Category Archives: My Life

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

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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.

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Toby oversees the turkey carving with great interest

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Ready for our glass of wine after all the running around

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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)

I wish her all the success in the world. She is one of my champions now.

Featured image by Gage Skidmore on Wikipedia.

Born Before Women Had The Right To Vote Part II

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I have been loving reading and watching about these women who were born before women had the right to vote. They inspire me and are great representatives of the oldest generation of Americans. Here via CNN on You Tube:

“Jerry Emmett was born six years before women had the right to vote. Today she’s 102 years old and is urging everyone to get to the polls.” (CNN)

Next Via WSB-TV Georgia, “98-year-old Faye Butler, who was born before women had the right to vote, voted for her first female president.”

And  again from CNN via You Tube “She was born before women had the right to cast a ballot so when early voting opened in Iowa, 103-year-old Ruline Steininger was one of the first in line.”

These stories uplift my spirits after all the negative news lately.

Hobnob With Wizards

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When I was little we looked forward to the original film The Wizard of Oz shown on TV only once a year. My mother told me that in 1939, when the film first debuted, people were awed by the color. It was made more dramatic because the first part of the film is in black and white and it is not in color until Dorothy’s house lands in Oz. Dorothy opens the door to the house and sees, along with all of the viewers, the landscape in vivid colors. Think how amazing that would be to see color in a film for the first time and in that way. I read the original book by L. Frank Baum and many of the books in the Oz series. The word hobnob reminded me of the final speech of the wizard as he climbs into his hot air balloon to travel back to Kansas with Dorothy. I looked it up.

“I, your Wizard per ardua ad alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere. To confer, converse, and otherwise hob-nob with my brother wizards. And I hereby decree that until what time–if any–that I return, the Scarecrow, by virtue of his highly superior brains, shall rule in my stead…assisted by the Tin Man, by virtue of his magnificent heart…and the Lion–by virtue of his courage! Obey them as you would me! And-ah-well, that’s all.”

I love that phrase “per adua ad alta.” I did not study Latin in school, so I had to look it up on Wikipedia. It means “through difficulty to heights” or ” through hardship great heights are reached.” Is he referring to his upcoming journey in the hot air balloon or how he had led the people of Oz through many hardships?  There are many good lines in this script. I almost want to read the book again to see how closely it follows.

Another great part is when The Wizard is telling Dorothy how his hot air balloon drifted away from a carnival and he was lost.

Dorothy says, ” Weren’t you afraid?”

The Wizard answers:

 “Frightened? You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death—sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe. I was petrified.”

The Wizard was going to take Dorothy back home to Kansas in his hot air balloon but the Tin Man lets go of the rope and the balloon starts to fly away. I was upset when I thought Dorothy was left behind.

It would be nice if we could just click our heels three times and go back to those more innocent times.

The screenplay for The Wizard of Oz (1939) was written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allen Woolf. Film clip via Charles Cairnes on You Tube. Featured Image of Ruby Slippers by Insomnia Cured Now on Flickr.

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G. Hill. The prompt for today is “ho,” use a word with the letters -ho.

The Movie Screen

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I am out of town this weekend visiting my daughter. Right now I am typing on her MACBook and I am not used to MACs. So that’s my excuse and I’m stickin’ with it. We saw a great movie last night called Queen of Katwe. It has been wonderful spending time with my daughter and we are catching up on a lot of conversation.

I love movies and spend a lot of time watching them for entertainment and relaxation. Nowadays we can enjoy films in the privacy of our homes and have the option of large flat screen TVs to watch them on. But there is something special about seeing a film at the theater on a movie screen. The size of the picture and sound, the theater seats, and the tasty bags of popcorn, make it a worthwhile experience. I do like watching films at home as well. It is less expensive and you can watch them more than once and at a convenient time if you have a DVD. I prefer watching films over most television shows.

I am so happy that movies were invented and I hope they never go away no matter what type of screen I am watching them on.

This is a short post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Image of movie theater via Wikipedia.

The Best Ballabusta

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My mother in law told me I was a ballabusta, a good homemaker. When my kids were growing up I made an effort to make them aware of part of their heritage by creating holiday dinners for my husband’s family. I learned to make chicken soup and matzo balls from my mother in law. I wanted to go beyond chicken and brisket and dicovered Judy Zeidler’s Gourmet Jewish Cookbook and Persian chicken. I made holiday dinners and Thanksgivings to die for but I was not an enthusiastic every day cook. I was not a great housekeeper either. I rebelled against the title of housewife with all its connotations. I was not Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart, or Mr.(s) Clean. I told my husband I did not go to college to be a housewife. Afterall, I am a child of the 60s and Women’s Liberation. I did want to be there for my kids instead of working full time. I did work part-time after my kids were in school. I don’t know if I was the best ballabusta but I make a mean matzo ball with help of Manischewitz (Matzo Ball Mix).

This post is for Stream of Concsiousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “bus.”  Featured image “mom”  via Pixabay.com

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