Category Archives: Blogging Community

An is for Anacapa

Anacapa Island is part of the Channel Island chain off the coast of Southern California. On a fairly clear day you can see the Channel Islands from the coast. They are not far yet are a world away from the mainland in their environment. I have heard their names, Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa , but have never visited them. Anacapa’s name comes from a Chumash Native American Indian name for the island, Anypakh. The Chumash lived on these islands in olden times. Reading a bit about these islands from the National Park Service website, I would like to see about planning a trip there one day. There are animals and plants located on these islands that can’t be found anywhere else. Anacapa is home for seabirds, like the California Brown Pelican and Western Gull, sea lions and harbor seals. There is interesting history to be learned about the human inhabitants as well. Like Frenchy LeDreau who lived on Anacapa from the 1920s to the mid 1950s alone in a cabin with his cats. He lived off fishing and sold lobsters to get supplies and liquor. Frenchy’s Cove is named after him. The lighthouse on this island was a welcome beacon for ships navigating the Santa Barbara Channel. Reading about Anacapa makes me think about what a wonderful gift our National Parks are to all of us.

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Images in slideshow provided by NPS website and/or Wikimedia.

Odd and Even Patterns

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This is Stream of Consciousness Saturday (try typing that real fast) and today our prompt is/are the words “odd and/or even”. Don’t ask me why but this made me think of the fact that if you add two odd numbers together you get an even number for the answer, always. Then I remembered an exercise we did in the Teaching program I was in back in 2009 or so. It was the Math Class for teachers on ways to teach math concepts to Elementary and Middle School students. I am sure many people are aware that there are all these new ways of teaching Math that are different from the ways we learned. One thing that was fascinating to me was this little exercise we did on patterns. When I told my instructor about how fascinating it was to me, she told me that some Mathematicians spend their time just studying patterns. It is kind of like this mysterious, mystical, metaphysical thing. Like “Suitcase” would say in the Jessie Stone series, “The information is out there.”

Part of the exercise from the Math book was start with the number 3 then jump by 5s and write down the numbers until about 130. I did it this morning until 133. Then it says notice as many patterns as you can. I noticed that 3 and 8 keep alternating as the last digit. Now if you add the double and triple digits of the numbers and write your answer over the number you will notice another pattern, (start with 3 again)….3, 8, 4, 9, 5, 10, 6, 11, 7, 12, 8, 13, 9, 14, 10, 15…and so on. Every other number increases by one. AAAAhhh! Just kidding, I think. I did another one starting at 1 and jumping by 3s. I noted that the pattern of second digit repeating does not begin until you reach 31. I could probably experiment with these patterns all day.

Maybe I will just count by 2s and say we are even. 🙂

Ulam’s Spiral via Wikipedia

While looking for a number chart I found Ulam’s Spiral. If you read about Ulam’s Spiral it is kind of spooky. Maybe he was abducted by aliens. He doodled this and found out the prime numbers fall on diagonals. Then some mathematicians came up with a formula for it.

Steam of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill.

What is this thing called love?

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What Is This Thing Called Love? by Cole Porter

I was a humdrum person
Leading a life apart
When love flew in through my window wide
And quickened my hum-drum heart
Love flew in through my window
I was so happy then
But after love had stayed a little while
Love flew out again

What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?
I saw you there one wonderful day
You took my heart and threw it away
That’s why I ask the Lord in Heaven above
What is this thing called love?

You gave me days of sunshine
You gave me nights of cheer
You made my life an enchanted dream
‘Til somebody else came near
Somebody else came near you
I felt the winter’s chill
And now I sit and wonder night and day
Why I love you still?

Lyrics via Metro Lyrics.com

“What is this thing called love? That’s why I ask the Lord in Heaven above, what is this thing called love?” So mysterious. What is it that makes people fall in love with each other, pheromones? Recognition of souls? The other person has the attributes that we are missing? Oh well, this song makes me want to fall in love.

I love the music that go along with the lyrics. Here’s Ella Fitzgerald on You Tube via carinaG Sorensen:

Cole Porter wrote many other great songs that are so romantic. I really like the movie De-Lovely with Kevin Kline as Cole Porter and Ashley Judd as his wife Linda. OK, you tell me, what is this thing called love? And what are some of your favorite Cole Porter songs?

A little extra Cole Porter song, “Night and Day” by Billie Holliday on You Tube via RoundMidnight TV:

Cole Porter

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Cole Porter image via Wikipedia.

Pause

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This is an important word in the introvert vocabulary. I have recently been on a break to have some much needed down time from my blog/writing and to recharge. You might think I have been sitting by a lake staring off toward the horizon, but I have been busy with some life things. Actually sitting by a lake and staring off at the horizon sounds pretty good to me but it has been chilly here. Chilly for Southern California and sitting outdoors might not be so relaxing. Although, we still have sunshine. Pause and reflection are good for everyone but essential to the introverted temperament. I spotted a really cute post on the Huffington post about the topic which included this chart by Gemma Correll.

I have been sort of in the “Region of Hibernation” with the colder weather. I definitely enjoyed some time with my kids over the holidays. I did do some online ordering of a few gifts. I had some new adventures. I made the 7+ hour drive on the 101 up to the Bay Area ( San Francisco Bay area) alone in a rental car and later realized that I did not know that the headlights did not turn on automatically. I had dinner in Alameda, at a Burmese restaurant, which was delicious. I hiked along a trail near the ocean in Half Moon Bay. I drove all the way back to Southern California with my daughter’s great company this time, now knowing how to operate the headlights, and saw some “Russian space debris” heading on a 45 degree angle toward the earth with a big fiery tail behind it. At least we are told it was Russian space debris. I even saw the new Star Wars movie in 3D.

Now I think I am ready for a bit of “Solitude Mountains” with a “Sea of Books” nearby.

Happy New Year!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill.

Chloe Wore a Cloche

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Chloe wore a cloche hat, opera length pearls, a short skirt, and rolled stockings. She said Jim was jake, and the bee’s knees. She smoked, drank, drove a car, and sometimes a motorcycle. On weekends she went wing walking on a biplane. She scandalized the whole neighborhood, young children, dogs, cats, and the Women’s Temperance Union. She went out each night to Jazz clubs and slept in late each day. She loved life and lived it to the full. Then she retired and joined a cloister.

Wing Walker Image by David Dixon

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill. December 12 prompt “clo.”

Disconnections

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I wrote this post last year and decided it was a good one for today’s Stream of Consciousness on the word “miss.” When you don’t check into WordPress or Facebook each day, do you feel like you are missing something? There is a popular phrase for that called “the Fear of Missing Out” or FOMO. This whole week, I feel like I have been recovering from the Thanksgiving weekend activities or maybe it is because the weather is getting colder here in Southern California. At least colder at night and in the mornings. Puts me into a sleepy, hibernating kind of mood. The leaves are falling off the trees, except for the palm trees. I feel like bundling up with a good book or movie. And I think my old post, with a bit of editing, from last winter will be new to many people so here it goes:

I know this is true but I had forgotten. When you are wrestling with an issue information will start popping up about it all around you.

Today I opened my email from Idealist Careers and here was a post about something I had been thinking and writing about myself. The post was called Embrace JOMO: The Joy of Missing Out by Allison Jones. In it she linked to another blogger Anil Dash who had written on this topic as well. JOMO is a response to FOMO or Fear of Missing Out.

I get a little crazy with all the acronyms. Believe me, it is not that I have never seen an acronym before because in my work life there were plenty of them. It just seems like, with all the frenzied communication, we are all talking in acronyms. When I first saw FLOTUS it reminded me of flatus and I thought of gas. POTUS, a potted plant. Well maybe these acronyms are a lot of hot air after all. But I digress.

The gist of the blogs about JOMO and mine is that we can be selective about all the social activities and interactions that are asking for our participation these days. We need to be in touch with ourselves and what our needs and priorities are. There is great JOY in taking time for our private lives and quiet pastimes alone or with our friends and families.

Other bloggers commented on my post with similar sentiments. The need to find a balance and find the JOMO.

Now to curl up with that good book and I have a nice cup of coffee right here.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill

The Stuffing Recipe

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Thanksgiving Day is past and many of us are resting on our laurels for another delicious Thanksgiving dinner. My family prefers the traditional roast turkey with stuffing inside the bird, and the extra that does not fit in the bird in a casserole. I have cooked Thanksgiving dinner almost every year of my marriage and I even made it a few times before I was married. I remember, when I was in Nursing school, I made Thanksgiving for my family at the house I shared with fellow students in San Francisco. I stayed up practically all night trying to make the pie crust for the Pumpkin pie from scratch like my mother did. I threw out so much flour and shortening because I couldn’t get it to the right consistency. If you handle it too much the dough becomes stiff and will not be flakey when baked. My mother came over that day and I told her I was having problems with the pie crust. She whipped it together in a flash. She said you have to get a feel for it. My mother’s pie crust was wonderful. I have never been a pie maker and usually buy the pies from a good bakery.

The stuffing was another skill my mother had mastered and my recipe comes from my memory of how she made it. I have made it so many times and sometimes the ingredients have changed very slightly over the years. Thankfully I get the turkey and stuffing right according to my family. In earlier years, I prepared the entire meal by myself. Anyone who has made a big family dinner like this knows how much work it is.

In recent years, it has become a group effort with my daughter and husband pitching in with some of the preparation and cooking. My daughter is a very good cook and will come up with delicious dishes to add to the feast. She is usually in charge of the fresh mashed potatoes. This year she made roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a delicious mixed green salad with persimmons, pomegranate, and toasted walnuts. My husband makes the cranberry sauce and does some of the prep work by chopping vegetables for the stuffing.

We were away from home this time, at the in-laws house in Palm Desert, with one of our brother in laws. It is always a bit strange working in someone else’s kitchen but we managed to pull it off just fine. And according to my family the stuffing was great.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by LindaGHill

The Beacon

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The little lighthouse was now the refuge for tired sea birds on their long journeys across the ocean. It’s light is dimmed as it’s candle has fallen into disrepair. Once it’s beacon had shown brightly and was a welcome sight to lonely ships navigating the rocky coast. It had prevented many disasters and saved many lives. Let our lives be a refuge and friendly beacon to others traveling on the stormy sea.

This post is in memory of Barbara Beacham in collaboration with Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers.

Sad News

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Mondays Finish the Story

I am sorry to hear about Barbara Beacham who hosted Mondays Finish the Story and the blog My Life in the Foothills. I have participated in Barbara’s Flash Fiction challenges in the past few weeks and followed her recent posts about her battle with cancer. Her husband posted the news this morning that she has passed. She was very supportive and kind in her comments, and in her posts about her illness she showed a great spirit and courageousness. I wanted to post this as an expression of appreciation for her.

To, Too, and Two as well

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Why can’t we just stick with one word for too? When I looked up its definition I found that also and as well are considered to mean the same thing. I have noticed that “as well” has taken over for too at the end of sentences where too used to be. I feel this is great injustice to too. I do not know how as well won out over too. What’s so great about as well? To me is sounds so stuffy and cold. The word too is almost musical. It is friendly and inclusive, like when we say me too or I love you too. Doesn’t it sound a bit stiff to say I love you as well? And too can be very enthusiastic and over the top if it wants to, like too much, too big, too funny, too cool and anything else you want to indicate is above average. And it takes up less space than as well to boot.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday