Being 81 isn't so bad!

I was just sharing with a friend how important it is at our time of life to get out and be with other people. It's how we can fight the blue meanies. And I found this year it doesn't even have to be people I already know, when going daily to the senior lunch reduced-rate program. I was making new friends who I wouldn't have run into otherwise, since many of them had polar opposite views on things. Good for me, good for everyone! 

Plus once I started attending lunch at the Lakeview Center for Active Aging, I was more interested in  some of their other programs, and now attend weekly sit-n-b-fit and chair yoga sessions. Lunch costs $1.50 with the Council on Aging subsidizing it, and exercise and other programs are free. Incidentally, our lunches are catered by a local Asheville restaurant, The Moose Café.

And then there's Lake Tomahawk with water fowl and a path to walk around...as well as people walking dogs of every imaginable breed. I have loved taking photos of the lake in different seasons too.

December 2022

Spring 2024 Canada Goose and Cherry Tree at slightly drained Lake for construction work on dam

Summer 2023 looking south from the gazebo

Autumn looking at the lake, 2023

Last week with a crane helping the dam repairs in the distance. But notice the lake is full of water again!

I often plan a lunch outing with friends who don't go to the Lakeview Center at least once a week. I'm so glad to have made some close friends from my church and from the Clay studio. My interests are always given a boost by seeing and sharing with them. 

I admit to not attending church as often these days, since I've lived here almost 17 years and that used to be more important for my socialization. I remember well how I'd look forward to coffee hour after the service (was that the main reason I went?) Then the pandemic gave us the double-whammy of virtual church services, and we lost the chance to mingle and discuss whatever was on our minds afterward.

I hope my friends who are higher than me on the ladder of life, one just turned 90 and the other best friend is 84...will continue to share their insights and humor with us. Gosh, their humor is certainly something to be around! Maybe that's a lesson to us all.

My message to folks in their 60s is to take advantage of everything you can and want to do. It gets harder to keep doing everything you want in your 70s, or to recuperate from injuries or illness. Enough said. 

Today's quote:

Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.

—Nikola Tesla

A battle for independence

 Being born in Texas (though raised mostly in St. Louis MO - but that doesn't count) I have Texas blood in my veins. Literally. My ancestors were among the first to settle in Texas before it became a state...back when Mexico was welcoming American settlers.

They fought against Mexico with the result that Texas gained independence...kind of a country in itself. The last battle was at San Jacinto, TX, led by Sam Houston, on April 21, 1836. 

This is a photo of the last meeting of the survivors of the Battle of San Jacinto. It was taken in Goliad on 21 April, 1906, 70 years after the battle that won Texas independence. The men are, from left, William P. Zuber, Austin; John W. Darlington, Taylor; Asa C. Hill, Oakville; Stephen F. Sparks, Rockport; L. T. Lawler, Florence; Alphonso Steele, Mexia. As noted earlier, Zuber was the last man remaining survivor, dying in 1913. Alphonso Steele was the second to last, passing away on July 8, 1911.

Thanks to Traces of Texas facebook group in 2018.

No, I don't think any ancestors of mine were in the battle.

Texas wasn't admitted to the United States until 1845. So it was an independent country with ambassadors to and from the US between 1836 and 1845.

Brothers

 

Three year old Marty didn't know what to think of the tiny brother Russ who his mom (me) brought home from the hospital just a few weeks ago.

A few years later found a wintertime visit of these same brothers and mom to Disneyworld.

The shot on the left shows Russ as an active 6 year old upside down on a palm trunk. On the right the brothers discuss what the Hillsborough River below might have as adventures for them. We were camping in Hillsborough State Park in the spring, and the bull alligators calls kept us awake half the night. We had been assured our camper van in the campground was safely far away from the river banks where their interests lay.

A few years later, Marty was on leave from the Navy, and there was a new half-brother, Tai, with a different father.

Here I'm on the left, and Russ, once a tiny baby, or an upside down acrobat, then was a college student at Georgia Tech,  Brother Tai and mom visited cousin Zach in Houston TX (on r.) Cousin Lisa and Aunt Mary aren't in this picture but were a big part of the visit (as well as grandparents Rogers.)

Then Marty got married, with Russ on far right, and Tai on far left.

And in the course of events, I had grandchildren!

Here oldest grandson in plaid (brother from another mother) hugs his little sister while their brother also checks out dad who's shooting the same photo.

One of my favorite photos of my three sons, when Russ (on l.) got married, with now grown up Tai (in middle) and Marty (on r.) Sorry, couldn't find the copy that didn't have lots of reflections on it.

There are now three granddaughters to add to my family! But this is about brothers...so let's have sisters sometime soon!

Sharing with Sepia Saturday. 

Musings today

 I'm a reader. I'm currently listening to a book as an audio recording...49 hours long. But I've already got 10 hours under my belt. Hope I can renew it from the library when my 13 day check-out period expires!

What's this long book? The latest (I think) in the Outlander series by Diana Galbadon. "Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone." The first 10 hours have been interesting, catching me up on events that I hadn't read about. It mainly takes place in the wilderness of the North Carolina mountains at the time of the American Revolution. I wonder what the volume before this one was. I have read all the long heavy books that came before, either in order, or close enough whenever they were available at the library. That must have started 15 years or so ago.

So yes, I may have re-read a few of them. Then there were 5 seasons of TV shows of the Outlander series, on Prime streaming TV. I kept waiting for another season, because these only covered up till they came to North Carolina. There is time travel, and Scotland and its citizens, and some French characters as well. English and Americans are in there too.

OK, that's my book report for the day.

I've noticed that I only capture and share sayings that have to do with my life. Whenever they are talking about raising the next generation...like parenting tips...I skip over them.

When I raised my first son my instruction manual was Dr. Benjamin Spock's book, "Baby and Childcare." I was new at relying upon medical doctors and drugs, so I learned how they could help, and when they couldn't.  And of course doing things by the seat of my pants, as they say. Later I was glad to have other parents as friends who went through similar things that we did. But I didn't rely upon my own family of relations to give me answers. I am sorry now that I did things so "independently" as I'm sure I could have learned a lot from my parents and in-laws. But we had limits on our relationships, as to what I would accept of their "advice."  Part of that was their religious attitude against using doctors.

All of these thoughts were triggered by a saying on Facebook ...

Now I don't give any of my children or grandchildren advice. I support each of them in their own chosen paths. And I listen if they wish to share their problems sometimes. That doesn't happen often, since we communicate through distances. Thank heavens for texting, emails, facetime, and 'no-extra-charge' long distance calls! 

So I am what I am. And very thrilled with plans to see some family members soon. More about that later.

Today's quote:

Laughs and other things

Yes ants help peonies, and there they are, from who knows where. Our apartments are diligently sprayed to keep them outside.

 Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. —Lao Tzu

More Taoist thoughts to consider today!

Toe tapping music from Tuatha Dea

 

Thanks to several other wonderful women who shared this link!

Earth Day facts

 Catching up with some Earth Day facts (which wouldn't download for me yesterday!)

From CBS Sunday Morning 4.21.24

Something to consider

 

The tiny particles which form the vast universe are not tiny at all.
Neither is the vast universe vast.
These are notions of the mind, which is like a knife,
always chipping away at the Tao,
trying to render it graspable and manageable.
But that which is beyond form is ungraspable, and
that which is beyond knowing is unmanageable.
There is, however, this consolation:
She who lets go of the knife will find the Tao at her
fingertips.
—Lao Tzu

O're the seas

  

Painted by Anton Otto Fischer, "On the Yardarm Furling the Mainsail"  Only someone who had been there could have painted this!

Creole, Charles Nicholson's 1927 schooner. Largest wooden sailing yacht in the world at 214'

Grace O'Malley. I've always enjoyed considering this woman's life. Here's a bit of history, perhaps some myth merged into it.

Sometime around 1530, Grace O’Malley was born. Largely forgotten to history, her life was a testament of what a woman could accomplish regardless of the social expectations of the time.

Grace O’Malley was a member of a powerful Irish clan who was well-known for its pirating of ships and trading with foreign countries. Grace, although a woman in the male-dominated sixteenth century, became a prominent pirate. She was known for her stubbornness and leadership abilities, and most of her crew willingly followed her lead.

O’Malley’s trading ships often pirated the English’s ships, but she offered the English several hundred fighting men to appease their anger. Grace O’Malley’s trading took her to ports throughout Europe and continued to grow her wealth, power, and prestige. Although on the high seas constantly trading and fighting, Grace O’Malley had several children.

O’Malley was a pirate queen, and at the height of her power, she commanded hundreds of men and many ships. She met and spoke in Latin with Queen Elizabeth I, perhaps the only contemporary woman with more power than Grace. Supposedly, O’Malley refused to bow and accept a title of nobility because they were equals. Grace O’Malley died in 1603 and proved that women can beat social norms and become a legend in their own unique way.

“There came to me also a most famous feminine sea captain called [Grace O’Malley]...This was...[the most] notorious woman in all the coast of Ireland.” —Sir Henry Sidney

As posted on Facebook!

When I lived in Tampa FL early 2000s, I met the Krew Grace O'Malley who would volunteer to visit the Senior Living Complex where I was the Activity Director. The women in their seventeenth century period clothing were very popular, as well as the beads they gave out lavishly. Tampa has a yearly Mardi Gras festival called Gaspiralla, with pirate boats landing, and various Krews making floats for the parades, where strands of beads are distributed to everyone. My oldest son is a safety officer for another Krew, the Mustang Sallies and Ryders, a co-ed Krew.

Painting by Montague Dawson

Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci

Several of these photos were from FaceBook group Tall Ships

The shore gives me such wonderful feelings; peaceful, thoughtful, awe-struck.

Today's quote:

We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders. -Maya Angelou, poet (1928-2014)

We're waves, not particles!

 What about quantum mechanics?

Not sure Einstein really said that, but it's a good thought. We're certainly all connected, moved by the same energies as the Universe.

Clean(er) water

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules requiring municipal utilities to remove several specific chemicals within the PFAS family from water supplies.

PFAS refers to a large group of industrial chemicals. The new regulations target a handful of the best-studied PFAS, which have been linked to certain cancers and birth complications.

Virtually all Americans have measurable amounts of PFAS in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health advocates across the country have been calling on federal and state governments to regulate PFAS in drinking water for years. Melanie Benesh of the Environmental Working Group characterized the EPA’s decision as “life changing.”

Benesh told PBS NewsHour’s William Brangham that PFAS contamination in the United States is pervasive, and that the new regulation is the most efficient way the federal government can reduce the public’s exposure to these hazardous chemicals. 

Source: Science on PBS Newshour

Ifetayo's Poems by Annelinde Metzner

 Isn't April Poetry Month?

My dear friend, Annelinde Metzner shared her poems from "Feminism and Religion's" blog publication, Ifetayo's poems.

She introduces them thus:

For a number of years, I’ve been staying at the St. Helena’s Island, South Carolina home of Ifetayo White, Reiki Master, teacher of doulas, and healer in many modalities. I am always deeply healed by Ifetayo’s presence, and by the island itself.  This island near Beaufort is the home of the Gullah people, who have kept their land since Reconstruction according to a legal system called “Heir’s Property.”

The spirits are strong here, and I’ve tried to capture some of the essence of the island and of Ifetayo, in these poems.  In the first, I describe Ifetayo’s wonderful healing room.  The second features the Grandmother Tree, one of the live oaks covered with Spanish moss, so prevalent in the Low Country.  The third features the Resurrection Fern, which appears brown and almost dead on the limbs of the oaks, but springs into vivid greenness after a rain.

"The Healer's Home" begins: (see more through the link above)

In the front room, the living room,

of course!  A majestic altar.

Quan Yin, Mother Mary, Yemaya,

animals of the earth and sea,

winged ones, stone people,

arrayed around the biggest rose quartz

you’ve ever seen.

Love radiates throughout the house.

But in the back room, the healing room…

Windows open to live oaks,

“old greybeard” moss swaying in the breeze,

vermillion camellias, pink azaleas…

all this surrounds the souls who come here

to Ifetayo’s table 

to be healed and made whole.

*

Ifetayo White, Reiki Master and healer

The Grandmother tree

Maybe and maybe not

 

This was posted on Facebook last week. Then there were comments saying these were entirely different people in this photo.

So it's interesting, a few guys were squatting, I wonder why with a photo. And the man on the right looks like he decided to not be in the picture at all. Then of the guys in chairs, the one wearing a white shirt decided to look at his boots, thus hiding his face with his hat brim. They all probably were dragged out into the sunshine by the photographer, from the nice dark saloon behind them!

Today's quote:

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.”

Audrey Hepburn

The Giants

 You've probably all seen them before.

But these extraordinary machines/dolls are just so wonderful.

I'm sharing the link from fellow blogger, irisflavia. This was a few years ago. But art is timeless

Today's quote:

Risk itself is a process of constant unfolding. And taking risks is the process of peeling back the layers of what you are and who you want to be.

PHOEBE ENG

The good news

 

Americans of Conscience Good News Special Edition for April 12, 2024   If you're like us, you want the world to be a better place, but so often the news is downright frightening. That's why we pause every other week to share what's right in the world and how our efforts are leading to the kind of changes we long for. Celebrate every small step toward progress with us!  The Biden administration cancels close to $6B in student loan debt for 78,000 public service workers. The Interior Dept. designates a 4-million-acre conservation area in Florida that will support both wildlife and recreation. The EPA bans the import and use of asbestos, making work safer for construction workers, mechanics, and firefighters, and more. The bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act recently signed by President Biden restores access to federal benefits to workers and residents of Compacts of Free Association territories. 20 women in total will be featured on the quarter through the national Mint’s American Women Quarters program. CT: Starting July 1, all children under 15 whose families meet certain requirements will be eligible for Medicaid regardless of immigration status. MA: Manufacturing and energy companies applying for permits in the state must determine whether pollution from production would harm communities of color or low-income areas. NE’s Sec. of State’s office proactively reaches out to the 3% of residents without photo ID ahead of changing voter requirements. WA will require public schools to incorporate LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, joining CA, CO, IL, NJ, NV, and OR. All parents in Flint, MI can access cash aid for a year. Patients in some states can now access mifepristone at CVS and Walgreens with a prescription. Solar panel recycling company Solarcycle opens a research lab to work towards a zero-waste materials refinement process. The first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team opens in Kansas City. The honeybee population in the U.S. reaches an all-time high. Get more good news by signing up for the Americans of Conscience Checklist and positive actions for democracy, people, and planet. Subscribe here!

A quick trip to Asheville

 It was a quick in-an-out trip down the mountain.

I didn't even go to my favorite grocery (Aldy's) or stop for lunch anywhere (and there are soooo many wonderful places to eat!)

I just went to the doctor, came on home. Perhaps feeling under the weather, as they say.

And as I walked into the Asheville Pulmonary offices, this greeted me. I pulled out the handy dandy phone to capture this luxurious dogwood.

Since Asheville is a couple hundred feet lower in elevation, they actually are a few days advanced from Black Mountain's spring blooms.

And stopped at a light I had the opportunity to capture these wonderful tile roofs of The Cathedral of All Souls. One of these day's I'll try looking inside these unique buildings.

My pulmonologist visit was a normal 6 month check in about COPD and bronchiectasis. I've been doing fine using the two machines that help...one to help me cough up stuff using a saline nebulizer treatment, and a C-PAP to help me breathe from sleep apnea. I did say I was feeling really lethargic, taking more naps, and just feeling low energy. Dr. Stashinko listened to my lungs and heard congestion, so is trying me on an antibiotic for 10 days. I've sure taken a lot of them in the last few years, and wish that I hadn't needed them so often. But I do have a bit more energy now after the first few days!

I've been in Physical Therapy to hope to improve or at least retain posture where my head is not bent so far forward (the good old sign of aging, or something to do with vertebrae.) So far I've improved my range of motion of my arms, which still do not go straight over my head. But yesterday I was on that huge ball sitting and doing some motion from my hips. I'd already done some sit/squats to the chair. But when I got up from the ball I felt like I had sea legs...seriously, remember when you get off a boat and dry land seems to heave around you? I clumped into the chair nearby and that was the end of that session. Even resting didn't cure it though. I kind of loose-jointed-walked to elevator, car, then home. Eating a banana and sitting with a cup of coffee did help.

And sitting here I just checked, yes, I can walk around now a bit more securely. Perhaps a bit of low blood-sugar also I'm thinking. Isn't it fun being old and thinking about all this? About 50 years ago, I was more concerned about the clothes I wore and my hair and makeup!

Today's quote:

Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison. 

-Mary Wollstonecraft, reformer and writer (1759-1797)

From CBS Sunday Morning, April 9, 2024

 

Universe in Verse

NASA posted this to Facebook from James Webb telescope.

Sunday April 7 evening, an event to kick off eclipse gatherings. After all, all these tourists arrived in San Antonio and Austin and had nothing to do waiting until the next afternoon. But this event was more than just a time filler. The YouTube live coverage let me snap a few photos off the computer. 

This is Maria Popova, a young genius editor of The Marginalian Newsletter. She was the MC for various talented creative people who gave their own poetry or that of famous others. Maria also gave a wonderful historic narrative of astronomy as it developed. The Greeks, for instance, didn't have the word for science (and she told when it was adapted) but the Greeks left all these musings to philosphers.

My stills from the video of several presenters:

 

Please skip the first 42 minutes before the actual program starts. It's fun to scroll through the presentations (IMHO).

Please skip the first 42 minutes before the actual program starts. It's fun to scroll through the presentations (IMHO).

Eclipse experience of 2024

 Notes from April 8 Eclipse Day

Walked over the parking lot, then the wood slatted deckway with my cart of laundry. Said hi to John, the paraplegic diabetic who has a little long haired dachshund named John Wayne. John loves to sit in his reclining chair in the sun and just bake. He listens to his little radio/phone while sunning. I teased the dog that he should be thrown in the washing machine with my wash...just kidding. The laundry room was empty, and I started my one load for now. I have a lot more that needs to be washed, but I'm still low on energy.

I excused myself from the rocking chair group on the porch in the shade, who seemed to enjoy saying it was Judgement Day, and all kind of strange things. I said that was interesting, and went home. Took a photo of the pink dogwood across from my front porch. It's been silhouetted against the sky most times I've tried today.

Earlier today:

Up early (for me) to pick up Judy from her having dropped her car at the repair shop and take her home. We met at a nearby coffee shop, Moments, and had some breakfast together first.

I shot some nice photos of her neighborhood in Swannanoa with trees, bushes, and tulips in bloom. That shall be a post over on the other blog.

Home for a while, finally opened computer. Then gathered knife, fork, spoon, napkin and a mug to take to the lunch program. And texted a friend to meet her following lunch so we could exchange a few things. My side of the deal was coming home with eclipse glasses.

Then home again, feeling the meal I ate wasn't quite adequate, I had some jelly beans and a date. Pretty nice balance of sweets. And this time the jelly beans won as the most tasty.

Sorted one week's worth of clothes into my little pack and roll cart, and took them to start the wash in the laundry room across the parking lot. I like that there's now an app that I can just point at the machine to pay the $2/load. My timer I set on my phone lets me go home, or wherever nearby, until time to switch the clothes to the dryer.

Eclipse is probably starting now, it's 2:06 pm. But the highest amount won't be till 3:06...though even then it will only be partial. It's partly cloudy out.

I'm taking a break to pay attention to laundry.

Then I tried to see through the eclipse glasses, but the clouds were too dense to get anything coming through them. I finally got a quick glimpse through the clouds. I gave the glasses to a woman who was sitting there trying to see it. 

I drove over to pick up Judy to her car, which had been fixed and was a reasonable price. For all the trouble she's had from a bad fuse of some kind that kept her battery draining, I do hope it's a final fix.

Stopped next at Hopeys Grocery. Got pears and bananas that I knew I wanted, some other things including a frozen pizza.This grocery has a lot of discounted things, as well as "past their expiration date" so I always check, especially on dairy products. Bought a shopping bag that will advertise for them. When did it start being something customers have to pay for to advertise the businesses we patronize? Seems they should pay us. Every time I explain that to the various clerks, they look at me with bulging eyes.

As I drove around our little community I saw one family standing in a parking lot with their heads bent back to see the sun. It definitely became greyer at the height of our 3 hour experience of the moon passing in front of the sun. The cloud cover seemed to gather and be denser, and it was noticeably cooler. It felt like it would rain in a few hours.

But there were moments of  the sun shining through clouds, and there was definitely a slice taken out of it. It wasn't ever clear enough to see any changes to shadows.

People seemed to follow their regular routines. A man was observed dancing down the sidewalk, but one of the porch sitters said he's always like that. (I've not seen that aspect of him before!) 

I  received Facebook posts from cousins in Phoenix AZ and Austin TX, both acknowledged the darkening of daylight. Austin was in the path of totality, but had heavier cloud cover than we did here.

I waved at my friend who I'd given my glasses to when I came back from the store. It was just about over at that point. She said she''d been able to use the glasses, and shared them with others. Excellent!

Now to hang up my clothes which came out of the dryer, home in the cart, and spread on the bed in hopes of deferring wrinkles.

The eclipse experience of 2024 was a happy one of shared community for this person.

Today's quote:

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

HELEN SCHUCMAN