Home now

Well I've been home for almost a week.  I miss my daughter and grandchildren, but it is good to be home. My kitties are glad to see me.  Giuseppe had terrible matted fur from not being brushed, but it wasn't Ian's fault.  Mr. G as I sometimes call him is timid and wary of strangers and wouldn't even let Ian pet him.  Maybe next time he'll remember him and be a little more friendly.  Gail says she'll stop in and give him a comb or 2, but I think I'll get him shaved on his belly and sides before I leave.  Prevention might be better than treatment.
I'm getting caught with some cleaning and fur removal.  Long-haired cats are high maintenance.  I only want short hair cats after this. 

The flight home was ok.  I did get a lot of reading done, and as always I love the take-off and landing.  I love flying, not so much waiting in airports and getting up at 4 am. 

Miss Chloe has been somewhat distant, but in the last 3 or 4 days she was more friendly, relaxed and purring.  I'm still having computer problems - freezing and lost passwords.  I do need to get a new computer, but I also need to wait until I have some income. 

I have just signed up for Medicare - which will start in April, my pension will start in June.  So things are looking up and actually going as planned. That last part doesn't happen very often.

We had a pinch of snow the other night which was pretty and then went away.  That's the only kind of snow I like.

I still have more unpacking and finding places for everything.  There doesn't  seem to be enough places.  Goodwill has become my partner in simplifying my life.    Next entry I'll try to be more interesting.

Visiting in FL.

I haven't been writing much because I've been visiting with my daughter and her family.  I'm with her to help her through her last semester of school for a degree in social work.  There is a genuine need for these services in FL and I think she'll be very good at this kind of work.  I'll be leaving on Feb 4th and returning sometime near the end of March.  I'm sort of a nanny for the kids.  I take them to the school bus stop, pick them up, start dinner, do laundry and light housekeeping, but still I'm exhausted.  I also feed and play with the animals: a cat, a bunny, a finch and 5 or 6 geckos.  The bunny and cat are my favorites. There is also a stray or abandoned cat that arrived at her home just a few weeks before I arrived.  She's a large black and white domestic short hair and very friendly and gentle and a little timid.  I like her very much and am considering bringing her home with me after my last visit.  I already have 3 cats so what's one more?  I must be a little crazy.  But it is obvious that she is a family cat and trusts and likes people.  How she was separated from her family will most likely remain a secret for her lifetime and mine. Unless someone claims her sometime.  She has no microchip or collar, but we did advertise on the message board in their development, but so far no takers.

Next time I'll tell you about my awful computer virus.  Stay tuned.

Forming ones values and ethics

I have a little more serious topic tonight.  Values and ethics.

I don't think I have consciously thought about my values  Due to attending Catholic schools for 12 years I had my values assigned to me and was warned about hell if I didn't follow the rules and values set for me by the teachers and priests.  But I think it is something I should think about and decide more independently.  One should have values, and understand why they are important and understand why we sometimes don't pay attention to  our own values and concerns, but to the pressure of others. It canbe a good thing if your values are flexible, but it can also make you wonder why you did or did not do something.  We can live our lives listening to the voice inside or we can live them listening to the voices of others.  It isn't necessarily bad to listen to others, but it is not as satisfying in the end.  And when things go wrong there is no comfort in saying you were coerced or coaxed into doing something which does not feel right. In the end you and only you pay the price. This is a concept that is important to teach to kids so that as they become teens they have a sort of foundation of values.  Yes teach the values, but teach how to arrive at them and sometimes let them see what happens when you don't follow your own code of ethics etc.

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.