Reflections in a Hot July

Anyone living in Oklahoma in the summer of 2011 can tell you this: It is one of the hottest summers we've experienced in a long, long time. Most of us are just sick of it by now. It's hot in the early morning, it's hot at night. The summer sun has heated your car enough to make you sick in 10 minutes. It is wearing on people's nerves. We're sick of it! SICK OF IT.
I have learned so much in the past year; about other people and about myself at sixty three. I've decided that I am one rather normal person with some unusually nice edges. There are parts of myself that I really, really LIKE and parts of myself that I'm not happy with at all.
I think I may try blogging again. I'm tired of some of the Facebook things and tired of some of the things it represents for me. Tired of that. Move on.
I made a list of 39 things that I want to get done here at the house. Some things are very time consuming and some are just those things that can be done in a few minutes...but they need to be done. Just thought of one more. 40 now. I love working out in the yard, but in Oklahoma, in the summer, well...it just gets old after June. April, May, and June are pretty good. July is smothering and August is right there with it. September doesn't let up much and by October,...it's time for Pumpkins, strange corn, and wreaths of some sort! Gardening can be a year-round thing in Oklahoma, only if I would let it.
I'm going to try posting and then pictures again from my iPhone.

Feeling Home

Home is inside myself and for the first time in I can't remember when, I feel home. I don't feel rushed, I don't feel frazzled, nor stressed, nor overwhelmed. I felt that for years....and I do mean YEARS. Teaching little children in a public school...anywhere...is stressful. Trying to keep all the balls up in the air at the same time, both at home and at school, is sometimes overwhelming. And I'm not so sure how much I really loved doing either of those. There, I said it. I love little children. I love being around little children. I don't love the stuff required in teaching today...all of the "stuff". I questioned too many things and wanted to do things my way. Not in a stand-off-ish way, not in a "my way or the highway" way. I just thought I had good instincts. And I did.
I've got to learn, once again, how to post pictures on here. I think I recall some things, but who knows!

A Round of Applause (not Applesauce)

Why is it that people who do the cooking shows get a spontaneous round of applause when they add the portabello mushrooms, or the feta cheese, or the cup of sherry? Good heavens people, I've never had a round of applause in MY kitchen...for anything! And I'm convinced I've prepared a few pretty good pot roasts in my time! Baked a few pans of light and fluffy homemade rolls. Made several steamers of tasty potato soup, loaves of Anadama Bread, and even opened a can or two of Campbell's soup. What am I missing here?

..., ...., can't trust that day.

Through trial and error I've discovered that I should write when the moment calls. Do not wait until 20 hours later, thinking the same inspiration, thought, word, and effort will be there. It will not.
My oldest grand daughter (one of three) said to me the other day, as we were quickly discussing the pleasures and pitfalls of "newer car ownership", "Mamaw, I think sometimes things just get too fancy." I'm right there with you, AnnaB.
My old car was not as protected as this one from straw wrappers, ice cream drippings, and art work. What do we give up in the "get"?

The Best I've Heard it Said

This comes from Mary Oliver....from "Messenger" in Thirst/2006

"My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird-
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work
which is mostly standing still and learning how to be astonished."

My goodness, I love that!

Rainy Monday Morning

Up when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. Tired. Humm? Didn't take any of my meds yesterday morning and no Dr. Pepper the whole day. Could that explain those headaches yesterday?
I have a jillion things to do today. Return, pick up, mail, get hair cut, deposit, etc. Rainy Monday in Oklahoma...

This week I'm going to learn (and write the directions for...) how to post pictures from my computer and camera. I feel like a computer dork. Out of touch with that.

Lots of things to get done. Prayers for Becky, Gary and Yvonne, Lisa and her mom, Linda....
I have a poem to post (not original) and it is a KEEPER for sure!
Will get that done tonight!
Peace.

My goodness, it's been a long time since I posted. I'm getting back to this blog thing...I've been on Facebook all summer and enjoying it, but it's NOT a writing place for sure. Not enough room for me!
I am SO DISGUSTED about the direction of thinking with the general population in Oklahoma. It seems that the majority of the people, or at least those who make their voices heard in the media, are so AFRAID of everything!! And yet these are the very same people who talk about their FAITH!!!! Good grief people! Wake up and smell the coffee! or at the very least, smell it on your own breath! Our local newspapers (Tulsa World and Owasso Reporter) have the most rampent articles on the horrors of children hearing the words of our President in their classrooms! What in the WORLD are they THINKING!!! One of our brazen Senators even compared his (President Obama) speaking to the schools as "Marxist thinking."
Here's what I don't get: Are these same people AS CONCERNED with the rate of female incarceration in our state, the rate of child abuse, and the rate of births to mothers under the age of eighteeen, the amount of polluntants in our rivers, creeks, and streams, i.e., ground water pollution? Get on a band box that has some teeth, people!!!
I had a request/encouragement from a friend to get back on my blog. I'm doing JUST THAT. Do not want to let my days go by without my voice being heard, even if it is in my own head!

Procrastinate...such a nasty word.

Is it procrastination or postponement when you KNOW you should begin putting the Kilz on the bathroom cabinets and instead....you watch The View? I think we all know the answer to that one! I think I would put that in the category of "Big Project Beginnings" and know that I REALLY don't want to start that when I have a dental appointment in the afternoon. Exactly. On the other hand, I could have had the whole dang thing done by now, had I started that project at 6:00 a.m. I didn't. Live with it, Lana.

It's also a day for getting seriously started back on my "food watch." I've lost 12.5 pounds since the 26th of December and now I'm at a plateau. Also known as I've-eaten-more-than-I-need-to-and-some-of-the-wrong-foods for the past 4 days. I'm feeling it. Amazingly easy for me to think that baking cookies with my grandson will be the best thing for a Tuesday afternoon. It's the best thing to feed my sugar/carb addiction, but not the best thing for me. Start again.

Finally Walking!

Tonight I began walking. Not long, not far, not fast. Fifteen minutes and right under 2 miles an hour. That's slow. I'm starting out slow. My feet are actually in pain. My heels hurt. I will walk again in the morning for another fifteen minutes at a slow pace. I will do the same thing again tomorrow evening and that will give me my thirty minutes for the day. Then I must repeat that same plan on the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next. Never "the end," but continual progress.
I will be healthier.

Read What You Will! (and what you won't)

One of the very best things about being retired from teaching is that I've actually had time to read. Oh, I had some time before that, but my hours were always taken up with raking the yard, cleaning the garage, cleaning the bathrooms, going after groceries; that sort of thing. Stuff we all do, you know. Plus, I could never hold my eyes open long enough to read anything of any length. And when I read, I READ. I'm not one of these who sit down and read 5 pages and then come back to it four days later. Nope. That's probably one of the things that I CAN stay with for more than 20 minutes at a time. The rest of me is really ADD. I won't call it a "disorder"; I think it is an order of my being. I don't think we really have disorders; I think we have orders. Orders from God. That's who I am. That's the way I'm made. Take it or leave it. Maybe not like you...and then of course, you're not like me. Isn't THAT just a wonderful thing of life. Can you imagine if all the Spring flowers were alike? We'd all have to love tulips wouldn't we?

But back to the original...love of reading.

Right now I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love. It is the selection we made in our new book club (YEA!) for the month of March. I'm really enjoying her style of writing. Easy to read and funny; some thoughtful stuff there, too. I'm such a lover of the non-fiction so reading the fiction is good for me, I know. And I'm learning to find the treasures in that, too.

Funny...I think my love for non-fiction probably comes from the fact that I was raised in that small Missouri town in the 50's thinking that every moment should be consumed by doing something that's "good for you"...the old work ethic thing. Reading non-fiction is BETTER for you than reading fiction? How crazy is that??!! I'm changing, thank goodness.