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 |  Just play: don't look at your hands! |
What a dumb title for a person who never got a single star  on her piano lessons!Daily practice is the thing though: the practice of noticing as well as of writing.  However, I'd much rather play duets than solos, so hop right in! You can do the melody or the base part, I don't care.  Just play along--we'll make up the tune as we go. I'll try to write regularly and deliberately. Sometimes I will do it poorly, tritely, stiltedly, obscurely. I will try to persevere regardless. It seems to be where my heart wants to go, and that means to me that God wants me there too. See you tomorrow. ![Merit Badge in Journaling
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Here's my special treat  for you today: Isabella Rossellini acting out the mating life of insects, worms, and snails. It's called Green Porno. I guarantee you've never seen anything like it before. http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno?go=watch |
How's this for an excuse? (Not as good as the hunk, I know.)  I was trying to get the vacuuming done tonight while Bill is at a meeting, and I had to change the bag and filter. The filters he bought (He always keeps me supplied with bags and filters.) don't fit. I cut one and made it fit, but then saw another type filter I've never noticed before, and it wasn't dirty at all, which makes no sense. Anyway, I couldn't get the front back on right. It snapped closed on one side but not the other. So I'm leaving open it for Bill to examine the other filter, and he can close it. We're having a season on things not working quite right, but I think this one is temporary. The sprinklers, this morning, wouldn't advance past stage 5. And the coffee pot boiled water merrily away in the innards of the machine but produced very little dripping into the pot. I tried running a vinegar solution through it, but it leaked out the front of the tank around the controls. Not good. We had a long meeting at work this morning, talking about different software programs that will allow us to "go paperless." The nurses are very enthused about it, and they do the bulk of the charting. A team of four from different disciplines made a road trip last week to visit a hospice in Hood River. They came back just glowing about how wonderful it was, how drab our office is, etc. I have to admit I feel a little defensive whenever little groups of two or three people begin to complain, or to have great ideas about how we can fix everything. It doesn't seem to me like there's that much broken. For instance, the main thing they have gone on and on about is the decor of the place they visited, how it's done in better colors, orange and green, and has couches and a loft instead of desks and cubicles. Maybe they're just too young to have seen orange and green before; and our rose and teal is outdated, but unfortunately not very old. Certainly not ready to replace on a big scale: all the carpet and chairs, etc. The very pale pink walls, which they refer to as putty colored, could be changed easily, but not to anything very different. Other little clusters of folks have complained in the past that we need more time, and a place, to grieve the loss of patients. Of course the time thing can't be helped much. One patient dies and a few more come aboard. But, to accommodate them, the director had a counselor come in once a month for a group session. That didn't last long at all before the group that showed up was just social services and chaplains. The director also allowed a little group to set up a "meditation room" with a salt light and nice atmosphere, etc. Maybe some books about grief. I don't honestly know. The only time I've been in there is when the massage therapist comes and stations his chair in there. The people who seemed to be having the most (the only?) trouble with grief over loss of patients are a couple of nurses who have poor boundaries. Not only do they get overly involved, personally, but they want to do the whole show. They counsel and advise, they pray, they whatever, and not too appropriately from my point of view. But that's another story. Where else has my mind been today? |
| I have to write tonight, even if not for long, to tell you about the marvelous excuse I had for not writing last night! As he was driving home from work, Bill saw a new neighbor working in his yard, and called to him to come over "for a cold one." He forgot to mention it to me, maybe thinking it wouldn't happen, and I was fussing with my ebay sales and then chopping things to make stir fry. A total mess, that is to say. And the doorbell rings. I have to tell you, this was the best looking hunk of man I can remember seeing! Tall, muscular, tan, great legs, honey brown eyes, a smile, and the cutest Australian accent. His name is Clive, and he declined coming in because he was dirty from working in the garden. So we had some gin and tonics on the deck and talked about birds, gardens, and flying. He's our new county agent, and the house he just bought across the street has a creek running beside it. He said he's been surprised at how many kinds of birds he's seen by the water. He was delightful, and I could feel a little spark in me I haven't noticed in a long time. Flirty. Silly, I know. He's probably twenty years younger than I am, etc. But fun. And yes, he's single. |
| A second day of not getting much done in any direction. I'm sneezing and wheezing and freezing! It was only 42 degrees this morning! This is the first day I've really minded the cold, but brrrrr. There's a heap of new snow up on the mountains, and rain and hail down here, battering down on the cherries and apples. I heard the propane cannons this afternoon, but it was hailing anyway. I've got to go do something constructive, like finish up the mess I made trying to clean out the linen closet. I have a stack of towels I don't use any more, and a stack that should be used for washing the car. lol And a stack of hand embroidered "guest" towels that I never use, but can't get rid of because my grandmother made them. I should frame them or something, at least get them out of that crowded place. There there's the double electric blanket control that either doesn't work or we can't find the blanket it fits, I forget which. Does anybody feel like having a closet scavenger hunt? I'll list the stupid things I find, and you can see if you can find some like that too. How about an old shower curtain that will be perfect for a drop cloth when we get around to painting the living room? Got one of those? Too many beach towels and no place to put them? I bet no one else has little girl sheets--heck, I can't even remember the name. Strawberry Shortcake, that's it. They don't fit any bed we have any more. Gad, I've got to get rid of stuff. I'll start with an empty box. See you later, but not tonight. Gotta go get busy. |
| Just so you'll know I'm still around, even though I haven't even been reading blogs for the past week, let alone writing! I've been ebaying, a frustrating task. I had bids on six out of 8 items, and then discovered I hadn't measured an inseam and the pants had evidently been shortened. I sold one pair listed at 30" and had to contact the buyer and tell him the unfortunate discovery. Now I've relisted them, just shorter. I was afraid I'd listed a pair that Bill was wearing! It's a nuisance to find boxes to pack things in, but if you're not making much anyway, that's what you have to do. Sigh. I listed my first of Mother's sterling tonight. It's called a marriage cup, and even though I have no use for it, it's very pretty. The thing is, I can't keep all her things, even if they are pretty, and I know I value them higher than someone is willing to pay, which is not exactly the same thing as what they're worth. I am too attached to things. I could try to rewrite this and make it clearer, even humorous, but a flat of impatiens is getting impatient to be planted and night is drawing nigh.   |
| Tonight's the night! The shuttle has made its final trip to the space station, at least for the foreseeable future. In addition to the toilet it delivered, probably to a very welcoming crew, it has carried the final piece of structure to be assembled. This piece is from Japan and is the largest of the components that have been ferried up there and put together. Last night both the shuttle and the space station were in clear sight to the naked eye, and very bright. The shuttle was just a minute or two behind (from our point of view, that is;) and the entire pass lasted maybe five minutes. Look up Nasa.gov to see when the sightings will be in your area. It's worth it. |
| Here it is, the first day of the month, and if I don't post quickly I'll miss out. Or not! I forgot that last night's post missed the witching hour a little. Oh well, I didn't have much to say anyway. I did intend to give you a link to a funny video, with an apology to anyone it might offend, so I'll do it anyway. No offense is intentional. Here's the link. I hope you laugh. http://www.anchormast.com/2008/05/28/lifestyle-choice/ |
| We didn't get started quite as early as I'd hoped. We never do, and it's almost always my own fault so I can't complain. But the weather here was nice, and we took off a little after ten. Had to make a pit stop in the Dalles, and then on to Newberg for lunch. The girls ate all their lunch and were well behaved, and that made everything else just fine. It was great to see them all, and the food was good too. Afterwards we went back to their house where Liz was planting her garden. Lucy planted two packages of pumpkin seeds at the other end of the yard, despite protests that she wanted them in the regular garden. She worked pretty hard with the hoe, sprinkling the seeds in the furrows and stomping on them with her green garden boots that she wears everywhere. Lucy played pet shop with me for awhile-- that was a first that I was glad to see. She isn't usually that personable or interactive. Granted, I did most of the playing and talking, but she played along, added some dialog and made some suggestions. Then she went out and showed me all her tumbling achievements and showed me how she can ride her big bicycle-- like the wind! Katie played pet shop with Bill while Lucy tumbled. She talked Bill into reading two books to her too, which he loved doing. She is very engaging. Then she poured two bowlfuls of hot water into the kiddy pool and filled the rest with the hose. She wanted more hot water, but Hap stopped her. He said she spilled half of it just getting it out from under the faucet, and the sun would warm it up anyway. Then Katie put on a new swimsuit that came from her aunt Lenore, and her mask and snorkle and dunked her head in the pool. Too cold for her. The dogs liked it though. Irma, mostly boxer, lay down in it. The next thing the girls wanted was a snow cone, so they brought out the hand crank machine, a bowlful of ice and a bottle of grenadine and got their dad to start cranking. I had picked some mint to take home with me, and we (the grownups) talked fondly of mojitos we have known. Sadly, they were out of rum, but Bill wouldn't have had one anyway before flying. So we put some mint in the snow cones with the grenadine, and had a good time. The girls had disappeared by then, and Hap went in for something and found them snorkling in warm water in the tub while holding each other's snowcone! What a pair! What do you think? As soon as the weather actually warms up, don't mojito snow cones sound great? |
| For the last next to the last day of May, we made it back from our walk in the orchard in time for a short blog. Supper tonight was a 'whatchagotchi' of frozen chicken tenders, olive oil, fresh garlic, onions, mushrooms and zucchini, with a garlic ginger sauce and low sodium soy sauce. It will probably be a few weeks before we have fresh spring onions growing in the garden, and a few more weeks before we have our own zucchini. Had a good visit today with a 50+ yr old woman with ALS, a terrible disease. She is a very religious person and is in good spirits when I visit, although I've heard from her sister that she is not always so up. Of course. Who could be? I'm sorry she doesn't dump her sorrow and doubt on me instead of her sister, who is not very religious at all and thinks she's a little wacky. I convinced myself to go to the Y Wednesday and felt better for it. I didn't even treat myself with a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, which I bribed myself with to get me to go.  Wasn't that good? Today I bribed myself with a game of Jewel Quest at the computer at work (on my own time) and a promise of a Blizzard, which I again avoided. Yea me! Tomorrow we're hoping for good enough weather to fly to see my son and his family. He came over to help saw up the downed trees in January, but we haven't seen his girls since Thanksgiving. I'm excited. We can fly around any thunderstorms, I hope. Wish we could spend the night, but I have to get back for church. Also, don't want to take Seamus to the kennel. We'll have to do that when we're ready to fly to Florida-- probably for two weeks. Maybe in June. |
| I was going to skip tonight, and then I noticed my views just went over 10,000! 21 over, in fact. Wish I'd noticed who to give the big prize to. Oh well, maybe I'll just have a quiet celebration myself tonight. How does rum and Coke sound? With lime, of course. Met a new patient today, the third new one this week who lives more than 30 miles away. It's nice to get paid for driving and seeing beautiful scenery, but I haven't noticed our gas allowance going up. Gas today was $4.15 a gallon. I have two new ones to see tomorrow, both nearby. One, however, is someone I know, a nurse from the hospital, younger than I am. Her husband just died of cancer last fall, and now she's close. I knew she had breast cancer a few years ago, and treatment for it. It must have come back. Let's see if I can't think of something that is funnier than all of that. A co-worker was telling me about his evening. He'd waited up for his teenage daughter who was out on a date, and he heard screaming from the back yard. He rushed out and saw twelve little eyes in his garden, a mother raccoon and five babies eating his newly planted vegetables. He said he grabbed a broom and ran at them, chasing them all up a tree, giving each one a little smack on its butt. But then he saw all the little eyes just staring down at him, and knew they'd be right back in the garden as soon as he went inside. So he got the garden hose and sprayed them all until they jumped out of the tree, up the fence and out of the yard. He hopes that will do the job. |
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