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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   |
| Just got back from the grocery store and came to sit at the computer a few minutes to rest up after putting things away. Writing is very restful to me. There is a family of chicadees nesting in a shrub outside my computer window. They talk to each other in Morse Code, at least that's what it sounds like. Dit dit dit dash. I have the window up, and Mopsy (my kitty) sits with her nose to the screen in a trance. When they fly, she crouches down as if they are going to fly over her head. She's done this thousands of times. Of course, they do not fly over her head, she's inside the screen. Wonder what Pavlov would have to say about that? Maybe I don't want to hear it  .I noticed the dogwoods throughout my development are starting to bloom, and there were lovely pots of tulips, daffodils, and even orchids at the grocery. I was tempted but tulips and daffodils will not grow here in Florida. Beautiful to look at though. And I have tried and failed many times with orchids. I am very satisfied to grow what grows here. All the azealeas will be in bloom soon along with the redbuds and pear and peach trees. Strawberries will be ripe here next month. They are ripe now in Plant City, a little farther south. They last here until Mother's Day, then come watermelons. We have a watermelon festival about two miles from us where you can eat all you can hold for free. There is a little nip in the air today and a faint smell of smoke. Reminds me of that terrible accident a couple of weeks ago on the interstate through Payne's Prairie. Early morning fog and smoke, a multi-car and truck pile up, eleven deaths, I believe...awful, only a few miles south of here. But I do enjoy smelling woodsmoke when it's chilly. It just gives me a good feeling inside for some reason. Some of the fires here are controlled burns and some are not. The local news will tell me this evening. For supper I'm planning a romaine salad with apple, sliced chicken, a little trail mix, crumbled blue cheese, and pomegranate dressing with a small bowl of pasta fazool. My mouth is watering...I must be hungry until next time....c |
| Being a person who does not enjoy channel surfing since I feel it is a waste of time, I always click on the tv guide site when I have the time to watch anything. First, I look for the yellow highlights which indicate movies, then I click on the title to see the short review of any that interest me. Tonight I saw something new, at least I think it is new since I have not noticed it before. At the right of the screen just above the review is a small blue block that says "I'll Watch", which I can click if I want to, and below that it tells me how many are watching (planning to watch, I guess, since the show is not on yet). Isn't this wonderful. Now we have something else to sway our judgment. After all, wouldn't I want to watch those programs most people are watching. And just think, without this little button to tell me, I could make a grave mistake and watch something no one is watching. This seems to be the way of life lately, or maybe it has always been this way.. Someone or something is always telling us what to watch, what to read, what to buy, what to eat, what to wear, what to think, in order to be like the majority. No wonder we get dementia, etc. We just do not have to use our brains anymore or make choices without a "little" help. Guess that little blue button sort of flipped me over the edge....hmmmm until next time....c |
I have been raking pine needles today, pine needles that hopefully are finished falling for the season. I mound them up around the trunks to keep the grass (er weeds) from taking over where I cannot get at them with the riding mower. And I like the way they look when I am finished, so nice and neat and in order. If nothing else, I am an orderly person. Forget the dust bunnies, the Mopsy hair, and the spider webs, but make sure those zillion books are in alphabetical order by authors' names  .Orderliness does tend to crimp creative expression, though. I guess that is why I like writing. No mess to clean up when you are finished . Just a pen and notebook and/or a computer.I started a good book tonight, Death Pans Out by Ashna Graves, and got half through before my eyes got bleary and I had to put it down for a while. The setting is an old abandoned gold mine in eastern Oregon from which the owner mysteriously disappeared. The story is told by the miner's niece, a journalist, who has come to stay at the old cabin to recuperate from depression caused by breast cancer and the resulting surgery. Fifteen years has elapsed since her uncle's disappearance and the reader learns the facts as she does, an interesting way, I thought, to tell a story. Just to update, Jim is about the same. His potassium was high again on his last labwork, and his kidneys are continuing to cause problems. He has very mild symptoms even though his kidney function was 21% on the last test, but I understand that is normal. He is walking a little with his walker, and easily transferring to his wheelchair now and into the truck. He rides with me on short trips to the library and the grocery store, and is back to watching dvd's. We are taking one day at a time in gratitude. until next time....c |
| A couple of readers have asked about the blooming "tulip" tree I mention in this blog. I am looking at it now through the window by my computer. It sits across the street in the backyard of one of my neighbors. Actually, the house is a rental, and I have not become acquainted with them yet; consequently, I am too shy to go over and take a picture. Because you both have never heard of a tulip tree, I began to wonder if I had just made that up...seems so. I went into Google and after some searching, I found the real name, a Saucer Magnolia, http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/saucer_magnolia.htm At least, the description implies the bloom looks like a tulip. I hope that redeems me a little bit . Thanks for your interest. I may even look for one to plant now that I know the proper name to call it .On another note, I heard about Reiki several years ago at a stone identification event at my local library. The speaker was (is) a Reiki practitioner. The part that really interested me was the following: Just for today, let go of anger, Just for today, let go of worry and be filled with gratitude. Just for today, commit to doing your work honestly. Just for today, be kind to all living things. These are Reiki Principles, and students of Reiki are instructed to intone them as a prayer each morning on arising and each night before sleep. Reiki is not any kind of religion. It is meant for stress reduction and relaxation. I am sure there is lots more to it than that, but this is the part I latched onto. It has served me well. I would not call myself a student of Reiki, but I do believe these principles are a very good thing. Repeating them daily, keeps them at the forefront of the mind, something I need more of as I age. until next time...c |
| The crows are cawing outside my window and the sparrows are feasting. It is a beautiful day, 59 degrees already. I am becoming suspicious of this weather. It is too nice. The tulip tree across the street is in full bloom and heading toward leafing out, strange for January 26th. To the right of my computer I have a tv cabinet with a glassed-in shelf area on the end nearest me. I suppose it is for other things, but I have little knickknacks, doodads, mementos, whatever you want to call them, inside on the shelves. A tiny doll, made from a clothespin, is catching my eye just now. She has on an old-fashioned long dress, a tiny felt handbag hangs from her left (pipecleaner) arm, and a cute hat is attached to her right "hand". Narrow lace trims her hem and her collar, and another hat adorns her blonde curls. Colored pens enliven her blue eyes, button nose, and sensuous red lips.  She found me at The Christmas House in Brooksville, Florida, back in the 1980's. I have a story in my port about walking with someone named Aunt Fanny, and I am reminded of her everytime I look at the little doll. We, and several other ladies, journied by Nazerene Church bus to Brooksville on a shopping trip. I was most likely the "baby" of the group back then, and many of the riders have passed away, Fanny included. She was the nicest person I have ever encountered in my 67 years, always the same, never ever deviating from how I came to expect her to be. If there ever was a person who would give you the shirt off their back, Fanny was that person. We had a wonderful day, ate lunch at a little place called the Blueberry Inn (I still have a postcard with a picture of it), we roamed the Brooksville Flea Market, and I was awed at all the decorations at The Christmas House. I miss you, Fanny, and think of you often.... until next time.....c |
| I had my eye exam yesterday after a five-year hiatus, and I did not even need my glasses changed. I am so happy about that. Pressure was 15 in each eye and only normal changes due to my age. The doc said she would be wondering what I was doing if things were any better. She did say I needed to return yearly, though...okay. I was gone almost two hours, and Jim made out fine by himself. As usual, I have been worrying for nothing. He is making progress, getting in and out of the truck from his wheelchair almost by himself. I only help a little, mostly as a security blanket...for myself I think. We are practicing for an appointment with vascular on Friday. Physical and occupational therapy are continuing to visit Jim twice weekly and have been a tremendous help. Our weather continues to be beautiful, a high of 83 yesterday, springtime, but we could still have some ugly cold yet. February has not been reckoned with, woe be to the groundhog. I am ready to get out the paint brush. The railing on our front porch is ready for a new coat. Warm weather always makes me want to visit Home Depot .until next time...c |
| I have been up almost all night with Jim, just one thing after another, so I had to try to write something this morning to cheer myself up. It is such a beautiful day here, reaching for the 80's...again. As I type, Mopsy is looking out the window next to my desk, watching some birds dashing in and out of the birdbath. I hung another feeder close by for all the little sparrows and chicadees that visit this time of year. It's one of those vertical, multiple spot dealies, four at a time. I can hear some screeching bluejays in the distance, but the feeders I have near this window are too small to accomodate them. They are gabbing to each other in between the squirrels' chatter. I hear some crows, also, and even a hawk in the distance. I've not heard Woody yet this morning, but I am sure he will be by, probably in the backyard, as usual. A pair of Carolina wrens are trying to build a nest inside the garage again. I caught them in there a couple of days ago. It's a terrible idea because of the coming heat, but they don't seem to remember. They are just looking for a warm spot now. I'm trying to discourage them by shooing them out and keeping the garage door down during the daytime. I have my window up and the air smells like spring, clean and fresh and full of possibilities. It's 10:15 but it must be close to 70 degrees by now. A tulip tree in the yard across the street is confused and blooming, a deep pink, almost lavender. Nature is refreshing, just seeing how life continues to go on, is somehow reassuring. I feels lots better.... until next time....c |
| Looking back over my blog entries, it seems to have become more of a journal than a blog. Blogging, to me, is writing about one's opinion on something, trying to convince others to feel the same way. My problem is that I can always see both sides of an argument, which has many times driven my husband crazy. It's not that I don't feel strongly about certain things, but I can always understand the other person's point of view. This "personality trait" is especially difficult to deal with in an election year. I don't agree with some things the candidates stand for, but I can see where they are coming from, not a help in making up one's mind. I've always been like this, and have considered it a character flaw. Relatives and friends want me to stand with them on issues and do not understand how I can be so wishy-washy. A lot of times I will even extoll the virtues of the opposition when I really do not agree with it. Jim says I am being obstinate. This "trait" does interfere with decision-making. But back to my blog. I guess my original description fits. Sometimes I write about daily happenings or memories or nature, things that are or have been a part of my life. I can look at objects in my home and mental snapshots fly into my head. The gifts and keepsakes given to me, or bought by me, hide a full range of emotions inside their inanimateness. Best of all, these stories are mine, mine alone to tell. So I guess my blog is a blog after all. It's my voice, and mine alone... until next time....c |
| For a couple of months now, since November 22nd to be exact, physical therapy has been promising to send us some bed raisers (actually called risers, but raisers makes more sense to me). Jim's wheelchair is a few inches higher than the bed and pt thinks bed raisers will make it easier for Jim to stand and transfer to the wheelchair. Along around the middle of December, I figured they must be coming by slow boat from China, and began dialing up local stores. After discovering they cost less than twenty dollars, I went to K-Mart and bought a set, five inchers, the only size they carry. The only size anyone carries in our town. The thing is students like to store boxes under their beds, and in Gainesville, stores cater to students. Getting back home and sizing up the situation, I wrestle the mattress off and lean it up on edge against the nearest objects, then I slide down the boxspring off the bedframe and walk it up like a ladder to lean against the mattress. At this juncture, I easily lift each corner roller and position them on the five inch raisers. The only problem I see is my headboard legs are five inches off the floor. I decide to muscle the boxsprings and mattress back onto the frame and see what happens. Everything seems good and sturdy. The only problem is Jim's butt doesn't even reach the bed when he stands up. Bummer. Five inches is too much. Now I have to reverse the entire procedure and put the bed back in its original position. The next day I decide to call pt and find out what size they are ordering. Guess what? Five inchers. So they cancel that order and replace it with three inchers. Today, the 17th of January, the three inchers finally arrived. Tomorrow I will be wrestling with the bed again. until next time...c |
| When I was sixteen and during my summer vacation, my Aunt Dorothy (my very favorite) took me on a trip to Suffern, New York. I started thinking about this yesterday when I spied an abacus somewhere on my net rambles. We took a side trip to New York City, visited Chinatown, ate at the Rathskeller (my first Chinese food), and an abacus was one of my take-home souvenirs. Aunt Dorothy went to Suffern to visit a girlfriend, an artist. Suffern is a small town just over the New Jersey border. I am not sure what I expected, but I was awed by everything. Her artist friend lived in a barn that had been converted to a rental. The surrounding land must have had some historical significance because it was littered with old cannon and other Revolutionary artifacts. There was even a mountain pool, icy cold, but I swam in it anyway. Just beautiful country. Anne, the friend, of course was hippie-looking, long hair and long dresses. She served me my first English muffin (I know that sounds strange now, but this was in 1960 and I was from a teeny town in Delaware). We ate outside on a glass table that had a flower arrangement underneath (blue, artificial ones) that you could admire as you ate. Anne painted portraits and other things in oils, and at the time, I thought she was as good (maybe better) than Van Gogh. What did I know...absolutely nothing. For living expenses, she worked as a shop window designer in Nyack, which we visited also. She treated us to a play in the City called "See How They Run". I did not understand one little bit of it. One other very interesting thing to me as a naive sixteen year-old. Anne had a live-in boyfriend about fifteen years her junior. Of course we had several flirting encounters, almost leading to something but not quite. I think he was just entertaining the hick . His name is right on the tip of my tongue but will remain a mystery for now. Obviously, a very memorable trip. All this from the glimpse of an abacus....until next time....c |
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