Category Archives: My Life

Warning Signs

My morning ritual is coffee, toast/bagel, read several news sites, email, gradually get ready for the day. Having some jittery feelings about the transition to the new President. There are so many news reports of his political appointments, tweets, and general prophecies of doom, gloom, foreboding, and The Russians. So I need to titrate the amounts of these stories going into my brain to help protect myself. Balance the negative with the positive hopefully. Remember there is positive in the world like my duck and turtle crossing sign. I mean if people are trying to protect the ducks and turtles there has to be some good will out there, right? 🙂

The prompt for today’s post is “warning” supplied by my friend Dan Antion at No Facilities for JustJotItJanuary hosted by Linda G Hill. Featured image via Max Pixel.

Reading The Classics

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I love reading books. And I spotted this new Reading Challenge on DebraB’s blog, BookingIt. Well I like her name and the challenge. 😀 (We share the same first name but spell it differently.) So this is my official sign up page for the Books and Chocolates Back to the Classics Challenge 2017. You can click on the link to see the rules if you’re interested. And who doesn’t like the idea of booking it and books and chocolates.

Featured image Reading a Book by Nick Kenrick

Aspirations

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I am wanting in this new year to hold tight to my feelings of possibility and optimism in spite of all the forces in play in the world that want to work against them. Creativity is always about dreams, imagination, vision, possibility, aspiration, and expression of our souls. In the darkest times the spirit can continue, it must continue. The prompt word for today is “spider.” Spiders can be associated with dark, scary things. But I don’t want to get into dark things today. Only to look them in the face and say, “You can’t scare me.”

This post is for Just Jot It January hosted by Linda G Hill.

The Beginning of the End

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It began when I woke up the morning after the recent presidential election, after watching the election returns late into the night with a sense of shock, disbelief, unreality, and increasing premonitions of impending doom, and said something like this to my husband, “This is when it begins, the end of the world.”

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I have gradually calmed down and regained some equilibrium until I read about The Russians hacking into our election and watched the president-elect appoint a man for Secretary of State who was awarded a “Friend of Russia” trophy by Putin.

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The saving grace for me has been reading satire and humor about the whole situation. At least we can have a good laugh while we march off to our destruction. So I want to include a few funny posts for your enjoyment, which would probably be anything by Andy Borowitz of the New Yorker Magazine, Dave Barry, and David Horsey.

Kremlin Names Trump Employee of the Month

Putin to Sing at Trump Inauguration

Putin Agrees to Recieve Intelligence Briefings in Trump’s Place

Dave Barry’s Year in Review: 2016–What the ?

David Horsey Political Cartoons and Commentary in LA Times

A Fake News History of 2016

I consider myself a hopeful, optimistic person most times and I feel I must work hard to remain this way for the sake of my kids and new grandson. So I think it will all come out all right in the end.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill who said, Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first/last.” Use one or both words, or find words that mean the same. Bonus points if you start your post with “first/beginning/start” etc. and end with “last/end” etc. Enjoy!

Wishing you a Happy New Year! And hoping 2017 will be a better year for us all.

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Gifs via Giphy.com and Happy New Year image via Pixabay.com

Strength In Numbers

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My new baby grandson is 3 weeks old but that number of weeks does not reflect how old he really is when you adjust for his prematurity. He has already gone through some challenges and will have a ways to go until he is big and strong enough to go home with his parents. Much of my husband’s and my attention and energy have been focused on him and his parents. We have been visiting him when we can and trying to show him we are there for him. We have received many calls and emails from friends and family expressing concern. I had announced in a private email when he was born and that he had to be in NICU. I have recently asked for prayers and healing thoughts because I believe that when people direct their prayers and healing energy toward someone it really works. Even though I am not religious in a traditional sense. I remembered a study by Dr. Randolph Byrd done with patients on a coronary care unit at San Francisco General that showed that patients who were prayed for did better in various measures. Since then there has been controversy about that study’s methods and accuracy of outcomes. One thing I know is true for me is that the messages I have received from friends and family telling me that they are keeping my grandson in their thoughts and prayers has made me feel supported and better able to bear up. They have made me aware of all the kindness and caring of others. I hope all these healing thoughts are having the same effect on him. He is a little fighter.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “bear/bare.” Image of Velveteen Rabbit via wikipedia.

Loving Wishes

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“Goodnight nobody

Goodnight mush

And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”

Goodnight stars

Goodnight air

Good night noises everywhere” (from Goodnight Moon)

Little babies can hear even in the womb. And I am learning it is good to read to premature babies. It is good for language development. My little grandson needs a lot of quiet right now but it is also good for him to hear his parents and grandparents voices. So I am thinking about purchasing some children’s books to take to the NICU. I want him to get to know our voices and loving wishes.

Do you have a favorite childhood book?

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Prompt for today “sh” words. Goodnight Moon book is by Margaret Wise Brown. Featured image from Goodnight Moon via wikipedia.

Pretty Bird

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Thanksgiving Turkey 2013

Thanksgiving Turkey 2016

Is that the same turkey? Same kitchen, different turkey. I have taken so many photos of “The Turkey” over the years that I have often joked I should have a Turkey Album. This year’s version turned out well. I have had years of practice to get the best tasting turkey and stuffing. We were a bit worn out this year because besides all the usual cleaning, which involves my last minute mad dash to dust, vacuum, swiffer, sort through piles, rearrange assorted belongings, move stuff to our overstuffed garage…we had a new grandchild born. He was born early and has to stay in NICU. He is very beautiful and a fighter. So we wanted to spend time with him and his parents. My husband said that next Thanksgiving he, baby Gavin, will be celebrating with us. We will be very, very Thankful for that.

Toby oversees the turkey carving with great interest

Ready for our glass of wine after all the running around

Always love to have my daughter Kate visit and she makes some mean mashed potatoes.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Turkey photos by yours truly and other photos by Kate. Prompt for today was “pretty.”

And for Traffic Jam Weekend Linky Party #72 hosted by beingawordsmith.com.

Overdosing On Sci-Fi

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“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.” Well not really. There is always something, good and bad. But this past couple of weeks could be high on my list for bad. Made me have a feeling of unreality. How can this be happening?! But I have been through tough things in life before and survived, so far. But as a way of coping this time, with my near depression, I have sought some comfort in bingeing on old Star Trek shows. I had already been watching Voyager episodes but then I started watching more and now I am onto Deep Space Nine. What I love about Star Trek , besides all the great characters, sets, and costumes/make up, is how in each episode there is a big problem but then it is resolved and justice is restored to the galaxy or the Alpha, Delta, and Gamma Quadrants. I think most times the “good guys” win. I read somewhere that that is what drama is supposed to do. There is a problem or crisis and then you have the resolution and catharsis. In Star Trek there is diversity and gender equality. It is very uplifting to see (space) people respecting each other even when they have very different cultures and appearances, and women respected and in leadership roles. I know what you’re thinking, The Borg can be difficult. But I kinda like them too. As long as they don’t try to assimilate me.

My grandson was born Friday (11/18/16) This is something good. I love him very much.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt was to use “yes.” Featured image of Jeri Ryan, Garret Wang, and Robert Picardo by Sol Ami on Flickr.

Also participating in #Traffic Jam Weekend Linky Party

Let Us Not Be Afraid Of Bullies

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This week I am posting a lot about the recent election and my reaction to what has happened. I decided to check out Huffington Post Women because I suspected the women who post there would be talking about this. That is where I saw the reference to Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letters. She posted a quote from Sojourner Truth, and if you don’t know who Sojourner Truth is look it up.

“I am not going to die, I’m going home like a shooting star.” —Sojourner Truth

Here is an excerpt of her letter to Hillary Clinton:

A lot of people have been talking about how we need to try to understand how this happened and what’s going on in the minds of the people who voted for Donald Trump. Maybe. Maybe. But maybe let’s leave that to the strategists, to the men in offices who need to run the numbers. It should not be the job of women, of people of color, of queer and trans Americans, to understand who does not consider them human and why, just as it’s not the job of the abused to understand their abuser. It’s quite enough work to know about and bear the hatred of so many. It’s quite enough work to go on living…..

Thank you, Hillary, for bravely taking every shot and standing tall, for weathering assaults from every direction, for telling us that no, this wasn’t politics as we know it, and no, you were not going to let a chronic interrupter with a limited vocabulary of catchphrases stop you from speaking coherently about your dreams for this country. Thank you for 30 years of public service. Thank you for showing our daughters something beautiful to aspire to. Thank you for reminding us what we are capable of when we are focused and ferocious. Thank you for 30 years of that. Thank you for not abandoning us now.

So no, the work isn’t done. It is only beginning. We will stun ourselves with what we are capable of. We will laugh with surprise like kids who finally threw a punch back at the schoolyard bully. We will watch our friends in awe as they step forward and demand more, as they recognize and wield their politicized identities. We will not be governed by fear. We will show our children a different way. We will go home like shooting stars.

I’m proud of you,

Lena

I remember when I was a little girl there was a bully on our street and he took pleasure in terrorizing the little kids. One day he and his buddies had surrounded my best girlfriend’s little sister and they were taunting her. She called out to me to help her. I was very scared too but I am proud to say that the little girl who was me went into that circle of bullies and put my arms around my friend’s sister and escorted her out. The bully became very upset that I did that. He hit me as I walked past him. His mother later explained to a group of us that he had problems and asked for our understanding.

It is important to stand up to bullies. I am afraid now too, kind of like when I was little, and hope that I will again have the courage to walk into that circle with the bully and stand up for the things I believe in. To put my arms around his victims and walk them to safety.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “mem.” Featured image of Hillary Clinton speaking at Brown University by Gage Skidmore on Wikipedia.

What Hillary Clinton Meant to Women

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I have been reading so many posts about what happened in the recent Presidential election. Many are blaming the Democrats for choosing Hillary Clinton as their candidate. I read one post where the author said the Baby Boomers are to blame because they didn’t vote for Clinton. I am not sure about that because I think many Baby Boomer women (and men) did vote for Clinton. I have heard negative remarks made against the Baby Boomers before. That we are to blame for everything wrong with the world. I am always shocked to hear this type of rhetoric because the people who are making these claims most likely are the children of Baby Boomers. Not my children but other people’s children. And I wonder why they think it is right to talk this way. I did not personally create all the world’s problems and supported many causes to attempt to correct them.

I am inspired to write this because of a post in the Huffington Post by Amanda Terkel,

“For Many Women, It Wasn’t Just About Defeating Donald Trump. It Was About Electing Hillary Clinton.”

She writes,”But many women in this country have wanted Clinton to be president for as long as they can remember. They didn’t just want to have the first female president ― they wanted her to be the first female president. And they took it as a given that she would be. Many diehard Clinton supporters described how Clinton was the most qualified woman they’ve ever come across. If she couldn’t do it, who could?”

It is because women like me lived through all the oppression against us in this country for so many years. We watched Hillary Clinton stand up for women’s right to be equal. We heard her say ” Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” I thought she would have a better chance of working with Republicans in Congress than Bernie Sanders. She didn’t want to blow up the system but was more pragmatic. As we get older, I think we get more pragmatic. When I was young I was definitely more radical but I have not lost my ideals. And I don’t think she has lost her ideals either.

I do think there was fear and resistance to having a woman President. After all these years, there are still those who can not see a woman in a top leadership role. The glass ceiling is still in place.

This loss has been painful. In the day after the election, I looked around for comfort in reading others reactions that were similar to my own. One place I found comfort was in the words of a young woman, that I voted for, who has been elected State Senator for California. I heard Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech and found these words very comforting,

(From Tin Hay via You Tube)