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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 ** Image ID #1701066 Unavailable **  |
| My Life History Group meets tomorrow so a few days ago, I went looking for a prompt for a new story. I've written so many about my past that I'm sick of myself and that's why I looked for something not so biographical. The prompt I decided on was "If money, time (and pandemics) were no object, where is one place on earth you would love to visit? Why are you intrigued by that place?" Do you remember Anne of Green Gables? Yep, my pick was Prince Edward Island. Way back when I first joined WDC, I met someone from that very place. I think her handle was something like Captain? Sorry for my horrible memory. But she definitely solidified my choice. Thanks, Captain? wherever you are. |
| I met a good friend today for lunch at a little restaurant here in Gainesville called Ballyhoo and had the best she-crab soup ever. I've got to find a recipe for that and try to make it...so good. My friend was excited about having her old wood deck redone, or rather completely demolished and rebuilt with concrete and pavers. She's so excited to see the finished product and start enjoying it in the nice cool fall weather to come shortly. The heat is finally easing up some here in the Swamp. It actually got down to 69 early this morning, felt so good after the high 90s for so long, although we still have some 90s coming up in the next week. Footfall season has begun...go Gators! |
| I can't believe I did it! I cut up a limb too long (@12') for my garden debris pickup to pick up. With an electric chain saw, but still...I'll be 81 in November. I can't help it, I'm so proud of myself. Of course, I did have to think about it for two weeks. But the "short" limbs are now stacked neatly on the curb. Yay, me! |
| I went to a birthday party this morning for the great grandson who turned three, Gunner. He was so cute running around with three fingers up and then counting gift packages. Kids are such little adults, aren't they? It was nice to see people I hadn't seen for a while, chat and catch up on their lives. I took the Interstate, thirteen minutes on to off. Yes, I count the minutes, so much traffic, but it is the quickest and probably the safest way to go. Yesterday morning, after being informed by text by my neighbor because I slept through the entire thing, a huge limb on a gigantic water oak cracked and fell across the street, literally, decapitating my mailbox as it hit the macadam with a deafening thud (according to my neighbor). Public works had sawed and cleaned up everything by the time I heard about it and looked outside. But now, I have a mailbox to re-attach. |
| How we find out things has drastically changed over my lifetime. Getting information today has never been easier. A few taps on the keyboard or even a few words spoken into a phone gets us instant results, not always dependable but results just the same. And for free (relatively speaking). Social media such as YouTube, Facebook and many many other websites teach us things we never would have imagined when I was growing up. Back then, I bought many books on different hobbies I wanted to explore, but today I look at them, and my first thought is how was I so patient to learn anything from them? I mean, really, you have to read…slowly. And that takes me back to the old days when many people claim things were so much better. I wonder. My sixth grade teacher was an older lady with a hairdo that went every which a way. My nickname for her was Miz Einstein, and it didn’t have everything to do with her appearance. She was very knowledgeable on lots of subjects, and I and other classmates were always asking her questions. Later, when my own kids were in school, I found out Mrs. Mann’s love of knowledge was not a fluke. Sometime in the early 70s on a weekday, near Rising Sun, Delaware, I was at home alone, kids in school, husband at work. The doorbell rang and when I opened it, to my astonishment there stood my “really old” six grade teacher. We recognized each other right away, and both of us started talking at the same time. “I can’t believe it’s you. What a surprise!” And other similar exclamations. You get the picture. Of course, I invited her in, eager to learn how she came to be at my house. She was carrying something that looked similar to an old book bag from the 50s, and she walked a little lopsided from the weight of it. We sat side by side on the sofa with the bookbag deposited near her feet. We caught up on our current lives. Yes, she still lived in Harrington, but was now retired and no longer taught school. Her husband had passed away a year before, and she was coping with all the changes that were involved, the big one being income. I immediately started putting two and two together and came up with four. My math skills were excellent. Soon, she leaned over to open the catches on the book bag and out came the “A” volume of the World Book Encyclopedia. Well, you can imagine what happened. This was my former 6th grade teacher, and she was in need. Financing could be arranged, and in a few weeks I would be the proud owner of a complete set including a two-volume dictionary. And wait, there was more. Each year for the next ten years, I would receive, through the mail, a “yearbook” updating all previous information that may have changed. We had a wonderful visit, and in addition, I was immensely aiding my children’s education. I was excited and anxious to receive those books. But, then Mrs. Mann was gone and reality set in. Jim was going to kill me. I had not consulted him, and we talked everything over beforehand. That night, after supper, we settled in front of the tv to watch Gunsmoke, one of our favorite shows. I waited until the end and a commercial had come on before I broke the news of Mrs. Mann’s visit and my purchase. It turned out Jim loved the idea, and, in fact, he had lugged an old set of encyclopedias around with him to Lackland (Air Force training in Texas) and even to Dover Air Force Base where, ever the business man, he had sold them to a roommate! And today, here they sit on a bookshelf in my living room, much used, much loved and today remembered, but sorely out of date. They take up two shelves with the yearbooks and dictionaries. Not long ago, I actually looked up something in one and found an old sheet of 3-ring notebook paper on which my daughter had written a school assignment. I wish I had taken a photo since I gave it to her for her memories. She couldn’t believe it had survived all these years in an old set of encyclopedias. |
| I'm sitting in my paint/craft/writing room staring out the window at a hummingbird feeding in the falling rain. June storms here in Florida give little notice, happening often and when you least expect them. But they are welcome as they bring a little fleeting relief to the smothering heat at this time of year. The birds actually seem to celebrate in the rain. Can you imagine being covered with insulating feathers in 90+ degrees? The porch roof forms a valley and water is pouring in a stream into a birdbath I have strategically positioned. I hear the waves of water beating on the roof and now thunder and lightning and some wind. As I sit here, grateful to be inside in the air conditioning, I think of the chaos and turmoil going on in our world, and my heart goes out to all those suffering today. |
| I had a very enjoyable meeting today with my Life History Group. We get together at a local library Branch on the first Thursday of each month and share a story from our past (close or distant). There were only seven of us today, a paltry group for our normal number of ten to fifteen, but all the stories were very interesting as usual. They covered a broad range of topics from golf to pets to trips to clotheslines. We even had a first timer who looked like a student. She's embarking on the historical journey of her grandmother's life, intending to put words to paper for her. I hope she comes back. |
| Not a lot going on here but since it says ten days thought I would check in at least. I stick my nose out the door as little as possible because we are having a heat wave and a drought here in the swamp! Temps in the mid 90s everyday and teeny little episodes of rain if any. My poor ac is practically shouting at me! I did write a little story for my critique group tomorrow and since there was nothing to lose, I submitted it to my local writing group's literary journal (https://writersallianceofgainesville.submittable.com/submit). It's titled "What's In A Purse" and is about the contents and revelations from those contents. I'm not optimistic about being accepted but you know that old saying...."why not?" I had a super quiet Memorial Day weekend. My daughter wanted to come down but I talked her out of it. The traffic and the heat was ferocious. And I heard on my local news Monday evening that there was a fire with lots of smoke near a small town that she would have needed to drive through. So both of us had a quiet holiday. Hope yours was as enjoyable. |
| Yesterday morning I went to a local pre-school and read my book to nine four-year-olds. It was awesome. They were so curious, asking questions, telling me about their experiences. What a great group of little ones. I have to admit I was slightly nervous about going, but once I was there and settled in, they made me feel so welcome that I had no time to be nervous. So happy I went! |
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