A pleasant day

Hi. We went to a neighborhood flea market today, one which is held every year on Labor Day weekend. It was fun meeting all of our neighbors and wandering around among the tables to see what was for sale. We didn't buy, as we have everything we need, but there was yarn being given away, and I got some to finish a blue blanket I am knitting. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was pleasant and relaxed. My daughter took us there and it made a pleasant little day trip.
We had a little fun last night discovering a tiny shrew on our deck, which is something I have never seen before. Our dog kept sniffing at it, and at first we thought it was a ball of fluff, and then we saw its tiny white feet and realized that it was a shrew. It was only about two inches long, and scuttled along at quite a fast pace. I looked it up on Google and read that they are everywhere, under the leaves of the ivy and low brush. It was nowhere in sight this morning.
My husband just brought a bowl of hot buttered popcorn, which tastes especially good since we had TV dinners which we didn't like at all, and though he will eat anything put before him, I am picky and went away from the table hungry. This will fill the bill for me for the evening.
Well, so it goes. We have drifted into quiet waters and are floating in a calm haven. Night all.

A couple of lost days

I haven't blogged for the last few days because, due to new medication, I have been laid low by side-effects and felt as though I had been poisoned. My husband had to do all of the housework and cooking, and even though he is a good cook, I could neither eat nor drink coffee and could hardly walk around. Finally, on the advice of the pharmacist, i discontinued the pills and drank gallons of water to effect as much of a recovery as possible. I am much better today and will return the pills to the pharmacy, as we are no longer supposed to flush them down or throw them into the garbage.
We had a little drama here in our little community, when my neighbor came home from work and discovered her Bird of Paradise plant was missing. It shook all of us up as we have had no problem in this neighborhood for years. Then we found that her husband had moved it to another location and had forgotten to tell her about it.
We are going to have a whale of a campaign this year. I am elated that Senator McCain chose such a controversial running mate as he did. I was beginning to be bored with the whole thing but this has livened everything up nicely.
Time is flying by. Before we know it, we will be facing another year. Wonder what the future holds for us all. Take care and keep in touch.

My spoon was just scraping up the last of the oatmeal when the telephone rang. Feeling a stab of apprehension, I rose to answer it, but felt relief to find that it was my older sister calling to relay the latest family news. "Hello, Dorothy," she said in her calm voice. "I thought I would give you a call and tell you the latest news." Again that little thrill of fear. Who was it this time? My relatives and friends had been dropping like flies. Had another one gone to his or her reward? But first she gave me the good news, and I was filled with joy to learn that my little niece was expecting a long-awaited and longer-for daughter in May. But then came the bad news. My childhood friend, my partner in many an escapade, had been found dead on her bedroom floor. I was saddened to realize that after all of her work in raising and educating six children, she died alone in her dark and cold bedroom. But then I felt a little stab of fear, when I realized that we were almost exactly the same age, and it could have been me. And I was ashamed at the little prick of satisfaction that although she had been taken, i was still here.
And so went the day. Fond affection for the dog, irritation at the cat, frustration at the sticking patio door, disappointment at not receiving an expected letter. i worried over paying the bills, obsessed over swiffing the floors, and felt a burst of energy, followed by a desire to take a nap. All in all, emotion-wise, it was a pretty pallid day. One might almost say a vallium day.
Where was passion? Where was the agony and ecstasy? I had experienced no anger, no rage, no jealousy, no triumph, nothing whatever to stir the soul. I felt disappointed that I had no more to record than my few moments of pleasure. But i determined to fulfill my commitment and consign what little I had to paper.
But as i was starting to boot up my computer, my husband came up behind me and began to massage my neck and shoulders, and run his hands over my back. I felt a little quiver of pleasure up and down my spine, and began to tingle all over. My heart began to beat faster and I began to blush. I had felt this way before, but i couldn't remember what the feeling was. "Oh, that feels good," I said. "Do that again." He did and then i remembered. The big guy was turning me on. I was feeling ________ well, you know.

But how do you feel?

A few years ago, I attended a writing class, taught by a sincere and well-meaning young teacher. He used to exhort us to insert more of our emotions into our writings. "Make your story come alive," he would urge his students. "Include your emotions into the narrative. Tell how you FEEL."
With this in mind, I determined to note my feelings throughout the course of one day, just to make sure I do actually have feelings, and when and how I feel them. So, dear reader, please take note.
I woke up feeling cranky, which is not at all unusual for me. I never wake up feeling cheerful, or hopeful, or glad to be awake. So I lingered under my electric blanket for as long as I dared. I felt rebellious, wondering why I had to get up at all. But then I became aware of the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee, wafting into my room. It was my husband's secret weapon. Try as I do, i can never resist the chance to have a cup of his wonderful brew.
So I arose, and staggered out into the kitchen. I felt sleepy and groggy, and not a little depressed. But when I dropped gratefully into my chair, and began drinking that delicious, hot, strong coffee, i began to feel better. By the time I finished the first cup, I was ready to face the day. I was, of course, feeling hungry, but my husband, jewel that he is, had for my consumption a hot bowl of oatmeal. I ate it with pleasure, being glad that it wasn't lumpy and had been fully cooked. I felt gratitude that the powers that be had provided me with a husband who not only brewed delicious coffee, and made good oatmeal, but also brought me my pills and stood by while I swallowed them. Not to mention protected my from myself by hiding the chocolate candy.
My spoon was just scraping up the last of the oatmeal, when the telephone rang. Feeling a stab of apprehension, I rose to answer it. (continued)

A quiet day

Today was a nice, warm day, with soft breezes stirring the branches of the redwoods. I went down to the meditation walk and watered the hydrangeas and dichondra and enjoyed the chirping of the birds and squirrels. I don't go down there as much as I should, as it is getting a little hard to walk back up the stairs. Then I watered the roses and watched the hummingbirds feed at the feeder. We used to do a lot more work on our flowers but lately we have slowed down. Time has taken its toll.
Next month I will be 86, a venerable age for anyone. But I expect to put on a little more mileage before I shuffle off. I have already down everything I had hoped to do but who knows what will turn up next? Something thrilling and exciting perhaps. I may even travel again, although it will not be by airplane.
My dear husband cooked dinner tonight, and made a very delicious spaghetti meal, with enough for left-overs tomorrow. Why does food always taste better if someone else cooks it? I watched television while he was slaving over a hot stove and only came out when he had everything already on the table. What luxury!
Well, as my blog shows, today was a quiet day but very satisfying. Night All. Keep in touch.

A pleasant day

To blog or not to blog? It has crept into my routine until now I feel guilty if I don't make an entry, even if a small one. Today was such a pleasant day that I hate to end it, and will probably find some excuse to stay up late, perhaps watching TV. We are all waiting to see who Barack Obama chooses as his vice-president, but that will not be announced until tomorrow at the earliest, and I for one am hoping it will be Senator Biden.
The Olympics are fun to watch, and I have been watching the story unfold about little Caylee Anthony, although I feel quite strongly that she no longer is alive. But like JonBenet Ramsey, the full story may never be known.
Few people are alive today who remember the famous trial of Bruno Richard Hauptman, who was accused of kidnapping and murdering the little son of Charles and Anne Lindberg. Arguments raged back and forth for years, and there are some who never lost their belief that he was innocent. He went to his death declaring that he knew nothing about the crime, and it is still said to be the crime of the century.
My family has a mystery in its background, one which was never solved. It seems that my great-aunt Kate fell in love with the family chauffeur (her husband was a wealthy businessman) and she and the chauffeur ran off together. They were never seen again and although her husband offered a reward, and published a public forgiveness letter in the paper, her fate was never known. We think the two drove to California and managed to start over under assumed names. She was said to be an exceptionally beautiful woman.
Good-night all. Keep in touch.

The forum

This was a very interesting evening. I made sure I watched the forum for Obama and McCain and was surprised at how well McCain did. Not that he is the thoughtful and compelling candidate that I find Obama to be, but he did give quick and decisive answers to the questions. Of course some of the questions were pretty loaded ones, such as the question regarding the infant that survived the abortion. What did they expect the answer to be? To strangle the infant? I know that some doctors and attendants would just cover it up and let it die, but no one wants to countenance that. This is sometimes done to severely deformed and damaged infants, but we are not supposed to know about that. It is a cruel world.
I was amused to see that the Bigfooted creature is pretty universally judged to be a hoax. They went to a lot of trouble over that, anyway. If it did weigh 550 pounds, that would be some load to haul out of the woods. But it probably only weighed about fifty pounds, maybe even less.
We had quite a bit of dry leaves and debris blow down out of the redwoods today, very early in the season for that to happen. It will be an early fall.
Take care and keep in touch. My blog is my window to the world.

Bigfoot shows up once again.

Hi. Just saw a news flash on television that someone has gotten hold of a Bigfoot body and has it in a freezer in Georgia. Every now and then we will be subjected to a notion that Bigfoot actually exists, even though no one has actually gotten an authentic picture or carcass of one. I do not for a moment believe that tribes of Bigfeet roam our forests and fields without being seen or found lying about. Of course, I do not believe in ghosts, shadow people, little people or leprechauns, although I do write stories about little people. I am like the philosopher who kicked the stone and said, "Yes. It is a stone. It exists." If I can see it or touch it, I will know it is there. I would like to believe that life exists after death, but I question that premise just as I do all paranormal claims. I know that perfectly rational people believe that there are other worlds whirling about on different vibrations than our world, but of course I may be wrong and they may be right.
i was in a coma for five days once, and I neither went through a tunnel with light at the end, or felt that I had an out-of-body experience. It was simply a blank space in my life, and when I woke up, it was as though I had had a long sleep. My granddaughter woke me up, and I was instantly conscious and recognized her immediately.
The two men who claim to have found Bigfoot say they have sent in DNA to try to find out just what he is. They are offering safaris into the woods to find another one, for $1,000 a tour. How is that for a way to make money?

A short day trip

Hi. I had a lovely little day trip today down to the shopping center to try and find a new dress for the party I am attending on August 30. I found nothing I liked, but had a nice sandwich at a deli and a nice ride there and back. My daughter took me there and actually did some shopping for herself so the trip wasn't wasted. i am taking a new medication to try to improve the circulation in my arteries so I can walk better, so today was a sort of test to see how I did. i managed with a walker pretty well but did get very tired. I started to take this medicine last year, but found the side effects to be troubling. I am going to persevere this time, though, as I have been having some severe difficulties lately, and refuse to get a little scooter. If i start riding around in a scooter I am sure i will give up walking altogether. That I refuse to do.
We saw a dear little dog today in the optometrist office. It was bred long ago to be a lap dog, purportedly in the king's court, and allowed itself to be petted and fondled by every customer who came in. It was white with golden patches. I had never seen one before.
Today closes as most of the days do, with my husband and myself listening to the radio and closing the day down by watching the news on television. Last night I stayed up late and watched "Murder, She Wrote." two episodes actually, but tonight I think I will choose a more reasonable hour to retire. Keep in touch.

It's all my fault

Yesterday had a few quirks to it, including having the water shut off for four hours. This happens about once a year up here, usually due to problems with the water pump. It was back on in time to get dinner going, which for my husband and myself consisted of left-overs, which we enjoyed a little early.
The other quirk involved the television set, without which our lives are monotonous indeed. I had ordered and received a movie disc from Netflix, and had even managed to play it. After it had ended, and I had figured out how to get the disc back out, I tried to watch the Olympic games on the television. Nothing came on the screen. Only a blank blue screen.
"Honey," I called. "The cable must have come off the set. Could you check it for me please?
My husband, annoyed at having to get up from his reclining chair, called back. "You must have pushed the wrong button on the remote. Try it again."
I could tell by his voice that he had decided to play the accuser/defender game, at which he excels.
It goes like this, usually without change from one game to the next. He makes an accusation, I defend myself.
"That may be it," I called back. "Shall I try all of them?"
"How long have you had the set?' he demanded to know. "You should know how to use it by now."
"I do," I answered. "I didn't do anything that i don't usually do. I think the cable has come apart."
With an audible sigh and some grumbling he arose from the chair and checked the cable line. "There," he declared triumphantly. "There is nothing wrong with the cable."
I was expecting his next demand. "Let me try it," he said with an aggrieved look. "I don't know what you did but you did something that has to be straightened out."
He tried all of the buttons on the remote. He then depressed the buttons on the side of the set, causing various letters to appear in the upper right corner. TV. DIC. Spbtc1 Spbtc2. "What does this mean? What is DIC?"
I wanted to shriek in frustration, but calmly pulled out the instruction manual, but of course could not understand what it was trying to tell me. Finally I suggested, timidly, that we bring out the small TV set from the bedroom, hook it up to the cable, and see if it would work. It was a matter of moments, and the deed was done. The small TV worked perfectly when connected to the cable. Without the cable the screen was blank, just like the other set.
Without another word, my husband slid to the back of the set, fiddled with the various plugs attached to the back of the set, and just like magic, the screen came back to light, and when i changed channels, it worked perfectly.
"I told you," said my husband. "It was the cable. It wasn't plugged in."
He didn't say it was something I had done or not done. That is not part of the game. When the problem is solved, the game is over. Until the next time.

Time is rushing by

Time is rushing by too quickly for me. Next month I'll be 86 and I'm not ready yet. If someone asked me what I still wanted to do, I would have to say that I have done all that I ever hoped to do, and more, but no way am i ready to cash in my cards. i still want to see my great-granddaughter go off to school, I hope to see a little brother come on the scene, and I hope to be here for my grandson's wedding. A lot is still to come. Will I be able to hang in there a few more years?
I saw in the obituaries today that an acquaintance of mine, not yet even sixty, had passed away. It gave me pause to think that she had been cheated of at least twenty good years with her grandchildren and husband, while I am clinging on at almost 86. I don't know why I peruse the obituaries every day, since they do make me sad, and are a constant reminder of the fragility of life. Usually the departed are in their eighties or nineties but not always. Sometimes life ends cruelly soon.
Life here is serene and easy. My neighbor was up from San Francisco for a couple of days, and she had a tree cutter come and trim some of the trees down below her house. It gives us a nice view of the road down below. Our hummingbirds are enjoying the feeder we put out by the roses and my little cat is hanging in there although she is 24 and can hardly get around any more. My husband made chicken and vegetable stir-fry for dinner, so I had an easy evening. He likes to cook! Making a cake or cookies is a treat for him. Needless to say, I don't discourage him for a moment.
Night all. Keep in touch.

Good Friends

Little Mama Mouse was very frightened. It was winter and her little mouse house was very cold. What was worse, there was nothing to eat in her little house. Baby Mouse helped her look for crumbs in all of the corners and drawers, but they couldn't even find an apple seed. They were cold and hungry and Mama Mouse didn't know what to do. She put her arms around Baby Mouse and whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry, Baby Mouse," she said. "Let me sing to you and we will try to find something to eat tomorrow."
She wrapped Baby Mouse in a warm blanket and sat down in her little rocking chair and rocked and sang a lullaby. After while Baby Mouse fell asleep and she tucked him into bed and covered him up with all of the blankets to keep him warm and cozy. Then she took her little candle holder to the table and lit the tallow candle and sat back down in her rocking chair. The candle gave a warm yellow light and the fragrance of melting tallow filled the room. And all of sudden Mama Mouse jumped up out of her chair and did a little dance in the middle of the room. She had remembered something! Mice like tallow. It was their favorite food. And right there, on the table, was a fat little tallow candle ready to be eaten. Mama Mouse went to the table, stood on tiptoe and blew out the candle.
The room was bright with the light of the moon shining in the sky. Mama Mouse went to the window and peeked outside. It had stopped snowing and a full moon was sailing across the heavens. She saw the shadow of Mr. Night Owl as he flap-flapped along the path. Soon all of the night creatures would be out looking for their dinners.
Mama Mouse snuggled down under the blankets with Baby Mouse. She hummed a little song as she thought about the tallow candle and what her plans were for the new day that was coming. "We will eat the candle," she thought, "And then I will put his warm little coat and boots on Baby Mouse. We will go down to the old apple tree by the corner. If Mr. Blue Jay is there, he will get an apple for us. Mr. Squirrel will give us some acorns and peanuts. We are not all alone, after all. We have good friends who will help us. Everything will be all right." She fell asleep with a smile on her face and her arms around her little baby mouse.

A Bubble of memory.

Every now and then a little snippet of memory will bubble up seemingly out of nowhere, and tantalize me with a glimpse of the past. This morning I watched as a red leaf drifted down from a tree in my back yard, and the song "Red Sails in the Sunset" popped into my mind. I remembered where I was when I first heard it, and most of the lyrics were still intact in my memory. The entire scene was crystal clear as though it was yesterday. I remember i was a Freshman in high school, sitting in assembly with the rest of the students, and we were all singing in unison, something we did once a week in the last period of the day. I suppose it was a ruse to keep the restless students quiescent for the last period, but I remember being acutely embarrassed because I didn't know the song. I pretended to sing along and by the time we had reached the last stanza I was able to join in. I had never been encouraged to sing because my voice was deemed to be too shrill, but I was soon given a spot in the glee club, so I couldn't have been too bad. I sang in the glee club for the entire four years I went to school there and must say, I enjoyed it. "Red Sails in the Sunset" was my introduction to yet another new experience.
It is unfortunate that children accept and incorporate whatever is said of them by adults, whether the remark is justified or not. Later in life I joined a singing group and actually sang a solo in a production, wondering all of the time if my voice was too shrill. Now I can't get "Red Sails in the Sunset" out of my mind. I guess I'll have to sing it again.