .... I think this is a whole separate school of thought using psychological concepts and approaches that must be used with GREAT discretion by coaches. At this time I don't see the link to traditional coaching, which focuses on people's strengths and getting in action. The Core Dynamics are focused entirely on feelings and problems whose sources lie in childhood trauma. While I found it engaging and interesting, I feel it can be inappropriately applied in the hands of untrained coaches. This is a tool to use only for your own development.

Thanksgiving with the family::::: What can i say? Every new experience brings me more and more into what it's like to have a community and have a family. My brother Gary drove to Frederick from Colorado springs for the holiday. It was great to see him, and we actually spent some one-one time for the first time in several years. We also joined my sister, her children, their children and spouses, and a set of inlaws for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving: dinner with EVERYTHING about 2:00; football game watching the Dolphins kick the Redskins to the curb; little nap there is the recliner; time to eat again while the guys set up the board games. Then the entire family, kids and all, around the dining room table playing Outburst and Pictionary. Yelling and jumping up and down and lots of great fun getting to know people on a whole different level, e. g. my sister and her two daughters should never be allowed to be on the same team; they can read each others thoughts! and then coffee and more dessert and drive home in the crispy night. It's always a revelation to set out the 28 miles to Frederick on a freezing clear night. The silence, the vastness, the huge aloneness is overwhelming. And being able to see lights 20 miles away conveys the awesome beauty of this land.

Now, we're into the Christmas season. The Senior Citizen Organization had the traditional Christmas meeting today with 3 tables loades with food. Probably 50 people came and had delicious food and coffee, of course. And the Klipfel brothers a quartet provided entertainment. What can I tell you? These are guys who are farmers, ages from probably late 30's to maybe late 50's and sing wonderfully. They entertain at various gatherings around the county. And they are serious about their harmony and their music. Strong, clear, rich, manly voices singing Christian songs and Christmas carols. I had to leave early for a coaching commitment, but I felt like I had been in a sacred place.

SENIOR LUNCH: I join friends in the community for lunch Monday thru Friday. Arnold, our unofficial leader, who just turned 88, always leads the prayer for dinner grace (noon is dinner up here). I am always touched by this; that we pray together in a public place. This is one of the many little graces that touch my heart so profoundly from living here.

ALPHA CIRCLE XMAS PARTY: Last night I went to a gathering of 18 women who form a local social group that was founded in 1937. The group is composed of women from their 30's to their 80's. We each represent some special segment, and meet monthly October through May. The group takes care of the flowers at the park by the river and the cemetary. We had a beautiful sit down dinner in the home of one of the members; served by the refreshment committee, wine and all. Afterward we sang Chrismas carols, and then opened our gifts from our "secret sisters." I got this amazing stuffed snowman holding a basket of homemade cookies and chocolates. It's big enough (without the basket) as a sleeping nook for Champ. I was just tickled. And so it goes. Again, prayers before dinner. It's such a whole, wholesome loving place to be.

more later ...... love shirley

Yayyy, straw for the dogs next door!!!

This is the best Halloween I've ever had. My neighbor and assistant Kay and my neighbor and friend John both came with flashlights and encouragement to load and carry and spread two bales of straw in the pen with the dogs next door. I am saving the dog house. We got Shadow back in the pen with Socks and they were rolling and playing in the straw and having a wonderful time. John had already brought them food and we brought them food also. We filled the bowls and they devoured it. We didn't have a way to put water in tonight and it will freeze anyway, but we'll figure that out tomorrow. Neighbor John called the Deputy Sheriff to see if he could put Shadow in his kennel overnight, since she's the one who climbs out and roams. He said to wait and he would talk with the owners tomorrow. It's 8:00 pm and they aren't home yet, so who knows when the dogs would be fed, if at all. We don't have a cop in town, and the nearest Humane Society is in Aberdeen .. 30 miles away, so we just had to do what we had to do. The doggies have wonderful straw in their house and even went inside to check it out. We feel pretty great. I feel terrific, actually. Oh, and Kay got the 4 foot pumpkin blown up and lighted and staked, and we had about 25 kids come by for trick or treat. I feel like a person, actually, instead of just a working machine. A very good day.

Update on Champ the Kitten

I just wrote 3 paragraphs about Champ's near death experience last Monday but the other kitten, Tuffy, walked on my computer and wiped it out. So I guess I wasn't meant to make a big thing about Champ's eperience.

Let me say this: last Monday morning he was near death from a severe diarrhea attack, and Doc Dunn in Ellendale saved him .... I spent most of the day in his clinic holding kitten in a towell inside my jacket while Doc tended to him every hour or so. And then kitten rallied at 3am. From a limp body, unable even to raise his head .... to 20 hours later crawling the front grill of his crate yelling for food. No one can explain why he lived ... or what made him so terribly sick. I am grateful, and there were a lot of people praying for him.

I'm trying to save two young dogs who belong to my next door neighbor. It's supposed to be 17degrees tonight, and they are in an open mud-filled dog pen. Their shelter is an old wooden kennel with no blankets or bedding. I went to Aberdeen this afternoon in desperation and bought a $95 Dogloo Igloo insulated extra large dog house. Along with two bales of straw to use for bedding and or to cover the ground in the pen. I have to figure out how to get the dog house over there and get the dogs in without completely pissing off the owners. This is a soap opera in freezing cold weather. I tried talking to them while it was still warm a few weeks ago, but they weren't interested in any help preparing the animals for winter. So I'm doing it on my own. If they give me a hard time, I'll turn it over to the Human Society people, but in the meantime I don't want their dogs to die or get sick. I can't be casual about mistreatment of animals.

Also bought Champ a bigger crate. He's wobbling around on the bed and the floor now, entertaining the other cats. He needs more space than the cat carrier. He weighs about 3/4 of a pound now and is 31 days old today. God is good.

Marlins Lead 4-3 in World Series

http://coachmiami.typepad.com/yoda_soda_thoughts/

I've been a Marlins fan since they were the Miami Marlins in the 50's playing at Bobby Maduro Stadium in the Allalpattah section of Miami. I also went to an Eagles concert there and learned what it's like to mix marijuana, wine, and rock and roll in the infield.) And Carol and I collected all the paraphernalia when the Florida Marlins won the World Series in 1977. It's wonderful to see Jeff Conine playing still with that winning team. I'd love to see the Marlins win the Series this year; they're doing it the hard way this time, without all the big money players.
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MY WORLD AND THE WEATHER TODAY

Indian summer is over. The fields still have remnants of the golden glow of the past three weeks. Is there anything more beautiful than the prairie in fall? I have my first cold of the year, but it's mild and hopefully will quickly pass. I just realized there's no storm window on the small window over my head. It's on the north side of the house, so that 's an important repair item. I can see the blue sky, bare limbs of trees reflecting the sunlight and the wind moving past them all. This is a good time to begin the book. I promised Kristie, my webmistress, that I'd have the chapter outlines to her by the end of the month. Perhaps I can start here.

THE 4 LEVELS OF COACHING

Chapter 1 Coaching is Not for Sissies.
Chapter 2: LEVEL 1. Coaching for Results ... Essential, but Limited
Chapter 3: LEVEL 2. Coaching for Resolutions ...Getting What you Want
Chapter 4: LEVEL 3. Coaching for Relationships ... Our strength = our Weakness.
Chapter 5: Level 4: Coaching for Revelations ... Co-creativity
Chapter 6: Taking Action; Making Things Happen

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Your Local Forecast for Frederick, SD Friday, October 24, 2003
Snow Flurries Saturday .... here we go again. :-))

Today: A mix of clouds and sun, with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 59F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.

Tomorrow: Becoming partly cloudy later with any flurries or snow showers ending by noontime. Windy. High 41F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Tomorrow night: Clear to partly cloudy skies. Low around 25F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 40s and lows in the mid 20s.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

I have lunch weekdays with the Senior Citizens. We always say table grace before our meal. At the Senior Citizens Meetings (2 x a month) we give the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. These simple, sweet acts never fail to make me tear up. These are values that shaped me and I'm grateful.

St. Paul's Lutheran celebrates 120 years this weekend with food and good will. /we eat in the Church basement with the women of the ELCA doing the cooking. Men sit together at tables on one side of the room and women together on the other side of the room. It's not sexist: they like each other and because most are from surrounding farms, they don't get to see each other that often, and they love to visit. "Visit" is a special engagement that occurs in aisles in stores in Aberdeen, in cafes in small towns all over the area (in Federick, the men meet for coffee at the Community Store at 8am daily and the women follow at 9am). And they visit. It stitches us together as a cloth of tolerance, support, help, and certainty in uncertain times.

It's pheasant season, so we have dozens of men with guns and dogs from all over visiting family and/or friends .... as well as regular out of towners who come back for sport every year. I am keeping my mouth shut most of the time.

more later, love Yoda SoDa/shirley/ teeny to my family
It's time to buy cookies from the Girl Scouts and evergreen wreaths from the high schoolers for their band fundraisers. Everyone buys at least one thing from every kid. It's that way in a rural community.

ORIGINAL BLOG MESSAGE

NOTE: THIS IS THE POST I MADE TO MY ORIGINAL BLOG SITE. I ENCLOSE IT HERE FOR SOME MORE BACKGROUND. 10/23/03

Yoda SoDa Thoughts

thoughts about executive coaching and living in the Great Plains of Dakota.

Thursday, September 25, 2003

Welcome to my Yoda SoDa Thoughts blog. It's Fall in South Dakota After a year of living small in the country I'm still enchanted with the air, land, space, people, lifestyle of the plains. I'm free again. I can breathe. I can think. After 43 years in Miami, I'm home.

The blog is a place for me to note thoughts about two topics: living small in the plains (SoDa) and about the exploding profession of coaching (Yoda). I need to tell about these two topics so close to my heart.

First, though, the animals. I have 7 cats plus a foster kitten and 4 dogs. These
"children" are the source and receivers of much of the love in my life. And they remind me that my "power" is an illusion. The foster kitten was near death until Peggy, friend and neighbor and librarian at the Emma Burnham Public Library, rescued her. I'm taking care of her until --as I put it -- she's in college. Which means until this tiny, half pound creature can protect herself from day-to-day threats. (SEE BLOG WRITTEN YESTERDAY ABOUT THE NEWBORN KITTEN CHAMP.)

I spent two days in Chicago this week at his seminar led by Chris Barrows, www.thebusinesscoachingco.com. His seminar is the Million Dollar Coaching Practice. I like to stay up with new things in coaching, and Chris is certainly that. Check out his website for lots of free forms and information, and by all means do his seminar. (UPDATE: THE NEWYORK SEMINAR IS CANCELLED; CHECK HIS WEBSITE FOR A HOPED-FOR US SEMINAR SOON.)

What was the most important thing I got from the Seminar? Two important things:

1. To build a coaching clientele, you must become known via newsletter, speeches, showing up at conferences, networking, connecting with people one-one and in groups AND he says you must have a PROGRAMME (as Chris spells it; he's very British).

2. To build a coaching practice, you must learn how to set up a small business and get whatever support you need to run it.

This is not new, but Chris presents the process in a funny, fresh, irreverent, entertaining way that teaches, inspires and trains with no low spots. Don't miss this.

more later
posted by Shirley  # 7:22 AM

the kitten

The kitten is 23 days old today. his name is champ. I got him when he was one day old, after having bween dropped in the driveway of a friend's home. She brought him into the Northern Lights cafe to try to get some condensed milk into him.

I said i would help and went to my vet in North Dakota to get a nurser kit and kitten formula.

then took him home into a crate with a heating pad, towels and a fleece jacket to warm his little body, which was already chilled.

I've never had children. I've never tried to save a kitten. This was an amazing experience. Dr. Dunn the vet gave him 50/50 chance of surviving when i was there nearly every day with another crisis. so far so good.

I didn't give him a name until he was 15 days old and looked like the worst had passed. In the last 48 hours, his teeth are long enough to give me a good bite on the chin and his little claws and like needles. He also is now awake when i come to the crate to feed him, and his eyes focus. He also has some attitude problems surfacing ..... this is the thanks I get for 3 straight days and nights of feeding him every 3 hours. And now every 4 hours through the day. He has a mighty purr and a funny little squeal. He's beige ..... champagne beige ..... and he's going to make it i tink.

We go this noon to visit the Senior Citizens at lunch. They have made him their mascot after daily status reports from me for the last 3 weeks.

I am happy.