KARMA

Earlier today, this meme popped up on my FB page.  Some things I just can't resist, and this was one of 'em.  Who thinks this stuff up?  

A Karma Bus.........what an idea.......we all must react in a similar way, cuz who among us hasn't been in a state of pissinomity because of something someone did to us?  All we have in our pocket for retribution is the hope that karma is real.  

My belief system is not mainstream, because I'm a 'free thinker.'  But, one thing I do believe in is karma.

Karma is "a concept in Indian religions and philosophy that describes the relationship between a person's actions and their consequences.  It's often understood as a principle of cause and effect, where good or bad actions determine the nature of a person's future existence."

The Hindu concept of karma is like the Christian concept "we reap what we sow."  Galatians 6:7 KJV.   The word 'karma' is tossed around a lot in our society, so we should be aware of its 12 laws:

• The great law or the law of cause and effect.  According to this law, whatever thoughts or energy one puts out, one gets back....good or bad.  
• The law of creation.  Life just doesn't happen to us.  To make things happen in our lives, we need to take action rather than wait for something to magically come our way.  We can use skills, talents and strengths to create something that's beneficial to ourselves and others, as well. 
• The law of humility.  We must be humble enough to accept that our current reality is the result of our past actions.  
• The law of growth.  Growth starts within us.  To contribute positively in the world, we need to start with ourselves.  Real change, personal growth, begins with what we have control over, which is ourselves, not others.  Our focus should be on ourselves, not trying to control the people or situations around us.
• The law of responsibility.  We are the product of the choices we make.
• The law of connection.  Everything in our lives, including our past, present and future, are connected.  Who we are today is the result of our previous actions.  Our actions now will be connected to what happens to us in the future.
• The law of focus.  Concentrate on one thing at a time.  If we focus on higher values like love and peace, we're less likely to be distracted by heavy feelings of resentment, greed or anger.
• The law of giving and hospitality.  We must give to the things we believe in.  If we want to live in a peaceful world, we need to focus on cultivating peace for others.
• The law of here and now.  Embrace the present.  This can happen only if we let go of negative thoughts or behaviors of the past.  If we get too focused on past events, we'll keep reliving them.  
• The law of change.  History will continue to repeat itself until we learn from the experience and take steps to do something differently to stop the cycle. 
• The law of patience and reward.  It does no good to live healthily for one day and then sabotage it in the next.  Like St. Teresa of Avila said, "Patience attains all it strives for."
• The law of significance and inspiration.  We all play a part and have something to contribute to this world.  What we share may sometimes seem small to us but can make an enormous difference in someone else's life.  According to this law, every contribution we make will affect the world.  Each of us has been born with a specific gift, mission and purpose that only we can bring into the world with our uniqueness.  To genuinely share our gifts and skills is why we are here.  

We all know people who have knowingly set out to hurt us.  The pain they caused for us is what we want karma to do to them.  Bless me Father, but I've actually waited years to see karma unfold.  It took a long time, but it did.  It does.  It will.    

SARA TEASDALE

American writer, Sara Teasdale (1884-1933), wrote seven books of poetry in her lifetime.  Her poems are noted for their classical simplicity and quiet intensity.

".....Tell me how you have kept the joy

still burning in your eyes."

Then, like an old-time orator, 

Impressively he rose.

'I make the most of all that comes

and the least of all that goes.'

The jingling rhythm of his words

echoed as old songs do;

Yet this had kept his eyes alight

till he was ninety-two."

~Sara Teasdale, 'The Philosopher" 1916~

COUNTRY Q

Of the 195 countries in the world, only one begins with the letter Q, and that is Qatar (Kuh-Tar).  Q is clearly an uncommon letter.  8% of all languages use the /q/ sound.  English speakers pronounce it as /k/ (king), which appears in 90% of the world's 3,000 languages and dialects.  A language is written, as well as spoken.  A dialect is just spoken.

As shown by this map, Qatar is a peninsula, and its only land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, and the rest of it is surrounded by the Persian Gulf. 

• The country follows Islamic law, according to which Fridays and Saturdays are their weekend instead of Saturdays and Sundays.  Friday is the day to offer prayers, and all malls and stores in the country are closed and open only after the Friday afternoon prayer is done.  
• Men outnumber the women.  The total population is about 2.5 million, but only about 700,000 are women.  This is because immigrants from other countries came to Qatar with the promise of a job and a good lifestyle.  Most of them are males.  The population is also young, with over 70% of people ages 15-29 or 30-44.
• Qatar is officially the safest country in the world.  In addition, it is perfectly immune from natural disasters, such as earthquakes or tsunamis.  Many scientists believe there is a mere 0.1% chance of an earthquake occurring in Qatar.
• Qatar is the fourth nation in the world (joining Oman, Greenland and San Marino) where there is not a single forest in the whole country.
• Camel racing is probably the favorite sport of Qatar.  Children were used as camel jockeys, but due to this being dangerous, in 2004 children were replaced by robots that sit on top of the camels.
• It is one of the world's largest reserves of petroleum and natural gas and employs large numbers of foreign workers in its production process.  Because of this oil wealth, the country's residents enjoy a high standard of living and a well-established system of social services.
• Qatari citizens enjoy tax-free incomes, high-paying government jobs, free health care, free higher education, financial support for newlyweds, housing support, generous subsidies that cover utility bills and plush retirement benefits.  But, there are restrictions and there is strict punishment for wrongdoing.

• 

  Arabian Oryx

  The national animal of Qatar is the Arabian Oryx. 
• Dates are the national fruit.  Dates are used as part of their hospitality.
• Arabic is the official language.  English is the second language.
• Certain public expressions of affection, such as kissing or hugging, are illegal in Qatar, especially in family-friendly spaces. 
• Moving in together while unmarried is illegal.
• The Qataf is the national flower, renowned for its resilience to the dry desert landscape.

  

  Qataf, flower

• Family and privacy are important values in Qatari culture.  Generally, men and women avoid socializing together.
• It is illegal to bring pornography, pork products and alcohol into the country.
• It is illegal to photograph government buildings or military sites.
• It is illegal to photograph local people, especially women, without permission.

• 
  Qatar was known for its production of purple dye.  Its ruler from 1847 to 1876 proposed the creation of a flag with a purple-red color to unify the state, as well as to highlight its historic role in the production of dye.
• Law forbids unmarried couples to sleep in the same room, so it's important to be able to provide documentary proof of marriage,  or hotels will not allow you to stay there.

I could go on and on with interesting facts about this country that starts with a Q.  Not only is research my hobby, but learning new things about our world is high on my late-life priority list.  Life across the globe has many differences and unique traditions.  It's healthy for us to familiarize ourselves with far-away places, because we sometimes need to be more appreciative of life as we know it.  I hope my followers have enjoyed today's post, which is more like a geography lesson.  I'd heard of Qatar, but until today I didn't really know where it was located on the map.  Think I'll remember it because it looks like Saudi Arabia's appendix!

TANGLES

 Today's post begins with quotations concerning life's tangles.......

The human mind is so complex and things are so tangled up with each other that, to explain a blade of straw, one would have to take to pieces an entire universe.  A definition is a sack of flour compressed into a thimble.  ~Remy de Gourmont.

You only see the top of a lily pad, but if you pull the Lily pad out of the water, it has roots and tangled weeds and all the stuff that comes with it.  ~Trevor Hall

Spending some time getting quiet can really be the best remedy for tangled situations.  Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration, and exhaustion to sit quietly will do more to untangle a mess than anything else I've ever found.  ~Lysa TerKeurst

The line of life is a snarl of loops and ends.  ~James Lendall Basford (1845-1915)

So many problems, so many snags to untangle every day..... ~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, 1940s

So many tangles in life are ultimately hopeless that we have no appropriate sword other than laughter.  ~Gordon W. Allport, 1964

 Even when tied in a thousand knots, the string is still but one.  ~Rumi

To be always ready, a man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied.  ~Henri Frederic Amiel, 1851

In the tangles of life, we often find the threads that lead us to our true selves.  ~Reedsi 

When asked to describe a tangle, one might first think of yarn or Christmas tree lights.  Today I'm not referring to either of those two, but rather the daily tangles that constantly evolve and suck us into the mess.   

Of the above quotations, my favorite one is.....everything cannot be untied.  Our best efforts won't ever untangle a mess of knots no matter how hard we try.  It's in our best interest to realize this so as not to wear ourselves out trying.  

Am up early, 5 a.m.  Am going over today's to-do list.

The sunrise is elegant.  It started out with a pink horizon and bloomed into an ocean of pink, blue and white clouds.  The plants, grass and trees are lush green after the rainfall.  Today's high is predicted at 86 degrees.  Right now, it's 63 degrees.

It's time again for me to decide on a newsletter topic.  I was recently asked a question about Gen X, and in all honesty know very little about the generational labels.  That was an AHA moment, maybe a good topic to research and write about.  I'm sure I'm not the only senior citizen who doesn't know the generational definitions and attributes.  About midnight I did some preliminary research and found some interesting stuff.  

Yesterday was a sports day for the boyfriend.  It was the first time we'd seen protesters from a climate activist group disrupt a golf tournament by throwing smoke bombs that left red and white residue on the 18th green.  As stated in AP, "Extinction Rebellion, an activist group with a history of disrupting events around the world, claimed responsibility for the protest.  In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the group blamed climate change for an electrical storm that injured two people at a home near the course on Saturday."

I'm not a sports enthusiast, but do enjoy watching an occasional golf tournament, basketball or baseball game on the telly.  But, the last thing anyone needs is that moment when something really strange happens and there's a brief uncertainty about what's gonna happen next.  Everyone's first thought, sadly, is some random act of terrorism.

Tomorrow I won't be writing but will be back on Wednesday.  Ta-ta till then.

DELETED IT!

Bless me Father.......................well, I did it again.  Wrote a lengthy blog this morning, re-read it a couple of times, and then deleted the whole shebang.  Don't know why I do that, but there's that little voice inside me that is known to whisper sweet somethings in my ear.  Don't know if it's an angel or an imp, but it is the reason for this pathetic post.

TO WHAT END?

Life is a litany of petty annoyances, and I confess to having zero tolerance.  That's not a good thing.  Yesterday I realized the pharmacy didn't fill one of my prescriptions.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being of least importance) that prescription is a 10.  My immediate reaction was what I call a state of pissinomity.  That word cannot be found in the dictionary, because I made it up to describe my emotional state when I get p___d off.  

By this morning, my state of pissinomity leveled off.  I was courteous when I called the pharmacy.  I learned long ago the value of waiting until the smoke clears.  The gal checked the records and, sure enough, for 'some reason' it was omitted but is now ready for me to pick up.  I respectfully thanked her.  

A couple of months ago I read about the term to what end.  I could have very easily expressed my annoyance on the phone, but to what end?   To what end questions the purpose or intended outcome of a particular course of action. 

There have been a couple of times since reading about to what end that I've asked myself what will an action accomplish? and, will it be worth it?   Sometimes we forget about the person on the other end of the line.  I've been in that position countless times, and no one ever gained anything by showing anger.  Sadly, my personality is colorful, in that I am not flat-lined when it comes to expressing my emotions.  It requires discipline and sometimes duct tape.

The boyfriend's thoughtful personality offered to pick up my medication from the pharmacy located way across town.  On Saturdays they're open until 1:30 in the afternoon.       

WRITER'S BLOCK

The boyfriend's garden is producing marvelous spring onions.   Store-bought green onions, 3 measly bunches for $2, are put to shame by these homegrown ones.  We eat the green tops, too.  The first cucumber was picked yesterday.  I cut it up into small pieces, drizzled with Ken's Lite Vidalia Onion Dressing.  Yumm-O.

Tis an overcast foggy day, with light mist.  The boyfriend has an appointment this morning, as well as a WM list of things.  I'm staying home.  Last thing on earth to interest me is shopping.  Think I'd rather have a root canal.  Have gotten back into crocheting comfort crosses for the rest home, so better keep my head focused on that. Crocheting is something I can do while my ears and brain are plugged in to You Tube videos.  That's my version of multi-tasking!

Honestly, this morning my mind is as blank as a check.  Do not have a clue what words to type on the page.  Rather than ramble on senselessly, today's post will be short.

Until the morrow, stay safe and stay well.  Ta-ta

OUR GLORIOUS MOON

According to the National Hurricane Center, the first named storm of this year's hurricane season, Tropical Storm Alberto, made landfall in Mexico early this morning.  The storm is forecast with a rainfall of 20 inches across parts of northeast Mexico and nearly a foot of rain throughout southern Texas.  Flood advisories for much of the Gulf Coast from southern Texas to Louisiana and Alabama.  

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an 85% chance of above normal Atlantic hurricane season, which could see 17 to 25 named storms.  

Humanity experiences different forms of Mother Nature's fury wherever we live.  In our case, it's the fierce tornadic funnel clouds that can reach down and wipe out entire towns in minutes.  As wonderful as summer is, there's always the possibility of storms ranging from mild to catastrophic.  

Today, June 20th, is the first official day of summer, the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere.  According to NASA, June's full moon will be the lowest full moon of 2024.  Because of this low position, it will appear bigger than ever.  It is known as the Moon Illusion.

Each full moon has its own name.  Here in North America, we take the names of the full moons from the Native Americans. 

January:  Wolf Moon, named after the howling of hungry wolves lamenting the scarcity of food in midwinter.

February:  Snow Moon.  February's typically cold, snowy weather in North America earned its full moon the name.

March: Worm Moon. Named for the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground.  

April:  Pink Moon.  Named for the Pink Moon after a species of early blooming wildflower.  

May:  Flower Moon.  Gives thanks for the abundant blooming that occurs as spring begins.

June:  Strawberry Moon.  The harvesting of strawberries in June gives June's full moon its name.

July: Buck Moon.  Male deer shed their antlers every year.  In July they begin to regrow them.  

August:  Sturgeon Moon.  The fishing tribes noticed that sturgeons were easier to catch in the Great Lakes and other bodies of water during this time of year.  Sturgeons were an important food source for the tribes.  The word 'sturgeon' means 'the stirrer,' which describes how the fish stir up mud and silt on the river and lake bottoms while searching for food. 

September: Corn Moon.  This is when crops are gathered at the end of the summer season.  The Moon appears particularly bright and rises early, allowing continued harvesting into the night.  

October: Hunter's Moon.  This is the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer.  Like the Harvest Moon, the Hunter's Moon is particularly bright and long in the sky, giving Hunter's the opportunity to stalk prey at night.

November:  Beaver Moon.  There is disagreement here.  Some say it comes from Native Americans setting beaver traps during this month.  Others say it is from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter dams.

December:  Cold Moon.  The coming of winter earned December's full moon the name Cold Moon.

The month of June honors the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno.  It's a popular time for marriages.  It was also harvesting time for honey in medieval times.  The 'honeymoon' often follows a marriage, and the term is entwined with this alternative moon nickname. 

In some spiritual traditions, June's Strawberry Moon is seen as a symbol of love and prosperity.  It's a time to appreciate and savor life's sweetness and connect with the love and abundance surrounding us.

Our special dinner guests this past Saturday were served a fresh plate of large fresh strawberries, along with individual cups of Cool Whip topped with Hershey's chocolate syrup.  For fun, we dipped strawberries in the Cool Whip and chocolate for the perfect June dessert.  I guess we were incorporating nature into the ritual of sharing a meal with dear ones.

This month's full moon will hit peak illumination at 9:08 p.m. ET tomorrow Friday, June 21, 2024.  We will have three evenings where the moon appears full, from tonight into Sunday early morning, according to NASA.  Strawberry Moons only fall within a day of the solstice every 19-20 years, making this month a rare solar event.

"Every day it's a different version of itself. 

 Sometimes weak and wan,

 sometimes strong and full of light.

  The moon understands what it means to be human.

  Uncertain.

  Alone.

  Cratered by imperfections." 

 ~Tahereh Mafi

HISTORY

On this date in 1865, a Union General read orders in Galveston, Texas, stating that all enslaved people in the state were free according to federal law.  It was in 2021 that Juneteenth (short for June nineteenth) was designated a federal holiday.

Every day each of us is living in what will be the history of future generations.  Children born in the next century will read about life in 2024, about our country's divisiveness, about the epidemic of 2020 that brought a global stop to everyday life, about artificial intelligence, fast food, current hairstyles and fashion trends.  There will be a day when people will talk about us like we talk about people who lived in the 12th century.  

Predicting the future and what it will be like, say, in the year 3000, is impossible.  We don't know the reach of human intelligence in the next 976 years.  There are unsolved mysteries from the past that scientists are still unable to explain.  They can come up with possible answers, but there's no certainty.  What may be a proven fact today may have a more rational explanation in the next millennium.  

Studying history in high school could have been interesting if Mr. B's class didn't depend on an A, B, C, D or F.   Every class we dreaded a pop quiz or the end-of-chapter test.  Instead of really understanding history, we were simply being programmed to remember stuff we didn't understand.  Anyway, that's how it was for me.  Now, I enjoy reading about the past....to a certain extent.  My personal interest goes back more to ancient Greece and Rome.  

Archaeology, digging up stuff buried in the ground, has always been an intrigue.  I still find myself wondering what's beneath the ground I walk on.  The adjoining field to Venny has a protected area where Indian artifacts were found.  Our next door neighbor lived in Israel for a period of time.  She and her husband were involved in digs there, and she has a wealth of interesting memories to share.  Listening to others share their amazing life experiences is an over-the-top experience for me.  Every morsel of understanding our minds can acquire, is like lighting a candle in the darkness.  

Last night I stayed up until 2 a.m., watching a 5-hour deposition of one of Alex Jones' employees.  Jones, conspiracy theorist and host of InfoWars, was sued for claiming the killing of Sandy Hook children was a hoax.  In 2022, juries in Connecticut and Texas awarded $1.487 billion in damages to families of the victims.  The court denied his attempt at filing for bankruptcy and instead ordered him to liquidate his assets to satisfy the award in damages.  By the time it was time to close the cover of my laptop and go to sleep, my brain felt like I was on a simulated flight to the moon.  

The day awaits, and it's lunch time.  Till the morrow, ta-ta.

EXTREME HEAT IN MIDWEST

Looks can be deceiving.  Through the patio doors, we see the trees and plants waving their limbs in the nice breeze.  But, open those patio doors, and it's like an oven out there.....a mighty humid oven.  My weather app reads 83 percent humidity.

Me and the heat do not get along anymore.  There was the day when I worshiped the sun and would lay out mid-day and bake myself like a clam.  How vane we are when we're young.  My skin tone tanned easily, so all I wanted was to be as dark as I could get.   One might say that my heart changed its affections.  I dumped the heat for the cool.

We baby boomers can compare our childhoods with today, regarding the hot weather.  Back then, we had no air-conditioners.  One oscillating fan was moved from one spot to another around the house.  Nighttime was horrible.  One would sweat until the bed sheets were miserably damp.  Open windows would only let the heat inside.  Close the windows and suffocate.  Life today is luxurious in comparison.  Central air in our home, air-conditioning in the car.  There's a tendency for us to look to the 1950s and say those were the good old days, but in reality, they weren't that great.  Sadly, there are people today who live without the creature comforts we're blessed to have.  A quiet prayer for those dear souls is warranted by the rest of us.

WE'RE IN A QUIETER TIME OF LIFE

Here we are at the beginning of a new week.  The next national holiday to stir the masses will be in 17 days.......Thursday, July 4th.  Fireworks will most likely be held on Saturday, the 6th, so more people can attend.  

We look in the rear-view mirror at our annual July 4th patio parties with warm fuzzy memories.  It's a wonderful thing to have those highlights in life that lift spirits and balance out those not-so-wonderful times.  In my mind and heart, those parties and fun times are sacred.  Our invitation list was sacred, plus we welcomed anyone who was kind enough to think about us and drop in.  That old saying, more the merrier, is most often true.

We no longer partake of big gatherings, nor do we entertain like we used to.  Age determines many of the things we choose to do and choose not to do.  That's the perk of aging.  We are more easily forgiven for not continuing annual traditions.  Something happens in our higher years that's kind of baffling, actually.  Many times the two of us prior party animals sit here, look at each other, and comment how there's nowhere else in the world we'd rather be.  My definition is contentment.  A mighty precious commodity in this society that has seemingly been turned upside down.     

Contentment is defined as a peaceful ease of mind.  And, that's an accurate definition, in our case.  We worked so hard to get where we are, both before and after retirement.  We cannot extract ourselves from the daily fits and fumes and spits and sputters that come to all of us, but it's how a person feels about everything else.  We have our mantra IT IS WHAT IT IS displayed where it's clearly visible to us.  We cannot control anyone or anything besides what's within our unit here at Venny.  I think life has gotten so complex and so uncertain, that we no longer feel the urge or the need to go out among strangers anymore.  When we do bump into people our own age, the conversation seems to always veer off in the same direction.  Everyone feels the same.  All we want now is to feel safe and satisfied.  The rest is gonna happen without our input.  

Guess what I started out saying was how fast the summer is going.  Seems each month has something by which we gauge the passing of time.  January is New Year's Eve, February has Valentine's day, March has St. Patrick's Day, April has April Fool's Day, May has Mother's Day and Memorial Day, June has Father's Day, July has the Fourth celebrations, August school starts, September has Labor Day, October has Halloween, November has Thanksgiving, and December has Christmas.  

When one holiday ends, out of habit we look toward the next one.  Then we sprinkle birthdays, anniversaries and reunions in the mix, and so it goes.  I'm blessed with the anticipation of a cousin reunion the latter part of August, and that's my focus from now until then.  We can choose our main events, which is pretty cool.

There's an eerie haze out this morning.  Another very warm day is forecast.  It reached close to 90 degrees yesterday.  Neither of us ventured out, but rather the boyfriend watched his golf and racing on the telly.  I watched the taking of depositions on YT.  Watching people testify, watching the lawyers propose their questions, and watching how people evade answering.  One gets to where body language speaks louder than their words.  

Looks like it might rain, actually.  With the intense heat forecast, we'll take every drop that Heaven sends our way.  Till the morrow, ta-ta.

PURPLE POSIES

Our 4-pound house guest must have an alarm clock tucked inside of her.  Yesterday morning her velvety tongue was licking my face at 5:30 and this morning at 5:15.  We don't mind, cuz we know she's telling us it's time to go for her morning necessary walk.  Tis another rainy day here, a perfect day to cozy in.

Read online that the U.S. is under extreme heat advisory for this coming week.  I pray everyone gives special attention to their pets.  If life is hard for us, it's even more so for them.

Today I share this picture taken a few minutes ago.  These are the precious posies given to me last night by our special friends.  Freshly picked from their garden, aren't they beautiful?  To me, there's no color more beautiful than purple......

~Purplelicious~

FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND

Life blessed me with a daddy.  There's an old saying, that anyone can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a dad.  Let's add yet another layer to the hierarchy of fatherhood.....daddy.  I remember when I started working for Juvenile Court, one of the officers commented on how I referred to my daddy.  He thought that was so cool.  I remember thinking about what he said......maybe I had something he never had.  And, I did.

My daddy was kind, hard-working and humble, handsome, enjoyed telling jokes, was one helluva baseball player, had a dark complexion and a proud smile that I only saw when he and I ballroom danced together.  When and if I make it to the next realm, he and I are going to sit on our very own cloud and talk.  I have so many unanswered questions.

It feels odd that I am older now than my daddy was when he died.  At age 71, cancer stole him from us in a matter of weeks.  He was my daddy for 34 years.  In the end, I prayed that he could leave and be freed of the suffering.  That was an unbelievably hard thing for me to do.  

What would daddy think of today's world?  He'd shake his head and most likely not say a word.  He wouldn't want any part of the evil that has grown to be tolerable. 

Life today reminds me of 52 Card Pickup.....when a deck of cards is dropped on the floor and there's no rhyme or reason to the way the cards fall.  An ugly shade of rudeness has seeped into every sector of society.  Anger, even rage, spews from one person to another.  Bullying and belittling have become the norm.  Social media provides a free platform for both braggadocio and cruelty.  Everything is someone else's fault.  No one takes responsibility, but would rather point the finger.  The thought of trying to better the world is trumped by actively seeking to damage the world.  No one has enough.  Greed wears many masks.  The thought of give-and-take no longer exists.  Common sense, of which little remains, tells us that if there's a filled candy dish and everyone takes candy from it, and no one adds candy, that there's gonna come the day when the candy dish is empty.  How is that so difficult to understand? Daddy taught me to work hard and to earn my own way.  He taught me, by his silent example, to do my best and to treat others like I want them to treat me.  Oh, he didn't walk around quoting the bible, but he sure did have us at Sunday Mass.  The one thing that'll forever live in my heart is the memory of me sitting next to daddy in the church pew, and when we stood up, we'd rest our hands on top of the pew in front of us.  He'd reach over and wrap his right little finger around my left little finger.  That was an extra part of the liturgical ritual that belonged to the two of us.  I've never felt that feeling anywhere else or with anyone else.

I don't cling to sorrow when I think about him, but I feast on his good qualities.  Our Creator gave him to me, and, for that, I'll always be grateful.   

AUTOMATIC DEBIT SCAM

Remember Forrest Gump saying that stupid is as stupid does?  Well, grab a cup of coffee or tassie of tea, cuz here's a little Bless Me Father.......

Back in March of this year, I needed to know someone's prior background......with a good enough reason to validate my curiosity.  Internet searches weren't doing me any good, and then I ran across Checkpeople.com.  I weighed the importance of the information, got brave, and paid for a personal information report.  (May I clarify that the person in question was neither a relative nor a friend.  Rather, someone who may be abusing his/her position of authority.)  The printer spewed out the information from Checkpeople.com, which wasn't worth the cost of the paper it was printed on.  But, I wanted it and paid for it and got it.  Amen.

Yesterday morning while checking my less-used email address, I noticed a withdrawal notice from PayPal made June 8th.  That was 5 days ago.  HUH?  I didn't make any transactions 5 days ago.  I called the listed 800 number and actually spoke with a human. I inquired why this withdrawal was made.  Come to find out, that when I initially made the request back in March, the website put me on an automatic withdrawal account.  From that point on, each month Checkpeople was making withdrawals in that same amount.  Holy monkey sh__t.  An additional $137.49 had been withdrawn from our account since that first transaction in March.  This is how these websites are set up to con us, to scam us.  The human on the other end poured syrup all over me as she explained the money was non-refundable and she was sorry for the inconvenience.  Inconvenience?  Your company has just made me a victim of your automatic debit scam and you apologize for the inconvenience?  What frickin' planet are you from, sweetheart?   

So, I'm confessing to stupidity.  I've learned my lesson.  Can't imagine the number of innocent people who do what I did and get their accounts put on automatic withdrawal every month.  They appear as a minimal PayPal transaction, so that's why I never noticed it before.  

Maybe it's good that I got bit by the snake.  Taught me a good lesson.  I thought I was the most cautious person in the universe, and look what happened.  Beware, kids, we are living in a malicious world.  We gotta watch where we tread, cuz the snakes are crawling everywhere. 

WEATHER ALERTS

Yesterday mid-afternoon storm warnings crawled across the lower part of the telly screen.  Our county was included.  Shortly after that, a loud warning came over our storm alert radio.  Within ten minutes, the local tornado sirens were going off.  That's the game changer, when we head for the underground garage area.  

Over the years, I've condensed our private information to a large 3-ring binder.  If both of us are taken out simultaneously, our heirs will not have to work to find our financial information, all things relative to our estate.  This binder is updated with new information received.  The binder is kept in a fire-proof carrying case, always ready to take with us if we need to shelter in place.  We took the binder with us and headed to the lower level.

Fortunately, we were spared damage at Venny.  The town where we used to live, however, was hit with high winds that took down trees and damaged rooftops.  

Remember back when we were kids on the farm.  None of these alert systems were known to exist, by us anyway.  We relied on the sky.  It was Daddy who showed me the type of clouds that can be destructive.  Naturally, he didn't know their scientific names.  I remember he would watch the clouds and tell us when we should get down to the basement.  One tried-and-true forecast was the spotting of clouds that were a shade of green.  Those clouds always produced hail.  

When I watch some of the horrific tornado cloud videos on the news, it's like a super powerful hand reaches down and slaps out an entire town.  Like all things, summer has its dual personality.  This morning the sun is shining.  This is Mother Nature's pleasant side; yesterday She was upset about something.  Guess we humans disrespect Her.  They say, you can't fool Mother Nature.

We're slowly preparing for the weekend.  In the morning at 7:30, Buffy and her backpack are coming to stay for the 3-day weekend.  Saturday we're having special guests over, so she'll enjoy that.  I'll be honest, we love to show Buffy off and brag about her sweetness and her size and her this and her that.  

One of our all-time favorite things to do in the summer is have friends over for sips and sup.  There was a time when we'd prepare a large buffet of food.  But, now that we're older we've abbreviated those efforts and serve simple foods.  It's the friendship that matters.....not the food served.  It's cherished time spent with those who have made life's journey alongside us.  They have kept us in their lives, and we keep them in ours.  Appetites have changed, as well.  There was a day when we'd pile food on our paper plates and barely be able to carry 'em to the picnic table.  We'd chow down the food and head back for more.  The answer to life, as I've learned, is to adapt to what is.  

Oh, meant to share a little ditty that I read online one day.  A little boy was asked if he knew who Joan of Arc was.  He smartly replied, 'Sure, she was Noah's wife.'

JUNK DRAWERS

Do we ever stop to think about the everyday things we take for granted?  Simple things like coat hangers, paper plates, windshield wipers, safety pins, can openers, cardboard boxes, Scotch tape, nail clippers, scissors, tape measures, keys, rubber bands......the list is literally endless.  A whole lot of these essentials are found in our junk drawers.  That one drawer, usually in the kitchen, is dedicated to miscellaneous stuff we use daily and to which we need quick access.  

My first question:  Do you have a junk drawer in your home?  

In our case, we have two.  Reason?  The size of the drawers.  If the object isn't found in the first drawer, then it requires a search of the second.  This became acceptable and just the way it is.  

Second question:  Do you attempt to organize your junk drawer?  Does it make sense to organize a junk drawer?  There does come a time, tho, when so much stuff is crammed into these drawers, that perhaps a rearrangement or purge becomes necessary. Sometimes we try to pull the drawer out, and something toward the back of the drawer gets jammed.  One must attempt to reach back and dislodge the item, or try to quickly jerk the drawer to get it open.  If neither of those attempts is successful, one must rely on the use of a wooden spoon handle or other long prod to move the bad boy.

Our junk drawers have plastic silverware dividers in an effort to categorize our miscellany.  That's a useless solution, because things are never returned to the exact spot they were taken from.  If two people or more live in the same space, there's not a chance in a million that this drawer can be kept neat and tidy.  That's as impossible as asking an elephant to walk through a key hole.

Like everything, even the junk drawer has a history dating back to 1912.  A New York dentist referenced his 'junk drawer' in the context of keeping all of his gadgets handy to where he was working.  Who knew!

It would be an interesting challenge to take inventory of one's junk drawer, wouldn't it?  So many little things are needed for us humans to address the mini dilemmas that pop up at unforeseen intervals.  To remedy these problems, we immediately reach for the junk drawer.  

Where is this going?  I think the junk drawer should be renamed to something more appropriate.  After all, the stuff we need and use and require isn't junk.  Names matter.  Maybe if they weren't called junk drawers, we'd be more diligent in returning stuff to their rightful spot.  The term 'junk' tells the brain to throw it in the drawer and go.

So, what should we rename this sacred space?  One thought might be the Random Drawer.  That kinda says it all.  A drawer of indispensable random objects necessary to daily human functioning on planet Earth.  

Do my followers have suggested names for this important kitchen drawer????   

OUT OF THE LOOP

Guess I officially qualify for the out-of-the-loop group!

Was playing Lexigo on USA Today, and the question was 'what Dating App starts with a T.'  Well, I had nary a clue so looked it up.  The answer was Tinder.  Never heard of it.  The only dating app I'd heard of was Eharmony.  This tells me I'm definitely out of the loop.....then again, why would I be familiar with a dating app?  

I find that Tinder is touted as the world's most popular dating app, the ideal place to meet new people.  Sure is a world apart from our dating days.  Back in the Stone Age, we met our significant others in person.  Personally, at my age now, my heart is very guarded.  I learned along the way that life is a hotbed for deception.  

Trust is a virtue that has changed for me over the decades.  When we were growing up, the clergy and our parents insisted that we trust others.  So, we did, to our detriment.  The realities of life gradually opened up, and we learned the hard way.  Once we're introduced to the unbearable pain of betrayal, our ability to trust goes away forever. Today, children, from little on are taught to trust no one.  

Social media is great, and I'm a participant to a point.  Always lurking in the bushes are online scammers, telephone scammers, people trying to derail us and obtain control over our money and personal identification.  We are wise to exhibit caution in all transactions.  For me, the thought of sharing myself on a dating app would scare the bejeezus out of me.  Couldn't and wouldn't happen.  Just too many expert con artists out there.  Social media is another hotbed for deception.

All levels of humanity are tainted with dishonesty and deceit.  Despite the fact that the virtue of trust has been taken from me, I try my hardest to be a trustworthy person to others.  One of my timeless pillars is confidentiality.  Spending 44 years in a career that required the strictest of confidentiality, I consider myself a tomb.  Nothing drives me more crazy than gossip and the spreading of untruths about others.  There are buffets of gossip out there if one cares to partake.  If I can't say something in front of the victim of useless speculation, then I will never say it to anyone else. Trust requires sincerity and reliability.  Two precious commodities in the human circle.

Talk about online dating......reminds me of a funny thing that happened back when we lived in a single-family dwelling.  The house across the street was a rental property, and one morning we noticed a U-Haul trailer parked on the street.  It was late in the fall, and leaves were on the ground.  A little boy was on our property kicking leaves.  In a small town, we knew every child and this one we did not.  The boyfriend moseyed over to him and started a conversation.  The little boy told him that his mom has a new boyfriend from Alaska.  To keep the conversation going, the boyfriend asked the boy how she met this guy from Alaska.  Quick as a wink, the kid spouted out, well, on Cowboys.com, where else?  I never bothered to verify this website cuz I really didn't care to know more.  Their rental arrangement was short-lived.

Being left out of the loop is one of life's toughest things to accept.  The older we get the closer to the edge we become, and one day we simply slip outside the rim.  When that happens, we know we can no longer relate or interact like we did when we were young.   One has to have a lot more birthdays to really know what this feels like.  It's kinda like when we were kids and softball teams were being chosen.  We stood there silently praying the Hail Mary waiting to be the next one picked, and we weren't.  Growing old feels like being the last name called out......the pity pick.

Our world has drastically changed in the last fifty years.  We baby-boomers have the power to put our feelings out there, so those following us know what to expect.  Never could I have imagined life buzzing by this fast.  Birthdays now fill me with fright.  Migod, I look in the mirror and beg to know where I went?  When Our Creator fashioned us, He made it so our internal self and our external self would be total opposites.  In old age, our exteriors show the number of years lived, and our internal selves have stayed little kids.  Every senior person is a child inside with the same feelings, same hurts, same perceptions, same everything.  Life is one helluva teacher.  Life never holds back its whip and its many-faceted disciplinary weaponry.  Life will batter and beat us up and leave us for dead.  I'm not one to use social media to sugar-coat life.  It's best to say it like it is. 

Aging has been likened to climbing a mountain.  The closer to the top we get, the more out of breath we become......But, the view from the top is so much better.  

SELF-GEOGRAPHY

Another lovely day.  

Recently I came across the concept of self-geography.  Wasn't quite sure what it meant, and in sating my curiosity, found these explanatory quotations......

⛯There is an eternal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outlines all our lives.  Those who are lucky enough to find it ease like water over a stone, onto its fluid contours, and are home.  ~Josephine Hart, Damage, 1991 

⛯There is a great deal of unmapped country within us which would have to be taken into account in an explanation of our gusts and storms.  ~George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, 1876

⛯To uncover new stratas of myself.  To drill down to unknown levels.  To uncover beds, and veins, and pockets down in the untried depths.  ~Muriel Strode (1875-1964), My Little Book of Life, 1912

⛯Come, happy crowds of atoms, and be housed and at home with me.  Come from the fields, the seas and the hills.  Drop from the air, oh, atoms that make my body, that gather so cunningly, that out of your rhythmic and ordered millions make this metropolis, Myself. .........Sometimes pestilence sweeps this city, and there are strange fires that play over it.  It has its holidays of rejoicing, its twilights of melancholy.  There are days of terrific toil, there are nights of sleepiest peace.  And lo, here is my city, right here composing me at this moment.....Isn't it all unbelievable?......So lately come into existence, so soon to vanish.  ~James Oppenheim, City of Myself, 1916

⛯The soul of man is like a countryside....what bog and fens on every side extend.  What desolate moors that seem to have no end, dotted with little gleaming groves of thought!...~Harry Kemp, The Soul's Cartography, in Munsey's Magazine, 1921 

⛯ I hope that in after-years when I read over the pages of this diary, I shall not discover that it takes a sextant, a compass, and an alarm clock to find out where my heart is!  ~Kate Trimble Sharber (b. 1883), At the Age of Eve, 1911

⛯This is a contour map where I may read with reverence your soul's geography--The heights, the depths, stark valleys of our need, the luminous peaks of love's bright ecstasy.  The lines become more lovely with the years.  ~Author Unknown

Kinda makes me wonder what a map of one's life would look like.  When I think of self-geography, I imagine a map of one's inner self.  Just imagine a map of our daily emotions, our daily reactions to actions, our most cherished moments, and the depths of our darkest sorrows.  A map showing every emotion we ever felt.  The concept of self-geography holds a wealth of space for contemplation and self reflection.  This is the self-geography map that I can envision......

HERB GARDEN

Please keep in mind that I have no idea how to grow herbs, other than stick 'em on the ground and see what happens.  Here are the ladies......

 

Gonna cut the chives today.  They look like they need a haircut.  Think my plan is to snip and use the herbs.  I've read about freezing them in ice cube trays for soups and drying them.  To be honest, the experiment is more fun than anything.  It's something I can say is the first time for me. 

Herbal Trivia:

• Herbs were depicted on cave paintings in France dating back between 13,000 and 25,000 BC.  Egyptian herb gardens date back some 4,000 years.  At first, they were medicinal, then culinary and then decorative.  

• 

  Ephedra

  Ephedra is the oldest medicinal plant, having a long history of medicinal use in China and India to treat colds, fever and headaches.  The plant contains ephedrine and is banned in the U.S.  
• The ancient Romans used bay leaf wreaths as a symbol of victory and peace.
• Saffron can be lethal in doses as low as 3/4 Tablespoon.
• Thyme has long been related to bravery.  Its name comes from the Greek word for bravery, Thymus.
• Sage was once considered the best herbal medicine. 
• Some pharmaceutical medications are based on a single active ingredient found from a plant source.
• The name basil comes from the Greek word basileus or king.  It is known as the 'King of Herbs.'
• Cedar, sage, sweet grass and tobacco are sacred to indigenous peoples across North America.  They're used for treating illnesses and are central to many ceremonial rituals.

• 

  Tulsi

  The herb Tulsi is sacred in India, often referred to as 'Queen of Herbs.'  It is a naturally sweet herb in the mint family, used in spiritual and medicinal practices.
• Tumeric is considered the most powerful herb, a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
• Saffron is the most costly spice in the world, $500 to $5,000 per pound.  Saffron is obtained by plucking two threads from a crocus flower.
• Cilantro is the most commonly used herb in the world.  The seeds of the plant, also known as coriander, have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.
• Alfalfa is the 'Father of all Herbs' cuz it is one of the most nutritious plants on Earth.  It's rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, and Vitamins A, B-12, C, D, E and K, along with all eight of the essential amino acids.
• The first written record of medicinal plants was on clay tablets over 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians, in ancient Mesopotamia, today Iraq.  A dozen herbal recipes were described calling for the use of over 250 plants (Petrovska, 2012)
• Rosemary Gladstar, known as the godmother of modern herbalism, has captivated a global audience with her knowledge and passion for herbal healing. 
• The herb Rosmarinus (rosemary) comes from the Latin ros maris or 'dew of the sea.'  A dew-like appearance comes from sea spray on the plants growing close to the water.  It was later called Rose of Mary or rosemary in honor of the Virgin Mary.  Rosemary symbolizes love and remembrance. 
• One myth about the rosemary plant is that it will never grow taller than 6 feet....so as to never grow taller than Jesus.  If it outlives His 33 years, it will grow prostrate facing toward the ground instead of upright.  Another legend tells that rosemary flowers were originally white.  One day during the flight to Egypt, Mary draped her blue cloak over a rosemary bush.
• Rosemary is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.  In ancient times, rosemary was believed to strengthen the memory.

I remember my Gramma's second Bible, an herbalist magazine.  She sent away for remedies to help her personal ailments.  People didn't go to doctors regularly like we do today.  Us kids had to be half dead before a professional doctor was brought into the picture.  Today if a kid sneezes, it's off to the doctor we must go.  My thought is that our generation may have benefited from the carry-overs from our herbal-using ancestors.