Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday Light
The snow began to fall late yesterday. An early snow, for our area. The flakes were big, fat, and wet, falling quickly but melting right away.
I cannot recall a snow before Halloween.
The morning dawned wet and gray. Fog hid the Blue Ridge Mountains from view.
This little one turned up in the front yard and decided to stay awhile. I went out on the front porch and stood not 20 feet away. We had a long conversation, Miss Deer and I.
The moment I had been waiting for arrived, and the sun shone brilliantly off the yellow leaves.
The fog remained and I still could not see the mountains.
Is there anything better than sunshine slipping through the clouds on a brisk October morning?
Li'l Miss Deer hung around a good while as I stood and snapped pictures.
Finally the fog lifted. Snow on the mountain two days before Halloween!
Is there any better sign that we are part of this world than our ability to see it? All we need do is open our eyes and look around.
I find great solace in this picture. For me it is a blend of man and nature, and an example that if we try we can make it all work together.
I hope you find your light on this intriguing day.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Books: Promise Me
Promise Me
By Richard Paul Evans
Copyright 2010
Audiobook
This is the weirdest Richard Paul Evans book I have read, and I have read at least five, maybe six, of his books. It is safe to say that I like the writer.
In Promise Me, Beth is the mother of Charlotte, a six-year old who is not feeling well. Her husband has an affair and then dies from pancreatic cancer. A man comes into her life, helps her out, and turns out to be someone completely unexpected.
If this book had been sent to a publisher by a first-time author, I feel sure it would have been rejected hands down. Fortunately for Evans, he's a best-selling author and probably at that point in his career where a boo-boo every now and then isn't going to wreck his life.
The book is told in a diary format, which Evans uses to better effect in The Walk. The Walk is the first of a trilogy, and I have read both parts, with the second being Miles to Go. I confess after reading Promise Me, I have some concerns about how The Walk trilogy ends. I will try not to be too upset if aliens suddenly beam up the protagonist when that third book comes out.
Anyway, the diary format works well, and our heroine, Beth, is a strong character with a good voice. However, the book goes all fantasy/sci-fi on the reader. This would be fine if you knew it was a fantasy or sci-fi book when you pick it up, but your first real hint of this is more than halfway through the book. The only inkling that there might be a curve ball comes early, but it's such a small hint that any reader who misses it can be forgiven for dismissing it.
Evans does very well with these tear-jerking books that bring up issues like infidelity, death of a loved one, illness, moving on with life, etc., etc., but I don't think bringing in a time traveler is really the way to indicate resolution. As it is, this book has nearly incestuous undertones and I can see why some people call it creepy on the Amazon reviews.
The story is science fiction masquerading as mainstream fiction, and it doesn't do either very well. It is understandable that readers would be upset with this book.
To be fair I can see that he has been heading in this direction. Some of his works have a supernatural or super-spiritual quality to them but they were never completely unbelievable. People have strange things happen all the time and he never slipped beyond the boundaries of disbelief - until this book. Though I confess The Gift, which was published in 2007, was a little far out there. It still didn't push the limits like Promise Me.
His editor really should have made him rewrite the thing from the middle to the end.
By Richard Paul Evans
Copyright 2010
Audiobook
This is the weirdest Richard Paul Evans book I have read, and I have read at least five, maybe six, of his books. It is safe to say that I like the writer.
In Promise Me, Beth is the mother of Charlotte, a six-year old who is not feeling well. Her husband has an affair and then dies from pancreatic cancer. A man comes into her life, helps her out, and turns out to be someone completely unexpected.
If this book had been sent to a publisher by a first-time author, I feel sure it would have been rejected hands down. Fortunately for Evans, he's a best-selling author and probably at that point in his career where a boo-boo every now and then isn't going to wreck his life.
The book is told in a diary format, which Evans uses to better effect in The Walk. The Walk is the first of a trilogy, and I have read both parts, with the second being Miles to Go. I confess after reading Promise Me, I have some concerns about how The Walk trilogy ends. I will try not to be too upset if aliens suddenly beam up the protagonist when that third book comes out.
Anyway, the diary format works well, and our heroine, Beth, is a strong character with a good voice. However, the book goes all fantasy/sci-fi on the reader. This would be fine if you knew it was a fantasy or sci-fi book when you pick it up, but your first real hint of this is more than halfway through the book. The only inkling that there might be a curve ball comes early, but it's such a small hint that any reader who misses it can be forgiven for dismissing it.
Evans does very well with these tear-jerking books that bring up issues like infidelity, death of a loved one, illness, moving on with life, etc., etc., but I don't think bringing in a time traveler is really the way to indicate resolution. As it is, this book has nearly incestuous undertones and I can see why some people call it creepy on the Amazon reviews.
The story is science fiction masquerading as mainstream fiction, and it doesn't do either very well. It is understandable that readers would be upset with this book.
To be fair I can see that he has been heading in this direction. Some of his works have a supernatural or super-spiritual quality to them but they were never completely unbelievable. People have strange things happen all the time and he never slipped beyond the boundaries of disbelief - until this book. Though I confess The Gift, which was published in 2007, was a little far out there. It still didn't push the limits like Promise Me.
His editor really should have made him rewrite the thing from the middle to the end.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday Thirteen
I'm the type of person who . . .
1. . . . writes down what she wants to say before she says it.
2. . . . reads everything she sees, even the labels on food, books she doesn't particularly care for, and articles that state the opinions of "the other side," whatever that may be.
3. . . . bites her nails when she is bored, tired, or frustrated (and one of my most-viewed pages on my blog is this one, with pictures of my chewed-up nails, though my nails don't look that bad now).
4. . . . loves to live in the country, where the air is sweeter and the sounds are clearer.
5. . . . thinks Halloween is the best holiday ever, because free candy is definitely worth putting on a costume and ringing a bell for.
6. . . . needs to be hugged a lot, and thinks that if more people hugged and said, "I like you," the world would be a much better place.
7. . . . believes in a safety net, because most people do work hard and want to work, but sometimes bad stuff happens and it's nobody's fault.
8. . . . makes people laugh without actually meaning to by offering wry, witty running commentary on the many facets of life (too bad it doesn't come through in my writing very often).
9. . . . enjoys her friends and family and is often puzzled as to their actions and reactions about this and that and the other things.
10. . . . enjoys history, architecture, geology, psychology, and literature; you know, the liberal arts, those things about half the country believe have no value.
11. . . . wears conservative, nice Alfred Dunner clothing when she really wants to wear cottony bohemian tie-dye and look like this; I need to lose a lot more weight first.
12. . . . collects postcards, Dept. 56 village houses, and clocks.
13. . . . drives too fast, walks too slow, listens well, and loves ferociously.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 214th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. . . . writes down what she wants to say before she says it.
2. . . . reads everything she sees, even the labels on food, books she doesn't particularly care for, and articles that state the opinions of "the other side," whatever that may be.
 |
| My nails don't look quite this bad today. |
4. . . . loves to live in the country, where the air is sweeter and the sounds are clearer.5. . . . thinks Halloween is the best holiday ever, because free candy is definitely worth putting on a costume and ringing a bell for.
6. . . . needs to be hugged a lot, and thinks that if more people hugged and said, "I like you," the world would be a much better place.
7. . . . believes in a safety net, because most people do work hard and want to work, but sometimes bad stuff happens and it's nobody's fault.
8. . . . makes people laugh without actually meaning to by offering wry, witty running commentary on the many facets of life (too bad it doesn't come through in my writing very often).
9. . . . enjoys her friends and family and is often puzzled as to their actions and reactions about this and that and the other things.
 |
| Hollins University, a bastion of the liberal arts. |
10. . . . enjoys history, architecture, geology, psychology, and literature; you know, the liberal arts, those things about half the country believe have no value.
11. . . . wears conservative, nice Alfred Dunner clothing when she really wants to wear cottony bohemian tie-dye and look like this; I need to lose a lot more weight first.
 |
| Two of my clocks. |
13. . . . drives too fast, walks too slow, listens well, and loves ferociously.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 214th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Oh Deer! Up Close & Personal
Sometimes I am amazed at what I see out the front door! Check out the close-ups in this video. Have you ever felt so close to a deer?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Our House is a Very Fine House
I
don't often post exterior images of our house, mostly because there isn't a very good place to take a decent photo of it. The front yard slopes down a lot and that makes it difficult to take a pretty picture.
However, my house is in the picture. It is not the white one. It is way in the distance. It is directly under the white cloud over the mountain, not quite a third of the way from the left.
Maybe this is better? See, there it is! Our little ranch, hidden on the hill.
And this would be the best I can do from the other side of the farm. The house is hardly visible from the road; most people don't know it is there. We built it ourselves, with our own two hands in 1987.
However, my house is in the picture. It is not the white one. It is way in the distance. It is directly under the white cloud over the mountain, not quite a third of the way from the left.
Maybe this is better? See, there it is! Our little ranch, hidden on the hill.
And this would be the best I can do from the other side of the farm. The house is hardly visible from the road; most people don't know it is there. We built it ourselves, with our own two hands in 1987.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
On a Clear Day
I think it is impossible to take a bad photo on a day like today.
The pollen count is less than 1.
The sky is a pale, lovely blue.
The trees wear their finest colors.
So I went up to the highest point on the farm, and shot a few pictures. I took these with my Canon.
This is the view from the backside of the farm, and it is not one many people get to see. There is only one spot on the place with this scenery; generally it is all wooded and so the forest is all we see. But in one place there is a little opening, and this is the view. The house is as huge as it looks: it belongs to some specialist doctor.
This is the backside of my mother-in-law's house. She has a lovely view of those mountains, doesn't she?
Just a shot of pretty trees.
These homes are on the farm, too, but they are not family. The home on the far left is my husband's old home place; it is where he was raised until my in-laws built the current house. The home on the right was built around 2005; some of the farmland had to be sold after Grandma passed away to satisfy the contents of her will.
The chicken coops, outbuildings, and the first pond. The chicken coops no longer hold chickens; they hold hay. Grandma's house is beside the pond in the midst of those trees. The house was built about 1816.
The pollen count is less than 1.
The sky is a pale, lovely blue.
The trees wear their finest colors.
So I went up to the highest point on the farm, and shot a few pictures. I took these with my Canon.
This is the view from the backside of the farm, and it is not one many people get to see. There is only one spot on the place with this scenery; generally it is all wooded and so the forest is all we see. But in one place there is a little opening, and this is the view. The house is as huge as it looks: it belongs to some specialist doctor.
This is the backside of my mother-in-law's house. She has a lovely view of those mountains, doesn't she?
Just a shot of pretty trees.
These homes are on the farm, too, but they are not family. The home on the far left is my husband's old home place; it is where he was raised until my in-laws built the current house. The home on the right was built around 2005; some of the farmland had to be sold after Grandma passed away to satisfy the contents of her will.
The chicken coops, outbuildings, and the first pond. The chicken coops no longer hold chickens; they hold hay. Grandma's house is beside the pond in the midst of those trees. The house was built about 1816.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Godwin Cemetery, Fincastle, Autumn 2011
The top of the hill at Godwin Cemetery, which is in Fincastle near the rear of the town, is one of my favorite spots to take photos. This morning I ventured out to the library and then ran up the hill. It was a chilly but lovely day, with a crisp, clear sky and the remnants of the change of leaves still speckling the mountains.
I used a filter on a few of these photos.
The steeple belongs to the Fincastle Presbyterian Church.
This is pretty much my eternal view, as we've spots in the Firebaugh section awaiting us. Of course my perspective will probably be a little lower. Six feet under instead of five feet above.
Fincastle Presbyterian Church. This is one of my favorite scenes, the church steeple with the mountain behind.
The county courthouse on the right and the Presbyterian Church on the left.
The steeples, from left, are the Fincastle Methodist Church, then St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and then the Botetourt County Courthouse in the far right. There's also a cell tower on the left on top of the hill. I can remember when that wasn't there.
I used a filter on a few of these photos.
The steeple belongs to the Fincastle Presbyterian Church.
This is pretty much my eternal view, as we've spots in the Firebaugh section awaiting us. Of course my perspective will probably be a little lower. Six feet under instead of five feet above.
Fincastle Methodist Church in the foreground and the Botetourt County Courthouse in the rear. The children's playground equipment, while not new, is an interesting juxtaposition to the tombstones, don't you think?
I love this shot. You can see Fincastle Methodist Church, the Botetourt County Courthouse, and the Fincastle Presbyterian Church.
Fincastle Presbyterian Church. This is one of my favorite scenes, the church steeple with the mountain behind.
The county courthouse on the right and the Presbyterian Church on the left.
The steeples, from left, are the Fincastle Methodist Church, then St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and then the Botetourt County Courthouse in the far right. There's also a cell tower on the left on top of the hill. I can remember when that wasn't there.
The
small steeple in the middle of this picture belongs to the old Fincastle Baptist Church building. It is now a private home.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thursday Thirteen
Apparently I am brain dead, so today these are things that start with the letter "B."
1. Bitch. This word can be a noun or a verb. It is frequently used as a pejorative word to describe women and men who are perceived as acting as women. It is also the name of a female dog and when used as a verb, it is the act of complaining. The fact that this is the first word that came to my mind for the letter B is somewhat troubling.
2. Bastard. This would be the male version of the above word, used as a noun to describe an illegitimate child and as a verb to describe a mean, despicable person, usually a man. I am also troubled that this is the second word that came to mind this morning. Perhaps my day is starting out rough?
3. B-Complex Vitamin. This is a vitamin that encompasses many of the category of vitamins known as "B" vitamins. "B" vitamins are important in cell metabolism. They are good for healthy skin and hair and help the immune system and the nervous system. They are also supposed to help ward off pancreatic cancer. The B vitamins are Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin or niacinamide), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, or pyridoxamine, or pyridoxine hydrochloride), Vitamin B7 (biotin), Vitamin B9 (folic acid), and Vitamin B12 (various cobalamins; commonly cyanocobalamin in vitamin supplements).
4. Baggins. Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are the two most famous hobbits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Bilbo found the ring in The Hobbit (soon to be a major motion picture) and Frodo carried the ring to Mount Doom to destroy it in Lord of the Rings.
5. Bacchanalia. This is a wild gathering or party that involves a lot of drinking and promiscuity. In ancient Greece, wild and crazy boys and girls held such events to honor the god Bacchus (Dionysus). I think I attended a few of these when I was in high school, but my life has been pretty quiet since then.
6. Bag lady. These are those sad looking homeless women who carry their belongings in shopping carts or bags. A 2006 study showed that almost half of all women fear ending up as a bag lady. Ninety percent of women in that study felt financially insecure. What does this say about our society?
7. Barn. This is a place where farmers put things and where animals might live. A barn can hold machinery, hay, cows, chickens, horses, etc., and sometimes people if they have nowhere else to go. Some are red, some are white, some burn down in the dark of night.
8. Bear. Bears are great big carnivorous mammals that we sometimes see on the farm. A bear can also be the state of the stock market (a pessimistic market), something you have or hold, as in to bear a scar or to bear arms, or to hold something up, as in to bear weight, among other things. The bear on the left was in our alfalfa field in 2009.
9. Bewitch. When you bewitch someone, you put a spell or a hex on them, or maybe you magnetize them with your charm. In the late 1960s and early 70s there was a show on called Bewitched that starred Elizabeth Montgomery. She crinkled her nose to cast a spell.
10. Bird. Our warm-blooded feathered friends come in many shapes and sizes. Some can't even fly while others zip around the big blue sky like little mosquitoes. We have many birds around our house, including finches, blue jays, cardinals, robins, and wild turkeys. The picture on the right was shot with a trail camera.
11. Black Death. This was the name given to a period of time in the Middle Ages during which a lot of people died from bubonic plague in Europe. It killed somewhere between 30 and 60 percent of the population. It was thought to have originated in China and then traveled from there along the Silk Road. It took Europe 150 years to recover from this one event.
12. Bleak. How you feel when you have little hope, or maybe how you look if you've been sick for a while. It also is a description for a barren place with little shelter.
13. Bones. Those things that hold up your skin. It is also a color and used as a verb it means to take the bones from, as in boning a fish. Walking bones are called skeletons and you see them a lot around this time as we gear up for Halloween. In Appalachia, you can also play the bones, which is an interesting thing to see and hear.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 213th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. Bitch. This word can be a noun or a verb. It is frequently used as a pejorative word to describe women and men who are perceived as acting as women. It is also the name of a female dog and when used as a verb, it is the act of complaining. The fact that this is the first word that came to my mind for the letter B is somewhat troubling.
2. Bastard. This would be the male version of the above word, used as a noun to describe an illegitimate child and as a verb to describe a mean, despicable person, usually a man. I am also troubled that this is the second word that came to mind this morning. Perhaps my day is starting out rough?
3. B-Complex Vitamin. This is a vitamin that encompasses many of the category of vitamins known as "B" vitamins. "B" vitamins are important in cell metabolism. They are good for healthy skin and hair and help the immune system and the nervous system. They are also supposed to help ward off pancreatic cancer. The B vitamins are Vitamin B1 (thiamine), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin or niacinamide), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, or pyridoxamine, or pyridoxine hydrochloride), Vitamin B7 (biotin), Vitamin B9 (folic acid), and Vitamin B12 (various cobalamins; commonly cyanocobalamin in vitamin supplements).
4. Baggins. Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are the two most famous hobbits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Bilbo found the ring in The Hobbit (soon to be a major motion picture) and Frodo carried the ring to Mount Doom to destroy it in Lord of the Rings.
5. Bacchanalia. This is a wild gathering or party that involves a lot of drinking and promiscuity. In ancient Greece, wild and crazy boys and girls held such events to honor the god Bacchus (Dionysus). I think I attended a few of these when I was in high school, but my life has been pretty quiet since then.
6. Bag lady. These are those sad looking homeless women who carry their belongings in shopping carts or bags. A 2006 study showed that almost half of all women fear ending up as a bag lady. Ninety percent of women in that study felt financially insecure. What does this say about our society?
7. Barn. This is a place where farmers put things and where animals might live. A barn can hold machinery, hay, cows, chickens, horses, etc., and sometimes people if they have nowhere else to go. Some are red, some are white, some burn down in the dark of night.
8. Bear. Bears are great big carnivorous mammals that we sometimes see on the farm. A bear can also be the state of the stock market (a pessimistic market), something you have or hold, as in to bear a scar or to bear arms, or to hold something up, as in to bear weight, among other things. The bear on the left was in our alfalfa field in 2009.9. Bewitch. When you bewitch someone, you put a spell or a hex on them, or maybe you magnetize them with your charm. In the late 1960s and early 70s there was a show on called Bewitched that starred Elizabeth Montgomery. She crinkled her nose to cast a spell.
10. Bird. Our warm-blooded feathered friends come in many shapes and sizes. Some can't even fly while others zip around the big blue sky like little mosquitoes. We have many birds around our house, including finches, blue jays, cardinals, robins, and wild turkeys. The picture on the right was shot with a trail camera.11. Black Death. This was the name given to a period of time in the Middle Ages during which a lot of people died from bubonic plague in Europe. It killed somewhere between 30 and 60 percent of the population. It was thought to have originated in China and then traveled from there along the Silk Road. It took Europe 150 years to recover from this one event.
12. Bleak. How you feel when you have little hope, or maybe how you look if you've been sick for a while. It also is a description for a barren place with little shelter.
13. Bones. Those things that hold up your skin. It is also a color and used as a verb it means to take the bones from, as in boning a fish. Walking bones are called skeletons and you see them a lot around this time as we gear up for Halloween. In Appalachia, you can also play the bones, which is an interesting thing to see and hear.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 213th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Turkeys!
Turkeys from the trail camera. I enlarged the last shot just to get a better look. I think these are all turkey hens as they do not have a beard.
Monday, October 17, 2011
On the Cusp of Change
Lovely yellows on the trees.
A little bit of red!
A blushing crimson.
A squirrel on the fence!
Birds of a feather.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Running!
Yesterday in the little town of Fincastle, the Bank of Fincastle 5K and 10K runs took place.
About 900 people were signed up to run. One of them was my nephew, who, unfortunately, is not in this picture. I don't know any of these people. For some reason my camera wasn't working well (or maybe it was operator error) and few of my shots turned out. Oh well.
Anyway, this event is in its 25th year. It is quite popular. The county schools, from elementary school up, usually send teams, so you have some very young children learning the value of exercise on a cool October morning. Many parents also sign up and walk along (or run) with their offspring.
The first 600 runners to register are guaranteed a T-shirt. The bank has a new design created every year. This year it was a turkey in autumn.
Winners receive medals and/or trophies.
Locals know that this course is very hilly, with steep inclines and descents in places. It is not a trek for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
I stood on the sideline and cheered and clapped for the multitude of runners. Some folks I knew, others I didn't.
Maybe when I've lost my weight and gotten my asthma controlled, I will give the 5K a try. Maybe even next year?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Thursday Thirteen
Here you go, 13 quotes about writing.
1. I'm just another writer, still trapped within my truth . . . Sometimes When We Touch, Written by Dan Hill and sung by Barry Manilow, among others.
2. There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. - Ernest Hemingway
3. Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down - Robert Frost
4. If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it. - Anais Nin
5. True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance. - Alexander Pope
6. Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing. - Sylvia Plath
7. I will carry on writing, to be sure. But I don't know if I would want to publish again after Harry Potter. - J K Rowling
8. I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous. - Keith Richards
9. The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. - Lee Iacocca
10. It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it. - W. H. Auden
11. Writing is the supreme solace. - W. Somerset Maugham
12. Writing is hard work and bad for the health. - E. B. White
13. Writing is nothing more than a guided dream. - Jorge Luis Borges
These came from this website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/writing_5.html
I have had this song on my mind for two days.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 212th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. I'm just another writer, still trapped within my truth . . . Sometimes When We Touch, Written by Dan Hill and sung by Barry Manilow, among others.
2. There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. - Ernest Hemingway
3. Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down - Robert Frost
4. If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it. - Anais Nin
5. True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance. - Alexander Pope
6. Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing. - Sylvia Plath
7. I will carry on writing, to be sure. But I don't know if I would want to publish again after Harry Potter. - J K Rowling
8. I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous. - Keith Richards
9. The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. - Lee Iacocca
10. It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it. - W. H. Auden
11. Writing is the supreme solace. - W. Somerset Maugham
12. Writing is hard work and bad for the health. - E. B. White
13. Writing is nothing more than a guided dream. - Jorge Luis Borges
These came from this website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/writing_5.html
I have had this song on my mind for two days.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 212th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Let's Learn Something
Last night I watched a little bit of Oprah's new show on her channel, OWN.
Her new show is called Oprah's Lifeclass. Essentially she has set out to teach the world how to be better. How to be a better you, a better friend, a better everything. And I don't mean better in a bad way, as in, there is something wrong now, but better in the way that everyone has faults and issues. We can all stand a little self-exploration every now and again.
I really admire her efforts to bring light and focus to television. She is attempting something very positive here. She is trying to turn the idiot box into a teaching tool.
She's doing this by going back into the vast archives of her TV show and bringing forth things that could assist someone with personal growth.
Last night's show focused on ego. Where does your ego get in the way?
In the example I saw, she said her ego focused on her weight issue. She wanted to lose weight for her ego, not for the right reasons.
In conjunction with the TV show, she has set up a life classroom of sorts at her website, oprah.com. Over 1.1 million people have signed up for it, including me. She gave the first one million a free journal. I did not sign up quickly enough to qualify for that, but oh well.
I signed up even though I knew I wouldn't do the exercises or be able to watch all of the TV show, because of my class schedule. I expect most people are not able to devote an hour every night to this, but perhaps the online initiative will make it work. But I thought it might be an interesting and worthwhile exercise when I had a spare moment. I am always trying to do better and be a better person.
The series runs for five weeks, five nights a week.
Her new show is called Oprah's Lifeclass. Essentially she has set out to teach the world how to be better. How to be a better you, a better friend, a better everything. And I don't mean better in a bad way, as in, there is something wrong now, but better in the way that everyone has faults and issues. We can all stand a little self-exploration every now and again.
I really admire her efforts to bring light and focus to television. She is attempting something very positive here. She is trying to turn the idiot box into a teaching tool.
She's doing this by going back into the vast archives of her TV show and bringing forth things that could assist someone with personal growth.
Last night's show focused on ego. Where does your ego get in the way?
In the example I saw, she said her ego focused on her weight issue. She wanted to lose weight for her ego, not for the right reasons.
In conjunction with the TV show, she has set up a life classroom of sorts at her website, oprah.com. Over 1.1 million people have signed up for it, including me. She gave the first one million a free journal. I did not sign up quickly enough to qualify for that, but oh well.
I signed up even though I knew I wouldn't do the exercises or be able to watch all of the TV show, because of my class schedule. I expect most people are not able to devote an hour every night to this, but perhaps the online initiative will make it work. But I thought it might be an interesting and worthwhile exercise when I had a spare moment. I am always trying to do better and be a better person.
The series runs for five weeks, five nights a week.
Monday, October 10, 2011
My Niece Does Her Dance Thing!
This is my niece, Zoe, doing her dance routine at the Vinton Festival on Saturday. Isn't she great?
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Is There a Doctor in the House?
I do not like to go to the doctor.
Yet I spend a significant amount of time seeing doctors. I have a lot of health issues.
These issues include:
I am working diligently on the first item in hopes of alleviating some of the others (I'm down 18 pounds!). And yet I keep running into walls.
My general practitioner harps on cholesterol-lowering medicines even though I have told her repeatedly I am not going to take them. Yes, the numbers are high but not, to my mind, significantly so. A decade ago, before they decided they wanted to sell more drugs, I would have been borderline high. I am already taking blood pressure and thyroid medicines. I am not adding another.
You see, I don't trust the health care we have now. It's all about money, not healing. Let's face it. The pharmaceutical industry makes its money masking symptoms, not affecting cures. Do you really think there will be a cure for cancer so long as there is money to be made off of it? Not in my life time. As long as my health is a commodity that someone can constantly try to use to bilk money off of me, I will not ever trust a health care provider. And that includes "alternative care" providers, many of whom I am sure are genuinely interested in caring for me, provided I have the money to pay them.
Yes, I know, they have bills to pay, too. But personally I think $100 for an hour's worth of whatever, be that an acupuncture sticking, a Reiki healing session, or a massage, is a bit much. You can offer the care without gouging people. I guess it costs what it costs, though.
Anyway, the asthma is a new issue for me. I went in July to see if I had a fish allergy and came out with a serious asthma diagnosis and two steroid inhalers, a steroid nasal inhaler, and a nasal antihistamine. I remember walking out there thinking, what just happened here?
Oh, it was obvious from the tests that I had a problem. The breathing tests were quite conclusive. I don't breathe well. That chest pain I keep experiencing is actually asthma - why wasn't I using my rescue inhaler? the doctor wanted to know.
Nobody ever told me when to use it.
That's right. About 20 years a doctor said, "You have asthma," and told me to carry around Primatene Mist, which was available over the counter. I dutifully bought some, but I didn't know when I was supposed to use it.
"When you can't breathe," someone said.
Well, that was pretty much all the time for me, and I was so used to it I didn't realize it was an issue. Those coughing spasms? Asthma. Tight chest and nearly choking after crying? Asthma. Coughing after laughter? Asthma. Really bad chest pains that sent me to hospital thinking I was having a heart attack? Asthma.
And I didn't know.
I'm 48 years old. I have seen a potful of doctors. I have seen general practitioners and specialists, and emergency room doctors.
Why didn't somebody say something?
Every time I have switched general practitioners or gone to a specialist, I have listed an emergency inhaler as one of my medications. For 20 years! "But I don't use it," I would say. And they never commented. They just gave me a prescription for another one.
When I went to the ER in 2009 with chest pains and difficulty breathing, why didn't somebody test me for asthma then? Suggest I use my emergency inhaler? Because they earned more money running me on the treadmill and through their little stress test, that's why.
I thought this way of breathing, this frustrating and unhealthy feeling, was normal. It was normal, for me. You might be wondering why I didn't look it up. Well, because nobody mentioned it as a possible source of some of my problems. Never.
This pretty much proves something I've been saying for a few years now.
This is the Roanoke area. Small city. Small potatoes. Do you really think that the "A" list doctors are going to come to a city of 100,000 to practice medicine? No. We get those physicians who pass by the seat of their pants. The ones who graduate from some medical college in Aruba that exists in a rundown motel room. The ones who speak English with accents so heavy that I can't understand a thing they say. This is second-rate health care here. There are no "A" list doctors in Roanoke. There probably aren't even any in Virginia. Well, maybe at UVA.
According to a headline about an athlete with asthma in today's paper, 1 out of every 12 people has asthma. You'd think someone would think to mention it to me, and suggest I see a specialist.
So anyway, in July, I came home with asthma controller medications.
And I used them.
Six weeks later, in mid-August, I tested great at the asthma doctor's office. Nearly 100 percent lung capacity. I was feeling pretty good, too. Things that used to bother me and make me gasp for air were more tolerable (sensitivities is a big thing for asthma sufferers and I didn't know that, either). I was walking on the treadmill more.
And then I started having side affects. Really bad, life-altering, possibly life-threatening, side affects.
The asthma doctor, of course, said the medications couldn't be causing the symptoms I was experiencing. These aren't normal side effects for this medication.
Nevertheless, he cut back on my asthma medication, just a tiny bit, and sent me home with other medication for the side effects.
And after a week on the side-effect medication, I felt a little better, for about three days.
Then the side affects overrode the helpful medication and I was right back where I started. I went back to the doctor Thursday and basically he threw up his hands. He patted me on the head and said he was sorry, but he didn't know what else he could do for me. He didn't change my asthma medication anymore, either.
I knew what to do.
I stopped taking my asthma medication. I didn't ask the doctor because what was the point? He would say I should take it.
That was 48 hours ago. The side affects are getting better. I feel more hopeful about that than I have in two weeks.
However, my breathing quickly deteriorated. It has moved back to where it was before the steroid asthma inhalers, back to a tightness in the chest. It should be okay, it is what I lived with for many years.
But I have felt what it feels like to feel better.
I wish I didn't know.
Yet I spend a significant amount of time seeing doctors. I have a lot of health issues.
These issues include:
- obesity
- thyroid problems
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- high triglycerides
- asthma
I am working diligently on the first item in hopes of alleviating some of the others (I'm down 18 pounds!). And yet I keep running into walls.
My general practitioner harps on cholesterol-lowering medicines even though I have told her repeatedly I am not going to take them. Yes, the numbers are high but not, to my mind, significantly so. A decade ago, before they decided they wanted to sell more drugs, I would have been borderline high. I am already taking blood pressure and thyroid medicines. I am not adding another.
You see, I don't trust the health care we have now. It's all about money, not healing. Let's face it. The pharmaceutical industry makes its money masking symptoms, not affecting cures. Do you really think there will be a cure for cancer so long as there is money to be made off of it? Not in my life time. As long as my health is a commodity that someone can constantly try to use to bilk money off of me, I will not ever trust a health care provider. And that includes "alternative care" providers, many of whom I am sure are genuinely interested in caring for me, provided I have the money to pay them.
Yes, I know, they have bills to pay, too. But personally I think $100 for an hour's worth of whatever, be that an acupuncture sticking, a Reiki healing session, or a massage, is a bit much. You can offer the care without gouging people. I guess it costs what it costs, though.
Anyway, the asthma is a new issue for me. I went in July to see if I had a fish allergy and came out with a serious asthma diagnosis and two steroid inhalers, a steroid nasal inhaler, and a nasal antihistamine. I remember walking out there thinking, what just happened here?
Oh, it was obvious from the tests that I had a problem. The breathing tests were quite conclusive. I don't breathe well. That chest pain I keep experiencing is actually asthma - why wasn't I using my rescue inhaler? the doctor wanted to know.
Nobody ever told me when to use it.
That's right. About 20 years a doctor said, "You have asthma," and told me to carry around Primatene Mist, which was available over the counter. I dutifully bought some, but I didn't know when I was supposed to use it.
"When you can't breathe," someone said.
Well, that was pretty much all the time for me, and I was so used to it I didn't realize it was an issue. Those coughing spasms? Asthma. Tight chest and nearly choking after crying? Asthma. Coughing after laughter? Asthma. Really bad chest pains that sent me to hospital thinking I was having a heart attack? Asthma.
And I didn't know.
I'm 48 years old. I have seen a potful of doctors. I have seen general practitioners and specialists, and emergency room doctors.
Why didn't somebody say something?
Every time I have switched general practitioners or gone to a specialist, I have listed an emergency inhaler as one of my medications. For 20 years! "But I don't use it," I would say. And they never commented. They just gave me a prescription for another one.
When I went to the ER in 2009 with chest pains and difficulty breathing, why didn't somebody test me for asthma then? Suggest I use my emergency inhaler? Because they earned more money running me on the treadmill and through their little stress test, that's why.
I thought this way of breathing, this frustrating and unhealthy feeling, was normal. It was normal, for me. You might be wondering why I didn't look it up. Well, because nobody mentioned it as a possible source of some of my problems. Never.
This pretty much proves something I've been saying for a few years now.
This is the Roanoke area. Small city. Small potatoes. Do you really think that the "A" list doctors are going to come to a city of 100,000 to practice medicine? No. We get those physicians who pass by the seat of their pants. The ones who graduate from some medical college in Aruba that exists in a rundown motel room. The ones who speak English with accents so heavy that I can't understand a thing they say. This is second-rate health care here. There are no "A" list doctors in Roanoke. There probably aren't even any in Virginia. Well, maybe at UVA.
According to a headline about an athlete with asthma in today's paper, 1 out of every 12 people has asthma. You'd think someone would think to mention it to me, and suggest I see a specialist.
So anyway, in July, I came home with asthma controller medications.
And I used them.
Six weeks later, in mid-August, I tested great at the asthma doctor's office. Nearly 100 percent lung capacity. I was feeling pretty good, too. Things that used to bother me and make me gasp for air were more tolerable (sensitivities is a big thing for asthma sufferers and I didn't know that, either). I was walking on the treadmill more.
And then I started having side affects. Really bad, life-altering, possibly life-threatening, side affects.
The asthma doctor, of course, said the medications couldn't be causing the symptoms I was experiencing. These aren't normal side effects for this medication.
Nevertheless, he cut back on my asthma medication, just a tiny bit, and sent me home with other medication for the side effects.
And after a week on the side-effect medication, I felt a little better, for about three days.
Then the side affects overrode the helpful medication and I was right back where I started. I went back to the doctor Thursday and basically he threw up his hands. He patted me on the head and said he was sorry, but he didn't know what else he could do for me. He didn't change my asthma medication anymore, either.
I knew what to do.
I stopped taking my asthma medication. I didn't ask the doctor because what was the point? He would say I should take it.
That was 48 hours ago. The side affects are getting better. I feel more hopeful about that than I have in two weeks.
However, my breathing quickly deteriorated. It has moved back to where it was before the steroid asthma inhalers, back to a tightness in the chest. It should be okay, it is what I lived with for many years.
But I have felt what it feels like to feel better.
I wish I didn't know.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Thursday Thirteen
It's the first Thursday of the month, and for me, that means it is time to remember the wonderful things I did last month. So here, in no particular order, are the good things about September 2011.
1. Well, the best thing that happened to me is I didn't get sicker than I could have. I had a really bad infection at the end of the month that I am just getting over. If I hadn't gone to the doctor when I did, I'd have ended up in the hospital. So I am really grateful for that.
2. I had a long talk with one of my undergraduate professors at Hollins University, about writing in general and my thesis in particular, even though she isn't my thesis advisor. It was a helpful discussion.
3. My thesis advisor and I also had a long talk about my thesis, and hopefully something is happening there (as in, I am working on the thing) that will lead to the ultimate goal of graduation in May. Thumbs up!
4. The new TV season started. So far all I've watched are Survivor and the new Charlie's Angels. I think I am the only person watching the new Charlie's Angels. If there are new shows I should be watching, feel free to leave me the titles. I don't watch a lot of TV but I am in the mood to find something I can sink my teeth into for a while.
5. My husband bought a little toy that I can also play with. It's called a Kawasaki Mule and it's a utility terrain vehicle. It is quite fun to drive. I named it Sheba De Mu'le'.
6. We took in a couple of exhibits at the Taubman Art Museum in downtown Roanoke. We went especially to see the photography exhibit from The Roanoke Times, a celebration of the newspaper's 125 years of publication.
7. I bought a Stevie Nicks CD, her latest release, called In Your Dreams, mostly because it has a song on it called Annabel Lee and because I like Stevie Nicks.
8. I went to an author's signing for a book by Amanda Cockrell called What We Keep is not Always What Will Stay. She is a member of the Hollins faculty and my thesis advisor. I am yearning to read the book but unfortunately I have a lot of reading to do for my Detectives in Literature class and I simply haven't had time to get to it.
9. I had lunch and dinner with an old high school friend. It was fun to get together and catch up and reminisce about those days 30 years ago when we were raising hell and misbehaving.
10. The tomato plants continued to spit out tomatoes even as September ended in a chilly spell, with rain and cold. We also picked cucumbers and a green pepper. The garden was good to us this year.
11. I lost four pounds in the month of September (I'm now down 17 pounds since the end of May).
12. The built-in reclining chairs in the sofa broke, but we were able to find the parts on eBay and fix it ourselves for a minimal amount of money. I was quite glad I did not have to spend thousands on a new sectional sofa.
13. I was able to clear out my closet and put away some clothes that are now too big for me. I can't tell you how freeing that felt!
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 211th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. Well, the best thing that happened to me is I didn't get sicker than I could have. I had a really bad infection at the end of the month that I am just getting over. If I hadn't gone to the doctor when I did, I'd have ended up in the hospital. So I am really grateful for that.
2. I had a long talk with one of my undergraduate professors at Hollins University, about writing in general and my thesis in particular, even though she isn't my thesis advisor. It was a helpful discussion.
3. My thesis advisor and I also had a long talk about my thesis, and hopefully something is happening there (as in, I am working on the thing) that will lead to the ultimate goal of graduation in May. Thumbs up!
4. The new TV season started. So far all I've watched are Survivor and the new Charlie's Angels. I think I am the only person watching the new Charlie's Angels. If there are new shows I should be watching, feel free to leave me the titles. I don't watch a lot of TV but I am in the mood to find something I can sink my teeth into for a while.
6. We took in a couple of exhibits at the Taubman Art Museum in downtown Roanoke. We went especially to see the photography exhibit from The Roanoke Times, a celebration of the newspaper's 125 years of publication.
7. I bought a Stevie Nicks CD, her latest release, called In Your Dreams, mostly because it has a song on it called Annabel Lee and because I like Stevie Nicks.
8. I went to an author's signing for a book by Amanda Cockrell called What We Keep is not Always What Will Stay. She is a member of the Hollins faculty and my thesis advisor. I am yearning to read the book but unfortunately I have a lot of reading to do for my Detectives in Literature class and I simply haven't had time to get to it.
9. I had lunch and dinner with an old high school friend. It was fun to get together and catch up and reminisce about those days 30 years ago when we were raising hell and misbehaving.
10. The tomato plants continued to spit out tomatoes even as September ended in a chilly spell, with rain and cold. We also picked cucumbers and a green pepper. The garden was good to us this year.
11. I lost four pounds in the month of September (I'm now down 17 pounds since the end of May).
12. The built-in reclining chairs in the sofa broke, but we were able to find the parts on eBay and fix it ourselves for a minimal amount of money. I was quite glad I did not have to spend thousands on a new sectional sofa.
13. I was able to clear out my closet and put away some clothes that are now too big for me. I can't tell you how freeing that felt!
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 211th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
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