Stream of Consciousness Saturday, What Day Is It, Anyway? A2Z-P

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “practice/practise.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Practice makes perfect. I used to believe that. I practiced my heart out and became a less than mediocre pianist. Not only have I practiced piano until bloody, but I have also written novels until I am crazy. I admit I am not a natural talent in either art. I do have talents, but I can’t do those things anymore for various reasons. The passions are there.

That said, maybe I have been too hard on myself. There is still hope, and I need to lower my expectations for a while. Aiming for perfection during a pandemic seems a lot more stress than I need to put out there. So if I want to hit 50K, I am going to extend my goal through next month. I will write every day as much as I can. But I can’t handle the stress. Writing Pandamapocalyps helps express and explore thoughts on the virus and letting my imagination play with it. But I need to keep it fun as a stress reliever. That way, I can play with the Pandas.

By the way, my word count is at 27,047. I’ve had the laptop in my lap all day. I barely made over a thousand words more. But as I left yWriter, I was having fun in the story, so I can’t quit. I just want a little less stress. I miss knitting! I need more of that in my life.

So that is my #A2Z version of the #SoCS and CampNaNo report.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday –Wire

Per Linda:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “wire.” Use “wire” as a noun or a verb or any way you’d like. Enjoy!

More slipper socks finished. Yay!

And the snow is falling. About an inch in an hour. Here’s the latest of my porch banister that was just wet and brown an hour ago:

(revised edit: two inches now at the finish of the blog)

That is the peaceful scene I wished for in December or January. Here we are early spring and I wanted to start getting out for walks. But I guess it is helping all of us stay inside and meditate our lives.

You know at any moment we all could have died. Let’s say by accident or gunshot or our own stupidity. I guess the risk-takers would have been more prone to death than those who live from a cautious point of view. It’s all according to how we are wired.

Heck, we have enough coyote-to-roadrunner ratio here that we could have been hit by:

Pixabay.com

The loss of life from any or all those incidences are devastating. Yet, they happen every day, bar the anvil. We try to protect ourselves as best we can from any of these, yet our thoughts don’t stray to or remain on the what-ifs.

Our new shared reality is built of constant worry on top of the regular worries of paying bills and surviving winter.

Some of us are wired to be gregarious. We must be around people at all times. Others of us are more of quiet wiring. Many taught to greet with a hug or handshake are shaken to bows or not even meeting people. Besides, who has toilet paper these days? You don’t want to shake that hand!

This is a time for the introverts to enjoy not feeling guilty for staying home, enjoying our own company. This is a time to reflect on how death has always been just around the corner. But facing that it may or may not be your own is hard to grab onto.

We came into this thinking it one more hoax, one more conspiracy. A joke. But even if so, life has come to a halt. Many I know are finding people they know have the virus. Many have it that can’t be tested. It is fear upon fear.

It is like we just opened a new book and we find ourselves in The Walking Dead or something like it. Panic is our worst enemy. Take a lesson from the disaster movies. Stay put and use your time to ponder.

I am finding it hard to listen to the constant fears of others. I’m 70 after all! I have lived a wonderful life. I have a great extended family and fantastic friends. I would hate, at any point in my life to have lost any of them.

At the same time, I have been the young mother as my young children romped about me. I chose not to take my children to see grandparents if any of us were even the slightest bit ill. So I don’t believe in my heart I cause their demise. Yet, at my age, I have lost many I have loved. This is something you never get used to. I assume if it happens on a large scale the loss will be overwhelming. Let’s hope that that doesn’t happen.

Meanwhile, what if we only have a few days to be alive? A few days to enjoy the amount of health we do have? Why spend our last moments worrying. Outside of proper precaution, what more can we do? I’m not saying ‘eat, drink, and be merry,’ I’m saying love your people. Spend as much time as you can by connecting in the ways earlier pandemics didn’t have: Skype, FaceTime, google chat. Talk on the phone if you can handle it. Write out your thoughts, email. If you are so inclined: write letters. I don’t know if sending the letters is advisable as others will have to touch and handle the mail to their detriment. But once this passes, and it will pass, there will be ways to reach out or remember each other.

I do believe we are wired to LOVE.

Pixabay.com

 

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Oh

Well, here we are again. Another Saturday down the stream. Here is the prompt from Linda G. Hill:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “oh.” Use it as a word or find a word that starts with “oh.” Bonus points if you start and end with “oh.” Enjoy!

 

Oh, I am so tired! The wind woke me around 2:30 (I had only closed the book I was reading at 2). The wind was so strong I was sure we would find ourselves in Kansas or Ohio! Off to the living room I stumbled. I just didn’t want to wake my spouse with my flipping and flopping of awakeness.

Oh, did I mention I won a GoodReads Giveaway? I received this book a couple days ago. It is called Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chödrön.

Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World by Pema Chödrön

View all my reviews

 

As many of you may know reading a paper book is hard on my eyes. But here in the middle of the night, while trying to be quiet, this seemed to hit the spot. I only read two pages but I think I am going to like this book. Here’s to a couple more sleepless nights so I can indulge my spirit in my philosophy.

Speaking of how long it takes to read a tree-book. I have been reading Acorna’s People since August 16, 2018. I’m nearly finished. Still, I don’t give up. Just plug away as I can.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I didn’t finish the yellow sock. I did start another brown wool sock and an orange hat. I need to finish it before Monday’s meeting. No prob.

Oh, and another thing to talk about is our latest binge. Joey, my blogging friend, suggested Blacklist. We are on the second season and can’t stop! James Spader is fantastic!

My stream is running down now. Aren’t you glad? It’s messy in that mind! My, my! Oh!…

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Ground

Per Linda:  Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ground.” Use it as a noun or a verb in any tense (i.e. grind). Have fun!

I made the most delicious potato soup last night. It was only after I went to bed that I realized that Grandma’s soup always had pepper in it. Mine didn’t. I don’t often add pepper to foods. I’m more of a salt freak. But today a friend and I were talking about how wonderful a good grinder was for that ground pepper. The bigger the peppercorn the nicer the food tastes, don’t you think?

When that conversation ground its way into the ground, I thought about my Himalayan salt and sea salt in the grinders. Is it just me or is that kind of salt far better tasting than the stuff in salt shakers? Plain old sodium chloride is far too salty and doesn’t help the food at all.

And isn’t the process of grinding said pepper or salt just ever so satisfying?

Okay, enough of the grinding of gears. I think this is grounds to end this spicy conversation, save the bump and grind. Had to get that in there. Happy weekend, everyone!

Image by qfilm from Pixabay

Sorry, I forgot to pingback. Hope it works.

 

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday

WHERE does the lightning strike? It is wonderful to sit here safe in my home and watch the lightning show. It is scary, too. This storm doesn’t seem to have any rain. In the Oregon desert that is something to fear. Dry weeds and mountain to mountain sagebrush. I can see where it strikes. But tonight there is very little thunder to gauge the distance.

 

Just as I wrote the above paragraph it started to rain and there was a strong enough thunder to shake the walls of the house!

Image by Jan-Mallander pixabay.com

As I continue writing I am finding myself pulled into a peacefulness. The sounds of the rain on the roof. The smell of ozone and alfalfa fields intoxicating. The fear of fire diminishes with the downpour.

So where does the lightning strike? Where?

 

Thank you, Linda G. Hill for Stream of Consciousness Saturday!

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday-Instructions

The above double toy (finished today), from following instructions Denise of Loomahat.com on this YouTube tutorial:

Though I like making the blanket and getting better at it, I don’t like sewing on the bits and pieces. I think they are cute and I think someone will find comfort in this toy, I need a break. And I bet you guys need something else to look at here.

But I had to share the toy because of the prompt for today’s challenge of the Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Thank you Linda G. Hill for the fun prompts!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday 20190309

Abashed

There is something In this world that can leave the averaged person abashed. Yep, the blue screen of death. When it appears on your computer screen. But I have a hero in my house. My own personal IT guy. Yep. My husband is the best! Though I’m still using my tablet, it is only because he’s running all the utilities (because I’m horrible at doing that.)

I started the morning feeling sad about my poor machine. I watched season three of Game of Thrones. I finished another hat like the last one. I don’t think you’ll be able to tell the difference. But here’s the proof.

And in case you think this is old news, it’s snowing.

Ever feel you’re in a timey-wimey glitchy thingy? Me, too. Don’t forget your clocks tonight.

Thank you, Linda, for the Stream of Consciousness challenge!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday–Inter

Since the prompt of the day is any word that starts with inter-  and I wanted to share my newest interknitted interests.

I think this one looks like a pixie or a brownie or something from Peter Pan. The green eyelash yarn interknitted with the brown makes it look like punk hair or pixie hair!

I still have a few projects that take a lot of time going on interspersing harder looming with easier looming so as to keep my hands from hurting. So I am still working on the sock that you’ve seen before, and a baby hat that is double interknitted. Another doll needs stuffing and sewn together.

If only there weren’t so many interruptions that make me interact!

Oh, and let me interject the person who caused this verbal intercourse: Linda G Hill!

🙂

#A to Z Challenge–Y #SoCS on Sunday ;-)

Well, the prompt word for #Stream of Consciousness Saturday was Yard. Yeah, I’m a day late. I was too tired to think about our yard. Even though it was sort of warm, finally, it was too windy and I was too tired to do much more than stand there as Kali did her OUTSIDE thing.

Did I mention I was tired? Yeah. Went to bed before I had the chance to write the blog. Oops! Didn’t wake up early either. Still kind of tired.

Wish there was a magical person with a magical lawnmower to mow that green stuff that is near the house. That might create a yard. Then another magical person to knock down most of the foxtails and other yellow stuff before the fire season starts. Yeah, that’s the day after the freezing temps it will be 110 in the shade–Oooo–grumpy, too!

So, you can see, maybe why I wasn’t into this prompt. Broken hubby, bro working 6 days a week, me on the tail end of fibro-flare facing the word, YARD. Even if it weren’t the prompt word of the day it looms over me with a vengeance.

Maybe I could have enjoyed the thought that a yard is really 3 feet! Broken down even smaller is 36 inches. I tried this last year. I’d go out and work on the “yard” a postage size part of the ground at a time. Never got past the front porch and the back porch before the heat robbed me of energy and fibro killed me. But the postage stamp places still look better a year later, so I say if a yard is as good as a mile, an inch is as good as a mile. And didn’t I move here for the sky anyway?

ANYWAY…

This is my contribution to the #AtoZChallenge a day late and many dollars short.

#SoCS and #atozchallenge

If you want to know and possibly participate in this challenge go HERE. This is my first time so I am not quite sure what I’m doing. I just like having prompts to get the blogging done. We are supposed to keep this short but this may be long as I am also doing the:

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to us by Linda G Hill. Click her name to see how this works. It does help get the writing chops working.

So following both prompts here is today’s blog:

As it Applies: Anxiety, Adventure, Aches, and pains.

 

Thursday morning after a night of no sleep, I rarely sleep well when I know I have to get up early for something important, I got up and talked Kali into her vest, harness, and leash. I told her that today would be an adventure. She was pretty excited about wearing the vest because the last few times she got to go on walks.

When you think of doing something for the first time, you picture it how you think it will be. I pictured one of the bins we take to hold our groceries for a dog bed to sit next to me. Instead, I put her blanket next to me. Hubby took the bin up in the seat with him.

For my tailbone issue, I brought the

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EBDV9BU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  

I found it more helpful to turn it upside down with the little grippy side up as it made it more firm. It did help the bumpy parts of the road not hurt quite so much but it still hurt my back and neck. But maybe turning to make sure Kali was okay, or holding her on my lap made it worse?

By the time we got to our first stop we had been in the bus for an hour. Kali and I were both feeling car sick. Not enough to make messes but just yuckie, ya know? Most folks get out of the bus and get breakfast. I don’t like most breakfast foods so I pick up Pringles. The tea and coffee are always too hot for me so I just picked up a diet Dr, Pepper. These help settle my tummy.

I felt naked as I walked Kali around the store. I don’t know why. She was very good. Heeled just where she should. No one said anything about her and there were many employees around that could have said something. So I gave Hubby my purchases and took Kali back out for a walk. The next get out was another half hour away.

A couple chips and swigs of pop and my tummy sorted itself out. While everyone was eating their breakfasts I tried to give Kali a drink of water and her food. She refused.

Once in the big town we dropped people off at their appointments. Hubby asked if I wanted to come with him but I felt funny about it. I told him we would stay on the bus.

Bad news? Hubby will need to have surgery on that shoulder. Apparently there was another chip on the top of the rotator so, yeah–not just one chip on his shoulder. LOL! Still, this is going to get more complicated and painful before it gets better.

I didn’t even get out at the dollar store. There are things I need that I should have checked to see if they had but I still didn’t feel up to it. And those stores are always crowded, even without people in them.

Most every stop I took Kali out for a walk. The weather changed in that short time, EVERY time! Cloudy, sunny, raining, windy. Windy was when I aimed us back to the bus. It was the first time I’ve ever taken bags to clean up after her. On our walks in the countryside there is no need. It’s all dirt. So this was a newness for me. No biggie, just needed to be more aware.

Even at Wally World I didn’t take her in the store. I just couldn’t handle –something. Too many people? Worrying about her? I don’t know. So broken shouldered Hubby had to do the shopping. We couldn’t afford much so it didn’t take long.

Meanwhile, it was fun on the bus. Everyone has stories to tell. We laugh freely. Our driver is such a wonderful person. Always cheerful and helpful to everyone on the bus. She has that kindness that is rare. I love being on her bus. It’s just the ride itself that kills me and makes me carsick. Think about the wealth of experiences all these seniors have. There is so much to learn from everyone. And there aren’t that many people. It’s a small bus so it’s most comfortable with fewer than 6 people because of how full it gets after everyone goes shopping.

All the people loved Kali and though they spoke to her and even offered her treats, they were respectful of her job and didn’t overwhelm us. In fact, after not eating all day, one of the ladies gave her a treat that she actually liked.

At the end of the day, we dropped people off at their homes. That was the bad part for me. Each house had a dog that runs up to say hi to the folks on the bus. Kali claimed the bus. I think she was protecting me. But I tightened her leash and put her on the other side of me with a NO. I still said hello to the visiting pups while holding Kali off. Maybe I should have given her a chance but I just didn’t want that kind of behavior.

When we got home Kali was SO excited she ran from room to room and doing that crazy jumping running thing dogs do when they are happy. I took off her vests and she did that shake it off thing. She was a very happy puppy then.

But I have had 3 days of exhaustion and pain from doing very little. I don’t understand it.