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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   |
My Writing Your Life History Group met yesterday at the library. Twelve of us showed up and almost everyone had a new story to read to the group, stories about teaching children to drive, a bull in a china shop (yes, literally), a son with seizures cured with brain surgery, an Elvis essay, an encounter with Dave Brubeck, a poem (eulogy) about a favorite operating-room nurse, and a story about a very weird dream involving a giant white rabbit. This was my contribution, "A Good Reason To Stay Up Late"  . Yes, we have a diverse group  even though we are old fogies.One of our members heads a travel group for seniors, and I signed up for a trip to St. Augustine on the 22nd with lunch at a seafood restaurant on the St. Johns' River in Palatka. Enclosed on a bus with lots of strangers is a little scary for me. I'm not that great around people, especially ones I don't know. Do buses have wifi? Today I have a meeting at 1:30 to learn some of the ins and outs of our WAG (http://writersalliance.org/) web site. Our webmaster is going on vacation next month so our prez and I volunteered for training...every Friday this month. This is all new to me...and I hope, learnable. And I signed up for a Creative Non-fiction writing class, started on the 15th, at a local college about 5 minutes from my house. I talked two gals in my critique group into signing up too, so this should be lots of fun. Maybe I will learn how to spice-up my dull life stories. until next time...c |
| I had a blip with my grass cutting yesterday...although I did get it finished. When I turned the key on the riding mower, it went click, click....dead battery. Since it was around four years old, I wasn't upset that it died, even expecting it every time I turned the key. It's easy to remove, just disconnect the leads and lift out the little container it sits in. I settled it on a towel on the truck floor and anchored it in place with a little trash can so it wouldn't turn over on my journey to Tractor Supply. Once there, I wheeled it into the store on a shopping cart, and the man at customer service quickly matched it to a new one, commending me for bringing the old core. What else would I do with it? I had no trouble installing the new one at home, and as soon as I turned the key, instant success. I didn't realize how the old one had been grinding all along, telling me it was time to replace. After grass cutting, I trim and edge. I have a string trimmer and a push-type edger. Thinking the string trimmer would edge faster (since I had lost time with the battery), I decided to try it, and it actually worked great even if it was a little less straight. Edging with a string trimmer is sort of like free writing, all the direction lies with the user. But I was satisfied with it...until the line disappeared. I can follow directions, but reading the line replacement information baffled me. And obviously, I did not do it right because it disappeared again almost as soon as I edged an inch. I gave it three good tries, redoing the insertion of the string, leaving around six inches hanging out on each side, but none worked any better than the first time. I finished up with the "real" edger and left the trimmer for a later project. Does anyone have any useful tips for me when I get back to it? until next time...c |
| Twenty-one members showed up at our book club meeting yesterday for a book that 50% did not like, or I should say, author. This month was an author read, Steve Berry. We are dedicated . The discussion went from one extreme to the other, loved his plotting style, hated his plotting style, wonderful description, too much description, good writing, bad writing. He takes a little-known historical fact and plots a plausible, but not necessarily completely true, story. Dissension in a group certainly makes for a good discussion. And even better, Steve Berry is visiting our library this Sunday to talk about The Patriot Threat. I have a sneaky feeling there will be a huge crowd. Today, if it doesn't rain again, I need to cut my grass. And I have to type up the minutes for our book club yesterday. And I need to write a story for my Writing Your Life History Group tomorrow. So..... until next time....c |
| The rain poured off my roof yesterday evening in a stream that would have filled a rain barrel, had I had one. We need the rain here in Florida where I live. It has been a dry spring. I have a hard time deciding whether my grass has grown enough to cut. Sometimes I can't see where the mower line is after I've been over it. A few dead branches were beaten off the pines in the back yard and lay now in grass that grew two inches overnight, but I am happy for the greenness . The only sad thing...I couldn't see the Strawberry Moon. Wasn't there a song called Honey Moon? Keep a shinin' in June. I'll have to look that up. It just popped into my head. My book club meets today, and I finally got through The Patriot Threat by Steve Berry, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I guess it just did not fit my taste in books. The only way I was able to read it was with the knowledge that Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread was waiting on my night table for me. I read her in two days. She never disappoints me, but I have had people tell me they cannot get into Anne Tyler. What? So there you have it. Just a different taste in books. I'm back to walking early in the mornings now. It's so cool and beautiful with all the little wild flowers blooming in the "weeds" along the sidewalk, lovely wild violets and others I cannot name. School lets out here on Friday, the 4th. My walk will be quieter then because the middle and elementary schools are within walking distance of my subdivision. My walk includes a crossing guard whom I hate to but I have to ignore. That's not to say I don't "hello" and "how are you". She's friendly but I feel like a little kid, not following directions when I cross on my own. Isn't it funny how some things are so deeply rooted? I'm sure she could care less. until next time...c |
| It was grass cutting day yesterday and, thankfully, I did not see anymore snakes...unless they were hiding. And I did cut earlier in the morning hoping it would be too cool for them to be out and about. Usually I enjoy cutting the grass and working in the yard, but having to be on the lookout for snakes has taken some of the joy out of it. Now, I wish I hadn't planted all that ivy ground cover. It's the perfect spot for snaky hiding, and Mopsy keeps staring at it from the porch, making me think she sees one down in the dark green leaves, lurking. Yes, I have snakes on the brain. On another subject, I saw an arthritis doctor for the first time last Monday, and he agrees with the neurologist's diagnosis of polymyalgia. He provided me with a pamphlet from the Arthritis Association and the description of symptoms could have been written by me....exactly. It is somewhat comforting to know what it is at least. It makes me resolved to deal with it. My book club has chosen an author to read for next month's meeting, Steve Berry. We choose the book, but it must be written by Steve Berry. I have tried to read two and have bogged down in both by around page 50, ugh. Everyone said Da Vinci Codish but uh uh, no way. I loved The Da Vinci Code. I don't think I can get through Steve Berry...sorry, Steve. Too little story, too much action. And I mean action as in "fighting". Maybe I will trudge on a little farther. The one I'm reading now is his newest, The Patriot Threat. I like the historical aspect of it, but jeez, I can't take the kicking this and crashing that all the time. The big news is my Delaware daughter has moved back to Jacksonville, actually Mayport....and I had lunch with her for Mother's Day, first time in 7 years. It was wonderful. Now we can share holidays and birthdays in person and not by phone. Ollie, her kitty, did not care for the long ride in his carrier, but all is forgiven now that she has moved into an apartment, and he has his own patio to roam around. until next time...c |
| I worked in the yard today and did something to my back that the prednisone is not taking care of...must have overdone it, I guess. Maybe a good night's rest and all that.... I saw another snake while cutting the grass, from the riding mower, thankfully. It was trying to get away, but I think it sensed the dogs in the yard next door. Everytime I made the pass by the fence, it continued to slink along not knowing where to go. Where the crap are all these snakes coming from this year? I looked it up in my "snake book" when I came inside, and it looked like a yellow rat (or some call them corn) snake. This youtube video was interesting, a whopper! The one I saw was around 2 1/2 feet. At least I shouldn't see any mice...or make that "rats". until next time...c |
| I am deep into Orphan Train, our book club selection for May. The word "portage" is mentioned several times in the book. It is a school assignment for one of the main characters, and I believe it is a tool used to show the book's theme. A dictionary definition says, "the carrying of a boat or its cargo between two navigable waters." I've been thinking about what I would say if I had to describe my "portage". What have I chosen to take along on my life's journey from early childhood until today? It seems poignant because of all the memories I have been writing about. I wonder why I choose to remember certain things and put them into words. And then there are all the things I have chosen to save or keep, carrying them from place to place as I have moved, never getting rid of them. I see all those photo albums that I hang onto like they are gold. I see old pictures displayed in their frames. I see Grandmom's machine. I see the Scrabble board. I see ancient vinyl with its recent purchase of a new turntable. Why did I feel the need to buy that? To listen again? I see fishing poles sitting in the corner of the garage. I see gifts I continue to use remembering the people associated with them. Portage. When does it become too heavy a load? I need to read on.... until next time...c |
I have to write a story for my writing group meeting on next Tuesday. Aunt Sadie has been in my mind floating around my muse, giving me ideas, but nothing concrete so far. I decided to read some good short stories for inspiration and lucked onto Alice Munro's How I Met My Husband . What a great story, so great it diminished my muse  . Now I cannot get started on my story.I talked on the phone awhile yesterday with my sister-in-law, basking in the intoxication of jasmine and gardenias. My back porch is surrounded by scents. She wanted to know if I had come through the storm okay. What storm?...I asked. Yes, it rained very hard one day...but a tornado watch? I guess not watching (or having) tv anymore has its benefits  . Usually I do get a phone message from Emergency Management, but nothing this time. Maybe ignorance is bliss. I would only have worried for nothing...not even one little limb dropped.I'm going to a fall prevention presentation tomorrow morning at my senior center. It's not often I visit there, but a friend is going so.... They are supposed to be checking our gait. Is that trotter or pacer, I wonder? Will let you know after.... until next time...c |
| I got to the point in my prednisone reduction plan where I had to skip a day....and all my symptoms came roaring back with a fury. I had almost forgotten how terrible I felt. So...the next morning after taking nothing one day, I am back on the half pill (10 mg). I did not bother to call my doctor...too long to wait for an answer and most likely he would have told me to do the same thing I did. My pain did not start subsiding quite as quickly as it did before, but now (2 days later on 1/2 pill), I feel pretty good. At least I have reduced my dose, and I see my doctor on the 5th of May. I've been asked to blog (one of four) on our new writers' site when it launches...sometime in May...a little nervous about it. Sometimes I feel like a fraud, not a writer, but the old ego in me wouldn't let me say no. As treasurer, my first blog topic will be on the trail of the membership dues. I think I will really have to dig to make that interesting...must be some comedy in there somewhere too...or maybe not. We four are forming a blog pod which should be very interesting and helpful. I'm excited about it. The author series I planned to attend last Sunday was cancelled. You never know until you actually get to the library. The sign said, "author cancellation due to airplane maintenance." Never heard that one before. until next time...c |
| I had a little excitement yesterday, unanticipated and unwanted. I stood at my back porch screen door, looking out and thinking I should check some flowers to see if they needed watering. I opened the door and stepped down onto the pavers and before I could react, this black snake slithered up into the porch slicker than snot. Well, when there is no one else, you become it. First I thought about Mopsy, who was asleep in the bedroom, and what if the snake got inside the house, so I stepped back up into the porch, hurried to the house door and closed it. The screen door had slammed shut. It was me and the snake. He had wiggled and writhed along the front wall about halfway across, sticking close to the screen, looking for a way out. Snakes are all "hes" right? I tried waving my arms to shew him back toward the door, but it only scared or agitated him more, and he danced around mostly in one spot. Then I realized the screen door was shut and went over to throw it open until it stuck on something and stayed there. Mr. Snake was looking out the screen moving his head from side to side in desperation it seemed. I picked up the rubber mat I keep in front of the door and walked over to get on the other side of him again. I tried waving it at him hoping he would move in the other direction toward the door, but he did the same thing, arched his arches and danced back and forth along the screen. I laid it down on the porch floor a couple feet from him and he settled down. I noticed my picker-upper laying by my garden tool basket and decided to try urging him onward and outward with that, but it did the same thing as waving the mat. He just arched his back and waved back and forth. At least he did not come any farther into the porch. Looking at the mat I wondered if I could push it with my foot and herd him out. And that is what worked. I kept inching it forward with my foot, barely touching him with its opposite edge, and he got the message...get away from the mat. He slithered right back out the same way he slithered in except not quite so fast. Whew! I feel like it's happening right now. My hands are shaking. until next time...c |
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