Maybe this should’ve just a “no comments” thread! Tomorrow the whole gang comes here and clears the bedroom I am using of Brenda’s collection of boxes and stuff ...left from her days of selling on Etsy. Getting ready for potential bathroom addition...maybe!
Just think==not yet nine on a fine Friday morning, and already there are those out there, in person, ready to murder fellow shoppers in aid of getting a good/great deal! Go America!
Memory, just now, of driving home in June, honeysuckle time, windows down, and my four year old in the back saying, very clearly: Mama! That is a lovely fragrance.
Thanksgiving was nice. The trip down our canyon went well, only ten minute delays instead of the hour they warned us about. My son and daughter-in-law had colds, so they didn't have a lot of energy. I remember well when a child got a cold, we all got it.
The food was tasty, the white meat of the turkey was tender and sweet. I read your instructions, Puddle, on baking a turkey. Thank you.
After about 3 hours I began to feel sleepy, (still waking at 2 or 3 AM) so headed home with leftovers for dinner the next day. It was a nice Thanksgiving if less energetic than the past ones, and the sense that David was absent.
Weird warm weather here, almost no snow in November. I agree with you that Obama's speech was moving. How far we've come.
Still, and as always, can't actually believe the amount of work that boy can accomplish in three days. Example: before Bethune on Thursday night, the turkey was taken apart and meat stored and bones we boiling. By breakfast, Friday, bones de-meated, and in oven drying. Broth ready to freeze.
Then he went to de-mouse the attic. Turns out it wasn't mice. I have a tribe of flying squirrels living in my insulation. Have pictures. We're trying to figure out how to handle that.
Then he took Beau for a run in the meadow, and got a marvelous pic of a ray of sun blessing him.
Love all Thanksgiving posts.......son Gary and wife rented a very nice house for the whole tribe to stay in for five days. I was there once.....commodes were just way too low. So on one day they came to Brenda’s in pairs and yesterday they were all here clearing Brenda’s second bedroom of extraneous “stuff.”
Hi Listener, yes, tell us about your Thanksgiving. I'm always amazed at the energy and efforts you and your husband bring to family. And, thank you, Listener, for your interest and affirmation. I'm smiling and grateful. Here's one of the poems in the anthology. I just posted it on Facebook. A Thanksgiving poem. This was published in a new anthology of 8 Front Range Northern Colorado Poets, entitled Mountains, Myths & Memories. It was published by Wolfe Unlimited, Technical and Creative Writing and is available on amazon.
Wild Turkeys They’re back, their pitchfork feet marking the road in arrows. Fields of bee balm, plenteous, soft purple, violet, and they meandering through, their heads wagging, snacking on seeds. Not a bad way to dine out, cheeping like dripping water, clinking like glasses of wine.
The joke was on me! Even as I wrote "Pat's poetry book is wending its way to me" it was already waiting in my mailbox! We simply forgot to check the mail on Saturday! LOL!
Oh, Listener, a delicate and graceful poem about my poems. A huge smile here and thank you. This is lovely, and you bring your light to me. I will copy this and save it, read it again for courage and effort. You have given me a gift.
You ladies are wonderful! But, I am wonderingaboutPuddle...if her blood pressure down 40points and the docs are happy... it must have been way out of control. Keep us posted, lady...miss you much.
Y'know what's funny, puddle? I have white coat hypertension at times too. Turns out it never happens when I see my gynecologist. She is so gentle and non-judgmental. Primary care docs are always looking for trouble, and that has a bad effect on my bp. But when they retake it at the end of the visit, it's always fine. Ha!
Today is the birthday of Madeleine L'Engle, C.S. Lewis and Louisa May Alcott! Tomorrow is the birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Authors have a unique opportunity to influence a culture for the better. Their works, especially fiction, tend to make it under the radar. And, hey, only people who read encounter their efforts. So, when you think about it, novel writing is a great way to go underground and still get some ideas across to thinking people.
PAT! I have been reading more. Shirley Kobar has my heart now, especially for "Into An October Night" (p39) and "The Ensemble" (p.111). Also Claudia van Gervan's "Backwards" (p. 21) is wonderful!
Alas, today I need to mail this to my dear friend who just moved to Colorado, as her birthday is Monday! I will have to buy a second copy, for my own enjoyment. I find that the deep-into-nature poems call most to me. And any reference to the sacred or liturgical sets something vibrating in my soul.
Thank you for your comments about the poetry. I'm elated, and I will tell the Daz Bogians that their poems specifically were appreciated. They'll be glad.
About your dream: I had a book once on the symbolic interpretations of dreams. I don't think I still have it, but will look for it. A birth, an easy birth, a small being, and you the mother. Something beautiful and creative is coming from you and to you, I think.
I thought I had mentioned that we meet and have met at the Daz Bog coffeehouse for at least several years. So, privately we call ourselves the Daz Bogians. The coffeehouse doesn't know that. But, much has happened in our association: death, injuries, chronic illnesses, moving, new endeavors, ongoing poetry and sharing. It has been a joy and a solace.
I checked my books in the basement, and I can't find the Dreams book. I think I gave it away. You could go to Alibris, Amazon, a variety of book places and put in "interpretations of dreams" and I'll bet you could find a good used book that does that.
I've been forgetting my dreams lately, but I'm aware that I am dreaming. I'm trying to find something, to complete something though I don't know what it is.
Beginning of my White Coat problems were sometime in my late forties. Kaiser Permanente. Needed a prescription for thyroid (since I no longer had one), and they insisted on a physical before giving me one. Got into the paper outfit, and nurse came in took BP, it was 110/70. I sat there for nearly an hour before the doc showed up. He slapped the BP cuff on, pumped it so hard and fast and high, I honestly felt Like he'd broken the bone in my arm. His reading? 210/110.
As I grow older it gets harder and harder to take my BP without actually hurting me. My average first take is 180/90. Every time I've gotten my own monitor, my readings run 110/115 over 75/80. All day, every day. Always get them calibrated against the doc's. I had one nurse practitioner who could get a home-like reading from me. And once, at UVA hosp when they were doing a ore-surgical echo-cardiogram (chemical heart-stress test) it dropped from standard WCH to home over the course of the test.
Irony is that they were the ones who told me about WCH; and then never believe it. A quarter century of medical misery caused by THEM . . . .
Thank you, Pat, for your words about my dream. I was thinking something akin. I just finished a Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist class and the upshot is that I decided to begin a monk-art journal. It may include anything that moves me on a particular day ~ silence leading to painting or the beauty of a day leading to photography or a quote that has particular meaning for this time, etc. ~ but I think I will begin it with the story of the dream. I wonder if I could sketch the baby to my own satisfaction.
Thanks, Puddle...for your explanation of the 40 point drop and WHC hypertension. When I was younger I had some of that. Now that I am old 110 or 120 is TOO low...good pcp doc..who is a gerontologist— says much better to be 130–150!
Guess you gotta get old to get the good stuff!
Keep on the good side of WHC ...whatever it may be!
I think a monk-art journal is a great idea, Listener. The daily thoughts, inspirations, dilemmas make up our lives and can provide the matter for our creativity. Just as the bee pollinates the flower, the birds add song, flight, and nests, we human critters bring our creativity to the world as well.
Getting old mostly isn't fun, but there are indeed positives, a wisdom and a grace that when we were younger we didn't have time to cultivate. a smile for you Shirlee.
Thank-you, Pat. It surely won't be every day, but over time will express what I need to express. One thing I have long loved about any sort of journal is that reading back through it one sees the progress that we don't recognize day to day, such that perspective comes much more easily.
Here is an interesting article on Empathy and Empaths!
"Researchers have discovered a specialized group of brain cells that are responsible for compassion. These cells enable everyone to mirror emotions, to share another person’s pain, fear, or joy. Because empaths are thought to have hyper-responsive mirror neurons, we deeply resonate with other people’s feelings. How does this occur? Mirror neurons are triggered by outside events. For example, our spouse gets hurt, we feel hurt too. Our child is crying; we feel sad too. Our friend is happy; we feel happy too. In contrast, psychopaths, sociopaths, and narcissists are thought to have what science calls “empathy deficient disorders.” This means they lack the ability to feel empathy like other people do, which may be caused by an under-active mirror neuron system. We must beware of these people because they are incapable of unconditional love."
Flynn has officially turned state's evidence...! Brian Ross says that Flynn let it be known that candidate Trump told him to contact Russia. I'd like to know the context around that, but if it's related to the meeting Flynn had with a Russian official in which they discussed President Obama's sanctions, while Barack Obama was still President, that's a huge offense. Flynn has decided to plead guilty and cooperate with Mueller. This is SUCH good news!!!
The one catch is that DT has a disorder which causes him to be unable to back down, resign or admit wrong. In fact, as his situation deteriorates he is more and more likely to lash out or go ballistic. Please God that he not figure out how to go nuclear.
December 2, 2017 1:51am EST CNN Breaking: Senate passes GOP tax reform bill The Senate has passed major tax reform legislation along party lines. The 51 to 49 vote was split mostly on party lines. The bill will now go to Senate/House negotiations.
Thanks, Listener. I feel sick. How 49 Senators could be so irresponsible, unethical, immoral, and damaging to our country is like a rock in my gut. What are we to do?
I have no doubt that Trump is psychologically impaired and dangerous. We have been so inundated with media for so many years, that we have a TV character from a Reality show should not be a surprise, nor that Fox News has been undermining this republic for more than a decade. How has a Mitch McConnell, a Newt Gingrich, an Orin Hatch, a Paul Ryan or any of these deceptive, extremist, irresponsible people been able to survive? What has happened to our people, our sense of community, our responsibility to each other? I am devastated.
Interesting that empathy is chemical. I wonder how much chemistry plays in our behaviors and values as human beings.
As for impeachment, I'm hoping. Trump and cohorts belong in jail. And so another day begins.
Pat, it looks to me that 51 (rather than 49) Senators were irresponsible, unethical and immoral.
What I found fascinating about the article on Empaths is that empathy involves our neuron cells as neurotransmitters (so it's really more electrical rather than chemical). That's why many empaths are strongly affected by the flares of the Sun or Earth's magnetic field changes. I was particularly moved to learn that:
"The fourth finding involves dopamine, a neurotransmitter that increases the activity of neurons and is associated with the pleasure response. Research has shown that introverted empaths tend to have a higher sensitivity to dopamine than extraverts. Basically, they need less dopamine to feel happy. That could explain why they are more content with alone time, reading, and meditation and need less external stimulation from parties and other large social gatherings. In contrast, extraverts crave the dopamine rush from lively events. In fact, they can’t get enough of it."
As an introverted person, I very quickly feel overloaded when I am in a crowd or at a party. Now I understand why! Plus, I learned that I am not prone to depression *because* have sufficient neuron cells to supply a higher sensitivity to dopamine, so I need less of it to feel content! Wow!
Hi Listener, Right, 51 Senators. I think I get addled!
Interesting about the neurotransmitters. I think that I'm basically an optimistic person, introverted somewhat, and sometimes prone to depression. Amazing the complexity of living beings. I get tired easily as well when I'm with lots of people. I'm thinking, teaching for 30 years, surrounded by people every day, almost every minute of the day, no wonder teachers burn out.
I like alone time, but I also need people, connected time. Well, off to walk Molly the dog.
Pat...this sounds a bit like me. I can tolerate one person at a time, on occasion more... as when all my children and their spouses were in town for Thanksgiving. It was nice for a short time. I had them visit me in pairs or small groups after that.
Today we ventured to Green Mountain Monastery to hear Vermont's women's vocal ensemble sing their hearts to the rafters, accompanied at times by Fyre and Lightning Consort. Here is the link to my photo album. Let me know if you can see it okay.
Thanks, Listener, for the links. I'll look at them tomorrow. When have we ever had a political situation like this. Even Watergate looks mild in comparison.
Bernie's step-daughter is running for Mayor of Burlington!! She is running as an Independent and is challenging the incumbent, whose background is real estate and who is pushing a plan for a 14 story mall in Burlington. To date, the tallest building in Vermont, also in Burlington, is just 8 stories high (and it's the only one).
ACTION ITEM: Write a Letter to the Editor of the largest newspaper near you, or a national paper, expressing your outrage over the Tax Bill and the Republican Congress' plan to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Let's flood them!
Bernie offered an amendment last week that would have required Congress to have a 67 vote majority to alter Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Three Democrats voted against it. Senator Durbin did so to be able to bring it up again later, so that's not a problem. But Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tom Carper voted no. Call them both and ask WHY. They need to hear that the people are *not* happy!
Sen. Mark Warner (202) 224-2023
Sen. Tom Carper (202) 224-2441
I called them both. I was surprised that I was so emotional on the phone. I told them that my husband and I are nearing retirement and this and the Tax Bill are freaking us out. Both staffers who answered were appropriate and said their Senator felt that the 60 vote margin would be sufficient and that they voted no to be able to keep conversing with Republicans on the issue.
So I said that the 50 vote thing has been really hard to take, and I'm not sure 60 will really stand. I asked the staffer to tell the Senator that we feel that we are being taxed twice, that SS & Medicare and Medicaid have been robbed and not replenished and that these are NOT part of the deficit but our money that has been taken out of our pockets.
I closed by making a point of thanking the person who is answering the phones, thanking them for being there, sticking with it through these really hard days, and that We the People really need someone who can hear us and convey our concerns. Be sure to thank the staffer; it's a really hard job.
DT plans to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in about 6 months.
This is a dastardly and bastardly idea. It would be the death knell of the Palestinian - Israeli Peace process. Moreover, it would spark fresh war with Iraq and other Arab nations (no doubt compounded by his travel ban). It isn't enough that he's rattling North Korea's cage, he has to do this too? Gee, let's go to war with Asia and the Middle East all at once and be the cause of such wars. What could possibly go wrong? Russia sure chose well.
"The powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned in January a statement on his website that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would represent a declaration of open war against Islam."
Has anyone asked the question WHY DT wants to sow chaos in our nation and the world?
If it's due to mental illness, he must be removed for the sake of national security. If it's for some dastardly purpose, he must be jailed for treason!
I received a thank you note today from my friend newly in Colorado, to whom I sent your book of poems.
Dory writes:
a thousand and one thank yous! i have been reading the poetry anthology with my morning coffee. i noted a few verses that have touched my heart and soul to re-read again and again.
Thank you, Listener. My heart is full. I am so grateful. The joy is the writing, the making, and if it brings something of beauty, goodness, joy, that is a double gift.
My sense of DT is that he is psychologically damaged, filled with so much anger, resentment, rejection that to bring chaos and hurt to everyone, every institution is a revenge, and he doesn't know any other way to be. Yes, we need to remove him from office, and I'm praying that Mueller will be able to do that.
Haven't yet had time to check out the URLs, but will tomorrow morning. Thank you again, Listener. To have your support and affirmation is so much appreciated.
Unholy Moly! So I wasn't expecting to be posting another Action Item so soon, but after today's Presidential announcement about Jerusalem and the decision in the House not to Impeach, turns out I have one. Congressman Al Green introduced a Resolution today to Impeach the President, but it was voted down by all Republicans and Democrats Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Hoyer, both of whom said "Now is not the time."
ACTION ITEM: Call Speaker Nancy Pelosi (202) 225-4965 and Congressman Hoyer (202) 225-4131 to ask: IF NOT NOW, WHEN?! Are we waiting for nuclear war with North Korea? Are we waiting for the Middle East to explode? For Americans to die for lack of healthcare? For our tax system to fail the average American? We have already lost our standing in the world. By next November our nation will not be recognizable. What will it take?
While you're at it, please call Congressman Green to thank him for offering his Resolution to impeach!! Congressman Green (202) 225-7508
I called the offices of Pelosi and Hoyer. Pelosi's people put me through to a machine on which to leave my message. Hoyer's person was really nice, said they'd gotten a LOT of calls today, and said the Congressman had not yet shared with staff to say what he meant by "Now is not the time." I made sure to thank him for being there and hearing me.
Thank you, Listener. I'm hoping that Mueller will have the evidence for obstruction of justice and collusion. If the evidence is solid, comprehensible by the public, then we can look for more agreement about impeachment.
What a day today: woke up at 3 AM, the pilot light on the gas fireplace wouldn't light. Livingroom cold. I with no idea how to do it. Various calls, one to Estes Park, and the technician came up this morning: a burned out socket and connector. He fixed it. Then, flickering lights, a microwave that slows down, dims, and doesn't seem to cook, a neighbor who is an electrician cancelled an appointment to come and check. So far it's working, but oh, the anxiety. This living alone is daunting.
And so, I have the fireplace on to warm the livingroom for temperatures in the teens tonight.
Wow, Pat, that was an eventful day. I'm glad you had good help. It is truly daunting to have to deal with every little thing that happens, on your own. I'm sure that puddle could tell stories. You did it, though. And that is to be commended!
Pat...things like that are reasons Iwas happy to live in my apartment. Before that I was renting a nice just the right size house in Texas...but the landlady who lived next door in a large, beautiful house. She had a yard man , a handy man carpenter on call.....but when it came to keeping up the rental house she was a penny pincher......one of the reasons I moved to Greensboro ......found the apartment and Brenda was/is here.!!!!! Best move ever.
I've been nearly paralyzed with anger for almost a week now. I wake every day, go to my "donald" tab, refresh, hoping that over night he's put a shot gun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger with his toe. Or a pistol to the temple. . . . Or mebbe a dump truck crashing through a barricade and accidentally scooping up the prez's limo, and turning him into a pretzel before it can be stopped, or--you get the drift. I HATE that I hate him so much, that I actually give him living space in my brain, rent free. I want him gone--from my brain, my life, my country, my planet.
You have much company, puddle. The only way I have slept at night was to create Action Items and post them everywhere. When one Facebook friend wrote "UGH" that I'd posted about politics, I promptly posted a rainbow and a unicorn. I know she'll 'get it' ~ because she is NO advocate of DT. I dislike politics too. I just want a country that isn't harmful, again.
I got a hefty dose of perspective tonight. Turns out a young friend of ours, who home schooled when our kids did, lost her humble home to the fire in Ventura. She had so little to begin with. She was ONE DAY away from finishing work on the bus she was refurbishing to live in, when it went up in flames. She was away at the time, as she had a project to finish for work, and we are relieved that she wasn't sleeping in it that night!! But she was waiting on a quote from the insurance company and still needed to register it at the DMV. So she's just lost it all, no insurance. She is about 40 and single, so I don't know what comes next. A friend set up a GoFundMe site, and I donated. So that helps a tiny bit. But oh my heart aches tonight.
Yes, I can barely look at photos of DT. My sense is that the more attention he gets, both bad and good is a reward for him. He's someone we haven't seen the likes of in our lifetime. My hope is that we will recognize that he represents our worst selves and we will put our energies as a country toward becoming the humane, generous, honest, and dedicated people we have been in tragic times and in the future.
The wind is unbelievable here today and last night. It's shrieking, singing, groaning, battering, growling, and constant maybe at 40 miles per hour or more. No walking for me this morning.
Went into Estes Park, shopped, got gas, came home, or almost. My car died as I started up our access road. I flagged a truck, and a woman named Tammy came out,and we tried to start the car, no luck. We put the groceries into her truck and Molly my dog, and she drove me home. She offered to come back and take me down to my car when the tow truck came, but I was able to start our Jeep, so I told her I would drive down. She's a teacher who coordinates enrichment programs for many schools here. I had not met her before.
And so, the tow truck came. It took nearly three hours to get here. I was going to meet the driver and give him the key to the car, but he called and said the phone just kept ringing. So, he was able to call near Estes Park and said he'd take the car down to the towing company he works for that contracts with Triple A. It's going to cost me nearly $300 so I'm kind of wondering about Triple A.
It could have been so much worse. I could have stalled in the middle of a busy street in Estes Park or on the road from Glen Haven where not much traffic goes. It could have been more problematical. But, two days ago, my gas fireplace, the flickering electricity, and today the car. My friends tell me everything works in threes so I should be okay for a while. It's interesting how much anxiety comes with this kind of thing. But, all is well.
Glad to hear the the National Nurse bill is closer to passing. Thanks for the links, Listener, and you all for letting me spout my difficulties and anxiousness.
Good Morning, Beautiful sunny day, warm, nearly 60 degrees. I hung the laundry on the clothesline.
I have to get used to dealing with the many maintenance details of this world. I'm a cowardly, whiny, scaredy cat, and I have lots to learn. So, I will.
Trump is a horror as are his cohorts. I had a sense in the pre-election campaigning that he would be elected, and felt the pulling in my stomach of panic. The panic is still there, and I just don't know what to do when 31 percent of the people support him. Well, dialogue helps.
I said to Mah*Sweetie today that the antics going on in DC will surely make a classic psychological study. He agreed and said it will also probably be made into a movie. I said I'd like to see that movie as it will surely have things in it that we didn't know. I said I wondered what they'd call it. He quipped: "All the President's Goons."
70 comments:
Maybe this should’ve just a “no comments” thread! Tomorrow the whole gang comes
here and clears the bedroom I am using of Brenda’s collection of boxes and stuff ...left
from her days of selling on Etsy. Getting ready for potential bathroom addition...maybe!
Love to all.
...’should be’......sorry
Just think==not yet nine on a fine Friday morning, and already there are those out there, in person, ready to murder fellow shoppers in aid of getting a good/great deal! Go America!
Memory, just now, of driving home in June, honeysuckle time, windows down, and my four year old in the back saying, very clearly: Mama! That is a lovely fragrance.
Good Morning,
Thanksgiving was nice. The trip down our canyon went well, only ten minute delays instead of the hour they warned us about. My son and daughter-in-law had colds, so they didn't have a lot of energy. I remember well when a child got a cold, we all got it.
The food was tasty, the white meat of the turkey was tender and sweet. I read your instructions, Puddle, on baking a turkey. Thank you.
After about 3 hours I began to feel sleepy, (still waking at 2 or 3 AM) so headed home with leftovers for dinner the next day. It was a nice Thanksgiving if less energetic than the past ones, and the sense that David was absent.
Weird warm weather here, almost no snow in November.
I agree with you that Obama's speech was moving. How far we've come.
Hope your day is good.
Still, and as always, can't actually believe the amount of work that boy can accomplish in three days. Example: before Bethune on Thursday night, the turkey was taken apart and meat stored and bones we boiling. By breakfast, Friday, bones de-meated, and in oven drying. Broth ready to freeze.
Then he went to de-mouse the attic. Turns out it wasn't mice. I have a tribe of flying squirrels living in my insulation. Have pictures. We're trying to figure out how to handle that.
Then he took Beau for a run in the meadow, and got a marvelous pic of a ray of sun blessing him.
Both pics coming up for the next thread change.
Bethune would be bedtime. . . .
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving, Puddle. Great mom, great son. Happy for you.
Love all Thanksgiving posts.......son Gary and wife rented a very nice house
for the whole tribe to stay in for five days. I was there once.....commodes were
just way too low. So on one day they came to Brenda’s in pairs and yesterday
they were all here clearing Brenda’s second bedroom of extraneous “stuff.”
"Bethune would be bedtime."
We may have to refer to bedtime as "Bethune" after this! I love it! It sounds like some exciting experience...like Beltane! Ha!
That's it! The manner in which many of us sleep awhile then wake awhile then sleep again deserves a blessing name. Bethune it is!
Besides, Mary McLeod Bethune was awesome!
https://www.biography.com/people/mary-mcleod-bethune-9211266
Have I mentioned how Thanksgiving went with our tribe? It was lovely. If I haven't say the word and I'll tell of it.
Meanwhile, Pat's poetry book is wending its way to me. 💌📖
Good Morning,
Hi Listener, yes, tell us about your Thanksgiving. I'm always amazed at the energy and efforts you and your husband bring to family. And, thank you, Listener, for your interest and affirmation. I'm smiling and grateful. Here's one of the poems in the anthology. I just posted it on Facebook.
A Thanksgiving poem. This was published in a new anthology of 8 Front Range Northern Colorado Poets, entitled Mountains, Myths & Memories. It was published by Wolfe Unlimited, Technical and Creative Writing and is available on amazon.
Wild Turkeys
They’re back, their pitchfork
feet marking the road in arrows.
Fields of bee balm, plenteous,
soft purple, violet, and they
meandering through, their heads
wagging, snacking on seeds.
Not a bad way to dine out,
cheeping like dripping water,
clinking like glasses of wine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bethune
Your Norman Bethane sound like a fine soul, puddle. Salut!
The joke was on me! Even as I wrote "Pat's poetry book is wending its way to me" it was already waiting in my mailbox! We simply forgot to check the mail on Saturday! LOL!
I'll elaborate on Thanksgiving later today. ♥
sound = sounds
Docs came this morning. BPs down forty points, so they're happy. Blood tests results in a couple of days. But pretty much all's right wit da world.
Very nice, puddle!! ♥
= Congratulations!!! =
Glad for you, Puddle. Thank you, Listener, for caring, for ordering the book. Let me know what you think.
Tonight cold comes back. Oh well.
Love to you all.
Pat ~
The first thing I did was read all of your poems,
from the back of the book to the front.
I don't know why in that order; it's just what felt right.
My favourite of all is
Learning to Live With the Invisible
then, Lightning Strike.
I am right there with you.
Can almost feel you breathing.
Your tender receiving of the world is warm light.
I have poked at some of the others'
poems too. Just a few so far.
But you write from the deep simplicity within.
~ AllForLove
Oh, Listener, a delicate and graceful poem about my poems. A huge smile here and thank you. This is lovely, and you bring your light to me. I will copy this and save it, read it again for courage and effort. You have given me a gift.
You ladies are wonderful! But, I am wonderingaboutPuddle...if her blood pressure
down 40points and the docs are happy... it must have been way out of control.
Keep us posted, lady...miss you much.
Love to all
Shirlee
Well I have white coat hypertension, so I'm never as worried about it as they are, but it's nice to have them relax a little, too.
Y'know what's funny, puddle? I have white coat hypertension at times too. Turns out it never happens when I see my gynecologist. She is so gentle and non-judgmental. Primary care docs are always looking for trouble, and that has a bad effect on my bp. But when they retake it at the end of the visit, it's always fine. Ha!
Today is the birthday of Madeleine L'Engle, C.S. Lewis and Louisa May Alcott! Tomorrow is the birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Authors have a unique opportunity to influence a culture for the better. Their works, especially fiction, tend to make it under the radar. And, hey, only people who read encounter their efforts. So, when you think about it, novel writing is a great way to go underground and still get some ideas across to thinking people.
PAT! I have been reading more. Shirley Kobar has my heart now, especially for "Into An October Night" (p39) and "The Ensemble" (p.111). Also Claudia van Gervan's "Backwards" (p. 21) is wonderful!
Alas, today I need to mail this to my dear friend who just moved to Colorado, as her birthday is Monday! I will have to buy a second copy, for my own enjoyment. I find that the deep-into-nature poems call most to me. And any reference to the sacred or liturgical sets something vibrating in my soul.
I am grateful to you all for this realisation. ♥
Last night I had a vivid dream that I was giving birth.
As the child crowned, I could look and see
the baby's entire body thinly still inside me.
Then the baby was born,
head and body all in one small push.
His head was fully covered in black hair,
and his being smaller than any of the babies
whom I have actually birthed.
I woke at that moment.
He feels so real to me
I want to name him.
Are any of you interpreters of dreams?
What can this nativity indicate?
He was so beautiful.
Hi Listener,
Thank you for your comments about the poetry. I'm elated, and I will tell the Daz Bogians that their poems specifically were appreciated. They'll be glad.
About your dream: I had a book once on the symbolic interpretations of dreams. I don't think I still have it, but will look for it. A birth, an easy birth, a small being, and you the mother. Something beautiful and creative is coming from you and to you, I think.
I thought I had mentioned that we meet and have met at the Daz Bog coffeehouse for at least several years. So, privately we call ourselves the Daz Bogians. The coffeehouse doesn't know that. But, much has happened in our association: death, injuries, chronic illnesses, moving, new endeavors, ongoing poetry and sharing. It has been a joy and a solace.
I checked my books in the basement, and I can't find the Dreams book. I think I gave it away. You could go to Alibris, Amazon, a variety of book places and put in "interpretations of dreams" and I'll bet you could find a good used book that does that.
I've been forgetting my dreams lately, but I'm aware that I am dreaming. I'm trying to find something, to complete something though I don't know what it is.
Beginning of my White Coat problems were sometime in my late forties. Kaiser Permanente. Needed a prescription for thyroid (since I no longer had one), and they insisted on a physical before giving me one. Got into the paper outfit, and nurse came in took BP, it was 110/70. I sat there for nearly an hour before the doc showed up. He slapped the BP cuff on, pumped it so hard and fast and high, I honestly felt Like he'd broken the bone in my arm. His reading? 210/110.
As I grow older it gets harder and harder to take my BP without actually hurting me. My average first take is 180/90. Every time I've gotten my own monitor, my readings run 110/115 over 75/80. All day, every day. Always get them calibrated against the doc's. I had one nurse practitioner who could get a home-like reading from me. And once, at UVA hosp when they were doing a ore-surgical echo-cardiogram (chemical heart-stress test) it dropped from standard WCH to home over the course of the test.
Irony is that they were the ones who told me about WCH; and then never believe it. A quarter century of medical misery caused by THEM . . . .
Oh, Puddle, that's hard. I'm sorry.
Pat, YOU are a sweetie! xox
My doc's former nurse had WCH herself, so she was great about retaking it for me later in the visit. We'll see how the new nurse does with it.
Thank you, Pat, for your words about my dream. I was thinking something akin. I just finished a Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist class and the upshot is that I decided to begin a monk-art journal. It may include anything that moves me on a particular day ~ silence leading to painting or the beauty of a day leading to photography or a quote that has particular meaning for this time, etc. ~ but I think I will begin it with the story of the dream. I wonder if I could sketch the baby to my own satisfaction.
Thanks, Puddle...for your explanation of the 40 point drop
and WHC hypertension. When I was younger I had some
of that. Now that I am old 110 or 120 is TOO low...good pcp
doc..who is a gerontologist—
says much better to be 130–150!
Guess you gotta get old to get the good stuff!
Keep on the good side of WHC ...whatever it may be!
Love to all.
Good Morning,
I think a monk-art journal is a great idea, Listener. The daily thoughts, inspirations, dilemmas make up our lives and can provide the matter for our creativity. Just as the bee pollinates the flower, the birds add song, flight, and nests, we human critters bring our creativity to the world as well.
Getting old mostly isn't fun, but there are indeed positives, a wisdom and a grace that when we were younger we didn't have time to cultivate. a smile for you Shirlee.
Have a very good day.
Thank-you, Pat. It surely won't be every day, but over time will express what I need to express. One thing I have long loved about any sort of journal is that reading back through it one sees the progress that we don't recognize day to day, such that perspective comes much more easily.
Here is an interesting article on Empathy and Empaths!
"Researchers have discovered a specialized group of brain cells that are responsible for compassion. These cells enable everyone to mirror emotions, to share another person’s pain, fear, or joy. Because empaths are thought to have hyper-responsive mirror neurons, we deeply resonate with other people’s feelings. How does this occur? Mirror neurons are triggered by outside events. For example, our spouse gets hurt, we feel hurt too. Our child is crying; we feel sad too. Our friend is happy; we feel happy too. In contrast, psychopaths, sociopaths, and narcissists are thought to have what science calls “empathy deficient disorders.” This means they lack the ability to feel empathy like other people do, which may be caused by an under-active mirror neuron system. We must beware of these people because they are incapable of unconditional love."
~ Psychology Today, 3 March 2017
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-empaths-survival-guide/201703/the-science-behind-empathy-and-empaths
Flynn has officially turned state's evidence...! Brian Ross says that Flynn let it be known that candidate Trump told him to contact Russia. I'd like to know the context around that, but if it's related to the meeting Flynn had with a Russian official in which they discussed President Obama's sanctions, while Barack Obama was still President, that's a huge offense. Flynn has decided to plead guilty and cooperate with Mueller. This is SUCH good news!!!
The one catch is that DT has a disorder which causes him to be unable to back down, resign or admit wrong. In fact, as his situation deteriorates he is more and more likely to lash out or go ballistic. Please God that he not figure out how to go nuclear.
December 2, 2017 1:51am EST CNN
Breaking: Senate passes GOP tax reform bill
The Senate has passed major tax reform legislation along party lines.
The 51 to 49 vote was split mostly on party lines.
The bill will now go to Senate/House negotiations.
Grrrrrrr.
Thanks, Listener. I feel sick. How 49 Senators could be so irresponsible, unethical, immoral, and damaging to our country is like a rock in my gut. What are we to do?
I have no doubt that Trump is psychologically impaired and dangerous. We have been so inundated with media for so many years, that we have a TV character from a Reality show should not be a surprise, nor that Fox News has been undermining this republic for more than a decade. How has a Mitch McConnell, a Newt Gingrich, an Orin Hatch, a Paul Ryan or any of these deceptive, extremist, irresponsible people been able to survive? What has happened to our people, our sense of community, our responsibility to each other? I am devastated.
Interesting that empathy is chemical. I wonder how much chemistry plays in our behaviors and values as human beings.
As for impeachment, I'm hoping. Trump and cohorts belong in jail.
And so another day begins.
Pat, it looks to me that 51 (rather than 49) Senators were irresponsible, unethical and immoral.
What I found fascinating about the article on Empaths is that empathy involves our neuron cells as neurotransmitters (so it's really more electrical rather than chemical). That's why many empaths are strongly affected by the flares of the Sun or Earth's magnetic field changes. I was particularly moved to learn that:
"The fourth finding involves dopamine, a neurotransmitter that increases the activity of neurons and is associated with the pleasure response. Research has shown that introverted empaths tend to have a higher sensitivity to dopamine than extraverts. Basically, they need less dopamine to feel happy. That could explain why they are more content with alone time, reading, and meditation and need less external stimulation from parties and other large social gatherings. In contrast, extraverts crave the dopamine rush from lively events. In fact, they can’t get enough of it."
As an introverted person, I very quickly feel overloaded when I am in a crowd or at a party. Now I understand why! Plus, I learned that I am not prone to depression *because* have sufficient neuron cells to supply a higher sensitivity to dopamine, so I need less of it to feel content! Wow!
Hi Listener, Right, 51 Senators. I think I get addled!
Interesting about the neurotransmitters. I think that I'm basically an optimistic person, introverted somewhat, and sometimes prone to depression. Amazing the complexity of living beings. I get tired easily as well when I'm with lots of people. I'm thinking, teaching for 30 years, surrounded by people every day, almost every minute of the day, no wonder teachers burn out.
I like alone time, but I also need people, connected time.
Well, off to walk Molly the dog.
Pat...this sounds a bit like me. I can tolerate one person at a time, on occasion more...
as when all my children and their spouses were in town for Thanksgiving. It was nice
for a short time. I had them visit me in pairs or small groups after that.
Love to all.
Today we ventured to Green Mountain Monastery to hear Vermont's women's vocal ensemble sing their hearts to the rafters, accompanied at times by Fyre and Lightning Consort. Here is the link to my photo album. Let me know if you can see it okay.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156600136691754.1073742483.637766753&type=1&l=6d0d713e12
On this day of terrible news of DC-shenanigans, we also have this:
Mueller: Manafort Was Ghostwriting Op-Ed With Russian Colleague Last Week
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/manafort-op-ed-bail-deal-ukraine-work
Thanks, Listener, for the links. I'll look at them tomorrow. When have we ever had a political situation like this. Even Watergate looks mild in comparison.
Busy day. Will check in tomorrow.
And! Here's something:
Bernie's step-daughter is running for Mayor of Burlington!! She is running as an Independent and is challenging the incumbent, whose background is real estate and who is pushing a plan for a 14 story mall in Burlington. To date, the tallest building in Vermont, also in Burlington, is just 8 stories high (and it's the only one).
http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Driscoll-to-challenge-Weinberger-for-Mayor-461841523.html
ACTION ITEM: Write a Letter to the Editor of the largest newspaper near you, or a national paper, expressing your outrage over the Tax Bill and the Republican Congress' plan to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Let's flood them!
Repost everywhere!
ACTION ITEM:
Bernie offered an amendment last week that would have required Congress to have a 67 vote majority to alter Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Three Democrats voted against it. Senator Durbin did so to be able to bring it up again later, so that's not a problem. But Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tom Carper voted no. Call them both and ask WHY. They need to hear that the people are *not* happy!
Sen. Mark Warner (202) 224-2023
Sen. Tom Carper (202) 224-2441
I called them both. I was surprised that I was so emotional on the phone. I told them that my husband and I are nearing retirement and this and the Tax Bill are freaking us out. Both staffers who answered were appropriate and said their Senator felt that the 60 vote margin would be sufficient and that they voted no to be able to keep conversing with Republicans on the issue.
So I said that the 50 vote thing has been really hard to take, and I'm not sure 60 will really stand. I asked the staffer to tell the Senator that we feel that we are being taxed twice, that SS & Medicare and Medicaid have been robbed and not replenished and that these are NOT part of the deficit but our money that has been taken out of our pockets.
I closed by making a point of thanking the person who is answering the phones, thanking them for being there, sticking with it through these really hard days, and that We the People really need someone who can hear us and convey our concerns. Be sure to thank the staffer; it's a really hard job.
DT plans to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in about 6 months.
This is a dastardly and bastardly idea. It would be the death knell of the Palestinian - Israeli Peace process. Moreover, it would spark fresh war with Iraq and other Arab nations (no doubt compounded by his travel ban). It isn't enough that he's rattling North Korea's cage, he has to do this too? Gee, let's go to war with Asia and the Middle East all at once and be the cause of such wars. What could possibly go wrong? Russia sure chose well.
Why Moving US Embassy to Jerusalem is a Big Deal
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/middleeast/donald-trump-us-embassy-israel-explainer/index.html
"The powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned in January a statement on his website that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would represent a declaration of open war against Islam."
Has anyone asked the question WHY DT wants to sow chaos in our nation and the world?
If it's due to mental illness, he must be removed for the sake of national security.
If it's for some dastardly purpose, he must be jailed for treason!
🌿❤️🌿 P A T ! 🌿❤️🌿
I received a thank you note today from my friend newly in Colorado, to whom I sent your book of poems.
Dory writes:
a thousand and one thank yous! i have been reading the poetry anthology with my morning coffee.
i noted a few verses that have touched my heart and soul to re-read again and again.
So thank YOU again and again!!! 🌿❤️🌿
Thank you, Listener. My heart is full. I am so grateful. The joy is the writing, the making, and if it brings something of beauty, goodness, joy, that is a double gift.
My sense of DT is that he is psychologically damaged, filled with so much anger, resentment, rejection that to bring chaos and hurt to everyone, every institution is a revenge, and he doesn't know any other way to be. Yes, we need to remove him from office, and I'm praying that Mueller will be able to do that.
Haven't yet had time to check out the URLs, but will tomorrow morning. Thank you again, Listener. To have your support and affirmation is so much appreciated.
Unholy Moly!
So I wasn't expecting to be posting another Action Item so soon, but after today's Presidential announcement about Jerusalem and the decision in the House not to Impeach, turns out I have one.
Congressman Al Green introduced a Resolution today to Impeach the President, but it was voted down by all Republicans and Democrats Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Hoyer, both of whom said "Now is not the time."
ACTION ITEM:
Call Speaker Nancy Pelosi (202) 225-4965 and
Congressman Hoyer (202) 225-4131
to ask: IF NOT NOW, WHEN?!
Are we waiting for nuclear war with North Korea? Are we waiting for the Middle East to explode? For Americans to die for lack of healthcare? For our tax system to fail the average American? We have already lost our standing in the world. By next November our nation will not be recognizable. What will it take?
While you're at it, please call Congressman Green to thank him for offering his Resolution to impeach!!
Congressman Green (202) 225-7508
I called the offices of Pelosi and Hoyer. Pelosi's people put me through to a machine on which to leave my message. Hoyer's person was really nice, said they'd gotten a LOT of calls today, and said the Congressman had not yet shared with staff to say what he meant by "Now is not the time." I made sure to thank him for being there and hearing me.
Thank you, Listener. I'm hoping that Mueller will have the evidence for obstruction of justice and collusion. If the evidence is solid, comprehensible by the public, then we can look for more agreement about impeachment.
What a day today: woke up at 3 AM, the pilot light on the gas fireplace wouldn't light. Livingroom cold. I with no idea how to do it. Various calls, one to Estes Park, and the technician came up this morning: a burned out socket and connector. He fixed it. Then, flickering lights, a microwave that slows down, dims, and doesn't seem to cook, a neighbor who is an electrician cancelled an appointment to come and check. So far it's working, but oh, the anxiety. This living alone is daunting.
And so, I have the fireplace on to warm the livingroom for temperatures in the teens tonight.
Wow, Pat, that was an eventful day. I'm glad you had good help. It is truly daunting to have to deal with every little thing that happens, on your own. I'm sure that puddle could tell stories. You did it, though. And that is to be commended!
Pat...things like that are reasons Iwas happy to live in my apartment.
Before that I was renting a nice just the right size house in Texas...but the
landlady who lived next door in a large, beautiful house. She had a yard man ,
a handy man carpenter on call.....but when it came to keeping up the rental
house she was a penny pincher......one of the reasons I moved to Greensboro
......found the apartment and Brenda was/is here.!!!!! Best move ever.
Love to all.....
Hi, thank you for your thoughts. BRRR. Today is about 30 degrees, but I have heat.
A smile here.
I've been nearly paralyzed with anger for almost a week now. I wake every day, go to my "donald" tab, refresh, hoping that over night he's put a shot gun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger with his toe. Or a pistol to the temple. . . . Or mebbe a dump truck crashing through a barricade and accidentally scooping up the prez's limo, and turning him into a pretzel before it can be stopped, or--you get the drift. I HATE that I hate him so much, that I actually give him living space in my brain, rent free. I want him gone--from my brain, my life, my country, my planet.
You have much company, puddle. The only way I have slept at night was to create Action Items and post them everywhere. When one Facebook friend wrote "UGH" that I'd posted about politics, I promptly posted a rainbow and a unicorn. I know she'll 'get it' ~ because she is NO advocate of DT. I dislike politics too. I just want a country that isn't harmful, again.
I got a hefty dose of perspective tonight. Turns out a young friend of ours, who home schooled when our kids did, lost her humble home to the fire in Ventura. She had so little to begin with. She was ONE DAY away from finishing work on the bus she was refurbishing to live in, when it went up in flames. She was away at the time, as she had a project to finish for work, and we are relieved that she wasn't sleeping in it that night!! But she was waiting on a quote from the insurance company and still needed to register it at the DMV. So she's just lost it all, no insurance. She is about 40 and single, so I don't know what comes next. A friend set up a GoFundMe site, and I donated. So that helps a tiny bit. But oh my heart aches tonight.
Bernie said on Thursday that DT should resign due to sexual misconduct! Go Bernie!!
Bernie:
http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Sanders-US-needs-cultural-revolution-on-treatment-of-women--462545583.html
Yes, I can barely look at photos of DT. My sense is that the more attention he gets, both bad and good is a reward for him. He's someone we haven't seen the likes of in our lifetime. My hope is that we will recognize that he represents our worst selves and we will put our energies as a country toward becoming the humane, generous, honest, and dedicated people we have been in tragic times and in the future.
The wind is unbelievable here today and last night. It's shrieking, singing, groaning, battering, growling, and constant maybe at 40 miles per hour or more. No walking for me this morning.
GOOD NEWS!! I found my It's Mueller Time shirt! Bodes Well! 😃👍
Also the National Nurse bill is a little closer to passing. Stay tuned!
Hi,
Went into Estes Park, shopped, got gas, came home, or almost. My car died as I started up our access road. I flagged a truck, and a woman named Tammy came out,and we tried to start the car, no luck. We put the groceries into her truck and Molly my dog, and she drove me home. She offered to come back and take me down to my car when the tow truck came, but I was able to start our Jeep, so I told her I would drive down. She's a teacher who coordinates enrichment programs for many schools here. I had not met her before.
And so, the tow truck came. It took nearly three hours to get here. I was going to meet the driver and give him the key to the car, but he called and said the phone just kept ringing. So, he was able to call near Estes Park and said he'd take the car down to the towing company he works for that contracts with Triple A. It's going to cost me nearly $300 so I'm kind of wondering about Triple A.
It could have been so much worse. I could have stalled in the middle of a busy street in Estes Park or on the road from Glen Haven where not much traffic goes. It could have been more problematical. But, two days ago, my gas fireplace, the flickering electricity, and today the car. My friends tell me everything works in threes so I should be okay for a while. It's interesting how much anxiety comes with this kind of thing. But, all is well.
Glad to hear the the National Nurse bill is closer to passing. Thanks for the links, Listener, and you all for letting me spout my difficulties and anxiousness.
It's Mercury Retrograde, all bets is off, Babe.
Just started times two with Gilmore Girls, which is about all that's keeping me sane.
Good Morning,
Beautiful sunny day, warm, nearly 60 degrees. I hung the laundry on the clothesline.
I have to get used to dealing with the many maintenance details of this world. I'm a cowardly, whiny, scaredy cat, and I have lots to learn. So, I will.
Trump is a horror as are his cohorts. I had a sense in the pre-election campaigning that he would be elected, and felt the pulling in my stomach of panic. The panic is still there, and I just don't know what to do when 31 percent of the people support him. Well, dialogue helps.
I hope your day is good.
New thread!!!
I said to Mah*Sweetie today that the antics going on in DC will surely make a classic psychological study.
He agreed and said it will also probably be made into a movie.
I said I'd like to see that movie as it will surely have things in it that we didn't know. I said I wondered what they'd call it.
He quipped: "All the President's Goons."
Brain specialist: Trump should be tested for degenerative brain disease
https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/24899829_10156621491151754_8934710418681687111_n.jpg?oh=d84c4dee2d66c9409e5b119c9db09d27&oe=5AD754D4
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