Embrace The Suck

"When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, May luck be yours on Halloween." Author Unknown My day started out at 5am. I awoke to a strange sound - a kind of kathumping coming down the hall. By the time it got to my room, I was fully awake, but it was dark and I still couldn't tell what I was seeing. Turns out it was Boy Cat doing somersaults and banging off the wall. I cornered him under Sweetie's side of the bed and was able to pick him up. I'm not sure who was more scared ... me or the cat. I don't know what a cat seizure looks like but I'm pretty sure that's what had just happened. I called the ER vet, asked a few questions then made the decision to wait til my vet opened at 8:00. It was a long couple of hours. Somehow all of us were able to settle down enough to sleep a little. I put the very worn out kitty into a carrying crate. As I loaded him into the car he seized again. Only this time his flailing around was contained in a small box. About al...

"Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old." Mary H. Waldrip Ompa and G.G . (Luther Reynolds, 92, and the youngest of his great-grandchildren, Giana Garcia, almost 2) Blessings can be found in the most unexpected places, Merry ME

Back to wondering just how crazy I think I am. I am not so sure, cool as I think it is, that that whole hand thing is going to work. Wouldn't it take forever to collect enough for a whole quilt? Maybe I should just collect peace sayings in the comment section here. Should I make a whole quilt or just something to hand on the wall? Hmmm....much as I like walking into a room with hanging quilts, I prefer wrapping them around me. What do you think? Sweetie says he knows all about EBAY. Is that the best way to go? How does auction compare with raffle? The deciding what to do and how to do it might take longer than making the quilt! Thinking out loud, Merry ME

"Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it." Albert Smith I've jest read my daily blogs. I have tears running down my face. In each post I read something that touched me deep inside. And let's face it, I'm just in the mood to boo hoo. Lot's of emotion going on in my world this week. Yesterday I stood in the shower, hot water running down my back, and told my inner ME that I'd take care of her. I told her again on the way to the airport. Then I think I got lost in the busy-ness of company. A two-year old visitor has really sparked some excitement in "this old house"! Sweetie wondered if all 2 year olds are like that. Like what I asked? A ball of energy that can't talk! Yup! I think that would pretty much sum it up! They make their needs known without words, stand tall and independent but are never too far from mama's leg. Just watching and wondering makes me want to cry! It's been so long since a l...

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. " Buddha I'm in a bit of a funk. I'm tired and crabby. My hip hurts even when I do my stretching exercises. In fact, despite what the doctor tells me, it hurts more when I do the exercises. I'm uncertain about the future. It makes me feel kind of scared. The weird thing about this poopoo mood is that I also feel kind of creative. Words aren't coming the way I'd like them too, but I hear the call of fabric that has been locked into a closet to get it out of sight because my sister is coming to visit. "M-a-r-y," the blues and greens whisper to me but I can hear them loud and clear. "M-a-r-y," the holiday fabrics yell louder to remind me that any project I want to have ready by Christmas is already going to take a speed demon to finish. "Just do it," my heart tells me because it knows I need a creative outlet to turn my mood...

"If the seams are showing, there is something wrong with the performance or the construction of the piece." Esa-Pekka Salonen * I was standing on a rickety wooden ladder today. Phillips head screwdriver in one hand, bolt and washer in another, nut in my mouth. The man-sized electric drill somewhere close by, probably on the ground behind me which in essence made it of no use whatsoever, and my big ol' Sweetie sitting in a chair with an ice pack stuffed into the elastic waist cincher he wore to try to put his back into alignment. (That is another story!) I know I should have been concentrating on the engineering problem at hand, or going over in my mind what I was going to say to the EMT's when they asked what in the hell I thought I was doing, but instead, it dawned on me if they added a construction segment to the Amazing Race it would separate the wheat racers from the chaff in a big hurry. On day two of the great shed construction, things between the man I love wi...

"When you remember me, it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart." Frederick Buechner "I'm leaving," she said in a raised voice that sounded like this time it might be for good. In my memory she carried a small suitcase. I had to have been 10 or eleven. We lived in Jacksonville but I was still small enough to curl myself into a ball. And that's what I did. I hid. I squeezed into the space between the china cabinet and the wall in the dining room. Worried about what was going to happen next, I listened for more words. Was mom going to be gone forever? Who was going to take care of us? Why was this happening? I was too you...

"Who needs astrology? The wise man gets by on fortune cookies." Edward Abbey I'm sitting here laughing. Which is a good thing. I've been weighing heavy, dreary thoughts all morning. Day 2 of an emotional blowup is mellow on the outside, roiling on the inside. I haven't kicked the dog or cussed at anybody so I'm probably going to come out the other side of the funk. For some reason, before checking my email a few minutes ago my online horoscope came up. Here's what it says. I think, after reading yesterday's post, you'll have to agree that it's pretty funny. Or is that maniacal laughing I hear in the background? "Your love-hate balancing act with an authority figure is most definitely tipping in the love direction right about now. Even with the current hectic pace of your life, you two can find the time you need to clearly communicate what you expect from each other. Rely on your solid communication skills to ease any potentially rough spo...

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein As you know I like to start off my blog with a quote. I love googling a subject and finding (usually) the perfect something to go along with what I want to write. Sometimes it's a bit of a stretch, sometimes I am on the same wave length as some of the great minds of the world. I knew there would not be a quote for how I'm feeling today. Something along the lines of: "My father is a complete butt head and I don't know why I let him get under my skin the way I do, and I wish I could just hop on a magic carpet and ride away to the land of Kettle Chips and Coca Cola where only happy people live and crying is a misdemeanor punishable by listening to continues rewinds of "Don't Worry Be Happy" or enter the FBI Witness Protection Program and be reinvented to a girl who doesn't care so much." Nope, the wise people of the world have not yet come up with...

" Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." Henry Ford I don't think I am telling tales when I tell the you that my Sweetie's life motto is along the lines of "Bigger is Better" or something similar "More is Better". Take for instance vegetable shopping. When I go to the store I will usually by a relatively small bunch of bananas so they can be eaten before they turn black. I buy a couple squash, or a few tomatoes. Sweetie on the other hand likes to go to the Farmer's Market and buy baskets full of cukes, peppers, squash, tomatoes and beans. He does save some money, but when he gets home there is little or no room in the fridge for it all. [Photo: Carrots anyone? See Note] For Sweetie, bigger is always better when it comes to hotdogs. Personally I like a good Ball Park frank that plumps when you cook it. Sweetie goes for these jumbo dogs that are already plump enough to make my sister and I laug...

"After I'd forgotten all about us The song remembers when ..." Trisha Yearwood Memory is a funny thing. I used to pride myself on my ability to remember details. I wasn't always good with names, but give me a phone number or an address and I could repeat it back to you for years on end. When I was in school I could memorize important dates in history or vocabulary words with no problem. I wasn't so good with the inner parts of a dissected frog, but I believe that was because I never really saw at it. I took one look at that poor thing spread eagle on the lab table with his gut slit from one end to the other and smelling of formaldehyde and made a hasty run for the bathroom. I had a lot of bathroom time during Biology class. I digress .... Somewhere in my mid-forties I noticed I was forgetting more than I was remembering. I blamed it on stress and depression. My father told me I moved too quickly from one thing to another to be able to commit anything to memory. Th...

"Life is too short for drama and petty things. So kiss slowly, laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly . . ." ... and perhaps buy a puppy. The first email I read this morning included this picture. I think I'm going to blow it up and stick it on the refrigerator. It makes me smile! The dog is perfectly at peace while little Picasso does his thing. At first I thought the boy was just doodling, but if you look close you'll see he's actually re-creating the chair fabric. Look at the flowers and the lines. I think one day we'll be seeing this kid's work in a museum. Or maybe at some fashion institute. Look at that PJ combo. I love it. It makes me want to add a white dog, a little boy and some markers to my life! Next I went on to read my favorite blogs. Look what's new over at http://meatpieandluna.blogspot.com/ . Not long ago Swallowtail wrote a post that had "new puppy-itis" all over it. I could tell it was only a matter of time. What do you...

I see the moon, And the moon sees me; God bless the moon, And God bless me! In an effort to find out if there is water somewhere under the surface of the moon (my very un-scientific explanation) NASA sent a rocket hurtling into a lunar crater this morning. Call me crazy, but I think bombing the hell out of the earth should be enough for anyone. While I understand the value of science, accept and appreciate it's impact on humanity, I don't believe there is any point in putting any more holes in the moon or any other planet for that matter. It seems rather ego-maniacal, doesn't it, to think we humans have the right to blast away other parts of the universe? And really, is finding water there going to be significant enough to warrant the cost and possible negative impact (pun intended!). In a recent post I mentioned the well that has been installed in a remote area in Swaziland. Old grandmothers cried when they saw running water for the first time. I've read that Native A...

"Don't judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." Native American Proverb I've been suffering from trochanateric bursitis for several months. My primary care doc told me the cure was all about stretching. After faithful daily exercise routines, the pain wasn't going away and I noticed this kind of popping in my hip. A moment of sharp pain, when I thought my leg would give out. Next step was to see an orthopedic surgeon. I did that right before I went to Seattle last month. I got a shot of cortisone and prayed for relief. My prayer was answered but not immediately and not completely. Being crammed into the window seat of a cross-country airplane for hours didn't actually help the situation. I've been doing physical therapy 3 times a week for two weeks. It is well out of my comfort zone but I've been getting up at 6:30am and at the rehab place by 7:00. I join a variety of people with a variety of aches and pains stretching their arm...

"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause." Mark Twain Here it is the night before my writing group meets and I have not yet done my homework. I've thought about it, and considered beginning it several times. But when I look at the first question I get stumped. What word do I hate? Now that's a hard one, and they get harder still! I've got to wonder if the people on the Actor's Studio have been prepped. They spit out their answers quickly, seemingly without much forethought. Undoubtedly anyone who goes on the actor's studio knows ahead of time the questions are going to be asked. Well I've known for three weeks and I still can't come up with definitive answers. Here's my best shot. What word do you hate? Can’t Actually there are lots of words I don't really care for, more for what they represent than the word itself. Like gun, war, hurricane, and vomit. However, can't implies limitati...

"There is no small pleasure in sweet water." Epistoloe Ex Ponto (II, 7, 73) Photo: http://www.soaringimpulse.com/ There are a lot of things I take for granted. Probably at the top of that list are good health, plenty of food and good clean water. I think that must be why I cried tears of joy when I read The Soaring Impulse today. Please go there and join in the joy of people who have running water for the first time in years - maybe ever. Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke believes love can change the world, and that's what people from around the globe did. They contributed enough money through Maithri's Soaring Impulse and Possible Dreams International web sites to make this well possible. That's a lot of love. It's proof to me that little by little people who care can make a difference. I'm grateful to be reminded of this simple truth. Wishing for you a great big glass of cold clean water. Drink up. Merry ME

One of my favorite church days is the feast of St. Francis. It's the day that everyone gets to bring their pets to church for a special blessing. I've taken my dog, cats and birds on different occasions. I've seen pot bellied pigs and goats in the mix of chihuahuas, turtles and retrievers. I don't really know a lot about St. Francis except that he gave up his life as the son of a wealthy Italian merchant and dedicated his life to the poor. For those who know about saints, Francis is the patron saint of animals - thus the special service. There is a children's picture book I try to remember to read on this day. It's called The Day The Animals Came by Frances Ward Weller. The story is based on the real-life parade of animals that takes place every year on the 1st Sunday in October, at St. John the Divine cathedral in New York City. According to the author's note, this is the world's larges Gothic cathedral. On St. Francis Day "some 3000 people of a...