%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 Day to day stuff....a memoir without order. |
 Imagination is described by Webster as...The act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses in reality. Albert Einstein said "Logic will get you from A to B, but imagination will take you everywhere."  I never realized it until I read it somewhere but there are ways to boost one's imagination: Create a visual journal Draw whatever you see for 15 minutes a day. You don't need to be an artist. Think like an artist Cut out pictures from magazines & piece them together to create an original image. Listen to Bach Close your eyes while playing your favorite music. Or listen to the sounds of nature on a CD or in the great outdoors. Play word games Try thinking of as many words as you can that begin with MAR...or you pick. Daydream Let your mind wander, or focus on a single object & study its characteristics.     Everyone has a story....here's mine.....c ** Image ID #1701066 Unavailable **  |
| Awhile back I mentioned that I had sent for a ukulele. It came a week ago today and so far I have learned how to hold it, how to strum it, how to tune it, and 2 chords, C & G7. The chords are the hard part. My fingers do not naturally want to bend like little U's. But they have to or they "mash" other strings, messing up the chord sound. And the instructions say to practice these chords until you can change them "seamlessly." I need lots of practice. "Over the Rainbow" is a long way off (my goal). But it is a cute little thing (the uke) and it sounds great when I'm strumming and Mopsy is a very attentive audience...my only audience. She sits close by when I play, ears perked up, and she doesn't complain about the sour notes when I'm tuning. I guess you could call her the perfect audience. There are about a zillion places on the web giving uke instructions and guess what, everyone is different, different ways to strum, different ways to hold, different ways to learn, so I'm sticking with the booklet I ordered with it which includes a website too. Anyway, here's my goal, my idol and Jim's fav... until next time...c |
| I think I may have overdone it yesterday, mowed all my grass, trimmed everywhere, and edged the sidewalk and driveway. It was 95 degrees. Have you ever heard the expression "bear caught." Me neither until I met Jim. I think it relates to sunstroke or heat exhaustion. Anyway, I was almost bear caught and had to quit without blowing off the driveway...bad headache and extremely hot. My inner thermostat does not seem to work as well as it once did. It was 7:30 before I felt like getting into the shower, but after that I revived and this morning I feel pretty good, just really tired. One of my granddaughters called me last evening and may go to the poetry reading with me on Sunday. She has a funeral to attend later in the week and hopes to be back in time. My writing group is helping with the poetry thing, providing refreshments, etc. (which I am helping with). The readings are mostly by young folks, some older, not me though, a poet I'm not. But I am looking forward to it...hope she can go with me. There's always something interesting going on here in Gainesville, especially in the arts. I mark many things on my calendar lying in front of my computer screen (just one of the dollar specials from Dollar Tree). Tonight I see the Klezmer Katz will be playing at Lightning Salvage, the music part of Satchel's Pizza. Have you ever heard Klezmer? If not, you should. It is one of a kind. One of my writer friends is in the group. I think I'll call Sue and see if she wants to go. until next time...c |
| I'm inside in the a/c resting a few moments after a short stint of yard work...getting ready to mow. It is sooo hot, but I know that no one wants to hear that. I must be on a cooking/making/baking binge. I saw this recipe on Facebook for peach sherbet and tried it yesterday...10 oz frozen peaches, 1 can condensed milk (I used no fat), and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, processed in my mixer and placed into the freezer. Well, it tastes pretty good, more like ice cream than sherbet, and next time (if there is a next time) I would leave out the cinnamon and maybe put in some vanilla. It definitely will not go to waste in this "hot" weather...licking good in an ice cream cone. until next time...c |
| A little poetry today...or not...you judge. My Aunt Sadie Aunt Sadie reminded me of this bull my pop-pop had on his farm. When I got near old Red, he charged the fence to make me disappear. My pleas to Aunt Sadie to play games and partake of teatime were greeted with snorts, downward glances, and hunching shoulders, just like old Red. I steered clear of both of them. |
| Over thirty years ago I was given a bread maker for some holiday, Christmas or birthday, I can't remember which, but I've used it very little. The bread it makes is okay tasting but weird looking. The loaf comes out square and not the right size for anything. Nowadays I buy my bread at the Publix bakery, sometimes sour dough, sometimes sunflower seed and they are very good and make excellent toast. I usually get it sliced and freeze it, taking out a piece as I want. Publix loaves run between $3.50 and $3.95 per loaf...which got me thinking about my bread machine. I pulled it out of the cabinet last Monday where it's been stored along with its instruction booklet and began to read. I found I could make dough and shape and bake the final product myself. Of course, I read this long ago, it just didn't sink in or may have seemed like too much bother...for someone who needed a bread machine. I had all the ingredients I needed except for fresh yeast so when I was out on another errand I picked up some new Fleischman's, and Monday afternoon I made bread. After I put in all the ingredients and set the timer on "dough", it took around 80 minutes from start to finish. I have to say it called for dry milk but since I had only a can of evaporated, I mixed that with an equal amount of water and used it to replace the water called for in the recipe. Who likes dry milk anyway? I always used evaporated milk for cooking because almond milk is my daily fare and its flavor does not lend itself to macaroni and cheese for instance. Once the machine beeped indicating I could dump the dough I expected a sticky mess but wonder of wonders, it dumped out fairly clean. I had my spot prepared with a sprinkle of extra flour. I punched down the puffy ball and shaped it into a new one, letting it rest a few minutes before rolling it out to an 8 x 12 rectangle and then rolling it up from the short end, jelly-roll fashion to form it into a loaf that would fit in my already sprayed bread pan. I covered it with sprayed Saranwrap and set it in a warmed oven. It doubled in size in around 30-35 minutes and then I baked it at 350 degrees till brown and crusty on top. The smell was "devine." I dumped it immediately onto a wire cooling rack and when it was completely cool, I sliced it (I made 20 thin slices), slid it into an old bread wrapper, smoothed out the air and put a twist tie on the end and popped it into the freezer. Okay, I confess. I ate a piece and it was yummy. So, then I tallied up my cost...50 cents! What a savings. until next time...c |
| I had a very enjoyable lunch yesterday with a member of our writing group. She had her 91st birthday last month and is amazing to me. She completed a 5K race last spring. Both of us lost our husbands within a year of each other so some of our conversation was sad but most was about happy times and of course...books and writing. Joan's writing a memoir also. Another friend from church was 100 last week and still going strong, hardly uses a cane to get around and a mind...as they say...sharp as a tack. His advice "keep moving." That's advice I need to take. I had my yearly physical last Monday and a phone call from my doctor's nurse yesterday informed me my cholesterol and ldl was up, not much but enough to take some action, no pun intended but action is the key word here. I'm vegetarian but still eat eggs and cheese and will need to cut back on those and increase beans, etc. I have switched to overnight oats...1/3 cup almond milk + 1/3 cup oats, leave covered in fridge overnight. In the morning I add a little Silk yoghurt and blueberries. It's very good. But my main problem is getting back to walking which I have neglected since last spring due to a combination of heat and fatigue. The less I do, the more fatigued I am, a vicious circle. And the 15 pounds I have gained in the last year is not helping. Also, the nurse says my white cell count is up so in 2 weeks I need to redo my labs. I read my Prednisone info sheet and it could be the reason. Hopefully, in September I will be able to cut back more on my dose. I do think the PMR is decreasing. We've been having showers, sometimes thunder bumpers, everyday lately and my grass is deep green and growing. I'll need to mow again soon. The last time I got gas for the mower, I mistakenly filled the 5 gallon container to the full line and had a terrible time lifting it into the truck and then lifting it to fill the mower...whew! But I don't think I will need more gas for quite awhile. Time to get moving... until next time...c |
| I finally broke down and ordered a French press (and a few other things, but more on that later) from Amazon, and I am now having the absolutely best cup of coffee I have ever had in my life! I will never drink another cup of drip coffee. It is so good. And now for the other things. These came with the press, "The Ultimate Self-Teaching Method to Play Ukulele" and a compact clip-on "Digital Tuner." The actual ukulele should be here on Wednesday or Thursday. Yes, I am going to try to learn to play the ukulele. Jim's favorite song, Izzy's Somewhere Over the Rainbow, has inspired me. I have been humming it for days. Wish me luck. I've looked at all kinds of helpful sites on the web, I play piano...a little...but apparently that is not going to be much help. If anyone has pointers, let me know. I understand from all I've read that the strings stretch to begin with and get out of tune quickly so I am prepared for that. I ordered the soprano uke because I have tiny hands and it is the smallest one, just hope my fingers are limber enough for the chord positions. You know what they say...learning something new is good for the old brain... until next time...c |
| I think we're going to have an early fall this year. I can't remember seeing fog in August but this morning it has settled over everything, not just spots, and the heavy air has a tiny tiny bit of coolness in it. It is more than welcome and my a/c thanks whoever or whatever is responsible. Being a memoirist, I was wondering last evening why we can't remember our early childhood...so of course to the net I go. I always thought it was because our brain was not formed enough, but think about it. The early years are when we learn so many things...language, right and wrong, love, and its opposite and so many many other things. We certainly remember language, why not things that happen to us? Well, apparently there is this thing called "childhood amnesia." The hippocampus is growing so rapidly some memories are destroyed as new memories are made, isn't that sad? And things we think we remember from 3 or 4 years of age are most likely from stories adults have told us. I have a picture of myself sitting in some meadow-like place with a white bunny rabbit. It looks like I must be around 2 or 3 years old and it may as well be someone else. I have no memory of it at all but my relatives have all told me, "yes, that's you, Connie." I'm sure you have photos like this too. There are snatches of things I do remember, being thrown up in the air and caught by an uncle, I think, and having a temper tantrum, pulling the cover and sheets off my bed in a fury when I was tiny because Mommy was going somewhere and wouldn't take me with her. Why do I remember these things and not others? I guess our childhood will remain a mystery...but why? until next time...c |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
