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Thursday, May. 16, 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

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 28, 2024 at 7:30am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I know carpal tunnel can be really bad. My friend's son has it really bad. At only 21, his hands were already numb because his dad wouldn't let him learn to drive so he couldn't go to the doctor and his dad wouldn't take him. He's finally moved out and learned to drive. His hands are better after he got a different job, but he's still got issues.

Have you tried learning to do speech-to-text? I hear it's quite a difficult transition for some folks, but once you get it, everything is a breeze after that. I keep meaning to take a series try at it. I did a few sentences one day, just to test it out, but didn't get too far. I need to really buckle down. It seems slower because the words don't appear on the screen as fast as when I type. But in the end, I can talk faster than I can type and I don't have to wait for it to catch up after ever sentence. lol I do need to figure out how much I can talk before it loses the thread, though.

But then, when writing fiction, I have to stop and think a lot, so it will probably be fine. lol I just need to do it enough that I feel comfortable not watching the screen anymore. I hear that's the real sticky point -- watching the words slowly appear as you are talking can be really distracting, so they recommend you don't do that. I will for a bit, just to get a feel for things and to satisfy my curiosity. But hopefully, if I take this seriously, I can let go of that need with practice and really get going.

Hmmm...I know I talk a lot. And I can talk while doing things I can't do when typing like getting dressed or making dinner or whatever. I wonder if I could actually finish a project through speech-to-text or if being bored sitting there typing isn't the real problem.

It's something to ponder and play with. Thank you! As usual, you've helped me with my writing YET AGAIN!

You're the best!

1 Like

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 28, 2024 at 1:37am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

schunujo I don't worry about NaNo or OctoPrep. I think that event is far enough in the future. I am bummed that I cannot garden this year. I've been typing and writing all this time with just one hand and three fingers so...

I am excited to get the pain level lessened. Then I found out from my daughter the other day that she suffers from carpal tunnel as well, but as is typical for her, she won't get it treated. The problem with that syndrome is if it gets too severe, you could actually lose total function of your hand. Now that is the worst case scenario of course. I am scared enough by that prospect, I'll endure a few more months of recovery pain to heal the problem.

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 28, 2024 at 1:32am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Kåre Enga in Montana

When are you arriving back in Montana? And which airport? I'll be tied up for a few days after surgery. But I think once my husband goes back east to get our car, perhaps sometime in May we pray, I could make a road trip.

1 Like

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:13pm
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Wow! You have so much going on!

I'm really sorry all of this is happening at the same time.

But I am super glad the doctor thinks he can fix you, even if you won't be good as new. But new things are too expensive anyway.

I'm certainly glad you'll be in much less (hopefully no) pain in the (hopefully not too distant) future!

I've also had times when a specialist told me I should have seen him sooner. Well, maybe if I hadn't been required to get a referral...

The surgery timing sounds pretty good with a 6-month recovery time. You'll be pushing it for NaNo, but I think you can do it. After all, I need my best cheerleader out there!

In truth, you have a big impact on my success in NaNo, but I could probably do it without you if I had to. Most importantly, I want YOU to be okay -- happy, healthy, and pain-free! If that means you miss a year of NaNo, so be it. YOU are more important.

QPdoll

Apr 25, 2024 at 6:00am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

and Kåre Enga in Montana

I hope you both can find transportation on Monday! Good luck to you!

Norma, it's good you have your surgery scheduled. I think you'll feel so much better with pain relief. My husband had carpal tunnel surgery and he is happy that his fingers don't go numb anymore.

Safe travels to you both!

1 Like

Kåre Enga in Montana

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:42am
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.

1 Like

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:05am
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 Montana

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

May 21, 2021 at 11:14am

#1010520

Dear They/Them

PROMPT May 21st

Write an open letter to a person or group of people you strongly disagree with and explain why. Use reason not emotion.

Dear They,

I have a hard time thinking of this mindset. I am a charitable person. I feel that I get along with most everyone. I understand everyone has a right to believe what they feel is important for their life.

However, this whole gender identity ‘thing’ really has me baffled. The latest ‘star’ to announce this is Demi Lovato. I don’t know much about her. But this was written about the issue:

“In the most charitable reading, some of this criticism is born out of profound ignorance. "Nonbinary" is a term increasingly used by people who exist somewhere along the spectrum of gender, either between male and female or outside the binary altogether. Essentially, it's shorthand for a complex, liminal, both/and relationship to gender that varies widely from person to person. Nonbinary is both a gender identity and a big middle finger aimed at the concept of gender itself.” (nbcnews.com)

Binary, non-binary. Holy crap, pardon my French. What the heck? Sorry, this is to be unemotional.

God made two sexes. We are born male or female. XX and XY. Our chromosomal makeup is determined at the nanosecond of creation. Your parents could not choose before your birth. You cannot change that combination after birth. As far as I know, no evil scientist has found a way to tweak our DNA to change the sex we were given at birth.

So the people who ‘identify’ as non-binary now want to use different pronouns as well. As if being LGBTQ isn’t enough, we have to remember to use the plural pronouns, they/them when referring to a non-binary person.

When I went to school, the pronouns they and them were for more than one person. So I am confused as to when this became acceptable to be used for a singular person searching for their identity.

I am aware there are probably some folks on writing.com that fall into this category. I will respect the wishes of those folks. But that still doesn’t make this whole issue any less confusing for me.

Sincerely,
NormaJean
still using she and hers

3 Like • Comment • View 9 comments

May 20, 2021 at 9:12pm

#1010496

Partner

PROMPT May 20th

What does happiness mean to you? Reflect back on a specific moment when you felt unconditionally happy. What circumstances made you feel that way?

I feel happy when I am with my hubby and we are on the same wave length. No controversies, no complaints.

I felt this way when we got married. Very happy. I finally met a nice man who I was confident could care for me for the rest of my life. I no longer had to worry about taking care of it all, as before. I now had a partner. I was no longer alone.

4 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

May 19, 2021 at 10:03pm

#1010455

History

PROMPT May 19th

Write about the most historic world events of your lifetime. How are they (or will they be) remembered? What will the history books focus on?

I’m of the age that remembers when JFK got shot. I think I was in elementary school. Not too much beyond the fact of the incident. People are still discussing whodunit and so forth.

I do remember the moon landing with John Glenn. I was just out of high school. I seem to remember being in my grandmother’s kitchen. Perhaps I watched it on her B&W TV. Some time later there was talk it was all a fake, it was filmed in Utah. I just remember that big hullabaloo that we, the USA, had to win the space race against them, the USSR.

When the Twin Towers were hit, I was in Ohio, sleeping. I didn’t go to work until about noon. My current husband had flown to Chicago earlier that morning. He called me, waking me up. He said, “I’m alright!”

I said, “Great! Glad to hear it.”

“No really, I’m fine.”

Still unaware, I said, “Wonderful. Thanks for letting me know.”

Then he told me what had happened and I turned on the TV. And of course, it was all over the TV for weeks, months even. You couldn’t stop watching those planes hitting the towers, listening to the man on the plane talking to his wife.

Hubby had to get a rental car to drive back to Ohio since the planes were all grounded for a time. So glad he was safe, so sad that happened.

Like • Comment • View 2 comments

May 18, 2021 at 7:36pm

#1010391

CANON

PROMPT May 18th

What is the most ridiculous or one-of-a-kind thing you’ve ever bought? Tell us the story!

I had a bad car accident while living in Gardiner. I got a small cash settlement. Not a huge amount, but enough to buy a nice camera. I’d always wanted a really good one. Digital, SLR, something to take really good pictures.

A long time ago I had taken a photography course when I was married to hubby #1. He was attending a college in Tennessee and I as spouse could take courses at a cut rate. So I took some fun courses. I learned a lot and used my father’s camera.

This is back before all the cell phones now take pictures that are of the quality you used to get only using a cameras of this caliber.

Anyway, while at the motel in Gardiner, we met quite a few professional photographers. We got a lot of recommendations for cameras. But the we got is a Canon EOS Mark IV. It cost a few thousand, and then we got another lens. So this was a once-in-a-lifetime investment. Then we bought the program Photoshop so we could edit any photos we took.

One photographer did something I still regret. She changed all the camera settings when we got it.

“Here, you want it like that. That one, you need it at that setting.” I wish I had made my own settings. But hindsight is 20/20 and I can’t change the past.

We have another small digital point and shoot. But when I want really good images, I take out the Canon.

1 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

May 17, 2021 at 9:42pm

#1010335

Family

PROMPT May 17th

“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known.” — Chuck Palahniuk

Read this article and share your thoughts about how the people in your life have had an impact on you.

“They’ve all helped me grow, become more resilient, and many supporting me when I most needed it. I’ve learned, matured, and became wiser thanks to my interactions with them.”

https://medium.com/change-your-mind/we-are-a-mosaic-of-everyone-weve-ever-loved-...

Well, a disclaimer. I won't take advice from a medium. I’m sure she is well-meaning.

That being said, the people that have influenced me were mainly people outside my family. I didn’t have a strong attachment to my mother or father. I give them respect for being my parents, but that is about it. My sister and brother weren’t close to me growing up, either.

When I left home, I pretty much left body, mind, and soul. Now I feel that I am an exile. Family rarely visits. My granddaughter and I have a great relationship which I treasure. I guess I’m reaping the life I chose.

As I wander through life, I made my family. I collected friends that stood in for mom and dad, brother and sister, daughter and son. I guess I even collected husbands.

People that have close families will never understand my life. And I’m okay with that. I have a loving husband, friends that appreciate me, and the best father. And some day I’ll hope to meet Him in person.

2 Like • Comment

May 16, 2021 at 9:01pm

#1010279

Adopt a Highway

PROMPT May 16th

What do you do to make the world a better place?

Today my church cleaned a section of highway. You’ve seen the signs. “This mile adopted by XYZ”. This is the 24th year of doing this good deed. We make it an event. Clean the side of the road for the assigned mile, then adjourn to a member’s home for a meal. Today we also had a business meeting for the church.

So in our own little way we helped keep the environment clean. I write a little article about the day for our state church newsletter. There is always a description of what we found. This year’s finds included a yellow bucket which helped hold more trash, a snake that even when run over in the road still tried to attack, black and white baby pictures that the finder checked to make sure they weren’t his. He claims he has never seen any baby pictures of himself. They also found unopened mail, an intact turn-signal assembly, and a magnetic sign that we stuck to the guard rail.

Waneta’s home sits a ways off the highway in the middle of nowhere. As you drive back, you pass some cow pastures. Today there were horses grazing. The hills are green now with the warmer weather and the rain we’ve been getting. Her home has a big crab apple tree with bird feeders. The birds were flocking to it. There were red crossbills, sparrows, magpies, chickadees. She also has started her garden. It is an amazing place to sit and be still, enjoy nature.

We had a nice lunch, a good meeting, and sent on our way after a job well done with plants from her greenhouse.

You should try to improve where you live. Even if you only go out and pick up trash.

3 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

May 15, 2021 at 11:25am

#1010219

Let Down Your Hair!

PROMPT May 15th

Many fairy tales are often based in truth. Research the true story behind your favorite fairy tale and share it with your readers. What lesson or warning was the tale trying to impart?

I found this link in researching this prompt:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fairy-tale-true-story_b_6102602

So I decided to choose Rapunzel even though I don’t have a favorite fairy tale. They all amuse me with the rhymes and morality tales. And I’ve always wanted that long blonde hair.

ANYHOO - It seems that the tale of the damsel in the tower with the long blonde hair she lets down for the prince to climb has more teeth to it than I thought. Like most fairy tales, there are many versions in many cultures.

But the one I liked went like this:
A lonely couple lived next to a tall tower inhabited by an evil witch. The couple want a child and when the woman gets pregnant she has cravings for salad greens, ‘rapunzel’ (Campanula rapunculus or Varianella locusta), that grow nearby in the walled gardens surrounding the tower. She refuses to eat anything else and grows weak. The husband scales the wall of the garden to pick the salad greens and one day is caught by the witch. The witch lets him go on one condition, the child born to the couple must be given to the witch when it is born. The desperate husband agrees.

The parents give the baby girl to the witch when she is born. She is named ‘Rapunzel’ after the plant her mother craved. Rapunzel is kept in the tower. The tower has no stair or door, only one window. To reach Rapunzel, the witch must climb her golden hair, and chant this rhyme:

Rapunzel!
Rapunzel!
Let down your hair,
That I may climb your golden stair!

From there, the tale can go two ways. The condensed versions:

1.A prince comes, rescues her from the tower, and they live happily ever after.
The prince comes, Rapunzel escapes, but the prince is blinded by the witch. Rapunzel, who was pregnant, is left to raise her twins alone, while the prince wanders looking for Rapunzel. Eventually he finds her and they all live happily ever after.

2.So the theory is that all the “Maiden in the Tower” stories, which Rapunzel is a part of, are metaphor for the protection of young women from pre-marital relationships by overzealous guardians. Scholars have also drawn comparisons of the confinement of Rapunzel in her tower to that of a convent, where women's lives were highly controlled and they lived in exclusion from outsiders.

But to me, Rapunzel is the tried and true story of a damsel in distress and a prince that comes to save her. That story never grows old. It is retold time and again in novels, TV, and movies.

2 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

May 14, 2021 at 8:47pm

#1010187

Our Bonnie Lass

PROMPT May 14th

If animals could talk, which animal would you want to have a conversation with? What would you ask?

Ah, no thought needed here. I would talk to my favorite dog. Bonnie.

We lost Bonnie a few years ago. She was my friend, confidante, and walking/hiking buddy. When she passed away, I was cast adrift for several weeks. Sh’e been our dog for seventeen years.

Bonnie came into our lives after hubby had an appendectomy. I thought he needed to get out and walk, and what better reason than to take a dog. So we visited the local animal shelter and adopted ‘Sammy Jo’. And knew that name just would not suit an Airedale-mix dog.

A few thoughts came to mind, and Bonnie was one of the names we liked. So this little dog became Bonnie. Soon the dog who they claimed was full grown gained about forty more pounds and took over our lives.

She became one of the motel dogs while we lived in Gardiner. She helped greet the guests. She was my companion when I was alone at night at the motel. She went walking, fishing, hiking, and skiing with us.

When we moved to our current home, life became quieter. Still she was our walking buddy. But no more late nights and no more crowds of people. We’d retired.

If there was anything I could ask, it would be, “How was your life? Did you enjoy your time with us?” And then I’d tell her, “We loved you so much. We hope you had fun that time you saw the fox, chased the coyote, and ran from the bear. Do you remember the time Bill caught a fish and you tried to lick it? You caught your tongue on the hook and never licked another fish. And those times we went skiing as you jumped into the big snowdrifts. Do you remember the day you taught McNab that it was okay to wade in the Yellowstone River? He was afraid of the water, but you showed him it was okay for dogs to walk out into the fast-moving shallows. But the best times were when we all just sat in the living room, you on your dog bed, and we were quiet. Good memories, Bonnie.”

And then the memory of her furry face comes to me and I cry a little. I still miss my dog friend.

5 Like • Comment • View 5 comments

May 13, 2021 at 10:19am

#1010125

Enjoy Life

PROMPT May 13th

What does it mean to be a “grown up”? What do you do regularly as an adult that you dreaded having to do when you were a child? Have you found ways to maintain a sense of childhood wonder or curiosity? If so, how?

I am always curious. I am always trying to ways of making life interesting. I feel that life is too short to be boring. That’s my way of dealing with getting older.

So, you can get older and more mature. But you don’t need to ‘grow up’. You need to keep that sense of wonder and amazement at things in the world.

A good example was today when I volunteered at the thrift store. We found a nice jacket for one of the fellow volunteers. A denim jacket with lots of nice rhinestones and shiny buttons. Really nice and fun. She agreed and put it aside to buy later. Well, I found the perfect t-shirt to go under it. I know you’ve seen these. They have a silhouette of a bikini on a curvy body printed on them. So I told her, ‘Here, you need this to go under that jacket.’ We had a hoot and holler about that. Only because she is of a certain age and body type. And we are all friends that can laugh about silly sight gags. Then we found an undergarment. Holy cow. And it would fit a cow, I swear. Size 44 DD. In a bright floral print bordered in bright orange and blue. Again, hoots and hollers about that. The manager later, as we marched upstairs to pay for our treasures, asked us what we were laughing about down in the basement. Well, how do you explain? Just having fun. Loving life. Enjoying each other’s company and being silly.

My point is, make every day a fun day somehow. At the senior center today we had sweet and sour chicken and rice. No big deal. But - we also had fortune cookies. Now that was the big deal. Because you always read the fortune and then add the words ‘in bed’. Our table got a few stares from the rest of the diners as we laughed until we cried.

There is a Bible verse: Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Be sad when you must, be serious when you must, and be merry the rest of the time. Life is too short. Enjoy it.

4 Like • Comment • View 5 comments

May 12, 2021 at 9:13pm

#1010082

Escapism

PROMPT May 12th

What TV show character would it be the most fun to change places with for a week? Why?

I don’t watch a TV show that I want to live in these days. But back in the time, I watched 'General Hospital'. During the reign of Luke and Laura, I got wrapped up in that soap opera world. I had a routine of ‘All My Children’, ‘One Life to Live’, and ‘General Hospital’.

My goodness that was a fun story. It was during the time of young children and nap time was great because of Luke and Laura. Escapism.
I would have loved to have been Laura, but without all the drama. To have been loved by a man with that intensity at that time of my life really spoke to me.

Now I seem to watch more reality TV. I like cooking shows especially. Or we’ll watch PBS or TCM. Network TV is not something I watch much.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

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