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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Changes.


I'm starting to understand
(finally!)
what is meant by ''turning tides''
I've always felt a pulling back
almost like an icy blast
the realization
taking me by surprise
kind of shocking, really
so
what happens when
seasons change
trust changes
attitudes change
conversation changes
relationships change
?
I don't know
I suppose
just like the tide
there isn't a damn thing
I can do about 
it



Monday, May 30, 2011

Just a Week......?


I was talking to a good friend of mine
the other day
a guy in his mid 50's
estranged from his lady love of 15 years
struggling to re-connect with her
and as I listened to him
(for the 382nd time)
bemoaning the 
fact they didn't ever
have alone time
I
suggested they take a week
go to a far off region
just the two of them
no TV
no phones
no books
no computer
no internet
no work
and just....be together

I was completely taken aback by his reaction
it was almost as if I'd stomped a kitten
He was aghast
''what in the world would we do?''
he sputtered
I
stopped and thought about it for a minute
and
 decided to tell him what *I* would do 
if I had the opportunity to spend
all that time with a partner I loved
we would have 
tons of 
conversation
picnics
walks on the beach
sex
kite flying
wine at sunset
kissing for hours
blanket forts
photography
the list is really endless
but
as I ran down that list to my friend
I could tell he didn't get it
and so I stopped
because
if 
he can't stand to spend a single week alone
with his lady love
then she isn't someone
he is supposed to be with
in the first place




Saturday, May 28, 2011

You've been Flamingo'd


What does a bored 48 year old
do to the neighbors
on a Saturday night
for fun
?

Yep.




Monday, May 23, 2011

Notify Me....Never


One 
of the biggest things police officer 
spouses and families
dread
is the random knock on the door
telling them their loved one 
has been killed or seriously injured
in the line of duty
This has been my reality
for the past 29 years
as a wife
so
I've been asking Wes what the 
notification policies are 
at his department
and I discovered
he
didn't really know
his reply
"I guess the Chief and the Chaplain would show up''
well
 since it's ME
daily uncertainty simply isn't going to work 
So
in my quest to remove the ''what ifs''
last week
I wrote a note to be placed in Wes' personnel file
designating a certain officer 
(a good friend to both of us... a riding buddy)
to be the 
liaison between myself and the police department
the person who will be my notifying officer
because I know
in the unlikely event of a catastrophe
when the chips are down
( and I fall apart )
he is the kind of stand up guy
who
would know exactly
what to do



Sunday, May 22, 2011

ULTRA NEW !!










Thank-you, Amazon
for
only selling 
NEW
toilet paper
!!!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Hands
















 
Call it a recent obsession
Lately
I've been photographing hands
doing ordinary things
extraordinarily





Thursday, May 19, 2011

What color is your parachute?



Recently
during a delightful 
''getting to know you''
sort of interview
I was asked the following question
"what color best describes you?'
I didn't skip a beat
My answer: 
"Plaid"

There was a minute of 
stunned silence
(and a grin)
then he said
''NOBODY has ever said plaid...you DO think outside the box''


Well....duh.








Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Sleepless in Oregon

Sleep...perchance to dream

I haven't been sleeping well lately
I bought new pillows
and 
forced myself to sleep on them
flopping around like a trout
trying to get comfortable
however
once they got broken in
they were flat and stupid
I'm always cold
then I'm too hot
the phone rings at all hours
 the dog whines to get up on the bed
the neighbor's lawn service starts at 7am 
Wes is there, snoring
then he isn't
its getting to the point
I'm convinced I am going to 
have to remove 
both
the pillow top
and 
the puffy down mattress pad
to get down to the 
pee
pea






Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A Trust Broken


25 years of marriage
down the drain
4 children devastated
1 wife humiliated
yet another reason
why I have gone on record here
 many times
saying
you really NEVER know
what goes on behind closed doors
even when there are cameras
pointed directly at their
face




Sunday, May 15, 2011

The High Price of Mastery



Every Thursday
I've been taking all day classes
on 
food preservation
canning
dehydrating
freezing
&
cheeses
It's been more intense than I expected
between homework and critical thinking
and hard metal chairs
I'm pretty tired by day's end
June 16th
I will have earned my 
''Master Food Preserver Certificate''
 This means 
I will be expected
to teach courses
write articles
handle speaking engagements
and man booths at farmer's markets
regarding food preservation
It also means
I probably won't kill
anyone
eating my homemade stuff

How cool is that?







????


Some things
it seems
will always remain 
a
mystery





Saturday, May 14, 2011

Feb 15, 1950.....

How did Walt Disney know?



Friday, May 13, 2011

A Cringe Worthy Past

As a child
you're born ignorant 
that is
until 
your parent teaches you 
Then
that is all you know, until you are exposed
to other viewpoints
learn
different ways of doing things
and
you put that knowledge 
into a template of sorts
and measure everything 
you hear 
against what you actually know
For instance
I remember my father
dumping barrels and barrels
of used motor oil
down our very long driveway
making the gravel less dusty
I don't think he realized
he was harming the environment
ruining the soil, the air and the water
and I also
remember trips to the beach
playing in the tide pools
when we kids would pick up 
all the starfish we could find
dozens and dozens
and
put them into a plastic bag
bring them home to dry out
eventually forgotten and tossed into the trash
never understanding these were living creatures
or realizing how this would disrupt the eco balance
As I regularly walk the beach
in the Pacific Northwest
seeing a starfish in the tide pools is fairly rare
and
I often wonder how
my earlier actions 
played
in that outcome



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Word Up


I'm learning 
not to use generalized
words like
always
&
never
because they aren't true
the minute they leave my lips






Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hmmm


I received this on my computer.

Somebody has a sense of humor over my grave misfortune, it seems.

 

 500 Internal Server Error

Sorry, something went wrong.

A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.
If you see them, show them this information:

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xcj3qZBd03ZAzWQJcjmhWKE56W_pQmBtyISkMbcMr514arA_XcTxMXuqTiX-
Plv_h2Wva0DW_ZRfs-KQiNzvdS8DdaJO3fncW0LFtOyZ3olCQZz5Sn16VGZR
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MhqoHQuWZs9_c0nGmDFh54HAxtX1cTDyQ7tS9tWkaDl_1i_sfzR6ceInsh6o
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zvhGAP1PbJoL74rpxuPjensoPRW4jW5ZkdDVClOE_xe7QajopUDcCfvB_1LE

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Birthday Boy

Wes' birthday was Saturday
He opted for a ''princess day''
meaning
he didn't want to make any decisions
  be held accountable for his actions
 watch his cholesterol 
and 
he wanted to be 
pampered
&
surprised
 I was able to pull the day off
spoiled him without much of a hitch
(I did say no to the sponge bath, however)
but 
some of the best surprises
came from the people who didn't know him
those people were willing to go the extra mile
to make his day special
for instance
this donut appeared out of no where
at the breakfast place
a farm we love
I  think little touches
such as this
are like hugs from strangers
They
reinforce my belief
in the inherent kindness
of humans



Sunday, May 8, 2011

Make Lemonade




know a lot of good people 
who have had lousy things happen
Job Loss
Divorce
Handicapped Children
Businesses Closing
Health Issues
When
these things occured
they let it consume them
they became cocooned in pain
the problem became their entire life
They
couldn't see this supposed setback
as a stepping stone
an opportunity, if you will
to something new
a new path
to forge
a new life
and what makes me angry
is
how much of their life
(and others)
they have squandered
playing the victim
waiting for opportuinities
instead of making their own
when there are other people
who will never have the same chances
they have
and would give anything
to be them
even for a day





Saturday, May 7, 2011

Friday, May 6, 2011

Break Out


I've always wondered
if humans
who are in fairy stable 
socio-economic areas
(ie not starving in an African continent)
all have addictions
of some sort
?
Alcohol, 
Drugs 
(including prescription and caffeine)
Cigarettes
Porn
Food
 Sex
Internet
 Plastic Surgery
Texting
seems to be the way so many of my friends cope
with today's pressures
when 
they give up one addiction
it seems as if
another takes it's place
It's 
enough to make me say
''hmmm''




Thursday, May 5, 2011

Yesterday Was Sublime


BEST. DAY. EVER.



(doesn't Tawanda look cute there in the middle?)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Bliss.


Today 
is supposed to be
70 degrees and sunny
instead of pulling out the lawn mower
re-stringing the weed eater
pressure washing the moss off sidewalks
I
and a few others
will be blissfully flying
thru some serious curves
making our way to the coast
with our bikes
ipod blazing in my ear
stopping off
for some buttery clam chowder
served in a sourdough bread bowl
raising our voices to be heard
talking smack about
how someone came into a corner too hot
who is the worst rider
who has an ugly bike
then
knuckle bumping and nods
as we suit up again
taking the winding road back
tired and spent
smiling 
the whole way
home





Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Think.


"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"
-- Martin Luther King, Jr

Monday, May 2, 2011

Gotta love Stewie

It doesn't matter how often I watch this...it STILL makes me laugh.