Wind Storm

One of the things I do every morning is check the weather forecast on my phone. Two days ago I saw a phrase I'm not used to seeing - "howling wind." I'm not sure when that became a technical weather term. It wasn't too bad then, but today made up for it. "Howling" was an appropriate description.

When I tried to go to my office after lunch time I found the streets all blocked. In fact, Main Street was closed to all traffic except official vehicles, which was very odd.



Barricades were up at every intersection on Main and on each block either side. Well... at least the barricades the wind hadn't blown over.



The problem was the Wiley Building was losing some of its sheet metal covering and it was being propelled through the streets by 40-55 mph winds. You can see the spot on the side of the building at the top.



A local roofing company came and attached a ladder up there to try and keep more of it from peeling off.



I could relate to the difficulty because when I went outside at one point today I found one of the shutters from the upper floor of my house in the front yard.

Driving down A Street today, toward downtown, it was like fog from all the dust and dirt in the air. It was accentuated by flying debris - "debris" defined as lawn furniture, paper, sacks, five gallon buckets, kids pools and toys - hurtling through the air in front of you at windshield level as if being flung by a giant off to the side of the road. It made for some adventure driving.

I do live in Kansas - it's known for being windy - but this is extreme even for us. I don't feel the need for anymore. Thank you, anyway.
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Optimism

As I do almost every year, I've started plants from seeds. Unlike other years, it seems to be going well this year.

Don't you think this speaks volumes of optimism from a woman who can barely bend for any amount of time?
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Writer's Workshop with Author Nancy Pickard

Author Nancy Pickard gave a writer's workshop today at the library. She will be speaking about "Mysterious Kansas" Monday evening at 7 at a free presentation. Pickard is the author of "The Virgin of Small Plains," the Kansas Reads selection. Kansas Reads is a statewide project to encourage adults to read and discuss the same book. She said this is the 35th library she has visited since her book was chosen.

But, this afternoon was geared to writers and it was very useful. She spoke about the important of not just conflict and action, which we always hear about, but also about other elements like using all the senses.



I had taken the first few pages of my novel and one of the things I learned through the various exercises was that I'm very good at using surprise in my writing. I'm not very subtle about it, but at least I'm doing it. I'm just going to take that as a positive.

One of the things I've been struggling with is the beginning of my novel. I like it, but I know it needs to be stronger. I just haven't figured out how to make it that way. Yet. But, one of the things Pickard did today was read the first sentence of a few books to illustrate how to start strong. I'm still mulling it all over, but I know that was meant for me.

I really enjoyed Pickard's workshop. I recommend it heartily if she's doing a presentation in your area. I'm going to buy her book, "Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path," because I'm sure it will have great advice. In addition to that book, she has published 17 novels. She writes mysteries, but the advice she gave today is applicable to any genre.

At the end of the presentation today I asked if anyone was interested in a writing group and passed around a sheet for people to sign up if they were. There were about 20 people there and six indicated interest in a writer's group. One person is part of a writer's group that already exists, which I had no idea about. But I think there's virtue in more than one group.

I don't know anything about that group except they meet on a regular schedule and they have a president. I think that will really speak to a lot of folks, but I'm not interested in anything that formal. So, maybe this group will go and there will be something for everyone.

I'm interested in sharing writing and also about connecting with other people who understand the process. However, I'm not interested in using the group as a way to pretend I'm writing when I'm really not. That's the great danger of such things, and an easy trap for me to fall into. Groups sometimes give the illusion you're working on your project when you're really just talking about it. But, I'm willing to give it a go, with the understanding I need to guard against that.

All in all a great afternoon. This was a free workshop. We're so fortunate the library offers events like this.
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Underground

Look at my new pretty blue hat! Okay, so a hard hat might not be the pinnacle of fashion, but this one is special.

I acquired this yesterday when I did my first shift as a volunteer at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum. Visitors travel 650 feet underground to the museum, housed in the rooms left after salt is mined from them. I've been underground a few times and it's an ultra cool experience. I did training a few months ago to volunteer. For reasons I cannot understand, from the first time I saw the little trolleys that people ride on through the mine section I have been itching to drive them. Why? I have no idea.

I realize most people would not be that excited over driving something that is essentially a golf cart with a top speed of 6 mph. But, hey, I find many things to be happy about in the average day and this is one of them. (I recommend it as a way to be happier in daily life - be happy about small things!)

At training we got to drive very briefly, but I've been a little nervous about driving the whole route. What if I didn't do it right? What if I went too slow or fast and got the timing off? What if, what if, what if? Good grief.

This past week when Tonya asked for volunteers I decided it was time to do it. I haven't done anything in awhile that made me a little nervous and I think that can be good for us. It gets the blood circulating. This was an opportunity to do something new and different, and that makes different parts of the brain work, and that's got to be good.

Unfortunately, this week they've had record crowds so I did my practice run with full groups. I was paired with Kerry who is a veteran. The first tour he drove and gave the tour, the second one he let me drive the last little bit, after we stopped so people could pick up salt. And the last tour I drove on my own, with his direction and advice. He was very helpful.

It was a fun experience. I can't wait to do it again. I want to learn the little spiel so I can do the talking part, too. All I had to do yesterday was go with people in the elevator so I had 90 seconds to fill, which was pretty easy. That radio background comes in handy at the strangest times.

Oh... and the blue hat is for volunteers. Employees wear silver ones and visitors wear white ones. Now, when you visit you'll know who is who. Just don't ask me anything too complex yet.
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Hyacinths

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
                               - Muslih al-Din Sa'di



Hyacinths are one of my very favorite flowers. They remind me of my mother and home and summer.



Spring arrived on the Kansas plains this week, bringing blooms with it. The smell of hyacinths is so intense, it fills any room where they're put.



There are never enough of them. That's how I felt about them when I was a kid, and I still do. I'm not sure how many I would need to plant in order to pick as many as I'd like to have inside. The same is true of some of my other favorites - Lily of the Valley, Honeysuckle, Daffodils, Calla Lilies - well, this list could go on and on.



The purple is my favorite hyacinth, just because it's what I remember from childhood. But I also love the pink and white, too. Maybe this year I will plant some of the other colors, and more of these, too.



This little vase is one of my favorites. I bought it for $1 at a sale and I have treasured it. It's missing the neck of the lute, but I love it just as much as I would if it were perfect. 



In fact, it is perfect as far as I'm concerned.
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Writing a Synopsis. Not.

I need to write a one page synopsis of my novel. It needs to be sent somewhere and postmarked by Monday. I'm trying to have a good attitude about it. I'm failing. I read that editors hate surprises. I'm not sure I can even hit the highpoints of 85,000 words in one page. But, I suppose I will. In some fashion. By Sunday night. So it can be postmarked by Monday.
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Third Thursday

This was one of my favorite pieces in the art show tonight during Third Thursday. Can you guess why it's one of my favorites? Yes... it's about me! :)

Diana made this for me. She found the flash card with "Patsy" on it first and then built the other stuff around it - handwritten because I journal and write letters and love the handwritten word. Tea and Christmas are obvious. The center picture is of cookies and of course I love to bake. The butterfly is to symbolize new beginnings after surgery. It's so sweet and I get to bring it home when the show is over. I just love having talented friends!

Tonight's Third Thursday offering at Gallery 7 included work by the "Paper Ladies," a group devoted to altered art. I believe Debbie (hiding in the back on the right) started the group and the other ladies, including Jennifer (left) and Diana, (middle in the brown) joined in. They had some interesting things on display.



I have to confess I sneaked taking this photo after Greg went to the trouble to get everyone organized for it.



Everyone was impressed with the work... except maybe the Gallery 7 cats...



But... you know how hard it is to impress cats, so you can't judge by that.

I loved this chair, which was covered with rice paper.







It was fun to run into folks, including some people I hadn't seen since surgery. One of those was Jon, and I happened to get a photo of his surprise at seeing me.



There were lots of other folks there I got to visit with, but I didn't get photos of very many people, unfortunately.





Jennifer (on the left) is the owner of Gallery 7 and organizer of Third Thursday.



Sharon and Greg were having dinner at Brooks and I said I'd stop in and visit a bit since I parked near there anyway. I left Gallery 7 and then saw Jocelyn go in so had to go back in and visit with her and her cousin. Eventually I did make my way to Apron Strings where John and Katherine were playing and singing.



Anne, the owner, was doing good business, which I was happy to see. As I crossed the street to walk down to Brooks I happened to see the carriage going by.



As you can see, it was dark by then.

I didn't go downtown until about 7. I wasn't feeling great, but wanted to go tonight since I have missed it the last few months. It's such a cool event.
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A Little Bit of Everything

Leaving Joplin the other day we spotted this Easter Tree. It was purely accidental because I turned through a residential area to avoid making the dreaded left hand turn. It was a perky, lovely surprise - just standing there in someone's front yard - waiting to be appreciated. It made me think about doing the same thing in my own front yard with the tree Bob and Ruth planted for me 2-3 years ago. I haven't done it yet, but it's a thought. I think it's a good thought, but I'm not managing to get everything done I need to do these days, without adding in anything extra.

I am getting a little bit more into life. I'm having lunch with Andrea tomorrow, then Trish on Friday. I'm also getting a little less spacey. I've been just missing details - it's like I'm still a little stoned from all the drugs I had during surgery and afterwards. It seems to be getting better every day, but it's hard for me to hold on to details sometimes. They just flit through my brain and then they're gone. I can't even remember things long enough to get them on a list. I miss emails and comments. I forget to return phone calls, etc. etc. etc. They tell me this will pass as I get more distance from surgery and it is getting better every day.

Thank goodness for digital photos - they serve to remind me of all kinds of things - like cool cemeteries recently visited. Is that a segue or what?

On the way back from pie in Golden City the other day, Greg, his mom, his girlfriend Mia, and I stopped by the cemetery in Carterville, Missouri. This is a pretty small town, but their cemetery is huge. I'm always curious to see Woodmen of the World tombstones, and they had some of different designs than I generally see in Kentucky.

But the most interesting tombstone we spotted was this one. (Well, as far as I'm concerned, anyway.) It is for Nellie, wife of Andy Roberson, July 28, 1878 to Oct. 23, 1904.



It looks like a pretty normal tombstone until you look at the design near the top. And there, if you look closely, you see an ankh inside a triangle inside a circle with the words, "Ancient Order Pyramids." A quick google search shows one reference to this being a secret society, but no real information. It must be really, really secret because I've read thousands of pages about Egypt and never run across it. Of course, like most such "clubs" it probably has nothing to do with Egypt except taking some of the symbols. But, I don't know. If I'm never heard from again, you'll know the Ancient Order of the Pyramids came and took me away.



I find it fascinating the things people feel such an affinity for that they put it on their tombstones - or their survivors do, anyway. You often see Mason symbols on tombstones and I'm guessing this must be something like that. I just cannot imagine any group or activity I would feel so close to that I'd want to be associated with it for the extended time a stone would remain intact. That's significant.

Carterville is between Cooky's, where we all had pie...



and SuperTam Ice Cream where we all had - you guessed it - ice cream. Needless to say, we did not go out for dinner that night. I haven't eaten dessert since.

I'm feeling better every day. My little aches and pains are going away one by one. And I feel like doing more all the time. I'm still not bending and staying bent for any amount of time. Greg's mom bought me one of those handy grabber things. I've already pressed it into service more than once since getting home.

I'm still trying to get a little walking in every day. Today I went to Dillon Nature Center for a few minutes and walked one of the trails. I was on the Woodard Trail, looking up at the various trees, and glanced back to the trail just in time to see something moving. I stopped and let out a girly-man yelp because there, just a couple of steps from being under my foot, was a snake.



I know... it's a garter snake. I know... they're not dangerous. I know... they're more afraid of me than I am of them. Ah ha! That last one is a lie. They are not afraid of me. The reason I know is that I had time to get my camera out of my pocket, turn it on, wait for it to power up which is not a speedy process, and snap this photo of the snake that was in absolutely no hurry to get away from me - the thing he is supposedly scared of. They are not afraid of humans and if anyone tells you they are they are trying to lull themselves into a false sense of security.

I hate snakes. I don't want to harm them. I don't want to get close enough to them to harm them. But they scare me. They make me let out girly man yelps. They make my heart stop for a second. I know this makes me a very poor nature girl, but I can't help it. In my defense I grew up in an area where there were lots of poisonous snakes, so it's a learned behavior to be afraid of anything fitting that general description. And, lets not forget, I still have a little scar on my right ankle where a viper decided to sink his fangs into me.

But, on to more pleasant nature subjects... I spotted these pretty little purple flowers. I don't know what they are, and they might well be some sort of noxious weed the state highway department has been trying to eradicate for decades, but I think they're pretty.



Well, I'm off to bed soon. I had hoped to take another go at the synopsis of the novel tonight, but I think I'm just too weary. It has been a very long day.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Traditional Media Fails. Again.

Diebold admitted yesterday that their software makes it very easy to delete ballots. Apparently this is something they have been aware of for years. Oh, and it's not Diebold anymore, it's Premier Election Solutions - I'm sure that's a PR move. You can read the Wired story by clicking above - no point in me rehashing the details.

I don't care what your political affiliation is, this is not good news. It's horrible news. For everyone.

And the other horrible news is that without online media, like Wired and blogs, apparently this could have gone unreported. At least that's how it seems to me. I did a quick search and found no indication that any traditional media has bothered to report the story.

Headline News is telling me right now what the weather is in Fargo. It's not that I don't care about snow melting in Fargo, but the fact that our entire democratic process has been in the hands of people who knew their software was flawed, would seem worthy of at least a crawl while I hear about rain in Rochester. The closest I can come is DC will be sunny on Friday, and that's the host's mother's birthday. This followed by a report on American Idol.

I am so disgusted with my former profession. I swear, when I was working as a journalist, this would never have passed muster. I don't think I ever did a single story about a celebrity, unless it was someone we had interviewed. I mean, I can just watch American Idol. I don't need a report on it.

A free press is essential to a free nation - I'm sure of that. But our traditional free press is lacking these days. Very lacking. When I don't see a story about something this major I know things are very bad.

I guess they'll eventually read the blogs and catch on something is happening and do a story about it, pretending it's hot news then. But it's not. While they were reporting on Adam and Anoop, the news that our voting system is in danger became old news. Disgusting.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day

Greg, Sharon and I went to Roy's for lunch today. Of course, we always love Roy's - and Anne was in the spirit as you can see from the shamrocks she was wearing on her head - but we knew Anne and Ryan would appreciate Greg's holiday ensemble. Naturally, The Lope was decked out too.

Roy's is always delicious, and today we were there early so I was able to have the beef cut just the way I love it. Ryan takes such good care of me.

Vegetarians, look away...



Hope you're having a great St. Patrick's Day!

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Geographic Therapy

If you've read here for any amount of time, you know my love of what I dub "geographic therapy," meaning that when you need to figure something out it's ideal to go away to do it.

I'm feeling a major need for some geographic therapy. This whole little deal about preparing to die - just in case - leaves me with a deep need to process it all. Unfortunately, the world doesn't like to even acknowledge such things, much less allow one enough quiet time to process it.

Tickets to Europe are getting cheap - as low as $200 to some places from NY, about $400-$500 from cities near me. But, the exchange rate for the dollar sucks. It's about 1.29 to a Euro. It has been worse, but that's not nearly as nice as when it was roughly equal. It would be even better if we could have the dollar actually worth more. That, of course, seems like an impossible pipe dream at this point.

I could so use a nice get away - an opportunity to go somewhere different and soak up some atmosphere. Walking the streets of Paris in the early morning, gathering fresh pastry and exchanging pleasantries with workers (as much as my limited French allows), would do me so much good. Standing in the Vatican museums, looking at timeless art, would feed my soul right now. A little jaunt into the developing world would get my blood circulating. An opportunity just to sit at a cafe, surrounded by language I don't understand, almost anywhere, would give me a little peace. Why? I don't know why. It just does.

But, alas, there are medical bills arriving every day... and still the same amount of money coming in, which doesn't stretch far enough even to cover them, much less a trip abroad, or even around the corner. Perhaps the dawn will bring me a miracle - I seem to be seeking a lot of those lately - that makes it all possible.

For now I'll head to bed and just dream of such things... nitey night.
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Happiness and People In Our Lives

Social scientists say that 70-85% of our happiness comes from our association with other people. (Depends on the scientist you listen to where the percentage falls.) These are the people we choose to spend time with - that doesn't include your children (unless they're grown), but it does include your spouse.

When things are not going well, the people in your life help you through the rough times. When you're happy, it's magnified when you share it with other people.

We know that the five people you choose to spend time with have more impact on your life than any other single factor. That's not just for happiness, but general attitude about dozens of things, how you'll react to situations, how you manage money, etc. etc. etc. It really is like your Mama said when she was telling you that wasn't a good crowd to be hanging around with.

So, armed with this knowledge, I've been thinking about why I'm not as happy as I should be these days. I should be ecstatic every day - literally floating on clouds - thrilled with my good health and good news. I'm not unhappy by any means, but I'm not ecstatic.

Tonight it occurred to me that my social life largely relies on me to organize and instigate it, with noteable exceptions, and I haven't felt up to that recently. So, I've been missing a lot of my normal interaction. I've been hesitant to make any plans until I see how I'll feel at any given moment, and I haven't been planning for any gatherings at my home. So, in many ways, my social life has ground to a halt the last 2 1/2 months. I haven't felt up to creating the opportunity for much planned socializing and part of it is the anticipation. It's a loss. But, it's something I'm going to have to make it through a little while longer.

Quote of the Day

A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.
                                                                             - Will Rogers

Pi Day

It's pi day - you know, 3.14. This is the first year the US Congress has recognized the day I believe.

We celebrated with a visit to Cooky's in Golden City, Missouri. They make dozens of kinds of pie every day. And it's yummy stuff.



I have to confess I went for the standard pecan today. They asked if I wanted ice cream with it and although I've never had it that way I said yes. They warmed the pie and brought a dish of ice cream with it and I gotta say it was a good combo.

Greg and his mom had something called Carribean Pumpkin pie made with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. They both gave it good reviews. Mia, Greg's girlfriend, had a pie that mimiced Reese's Pieces. She gave it the stamp of approval - so much so that Miss Joy bought a piece to take to LV when we left.

The bonus at Cooky's is that pie is cheap. A piece, with tax, is less than $2. Beat that deal. It can't be done, I tell you.

Greg and I were talking about pi day earlier this week, but it had slipped our minds today until we were headed back to Joplin after eating pie. Obviously, it was in the back of our minds somewhere because we knew we needed to eat pie today. We just knew it. I love math and I love pie... it's the perfect day.

On the way back to Joplin the four of us stopped by for some Superman Ice Cream at SuperTam Ice Cream in Carterville. Here's Greg showing off the official Superman Ice Cream's distinctive colors.

Biophilia

I've been reading lately about E.O. Wilson's theory of biophilia. In a nutshell what he's saying in the 1978 book is that humans are attracted to nature because we feel an emotional affinity for other living organisms - on a primal level. He says it's an instinctual experience. 

It's this attraction that gives us a peaceful feeling when we're in nature. And, on the opposite end, it's why we're afraid of snakes, even though for most of us the chance we're going to be bitten by a snake is very slim. (My own experience notwithstanding!)

Wilson's theory says it's in our genes to find being in nature a peaceful experience.

I think there's something to this. Being surrounded by nature, witnessing a beautiful sunrise, or seeing a flower come up stirs most of us in some way. It's hard to not be affected by a starry night or a cuddly kitten. Studies have even shown that people recover better after surgery if they can see nature from their hospital windows.

I've had reason recently to be looking back through old blog entries. It's astonishing how many of them have something nature related in them. There are photos of gorgeous autumn days, snow on holly berries, sunflowers waving in the wind and tulips poking their heads up. I know one of the ways to calm myself when I need it is to head into nature.

You would think that Wilson, who has won two Pulitzer Prizes, as well as a long list of other prestigious awards, would have his theories accepted pretty readily. But, alas, some disagree with him on the concept of biophilia. Apparently they don't know this little tidbit I ran across recently - more people visit zoos every year than attend all sporting events combined.
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Social Networking is not Spam Networking

I love social networking - facebook, twitter, etc. - but I'm getting weary of everyone trying to turn what's supposedly "social" into a way to try to sell - promote - market - advertise something. I'm fed up. It's called SOCIAL networking. It's not designed for you to use it to ram your product down my throat. It's where you're supposed to connect with people, and be social, not advertise your latest widget. Is there nowhere we can go online to just be social without people abusing the system?

It's like when someone invites you to lunch and you think they want to visit with you, when really what they want to do is pick your brain about some project they have going. At least be honest with me. If you get me to lunch under false pretenses, and I happen to already be in a bad mood, I might give you some really bad advice. "No, really, I think the printed condoms are really the way to go... absolutely... it's innovative... no one else is doing it... it's the best idea ever."

I've been using facebook and twitter for awhile, and it has only become so commercial in the last few months. It's like there was a seminar somewhere that told everyone to start using facebook to promote anything that crossed their minds. Well, I'm telling you - stop it. You're going to run off all of the actual humans who are just here for social networking and then you're just all going to be promoting to other promoters.

I don't mind a facebook group that's designed for the purpose of promotion. I know what I'm getting into. And it may well be that I am interested in what is offered there. I wouldn't have signed on if I weren't. But don't create an ID that leads me to believe you want to be social if all you really want is to promote something.

Let me explain... "social" means you interact with people. It does not mean it's a one way street of you just dropping your promotion into my world. There are systems set up to accommodate things like blog entries... they show up in your feed... if people want to read them, they can. I welcome the occasional note about a particularly interesting blog, event, link, etc. but if that's your whole reason for being on twitter or facebook that's not social, that's spam.

Yes, I can block you, unfollow you or unfriend you. And I have. And I will again. But why do you want to make me go to that work? Why aren't you just honest up front and let me decide if I want to get your promotional announcements or not? I know why. Because if you were honest no one would accept you into their list. This is NOT the way to win friends and influence people. This is the way to tick people off.

There's a backlash coming. I'm no self-proclaimed social networking guru or anything, (many of whom are social spammers themselves) but you can mark my words. It's a comin'. Just like a thunderstorm you can't see but you can feel in the air. We're annoyed by spam in our email, and we're going to get ruthless about spam in our social networking.

Yeah, we have the control in social networking. But, you know what, we have the control in email too and it doesn't stop people from raising their blood pressure to dangerous extremes when they get yet another viagra ad. (And when did the vast majority of men become impotent anyway. I've not witnessed this problem myself, but given the number of ads for such things it must be an epidemic. But I digress.)

We could all just delete our email spam but whole industries have sprung up around ridding us of that pesky stuff. The same thing is about to happen to social spam, too. I'm not saying it will happen next week, but I'm saying it's a comin'.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Ramblings, Books, Social Capital and Tourism Missteps

For reasons I can't explain, I've suddenly become attracted to these sorts of jars. I've bought a number of them in the last few weeks - mostly clear - although a scored these amber colored ones recently. And, one of them is very tall. What will I do with it? I have absolutely no idea. I'll get back to you. But it speaks to me.

I have a long history with things "speaking to me." Everything from small crafts at the fair to my house had to "speak to me." You can imagine how much the realtor who was showing me houses appreciated that. At one point she asked me how she would know if it spoke to me. I assured her I would let her know. I think she wanted something more definitive.

When I walked into the house I ended up buying I was barely in the door when I said, loudly, "It speaks to me!" She wheeled around from near the archway between the living room and dining room and said, "Really?" "Yup. Definitely. It speaks to me." She looked dumbfounded and decided there was no reason to question it any further. In her defense, the baby blue carpet with the oil stains and the hideous wallpaper border that was losing its grip in multiple places, combined with the hospital pallor shade of paint on everything didn't show the house off to its best. But it spoke to me. And still does.

Today is a momentous occasion. I have been without the abdominal binder for about 10 hours now. I haven't had it off for more than a short time - well under an hour - since surgery. I woke up with it on and have had it on since except for showering. I'm starting to get used to not having it on, but I'm not quite there yet.

I still haven't been upstairs in my house. Maybe next week. I am being so overly cautious it's not even funny but I so don't ever want to have to do anything involving incisions ever again. Ever.

I'm rambling because it has been a very full work day followed by the excitement of the Russell Brand/Jimmy Fallon twitter experiment and I'm ready to hit the hay soon. My nighttime reading tonight is the new book from Daniel Pink. He will be here this fall for a Dillon Lecture. Another book in my stack is Jacki Lyden's book, Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, because she will be here next month.

I just finished Nancy Pickard's book, the Virgin of Small Plains, that is the Kansas Reads selection - the whole state is reading the same book. I didn't finish it until late last night so I missed last night's book discussion at the library - I didn't want it ruined for me since it's a mystery. But I'm looking forward to seeing her when she's here in a couple of weeks. The book is very good.

Other things on my mind these days... economic development and tourism. I'm always interested in both of those but a couple of things have brought them to the forefront again. I was in a meeting Monday night - by accident - about social capital. I went for a meeting of another group that usually meets in that room and they weren't there but this meeting was going on and since I'm so interested I couldn't resist staying. That got me thinking along these lines again.

Today I was looking through the AAA magazine and thinking about the ads for various towns. Towns make the same mistakes over and over again.

First of all is promoting a town instead of a region - as if people are going to materialize in your town without going through any others - these being towns that don't even have airports.

Second is speaking about things in the local vernacular that means absolutely nothing to people who don't live in the region. A prime example is Kansas towns using "Flint Hills." The first time someone mentioned that to me after I moved here I had no idea what they were talking about. I don't think anyone else does either. But Kansas towns promote the "Flint Hills" as if they're a nationally recognized phenomenon. You could substitute dozens of things for "Flint Hills," I'm just using that as an example.

Third, the entire tourism industry is advertising driven. Those visitor's guides - they're not designed for tourists - they're designed for advertisers and for CVBs to make money from ads or at least to break even. The problem in the tourism industry is that no one is paying any attention to the tourist. People have forgotten who the customer is. Well, actually, they haven't. It's just that their customer is the advertiser and the tourist doesn't seem to be anyone's customer.

Well, I'm too weary to go into economic development tonight... I'll have to save that juicy topic for another time.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Ad Hoc Book Group

Today I did one of those things I do every year, often with little success - I planted seeds in peat pots. I'm not sure why I haven't yet learned this life lesson that this doesn't generally work well for me. I just like to think it's because I'm optimistic. And I planted things today that I've never planted before.

Today I planted lots of sweet peas and hollyhocks. I've never had any of either and they both seem perfect for me. Sharon, landscaper friend extraordinaire, tells me apparently I want a "cottage garden." I think she's right. I've always wanted a profusion of plants and blooms - of all different sorts, living harmoniously. I have no idea how to achieve this, of course, but I feel all the more inspired to try because Sharon has generously made my front flower bed ready to receive plants. I have had success with some things from seed, so maybe this will be a banner year for me.

It has been a long day for me. I had one of those days that has happened a few times since surgery - I could have stayed in bed all day long. I mean ALL day long. My body was saying, "please, please, please, let me sleep... I need to sleep... please, don't make me get up... I need to rest." Unfortunately for my body, I had a board meeting tonight and had to prepare for it, so that wasn't possible. But very shortly I will be laying my body down for some much needed rest.

I'm thinking about another ad-hoc book group to discuss "The Geography of Bliss." It was a great book and I think it would be a good one for a group to discuss.

The ad-hoc book group is very ... well ... ad-hoc. When I run across a book I think friends would enjoy I just send an email and post a note on the blog saying, "hey, lets get together and discuss this at some point in the not too distant future." I'm guessing this will be April or May. I'm just not up to entertaining yet. Anyway, eventually I'll pick a date and whoever wants to come over can come, I'll make dessert, and we discuss. So, if you think you might want to do this at some future time, pick up a copy of "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner.

I like to give people plenty of time to read the book. I think you will find this book wonderful. The first page tells you this guy can write. If his name is familiar it's because he has worked at NPR for years.

I also don't have a schedule because I think this is a key to getting groups together these days. I don't think anyone wants to have another "second Thursday every month" event on their calendar for a group where you're going to be missed if you're not there. I know I don't. This way there's no commitment beyond one night and one book. If you're reading this and interested, consider this your official invitation. I will post details here as they develop.

In addition, I think we'll soon have a writer's group in Hutchinson. I've talked about starting one off and on and have an opportunity to meet with a number of other writers at an upcoming event. So, I'm going to ask if any of them would like to get together on a regular basis to discuss our work. Again, we may do it ad-hoc. We'll see how that all develops. But, I'm excited by the possibilities. I have a couple of folks who have emailed at various times asking if there is a group, so soon we'll be able to say "yes" to that.
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Check http://www.patsyterrell.com/ for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Really... I'm doing well

Today I've had three people ask me if what I'm saying on the blog about how things are medically is really true. Am I really OK? Yes. I am. I'm healing very well. More than one doctor is surprised at my recovery. They all agree it's because I was so active during my hospital stay and since then. (Say it with me now... "people who are ambulatory after surgery have far less risk of blood clots."

The incision is all healed up. I'm starting to bend more, which is good. Tomorrow is six weeks, which means I can increase my activity level after tomorrow. I'm feeling good overall.

I have been completely truthful here about the situation, recovery, etc. I'm not hiding anything. I really am doing well and I appreciate everyone's continued good thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

I went to see the cardiologist today. I had yet another EKG. I've lost track of how many that makes in the last six weeks - they must be a miracle test. He listened to my heart, felt my pulse, declared my a-fib nothing more than an annoyance, and told me to come back in six months. I was hoping for a better solution, but "annoyance" is much better than "problem," so I am just going to be thankful for it and hope the medication continues to work better as time goes on.

So, that's the medical update for those who have said I'm not providing enough info. I'm just healing more every day and being careful to not overdo. Every week or two I wake up one day and feel significantly better than I did the day before. Overall it's going well.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Worn and Whiney

I am getting worn and I'm whiney, so please feel free to stop reading now.

OK, that was your fair warning.

Tuesday will be six weeks since surgery, which is a magic time, when I can increase some things I do. I'm supposed to be very cautious for eight weeks, so there's still two more weeks ahead, but I am getting so weary of not being "normal."

Greg has been very gracious, but I know he's getting tired of having to do things around the house that I can't bend to do. I'm certainly getting tired of having to ask him to do them. I will be so glad to be able to do those things for myself.

I have had some pain the last couple of days on the left side of my tummy. It feels very much like a pulled muscle, which may well be what it is. It does not feel like an internal injury of any sort - just a pulled muscle when I move a certain way. Right now it feels fine but sometimes when I stand up and move it can take my breath away for a few seconds. I'm sure it will improve over time.

I've become overly sensitive to people expecting me to be completely normal at this point. I've done really well, and I think because people see me up and about they expect that everything is completely normal. It's not. I'm not well yet. I'm doing great, and I am healing well, but I'm not at 100% and I simply can't yet do everything I would like to do and that others would like for me to do. I sometimes have to stop from screaming, "Hey! this wasn't just a hang nail. This was major. I need some time to be back to normal in every way. Stop pushing me." So far I've been able to bite my tongue, although a couple of people have really tested that. Never mind that I haven't yet had time to process wondering if I would die, which I really do need to process.

I'm whiney tonight. I'm not sure why. It will pass. Quickly. Because I'll make it pass quickly. This is just a blip. I'm going to chalk it up to daylight savings time and take this extra hour I'm awake to count my blessings, which is a far better use of it than being whiney.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Sandhills State Park

It was a sunny day today and I wanted to take advantage of it. So, I took a late lunch and drove out to Sandhills State Park north of town for a walk on the trail.



This time of year there isn't a lot of color in the landscape yet, but there is plenty of texture. Today I was struck by the different kinds of tree bark you could find on a quick walk.









As is often the case, I had the whole place to myself, even on a gorgeous day.

I did some other errands today, too. I've had two good days in a row now. Mark is headed down for the weekend, so I hope I feel good tomorrow and Sunday too. He's coming down so we can all go see the Watchman movie together. I haven't read it, but they tell me it's going to be good. And Wil Wheaton likes it, and I tend to agree with his assessments most of the time, so I'm betting I'll like it too.

Otherwise, the day was work and a couple of other experiences. One was a Dillard's employee seeking me out and it seeming there was a real reason. The other was a stop at a yard sale.

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Check http://www.patsyterrell.com/ for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Quote of the Day

"You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book, or you take a trip, and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating.

The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death.

Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. and then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death."        --- Anais Nin

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Hopeful Sight Downtown

If you don't live in Hutchinson, there may be nothing about this photo that catches your attention. If you do live here, you might notice the black on the side of the building in this photo. I think, I hope, it means they are pulling down metal fronts/sides and this is what was left behind. I will be so happy if that blue metal front goes away soon, too.

We have some beautiful old buildings downtown, but in the name of progress over the years, many of them were fronted with these metal sheets. In the last few years many of these have been removed and it makes such a huge difference in the look of downtown. I will be tickled if that's what in process here.

I had a busy work day today. Part of it involved a conference call, where we covered many of the same topics we've covered in previous calls. I was reminded of Rebecca Ryan's thought that if you know what's going to be said in a meeting you don't have enough new blood. But, in this case, we did have new blood. Maybe it's just a circumstance where the basics are the basics and have to be covered over and over.

Tonight Greg and I went to dinner with Sharon. As we were driving out there we were watching this beautiful sunset develop. Unfortunately, we have nothing to put in front of it except Target, some street lights, a busy highway, and parked cars. It lost a bit in that setting.



I pressed this small tree into service, but it couldn't overcome the other distractions. It's just not the same as a sunset in a lovely pastoral setting.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.

Buttons by the Jar

I went to Goodwill today for the first time in awhile and found this wonderful jar of vintage buttons. For $3.49. Needless to say, I snapped it up.

I'm always surprised that such a thing would end up at a Goodwill store, garage sale or other such place. Button jars were once a common thing. Every housewife would have had a jar or box where she cut the buttons off any garment that was past being patched to be used for a lost button or to sew on a new dress she had made. Someone who was loved cut these off, handling each one, putting aside for their family's future in this small but significant way. Waste not, want not.

In our modern, throw-away culture, we don't bother with this sort of thing. We wear our clothes until we're tired of them and then pass them on while they still have some good use in them. That, of course, is a good thing, too. And, most of us don't make too many of our own clothes anymore, so we don't have a lot of use for a button jar.

But, for me, it's a wonderful bit of history. It's not my history, but someone's history. Those buttons represent favorite coats and dresses, a husband's shirt, a grandma's sweater, or a little girl's sundress. They've withstood multiple fastenings, maybe through multiple garments, and are still ready to be pressed into service with a quick stitch or two.

The jar will largely be decoration, but I add a vintage button here and there to aprons I make, or art pieces, or a bag, or who knows what next. So, some of them may well find their way into yet another life beyond the jar. But, I'm already certain there are some I will never be able to part with. I will only be able to use them on things for myself so when they're worn out I can cut the button off yet again.

I love button collections almost as much as I love finding someone's recipe box filled with their family favorites. I haven't run across one of those in awhile. Of course, I haven't run across a button jar in awhile either. I think the last time was when we were at Susan's farm. I looked back to find that blog and apparently March is my time to find button jars. But, unfortunately, I seem to be on a once-every-two-years schedule. It would be wonderful to increase that average.

This was one of the first things I spotted today. It was sitting in a cart, ready to be put out on the shelf, and I snapped it up before it ever got onto the shelf. I love the colors, shapes and textures represented. When I opened the jar tonight to dip my fingers in and feel the buttons, I realized there was this string right on top - just an unexpected prize.



I'm afraid these sorts of things will eventually completely disappear. I think I'm only able to find them now because I live where there are still ladies who quilt and do other sorts of handwork. It's something I truly treasure about living in the midwest.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.