Category: Creativity

Jul 03

Trip Over

Well, the trip was mostly successful.  Washington State was beautiful.  We saw lots of new stuff and got lots of exercise.  In spite of that I gained a pound.  From eating more than usual, I’m sure. 

I took a lot of pictures with both my iPhone and my Nikon.  Now I’m struggling with getting them all copied to my computer.  Getting the ones from my Nikon was fairly simple. From the iPhone not so much.  I’ve tried 3 different methods and none of them have worked very well.  At the moment, I’m trying to copy from iCloud to the computer.  It didn’t put them where I said, so I’m trying to copy them from the iCloud folder it made on my computer to the folder I had prepared for it.  It says it will take hours.  The time varies widely from 3 days to 8 hours.  

In the meantime, I’m trying to upload the trip photos from the iPhone to my Google drive since the iCloud didn’t appear to have them.  It has said Preparing for about half an hour now.  It went fairly fast at first, then it bogged down with just a small sliver of the circle left to clear.  

This is why older people don’t like technology.  It just isn’t consistent or simple to do and errors are hard to define.  I will, however, continue the fight until it comes back and says it can’t do what I want.  Then I’ll try another method.  I am nothing if not stubborn.

The photos above are a random sampling without any edits.  Just a few from the Nikon.

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Posted in Current Events, For Your Consideration, Rants

May 29

Seven Ways from Sunday

I guess I’ll address Meditations first.  I have run into a strange section of Discovering Fire.  Apparently, there is a resurgence of Psychedelics in various parts of the country.  Out of curiosity, I searched for psychedelic drugs in Google and found many references, including one from Harvard Health Publishing  that agree, somewhat, with the book.  From what I read, I don’t think it will be something that affects me any time soon.

Next up is Memoirs, I guess.  Jim is trying to rope me into his Ancestry researches.  Apparently, he needs help badly.  Since he’s been concentrating on the Pearson side, I looked at the Moore side first.  It was a mess.  Before I can look backward on Mama, I find that I need to straighten out her generation.  I’m still trying to sort out the fact that he forgot Uncle Willard was married twice and three of his children were from the first marriage.  He had them all listed under Aunt Theda, in spite of the fact that she was only 7 years old when the oldest one was born.  I’m trying to find more information on his first wife and get his record straightened out.  Jim says it’s addictive.  We’ll see.  So far, it just seems frustrating to me.

Finally, Health and Exercise.  I’m going to try to follow my workout schedule this week.  I’m still refining it, but the skeleton is there.  Since this is the first full week of no school pickups, today is the first day of my current lifestyle.  Today, is Yoga and I’ve set it up for an afternoon session with some of my videos.  Tomorrow will be walking since I’ll be going into town for the photo club lunch.

It’s kind of strange that we still call it that although the photo club was disbanded before that pandemic and topics of discussion at the luncheon are more about trains, sports, and general gossip than photography nowadays.  As for photography, I watched a video that Jim shared on the old photo club Facebook page today.  It’s a link to a Youtube video.  I’ve done a lot of the things all along, but it’s a good reminder as I get ready for our June trip to Washington State.

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Posted in Current Events, Exercise, For Your Consideration, Health, Meditations, Memoirs, News

Nov 22

History Update

It’s been several years since I wrote my history.  I guess it’s time for an update:

First of all, we lost Davie.  He died several years ago while mowing the lawn.  He was a force for good in all our lives and we still miss him.  

Next my grandchildren have been busy having children.  I now have more great grandchildren than grandchildren.  Some that live close by and are a regular part of my life, others that are far away and seldom visited and, sadly, a couple that I’ve never met.  I think everyone is through adding to the list now.  In ten years or so, my “littles” will probably begin to add children of their own.

Next, Jim and I are trying to “retire” again.  We’ve stopped taking new clients and are, gradually, divesting ourselves of the current ones.

Covid didn’t affect us much.  We “battened down the hatches” for a year or so.  Stayed home and let our younger members deliver our groceries.  Did church online.  I helped a couple of my great grandchildren do their schoolwork online as well.  None of our family died or even went to the hospital.  In fact, none of us even got a positive diagnosis until after we were all vaccinated and the worst of the pandemic was over.

I had a cancer scare that required surgery to remove a tumor in my intestines.  It was clear afterwards, but I’ve been diagnosed with Lymphoma.  It’s the slow growing kind and, so far, it hasn’t progressed.  I am getting regular checkups for the first time in my life and we’ll see how long it stays dormant.  The doctor says he’s watched some people for five years before they needed treatment.

Since Covid, our travels have been limited. This year, we went to South Dakota to visit my grandson, Brad, and his family.  We did also take an excursion to Mammoth Cave, here in Kentucky.

Hopefully, we will be able to spend more time traveling next year.  We are planning a trip to North Carolina in the spring and to Jim’s photojournalist reunion sometime in the summer or fall.

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Posted in Health, Memoirs

Oct 28

My Dark Soul

Today I am taking a stroll down memory lane.  I took one class on poetry during my extended college routine.  I was taken with an urge to look up some of my attempts.  None of them really qualifies as literature.  I can never claim to be a poet.  I do, however, still feel some of them express my feelings.  The first one is especially apropos in today’s world. It is very dark, written at a time when I was travelling 90 miles each way to school on an almost daily basis.

American Cocoon

The world is at war, but I am at peace.

My cocoon lets me ignore the bombs as they fall on the guilty and the innocent alike,

in other places,

because all of my children are safe.

 

I drive along the highway, and I am at peace in my traveling cocoon.

When the radio announcer mentions mass shootings too close to home,

I just hit the black button and music floods the car as I pull the security blanket of ignorance

over my head and travel on in apathetic bliss.

 

When traffic backs up ahead, I expect construction, not destruction.

No checkpoints, no armed guards.

The only blood on my road is from careless or loaded people,

not a loaded car bomb or IED.

 

I am insulated.

Wrapped in my cocoon of complacency.

Just one geeky berserker away from the final cataclysm.

As I read through all of the offerings, I was struck by the fact that all of them have a darkness.  I’m surprised that no one called me on it at the time.  My second offering here is the only one that doesn’t have a flavor of despair.  

Music Is a Gas

Jazz helps to sooth my nerves and lets me sleep.

The Blues stir something, deep inside my soul.

Nothing moves me more than a horn, wailing that long tenor note. 

 

Willie and his pals lament my sadness,

the lost loves of youth cried away the night with longing and pain,

but Denver and Cash have called me home again.

 

Mozart and Verdi boost concentration,

when work is my goal. Bach and Beethoven focus my thinking

with orchestration of all kinds of strings.

 

Rock  music digs deep as it speeds the blood, burns away anger

and builds up passion, burning calories.

How the beats fill me. Music fuels my life.

 

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Posted in Creativity, Poetry

Nov 06

It’s New Year’s Day

It’s the first day of my new year.  Another way of thinking about Birthdays.  I am nearly 75, 3/4 of a century.  I say nearly, because I was born at 5pm and it’s only 3pm at the moment. 

It’s hard to believe.  Most days, I don’t feel it.  I feel, basically, the same as I did at 45, except for a few minor aches in my shoulders and hips.  I know that’s because I have gotten lazy this past year.  I haven’t been getting nearly enough exercise lately.  

So, thinking of today as the first day of MY year, here are my resolutions:  

  1. Walk, at least, 1 mile every other day.
  2. Do Yoga, pilates or some other type of stretching and strengthening exercise on the alternate days.
  3. Write, at least, 500 words on some topic every day. Even if I never publish it, I need it to keep my mind active.
  4. Be more patient with unruly children, not more permissive, just less impatient.
  5. Spend more time reading than playing games.  Both help with cognitive health, but reading has other beneficial features.
  6. Concentrate on getting my budget under control.
  7. And the last thing on my list, as usual, clean the house more often.

I plan to make that 100 mark with physical strength and mental alertness intact.  My children already have grown children, I have great grandchildren who will be reaching for their 30s by then.  I expect to hold the next generation in my arms before I leave here.

 

 

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Posted in Current Events, Memoirs

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