We Like It Here

     While lounging in bed, the television program I was watching was about living on the planet Mars.

      I assumed my husband, who does not share my sci-fy interests, was sleeping.

     Colonizing Mars presents many challenges.  The first of those is probably the fact that it is a one way trip.  The scientist think they have figured out how to get there, but there isn't enough luggage room to take the equipment needed to come home.  Yep, there is no coming back from the Red Planet, at least not in the first few brave souls' lifetime.  I guess the Eagles' song, Hotel California, would be the new theme song for Mars.  

"Relax", said the night man.

"We are programmed to receive.

You can check-out any time you like,

But you can never leave."

     Another problem was the living quarters.  They're small, not much bigger than a walk-in closet.  They make the new "tiny home movement" homes look like mansions.  They did appear to be connected to each other via a large tube.  I guess that is for crawling over to the neighbors' pod without having to put on all the protective gear needed to go outside......without dying.....instantly.

That probably limits the community cook-outs.  

     They would need a doctor to make the decision to never again step foot on Earth, or see any family members, because if there is medical attention needed, transmission time between Mars and Earth takes twenty minutes.  That would sure take care of phone calls.  If I had to wait twenty minutes for a response from whom I was speaking to, I'd either forget what we were discussing, or who I had called in the first place.

     Then there is the problem of water.  Ya gots to have water and packing enough bottled water for the trip isn't an option.  The scientist think they have devised a way to extract water from the soil, or sand, or whatever it is up there.  This is quite a process and the yield is small.  Not only is it small, its main purpose would be for drinking, taking a shower could only happen once every two years.

     It was at that time of the program my husband said, "Forget that!"  

     Yeah, I think we'll just stay home.

     

Just When I Thought.....

     Just when I thought I had fallen into a routine, school started.

     Ms. Sassafrass is here two or three mornings a week now.  That throws the entire schedule off kilter.

     I really don't mind, she is a lot of fun.  It amazes me how much she has changed in a few months time.  Last school year I needed to start lunch at 11:30 just to get her to school, pre-K, on time by 12:20.  Now she can wolf down her lunch in less than ten minutes.

     She's only four years old.  I thought about way back in the day, when I was only four, school was the furthest thing from my mind.

     Mother and Dad moved to town when I was two.  Lela was already in high school and Blanche was soon to follow.  I don't remember when Mother went to work, maybe she worked when I was that age, but I do remember my sitter.

     She was an old lady and her name was Lavice, pronounced with a long i and a long e at the end.  Being a late in life child and having no living grandparents, I called her Gramma.

     She was devoutly religious, but not of the same congregation we attended,  and I can remember having religious doctrine arguments with her when I was still very young.  I'm not sure where that came from, Mother took me to church, but not near as regularly as Lavice.  Perhaps I still remembered from whence I had come and thought she needed to be straightened out on a few things.

      I remember, she made a mean tuna casserole and I loved tuna casserole.  One time, just as she was getting ready to put a large dish of the tasty stuff in the oven, she realized she had forgotten to add the mushroom soup.  Rather than scoop it all out of the dish and start over, she spooned the soup over the top, spread it out and put it back in the oven.  It was some of the best tuna casserole we ever shared.

     I doubt that I will be slathering mushroom soup on anything for Ms. Sassafrass any time soon.  Just the looks of it would be enough for her to turn her nose up in the air.  But, maybe we can make some memories with a couple of packs of ramen noodles and a hot dog.

     

Be Very Careful

      Regardless of what it's called, karma, get what you give, what goes around, comes around, it's true.

     One simple way to understand this principle is the saying, "when you point a finger at someone, there are three pointing back at you".  

     Have you ever read a self-help book or sat in a pew, listening to a powerful sermon, and had the thought, 'oh, I wish so and so had heard that'?  If you have, the message was intended for you.

     We are not put here to judge, point a finger, or look down our nose at someone.  We certainly were not put here to be mean to others.  When we do that, there is a very high probability that some day, that very action or judgement will be cast upon ourselves.

     Think about that the next time you feel the need to judge or spout some negative opinion in another's direction.

     Be kind, have empathy, be generous, be happy and look for the good in others.  Then you will indeed, reap what you sow.

     

Such Chickensense

     I read the article about people wanting to raise chickens within the city limits.

     This brought about many concerns and city hall would have to see about making an ordinance either for or against having chickens in ones yard.

     Most people do this to raise their own eggs.

     The main concern seemed to be with noise.  I didn't know chickens were that noisy.  Roosters are noisy, but I thought you only needed a rooster if you wanted more chickens, without having to buy them.  Perhaps I'm wrong on that one.

     Anyway, it seemed that if there was any kind of problem, it was usually solved by calling the police.  Really?  We will have to call the chicken police?  Maybe that is to figure if the chicken can actually cross the road, or if it will need a special permit.  

     Of course, the powers that be were concerned with the spread of disease, even though the total amount of chickens one could have was four.  That made me wonder how on earth anyone who was born in the early 1900's, and lived on a farm, ever made it to the ripe old age of 90 something.  Surely they were exposed to a chicken or two in their lifetime.

     Personally, I don't see anything wrong with it.  The only danger to the chickens would be the occasional raccoon, who by the way, does not need a special permit to live within the city limits, or a cat or free roaming canine.   There are probably few young people who actually know where their eggs come from. 

     It always makes me think of the comedian, Andy Andrews, when he does one of his famous lines, "See that chicken?  The next thing that comes out of its butt, I'm gonna eat it."

If Only For A Day

     Recently the item that keeps me connected to life on the planet has developed a major issue and seems to be on its last leg.  My cell phone has some kind of quirk that causes it to get hot.  When this happens, and it makes me think it might just spontaneously combust, it does not work properly and I have to remove the battery and allow it to cool off.

     I did discover that leaving the back off the phone helps to keep it cooler, so that is the route I'm taking to combat the problem.  This has caused me to do something that I have not done in years..... not carry my phone in my back pocket.

     Much to the disdain of my adult children, I have always carried my phone in the back right pocket of my jeans.  Having a couple of pairs of favorite jeans, and who doesn't, means that the back right pockets of said favorite apparel have been totally obliterated.  

     I learned early on, while being in the student transportation business, that carrying a purse was a lost cause.  There is no good place to put one in a school bus and trying to keep it on the floor next to the drivers seat was equivalent to putting a sign on it that read, "step on me".  Which would be followed by thirty or so children doing just that.

     Getting a new phone is not an option.  My cell service provider tells me that I am not due for a new phone until next year.  I think they are wrong, but do not have the time to argue with them about this matter.  So, I have been trying to adjust to not being connected at the hip with the rest of the world.

     During this transition period, I have noticed something amazing.  The world has not stopped spinning and life goes on as usual.  

     Right at this minute, I'm not even sure I know where my cell phone is and I'm good with that.  It is a most liberating feeling to go outdoors without it too.  It's actually possible to get lost in thought and nature without the interruption of  a vibration from the gluteus maximus area. 

     I didn't think it was possible to be unconnected for such long periods of time.  But it is possible and it's kinda nice, maybe we should all try it, if only for a day.

      

The Small Sponge

     Children are like sponges.  They arrive into this world pretty much a blank slate.  They know nothing except from whence they came and what their mission here is.

     We quickly begin to clutter that with all sorts of things we think we know about how life here on planet earth works.  They listen and they soak it up, stashing this new information into their grey matter, for use at a later date.

     I have enjoyed both of these scenarios with our youngest grandchild.  Once, when she, I will refer to her as I have done in the past as Ms. Sassafrass, was just beginning to take her first steps, there was a young girl, about the age of six, lying on the floor in front of her.  The older girl had no intention of moving out of Ms. Sassafrass' way.  While her mother and I watched, an expression crossed this baby's face that one might expect to see on a girl in junior high school.  It was full of contempt and was followed by her reaching out her small arm and taking a swipe at the older girls' hair. Ms. Sassafrass' mother was in total disbelief, Sassafrass wasn't even a year old, where did that come from?!

     Sassafrass is now four years old and has been surrounded by boys her entire life.  I don't care who you are, I don't care what measures you have taken to raise your children, but if you have boys, you have heard more conversations about body parts, or their accompanying functions, than you probably ever thought possible.  Ms. Sassafrass has not been excluded from this odd rule of thumb that seems to be second nature to the male species. Not only has she picked up some of the lingo, she knows when to use it.

     The other day as she and her family where riding in their truck,  Ms Sassafrass was entertaining her older brother with some of her new learned phrases.  Her mother had heard enough, turned around in her seat and began to explain to Sassafrass that the words she was using were not appropriate.  That it was not nice or very 'girl like' to talk that way and she wanted it to stop.

     Silence endued for the next ten seconds and as Ms. Sassafrass rode along, gazing out the window, she spoke these words..........
"Shut your pie hole, tree!"

     

Hats Off To This Lady!

     A good rule of thumb is to be grateful.  Not just in the morning or late at night, but to be grateful all day and for everything.

     Today I am most grateful for a woman by the name of Josephine Garis Cochrane.  I did not know her personally, she was born in 1839, but Josephine literally changed the world.

     She was a wealthy woman and hosted many a dinner party.  She did not wash dishes because she had lots of servants and staff to do that sort of thing for her.  But, she began to grow weary of  the chips her fine china was sustaining due to all the hand washing.  Her remedy for this?  She built an automatic dishwasher!

     Yes indeed, my hat goes off to Josephine Garis Cochrane because if there is one thing I do not like to do, it's hand wash dishes.  

     I remember a time, many years ago, when my good friend got her first dishwasher.  Boy, was my nose out of joint over that. Since I could not share in the joy my friend was experiencing with her new appliance, I later learned the meaning of Karma.  When I finally acquired my own dishwasher, I have since eaten a lot of crow.  Fortunately, now, when the feathered beast raises its ugly head, I toss the whole bird in the dishwasher and hit the pot scrubber button.

     Having a dishwasher has taught me some dishwasher etiquette that I have come to live by.  There are at least three rules that I follow:
     1.  If it doesn't fit in the dishwasher, don't use it.
     2.  If it is the only thing that will fit in the dishwasher at one time, that's OK.
     3.  If it doesn't come clean the first time, leave it in there, it will eventually.

     Thank you Josephine, you were my kind of gal.

The Edge of Cool

     Being cool is most likely a state of mind.

     The misty ethereal plane of coolness starts to be visible somewhere in the preteen years.  

     Its beginning is like stepping onto an endless sheet of ice.  At first it's hard to get the feel of it.  There are a lot of awkward moments, but after some practice, it becomes smooth sailing, second nature, something done on auto pilot, like breathing.

     Coolness shows itself in the simplest of forms.  To do otherwise would be, well...... uncool.  A nod in one's direction.  A slight swagger, a certain way a hat is worn or striking a subtle pose.

     Being cool is endless, or so I thought.  

     Recently I had the opportunity to deliver my oldest cool grandson to football camp.  I wore my cool shades, I tuned the radio into some cool music, turned it up loud, rolled the window down.  I kept the conversation at a minimum.

     On the second day I was instructed to let him out of the car fifty yards from where his cool group of friends were standing.  I'd fallen off the edge of cool.

     But, being cool is most likely a state of mind.

Are You Connected?

     Life is what YOU make it.  Yes, there are circumstances that happen during our lives that are either good, bad or maybe humdrum, but the outcome we experience is up to each and every one of us.

     I'm going to share an excerpt from a book I'm re-reading.  I'm not here to argue religious dogma or doctrine, again, we all choose what we want to believe.  My intent is to allow you to give this some really deep consideration.

     The following is taken from Ask And It Is Given  by Esther and Jerry Hicks (The Teachings of Abraham)

     "You can feel whether you are allowing your full connection to Source Energy or not.  In other words, the better you feel, the more you are allowing your connection;  the worse you feel, the less you are allowing your connection.  Feeling good equals allowing the connection;  feeling bad equals not allowing the connection - feeling bad equals resisting the connection to your Source.

     You are, even in your physical expression of flesh, blood and bone, a "Vibrational Being", and everything you experience in your physical environment is vibrational.  And, it is only through your ability to translate vibration that you are able to understand your physical world at all.  In other words, through your eyes, you translate vibration into that which you see.  Using your ears, you translate vibration into the sounds that you hear.  Even your nose, tongue, and fingertips are translating vibrations into the smells, tastes and touches that help you understand your world.  But your most sophisticated of vibrational interpreters by far are your emotions."   

     This coincides exactly with quantum physics. Can being connected to God be so simple?  Pay attention to how you feel.  Not how someone else makes you feel, how you allow yourself to feel.

No One

     No one has control over how you feel, except yourself.

     No one was put on this earth to make you happy.  If someone makes you happy, that's really not their job, happiness does not come from an outside source.

     No one makes you mad.  Nope.  If they made you mad it's because you let them.  Perhaps they are just having a bad day.

     No one makes you sad.  Nope again.  If they made you sad, it's because you let them.  Who really enjoys feeling sad?

     No one makes you worry.  If you worry, it is because you have chosen to do so.  Worrying solves nothing and it is not good for your health, plus, it does not accomplish one single thing.

     No one has the right to tell you what to do.  That doesn't mean you should tell your boss to shove it.  A job is simply a job, something you have chosen to do.  If you let it make you miserable, that is your choice.

     No one has the right to tell you what, or how to believe.  Most people don't know why they believe the things they do in the first place.  Most adults find out, somewhere along their path in life, that their parents really didn't know everything.

     No one can tell you that you can't do that.  'That' being whatever it is that you want to be or do when you grow up.  If you decide to believe that you can't, then again, that was your choice.

     We all come from the same place.  Even those who we deem unworthy.  We all have the same mission:

     Live your life to the absolute fullest and let no one steal your dream.



     

     

     

     

     

My Motto & Why

     My motto is this:  If I can't laugh at myself, I have no business laughing at anyone else.

     My recent silliness, that I have come to get great joy from, is lyrics, that I make up, and then sing them to a familiar or favorite song for someone on their birthday.  I record this with my phone and then post them on Facebook.

     I stood, last night, in the background while the recipient of my most recent "birthday ditty" laughed hilariously at his song.  It's been another favorite of all the people who watch them.

     I've watched it myself at least four times since and each time I do, I laugh like an idiot.  It helps to lift my spirits.

     There is a big difference in making fun of someone and poking fun.  I try very hard not to do the first.  No one enjoys being made fun of, it's hurtful.  But, if I can make someone smile, it makes me feel better too.

     With my odd sense of humor often comes times of laughter that some may think inappropriate or even disrespectful.  Let me give you an example of just such a time.

     My father died many years ago as a result of losing his battle with cancer.  He had decided to donate his body, what was left of it, to medical research in the hopes of helping others.

     The protocol for this procedure was that when the medical research was finished with him, his remains would be cremated and returned to his family for internment.

     Keep in mind, this was nearly thirty years ago and not many people that we knew had ever done this.

     Time ticked on.  One year lead to another.  Seven years later Mother was feeling guilty about not knowing exactly what had happened to him, or to his 'shell'.  

     I made a call to the funeral director and asked if we could find Dad.  

     About a week later, my oldest sister, Lela, and I attended the visitation service for an old friend of Mother's.  Mother was wintering in the South at that time, so we went in her place.

     Let me tell you a little bit about Lela's and my sense of humor. We came out of the same mold when it comes to finding humor in the oddest of places.  Sometimes it is not safe to be in the same room with us.  Our other sister, Blanche, will readily attest to this.

     So, anyway, we have gone through the receiving line and are making our way to the door when the funeral director, who by the way, was a wonderful, wonderful man, called to me.

     "Ruthie, we found your dad!", he exclaimed.

     My response was, "You did?!  That's great!"  

     I shot a look at Lela and knew immediately we needed to make a fast get-away.  After a brief explanation of what the next steps to be taken were, we thanked him and headed for the door.

     We scurried down the sidewalk and finally got around the corner of the building.  I turned and looked at her and said, "I feel like we are in a Far Side Cartoon.  I'm envisioning a man, sitting in a dark and dungy cavern with a large cauldron of ashes in front of him.  He has a telephone receiver in one hand and a large scoop in the other.  The man says, "Bill Murphy?  Yep, got him right here."

     We were nearly rolling in the gravel trying to get into the car.

     I can also assure you, Dad's internment was even more hilarious and he played a huge part in where our oddness comes from.

     

There's Nothing Like It

     There's nothing like a fresh batch of hair color first thing in the morning.  It will not only make you look and feel younger, it will open up your sinuses.

     There's nothing like going to a big box store, surrounded by paper products and arriving home to realize there is one roll of toilet paper left and you didn't buy any.

    There's nothing like laundering fifteen beach towels one day and seeing them hanging on the fence around the pool the next day.....in the rain.

     There's nothing like pulling your favorite shirt out of the dryer, putting it on and realizing your favorite pair of panties are stuck on the back, after you've been to the grocery store.

     There's nothing like making tuna casserole and when you take it out of the oven, you see the can of tuna still sitting on the counter.

     There's nothing like getting all spruced up for a day of running errands and to discover at lunch time you forgot to put in your false teeth.

     There's nothing like going to bed with wet hair and waking up the next morning with the ultimate comb-over.

     There's nothing like finding joy and silliness in the smallest of things.  Seek and ye shall find.

Don't Slam It

     I've been pondering the barn all day.  Well, more specifically, the barn door.

     Why does the barn have a door in the first place?  Perhaps it is weather related, but I'm not sure.

     Even though I've been really busy, the barn and it's door just would not go away.

     We've all, as adults, parents, grandparents, etc., done this.  Any time a young child went tearing out the door, leaving it open in their wake, we have yelled, "Where you born in a barn?!"

     This usually makes absolutely no sense to said child.  They have no idea what it is we are talking about.

     First, they don't have a clue as to where they were born.  When they figure out how they were born, it usually makes them want to puke.  But as far as where, they could usually care less.

     Maybe kids go flying out the door because they haven't completely forgotten from whence they came.  Maybe they still remember they have a mission.  To them, life is an adventure. Places to go, things to see, stuff to try.  They know no limits.

     The next time this scenario happens, just get up and shut the door yourself.  Whatever you do, don't slam it in their face.

     

Love What You're Doing

     Most of us have heard the term "starving artist".  It applies to people who use their passion for art, whether it be painting, sculpting or whatever, as their occupation.  One problem most artists have is a lull in their creativity.  A blank spot that is filled with zero inspiration.  I experience that from time to time, but mostly I'm bombarded to the point that I get overwhelmed and then begin to spin in circles.  Feels like I'm doing something, but in truth, I'm not getting anywhere.

     So many of us fall into the rut of chasing the 8-5.  Most don't have a choice.  There are bills to pay, kids to feed, and keeping a roof over our heads is a necessity.  Those are just the basics too, life can throw us a curve ball at any time and those are never cheap.

     Stepping out of the norm can be frightening.  It can take you back to the starting point with no free pass.  It can put you in the bottom of the barrel in a heartbeat.

     The first one I made was for a business associate.  The piece has become a popular item.  It has had many "sisters".  Recently I was contacted to see if I could make one into a Christmas tree topper.  Christmas seems like a long way off, but the pages of the calendar are falling off like leaves on a tree.  The middle of this new year has already passed. 

     It was a welcomed challenge and she turned out better than I had anticipated.  The Angel Sun Catcher turned Angel Tree Topper:

     There is a great sense of accomplishment in doing what you love as an occupation.  It might not make you rich in monetary forms, but you will never know if you don't try.