4. What are your memories of your mother?
Mom is still alive and going to be 91 the end of this month. Since I am still not feeling well this week (Musinex and I are still friends) all I can think about when asked about my mom is that I've been thinking a lot a bout how her life must be like right now. She's happy to be back up in Minnesota near most of the family (Minneapolis). She lives in a wonderful senior building where she can go down for meals and be waited on in a dining room with tablecloths. She sees family often and loves nothing better than to go out to eat or have visitors. But...
There's a big BUT in her world. She's had macular degeneration for years and, despite getting the eye shots, she is losing her vision more and more. Her hearing has been going for years, too. Even with hearing aides, her hearing has greatly diminished now. So, she can't read anymore or even hear audio books, apparently. She used to love to read. She used to do knitting, needlework, tatting, sewing. She can't see her football or baseball games very well or hear what the sportscasters are saying. Still she watches her sports because she can follow them better than trying to watch a program or a movie (which I don't think she does at all anymore).
Mom had zero interest in technology. She never even learned how to do email. Dad did email and had a laptop...till he couldn't see well anymore. The family got her a headset to wear that plugs into her CD player. She has always loved music--sang in the church choir and played piano/organ by ear--but, for some reason, she doesn't use the headset. She just told me when I talked to her a few days ago that she didn't really like what was in the player. (Maybe she can't see to know how to choose or change the CDs?) She had told me that the headset wasn't working that well a couple months ago. Kathy (SIL) brought her to the ear doctor and that's when they said they can't get her hearing any better any more. So I suppose she doesn't hear clearly even with the headset? We thought she could maybe listen to audio books. *sigh* But when things don't go easily she gets fed up and just quits these days.
Can't blame her.
What a life to not see or hear well.
She may get a little cranky and frustrated sometimes but she generally doesn't complain. At least not when I talk to her on the phone...sometimes for an hour or two when I do call. Mom is so grateful to Blaine and Kathy for taking such good care of her and loves seeing the grandkids and great grandkids. Blaine picks her up for church on Sundays and they go out to eat once a week. Kathy cleans her place every week, buys her groceries, takes out her trash, brings her to appointments, takes her to lunch, etc. She's an angel!
But what a drastic change to deal with.
No reading. No movies. No crafts. Even when you have a visit with friends or family you can't understand the jumbled conversations if more than one person is talking (which is always the case with our family--LOL!). She and Dad had always been sports and news junkies. Now she's down to half-seeing the Twins and Vikings...and wondering what the score is or why someone is lying in the field. Eventually she will find out the score...or know who won or lost in the end.
Mom can hear me pretty well on the phone because I am a born loud-talker. She can hear Kathy well, too, for the same reason. :) Mom used to be a loud-talker herself. Now she's quiet with a soft, low voice...and getting frailer every year. But her spirits are always lifted by a visit or a phone call or (whoohoo!) going out to eat!
Love you, Mom. Even though I know you'll never read this.
The end.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Monday, January 27, 2020
1-27-2020 Monday 2:45pm
Good afternoon!
Well, maybe an okay afternoon--LOL!
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I had a couple good days this past week. Blogged on Monday. Caroline came to clean on Tuesday and then Dagan stopped by after work, filled the seed bin for me. He stayed for a short chat. Leah came that night for crafts. Basically she did the prep work for Ian's Valentine's Day cards for preschool while we chatted.
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They're using the same little envelope die cut but this year Ian wanted lots of colors and hearts on them. So Leah cut out the envelopes and a bunch of colored hearts, too, using that die you see there. I know Ian wants to glue the hearts on and he writes out the names. This is something Mama and Ian do together. :)
The plan was to have Leah stay on Gramma Day this past weekend and they would work on the Valentines. We also planned on me going over for a visit on Friday. Dagan was going to pick me up after work on his half day. Well, so much for plans--LOL!
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I hadn't been feeling great but on Wednesday I went into a fibro flare (could be oxalate dumping, too). I found out Leah got really sick with a 102 degree temp and Dagan stayed home Wednesday to take care of the boys so she could be miserable on the couch. She still felt crummy for days after the fever broke.
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Me--I wasn't up to even getting mail (which I will go check when I am done here since I actually got dressed today). I never did the calligraphy class or the questions blog on Friday. Hopefully this week will be better. I barely worked on letters--for those of you waiting for one.
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You know I am feeling cruddy if I don't even work on letters--because I am all set up to do that right there in my chair. I'm normally working on letters at least 5 days a week. (My mind is usually the one thing that feels decent--LOL!)
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Anyways, having a very low spoons week is nothing new for me and I didn't run a high temp or anything. Leah's doing better last I heard. But since I was feeling like a noodle and didn't want to catch what Leah had--we called off the Friday visit and the Gramma Day this past weekend. Hopefully all will be better and it will be a go for this coming weekend. Time will tell.
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LOL! Further proof I wasn't up to snuff. Only three other pictures...of the partridges in the snow.
Can you see the partridge at the top right?
It has an injured wing.
Been around here like that for maybe two weeks. I have never seen it try to fly so I don't know if it can. I've seen it show up with two others a few times--just the three of them. I think it stays nearby for the easy meals. Glad it is still doing okay and looks healthy otherwise.
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So, that's it from here, I guess. Not much going on. Been binge-watching shows since it's been mainly a chair-blanket-Annie-TV week. Annie doesn't mind at all. ;) I am such a soft touch that every once in a while I put Annie's CatTV on the big TV and watched my shows on my laptop-ROFL!
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I hope you have been doing better than I have. Not that I've been "sick-sick"...just the usual bad times or flares I get. Nothing new. I just settle in and escape into TV and videos to take my mind off it. Wait it out. Endure. Make it the best time I can. Annie helps with that. Karma did, too. Two cats with very different personalities. I don't think I would ever want to go too long without a good old grown cat, to be honest. They are inherently lazy. Perfect chair company for a health-challenged, slow-moving, creaky, old lady. :) :)
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Till we meet again...
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"I have decided to stick to love...
Hate is too great a burden to bear."
Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, January 20, 2020
1-20-2020 Monday-1pm
Good afternoon!
The critters seem to always know when a storm is coming. The partridges were just hunkering down where they knew there was food...which is why I tend to keep the blinds only half open so I am less likely to scare them away.
The cottontail was here for a couple days, too, before the storm hit.
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Wednesday I went to meet another new doctor who set me up with different BP pills so that the dry cough should disappear within a couple weeks. She was okay, I guess, but I decided that I'd like to try this other doctor who is also listed as an osteopath. Do have to go to a different clinic to see her, but I am going to try her (Dr. Kessler) for the new BP pill checkup end of February. I'd like to find a regular doctor that I feel comfortable with, if I can. Oh, and I go back for a random free BP check any time after I've been on these new pills 2-3 weeks.
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Because of the clinic visit, I never got around to doing the calligraphy lesson on Wednesday...but I did do a small section on Thursday so I could at least check it off my list. ;)
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Was kind of tired and head stuffed up again this past week. Leah wasn't full of energy, either, but we managed to get the oval wooden labels velcroed to the new bins in the bathroom on Thursday night.
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By Thursday night the wind had arrived...and continued blasting my windows all day Friday. We had 60mph wind gusts on Friday and 50mph on Saturday. Yup--another blizzard when the snow arrived on Friday.
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Annie seemed unconcerned--LOL!
But she did check for critters after I tossed out some seed onto the new drift across my patio.
There was lots of drifting with those high winds.
Even after it stopped snowing the winds blew the ground snow around.
Immediately, the seed was covering up with snow.
In just ten minutes it was covered.
But the local critters know to come here and dig. The cotton tail got very busy digging a hole down to a layer of buried seed.
There were a couple layers of seed down there, actually.
As soon as either the rabbits or the partridges come to eat the smaller birds show up to gobble up any seed that has been unearthed by the bigger critters who can dig deeper.
I took these pictures one right after another of a partridge sitting on top of the snow drift...
...while the gusts came...
...one right after the other...
...and I could barely see it for a second...
..over and over.
They learn how to endure the wind, I guess.
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By later on Saturday the wind died down a bit...
...and it was easier for them to dig out seed that was barely covered by the lighter wind.
Annie seemed annoyed that the birds were so hungry that they didn't even notice her trying to scare them away. (Good!)
CatTV hasn't lost its appeal, though.
Annie will binge-watch chipmunks and squirrels, especially.
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We've gone into the deep freeze again. Both Sunday morning and this morning I couldn't get the patio door open because it was frozen shut. By about noon the sun had warmed it up enough that I could open it and get some seed out there. Partridges ran from beside the building where they had been huddled together...
...and four of them came scooting out of that hole that the rabbit had started after the storm--LOL!
Startled me! I bet it was nice and cozy huddled together inside that hole, though. :)
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The snow banks keep rising, settling, and then rising again with the next storm.
Was -18 F this morning when I got up (which is about -28 C) and it had warmed up a little by then.
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Anyways, today--I took a Musinex and am doing laundry...because I need to. Would rather be curled up with Annie in my chair under a warm blanket--LOL! Been that kind of week. Binge-watched Grace and Frankie on Netflix. :) Having quiet, peaceful days is always a good thing. ;)
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Till next time...keep smiling!! :)
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"May you grow still enough to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky and the roar at the earth's fiery core."
Br. David Steindl-Rast
Friday, January 17, 2020
#3 Life Questions
3. What memories do you have of your father?
As a kid I mostly remember Dad leaving in the mornings and coming back before dinner...mowing the lawn on the weekends, shoveling snow, fiddling in the garage by his tool bench, sleeping in his chair in the living room--but if you tried to change the channel on the console TV he'd wake up and say, "I was watching that!" He was like most of the fathers in the 50s.
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/11/daddy-and-cottonwood-tree.html
I remember he was tickled by puns and silly jokes--loved HeeHaw. He always loved word puzzles, any little hand puzzles, and sudoku when that came out. Watched football and baseball games (Minnesota Vikings and The Twins). Didn't like to miss Bonanza or Ed Sullivan. Loved to travel. We went on many vacations with the long, 2-room, canvas "caterpillar tent" on a trailer bumping along behind the car. He'd take tons of pictures of the scenery.
He had a tall wooden short wave radio in the basement where he would find people to talk to from far away places. Then when CB was big he had a CB radio at home and in his car. Would be up late at night chatting on the CB.
Dad was the one who took care of the plants around the house most of the time. He loved his tiger lilies and the tulips. For a few years he planted this crazy plant beside the front step that grew so huge with large, flat, many-pointed leaves that the mailman couldn't get to the box beside the front door. We had to use the back door by late summer because you couldn't even jungle your way into the front door anymore. I think it was a castor bean, but I'm not sure.
He'd been in the Navy in the Pacific when he was a young man. Worked as a lithographer at a printing company all his life until he had to retire early due to glaucoma. Had been their top lithographer because he was a detail-oriented perfectionist and could do the printing jobs that were too difficult or exacting for the others.
Dad had a younger brother, who also went into the Navy and was his mother's favorite. After Dad retired my folks spent a lot of time in Florida and eventually they bought a mobile home in a retirement community down there. He learned how to play golf. At the age of 90 Dad finally found a doctor who would do a hip replacement because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (His mother lived to be 104 and Dad figured he'd be around a lot longer.)
[Note: I come from a long line of long-lived, stubborn Swedes. My brother, sister, and I are the last 100% Swedes in the family.]
Mom and Dad were in a car accident on their way to Denny's for breakfast over four years ago. He died instantly. It was a blessing in disguise because he was 94 and his heath was truly failing.
But he was still walking.
The end.
As a kid I mostly remember Dad leaving in the mornings and coming back before dinner...mowing the lawn on the weekends, shoveling snow, fiddling in the garage by his tool bench, sleeping in his chair in the living room--but if you tried to change the channel on the console TV he'd wake up and say, "I was watching that!" He was like most of the fathers in the 50s.
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/11/daddy-and-cottonwood-tree.html
I remember he was tickled by puns and silly jokes--loved HeeHaw. He always loved word puzzles, any little hand puzzles, and sudoku when that came out. Watched football and baseball games (Minnesota Vikings and The Twins). Didn't like to miss Bonanza or Ed Sullivan. Loved to travel. We went on many vacations with the long, 2-room, canvas "caterpillar tent" on a trailer bumping along behind the car. He'd take tons of pictures of the scenery.
He had a tall wooden short wave radio in the basement where he would find people to talk to from far away places. Then when CB was big he had a CB radio at home and in his car. Would be up late at night chatting on the CB.
Dad was the one who took care of the plants around the house most of the time. He loved his tiger lilies and the tulips. For a few years he planted this crazy plant beside the front step that grew so huge with large, flat, many-pointed leaves that the mailman couldn't get to the box beside the front door. We had to use the back door by late summer because you couldn't even jungle your way into the front door anymore. I think it was a castor bean, but I'm not sure.
He'd been in the Navy in the Pacific when he was a young man. Worked as a lithographer at a printing company all his life until he had to retire early due to glaucoma. Had been their top lithographer because he was a detail-oriented perfectionist and could do the printing jobs that were too difficult or exacting for the others.
Dad had a younger brother, who also went into the Navy and was his mother's favorite. After Dad retired my folks spent a lot of time in Florida and eventually they bought a mobile home in a retirement community down there. He learned how to play golf. At the age of 90 Dad finally found a doctor who would do a hip replacement because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (His mother lived to be 104 and Dad figured he'd be around a lot longer.)
[Note: I come from a long line of long-lived, stubborn Swedes. My brother, sister, and I are the last 100% Swedes in the family.]
Mom and Dad were in a car accident on their way to Denny's for breakfast over four years ago. He died instantly. It was a blessing in disguise because he was 94 and his heath was truly failing.
But he was still walking.
The end.
Monday, January 13, 2020
1-13-2020 Monday-10am
Good Morning!
A week after that blizzard plows were still moving snow out of the way in the parking lot across from me.
It's quite amazing how much snow is pushed about or removed after a big storm so that people can get to work, see at intersections, and park to shop or get to appointments...all in a matter of days. Those of you who don't get snow might like to watch a little silent tidying up.
****
After a tractor finally came through to clear the walking path, someone tossed some seed out on the snowbank. I caught a jackrabbit nibbling away.
After a tractor finally came through to clear the walking path, someone tossed some seed out on the snowbank. I caught a jackrabbit nibbling away.
Maybe was someone who lives on second or third floor above me who also likes to watch the critters eat? They wouldn't be able to see them on my patio below but they can see them coming and going all day long--LOL!
****
Well, still learning new (spiritual/healing) aspects of what I am supposed to be doing in 2020. A former blogger turned pen pal, Des, asked me if she could hear more about the energy work, so I linked her to my other blog where nine years ago I had written a six part series of blog posts because people had been asking me back then about the very same thing.
****
I was shocked that it had been nine years ago. Coincidentally, I finished the series up on New Year's Eve. Since I hadn't read them since I wrote them I decided maybe I should read them again now in order to see what she would be reading. They were copied and pasted off this blog so occasionally the formatting is a little off...but I sat down to re-read them all.
****
Some of you have been around long enough to have read these back then or have known me in real life--but I'm sure many of you do not know me that well. If you read these you will have a better idea who I am and why the jackrabbit's death and getting the Healing angel card were such a big deal to me.
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Probably won't surprise anybody that this is the short, choppy, bits & pieces version I put together in blog posts back then to explain about my background with "energy work", a little about my guardian angel (GA), and how "soulcomfort" came about. So, if you're interested grab a cuppa and settle in. By the time I came to part six I realized what I am supposed to try to do this year...
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...is what I was supposed to work on nine years ago...
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...that I tried, failed, and gave up on back then.
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Not sure I will have any more success now, but I will have to try.
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https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-1-hamster-and-crow.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-2-strangers.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-3-dagan-and-ga.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-4-running-girl-and.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2011/01/me-ga-and-sc-part-5-energy-work.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2011/01/me-ga-and-sc-part-6-soul-comfort.html
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Anyways, Leah came over Tuesday night. We just talked about all of the Soul Comfort stuff. :) :)
****
Wednesday I worked on the calligraphy class.
Well, still learning new (spiritual/healing) aspects of what I am supposed to be doing in 2020. A former blogger turned pen pal, Des, asked me if she could hear more about the energy work, so I linked her to my other blog where nine years ago I had written a six part series of blog posts because people had been asking me back then about the very same thing.
****
I was shocked that it had been nine years ago. Coincidentally, I finished the series up on New Year's Eve. Since I hadn't read them since I wrote them I decided maybe I should read them again now in order to see what she would be reading. They were copied and pasted off this blog so occasionally the formatting is a little off...but I sat down to re-read them all.
****
Some of you have been around long enough to have read these back then or have known me in real life--but I'm sure many of you do not know me that well. If you read these you will have a better idea who I am and why the jackrabbit's death and getting the Healing angel card were such a big deal to me.
****
Probably won't surprise anybody that this is the short, choppy, bits & pieces version I put together in blog posts back then to explain about my background with "energy work", a little about my guardian angel (GA), and how "soulcomfort" came about. So, if you're interested grab a cuppa and settle in. By the time I came to part six I realized what I am supposed to try to do this year...
****
...is what I was supposed to work on nine years ago...
****
...that I tried, failed, and gave up on back then.
****
Not sure I will have any more success now, but I will have to try.
****
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-1-hamster-and-crow.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-2-strangers.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-3-dagan-and-ga.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2010/12/me-ga-and-sc-part-4-running-girl-and.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2011/01/me-ga-and-sc-part-5-energy-work.html
https://soulcomfortsstories.blogspot.com/2011/01/me-ga-and-sc-part-6-soul-comfort.html
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Anyways, Leah came over Tuesday night. We just talked about all of the Soul Comfort stuff. :) :)
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Wednesday I worked on the calligraphy class.
I use tracing paper so that I can reuse the original workbook pages over and over again.
Did alphabet practice for two hours and this wasn't even the end of lesson three.
I definitely forgot about how difficult it is to learn how to move your entire hand and arm but not move your wrist or fingers. Reminds me of when I went to italic calligraphy classes and had to learn to hold the squared off nib in the exact same position while you wrote. That was with a dip pen with a specific type of nib...and the teacher insisted we learn on an easel. Writing more upright was a total new learning experience also. This is something new again with the pointed dip pen. Maybe I should try it on the easel? LOL! Regardless, I do know that a LOT of practice is involved.
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Leah came very late on Thursday and we just chatted and caught up. Maybe get to working on something this week. I'm just glad to have time to connect. :)
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Friday was questions day on the blog,. I'm so glad some of you are enjoying those.
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Saturday was an R&R day. I am pretty well shot doing more than usual, but hope to get accustomed to it.
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Sunday was Gramma Day. Ian painted in a watercolor workbook while we watched CatTV. (Annie is not the only one who likes those videos). After we cleaned up the painting stuff we watched some Stinky and Dirty for a good hour, the new favorite show. Daddy and Liam came to pick Ian up and stayed a short visit. Nice! :)
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As soon as they were out the door Annie came out from under the bed for her turn at CatTV--LOL!
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Leah came very late on Thursday and we just chatted and caught up. Maybe get to working on something this week. I'm just glad to have time to connect. :)
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Friday was questions day on the blog,. I'm so glad some of you are enjoying those.
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Saturday was an R&R day. I am pretty well shot doing more than usual, but hope to get accustomed to it.
****
Sunday was Gramma Day. Ian painted in a watercolor workbook while we watched CatTV. (Annie is not the only one who likes those videos). After we cleaned up the painting stuff we watched some Stinky and Dirty for a good hour, the new favorite show. Daddy and Liam came to pick Ian up and stayed a short visit. Nice! :)
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As soon as they were out the door Annie came out from under the bed for her turn at CatTV--LOL!
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Today is laundry and that will likely be all she wrote--LOL! I have an appointment with another new doctor (you may recall my last new-to-me doctor left the clinic) to get my blood pressure checked and I'm going to ask about a different BP pill as this one does make me cough a lot. So, another busier than 2019 week for me--LOL! I'm keeping up so far. ;)
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Will be talking more about the six part blog posts at some point. Would love to hear comments and questions. Can leave them here or email me. Positive or curious thoughts are welcome. I am not into negatives or arguments, though, as you might assume. I'm perfectly okay being your nutty, out-there friend...or relative, for that matter--ROFL! ;)
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Have a really good week. I'm hoping for good sleep and some productivity. As Roy Rogers used to sing...till we meet again. :)
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"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make."
Jane Goodall
Today is laundry and that will likely be all she wrote--LOL! I have an appointment with another new doctor (you may recall my last new-to-me doctor left the clinic) to get my blood pressure checked and I'm going to ask about a different BP pill as this one does make me cough a lot. So, another busier than 2019 week for me--LOL! I'm keeping up so far. ;)
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Will be talking more about the six part blog posts at some point. Would love to hear comments and questions. Can leave them here or email me. Positive or curious thoughts are welcome. I am not into negatives or arguments, though, as you might assume. I'm perfectly okay being your nutty, out-there friend...or relative, for that matter--ROFL! ;)
****
Have a really good week. I'm hoping for good sleep and some productivity. As Roy Rogers used to sing...till we meet again. :)
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"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make."
Jane Goodall
Friday, January 10, 2020
#2 Life Questions
2. When and where were you born? Describe your home, your neighborhood, and the town you grew up in.
Born March 28, 1951. When I was first born my folks were living in a trailer for a short time. Not sure where but somewhere in or near Minneapolis, Minnesota. They moved into a duplex in South Minneapolis when I was about one that I believe my mother's cousin owned. He and his family lived upstairs. My brother and sister were born while we lived in the duplex--the same year. One in January and one in December. Blaine being born was one of my first memories. I was two, going on three.
Mommy and That Baby
When I was five we moved to Fridley, a suburb of Minneapolis, into a brand new house...a brand new suburb. Lived in that same house until I left home after graduation in 1968.
At first our expanding neighborhood blocks were surrounded on three sides by wild prairie fields, sand dunes, and a man-made lake. I spent a vast amount of time in the those fields and by the lake. By the time I was ten they were digging up what was left of the fields to build the senior high school and softball fields. Fridley wasn't like a town with a main street or any kind of central location of the city. Fridley just sprawled aimlessly with a scattering of the new strip malls, the Twin Drive-In by the interstate, a few churches, and a police station-LOL!
I've written about that time in my life a few times. Wandering the fields and the lake shore strip of woods was the best childhood ever! That was my sanctuary--where my love of critters and nature blossomed.
Fridley Fields
Flower Child
The end. :)
Born March 28, 1951. When I was first born my folks were living in a trailer for a short time. Not sure where but somewhere in or near Minneapolis, Minnesota. They moved into a duplex in South Minneapolis when I was about one that I believe my mother's cousin owned. He and his family lived upstairs. My brother and sister were born while we lived in the duplex--the same year. One in January and one in December. Blaine being born was one of my first memories. I was two, going on three.
Mommy and That Baby
When I was five we moved to Fridley, a suburb of Minneapolis, into a brand new house...a brand new suburb. Lived in that same house until I left home after graduation in 1968.
At first our expanding neighborhood blocks were surrounded on three sides by wild prairie fields, sand dunes, and a man-made lake. I spent a vast amount of time in the those fields and by the lake. By the time I was ten they were digging up what was left of the fields to build the senior high school and softball fields. Fridley wasn't like a town with a main street or any kind of central location of the city. Fridley just sprawled aimlessly with a scattering of the new strip malls, the Twin Drive-In by the interstate, a few churches, and a police station-LOL!
I've written about that time in my life a few times. Wandering the fields and the lake shore strip of woods was the best childhood ever! That was my sanctuary--where my love of critters and nature blossomed.
Fridley Fields
Flower Child
The end. :)
Monday, January 06, 2020
1-6-2020 Monday-11:15am
Good Morning!
Lots of pictures today. Will be a longer chat, so grab a cuppa! :)
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After I blogged last Monday I took some pictures of the results of the blizzard. Out the front door looking one way...
...and the other. Hard to see how high these snow piles are...
...so here's a closer shot.
...so here's a closer shot.
This is a door in the stairwell that you couldn't get out of.
Love the shape of the drifts, though.
Out in the hallway that connects my building to the main center building I took a shot out the door that goes to the dumpster and parking lot.
Not that you can see much of them--LOL!
Okay--the big story of the week is about the lone rabbit (on the right). It was joined on Monday late in the afternoon by another jackrabbit...
...with darker ears and face.
That lone rabbit that has been showing up before and during the last two storms...well, on Monday it was acting really spacey. (You may be able to tell a little by that first photo.) Didn't care if I walked right up to the patio door. Sat in one spot and chewed slowly on seed...staring...eyes seemed unfocused. I even began to wonder if it had gone blind.
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That night when I peeked out after dark I saw four other jackrabbits that ran off a ways when I moved the blinds, but that lone lighter one still sat on the patio not moving.
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In the morning on New Year's Eve I opened the blinds and cracked open the patio door to toss out some seed. I hadn't seen anyone out there and they all run away when I open the door, anyways...as I tossed the second cup I noticed the lone jackrabbit sitting in the left hand corner of the patio near the building. Its eyes were bugged out in fear and it was breathing heavily--had that trapped look of fear. I closed the patio door and stepped back.
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Well, the poor thing tried to run away...but it just flopped over on its side and kicked the air frantically. It would manage to get partially upright but then flop over on the other side. Its back feet occasionally connected with some snow and it would kind of slide forward a few inches. The poor thing was absolutely terrified! Vulnerable, broad daylight, sunny morning, terrified, and couldn't get away!!
****
This frantic ordeal went on for close to half an hour...with me staying more out of sight when it was facing my direction as it flip-flopped, kicking wildly. It made it off my patio and was trying to head towards the short sidewalk to the left of my patio. As I was staring through blurry eyes next to a Puffs box I had moved over to the end table by the window...it suddenly occurred to me ... Energy work! Healing Touch! Soul Comfort! Why had it taken me so long to even think of it!?
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Well, maybe because I have barely done any energy work since I moved up here 20 years ago and have done none at all since long before I moved here over 4 years ago. Regardless, I immediately asked GA to help the jackrabbit and to help me with the jackrabbit. Stood tall, planted my feet, palms toward the rabbit, put myself aside, and the energy came! Like we had just done it yesterday!
****
The tingling vibration came down into the top of my head and out through my hands. I kept repeating--both aloud and in my head--"you are safe, you are safe...." The kicking slowed down. The panting subsided. "It's okay. You can go. You will always be safe. It's okay. You can go. You will always be safe...."
****
In just a few minutes it passed.
****
That night when I peeked out after dark I saw four other jackrabbits that ran off a ways when I moved the blinds, but that lone lighter one still sat on the patio not moving.
****
In the morning on New Year's Eve I opened the blinds and cracked open the patio door to toss out some seed. I hadn't seen anyone out there and they all run away when I open the door, anyways...as I tossed the second cup I noticed the lone jackrabbit sitting in the left hand corner of the patio near the building. Its eyes were bugged out in fear and it was breathing heavily--had that trapped look of fear. I closed the patio door and stepped back.
****
Well, the poor thing tried to run away...but it just flopped over on its side and kicked the air frantically. It would manage to get partially upright but then flop over on the other side. Its back feet occasionally connected with some snow and it would kind of slide forward a few inches. The poor thing was absolutely terrified! Vulnerable, broad daylight, sunny morning, terrified, and couldn't get away!!
****
This frantic ordeal went on for close to half an hour...with me staying more out of sight when it was facing my direction as it flip-flopped, kicking wildly. It made it off my patio and was trying to head towards the short sidewalk to the left of my patio. As I was staring through blurry eyes next to a Puffs box I had moved over to the end table by the window...it suddenly occurred to me ... Energy work! Healing Touch! Soul Comfort! Why had it taken me so long to even think of it!?
****
Well, maybe because I have barely done any energy work since I moved up here 20 years ago and have done none at all since long before I moved here over 4 years ago. Regardless, I immediately asked GA to help the jackrabbit and to help me with the jackrabbit. Stood tall, planted my feet, palms toward the rabbit, put myself aside, and the energy came! Like we had just done it yesterday!
****
The tingling vibration came down into the top of my head and out through my hands. I kept repeating--both aloud and in my head--"you are safe, you are safe...." The kicking slowed down. The panting subsided. "It's okay. You can go. You will always be safe. It's okay. You can go. You will always be safe...."
****
Peacefully.
I was so relieved! Nothing worse than dying in terror.
****
Now that could have been a coincidence, of course. But the energy is very intense and physical. When I worked on people they could actually feel my hands vibrating and some people said they could feel the energy passing into their body or feel warmth or coolness. Even though it has been many years...when I needed it and I asked...it was there. :)
****
Speaking of getting teary-eyed.
****
Dagan was coming that evening to dump another bag of seed in the bin for me. They never cleared the sidewalks so nobody bothered the rabbit all day. Its body was safe there. It was surrounded by snow drifts and the side doors in the back here couldn't even be opened. :)
Critters returned after the jackrabbit died.
****
Speaking of getting teary-eyed.
****
Dagan was coming that evening to dump another bag of seed in the bin for me. They never cleared the sidewalks so nobody bothered the rabbit all day. Its body was safe there. It was surrounded by snow drifts and the side doors in the back here couldn't even be opened. :)
Critters returned after the jackrabbit died.
Life goes on.
A couple of its buddies even came by to eat at dusk.
Dagan came, brought in a
#40 bag of bird seed from the garage and dumped it in the bin for me. Then Dagan and I went out and got the jackrabbit into the empty seed bag and then inside another trash bag and Dagan brought it to the dumpster. It was handled with love and care.
****
I could easily have taken videos of it flip flopping and kicking in terror...but every living thing deserves dignity.
****
Then...after Dagan left on New Year's Eve I did my burning bowl ceremony and picked an angel card for 2020.
#40 bag of bird seed from the garage and dumped it in the bin for me. Then Dagan and I went out and got the jackrabbit into the empty seed bag and then inside another trash bag and Dagan brought it to the dumpster. It was handled with love and care.
****
I could easily have taken videos of it flip flopping and kicking in terror...but every living thing deserves dignity.
****
Then...after Dagan left on New Year's Eve I did my burning bowl ceremony and picked an angel card for 2020.
Healing!!!!
That is the card I picked for my focus/my word for 2020!! The card is all about sending healing/loving energy and how it helps others and yourself. Perfect!! It felt like the jackrabbit...how lifted up I felt all day...Dagan and I taking care of the body... the angel card that came so quickly and definitely--the entire day--just all fit together like a soul puzzle. :)
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That was my New Year's Eve.
What an uplifting start to 2020!
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New Year's Day...
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That was my New Year's Eve.
What an uplifting start to 2020!
****
New Year's Day...
...Annie enjoyed her favorite many squirrels in a park video...
...while I finally started my calligraphy classes!
After the intro and supplies lesson came the Faux Calligraphy lesson.
I have done faux calligraphy a little bit in the past. You just use an ordinary ballpoint or gel pen to make the thin and thick lines.
I have done faux calligraphy a little bit in the past. You just use an ordinary ballpoint or gel pen to make the thin and thick lines.
I didn't even draw guidelines. Just winged it.
Now I am ready for lesson three this week!
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Thursday was the very first time I have ever worked on a post ahead of time...so that I could post my very first question blog on Friday when I got up. Felt good to get my additions to the week done this first week of 2020.
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Friday was busy. After getting up, getting ready, taking care of critters (inside and out)...
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Friday was busy. After getting up, getting ready, taking care of critters (inside and out)...
...Caroline came with my groceries in the morning and then Dagan picked me up about 1pm for Christmas with McFamily!
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The boys got to open their presents. Liam even smiled for me!
Ian loved all his art supplies and workbook.
Liam liked his handheld dohickey that plays music and does numbers. (Mama guides me in the right direction for these new-fangled kids toys--LOL!) He got a laptop that has animal sounds, etc, too--and a Mog the cat book.
Liam got markers, paints, colored pencils, paint brushes, a big workbook, and a child's first rubber stamp set (of vehicles).
I remembered to get a picture of Leah...
...and Dagan, too.
Oh, and Ian liked Liam's laptop, too--LOL!
****
Then on Saturday Ian came over for a Gramma Day. He used his colored pencils to draw in his new big workbook. We rearranged all his art supplies to put away all his new Christmas stuff in his bookcase. I gave him another tote for all his markers. Then he decided he needed to dust so all by himself he took everything off each shelf (except the top one), dusted thoroughly, and put everything back.
When we only had 45 minutes left before Daddy was going to come and pick him up...he settled in to watch Stinky and Dirty.
****
Then on Saturday Ian came over for a Gramma Day. He used his colored pencils to draw in his new big workbook. We rearranged all his art supplies to put away all his new Christmas stuff in his bookcase. I gave him another tote for all his markers. Then he decided he needed to dust so all by himself he took everything off each shelf (except the top one), dusted thoroughly, and put everything back.
****
So it was a super busy week for me. Needless to say, I collapsed on Sunday--LOL! But was a good first week to the new year, for sure. I am hoping to keep up with the new schedule indefinitely. Two blog posts (M,F), calligraphy class (W), Leah is going to try to come twice a week for craft nights (T,Th) and then a Gramma day(Sat or Sun). Plus the occasional Friday afternoon visits over to McFamily's or a visit from Dagan and Liam at my place (to get Liam more comfortable with me). That's a huge activity jump for this old lady who's been in extra low gear since June--LOL! But I am thinking positive, of course.
****
Warmed up somewhere along the line for a short time after the blizzard. Can you see the glaze of ice on the snowdrift?
So it was a super busy week for me. Needless to say, I collapsed on Sunday--LOL! But was a good first week to the new year, for sure. I am hoping to keep up with the new schedule indefinitely. Two blog posts (M,F), calligraphy class (W), Leah is going to try to come twice a week for craft nights (T,Th) and then a Gramma day(Sat or Sun). Plus the occasional Friday afternoon visits over to McFamily's or a visit from Dagan and Liam at my place (to get Liam more comfortable with me). That's a huge activity jump for this old lady who's been in extra low gear since June--LOL! But I am thinking positive, of course.
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Warmed up somewhere along the line for a short time after the blizzard. Can you see the glaze of ice on the snowdrift?
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Oh, I got an unexpected New Year's present from Google/Blogger. :( Not all my comments from you guys have been showing up in my inbox so that I can respond to you. I get them all and read them all, but after I post them I am unable to respond to all of them. Hopefully this is a glitch they will fix, but I thought I'd let you know in case it doesn't get fixed. Know that I read and cherish each and every comment. You also know that sometimes I am very, very slow responding or have not been feeling well so occasionally haven't answer some weeks unless there was a question...but now I may not be able to in the first place. A new little fact of Blogger life for me. Has this been happening to anyone else?
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Oh, I got an unexpected New Year's present from Google/Blogger. :( Not all my comments from you guys have been showing up in my inbox so that I can respond to you. I get them all and read them all, but after I post them I am unable to respond to all of them. Hopefully this is a glitch they will fix, but I thought I'd let you know in case it doesn't get fixed. Know that I read and cherish each and every comment. You also know that sometimes I am very, very slow responding or have not been feeling well so occasionally haven't answer some weeks unless there was a question...but now I may not be able to in the first place. A new little fact of Blogger life for me. Has this been happening to anyone else?
****
Well, that's it for this weekly newsletter post--LOL! Congrats if you made it all the way through! Have a wonderful week, everybody. Stay safe in Australia!! Love and hugs! :) :)
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"You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don't have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success--none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here."
Ram Dass
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"You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don't have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success--none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here."
Ram Dass
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