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Thursday, Apr. 25, 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

13 minutes ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I don't have to explain my trip back to Montana as you get the picture.

I've been stressed for so long...

I can relax at the hostel and in Seoul airport.

Need to arrange a ride home though...

I assume you'll not be available.

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

51 minutes ago
In response to "Drama"

Elycia Lee ☮

Try cutting back your plants. Then try dusting them gently. They breathe through the surface of the leaves.
I found this on Google about rubber plants:
Water when the soil is almost completely dry. ...
Spray with a mister every few days, they like to keep their leaves moist.
Place in a bright room, but keep away from super sunny windows to avoid sunburn Between 15°C to 25°C is their optimum temperature.

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

October 25, 2019 at 10:41pm

#968428

Writing Prompt - Describe an Ordinary Object

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 as soft as powder - white. It can be coarse and rough as sandpaper - black. But most will be somewhere in between - brown.

But the real beauty is when you see sand under a magnifying glass.Then you see tiny 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 sea shores all over the Earth.

Like • Comment

October 23, 2019 at 11:33am

#968308

Freedom of Choice

Does your character ever have a mind of its own? Well the other day mine did. I am participating in NaNoWriMo. I am starting to write a little story I had figured out. Happily typing away, my one character is doing his thing as I had envisioned, Suddenly he takes a turn I didn't have in the script.

WHAT? I started laughing and had to get up from the computer. I walked away and my husband had to ask "What is going on?" Then of course, I had to tell him the person in my novel is doing something weird, something I was not aware of, how dare he!

Then my husband is totally confused. "You have control of that. You did it."

So that statement got me to thinking. Do we actually have control of our imaginations as we write? Should we change what comes if it is not what we had first planned to happen?

I think not. I propose that imagination be left to wander in the mists of our mind, take the twists and turns of the gray matter of our brains. Let the neurons fire and release the chemicals that produce memories, or however that works. Perhaps that is a great oversimplification of the physiology of it all. But I digress.

I am going with the detour the character took. He had a good idea and I am running with it. He may be penalized for having this idea, Serves him right.

2 Like • Comment

October 20, 2019 at 10:57pm

#968190

Rant of the day

So here's the rub, my husband and I don't use a cell phone, smart phone, device, whatever the catch phrase is today. Seems that you are penalized, though, these days in some ways if you don't use one.

An example: We go to a warehouse store and buy a weather station we saw and liked. It had wind direction and wind speed. Good to know the wind because the wind blows - A LOT - in our part of Montana sometimes. But we can't use this great machine because you need a WiFI enabled smart phone to connect to it. That we don't have. Wonderful - so now we have to take it back.

Guess we go back to the old way of finding out if it is windy - we look outside and check the trees, Oh, and the windsock across the street at the museum. The windsock is on top of an airplane hanger. (Doesn't everyone have an airplane hanger across the street from them next to a museum?)

So we continue to survive in this world without a smart phone. We have our computers and that is as far as we want to wander into the brave new world.

And just think of all the money we are saving!

Like • Comment

October 18, 2019 at 11:20pm

#968094

Food for Thought

How do you decide on a name for a restaurant? We ate at '5 Guys' the other day. It's a regional hamburger place. Catchy name - looks good on a logo - on a sign - easy to remember and above all - good food.

But think of the variations:
Deese Guys - nope - too much like 'disguise'
One Guy - so what! - not fun enough
Twelve Guys - now that's a jury - won't work for a restaurant name - or maybe it would, come to think of it
My Guys - sorry - sounds like the drink 'mai tais'

So unless it's totally catchy, or a proper name, or the name of a food, finding your niche in the restaurant world must be tough! Let's just hope that steak is not!

Like • Comment

October 17, 2019 at 10:24am

#968004

Time is Ticking Away!

Well, folks, the time is ticking. I have three antique clocks in my home that tick away. They chime the time at the hour and half hour. One is a cuckoo clock. No matter where you are in my small house, you can hear these clocks. We don't wear watches, my husband and I. That was a conscious decision some years ago. We figure, we have clocks, computers, a microwave, a stove, a bedside alarm clock. Why wear one on your arm when you are retired?

But now I have to watch the days - it is almost time for NaNoWriMo. I have been working ahead, I feel like I am back in school and doing homework. The big final is almost here. Have I studied enough? Will I pass? Only time will tell.

Like • Comment

October 15, 2019 at 10:00pm

#967920

Millions up for Grabs!

Would you be able to spend a million dollars in a month to earn seven million? I just saw a movie with that premise. It was pretty funny. This man's plans to spend all his money in a month, as he was instructed, all backfired. Everything he touched turned to gold. But he couldn't tell anyone what he was doing, he couldn't buy any assets like houses or cars or jewelry.

So even though it sounds easy, it was really quite hard. But you know, I think I would like to take that challenge. Just give me a chance! Let me try to spend a million in a month. Could you do that?

Be honest now. You know you want the opportunity. But since that was Hollywood, you know we won't have a chance to do that. But what a good idea for a story!

Like • Comment

October 13, 2019 at 3:56pm

#967778

Falling Leaves

First they were there, and then they weren't. Sounds like an advertisement for a magic act, doesn't it! Well - it's not. They are the leaves on the trees near my house. One day they were happy green, chlorophyll loving leaves. Soaking up the fall sunshine. The next day they were in a pile on my lawn.

What happened? A September storm came through like a tornado in Montana, It dropped the barometer and snow. The temperature took a nosedive as well, from 75 to 20. The poor ash trees shivered their timbers, so to speak. The leaves couldn't hold on as the trees shivered and 'WHUMP" down they came.

We didn't even get to enjoy them turning yellow this year.

1 Like • Comment

October 11, 2019 at 12:02pm

#967635

F'inter is Here

So I saw an item in an email the other day. They called this recent snow 'event' in Montana "f.inter". I found that an interesting term. Then I thought of a better use of the two seasons mashed together, How about - "f-l-i-nter" for fall-winter? or "f-a-i-nter"? I personally like "fainter" because that is what people do. They almost faint at the mention of snow or cold or rain or sleet. Like the story of chicken little. 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling..." Oh come on, folks. It's not the beginning of an ice age, or we hope not. It's not the beginning of winter, or we hope not. But whatever, get out there and enjoy. Because if you don't, it's going to be a long time until spring. And do you really want to spend all these months cooped up in your house?

Just saying,,,,,,,Yes it's cold outside, for now. So put on a coat and hat and gloves and boots. Don't be a chicken!

1 Like • Comment

October 7, 2019 at 8:57pm

#967415

Adrift

We picked up our dog's ashes today. They were in a nice urn, beige with dog's paws inscribed on it. Her name was on it as well. Bonnie. It has been 6 weeks since we took her to the vet and put her to sleep forever.

No one told me how hard that act would be. No one told me how hard saying good bye to that animal would be.
No one told me how long I would be grieving for that animal. No one told me how much love I had stored in my heart for that animal.

Our lives were scheduled about that dog's needs. We walked when she needed a walk. We worried about getting home from shopping to get her outside for a walk. We worried when we traveled about who would watch our dog. We picked up dog poo on dog walks. We provided the correct amount of dog food and dog water. We brushed our dog. We made sure our dog didn't bark or bite.

In short, we were well-trained dog parents. We have lost our anchor, so we drift along and mourn our loss still.

1 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

October 3, 2019 at 9:22pm

#967212

Bye Bye Garden!

We stripped the garden today. We took out the tomato plants. We took out the corn plants. We also dug up all the potatoes. It is amazing what a few little wedges of seed potatoes will yield. I planted six mounds of potatoes and got 35 pounds. Astounding!

So, plant a garden folks! Be amazed at fresh tomatoes, peas, carrots, beets, corn, onions, and potatoes. Plus melons and lettuce and herbs. Just a little time and seeds and fertilizer plus sun and you will get the most wondrous food. And not the bland pablum marketed to us today in stores.

Taste a red ripe tomato you just picked. It is still warm from the sun. You cannot compare that taste to anything you buy in the store these days. I say it is just a little bit of heaven!

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