1. Nobody wants to hear about mass shootings. La la la la la la. 2. I’m rambling and researching about the subject as I write. So thankful, I am, for the Internet. It would be so easy for me to be a recluse, a hermit, an eccentric, a looney tune. Thank goodness for the Husband! Though, it would be easy for him, too. See, rambles. 3. Guns don’t kill, grump some gun owners. I suppose those people merely have guns for display behind beautiful etched glass doors. “Ooh, isn’t that the cutest gun,” I could say if I was shown such a private display. May that not ever be. 4. “Bah! I’ve got my rights to own guns. Says so in the Constitution, you libtard, Nazi, socialist, communist hussy.” That’s what I imagine some grump, hand on firearm of choice, could shout at me. At my senior age, I may not mind being called a hussy. There goes yon hussy. Waddle, waddle, venture I.  5. The imaginary grump can thank the late Justice Scalia for re-interpreting the Second Amendment to make possession of a fire

1. Do you like your handwriting? When it’s readable. 2.  Do you like rollercoasters? Yes, but I’m done riding them. 3. Do you like scary movies? Boooo! Nope. 4. Do you like shopping? Now and then.  5. Do you like to talk on the phone? Sure. It’s the dialing and the answering parts that I don’t care for. 6. Do you sleep with the lights on or off? Off. 7. Do you use headphones or earphones? No. 8. Do you have any tattoos? Do you want any? Why would I want to cover my scars and old age spots and wrinkles? hahahahah 9. Do you wear glasses? Guys do make passes at girls who wear glasses.  10.  What is your strangest talent? Untangling knots. 11. Have you ever been in a hospital? Yes, even stayed a night. 12.  What color mostly dominates your wardrobe? Blue 13. What’s your most expensive piece of clothing? My 27 year old off-white cotton  dress that cost me $120.00. I bought it for a trip to Italy, then a year later wore it when I married the Husband. Today, it’s my knock around house dress. 

This week’s Q & A at Sunday Stealing , hosted by Bev Sykes, is all about firsts. Who’s on first base is not one of the questions. That’s okay. We know who was on first base, right? If that doesn’t make sense, then you may want to search for “Abbott and Costello who’s on first” in your browser. Now, on with the actual questions. First job: Cutting apricots for three days when I was 9 years old.  First favorite politician: George McGovern. His presidential campaign was the first one    I ever worked on. First record/CD: There were two albums in my family’s collection of six that I liked to play a lot when I was young, “Sing Along with Mitch Miller and the Gang” and “My Son, the Nut” by Allen Sherman.  First sport played: Baseball.  What a thrill it was to whack the ball that first time. I  was in first grade. How can I forget the teacher coming over to first base to tell me that I must put the bat down, not throw it willy-nilly after I hit the ball. First concert: In 8th grade, I was

Fifteen things start the questions off at this week’s  Sunday Stealing hosted by Bev Sykes of Funny the World . So, here go I. 15 things that make you smile:  The Husband, Missy Molly the pinky-nosed (wilde) Cat, friends,     rain, a sunny day, flowers, bees pollinating flowers, birds visiting in the yard, a project done to my satisfaction, green hills, singing, painting, gardening, dancing, and hugs 14 things that make you frown:   exclusivity, meanness, bullies, tagging, tailgaters, people not listening to each other, wilderness cemented over, litterbugs, liars , spammers, greedy businesses, politicians not willing to work with others, arrogance, and rudeness 13 things you see everyday:   the sky, flowers, trees, cars, houses, TV, iPad, books, fruit, indoor plants, journal, pens, and dust 12 things you have always wanted to try:   hike the whole Pacific Crest Trail, paddle an outrigger canoe, scuba diving, visit Italy with the Husband, drive cross country with the Husband, pedal my b

LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color suggested I give Sunday Stealing a try.  It's a weekly meme, hosted by Bev Sykes, that comes up with a different list of fun questions, from elsewhere on the Internet, every Sunday. I think of it as answering surveys in magazines, once upon a time. So, here I go with this week's questions. 1. If you could be a Muppet, which would you be? The Muppets came along when I wasn't watching TV, but I did get hooked on the Muppet Babies. Among the babies, I would be Skeeter. She didn't get much play on the show, but from what I saw, the girl had a lot of gumption and moxie. 2. Why is a chicken crossing the road in the first place? To see how a cow is out standing in its field. 3. What's your favorite muscle? Heart or brain? Brain or heart? Without the heart pumping away, the brain can't live so I'll go with the heart. 4. Cheerios or Rice Krispies? Snap, crackle, pop, please. 5. Is summer ever going to get here

The header illustrates, in my mind, what my world was like when I was a small kid. We lived several miles out of town, one of four houses behind a country store, nearly surrounded by fields and orchards which I explored. I've become aware that our front and back yards may be reflecting my long-ago playground. Here are two views of the lower half of what was the former lawn. It's been over two years since we pulled out the lawn. We don't miss it at all. The daisy bushes have exploded all over the yard. Pow! Pow! Pow! I like the volunteer wild grass that has grown in a pathway. In May, or April, I'll pull it out. Soon, poppies will start showing their orange selves. And, here's part of the backyard that looks like it belongs in a storybook. So I thought when I saw the photo. This spot gets nice shade in the afternoon. If we set a little round table there, we can sit and eat snacks or play at being an artist. Of maybe, instead, we can put a sofa there so we

I came across a fun meme today. It's called Sunday Stealing hosted by Bev Sykes of Funny the World. Every Sunday she posts a bunch of thoughtful questions that she has "stolen" from elsewhere for participants to answer. Who doesn't like to answer questions, especially about themselves? Intrigued? Check out Sunday Stealing here , after checking my answers, of course.    1. The strangest place you've ever been. The strangest place I've ever been is a thinker. Shall I consider a place itself as being strange or a place where I encountered something weird? Better yet, the unfamiliar concept of being in a certain place, and it still feels unfamiliar (thankfully) after I leave that location? My answer. . . Thummm tha tha tha Thaaaaaaaa! . . .the hospital last year. From the moment I entered that hospital near dawn to the moment I stepped out the door the following afternoon was surreal. My gosh! 2. Unusual food combinations you enjoy. Pancakes, syrup,

I wanted five children. It didn't matter if they were all girls, all boys, or some kind of combination. I like to think that's happening in a parallel universe. I wonder what their names are. Even today, I'll come across a name that I think is a nice candidate for one of my would've been kids. Maeve, Emmie, Sophia, Emerson, Benjamin James. . . . I like strong, happy names. So, here I am, seven months shy of receiving Medicare, childless. Every time I thought I was pregnant, several days later, hello menses. I had an irregular cycle, so I tried fertility drugs as well as acupuncture to help get my reproductive system going. The acupuncture was a trip. When all the needles were inserted, I instantly felt like my spirit sprung out of my body and tap danced on the ceiling. In the early 1990s, during the first week of vacation in Washington, I took a home pregnancy test. Yes, by golly! The First Husband and I went immediately into let's-take-care-of-me-and-the-fet

I'm taking apart the first album of the Mama's. Not her first one ever, but the first in a long line of albums. Sigh. What's with the so-called "acid-free/archival" pages in this album? The cellophane breaks apart when I take out the photos. So much for trying to use my hands with delicateness and refinement. For some reason-yet-to-be-identified, I'm saving the 3x5 pieces of paper (with a single punched hole) that were used as dividers between photos. The how-can-I-repurpose-this part of me has prevailed. I don't know what to do with the photos after I've scanned them. For that matter, what am I going to do with the scanned photos. May be why there are long intervals between scanning sessions. And, for a session to happen, I need to play my era of Rock & Roll and Latin music so I can wiggle and waggle in my chair, as I do this rather sad and joyful exercise of remembering stuff in photos.  For instance: the rainy wedding day of a cousin; o

The Husband is down with a virus so it was not a good rest for us last night. Cough, cough. Toss, turn. You know the drill. He'll be fine, we think positively. Leftover garlicky ginger chicken soup was turned into a pot of garlicky ginger tomato soup this morning, which shall be good for a couple of days before he tires of that kind of soup. He's already on his way to losing weight for the 20-pound loss goal we each set on Christmas day (our present to ourselves) by the end of May. So. Here we are, the end of the year. An outrageous year for our nation, leaderless. Executive actions and congressional duplicity turning us down the path of darkness rather than so-called greatness. I want to think that we've reached the bottom and it's only up now. A lot of us have no problem standing up against harassment, intimidation, lies, misconceptions, ignorance, and down-right bullying. The personal score: A hysterectomy took away the cancer no one was really sure was there. T

I'm reading Under the Tuscan Sun right now. This is my third start (maybe fourth) in the last 10 years or so. I enjoyed the movie so I bought the book when I saw it on the "buy 3, get one free" table at a bookstore.  I finally got to a point that I don't recall having read. This morning I learned that the fig flower resides inside the fruit and a certain kind of wasp burrows itself inside the fig to lay its eggs. If it doesn't succeed, that's okay, it has at least pollinated the flower. If larvae has been deposited, ooh-la-la! According to Wikipedia (yup, I had to learn more), a mature male mates with a female then proceeds to peck its way out of the fig so that all the females can escape. The male, now wingless and, no doubt, quite spent promptly dies. May he forever rest in joyful peace knowing that he did his job well. Frances Mayes is the author of Under the Tuscan Sun . For those who never read the book or saw the movie, Mayes wrote about her exper

Yesterday I celebrated my first day of being 64 years old. How did that happen? My body knows I'm old. Probably my brain does, too. I'm guessing all old people say that since I have no guidebook for getting older. Spiritually, I'm that five-year-old wandering in the fields surrounded by tall grass, wildflowers, butterflies, and sun bubbles. I'm also that young thing uncovering worlds and possibilities. I feel, again, a freedom to dream, to discover, and to do!

One thing about not being out there, being visible, being noticeable, being memorable. People forget that you're there. Until you're not there and someone asks, "Where the heck is the person who sweated this small stuff?" SO UNFAILINGLY RELIABLE. I'd rather not have that on my tombstone. Shudder. You might as well etch this beneath my name— DRUDGE . Yes, yes, I know that the world can't run without us drudges. Did I say I abhor being a drudge? If I had, I would've done something about it long time ago. I would've taken the other path. Each and every time. I cannot imagine myself as a high maintenance diva. Maybe in a parallel universe I am. Heaven help those people.

When I saw the episode of Grace and Frankie, an original Netflix series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, in which Frankie (Lily) mentions her diary and Grace (Jane) responds with "Your bullshit diary where you write in the air?", I thought that's how I've mostly been blogging the last 11 months. Unlike Frankie, I mentally write the words. Have you seen Grace and Frankie by the way? In a nutshell it's about two vibrant women in their 70s who suddenly become roommates because their husbands announced they are gay, been having a secret relationship with each other for years, and want a divorce from Grace and Frankie because so that they can married. A mouthful, huh? The series revolve around Grace and Frankie coming to terms with suddenly being on their own after 30-40 years of marriage. It's also about the women becoming each other's main support, although they don't think much of each other's life style. Grace is an uptight former CEO o

Is a hole only round? Can't it be oval, triangular, hectagonal, or another shape? Must a hole be whole? A whole hole. Couldn't it be partial? Is a hole always black? Not green? Purple? Rainbow? If it's white, could we see it? Could a hole by holey? We just can't see the multiple holes in a hole. Finally, could there be such a thing as a holy, holey whole hole? Now that you've had your fill of holes, head over to ABC Wednesday , where I've parked my link. It's a fun weekly meme with wonderful bloggers from around the world. Thanks, ABCW team, for hosting the letter H. 

The other day I decided to keep a daily Have-Done list. For awhile, that is. Until I no longer need to let myself know that I have accomplished something each day. Every day, I add things to my To-Do list. As you can see in the photo, the items don't always get done right away. Sometimes, not for weeks after I put them on the list. The Have-Done things, so far, were not on my To-Do list. That's okay. They were usually stuff: •  I would've distracted myself to do so I wouldn't do anything on the To-Do list. For instance, dig up a narrow piece of the front lawn to create a new home for a bunch of jade plants that no longer fit in their pots. •  I would've discovered I needed to do before I could do a To-do item, such as clean the freezer in order to start it up again. •  I needed to do that moment because they needed to get done then and there. We needed to pay that water bill, you know. •  I would've eventually put on my To-do list. That would'

"Make an effort." This morning I read that line in Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith). I felt like the character, and the author, was talking to me.   Please make an effort, Susie.  The Mama said it another way about herself when she felt tired, which was every day for her last several years. Plain and simple, she used to say, "I push myself." After we buried the Mama this past April, the Only and Older Brother said to me, "Keep on living." I scoffed at what the Only and Older Brother said. Of course, I'd keep on living. Why would I not? Lately, though, honesty keeps trying to surface. Drat that honesty. For that matter, dang to introspection, rumination, and heart-searching that show up in my dreams. Sigh. So, this is my effort today for the letter E for this week's ABC Wednesday : a story that I shared three years ago (April 5, 2013) about an amazing thing that reminded me of the wonderful effortlessness of life.