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 |  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   |
| Great attendance for our Writing Your Life History Group year-end get-together with all kinds of goodies including a mulled German wine. Who knew warm wine was good? Most of the stories read were about a remembered Christmas, tears and smiles all around. The temp in the 50s didn't seem to keep anyone away. Tomorrow one of my grand daughters has her annual family get-together, lots of kids, dogs, presents, and an entire ham dinner. She lives on a scenic historical road (Bellamy Road) and I do enjoy the ride there. But today I must get busy, some shopping to do. The holidays are such a great time of the year especially for senior citizens who have family nearby. We may be sort of forgotten the rest of the year but never in December. until next time...c |
| My suspicions were correct...not many of my book club members liked The Vacationers, too hard to identify with the characters, not much of a plot, bad writing, no breaks between scenes with changing points of view, the characters showed a meanness of spirit. The only thing everyone agreed on liking was the setting...Majorca. Regardless of opinion, a lively discussion. I came home and had a nap because for some unknown reason, I was up a 6 this morning! until next time...c |
| I'm finished with my primary care doctor for another year...yay...unless my cholesterol comes back really really bad.Everything went quickly even the lab. Does everyone have to fill out that sheet with the instruction to draw a clock showing the time at 7:45...or is that just for seniors who might have dementia? And then there are all those questions about depression. Does everyone get that before their physical? Would a depressed person indicate he/she is depressed? It's almost laughable after several years of it. I demand a change. It's too easy and I've memorized the answers. As if.... This afternoon I've gotten caught up on my writing group treasurer duties, reconciled the bank statement and updated the income/expense journal, written and mailed a check, and completed an overview of income and expenses for our yearly published book, Bacopa Literary Review  .Tomorrow is Book Club. We're discussing Emma Straub's The Vacationers, a light read, interesting but probably not one I would have selected myself. I thought the author was more interesting than the book. Here's a youtube presentation . I was intrigued with her facial expressions and gestures.until next time...c  |
| Somehow today turned out to be a necessary grocery-shopping day. I usually try to avoid doing that on weekends because the stores are so crowded. Today was no different, but I had no choice since I was out of several needed items. One thing I had written on my list to try on my next shopping venture was camomile tea. I like to drink a cup of tea in the evening while reading, and I've been wondering if that is the cause of my sometimes insomnia. I selected Twinings Camomile with Honey and Vanilla and I am sipping it now. It smells delicious and has a very mild taste. It may be a little early to tell about the sleeping problem but I couldn't wait to try it. I usually drink green tea so I don't know it it had enough caffeine to affect sleep. I'll have to do a better test tomorrow evening. Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, yearly checkup, ugh. My cholesterol was up some last time so I'm sure to need labwork. Being a vegetarian, I can't imagine how that could be. The only thing I have deduced to change is to eat more fatty fish, which I didn't really want to do but did anyway. We'll see. until next time...c |
| Today I made pumpkin soup for one since I am the only one here. Not counting Mopsy, that is. It was about the easiest soup I've ever made. I wasn't sure I would like it because I'm not crazy about pumpkin and I made it for one because I only had enough pumpkin puree for one. The pumpkin puree was actually Gerber baby food. When Mopsy was sick and wouldn't eat, I phoned the vet and was told to try several things, one being pumpkin puree, but Mopsy is not a pumpkin puree kind of kitty...she said. So out of a 2-pack, I had one left (turns out) for pumpkin soup. You can count the ingredients on your left hand, or right, depending. For soup for one, I sauteed 1/4 diced onion in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (right in the saucepan in which I'm making the soup), then I added the 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and 1-1/2 cups vegetable broth and let simmer for 10 minutes. Oops, you may need that other hand. Remove from heat and grate in @1/4 cup parmesan cheese (you can guess at this, whatever you like) and stir until it melts throughout the soup. You can garnish with sour cream or candied walnuts and a sprig of thyme, but since I had none of these, I just ate it. Yum. So, if the vet ever advises you to buy pumpkin puree baby food for a cat who won't eat, make pumpkin soup for one and enjoy. until next time...c |
| Lunch at the art gallery cafe was great, crab bisque superb as usual. We ate outside on the patio next to the lily pond and with a lovely view of the Butterfly Rain Forest . Thankful for friends, beautiful weather, and the health to enjoy it. Tomorrow I will need to get my butt in gear and do some more yard clean-up while the weather is cooperative but today was a very welcome break. until next time...c |
| I just read on Facebook that Dover, Delaware, (my hometown) had an earthquake a little while ago. I miss all the good stuff! Just kidding. When I read that, I thought "fake news" but it's true, happened just as the tree lighting ceremony was to begin...low on the r scale, no injuries or damages, but exciting. I did a little more trimming in the backyard today, dead beauty berry bush and a wild honeysuckle vine that was trying to eat my air conditioner. The new development going up across the street from where I live continues to move forward. The utility pipes lying on top of the ground have disappeared so I assume they are where they need to be, roads are being scraped out, and the humongous piles of dirt are almost leveled. No sign of actual buildings yet, although the opening target date is 2018. The noise from the heavy equipment is a constant reminder of what is going on. I have a lady friends lunch date tomorrow at the art museum cafe. Can't wait for my favorite crab bisque. Then we shall tour the mini art exhibition where my little pansy painting is hanging...so excited. until next time...c |
| My goal for today was to get rid of the ivy that's growing up the brick on the front of my house, no easy job. It involves a spackling knife to carefully chop away the little ivy feet that eat into the brick and sometimes the mortar in-between. Usually, I'm bad and let it get waist high before I get to it...like today. But I finally got it all pulled down and chopped off. Mission accomplished. It was a beautiful day for it sunny and around 80 degrees. While outside I noticed our Gainesville Regional Utilities were busy doing something to our underground utility box out front so it didn't really come as much of a shock to find my clocks blinking and my computer off when I came back in. Resetting and re-booting took around 30 minutes and interestingly my little on-line computer icon in my taskbar continued to be missing no matter how long I waited for it to appear. I loaded Chrome and the internet worked fine...but no little icon. I missed it. So of course I googled it and found I needed to click the taskbar, then properties, then custom settings to get it back...then re-boot again. Really, all for an electric blip. Makes a person think they need a backup battery. until next time...c |
| My Mopsy kitty has been so sick. We went to the vet last Tuesday and got antibiotics for a uti and yesterday she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism so now we have a tiny pill for that. But this morning she is a "back to normal" kitty, thank goodness. I wish I hadn't put off going to the vet so long but it all started early last Saturday morning, howling and yowling at 4 A.M., going to the kitty box every 2 minutes, and pacing enough for the NYC marathon. It seemed to always be worse in the dark A.M. By Tuesday I was as much of a wreck as Mopsy. So glad she is better this morning. until next time...c |
| I mentioned awhile back that a wooded area across the road from where I live has been razed with only a couple trees left standing. Soon there will be apartments, offices and something retail, one of those Kangaroo gas stations I suspect. Now, there are mountains of different kinds of dirt (sand, topsoil and limestone, I think) with miles of sewerpipe and waterlines perched above ground for the time being. Several retention ponds are being dug and some very tall berms have risen up for future privacy. I wonder where all the people will come from to rent these new units. Somehow they do seem to just appear. I suspect they will move from older complexes that will eventually become eyesores. Is this progress? We are finally getting some cool weather, 40s predicted for tonight but 70s tomorrow. The Friends of the Library booksale is going on. I plan on going tomorrow so that after I can go to the Farmers Market nearby. I'm always up for art or writing books and just looking is so much fun. The Farmers Market has a lot of craft vendors as well as food so that should be interesting too. Cooler weather makes such a difference in outdoor aspirations. I'm slowly, very slowly, reducing my Prednisone, 4 mg per day now. Some of my PMR symptoms are returning, flu like with a mild sore throat that comes and goes. It's a real brain tease not to cave. Going out and trying to stay busy helps keep my mind off it as long as I feel good enough. My writing critique pod met today, several good stories, and we do have a great rapport, 2 nurses, an environmentalist, an anesthesiologist, and me. Somehow the me doesn't fit in that picture but there I am. until next time...c |
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