Random Acts of "Kindness"

SMOOTHIE

April 18, 2015

SMOOTHIE

I NEED to lose weight. Summer is coming — I’m planning a trip or two and I NEED to fit into the airplane seats. Now I’ll admit that I looked up my weight in my calendar books the last time I flew and THANKFULLY I’m not heavier. BUT when I’m on my feet for too long, standing at a counter or table, my back hurts. It doesn’t seem to bother me when I’ve gone for a long walk, although other body parts protest. I’ve been trying to loser weight since January without much success.

Smoothies have surfaced recently — books, magazines and lets not talk about the many commercials on TV. I decided to make a green kale, spinach, apple smoothie. I had trouble deciding what equipment to use and finally settled on my blender — its bigger. I purchased the supplies only to discover that the kale was starting to wilt. It had five days before the use by day. I was definitely disappointed but salvaged what I could.

I decided to add protein powder and spent time looking in the pantry for its hiding place. (I haven’t used it since last summer.) I found a container of mysterious powdered stuff that had been enjoyed by bugs. Thankfully they didn’t get through the lid. I don’t know how long that container had been hidden. (Some times my life is too busy and things get lost.)

Proceeding on — I cored the apple, sliced and put it into the blender. I added a scoop of protein powder. I measured the kale and spinach , added the water and turned on the blender. I WATCHED this green goo escape from the bottom of the blender and spread all over the counter and drip onto the floor. You would think that I would have turned the blender off but it took a few minutes to register what was happening.

I can truthfully tell you that I’m stubborn and didn’t let this mess stop me. I cleaned up the goo and made another batch — my family says I’m stubborn. I guess they are right.

I don’t know if I was supposed to make a smoothie — or not. Was I just supposed to find the mysterious container of powder? I made another smoothie today without the problems. Learning from my mistakes, I put the blender on a paper towel to make sure it wasn’t leaking.

Still learning, although I can sit quietly with a blank mind for a few minutes, I’m not able to imagine a guided meditation. I sit in a black space. My imagination needs a lot of work.

SHARING — I had another paragraph that I guess is private — not supposed to be shared. When I went to save the ramble — the computer locked. Retrieving the thought ramble — the paragraph is missing! Better now — saved no problem!

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

POST OFFICE

April 11, 2015

POST OFFICE

How do they communicate with you? The question took me by surprise. I answered with the first thought that popped into my head: “If I’m not paying attention, I get hit on the head.”

I was at the post office preparing to mail our monthly bills. Only two people were at the windows and I decided to wait and purchase a book of stamps. I was the first person in line. While waiting, I overheard a conversation about visiting the cemetery. The clerk went twice a year, weather permitting. The customer visited every other month, unless the weather interfered. I couldn’t help myself, I had to open my mouth. I told them that I was Catholic. We believed in life after death and their loved ones were with them if they needed to be. Hence the question and my off the cuff answer. Of course we talked about flickering lights and computer problems and other means of communication. And I ended with the statement: “I’m was here to overhear your conversation and share the good news with you!”

Some things can’t be explained. That statement summarizes my life right now. My father passed over more than 20 years ago. My mother has been on the other side a lot longer. My mother remained behind the scene so I wasn’t aware of her influence until my father’s memory began to slip. Even then I didn’t know where the help I was receiving came from but I can truthfully admit that I was extremely glad for any help given. Since my father let the cat out of the bag (so to speak) I have been learning. All lessons don’t come easily and many have to be repeated over and over and over again until they begin to sink in.

I’m still not sure that I have a complete understanding which is why I get confused OFTEN. Frequent question: WHY? HOW? WHERE? Recently a bracelet disappeared. I knew where it should have been, it slipped off my polar bear, sitting on my dresser. I watched it fall. I looked for where it should have been — it wasn’t here. Today I looked again, a week or more later and it was just where I thought it should have fallen. I just said “thank you for giving it back!” The bracelet was special to me — I found it at church on the anniversary of my maternal grandmother’s birthday. It is just a bunch of different colored beads — representing earth, water and sky on an elastic band. It gave me the idea to make Christmas presents for my girls one year.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

REPEAT

April 4, 2015

I have to admit that I don’t always understand. If I’m honest, I’d have to admit that I seldom understand. But sometimes what happens leaves me completely confused. Before I have you completely confused, let me tell you what happened.

I attended the Body Mind Spirit Expo this weekend. During the event, I learned an acquaintance was celebrating her birthday the following day. I decided to send her a copy of GRANDMOTHER, which hadn’t published yet. One thing lead to another. I remembered that a friend from school was celebrating her birthday this week too and decided to send GRANDMOTHER to her also. It would probably be lovely if I had signed up at Blue Mountain to use their cards but so far, that hasn’t happened yet.

I had been off line for a few days and my e-mail had accumulated. In the process of deleting a lot of sale ads, I noticed an e-mail from my friend. She tried to access my blog without success. Was I still writing? I have to admit that I was concerned and tried to access my blog as if I was a stranger. I had no problem — I connected immediately.

Relieved, I sent her another e-mail. As I wrote the second e-mail, GRANDMOTHER appeared AGAIN???? I don’t know how that happened or why, some of my questions are not answered. But the good news is I received another subject to write about.

I had a lovely time at the Expo although I will admit that I was very tired the first day. We had just returned from our youngest daughters and I don’t travel as well as I used too. Of course if we have been away for more than a few days, I have a lot of work to catch up on.

One of the workshops I attended concerned using essential oils on animals. The presenter was very good and I came away with a lot of information that might help us with Robin. The presenter told me that Robin was a Diva. I can truthfully report that that information didn’t surprise me. When I told her that I thought Robin was a service dog, she replied that Robin senses the change in energy.

Robin sensed the change in the atmosphere today. The wind was blowing, freezing rain and snow. Her appetite was gone. She didn’t want to eat. I don’t know if she was frightened or stressed. She was very alert. Someday I might pay more attention to the weather and hold off breakfast or supper until the system passes. I didn’t think of using an essential oil to help. Maybe I will next time. Although we have had many dogs, Robin is definitely unique.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

GRANDMOTHER

March 28, 2015

More than 20 years ago — although struggling with dementia, my father was still alive, — and I was stressed. I listened to various recordings hoping to help with the stress of my world. While at work, I listened to this tape, and I remember thinking “I’m in trouble now.” I don’t remember the title — my guess is Grandmother’s Wisdom. I don’t remember the words but I remember the theme. A grandmother’s responsibility is to use her wisdom to help the next generation regardless of the relationship. It is her job to use her knowledge to help the children of the world. And since I was a grandmother, I was able to relate to the subject matter. Evidently I have ingested those words and made it a part of my life. I don’t stand on ceremony when I see something wrong — I interact with children everywhere.

Since this has become part of my life, we were in the right place, at the right time to help a little one with a problem. Four men and three girls were having breakfast at the restaurant. The men, if not grandfathers, were close to that age. The girls were little, my guess two — six. I planned to go to the bathroom when I noticed only coats occupied the chairs were the girls were sitting. Since the bathroom isn’t large, I decided to wait until they came back out. I didn’t have long to wait when two of the older girls came back to talk to the Dad, then they disappeared back into the bathroom. When this occurred two more times, I overheard the Dad say: “I can’t go in there. I’m not a girl.”

Grandmother to the rescue. I said “I’m a girl” and asked if I should try to help. (I didn’t want to barge in without permission.) In the bathroom, I asked the youngest girl if I could help her and when she tearfully nodded her head, I learned what the problem was. Her underwear was stained. I don’t know if it just happened or if she just discovered it, but she didn’t want to wear it anymore. “No problem — lets take it off.” Which meant, taking off her boots, skirt, leotards and her panties. Then putting the clothing back on. I told her we would wrap her panties up in a towel and give it to her father to take home. Problem solved. Luckily, her leotards also had panties. She didn’t have to go commando. Okay — I put her boots on the wrong feet and I put her skirt on backwards but both were easily fixed. I also cautioned the older girls who were teasing the younger one that they could easily have the same problem some time. They should have helped her, rather than laughed at her. And I remembered the tape that I listened to so many years ago — grandmother to the world.

I was recently at our accountants office, dropping off the information for income tax. He asked me where I got the ideas to write about. I mentioned that I have “friends in high places” who want me to write. They often provide me with the subject matter, and when I’m paying attention, I have a new blog.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

SACRED SPACE CONTINUED

March 21, 2015

Our son has a beautiful car, but it is not designed for snow and ice. He planned to take the car out Saturday — he got as far as the alley behind our house where he hit a patch of ice. Tires spun, no traction. We were still home — my husband was able to HELP — push the car back into the garage. We offered him our car but our son decided not to make the trip.

Because of the frigid temperatures, Robin hasn’t been getting her long walks and her sleeping through the night has been affected. Sadly when I wake up, I have trouble getting back to sleep. Instead of seven hours of sleep I’m getting four or five and it is taking it’s toll. Although I don’t have a cold, my nose is running and I’m coughing a lot. The various sleeping aids I’ve taken haven’t really helped.

We were still home and able to go to Mass on Saturday night. We used to go to church on Sunday morning but they have changed the Mass schedule. The early Mass is too early for my husband to rise, get dressed, take his medicine and get to church on time. We’ve been going on Saturday night. It works well, sort of. When we get home, I still have to make supper. We are eating even later. I’m trying to come up with dishes that will cook while we are gone.

We were at Mass for the first weekend celebration of Lent. In order to highlight the season, it was decided to limit the music to voice only — no piano or organ. The musical director assembled a choir and they sang from the balcony. They had beautiful voices but without music to announce the beginning of a song — the congregation could not participate. They didn’t have a printed song sheet — the music numbers were in the bulletin without the name of the songs. The cantor who had been in front for the beginning of Mass, went up to the loft. I have to admit that I like to sing, and missed joining in. I tried for the second song but that was not the song listed. I’ll admit that I gave up. I didn’t bother trying to join in on melodies we had rehearsed before Mass. It is said, that when you sing, you involve your whole body in the song. My body was definitely left out. I might have stayed calm except they sang a spiritual that I would have enjoyed singing. My dander began to rise. It reminded me of the Masses we used to have when I was still in school — the congregation DID NOT PARTICIPATE in the service. I decided that my concern needed to be shared. I found a friend who could pass my concern on to the pastor. Then I decided to tell him myself. He understood and had a few concerns of his own. He suggested that I talk to the music director. I didn’t think I would be able to do that — BUT I HAVE “FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES”. I saw the music director pass my line of vision and took advantage of the opportunity. Then I found our pastor, and told him I had shared my concern.

And it isn’t even the anniversary of my father’s birthday yet. Even though the temperature is still in the single digits, the roads will be dry. We hope to travel to our daughters on his birthday.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

SACRED SPACE

March 14, 2015

SACRED SPACE

Its not like I forgot — the date just slipped my mind. I knew my father’s birthday was on the horizon. I momentarily forgot that the date of his passing was also near. My father passed over one month after the anniversary of my mother’s passing. I joked she called him home because he was having too much fun flirting with the nurses. He passed over four days before his 85th birthday — we are in SACRED SPACE.

The presence of “my friends in high places” is often felt more on anniversary’s, birthdays and holidays. Now I’m not suggesting that those are the only times when I sense their help — far from it. Any day, hour or minute is a prime time to “help” me and I’m grateful for their help — most of the time. I don’t appreciate being hit on the head.

We planned to be at our daughter’s in Central Illinois, to help her while her husband was out of town. I packed clothes to stay for seven days. My daughter and I talked about food — my husband is PICKY. That never was an extreme issue until his diabetes got in my face when he suffered a low sugar attack. I prefer to not have that happen again. Okay — I’ll admit it happened at home, I did the cooking. But often my husband doesn’t care for the food my daughter makes, she puts whole pieces of tomatoes and red peppers in her chili. When we are only there for a couple of days, it is not a problem. A full week on the other hand is more of a concern.

My bags were packed, the food for the trip organized — I was ready to go. Then GOD LAUGHED. He took our car away for four days. When we finally got it back, a snow storm was on the horizon. Travelling to our daughters exposes us to many miles of windswept highway. Then the temperatures tanked. Then I learned that the outside temperature downstate was as cold as at our house. Then I learned that while the first floor in our house cools considerably, our daughters first floor, because of the high ceiling becomes frigid. Even though I wear thermals and heavier clothing, I don’t do well with frigid. Trip postponed AGAIN!

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

HEADS UP

March 7, 2015

Each morning I start the day by opening the Bible. Most of the time I open to the Old Testament — Isaiah, Sirach or Jeremiah –sometimes the Psalms or The Song of Songs. I rarely open to the New Testament. Depending on the day, month of the year and what is going on in my life or the world, the books and verses are varied. Over the years, I have learned to pay attention when I randomly open to Job or to Daniel — the story of the furnace. I DON’T LIKE seeing either of these readings. They usually mean that trouble is brewing.

Recently I opened the bible to the furnace on two separate occasions. The first time the men were singing praises to God and I thought the problem that was referred to might have been solved. Sadly, we have had trouble with our car -an oil leak — expensive to fix. The next time I opened the Bible to the furnace, the men were walking among the flames. The engine light came on in our car and a broken motor mount was discovered. Our garage had trouble getting the part — our car was in their garage for the snow storm. My husband took the car for its emission test and it passed. Then the yellow engine light came back on. There is a problem with the engine — what is wrong and how expensive it will be to fix remains to be seen. The car is at the garage and they are working on it. We had planned to go to our youngest daughter’s in Central Illinois. The temperature this week is the coldest this year, in fact it might even break records. It looks like we will be postponing our travel until the weather breaks.

We bought our car when my husband retired, many years ago. It has over a hundred thousand miles on the engine. Since we would like to keep it for many more years, we change the oil regularly. Our camper is over a hundred miles from our house, our grandchildren are further down the road in a different direction. It is important that we have a car that is comfortable and dependable.

Last week, I opened the Bible to the preface for the New Testament. When I opened the Bible to the introduction of the New Testament the following day — I wondered if that means the trouble with our car has ended. I really won’t mind.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

LOOKING BACK

February 28, 2015

LOOKING BACK

Time passes so quickly — minuets, hours, days, months, years quickly pass. Sometimes we notice the passage of time, especially when a birthday occurs and we notice we have added another year to our age. My last birthday a friend mentioned that I would notice the passage of time, and she was right.

Driving to meet my friend the other day, I watched a person on cross country skies in a park, gliding through the snow. It brought back wonderful memories. What I didn’t want to remember was my age at the time — my mantra for that year was “life begins at forty.” I still have my skies, but I don’t know if I would have the courage to put them on. My body isn’t as flexible as it was then and my weight is up. I don’t look forward to putting on skies to play in the snow. To be honest, I don’t look forward to snow either.

Looking back I remember other activities that have fallen by the wayside. I used to paint in oils. I haven’t had them out in years but they are waiting for me. I have tried watercolor — not as successfully and acrylics. I haven’t invested the time needed to become proficient — of course unless the paintings were good enough to sell, I don’t have wall space to display them.

Looking back — I was also involved in storytelling. I was a member of a guild and regularly attended storytelling events. Although I still tell stories to people who cross my path that need them, I don’t see myself becoming a professional storyteller. Because of that realization, I have parted with many of the books of fables and stories that I had hoped to use. The stories I tell are personal, they travel with me — I keep them in my pocket — always available.

Looking back — I have two sewing machines that were often in motion. I haven’t had the desire to sew anything in a few years but I’m not ready to say I have stopped. I haven’t had either my knitting needles or crochet hook out either. I still have yarn but haven’t seen anything that has inspired me.

If I’m honest, I have to admit that more has changed in my body than just age, and my flexibility and weight. My fingers don’t have the ability to work with small items, my eyes need stronger glasses and more light. When I start counting the negative changes that age and extra weight have caused in my life, I either see a person whose body is giving them more challenges than mine — cane, wheelchair or motorized scooter or a story of someone’s health challenges crosses my path. Often, that person is much younger than myself.

Time passes so quickly — it will soon be the anniversary of my father’s birthday and his passing. More than 20 years have gone by and thankfully he and others on the other side are still a part of my life.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

ARCHIEVE

February 21, 2015

There is a saying that curiosity killed the cat — but I’m not a cat. I wondered what my weight was when I last went to Hawaii. I wondered how long I was able to keep my weight off the last time I was successful. I wondered what my body thought my set weight is. I wondered how much weight I had lost. I wasn’t happy with the numbers.

The last time I went to Hawaii, my weight was were it is right now. That isn’t a bad thing, I fit in the plane seat then. But it isn’t were I want to be. My back was hurting when I spent too much time on my feet baking cookies this Christmas. Looking back at my calendars, I learned that my set weight is were it is right now. Again, that is not what I want. I wondered why I wasn’t able to keep my weight down after I had lost 10 pounds and learned that I had fallen into a deep depression.

So the question is what am I going to do with this knowledge. Some of the information explains why I’m not losing weight right now. I have to get out of the muck, sleep better and get some energy. The strength exercises are helping my sore arm. I’m not slathering it with as much cream — I’m not taking as much pain medicine. I might be getting some strength back in my arm but I have to admit that I’m not testing it.

I decided that I needed to amp up my exercise — then I pulled something in my right leg. It is not too much of a problem when I’m awake, but when I try to sleep it makes its presence known. My favorite positions are now uncomfortable. I’m trying not to make the problem worse which means that I have scaled back my exercise.

I’ll admit that I haven’t gone back to the diet that was so successful last year. I don’t want to give up some of the food that wasn’t allowed. I’m also making more meals that all my family will eat — not cooking separate meals just for me. The bad news is this idea isn’t helping me to lose weight. There will be four birthday celebrations over the next month. The celebrations are always hard for my weight management. I’m not giving up yet, but I haven’t come up with a good solution either.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

MUCK

February 14, 2015

MUCK

Gooey, slippery, smothering — muck. It is hard to get out of it — it grabs hold and doesn’t let go. Sometimes there is a reason for it. Rain causes the ground to become a muddy mess. That wasn’t the kind of muck I was stuck in. AND THERE WAS NO REASON FOR IT. I had been trying to lose weight — unsuccessfully. The weather, although moderate wasn’t to blame. No snow — temperatures above zero — I was able to get out of the house, safely take Robin for a walk. Thankfully no serious health problems or money problems. Okay, not enough money to go on a shopping spree but again, thankfully, no bill collectors calling on the phone.

Grey skies or if you prefer gray skies — the good news — kept the temperature up — I tried to convince myself to be happy for the blanket — warmer weather. I missed the sun, the blue skies. I exercised — I even added strength training. I tried meditating — no progress.

To make matters worse, my memory took a vacation. I’m usually good at writing checks, remembering to pay bills. The muck affected my ability to think. I won’t bore you with some of my mistakes, hopefully it isn’t long lasting. Our car needed a repair and I miswrote the check not once but two times. I went to the bank the same day — that was definitely a mistake. Thankfully the clerk was very helpful. I thought my forgetfulness was past until I totally screwed up when it came to filing our paperwork to save money on our taxes. Thankfully I discovered my mistake in time and was able to get the paperwork downtown before the file date.

Depression? Winter Blues? I don’t have a clue. I don’t have any energy — I have the time to make some progress on our house but no desire to do anything. I wandered to the store on Saturday — I met a member of our church. She shared the news that a parishioner had gone into the hospital for surgery and something went wrong, she had just attended his funeral. We should be glad we are still here. And I am — I just want to get out of the muck. The week before, at the store again, a woman ahead of me confided that the calorie count for exercise on the program I’m using to try to lose weight is high. And I thought that allowed me to eat a few more calories. WRONG!

Still trying, but some results would be nice.

Category:

Uncategorized

Leave a comment

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud