Thursday, January 28, 2010

Question

How did Caucasians come to be called "white"? We are Not white. We are sort of a peachy, rosy color with all sort of variations.

You don't notice it so much if you lay your arm against a white wall or wear white clothes.

Last night I had a Horrific nose bleed during which I honestly thought I was going to faint. I saw myself in the mirror. White! Now That was white, friends. And if I went around looking like that all the time, white might be a good adjective. It was almost scary - I was Really white. By the time I looked again - a number of hours later - I think I had a bit of a fever, my cheeks were rosy and I was back to my usual color.

Feeling better tonight - and looking forward to tomorrow - with blessings and still curious . . .

Monday, January 25, 2010

A Few Learnings

Cabin fever isn't as bad if the cabin is warm. It will be nice when the "cabin" expands with the repaired furnace and we don't have to huddle in our little corners by the space heaters.

325 days of sunshine in Tahoe sounds great ~ and right now we are getting the other 40 all at once.

Clothing layers don't have to be heavy, just numerous. One little layer of thin silk can make all the difference.

It is better to have preferences than expectations. I really would have preferred to have the furnace repaired last Friday. Expecting it made not getting it difficult.

This last one is one I have known for a while - I just tend to forget in the middle of something like a furnace crisis. So I guess the other learning is to remember what you learn. :)

And one last one to remember: be present, in the moment, the furnace will be repaired in its own good time. ~ blessings

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Happy Birthday, to me!

~ and it is a happy day. For some reason I have been looking forward to this one. It is not a special year. It does mean "older" when I am at the age I am not sure I want to get older. And I was looking forward to it nonetheless.

What makes it a happy day?
First, the sky is clear so the sun can shine in our windows and warm the house in lieu of the furnace being fixed yet.
Even though I am having a little tummy trouble and stayed in bed yesterday, I woke early this morning feeling Much Better and Hungry. Now we never eat breakfast until about 8 and Dean, bless him, prepared me breakfast right away.
Breakfast in bed is Lovely even when the man preparing it doesn't realize it is your birthday and prepares it because your first words to him were, "I'm hungry". :) Don't worry - he'll remember soon and pop in to say so.
This is my first birthday on Facebook and I signed in to a wall of good wishes first thing ~ and an e-card from Daughter ~ and chat with another friend.
Dean cooks. That makes me happy a lot ~ and today that will be nice. And maybe I will have my Mexican food fix twice next week after the tummy is ok.

At my age, I don't need a lot of stuff ~ although I still like presents and had great fun opening a gift from part of the family last week. :) And the presents of friends and family and their presence in my life and their wishes for my life makes for a Very Happy Day! ~ blessings

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

We Love Todd

Furnaces don't go out in the summer. They go out in the winter - usually in the midst of a really bad cold snap or a major blizzard. So Monday morning we woke to a cold house. By the time we decided there was nothing we could do (well, nothing Dean could do), Todd, the furnace man, couldn't come until Tuesday. So Todd came on Tuesday - and recommended the person who Could take care of that part!!! Bless him. He only charged for a service call and some advice - not much at all in the big picture of furnace repair. Yay, Todd.

Second furnace man came yesterday as well -- and had Just ordered the part we needed on Monday because he was out. So - IF (big if) the UPS man can get up the hill today, the part should be here and in place by tonight. Thank you, Todd - for good advice and the Right advice!! Meanwhile, we are managing just fine with the fireplace and space heaters.

I really appreciate people who do the best for their customers even if that means recommending someone in a competing business. We love Todd! ~ with blessings

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Floating

What Fun!

In the 70s I taught drama and directed plays at a high school in New York state. Yesterday one of my students found me on facebook. Since then they have been coming out of the fb woodwork and I am grinning like the Cheshire Cat!

Their memories are beautiful and lovely and flattering and fun. They have become teachers and directors and parents and wonderful, amazing adults. I am pleased ~ both that they found me and that they have such delightful memories of our time together.

It is a gift beyond measure ~ with blessings

Friday, January 15, 2010

We Shall Overcome

Just by chance last night we watched a show we had tivo'd ~ Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration. Folk singers and musicians sang the songs that Pete had made so popular. At some point they all came together and begin to sing "We Shall Overcome". As one the audience stood and begin to sing with them. Arms around each other both on stage and in the house, they stood and sang and I sang too. I wished for a circle of friends to wrap my arms around.

As we sang, I realized today would be the birthday of Martin Luther King, jr.

How often during those turbulent years did we march, meet, protest and finally sing ~ and slowly but surely we did overcome. I know there is still prejudice of all kinds out there. And I grew up in the era of separate but Very Unequal and every step we took, every meeting we held, every vote we cast finally began to move the world closer to a basic humanitarian equality. We still have a long way to go to find the balance we seek ~ and we have overcome so much that I believe we have a right to stand and sing in celebration. Happy Birthday, Dr. King.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Birthday memories

Happy Birthday, Rex!

Because his death came the day after Christmas, there is no way the day can pass, slip by, be unremarked. It sort of Looms even after 12 years.

So - I think it is time to make the toasts on his birthday, today, January 14. Remember the good times. Be grateful for the length of his life. Because it fit the conversation, I told a story about him the other night at dinner and everyone at the table, including Dean, laughed and cheered -- and none of these folks had known him personally. He just had a big personality and so his exploits continue to bring joy and wisdom. And today is the day to celebrate those.

And to wish Happy Birthday to two beautiful young women I know who share this birth date with him. Happy Birthday, Katy and Naomi! ~ with blessings

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Where's it . . . At?

At?

When and where did we start using "at" at the end of questions of location? "Sure, I'll meet you. Tell me where you're at?" What happened to the very simple, "Tell me where you are?"

An oldie but goodie: "goes" for "says". This one is so prevalent that I find myself saying it. Ouch.

And of course (for me) the infamous "between he and I" - oh, dear. I even heard a "between him and I" the other day. Up until the "and" I had real hope.

I sometimes wish I could say it doesn't matter. It does. I want it to matter - even to younger ears than mine. I would like otherwise intelligent, educated, creative people to sound that way. I will not sigh and say, "Ah well." I will continue to hope and do what I can for the cause of grammar. ~ with blessings

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Sunrise

Sunrises have been spectacular recently and this morning was Amazing. First there was a dark, almost black, strip of cloud on the far horizon. The sun's first rays touched it with stripes of red, making a foreboding stretch across the sky. Then the sun began to rise and the sky beneath the cloud as well as the stripes turned that deep, deep orange of embers so that sky looked on fire. As that began to fade to a deep pink, the clouds and sky around turned an unusual purple. Meanwhile, high above little wisps of cloud turned pink and pretty as the whole sky lightened into dawn's early blue. Fabulous.

Once again I reflected that to have that kind of sunrise (or sunset), there must be clouds. So like life. If we live with blue skies all the time, it's nice and it is sort of ordinary. What makes a life "spectacular" and meaningful are the clouds that are scattered through it. A life lived in the darkness of despair and the fiery embers of hope as well as the gentle rose of happiness and the deep clear blues of Joy. It takes a range of emotions and experiences to bring a life to fulfillment just as it takes a range of clouds to bring a sunrise of surprise and delight.

May you find the embers of hope within your clouds ~ with blessings

Monday, January 4, 2010

. . . and so it begins


How nice to have had a long gentle holiday weekend. After a wonderful easy new year's day, the family left Saturday morning early and Dean and I spent Saturday and Sunday doing not much of anything. We read. Dean worked in the shop a little. Skied with Dave on Sunday morning. A friend sent her sermon for Sunday and I incorporated its reading into my meditation. We sat in the sauna and the hot tub. We napped. It was an absolutely Delightful way to ease into a busy new year.

And this morning it ramps up: take down the tree, do the laundry, begin to get the files in order from '09 and ready to accept '10. I actually held my breath and stepped on the scales and found myself about .4 of a pound heavier than when the holidays started so I am a Happy Camper without a lot of weight resolutions to sigh over. :D

Truthfully, I haven't set resolutions for years. Oh, there are always some things I would like to have happen in the next year. As for resolutions, they always seemed to disappoint me. I never could make them work. So I quit trying, quit setting them, live in the moment and do my best and things seem to work out better that way.

May you be blessed this year with hope for the future, joy in the present, and gratitude for all that has been in your past. It has made you who you are today ~ with blessings