Random Thoughts

"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness." Bill Blass I got up this morning seeing red. Not the I'm mad as hell kind of red. The autumn red of the maple tree we planted last year. By the time the dog walk/pull/sniff was over and we were coming into the final stretch, I noticed the tree. It's been gradually turning from green to red, but this morning it stood proudly in its red coat, as if daring the winds to blow the it away. So I started thinking about red. Maybe because "red is the color for Tuesdays".* Red has always been one of my favorite colors. Not sure why. I just like the way it makes a statement. When I was a little girl I liked to watch my mother get dressed for a party. Around the holidays she wore a red chiffon dress that made her look hot. Even though I was too young to know what hot meant, I knew she was changing from everyday mom to va va voom mom. Before getting dressed, she stood in her slip putting on makeup. Then she took the pin curls from ...

I wonder if copying an email into your day's post is considered cheating by the NaBloPoMo police? I'm going to have to risk it - kind of like walking down to the first rest stop (essentially a big rock where you stop to catch your breath and take a photo, reminding yourself NOT to look down) into the Grand Canyon, then calling it done and buying the T-shirt that said, "I Hiked the Canyon." As noted by our Indian guide, Mel, that my sisters and I hooked up with later in the day to show us the dinosaur tracks that were supposedly made thousands of years ago, "I'm a cheater." I've been trying to write something for most of the afternoon but kept getting distracted. I hate it when I think something I need is right on my desk but isn't. At least it isn't until I check my desk a third time and find it right where I thought it was to begin with. Basically I lost my focus. My last resort is to post something somebody else said. I've just becom...

"To many people holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance." Philip Andrew Adams In the past week I've been knocked low by pre-Black Friday sales, stores decked out in all their Christmas regalia bypassing Thanksgiving, and a radio station already plays Christmas carols round the clock. On a quick run to the grocery store last night, I even heard the tinkling of the Salvation Army bell. Is it just me or does the earlier - merchandising of Christmas make people feel less merry, instead of more? By the time the actual 12 Days of Christmas get here, I dare say the birds will have quit calling, the geese stopped laying and the Lords may hop but will be way too tired to leap. I make one exception to the hurry up or you're gonna lose out hype. It's the Joann Fabric ads for Christmas flannel that start in July. It makes sense to me that people who make Christmas gifts have to start early. Buying feels-good-on-your-cheek flannel in holiday prints...

"The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of prayer. The souls that have reached this point are truly the heart of the Church." Edith Stein The Rev. Judi Howell and The Rev. Dr. Gloria Kennedy I'd be the first to admit I'm not a student of the Bible. I know a few verses but rely on Bible.com to help me find a passage I'm looking for. I do know, however, that the Bible is full of stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Moses was a stutterer, yet he was chosen by God to speak for his people in front of the Pharaoh. David was a little kid who downed Goliath with one good shot. Mary and Joseph were going about their daily business when an angel spoke to them and changed their lives forever. John the Baptist, by all accounts was a bit of a fruitcake, yet when he spoke people listened. Jesus picked fishermen to share his ministry - no...

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes." Maya Angelou In honor of Veteran's Day my grand-niece, Chloe, has drawn this picture of a veteran standing in front of the flag. The only thing missing is a country full of people saluting and saying thank you. Good job, Chloe! Today I'm grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the front line in defense of liberty. May God and His band of angels protect them and bring them home safely. Merry ME

"A dream is a wish your heart makes." Mack David, Al Hofman, Jerry Livingston Walt Disney's Cinderella (1950) Yesterday's message for me from the Universe, via other blogs, was "Dreams really do come true. " Dictionary.com defines a dream as: a cherished ambition, aspiration or ideal. But it also says a dream is an unrealistic or self deluding fantasy. Aspiration or fantasy? Guess it depends on who's doing the dreaming. I'm probably more of the self-deluding fantasy kind of dreamer. As a child I had the idealistic dreams other girls have. Grow up, kiss a prince and live happily ever after. I can assure you in my dreams my prince always referred to me as "darling" and we never went to sleep angry! After my children were born my dreams consisted of Norman Rockwell dinner portraits, all of us neatly dressed, hands and napkins in our laps. No one crying that someone else touched them or crunched while we ate. Now that I'm older and wiser m...

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make." Truman Capote Carol O'Dell Yesterday I felt poopy. As the day wore on, I felt even poopier. If asked I'd be hard pressed to tell you if I was angry or sad. Probably some of both. And, even though I explored the why's of the feelings, I couldn't figure it out. Instead, I just went to bed. I was asleep by 8:30. Today was a different story. I felt energized and connected. It was writing group day. There's just something about being with these woman that makes me happy. That's not to say that I've always been happy when I'm with them. But that doesn't seem to matter. They let me be however I am. There's something so freeing about that. And validating ... which also happens to be my word for what I get out of writing. Even when I haven't written anything. Along with my blog buddies this group of talented writers is (goofy as it s...