That’s how today has gone. Fast! When days like today happen, I remember when my kids were young. I remember being so busy the whole day and when my then husband got home the house was a mess and I was exhausted yet it looked like I didn’t do anything at all. I learned a little trick. Rather than write a list of tasks I wanted to achieve, I would list what I actually did. That made me feel so much better.
In fact, I think this blog is a bit like that for me. It is a way to help me not think that life has just passed by while I just lived it. You know what I mean? And it does help. If I want to know when the last snow happened, when the last pair of socks finished, what was I doing last year this date, I look it up here and say to myself, “See! I did do something.” ” Oh look it snowed bundles more last year,” etc.
So, I don’t have writing numbers for today as I haven’t written yet today. With yesterdays numbers I have Pandamapocalypse just 1,001 added. Marina’s Mission 5,360. As soon as I have this blog published I will go spend the time to make about 500 on Panda and 1,667 on Marina.
I did run through the Prelude from yesterday, not nearly as well. I think the light was worse for me at that time of day. Then I played a few bars of
No, I didn’t play it one handed. I have in the past but right now I just want to make music. Lesson learned, do piano things earlier in the day while the piano is in the living room. When we move it, it will be lighter longer as it will get a southern exposure.
I did play with the recorder a bit. I will be using this YouTube to help for a bit.
Then when I just wanted to make the music I went to practice on this website.
Then I did a little playing by ear just to work on breath control and moving stiff fingers.
Speaking of stiff fingers I did a few rows on the newest pair of charity slipper socks. Working on ankles then cuffs, yay!
Now it is close to midnight and I have some stories to write before bed.
Busy day. The muses have given me a workout. I’m not done even now. But I thought I should report how amazing these Muses are.
First of the day I sat an played a couple songs by ear on my soprano recorder I did find a wonderful webpage to help me until I can get a few books. From that website I learned to play Lightly Row. That was fun.
I ran to my piano and played Prelude. Why yes, that is a sticker (just above the Allegro) that I tried to rip off the page as I am embarrassed that I learned to play this way back when I was a teen or less. Now at 71 that sticker makes me want to cry. I learned so much from Mrs. Skinner. The first teacher out of church that I knew most of my early life.
I found the playing fun and I got up immediately so that I could remember music as fun.
I went back to the recorder for one more play-through and then looked up YouTubes. I ran across Kalimba lessons.
Hey! I have a Kalimba! So now I am on a kick to learn Kalimba, too.
Why all this musical attentions? Mrs. Skinner. I remember when I hated piano. Never Mrs. Skinner. But she told me not to play the piano for a while. She gave me her ukulele to go home and play with. She had a tuning whistle and a book. When I got pretty good at that she made sure I had piano music for voice and let me learn to sing to my playing.
So I am playing with music again to start to love it. Again. And the recorder, I hope will increase my breath control.
Oh! I nearly forgot, I spent time on my next page on the Dragon Coloring Book.
Now to get back to what I haven’t finished for the night. My JuNoWriMo projects. So far I have (not counting todays) 827 words added to Pandamapocalypse and 3594 added to Marina’s Mission.
Now to get back to work as the story is coming around!
Yep, I’m at it again! JuNoWriMo. I didn’t finish, or even do much with last months editing. So I am combining the editing and rewriting that needs to happen to finish Pandamapocalypse. But a new book was calling to me so I have started on Marina’s Mission. So my count for Panda is 510 words added as the story still hasn’t finished. Yet MM is the second part of Panda. So this is going to get complicated. Even so I managed 1870 words. Yeah!
I have complained that we get no spring or fall here. But this year the weather has been more of a springy feeling. I love my mesquite bushes just outside. They blossomed up and became nearly yellow with all the flowers. I finally got out to take a couple pictures.
Can you see the pods? Those are what makes the mesquite the most fun. In the summer when the pods turn brown they start popping open. If you are lucky, as you stand an look at these huge bushes, the sound of popping corn happens. It is so much fun to stand and hear a bush make noise!
It wasn’t really quiet as I took the pictures. There were so many bees that the buzz made me very nervous. I got away as soon as I could.
My newest socks are coming along.
The practice on the recorder was slight but I did manage to finger out Mary Had A Little Lamb, and Twinkle Twinkle. But I would love a book to read the music as I go. Tomorrow I promised myself to play one song on the piano just to reconnect.
For those that are curious as to how the Intermittent Fasting/Keto are doing. I’m managing OMAD (One Meal A Day) and that is a very healthy meal. I am rarely hungry later and if so water or tea will do the trick. My pants are getting loose enough to pull down without unsnapping or unzipping. I don’t weigh myself but at the end of the month I have a doctor’s appointment where I know they will weigh me. I think I will be happy with the result.
Today has been the warmest day all year. I think we hit 92. It is suppose to cool off the rest of the week. I think this was to help us get used to what is coming. Fans were running in every room all day.
Midnight is creeping up so I best get this published and head off to bed.
Have you ever had a thing call you to do a something and suddenly you are doing it? No, keep it clean, you all! My music shelf needed sorting. My memory of singing in the truck last week finding I needed more air. Two things crashed. If I started playing the recorder again, I might make my breath stronger. I have recorder teaching books. At least that was the stream of thoughts. But straightening all those books, no recorder books. Darn! I did find my nice soprano recorder in my piano bench. There’s a plus.
Then I decided to try and find an app to teach myself recorder. I don’t like the app at all. I spent two hours tapping our rests and whole notes on just the key of B and A. My fingers are hurting and I need more movement than just those two notes. I can’t imagine anyone liking that kind of lesson. I think I will go look for books on Amazon when I get paid. Meanwhile, I’ll just play around and see if I can keep the notes sounding pure and not squeaking.
I think I am getting a music bug again. I miss it. And I miss coloring. And I miss writing. Well, JuNoWriMo is calling but I need to finish the old book before starting the new–or do I? What if I start something completely new?
Well, that is how my Sunday went. Muses are crashing into each other trying to get to me. I’m loving it!
I’m tired. I had an appointment at 11:30 in La Pine. That’s an hour and a half away. So I set my alarm for 8:30. Kali had a different thought. She was waking me every few minutes from 6 o’clock on. I went to bed early, 12:30, just to make sure I’d get my 8 hours. Yeah. That happened.
I chose to do the trip alone. It had been a long time since I got the chance to sing with Barbra Streisand. Alone. Babs and I had a great time. Hardly noticed the pain of roads that needed work and the jarring of my back. What I noticed is that she can hold a note far longer than she used to. Okay, I realize it is quite the reverse. I can use more work on my breath. I need to sing more. Period.
When I got to the clinic, I called as requested to let them know I was in the parking lot. I felt pretty good as I was there a good 15 minutes early. They said they were horribly embarrassed as they didn’t know when they set up the appointment that this Monday, and it NEVER happens, but the doctor is actually in Bend. Well, Barbra didn’t mind my caterwauling, we could go another half hour. That worked for them, and they were overly apologetic and planned to rearrange appointments and lunches to fit me in if I’d do the drive. Google driving instructions got me to the office.
I watched the procedure. I find medical things like stitches, shots, and the like fascinating. One of my spots on my arm, I could watch the whole thing. It was cancer blah, blah, blah in situ. That calls for a cryo– oh, here is the definition:
Cryotherapy. Cryotherapy, or cryosurgery, is a freezing technique used to remove sunspots and some superficial BCCs. The doctor, usually a dermatologist, sprays liquid nitrogen onto the sunspot or skin cancer and a small area of skin around it. This causes a burning or stinging sensation, which lasts a few minutes.
But honestly, this is how I saw it: The doctor deadened the spot with a couple pokes. Then he took a woodburning tool and burned the bad skin off. A swipe and cleaning then once more burning the cancer skin. Then clean and a tiny Band-Aid. I had another in the middle of my back, but, of course, I couldn’t watch it. It was all done far before I finished the paperwork. The deadening needle vaguely hurt, and it did its job fast.
Now, at home, having had a nap, I’m feeling great. What a fun day for me, lf, and I, with Ms. Streisand. When I go to these two towns with my husband, brother, or son, I usually chose the music we can agree on. Babs doesn’t get the respect she needs from the males in my house!
A thought struck me as I skipped this song, what happened to Yentl when she went to America. Wouldn’t you love to see part 2?
Oh how I hate how block wants to come in and mess up everything I worked on. If you see the mismatched paragraphs and words cut off, blame block! UGH! Trying to post this the third time and whatever it is stays!
According to my goal I am to write something that reflects what I did for CampNaNo. The editing is hard to quantify I worked on twenty pages. I added no words. Yet when I copied and pasted the number of pages I worked on to a blank sheet it said I had 2,041 words that I wandered and did edits to some.
And on another note, I am trying to get back into taking my daily walks. Today I walked .86 whatever that amounts to. I think it might be over 3/4 of a mile? That’s what the app told me. So that is now added as part of my 16/8 keto-ish/fast-ish eating/not eating program. I’m still learning, adjusting as I learn. Adding the walking makes Kali happy. She wants me to run, but not yet, sweetie!
Anyone watching American Gods? I read it a few years ago. I remember being quite lost as I read but it all came together in the end. I am following this better, or maybe it is because I know what to expect? It isn’t even PG rated so if you are under 18 or don’t like sex or violence this might not be for you. I don’t like the violence and find the sexy parts hard to watch if my brother or son are in the room. But the overall story is pretty good.
Another goal I have in mind to integrate into April is practicing my piano or singing or both. On my walks of the last two days I have been singing with my Spotify-ed songs. So–check!
All of this while trying to get healthier through my finally decent medical insurance. All this tests and appointment after a year of sitting in the recliner awaiting the end of this darned pandemic.
Anyway, that’s all I got for A!
By the way, I don’t like practical jokes or April Fools and I love laughing and puns of all kinds. I just don’t like making fun of people in any way.
Join a lot of us as we play with the alphabetical prompts of the A to Z Challenge. Click on the blue underlined link under the big A above or this one:
In fact, I don’t know how to show this in picture form.
I spent most of the day working on my NaNo novel from November. Camp NaNo is coming up, and I either want to write more on this story or get another outlined to write. I mostly edited and got q few scenes checked. I can see there are some big picture things to get right, but I have a hard time if the grammar and spelling are messed up. So I clean the smaller messes to see the big picture. Does that make any sense? The trees are getting in the way of the forest! So If I can get most of the trees out of the way within a week, I will rearrange the forest. That will help me know where to go next.
Meanwhile, I found a station on Pandora called Classical study time or some such that plays politely in the background. Although I get irritated when I hear Claire De Lune, Moonlight Sonata, and Für Elise played repeatedly. I like them all, just need to hear other things. And since they used to be in my piano repertory, I get distracted and want to play the piano. Music for a background is always more distracting than television. Good old reruns of favorite shows can go on for hours without my getting involved. Do other musicians or music majors have this problem?
I did start a mohair hat. It is a soft pinkish-orange. When I finished the socks, I couldn’t leave the Flexee looms sitting there without something on them—another obsession.
1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list), counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!
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I didn’t have a picture nearby but the ball sits with me. That starts my stream of consciousness. Beach ball. Summer. It is still in the 80s, I’m sure at this time. The bugs will invade within the hour as they have been for the past few evenings. Ugh! The bugs make me wish for snow!
Summer used to be my favorite season. That was when I could go to the beach or pool to swim. I love being in the water. I wasn’t a beach bunny that liked to be out on the sand getting a tan. If I could I would be swimming. Diving down to the bottom. Swimming on the bottom as long as my breath would last. I even remember having tea parties on the pool floor. Just thinking all this is helping my body temperature lessen.
Walking on the sand at the beach. The delightful cool wet sand after the heated sand that seemed to release muscle aches but then started burning the soles of my feet. The water lapping up to my feet with foam and sometimes seaweed. The sand leaving from under my toes as if it were alive. The cold water nearly causing pain, definitely causing me to screech. And then I would hear the transistor radio of someone on shore my favorite summer song. I knew it was summer when I heard it.
My next to favorite song that reaffirms summer is:
Thank you for helping me cool off and remember my favorite memories of summer past. Maybe sometime we will be able to enjoy all that again. Meanwhile. memories will have to do the job.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “song.” First, find a picture–the closest one to you. Your prompt is the title and/or the lyrics of the first song that comes to mind when you look at the picture. Have fun!
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ch.” Find a word that starts with “ch” and use it as your prompt word. Bonus points if you start your post with that word. Enjoy!
Well, my first thought, if we are streaming, is:
Ch-ch-ch-changes is what we are all dealing with. Remember all the TV psychologists that were preaching about the time it takes to form a new habit? Yeah, that is where we are. Adjusting and reminding ourselves to do the things it takes to keep ourselves and others healthy. It is scary. If not personally, then for loved-ones.
I remember as my grandparents and then my mother lay in the hospitals very ill about thirty years and more ago. I wouldn’t bring my four youngsters around for fear that they might have a cold or something that would be caught by my sickly elders. There was no COVID19 then. I couldn’t bear the guilt should I through my recklessness if they would die. How could anyone not want to try and keep everyone healthy? I don’t understand the childish tantrums.
Well, I do understand the frustration. It is adjusting to the habits and changes that trying to stay healthy and hopefully not make others sick is sometimes overwhelming. It makes me have nightmares. I find myself writing a lot. Especially thinking about, what if this is the last time… What if I won’t see another friend or family member, regardless if it is me or them that go… There is not much in the way of a will, as, what do I have, anyway? Still, I think about things and realize that I wouldn’t want the things. I want my loved one. What if they get the stroke version or the toe-gunk or the having to be on ventilators. Death may not be the worst. Maybe it will be the suffering they, or I will deal with.
All the more stress is added to just getting food into the house. Remember when we could go to the store, hug friends if we meet them there. Stand and talk for hours in the vegetable section. Sure you’d have to get out of the way of other shoppers but they’d smile and just go around. Then the hardest thing was making sure you got everything on the list, because who wants to go to the store more often than once a week. For us, it was twice a month. We’d drive to the city 90 miles away to do the whole thing. With this, we do all the shopping in two little stores in a frontier town. Imagine grocery shopping at the convenience store. Not bad for picking stuff up for the weekend barbeque. But for daily meals with any healthy values it is very hard to do.
Oh, we all know how scary that march into the house and putting it all away is. And then the counting days from the last outing for 14 days. These are habits we didn’t learn. They are still not fully formed habits. Had it been so easy as to just washing our hands more, that would have been a hard new habit to squeeze into our every day. But all of the rest of this is hard for all of us. The sanest people are having problems with it. We are running for our lives, the lives of the medical folks who will be taking care of us or our loved ones. We have to keep reminding ourselves of that. The changes sometimes seem beyond our reach.
I was never a Bowie fan but here are the words to the song:
David Bowie Lyrics
“Changes”
I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
And every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that testCh-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Don’t tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Where’s your shame
You’ve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can’t trace time
Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace
I’m going through
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Oh, look out you rock ‘n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strange)
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
