I discovered today that maybe I do have a bit of religion in my soul. And, if I do, it comes from seeing the beauty and perfection in flowers. Each morning I flip through a couple of sites on Facebook that are mostly dedicated to flower photos and it brightens my day immediately. I'm in awe at the symmetry in a flower and I have to admit it could not have happened by accident...not in so many varieties of flowers that we have in this world.
Some people find religion in human beings but I find too much cruelty in the human race. Flowers, on the other hand, simply bloom in beauty and make no statements. They just are.
There is perfect beauty in much of nature, even the perfection of a spider web is a marvel of engineering. Dandelions are every bit as beautiful in their construction as an orchid. It leaves me wondering who or what the architect is and why.
Monday, May 30, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Johns
I watched a program on how good people are making it their life's work to save prostitutes and get them off the streets and into a decent life. Once again I wondered about the "johns", the males who pay money to use these girls for their own sexual satisfaction, not caring what circumstances have made the prostitutes available to them.
It's no secret that the world is full of males who are married or in normal relationships but who still want to buy and use a prostitute. What is it in their psyche that allows a man to use a woman, sometimes even a child, as a piece of meat? Without a large supply of "johns" there would be no pimps and no prostitutes.
I'm picking on the males and not the females because people who avail themselves of prostitutes are usually male. They come from all walks of life...police officer, clerk, lawyer, judge, priest. They come from all levels of wealth. They can be the nice man who delivers the mail or bags your groceries. I think it would be difficult to find out what drives these men to use a prostitute because they are all so different. Of course, sexual pleasure is one drive but where is the conscience of a mature man when he hires a teenage prostitute to service him? I think that's what bothers me the most...why does his conscience not stop him from using and abusing the prostitute?
Some of these prostitutes have been in the game for so long they have destroyed their looks. But some men don't care and will still pay for them. They obviously don't hire a prostitute because they're lovely. Some are disasters of human beings and most are on drugs but they would never have sunk so far in life without the men who are willing to pay to use them.
Maybe it is the world's oldest profession and one that will go on forever. Maybe the johns are biologically driven and most will never develop that conscience I spoke of but what about that child prostitute? Surely we can teach our males that some lines should never be crossed. Surely we can save more of the children.
I saw that one city publishes the names and photos of every "john" arrested and that might decrease the numbers. Public shaming might be the only thing that will work. Leave those poor, damaged prostitutes alone in their misery and hit the johns extra hard by arresting them and making their identity public. The prostitutes may be criminals in a sense but their pimps and johns definitely are the ones committing the worst crimes.
The next time you condemn a prostitute keep in mind that it's the pimps and johns who deserve your worst contempt.
It's no secret that the world is full of males who are married or in normal relationships but who still want to buy and use a prostitute. What is it in their psyche that allows a man to use a woman, sometimes even a child, as a piece of meat? Without a large supply of "johns" there would be no pimps and no prostitutes.
I'm picking on the males and not the females because people who avail themselves of prostitutes are usually male. They come from all walks of life...police officer, clerk, lawyer, judge, priest. They come from all levels of wealth. They can be the nice man who delivers the mail or bags your groceries. I think it would be difficult to find out what drives these men to use a prostitute because they are all so different. Of course, sexual pleasure is one drive but where is the conscience of a mature man when he hires a teenage prostitute to service him? I think that's what bothers me the most...why does his conscience not stop him from using and abusing the prostitute?
Some of these prostitutes have been in the game for so long they have destroyed their looks. But some men don't care and will still pay for them. They obviously don't hire a prostitute because they're lovely. Some are disasters of human beings and most are on drugs but they would never have sunk so far in life without the men who are willing to pay to use them.
Maybe it is the world's oldest profession and one that will go on forever. Maybe the johns are biologically driven and most will never develop that conscience I spoke of but what about that child prostitute? Surely we can teach our males that some lines should never be crossed. Surely we can save more of the children.
I saw that one city publishes the names and photos of every "john" arrested and that might decrease the numbers. Public shaming might be the only thing that will work. Leave those poor, damaged prostitutes alone in their misery and hit the johns extra hard by arresting them and making their identity public. The prostitutes may be criminals in a sense but their pimps and johns definitely are the ones committing the worst crimes.
The next time you condemn a prostitute keep in mind that it's the pimps and johns who deserve your worst contempt.
Friday, May 27, 2016
The Donald
And still he keeps advancing towards the presidency and it scares me more every day! Here is a man who is arrogant, cruel, self absorbed, and has no respect for women. So why, why, why is he so popular? I just don't get it. A president with a personality like Donald Trump will destroy the United States because he just doesn't care about anyone but himself. He mouths a lot of platitudes but his record shows he is a true egomaniac. Consider what a president like that can do to a country. Hitler was one such man.
I see the only alternative is Hilary Clinton and she is despised by many Americans so I'm very frightened for the future of the United States once this election ends in November. It's my home away from home and many of my friends are good American people who are laying their lives on the line by supporting Trump.
I hope I'm wrong and that Hilary Clinton will win the election and go on to be a good president for the citizens of the United States. Every country deserves a decent leader...too bad we seldom get one.
I see the only alternative is Hilary Clinton and she is despised by many Americans so I'm very frightened for the future of the United States once this election ends in November. It's my home away from home and many of my friends are good American people who are laying their lives on the line by supporting Trump.
I hope I'm wrong and that Hilary Clinton will win the election and go on to be a good president for the citizens of the United States. Every country deserves a decent leader...too bad we seldom get one.
2016 Planting Done
I enjoy to the max seeing those lovely flowers every time I look out the door or even walk into the livingroom because I can see them even then. I see so many apartment balconies with nothing on them and that's like seeing a house with no plants in the yard. I wonder how sad the person living there must be. Plants give us so much pleasure that I can't imagine having none.
And now I've gotten interested in hanging photos of flowers on the apartment walls. Maybe I'm thinking ahead to when I'll be wintering in Canada and can't have plants out on the balcony.
But today I have many beautiful plants out there and I'm going to treat my eyes and soul to their beauty every time I look at them.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Garbage Pickers
I come from very poor beginnings but both my mother and grandfather worked. No-one I ever knew, even people poorer than my family, were garbage pickers. My first glimpse of people raiding the trash was one early morning at my house when I saw someone pulling a cart up to mine and my neighbors recycling boxes. He/she (I can't remember) took only cans...pop cans or beer cans. I was a little shocked and felt quite sorry for the person to be needing money that badly.
Living in this apartment building, I see a lot of this done now. Each time it has been a man pushing a grocery cart very early in the morning and raiding our recycling bins for pop or beer cans. I'm not sure if it's the same man each time but he is always neatly dressed and doesn't look like a street person. Again, my heart goes out to him and I feel guilty for my own good fortune.
This afternoon I was relaxing out on the balcony when I heard a loud clatter of bottles banging against each other. It sounded like someone was walking through my parking lot with a bag of bottles. I remained in my chair but could see a man walking out of my parking lot and down into the grassy area of the ravine. He was carrying quite a few bags as he crawled under the droopy leaves of a large tree becoming almost completely hidden as he scrambled about. I thought that he might be a homeless person and that was his lair...thinking about it now, it could be!
He scrambled back out but now only carrying a couple of bags, having left the noisy bags with bottles deep under the tree. He walked back to my apartment recycling bins and a couple of others I could see but it didn't look like he was able to find anything. I would describe him as small and thin, maybe in his late 50's, dressed in drab but not ragged clothes. He had no grocery cart so it might be a completely different man than the one I saw previously.
I feel very sorry for his plight and don't mind one bit that he makes a few dollars from our recycling bins but I do have one concern now. I'm a little worried he's camping out under that tree. And I wonder how many other people in this great city of mine is so down and out that they are living their lives in the same way.
We all have a picture in our heads of people who live on the streets and we think they all look like bums. This man did not look that way. Poverty seems to have a much different face than what I had thought.
Like I said, my family was poor but we lived in a clean apartment and ate well cooked meals. I guess I never really knew what true poverty was because I thought it was only living on low incomes. Street poverty, where someone has to raid dumpsters or recycling bins in order to survive, is a brand new reality for me.
There, but for the grace of whoever, go you or me.
Living in this apartment building, I see a lot of this done now. Each time it has been a man pushing a grocery cart very early in the morning and raiding our recycling bins for pop or beer cans. I'm not sure if it's the same man each time but he is always neatly dressed and doesn't look like a street person. Again, my heart goes out to him and I feel guilty for my own good fortune.
This afternoon I was relaxing out on the balcony when I heard a loud clatter of bottles banging against each other. It sounded like someone was walking through my parking lot with a bag of bottles. I remained in my chair but could see a man walking out of my parking lot and down into the grassy area of the ravine. He was carrying quite a few bags as he crawled under the droopy leaves of a large tree becoming almost completely hidden as he scrambled about. I thought that he might be a homeless person and that was his lair...thinking about it now, it could be!
He scrambled back out but now only carrying a couple of bags, having left the noisy bags with bottles deep under the tree. He walked back to my apartment recycling bins and a couple of others I could see but it didn't look like he was able to find anything. I would describe him as small and thin, maybe in his late 50's, dressed in drab but not ragged clothes. He had no grocery cart so it might be a completely different man than the one I saw previously.
I feel very sorry for his plight and don't mind one bit that he makes a few dollars from our recycling bins but I do have one concern now. I'm a little worried he's camping out under that tree. And I wonder how many other people in this great city of mine is so down and out that they are living their lives in the same way.
We all have a picture in our heads of people who live on the streets and we think they all look like bums. This man did not look that way. Poverty seems to have a much different face than what I had thought.
Like I said, my family was poor but we lived in a clean apartment and ate well cooked meals. I guess I never really knew what true poverty was because I thought it was only living on low incomes. Street poverty, where someone has to raid dumpsters or recycling bins in order to survive, is a brand new reality for me.
There, but for the grace of whoever, go you or me.
Fireworks
Last night I snuggled up on my 6th floor balcony and watched maybe a dozen areas of fireworks, most far away and some just barely visible over the trees. All beautiful in the dark night sky! I wondered, as I always do, what it is about fireworks that thrills us so much...and I think I might have fallen upon an explanation.
Recently I became interested in the exploding galaxies the Hubble telescope was able to photograph and, darned if they don't remind me of the fireworks I watched last night. It's the big bang theory.
The explosion, the color, the expanding lights. Somehow, we know what this represents but we can't know it. How could we know it? Hmmm! I'm not sure how long the Hubble telescope was in operation (possibly 10 years?) but I've been enjoying fireworks my whole life.
Anyway, as I sat out on the balcony and silently"ooed, awwwed, and ohhhed", I pictured the hundreds of thousands of people who are enthralled by fireworks and questioned why. I bet I got it right, though. In some way, we've witnessed the "big bang" and have primal memories of it. Maybe.
Recently I became interested in the exploding galaxies the Hubble telescope was able to photograph and, darned if they don't remind me of the fireworks I watched last night. It's the big bang theory.
The explosion, the color, the expanding lights. Somehow, we know what this represents but we can't know it. How could we know it? Hmmm! I'm not sure how long the Hubble telescope was in operation (possibly 10 years?) but I've been enjoying fireworks my whole life.
Anyway, as I sat out on the balcony and silently"ooed, awwwed, and ohhhed", I pictured the hundreds of thousands of people who are enthralled by fireworks and questioned why. I bet I got it right, though. In some way, we've witnessed the "big bang" and have primal memories of it. Maybe.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Flowers for the Soul
Matt put the air conditioner in yesterday and I opted to have him put it in the section of the window closest to the computer. My idea was that the tote I have to put under it outside to collect the water would be further from the bistro set. This is true but it's also true that now the cold air from the air conditioner blows right on me at the computer. I rarely use the air conditioner so that might turn out okay...we'll have to see.
Anyway, my balcony looks cute and colorful, just the way I like it. Tonight I'll sit outside among the finery with a drink in hand and watch some fireworks. I'm so very happy here!
Friday, May 20, 2016
Ancestry
I'm seriously thinking of having my ancestry researched but I'm not sure how to go about doing it. For instance, I am not sure who my father was but I do know the names of my greatgrandparents on my grandmother's side. I don't know the name of my mother's father, either. My family was pretty frisky but with the wrong people.
I wonder if I should just do the blood DNA research but it seems kind of vague. I want more information than that.
It's always been kind of an incomplete spot in my heart not knowing my father or his ancestry. And I've always been a bit jealous of people who could identify generations of their families all from the same country. I would have loved that because it would have given me a sense of belonging somewhere. As it is, I'm a Heintz 57 mixture of heaven knows what!
My husband would have been horrified to find out he doesn't have Danish ancestry...his side of the family just discovered this. Apparently there was hanky panky way back in that family, too.
I think I'll have Shelley show me how to go about tracing my ancestry when I get back to Florida because she's already done it. For most people, this isn't too important but to me it is because I have so little knowledge of my background. I would give anything to see a photo of an ancestor 5 or 6 generations back. The only photos I ever saw of my greatgrandparents were in the huge family bible my grandmother had. When she passed away, her oldest daughter (Ida) took that bible and donated it somewhere in Windsor where she lived. She hated the family whose photos were in the bible so I don't know why she took it. How I would love to have it today!
Oh well, we are what we are but it would be interesting to find out even a little bit about how far our genes have traveled.
I wonder if I should just do the blood DNA research but it seems kind of vague. I want more information than that.
It's always been kind of an incomplete spot in my heart not knowing my father or his ancestry. And I've always been a bit jealous of people who could identify generations of their families all from the same country. I would have loved that because it would have given me a sense of belonging somewhere. As it is, I'm a Heintz 57 mixture of heaven knows what!
My husband would have been horrified to find out he doesn't have Danish ancestry...his side of the family just discovered this. Apparently there was hanky panky way back in that family, too.
I think I'll have Shelley show me how to go about tracing my ancestry when I get back to Florida because she's already done it. For most people, this isn't too important but to me it is because I have so little knowledge of my background. I would give anything to see a photo of an ancestor 5 or 6 generations back. The only photos I ever saw of my greatgrandparents were in the huge family bible my grandmother had. When she passed away, her oldest daughter (Ida) took that bible and donated it somewhere in Windsor where she lived. She hated the family whose photos were in the bible so I don't know why she took it. How I would love to have it today!
Oh well, we are what we are but it would be interesting to find out even a little bit about how far our genes have traveled.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Just a Thought
For a while I've been hearing black people complain about their own people lightening their skin (like Michael Jackson) and how this is an insult to the natural beauty of the black race. I just watched a few minutes of Dr. Oz and saw the same topic being discussed. Then I thought of how, for years and years, white people have been baking under the sun or applying skin coloring agents to darken their skin. Why was there no talk of how we were insulting our white race??
This is what I think. This is the era of how everyone is offended and insulted by just about everything. I think we're driving ourselves crazy by over analyzing every damn thing we do.
Women are especially nuts by dyeing their hair, using filler on their faces to hide wrinkles, and make-up up the whazoo! But lately men have started dyeing their hair and using make-up, too. We all seem hell bent on fooling the public into believing we look like something we don't.
Anyway, black people, when your people lighten their skin they are just being as crazy as the white people who darken theirs. It isn't a conspiracy, just stupidity.
I saw a few make-up transformations on Facebook and they were startling. Seeing the "before" and then the "after" was like seeing 2 different people. This got me wondering what happens on the morning after a man beds a strange woman. Does she dare take off her heavy make-up before going to bed so that he might change his mind when he sees the real face? Or does she do it in the morning and make him wonder who he slept with?
Women's make-up used to be a little lipstick and a little eyeliner and mascara....she still looked like who she was but a bit better. Now it's as though they're wearing a mask. There is not much in this world as lovely as a young girl's natural skin. I wish we all had enough confidence in ourselves to lose the make-up altogether. I did but not until I got too old for it to help. LOL!
This is what I think. This is the era of how everyone is offended and insulted by just about everything. I think we're driving ourselves crazy by over analyzing every damn thing we do.
Women are especially nuts by dyeing their hair, using filler on their faces to hide wrinkles, and make-up up the whazoo! But lately men have started dyeing their hair and using make-up, too. We all seem hell bent on fooling the public into believing we look like something we don't.
Anyway, black people, when your people lighten their skin they are just being as crazy as the white people who darken theirs. It isn't a conspiracy, just stupidity.
I saw a few make-up transformations on Facebook and they were startling. Seeing the "before" and then the "after" was like seeing 2 different people. This got me wondering what happens on the morning after a man beds a strange woman. Does she dare take off her heavy make-up before going to bed so that he might change his mind when he sees the real face? Or does she do it in the morning and make him wonder who he slept with?
Women's make-up used to be a little lipstick and a little eyeliner and mascara....she still looked like who she was but a bit better. Now it's as though they're wearing a mask. There is not much in this world as lovely as a young girl's natural skin. I wish we all had enough confidence in ourselves to lose the make-up altogether. I did but not until I got too old for it to help. LOL!
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
The Art of Living Your Own Life
So this is what I've discovered in my 75 years, 9 months, 12 days on earth. The best way to live your own life is to stop caring what others think of you. All through my younger years I needed someone else's approval before I felt I was living right but I found that some people will never, ever give their approval. At some point I realized I was living a decent life worthy of respect, love, and acceptance and it didn't matter whether or not anyone else believed that as long as I did.
We're never really alone unless we create that kind of life so there will always be someone who appreciates you just the way your are and that's a comfort. But you don't need validation from others. What you dearly need is faith that you're doing the best you can and you aren't hurting another to do so.
I have a family that means the world to me and I see love and acceptance in their eyes when they look at me. I'm so happy they value me because what you see is what you get.
When I was a young child, I realized that the choices I made would result in a certain kind of life but I still made mistakes because I was young and foolish. My strongest need was for a stable family life and I wouldn't settle for just any man to share it with. I ended up choosing well even though it didn't end well. But, that's life. For every path we take, there just might be brambles along the roadside instead of streets paved in gold.
During that part of my life, I was not myself. I was forced by society into a role I had to play and it almost destroyed me. When you have depression, you can't form alternate plans to make your life better and that was what happened to me. I tried very hard to be something I wasn't meant to be. I loved being a wife and mother but I also wanted a fun life at the same time. I know this is possible now but I didn't know how to accomplish it at the time. I allowed myself to be stifled because that is what I believed had to happen...it doesn't.
Life should be easier than we tend to make it in our society. Parents shouldn't have to work 20 hours a day to keep up appearances with that half million dollar home, expensive cars, and expensive vacations. Parents and children should be able to live their lives more simply and not feel as though they're missing out on luxuries. That time spent together is the biggest luxury anyone can have. Children should be raised by their parents instead of nannies just because their parents have chosen demanding careers over those children. That is not the "normal" way.
A utopian society would be one where we only worked hard enough to survive and spent the rest of our time enjoying the simple things in life with our children. Love, laughter, and joy would rule our days. I know people who live this way and I admire them. They've chosen life over unnecessary luxuries.
Being an old gal means that society sort of forgets you exist so the demands to perform a role you're not interested in aren't as stringent. Seniors have usually stepped aside from the rat race and, as long as we don't make a nuisance of ourselves, we're free to live our lives as we please. Many have almost forgotten how to be "ourselves" but many do remember and that's when we begin to thrive.
I know I've bounced all over the place with this blog but it was all for one person...Tyson...the one person I know who has always marched to his own drummer. I don't know how he was able to escape the major societal roles imposed on us but he has done it well. I wish I'd known you all my life instead of just being your loving Gramma! You could have taught me how to stay me.
We're never really alone unless we create that kind of life so there will always be someone who appreciates you just the way your are and that's a comfort. But you don't need validation from others. What you dearly need is faith that you're doing the best you can and you aren't hurting another to do so.
I have a family that means the world to me and I see love and acceptance in their eyes when they look at me. I'm so happy they value me because what you see is what you get.
When I was a young child, I realized that the choices I made would result in a certain kind of life but I still made mistakes because I was young and foolish. My strongest need was for a stable family life and I wouldn't settle for just any man to share it with. I ended up choosing well even though it didn't end well. But, that's life. For every path we take, there just might be brambles along the roadside instead of streets paved in gold.
During that part of my life, I was not myself. I was forced by society into a role I had to play and it almost destroyed me. When you have depression, you can't form alternate plans to make your life better and that was what happened to me. I tried very hard to be something I wasn't meant to be. I loved being a wife and mother but I also wanted a fun life at the same time. I know this is possible now but I didn't know how to accomplish it at the time. I allowed myself to be stifled because that is what I believed had to happen...it doesn't.
Life should be easier than we tend to make it in our society. Parents shouldn't have to work 20 hours a day to keep up appearances with that half million dollar home, expensive cars, and expensive vacations. Parents and children should be able to live their lives more simply and not feel as though they're missing out on luxuries. That time spent together is the biggest luxury anyone can have. Children should be raised by their parents instead of nannies just because their parents have chosen demanding careers over those children. That is not the "normal" way.
A utopian society would be one where we only worked hard enough to survive and spent the rest of our time enjoying the simple things in life with our children. Love, laughter, and joy would rule our days. I know people who live this way and I admire them. They've chosen life over unnecessary luxuries.
Being an old gal means that society sort of forgets you exist so the demands to perform a role you're not interested in aren't as stringent. Seniors have usually stepped aside from the rat race and, as long as we don't make a nuisance of ourselves, we're free to live our lives as we please. Many have almost forgotten how to be "ourselves" but many do remember and that's when we begin to thrive.
I know I've bounced all over the place with this blog but it was all for one person...Tyson...the one person I know who has always marched to his own drummer. I don't know how he was able to escape the major societal roles imposed on us but he has done it well. I wish I'd known you all my life instead of just being your loving Gramma! You could have taught me how to stay me.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Don't Forget Your Pills
I have one of those little day organizers for my pills. I had to start using it a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with diabetes. It was apparently too much for my brain to remember whether or not I'd taken my pills because I was mostly pill free for so long in my life.
Anyway, I now have a daily regimen of calcium, multi-vitamin, metformin, and some little blue pill to calm my bladder. These are all taken in the morning. In the evening, I take another metformin, generic lipitor, and another little blue pill. I'd prefer to take nothing at all but I realize my health and happiness requires me to give in and take them.
I'd noticed during the winter that I often forgot to take my pills just because I was busy and put it off until it was too late to take them. This all caught up with me when I found out the results of my blood tests this spring. My blood sugar was a wee bit elevated.
I explained to my sweet doctor that I had been negligent in taking my medication regularly and he suggested I keep the day organizer at my computer where I spend a lot of my day. It worked. It's impossible to forget my pills when they're staring me in the face all the hours I spend on the computer so I'm expecting a better blood sugar report in the fall.
I'm not perfect. I don't eat right for one thing so taking the necessary drugs to keep me functioning well for as long as possible is something that must be done. I have a lot of crap on my desk...many notes about one thing or another...so the little pill organizer is taking up needed space but I'll keep it there if I have to do so.
In old age, we find that we are always having to adjust the way we run our lives. We have a lot of freedom to do whatever we want to do but, once we require medication, that's a major priority we ignore at our peril.
And so I now have to put up with this big monstrosity visually assaulting me as I type or play games on the computer. Sigh!
Anyway, I now have a daily regimen of calcium, multi-vitamin, metformin, and some little blue pill to calm my bladder. These are all taken in the morning. In the evening, I take another metformin, generic lipitor, and another little blue pill. I'd prefer to take nothing at all but I realize my health and happiness requires me to give in and take them.
I'd noticed during the winter that I often forgot to take my pills just because I was busy and put it off until it was too late to take them. This all caught up with me when I found out the results of my blood tests this spring. My blood sugar was a wee bit elevated.
I explained to my sweet doctor that I had been negligent in taking my medication regularly and he suggested I keep the day organizer at my computer where I spend a lot of my day. It worked. It's impossible to forget my pills when they're staring me in the face all the hours I spend on the computer so I'm expecting a better blood sugar report in the fall.
I'm not perfect. I don't eat right for one thing so taking the necessary drugs to keep me functioning well for as long as possible is something that must be done. I have a lot of crap on my desk...many notes about one thing or another...so the little pill organizer is taking up needed space but I'll keep it there if I have to do so.
In old age, we find that we are always having to adjust the way we run our lives. We have a lot of freedom to do whatever we want to do but, once we require medication, that's a major priority we ignore at our peril.
And so I now have to put up with this big monstrosity visually assaulting me as I type or play games on the computer. Sigh!
Friday, May 13, 2016
Carnation?
Don is going to hang them for me when I've got the other 3 and know where I want them hung. I haven't quite made up my mind whether or not to group the 4 together.
Flower Photos
I've already received one print that Kim took off the internet with her cell phone and then had enlarged and plaqued but I've quickly gotten 3 more that I'm totally in love with. It has to stop soon, though, because I'll run out of wall space. The thing is...I've now got wall art that I absolutely love and was able to find it so easily!
I love being surrounded by flowers but can really only have live ones on the balcony. Cindy bought me a huge and gorgeous Mandevilla (photo above) that I'm trying to keep inside the apartment but, if it starts to fail, I'll put it out on the balcony. I get tons of light in my apartment so I'm hoping it will thrive inside.
Anyway, Kim doesn't seem to mind helping me with the photos I choose and then she sends on to Costco to enlarge and plaque so I'll try not to go too far overboard with them.
But they're just so beautiful and I do have a bit more wall space! Sigh!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
I Tire More Easily Now
As we age, there are many changes in our body, mind, strength, etc. but what seems to bother me most now is that I seem to become totally weary at times instead of just a little bit tired. I'm not sure if this is normal or not.
I get up quite early in the morning so that could be one explanation but it's the all encompassing weariness that falls suddenly upon me that I don't like. That's what happened the day I fell asleep while driving...at least now I'm aware that this can happen and I won't let it happen again.
When I was a young chick, tiredness was something that came upon me gradually and it was also something I could ignore for a long time. Not now. I'm going to try to catnap for a while before my company comes this afternoon and then maybe catnap again before Kim and Anna come to pick me up to go out for dinner. If I don't nap I won't enjoy my company and my dinner. A small price to pay for still being around and having fun at this age!
I get up quite early in the morning so that could be one explanation but it's the all encompassing weariness that falls suddenly upon me that I don't like. That's what happened the day I fell asleep while driving...at least now I'm aware that this can happen and I won't let it happen again.
When I was a young chick, tiredness was something that came upon me gradually and it was also something I could ignore for a long time. Not now. I'm going to try to catnap for a while before my company comes this afternoon and then maybe catnap again before Kim and Anna come to pick me up to go out for dinner. If I don't nap I won't enjoy my company and my dinner. A small price to pay for still being around and having fun at this age!
Monday, May 09, 2016
Vegan Personality
Let's see, when I think of a vegan, I picture a slim yuppy who is probably quite healthy. I might also throw in a little bit of egotistical arrogance but just a dab. I certainly don't think of vegans as violent...how can they be without eating meat like an animal? Do vegans have muscles?
Well, there was a large editorial in today's newspaper about the owners of a vegan restaurant chain in California (That might be the answer right there...Californians are whacky) who have decided to eat meat. They won't serve it in their restaurants but eat it for their own meals. So what, right? Oh, no. Apparently they have angry patrons and animal rights groups who have picketed their restaurants and even sent them death threats because those rabid vegans think they somehow have the right to say what goes into a vegan restaurateur's tummy...and it better not be meat!
It's almost funny but what I see is that these little spur groups develop an inflated vision of themselves and of their importance. What I see is a minor group of thin and probably hungry people having a temper tantrum because they think they've been betrayed by one of their own. No, they won't fight because they might get hurt but it doesn't take too much stamina to write death threats, does it? So, it's not okay to eat meat but it's okay to kill human beings (as long as you don't eat them, I guess). Pitiful.
Well, there was a large editorial in today's newspaper about the owners of a vegan restaurant chain in California (That might be the answer right there...Californians are whacky) who have decided to eat meat. They won't serve it in their restaurants but eat it for their own meals. So what, right? Oh, no. Apparently they have angry patrons and animal rights groups who have picketed their restaurants and even sent them death threats because those rabid vegans think they somehow have the right to say what goes into a vegan restaurateur's tummy...and it better not be meat!
It's almost funny but what I see is that these little spur groups develop an inflated vision of themselves and of their importance. What I see is a minor group of thin and probably hungry people having a temper tantrum because they think they've been betrayed by one of their own. No, they won't fight because they might get hurt but it doesn't take too much stamina to write death threats, does it? So, it's not okay to eat meat but it's okay to kill human beings (as long as you don't eat them, I guess). Pitiful.
Learned Something New
I learned something new yesterday. I had seen a photo of a flower that I would have loved to find in a poster so I searched the internet for one but couldn't find it. Then Kim told me it was possible for her to somehow send that small photo to Costco, have it blown up to 16" x 20", and then they would plaque it for me to hang on the wall. I was entranced by the possibilities this opened up for me. Granted, Kim would have to do it for me because I have no cell phone service.
And, thanks to Kim who opened my mind to these brand new possibilities, I found 3 more photos I want done the same way. I'm starting to see a brand new way for me to decorate my apartment and I'm loving it. Just as long as Kim doesn't ignore my requests for more photo enlargements!
I've been following this terrific Facebook site that posts the most beautiful photos of flowers every day so my supply will be endless. How wonderful!!
And, thanks to Kim who opened my mind to these brand new possibilities, I found 3 more photos I want done the same way. I'm starting to see a brand new way for me to decorate my apartment and I'm loving it. Just as long as Kim doesn't ignore my requests for more photo enlargements!
I've been following this terrific Facebook site that posts the most beautiful photos of flowers every day so my supply will be endless. How wonderful!!
Sunday, May 08, 2016
Mother's Day
On May 30, 1958 I was still a very young and immature 17 year old girl but that's the day I first became a mother...so unprepared for all that the title entails but still filled with the motherly love for my daughter that most mothers experience. It's such a strong and, at the time, foreign feeling for me that I couldn't have described it then. To see this precious little baby (not so little at 9 lbs. 8 oz.) and to understand in every fiber of my being that she represented the deep love between me and her father, and yet to draw from me an even deeper love I never knew existed. I think new mothers are always surprised at how intense motherly love can be.
I've always thought of Kim as our "practice" child because neither her father nor I had any idea what to do with her so she is very lucky she survived such young and inept parents.
But that strange and wonderful motherly instinct can work wonders. You see, once you've unleashed a mother's love, she is changed forever. Her children become the most important reason she'll ever find to explain why she herself was born. A mother sort of loses her own unique identity because she knows in her heart that her children are by far more important in her life than she is herself. I suppose it's nature's way of protecting future generations.
I have three daughters that have grown into the very best of human beings so I have to give myself (and my husband) a little pat on the back for birthing and raising them. In all our inexperience and ineptitude, we must have done something right. Motherhood is the single most important thing I've accomplished with my life. Nothing could be more important than that.
I've always thought of Kim as our "practice" child because neither her father nor I had any idea what to do with her so she is very lucky she survived such young and inept parents.
But that strange and wonderful motherly instinct can work wonders. You see, once you've unleashed a mother's love, she is changed forever. Her children become the most important reason she'll ever find to explain why she herself was born. A mother sort of loses her own unique identity because she knows in her heart that her children are by far more important in her life than she is herself. I suppose it's nature's way of protecting future generations.
I have three daughters that have grown into the very best of human beings so I have to give myself (and my husband) a little pat on the back for birthing and raising them. In all our inexperience and ineptitude, we must have done something right. Motherhood is the single most important thing I've accomplished with my life. Nothing could be more important than that.
Saturday, May 07, 2016
Dawn
I wake up early so I see a lot of dawns but they never lose their power to fascinate and uplift me. When I think of how late I'd sleep when I was young and all the beautiful dawns I've missed, it makes me a little sad.
Some people enjoy late nights and bright lights but give me the vision of a peaceful dawn lighting up the countryside any day.
Friday, May 06, 2016
I Tenori
Mary, Faye, and I went for one of our overnights at Fallsview casino and had one of the best times ever. Mary had gotten us a free room and, between us, we all had free dinner buffet and free breakfast buffet. Mary had also gotten us tickets for the stage show, "I Tenori", right up front in the second row.
I got to the show first (we all separate when we gamble and then meet up at designated times) and took notice of how much Italian was being spoken in the audience...it must be true that Italians love opera more than many of us. I love all kinds of music but opera isn't at the top of the list. When the tenors came on the stage, I sat in awe of the magnificence of their voices...Luca Vissani, Gianluca Paganelli, and Diongi D'Ostuni had been gifted with the voices of angels. I know people who have nice singing voices but these were rapturous. I cried. I held back sobs as their voices hit unbelievable notes and held them for ages. True beauty like that is overwhelming for me.
I'm a country music fan but never, ever has a country song brought me to tears. I wished so much that I understood Italian because most of the songs were in Italian...but it surprised me that I KNEW the music to all the opera songs they sang. Somehow, throughout the years, I've been exposed to those songs because they were like old friends.
I've seen many stage shows at Fallsview but I've never been so happily affected as I was to "I Tenori". I could have listened to them all night. They also had a lady whose voice was good but I would have preferred only to hear the tenors. Sadly, they didn't have C.D.'s for us to buy but maybe I can find one somewhere.
There was an Italian lady sitting next to me and I could hear her softly singing along with the tenors. Normally that would have irritated me but she sang so softly and lovely that it only made me jealous that I didn't understand the language. We have a very large Italian population in Canada and, unlike the French in Quebec, they chose to blend in with the rest of Canadians and it didn't diminish their Italian cultural heritage one bit. Something to think about!
But then the show ended and we went back to our gambling and I began to win. I ended up the trip $108 ahead. What a fantastic mini vacation with two of my favorite people in the world!
I got to the show first (we all separate when we gamble and then meet up at designated times) and took notice of how much Italian was being spoken in the audience...it must be true that Italians love opera more than many of us. I love all kinds of music but opera isn't at the top of the list. When the tenors came on the stage, I sat in awe of the magnificence of their voices...Luca Vissani, Gianluca Paganelli, and Diongi D'Ostuni had been gifted with the voices of angels. I know people who have nice singing voices but these were rapturous. I cried. I held back sobs as their voices hit unbelievable notes and held them for ages. True beauty like that is overwhelming for me.
I'm a country music fan but never, ever has a country song brought me to tears. I wished so much that I understood Italian because most of the songs were in Italian...but it surprised me that I KNEW the music to all the opera songs they sang. Somehow, throughout the years, I've been exposed to those songs because they were like old friends.
I've seen many stage shows at Fallsview but I've never been so happily affected as I was to "I Tenori". I could have listened to them all night. They also had a lady whose voice was good but I would have preferred only to hear the tenors. Sadly, they didn't have C.D.'s for us to buy but maybe I can find one somewhere.
There was an Italian lady sitting next to me and I could hear her softly singing along with the tenors. Normally that would have irritated me but she sang so softly and lovely that it only made me jealous that I didn't understand the language. We have a very large Italian population in Canada and, unlike the French in Quebec, they chose to blend in with the rest of Canadians and it didn't diminish their Italian cultural heritage one bit. Something to think about!
But then the show ended and we went back to our gambling and I began to win. I ended up the trip $108 ahead. What a fantastic mini vacation with two of my favorite people in the world!
Sunday, May 01, 2016
Just Wondering
Yesterday I was at Burger King and heard two 30ish men having a conversation liberally filled with the "F" word. Since there were a couple of youngish ladies with children sitting close to me, I began to wonder if I should approach the men and remind them there were children who could hear them. I know, I've become an interfering old bat.
Anyway, I hesitated because I realized I've become an interfering old bat and was shocked to hear the youngish ladies with the children also filling their conversation with the "F" word. I almost laughed.
Maybe it's a new world and maybe people just don't take offense to the "F" word any more. I never concern myself with the adults but personally hate to have the little children hear it but I'm beginning to realize that most parents just don't care any more. I find this sad.
As I listened to the men talking, it became very apparent that their language skills were such that they almost needed the "F" word in their sentences. Otherwise their sentences would have consisted of just a very few words. Now I understand. The "F" word is for people with poor grammar and who only have a tiny list of words in their vocabulary. The "F" word no longer has anything to do with sex...it's just a filler word when you don't know another one to use.
Still very sad.
Anyway, I hesitated because I realized I've become an interfering old bat and was shocked to hear the youngish ladies with the children also filling their conversation with the "F" word. I almost laughed.
Maybe it's a new world and maybe people just don't take offense to the "F" word any more. I never concern myself with the adults but personally hate to have the little children hear it but I'm beginning to realize that most parents just don't care any more. I find this sad.
As I listened to the men talking, it became very apparent that their language skills were such that they almost needed the "F" word in their sentences. Otherwise their sentences would have consisted of just a very few words. Now I understand. The "F" word is for people with poor grammar and who only have a tiny list of words in their vocabulary. The "F" word no longer has anything to do with sex...it's just a filler word when you don't know another one to use.
Still very sad.
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