Birthday Sunset

November 28, 2007November 28, 2007 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Sunset

Today as I began journaling I wrote the date and saw that it was November 28th — my Nana’s birthday. My Nana passed away in 1972 at the ripe old age of 96. She was born in London and came “across the pond” in her mid 20’s at the turn of the century. She was already a widow, and came to the United States by herself to start a new life. How brave she must have been to leave all she knew and come to a new country alone.

Nana was always a big reader, and I remember that she read to me plenty when I was young, always in the green chair in the corner of the living room. I sat on her lap and she read me stories or my books about dogs, horses, birds, or elves and fairies.

I haven’t thought of her in awhile – she’s been gone now 35 years. She was quiet and refined in her British way, with a rather wealthy upbringing as I was told. Her lovely accent rubbed off on me, but I was forced to abandon it as I was ridiculed in grammar school as `talking funny’ by other kids.

Nana couldn’t cook worth a lick. All I ever saw her cook was a pepper omelette or make a bologna sandwich. When my grandfather was alive and they were together, he did all the cooking. Thinking of her, remembering her, brought a smile to my face. I looked out the window and noticed how the trees are finally almost bare of leaves. From my office window I can see the Delaware again. I’m reading a great novel – Nana would have liked it, I think.

This evening I watched a gorgeous sunset and ran outside with my digital camera to capture it. I think she would have liked that, too. Happy Birthday, Nana.

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Trick or Treaters

November 5, 2007November 5, 2007 / still a dreamer

100 kids – that’s about how many we see on Halloween in 2 hours where I live. In the country, it’s impossible to trick or treat on 2-lane blacktops to farms, so kids get bussed-in to little towns like mine where it’s also friendly and safe.

After you’ve finished answering the door to the many little goblins, princesses and bears, who sticks in your mind? This year, a 12-ish year old boy wore a good skeleton costume with different size cereal boxes affixed all over to his outfit – he was a cereal killer. That was pretty funny.

But who stands out every year and makes me curious is the child who comes and takes a small wrapped chocolate bar from my basket, hesitates, then quickly, almost surreptitiously, whisks another one away into their treat bag with a rather guilty face. I’ve seen one of these kids every year no matter where I’ve lived. Do you see that child, too?

It always makes me curious … do they like this candy so much and don’t get it very often? Are they just not getting enough in their life in some way? They could ask – kids that do, I always let take a second – but this child can’t ask, and needs to take. For some reason it just saddens me a bit – the other kids are having a big time, and this little one – a shy little girl this year – just looked at me real quick, then away, and took more. I wish I could spot her – or him – beforehand. I’d ask if they’d like another … and then they could feel good about being asked AND feel it was Ok to have more.

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Maybe more OMMM than OWWW …

October 22, 2007October 22, 2007 / still a dreamer

It’s really all a matter of words. And mood. So as charter members of OWWW, might we take a deep breath and turn those w’s into m’s and try for OMMM. A dear friend of mine has suggested chanting to get me out of that oww mood, among other things. To help me be calmer and to tune into the greater consciousness. I’m all for it.
Admittedly, chanting seems a bit strange to me. I’ve always sung to myself and frequently hummed, but actually chanting is something very new. Even though there may be no one around, it’s so different from anything I’ve done, that I feel like I’m sticking out in a crowd.
Getting ourselves into a spiritual place is a much better thing than complaining about too much to do, although the latter is so easy. Clearing energy and just BEing – that is a challenge. It’s one I attempt to master every day, sometimes with great results, others less than stellar. But I admit, I do find the chanting somehow comforting.
The chant is one from Nchiren Buddhism … and has it’s own website … how to chant, how to pronounce the words and the meaning of the chant. Too long for a blog, but you can do a search easily enough. Here’s the chant: nam-myoho-renge-kyo. For when you want to choose the ommm instead of the owww.

Hmmmm .. could that little Frenchie be quietly chanting on her lilypad? Check out my Frenchies Apres Monet in cards or a print.

OWWW …

October 12, 2007October 12, 2007 / still a dreamer / 1 Comment

That’s the name of the new organization. It’s one of those acronym kind of things, but instead of being impossible to figure out or pronounce, like GSTPA, I made it real easy – Owww! And fun to say! You can use caps or lower case or not. What does it stand for? Overworked Working Women of the World. You can even whine when you say it.

The best thing about it? No dues or fees, no waiting period, and you don’t even have to e-mail me! Or anyone. If you’re a woman, and let’s say American, (since that’s my greatest area of familiarity), and you’re up to your ass in alligators way too many days of the week working in one way or another … you’re already in! That’s the beauty of it. YOU are already a member! Congratulations!

Hey – if this catches on, I’ll make little membership cards that you can download off the website. (Hmmm – there’s an idea!) and soon I’ll be adding a logo, I think. If I can find the time in between all this work I have to do. And that’s the whole point of OWWW… we’re all working waaaayyy too much. If, au contraire, you feel you don’t have enough to do, I suggest you go to YouTube and enjoy. The rest of you … please just bask in the sisterhood of it all.

I’m tired. I don’t know a woman who isn’t tired! Between juggling work, commutes, trying to keep money coming in, taking care of the kids and/or pets, keeping your partner – if you have one – happy, shopping, cooking, banking, bill-paying, cleaning! I believe it was Lucy or maybe Charlie Brown who said it – AUGGHHHH! And don’t forget … somewhere in there, you want to be squeezing in the fulfillment of your dreams! Oh, yes!

Okay, so maybe I’m in an overwhelmed state of mind at the moment. If I’m out of it in a day or so, I’ll disband the organization. (which is impossible since so many members exist whether I call it an organization or not.) I’ll become an alumna. I’ll come visit. But meanwhile, there’s always the group’s motto – owwwww. And said quietly, please. We’re tired!

And, BTW, if you DO have a minute, check out some of the services and neat stuff I have on my website – I’ll be updating it again as soon as I have a minute. Promise.

Box in the Road

August 30, 2007July 11, 2012 / still a dreamer

What’s better than spending a weekend with your oldest friend in the world? Spending a weekend with your oldest friend in the world AND helping an animal survive!
The day was getting late, and our plan to head on over to the local farmstand looked like it might not happen. Then I remembered they had that wonderful little deal that you can actually still find in places like this – a secure lock box! A testimony to faith in human nature, a secured box for payment of roadside fruit and veggies so customers can come at odd hours to purchase them still amazes me. Customers are trusted to pay the right amount for the produce they choose and to not steal whatever cash is currently in the box, (or the box itself), until the farm owners come out and remove it. That’s one of the reasons why I like living in the country. But that’s not the box I’m writing about.

We left for the farm – about a 3 or 4 mile drive, and about what it takes to get to any decent thing you want to get to out here. As we drove down the two-lane blacktop, I noticed something in the opposite lane. It looked like a large rock, but not really. When animals occupy such a large portion of one’s brain, red flags go up fairly often. `Did you see that?’ I asked, already wondering at its odd shape. Kathy, on the passenger side, hadn’t gotten any better look, so we agreed to check on the way back.
After getting a small stash of seasonal goodies, we turned back to go home and whoosh! we watched the car ahead of us whiz down the lane, straddling the not-so-likely rock. Shortly after, we did the same, and I wasn’t convinced a rock had gotten in exactly that spot. So finding a safe area, I turned the car around once again.

On the return trip, I pulled alongside and rolled down my window for a better look, and my suspicions were correct – the `rock’ was a box turtle. Probably had a big idea to cross the road, and with just enough cars, became petrified to go further. Luckily, there’s not a whole lot of traffic on that road and he was smack in the middle of the lane. I pulled over.
My partner in rescue jumped out and picked up the stranded box turtle, who peeked out at her briefly before slamming his shell and plastron shut. But she’d noted which way he was headed, and walked him into the brush a good 10 feet and far enough away from danger. Hopefully, that was his direction and he continued on into the woods to his home.

One of the best feelings there is … whether the beneficiary be animal or human … is saving a life. And we both smiled a good long time after our turtle rescue. Good luck, little guy!

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