Merry Christmas

Christmas Blessings

As we commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in a manger in a lowly stable in Bethlehem, I would like to  wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a year filled with many blessings. May you all truly experience the true "Joy to the World" just as did  His Blessed Mother and the shepherds and the Wise men on that day so long ago! 

A Dream

My Dream

I dream of a world of plenty

I dream of a world of peace

I dream of love unbridled

I dream that wars will cease.

 I dream of a world of caring

For all of God’s creation

Of harmony and freedom

For each and every nation.

I dream of a world of sharing

All good fortunes we receive

I hope and pray that this old world

Will PEACE - someday - achieve.

That “color” will not matter

And religion will not divide

That “right” and “wrong” will triumph

As we all stand side by side!

Motivation

Managing Stress and Impatience

What I feared did not happen

What I imagined did not come through

What I dreaded did not materialize

All my lists just followed queue.

 I suppose I should be grateful

I know more that I thought I knew

This time my apprehension

Failed to raise a coup!

It stressed me out for nothing

It frazzled me to no end

I could have stayed unruffled

But I failed to comprehend

Life is what we make it

We fear what we don’t know

If we face it with timidity

It’ll defeat us just to show

Fear cripples our capacity

To be the best that we can be

It limits our potential

And zaps our energy.

It makes us question everything

We used to think was right

It makes us fear the future

And makes us run in flight.

We multiply the negatives

The bad things that could go wrong

 We cripple that great spirit

That used to be so strong

We conjure up scenarios

Of catastrophic mayhem 

It cripples our potential

And serves as our REQUIM!

Remembrance Day ---Still

Late Tribute to Our Veterans

This poem is two weeks late, however it is still relevant since November is still with us and our wounds, like our memories, are still open and raw.  Please forgive my  "harping" on a theme that can never grow old. This poem  "wrote" itself in my head the other night and did not let me sleep so I had to just get up and put my pen to paper.

 Another  Tribute to Our Veterans 
No one stops at that graveyard now
No one stops to stare
At those endless rows of  crosses
We're so used to seeing them there.

We gather there just once a year
A tribute for to pay
To thank them for their sacrifice
On each Remembrance Day.

But those crosses keep on reminding us
Of the souls we can't forget
Those strangers who gave up  their lives
For folks they had never met.

Those souls were someone's brother
Those souls were someone's friend
Once they held a baby
Once they held a hand.

But that heart  has now stopped beating
That laugh is forever still
That mind has now stopped dreaming
Of goals they'll  not fulfill.

Dreams Do Come True

Big Day Coming

Our Writing Group, called Blue Pencil Cafe, has published a book called "Out of the Blue".  It is a compilation of the writings from our members and we are having a book launch on  Monday, November 24 from the SAGE  site (15 Churchill Square,  corner of 102A   Avenue and  100 Street) in downtown Edmonton.  There will be readings by our members as well as a chance to meet the authors and see displays (and even purchase if you wish)  some of their other writings.

 Refreshments will be available on site.  Come and meet our writers and perhaps even join our group for the next season.  I am certain you will get (as I did) much inspiration from this  group. Many of us are now "living our dream!" We come from all walks of life but we all share a common dream and this group lets us live it!  Come and join us.

Remembering

A Final Tribute

T'was a day to remember

That his mother could not forget

A day that’s still so painful

That haunts her nightmares yet.

An agonizing, poignant sacrifice

Was demanded of her that day

When her only son was taken

To fight a war so far away.

He was just such a young lad

So innocent, naive

But he died before he had a chance

His grand dreams to achieve

Now strangers tend his gravesite

With grateful hearts overflowing

For a life that he gave up for them

Thus peace on them bestowing.

But his mother and his family

Still mourn his untimely passing

As they stand there on Remembrance Day

His final tributes now amassing! 

New Horizons

Questions

I have been reading  a new blog   Brenda @ Its A Beautiful Life recently and although I I have not been able to get all the way through it yet because of overriding previous engagements, I have found much inspiration and insight there that has been helpful to me in my own life.  I guess we all struggle with some kind of problems, whether they be insecurities or 'writing blocks' or what ever else it is that creates those stumbling blocks that make us question ourselves and keep us from  performing at our optimum level. Or perhaps it its just me. Brenda seems to have all her ducks in a row, while I am still trying to round mine up.  (Sometimes those ducks just don't herd well.) Many of my questions are still unanswered.

Is it our age that makes us question ourselves, or it it our bad experiences from the past? Because I honestly cannot say that I have taken such 'beatings'  in the past, but I have to admit that I miss that self-confidence that once came so naturally to me.  I find myself questioning many decisions that would never have worried me in the past.

Perhaps I should just finish reading the rest of Brenda's blog.  Maybe I will find the answers there.

Autumn Splendor

Autumn Splendor

Autumn’s flamboyant landscape beckons to me

With brilliant golds, rusty reds, bold burgundies

Stately oaks, aspen, birch and cherry

Flaunt their splendor with sheer abandon.

Those branches, once were a verdant green

Now display their new attire with bravado.

 Like outstretched arms, they reach out

Lacing their leafy fingers high above

As though embracing one final time

And form this lovely tunnel for my passage.

Not to be outdone,

Even stately Lombardy poplars join in the fun.

Like slim golden sentinels they stand

Overlooking this gaiety and pomposity

And boldly join this carnival of exuberance.

As they sway in the gentle breeze.

With one final display of boastful daring

The trees obscure the sun’s fading rays

With their own supreme display of glory!

Before shedding this magnificent garb

To don the barren nakedness of winter grey

And sink into a long and peaceful slumber.

Giftware and More

A Literary Festival

Getting ready for Words in the Park in just over a week, at Sherwood Park on October 25th. Please take note of this "Fall Feast of Words" at the Strathcona County Library, which will include a great selection of literary events. There will be a variety of books from various authors, plus many other items  suitable for yourself or as Christmas presents for friends and family.  It should be a great social and noteworthy experience for presenters and consumers alike .  If you require more info, check out the website: http://words.sclibrary.ab.ca/EventInfo

Hope to see you all there! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving  Ode       

For friends who’re there that really care

Who’re always willing their love to share

Who’re tender, thoughtful, good and kind,

The kind of friends that’re hard to find.

With judgement sound they hang around

And fill my life with peace profound

I am so very thankful!

For the the splendor of our nation

My heart is bursting with adulation

O'er all the grandeur  and munificence    

Of God’s creation, its magnificence.

He entrusted us with our free will

To see the greatness of His skill

How can I not be thankful!

For our good health and rich full life

For protecting us from conflicts, strife

For His all His blessings, His benevolence

That keep enfolding with such prevalence

For all the joys and carefree living

For all our wrongs  God is forgiving

I bow in humble praise, thanksgiving!

Thank you, Lord!

Golden Leaves of Autumn

Golden Leaves of Autumn 

Like the golden leaves of autumn
So our years of youth fly  past
Leaving naught but poignant memories
Of good times we wished would last.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
We lose the resolve to hang on
Forsaking all life's daily struggles
Youth delivered on the run.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
Now we languish, reminisce
On those years when life was pleasing
On those years of youthful bliss.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
We're still wishing to explore
The summer of our youth now fading
To face those glory days once more.

Like the golden  leaves of autumn
We must let go of that hold
Sailing on to eternal slumber
Accepting that we're growing old!

My News

My Newest Book

I just received the shipment of my newest book called Mushrooms, Mini-cars and Welsh Mead.  This new book is a compilation of memories of experiences from my life and is a follow-up to my other two memoir books,  Roots - A Life in Review  and Small Beginnings.  It is the final one of this series.

          

     

I am now working on  a sequel to my fiction novel called The Secret in Her Heart,  and, if I can, I hope to someday publish another collection of poetry.  Wish me luck folks! I will need it.

                         

Peace One Day 2014

Peace One Day

I just realized that today is  designated as "Peace One Day 2014".   How wonderful it would be if for just one day - today - we could have total peace in the world?!!!!
Here are the words I heard sung over the internet.  What a wonderful idea!!!!!
I just could not resist adding this post today.

If I could write a magic song
That everyone could sing
I'd write of love and hope and joy
And things that peace could bring
And when we sang that magic song
All hate and war would cease
One song could bring a miracle
And fill the world with peace!
One song for all of us.

Journey of life

Journey of Life

I woke this morning thankful

For the time that I was given

To enjoy this wonderful new day

Cause my life is so worth livin’!

I cherish every moment

Every miracle of each day

Not wishing to waste its merits

Like some worthless castaway.  

We humans are so lucky

We can look ahead and back

We can study every blunder

Then improve on traits we lack.

We can learn important lessons

From each mistake we make

We can even change direction

With each task we undertake.

Our lives are but our tour maps

Of experiences that we bore

Those events that made us who we are

And they tally up our score.

We can make that score look good or bad

By how we respond to strife

We can make them just our stepping stones

On this journey we call life!!!

Age Spots

That’s Not Age Spots

They’re trying to sell me potions

To hide my age spots and my wrinkles

That are part of that living process

Each passing day now sprinkles.

I really do not think it’s bad

To display that confirmation

That I’ve been here for quite some time

That demands corroboration!

My wrinkles are the road map

Of the twists and turns I’ve made

My dark spots are the price tags

Of the penalties I paid.

So I cherish every blemish

Every wrinkle, every pore

And I’m hoping to keep getting  

More – and more – and more!

Cause stopping now means ceasing

To reap benefits that I’ve earned

To enjoy this life of leisure

So long for this I’ve yearned.

A Robins' Farewell

Back Again
A few days ago I happened to get a very special treat from Mother Nature.  I was at my daughter's place, sitting outside and enjoying what I now realize was probably summer's last hurrah,  because it was the day before the snow.  Not that we got what Calgary got, though it seemed that different regions got different amounts.  Downtown Edmonton, where my apartment is, the lawns stayed green. The snow melted as it hit the ground but at my daughter's place in the north end of the city the snow covered the ground for a shot while to make the lawn white.  Still, it was too early for snow!!! Anywhere!!!

Anyway, as I sat there, I got the thrill of my life when a flock of about fifteen to twenty robins  arrived in the yard.  They landed in the apricot tree just over the bird bath and took turns taking a bath!!! It was as if they came especially for that specific purpose --- to wash up before their trip south!  I have never seen robins flocking together in large numbers like that, though I used to have many of them come in for a bath at my birdbath when I lived in Manitoba.  This was an unusual treat for me to see them come in like this, as if they just came to bid me farewell.  The next day, we got that early snow!

Were they trying to tell me something????

A Precious Gift

OUT  OF STOCK

I went to a drugstore with a special request today but they told me they could not fill my order. They advertise that they carry everything so that is false advertising, is it not??? I only asked for one single dose of "youth" and they turned me down.  I was extremely disappointed.

 As a Ukrainian kid growing up, I used to listen to a very melodic and beautiful Ukrainian song about a woman that was  going to go on a trip in search of her youthful healthy years.  I can still hear the melody but do not recall all the words. It was sung by a woman who was going to ask  her youthful years to at least "visit her for awhile as a guest"  The next verse is the reply  from her youthful years who tell her they can never come back because she had not cherished either her youth or her good health when she had them, therefore there was "nothing" to come back to now.

Sometimes it seems to me that song is relevant to some of today's youth who waste their youthful good  health on drugs , alcohol, smokes and and other destructive lifestyles.  Too late, they find that there is no turning back after the damage is done.  Just simple ageing is enough of a downgrade for any "body". And that is even without any prior abuse or addition of destructive practices.

Cherish your youth and your health! They are precious! Just ask any senior.

Just Excuses

Apology

Sorry, I have been rather distracted lately and have not been as regular with my blog postings. I am working on getting another book published and it is in the final stages of editing so I am eating, sleeping, living with that book constantly.  I cannot seem to get my mind on much else these days and that is beyond silly.  Guess they call this the "one track mind syndrome" and I have it bad.  It is not as if the book is in "stall motion"! It is just me and I know that!

I do have other very interesting projects on the go. I am just too lazy to get going on them. I know the book is just a poor excuse so shame on me!!!!   You cannot beat time. You have capitalize on every moment you have and make the most of it.    I am just stalling and I have is no decent excuse for  it. Nobody can move my projects for me except me! So bear with me while as I stop making up excuses and get on with living again.

EXCUSES --- BE GONE!!!

In Memory Robin Williams

When Depression Wins

He made us laugh all through his life

It was his glowing passion

Yet behind that silly grin there lurked

That demon of depression.

That depression got the upper hand

And he lost all will to fight

All his problems overwhelmed him

When the darkness shut out light.

With age and fate against him

And gloom would not dispel

When the torrents of bleak anguish

Did forever rise and swell.

He tried to hide his feelings

His  problems and his  pain

But gloom and desperation

Had established their domain

He sought relief where ever

Illusive though it be

For just a glimpse of childlike peace

To end the misery.

But it’s really  not that easy

To camouflage the truth

No matter how hard we try

We can’t recapture youth.

Rest in peace Robin and keep smiling into forever!

Red Sun Phenomenon

A Red Sun in the Heavens

I’ve often watched a sunset

And marvelled at the view

Of clouds of pink and purple

And colors of every hue!

But what I saw last evening

Was a sun that was red! Instead!

I’ve never seen a sun like that

Hang suspended overhead.

Some said it was humidity

Some said it was just heat

Some said it was all that smoke

But I just thought it neat!

For I was watching a red balloon

Hung out there in the sky

An ornament for us to view

Our heavens to beautify.

Amid all our strife and conflicts

We need to sense delight

To know that life’s worth living

And our world can still be bright.

So that red sun last evening

Was a sign from God above

That even when we misbehave

He won’t withhold His love!

Prairie Floods

Flooding Prairies

Those twinkling stars of heaven

That wink and blink and tease

These days just hide in darkness

Determined to displease.

They peer from behind the shadows

Of clouds that make them dimmer

They peek and sneak in secret

With just a scanty glimmer

The clouds just weep in torrents

With tears that will not stop

Raising surging waters

And flooding every crop.

Those raindrops they all gather

In fields and streams and lakes

They have done so  much damage

All earth below them quakes.

They’re flooding every highway

And all valleys in between

In relentless surging rushes

Overflowing each ravine.

How do we save our homes and crops

And end this devastation

If all this rain does not stop soon

We may be asking for flotation

Paying it Forward

SNATCH THE MOMENT

With the weather kind to us, and the sun smiling down on us, and it is indeed difficult to feel anything but grateful for all our blessings.

I watch the news and see people are flooding on the Canadian prairies, burning in the far north and and in the American south, fighting typhoons out in the Philippines and living through horrific wars and strife in other parts of the world.

Here in our peaceful area, I hear our people complaining about oppressing heat! Granted I do not enjoy the 30 above heat either. But I am one of the fortunate ones. I do not have to actually go out and work in this heat.  If I did, I would be complaining too, but luckily, I can hole up in an air-conditioned building and wait it out. So my complaints could easily be classified as "juvenile whining".

Not so for the  problems of the millions of the really unfortunate people who are facing "real" problems. They cannot escape their hardships no matter what they do !!! My heart goes out to them, but that is of no consolation to them! We can only watch their suffering on a TV screen and empathize and sympathize and wish that somehow the world would right itself (but it doesn't!)

So to those of us who can, let's snatch the moment and make something good out of it --- for ourselves, for others out there.  Let's plant our piece of good where we find ground for it. If that stifles one senseless complaint and puts a smile on even one face, then we we have done "our part"!
In this world, that is all we can do. But it is better than contributing to the depression with complaints about things that are of little importance!

Search For Peace

Desperate Search For Peace

Searching for truth in a sea of doubting

Amid the frothy waves of life’s unending trials

I battle fear to maintain confidence

But simple buoyancy evades me still.

Desperately I flounder 

As I sink ever deeper beneath the brine.

The shore of wisdom slips ever further

From sight – and panic now grips the mind

All signs have vanished that had meaning

Survival struggles have lost appeal

It’s just “defeat” that now seems real!

Should I really forego the combat

To maintain serenity, faith and pride?

Is it really worth all this turmoil

This endless strain that just won’t yield?

Would it not be so much simpler

To accept the inevitable and make that the “truth”?

One More Yesterday

Just One More Yesterday

A head too full of “good times”

A mind too full of thought

A heart too full of memories

Of battles so hard fought.

A life so scarred and battered

With pain and sorrow borne

She spends her time remembering

As she sits there so forlorn.

She has nine children living

In this town (not far away)

But they never come to see her

They’re “too busy” they all say.

Still those times were well worth living

So filled with gratification

When her children all adored her

And showed appreciation

Now she’s lonely and forgotten

And she struggles all alone

To overcome depression

‘Bout the “good life” she’s outgrown.

New friends come try to cheer her

(All old friends have passed away)

So she sits with her heart broken

Wishing for “just one more yesterday”.

A Magpie's Lament

A Magpie’s Lament

Somehow I got short-changed

Somehow I was maltreated

When music was distributed

I feel that I was cheated.

The chickadee is just a little bird

Its coat is drab and grey

But it sings a lilting cheery song

As it flits about all day.

The robin only knows one song

But it's music to the ears

It’s a harbinger of happy times

Each time that spring appears

The bluebird has a neat blue coat

And a song that all admire

It sends the hearts of all who hear

To heights their souls aspire.

The whippoorwill just sings at night

Still it fails to aggravate

The folks don’t seem to mind at all

Cause its call they so appreciate

Even crows do not irritate

The folks the way I do

And jays don’t really sing, I know

And pigeons only coo.

But I’m dressed for the party

And I’m sure I sound conceited

But my tuxedo coat does not impress

Cause my squawk  has me defeated! 

Frustration

Scatterbrained

I'm really not a procrastinator, but I have to confess that I am somewhat scatterbrained. (And those squawking magpies outside my window certainly don't help my concentration process at all either!)
But excuses don't cut it, so I better just bite the bullet and put the blame where it belongs - right here at my own feet.  I  have too many projects on the go and cannot do any of them any justice until I prioritize them properly. It all boils down to "put your money where your  mouth is!"

Yes, I write!  But what am I writing???  Well, I finished a novel lately but it is in first draft stage and still requires alot of revision. That is one project. Next project: A friend finished his book and I struggled through it (I can read  normal print for very short periods of time and it was not a big book).  It was a collection of short stories and it triggered  many memories for me.  I enjoyed those stories and was so inspired by the book that I started jotting down some of my own somewhat self-buried adventures - actually some rather self-deprecating confessions, I must admit. (Well I never did claim to be "smart")!

I have also started another novel, a sequel to my already published "Secret In Her Heart". That is project #3. And now that I have my MP3 player working, I would like to listen to some more audio books.

Who said retirement is boring??? I have not learned the meaning of that word! Will I live long enough to complete all the things I'd like to do?  I can only hope!!!

Family Problems For Birds

Even Birds Have Family Problems

This spring a pair of magpies set up their home in a tree in our back yard.  Having been part of this kind of scenario in the past, I was expecting a raucous summer once those eggs hatched, but even I did not expect the piercing mayhem that has been inundating our eardrums for the past three or four weeks - at at all hours of the day and much of the nights as well.  Obviously even magpies have problems with their kids  -  well into their teens and beyond - according to the "bird time frame" that this piercing squawking has has been going on for - like - forever!.


Those young magpies have to have entered their "teens and beyond" by now but they must be worst "problem children" of the  bird kingdom because, surely by now, they should have grown up so that their parents can relax in peace! This has obviously not happened and those young magpies  are like some people's families.  These "bird kids" just refuse to "fly the coop"! Their poor, haggard, parents are still trying to teach them how to fend for themselves and they are apparently failing miserably at that task. It sounds to me  like  those young magpies will never, ever, grow up and will forever be depending on their parents to supply them with all the basic needs of life!

I think this family of magpies is the perfect example of  the "true dysfunctional family" of the  bird world!!!

Anxious Aging

Anxious Aging

She leans heavily on her walker

As she shuffles slowly down the hall

Uttering moans so barely audible

Moving toward an end as yet unclear.

 Searching for peace in a sea of doubting

Amid obscure objectives and dim reflections

Of days so quickly fading from her mind

And she wanders, fearful, anxious

For that certainty she can no longer find.

Youth and vitality have vanished forever.

They slipped right out from her last firm grip

Now from beyond they taunt and tease her

With tormenting visions of yesteryears

When confidence was but a simple concept

 And life was such a breeze to live.

Passing time brings fading images

Of a life that can no longer be

And she ponders this new prospect

Of  “Old Memories” as her destiny.

Vacation Time

I'm Back

I'm  back from a a wonderful  little mini holiday spent  in the tranquility of the beautiful little town of Canmore, Alberta, where Rockies tantalise you with with magnificent vistas of majestic peaks that reach up into the heavens and beautiful clear waters of the rivers and lakes below.  We spent the days sightseeing and enjoying the fresh mountain air and the beautiful scenery and I could not get enough pictures to capture the attraction of the area.  It is really gorgeous country out there and seems to have all the amenities of  a city with the atmosphere of  wilderness beauty and serenity.  Just a couple of hours outside of the bustling city of Calgary, it is the perfect escape into peace and perfect calm. What a wonderful world we live in!!!!

Blessings

Blessings Around Us

I find myself meandering

My heart  heart so full, replete 

As I marvel at the blessings

That God has laid here at my feet.

I leave behind the tribulations

Of  days so filled with care

That trip and trouble daily life

There is no reason to keep them there

I stop, inhale the peace of nature,

It sends my heart to throes of bliss 

I feel the cool of still blue waters, 

Where true presence of God exists.

I hear the hiss of breezes sighing 

They fill my soul with serenity
I sense the aura of nature's splendor
Etch indelibly into memory

I bid farewell to strife and worry
Of days and nights so fraught with fear
There is no reason to be worried
When all God's  blessings are so near !

Technology IS okay!!!

Awe! Success!!!

For those of you who thought I was a lost cause, this is my note of jubilation!  (I may rant and rave and complain alot, but I never give up on a challenge!)
I did get my MP3  player going and I have been enjoying my audio books as I do dishes, and bake my muffins and go for my walk along the river valley promenade.  I love it!  Technology is okay for those who are young at heart --- and those that are too stubborn to give up!  Us old folks may be slow but backing down is harder to do at our age!    

Summer's Revenge

Rehabilitating That Incapacitating Drag

For months I have been deliberating

Cause winter was so aggravating

Its dismal gloom was so exasperating

That warm sunshine I’d been anticipating

Was just nowhere to be found.

Then suddenly temps were graduating

Sun’s rays their heat disseminating

That sunlight was so liberating

That excuses for procrastinating

Had lost their bitter edge.

So the garden needed cultivating

For veggies that we were propagating

But dandelions were proliferating

They actually demanded eradicating

We really did not want them there.

On horticulture we’d been educating

As exotic plants we kept incorporating

Joy and labor we were integrating

Cause Eden’s garden we are recreating

Right in our own back yard.

We sat there planning, contemplating

Those plots that we are allocating

For seeds that we had germinating

In peat flower pots originating

To give them a good start.

Good weather we’re appreciating

The warm days are so invigorating

We find them so intoxicating

All old grievances we’re repudiating

With sighs of sheer delight.

So we sit there prognosticating

Cause we find it so exhilarating

New ideas we’ll be coordinating

Make us really feel like celebrating

Cause it truly is so validating

And we’ve earned this sweet revenge!

Technology Woes

Frustration

Instructions are redundant

If the print is way too small

For I cannot see the letters

I can’t read them at all. 

I don’t understand this gadget

I don’t know how it works

Oh for youthful savvy

 I could really use those perks!

I struggle and I try so hard

I really work to train

But knowledge of these gadgets

I just cannot obtain

So I bug and pester and implore

My kids until they’re blue

They’re convinced that Mom’s a nuisance

With no patience and no clue.

This technology’s moving way too fast

For this brain to comprehend

 For no sooner as I think I got it,

New technology they expend.

Life used to be so simple

When we simply met and talked

There was no frustration

And our brainpower never balked!

Downside of Modern Technology

The Downside of Power

In addition to my frustration with this new technology, I have a bone to pick with companies (Philips, at the moment), who seem to assume that instructions for the operation of their gadgets are unnecessary (redundant?) perhaps.  Seems to me I used to hear the term "user friendly" once upon a time.  I guess the company has now become so big and powerful, that they no longer care about "customer satisfaction".

Because I am visually impaired (not blind)! I cannot read books, (a very important passion of mine.) I  do, however, have one alternative.  I can still access the literary field through audio books which I truly appreciate and thoroughly enjoy. I have downloaded audio books to my computer and listened to them that way but that harnesses me to my computer, and even my laptop  cannot go everywhere  I want to go.  I have also used audio cassettes with my Walkman and those help, but some cassettes are so old that they skip or distort sound, making listening to the book extremely frustrating. A further disadvantage is that cassettes have to be physically picked up and returned to the library (26 blocks away).

Somebody suggested an MP3 player.  I bought one.  But the instruction sheet on it has printing the size of the little toe on my flea's left foot.  If they made that writing any smaller it would totally disappear into the paper!

With an ageing population, Philips could have a lucrative business catering to seniors if they were just a little more savvy with the basics of supply and demand.  Some of us still require instruction sheets    ---  readable ones!

Searching For The Sun

Sunshine Blues

I hate being indoors these days. I've had more than my share of it this winter (it's like that every winter and spring)! I just wish I had a balcony so I can get outdoors into the sunlight without all that terrible MOVING! - special table, chair, umbrella, extension cords, laptop, keyboard, mouse, etc. etc. (I can't stand the laptop keyboard or mousepad, so I bought an external keyboard and mouse). So anyway, I get out there on that public balcony, and I get myself all set up to work. Then either the weather changes or someone comes to visit and I've done all that work to get organized and I accomplish beans! Still I don't want to be imprisoned indoors forever and I will not give up writing. That computer is my lifeline! Guess I just have no hope of winning this battle!

I really do love my apartment but I would so love to have a private, easily accessible, balcony right outside. Unfortunately, few, if any, "Seniors" apartments have balconies. Seems like us old folks are prone to depression and balconies present too easy an access to ending it all, OR, perhaps seniors just forget how to stay safely away from danger. Perhaps the really expensive ones might offer me that option, but my millions have not been printed yet. So I struggle along with the big move each time, and I fail more often than I succeed.

Owning my own home with that wonderful deck was wonderful, but maintaining the place was a killer - much worse than this inconvenient move up to the twelfth floor balcony! 

Them's the breaks, lady! Suck it up!

Armchair Cruising

Getting the most out of your Holiday Buck

Over the years (and there have been many)  I have been fortunate to have tried several ways to enjoy  my "off-time" - travelling, camping, fishing visiting friends/family,  etc. etc. etc... Spring, especially, brings out the wanderlust in me.

Many of my former pursuits are somewhat impractical, improbable, or impossible for me now.  At best, I can still go for some very inadequate facsimiles of each of those most gratifying pastimes, but alas, few can replicate the pleasures that those activities once provided.

I am fortunate, however, to have detailed records of many of the highlights of those most memorable events of those carefree, happy days.  I am now so glad I took the time to record all those very minute details because it is so easy to relive them now.

Luckily, I did quite abit of travelling (one of my foremost passions) in my time, but since I was never rich, I had to stretch every dollar to make it reach the farthest. I loved touring because I got to see much of the world, but it was the cruising that gave me the most value (and comfort) for my money. Each cruise included some sightseeing on land, but it also included  great concerts and entertainment, plus meals and accommodations, (complete with laundry and housekeeping service), and I did not have to pack and unpack my luggage to see a completely different place the next  day!

To me, cruising was worth every  penny! You could be as active or as inactive as you chose to be.  (I liked the "active" part those days!)

BTW my favorite cruise was  on the Sun Viking through the Norwegian Fiords.   What a spectacular cruise that was!!!!!!! With lots of tours on land plus all that scrumptious Norwegian fooood!!!!!

Winter's Demise

Life After Winter

I have been enjoying the demise  of winter lately and to take advantage of it I have forgone the comfortable temperatures of my apartment and gone out walking - down city streets - of course. I guess the city's cement sidewalks are not the most comfortable surfaces to walk on, but for some reason, people get irritated if I walk on their lawns. (There are the city parks , of course, but people look at me funny when I walk in circles.)

Last Monday, it was so nice and warm that I walked for miles and I enjoyed it (till the last few blocks) because the blisters on the soles of my feet hurt so much. Still, I was determined to enjoy that warm weather so I refused to hop a bus and instead, I limped my way home.With all that walking I should have lost at least twenty pounds but all I lost was an earring and that did not even weigh an ounce!  As the pounds, I brought them all back - down to the very last one!

Nonetheless, I am going to take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy that sunshine! Heaven knows I have waited long enough for it. So I have earned it!!! For now, I  simply drained my blisters, applied antiseptic to the area and put on bandages where required and I'm back on the sidewalks again.

Mind you, I got pretty cold yesterday and today as the the wind has not yet been informed that winter is done.  Somebody send a memo. Pleeeease!

Spring Hurrah

Spring’s Hurrah

Winter’s over, the snow has gone

My heart is singing, the battle’s won

I meander down the city street

Till I get blisters on my feet.

But I care little about the pain

I’m just so happy to be out again.

Nature’s finally turned the tide

And opened up the countryside.

Life again is full of bliss

As summers breezes softly kiss

My cheeks still pale from winter’s gloom

But now so eager for summer’s bloom.

So I keep walking, though my feet complain

This new-found freedom is worth the pain.

More “cabin  fever” I can’t abide

Those winter doldrums I just can’t hide

I’m ready now for the soft caress

Of summer’s breezes to assess

And catch the zeal of the sun’s bright rays

To counter that “captive” malaise

So burning blisters won’t keep me home

Cause I’m determined now to roam

And if by chance I have to shed

Some skin that blistered till it bled

T’is but a little price to pay

For the recompense of a lovely day!