"Confession is good for the conscience, but it usually bypasses the soul." ~Mignon McLaughlin

Adore her or despise her, whether you think she's "on the loose" or been wrongly reprimanded, one can't help admiring the felonious domestic-diva known simply as "Martha."

"Martha who?" you ask? Well...she's not old enough to be Martha Washington and not large enough to be Martha's Vineyard so it must be our birthday girl of the week (August 3), Martha Stewart. She's a one-named pop phenomenon - sort of like Coolio, Eminem, Jewel, Usher, Bjork, Britney and Cher. (But just try to keep a straight face imagining any of them in an apron!)

Martha's the omnipresent OmniMedia mogul of print, cyberspace, radio and television who clawed her way into our hearts and "good things" by reframing the ten commandments of cleaning, organizing, nutcups-n-partyfavors, trolling for antiques (we prefer to call it gay-fishing), extravagant meal preparations, crafting and glue-gunning 101, flower arranging, everything housekeeping, and even child and pet "management."

And what would a birthday party thrown for the queen-bee of organization, maintenance and tidiness look like? I'm imagining a tony late-afternoon event somewhere in the Hamptons on a freshly manicured lawn behind a century-old home with 15 foot-high privet hedges and opulent ocean views. I envision the property dressed with buttery-yellow and white striped tenting and tablecloths, twinkling paper lanterns dangling from every bough, a temporary dance floor with ample room for a small jazz ensemble, and a buffet piled high and tall with lemony cupcakes, bowls filled with lemon-drops, personalized buttery-yellow napkins, vintage-inspired tableware (no doubt from her new WalMart line...ca-ching!), lemon topiaries, and of course...lemonade.

And nearer the water's edge, for the youngest guests, all dressed in matching yellow gingham outfits, a slide, jungle gym, a swing set and maybe even a sandbox -- filled, no doubt, with special buttery-yellow sand.

Of course what separates us mere mortals from the Goddess of Good Taste, is that she can make a command, clap her hands, wave her magic wand, and poof -- all of the above can easily happen -- right down to the perfectly colored sand. Now, for the other 99.99% of us, we settle for the sandbox sand schlepped from Home Depot. But regardless, custom sand or run-of-the-mill sand, once it's in the sandbox it's instantly magical and special because it can be formed into numberless shapes -- castles, mountains, mermaids, and even the occasional imaginary birthday cake -- and keep us amused for hours on end.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Yes, there actually is a Thread the Needle Day (on July 25) -- I don't make this stuff up! (Why there is a Thread the Needle Day, I haven't a clue, but since there is one, we should celebrate it together!)

Whether you're a tailor, seamstress, upholsterer, surgeon or just someone with a toe poking through a sock, almost anyone can sew. It all starts with choosing the right sewing needle.

"Sharps" are the most common type of needle, but there are plenty of others, too. There are "ballpoints" used for sewing knits, "betweens" used for tailoring, "bodkins" meant for threading elastic, "crewel" needles used for embroidery, "darning needles" meant for...darning (duh), "glovers" used for sewing leather, "milliners" used for basting and pleating (and hat-making, too, I suppose), "sail maker" needles used for sewing thick canvas, and "upholstery needles" used for sewing heavy fabrics, tufting or for tying quilts.

That's probably more than you will ever need to know (or ever wanted to know) about needles. Now once you've chosen the right tool for the task at hand, cut a strand of thread, string, yarn, or filament long enough to sew up the deal. And with just a little spit to keep the ends moist and together -- pass, loop, or wind it through the eye.

Threading a needle is easier said than done -- ya', ya', ya'...I know, I need to wear my bifocals -- and for the visually or hand-eye coordination challenged, there's always one of those wiry needle threading thingies that for some reason always seem to have the profile of Marie Antoinette embossed on them. But I digress.

The infamously undersized openings are mentioned metaphorically in holy passages from Judaic, Christian and Islamic texts. Each religion has parables referencing the complexities of the material world (not material in the cloth sense, but material in the material sense) emhasizing the difficulty of change and the absurdity of our resistance to it even when something better is guaranteed. And there ya go...we bury our feet in the sand and the act of moving forward becomes kinda' like passing something a whole lot bigger than thread through the eye of a needle.

To the uninformed, Thread the Needle Day is a celebration of those who baste, darn, embroider, hem, patch, tat or seam (Garment Workers of the World, Unite!). But looked at from a slightly different angle, we have a day that acknowledges the intense amount of energy and concentration it takes to walk that fine line, wrestle with difficulties, and overcome the distractions and obstacles life throws our way. (Teetering near a small "steaming pile" with the risk of falling into yet an even bigger one!)

"What's wrong with being a boring kind of guy?" ~ George Bush

Vacant, aloof, lethargic and sluggish...(Yawwwwn)...while lazily going through my calendar to see what I might write about this week...(Yawwwwn)...I drowsily discovered that this month is...(Yawwwwn)...National Anti-Boredom Month. (I somehow missed Nude Recreation Week -- oh well, there's always next year-whatever...Yawwwwn.)

Warm breezes and l-o-o-o-o-n-g lazy days filled with sunshine make this the...(Yawwwwn)...ideal season for boredom. Relax, put your feet up...(Yawwwwn), maybe catch some shut-eye...

When our guards are down, it's also when we notice dumb stuff: cumulous clouds dancing across the crisp blue sky forming puffs that mimic mops, a windless whirl of cirrus that suddenly darkens into shadows of dustpans, and curls and swirls of nimbus clouds making unmistakable impressions of utility buckets. (What? I may occasionally get bored...(Yawwwwn)...but did you forget for a moment that I'm first and foremost a clean freak?)

OK, OK, snap out of it...enough of this nonsense!

While boredom is fine for a moment or two, for those of us who usually have ants in our pants, we're too busy to be bored -- most of the time, we're doing, doing, doing. (We just can't make those voices shut-up!) If you're anything like me, more often than being bored, you're inquiring, inquisitive, interested, interfering, intrusive, and investigating. And those are all good things, because the antidote to boredom is, yup...you guessed it...curiosity. (It may have killed the proverbial cat, but dollars to doughnuts, it won't kill you.)

Curiosity happens when you enthusiastically explore your environment, survey your options, and simultaneously own both awe and doubt. It all starts with questioning the nuances of life, challenging the systems already in place, and bucking the authority around you. Because, if you didn't already know, asking leads to knowing, knowing leads to understanding, understanding leads to thinking, thinking leads to mindfulness, and mindfulness leads to creativity.

So go out there and think that you can do anything, allow the world to be your oyster, examine the novelties around you, and embrace our changeable world. Albert Einstein long ago said, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." Now there's a man who was never bored!