Random Thoughts

What do woodpeckers, smiles and Ellen have in common? The way you feel after you've seen them.   I missed posting on day 30. I was going to write about the woodpecker I noticed on the bird feeder 2 days ago. The feeder is set so that if a bigger bird or squirrel or other critter gets on the bar, it closes off the access to the food. Well this gymnastic woodpecker was able somehow to get around this small inconvenience. He held onto the bar lightly with his tiptoes (claws?), did a backwards turn and reached his long woodpecker beak into the seed trough. I tried to get picture but of course, he was camera shy.  Yesterday, I was able to click a quick photo. Alas, I had to shoot through the screen, zoom in to the point of blurry and was looking into the sun. You can see a red speck but not the bird's athletic prowess. It doesn't quite have the same affect as the real thing. ____ Thursday is the day I set aside a few hours to visit with my senior friend. The onset...

Sweetie has been a Guardian Ad Litem for 4 years. He's seen some things that would make your hair stand on end. He's seen some sad stories with happy endings. Tonight I noticed the sparkle in Sweetie's eye as he told me about the adoption of a brother and sister - 3 and 6 years old respectively. He told me how it felt to have his legs hugged by kids whose lives have been turned around. He told me about the smile on the new mother's face. It wasn't an easy road to get to today's celebration. Thank goodness there are lawyers, social workers, foster parents and GAL's who work to put the jigsaw puzzle pieces of broken lives back together. The thought of two little kids with a new last name makes my heart smile, Merry ME

Upon making the bed this morning, I noticed there is about a 3 inch gap between the mattress and headboard. Hmmm, that wasn't there the last time I made the bed. I know this because I have a hard time fitting my hand in the (old) space to pull the wrinkles out. It became clear that a certain man with blue eyes whom I love dearly moved the mattress when put the clean sheets on the bed. He also moved the wicker chest I had in the bathroom which is no big deal except Girl Cat can no longer reach the sink. It's little things like this that make noticing fun. I have found I'm actually paying more attention to things, which is the point of the exercise I believe. ___ I don't know about you but pansy's always perk me up. They remind me of my Grammy's camp in Vermont. I can't quite see them in my mind's eye anymore, but I associate the purple and yellow with a summer's stay at the lake.  I remember how Dad used to plant pansy's out front, under th...

Today I noticed how the azalea bushes in the neighborhood have begun to blossom.  So pretty. Merry ME

"You can find pictures anywhere. It's simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. You  just have to care about what's around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy." Elliott Erwitt Before going to my first OPH (Old Person Helper) assignment yesterday I asked Sweetie if the division of labor was going to change. Actual "labor" being taken with a teeny spoonful of salt.   "Of course," my blue-eyed Type A husband responded. "I'll vacuum, dust, change the bed do the laundry and figure something out for dinner." Good God that sounds like more than I do in a day. I told him I'd bring home a pizza. Four hours on the job after taxes would just about cover the cost of two pizzas.  I'm sworn to confidentiality so it's going to be hard to use my OPHing experience as fodder for my blog/great American novel. That said, if every job goes like the first, it might make for a prize wi...

I noticed today how comforting two small words can be. "I understand." Thanks, Molly. Merry ME

Today I noticed this on a friends blog: It goes right along with my previous post. See Day 20 below. Since I unexpectedly seem to be throwing my hat into the ring, or application form as the case may be, I decided to sign up. I think the rules are pretty simple. Write something everyday and put it in the post. Anyone else out there who likes snail mail? Sunny D? Here's a good chance to put those #2 pencils to good use! If you're interested go here . ___ So today was my hiring session. Basically that means signed my name on a lot of papers. I have been electronically fingerprinted, had my picture taken, and agreed NOT to be involved with 2.5 pages of offenses like theft, murder, kidnapping, drug use/sales, gun smuggling, or child porn while at work. I learned how to wash my hands to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The good news is  the procedure hasn't changed that much since I was in nursery school. I'm pretty sure I got a gold star. There are a co...