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 |  New blog for a new year |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Every year is a gift: a clean white canvas on which you can draw new elements, a crisp blank sheet of paper to write another chapter, or an empty space where you can play and pray. ~ Catherine Moore ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain |
WDC say it's been 79 days since my last blog entry! How in the world did that happen? One month, maybe, but going on three? Where does the time go? And here I'd hoped that I'd left my chronic procrastination back in Indiana. Instead, I see it hitched a ride and maybe even gained some weight (like Jack and I have.  It's all these new places to eat.)I really feel lazy and bad about going so long without writing, not to mention rusty. Maybe I should begin with the infamous list of five -- in no particular order:  My neighbor in Indy was big help when we moved. She boxed up and mailed a bunch of things she found that we'd left behind when we moved out -- like a favorite silver teaspoon, a screwdriver and a pair of scissors. She also sent a scarf she made for Jack and a big purple cape she designed and crocheted for me. It's been great to wrap up in that cape at night while I'm reading in bed. Speaking of reading, I got a new Kindle Fire the other day. I had accumulated enough Amazon gift cards from a search-and-win website (called Swagbucks) that it was free, including a cover and a charger converter. I figured out how to get e-books books from the public library, too. So, between that, the Library Sale, and the Value Village down the street I have been reading a lot!  My daughter had to say goodbye to her Macy girl, a sweet cockapoo who was nearing her twelfth birthday. She had liver cancer and there was no hope. My daughter was devastated, of course. I'll really miss that little dog, too, and I was only around her about once a year. I didn't even get to see her again before we had to let her go.  We're slowly learning our way around our new town. Since we're both direction challenged, we've spent quite a bit of time getting lost. That's in spite of our GPS. We've really enjoy seeing the sights, though, and have found some great places. We joined a Community Co-op not far from here. We've stumbled on some great places to eat including a local pub called Billy McHale's where we went for my birthday.  I'm slowly getting the apartment arranged and things put away. Nearly all the boxes are unpacked, but there's still a lot to do. There's no big rush, I guess. I like to take my time and think about it. If I do it too quickly, I might just have to do it over. Right? We rented one of the garden plots from the complex so we need to start planning that, too. "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, bra" |
| We've moved! The hubby and I put our furniture in storage, loaded up the car and hit the road on the first day in October. We drove from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. This was a huge step for us at this stage in our life, and we've been operating on pure luck. I can't say we didn't get worn out, but I only had one moment when I thought "What have we done?!" Anyway, we finally landed in Bellingham, Washington, and fell in love with it right away. We quickly found a great apartment complex that sits on 50 acres with woods, including an orchard, yet it's still within walking distance of a "main drag." They were upgrading and remodeling the unit we wanted, though, so we had to wait about six weeks to get in. Meanwhile, we found a furnished apartment in a big, 107-year-old home we called the "haunted house." The Korean woman who owns is quite a character and was very excited about the "gangnam style" fad. She said she had used the house for a bed-and-breakfast for a while then decided that was too much work. Now she rents out the three stories as temporary apartments on a rolling month-to-month basis. It worked great for us while we waited. We moved into our new home the day after Thanksgiving, and slept on air mattresses until they delivered our furniture on December 10. We're still unpacking boxes, but it already feels like home. They call this town "the city of subdued excitement," which is perfect for us. We've met a lot of friendly people at the many independent coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, antique stores and historic areas. The scenery is lovely with mountains and water nearby. The air here is much cleaner than in it is Indy, too, and hubby's COPD seems much better. It's great to be closer to the kids again after all this time! We're within100 miles -- close but not too close -- and we've met them a few times at some in-between places. So, in spite of the craziness in the country, I wasn't in a hurry to push 2012 out the door. Still, I'm happy to re-start a Clean Slate in a brand new year, I and wish all who stop by here a very merry 2013! |
| Can I write an entry without mentioning the weather? … No, I guess not. It got up to 105 here today and may be even worse tomorrow. It's not humid, which is a good thing. But, it's so dry -- we're having a record drought -- and that's a bad thing. We don't live in the desert by the way. We're in Indiana. Of course, I know we're not that unique right now. I feel so bad for Colorado. I've been dreading the fireworks that usually start around here in early June. We have some neighbors that must buy them by the truckload. I always worry about fire, especially when it's dry. (Years ago my cousin's son set their neighbors' bush on fire with a bottle rocket and burned down part of their house. We lived in the same neighborhood.) Anyway, I was happy when the managers put up a sign in the middle of June that said no fireworks will be allowed in the complex this year "because the risk of fire is at an unacceptable level." And it's been really quiet so far. My neighbor said she heard some firecrackers, but I didn't hear them. (I hate to say it, but she's what you might call a "crank." She lives to have something to complain about.) The city has a "burn ban" out but they haven't come out and banned fireworks. They're just asking people to be very careful and "put safety first." One of the local TV stations did a segment about the most dangerous fireworks (sparklers are a big culprit) and then they did a survey. Something like 38% said they won't use fireworks this year because of the risk. Another 43% said they never do use them. And, of course, 19% said they plan to go right ahead and use them. (Hey, don't ask them to behave responsibly! It's their right as a citizen to burn down your neighborhood!) OK, maybe I'm a bit cranky myself. |
| Don't let the same dog bite you twice. -- Chuck Berry That warning is a little late for me, I'm afraid. Last week I took a walk around our apartment complex. I was on the last leg and headed home when I noticed a woman walking with two dogs on leashes. I thought nothing of it, and, in fact, I smiled when I noticed one of the dogs was a little pudgy. I love dogs and we have quite a few of them here in the neighborhood. I saw that she was headed back into the shrubbery to let the dogs do their business. Before I realized what was happening, the pudgy dog saw me and barked, startling the woman. She tugged at him and said "No!" but then he slipped out of his collar and wrapped his teeth around my leg. As she rushed over to pull him away from me I heard her say, "That does it. I'm not bringing them over here anymore." To me she said, "He's never done that before." Then the dog got away from her again and jumped up and clamped onto my elbow. When woman managed to get him under control she asked if I was all right and apologized over and over. I said I was okay, just bruised. I just wanted to get home before the little shit came at me again. (He wasn't that little. I think he was at least part Rottweiler. The other dog was fine. He looked like a beagle or something and was very quiet, although curious about me. I might have at least spoken to him under different circumstances.) As I was backing away the woman told me the dogs weren't hers. She was just watching them for her ex-husband while he was out of town, and they would be going back home in two days. When I got home I checked out the bites. My leg, through my sweat pants, was bruised with only a little scrape on it. My arm hurt more and I realized I had some puncture wounds. I was a little shook up, but I still felt lucky that it wasn't any worse than that. When Jack got home he wanted the dog killed. The next morning he'd calmed down enough to just want all the dog's teeth removed, but that isn't likely to happen either. My bruises are still sore to the touch, but wounds are pretty much healed. I did get a tetanus shot, which hurt my arm as much or more than the bites. Otherwise I'm fine.  |
| My good intentions didn't last too long I'm afraid. That's a pretty big gap between my last entry and this one. Where does the time go and what am I doing with it? Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes My step-son said he figured out the way to slow time down was to torture himself. He and his wife moved to Florida last week and just getting ready to move felt like torture to him with purging, packing, making all the arrangements. It is an awful lot of work and I don't envy them, and he's right about how "un-fun" things can slow time down. We worried about them making the trip. They looked exhausted the night before they left when we met them for dinner. They were driving a big U-haul truck with a trailer carrying his car, plus our daughter-in-law was driving her car. (Another couple with another car went, too.) However, we finally got an email from them last night to say they made it safely. My kids are on the west coast and we're in the Midwest so now none of our kids lives nearby. We don't have much family around at all now and it seems strange. Oh, Baby My nephew lives about six hours away. He and his wife just had a baby boy, Max, who was born three months early. He's so, so tiny (1 lb 6 oz at birth) but so far he's doing pretty well. He's almost two weeks old now and his mom has really enjoyed her "kangaroo time" with him. I just found out that she was admitted to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, though. I think she's doing okay but it's scary. And she's upset that she hasn't seen Max for a few days. I feel so bad for my poor nephew, who has to be worried sick and says he's taking it one day at a time. On a happier note, my grandniece is celebrating her first birthday on June 18th! Her daddy (my other nephew who lives down in Florida but nowhere near where our son moved) says Denise is growing so much and is super cute! She's taken a few steps on her own and she's learned how to clap her hands! I can't wait to see some pictures from the party. These babies are the closest we have to grandkids. Weighty Matters Jack and I have been on a diet and we're doing pretty well. The weight is coming off slowly, of course, and I need to add more exercise. If the pool had been open in March, I could have been swimming. It was in the high 80s here then. Now, when the pool is open it's too cool to swim right now. I bet it won't be long, though, that I'll be whining about how hot it is. I hate the heat, and the only good thing about it is being able to swim. Okay, I think that's it for now. Until next time… |
| I'm homesick for WDC. I don't think there's any other place quite like this on the internet At least I haven't found any. I've popped in and out occasionally, of course, but now I believe I actually feel like blogging again after all these months. I'm even considering fixing up a new title - calling it Diddly-squat since that's how much I know. Seriously, our world of information overload makes me realize how much there is out there to learn. Time goes so fast; I really have to think hard to remember what I've been doing all this time. Earning a few bucks No, I didn't get a new job, but I have been earning a little bit of money by writing for a couple of SEO sites. I've written some articles for both Textbroker and London Brokers and it's been very good experience. It took some time to get the hang of London Brokers' really strict rules, and the Textbroker editors seem to have a strange obsession with commas lately. The message seems to be to use them very sparingly. I'm slow and obsessive, and some of the topics aren't exactly things I would normally choose, but I've still learned something with each one. I also use a few of the "search and win" sites when I research things. That's fun and helpful since I've accumulated quite a few Amazon gift cards and even some extra Paypal money. Here's my referral link to the best search site if you're interested. Swagbucks.com/referral/mfets2010  Globetrotting This is a huge exaggeration. I took one trip! In December I went out to Seattle for a couple weeks to see my kids and had a great time. Two days before I was supposed to leave to come back home, though, my daughter fell and broke her ankle. (She missed the bottom step going down from her apartment.) If it had to happen, I'm glad I was there to help and I ended up staying another week. I might have stayed longer, codependent mom that I am, but it was getting very close to Christmas and hard to get a flight back. Plus I was homesick for Jack. And so on Life has been nice and peaceful otherwise and I'm not looking to shake things up. I've lived long enough to know that life keeps coming at you and things will come along to rock my world soon enough. For now I'm enjoying the calm! I'm still hooked on Netflix and I don’t know how many movies, series and documentaries I've watched. A lot! I've also been reading constantly -- novels and a few memoirs. Lately I've been reading a book in one or two days (or late nights). I haven't been keeping track of them anymore, but if things stay the same, I'm pretty sure I won't have any problem hitting my goal of at least 50 again this year. I'm not playing Facebook games much anymore. My computer keeps locking up or the browser crashes which makes it more frustrating than fun. I have discovered Mahjong solitaire though and waste plenty of time with that. I guess there's no need to mention that housework needs moved up on the priority level soon. OK, that's enough about me for one day. It's good to be back.  |
| It’s raining, it’s pouring…but I don’t mind ‘cause I love the rain. And it’s a good day to stay in and take a nap since I have a rotten cold. I suppose I deserve to have a cold since the other day I remarked on how long it had been since I’d had one. No doubt I jinxed myself. I didn’t even knock on wood after I said it. Sad movies always make me cry. Since I didn’t feel well last night I just lay on the couch and watched two movies. (The only difference between that and when I lie on the couch watching movies when I do feel well is the lack of guilt when I’m sick.) Anyway, the first movie was Bitter Harvest with Ron Howard, about a dairy farmer back in the 1970s who discovered his cattle had been poisoned by tainted feed. Based on a true story, it was depressing as well as scary. The second movie was easier, a “hen flick” called Bonneville with Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, and Joan Allen. Arrrrrr, matey! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Can you tell I’m struggling to find anything to write about?) I gather the whole point of this is just to be silly which I guess doesn’t hurt at all once in a while. My brain isn’t working well enough to actually “talk like a pirate” right now. In fact, I don’t think I’m really going to be able to continue here with anything else. The rain is really coming down and my pillow is calling so I’ll sign off now. zzzzzzzzzz |
| It really is beautiful today, about 60 degrees and sunny, and I went for my first real walk in awhile. I won’t count yesterday when I walked my neighbor’s dog in the rain, since she stopped every two seconds to sniff and pretend to pee. Most of the last couple weeks were cool, but cloudy and threatening rain. We had two hot days, last gasp of summer I think, and one of them I even went to the pool. The water was so cold my legs were numb so that will probably be my last swim of the season. My hometown started one of those “If you grew up in...” discussion groups on Facebook and it’s been pretty interesting. We had a couple of other pages that kind of petered out so I imagine this one will, too, pretty soon. It’s a pretty large group though and people have posted some great old photos. There have been some lively discussions about the high school; they’re building a new one, finally, since the old one has become dangerous. It is really old, but a lot of us hate to see it torn down. I’m not sure what they’ll do and since I don’t live there anymore I didn’t really throw my two cents in about it. Some of the discussion got a little heated and one man tried to diffuse the situation to ask if we thought the ghost would move with the school. I had never heard that the place was haunted, although it was a little spooky in places even back in the sixties. The librarian was murdered there in 1952 by her estranged boyfriend. Some of the people on Facebook actually remember when it happened. And others swear they’ve seen the light come on in the library in the wee hours when nobody is in the school. I’ll say it piqued my interest more than a little. I’m going to do a little more research on it. I need something to pique my interest to write, that’s for sure. I’ve watched a lot of movies and read a lot of books and I should probably be busy writing some reviews. It’s just getting started that seems to be the recurring problem I have. My subscription to WDC is nearly ready to run out which always spurs me to take stock of my writing (or lack of writing). It’s “cook or get off the stove” time again. I don’t know. Maybe I should just get a snack and think about it. |
OK, I think I better exercise my blog again with another list of five. 1. It feels like fall here today. I don’t know why, but change of season always makes me feel a little sad – even when it’s welcome. I suppose it could partly be because time zips by like a speeding bus even while it drags though certain bumps in the road. I have no idea if I’m making any sense, but that happens a lot anymore. 2. Speaking of being senseless, I really need to pay better attention to what I’m doing sometimes. This morning I was cleaning in the bedroom and I noticed some cobwebs above the window. I climbed up on our old steamer trunk and swatted them down. I did a little more dusting while I was up there then stepped backwards, like I was on the floor. I was lucky I only stumbled a little then sat down, hard, on the upright air filter we have in there. Earth to Paige! Pay attention! 3. Since the weather is cooling off and they’ll close the pool soon I’m going to have to figure out some other way to exercise (besides climbing up on the trunk and falling off). We have a JCC up the street where I could swim in the winter, but their prices are a little steep for me right now. Guess I’ll just put on my walking shoes. 4. I was reading through my journal from this time two and three years ago and I have to say my life is much more peaceful now than it was back then. Just reading about all the turmoil and crises was enough to wear me out. It makes me even more grateful for the smooth sailing I have at the moment. (Hope I didn’t jinx myself )5. This weather makes me think of chili and pumpkin pie. In my hometown we always had a Fall Festival with carnival rides, game booths, and lots of food. In addition to the festival Ada Lee’s candy store sold caramel apples and chocolate turtles. Somehow the State Fair in the summer with the fried everything (even Koolaid) just isn’t the same. |
| A quick look around Blogville shows me it’s way past time to exercise my poor out-of-shape blog. (Thanks for the kick in the pants, Party Guy.) It’s been so long that I’m afraid it will be a bit creaky, but putting it off won’t make it any easier. Oh, and before I forget, Happy Birthday WDC!! Yay!! So here goes: huff, puff, grunt groan… 1. Jack and I drove out to Kansas City to my nephew’s wedding in mid-August. My sister died nearly two years ago and I’m the closest family on this side that her boys have left. The wedding was outside in the park, the weather cooperated and didn’t broil us, and the bride and groom seem very happy together. The reception was fun, too. The boys’ dad has a big family and several of them showed up. It was great to see all of them again. (He and my sister had been divorced for a long time.) 2. The groom’s brother came from Florida to be the best man at the wedding. He and his wife brought my new grandniece, Denise (my sister’s name), who at seven weeks is “the cutest baby in the world.” That was really exciting and we got lots of pictures. Of course I had to share her with a lot of other graunts and gruncles on the other side. 3. I actually have been exercising my body in the pool this summer. Sometimes I go with my neighbor and sometimes I have the pool all to myself. When my neighbor goes we talk a lot (especially her) and the time goes a little faster. But when I go alone it’s peaceful and I let my mind roam all around. Sometimes I have some great ideas for writing. Too bad I forget those ideas as soon as I get back inside. 4. We got Netflix and have gotten hooked. I know people are complaining about the price increase but we don’t have cable so it’s been worth it to us. We got Apple TV which makes searching really easy. We’ve streamed a lot of old classics and film noir movies and happened on to some pretty good movies we would never have seen otherwise. Lately I’ve been on an Alfre Woodard kick watching Down on the Delta, Passion Fish and Grand Canyon. Since everything isn’t streaming we’ve been getting quite a few DVDs, too. Some of my favorites have been The Black Swan, Milk, and The Last King of Scotland, all excellent acting. And Idiocracy was pretty funny even if a little worrisome. Last week we saw The Town and an older movie Old Gringo. 5. On a not so happy note, the world seems crazy and our daughter-in-law lost her job last week. It might not be so bad except Jack’s son has been starting his own business and her job had the health insurance and the benefits. Such is life in my corner. Now to rest my fingers and brain. It’s been a long time since they’ve worked so hard. |
| “Social Media is about sociology and psychology more than technology.” – Brain Solis I know I spend way too much time fiddling around on Facebook, but I’ve also gotten a lot of good out of it. One of my high school friends, Leah, contracted Catastrophic Anti-phospholipidemia Syndrome (CAPS), an auto-immune disorder that cause the body's immune system to begin attacking itself. She was dead in a week. If it hadn’t been for Facebook I doubt we would have reconnected again after all these years. And although it probably hurts more now knowing she’s gone, I’m still glad we were able to catch up and keep in touch for a time. I’m going to miss her wit and her great memory for “back in the day.” And she was a great Zynga neighbor, too. RIP Leah. I’ve been chatting on Facebook with one of my cousins lately. My uncle (her dad) has had some serious health problems before and after breaking his hip. He’s in his late 70s and has always been a bit of a pill. I’ve been able to be a quick shoulder for my cousin as she jockeys between frustration and worry. He’s actually doing a lot better now so I’m sure she can get back to more of the frustrated part pretty soon. My son sent me a quick FB message to let me know he finally got a job! He was so relieved and excited so I was thrilled to hear it. He called me later to really talk but the quick chat was a nice bonus. My daughter and I chat often since she’s also a gamer (because of me.) Facebook is not without its problems, of course. There’s always some kind of virus or hoax going around. Some people use it to see how badly they can behave. And I really should wean myself off some of those games. But for right now I’m mostly enjoying it and even learning a few things. |
| NEWS: A friend resurfaced the other day. I hadn’t heard from her in a couple of years. It turns out she’d lost her job and moved back to town. And she got married after 20 years of swearing she’d never get married again. She’s still unemployed, working on a book, and has started a women’s writer’s group. She and her artist/computer geek husband sound really happy. You just never know. WEATHER: Last week we had snow. Two nights ago it was 75 degrees at midnight – 10 degrees above the normal low for July. As expected we had a storm then last night it cooled down to the high 30s again. Up and down and all around. SPORTS: Our local Butler team lost the NCAA title last night. They set a record for most shots missed. Poor Blue Bulldogs. That’s all for now. |
| You have to know who you are, if you don't you have nightmares. Stephen Rea I haven’t been sleeping very well because of my really weird dreams. One night there was an older man chasing me with a hammer and nail aiming to pound it into my head. The ominous feelings seemed to hang on the whole next day. Last night I was being chased by religious fanatics with knives and I woke up exhausted. I work harder in my dreams than when I’m awake, but I’m pretty sure I have to sleep once in awhile. I’m not sure what I’m so anxious about. It’s not like the world has gone crazy or anything. (Ha) My actual life is pretty calm. We did have a bit of a strange chain of events a couple weeks ago – or Jack did. He had a miserable bout of TMJ or something and the pain in his jaw was so bad he couldn’t sleep. That was a Tuesday. He called his dentist and got some pain meds, but he couldn’t get in to see him until Friday. Friday morning he was scheduled for an Upper GI Endoscopy that he’d rescheduled twice. So he did both on the same day. I was the driver because of the anesthetic, which was fine with me since I was worried about him. Turned out everything was fine – tests normal (although the nurse nonchalantly told me he’d stopped breathing on her so his nose might be sore. (?) He said he remembers telling her the anesthetic wasn’t working. Pretty soon he told her again, “It’s still not working.” She said, “Your test is over. Here’s your wife.” He was pretty funny until he’s slept a little of that off. He doesn’t remember a lot about that day. His dentist didn’t find anything bad, but he filled a small cavity so Jack had a numb mouth that evening. They gave him a bite plate to wear at night although I don’t think he’s done it. He’s feeling much better now though. A few days later he got rear-ended in the car while sitting at a stop light. He said it sounded like a godawful crash, but our car wasn’t hurt. And thanks to the headrest his neck doesn’t hurt any more than it always does. (He has a bad disc, probably contributed to the TMJ). The girl who hit him had a wreck the week before, too. Her brakes went out even though she’d just had them fixed. Jack said he was all set to yell, but she was so upset he couldn’t. She’d bumped her head on the windshield. Our car checked okay, a tiny scratch and that’s all. Lucky all around, I think. Well, now that I’ve finally written something I think I’ll go back to reading my book, Lady of the Snakes. You don’t suppose that could possibly give me nightmares, do you? |
| Mounds of evening snow with a candy coat frozen-rain sheen hit dry pavement like a tray of crystal. The world is a good restaurant with poor service. Ben Parris My,my! This has been quite a wintery winter indeed! I love snow, but the rain/sleet/snow mix creating thick layers of ice and temperatures low enough to keep it around nearly forever, well, not so much. I’ve barely stuck my nose out the door for quite awhile now. You might think with all this time indoors I would have accomplished a lot of indoor chores, finished a terrific project or even written a few words. You might think, but you’d be wrong. So, to put even a few words here in my blog and say I’ve written, I’ll try to come up with a list of five of…something.  I’ve had sciatica twice now since December so I really didn’t want to take any chances on the ice. My biggest fear was that we’d lose power. We’re total electric and I really needed my heating pad, hot coffee, and a book or movie to take my mind off the pain. Plus, I’m spoiled like most Americans, watching others’ struggles on the TV screen from the safety of my own living room. Just thinking about being iced in without power made me panicky, and made me realize (again) how I should never take things for granted. My neighbor has been yelling at the apartment owner/manager about the parking lot. (She spends a lot of time yelling about things anyway.) She said she’d been out with her meat cleaver trying to chop a safe path to walk her dog. I’m just glad she didn’t go after anyone with that cleaver. Before the ice storm, Jack and I met some friends for breakfast then headed to Half-Price Books to stock up. I found several promising titles on the clearance shelf, and since I had still had money on my Christmas gift certificate, splurged on a couple of Jodi Picoult’s novels. We also found some videos and DVDs on clearance including I, Robot which we’d never seen. It was pretty good! We’ve watched even more movies than usual this winter including some old serials Jack found. We’re almost to the last chapter of a 1943 Batman. I’ve been in the mood to try a few new recipes lately. Obviously I don’t cook very often since Jack saw my chicken tetrazzini and asked where I got it.  I think he was pleasantly surprised though.Well, I count five snowflakes. If I think of anything else I’ll need to write it down before I forget it and maybe I can get back here more often than every 40 days. We’re supposed to start thawing out here soon. Until then… [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Even though time be real, to realize the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom. Bertrand Russell It’s hard to believe that it’s another brand new year already. Offhand I don’t think I could tell you what I did with the old year. I’ll have to peruse my journal and get back to you on that. I know it was a pretty calm and quiet year compared to the previous couple – and that’s a good thing. I know what I haven’t done much of this year and that’s writing. No blog entry for over sixty days and nothing new in my port. Yes, I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. I lasted a whole week. I’m glad I did it though, even for only that short time. It was a good experience in a lot of ways. I’ve been pretty good in the eating healthy department, except for the last two months. Then I used the holidays as a license to eat anything that wasn’t nailed down, especially if it was covered in chocolate. Ugh! And I haven’t been exercising much since the end of the summer when they closed the pool. I’ve had all kinds of excuses for that and now I have sciatica. Ouch!!!!! All that sounds like obvious New Year’s Resolution material. But I’m not going to bother setting myself up for failure the way I have so many times. Oh, I’ll work on getting back on track with all those things. Breaking bad habits and creating good ones seem to be part of a perpetual cycle with me. But I need something more interesting – a goal, I guess, instead of a resolution -- to feel motivated. It’s been too long since I’ve felt motivated about much of anything. The last two years I picked the fairly easy goal of reading at least 50 novels in a year. Since I feel panicky if I don’t have a novel (or a stack of books) waiting on me after I finish one, that really isn’t much of a challenge. So I’m looking for something different. The other day I read an article about a man who wrote 365 thank you notes in a year. The article didn’t go into a lot of detail, just that he wrote thank-you’s to everyone from his son to the barista in his favorite coffee shop. Then he wrote a book about how it positively impacted his life. I think I’d like to do something like that. Maybe I’ll steal his idea. I don’t know if I’ll write a book about it, but I think I better keep a journal about it. It could be a great growing experience, and that’s when I really need to pay attention. Happy 2011! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| We labor to make a house a home, then every time we're expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house. ~Robert Brault When I know someone is coming to visit I fret and stew and wear myself out until I get the whole place all clean and tidy. My daughter came to stay for a few days last month. She went to her dad’s first then spent a couple days with her grandmother in our old home town. (Going there always sounds better than it is. Let’s just say “you can’t go home again.”) She called me early Saturday morning to say she’d be here that day instead of the next so I only got about half the cleaning done that I wanted to do. She had what she thought was terrible allergies, but it must have been a virus because she left it with me. We didn’t do a lot while she was here, but we had a good time just being together. I hate that she lives so far away. With all of us being homebodies we don’t see each other real often. After she got home she told me she was happy she’d made the trip and really glad she stayed here last. She loved just hanging out with us. The other day Lisa, an out-of-town friend, dropped by unexpectedly and brought her friend Diane with her. There was nothing we could do but let them in to join us in all our splendid slovenliness. The first time I met Lisa was at our wedding. She’s always fun to be around. (Neither Jack nor I knew Diane.) They weren’t here very long, but we had a great visit when I wasn’t worrying about the messy living room. Later we got a lovely card in the mail. Lisa apologized for dropping in without calling first and said …it was so wonderful to see you! It was then or never, so I went for it. And now my heart and soul are happy again!! She went on to say It is amazing—in your apartment I feel like I am home. Don’t worry I won’t be moving in. But I love the feeling. Maybe it’s the antiques, the ticking of the clocks, the vibes of the good hearts? Her sweet gesture made me realize what’s really important. Who wants “My, she was a great housekeeper” on her tombstone anyway. Obviously not I. |
| Don't waste your time away thinkin' 'bout yesterday's blues. Jon Bon Jovi A few waves of sudden sadness were confusing me lately until I realized what’s probably wrong. It was October 11th last year that the coroner called me to tell me my sister was dead. "Invalid Entry" My mother and sister had lived together for awhile. My sister did take care of Mom until she died, though it was a rocky time. I won’t go into the details here, but if you’re interested…"Invalid Entry" Mom died on the night Obama was elected, November 4, 2008. (She was 78.) She was able to vote absentee for him and she would have been happy that he won. I think she might be disappointed in him now though. It’s not surprising that my sister didn’t live too long after my parents were gone.Then Jack’s dad died November 4, 2009 at age 97. He was quite a character. I wrote this about him when he turned 96. "Invalid Entry" So, I guess this probably explains those waves of sadness I’m having. I wouldn’t wish any of them back in the shape they were in, but loss is loss. And it seems the anniversary blues will get you even when you’re not expecting them. Blues ain’t nothing but a good soul feeling bad |
Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. - Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930) I guess I’m one of the nine then, huh? You’d think after waiting so long to write anything at all, I could think of something more original.  Anyway, we had one hot summer here in Indy. The humidity let up after July, though, since we had no rain for 47 days straight and very little since. The grass burned up and the leaves started turning brown and falling on the ground. Two weeks ago I was in the swimming pool with my neighbor turning red in the 95 degree sun. It was our last day to swim since they closed the pool here on September 30. I’m really going to miss swimming. It was the one good thing about the awful summer heat this year. I can’t tolerate the heat at all anymore unless I’m in the water. It was more fun for me than any land exercise, and it built up my stamina. I look better, too, since the sun helped my anemic pallor. Goodbye and thank you, swimming pool. See ya next year. We’re still way too dry here, but the temps have cooled off quite a bit. It was in the 30s the other morning and the days really feel like fall. It’s supposed to be 80 on Sunday, but that won’t last. I really do love autumn. I just hope it hangs around and holds off winter for awhile. We’re supposed to go on a hayride in a couple of weeks. (Watch it start pouring.) Considering the extreme weather and natural disasters around the globe, though, I don’t have much to complain about here. |
| “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones come daily.” -Ivy Baker Priest I rarely watch daytime TV anymore. Years ago, when my kids were little, I watched quite a bit – including game shows and even soap operas. But nowadays I can go for long stretches without turning the set on at all, especially during the day. Anyway, to the point, I watched Oprah the other day. I’m sure it was a rerun because I saw lots of ads for her upcoming new and final season beginning in a couple of weeks. Still, it was new to me and I enjoyed this particular show. In fact parts of it were actually very touching. This show was called Oprah Hookups. According to her intro, it takes her staff a lot of time and an awful lot of coordinating to pull off these surprise hookups for select people. This episode showed a young man named Josh get to meet his idol Cher; a soon to be bride meeting her childhood heartthrob Justin Timberlake; and a local TV newscaster meeting her role model Diane Sawyer. Those were all fun. The really touching part, however, was later in the show. Oprah had two families there who were about to lose their homes and thought they were there to talk to her expert financial advisers. We were introduced to a family of eight who could no longer make their mortgage payments and were trying to prepare to lose the home they loved. These people had done everything right – played by the rules, as they say. But the husband had been downsized and everything changed. They had exhausted their savings, their oldest daughter helped with her waitress salary, but they just weren’t able to keep up anymore. The wife said her hope was to try to keep all of them together. The other family was a single mother and her daughter. This woman had also done everything right. She had bought the house, supported her daughter, continued her education up to a Masters Degree, then gotten downsized. She was probably two weeks away from foreclosure. They were heartbreaking stories that are all too common these days. Then, instead of bringing in the financial advisers, Oprah brought out the families’ Angel, rapper Will.i.am, who would be paying off both their mortgages! Now I vaguely remember hearing his name and of the Black Eyed Peas, but I know nothing of his music. I can tell you, though, that after that show I became a fan of this kindhearted young man. He knows hard times. His childhood goal was buy a new house for his mother. Although his mother told him “don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he kept that promise. He also bought a house for his grandmother who had lived fifty years in the projects. Now Will has started the i.am.home Fund with his own money and become the Angel for these two families. They plan to pay it forward by donating when they can to Will’s fund. “I don’t dream of being mega, crazy rich; I just wanna be able to create, make music and help people,” he told Oprah. “Doing this isn’t gonna leave a dent in my house, but it could help somebody that really needs it. It’s something that means a lot to me.” In this crazy world of greed we live in, I find Will.i.am very refreshing. There’s a clip of that part of Oprah’s show here: http://iamhome.dipdive.com/ |
| “I write because…well, I don’t function very well as a human being when I’m not writing.” “What are you writing now?” “Nothing.” These lines came from the movie Half Light – a surprisingly good ghostly and mysterious tale with some unexpected twists. Demi Moore plays Rachel Carlson, a successful American novelist living in London. After the tragic death of her young son, her marriage crumbles and she moves to an isolated cottage on a Scottish seacoast to overcome her writer’s block. Those lines jumped out at me as I watched the movie for the second time. Obviously I haven’t been writing and it dawned on me I haven’t been functioning very well as a human being either. Between anemia, depression and a long, hot summer I’ve had no energy, no stamina, and very little interest in much of anything. It’s been a long, dry spell and I’m longing for a nice steady rain. (Both literally and figuratively – we’ve now had the driest August on record.) I have a lot to be grateful for, though. All my major medical tests are over and they showed nothing seriously wrong. The depression med is helping and I’m tolerating the iron so far. And when I went back to the doctor after about six weeks her nurse said, “You’ve lost weight!” So, after my next follow-up I should be able to stop piling up the medical bills. I’ve been going to the pool alone or with my neighbor a few times a week. We go early in the morning when it’s peaceful and the morning sun beams Vitamin D on us. My neighbor taught me her water therapy exercises and they feel really good. (A couple days have actually been too cool to go. The heat is good for something.) And one day we spotted an oak dining table and some chairs by the dumpster that she talked me into taking. She and I rolled the table top inside and I had Jack help me lug the heavy base. After two trips to the hardware store we got it all put together. It looks great and I really like it in our dining room! Lately I’ve felt a few sprinkles of enthusiasm for some projects and droplets of ideas for some writing beyond an occasional blog entry. I’m still tired a lot, but I managed to paint and redecorate the little bathroom last week. I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, I’m on the road back to functioning as a human being again. |
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