ADVENTURE

I have come to the conclusion that happiness at this age depends more on stretching beyond defined limitations than on following all the directions for staying healthy - diet, exercise, meditation,  relaxation, stimulating the brain, whatever.

There was a documentary on PBS recently which reported kayaking as a stimulus to curing cancer. The premise was that the exhilaration of kayaking the rapids has healing potential.

 A friend of mine with spinal chord injury, drove all night through a snowstorm from Reno to Sacramento, missing her strict mediation times. She was deliriously happy about her success, and was none the worse for wear.

I have been wondering what I can do to be deliriously exhilarated - not to live longer - but to break free from this package called "getting older". I'm on a hunt for a newadventure, now that the bucket list is all checked off and I'm still alive and willing to thrive.

Squirrel eating stale bread on stump in the yard.

CHOICE

Waiting all day between flights provided vast spaces of opportunity to observe everything in view.

Shopping in the kiosks done two or three rounds, typo-filled posts on smart phone access to facebook, kindle fire games played out of their interest range, and blurry eyes from reading,  voyeurism was next.

Two women were standing in line.

One had jeans, sandals, and a three quarter length striped shirt which was not tucked in - in style for the traveler preferring casual comfort.

The other woman had her hair piled high in a bun, wore a wide-striped orange and grey long jersey dress, clogs, and a denim shawl draped gracefully across her shoulders. She also appeared to be comfortable.

I compared and contrasted the two styles and considered the possible values each held in her choice of attire for the journey,  smiling at the freedom we have,  as women, to be who we want to be,  if we so choose.

DELAY

With 500 or so women in the room, a system had to be in place to service us all in a timely manner.

And so it appeared, until our order didn't come and everyone around us was served.

I caught the attention of the waiter, even though he was not the server, which resulted in he bringing us salads himself.

Then we waited and we waited and we waited. Finally, the main chef came around to get feed back on his cooking. We told him we'd like to comment, but were waiting to be served. He said we'd be served within five minutes. I pointed out that there were other tables with the same situation.

Within five minutes everyone was served.

Firstly, we all never were agitated by the delays. For the most part, the system was working and we were having fun socializing!!

The meal was exceptional. Their famous chocolate mousse would be worth the wait any day.

Obviously, a server was not assigned to follow up on the waiter's tables. Whoever was in charge did not trouble shoot, so the pattern continued.

Same is true in all systems. System problem has to be acknowledged, glitch found, solution created.

SQUEEZE

With glass of wine in hand on the porch this evening, I became aware of the "one way street" relationships I have with those I care for most.
I am the initiator of connections.
This is okay. Don't get me wrong.
My reaching out is received as welcome.
But, many times there is no response to emails and answering machine messages.
We all manifest our dreams.
I must have dreamed being alone a lot.
It's like picking up key limes which have fallen ripe from the tree.
Squeeze the juice from them and they make delicious unforgettable key lime pies.
Cut up the rinds, add sugar, boil, and "Voila!", key lime marmalade to die for.
I will dream of you contacting me now.
I can wait.

TOOTHBRUSH

The electric tooth brush - circular and swirly - got zapped by lightning.

The thing sat idle and disconnected for two weeks.

In the middle of the night, recently, it began its routine, waking the whole house - that would be me!

In order to turn it off, I had to bang the switch on the sink where the tootbrush was sitting as a reminder to be replaced.

It simply would not turn off.
I banged it on the sink. It stopped - in a few minutes began again.
I massaged the switch until it clicked off  - in a few minutes it began again.
I banged it and massaged it. I immersed it in water. I tried unsuccessfully to get the battery out.
Same result.

I dropped it off the porch onto the driveway below which didn't stop it at all.

Finally silent, I left it on the porch, ready to take down to the trash and then I turned in for the night.

This morning, opening the door to watch the sun rise, the electric toothbrush was buzzing away.

Some toothbrushes never die, hard as we try!

3 Apostles of the 12 placed in trios around the Basilica in Montreal, Canada

Sculptures 2012: Squarr Amand Steurs,
Brussels, Belgium

BRIDGE

Upon returning from a business retreat in Montreal, I copied all the pictures I took while there.

Most of the photos were, not of the meeting, but of our treks into Montreal itself.

We took a boat trip just before the sun set -saw the locks to the canals, the famous housing complex from a world's fair, travelled into the rapids,  into the yacht club where we saw an urban human-made beach and the clock tower which used to be a light house, and then a skyline view of a replica of the Empire State Building, and many more historical sites.

The guide was a high energy young woman with a wry sense of humor which she used masterfully to keep our attention.

I was most enamored with the bridge. At its tips were miniature Eiffel towers.

But, the image of a bridge and the notion of a bridge stays with me, along with the delicious chocolate from a patisserie and our trip to the Basilica on Mont Royale.

A bridge is such a necessary element of being in community today, especially when a whole city is an island..

MOON

Can't have the last blue moon for the next 15 years go by without writing about it!

After several blue moons appeared in the couple-three years following my divorce, I would say, "I'll get married again if there's a blue moon and it happens to be Tuesday!"

Well, a blue moon came along on a Tuesday, and, yes, it is true, no wedding that day!

There was something very special about this blue moon.

First off, the night before through to the night after, when on the horizon, it was huge with a golden peachy orange aura.

On all three nights, it was extra bright as it rose quickly into the higher sky.

I sat in the darkness, drumming, with other colleagues who were in other places in world, not knowing for sure if they were or not, but expected so since it was also Friday in Oklahoma.

Tree frogs sang loudly. Cats yowled around the neighborhood. Thousands of birds flew northward.

Every little thing rested perfectly in the arms of the moment of this blue moon.

Photography by Dick Umble as he sat on the porch waiting for this to come over the trees. 9.1.12