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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   |
| Still walking, day 18. It is very foggy this morning and the heat is oppressive even though the sun cannot get through. My face feels encased in a moist cloth. The Spanish moss, live oaks, and royal palms, fuzzy through the mist, alert my "be on your guard" button. Sounds are louder. I saw a cat, feral I suspect, a dog, thankfully behind a fence, and a bunny hopping down the bank to the holding pond in the back of the development. I would not have seen any of them except for the noise they made through the heavy fog. People leaving for church, or wherever, have their car lights on, but their noise precedes them. The street is wet with dew, and a patch of mulberries turned the soles of my shoes purple. Mossy, green-coated pecans litter another patch, probably dropped by squirrels. I have to watch where I walk. They hurt when stepped on. Yesterday I met with two friends at the little cafe in the Harn (museum) for lunch. We had the most delicious crab bisque, real crab, I found shells. Then we strolled through the museum and visited the gift shop. I bought my granddaughter a Japanese hair stick for her birthday next Sunday. It rained so hard on the way home, I could barely see to drive...a free carwash  .This morning I have to make some cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip) for a book signing at the library, Mary Kay Andrews, a beach read author...something to do. So I had better hop to it.... until next time...c |
| Whoops, missed a few days. That’s okay. I went to Book Club yesterday and had to take brownies so baking preempted blogging. I have walked at least 30 minutes for 7 days straight now. Yay! Feeling much better. And I am doing some arm and core strengthening exercises, getting ready for kayaking on Newnan’s next month…maybe. Book Club was very enjoyable..again. The Round House by Louise Erdrich was depressing to some but I thought it was interesting (Ojibwa), had characters with depth, an excellent plot and written well. The father reminded me of Atticus. Sallie and another lady brought cookies so we had plenty of snacks. Our membership is up to 31 now with 21 present yesterday. It is such a nice feeling that we all get along so well. We have a T.S. Arthur spinning off the east coast of Florida, expected to turn into a #1 hurricane as it travels northward later in the week. It’s very beautiful here this morning, though, hot but with a nice breeze. There is an equine encephalitis alert here in Alachua County. Mosquitoes are prolific. I use a repellent called “Buzz Away”. The active ingredient is citronella oil, but it is scented with cedarwood, peppermint, and lemongrass. I think it smells good and more importantly, it works for me. I got some wickable clothing for kayaking and I am wearing them for walking…so much cooler, who knew…love it. Not much happening here and I need to send out my critique group update requests so I had better get to it…. until next time...c |
| I walked this morning, halfway up the hill then around the street behind me, very shady back there and a little cooler. I checked out the sidewalk along 98th and they are about half finished. The new sidewalk is much wider that the old one. That will be nice for passing bicycles who ride on the sidewalks. And it is clean. The old one was always covered with mulberries, or twigs, or nuts, or acorns, or curlyques off oak trees or wherever they come from. I didn’t see anything interesting at all this morning (Sunday, I guess) except for a very pretty green and yellow dragonfly and a barking dog behind a chainlink fence. No other walkers at all. Why do people wait until it is so unbearably hot? I watch them go sweating by as I sit here in front of my computer. I got my little shelf painted green yesterday and have started decorating it. Even though I thought paint was drying quickly, the humidity seems to keep it tacky. The green is pretty and matches my kitchen. Can’t wait to put it up. I’ve decided to try and write a “real” letter to a distant friend at least once a week. Hopefully, I will start getting something in my mailbox besides advertisements. Anyone out there up for a hand-addressed, postage-stamped, in the mailbox letter? Emails are nice, but you can’t keep them in a basket and look back at them years later. Happy Sunday, everyone. Watching PBS' Masterpiece Theater later tonight.... until next time...c |
| I walked early again this morning and went almost all the way to the back since our sidewalk out front is not finished yet. It’s all uphill going but downhill coming back, a little more strenuous than what I am used to. No cackling chickens this morning like yesterday, actually really quiet because it’s Saturday. I painted all the inside panels of the front porch railing yesterday, finished by 12:15, really looks good. The posts need painting, but I may save that for later. It is sooo hot. The paint dries too quickly, almost on the brush. I could not believe Terri called me yesterday just as I was getting ready to walk out the door to go to her house. She said she was really tired and didn’t want to go to Art Walk…no more planning anything with Terri. I am “binging on the Sopranos”, watching 2 episodes every night on Amazon Prime. I never got to watch it before because we’ve never had HBO. It reminds me of the Godfather movies. I like Edie Falco’s character, pretty complex actually. On my last episode she is helping Tony “store” incriminating evidence in his mother’s assisted living apartment, without Mother’s knowledge, of course. Her obvious enthusiasm for this dirty deed was interesting and revealing. I checked out estate and garage sales this morning hunting a bench for my front porch but no luck. I did find a cute little shelf (for a buck) that I can use over my range for spices. I’m going to paint it green and decorate it with daisies and hearts. until next time...c |
| Apparently, the others in my kayak group thought the lesson was a little tough also because yesterday Simon (actually Brack) called and said he wanted to take us on a free leisurely trip sometime next month on Newnan's Lake. Would I be interested? Hell, yes! So I am up for another kayaking experience...see my big smile? My new neighbors have moved in next door. They have two cute little boys and a small bulldog. The guy is very friendly...the girl not so much, but she's probably stressed out from the move...plus her mother is helping...looking forward to getting acquainted. My daily walk is getting earlier and earlier because of this heat...starting now at 7...pulled a few weeds along the fenceline when I got back this morning and by 8:30, it was steaming...did all my grass and edging yesterday. Tomorrow, hopefully, a "handyman" (recommended by a friend) is coming to clean out my gutters. I can do just about anything but heights. Ladders scare me to death. My legs actually start shaking on the second rung. Does anyone know a way to get over this? I would love to do my gutters myself...hate to rely on someone else. A friend and I are going on "artwalk" downtown tomorrow evening. Gainesville is a very artsy place, one reason I love it so much. More on that after.... until next time...c |
| I had my in-the-water kayaking lesson early Saturday morning. What an experience, good and bad (but not too bad). My first surprise was the seat. This was a sit-on kayak. I'm not sure what I expected but the seat was hard plastic (just like the kayak) with a little piece of detachable plastic-covered foam for a backrest. The instructor (Simon Legree) actually said he would detach the backrest if we used it too much. Posture is important just like mommy said. After a few warm-up exercises and watching some paddling techniques while standing in a circle, we (six of us including the instructor) were told to unload the kayaks (two per). I asked how much they weighed...he said 55 pounds. Okay, I can do that. We placed them two by two in a row down the side of the boat ramp leading into the river. It was early so all was deserted. "Simon" pointed out some poison ivy along the side of the ramp. I looked out at the river and with all the rain we have been having in Florida, there was some flooding and a swift current. We put our two-piece aluminum paddles together...again...stored our water bottles and dry bags, and got a quick lesson on the anatomy of the kayak. All of them were 16' long and yellow except for Simon's. His was blue. And I noticed his paddle was offset while ours were not. He said you had to be more proficient for that. What I was worried about, getting into the kayak, was the easiest part of the day. Not a problem at all, barely in the water at the edge of the boat ramp, easy-peasy. We were told to row upstream against the current while we were nice and fresh. We looked like Papa Duck and his ducklings...except Papa Duck could talk yell. "You're not rowing with your torso." Torso? WTH? This life jacket is so tight I can barely breathe let alone twist. Okay, calm down, Connie. Did I mention I had never been in a kayak before in my life? Hey, I'm almost seventy...somebody feel sorry for me. Nope! Keep paddling. Finally, Papa moves over to the shoreline and us ducklings follow. Simon gives us a quick demonstration of in-the-water rescue, that is, if you are dumped, how to get back into your kayak. Okay, that all makes sense. And off we go again, underneath a huge oak tree limb, hanging across the river, beautiful. Now, Simon turns right toward a very, make that very, narrow opening to a little lake-like area on the side of the river. The opening is wide enough for one kayak and riddled with cypress nubs and a water depth of about 6". Simon backs up some, paddles like hell, and speeds through the opening. I sit and watch as my cohorts all take a turn, some two or three times. Everyone is through but me. I try my best but end up having to be helped through, finally. In the little pond, we learn to do 360 degree turns, clockwise and counterclockwise, with paddle strokes called forward and backward sweeps, not nearly as hard as it sounds. I sip some water from my bottle. Rested, we are ready to head back out into the river. I go last, again, but make it through this time on the first try, as did everyone else. Whew! We paddle a little farther upstream. Blue dragonflies light on my bow for a free ride. The river is beautiful, the breeze cool, but the sun is getting hot. Several other paddlers, canoes and kayaks, are in the water, all heading downstream. We all say "hi" and smile, and wonder when we will get our "free ride". The river is getting too crowded so Simon turns and heads us back downstream. We gather at the side first, and he says we will go a little distance past our boat ramp to an eddy he knows at the side. There, we will practice our self-rescue part of the course. We follow him out in a line, staying to the right of the river. Paddling is a breeze now. Before I know it, we are passing our boat ramp. It is packed with people. Soon, we are at Simon's eddy, too soon. Simon demonstrates, falling over the side of his kayak and flipping the boat. Little handles are on each side of the cockpit, not for carrying, but for turning upright when flipped. He demonstrates the maneuver. Reach under the boat with one hand, grab the handle, and push up the closest side with the other hand...voila, upright. Everyone takes a turn and, of course, chicken little is last again. The water is only about waist high, and I have no fear of water. It's the getting back into the boat part that is worrying me. I am pretty tired and my legs are feeling a little leady. But I am game, the water is cold and will be refreshing even though it is muddy due to the storms. Contrary to what I thought, kayaks are extremely difficult to turn over. I actually dumped myself, and my kayak stayed upright. So, I had to turn it over and then upright it. That was the easy part. Getting back into it was hard. I need to work on upper body strength, obviously. But I finally wriggled back in and took a breather and a few drinks of water. We headed back upstream to our boat ramp. I was last getting in and very tired, but I made it...yay! until next time...c |
| Before I clicked onto my blog page, I was going to start out by saying...did you ever wake up in the morning and just feel great, like it was going to be a wonderful day and you didn't know why? And, then, I started reading my last blog and thought, gosh, that's weird. I'm doing 180 degree turns. I think there is a name for that.... Anyway, that's how I feel this morning. I woke up humming Frank Sinatra's old tune...it must be make believe cause I believe in you! I dreamed about Jim. We were having fun. I feel gooooood! When I was little and acted this way that I feel this morning, my grandmom would say...calm down, Connie. You will make something bad happen. Has anyone else been told that? We shouldn't be too happy because it will bring on bad luck or something? My goodness, I hope not. It's nice to feel lighthearted and good for a change. Hope everyone out there is feeling the same as I do.... until next time...c |
| Do you ever have a day when you just feel at loose ends, when there is plenty you need to do, but you don't want to do any of it? That is how my day is going. I have so many things going through my brain that I need to accomplish, but I cannot seem to get started on any of them. So, here I am, writing my blog but at least doing something. I think Mopsy feels the same way because she keeps walking back and forth like she doesn't know where to go. I know just how you feel, Mopsy. Anyway, it is getting hotter than Hades here and the air is on. Staying inside to keep cool can dampen my spirits too so maybe that is part of the problem. Several bluejays have been hogging the bird feeder this morning. The cardinals wait patiently (or not) on the porch railing for them to leave. I made some lenticchie Sicilian lentil soup and cornbread for lunch...love that stuff. The soup is a dry mix made by Alessi so it didn't take very much effort and it keeps me in lunches for 4 days. I freeze the cornbread. It takes about 2 minutes to reheat in the toaster oven straight from the freezer. Then I just drop it into the cup of soup and break it up with each spoonful...yum. A green salad with pineapple chunks, raisins, blueberries (straight from the freezer), a few croutons and some honey/dijon dressing rounded out my lunch. Tomorrow evening I am going to a storytelling night at a local pizzeria. If you want to, (which I am sure I will not) you can get up in front of everyone and tell a five minute story (no notes). The topic for tomorrow night is secrets and lies. The stories are archived on a site called growradio. I've listened to a few and some are very interesting. I think a few beers might have helped some "tellers". Well, I absolutely must do something. I have company coming this weekend and housecleaning and yardwork are beckoning. until next time...c |
| Well, I have done it. I have signed up for an 'intro to kayaking' class. I have been thinking and talking about doing this for so long, I am getting tired of listening to myself. The entire class is only two days, the first on the 18th, classroom instruction, and the second on the 21st, ON THE WATER. My heart beats faster just thinking about it. The only part I am really concerned with is getting into the kayak. I called the instructor (yes, I did), told him I was almost 70, and he said there was nothing to be worried about, he has had 80-year-olds in the past. He said the kayaks are the ride-on-top kind, the easiest to get into with just a little finesse. Unfortunately, I never learned any 'finesse'. Finger-crossing is my style. This week has been busy with book club on Tuesday and life history group on Thursday plus my writing group critique pod stuff has gotten to be almost a daily thing. I send out my update requests on the first of the month. We have sixteen pods (critique groups) with almost seventy members. I like to be up-to-date on who is where and meeting when so that when new members to our writing group want to join a pod, I can (intelligently) suggest an appropriate one. The pods are all different genres with all different kinds of people. It is a little more work than I anticipated...but I tend to make things that way. Our monthly meeting is this Sunday Writers Alliance of Gainesville  with a special speaker whose pizza I have enjoyed more than a few times .Well, I want to go for my walk before it gets steaming outside so.... until next time...c |
| I am up early this morning with the window open and watching the birds at the feeder. There is a family of cardinals living in the bush at the corner of the front porch just below the feeder. I think they are the guarders of the realm. The bush (shrub) is called variegated ligustrum and is one of those needing lots of pruning or it would grow wildly huge. Even with pruning it is only about a foot below the hanging feeder. A few minutes ago out of its smoothly pruned greenish-white surface, a brilliant redbird popped through and gave me my version of eye-candy. It's nice and cool with the sun just beginning to rise and burn off the fog, my favorite time of the day. Now I'm sipping coffee and wondering if the grass will have time to dry before our daily thunderstorm. Yesterday I managed to mow the front yard, but showers drove me back into the garage after one swipe around the backyard. I can still smell the cut grass as I sit here with a slight cool breeze drifting in. Oh oh, here is a cute little black-capped chickadee at the feeder. In the last few days I have seen doves sitting on the porch railing waiting for smaller birds to slosh out seeds onto the porch floor so they can swoop down to nibble. And there have been lots of purple finch, now there's a cardinal and its new little one. She's feeding it seeds. It's a magical movie, free for watching. Mopsy is always begging for pieces of grass or dandelion leaves to eat whenever I go outside and come back in. Sometimes I grow the stuff they call catgrass for her, but she chomps away and it's gone in no time. Recently, I saw something on pinterest that gave me an idea. It was a pin of an eaten down romaine stalk placed in a squat glass (I use juice glasses) with about an inch of water in the bottom. The pinner says 'grow you own lettuce'. So I looked up the safety of romaine for kitties and found it is the perfect greenery for cats. Mopsy now has her own window garden, three little glasses with romaine at different stages of growth. It is unbelievable how fast it grows. You can practically see it. And Mopsy crunches away at the tender tops whenever she wants to.  Happy Sunday and.... until next time...c |
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