Friday, February 26, 2010

DREAMS

For the longest time I have wondered where people get the idea that they could keep a journal of their dreams because either I had none or woke with no memory of having had any. I am not sure what has changed but something has made a big difference lately because I am not only dreaming but wake from the middle of many of my dreams and recall some portions in detail.
I don’t mind dreaming but I hate being awakened with unpleasant details etched into my brain such as occurred last Sunday morning when I was sitting in what was supposedly my car, in the process of being arrested! I had been driving quite quickly past what I knew to be a several story care facility and suddenly realized I was driving in strange territory. As I rounded a turn, there stood three people, two men caught with that deer-in-the-headlights look on their faces, and a woman whom I somehow knew to be a worker at the healthcare facility, obviously there not of her own free will. The men were easily recognizable as TV characters: one a take-charge bully, the other his follower, who had positions of authority, also in that healthcare facility.
I continued on by them to the end of that road and had to turn to the left where the road went off into a country lane that dead-ended. When I turned the car around, a gate had completely closed the road off and the bully-authority man was at the driver’s side of my car-now van-telling me I was now in some county and under arrest. (I guessed, because I had unknowingly crossed the county line.) My immediate thought was trying to make a run for it by ramming the gate but I thought better of it, and as I gathered my purse I wondered if my cell phone was charged, if at home I had left enough water in the dishes for the dog and cat. (I have no cat but two dogs…but this is a dream, right?!) As I started to unbuckle my seat belt and reach to unlock the driver door…I woke up. Whew!
Then this morning I dreamed I was riding a bicycle in a place best described as an English country village area except the vehicles and highways were typical of the United States. It must have been springtime because I was riding on wet, green, grassy areas alongside the road much of the time and when I woke I was racing on a very hilly roadside and going faster than an 18-wheeler truck that was traveling at a normal highway speed! No wonder I woke up. I don’t know how I rode that regular bicycle (no special speeds built in) around that village as fast as I did for as long as I did and as I was waking up I was aware that it was not smart to be riding at such speeds without a helmet! Indeed! Well, I am here to report I must be in very good shape to be able to ride that long, that far, and that fast.

I wonder what dreams tonight will bring!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

NEW OCCUPATION?

By the end of the day yesterday I was too tired to write about my new experience. When we moved to our new built-especially-for-us patio home almost five years ago, the shrubs and bushes were small but with age, they have grown. Over the years, the men we have selected to come to do our yard work have seemed determined to do exactly that and no more. Yard work, as defined by what gets done, means the grass gets mowed, the lawn, walkway, and patio area edged, and if we ask persistently the tops of the shrubs trimmed level. Oh, and the trimmings are blown away.
Unless we wanted to spend another inordinate amount of money we had no input as to the kind of shrubs, bushes, etc., that were used for landscaping across the front of the new house and with as little knowledge as either of us had in the field I think both of us felt it wise to leave that decision to someone who knew what would look and fit better with the area anyway...so, we did.

In the meantime, I have enjoyed taking pictures of the growing, changing, blooming yucca cactus that sits center front, right next to the foundation between two windows. Wanting to know more about the Yucca Cactus, I read on the Internet that they are useful for other things than ornamental beauty and picture-taking, too. The big surprise to me was the fact they have edible parts: flowers, flowering stems, leaves, and fruits. I haven't tried eating any and would want proper guidance before doing so. I learned that when planted near windows, their sharp, pointy leaves are great burglar-deterrents. Once planted in the ground they seem to thrive requiring little care. That “little additional care” part is a good thing because I really hate to have to beg for help and the local landscapers...uh-h-h...make that yardkeepers...do seem to have their work already cut out for them.
...but on to my new occupation...once again I went to the Internet because our front yard needed help and, begging not being my style, I thought given proper guidance I might be able to take care of things myself. Putting in the words, "Pruning Crape Myrtle" was all it took to help me locate a wonderful video that took me step-by-step through the process necessary for learning exactly what I needed to know how to do.
With two crape myrtle trees in the front yard, all I needed now was a good day and the equipment for the job. We already had a pair of long-handled loppers that I figured would work well enough. I took a sturdy saw-tooth knife in case I had to use a saw-type implement along with a small pair of house scissors to clip off the tiny branches and I was in business. I ignored the advice about garden gloves being part of the equipment. I think I had some out in the garage somewhere but when I was ready to go I didn't want to take time to hunt for those, so out I went on a fine, breezy, sunny Saturday morning! Having seen that video and read an article by a man from Texas who was very upset with the way most landscapers simply lop off the tops of crape myrtle bushes/trees, I think the words of the teaching video and the article I'd read ran through my head most of the time I was working. While I didn't finish as quickly as the man in the video did, neither did it take me all morning to complete the task and our crape myrtle trees look fairly decent considering they are standing naked of their coverings. Another good thing about the morning is I came away with just a tiny poke in my hand but a wicked reminder that the yucca that stands guard next to the crape myrtle is truly a pointed deterrent. No wonder the yardmen don't want to work around our shrubbery! I'm not sure I do anymore either!

Smiling anyway~

Friday, February 19, 2010

DID I REALLY DO THAT?

A few days ago I was sitting in a waiting cubby in a doctor's complex that rather resembles the inside of a mall in that there is a large open area with individual doctor's offices opening off the wide walking areas. The first thing I observed about a particularly busy toddler (whose name is changed to protect the innocent) was her mother's outburst, "Susie, stop that!" followed by the mom's explanation to the man as he passed, "She hit you because she was mad at me." As he continued to walk away, he laughingly looked back over his shoulder and said, "I thought she was giving me a high-five." Before long, "Susie" was checking out much of the large area, including where I sat. She came pretty close and used her eyes to investigate my purse. I could see the wheels turning in that cute little head and for some reason she opted to have her hands leave it alone. I was glad she made that choice on her own because even with a gentle smile and a kind manner, an ogre looks like an ogre to a toddle when a momma is pretty far away and I didn't want to have to become an ogre in her eyes by having to be the strange woman who said, "No." Deciding to leave me for fields afar, "Susie" somehow ended up with a Styrofoam cup with water that, rather than to be used for the boredom of the obvious, proved too much of a temptation, so she dumped it on one of the waiting cubby chairs not all that far from where I was sitting. This time Momma was not far away and neither was the hand that swatted little "Susie" so swiftly on her little butt that a bee sting couldn't have come any faster. Momma said things like, "No, don’t do that!" and proceed to clean up the water spill , and when she was done, I asked if I could speak to her well aside from the hearing of anyone who had seen what went on. We went to an area where we could talk with no one else hearing and I expressed my concern to her that a lawyer had once told my daughter that spanking in public was a dangerous thing to do because people might get the wrong idea, that it should be done in private. She immediately became defensive and this is the gist of what she said, "I'll discipline my child as I see fit. I barely tapped her. She had on a thick diaper!" I quickly explained that I meant no reference to her disciplining action, that I meant sincerely protection to her right to do so, but my concern was to help her keep her child...in other words... not lose her to someone's misguided so-called good intentions. Because I was nervous, I wasn't explaining very well, but it seems the young mother saw through my sincerity and understood what I meant. She said, "Well, here in Texas, we are more liberal..." and we parted with what seemed a sincerely friendly understanding as we went back to our separate areas of the seating cubbies.
...however...the more I have thought about this, the more I have wondered:
1.) That little toddler hit at that man. Why? Is she used to being hit?
2.) Why did I feel so comfortable to recommend that this young mother protect her right to discipline her child without possible interference?
I think the answers to these questions are one and the same: I judged from my own life experiences and the woman I saw before me did not appear to be a child abuser. I hope for the sake of her child I am right because I would not want to send the mother into hiding with her abuse; on the other hand, I would not want to see a well-disciplined child sent into the foster care system because someone felt it their duty to complain because a child was tapped on the butt through the thickness of a diaper in a public place. I never did such a thing before in my life; would I do it again? I truly don't know. I guess I'll have to wait and see. At least I have time to pray about it.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

WHERE IS THE PEACE?

There is a restlessness within me of late that refuses to go away. I have tried to think of the reasons and come up with one as being not entrenched in a book of particular enjoyment but I know that is not the complete answer. Where is the solitude I often crave? In delving a bit deeper into my mind I realize the desire to write weighs heavily but the directions seem so multifaceted that I am not sure which way to go. I know only one direction is not the answer because there are several roads I want to travel in writing.
In looking for inspiration this evening I pulled a couple of my writing books from the bookcase. One is not just a book but a writing kit that includes a deck of cards with inspirational quotes and the quote I chose for encouragement tonight indicates I should follow what I love and it will take me where I need to go. I am not sure I'd say I love writing. It is work. However, I do enjoy the results of the process and the play of putting words together. I do love telling stories and I have many tales to tell so I'll continue to persevere. However, the question remains: where is the peace I need to find within (and perhaps wthout) so I can concentrate and spill those words from inside onto the road of life where I can share them?
Is there someone out there who has a GPS to loan?
Smiles~
Me

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AFTERNOON ALREADY

Good Tuesday Afternoon!
I know as parents we are supposed to set the example for and teach our children well but I am here to let you know that there comes a time when you have done that, that your children are more than capable of setting examples and teaching the parents well. I want to say a special thanks to our daughter Beth for the things she keeps teaching me. The template for this blog and several other creative displays on my sites have come about as a result of Beth's having introduced them to me. As most know, I am particularly fond of daisies and pastels and when I found this background there was no need to look further.
The idea for this blog is pretty much as the introduction indicates: today's tidbits. There are things I'd like to share and this seemed a good avenue to try. I may add to it several times in a day or maybe skip a day or two, depending on what each day brings. There are days that we keep pretty busy so there might be a lot to share but no time to tell it while other days there might be a lot of time with little to tell.
This past week was unique for us. Being retired we are frequently amazed at how fast one Friday follows another but last week we were really ready for Saturday which seemed to linger longer in arriving than we'd have thought possible. Eventually it did appear and we were thankful for the respite from a week that had been busy with either a daily doctor visit or a rehab appointment, meaning we had to be out every day and we are just not used to being on the go so much anymore. I don't know if that wore John out or he picked up some germ or what but he has been suffering the "mully-grubs" starting with a fever yesterday so no rehab. The fever seems gone today and rehab is due tomorrow; we'll have to wait and see.
Even the dogs complained about our being gone so much last week. Missy who is generally so compliant about going directly to her ken-pen when she sees us put on our shoes, still did so, but as we got ready to go out the door, she started to bark and jump. You'd have thought her hind legs were made of pogo-sticks built on the finest of springs available. Since Missy was barking, Max thought it important to join the doggie chorus and added his voice to the mix. That is not the choicest way for us to leave our dogs but we had to go with the hope they settled once they realized we weren't giving in and they weren't getting their way. It's a good thing we had kids first who trained us well!
Last evening we all watched the Westminster Dog Show while Missy laid to the left on my recliner foot rest and Max made himself at home on my right thigh. That was after Missy
had first climbed up on the love seat to gain a close-up view of the TV, perhaps with the idea she could get in the ring with those dogs she saw there; once she realized that was a no-go, she came back and settled down to relax and watch the show. After the Silkies and Yorkies were eliminated from the competition I fell asleep and missed the last 30 minutes of the show. How those judges could not see the quality of those two breeds is beyond me! I did learn that the Westminster Kennel Club has WKC FAN on FACEBOOK, something I am sure will please our daughter Kim immensely, particularly when she learns of my comment to John that if anything could cause me to join FACEBOOK, that would probably be it! Ha! (A little joke there...)
Enough of my spouting for now. I wrote all this on my laptop once and somehow it got lost so let's hope the desktop is more successful.
Smiles anyway~