black ring-tailed feline
hunter stalked under moon light
at edge of forest
Monday, October 17, 2016
RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #119 Hunter&Moon
Hunters in the fall venture out for meat to fill their freezers. Poets are on the hunt for something to write for this blog hop challenge at RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #119 Hunter&Moon. My post for Ronovan's challenge is about another type of hunter.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Ten Things of Thankful
Tonight as I write my post to link to the blog hop Ten Things of Thankful, I'm trying to divert my mind away from pain in my back. I kept a bit of a short list this week, so I wouldn't forget some of these things.
1. It has been many years since I needed to cancel services of any kind, so I'd forgotten that whole thing about giving a month's notice. I was calling to cancel some of my Mom's services at her home which had just sold, and it was brought to my attention that she would still owe another month of payment, even though she wouldn't be living there. In this case the new owners may or may not choose to use the service. I didn't want to give any earlier notice until the deal was final. How can I turn this into a positive statement? I'm thankful to be reminded of some things people should know (give a month's notice, and be sure you are talking to the one who takes care of stopping services). I'm thankful that I didn't postpone taking care of the cancellations.
2. Some people really like word games and some don't. I fall into the first category. One day this week I was visiting my Mom at the nursing center and saw a small group of residents in my Mom's area playing Scrabble with an activities' leader. Mom was not one of those playing, but when I wheeled her near the game, I noticed that the playing board had ridges around each letter spot. This seemed to be so perfect for anyone playing this game, but especially so for those who have less agility than they did in their younger years. We have a much older version of Scrabble with no ridges. I'm thankful for whoever came up with the idea of using ridges on the board and also enabling the board to spin. Perhaps those suggestions came from people who have younger children or someone with less agility.
3. One day during the middle of the week, I decided to drive to town to do a few errands. My second errand was to go to an office supply store. As I was trying to see the items on a lower shelf, I took a step backwards and must have bumped my shoe on a lower metal rack behind me. I found myself being off balanced, and I couldn't straighten myself sufficiently to keep from falling. On the way down I hit the back of my head, and about every spot on my backside and somehow even scraped my forearms. No one saw this happen since I was the only one in the aisle, but with the banging of the metal shelves, a couple of workers came to inquire if I was okay, and if I needed them to call an ambulance. I decided that wasn't necessary. Mostly I felt I'd just injured my pride and added insult to injury since I am still trying to get back my range of motion from when I broke my arm, and have been dealing with a reoccurrence of back pain for several months. The big thankful from this fall is that I didn't do any further damage to my shoulder and arm and that I didn't have to spend hours in the ER.
4. Thursday, the northwest was due for a big storm that was to hit in the evening and go through Saturday night. The storm hit right as scheduled, but didn't seem to last very long Thursday evening. As my husband and I were working at the computers, I heard a sound of dripping water in the next room. The combined hard wind and the rain found a weak spot on the roof. We quickly set up couple of containers to catch any further drips. Since then there have been no more drips. Yeah! I'm thankful to have ears to hear, that we were close in vicinity to the sound of the drip, and that our house is dry inside.
5. I'm thankful for the beautiful clouds that were a part of the storm system.
6. I'm thankful that the storm didn't turn out to be anything like the Columbus Day Storm of years' past, as was forecast.
7. One day this week as I was carrying a little bowl of grapes I'd picked, I saw something run between my legs on the ramp and run down the steps. It startled me, but after looking closer, I saw that it was one of the two little fence lizards that seem to have taken up residence near our house. I'm thankful for little creatures. Since my husband grew up closer to the high desert, he particularly likes to see them.
8. I'm thankful for my husband's assistance this week when I've taken it even easier than before this week's event.
9. Once a month I have the opportunity to have lunch with some friends, and I am grateful for these times. The number in the group varies from month to month, but it is always fun to attend when I am able. Fortunately, Tuesday was a pretty good day for me, and I was able to attend.
10. Some people dread storms. I don't like the destructions that often comes with a storm, but I must admit that I enjoy watching the lightning and hearing the thunder and the pounding of hard rain. Watching it from a safe place inside, I feel protected from this magnificent power.
1. It has been many years since I needed to cancel services of any kind, so I'd forgotten that whole thing about giving a month's notice. I was calling to cancel some of my Mom's services at her home which had just sold, and it was brought to my attention that she would still owe another month of payment, even though she wouldn't be living there. In this case the new owners may or may not choose to use the service. I didn't want to give any earlier notice until the deal was final. How can I turn this into a positive statement? I'm thankful to be reminded of some things people should know (give a month's notice, and be sure you are talking to the one who takes care of stopping services). I'm thankful that I didn't postpone taking care of the cancellations.
2. Some people really like word games and some don't. I fall into the first category. One day this week I was visiting my Mom at the nursing center and saw a small group of residents in my Mom's area playing Scrabble with an activities' leader. Mom was not one of those playing, but when I wheeled her near the game, I noticed that the playing board had ridges around each letter spot. This seemed to be so perfect for anyone playing this game, but especially so for those who have less agility than they did in their younger years. We have a much older version of Scrabble with no ridges. I'm thankful for whoever came up with the idea of using ridges on the board and also enabling the board to spin. Perhaps those suggestions came from people who have younger children or someone with less agility.
3. One day during the middle of the week, I decided to drive to town to do a few errands. My second errand was to go to an office supply store. As I was trying to see the items on a lower shelf, I took a step backwards and must have bumped my shoe on a lower metal rack behind me. I found myself being off balanced, and I couldn't straighten myself sufficiently to keep from falling. On the way down I hit the back of my head, and about every spot on my backside and somehow even scraped my forearms. No one saw this happen since I was the only one in the aisle, but with the banging of the metal shelves, a couple of workers came to inquire if I was okay, and if I needed them to call an ambulance. I decided that wasn't necessary. Mostly I felt I'd just injured my pride and added insult to injury since I am still trying to get back my range of motion from when I broke my arm, and have been dealing with a reoccurrence of back pain for several months. The big thankful from this fall is that I didn't do any further damage to my shoulder and arm and that I didn't have to spend hours in the ER.
4. Thursday, the northwest was due for a big storm that was to hit in the evening and go through Saturday night. The storm hit right as scheduled, but didn't seem to last very long Thursday evening. As my husband and I were working at the computers, I heard a sound of dripping water in the next room. The combined hard wind and the rain found a weak spot on the roof. We quickly set up couple of containers to catch any further drips. Since then there have been no more drips. Yeah! I'm thankful to have ears to hear, that we were close in vicinity to the sound of the drip, and that our house is dry inside.
5. I'm thankful for the beautiful clouds that were a part of the storm system.
6. I'm thankful that the storm didn't turn out to be anything like the Columbus Day Storm of years' past, as was forecast.
7. One day this week as I was carrying a little bowl of grapes I'd picked, I saw something run between my legs on the ramp and run down the steps. It startled me, but after looking closer, I saw that it was one of the two little fence lizards that seem to have taken up residence near our house. I'm thankful for little creatures. Since my husband grew up closer to the high desert, he particularly likes to see them.
8. I'm thankful for my husband's assistance this week when I've taken it even easier than before this week's event.
9. Once a month I have the opportunity to have lunch with some friends, and I am grateful for these times. The number in the group varies from month to month, but it is always fun to attend when I am able. Fortunately, Tuesday was a pretty good day for me, and I was able to attend.
10. Some people dread storms. I don't like the destructions that often comes with a storm, but I must admit that I enjoy watching the lightning and hearing the thunder and the pounding of hard rain. Watching it from a safe place inside, I feel protected from this magnificent power.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Finish the Sentence Friday - My life is easier. . .
When most people consider items in a tool box, certain tools come to mind, and others, well not so much. I'm linking this post to a blog hop at Finish the Sentence Friday - My life is easier. . .
When I our first child was almost three, we bought our first home. I soon became friends with an elderly neighbor lady. Often she could be seen crouched down in her yard weeding. She was trying to get rid of those yellow flowers that thought they must be ever as pretty as the yellow daffodils. The tool of her choice to remove these abundant flowers, with the leaves that some people use in their salads, was a large slotted screw driver. She said that the screw driver works better than anything else to dig down and remove the entire root of the plant. After trying it myself, the screw driver became my tool of choice for getting rid of dandelions and some other small weeds with roots difficult to remove. My life is easier when I listen and learn from others.
Now, here is a tip I'd like to share. Purchase a bag of wooden skewers and add them to your household tool kit or drawer. They could be placed by some swabs that you may have found useful for things other than cleaning around your ears. (Note, I said "around," not in your ears. Much has said online about how it isn't actually good to use swabs inside your ears.) The following lists ways I have used skewers as tools: getting out grime from around the trim on the sink and stove, getting out lint that clings tightly to the lint screen and drawer of the dryer, and getting out dirt that has gotten lodged into the corners of the sliding door tracks, etc. Once in a while I've taped a swab to the end of a skewer to reach into narrow spaces to drag out some kind of debris. Have fun discovering the true value of these inexpensive tools. My life is easier when I experiment and repurpose things.
How has your life become easier when you listened and learned from others?
What items have you repurposed that made your life easier?
Write your ideas in a post, and link your post to Finish the Sentence Friday - My Life is easier. . . I'm looking forward to reading what you share.
When I our first child was almost three, we bought our first home. I soon became friends with an elderly neighbor lady. Often she could be seen crouched down in her yard weeding. She was trying to get rid of those yellow flowers that thought they must be ever as pretty as the yellow daffodils. The tool of her choice to remove these abundant flowers, with the leaves that some people use in their salads, was a large slotted screw driver. She said that the screw driver works better than anything else to dig down and remove the entire root of the plant. After trying it myself, the screw driver became my tool of choice for getting rid of dandelions and some other small weeds with roots difficult to remove. My life is easier when I listen and learn from others.
Now, here is a tip I'd like to share. Purchase a bag of wooden skewers and add them to your household tool kit or drawer. They could be placed by some swabs that you may have found useful for things other than cleaning around your ears. (Note, I said "around," not in your ears. Much has said online about how it isn't actually good to use swabs inside your ears.) The following lists ways I have used skewers as tools: getting out grime from around the trim on the sink and stove, getting out lint that clings tightly to the lint screen and drawer of the dryer, and getting out dirt that has gotten lodged into the corners of the sliding door tracks, etc. Once in a while I've taped a swab to the end of a skewer to reach into narrow spaces to drag out some kind of debris. Have fun discovering the true value of these inexpensive tools. My life is easier when I experiment and repurpose things.
How has your life become easier when you listened and learned from others?
What items have you repurposed that made your life easier?
Write your ideas in a post, and link your post to Finish the Sentence Friday - My Life is easier. . . I'm looking forward to reading what you share.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Six Sentence Story - Season
There are so many ways one could go with the theme of the blog hop, Six Sentence Story - Season. If you want to try your hand at writing and not get bogged down writing a whole book, or a whole chapter, try just six sentences. The more the merrier in this blog hop!
It wasn't what she was expecting, although "it" wasn't clear in her mind. After having received a briefing about how to interact with those who would soon join them, she and her friends huddled together in a room of this antiquated institution and waited. Their conversations were somewhat muted, quite a contrast to the voices chattering unintelligibly in the hallway. Soon a group of "boys and girls" entered, but from their appearance some appeared to be as old as the visitors' parents, maybe older.
Someone turned on the record player and cheerful Christmas carols filled the room and helped to relax some of the tension she had felt. She as about to discover "it" was the true spirit of the Christmas season, the giving of time and self in bringing joy to someone else.
It wasn't what she was expecting, although "it" wasn't clear in her mind. After having received a briefing about how to interact with those who would soon join them, she and her friends huddled together in a room of this antiquated institution and waited. Their conversations were somewhat muted, quite a contrast to the voices chattering unintelligibly in the hallway. Soon a group of "boys and girls" entered, but from their appearance some appeared to be as old as the visitors' parents, maybe older.
Someone turned on the record player and cheerful Christmas carols filled the room and helped to relax some of the tension she had felt. She as about to discover "it" was the true spirit of the Christmas season, the giving of time and self in bringing joy to someone else.
The story took place at this historic building many years before its demise.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Share Your World - 2016 Week 41
It is time to share my world, after quite a few months of absence from the blogging world. This blog hop post is being linked to Cee's Share Your World - 2016 Week 41. If you enjoy blog hops check out her site for details on how to share your world. It is fairly simple, so this is a great way to get started if you are new to blog hops.
The questions this week from The Happy Quitter were suggestions made by kids for the Share your World challenge.
1. Do you believe in love at first sight? I think that one can be attracted to someone when first meeting, but I think true love is not realized immediately. There are so many different aspects of love that it often takes a life time to discover them all.
2. Your first car? My husband and I bought a brand new little blue VW bug in the early '60's. This was "our" first car.
3. Who taught you to ride a bike? How did it go? When I was about 11, my parents bought a used boy's one-speed bike for my younger brother and I to share. I don't really remember much about being taught. We had a bit of a dirt and gravel hill on our lane which I used to my advantage to give me a little momentum. With all the chuck holes on the lane, it wasn't such a smooth ride. We mostly rode it down to the mailbox a quarter mile away, and then back home to resume farm chores. Even the main road was dirt and gravel.
4. Ugly and rich or beautiful and poor? Outer appearance is not as important as inner beauty. There are challenges that face both those who are rich and those who are financially poor. Some of those trials are quite different from the other, but some are similar.
5. What was the first dish you could cook? If "could" means allowed to, I would have to say when I was allowed to make a cake from scratch when I was about 11 or 12. I decided to make a sponge care. It is a puzzle just exactly what step I omitted, but let's just say that the cake turned out to be a dense rubbery consistency which none of the family could eat. Not even the pigs on our farm would eat it! That was a pretty humbling experience.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? Being able to realize the closing of the sale of my Mom's home. See my post at Ten Things of Thankful - What can I say more? It's miraculous! There was a lot of gratitude posted there. This week I'm looking forward to getting caught up on some of those things I had to let go during the process of selling my Mom's home.
The questions this week from The Happy Quitter were suggestions made by kids for the Share your World challenge.
1. Do you believe in love at first sight? I think that one can be attracted to someone when first meeting, but I think true love is not realized immediately. There are so many different aspects of love that it often takes a life time to discover them all.
2. Your first car? My husband and I bought a brand new little blue VW bug in the early '60's. This was "our" first car.
3. Who taught you to ride a bike? How did it go? When I was about 11, my parents bought a used boy's one-speed bike for my younger brother and I to share. I don't really remember much about being taught. We had a bit of a dirt and gravel hill on our lane which I used to my advantage to give me a little momentum. With all the chuck holes on the lane, it wasn't such a smooth ride. We mostly rode it down to the mailbox a quarter mile away, and then back home to resume farm chores. Even the main road was dirt and gravel.
4. Ugly and rich or beautiful and poor? Outer appearance is not as important as inner beauty. There are challenges that face both those who are rich and those who are financially poor. Some of those trials are quite different from the other, but some are similar.
5. What was the first dish you could cook? If "could" means allowed to, I would have to say when I was allowed to make a cake from scratch when I was about 11 or 12. I decided to make a sponge care. It is a puzzle just exactly what step I omitted, but let's just say that the cake turned out to be a dense rubbery consistency which none of the family could eat. Not even the pigs on our farm would eat it! That was a pretty humbling experience.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? Being able to realize the closing of the sale of my Mom's home. See my post at Ten Things of Thankful - What can I say more? It's miraculous! There was a lot of gratitude posted there. This week I'm looking forward to getting caught up on some of those things I had to let go during the process of selling my Mom's home.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #118 Reward&Challlenge
For a number of months my world has revolved around the two words chosen for this blog hop, but my haiku for Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #118 Reward&Challenge displays my Mother's trial and many others suffering from Alzheimer's. Ronovan allows synonyms to be substituted for the prompt words.
words trapped and jumbled
in her mind speech was a trial
with little reward
For more information about communication in the late stages of #Alzheimers click here.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Ten Things of Thankful - What can I say more? It's miraculous!
A lot has transpired over these months, some wonderful, and others quite challenging physically and emotionally, but such are the trials of life. Now on to the Ten Things of Thankful from this past week!
1 - 3. The sale of my Mom's house is final! Yeah!
My Mom is still in a nursing home and nearing 100 years of age in a few months. Funds for her care have been dwindling so something needed to be done in order to continue making payments at the nursing home.
June 23, 2016 I met with a realtor about getting my Mom's house on the market to sell. As it so happened it was really a seller's market. I agreed with the realtor that having the home staged would be worth it and would make it possible to sell the home quickly. Hubby and I moved the furniture and belongings into the garage over a three-day period just before leaving on a trip to Alaska. We were thankful for the help of a couple of strong young missionaries from the church who helped moved some of the heavier items into the garage for us.
While we were gone, the staging company got started with putting in new carpet throughout the house, doing some painting in a couple of rooms, updating the appearance of the kitchen and the bathrooms and staging the home with some furnishings more current to today's market. The stagers had completed the process a couple of weeks after we returned.
One of our daughters drove up from California to help us with the estate sale. I truly wouldn't have been able to do it without her insight and help. To say I was a little overwhelmed by all the furniture and boxes of belongings we had moved into the garage that they all somehow needed to be unpacked and arranged into some semblance of order ready for shoppers is putting it mildly. . .very mildly! My husband was a huge help too. His very presence and manning the cash box, etc. was a huge support to me. The sale was a two-day sale. The listing took place and showings began that day as we began holding the estate sale in the garage. On the first day of showing there were seven offers! The best offer came from a cash buyer who was selling his home. The sale of Mom's house was complete on Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.
The title company and realtor said this was the smoothest sale and quickest without hitches, etc. that they had seen in a long time. I told them that a lot of prayers had been being said praying that this sale would be completed in a very timely manner. They laughed a little and asked if I would pray for the rest of their sales.
As you can see there are a lot of other items of gratitude mentioned in this account that cover more than just last week, but I'm going to count them.
4-5. Autumn with cooler days and soupThere have been some soup recipes that I'd been wanting to try, and the time finally came when it was cool enough for me to not only make it but to want to eat hot soup. Thanks to my husband's help in chopping some of the vegetables, I made a couple of large pots of detox soups this week. (Back in February I fell and broke a bone in my right arm near my shoulder. Chopping food is still a little difficult for me.) A detox soup is made by combining a lot of delicious fresh finely cut vegetables, legumes, and broth together, slow cooking them and blending some of the soup so it is easily digested. It was just what I needed.
6. Fall apples and grapesWe and the deer and a few bugs are enjoying our fresh apples and grapes. We do not spray the trees, but there is plenty for all.
7. Pumpkin, anything pumpkin
So far this week I had a couple of small pumpkin-pie milkshakes, part of a pumpkin doughnut, an a piece of pumpkin pie. The pie was served to the residents at the nursing home who went into the dining hall to listen to a wonderful guest who brought his keyboard and played oldie goldie big-band dance music. The newest piece was one written in 1953. I think I enjoyed the music and the pie just as much as my Mom and the other residents!
8. Walking on the treadmill and using the exercise bike
For much of the summer our treadmill was unusable, but now it is fixed, and I'm taking a little time each day to do some walking on it. I'm gingerly starting to use the exercise bike again too. It remains to be seen if the exercise bike is a good thing for me at this time. I can already see some benefit from walking on the treadmill though.
9. Rain and protection while traveling on slick roads
We been teased with some drizzle ever so often in September and October, but it wasn't until this past week that we had enough rain to thoroughly soak the ground. The dried earth is even beginning to show signs and starting to green up again. With the hard rains pounding on the roads and making contact with oil which may have dropped from vehicles over the summer, there is always a chance of drivers losing control of their vehicles. That was the case one day this past week when I passed by three wrecks with emergency responders already on the scene. I always pray for the injured and the families of the injured as well as those who have been called to the scene to help. Although I don't know those who have been injured, nor those who are helping, I know there is power in prayer. Seeing a wreck is always a reminder to me to me extra careful and to also say a prayer for other drivers as well.
10. Where there was destruction, there were also miraculous events
A young couple I know were expecting their first child. The due date of the child was today, but a few days ago they were ordered to evacuate the area in which they lived. They left and prayed that the baby would wait until they could get to a safer place. They had made reservations at a hotel 100 miles inland. When they arrived, they were told the hotel had cancelled their reservations and didn't have a room for them. Due to an amazing set of circumstances, they learned that there was a couple in the area who had agreed to let them stay at their home. The owners weren't even supposed to be there at that time, but their visas hadn't arrived for them to use on an intended trip. The mother-to-be went into labor that night, but when they went to the hospital, they were told that the hospital didn't have an obstetrics department. The couple drove 30 miles away to another hospital where eventually the baby girl was delivered safely. Mother and baby and doing fine. This story took place during Hurricane Matthew. I know there were many who were praying for this young couple, as well as for those they didn't even know who were living in the areas where the storm hit. I'm so thankful for those who were spared, and sorrow for those who lost loved ones and experienced destruction from the storm.
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