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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 **  |
| 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! |
| I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day! I was happily visited by my daughter, granddaughter and 4 great grandchildren so, yes, a happy Mother's Day for me. I had flowers made for me by the great grands and an orchid and chocolates from my daughter. And we got some much needed rain! |
| I had blood work done last Thursday for an upcoming doctor's visit. It was to check my sed rate and crp which are inflammatory markers. Both were in a good range...which result I suspected very highly before going to the lab. But I guess it is nice to be positively informed. A good thing at any rate. On the same day our life History group met, and it was especially enjoyable, maybe because we had a small group (5, normally 12-13). After reading our stories aloud, we had lots of time for discussion, and it made the time fly by whereas sometimes it seems to drag...just sayin'. Today, my local writers' group (Writers Alliance of Gainesville) met for their monthly Sunday program. The topic was "How to Write Fight Scenes". Dan Sharp, the speaker,who is a research scientist at UF in real life, gave us lots of information on different weapons, how a fight scene must have a purpose in a story, and how not to lose your reader with too much detail. He gave us several demonstrations with guns, knives and yes, a walking stick. The knife scene gave me a flashback of Psycho! And, get this, if you are within 21 feet of your attacker, a stick will beat pulling a gun every time. Who knew? Hope I never have to use that information! |
| We are currently in drought conditions here in Alachua County in Florida. Actually, I think I heard 33% of Florida is now in a drought. In fact, the last "moisture" we had was the ice storm a week ago last Friday which hardly counts. It was such a freak thing. Spring is supposed to be lush and green. And dust is almost unheard of in Florida. Not now. My miniature gardenias are blooming, not as prolifically, but the smell is more intense or so it seems...and the jasmine as well. And no rain is expected in the coming week. Just especially hot high temps of 90F and above. I try to water a little but plants know the difference. I'm still enjoying my back porch even with the high temps. Dry makes a huge difference so good and bad like most things. Afternoon short naps in the porch swing are one of my favorite things...until the sound of a lawn mower (the loudest white noise on earth)! But that doesn't happen often. I can swing and doze for 20 or 30 minutes and feel so refreshed when I'm up and awake again. And at 80 that's a big deal! Today, I have to pick up a couple of prescriptions (glaucoma eye drops) and then go to another store to get birdseed. Sometimes I order no waste seed from Amazon but the squirrels think I ordered it special for them. Conflicted and not sure which is the best thing to do so I end up alternating my seed purchases between local and online. And I need to get a birthday card for my great granddaughter who, on May 2nd, will be the big number 1. |
| I hope everyone had a nice Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day here in every way...perfect. The baby bluebirds have hatched in the nesting box on one of my pine trees, and Mom and Dad are feeding them furiously, so wonderful to watch. I did see a black racer in my front yard near the sidewalk so I hope they are vigilant. It's that time of year. Snakes can slither right up a pine tree. My daughter came for an Easter visit and brought me the biggest Easter Lily I've ever seen! We were amazed that the blooms had no smell. Is that normal? But the white against dark green is so striking. It's basking in bright light on my back porch, looking beautiful. I was up early (early for me), cleaning and filling the bird feeders and birdbath, sweeping the porches, and shaking rugs. Then a shower and then, getting together the ingredients for a crustless spinach quiche which is loaded with cheese (8 oz of cheddar and 6 oz of feta). But that was to be our main course so what the heck. It was Easter. I took it out of the oven just before the front doorbell rang. Perfect timing. Erica and Murphy (a Corkie) were Easter pretty, Murphy with his silky fur and little tail going 90 miles an hour! He has the vitality of the Energizer bunny, always moving, hopping up on my lap, wanting an under the neck scratch, or running around and smelling everything even is it has no smell. I think that is the nature of Corkies. And if there is anything remotely related to food....well, it's in his mouth and swallowed. So, he has to be watched like a hawk. We tried to wear him out by tossing pieces of his dry food for him to retrieve (uh, eat), but that little dog cannot be worn out. So for dinner/lunch we had the quiche, a tossed salad, and sweet potato rounds with pecans (which Erica brought), and then, we had no room for the watermelon that I had for dessert. Coffee sufficed instead. I cleaned up and Erica took the Murph for a walk. Then, we enjoyed the back porch some more, me in the swing. Several butterflies and dragonflies were buzzing around over the grass. It has been so dry here, I thought it a little unusual, and I wondered if some of the butterflies had escaped from the Butterfly Rain Forest at our local Museum of Natural History, which is closed for some construction. Maybe? They are mesmerizing to watch. And too quickly, it was time for Erica to go back home. As she was putting Murphy in his crate, we saw my neighbors and their little dog, Gizmo. They came over and said "hi" and I got another Easter hug. They were having an egg hunt for the special "golden" egg. Erica had about an hour and a half drive back home and texted to say she arrived safely, and we decided both of us were ready for a nap, a perfect ending to a perfect day. And, then, early this morning I awoke to hear the sad news of the death of Pope Francis. I turn on NPR as soon as my eyelids open, sometimes before. He must have used up all the strength he had to make it through Easter. What a lasting impression, may his legacy live on. |
| I cleaned out the bird feeders and changed the sugar water in the hummingbird feeders yesterday and attempted to trim back the azalea bush....but there is a cardinal nest somewhere in it. Mr/Mrs Cardinal put up such a fuss, I backed off. Maybe I'll ask my daughter to take a stab at it on Sunday...or not. It's certainly not earth shattering although there is some sort of tree coming up in the middle of it. Thank you, birdies...a little irony there. The bluebirds are still coming to the tray feeder like clockwork. They love the "Feed the Flock" meal worms that I put out especially for them. They are so beautiful. This is the very best time of year in Florida, wonderful warm and sunny days, perfect for doing anything you like outside. I planted some zinnias a while ago and they are coming up even though I forgot to water them every day. And yesterday I planted some coreopsis seed (tickseed, yellow flowers). I hope they come up because they are perennials. And I trimmed back my honeysuckle bush. The cold got to it this year and it looks a little forlorn. My miniature gardenia is loaded with buds and the ligustrum along the back fence is blooming and smelling divine. Soon the jasmine will be blooming too. I love spring in Florida! |
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