Purses

Purses are so fun. These are some of my purses on the top shelf. I can see a round spot on the wall where the small mirror is reflecting.

This photo is in my new bedroom. For several months I had been investigating the possibility of being accepted to live in an apartment in town. There are sixteen units, all one level, eight units in each building. The apartments are HUD subsidized and there is one utility bill: Electricity.

It was a given that some day I would want to move to these apartments when taking care of the house became too much for me, so when there was an opening I didn't hesitate, I rented the apartment. My apartment in an end unit. I walk out my door, then out the building door, then one block to the senior center.

It has been a month since I moved in.  My rent is half what I paid at the house and since I don't pay all the utilities I did there, I am saving money.

Friends moved me. They stepped in and said they had a trailer and when would I want them there.

Each resident can garden the area in front of the windows, some grow veggies, some grow flowers, some use plastic flowers. I planted a yellow tea rose and a couple other plants. The geranium I had last year and took inside through winter has been planted for the summer and will come inside again when it gets too cold.  So I have a flower bed without the maintenance of the yard. And NO snow shoveling.

The mailboxes are inside each building so I won't have to slip and slide down the street to the mail box in winter.

Small apartment for one person, small price for rent, small responsibility.  Big JOY for Lola and me.

Memorial Day

There is a reverence and deep family tradition that is an essential part of Memorial Day weekend in mid western towns. I hardly know where to begin explaining with my limited knowledge of what takes place.

Some of my friends have already been to various cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of loved ones. There are readings and flowers and some personal time spent with each person who has left this earth. I find the whole experience to be loving and respectful.

Great grandparents are honored with a visit and flowers and then all family members' graves are decorated  as their passing is acknowledged and honored.

When I expressed surprise at all the activity, one friend asked me what did I think Memorial Day meant and the only thing I could come up with was that it was a holiday, a day off work for lots of people, and time for families to get together and I actually thought it was mostly about the men and women who died while doing service for this country.

Hearing my friends talking about their families and what it means to them to pay respect this way has given me so much, a blessing, and joy. Thinking beyond my only concept of this holiday to include remembrance of family members is awesome.

This is Monday, Memorial Day 2012. I have a picture of the dedication this weekend of a wonderful statue that has been added to the Veterans Memorial Park here in town.  Here is a picture of the statue; I will post some pics of the dedication ceremonies on another post.

New Statue in Veterans Memorial Park

This was how soldiers went back to find their fallen friends.

Side view of Soldier Statue in Veterans Memorial Park

Phone Solicitations

My phone rings so often and the caller takes me by surprise with a rambling fast talking spiel that they are reading or have memorized after making many calls. I have to ask them to slow down and repeat a certain part and then I can understand they want money.


Where do all these organizations get my name and address and phone number? I wouldn't be surprised if they know my blood type.


It is my own fault for answering the phone to a number that is not familiar to me.


Life will never be without hiccups or nuisance events. How I handle them is what matters.


The next time I inadvertently answer a telemarketer call, I am going to interrupt their opening two minute blurb to advise that the call is being recorded. And then keep saying "This is a recording. This is a recording. This is a recording." And then disconnect.


My friend told me to ask the caller what they are wearing.  I think I will try that one too.

Photo found on Google.

Whew

This past weekend I realized I was pooped. Really tired. Wiped out.

Years ago when I was working hard to support my three kids, I would have a "veg" weekend about every six months. Stay in pajamas, watch movies, doze, read, then nap, and have my kids do the cooking and me have no responsibility. It felt great, and they felt grown up as they bustled around fixing meals and trying to be quiet when I was sleeping (again).

When I became aware of how tired I felt this past weekend, I decided to have a "veg" day. My Sunday was that day. Not getting dressed or shower till I felt like it later in the day. Not doing things in case others came by, and answering the phone call invitations with "no thanks, I am spending time with me and my cat today".

Of course my cat Lola loved it. I brushed her long hair in the morning and throughout the day when she would curl up on the love seat next to me with her head on my ankle or my leg. I watched a variety of older movies on Netflix and listened to some music and slept a little.

This morning I checked my biorhythm. I am still bottomed out intellectually (duh) as well as emotionally and physically. No wonder I am so exhausted.

I am so glad I listened to my body telling me to take it easy for a day. I got a great sleep that night and woke refreshed and ready to join the world again. Still not a lot of energy, but that will increase as the days unfold this week.

Hope you all have an excellent week and have energy to spare to enjoy the coming weekend.

All photos found on Google. 

PARAPROSDOKIANS

 PARAPROSDOKIANS (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5.. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left..

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. Buses stop in bus stations.   Trains stop in train stations.  On my desk is a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target..

23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

My good friend in Reno sent this to me in an email.

Some of these are right on and some are just funny.

Carry A Baggie

This sign is on a corner near the main park in town.

I am a walker, and I appreciate this sign.

The people playing frisbee in the park do too.

Mending and Fixing

How many times can something be mended?

Found this wall in a downtown building.

This wall looks artsy with the various times of mending.

Wonder if my heart looks artsy.

Thank You, Mom

Did my mom make mistakes when I was her young child to raise? Uh, yep. Is she a saint? Uh, nope.

Did I make mistakes raising my children? Of course. No need to even ask the saint question.

This Sunday,  mothers are treated to the tradition of special attention from their children. Of course the day is a commercial jackpot and I don't begrudge the stores and flower shops and candy companies. Moms work at those places and moms need the jobs to support the kids.

It is a day of sharing in a way. I share the day with my mother and with my children who have their own children. I reach out to my mother with cards, gifts, phone calls, thanking her for trying her best with the tools she had at the time to be my mom. I let go of old hurts and resentments long ago. Hanging on to those was so unhealthy for me and hurtful to my mother. Having been a single mom I have hands on experience with the difficulties of working to support a family and having the energy and resources to have some quality time with the children I loved and missed all the hours I had to work.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom, from your hippie daughter. Thank you for knowing I was always following my own music. Thank you for the help you have given me through the years.

Thank you, my dearest children, for the Mother's Day cards and gifts. I gladly accept your wonderful tokens with the belief you reach out to me in love and appreciation and not just obligation or habit.

Enjoy your Mother's Day fun with your own children, my dear daughters.

This is the Circle Of Life.

P.S. My son also honors me on Father's Day, he says that I was both mother and father to him and he is grateful for my understanding the nature of a boy and encouraging him. Pretty cool, huh.

Breast Cancer Awareness

Every day of every month needs to be Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

I have lost dear friends to breast cancer. I have watched their shock at the news and then the pain and devastation and surgeries and treatments they endured because they wanted to live. I have been with them when they accepted the outcome and discontinued the fight for every breath.

My mother had breast cancer, then a mastectomy, then seven years later another mastectomy and she refused chemo or radiation both times. She did not have reconstructive surgery. We women aren't as attached to our uteruses as we are to our breasts. Men are victims of breast cancer too, but I can't say how it makes them feel after breast removal. I watched my mother's embarrassment and humiliation when she would strap on a heavy bra that felt like it was filled with sand each time she left her apartment. Until finally she just could not bear to wear it any longer and let go of all vanity.  When my brother cleaned out her apartment a few months ago, he discarded the heavy bras for her.

These are two items I use all the time to keep me focused on breast cancer, praying for a cure, hoping for a time when we won't lose people we love and care about to the cruelty of breast cancer. My coffee cup is  something I use often and the flashlight comes in handy every time I drop something in the carpet or when I walk outside in the dark to get something.

Tell me about your experiences with breast cancer. Some of you are breast cancer survivors. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are here to tell your story and live your life.

My hope is that some day scientists will actually find a cure for breast cancer, not just tame the beast.

Impromptu Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday afternoon I washed clothes and cleaned some after getting up early to get groceries and run errands. When I walked in the door in the late afternoon, there was a message from a friend that a few gals were going to get together to play dominoes. We had not played together and were going to play something new to each of us but one. So we each brought something to eat, shared with the group and six women played Mexican Train dominoes for three hours. Such laughter and giggling and fun! I didn't think about my sore back or weary body at all and slept like a log.

How was your Cinco de Mayo?

Do any of you play Mexican Train or any other domino game?

Thunderstorms all night did not wake me and I only woke in time to get ready to go to huge garage sale at the city auditorium this morning to benefit the high school band.

Enjoy your Sunday, I know I will.

Test Results

STUDENT WHO OBTAINED 0% ON AN EXAM

Q1. In which battle did Napoleon die?
* his last battle

Q2. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
* at the bottom of the  page

Q3. River Ravi flows in which state?
* liquid

Q4. What is the main reason for divorce?
* marriage

Q5. What is the main reason for failure?
* exams

Q6. What can you never eat for breakfast?
* Lunch & dinner

Q7. What looks like half an apple?
* The other half

Q8. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
* It will simply become wet

Q9. How can a man go eight days without sleeping ?
* No problem, he sleeps at night.

Q10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
* You will never find an elephant that has only one hand..

Q11. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in other hand, what would you have ?
* Very large hands

Q12. If it took eight men ten hours to build a  wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
* No time at all, the wall is already  built.

Q13. How can u drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
*Any way you want, concrete floors are very hard to crack.

If you were the teacher, what score would you have given this exam? If I were the teacher I would have given at least 50%, the student may not have known or been willing to give correct answers, but the student shows a great ability to think.