Traveling

I'm heading to FL on Jan 4th. to visit my daughter and family.  I'll be there for a month. I think I'll carry a note book with me at all times so I can take notes on the funny things that happen and then have some material for this blog. My grandchildren are 11, 12, 13 and they are interesting and will be keeping me busy.  So the least they can do is provide me with material for my journal and blog and they do.  I know a lot of people don't like flying or merely tolerate it.  I love it.  I don't care for unexpected delays or nearly missed flights and running through airports, but that doesn't happen often. I almost always fly Southwest and they're good, though they sometime have some issues.  But the experience is great.  I always treat myself to a book for the trip.  This year it will be Joan Didion's latest Blue Nights.  I read one of her books about a year ago and I loved it.  I like the way she writes.  You are almost inside her brain with her descriptions of her feelings and thoughts and yet it still sounds familiar ie the "I've been there too" feeling. The other one I read was The Year of Magical Thinking written after her husband died
suddenly on Christmas Eve.  It received a lot of wonderful reviews and some awards.  When I finish the other one I'll let you know what I think of it. As always I would welcome some comments, even negative ones would be good.  It does take me a long time to get through a medium length book because I frequently read other things between the chapters of the book. I don't why I do that, but I suspect some attention deficit problems.  I was never understood in school because I couldn't listen long enough, or concentrate or follow instructions.  Ah those were the days - the days I'm happy to forget.  If you know some good books leave me the names.  Thanks

These are few of my favorite things.

 I'm passionate about a lot of things.  Maybe that makes me kind of intense and others kind of uncomfortable.  

Animals are my first passion (outside of all the people in my life).

Cats are next especially my own, but I love any cat I see.

I love dogs too, but especially the well behaved ones.  I enjoy the dog whisperer program because I learn so much.  But not having a dog means I can only practice on my cats.  They don't respond the same way as dogs.  They look at me like I'm crazy(they're not far off). 

I am very passionate about the color purple - not the movie the actual color.  I like lavender even more.  Orchid is lovely but a little to pinkish sometimes. 

I also adore shiny jewelry.  It doesn't have to be expensive such as diamonds. The only real diamond I ever had was my engagement ring and that is long gone now.  Crystal is beautiful, pearly things are also a favorite and things called "mother of pearl".

In the last few years I've really learned to love birds. I like to hear them chirp, even if they wake me up. I like to see them feed in my yard.  Today I had 11 squirrels and 10 birds - morning doves and some small grey bird that was very cute. Yesterday I had 4 crows, blue jays every day, and once in a while some seagulls visit.  One of them had an injured foot.  I didn't think any one would be able to catch him though (in order to help him)  because he could still fly quite well. 

Next it's clouds.  I wrote a whole journal entry about clouds once. I love fluffy white clouds on a blue sky, black clouds on a grey sky, big mountainous clouds and little wispy ones.  Sunny days with passing blackish clouds are interesting and not often seen so I do appreciate them when I see them.  

I can't go without mentioning mimosa trees (the drink isn't too bad either).  They are so beautiful, colorful and the bright pink to reddish flowers smell wonderful.  In fact I've looked for mimosa perfume for years (once I had some from Coty, but they no longer make it).  It is a very sweet sort of exotic smell that is hard to describe. I had one in my front yard, but something happened to it after a heavy rain and it began to split and eventually died.  I think we should have had it pruned at the right time to prevent the splitting, but I didn't know enough about it.

There are probably more things that I am passionate about, but I can't think of them right now.  But this was really fun to just write about what I love and feel passionate about.  

I did leave one thing out.  I love little babies and toddlers.  I love to talk to them and ask them silly questions to hear what they say. But one has to be careful about that sort of thing because if you don't know the mom she's likely to think you're dangerous and rush off with the baby.  And of course babies are another thing I love.  I don't see enough of them now that I'm not working in the hospital. Tiny babies and older ones - they're all great and sweet and just amazing. I often wish I'd had more of my own.  (during moments of insanity I guess).

And lastly, but as the saying goes not least my grandchildren are 3 of my favorite things. Wonderful, funny, sweet, and sometimes fresh, but always special to me.  I am passionate about their futures, passionate about their lives now, their schooling, their extra things IE music lessons, swimming, parties.  I want their lives to be perfect, better than mine, and better than their mom's and dad's lives.  I don't know how much of what I want will actually come to pass - but I want it desperately. Yet I know there is little perfection on this earth except things that man doesn't affect (what would that be???). . 

I also like snowflakes - not snow as in falling, but the single snowflake that looks like lace which I also love.

But this would be a good exercise for everyone and should make you smile while you write.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Only a few days to go

Christmas really will be here soon.  I hope the generosity that has started to spread through our country continues.  It was nice to hear about the secret santas who paid off "lay-a-ways" in Walmart and KMart. I wish I could so some of that too.  But right now is not a good time for me.  I hope I can make up for it when I'm in a better position financially.  I really believe that Oprah Winfrey was a major factor in the generosity this year even though her show is off the air. Her network continues to set the example and spread the word.  Our country has been through some tough times.  People like to say that we all survived it, but I know that is an exaggeration.  Some made it through the depression, some barely survived and some suffered horribly until they died and were then at peace.  Children were the worst hit and are the worst sufferers today.  Homelessness, hunger, sometimes left alone, separated from their siblings, waiting in foster care for adoption- hoping against all hope. The sadness, the deprivation, the fear, are terrible to be experienced by little children.  Even animals are suffering from the economy yes, but also from the humans who leave their houses without the animals and let them slowly starve to death. And property laws won't allow anyone to take them home (what craziness is that?)  I don't know what the answer is, but I see the problem and I see the Senate and House doing little to help - they are fighting to gain seats, push their own agendas, to win nominations, elections - everything but help their constitutents.  Would they behave differently if their survival depended on coming to a consensus and helping the nation?  I really don't know.  I do know they don't care about anyone other than themselves.  I presume one day they will have to answer to a "higher power" for their behaviors as we all wil someday . And in the meantime the "beat goes on".

A Million Dollars

In my writing group yesterday we were asked to write about what we would do with a million dollars.  I thought he meant how would we give it away or who would we help.  I think I misunderstood because most of the ladies said they would take a trip, pay off the mortgage, help their children buy a car, piece of land, pay for  college etc.  Many also mentioned helping strangers in one way or another. 

I thought that I was supposed to give it all away so I did.  I took my fantasy money and formed a fantasy charitable foundation whose purpose would be to help families and individuals who "fall through the cracks" ie they don't quite qualify for any assistance but are in a desparate or just very difficult financial situation.  I've actually been in that situation once and the only thing I qualified for was free lunch for my daughter.  However at the school she attended they did not have a lunch program. So we still had to pack her lunch and buy the items needed for it. But thankfully I had family who helped until I recovered and went back to work. 

But if I could do anything I wanted with the money, I'd pay off some bills like my mortgage, buy a better car, and maybe fund a retirement account,  visit the Galapagos Islands and then start a foundation.  This foundation should have some way of generating income so it can remain independent.  Then  I would continue to help people and still receive donations as well.  Gee maybe I could work there and receive a modest salery thus solving my unemployment problem.  Sounds good.
It's nice to dream once in a while and this is the season for dreams.  I wish everyone who might read this a very merry Christmas and may your dreams come true as well.

Book Review "The Daily Coyote"

Some time ago I read a book that I couldn't put down.  It wasn't a mystery, or spy story etc.  It was, of course, an animal story.  I love animals and their stories of rescue, escapades and almost anything with mention of an animal in it.  This one was  The Daily Coyote  by Shreve Stockton.  It is an amazing story of a young woman who was driving across country on  what  I think was  a small motor cycle  or scooter from CA to the east coast. On her journey she stops in  a tiny town in Wyoming and likes it so much she decides to stay, rents a house and meets some of the town's residents.  What starts the real story is a serendipitous encounter with a tiny baby coyote.  And so begins her blog "The Daily Coyote"  which starts out for family and friends and eventually turns into a very popular blog, and then a book.   The book is sprinkled with wonderful photos of the coyote as he grows and meets the cat she has and some dogs etc and a few scary incidents as well.   As she settles into her new dwelling she meets and falls in love with a town resident who lives nearby.  The book has a little bit of everything in it. 

The author studied journalism and photography in college and has other books to her credit (one is a cookbook for gluten free cooking).  I really enjoyed this book. It's an easy read and hard to put down.  It is available in paperback and hardcover on Amazon.  I'd recommend it for anyone over 15 or so. 

I would recommend this book for animal lovers and also for people who are considering a career in journalism or writing of any kind because she demonstrates (without lecturing on  it) the need for discipline in a self-directed career.  It might even make a good last minute Christmas gift for any readers and animal lovers on your list.

 Currently Miss Stockton is working on another book which I am happily awaiting. 

If anyone reads or has red this please send me your comments.  I'd love to hear what someone else thinks.  I'll post some on this blog. 

Thoughts on a weddings

Weddings are a sort of fairly tale. Little girls who dream of being a princess but were not born to royalty or wealth see it as a sort of "Princess for a day". I think it is interesting that the word princess carries the feeling of youth, beauty sweetness, kindness and gentleness - much more so than the word queen which to me seems sort of harsh, controlling and unyielding. Both  I believe may be due to the stories about royalty both in history and in current media, fiction or non-fiction. 

There is also somewhat of a  feeling of entitlement connected to the word princess (my little female cat Chloe is a good example) and sometimes used in a derogatory way toward demanding women who simply expect that things will be a certain way and accept nothing less.  And sometimes the princess bride can behave accordingly, but is usually forgiven the indiscretions.

So it seems that weddings are really for the little girl still inside the woman.

For a man it may be his most generous gift to the woman he loves - going along with the pomp and circumstance mostly for her and sometimes pretending he's enjoying it. For the most part this seems to work well for many couples.

Second marriages and weddings seem to be more about sharing and hoping and making decisions together. I don't know this through research, but believe it more from observation.

Of course finances play a part in the festivities. Weddings can be so costly, but usually a couple can manage a gown and a suite for the bride and groom and a sit down dinner for at least a small number of guests. Thus making the bride and groom the royal couple for at least a few hours.

The symbolism of the white dress and veil suggesting innocence and purity adds to the mystique - though very few couples would actually meet that criteria. The parents of the couple get to see their daughter as a princess for that one short time or their son as the strong and loving prince who will protect and care for his bride and the children that may follow. Presumably both sets get to see the radiant happiness and tenderness between the couple that makes all parents get goosebumps

Sadly this is not always the case, but the dream is a nice one. Everyone at the wedding - guests, attendants, family members all share that dream at least for a day.

Princess Chloe Visits the Doctor

Today I took Chloe to the veterinarian. I outsmarted her by hiding the carrier in the tub, pulling the shower curtain to hide it and not mentioning it to her. I couldn't even think about what was in store for her because she reads minds at least she reads my mind. She just knows. When I just look at her sometimes and I'm thinking about picking her up she runs. Sometimes she runs just when I talk to her. At other times she lies on the floor and shows me her tummy for some rubs and purrs like an engine. Sometimes she runs when she sees me coming down the hall for no good reason unless she's reading my mind. Anyway I got hold of her and brought her into the bathroom fairly easily (I kept thinking about having a cup of coffee). The minute I closed the door she started howling and meowing loudly. I managed to get her into the carrier and close it and lock it. The rest wasn't too bad although she howled a lot in the car. In the office she was obviously frightened , but held still for the exam with pupils widely dilated. She does have some yeast inf. in her ears that I'm treating now but otherwise she is pretty healthy. I wasn't surprised about the infection because she's been  shaking her head a little more than the others do.

It took her a few hours to forgive and forget and let me touch her, but when she did she was so sweet and purred so loudly I knew she forgave me and was OK.

Then came the second dose of ear drops.  Did not go over well at all and she is now in hiding. But I'm heading to bed shortly, and I bet she sleeps on my bed tonight. She likes company when it's dark.  I'll keep you posted on Princess Chloe's response to the ear drops. 

Winter Is Here

I know we started the  2011-12 winter off with a Nor'easter, Alexander (Dec.13) I think was the name.  But then we had some nice days and the snow seemed to disappear quickly.  The electricity took much longer to return.  We've had some wonderful days with blue skies, even sweater weather, but today not so much.  I think winter is warning us.  It's coming, and I just don't see the need for it.  My hands and feet are freezing, the blood has left them for warmer parts and so has the color.  I now have bluish, yellowish white fingers and toes courtesy of Renaud's disease and I'm not even outside.  I keep the heat low in my house  because I'm unemployed, and I need to be careful with money.  I do tend to bundle up and wear sweaters, but my hands and feet don't seem to know I'm wearing extra clothing.  Well enough complaining, eventually I'll move to FL to be near my daughter and keep my hands  and feet warm.

In New England I've noticed that the fall colors aren't as vibrant as they usually are this time of the year.  My friend says it's because of Hurricane Irene and the salt spray as that lady came ashore in New England. I've also noticed a lot of vines and weeds in my yard, but that's another story.  My back yard animal menagerie doesn't seem to mind the weeds as long as the food keeps coming.  And my cats continue to enjoy the squirrel TV. 

New Topic.  I'm watching and listening to the Celtic Women on PBS TV while I write this.  It's such beautiful music and such a wonderful visual experience that it's hard to keep my mind on my writing.The funny part is that I'm recording it too so I should be able to ignore it and do some work, but....  It's so hard.  They have a children's group singing with them for some of the performances and they are good and so cute.  I would love to see them in person someday.   For now though TV is OK.

I would talk about Christmas, but except to suggest a Celtic Women CD or DVD would make a great gift for many people, I'm going to leave Christmas for another day. Of course I wish all a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year.  Shop early it's good for the economy (maybe not yours, but for the country at least.)