Shaping My Own Reality

In my part of the country, we’ve just gotten our first taste of winter…several days in a row in the 30’s and 40’s filled with either rain or snow, with occasional heavy winds.  We had day after day of sunless gloom, which can really take a toll on the spirit.  And it’s not even December yet! Take that and add in the local news, which is 85% bad and it’s easy to start going downhill real fast, if you know what I mean.

So, I’ve decided that this year I’m going to make a conscious effort to not let myself be pulled into the abyss of depression or sadness in those times when the world seems like a hopeless case.  This is going to take some effort, but I know I can do it.

It starts with the news.  The media today is omnipresent, always eager to dish up the gory details of any crime, the newest scam, natural disasters, threats to our health and/or finances and any other depressing, shocking, or tragic news they can lay their hands on.  My rule is to listen to just enough to be aware of what I need to know …and no more. When they start repeating themselves (and they always do,) I hit the “mute” button.  I’ve also taken to hitting it when I realize that something is starting to dirty up my head with unnecessary negativity. Why should I listen to garbage that just makes me feel bad?

As for the weather -  on days when it is absolutely miserable outside, I’m going to make an effort to occupy myself with pleasurable and interesting things inside. And when that’s harder than usual, I’ll just close the damned blinds!   I may have to start reciting, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…”  But, one way or the other, I’m fighting back!  Winter’s not going anywhere, so I just need to find ways to cope…

Oh, I don’t expect to feel like Susie Sunshine every day.  I am human, after all.  But at least I won’t be a victim of circumstances surrounding me in the world.

From now on I intend to take a more active role in shaping my own reality.  I’ll choose my reactions a little more carefully.  Rather than “It’s so depressing outside!” I’ll think, “It’s so cozy and warm inside.” And rather than “Damn!  My appointment was for 30 minutes ago and I’m still waiting,” it’ll be “Oh good.  I’ve got more time to read my book.” You get the drift.

It won’t be easy, but I don’t choose to let the news discourage me.  Nor do I choose to let the dark days of winter weigh me down and fill me with hopelessness.  Instead, I’m going to make different choices.

I’m going to opt for joy.

I’m going to choose…happiness.

Wish me luck?

 

 

Weird Little “Finds”

While walking up and down the aisles of the Internet, I’ve come across some neat little curiosities I want to share with you.  None of them are earthshaking, but rather just things that might make you go “Hmmmm…” or “Awwww!”

First up, as you’re making up your Christmas list, you might consider these bread shoes designed by two Estonian designers.  But, if you want my honest opinion, I think they would make crummy gifts.  Sorry about that.

Next up, we have this very clever doorstop that represents the bad witch from the Wizard of Oz when the house fell on her.  I feel this is quite wonderfully creative, and I would use it in a heartbeat!  It sells for $19.99 at Amazon.

This next item delights the ghoulish side of me.  It’s a Barbie USB flash drive.  Isn’t it just too cool?

Okay, for a change of pace, I think this next one represents one of the most original tattoos I’ve seen.  My late father would have gotten a chuckle out of this.  He used to defend his baldness by saying, “you can’t grow grass on a busy racetrack,” or some such hokey old saying.

And last, but certainly not least,  I found a picture of the world’s smallest horse.  Her name is Thumbelina and she lives on a farm in St. Louis, Missouri.  She’s 17″ tall and weighs 60 pounds.  Her size has been attributed to dwarfism so, in effect, she’s a miniature of a miniature.   According to her owners, “When she was young, she found the dog kennel and decided she would bed in with the dogs rather than with bigger horses.”

Come on!  Tell me you didn’t go “Awwww” when you saw her!   How could you not?  I guess that fills up your “cuteness” quota for the day.  Until next time…

The Mystery Next Door

Several friends have asked me how my new neighbor is working out.  Well, considering how annoying, rude and obnoxious the last neighbors were, this guy is a prince!  I never hear him and rarely see him.  Part of that, I attribute to his hours.  I mentioned that he works for Fed Ex.  What I forgot to mention is that he leaves for work at about 2:30 A.M.!!! Then he seems to get home sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m.  So, in some ways, it feels like I have no neighbor over there at all, which is not a bad thing.

But there remains a mystery.  When I met this man, he told me he and his 23 year old son had moved in.  The son allegedly attends college and works part-time.  All the rest of the time he plays video games in the basement, according to his dad.

Okay.  But, it’s been over a month now and I’ve seen no evidence at all of a son. No son going out to the mailbox.  No son pulling in or out of the garage (which is right next to mine.)  No son walking up to the clubhouse or stepping outside for a breath of fresh air.  In short…no son at all.

Now, maybe he’s just elusive.  Or, he could just be very, very short and thin and almost transparent. Then there’s always the vampire thing…with him not coming out in the daylight.  Or maybe the son possesses a Cloak of Invisibility like Harry Potter’s and has been coming and going like crazy. Those things work, you know!

Or maybe, just maybe…there is no son.

Think about it.  Could it be that nice Mr. Fed Ex man has a split personality? Maybe he comes home at 2:00, looking like a friendly cub scout leader in his little Fed Ex shorts and then, the minute he’s in the house, his other personality takes over!!! Maybe then he changes into jeans and a black Metallica t-shirt, goes down to the basement and loses himself in some wizardy video game, believing he is a 23 year old!  At some point he falls asleep and then, when the alarm rings at 2:00 a.m., he wakes up, Mr. Smiley Face again, having no idea that his “23 year old son” is, in reality, himself!!!   Oh, come on!  It could happen!  You people have no imagination!

But, if you don’t buy into that theory, which I do think is an excellent one, that only leaves me with my other idea – The  Psycho theory.  Yes, he lives there with his 23 year old son, or rather, the dessicated corpse of his son which he has kept with him for 23 years. And, even as I’m writing his, that son-corpse is sitting propped up in a chair in the guest room of the house next door!   M-WAAAAAAH!!!!

Okay, I didn’t want to go there, but you guys made me! So, what do YOU think is going on ?

The Moles Shall Inherit The Earth

Forget about aliens.  I think the moles are out to take over the earth!  When Babs and I were hiking through neighborhoods way back in the Spring, we saw countless yards completely torn up by these little intruders.   But, what has been stranger to me is that we’ve also seen evidence of their destruction in two different state parks.  They seem exceptionally active this year.

Just last week, I looked out my window and on Day One, saw this in front of my neighbor’s house.

Here’s how it looked on Day Two.

Since then, this little excavator has added about a mound a day.  And these mounds can really tear up a yard!

A mole can dig up to 18 feet of surface tunnels per hour, and the mounds can reach heights of up to 2 feet tall!   They can race through their existing tunnels at eighty feet a minute.  Moles are blind.  Instead of eyes, they have membranes that detect light.  But, even visually handicapped, they have been known to seriously undermine sections of house foundations or walls, in the construction of their nesting chambers.  A 5 ounce mole consumes 45 to 50 pounds of worms and insects a year.

So, you think they’re not a threat to mankind?  Well, maybe not yet…but heaven help us if they ever get organized!  Once they form a Mole Union, we can kiss the earth goodbye!

The “Catch 22″ to Faith

I’m a big advocate of having faith in God, not because I’m some crazy-eyed Bible beater, but because I’ve seen it work miracles in my life so many times.  It took me a long time in my life to even understand exactly what faith actually is.  My stepmother made me go to church Sunday mornings, evenings, and Wednesdays and all those church people were just full of religious sayings about faith.  As a matter of fact, they were full of all kinds of religious sayings, which they spouted with a righteousness that was downright off-putting.  After awhile it became clear to me, after seeing how they lived their lives, that it wasn’t what they said that mattered to them, but how they said it and how often. Thus, all the phrases became meaningless to me.

Years later, as I was becoming more spiritual, as opposed to religious, I’d ponder phrases like “Let go and let God,”  trying to figure out exactly how that worked.  Finally I realized that that IS what faith is. It is a complete letting go.  It wasn’t until I was in what seemed like a hopeless situation at one point in my life that I completely handed everything over to God.  I was physically and emotionally exhausted from worrying.  I had prayed and prayed and worried and worried and nothing happened.  But the moment I gave up all control, with faith that God would handle it, He did.  And he did it in a miraculous way.

After telling a friend about this experience, she said to me, “I wish something dramatic like that would happen to me.”  When I asked her why, she said, “because then it would be easy to have faith in God.”  The problem with this kind of thinking is that it implies that God needs to prove Himself to us, rather than vice-versa.  In my mind, all one needs to do is look around – at the world, the skies, the stars, healthy children, a working brain, etc., etc., etc., to see evidence of God’s presence in this world.

But despite the fact that I’m comfortable with the fact that God exists, exercising faith is not always easy.  Lately I was faced with two concerns.  One involved a friend of mine who had just survived one medical crisis, only to be faced with another.  The other was a situation that was making me very unhappy, over which I had no control.  In both cases, I would pray to God for positive outcomes.  I would tell Him I had faith that everything would be fine.  But I was cheating, because later I’d find myself worrying about these problems.  And that’s the “Catch 22″ about faith.  You have to give your problem to the Lord and then let go completely, knowing that He will handle it.  (See?  That’s the faith part!) Thank Him in advance for “this or something better, Lord.” Yeah, I know.  That’s really stepping out into the unknown, but you know what?  When I do it right, it works every time.

My two problems?  Both have resulted in the best possible outcomes and I am filled with gratitude.  I suppose that’s what prompted me to write this post.  It never hurts to let people know that you don’t have to be Billy Graham or Mother Teresa for faith to work miracles in your life.  You just have to be willing to try.  One of my favorite quotes, which has been attributed to both Edward Teller and Patrick Overton, goes something like this:

“When you come to the edge of all the light you have known,

and are about to step into the darkness,

FAITH is knowing one of two things will happen…

There will be something to stand on,

or you will be taught to fly.”

Last Hike This Year?

The weather was almost in the seventies.  The sun was shining.  The birds were singing.  And Babs and I knew we’d better grab the day for a good autumn hike before winter is breathing down our necks once again.  We drove out to Watkin’s Mill State Park and hiked around the whole perimeter of this lake, which ended up being almost four miles.

The day was full of critters.  We saw one deer (with antlers,) geese, and about two thousand squirrels.  I was eager to photograph the geese and I went from this

to getting as close as I could.  I eased myself almost right next to this guy, until he grew annoyed with me, and decided to go back into the water, much to Babs’ disappointment, because she had been hoping he’d turn around and start after me!  Ha. Ha.  Here I’d braved attack, not to mention a whole lot of goose poo, and neither of them appreciated my efforts!

We came upon two particularly interesting trees.  If I had to guess, I’d say this one is a thorn tree.  Check out all the thorns right on the trunk.  Wouldn’t you hate to have to climb that one fast?

I don’t know what this second one is called, but I thought it looked so unusual.  It was on the short side, and seemed to grow out horizontally.  It was almost like a sculpture in wood. 

As we progressed, we kept coming across a whole lot of hedge apples on the ground.  I remembered these from my childhood.  My Grammy and I would go out and collect bittersweet and hedge apples for table arrangements.  I now wish Babs and I had picked up a few because my research has revealed that they’re wonderfully effective spider, cricket, ant and mouse repellents!  

The funny thing is, though, all this time I  just assumed they grew on bushes because I only ever saw them on the ground.  But this time,  I happened to look up and saw this in the distance.

It was as if Nature had already decorated for Christmas!

Anyway, as usual, I’ve saved my absolute favorite picture for the end. 

As you all know by now, I’m a sucker for cool clouds.  But, I ask you, is this not a totally awesome shot?  Shall I call it, “Hedge Apples Against The Sky?”   All I can say is, I am really grateful we had this day.

Until next time,

When I Am Queen – #2

I believe the time has come for more pronouncements.  So…

When I am Queen:
- I’m pulling our soldiers out of all foreign wars and bringing them back home.  Too many have died and we seem no closer to changing anything.  As Queen, I realize that each one of these brave soldiers is someone’s son, daughter, sister, brother, mother, father or friend.  Others in power often forget that.  I don’t.  It’s time to take care of our own.

When I am Queen
- I will also be cutting off aid to many of the countries to which we now send millions of dollars.  With the kind of national deficit we presently have in our country, we have problems of our own which should take priority.  It’s not that I don’t care, but rather that I believe my own people should be taken care of first.  Once the debt has been paid and my people are enjoying economic prosperity, I’ll consider aid to other countries.  Besides, I resent sending aid and support to so many countries who badmouth us.  There will be no more of that in my reign!  If they want something from the United States, there will have to be some major kissing up!

When I am Queen
- if you’re caught texting while driving, your driver’s license will be revoked for one year, no exceptions.  Your brain and eyes belong on the road.  Drive or text, you must chose one or the other.  The life I’m saving may be my own!

When I am Queen
- the television networks won’t be allowed to put every single good show on Thursday night.  Here’s what I’m talking about, at 7:00 p.m. is “Survivor,” “Flash Forward” and “Bones.” At 8:00 p.m. is “Fringe” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” And at 9:00 p.m. is  “The Mentalist” and “Private Practice.” I mean, come on, people!  The Queen wants to watch ALL of those shows! What’s a Monarch to do?  When I’m in charge, I expect you to spread them out somewhat – drop one on Wednesday and maybe squeeze one in on Friday.  There are many nights just screaming for something decent, the least you can do is plan better.  And you will…if you know what’s good for you!

When I am Queen
- marshmallow Peeps will be available all year long, not just on Easter, Halloween and Christmas.  There’s something about taking a bite out of a peep that definitely calms the nerves.  They could replace Valium!

Any comments?  Agree?  Disagree?  If not, you may return to your regularly scheduled activities.

Queen-To-Be

On Cloud Patrol #9

I’ve gotta tell ya, the clouds are NOT making things easy for me lately!  I go out on cloud patrol and there are all kinds of fluffy clouds, but, what are they doing?  Absolutely nothing!  They’re totally lazy!  They’re fat and they lack any imagination.  But, after a few days, I did manage to scrape up four that I’m going to run by you.  They may not be the best you’ve seen here, but at least you know that I’m making an effort!

In case you’ve ever wondered how aliens know where to rendezvous, this will inform you.  Here they’ve quite plainly done an “x marks the spot” thing to alert others who are in the vicinity.  The cool thing about this is that it’s right over my house! I’ll let you know if I see any ships or flying saucers.

This next one is simply a baby unicorn chasing a blowing wisp of cotton. His head is right in the middle and his horn is that short thing on top of it.  (I told you he was a baby!)

This next one is an alien throwing pick-up-sticks in the sky.  The alien is way in the upper left-hand corner.  You mainly can see his head, but he’s got a huge pick-up-stick in his right hand and he’s holding it in the air.  See him?  He’s there, you just have to work on it.

And finally this last one is either where the sky has been injured and has stitches, or else is where the sky is zipped up by God.  I think I prefer the latter explanation.

So, did you see any?  And before you go saying that these aren’t of the caliber of my usual collection, remember this – I can only work with what God gives me.  If you don’t like it, talk to Him.  (And, if you do, tell Him I said “Hi!”)

Meanwhile, as always, keep your eyes on the skies!

A Flu Shot…And More

I woke up Monday with one mission in mind – to get a flu shot!  I decided to start my search at CVS’s Minute Clinic, since they had been so easy to deal with when I had my pink eye.  The good news was that they did have the serum.  The bad news was that there were seven people ahead of me.  I figured that if they were all getting flu shots, the wait wouldn’t be that long.  I figured wrong because, it soon became obvious that there were really sick people there.

Sitting in one of the waiting chairs was a pale woman bent forward, almost curled in on herself.  She stood out because she had a wool muffler wrapped around her head beneath her nose.  The reason soon became clear as she was wracked with spasms of uncontrollable coughing.  She looked so miserable that my heart went out to her.  I remember times, waiting for a prescription, when I’ve been so sick that it was all I could do to keep from falling out of the chair.  It was really considerate of her to have her mouth covered like that.  I wondered if she already had the flu. The only spare chair was next to her, which I thought might be inviting trouble.

So I stood (for a long time,) alternately looking at the magazine rack and a shelf of “As Seen On TV” products.  (Did you know they make Snuggies for dogs?  Yes, they do!  How sad is that?)

Eventually, the young woman right ahead of me on the wait list, who was another “standee,” struck up a conversation.  Turns out she was there for eczema on her hands, which looked red, raw and painful.  She works at Hardee’s and is always handling money and thus, always using hand sanitizer.  She was wondering if CVS took Medicaid because it was the only insurance she had.  But that wasn’t the worst part.  She was a single mother of three with neither of two fathers contributing to the household.  But even that wasn’t the worst part.  One of the fathers was gone because she had discovered, when she was nine months pregnant, that he had been abusing her 12-year-old daughter!   When I asked her if he had been arrested, she said, “no.”  Then she went on to tell me that she was trying to prepare her 12-year-old for a pretty slim Christmas because once the bills were paid each month, they had $20 left.  After this barrage of information, I felt like shielding my ears before I broke down in tears.  Fortunately, at that moment, her name was called, because I don’t think I could have taken much more of her life story.

But, after I got my shot and left, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.  I mean, I know I’m blessed, but after an encounter like that, I give extra thanks for my blessings.  Suddenly, all those rules I’ve followed all my life seem to have really paid off.

I wonder what it must feel like to live her life?  I know some people get themselves into these kinds of situations through bad decisions, but what I’m wondering is – how do they ever get themselves out?  She’s a high school dropout, working as a fast-food cashier and trying to provide for a one-year-old, two-year-old and twelve-year-old.  How does she begin to change things?  How could she go back to school or find another job?  Or will she just find another man to help, and end up with a fourth baby?  It seems pretty hopeless to me.  It also makes me sad.

Well, enough drama for now.  And to think – all I wanted was a lousy flu shot!

Stay well,

I Think It’s Fall…

So, how can I tell?  First, there are the sunrises.  When I step out on my balcony first thing in the morning, there is a definite nip in the air.  And the sun slowly, silently eases upward, its deep gold hues making the trees look like a delicate lace edging on the horizon.  The chill reminds me that winter is just around the corner.

And, what was once green, is now smothered by leaves…

And, speaking of leaves, here is the over-achiever of the season.

This tree has almost completed its strip tease.  Those few leaves at the tip-top branches are the tree’s equivalent to a G-string and pasties!  Naughty, naughty tree!

And finally, I can tell Fall is here and Winter’s coming because the birds which are left are very crabby.  I heard this one saying, “Damn!  I hate the thought of that long flight to Miami!  Maybe I’ll hang on a few more days.”

Yep, Fall is here.  It’s time to batten down the hatches and brace ourselves for what lies ahead…namely, non-stop, inane Christmas advertising!   Are you ready for it?  I know I’m not!

Stay warm!