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Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024

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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

"All the resources we need are in the mind.” Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President of the United States of America.

Another quote I find interesting: "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Albert Einstein

What's on your mind today?

Signature for use by anyone nominated for a Quill Award in 2020

Signature for nominees of the 2019 Quill Awards

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:50am
In response to "Drama"

I should be in Missoula May 1st. Chance of 20° or 70° ... sun, rain, snow, tornadoes, earthquake, Yellowstone blowing up?

Elycia Lee ☮

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:02am
In response to "Drama"

I never overwater them, but I think I'm underwatering them. The leaves are curling. When I put them out, their leaves burn. When I wipe them, lines appear on them... I really wanna start over, but I don't know how to... My rubber plants bottom stem leaves have dropped. Only the top is growing. For one of them, their baby leaf hasn't been growing for over 6 months now... Sounds like you've got quite the green finger there.

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:00am
In response to "Drama"

QPdoll

It was good to be out and work in the garden. We were both tired after, but that's okay. Digging in dirt always helps. There is always dirt in our lives. We have to dig up through it to get to the shining world on the other side.

1 Like

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 20, 2024 at 10:57am
In response to "Drama"

Elycia Lee ☮

Well, if your rubber plants aren't doing well, try dusting them. Prune them. Don't overwater. I always am cutting back things. Makes people nuts. But sometimes you have to cut back the dead to to get to the living. A metaphor for lots of things in our lives.

1 Like

QPdoll

Apr 20, 2024 at 10:47am
In response to "Drama"

Drama, indeed! Glad you were able to take some stress relief time.

Elycia Lee ☮

Apr 20, 2024 at 10:44am
In response to "Drama"

I'm actually jealous that your fallback plan to stress-relief is gardening.

Can you infect some to me? Currently, all I have is an iron plant and two rubber plants. My rubber plants are not doing well. Your job does sound interesting.

1 Like

Elycia Lee ☮

Apr 11, 2024 at 5:36am
In response to "Test Results"

EMG sounds horrible. Get well soon. Hope this phase in life would pass and that you would have that quiet period that you yearn for.

1 Like

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 11, 2024 at 3:30am
In response to "Test Results"

Wow! You do have a lot going on, but I'm glad you're trying to make the best decisions you can for yourself.

I had an EMG once. Yeah, not a pleasant experience and mine yielded no new info, so that was even worse -- it was all for nothing.

I hope things improve soon! Take care of yourself!

1 Like

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 7, 2024 at 11:09am
In response to "News from Roundup "

Is the EMG like acupuncture? I have neuropathy (self-diagnosed) in both feet. When I get back I want some advice from a doctor. I don't know whether an EMG would work but my ability to flex my toes and foot may be a starting point.

Pan wants to see snow. But... this isn't the proper season! Why he didn't mention this in December or January... Snow is fickle. Remember the Great Lakes? Can you imagine a walk with big flakes, through a foot or two of fresh fall, slugging through slush, negotiating ice, below zero and sparkling crystals, a blizzard!

I may be back in early May. If I lived anywhere near Roundup we could go somewhere for coffee. That's what I really miss in my life.

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

Feb 28, 2024 at 9:32am
In response to "Free for works for me"

Clark Gable was sure swoon worthy.

January 27, 2020 at 1:14pm

#974321

Lost Notebook

Looking for a lost item, I found a notebook I had taken on a trip to Seattle in 2008. I jotted some notes while waiting for lunch.

So, at Denny's, there were no fewer than three people on cell phones. And two of them were loud enough to be distracting. Two older women, not elderly, talking to whomever and eating at the same time.

And at another table some man asking "How old do you think I am? I look 29 but I'm really 37. My parents were born in 1906...." What? That wouldn't be possible. He was born in 1971. His mother would have been 65.
(Off in the margin of my notes I have
2008
37
1971
1906
65)
Then somehow the subject changed to his wife's car accident and all her problems since then. I can't imagine what the woman with him thought. Was it a date? Or just a casual friend? If so, why would you talk about your wife's ovarian cysts? I mean, talking about gyno problems is conversation for a doctor-patient relationship, or husband-wife private time.

What kind of lunch did you have during your school days? I kind of remember bologna and Fritos. Maybe there was an apple or orange? I never bought lunch because I was too shy to wait in line.

Crutches - I made it to 57 without crutches. Suddenly I have surgery and need to use them for two weeks. How do you use them? They say put all your weight on your hands. Crutches first, then your good leg and then your injured leg. Too much concentration post-op.

Well - quite a curious bunch of rambling. To tell you the truth, I had forgotten about this notebook! As I read a few more pages, there is some good stuff in here. More to come later!

Like • Comment

January 24, 2020 at 7:22pm

#974116

Open Winter

It's another day in our part of Montana without snow. This has been the longest stretch without snow I have known since I've lived in Montana, That is about ten years now.

I went walking with a friend today on her ranch. She raises sheep and cattle. Life is easier for her without snow. They have an easier time feeding the livestock this year. They can fix machinery since she doesn't have to spend time shoveling snow. But she was worried about no snow, nice as not having was.

Here in the west, snow is moisture, and that is good. Good for farms and ranches, and forests and rivers. Snow means fewer forest fires in the summer. Snow means more water in reservoirs. Snow is good for tourism.

So you people whining about your storms and all the inconvenience of snow-covered roads and air delays, well we in central Montana could use some of that snow. If you know a way to get some of that snow out here, go ahead and ship it our way. We could sure use it during this 'open winter'.

Like • Comment

January 19, 2020 at 12:44pm

#973708

Tale of Woe

I found another story written during my writing group session. It's not my best story, but sort of amusing,

"Woe is me," said the spider to the flea.

"Why say thee?" said the flea to he.

"This rhyme is oh so tedious and oh so monotonous."

"Yes, but it will be oh so wondrous and bring so much happiness."

"Knock it off! You are caught in my web."

"You are in my spell, I am not in yours."

The flea wiggled and jumped as fleas are wont to do. The spider tightened the silk around its tiny meal.

"Okay, tiny bit. I am saving you for a late night snack."

"Why wait for midnight? You know you are hungry now! Why put off til tomorrow what you can have today!"

Eight legs traveled over the web and and the spider came eyes to eyes with the flea.

"You bug me!"

"Ah yes! But isn't it fun! I just love to watch your acrobatics as you spin your web and then run to and fro across it. How do you do that, by the way? It looks exhausting. We fleas just jump. No bothersome wandering on all those appendages. Just jump!"

The spider wound the silk tight around the flea.

"No more jumping for you, flea! Like I said you bug me!"

The flea now hung motionless on the web, waiting for midnight.

Like • Comment

January 16, 2020 at 7:21pm

#973537

Making Something from Nothing

My husband and I went to a small town for a tourism board meeting. After the advisory part of the meeting, we adjourned to a small shop. We are considering this shop to be added to a tour.

A wonderfully accomplished woman showed us around her tiny workshop. She takes local wool fleece, washes and dyes it, cleans and cards it, and then spins it into yarn. From there, her yarn goes to one of her four looms. She showed us how the looms are loaded. She also showed how the patterns were noted and followed. All of watched in awe.

Wonderful craftspeople always amaze. It takes years for a weaver to know the warp, the weft, the tension, the yarns to use, the way to dye, the way to follow a pattern. and once you have all the information, a perfectly amazing product rolls off the loom.

So, of course as a writer, I found the correlation between this event and the act of writing anything from a sentence to a novel. You work on each word, you agonize about the right word, the right sentence. You work for weeks making just the right paragraph work. Then you work for months or years working on a novel or other large work.

The time has come. You take the fabric off the loom. it needs some work, a bit of tweaking. But once you are satisfied with the final product, it is time to send your baby out into the world. With any hope, your project will find some adoring fans. People will pay you wonderful money for your wonderful finished product.

But on the flip side, what if you're a flop? What if no one likes your work? You have still created something from nothing. And that is what art is all about.

Like • Comment

January 10, 2020 at 4:55pm

#973112

Sand

Another little item I wrote during our writing group:

The prompt was:
Describe an ordinary object - I forget how many minutes we had to work. Since it is small, probably five or ten.

It covers a large portion of the earth, but yet is tiny. It can fall through your hands. Sand, tiny grains, smaller than rice. It can be soft as powder - white. It can be coarse and rough as sandpaper - black. But most will be somewhere in between - a brown color.

But the real beauty is when you see sand under a magnifying glass. Then you see bits of shells, coral, glass, rocks tumbled by the sea. Polished and whittled down to microscopic pieces. Untold numbers of pieces. Beautiful when magnified.

It even mentions in the Bible that Abram's descendants would be as numerous as the sands in the sea and the stars in the sky, millions into billions. But who can count the grains of sand? Immeasurable and more being generated every second by every crash of the waves on the sea shores all over the earth.

*** After I wrote this, someone brought to my attention that we may actually be running out of sand on earth. Seems we are using it to build at a faster rate than it can be generated. Interesting thought. I hope I'm gone before I can't take anymore walks on the beach at sunset.

Like • Comment

January 6, 2020 at 8:08pm

#972824

My life in five minutes

What would you write if you had five minutes to write your life story? Well, that was the challenge at my writing group some months ago.

Here is what I wrote:
Story of my life
I was the first born, but my parents were the babies of their families. So I pretty much ruled the roost, or so I've been told.

Stubborn, willful, mind of my own. Bossed everyone around. Then I had children, and the cycle was repeated.

I lead with my heart. Married three times, and now, finally, have reached a point where I have my feet on the ground at times. But my husband has to constantly pull me back to earth. My balloon keeps wanting to fly off in all directions.

I am unique, as are all people. Once we are gone, may we leave our memory of who we were.

Yep, that was it. Five minutes to sum up decades of life. No easy task. Some wrote the usual, I lived here, I did this, I did that. But I want to be known for more than that. I hope people remember me for more than simple facts.

2 Like • Comment

January 3, 2020 at 6:52pm

#972582

Writing Groups

I belong to a writing group. Today, the so-called leader of the group tells us she is annoyed by the progress of said group. Now, this group is all of 3-6 people strong. Okay, I can see that if you have delusions of grandeur, you would feel discouraged. But why give up? And why be annoyed?

Oh well, such is the nature of people. So, in honor of this little band of writers, I thought I would start posting in my blog some of the writing I do. We come and do timed writings. I stated I thought we should focus more on the craft of writing, and not so much on just timed prompts.

Anyway, sometimes some gems do come out of this exercise. Today, one of the prompts was 'juniper berries'. We were to write for five minutes.

Juniper Berries
A juniper tree has berries. Don't they make gin? Maybe I'm wrong. But I seem to remember that somehow. But then people ferment anything and everything. I think people would make alcohol from dirty socks if they nothing but sugar, water, and dirty socks. What would they call it?

Crew Sake!!!

So - if this leader decides she no longer wants to lead this writing group, we will still meet. It is important to exchange ideas. It is important to get out and be with people. People will not always agree with you, and that is okay. We don't all have to think alike, nor should we. But we do all have to exchange our ideas.

Like • Comment

January 2, 2020 at 2:59pm

#972484

Wind and Writing

Boy, I tell you - this part of Montana, and from what I've been able to tell from the Weather channel, some of the other parts of the world, has been getting some wicked wind. The wind whistles around my house, rattling the siding. I am glad my roof is new. I am glad I don't have any outdoor furniture. My neighbor's decorative windmill is no more. The top is gone. I look at that windmill every day from my bedroom to see if the wind is blowing and if it is, how hard. Darn.

So today as I walked my usual noontime walk, I was fighting the wind. It was coming straight out of the west, and blowing me into the east. Usually when we get big winds like this, there is a storm brewing and it will be here in a day or two. But this windy spell has been going on for the better part of a week, and still no rain or snow. In fact, we are having what the old-timers call an 'open winter'. No snow or rain. Not good. Because if you don't get moisture in the winter, the chances fire in the summer go up.

While I sit in my cozy little house listening to the wind, I have been reading some books on writing. I came across a little gem in my library the other day. The "Random House Guide to Good Writing" with a copyright of 1991. It is a wonderful little paperback that addresses all sorts of writing. I was dismayed to read about grammar, and how much I had forgotten from my school days. Granted, those days are long in the past. But still, you should be able to remember something of what you were taught. But reading this little book shed some light on my own writing and how I can improve it. A worthy read.

Two quotes from that book:

'Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living.' Harold Pinter

'The Random House Guide to Good Writing' is for those who have to write - and wish they could write better; and for those who wish to write - but can't or won't or don't.

1 Like • Comment

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