Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana |
PROMPT November 30th Wow, it's the end of the month! With Thanksgiving behind us (here in the States), and Christmas on the horizon, what, if any, are your Christmas traditions? If you have no holiday traditions, do you have any plans for this month? I used to get excited for Christmas. I used to decorate for the season. Now I just wait for the craziness to be over. I didn't even put up a tree the past few years. My husband doesn't complain. So I guess he's not into it much either. We don't even buy presents for each other, or for anyone else. The only tradition I still have is Christmas cards. I still mail cards. We do celebrate Christ and His birth. But we don't celebrate the crazy material madness this country seems to find as the reason for the season. I am trying to make plans to see my daughter and her children the week before Christmas. My grandson is graduating from boot camp for the Marines in San Diego. As it stands now, I'm going by train to SF, to join my granddaughter and her boyfriend. Then we'll all go down to SD for a few days. A few lifetimes ago I attended boot camp graduation for an Army recruit, my daughter's father. It is a big deal. And to survive a Marine Corps ordeal must be an even greater big deal. So a train trip across the Hi-Line in Montana, across Idaho, Oregon, Washington then down California to SF. Sounds like fun. I've done this trip before. Going around Glacier National Park and then near the Sierra Nevadas is a beautiful train ride. Plus I'm going to the land of sunshine. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all. |
PROMPT November 29th Imagine for a moment that you are near the end of your life. What do you want to have done that would make you feel satisfied? Today is my daughter's birthday. She is 49. Gracious, that sure does make me feel like I'm at the end of my life. She is my first child. I remember being so scared of what to do and how to care for her. But the very fact she's survived this long is proof I did something right. Through all the trials and tribulations, and believe me, there are too many to name, she's emerged victorious. So, I think I have done what I need to have accomplished in this world. I have two children that are responsible adults. They both have children that make me a proud grandmother. The life I led will be remembered for a short time once I'm gone. But my children and grandchildren will live on and do great things. They already have proved they can. I think being satisfied is not in what things you have, or how much money you have. It is in the life you lead and the joy you bring to others. Life is hard, and if we can help one other person along the way, then God smiles. |
PROMPT November 27th Things have progressed well in your town/city with the Pandemic. So well that you've been allowed to return to the office instead of working from home. Your co-worker Karly, is sneezing and coughing and refuses to wear a mask. Who do you call, or do you let it slide. Tell us why you would act that way. "Why don't you go home?" I emailed Karly on the office system. She's my battle buddie for Team Wonder. We're scheduled for a meeting this afternoon. I sure don't want to get whatever she has. While I work on the agenda for our meeting, my battle buddie responds. "Thanks for your concern. I have to stay. I don't have any sick days. I need the money." Hmm. Well, can't she work from home? I mean, we did that for a year. She attended all those Zoom meetings. "Go home and connect by Zoom. I'll set up the meeting. You need to be home near your bed." Instant reply, "Who died and made you queen? Did you get the OK for me leaving?" I instantly thought 'how dare she' but replied, "I am the team leader. I'm sure Jeffries would agree you shouldn't be here if you're feeling sick." Back and forth we went by email. I didn't want to walk into her office where germs were flying about unchecked. Then in walked Mr.Jeffries. "Miriam, why didn't you tell Karly to go home? She's Typhoid Mary in that office of hers. She'll make us all sick." "I tried. She won't go." Jeffries stomped out of my office. Suddenly I heard a commotion in the outer office as Karly left. Then everyone scuttled about spraying Lysol, wiping down surfaces with antiseptic wipes. Karly joined the meeting by Zoom later. "Hi folks, I'm okay. Did anyone bother to ask me why I was sneezing and coughing? No. I was having an allergy attack. The medicine hadn't taken effect when I first came to work. Someone on the train had perfume that bothered me something fierce. So thanks for all the attention." She clicked off the meeting. Later I got the news that Karly resigned. No one got sick after her coughing and sneezing episode. Co-workers said it was the cleaning after she left that helped. I think she was telling the truth. |
Today is Thanksgiving. We are spending the day in Big Timber, a small city west of Roundup, near Livingston. Yesterday we arrived in time for lunch at The Grand, then went for a little hike near a natural bridge. It actually snowed yesterday at home. Wonderful! First time we'd seen any kind of moisture in months. The two hour drive to Big Timber was non-eventful. Lovely to see snow on the mountains as we got closer. The Grand is an old hotel, built in 1890. They also have a good restaurant. So we booked two nights and Thanksgiving dinner. Last year we did the same, so thought this year we'd schedule a visit once again. Our families are too far away, and friends have their own agendas, so we're on our own. https://www.thegrand-hotel.com Big Timber is between two mountain ranges, the Crazy Mountains and the Beartooth range. Let me tell you, it is like being in a wind tunnel. The wind has blown all night, and promises to do the same today. Crazy, but if you go a bit further to Livingston, it's the same there. Nothing for 20-30 MPH winds to be common. The 30DBC prompt for today: PROMPT November 25th We all have something to be thankful about. In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving today. Tell us what you are most thankful for. I am thankful for life, liberty and love. I am grateful to live in a wonderful part of the country where natural beauty abounds, people are kind and considerate, and life is simpler. I am grateful to have a loving husband. I am grateful to have a wonderful little home to return to tomorrow. And most of all I am grateful to be alive. There have been so many problems along life's way that could have been the end of me, but here I still am! I am also thankful for this community of writers. In this crazy time, we all need a safe place to land. Thank you WDC. |
What did I do during the great shutdown? I went down to the eye doctor. Nothing like flashes of light and giant floaters in your field of vision to put the fear of God into you. The eye doctor reassured us my vision is fine. My retina looks good. I probably had a small blood vessel burst for whatever reason. Now I have to find an ophthalmologist in Billings. Seems all are now either retiring or just doing cataract surgeries. Weird. But I now need to establish with an MD not just an OD. An hour to drive down, hour to drive back. I got to thinking. Have you heard about this push for everyone to drive electric cars? I wonder how that will work in Montana. First you have to spend a fortune on that car. No one I know has that kind of money to spend. Then you have to be able to plug it in. There are no plug-ins near me, except for my garage. Few people here have garages, and if they do, it is full of junk. Basically in Montana there are charging stations near interstates. I don't live near an interstate. We have to travel not blocks but miles to get anywhere we visit. So I found out my eyesight is intact, my gas-powered car gets 28 mpg, and the idea of energy independence by using electric vehicles is a technology Montanans may have a hard time accepting. I'm exhausted. |
I have trouble sleeping, but a sleep study told the doctor I slept just fine. Whatever. I know I wake up sometimes every hour at night. It's hard to be creative, to function normally, to be yourself, when you are sleep-deprived. Then after a time, you begin to wonder if this is the new you, the new normal. Yikes! So the question is, what do you do when your new normal is so drastically different from what you always perceived? I always thought one needed to go to bed at a decent time. Hubby claims that is 8 PM. But you now find yourself in a situation where that has now changed. I go to bed at 11 PM most nights. That is better than when I first came from a consult about a sleep study. Back almost a year ago, I was told to stay awake until 2 AM. Then get up at 7 AM. Gracious. And not to take naps, as that would disrupt your sleep at night. So from that nadir, I have worked back to 11 PM as bedtime. I still wake at least one or two times during the night. I got to thinking about this again after reading a post on the newsfeed. Be glad if you don't have sleep problems. Believe me, there is nothing worse some nights than lying awake and watching the time slip away as you lie there, unable to go back to dreamland. I think they use sleep deprivation as a torture technique. Sure is working on me. I'm just not sure who is holding me captive. |
It's day 7 of the 30DBC. Interesting prompt for today, about praise and criticism. I watched a movie last night, I'm sure lots have already seen it. "Rocketman", about Elton John. And this biographical take on the rock star's tumultuous life is about praise, lots of it from his fans. And criticism, lots of it from his family. I kept talking to his father, 'Touch him. Hug him. Tell him you love him!" If only the father had seen the amazing child he was - a piano prodigy - what different way would he have taken? Would we have not had that flamboyant superstar? Then the praise from all the hangers-on, the fans, the world. If he hadn't been such a superstar, would he have fallen into that drug and alcohol-fueled lifestyle? The balance of praise and criticism is critical to everyone. It's a fine line. Too much praise, you get too inured to anyone trying to help you. Too much criticism, and you decide nothing you do is worth anything. |
The 30 Day Blogging Challenge is rolling along nicely. Such interesting and unusual prompts lead to some equally interesting and unusual blog entries. What a great way to spend November! Things here in Roundup are quiet. Still no rain or snow. Just dry and very windy yesterday. Usually around these parts, wind means a storm will come on its tail. There may be some rain tonight, winter storm warning over toward Livingston and Bozeman. But those parts are near the mountains, so they'll probably get some snow. Us? I'll be surprised if any rain comes. We are planning to go again to Big Timber for Thanksgiving. We don't have family here. So we'll go back to an old hotel there. It's an old cowboy hotel that has an excellent restaurant. It was built in 1890 and is on the historic register. Wondeful old place. Plus nearby are the Crazy Mountains so we can get a hike or two in. Tonight we turn back the clocks. I hate this time of year when the sun decreases. I need the light. I always thank God when the winter solstice comes in December and we swing back toward light again. |
So today the journey for November 30 DBC begins. I love the entries so far. The constants I note from virtually everyone are home and computer. Then throw in a few different ideas such as library cards, Murano glass, iPods. Oh of course there are cars. I think the most 5 important items in my life are: 1. a home - for the first time in my life I actually own my home, paid for in full 2. a car - for the first time in my life I actually own my car, hubby is a frugal always pay cash kind of person 3. a computer, an essential for a writer these days - it's a Mac air 4. my wedding ring - because after a few disasters I finally found a good man 5. books - I love books But all belongs to God, after all. He gives us out of His generosity. We are here on this earth just a short time. What we have will go to someone else when we die. Perhaps what we need to have more of is kindness, love and peace. |