%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  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   |
| Usually, my days are not long enough, but with Jim in the hospital, they are being stretched a little. He is lonesome and likes for me to visit several hours each day so I leave here about 10 each morning and return home around 6, sometimes making for a long, tiring day. Today, I had a little bit of a change. I left the hospital at 2 to visit his sister-in-law. She just had a skin cancer removed under her left eye and needed a good bandage for a few days, better than the sticky gauze her doctor had given her. I took her some of Jim's extra Mepilex Border pads that are excellent for that along with some other things I thought might come in handy. Then I decided to stop and get a New York style cheesecake I knew she liked. The expression on her face when I unpackaged everything was worth a million "thank yous". Her husband, Jim's brother, passed away in 1987 from colon cancer. Thay have really good children who all live close by and take good care of her, but when I talked to her Saturday morning, she sounded a little down and lonely, and Jim didn't mind the "sharing". I had intended to come home from Juanita's but coming back I started to think how lonely Jim would be at suppertime, so I stopped at the golden arches and picked up a plain sundae (his favorite) and made it back to the hospital just after he had eaten. He still had room for the ice cream and told me about ten times how glad he was that I had come back. So I got home a little later than usual today, but my day was long in a good way.... until next time....c |
| I have no idea why this popped into my head when I read this. It may have been the first time I was really embarrassed in school. I was in the third grade sitting at my desk in front of a girl named Darlene Hutchins, a real chatterbox. I'm an only child and was always sort of quiet, not easy to make friends. I paid attention in class, never came unprepared, turned in homework on time, and always made straight A's on my report card. Miss Baker, Oda Baker to be exact, was my teacher, one of two old-maid sisters. The other sister worked with my mother. I think I was probably pretty full of myself and thought I was a little smarter than everybody else. This particular day brought me down to a normal level, maybe even a little below  .Here's the picture of what happened. I'm reading an assignment, minding my own business, when I feel this tapping on my shoulder. I did what anyone else would do...I turned around. Darlene whispered something to me I did not understand and I whispered a few words back to her. She begain to write something down on a piece of paper which kept my rapt attention. I was twisted all the way around in my chair by this time. The next thing I knew Miss Oda Baker was standing beside me, her hand on my shoulder, an unpleasant experience, believe me. Her face looked like a storm cloud had passed over it and soon I was to feel the thunder and lightning of it. I cannot remember her exact words because of the pounding in my ears, but she managed to made me feel like the smallest bug on the floor. And a verbal put down was not my only punishment. The dreaded wooden ruler cracked across my knuckles as she spun me around to the front of my seat. Miss Baker did not allow talking or disrespect (for her) in her classroom. Darlene suffered no indignities at all. When Miss Baker's eyes lighted on me, Darlene was quietly writing in her notebook, the picture of virtue. Well, I got my come-uppance that day, and at the end of the marking period, an "unsatisfactory" beside "self-control" on my report card. I thought it was grossly unfair at the time, but over the years my opinion has mellowed, and I think in the end it did me a lot of good. At least, I never talked in class again unless called upon by the teacher. Needless to mention, Darlene and I never became friends. until next time....c  |
| I interpreted this blog topic to mean something people do that may have become ridiculous and have no reason to continue doing it. I find I do lots of things like this, things that have become a habit and have no purpose at all. One thing comes to mind immediately and that is holiday dinners. Jim and I have been retired for many years now and our children and grandchildren live far away and do not get home often. Regardless, I always find it necessary to cook the huge clove-studded, glazed ham, deviled eggs, and mounds of potato salad on Easter Sunday. On Thanksgiving I continue to bake a big turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and of course a pumpkin pie. Christmas is the same with the main entry varying but always something special. There really is no point to all of this because 50 to 75 percent of the time, it is only me and Jim with leftovers that are wasted. But the thing is, one Thanksgiving I tried not fixing a big meal and you never saw such a sad household. It was like somebody put a black cloud over our roof! I soon found out traditions are very important to keep regardless of how many people are sitting around the table. Some things need to be kept the same.... until next time....c |
| I know this is May 4th, but I had to take Jim back to the hospital May 3rd and had little time to do anything else but be with him for support. He is doing better today and hopefully, will be back home soon. To me, moving on means looking to the future and not living in the past. It's very hard not to have some regrets in life. After all, I'm human and I make plenty of mistakes. And I've even made some of the same ones more than once  . I try to remember things I've done done wrong, learn from them, but not dwell on them. I cannot change what has already happened. I just try not to let it happen again.Moving on can be a tricky business, though. Life is not black and white and some things just do not get resolved, but life itself does go on, no matter what. And that in itself is a kind of resolution. until next time....c |
| I've been thinking about Earl all day and how life has changed for him in an instant with the news of the passing of his father. I admire him for being able to continue on with his daily responsibilities. As I watched the evening news, I saw the following story, and it seemed to personify today's prompt. The video says it all...words not necessary. |
| Exactly what I am trying to do, if only for a few minutes...redirect my mind. I think our brain has been programmed to accept this idea. I know, as a parent, I utililized it many times, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Parents quickly learn that their children often want to do exactly what their parents do not want them to do. I had to think of ways to redirect their wants. It was called "using psychology" back then . When my toddlers did not want to eat their veggies, I had to taste and pretend they were delicious  . When the clock said it was time for bed, I had to think up stories that could only be told to little ones under the blankets. When I wanted my young ones to start helping with chores, I made those chores sound like they could only be done by grownups and if they did them, they must be growing up.I utilized the same concept with my husband, although I wouldn't want him to find out  . I think we all do this "redirecting" all the time. The problem starts when we are on the wrong end, when we are the ones being "redirected", and we realize it. It is human nature to want to be in control, and when we realize we are not, our emotions take over and sometimes get out of hand. Then, it's up to the person redirecting to calm us down and convince us to do what they want us to do.Good, clear communication, kindness and understanding in any interaction between humans makes "redirecting" a positive experience. until next time....c  |
| Jim is back home and doing about the same as before. Since he is on my mind 24/7, my blog has gotten in a sort of rut...depressing and dull...not what I want it to be if I am in any way to improve my writing. So...I decided to do the blog challenge for May, "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  . I need the prompts to think and write about something else for awhile, even if it is only for a few minutes each day. My problem will be doing it, but I promise to give it my best shot....until next time....c |
| I had to take Jim to the hospital yesterday, low kidney function. He's getting fluids and minerals and should be able to come home in a couple of days, I hope. Taking him to the hospital is a difficult thing for me to do because he gets so depressed when he is there. Sometimes he won't eat or drink much and it prolongs his stay. And that makes me depressed so I may not be writing here very much until he comes home. It's always a big surprise to both of us when his lab results come back so bad that he needs to be admitted. New symptoms are non-extistent, I guess because he is already weak to begin with. I talked with our daughter last night and she just lost a very dear friend to suicide. She said he suffered from depression which I did not know. He always seemed happy...kind and considerate around me...although I did not know him well, it made me very sad. He was only 48 and seemed to have everything, job and life, going his way. How can we not see when people are suffering so? And why can't we do something? This morning life goes on as usual, the birds are flying in and out of their feeder, splashing in their bath, and the sun is shining brightly. At first, Mopsy was looking around for Jim, but now seems satisfied all is well. I hope Jim's labs improve quickly.... until next time....c |
| Yesterday, I finally got around to doing our taxes, always put off till the last minute since we have to pay. When I finished, I began to wonder why I didn't need to mail them until the 17th. I realize the 15th is on a Sunday so Monday, the 16th made sense, but why the 17th? It seems the 16th is Emancipation Day in D.C. Now I know the Emancipation Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves but I had no idea D.C. celebrated it on a particular day. Apparently, D.C. made this a special holiday recently. On the 16th of April 1862, when President Lincoln signed the Act, it freed 3,000 slaves in D.C., thus the new holiday. I guess some politician found this out like I did and said..."Oh boy, another holiday just for us." Ain't Google wonderful? Then I began to wonder...well, when were the other slaves freed? Some when the individual States ratified the Act, others not until after the Civil War was won by the North. So I dug a little further and found a list of ratification dates by the States. Check out Mississippi http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html So now I am completely clear on why I do not need to mail my taxes until April 17th this year. What I'm not clear on is if another State found a nice reason to claim a holiday on say the 17th of April, could tax day be postponed until the 18th? And with 50 States, maybe it could be postponed all the way into June! Wouldn't that be great? Who decides these things anyway? Right, my representatives...until next time....c |
| Today was another grass mowing, edging, and trimming day. And it's only April 9th...yikes! But I do love to get outside, no matter the reason. And the smoke was gone. It was really bad yesterday, controlled burns somewhere near. If it had been like that today, grass cutting would have been impossible. But the yard looks beautiful again and the bird feeders and baths are cleaned and filled for tomorrow's first light. Sunshine has a way with me . It is pretty amazing how a little exercise and fresh air and sunshine can improve one's disposition. I wonder why we try to fight it, postpone it, put it off, when in the end it feels so good. I smell a federal grant in there somewhere . I think I may have overdone the sun a little, though. I can feel it in my lips...and it was breezy, too.Abby, the little baby next door, will be a whole year old on Wednesday...hard to believe that much time has passed so quickly. The older I get, the quicker it goes. Even though I like to blog...and journal on paper, I make notes on a calendar on my desk and have kept all of them for years. I can look back to whatever year and whatever day and know at least something I did that day or something that was important enought to make note of. Of course no one else would be interested, but I find it fascinating to go back and look at today's date on my old calendars. That probably makes me a little narcisistic, but so what. It brings back memories, sometimes makes me happy, sometimes makes me sad. And sometimes makes me puzzled as to why I would write down such nonsense...oh, well. I still have some windows open and I can smell the jasmine on our back fence. It is in full bloom. And today I noticed my gardenia has two blooms and a gazillion buds in waiting. It is in one corner outside the back porch. Gardenia scent sort of reminds me of a funeral home but that is part of life too...and another miracle to be enjoyed. Isn't spring wonderful...and I am here to enjoy another one .until next time...c |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
and doesn't cover everything.
