Too Hot to Breathe

It's too hot to breathe here. We broke a record from 1980 yesterday - it got up to 109. Of course, can you really tell much difference between 103 and 109? I don't think so. It's hot. It's supposed to be hotter today.

I'm very fortunate that I have climate control. I don't know how people stand it without air conditioning. I've even been conscientious about keeping lights off - no need to have that extra heat.

I worked on some press info for Art of Gracious Living tonight. It has been on my list of things to do for forever. My personal webpage is so out of date it's embarrassing but I just dread sitting down and focusing on all that detail stuff. Webpages are not my favorite thing to do. Maybe I'll get it done this fall. At least I got the Art of Gracious Living things done. That has been on my "to do" list for awhile.

Tuesday night I got to see Julie for dinner and that was nice. We went out after the board meeting. It had been a really long time since we'd had a chance to chat. Monday night with Teresa and Susan was fun and tomorrow I'm having lunch with Trish, so it will round out the week of connecting with people.

Tonight is Creative Sisterhood and I think everyone is going to be here for the first time in awhile. It is always powerful to have all six of us together. Martha and I were at a working lunch together yesterday but didn't really get a chance to have any fun. I popped in to see Diana briefly afterwards, but it will be good to connect with everyone together. I haven't seen Virginia in ages.

I generally serve hot tea at Creative Sisterhood but maybe I'll make it iced tea tonight. Maybe I'll go pick some mint and make some iced mint tea - that sounds like a nice cooling drink. We'll see what I come up with.

Sometimes You're Just DONE

I had a really interesting series of dreams last night that involved people from almost every era of my life - long gone relatives, old lovers and childhood friends were blended into a melange of images that left me feeling "done" this morning. "Finished" is good.

I had to get up about a half dozen times last night to go to the bathroom, and I rarely get up more than once, if at all. It was as if my body was cleansing itself as my mind was doing the same. Each time I woke up I would think about what I had dreamed. When I went back to bed I would continue the dream, as if it were another scene in the same play. When it came to a natural conclusion I'd wake up and have to go to the bathroom again. I began to wonder just how much liquid I had consumed yesterday, but it was no more than normal.

The first time I woke up it was only about an hour after I went to sleep. The next time it was about 45 minutes later. Each time it was as if another chapter had come to a close.

Oddly enough, I also took a very long bath last night - as in hours long. That's always a sign of a clearing. When I went upstairs I had an urge to change my sheets, which I did. It was as if many things were pointing toward a clearing out. Not to mention all the cleaning out I've been doing in my house.

Two other interesting things - last night I unplugged the lamp by the bed, thinking I wouldn't be getting up until it was light anyway. So everytime I got up I turned the TV on for light, and yet that never changed my dream pattern.

The other interesting thing is that yesterday and the day before, I stepped on old, rusty nails in my yard that went through my shoe and were sticking the bottom of my foot. I haven't stepped on an old nail since I was a kid, and then it happens two days in a row, in areas I've walked in hundreds of times and never had a problem. Odd. One was in the back of the property and one near the front. I had on different shoes both times, but each time the nail went through the sole of the shoe. Two days ago, it was a small nail and a thick sole in my right foot. Yesterday it was a long nail and a thin solein my left foot. As I was driving to dinner last night I was considering what that meant - it seemed that the message was getting more intense.

The things that occurred to me were, "poking," "not seeing what was coming," "painful," "warning," "when you least expect it," and a host of other things. When something hasn't happened for decades and happens two days in a row it seems worthy of note. Maybe it was just that old business was pricking at me. Neither of them pierced the skin, but they were painful. Old business that's painful - no big shocker there.

When I woke up this morning about 5 and stayed up I took time to write about my dreams. Even before I started writing, I knew the meaning was that I was just "done" - with some people and some things and some situations. Done is good. It frees you to move on to other people and things and situations.

Some of these situations are in the past and some are current. I periodically go through a time when I just clear people out of my life - relationships that just aren't productive, where we really just aren't connecting, where I'm making all the effort in the relationship. I'm overdue for one of those clearings, but as of this morning the time has arrived. It's no big surprise, really, as over the last few months I've been taking my life in a new direction. That always means some people won't fit into your life anymore. Of course, there are also always those people who go through every season of life with you - those are the true, real, deep friends - they are few and they are priceless.

I really finished some old things last night - some of the past that I haven't been able to leave completely behind dissipated. It's a fresh slate.

I woke up determined to leave some current situations and relationships behind as well. There are always things I'm working on in some way or other. I'm officially letting go of a couple of those this morning. If they're meant to be, someone other than me can make them happen.

I'm also moving some people out of my "active" list. If our relationship is not deep now, and isn't growing, there's no point in putting any more energy into it. I'm always open to new friends, but there must be a natural progression toward more closeness or it's just a waste of time. I don't have any interest in casual friendships - you're either *in* it or you're not - if you're not, why bother. Casual is just a drain on one's energy - energy that could be devoted to something meaningful.

Well, obviously, I have much to think about. This isn't a new idea for me - I "clear out" about once a year, but it has never been suggested to me in the way this was. Sometimes, you're just DONE. And this morning I am DONE, with a lot of things.

Art of Gracious Living #31

Click here for show #31 and it will automatically download for you. You can listen to podcasts on your computer. You don't need an iPod or any additional software.

Setting boundaries is an essential for leading a gracious life. Each of us must know what our limits are and how to create a life within them.

We cannot possibly take advantage of every opportunity presented to us, and some of the choices would not be wise for us anyway. When we know how to set boundaries, it's easy to make good decision about our lives.

If we cannot define our boundaries, we cannot expect people to honor htem.

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Stop Doing this Shit

Well, we all know he said it. The man representing our country, the president, said "... stop doing this shit."

You know there is no love lost between me and the president - he's not one of my favorite people. So, no doubt, you're expecting me to rip him for this. Well, while it's tempting, I can't say I disagree with his sentiments, and "stop doing this shit" does sum it up nicely. It could be applied to so many war situations, including the ones we've created.

Here I've been trying to put my thoughts together about the whole situation, and I need look no further. What do you know? Bush can speak for me. I never thought it possible.

Frankly, what bothers me much more is that fact that the man cannot stop talking with his mouth full. Good grief, I cannot imagine what family dinners are like if this is how he acts on the world stage - literally - a stage - being watched by the world - it's the freaking world stage by definition. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

Of course, we Americans only got a little bit of the whole story. There were "four minutes of candor" as the International Herald Tribune called it. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/17/news/bush.php

In addition to his use of what they called a "scatological term" ("scatological" is just not a word you get to use often - I'm not missing the opportunity - and neither were they), we also learned of his love for Diet Coke and that he was eager to get home. Not exactly earth-shattering revelations.

However, the part that frightens me the most - while he's on the world stage - is where he's overheard talking to an aide about some upcoming remarks, saying, "I'm just going to make it up, right here. I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them." He adds, "Some of these guys talk too long." Bush unscripted terrifies me.

And, although they don't specify, I'm guessing he had all of those conversations while chomping on his food. Someone - please give the president an etiquette lesson in how to eat. Maybe once he's got that down he can grasp the concept of open microphones.

By the way, who do we need to thank for these revelations - the Russians. Politics is a strange business.

The Morning

I love the early morning hours. Even when it's going to be miserably hot, the early morning is cool and welcoming. I went out for a walk about 6:30, after I'd gotten the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer all going. It was already feeling like it was in the 80s, but it was pleasant enough. I also did a couple of outdoor things that were necessary, and did a little weeding in the front flowerbed.

I picked some of the miniature roses and some assorted greenery to have a little display inside. Do you recognize the "vases?" Yes, they're spice bottles. When I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, I had some old flavorings that needed to be tossed out. But I saved the bottles, thinking specifically of using them for miniature roses. I like the look of them. Of course, I may be the only one who does, but since I live alone I guess that's all that matters!

I also picked a white rose and some purple sweet potato vine to go with it. I have it in the kitchen. I have mini yellow roses, I'll have to pick some of those to go in the yellow kitchen. I have another dark purple calla lily blooming from that same plant - it's quite the producer! I have others that are leafy, but only a couple more that are blooming yet. My morning glories have tons of big leaves, but few blooms. I'm hoping I get lots of blooms as time progresses. I'll be disappointed if not. I understand over-fertilizing makes the leaves grow, but not bloom. I hope I haven't done that. I guess time will tell. I do have a few blooms so hopefully I'll get more.

Well, I must get on with the work day. I have a lot I need to accomplish before the board meeting today. I spend the day of board meetings killing lots of trees, printing things. I wish we could go even more to electronic format and stop printing so much. At least we do send meeting notice by email so that halves the amount of paper we print and that's positive. But, it's still a waste and I hate that.

Heat Wave

At almost 9 p.m. and it's still 99 degrees. I am a heat wimp. I'm waiting for it to cool off so I can go to the grocery store. It got up to 108 today. It's supposed to be 110 tomorrow and unfortunately I've got some running around to do so I won't be able to avoid it.

I have spent today working on the newsletter, comfy with the climate control. Tonight was dinner with Susan and Teresa so I did go out for that.
I've eaten out much less lately and I've been enjoying preparing my own food. Today for lunch I had a spinach salad with blue cheese, pears and walnuts. I've grown very fond of Bertolli Balsamic Vinegarette - it's the perfect touch on fresh salads.

People always talk about how it's so much less expensive to eat at home, but I'm not sure that's true for me. I guess if you're eating hamburgers, maybe, but when I am preparing food at home, it's going to be good stuff. I've also been making lots of smoothies with fruit, yoghurt and soy milk. When I was at the artist's retreat in May they turned me on to soy milk and I love it - it lasts a really long time, unlike regular milk that seems to spoil the second it's opened. I'm not a milk person, anyway, but I like to have it for cereal or baking or whatever. I much prefer the taste of soy milk to cow's milk.

I just realized today that Thursday night is Creative Sisterhood. I have some things I want to get done before then. My cleaning binge has resulted in my house being torn apart. But the parts that are clean are really clean. I even moved the fridge out yesterday and cleaned all around and under it. That will give me a goal to at least have the dining room table cleared off by Thursday night. At the moment it has stuff on it that is going to Salvation Army. However, I'm not going to mess with taking that stuff in 100 plus degree weather. It can wait in a pile on the floor until it's more temperate.

I have a board meeting tomorrow night so I'll have some preparation to do for that tomorrow. At least much of it can be done in climate control.

I've been thinking a lot about the situation in Lebanon. I've had emails from people wondering why I haven't commented on it here. I will, as soon as I have my thoughts more organized. Suffice it to say I'm not happy with more war. And I'm not happy that once again the US is blindly supporting whatever Israel does. I'm still pondering it all.

World War III

I've been trying to think of something intelligent to say about the situation in Lebanon and Israel. I guess the most interesting thing I can say is that in one survey done last week, 19% of people believe World War III has already started.

Pink's Song - Dear Mr. Presdient

Mia sent this link to Pink's live performance of "Dear Mr. President" on TRL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDJ3cuXKV4

There's a video here, that has lots of pix to illustrate the song:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12980.htm

Here are the lyrics:
Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror
Are you proud

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why

Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
How can you say
No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye

Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night
How do you walk with your head held high
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me

Would You?

Open House at the Dancing Grouse

Last night was Open House night at the Dancing Grouse. It was really fun to see everyone.

Diana had a very good turn out. People were playing the angel guidance game and playing with angel cards, taking time to look at the selection of books, and doing various activities.

Evelyn did biogenesis, Jocelyn was doing Reiki, Diana and I were both doing readings and Dan Higgins was doing animal cards. I didn't get pix of everyone because I was busy at my little table.

I took some rocks I had picked up in Kentucky and encouraged everyone to take one. It's always interesting to me that people almost always have an attraction to one particular rock. That's what's in the little basket there. I love getting to share them with people.

Teresa (black shirt), Martha and Andrea (white shirt) were there at various times of the night. I hadn't seen Andrea in awhile, so it was good to reconnect.

Diana was looking radiant in her beaded poncho. She was showing us all the photo that we were talking about at the Christmas party when we were just incapacitated with laughter. She has forbidden me to take a photo of it to share with you. But, just picture Nelly Olson curls and you get the general idea of her "hair twigging," as her grandmother described it.




It was from 7-10 p.m. I had four people, and Diana had two, I think, because she was busy doing other things too. Dan did a couple of people and I think Jocelyn did the same as far as full treatments, but did some other quickie "introduction" treatments. I'm not sure how many Evelyn did, but she was busy all night.




Ryan Coon and his buddy were playing music. Ryan's dad, Mike, is someone I run into at the Dancing Grouse on occasion. He's a really nice guy.




Diana has a great selection of books. She recently rearranged the store and now there's a nice chair there, which prompts you to just want to sit down and browse. That, of course, leads you to want to take the books home.

All in all, it was a really fun evening. I think everyone had a good time.

Exposing Oneself

Friends often tell me I'm "brave" to share my life's path in this blog. I always respond that it is certainly edited for publication - that I do not share my very most private thoughts here - I reserve those for my paper journals, which I never share with anyone. There's a magic to pen and paper that keyboards will never replace, although I love my keyboard.

Each month I get over 90,000 hits to my website and the vast majority of them are coming to read the blog. When I started this a couple of years ago I thought it would be nice for my family in Kentucky to learn about what was happening in my life here in Hutchinson, Kansas. It was also just to be a chronicle of my life. It never occurred to me that anyone I knew would read it because they all know what's going on in my life. And I never imagined anyone who didn't know me would want to read it. Oh, I thought maybe a couple of people here or there might check in but I had no idea anyone would flatter me by reading regularly. And flattered I am.

A funny thing happened. I got in on the early stages of a trend - "social content."

When I was a journalist, one of the things I learned was that *everyone* has a story to tell. The trick is can you get them to tell it to you. And blogging has become one of the ways we learn each other's stories. Many of them are fascinating.

Of course, we all go through periods where our lives are very mundane. But most of us also have times when what we're thinking about is very interesting, even if what we're doing on a daily basis is the routine.

At least once a week I read the blogs I keep up on. I love to read about the art, the kids, the details of life. Life is made up of these little bits and pieces that we forget about if we're not keeping track on a regular basis. If we're not careful we can miss the little sidebars that ultimately make up the story of a life.

This is a good opportunity for me to say thank you for reading, and sharing my life through this blog. I'm honored that you spend some of your day here.

Fresh Food

Tonight I'm feeling very grateful that I can cook. It's not that I'm an exceptional cook or anything - but I can cook and take advantage of wonderful fresh foods that are so abundant this time of year. I'm generally not this much of a foodie, but it's so nice when things are fresh.

Last night the neighbors brought over some green beans and new potatoes. I cooked them with some garlic and shallots, and they were great. I also bought some Gaedderts Farms corn on the cob today. It was delicious. They pick it fresh every morning and sell it at their stand on 30th street. I understand Smith's market has it, too, but I don't know if it's picked the same day and that really does matter.

Going to the farmer's market is great, but so much of what is sold there isn't really grown locally. I'm really disappointed by that. It amazes me that people don't realize that they're just buying things shipped from somewhere else half the time. Of course, some of it is fresh, but much of it is not. When I go to a Farmer's Market I want to be buying direct from farmers, not just more food that has been shipped in. I can buy that at Dillons or WalMart. I guess I'll miss the Farmer's Market Saturday because I have an event for the MHA that morning and they close by 12:30. Oh well, I've got enough food in the house to last me for a few days anyway.

Teresa stopped by today on the way home to get some basil. I went out and picked her a few sprigs and told her to let me know if she wants more. I put in two plants and it's way more than I can use. I also took some over to Sondra. We had lunch today and I mentioned basil and she said she'd like to have some. I had a meeting tonight in her neighborhood so just dropped some off at her house.

I'm really thinking a lot about travel... I have a travel voucher I need to use in the next few weeks, but fortunately I just have to buy the ticket but can travel after the expiration date. I'm thinking the fall would be a nice time to travel. I need to meet more people who want to travel. Definitely something I need - more potential travel partners.

Veggies and Rainbows

I've had a very long day. I got to the office early in case the cable guy arrived before his 8 - 10 a.m. scheduled time. It was a good thing because he did arrive right after 8. He remembered me from setting up the cable at my house. I don't remember that, but he did. I think he remembered the house more than me. I'm sure it was in a bad state when I had the cable hooked up but I don't recall.

His news was not good, but not awful - the network card in the machine is dead. I'll have to get a new one but didn't have time today. Of course, I could have figured that out myself if I'd had the laptop with me yesterday. Anyway, I'll get it dealt with.

Teresa and I had lunch and that was fun. It was the day for the diversity lunch group, and I love the people in that group, but they want to go to restaurants that are consistently bad - bad food, bad service, bad. The one they had planned to go to has apparently closed. It's a pity, but your food can only be so bad and you stay in the restaurant business. I knew the first time I ate there that it wasn't going to last. But, I'm not sure how to say to a restaurant owner, "excuse me, but your food is truly awful... you're going to be out of business in no time unless you do something." They obviously think it's good or they wouldn't have gone into the restaurant business, and it's not like they're asking me. But, overall, my record is stellar at predicting such things - I've been wrong ONCE.

Anyway, they wanted to go there but when they couldn't decided to go to another place downtown. I've eaten there once and that was more than enough. It's bad. Very bad. So, Teresa and I went across town instead. She didn't want to waste her money there either.

I worked on various things all day, and late this afternoon called Susan to ask about dinner. She was open so we went out. I left the house in the midst of a torrential rain storm. Fortunately, I had my Radio Kansas umbrella. By the time I got to the restaurant it had mostly stopped. I went to the grocery afterwards and should have taken the umbrella in with me because it was pouring again when I came out.

However, I just don't find hanging out in the foyer of Walmart to be that thrilling, so I went out and loaded my groceries in the rain so I could leave. It's always funny to me to see people standing there watching it rain. We all know eventually they'll give up and leave in the rain, getting just as wet as they would have if they'd left 20 minutes earlier. It's a bizarre human phenomenon. It's not like it's a cold rain - it was over 90 degrees today.

I hadn't been home very long until there was a knock at the door and it was my neighbor, Bob, with some fresh green beans and new potatoes for me. He asked me earlier today if I liked them. I adore them. Guess what I'm having for dinner tomorrow? He came in and we chatted a bit and when I walked out with him there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. He said he and his wife had seen a double one. And, upon looking more closely, you could see the remnants of the double one. I came back in to get the camera so I could share it with you. It was well defined all the way across the sky - a lovely sight. I'm so grateful I got to see it. I would have missed it if Bob hadn't come to the door. So, just a wonderful happenstance.

Beautiful Morning

It's a gorgeous morning - only 70 degrees so far. I think I'll go take a little walk before going to the office. It's supposed to be over 100 here for a couple of days so I'm not going to want to move any more than necessary then. I'm so very thankful for air conditioning!

At the meditation class last night, the instructor was talking about the Buddhist concept of being thankful to have a human life because you have the opportunity to pursue a spiritual path. I have thought about that before, although not in those particular terms, but just how fortunate we are to be able to pursue our interests more than any other animal.

Well, if I'm going to get in a little walk and be at the office by 8 I must go. It will have to be a little walk, but you see things on a walk you miss any other way. There is a mimosa tree just a block away from me, and although I drive by it, I'd never noticed it before. The blooms smell so sweet.

Full Day

It has been a full day today. I had lunch with Trish. She's planning a rafting trip to the Grand Canyon with her oldest son, Nick, and I wanted to hear all about it. I just know they will have a great time together. She tells me I was instrumental in her deciding to go ahead and do it.

We went to El Potrillo, our usual spot. The other day when we were in there the owner told me he has noticed Trish and I are both always smiling. He said he loved that, that it made him feel good. It was so sweet of him to say something.

I spent a large part of the work day on the phone with tech support at Cox. They're sending someone out between 8-10 tomorrow morning to check it all out. I just know I couldn't get online.

Tonight I went to a meditation class at The Dancing Grouse. I'm glad I went. Diana was there, of course, as was Debbie. Austin and Amy popped in after the event was over so I saw them briefly. Austin has started a new business - basically hiring himself out for anything people need done. I may try to hire him to put together the rest of my bookshelves for the library upstairs. I keep thinking I'll get in there and get it done, but I haven't. Maybe it's worth it to just pay him to do it and be done with it. I still have to do some painting in that room and I can't get to the walls to paint because the boxes of books that go on the shelves are in front of the walls. Seems my house is always like puzzle pieces.

I did call Salvation Army and they will take mattresses. So, I'm going to donate those to them and get them out of my house. I just don't have company and if I do a good air mattress would be better. I'm also thinking about getting rid of the fold out couch. We'll see. I need to measure my other couch and see if it will fit in that space.

I wasn't home tonight so didn't get much done in the kitchen, but things are coming along slowly. I've got something every night this week, and an event on Saturday, so it will be awhile before much more happens in there.

Work of all sorts

I've spent the day glued to the computer working on the newsletter and tea things. I want to start publicizing the tea and all this background stuff has to be done before then. Always a long list of things to do. I got so wrapped up in it that I didn't go to a meeting I was supposed to attend. Fortunately, there wasn't any critical reason for me to be there.

Tonight I worked in the kitchen a little bit more but didn't get finished. I was out of steam by the time I got to work on it. Maybe tomorrow... The story of my life... maybe tomorrow...

Lately, I've been acting like someone who is depressed, although I don't feel depressed. Regardless, tomorrow I'm going to get away from the computer and interact with people. I'm going to do the thing I most do not want to do - schedule myself so I have no choice. If I don't nip it in the bud when I feel this drifting, it can get ugly. So, I'm going to do that very thing - bright and early in the morning. I'm turning the cell phone off so I can't get wrapped up in it or email. I need to be interacting with people face to face.

Yet More Cleaning

Well, here is some of my handiwork from the last few days. I have taken everything out of all but one cabinet in my kitchen, cleaned the cabinets and rearranged the items. I will get to the last one in the next couple of days. Then I'll be ready to move into another room I think.

I had a lot of stuff in the kitchen that I had never really organized since I moved - some of my things and some of my mom's things. So, I'm on my third dishwasher full of things, I have a mound of things ready to do to Salvation Army, and I've about half filled my dumpster.

I have been to Walmart the last two days to get various organizing widgets. Of course, as is so often the case, what has been the most useful was not intended for such purposes - sweater boxes. I'm using them to containerize things like powdered sugar and chocolate chips and such. Those are things I always like to have around en masse because I like to bake.

I have moved my can goods across the room, in a less convenient cabinet, and made the things close to the stove the baking things because that's what I really like to do. I've also dedicated a drawer to my pie baking materials - rolling pins and rolling mat, as well as the silpats. Since I cleaned out the cabinet that holds the pans, I have all my pie plates organized now. I could start making pie at any moment - but I'll have to take it somewhere because I can't eat that much pie.




Last week when I took the car in to get some work done I took the guys some brownies I had baked. They were very appreciative. I suppose I could take them pie. That's the only downside of not having coworkers that I've found - no where to take baked goods. But it's a small trade off.

I ate two little cherry tomatoes out of the garden tonight - my first ones of the season. I ate them while they were still warm from the sun - my favorite way. I'm a complete germ-phobe but will eat tomatoes right out of the garden with just a swipe on the bottom of my t-shirt. Go figure.

It's raining here now, so my plants will enjoy a nice drink of water. It's a good, gentle rain, too - not a pelting.

Well, I want to go start the dishwasher one more time before I head upstairs to bed. I think I just have one more load of dishes tomorrow and then everything in the kitchen will have been sanitized. That was one of the things I insisted on in the new dishwasher - a sanitizing cycle - it adds a couple of hours to the run time on the dishwasher but it's worth it.

I have poured bleach all over the kitchen counter between the stove and sink. I will let that sit all night and wipe it up in the morning. I also have the washing machine full of dish towels and cloths that have been bleached heavily. Hopefully any little buggers either place are dead, dead, dead. Tomorrow morning before work I'll wipe that up and bleach the other counter top so it can sit all day.

Well, time for bed. My workday starts in only about 5 hours. Even I need some sleep.

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning

I have spent the day working in the kitchen. I am slowly cleaning and reorganizing every cabinet in there. My stack of things to go to Salvation Army continues to increase. I have lots of "really cool" kitchen things that I never use. I'm going to give them to Goodwill or Salvation Army so someone else can buy them and never use them. But at least they'll be storing them instead of me. And there's a bonus in that!

For reasons I can't determine I've decided that while the kitchen is a freaking disaster, I want to prepare food. Who knows the ways of my mind - not even me. Tonight I fixed a tomato and mozzarella salad with basil-flavored olive oil. I'm really loving having fresh herbs right out the back door.

I went to Roys for lunch - it was yummy - and I needed a break. I also went to Smith's market to get some good apples. I ate my last one last night and apples are one of the things I keep at all times. Weird that everyone has those three things that when you're out of any one of them you have to go to the store. Mine change periodically, but at the moment they're apples, yogurt and pop. I know, it sounds so healthy, until I get to the pop part. It's caffeine and sugar free... but it's still pop.

My little tomatoes are turning. I'm resisting the urge to pick them until they're really ripe. It's so tempting. I'm thinking about expanding my garden area in the back yard for next year. I would love to have some eggplant, potatoes, spinach and green beans. In fact, everytime I think about this, I seem to add something additional to the list - tonight it's spinach.

Today I noticed that the calla lily I mentioned yesterday is not just white, but has a tinge of pink on it. I can tell I'll be planting even more calla lillies in the future - I really love them - and they're easy to grow. I remember Pat Mitchell talking about them years ago.




These are the ones I picked from the backyard. They've been in the kitchen on a shelf above the sink. Figured I might as well have them where I've been spending most of my time lately. I think I'm more than half done in the kitchen so I've made a lot of progress.




I'm eventually going to have tons of tomatoes. In fact, when they all start turning I'm not sure where I'm going to get rid of all of them. But, that's a nice problem to have.

Eyebrows and Old Friends

I'm glad it's Friday. I need a weekend. By Monday I'll be ready to get back to my normal life, I think. But I need a couple of days free. I have to work next weekend so I want to really make use of this weekend.

I had lunch with Trish again today, and it was good. She's someone I never see enough of. I

Right after lunch I had an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed. This is not something I do casually. I've done it fewer than six times in my life. Why? Because it HURTS. Ripping hairs out by the roots, en masse, is painful. Who would have guessed? And, as I have had to do everytime I've had it done, I came home and plucked them a bit to even them up. If I ever find someone who's really good at it, maybe I'll get it done more often. OK, probably not - because it hurts.

And, honey, I don't know WHAT those women are thinking when they have the "bikini area" waxed. By the way - Newsflash - it itches like you wouldn't believe when it starts to grow back. Yeah, no one ever tells you that. Well, I'm here to spread the truth. Just say "No!" or expect to go around with your hand buried in your crotch for a few days when you decide you don't want to suffer the waxing all the time. No... I've not waxed - the mere thought of the pain is too much for me. But lets just say that was one of the many things my girlfriend Robin and I learned first hand in college.Experience is a good teacher.

I popped in to see Diana late this afternoon. I have really wanted to have a long conversation with her for quite a few months, but have been unsuccessful in catching her at a time when that can happen. Conversation has an ebb and flow that has to have time to build. There is always too much going on to have any focus. I really, really, really enjoy her and there was a time we had lots of really meaningful conversation, but I can't seem to find a way to make that happen anymore. I guess it's just one of those things.

Tonight I went out to do some errands and went to Walmart to buy another fan. While I was looking at fans, I heard someone scream, "Patsy Terrell!" I looked around and it was Shirley Mackey. It was SOOOOOO good to see her - and a big surprise. I think of her and Rob so often, but I had no idea she was in town. When I was in DC last month I had hoped I might get a chance to see them, but when I saw the schedule it was so packed that I didn't even bother to call because I had no free time.

She very graciously offered me their spare bed anytime I was in the DC area. I told her that was dangerous - I have a travel voucher I need to use. She reiterated that the offer was genuine. Some people are naturally generous.

Tonight when I came home I noticed I have a white calla lily starting to bloom in the front. It was dusk, so too late to take a photo, but I'll try to do that tomorrow. My little tomato is more red and a second one is turning. I picked some oregano and basil to go with my eggplant parmesan tonight. I love having these things right out the back door.

Well, I must sleep. I want to finish reorganizing the kitchen this weekend so I need to get a pretty early start tomorrow.

Art of Gracious Living #30

Click here for show #30 and it will automatically download for you. You can listen to podcasts on your computer. You don't need an iPod or any additional software.

We know that children who are connected through simple things like having dinner with their families, are less likely to do drugs. Yet, the number of families who eat together continues to drop.

We attribute it to our lack of time, but in reality we all still have 24 hours in the day. The trick is how we spend them.

We engage in more group activities, that limit our ability to connect with people one on one. Organized sports for kids have increased 200% in the last 20 years. We're losing something significant in this transition.

I encourage you to consider how you can make real connection with people this coming week.

Click here for the Art of Gracious Living page at the Podcaster News Network

Click here for the Art of Gracious Living RSS feed

Organizing

I spent the workday focused on the newsletter. I did get to have lunch with Teresa, which was fun.

Tonight I've been working on the kitchen more. I have reorganized all the lower cabinets and started on the upper ones tonight. Basically, I've made a huge mess. But, I needed to wipe down all the cabinets and throw out expired items and just get it reorganized.

I'll be doing another Victorian Tea on August 26 so I want everything tidy before I start that. It goes so much quicker if I'm organized to start with. I've been thinking a little about the menu but haven't made the final decisions yet.

I did fix myself some real dinner tonight - eggplant parmesan. The eggplants looked really good at the store the other night so I bought one. I'll be eager when the farmer's market has more to offer - it's a little early in the season yet. But, the eggplant was good and I've got enough left over for tomorrow too. It's one of those things that is rarely good when you order it anywhere - always mushy.

I've been working on more computer things. I just never seem to have time to get them all done. I have also been messing with the PDA. I downloaded some etext books to have with me whenever I'm stuck somewhere with nothing to do. But, there's a bug of some sort in the T5 that won't recognize the internal memory card so I have to figure that out. I have a feeling it's more likely a bug with the software and not a hardware problem. There's probably a work around. I've found the software designed for PDAs in general be rather lacking.

I talked to Greg briefly. He and his girlfriend, Mia, were eating at a cool diner place. We had a bad connection so I didn't get all the details, but it sounds like they were having fun.

Well, I should go on upstairs. I have some things I want to do up there before I go to bed and it's already close to 2 and I need to get up early in the morning. There's never enough time for me to get everything done or sleep... how can that be?

The Wreckers

I'm really enjoying The Wreckers these days... maybe because I can relate to "Leave the Pieces" so well. "Drag out the heartache..." - there's a phrase most women can relate to.

I listened to it from their website more than once last night and was singing it to myself all morning. When I got in the car and started it, I was still singing the song and it was also on the radio - I was suddenly singing in sync with the radio. Freaky.

I think my favorite part is, "you're not sure that you love me but you're not sure enough to let me go." That harkens back to more than one relationship in my life.

Of course, years later I hear how he couldn't understand why I didn't know how much he loved me... of course he loved me... how could I not have known that? I guess because you never told me that. And losing me was the worst mistake of his life. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Seems I just hear the same song, different verse, over and over again. Not sure what the lesson is there for me, but I'm trying to figure it out before I get into another relationship.

Men are always more in love with me in retrospect than they were at the time I was with them. It's very odd, really. I think this must mean I'm very hard to actually be with, but the good times must leave some intense memories that they long for later. Unfortunately, I don't know why I'm hard to be with at the time, or why I make such a good memory, so I can't address it.

___________________

As the song says...

"It's alright. I'll be fine. Don't worry about this heart of mine. Just take your love and hit the road. There's nothing you can do or say. You're gonna break my heart anyway. So just leave the pieces when you go."

Tomatoes and Cucumbers

My big excitement of the day is that I noticed one of my cherry tomatoes is starting to turn red. It has been awhile since I've grown any veggies, so I'm overly interested in them.

I put out a few tomato plants, some herbs - basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, lavendar and parsley, and one cucumber plant. The cucumber plant has grown huge. It has tons of blooms, but no beginnings of cucumbers yet.

I put them into the backyard, beside an old lawn glider that I got from some folks in Kentucky. I love it but haven't decided how to make it function yet. I think it involves some plywood and cushions but I'm not sure. However, at the moment, it's in use by the cucumber plant and I've decided it looks cool so I'm leaving it.




It was a really nice day here today - only in the mid 80s - very unusual for Kansas in July. I took advantage of it to fertilize the lawn. You're not supposed to do it when it's too warm. Well, that's almost impossible here after a certain time. It's been on my list of things to do for awhile so I was happy to get it done.

I have more plants popping up that I put the bulbs in for in the last few weeks. We'll see how this all works long term. I think some of these need to be dug up at the end of the season. I'll have to do a little research on that.

I got to have lunch with Trish today, so that was fun. It's always so good to see her. She is one of my favorite people on the planet - I can't ever get enough of her.

I finally went to bed at 7 this morning and got up about three hours later. I tried to take a nap this afternoon and did lay down between 5 and 6:30 but never really fully got to sleep. Although I'm not feeling sleepy now, hopefully if I go lay down I will sleep.

But, I've gotten tons of things done in the last 24 hours. And I do love to get things done. I have a pile of things to go to Salvation Army, I've worked on webpages - personal and work, and I've done some writing that I need to get out the door. I have also worked on the house. I'm starting to see a tiny glimmer of "my life" but it's going to take awhile yet.

The Garden

I always think summer has officially arrived when I get my first "real" bloom on a plant - meaning it's one that grew from seed just dropped into the ground and not started inside first. And, I didn't just buy the plant already blooming and stick it in for "instant garden."

I noticed on Friday, June 30, that my first morning glory bloom was there, but not open. I got out on Sunday to get a photo of it, and I also discovered a calla lily blooming in the back, which was a surprise. I have planted tons of calla lily bulbs and they're coming up but I hadn't even noticed a bud. This is one of the new colors they released this year.




Other things are starting really fill in too. Greg gave me this shamrock he bought for a photo around St. Patrick's day. I thought it was dead because it dried out while I was gone on a trip. But, I just went ahead and put it in the ground and it has perked up and even grown some. I like the look of lots of things growing into one another.




I also have some "instant garden" plants.




And I adore plants that just come back on their own. I had three coneflowers last year but I think I pulled out the others thinking they were weeds. I was so happy to see this one. I'm hoping to spread more of its seed later this year so I get more of them.




The morning glories have grown up to the roof and are doing well. I love the look of viney things. I will try to take some photos of the overall and share soon.

I'm thinking about putting in a little wildflower garden in back. I want things that just take care of themselves - reseeding each year - and not needing lots of TLC.

Morning Comes

Well, it's 6 a.m. and I haven't been to bed yet. Frankly, I'm not even really tired yet. I've been doing a lot of writing overnight. It's been a very productive time.

I have never been a good sleeper. Neither was my mom, neither are my two brothers. There's something genetic in it all, I'm sure. I can't really say how my dad was, but I know the three of us and mama are not good sleepers.

I don't need as much sleep as other people. Thank goodness. I can't even get everything done I want to do and I rarely sleep even six hours a night.
I've been holed up in my office all night but I can see through the front door that daylight has arrived. I intended to go out for a walk before it got completely daylight but I've waited too long.

Oh well, now the big decision is if I should go to breakfast or go to bed. I think a walk first... then I'll make that choice. Then I really must try to get at least a little bit of sleep. Surely I need some.

Fourth of July

I went this morning to the Women's Civic Center where we were handing out ice water and lemonade to parade goers. This is the second year I've done it and it's really fun. Lots of the board members were there.

When I arrived today Mark said, "I've got a job for you." Generally all I end up doing is chit chatting with people I run into that I know. Today, Mark gave me the job of doing that very thing. As he put it, "because you know so many people." I really don't know any more people than the average person in town, but the perception is that I do. Greg is always teasing me about that so I put this story in just for his benefit.

The Fourth of July parade here is very much a little slice of Americana. I think we had all the typical things from the Shriners on bikes to horses.

It was fun to see people I know in the parade - Chris was driving his car again this year. I think I put a photo of him up last year, too - but I can't recall for sure. He has been very involved with United Way over the years and he's a great guy.

There were the usual things, and also something I'd never seen before - a foam machine. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with it but they were squirting the parade goers every once in awhile. Again, I don't know what it is or what it's for, but apparently you can rent it. I just don't know what you do with it once you do.




There were lots of politicians out today. Diane McCarville was walking with her dog. Her husband, Joe, is a judge and is running for reelection.




Mark Treaster was in the parade. After he had walked the route he came to the civic center. His wife is on the board of the Arts and Humanities Council, which I'm also on, and this is one of our projects - restoring this building. He and Trish were chatting afterwards, and taking time to wave to folks they knew in the parade.




There were lots of politicians out today, including Frances Garcia, who I've always liked. She was a city council person for many years and is now on the county commission. She is a thoughtful person and genuinely cares about the community.

The democrats also had a float. Kathie has been such a trooper in getting these things done. It looked really nice.




Of course, every parade needs old cars...



and golf carts... it is Hutchinson where we're currently hosting the US Senior Open... we needed a golf cart in the parade



it is a farming community... you need tractors...



and horses... gotta have horses



Of course, not everyone was having a good time. This kid threw a temper tantrum three feet from his mother who didn't seem to notice. Not being a parent, I can never understand how people can ignore the piercing screams of children. He screamed, cried, stomped his feet and eventually threw himself on the ground. There was no impetus that I could determine. His sister eventually picked him up and gave him to the mother who managed to continue to ignore him. It's a skill I guess.

All in all it was a nice parade on a very nice day. It was a bit cooler today and that was a bonus.

Drugs

I have spent a lot of the day at the computer, working on various things. I haven't felt very motivated to do much else. My great plans for getting industrious in the house evaporated as this bladder infection got worse all day.

I finally got the antibiotics at about 4 this afternoon. I started the process at 7:32 this morning. It's a good thing it wasn't a serious medical issue. So, whatever little bug I have had extra hours to reproduce - always good news. But, I'm feeling better after only one dose of medication and I'm taking another one before I go to bed. They say two a day and I'm sure they meant more than five or six hours apart, but I meant I wanted them early in the day when I started calling at 7:32 a.m. So, this is the compromise.

Well, I'm heading up to bed early tonight. We had a nice little rain storm and it cooled things off a bit so it should be pleasant sleeping tonight - aside from the fireworks in the neighborhood.

Close Miss

Well, we've all survived the night and we probably didn't even know we were in danger. Asteroid 2004 XP14 passed closest to Earth last night - shortly after midnight Eastern Time - and is now moving further from our orbit.

I'm always amused that some people actually worry about things. If it had hit it would have created a crater about 20-30 miles in diameter. Yes, that's a big crater. But, compared to the size of the Earth, it's a tiny speck. The likelihood it's going to hit in any particular place is miniscule. I'm not up to doing the math on the probability of that, but lets just say it's minimal and leave it at that.

So, see, you have even more to be thankful for today and you didn't even know about it.

But, hey, mark your calendars for April of 2029, when Asteroid 99942 Apophis is expected to be visible in Asia and North Africa. It's huge - about 1000 feet wide - and will pass within 20,000 miles of Earth. In orbit terms that's like your next door neighbor's deck. Ones that big only come that close to Earth about once every 1,500 years. But, Apophis will likely be making another trip in about 2036.

So, depending on your approach to life, either chalk it up to oddities or start laying in the canned goods.

Bright Monday Morning

I love the early morning hours. I woke up about 5:15 and got up about 30 minutes later. Here before 7 I've already accomplished quite a few things, including waking up Sondra. She's ordinarily an early riser, but was sleeping in until about 6:15 when I woke her up. I never imagined she would still be asleep then. Oops. She had called yesterday asking if I wanted to go have breakfast so I was calling to see if she wanted to this morning. But, she had a full agenda today and was distressed she was still asleep. I may just head out to Dutch Kitchen in a few minutes.

I'm waiting on the Doctor's office to open so I can go visit their lab tech and get some nice little pills for this bladder infection. Thank goodness for over the counter stuff that helps the symptoms, but it won't do a thing for the real problem. I need some antibiotics for that.

I'm laughing at myself a bit this morning that I always go to the computer as soon as I come downstairs and check email. I rarely have anything in the morning. Of course not. I went to bed about 1 and am checking email about 6 - not very many people are going to written epistles in those hours. But, every day I check it first thing. I'm either very optimistic or very foolish. Lets just go with the former, shall we?

Sunday

I have been working in the house today - doing exciting things like organizing kitchen cabinets. Yes, I know, my life is thrilling - try not to be too jealous.

I need to get on my knees with a bucket of soapy water and a brush and scrub the floor in there. I can only think of about four million things I'd rather do.

I've also got a little bladder infection. So, I guess I'll get to go visit the doctor's lab and the pharmacy tomorrow. Thank goodness for over the counter medication. At least I'm not miserable from it. I'm not sure how I got this - not the usual way one gets them. I guess this is just a little surprise. Oh well... nothing major... some antibiotics will take care of it... just an inconvenience.

I have also taken some time today to work on some computer things. I have a ton of things I need to do yet, but at least I got started. I have trouble focusing on one thing at a time, so things tend to drag on for a long time. I have thought about trying medication for the ADD but I just don't like messing with brain chemistry unless it's absolutely necessary. And in my case I don't think it is as I'm able to function without it. But there are times when I need to focus that I think it would be nice to be able to do it more effectively. But, I manage to get things done anyway.

Gotta Love Saturdays

I had brunch with Trish today and it was wonderful. We went to the Dutch Kitchen and were there for nearly four hours.

Trish has a lot going on in her life at the moment and it was good to talk with her about it.

Before and since I've been busy trying to work on my life. That seems to be the refrain of my life. I did laundry last night before I went to bed so when I got up this morning I could hang it out right away. At the moment I've got clothes on the line, in the dryer and in the washer.

I've also been trying to work on some computer things. I have so many projects that need to be done for my podcasts, reviews, webpages, etc. etc. etc. etc. There always seems to be a long list of things I could spend my time with.

But I think my next project is a long bubble bath for me. I need to contemplate some things and the tub is always where I go for that. I'm also eager to read more of Freakonomics, the book I'm currently engrossed in. I also have some writing I need to do so maybe I'll sketch some of that out. Like I said... always plenty to do...