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 |  Day to day stuff....a memoir without order. |
 Imagination is described by Webster as...The act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses in reality. Albert Einstein said "Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere."  I never realized it until I read it somewhere but there are ways to boost one's imagination: Create a visual journal Draw whatever you see for 15 minutes a day. You don't need to be an artist. Think like an artist Cut out pictures from magazines & piece them together to create an original image. Listen to Bach Close your eyes while playing your favorite music. Or listen to the sounds of nature on a CD or in the great outdoors. Play word games Try thinking of as many words as you can that begin with MAR...or you pick. Daydream Let your mind wander, or focus on a single object & study its characteristics.     Everyone has a story....here's mine.....c   |
| On the 20th I drove a good friend to get a colonoscopy and stayed with her so she would have a driver to take her home. I didn't realize but they asked me to be with her in recovery. She was fine after and in very good spirits...as you can imagine. But the doctor had bad news. She has a polyp that was too large to remove during the procedure so they only did a biopsy, and it turned out cancerous. He explained she would need surgery (a resection of her colon) and probably follow-up chemo and radiation. She took the news well, at least in my presence, better than I would have. She said there are colon problems all through her family but still.... Her first appointment with the surgeon is on January 3rd. It had been 3 years since her last colonoscopy. She's 66. All that put a damper on Christmas this year. My daughter and granddaughter came down from Jax for an early Christmas Day lunch and gift exchange but the tone was much muted from earlier years with my friend's news ever present. I was actually relieved when Christmas was over this year and took down my tree yesterday, a first since I always wait until New Year's Day for that event. Mopsy continues to be well which certainly cheers me some. Her belly fur is very slowly growing back and her "wrist" where the i.v. was now looks normal. She played havoc with the gifts under the tree, ripping off the bows and gift tags and sliding the boxes and bags around. I was happy to see her playing again. until next time...c |
| Today is my ninth anniversary on Writing.Com! I can't imagine not being here. It's my first click in the morning and my last click at night. I've met so many wonderful people, and sadly some are no longer with us. I've been part of many groups, had my own contest, and entered many others. Writing.Com is family, family I will never leave...until you know when. You all saved my sanity during my husband's illness and death and gave me a break from my heartbreak. May Writing.Com go on forever! until next time...c |
| Great attendance for our Writing Your Life History Group year-end get-together with all kinds of goodies including a mulled German wine. Who knew warm wine was good? Most of the stories read were about a remembered Christmas, tears and smiles all around. The temp in the 50s didn't seem to keep anyone away. Tomorrow one of my grand daughters has her annual family get-together, lots of kids, dogs, presents, and an entire ham dinner. She lives on a scenic historical road (Bellamy Road) and I do enjoy the ride there. But today I must get busy, some shopping to do. The holidays are such a great time of the year especially for senior citizens who have family nearby. We may be sort of forgotten the rest of the year but never in December. until next time...c |
| My suspicions were correct...not many of my book club members liked The Vacationers, too hard to identify with the characters, not much of a plot, bad writing, no breaks between scenes with changing points of view, the characters showed a meanness of spirit. The only thing everyone agreed on liking was the setting...Majorca. Regardless of opinion, a lively discussion. I came home and had a nap because for some unknown reason, I was up a 6 this morning! until next time...c |
| I'm finished with my primary care doctor for another year...yay...unless my cholesterol comes back really really bad.Everything went quickly even the lab. Does everyone have to fill out that sheet with the instruction to draw a clock showing the time at 7:45...or is that just for seniors who might have dementia? And then there are all those questions about depression. Does everyone get that before their physical? Would a depressed person indicate he/she is depressed? It's almost laughable after several years of it. I demand a change. It's too easy and I've memorized the answers. As if.... This afternoon I've gotten caught up on my writing group treasurer duties, reconciled the bank statement and updated the income/expense journal, written and mailed a check, and completed an overview of income and expenses for our yearly published book, Bacopa Literary Review  .Tomorrow is Book Club. We're discussing Emma Straub's The Vacationers, a light read, interesting but probably not one I would have selected myself. I thought the author was more interesting than the book. Here's a youtube presentation . I was intrigued with her facial expressions and gestures.until next time...c  |
| Somehow today turned out to be a necessary grocery-shopping day. I usually try to avoid doing that on weekends because the stores are so crowded. Today was no different, but I had no choice since I was out of several needed items. One thing I had written on my list to try on my next shopping venture was camomile tea. I like to drink a cup of tea in the evening while reading, and I've been wondering if that is the cause of my sometimes insomnia. I selected Twinings Camomile with Honey and Vanilla and I am sipping it now. It smells delicious and has a very mild taste. It may be a little early to tell about the sleeping problem but I couldn't wait to try it. I usually drink green tea so I don't know it it had enough caffeine to affect sleep. I'll have to do a better test tomorrow evening. Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, yearly checkup, ugh. My cholesterol was up some last time so I'm sure to need labwork. Being a vegetarian, I can't imagine how that could be. The only thing I have deduced to change is to eat more fatty fish, which I didn't really want to do but did anyway. We'll see. until next time...c |
| Today I made pumpkin soup for one since I am the only one here. Not counting Mopsy, that is. It was about the easiest soup I've ever made. I wasn't sure I would like it because I'm not crazy about pumpkin and I made it for one because I only had enough pumpkin puree for one. The pumpkin puree was actually Gerber baby food. When Mopsy was sick and wouldn't eat, I phoned the vet and was told to try several things, one being pumpkin puree, but Mopsy is not a pumpkin puree kind of kitty...she said. So out of a 2-pack, I had one left (turns out) for pumpkin soup. You can count the ingredients on your left hand, or right, depending. For soup for one, I sauteed 1/4 diced onion in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (right in the saucepan in which I'm making the soup), then I added the 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth and let simmer for 10 minutes. Oops, you may need that other hand. Remove from heat and grate in @1/4 cup parmesan cheese (you can guess at this, whatever you like) and stir until it melts throughout the soup. You can garnish with sour cream or candied walnuts and a sprig of thyme, but since I had none of these, I just ate it. Yum. So, if the vet ever advises you to buy pumpkin puree baby food for a cat who won't eat, make pumpkin soup for one and enjoy. until next time...c |
| Lunch at the art gallery cafe was great, crab bisque superb as usual. We ate outside on the patio next to the lily pond and with a lovely view of the Butterfly Rain Forest . Thankful for friends, beautiful weather, and the health to enjoy it. Tomorrow I will need to get my butt in gear and do some more yard clean-up while the weather is cooperative but today was a very welcome break. until next time...c |
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