Disasters in the Kitchen

I don’t do a lot of cooking since my mother moved in some 6 years ago but once upon a time I was pretty handy around the kitchen. Lately when I have had to be the chef I have had varied success even when it comes to my baking. I’ve lost my groove. Last night I put a frozen “chicken wellington” in the oven, following the instructions and was terribly disappointed with the result. First of all it was burnt but worse yet the inside was as dry as cement. It was ghastly and I am appalled that I have 3 more of those suckers to cook. I’ve decided to lower the heat, reduce the cooking time and also wrap it in tinfoil when next I venture on making one of them. And hey, that was a pre-made meal!

I have never been very good at frying any kind of meat and Mom isn’t very good at it either so we usually get John to fry a steak (not that we have that often as Mom and I are not very fond of steak either). When it comes to chicken I prefer to grill them which usually turns out well. The only meat I actually do really well is roasting a chicken or roast beef. I also make a very good salmon.

I am starting to sound an awful lot like my mother; I have little appetite for big meals and even less for meat. I’m what you might call a picaterian!

Pets and Girlfriends

Yesterday I talked about music and how important it is for the soul. Today I am sitting here in the office and Thumper is curled up in the secretary’s chair while Cherie sits in the doorway contemplating my every mood. Over the last week I have had visits and phone calls from girlfriends and I can gratefully say “my cup runneth over”.

My two boys (that would be Thumper and Cherie) sleep with me every night. Before I tell them to go down to my “footsies” they have the privilege of laying up close to my face while I pet the two little peas in the pod and speak inanities to them. They naturally believe the words are pearls of wisdom from their mama and as I stroke about their ears, neck and chin they purr their contentment. While I may be giving them pleasure and happiness my own soul is filled with peace and its own happiness in their companionship.

Then I think about the nice visit I had with one girlfriend and the pleasant conversations I had with a couple of other friends and I smile in even more happiness. A person can be content with their own company and for those who find that impossible I have a great deal of sympathy however I have come to realize with every year that passes that friendships are incredibly important to our well being. Being the oldest of six when I was young I always felt that I could never get enough of solitude since it was such a scarce commodity in our house! Different circumstances and different phases of our lives means alteration in our needs.

Stay tuned to what your soul is thirsting for and find ways to assuage it. A word from the wise (she chuckles).

Snow?

Looks like the prediction for snow all week has come to fruition but I will not let it put a damper on my spirits. As I sit here writing the last sentence I find myself in awe at the power of a positive attitude. I feel strong and happy with a lot of things ruminating in the brain as “projects” to complete in the next few months. When I consider how downtrodden I had been feeling the past two weeks my heart is overwhelmed with compassion for those people who live with constant depression and also those who, while not chronically depressed, have a less than happy outlook on life most of the time. You poor things, I wish I could bottle happiness and you could uncork it, take a whiff and bounce around like the Ever-ready Rabbit!

Yesterday while driving to the garbage dump with my weekly load of garbage they were playing Moni, Moni which has such an amazing beat that I was singing along, bobbing about all the way there. On the homeward drive they played the “here for a good time, not a long time” (I am so terrible at remembering song titles – always have been) which has a nice beat and a philosophy equivalent to carpe diem. I realize what I have been missing for a while and that is the music which I used to play all the time. I had to stop playing it because Mom is not a fan of the new music and now I cannot find my CD player! Sabotage or what?

I never realized how much music can mean in keeping one’s mood in good order so “put the record on” and forget about the snow. J

Sunshine and Happiness

The power of a sunny day is remarkable. One can spring out of bed despite aches and pains, open up windows and doors to let nature in and critters out and take a second cup of coffee out on a cosy deck. Even a grumpy person has to smile once in a while and when is that more likely than on a sunshiny spring day? The sun, as we most likely know, gives us a lot of personal energy with the Vitamin D we absorb through our skin. We may not be aware of how much we literally thirst for it during the winter months but it’s a little bit of heaven to sit on a deck chair, lean back with closed eyes and feel the heat and glow touch one’s face.

As I was soaking up the pleasure of the sun this morning I was inspired to putz around in the greenhouse with my tomato and pepper plants. The other day a girlfriend posted a picture of her plants and sadly my own looked very pathetic in comparison. It was time to give them some Miracle Gro and a little repotting wouldn’t go amiss either. One of my greatest pleasures is to get dirty in the potting shed (also known as the greenhouse) while I imagine the fruits of my labour later in the summer. There is nothing as tasty as a fresh tomato plucked from the vine or a strawberry fresh off the plant.

The green thumb may be a little pale still but I am learning more every year about what works and what doesn’t. Ahh, the joy!

Climbing out of the Abyss

It’s been nearly two weeks since I was capable of writing a blog. I was in a state of mental chaos and not a little depression caused by a lot of pain, grey skies, horrific non-stop winds and a provincial election that had me either pulling out my hair or ranting. Yesterday I went to see my oncologist and despite not feeling terribly encouraged I actually felt better. Go figure. 
I do not think that I have ever been “down” for two whole weeks and before John and I took off for my appointment in Calgary yesterday I had a little chat with him and Mom explaining that a night or two ago I had actually thought about giving up, I was that discouraged by the pain and lack of quality of life. But just saying the words out loud seemed to crystalize a rebellion in me that “no, this is not who I am”. I don’t know if that is what it was but certainly I started feeling better about myself.
So I have been trying to analyze myself and my bounce back which can be very difficult indeed. I wondered “am I a people pleaser after all”? Have I bounced back because I don’t want to let my family and friends down? But no, that would take too much energy and Pollyanna though I may be I am not a bloody saint!
I think the truth is that I like the idea of being a survivor. It has always been my goal that if Armageddon happened I would be a survivor which is why I have always been intrigued by dramas like “Jericho” or “The Stand”. I remember one of my sisters asking me “why would you think you would be a survivor” and I responded “what’s the point, otherwise?”
I don’t like the idea of being a quitter and so I am back in the saddle without any plans of riding into the sunset just yet. Instead I plan on riding into a summer filled with gardening projects and a lot of girlfriend lunches!

Braving the Cold

We are having a bitter cold snap after a relatively mild winter but so far we haven’t had a big dump of snow which makes me grateful. I am able to plod out to my Henriettas, give them water, feed and treats and then relax for the rest of the day knowing they are warm and cozy. Mom is too old and fragile to be doing any chores so despite having a lot of back pain still I am able to do the chores.

I am anxious about my bees and truly hope that they will survive this cold snap. They managed to survive last year but they were wrapped up snuggly and this year John did not get it all done and his rheumatism makes it difficult for him to walk the length of the acreage to finish it up. I can only hope for the best for my little honey bees.

As for the rest of my world I anxiously hope that all my friends and family are safe off the roads. I was talking to little bro Erik the other night and he said that he is “so over driving” where once he didn’t mind going hither and yon now he just wants a quiet life in the slow lane. I hear you little bro, it’s been my mantra for quite some time!

Stay warm and safe my dear friends!

Paper Explosion

I am looking around at my office and I cringe. I have paper, paper, everywhere. I have a book marker that says “Only Handle Once – Tackle It, Task It, Toss It, Transfer It” and I actually had a little mini session with another colleague where we listened to this genius advocate of keeping paper to a minimum. Shame on me for not doing the work. I don’t know what is the matter with me, I can come up with a few excuses such as I don’t have a shredder, I can’t burn during this dry weather, I can’t recycle what isn’t shredded. All are lame excuses.

I also have a pile of books that I mean to read but hardly even make an attempt to open them up. I should donate them or at least archive them somewhere for a later date. Again . . . what is holding me back?

Its February now and it’s time to start thinking about spring cleaning so I must get my mojo back and get to it. I can’t live in this mess any longer!

And how is your mojo today?

Matador - a Danish series

I may have written about this hugely successful Danish series (which originally aired between 1978 and 1982) before but Mom and I are watching it again and thoroughly enjoying it. It’s a melodrama that starts in 1929 and essentially shows the rise of the middle class and demise of the upper class. It’s a more realistic look at class difference than either Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey and I feel so sorry that it isn’t available in English as it would be a terrific program for PBS or Knowledge channel to run.

I get a real kick of the down to earth characters such as Oluf Larsen and his dog Kwik. I’ve put a link below so you can check out this series. The last link is the actual program but unfortunately it no longer has English subtitles so it is all in Danish – but for my Danish family take a look and improve your dansk. I really love this show. It has been available with subtitles in 2017 and I am not sure why that went away as you’d think once the expense was made it would not be costly?  Anyway I hope some folks may like this and at least my Canadian friends should look at the summary of what it is about and if I hear of a new subtitled series I will let you know.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matador_(Danish_TV_series)

http://www.learn-danish.com/the-matador-challenge-danish/

https://www.dr.dk/bonanza/serie/154/matador/40263/matador---0124-den-rejsende-

 

Sleepless in Nanton

I started several blogs in these past (non-blog posted days) but I just couldn’t get my mojo going! Otranee suggested earlier that I “write about nothing” a la Jerry Seinfeld series but even seemed impossibly daunting.

Last night I lay awake during most of it because I take these steroid pills as part of the chemotherapy treatment during the first day. Thankfully I can sleep all day and most of tonight (I hope) since I don’t have to take them until next time.

Having made all the excuses deemed necessary let me plunge into my chaotic thoughts this morning! I am majorly cheesed off with Apple and iPads and there flipping, insane, impossible security. I am ready to throw my iPad away and go to some “normal” type of tablet. I do not understand how I can be locked out of my apps – which are only games for heaven’s sake – but I can get every flipping ad that Apple deems necessary to post. How is that possible? Anyway it is a major irritant to me as I like to do my crossword puzzle with my breakfast and I haven’t been able to do it because apparently there is some upgrade but I cannot do that without logging into the apps which of course I can’t do because my account is locked due to some obscure password that was changed and not written down.

If anyone has a suggestion on the best tablet to get please let me know – I do Scrabble, crossword with friends and Word Brain (which now I can’t do any of them, as of this morning). That’s really all I use my tablet for. Worst case scenario I will just go back to the old fashioned paperback edition and dare I say it SCREW YOU APPLE.

Now I feel better.

 

The Zoomer

About ten years ago a colleague of mine suggested that I sign up for CARP membership which is a senior citizens group. I did so but shortly afterwards the CARP magazine was taken over by Moses Znaimer. Last night I was actually thinking about Zoomer as a failed vehicle for the interests of seniors. The articles are boring, long winded and not always relevant to a senior’s life.

 In my view a senior’s magazine ought to have interactive activities in it such as crosswords, Sudoku puzzles and so forth (yes, they have ONE of each).  I would suggest at least 10 pages of puzzles. Also, I think there should be a regular feature of DIY projects which are affordable and meaningful to seniors. I think there should be a regular list of the top 10 bestsellers of books, movies and music. An innovative regular feature would be planned menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner geared to one or two people (remembering that many seniors are alone). In conjunction there should be recommendations on activities and exercises to go with the seasons.

All of the above would be very stimulating to the average reader who doesn’t want to know what Ann Margaret is doing as a senior. Be realistic, who wants to know what millionaires are doing? We want to know what average Canadians are doing, how they manage their budgets and of course how we can get all the seniors’ benefits that are available federally and provincially.

Dreary Day

It’s grey outside and very dull looking which naturally unsettles the mind from its usual cheerful state. Watching the news brings its own set of woes; the scandal exploding in the B.C. Legislature makes one question what is happening in other provincial legislatures. Then we have the wannabe premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney skirting around his fraudulent claim of having a home in Calgary while he was an MP in Ottawa. Does that have a familiar ring? Remember Duffy? If he was dirty as an MP is he the sort of person you want dipping into a whole coffer of provincial funds as premier?

I am happy to hear that Premier Rachel Notley’s approval rating is climbing; the only wonder for me is that people don’t respect her and her government more. She has done some really amazing, progressive, enduring projects not least of which is her strong and steady advocacy for the pipeline and the oil sands.

Do some serious analysis and ask yourself – do you want to be progressive or do you want to revert to some old tired story? Do we want to see this province develop alternative industries that is not solely dependent on oil revenue? Just think of all the people who are unemployed or underemployed since 2013 because the world has turned its back on fossil fuels. We need forward thinking, in my view, with innovation in energy but also in agriculture. We have a huge province with a lot more potential in agriculture if we could only find the political will to move on it. I believe the NDP and Premier Notley have that vision and will.

Now that cheers me up!

Watching the Sun Go Down

After yesterday’s blog I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea – literally I am watching the sun go down as I await the arrival of Peter and Ronda for movie night. I have a spectacular view from my office where I can see through my treeline to the distance foothills and when the sun is sharp and the snow is on the mountains I can also see those mountains. When the sun gets behind the clouds it looks as though the clouds are ringed in fire (as they were last night) but tonight things look more yellow and glowing, almost like a halo.  It’s pretty and it’s soothing.

Yesterday I had a very good visit with my doctor in High River; first of all he said my blood work was excellent and when I asked about the neutrophils he said they were great (3.0 . . . last time they were 1.5 . . . and that was after they had dipped to 1.2 …. Neutrophils are the white blood cells – those dynamic little fighter cells). Then he did a thorough examination of my back pain because I have been having such pains for the last couple of months – turns out it is my muscles / spine and not at all part of the tumour. That was such a relief I almost felt the pain had gone away! I have to do some soaking in the tub and perhaps get a heating pad to ease the muscles back into loosening up and then I can exercise much more “robustly”.

It is amazing what a little good news does for the spirit. I laughing said to Dr. Vise that perhaps it was all psychosomatic because I was so fearful it was the tumour. He smiled. (Nothing like the patient deprecatingly self-diagnosing).

I almost skipped out of the hospital and got in John’s truck saying “good news”. That’s what he likes to hear.

Warmer Days Ahead

I just love it when the weatherman says that we are in for a warm spell, especially during the winter. It just makes my day happier. I was refreshing myself with old notes I had from Deepak and Oprah on the purpose of meditation and tips on how not to stress out during meditation (when your mind wanders, just bring yourself back to centre and forget about admonishing yourself) which helped me in week 3 of our meditation.

Then when I was watching my ladies (aka The View) I had to agree wholeheartedly with Whoopi on having “B.S. fatigue”. It is easy to dwell on the negative because that is what the media typically feeds us and while I am not a believer in being an ostrich about what happens in the world I do think we should take it all in small doses. Yes, “do what I say, not what I do” is echoing in my ears right now. Seriously though, I have been tuning out more frequently because it is so exhausting and there is so much I could be doing on a positive note.

The snow is slowly melting outside (and there is still ice on the driveway) but I have not forgotten my promise to take a picture of my Spanish Lady painting and post it for y’all. Maybe by tomorrow I will be able to take it outside, hang it and take my shot! I can hardly wait for Cousin Axel’s critique (or not). J

And as I sit and write this blog my darling little Cherie is sitting in the secretary chair beside me and purring like the sweetheart he is.  It’s usually Thumper he plays Secretary but he is being lazy and Cherie has stolen the chair from him. Meanwhile Kitsy is acting out as the dead mackerel, dozing on the bed in the family room. Mom is knitting away and occasionally gets up to check on her rising rye bread. All in all it is a normal day in the House of Sanne.

Putting a Garden to Sleep

I have been scurrying around the last couple of days in dreaded anticipation of the coming snow as I put my garden to sleep.  This has been an ongoing task since the Labour Day Weekend when in years past I would have it all done in one day.  It’s not so much my lack of stamina to endure the whole day, rather it is the fact that the garden has expanded so much. While I am not a “kitsch” type person I do have a number of statues and garden ornaments that have to be put into the garden shed. Then there are the various pots that need cleaning and putting away. Then there are all the pillows and cushions to be tucked in here and there. Lastly there are the pieces of furniture that won’t survive the harsh winter weather so they must be stacked into the garage.

This year has been particularly challenging because there is also all the residue stuff from the basement flood which has yet to be resolved.  Slowly but surely we are getting there . . . or should I say I am getting there. One stool here another table there.

While all of this is going on physically, mentally I am already planning what the garden need next year and what my wants will be. A big priority will be my moonlight walk which is still a shabby little show. Next year I want to knock it out of the park. In my head I know what I want it to look like, the question is can I get the muscle power to help me make that happen?

And my not so secret wish? I want a vending cart! A vending cart, you wonder. I have this vision of a perfectly huge slatted semi-wheelbarrow-like thingy. You know what I mean? I know no man will understand but all the ladies know exactly what is in my head, am I right?  Yes, laugh out loud because John is pulling out his hair trying to understand what I mean while at the same time he is saying it isn’t going to happen.

Why do I need my vending cart? Well, I read a book (yes, the dreaded “I read a book” scenario) that talked about “at the gate” sales. Since I am out in the country, yet so very close to the golf course I get a lot of traffic and my low budget plan is to snag the unsuspecting drivers to my “farm” to purchase my bounty. In order to catch their attention I think an unusual looking cart will be just the ticket.

So yes, as I put the garden to sleep I whisper to the trees and bushes “give me lots of fruit next year, my darlings, lots of fruit.”

Voices vs Elocution

I live with an 84 year old mother who is going deaf so oftentimes I don’t take her seriously when she complains about not hearing someone on the television.  But lately I have been noticing how very poorly people on television speak.  Not only do they speak very quickly, frequently slurring or swallowing their words but they also have so many word whiskers and other bad habits that I actually get distracted from the message because I am too busy either correcting or getting annoyed with the person.

An example would be the stylist Alexis on the Marilyn Denis show.  She always says “also, too” or “as well, too” which she says several times during her presentation.  My question here is “why doesn’t Marilyn or the producers say something to her so that she doesn’t do it anymore”.  I’ve been watching the show for about 6 months and this Alexis is on at least once a week.  Am I the only one who has noticed this poor grammar?   Lest I forget Marilyn also has the bad habit of saying “yeah, yeah, yeah” more than once in the show.  She should take a lesson from the Norwegians whose non-committal hmm-hmm of the throat speaks volumes of nothingness which “yeah, yeah, yeah” is the rude equivalent.

Then we have the Gatling gun talkers.  There are too many to name or count but again I ask why the producers or directors of these shows don’t correct them.  Is it because they are so ill educated themselves that they can’t hear their people?  Since when has speed talking been acceptable in journalism?  Isn’t the point of journalism to have people hear the news, not guess at what has been said? 

We also have versions of the Valley Girl Speak and the ones who roll up their voices, extend out their words for no particular reason that I can tell.  The ones who slur words, make up words, swallow them, pitch them or nudge them along.  It’s almost too distressing to listen to, in fact, I can’t!

Now I would like to praise some excellent journalists, Dawna Friesen and Linda Olsen on Global News Calgary.  One can understand every word they say, their voices are pleasant and measured and in today’s frenzied world I find them a delight to listen to.  I also enjoy Paul Dunphy the weatherman unlike his morning counterpart Jordan who walks around his map in such a weird way that I almost get a nervous breakdown looking at him much less listening to him.

That’s my little rant of the day.  Now I will go feed the chickens whose clucking noises I actually understand.  J

Soothing the Soul

Things that make me light hearted include any critter, nature, the right book, a sweet movie, cinnamon buns and a really good apple.  Little kids who can talk and play and just be fun.  My mother when she does something silly.

I think people in general look at the world and their life in a rather grey way.  I hope that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” is not true but sometimes I do wonder.  Is it so?  One can understand those who live on the poverty line, those who can barely make ends meet would be stressed to the max but I hope that they can find moments in their day when things are pure gold.  It must be hard to dwell in a pool of negativity all the time.  I am enormously grateful that I was born an optimist and that I don’t have the “depression” gene that so many people seem to have. 

So today I’d just like to say to my readers, take some time to enjoy the sunshine around you.  Even on a grey, bleak day there is a bird in a tree and cat under the tree and action waiting to happen.  There’s always something that can make you smile, if you just look around you.

Happy Looking.

Autumn is Here

Speaking artistically the mornings are crisp but in true factual fashion they are getting darn chilly.  One day last week as I let the hens out I noticed that the grass was very damp and then on the trek back to the house soft frost had actually developed in those few short minutes.  Autumn is definitely upon on as I become aware of the shorter days, letting the hens in at night around 7:30 and letting them out after 7 in the morning.  Why am I so conscious of the time?  Last winter I read that foxes are particularly sly and are most likely to pounce on the oblivious hens at dusk or dawn therefore it behooves me to outwit the fox.

Over the last week or so I have begun digging up my potatoes and again found myself disappointed in the small amount of potatoes under each plant.  I thought something was very wrong and so I inquired of a girlfriend who had been raised on a farm what could I be doing wrong?  It turns out that my “hilling” technique was inadequate.  Little did I know that I ought to have covered the plant right up to the leaves and even over the leaves.  I had merely put dirt a little higher than to the first level of leaf.  “Bury the leaves, even?” I asked.  “Yes” she answered.  Wow, new knowledge to be stored away for next spring.  Meanwhile I wondered how I had gotten so many potatoes in the past and I realized that the person who plowed my field must have hilled my potatoes along with her own without my knowing it.  Lesson learned, be more observant and ask questions of those who have done this before.

I planted 8 hills of zucchini but only 2 came up with a third starting very late in the season so I have to wonder what happened to the other 6 hills.  However, the 2 mature ones are yielding enough zucchini for myself with a few extra to share with a couple of friends.  Next year I will have to plant even more if I want any for my country fair.  Along with the zucchini I will plant my pumpkins which again have merely bloomed and bloomed.  This year I did see a quarter size fruit appear several times but then they disappeared (either eaten by the hens or simply dissolved in neglect?).  I suspect I planted the pumpkins in an area with too much shade as well as putting them in the ground rather late in the season.

The final lament of the summer has to be “why didn’t someone predict rain on a daily basis”?  If I had only known that it would rain almost every day for 2 and a half months I would have planted more bushes, trees and water loving vegetables in the field.  Now isn’t that the voice of a farmer?

 

A Month on the Farm

Originally I was going to write a day on the farm, then a week, and lo now it has become a month on the farm.  The summer has not slipped away except insofar as writing is concerned.  Daily tasks can sometimes take on a life of their own even the relatively simple task of collecting eggs each morning.  How, you may wonder?  Imagine a year and a half of bringing in a half dozen or so eggs first thing in the morning and then a couple more trips to produce almost two dozen eggs per day suddenly being reduced to one or none.  Then begins the anxiety of discovering the reason for this shortage and when one discovers cannibalism has struck the fold sleepless nights ensure in attempt to stop or curb the habit.  All to no avail.  Then resignation sets in, then resentment and one swings between the two emotions until the thought of The Colonel almost becomes a walking nightmare for the farmer as well as the chickens.

Meanwhile the rains come and the vegetable garden begins to prosper.  One bright morning the farmer walks out to her field to discover the deer have played havoc with the winter’s harvest.  Creative begins with netting, sticks, rods, stones and so forth to set up a barrier of protection for the remaining sprigs of lettuce, radish and slow growing carrots.  A walk to the other side of the garden to inspect the fruits causes another stab to the heart as the deer have nibbled the berry bushes to a stub.  No cherries, blueberries or strawberries this year.  The new apple trees have had a similar fate but the tops are still green and hope struggles to stay alive.

In the greenhouse the cabbage butterfly has nibbled the cabbages to death but the peppers and tomatoes are unscathed.  The pumpkins, like last year, bloom madly on but no fruit appears despite a constant supply of water and anxious watching for bees to pollinate.  Again hope burns eternal as the zucchini appear to be prospering.  No flowers yet but the leaves are strong and healthy.  Potatoes begin to bloom and young potatoes are only weeks away.

This is the life of an apprentice farmer experiencing a first true summer of “farming”.  While my heart is sad for farmers whose livelihoods are destroyed by Mother Nature in all its forms and while experience all the disappointment of finding hard hopeful work destroyed overnight by pretty little animals I strive to keep my sense of humour alive.  So this is why farmers are always complaining?  Pshaw, after all, there’s always next year.

 

Meditate or Vegetate

I’m happy to report that I have continued participating in the online meditation even though I had to play catch up when my system was down.  I’d like to share my experience with meditation.

At first I listened, closed my eyes at the correct time and tried to breathe deeply and keep my brain from wandering.  Some days were better than others.  On the fourth day I decided that while Oprah and Deepak spoke I would take a few notes so I could review them at the end of the meditation.  Then I closed my eyes, breathed, and wandered.  That experiment did not go very well as I seemed to wander more after taking the notes.  So I went back to my original practice and found that I could stay focused longer.

These practices are about 18 minutes long which may seem intimidating at first.  I reminded myself that I didn’t have anything better to do so just to sit tight and do it.  So all of this part is going find.

However, as long as I am staying at home I can think about the theme throughout the day but if I leave the house I generally find myself straying from a mellow frame of mind, particularly if I am driving any distance.  The good thing is that I can pull my mind back from the abyss before I get too caught up in negative thoughts.  So there is improvement there but not as much as one would like.

On the other hand, one shouldn’t be such a jelly fish of good will that we can’t honk our horn when someone literally cuts us off and drives us into the ditch.  There is reason in all things.  Happily I am alive to tell the tale!

 

Offline Drama

While I was away yesterday we had not only a power outage but a satellite crash and today I am dealing with the fallout.  One would think I was talking about a missile strike but for anyone who is technically illiterate insofar as computer problems occur you will know how I feel.  It is a really sad state of affairs when we are so dependent on being connected with the universe and I am not talking about our Holy Father.

The good news about being unconnected is that those hours spent on email and social media (not to mention Internet Surfing) can be spent more profitably in actually writing.  Or so one hopes.

While looking through all my CDs to upload my computer repair I discovered my old photographs and negatives which I had forgotten all about.  It’s fortunate that I had put them deep in my desk as they were saved from the roof leaking last summer when we did the repair on the south side of the house.  I did find some collector stamps that were destroyed so I am very grateful that the negatives have all been saved.  Not only do I have all my own negatives from 50 years of photography but I also have my parents’ negatives.  Whew, my siblings won’t kill me.

This is an example of what happens to me when I am trying to settle down to “what I’m supposed to be doing”, I find myself sidetracked by oddities.  When I’m supposed to be writing I will research my statement (perhaps) and get sidelined online.  When digging for repair stuff I find nostalgia.  When I am purging I think “oh, well, I might just need that some day when there’s a war”.  But this last self-talk has been quashed and I have bravely thrown out “junk”.  Yes, it is junk.  There, I said it, junk.

So we went from the drama of online disconnect to junk.  Oh how the mighty brain does wander!