IS “CRAZY” CONTAGIOUS? One of the non-Trump related news stories this month is the measles outbreaks occurring in states/areas that allow parents to opt out of having their children immunized for preventable childhood diseases. I guess the thinking is that, if everyone else immunizes I don’t need to. There seems to be a flaw in the reasoning, since the outbreaks continue. Most diseases are spread from person to person by a variety of means. They are hard to avoid, and we are dependent on our … [Read more...]
THE REAL REASON FOR MY BLOG
Ok, all y’all, now comes my confession regarding the REAL reason for me starting a blog. When I was about four years old I told my mom I wanted to write books when I grew up. Her very prosaic 1950’s response was “better you should learn to type.” Well, I did learn to type, and to organize things, and to get along with people, and, as a result I had a very successful career where I did all of those things on a daily basis. What I didn’t do was write. I thought about writing, I took classes … [Read more...]
WHAT DO JAPANESE BORO AND SCOTTISH HAGGIS HAVE IN COMMON?
WHAT DO JAPANESE BORO AND SCOTTISH HAGGIS HAVE IN COMMON? Right off the bat it would appear that the Japanese tradition of patching together worn out clothing (Boro: ragged) would have nothing in common with the vilified Scottish delicacy called Haggis (sheep’s stomach stuffed with bits and bobs of sheep, oatmeal, onions, etc. and boiled to a savory pudding). However, I maintain that both traditions, as well as patchwork quilts, crocheted granny squares, chitterlings, sausages, scrapple, and … [Read more...]
PROM IS A 4-LETTER WORD
Well, it is that time of year again, Prom time. For most of us prom is a niggling memory of unmet expectations and feelings of inadequacy. We either went to “The Prom” and were sorely disappointed or didn’t go to “The Prom” and continue to fight the feeling that we were somehow lacking in what it takes to be successful in life. Or, the third option (my husband’s choice), saying you didn’t go to prom and being reminded that you did, with ME. But, life goes on and we push those memories out of … [Read more...]
OLD AND IN THE WAY
That was the bumper sticker that caught my eye on the way out of Starbucks earlier this week. First, I was taken aback, then kind of smiled, immediately thinking of it as a statement on slow driving. Then, it reminded me of an experience I had a few years ago that was kind of any eye opener. About a year after my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer and about 5 months before his death, I was laid off from my job. I was not particularly surprised; there were other layoffs … [Read more...]
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME REDUX
For the past year I have both observed and experienced a kind of suspension of belief around our political situation in the United States. It isn’t so much about being a Liberal with a capital “L” as it is about how both liberals and conservatives seem to have become hostages to a leadership that we would not have chosen but feel constrained to either support or placate. I think that people who voted for the current administration may be as surprised about the direction things have gone as … [Read more...]
WORK IN PROGRESS/MINDFULNESS
You would think that after almost 70 years of being a work in progress I would be closer to completion, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I am more like the roads of El Dorado County (always under construction and full of pot holes) than I am like the Empire State Building (only took about 15 months to build and still standing proud). While I do occasionally have a manic episode when I think I am doing well, more often I am in the middle of an existential crisis around one of my many flaws … [Read more...]
THE CRONE ARCHETYPE
To begin with, I had to look up “archetype.” That was pretty easy. Wikipedia: The concept of an archetype /ˈɑːrkɪtaɪp/ is found in areas relating to behavior, modern psychological theory, and literary analysis. In various seemingly unrelated cases in classic storytelling, media etc. characters or ideas sharing similar traits can be found. It is really just a type of person, like a hero, or a caregiver. The idea that, from early in man’s history, certain types of characters have peopled our … [Read more...]
QUEEN FOR A DAY
I haven’t mentioned it much (because I don’t like to dwell on my failures) but, last year, we got a couple of bee hives and set out to save the planet and give our veggie garden a boost. We hit a few snags along the way but thought we were doing pretty well until we treated the bees for varroa mites without adequately understanding the power of the medication. So, all of our bees either keeled over dead or flew away to safer climes. This year, we attended the Beekeeping 102 class given by … [Read more...]
Welcome to the 20th Century
No, that was not a typo. It is a phrase I have repeated many times since moving from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Sierra Mountains. It comes up every time I am faced with the limited services available to me living out in the proverbial “boon docks.” Little things, like fast internet, cell service in your home, decent cable TV reception, Costco within an easy drive, a grocery store around the corner, or pizza delivery. This week has been especially trying because a late dumping of snow … [Read more...]
