Yesterday I Cooked Up a Storm!

I cooked like a bit of a crazy woman yesterday, making soup and a main dish so that I won't starve while I have no days off when Chickie is doing Jury Duty next week. I made a double-batch of Spicy Kielbasa Soup. It's a lovely soup that goes together quickly and cooks in my large crock pot. I finally got it dished into containers at 8:15 pm last night. 

I have a large oval crock pot similar to this one and 
I use it more than I ever thought I would. I love 
it for this soup. Just put in the ingredients and let 
the crock do the cooking. So easy! 

The other dish I made was called "Healthy Sesame Chicken" (https://themovementmenu.com/healthy-sesame-chicken-paleo-low-carb/) and it has a lovely sauce that just clings to the chicken pieces. This one called for a bit more kitchen time, and it was rather fun seeing it come together. I have two smaller containers with the chicken now, ready to be reheated for a nice dinner. '

The sauce on this recipe is lovely. It clings to the 
chicken pieces beautifully. I'm looking forward to 
my meals of my Sesame Chicken. 

I still have some of last week's soups to eat before diving into these, so that'll easily take me through next week. It's always a challenge to eat properly when I work a six-day stretch, but I think I'm totally set except for my "Ogre Juice", and I can make that on a Sunday when necessary. It only takes an hour of my time - I have it down to a fine art by now - LOL. 

Mulling over my thoughts. It's a bit frightening - LOL. 

I'm still mulling over my thoughts for "omakase" - the next writing challenge. It's due tomorrow, so my mulling time is exiting quickly. Hopefully I won't be so swamped at the shop and can get a bit of time to mull and keyboard on something other than price tags. But I know DH left me a TON of price tags to do for an order we just got in on Tuesday. 

I'll be back tomorrow, for my last 
"Day Off" for more than a week! 
*sigh* LOL

So, I'm off to the pool for the final swim of the week. I love swimming, but I'm already looking forward to being back on the treadmill again tomorrow. It's SUCH a relief having a treadmill back in my life again. It's back to a learning curve on another piece of electronic equipment, but I'm absolutely fine with that - LOL. Have an excellent Thursday, I'm off to the pool. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Cooking Leading To Deep Thoughts and a History of the Kitchen Stove

I cooked like a crazy woman yesterday, doing two different soups, and our chicken for dinner. My refrigerator is stacked with containers of yummy goodness that will last me, hopefully, for more than a week. Ideally, these will last me for 10 days or so. I also honey roasted some carrots and baked some pears. I made two of my favorites because it's easy to make them on the same day. My Asian Vegetable-Beef Soup cooks on the stove top, and my Spicy Kielbasa Soup cooks in my slow cooker. So I got the Kielbasa soup started first, then worked on everything else while the slow cooker worked its' magic. I do love modern appliances. 

Look at these antique gas stoves. I'm estimating these 
were from the 1950's or so, but I can't find a date and 
don't have the time to research it. It almost looks as 
though the very back top is hinged and would close 
down over the burners. Can't say for sure on that either, 
though. 

A century ago this particular kitchen routine would have been next to impossible. There were no slow cookers, the kitchen stoves/ovens/ranges that we use without much thought these days also didn't exist. There were stoves - of course. A different style, however. The electric or gas stoves that we use daily now weren't even a whisper of a dream in the 1920's. We might dream about the 20's as having been a milder time, an easier time, a "fun" time in which everyone danced the Charleston and wore flapper dresses or Zoot suits. But in reality, the 1920's were days leading into the Great Depression of the 1930's, the Dust Bowl and the beginning of things like Social Security and governmental work projects throughout the nation to keep people employed and fed. 

In the 1920's, this stove may have been in your 
cooking/food preparation area. It was top of 
the line for its' day. Gas operated, it was one big 
step away from the wood burning stoves of the 
late 1890's through early 1900's. 

History always seems to look a little bit better through the warped glass of the past. World War II? It was just a big war that lasted a lot of years and cost a lot of lives. Well, yeah. It was that, and it fulfills that description, but it was a lot more than that. It was fear, running away, leaving everything behind to flee the soldiers ahead. It was D-Day and the atomic bomb and Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. It was war that spread from the Reich through to reach almost every point of the entire world. And it will look like children having a playground fight if we lose our ability to think with a conscience again. 

This was a typical (actually rather high-end) gas stove 
from the 1950's. Although I could cook on this, it would 
still not be adjustable enough for my purposes, and those 
tiny ovens would be a problem. Still, it was quite a step up 
from the stoves of 50 years prior. 

It almost seems as though we, as a species, are hard-wired for self-destruction. That after coming out of our previous conflagration, digging in our heels and rebuilding, we can't resist tearing everything down and starting again. Our sand castle keeps falling apart, and/or others come along and kick it down. We seem incapable of making and maintaining relationships between individuals, neighborhoods, cities, states or nations. We are, at basics, a very territorial and confrontational mammal, and sometimes it does us good to remember that. 

Today's stoves are glass cooktops, clean 
and straight. The "burners" are elements that 
never see a pot directly. The stoves are sleek, 
minimalist, and actually a lot of fun to 
work on. I don't have a stove, I have an electric 
cooktop and a separate wall oven. It wasn't my 
choice, I didn't design my house. But it works 
well for me, and I use it A LOT. 

So, as I head to the swimming pool on this day, to work off some of my frustration with the "human" race, I do hope you'll reach out to others today. Even if it's just to say a kind "Hello" or to hold a door open for the next person. Let's remember that kindness also spreads, and do our best to leave the world a little better place tonight than it was early this morning. I love you all - my readers and my long-distance friends. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Not Happy With My Writing, Although (Thanks To Your Votes) I'm Holding My Own

I'm going to have to work at writing on a more entertaining level. Not that I'm writing poorly, I think I'll survive the vote to write another week. But I'm writing in a lecture/preach manner which I don't like in myself. The points I'm stating are valid and well-expressed, but it's not a "gripping" storyline or a wonderful new world. It's our world - solidly planted in reality - and sometimes that reality isn't really what people reach for on a library shelf. 

We keep trying to reach for a reality that we 
want to live in. Is that book really the right 
one for everyone? 

But I'm not a fantastical writer either. I don't have different world views or entirely different dimensions crowding my head, begging for release. Even in tales I've imagined on Earth 2 or Earth 12, my stories are still planted in the reality gripped by the circumstances of that alternative earth. But isn't that also important? Doesn't that new world also have physical boundaries and natures that will cause the inhabitants to make adjustments for the sake of staying alive? 

I've always enjoyed fiction, fantasy and science 
fiction. But I tend to write from a basis of reality. 
Maybe I should put more fantasy into my stories, 
and veer away from the firm earth below our feet. 

If the new world is like Rappaccini's garden, wouldn't we all have to develop a genetic modification that would allow us to wander among the poisonous plants without harm to ourselves? That's reality - a poison world would leave immense death behind it, but there would be survivors, or those who didn't immediately succumb. Those, then, would be the foundations of the new population - one that could tolerate, and even in some cases celebrate, their environment. 

I seem to be very earthbound in my writings so far this 
time for LJ Idol. I'm sounding "preachy" to my own ears 
this time. I'll have to start to crack out of that. I've never 
been a speculative fiction author, but it would be fun to 
go off on a wider tangent. 

There are times when I feel that our own world is rather like this. When wars happen, when people look at the differences instead of the similarities. When political viewpoints, false leaders and warped viewpoints begin to take center stage, we've then created our own poisons. What do we do then? If we're lucky, we can wait for the next wave to come and knock the old society down, or shift its' direction. If we're unlucky we move from Stalin to Putin - not much of an improvement there. 

People who get their props by pulling others down and 
climbing over the bodies aren't people I want to know or 
encourage. Right now this world has far too many people 
like this in positions of political power. It makes for an 
extremely dangerous world. I want a kinder, more 
understanding leadership. No steamrolling, please. 

So, here I am being preachy once again. But I don't filter my thoughts for my blog - it is always off the top of my head, written in the early hours of the morning, and presented, fresh from the keyboard, into the greater world. I'm curious about what you think. Can this world manage to make it back from the poison it's becoming? Will people look for the good in others instead of focusing on the differences and intensifying the hatred? I'd like to think so. Tell me what you think - share something good with me today. I think we all need some good in our lives on this Wednesday in this world. Slava Ukraini. 

Hiding In the Wings and Other Dimensions

It always seems that something hides in the wings - some task that needs doing, an email that requires an answer, a pot that needs scrubbing or a letter or email that needs a response. Then again, what if we didn't have that? What if we lived in a world where we never interacted with things - items, people, computers, etc. For me, that isolation would be crippling. I'm not a super big "people" person - I enjoy people, but I'm rather like a Labrador puppy - rather cute, somewhat engaging, but not necessarily what you want around you 24/7. DH and I manage our lives, intersecting, then separating, then intersecting once again. It's a crazy dance, and neither of us are spectacular dancers. But, as the saying goes, we persevere. 

In the end, we don't have much of a choice. We have to deal 
with all that life throws at us - the good and the bad. We 
have to persevere. 

Today is a "day off", which means I need to get lots of veggies for my next week's alkagizers, and I have a bunch of smaller tasks that have to be settled - paying household bills, looking for a specific file folder that seems to have escaped into another dimension - the general thing. Speaking of alternative dimensions for lost items ... my Mother was always of the opinion that there is another dimension. It's hungry and it will eat things at random - things that you look for later in vain. You look and look - you KNOW that you had it in X or Y location, but you're unable to find it. Until ... suddenly a week or month later you look once more and there it is! It has been spat out again - returned from its' travels and is once again on our own dimension. 

I'm a bit like a Golden Labrador puppy - very 
cute, but somewhat destructive in an innocent way. 
Eventually I can be housebroken, but the house 
may be broken while getting there - LOL. 

Just think about it. There's an underlying reality to this that's hard to argue with. Mom always said it in fun - she was no scientist, she was a musician. But I think she might have been onto something there. I've certainly seen it in process during my life - many times. I'll look and look, and then look once again at a later time and voila! The missing item is now found again. A miracle! LOL

Who's to say that there isn't a parallel dimension where our 
lost things drop in, and then drop back into ours once again 
at an unexpected time, and in a location where we KNOW 
we checked multiple times before. I've experienced it. Have you? 

So today I'm going to work in the kitchen, and then I'll try and tackle my desktop. It really needs a serious cull, and I don't think I've actually seen the top of my desk for more than a year. *sigh* I thought computers were supposed to help eliminate paper records. It certainly doesn't seem that way in my life! How about yours? LOL Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

Meandering Thoughts for my Birthday - Feel Free to Disagree - LOL

Have you ever checked what happened in the year of your birth? Most of the time, I don't really care. But since today is a MAJOR birthday, I decided to look back and share with all of you. One of the benefits of getting older is being able to do retrospectives like this - LOL. 

So, in 1954, the year of my birth, the following things happened: 

The Year 1954 Major News Events 70 Years Ago

1. Senator Joseph McCarthy is censured, bringing an end to his witch hunt of Communists
2. The First Indo-China War Ends
3. The Supreme Court rules on Brown v. Board of Education, stating that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
4. Ellis Island in New York closes as a point of Immigration
5. President Eisenhower signs into law the new social security bill funded by employers and employees
6. US "Operation Wetback" is started on 17th July to send back to Mexico almost 4 million illegal immigrants
7. Hydrogen bomb test conducted on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
8. The words "under God" are added to the United States Pledge of Allegiance
9. First sub 4 minute mile run on May 6th by Roger Bannister
10. Swanson introduces TV Dinners

I'm not sure I'd put the TV Dinners into the same category as the hydrogen bomb, but there you have it. It's a bit of a hoot, but it's far from comprehensive. What else happened in the year of my birth? 

Cost of Living 1954 - How Much things cost

•  Yearly Inflation Rate USA 0.32%
• Yearly Inflation Rate UK 1.9%
• Average Cost of new house $10.250.00
• Average wages per year - $4,100.00

 

• Average Cost of a new car - $1,700.00
• Average Cost of Rent $85.00 per month
• Movie Ticket - 70 cents
• Life Magazine - 20 cents

 

• The Dow Jones recovers back to pre Wall Street Crash highs of 381.17
• Cost of a gallon of Gas 21 cents
• Average House Price UK - 1,970 -

 

It looks like things were so much more affordable back then, but were they really? No, inflation has taken care of all of that. As salaries increased, the cost of goods also increased, and the ability of the "common man" to purchase his daily requirements and some luxury goods stayed, barely, within reach. The middle class struggled, and they still struggle. The poor were poor, and they still are poor. The dollar amounts are so much larger now, because the dollar is worth much less. 

My parents had to scrimp and save, like any other newer couple with a young child. They grew accustomed to the realities of parenthood - the kid sees and wants everything, and the parent simply can't afford it - so they both do the best they can with what they have. When my parents got me my first adult-sized bicycle, I was thrilled. It was a hand-me-down from my Mom's cousin, my Tante Gerty. Her daughter, my cousin Miki, had used it, but Miki was older than I by eight years or so, and she had grown out of the clunking old bike. I, however, was thrilled to have a big bike of my own, and rode that bike until I entered Middle School. I upgraded to a 10-speed when I went to college - I still have that first 10-speed, although I upgraded that one after my first year as a Graduate student. 

I've seen a lot in my 70 years. I've seen causes picked up and then put back into the closets. I've seen elections come and go - good people and horrid people elected, but the USA still stands, both in spite and despite the election results. I've seen changes in world politics, and increased suspicion between people as nations, neighborhoods, and individuals clash. I know humanity can survive, but will the governments under which they live? I'm not so sure about that. As we've moved through the ages, we've never strayed from our aggressive impulses, our territorial tendencies and our habit of striking out first and apologizing later. When you have weapons of mass destruction, that "later" may not come and we might not rebound this time. I remind myself that dinosaurs lived as a biological success for millions of years. Mankind is very young. If nature feels the need, we'll be toast and She'll be trying something else - hopefully a bit more successful. Maybe more dinosaurs. They certainly were kinder on the environment than mammals have proven to be. 

So, celebrate my birthday with me and think back on your own life. Have you had a positive impact? Have you had a negative one? Have you had ANY impact at all on those around you? Maybe it's time to change that. Have an excellent day and weekend, enjoy a piece of cake for me, and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

Stuff, Thoughts, Cleaning - Maybe Cleaning the World Again?

Looking at my computer desk, I think Wednesday will require a serious clean-off of the top of the desk. When my stacks of papers and projects and "stuff" gets higher than three inches, it's time for a serious clean. However ... Wednesday night is also our night for personal income taxes with our accountant, and I will be making sure our bills, etc are in order and ready for whatever he asks when I get to the shop today. That's another hour or two, but at least at the shop I have counter tops - lots of counter tops upon which to spread and stack invoices, grouped by kind. 

Our personal income taxes are far more complicated 
than our corporate taxes. DH actually keeps the corporate 
stuff under control, but personal stuff is a hodge podge of 
my charity gifts and donations, various other stuff, and 
investment statements. I'm not sure I have the year-end 
statements from my two brokers, so I'll have to double-check 
that today. 

It must have been easier in past times when all you had was word-of-mouth. Of course, given the "flexibility" of memory, inaccuracies were built in to that system. But, the "taxes" were demanded by the property owner, the town Mayor, the provincial Governor and the King. If you were at the bottom of the stack, you just did what you were told to do - easy, peasy, and lots of room for complaint - silent complaint, since you didn't want to be whipped, imprisoned, or conscripted into the armed forces for whatever war was then current. 

Medieval peasants had it quite a bit easier in many respects, 
than we have today. We have the conveniences, and central 
heating and high levels of cleanliness are wonderful things, 
but they didn't have the world-wide issues that we're facing 
now. They might have had megalomaniacs, but they didn't 
have nuclear armament to back those idiots up. They could 
destroy a small part of the world, but not the world as a whole. 

Isn't that the way of humanity? Times of peace followed by oppression and times of war? We're on a precipice in the USA now - so many, many things can go wrong and plunge us into the darkness that is spreading across the world right now. All I can do is think about the dinosaurs - the most successful species Mother Nature has ever come up with. Dinosaurs managed to make it a LONG time. If you include birds, they ruled the earth for 233.3 MILLION years, knock the birds out, and it's only 167.3 million years. Humans ... well, we're not doing as well. Even if you include the ancestors to humanity, we've only been around for 3 million years, and if you're just including Homo Sapiens, it's actually 200,000 to 300,000 years. We're babies, and we're destroying our planet so good on us? Not really. Mother Nature really needs to step in and start again. She needs another success story. Maybe the cockroaches? 

Dinosaurs were incredibly successful, appearing on 
EVERY continent and landmass throughout the world. 
We're also spreading, but we're nowhere as successful 
at living within our environments. We want to change 
everything to suit us, rather than learn to live easily within 
the land we're inhabiting. We're also extremely 
warlike and aggressive towards our own kind. That's 
not a recipe for species survival. 

So, I'm heading off to the pool. I think I need a swim to clear my head of all of this extraneous junk. After all, it's not very uplifting to realize that the new kids on the block are bringing in the heavy equipment and getting ready to raze every structure on the block to the ground. I think I need a swim after that mental image. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Servants and Blessings - I Have No Idea How I Got From Here to There

I have a 100-pack (somewhat depleted by now) of "rubber" ear stoppers on my desk right now. They're old, and slightly discolored, and they don't work well any more. We sell these (newer) regularly - they're placed on the back of earrings to help keep them in the ears instead of falling out. In winter, with higher collars and many layers plus coats, lost earrings are common without using these "rubber" stoppers. 

I sell two different styles of clear "rubber" earring backs, 
and this style is my favorite and is the more popular style 
of my customers as well. But they do deteriorate over 
time. The package I pulled from the shop because of age 
aren't very good any more, but they still work for a few 
days before needing to be replaced. 

However, the bag on my desk was a bag I pulled from the shop as "unsellable" because they've aged out. I've been selling these for at least thirty years, so they could potentially date that old. I doubt they're much older than 15 years, but still, a respectable age for an earring component such as this. Instead of a bright, clear appearance, they are more golden, and instead of gripping the earwire tightly, they are a bit loose, unwilling to do much clutching at all. 

Every few days I toss the set I've had on my earrings and replace them, working my way down through the bag. I expect it will be another year or so, but I'll work my way down to the end of that bag eventually, and then will be ready to actually purchase a new bag. The set of earrings I wear are VERY light weight, and I truly wouldn't notice losing one on a high collar or bulky sweater if I didn't have the backs in place. They serve an important purpose, even if they're meant to be almost invisible. 

I just bought this book, I'll download it 
when I'm finished with my current read. 
It looks like something I'll find quite 
interesting. 

It's rather like the servants in the old estates. They weren't really acknowledged, in fact, they shouldn't have been noticed at all. In some cases, they might have been perceived as mobile furniture - quite demeaning. They worked hard, slept in the attic rooms, but had at least one meal a day, and usually got a half-day off every two weeks or so. Why work under such conditions? Because conditions "back home" were often far worse - too many kids, too little money, and backbreaking work in the fields. That's what was known as life in the multitude of years before the Industrial Revolution, after whch which new avenues of exploitation of labor opened up, and eventually led to the world we currently live in. Have we bettered ourselves? Have we improved out lot in life? I'd love to think we have, but I also know I'm damned lucky to be living where I am, having had the parents and upbringing I've had, and the opportunities I've taken advantage of. 

It's so easy to shut the door on possible blessings. It's 
rather scary to open the door wide and welcome in 
the unknown. But often, if you do, you find the other 
side of that great step to be the answer you've 
been seeking all along. 

So, I might be getting older and more yellow. I might not be holding the earrings quite as securely as a younger me would have. But I'm so very lucky to be where I am, doing what I do, and chatting with you - my friends from afar - day in and day out. Look around you and see your own blessings. I guarantee you have many. They're just every-day things, but what richness we truly have. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

What Is A Gift? Time? An Object? Or How About Just The Kindness Of Giving

I awakened early today, at 2:30 am instead of 3:00 am, so I settled in for a comfortable meditation. Which I had, and it was lovely. Then I gathered the laundry together and got the first load started, and I found a couple of other things that need to be added to the recycling bin which is being collected today. Add in a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and suddenly I'm tight on time. I need to be on my way to the swimming pool in a little more than 30 minutes. That extra half hour I got earlier has disappeared into the maelstrom of little bits of things here and there. 

Maelstroms are very real, as this photo attests to. 
Sometimes life can become a maelstrom, sucking 
you into thoughts and actions without your thinking 
about things at all. All you can do then is ride 
the wave and hope that it spits you back out again. 

Today will be a very busy day, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm on regular schedule through Saturday, but then have three days off for the Christmas holiday break. Then I dive into my "Four Day End of the Year Blow-Out Sale" and then I can collapse for another three days of rest. I'll have a chance to chat with Aearwen today, but it will be our final chat of the year. I'll be working next week Wednesday through Saturday for the big sale. 

We really count on our end of the year sale to pad out our 
sales numbers for the year. It's been a fairly decent 
Christmas so far, but we really need that final push of 
desperate shoppers - LOL. 

We've had some really fun customers over the past week or so. People are getting into the holiday gift routine, and they're buying components to give as gifts or for making gifts to give. Either way, it's a total win'win for both of us. We get the cash inflow we desperately need, and they get to leave with wonderful things in their hands. 

Remember that the gift is in the giving, whether the gift 
is appreciated or not. Since much of what I buy for DH 
isn't appreciated, I'm quite used to that backlash that can 
happen. Fortunately, gift cards are quite useful. 

My final customer last night was a lovely young lady buying beads for a friend. She was very concerned about whether or not her friend would like the gift, and kept wondering about that with each item she was choosing. I got her checked out and ready to go, but as I handed her package to her, I told her "The greatest gift you are giving to her, or to anyone, is the fact that you thought enough about them to give them a gift you thought they would love. Remember, it's a season of love, and don't worry about the actual gift at all." Maybe we should all remember that during this hectic time of the year. 

Thanks to those of you who have sent me a holiday 
card. They are brightening up my living room, 
and are so much fun to look at. I usually leave them 
up at least until 12th night, so I have lots of time 
to enjoy them. 

So, I'm off to the swimming pool. Holiday card "THANK YOU"'s go out to AdoptedWriter, Sea Ivy and my cousin, Missy. I got your cards yesterday and they're wonderful. They have joined my array across my fireplace mantle and my house is looking quite festive. I'm honored that you thought of me and sent it to me, and I thank you VERY much for your kindness. At that, I'm out of here. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

A Cynical Look at Humanity - Priming the Pump

It's winter up here in the Frozen Northlands, and that's our time of very low humidity. Whatever humidity we get, is from melting snow, not rain, nor dew. It's the time of year when my filling my fountain every day is essential. I don't want the water to run dry. If it does, it strains the motor and might break the mechanism. It's a easy thing, to add a bit of distilled water to it every morning. But at this time of the year, I can't forget to do that. The pump must be kept primed or it will creak to a stop and break. 

What do you do to prime your pump? Are you doing 
something for yourself? How about priming things 
within your interactions with others? Pumps need to 
be primed to work properly. Have your checked yours 
lately? 

Isn't that the way of relationships and interactions too? When I mail my holiday cards, I think of the person receiving each and every card. I haven't met everyone who receives my cards. I haven't even spoken to many of them. But I know them. They're friends of long-standing. They're writers of great talent, people of sarcasm and humor, pet owners and those who are owned by their pets. They're human. And in this world of inhumanity, I cherish every human being I've had the chance to know. 

Many of you who read my daily post are friends of 
long-standing. Some are newer, well on their way to 
being a member of that group. Look around you. How 
many friends of long-standing do you have? Count 
all of them. Cherish them. They are your lifeline when 
needed and they will never fail you. 

Human beings are odd creatures. Although we admit that we share a world with those with four legs and those with wings (and those with more legs than four, although we don't often think of them), we tend to think of those with two legs as the only beings on the planet. We look at our own foibles and sigh. We moan because we can't get along with each other. We refuse to look at our blood-soaked past - those times of tribal wars and small band against small band. That's our heritage. Why would things be any different as we grew populous and took over much of this planet? 

I was fascinated by dinosaurs when I was a child. I almost 
went into paleontology instead of archaeology in school 
because I loved them so much. But I'm not good at 
geology - a necessary skill to study dinosaurs - so I 
decided to study ancient man instead. 

So when people demonstrate. When they engage in conflict, large or small. When they repeat actions that had previously served as poor examples of behavior, it's not unexpected. We're stubborn, and we refuse to learn from past histories. In the geological history of this planet, we're short-term - an experiment that is going very wrong. If we don't take the entire planet down with us, Mother Nature will come up with another experiment. Perhaps her next one will be as successful as the dinosaurs. They were a success where we have failed. 

Nature keeps trying to experiment and improve, but the 
basics - basic cellular structure, the ability to live within 
the physical environment, etc - those basics are the same 
from species to species and era to era. 

So, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this cynicism. There's nothing like a good swim to improve my outlook - LOL. There are five people who will still be getting cards - the substitute ones, I'm afraid. But that's all - just five. I'm breathing a sigh of relief - my list has shortened a bit, and losing those ten cards wasn't catastrophic. Have an excellent Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Time - It's Our Personal Treadmill Through Life

Just a quick post today because I actually slept until my alarm went off, so that leaves me with about 20 minutes to get this put together and posted. I'll try and catch up with everyone when I get to the shop and turn on the laptop. Apologies if I've missed anything major I should have commented on - lately, time doesn't seem to be my friend any more. 

Time isn't always my friend, and lately, I'm fighting 
it far more than I should have to. 

I changed my mind about the interior of my Holiday Cards, ordered a new stamp, and that should be here by Thursday, Friday latest. I'm running tight on time, but for what I'm planning to do this year, I think I'll still be OK. It's quite different for me, but hopefully will be fun for you. 

ARGH, just ARGH. LOL

DH's website still isn't up and operational, so I'll be spending time on the phone tomorrow to find out why and what information they needed that they didn't ask me for. *sigh* Frustrating doesn't begin to describe this particular project. GRRRR might be a better description. 

We are all on the treadmill of life, and we all have to 
make our own way through it. We can have 
helping hands here and there, but our road is 
distinctly our own. 

But despite everything, I keep running on the treadmill of life. Even when it seems I'm running in place (which pretty much describes this year to a "T"), time is still passing along. Sometimes I wish that time would stay put on the treadmill while I run in place, but that just doesn't seem possible. It's a shame - LOL. 

We won the last game in a crazy goal in a 
shootout. I don't care how we win, it's just 
good to have one in the "Win" column. 

Hope all of you have a wonderful day. I'm off to the pool, and I have a hockey game tonight (Go Wild!) so I have "plans". I also have a new, fully functional and very easy to set watch, so I'm pleased about that too. Maybe this one will last a bit longer - I do seem to kill watches with ease. I'll be back tomorrow, maybe a bit less rushed. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Boundaries and Halloween - Good Thoughts for Good Friends

Happy Halloween all, and Good Samhain. The borders between the past, present and future blur today and tonight. Ghosts of the past and spirits of the future can visit more easily, they can watch, learn and guide you today with greater ease than almost any other time of the year. It's a day to remember your ancestors, and teach respect for them to your children. It's a day to learn from the past, although we, as a species, seem unable to do that effectively. 

I was looking for photos of blurring borders, but came 
across this one and thought - "It might not meet the 
exact definition, but I love it, so I'll use it." I suspect 
the blurred borders are a bit distant in this, but isn't 
it a wonderful sculpture? It's located at the McNay 
Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas USA. They have a 
Tim Burton exhibit on now that I would simply LOVE 
to see, but they're nowhere near me at all. 

Despite the date and the blurring of worlds, our world continues onward - contentiously moving ahead in war and bloodshed, despite the lessons learned over millennia. You'd think we would learn that might does not equal right, that the poor deserve a hand up, not a hand extended in derision or condescension, and that all sentient people deserve to be heard (although hearing someone doesn't mean you have to follow their pathways). 

Listen to your heart, not always your mind. When 
the two are at odds with each other, weigh the 
advice from each carefully. Often it is the heart 
that is correct for your course of action, rather 
than your mind. 

But today, try to take some time to think over your past. Take time to think of your ancestors and what it took for you to be here, now, in the place you are and with the people you share your life with. Look at your personal history with a non-judgmental eye. You made the choices you did, good or bad, and those choices helped to make you the wonderful person that you are today. Don't celebrate the poor choices, but don't ignore them either. Those poor choices also helped to shape the remarkable person you are today. 

Everyone have a good and safe Halloween, whether you 
celebrate in the new way of gathering treats from door 
to door, attend a party, or merely meditate on the spirits 
that will visit on All Soul's Day to follow, it is a day 
to be acknowledged and celebrated as you see best. 

Tonight set out food for the spirits and light candles to welcome them. If you're in the USA and answering your door to trick-or-treaters, give positive comments to each person along with their candy or treat. Help everyone coming to your door to feel happy they rang your doorbell. Good Samhain to all, and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Three or Four? - That is Today's Question for All of You

A question occurred to me as I was stirring my teabag in the hot water to maximize exposure of the tea leaves to the hot water. I'm curious. When bracing yourself, or counting something up or down, do you think in fours or in threes? Or do you use a totally different number. In other words, "One, two, three - jump! Or, one, two, three, four - jump!"? 

For me, I think in terms of the Four Directions, the 
four spirits, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the 
rhythm of Earth's life and the heartbeat of the 
universe. 

For me, it's always four or multiples of four. Thus, this morning I was swishing my teabags through the hot water 40 times before squeezing the last bit out of the bags and tossing them into the trash. But that action of counting, brought to mind the Four Directions, the Sundance Circle, the prayers to the Grandfathers and Grandmothers, the acknowledgement of the soul of the Universe. Funny, how one small action can open a very large thought. 

Although three can mean many things to many people, 
this is a true statement. Three dots allow a person to 
make the first true pattern. Three is also a perfect 
rhythm - join me for a waltz, anyone? 

So I ask again - do you think in 3's or 4's or a different number entirely? I suspect for most people raised in the Christian faith, your go-to number is three. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost; Joseph, Mary and Jesus; and most probably the various hierarchical structures within the Christian church, culminating with the Pope. So yes, I suspect that triad is more than frequent among those who follow the Christian road. 

Many (if not all) of the major Christian holiday 
dates/days were Pagan as well. One way the 
Church won over the populace was by allowing 
the celebrations, but renaming them and putting 
them into a Christian framework. It seems to 
have worked rather well over the centuries. 

But what about my pagans - those who read my blog but follow the Goddess and the Horned One through the woods, or simply follow the rhythms of the Earth through the cycles of life, death and rebirth. When you count ... what is your most common go-to divisor? 

There are four elements to life - Earth, Fire, 
Water and Air. Between the four, there is 
balance. Without that balance, there is chaos. 

So, today I'm curious, so I'm setting a thought into your heads. I'd appreciate your comments below to liven up my weekend. 

I'm going to wrap this up and rescue the cherry tomatoes I've had in the dehydrator all night. I used my grinder to grind up my jalapeno and Tabasco peppers yesterday, and also ground the dried cherry tomatoes I had. All three turned out beautifully. But I really liked the smell of the tomatoes, so I bought two pounds of assorted heirloom cherry tomatoes at the store yesterday, sliced them up and put them into the dehydrator. I'll be able to grind those tonight or tomorrow, and I'll be set for the winter with a punch of summer sunshine. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back on Monday. And please, do comment on my question above - I'm quite curious about your number and why you automatically default to it. Slava Ukraini.