Thirteen of my favorite movies -
1. Fellowship of the Ring (A Hobbit and his friends must destroy a ring)
2. The Two Towers (An evil wizard sends out his fighters against the Men of the West)
3. The Return of the King (The true king returns to the throne)
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (A Hobbit gets asked to escort a group of dwarves)
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (A big dragon breathes fire in the home of the dwarves)
(Okay, so I'm Tolkien nerd!)
6. Dirty Dancing (Young woman falls in love with sexy male dancer)
7. Under the Tuscan Sun (Older woman finds herself in Italy)
8. The Blind Side (Young homeless man finds hope and wealth with guidance of a foster family)
9. Secretariat (Horse lady raises up champion racer)
10. Walk the Line (Johnny Cash becomes a music legend)
11. Momma Mia! (A woman finds a lost love, set to the music of Abba)
12. Forrest Gump (Young man grows up, has an interesting life, finally gets the girl, and she dies)
13. Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (Rebels attempt to keep bad guy from destroying the galaxy)
The links all go to the trailers for the movies.
Thursday
Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list
here. I've been
playing for a while and this is my 368th time to do a list of 13 on a
Thursday.
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
My Relationship With Money
I woke up this morning, as I have for about a year now, to the radio combined with a beeping sound. It is supposed to be an alarm with one or the other, but it's a cheap radio and so I get both. It drives me crazy.
It replaced one I had had for nearly 20 years; it finally stopped holding the radio station and I was waking up to static noise.
This made the think about money and our relationship to dollars and stuff. We buy a $12 clock and expect it to work perfectly and last 15 years, and consider it a waste of money if it doesn't.
Yet we think nothing of buying $12 for a spaghetti dinner at the local restaurant. Or spending money on consumables like chewing gum, cigarettes (chewing tobacco in my husband's case) or $100 a month to watch the trash that comes across the TV screen these days.
We don't want to spend $4.00 for a bag of apples, but we'll spend $1.00 on a single candy bar. We expect appliances that we pay $500 for to last more than 5 years.
When you break it down, though, you're paying $100 a year for the $500 appliance. I spent about $1 a month on the cheap alarm clock (which I am getting ready to give to Goodwill and replace, as soon as I can find something suitable).
I think as a society, our relationship with money and stuff is weird.
I found this quiz about how you feel about money to be interesting as far the questions; the answer on the scoring left a little to be desired as it didn't really tell me anything. And I'm not sure it addressed the thing I am trying to puzzle out, which is the VALUE we place on things.
We over-value football players and under-value firefighters. We over-value entertainment and under-value education. We over-value the military and under-value the welfare of the nation's population. Or least in my mind we do. Obviously others do not agree.
We stand in judgment of someone on food stamps who buys a Mars bar, but honestly, doesn't everyone deserve a candy bar every now and then, if they want it? And who am I to stand in judgment of how you or you or you spend what you have, however you've received it?
I know I make bad decisions sometimes with money. That alarm clock was obviously a lousy purchase. Our house is full of stuff that needs to be removed - clutter that I can't quite part with because it might be worth $5, and yet - I want it out of here. I can name a dozen things that are stuffed in a closet that I need to remove (an original X-Box, an older model lap top, and about 100 books just to name three). I need to have a yard sale but I live in a rural area and I'm not able to pack the stuff up and haul it elsewhere.
This article says this: "I’ve noticed that people in general (and Americans in particular) have a complex love-hate relationship with wealth. People want to be rich — but they’re suspicious of those who already are."
I agree with this statement. Do you?
I'm still working on this idea, these thoughts of what we value. We value relationships but perhaps don't really work on them. We value our cellphones more than our mothers, it seems. Do we value stuff more than people?
When money is the primary value, it is a value misplaced. Of that much I am certain. But it is rather like being a food addict - you have to eat. In this society, you have to have money.
Is it any wonder we have a nation of hoarders?
This website, The Story of Stuff project, wants us all to have a better relationship with stuff. "We have a problem with Stuff. We use too much, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be. Together, we can build a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division."
This is an idea I can get behind.
My goal is to develop a healthier relationship toward money and stuff. Money and stuff are both simply tools: things that make life better or harder, depending on how you use them.
I have never wanted more than "enough" - whatever that is. Enough to pay the bills, eat okay, and be comfortable. I've never aspired to great riches. Sure, I dream of winning the lottery - I think in our society it's a conditioned idea. But generally when I think about the lottery, I say - and mean - that's I'd be okay with just one of the smaller five-figure prizes. But even that is a complicating the relationship.
Anyway, this is what I thought about this morning when I hopped out of bed. Yes, I know, my brain goes nonstop.
It replaced one I had had for nearly 20 years; it finally stopped holding the radio station and I was waking up to static noise.
This made the think about money and our relationship to dollars and stuff. We buy a $12 clock and expect it to work perfectly and last 15 years, and consider it a waste of money if it doesn't.
Yet we think nothing of buying $12 for a spaghetti dinner at the local restaurant. Or spending money on consumables like chewing gum, cigarettes (chewing tobacco in my husband's case) or $100 a month to watch the trash that comes across the TV screen these days.
We don't want to spend $4.00 for a bag of apples, but we'll spend $1.00 on a single candy bar. We expect appliances that we pay $500 for to last more than 5 years.
When you break it down, though, you're paying $100 a year for the $500 appliance. I spent about $1 a month on the cheap alarm clock (which I am getting ready to give to Goodwill and replace, as soon as I can find something suitable).
I think as a society, our relationship with money and stuff is weird.
I found this quiz about how you feel about money to be interesting as far the questions; the answer on the scoring left a little to be desired as it didn't really tell me anything. And I'm not sure it addressed the thing I am trying to puzzle out, which is the VALUE we place on things.
We over-value football players and under-value firefighters. We over-value entertainment and under-value education. We over-value the military and under-value the welfare of the nation's population. Or least in my mind we do. Obviously others do not agree.
We stand in judgment of someone on food stamps who buys a Mars bar, but honestly, doesn't everyone deserve a candy bar every now and then, if they want it? And who am I to stand in judgment of how you or you or you spend what you have, however you've received it?
I know I make bad decisions sometimes with money. That alarm clock was obviously a lousy purchase. Our house is full of stuff that needs to be removed - clutter that I can't quite part with because it might be worth $5, and yet - I want it out of here. I can name a dozen things that are stuffed in a closet that I need to remove (an original X-Box, an older model lap top, and about 100 books just to name three). I need to have a yard sale but I live in a rural area and I'm not able to pack the stuff up and haul it elsewhere.
This article says this: "I’ve noticed that people in general (and Americans in particular) have a complex love-hate relationship with wealth. People want to be rich — but they’re suspicious of those who already are."
I agree with this statement. Do you?
I'm still working on this idea, these thoughts of what we value. We value relationships but perhaps don't really work on them. We value our cellphones more than our mothers, it seems. Do we value stuff more than people?
When money is the primary value, it is a value misplaced. Of that much I am certain. But it is rather like being a food addict - you have to eat. In this society, you have to have money.
Is it any wonder we have a nation of hoarders?
This website, The Story of Stuff project, wants us all to have a better relationship with stuff. "We have a problem with Stuff. We use too much, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be. Together, we can build a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division."
This is an idea I can get behind.
My goal is to develop a healthier relationship toward money and stuff. Money and stuff are both simply tools: things that make life better or harder, depending on how you use them.
I have never wanted more than "enough" - whatever that is. Enough to pay the bills, eat okay, and be comfortable. I've never aspired to great riches. Sure, I dream of winning the lottery - I think in our society it's a conditioned idea. But generally when I think about the lottery, I say - and mean - that's I'd be okay with just one of the smaller five-figure prizes. But even that is a complicating the relationship.
Anyway, this is what I thought about this morning when I hopped out of bed. Yes, I know, my brain goes nonstop.
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
Technology of a Murder
Saturday night my husband, my mother-in-law, and James' aunt from Georgia went to Greenfield to see the murder mystery, Technology of a Murder.
The play was performed by HaeBo Productions. We have been to two others they have done there and enjoyed them both.
The crowd was a little sparse for this performance for some reason; maybe because it was Halloween weekend and there were lots of parties. But we had a good time. The group always gets the audience involved and that is fun.
The story involved cloning and unstable scientists.
Who also had beautiful wives who didn't want to be married to them.
The master scientist.
The conscientious objector who doesn't want cloning.
The fellow was killed directly behind where I was I was sitting, and I didn't even see it happen!
One of the young actors got my mother-in-law in the act.
There was a good deal of gun pointing.
Egads, a clone!
Ooops. Another dead body.
The sheriff wants everybody to stand down.
Heavens, another clone!
More gun pointing! Who did it? I won't tell. The show was very fast paced and it was difficult to pick out who was doing what at times. I guessed wrong as I generally do.
This makes me think I might not be cut out to write mysteries.
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Sunday Stealing: The Music Meme
From Sunday Stealing
The Music Meme
1. Which bands/artist do you own the most albums by?
A. For me, it's a tie between Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow. For my husband, it's the Rolling Stones. However, I own all of the music discs to the three Lord of the Rings movies, and I think that combination actually beats out everything else because there are so many discs.
2. What was the last song you listened to?
A. Well, I wasn't listening to anything, so I pulled up Pandora, and it brought up Something to Talk About, by Bonnie Raitt as the first song on my personal channel.
3. What’s in your CD player right now?
A. Melissa Etheridge in my office. In the car CD player, though, is an audiobook.
4. What was the last show you attended?
A. Elton John.
5. What was the greatest show you’ve ever been to?
A. Styx, Mr. Roboto, Linda Rondstadt, Elton John, or Neil Diamond. I am not sure which I liked the best.
6. What’s the worst show you’ve ever been to?
A. I don't think any of them were especially bad.
7. What’s the most musically involved you have ever been?
A. I used to play guitar in a Top 40 band when I was in high school. I also played flute in the marching band.
8. What show are you looking forward to?
A. None.
9. What is your favorite band shirt?
A. Um. What?
10. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
A. Cyndi Lauper. She seems to have such interesting ideas about women and equality, and I admire her activism.
11. Who is one musician or group you wish would make a comeback?
A. Bread.
12. Who is one band/artist you’ve never seen live but always wanted to?
A. The Eagles.
13. What was your last musical “phase” before you wisened up?
A. I don't know. Maybe when I was about 10 and liked The Archies.
14. How many music related videos/DVDs do you own?
A. I have no idea. Most of them are of The Rolling Stones.
15. How many concerts/shows have you been to, total?
A. A lot. We'll go with 20. I don't know if that's high or low or just right but it's a nice number.
16. What’s your “guilty pleasure” that you hate to admit to liking?
A. I don't have one, unless you count disco. I do like disco. Well, not all of it, but some of it.
17. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
A. Forrest Gump. That movie has some rockin' songs in it.
The Music Meme
1. Which bands/artist do you own the most albums by?
A. For me, it's a tie between Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow. For my husband, it's the Rolling Stones. However, I own all of the music discs to the three Lord of the Rings movies, and I think that combination actually beats out everything else because there are so many discs.
2. What was the last song you listened to?
A. Well, I wasn't listening to anything, so I pulled up Pandora, and it brought up Something to Talk About, by Bonnie Raitt as the first song on my personal channel.
3. What’s in your CD player right now?
A. Melissa Etheridge in my office. In the car CD player, though, is an audiobook.
4. What was the last show you attended?
A. Elton John.
5. What was the greatest show you’ve ever been to?
A. Styx, Mr. Roboto, Linda Rondstadt, Elton John, or Neil Diamond. I am not sure which I liked the best.
6. What’s the worst show you’ve ever been to?
A. I don't think any of them were especially bad.
7. What’s the most musically involved you have ever been?
A. I used to play guitar in a Top 40 band when I was in high school. I also played flute in the marching band.
8. What show are you looking forward to?
A. None.
9. What is your favorite band shirt?
A. Um. What?
10. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
A. Cyndi Lauper. She seems to have such interesting ideas about women and equality, and I admire her activism.
11. Who is one musician or group you wish would make a comeback?
A. Bread.
12. Who is one band/artist you’ve never seen live but always wanted to?
A. The Eagles.
13. What was your last musical “phase” before you wisened up?
A. I don't know. Maybe when I was about 10 and liked The Archies.
14. How many music related videos/DVDs do you own?
A. I have no idea. Most of them are of The Rolling Stones.
15. How many concerts/shows have you been to, total?
A. A lot. We'll go with 20. I don't know if that's high or low or just right but it's a nice number.
16. What’s your “guilty pleasure” that you hate to admit to liking?
A. I don't have one, unless you count disco. I do like disco. Well, not all of it, but some of it.
17. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
A. Forrest Gump. That movie has some rockin' songs in it.
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Saturday 9: Welcome to My Nightmare
Saturday 9: Welcome to My Nightmare (1975)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Tell us about a bad dream you've had.
A. I dreamed the other night that I was at a government meeting, and a cult group came in to "demonstrate" something and they lopped off a child's head. Everyone thought it was fake, but my spidey sense told me otherwise, so I went back after the meeting to check things out. They were cleaning up their mess, and this one fellow came over and asked me to help him. He said they'd really killed a child in front of us. He said he needed to get out of there, but he couldn't leave. I called 911 and asked for help, but the sheriff's office said they couldn't respond, so I asked for an ambulance. However, no sirens were forthcoming, and I called my husband. He finally showed up driving our Kawasaki Mule (a utility vehicle that goes about 30 mph) and carrying a shotgun. Meanwhile, I was busily trying to convince these crazy killers not to leave until help arrived.
When I was younger, I used to dream about a bathtub full of blood. I have always had night terrors and occasionally sleep walk. I frequently wake both my husband and myself up with screams.
2) Sam is not crazy about spiders. What frightens you, or gives you "the creeps?"
A. I'm definitely not into snakes. I'm not a fan of spiders, either, but I will take care of them if I must. Also, I don't like live mice. Yuck. I do like mice dressed up like Santa Claus, though.
3) This week's featured artist, Alice Cooper, has always liked to dress up. Performing as Alice, he wears garish eye makeup. In his first group, he and his bandmates dressed as the Beatles. Will you be wearing a costume this weekend?
A. I will be my usual self, as far as I know.
4) Alice says his makeup was inspired by Bette Davis in his favorite horror movie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? This Halloween weekend, will you seek out horror movies and scary TV shows, or will you avoid them?
A. I will mostly avoid them, although the plan for tonight is a Murder Mystery dinner.
5) Born Vincent Furnier, Alice used to tell reporters that he and his band got the name Alice Cooper from a Oujia board. Have you ever tried a Oujia board?
A. When I was much younger we had an Oujia board. I would like to get my hands on one now as an adult. I think it would be a different experience.
6) Alice and his band (also called Alice Cooper) were discovered by music manager Shep Gordon while playing in Venice, California. Have you ever visited Venice, California or Venice, Italy?
A. Not to my knowledge, no. No Venices for me.
7) In 1970s England, a morality campaigner named Mary Whitehouse persuaded the BBC to ban Alice Cooper. The ensuing publicity resulted in such a bump in record sales that Alice sent Ms. Whitehouse flowers. Do you believe in censorship? Or should adults be able to choose to see/hear whatever they wish?
A. I do not believe in censorship generally; however, there are limits. Pornography, for example, that blatantly shows the abuse of any human being or animal. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. Commonsense, which long left the building, should rule. Given that it is no longer with us, I suppose we must have somebody out there thumping the pumpkin to see what is ripe.
8) Today Alice has a popular syndicated radio show, Nights with Alice Cooper. Listeners all over the United States, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, and the UK hear him introduced as, "a man for whom even Dr. Phil has no cure." Do you watch Dr. Phil?
A. No. I rarely watch TV, and certainly not Dr. Phil.
9) Did you get many trick or treaters this year? What candy did you give them?
A. I live in a rural community and far off the road. I've never had a trick or treater. However, I always buy some Smarties to keep on hand in case someone shows up. I end up eating them. At least they aren't chocolate.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Tell us about a bad dream you've had.
A. I dreamed the other night that I was at a government meeting, and a cult group came in to "demonstrate" something and they lopped off a child's head. Everyone thought it was fake, but my spidey sense told me otherwise, so I went back after the meeting to check things out. They were cleaning up their mess, and this one fellow came over and asked me to help him. He said they'd really killed a child in front of us. He said he needed to get out of there, but he couldn't leave. I called 911 and asked for help, but the sheriff's office said they couldn't respond, so I asked for an ambulance. However, no sirens were forthcoming, and I called my husband. He finally showed up driving our Kawasaki Mule (a utility vehicle that goes about 30 mph) and carrying a shotgun. Meanwhile, I was busily trying to convince these crazy killers not to leave until help arrived.
When I was younger, I used to dream about a bathtub full of blood. I have always had night terrors and occasionally sleep walk. I frequently wake both my husband and myself up with screams.
2) Sam is not crazy about spiders. What frightens you, or gives you "the creeps?"
A. I'm definitely not into snakes. I'm not a fan of spiders, either, but I will take care of them if I must. Also, I don't like live mice. Yuck. I do like mice dressed up like Santa Claus, though.
3) This week's featured artist, Alice Cooper, has always liked to dress up. Performing as Alice, he wears garish eye makeup. In his first group, he and his bandmates dressed as the Beatles. Will you be wearing a costume this weekend?
A. I will be my usual self, as far as I know.
4) Alice says his makeup was inspired by Bette Davis in his favorite horror movie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? This Halloween weekend, will you seek out horror movies and scary TV shows, or will you avoid them?
A. I will mostly avoid them, although the plan for tonight is a Murder Mystery dinner.
5) Born Vincent Furnier, Alice used to tell reporters that he and his band got the name Alice Cooper from a Oujia board. Have you ever tried a Oujia board?
A. When I was much younger we had an Oujia board. I would like to get my hands on one now as an adult. I think it would be a different experience.
6) Alice and his band (also called Alice Cooper) were discovered by music manager Shep Gordon while playing in Venice, California. Have you ever visited Venice, California or Venice, Italy?
A. Not to my knowledge, no. No Venices for me.
7) In 1970s England, a morality campaigner named Mary Whitehouse persuaded the BBC to ban Alice Cooper. The ensuing publicity resulted in such a bump in record sales that Alice sent Ms. Whitehouse flowers. Do you believe in censorship? Or should adults be able to choose to see/hear whatever they wish?
A. I do not believe in censorship generally; however, there are limits. Pornography, for example, that blatantly shows the abuse of any human being or animal. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. Commonsense, which long left the building, should rule. Given that it is no longer with us, I suppose we must have somebody out there thumping the pumpkin to see what is ripe.
8) Today Alice has a popular syndicated radio show, Nights with Alice Cooper. Listeners all over the United States, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, and the UK hear him introduced as, "a man for whom even Dr. Phil has no cure." Do you watch Dr. Phil?
A. No. I rarely watch TV, and certainly not Dr. Phil.
9) Did you get many trick or treaters this year? What candy did you give them?
A. I live in a rural community and far off the road. I've never had a trick or treater. However, I always buy some Smarties to keep on hand in case someone shows up. I end up eating them. At least they aren't chocolate.
Friday, October 31, 2014
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Last Year's Trick
A year ago today, I learned that I had multiple ulcers in my belly. On the digital picture I brought home, I counted more than 50. About 10 of them were large and "oozing blood," according to the doctor.
I was quite sick.
The medication for the ulcers raised my cholesterol levels and who knows what else it has done. I lost some weight (which I unfortunately gained back as I began to feel better), and wasn't exercising much.
Tremendous pain in my tummy continued. I had two CT scans, which showed nothing. In August of this year, doctors at UNC Hospital for Women diagnosed me with pelvic floor tension myalgia. This appears to be the result of numerous surgeries, topped off by the removal of my gallbladder in June 2013. Scar tissue and adhesions have subsequently knotted my abdominal muscles, causing pain with movement, and pulling my pelvis out of alignment. This causes me to walk oddly on my foot, and so I have damaged tendons in my ankle.
Or at least that is the physical therapist's explanation.
Last Christmas I could barely get around and was, and still am, using a cane to get about. My doctor in March filled out the paperwork for me to get a temporary disability tag. I can't tell you how much I hated having to get that. Unfortunately I just renewed it.
I have been in physical therapy nearly weekly (except for a month off when my husband was injured in a farming accident) since April.
This Halloween, while I am feeling better, I still have issues with my belly. An endoscopy in September showed the ulcers mostly healed but I still have lots of redness and inflammation. I don't know when or if the knots in my stomach will ease up. Cold laser therapy on my ankle has helped with swelling and I am walking a little better so long as I keep an elastic bandage tight on that foot.
I try not to complain. I don't go on Facebook and whine about how much things hurt or how little I can get around. But every now and then I wish someone would pat me on the head and say "there, there, it'll be okay." That's when I know I'm feeling sorry for myself and need to buck up, as they say.
So on this anniversary of my ulcers, let me wish you Happy Health, not Happy Halloween, though I hope you have that as well. People who have good health don't know how lucky they are. A healthy body is something to be cherished and cared for. I wish I'd learned that lesson about 30 years ago.
I was quite sick.
The medication for the ulcers raised my cholesterol levels and who knows what else it has done. I lost some weight (which I unfortunately gained back as I began to feel better), and wasn't exercising much.
Tremendous pain in my tummy continued. I had two CT scans, which showed nothing. In August of this year, doctors at UNC Hospital for Women diagnosed me with pelvic floor tension myalgia. This appears to be the result of numerous surgeries, topped off by the removal of my gallbladder in June 2013. Scar tissue and adhesions have subsequently knotted my abdominal muscles, causing pain with movement, and pulling my pelvis out of alignment. This causes me to walk oddly on my foot, and so I have damaged tendons in my ankle.
Or at least that is the physical therapist's explanation.
Last Christmas I could barely get around and was, and still am, using a cane to get about. My doctor in March filled out the paperwork for me to get a temporary disability tag. I can't tell you how much I hated having to get that. Unfortunately I just renewed it.
I have been in physical therapy nearly weekly (except for a month off when my husband was injured in a farming accident) since April.
This Halloween, while I am feeling better, I still have issues with my belly. An endoscopy in September showed the ulcers mostly healed but I still have lots of redness and inflammation. I don't know when or if the knots in my stomach will ease up. Cold laser therapy on my ankle has helped with swelling and I am walking a little better so long as I keep an elastic bandage tight on that foot.
I try not to complain. I don't go on Facebook and whine about how much things hurt or how little I can get around. But every now and then I wish someone would pat me on the head and say "there, there, it'll be okay." That's when I know I'm feeling sorry for myself and need to buck up, as they say.
So on this anniversary of my ulcers, let me wish you Happy Health, not Happy Halloween, though I hope you have that as well. People who have good health don't know how lucky they are. A healthy body is something to be cherished and cared for. I wish I'd learned that lesson about 30 years ago.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Thursday Thirteen
Happy Halloween! BOO!
Scary songs (sort of) -
1. Ghost Busters
2. Flying Purple People Eater
3. Theme from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Thriller! (If you've never seen this video all the way through, you should watch it.)
5. Monster Mash
6. Witchy Woman
7. Love Potion #9
8. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
9. Black Magic Woman
10. In a Gadda Da vida
11. I Put a Spell on You
12. Midnight Margaritas from Practical Magic
13. Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 367th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Scary songs (sort of) -
1. Ghost Busters
2. Flying Purple People Eater
3. Theme from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Thriller! (If you've never seen this video all the way through, you should watch it.)
5. Monster Mash
6. Witchy Woman
7. Love Potion #9
8. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
9. Black Magic Woman
10. In a Gadda Da vida
11. I Put a Spell on You
12. Midnight Margaritas from Practical Magic
13. Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 367th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Losing Our Identity
Recently I started receiving notices from "The Berglund Center" in my inbox. The Roanoke Civic Center, the place where I saw Linda Ronstadt, Styx, the Commodores, Neil Diamond, and a great number of ice skating shows, is now called "The Berglund Center" because the city sold naming rights.
Never again will I make another purchase from Berglund Automotive. I haven't in many years anyway, but I guarantee you I won't ever again.
I understand they're also considering doing similar things with parts of Elmwood Park. Maybe they will sell the right to name the newly remodeled downtown library. Maybe Microsoft will buy that and call it the Microsoft Reader (that's me being snarky), since Microsoft doesn't have an e-reader that I am aware of.
Earlier, Roanoke changed the name of the Roanoke Regional Airport to the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, even though the airport is in Roanoke City. Blacksburg is 40 minutes away, and I really don't care if Virginia Tech calls it home. They can build their own airport.
I don't live in the city, but I live in the Roanoke Valley, and as such, in the environs of Roanoke City. Botetourt County is part of that - in fact, the mother of that. Botetourt County ultimately spawned Roanoke City, formerly called Big Lick.
Botetourt has for years had an image problem - it doesn't know if it's rural or suburban, an industrial designation, a tourism designation, or just a bedroom community of neighboring jurisdictions.
Apparently that image problem extends to the entire valley and encompasses a number of counties, several towns, and the city proper. And now it's been made even more complex by the lack of financial support from the state and poor political choices on the part of local representatives.
As a citizen of the Roanoke Valley, I take pride in Roanoke and its environs. I love the area's history, I enjoy the viewshed, and I find the whole region to be delightful. It offers something for everyone if one wants to take advantage of the many activities available. We have educational facilities, museums, festivals, movie theaters, shopping, and other attractions. The whole valley is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and while we may be a little on the Appalachian side of things, on the whole we're a happy community. It may not be for everyone, but it's been my family's home for at least seven generations.
I resent the corporate takeover of things that citizens hold dear and take pride in - and paid for with taxpayer dollars and donations. I don't want to attend The Berglund Center. I want to take pride in ROANOKE CITY. I don't want to fly out of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport. I want to fly out of the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Soon we will all be sporting advertising on our forehead. It's already on the backs of ball fields, splattered over hats and T-shirts, and forcing name changes of things that make my head spin. I stopped watching NASCAR when the Winston Cup became something else. To me, it will always be the Winston Cup.
So for heavens sake, don't make me go pay my taxes at the Altec Courthouse, or watch kids play ball at the Titan Cement All-America Field. Don't make me check out books from the HomeTrust Bank Library. And I absolutely will not under any circumstances attend the Fralin-Waldron YMCA. I don't care how much money they donated to the project. I don't want to be owned.
We need to keep our image as a unique and congruous community, not drive wedges down the middle with oligarchical and political stupidity.
If I had the money, I'd have paid for those naming rights to the Roanoke Civic Center - and then left the name alone. Good corporate citizens should pony up money to support things the citizenry wants, and they should do it not to advertise and make more money for themselves. They should do it because, guess what? They live here, too, and they should have some civic pride in their community.
Never again will I make another purchase from Berglund Automotive. I haven't in many years anyway, but I guarantee you I won't ever again.
I understand they're also considering doing similar things with parts of Elmwood Park. Maybe they will sell the right to name the newly remodeled downtown library. Maybe Microsoft will buy that and call it the Microsoft Reader (that's me being snarky), since Microsoft doesn't have an e-reader that I am aware of.
Earlier, Roanoke changed the name of the Roanoke Regional Airport to the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, even though the airport is in Roanoke City. Blacksburg is 40 minutes away, and I really don't care if Virginia Tech calls it home. They can build their own airport.
I don't live in the city, but I live in the Roanoke Valley, and as such, in the environs of Roanoke City. Botetourt County is part of that - in fact, the mother of that. Botetourt County ultimately spawned Roanoke City, formerly called Big Lick.
Botetourt has for years had an image problem - it doesn't know if it's rural or suburban, an industrial designation, a tourism designation, or just a bedroom community of neighboring jurisdictions.
Apparently that image problem extends to the entire valley and encompasses a number of counties, several towns, and the city proper. And now it's been made even more complex by the lack of financial support from the state and poor political choices on the part of local representatives.
As a citizen of the Roanoke Valley, I take pride in Roanoke and its environs. I love the area's history, I enjoy the viewshed, and I find the whole region to be delightful. It offers something for everyone if one wants to take advantage of the many activities available. We have educational facilities, museums, festivals, movie theaters, shopping, and other attractions. The whole valley is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and while we may be a little on the Appalachian side of things, on the whole we're a happy community. It may not be for everyone, but it's been my family's home for at least seven generations.
I resent the corporate takeover of things that citizens hold dear and take pride in - and paid for with taxpayer dollars and donations. I don't want to attend The Berglund Center. I want to take pride in ROANOKE CITY. I don't want to fly out of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport. I want to fly out of the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Soon we will all be sporting advertising on our forehead. It's already on the backs of ball fields, splattered over hats and T-shirts, and forcing name changes of things that make my head spin. I stopped watching NASCAR when the Winston Cup became something else. To me, it will always be the Winston Cup.
So for heavens sake, don't make me go pay my taxes at the Altec Courthouse, or watch kids play ball at the Titan Cement All-America Field. Don't make me check out books from the HomeTrust Bank Library. And I absolutely will not under any circumstances attend the Fralin-Waldron YMCA. I don't care how much money they donated to the project. I don't want to be owned.
We need to keep our image as a unique and congruous community, not drive wedges down the middle with oligarchical and political stupidity.
If I had the money, I'd have paid for those naming rights to the Roanoke Civic Center - and then left the name alone. Good corporate citizens should pony up money to support things the citizenry wants, and they should do it not to advertise and make more money for themselves. They should do it because, guess what? They live here, too, and they should have some civic pride in their community.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday Stealing: Nerd Alert
From Sunday Stealing
Nerd Alert Meme
1. Favorite childhood book?
A. Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, tied with Miss Osborne the Mop, by Wilson Gage.
2. What are you reading right now?
A. Factory Man, by Beth Macy. It's nonfiction, and written by a local writer.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
A. None at the moment.
4. Bad book habit?
A. Eating while I read.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
A. A Stephanie Plum book, a Fannie Flagg book, a Stuart Woods book, and an Anita Shreve book.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
A. Yes, I have both a Nook and a Kindle.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
A. I prefer one at a time, though I always have an audiobook on in the car, so generally I have at least two going at once.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
A. No.
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
A. Runaway, by Alice Munro
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
A. The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
A. You mean, like every time I pick up the newspaper? Or reading horror or true crime when I don't really care for them? I read the newspaper every day and find some of that quite uncomfortable.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
A. I'm not sure I understand these questions, but I like fantasy, mysteries, etc., so long as they don't get overly gruesome or pornographic.
13. Can you read on the bus?
A. I used to when I was younger. I doubt I could now.
14. Favorite place to read?
A. In my green chair.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
A. If it is a book that I have read or one that I don't care about having in my personal library, I lend them. I never lend out a book and expect to actually get it back.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
A. I have at times. Mostly I use book marks, though.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
A. Very seldom.
18. Not even with text books?
A. Not even with text books.
19. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
A. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce.
20. What makes you love a book?
A. Good writing. Good characters, interesting plot, nice descriptions, and a little something to think about.
Nerd Alert Meme
1. Favorite childhood book?
A. Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, tied with Miss Osborne the Mop, by Wilson Gage.
2. What are you reading right now?
A. Factory Man, by Beth Macy. It's nonfiction, and written by a local writer.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
A. None at the moment.
4. Bad book habit?
A. Eating while I read.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
A. A Stephanie Plum book, a Fannie Flagg book, a Stuart Woods book, and an Anita Shreve book.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
A. Yes, I have both a Nook and a Kindle.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
A. I prefer one at a time, though I always have an audiobook on in the car, so generally I have at least two going at once.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
A. No.
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
A. Runaway, by Alice Munro
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
A. The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
A. You mean, like every time I pick up the newspaper? Or reading horror or true crime when I don't really care for them? I read the newspaper every day and find some of that quite uncomfortable.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
A. I'm not sure I understand these questions, but I like fantasy, mysteries, etc., so long as they don't get overly gruesome or pornographic.
13. Can you read on the bus?
A. I used to when I was younger. I doubt I could now.
14. Favorite place to read?
A. In my green chair.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
A. If it is a book that I have read or one that I don't care about having in my personal library, I lend them. I never lend out a book and expect to actually get it back.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
A. I have at times. Mostly I use book marks, though.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
A. Very seldom.
18. Not even with text books?
A. Not even with text books.
19. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
A. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce.
20. What makes you love a book?
A. Good writing. Good characters, interesting plot, nice descriptions, and a little something to think about.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Saturday 9: Moon River
Saturday 9: Moon River (1962)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song is featured in a Dove candy bar commercial. What's your favorite way to enjoy chocolate (cookie, candy bar, ice cream, hot cocoa, etc.)?
A. I like chocolate any way I can get it. I suppose I prefer a candy bar, though. And no coconut.
2) It was originally written for the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Where's the best place to eat breakfast in your neighborhood?
A. Cracker Barrel.
3) Were you able to see the moon last night?
A. I don't know. I didn't look.
4) When Andy Williams' show was first telecast in color, viewers commented on how very blue his eyes were. What's the first thing you notice about a person?
A. How they are standing and whether or not they invade personal space. Ominous-looking people scare me.
5) The Andy Williams Show gave the Osmond Brothers their first national exposure. When younger sister Marie joined the act, she made her debut on his show, as well. Let's say you have just been bumped up to first-class for a three hour flight. Which Osmond would you prefer as your seatmate, Donny or Marie?
A. Marie.
6) Even though Andy was a millionaire many times over, he was still careful with money, once saying he would never pay more than $50 for a haircut. This leaves Sam shaking her head, because she spares no expense when it comes to her hair. What's something you splurge on?
A. I used to get a massage every six weeks or so.
7) Andy's Moon River Theater still draws tourists to Branson, MO. Have you ever been to the Ozarks?
A. I think I may have been through there but I am not certain.
8) Andy had a discerning eye for Native American art. His collection of Navajo rugs was sold at auction for nearly $1,000,000. Have you ever bid on an auction?
A. Yes, I have. Many times. I've bought tools, glassware, and books at auctions.
9) Andy told an interviewer that his earliest memory was hiding from a storm in the cellar of his family's Iowa home. What's your earliest memory?
A. I remember running into the house to tell my mother there was something horrible wrapped around the tree in the front yard. I was so scared I couldn't speak, but finally she understood that it was a snake. I had been playing right at it for a long time before I saw it.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song is featured in a Dove candy bar commercial. What's your favorite way to enjoy chocolate (cookie, candy bar, ice cream, hot cocoa, etc.)?
A. I like chocolate any way I can get it. I suppose I prefer a candy bar, though. And no coconut.
2) It was originally written for the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Where's the best place to eat breakfast in your neighborhood?
A. Cracker Barrel.
3) Were you able to see the moon last night?
A. I don't know. I didn't look.
4) When Andy Williams' show was first telecast in color, viewers commented on how very blue his eyes were. What's the first thing you notice about a person?
A. How they are standing and whether or not they invade personal space. Ominous-looking people scare me.
5) The Andy Williams Show gave the Osmond Brothers their first national exposure. When younger sister Marie joined the act, she made her debut on his show, as well. Let's say you have just been bumped up to first-class for a three hour flight. Which Osmond would you prefer as your seatmate, Donny or Marie?
A. Marie.
6) Even though Andy was a millionaire many times over, he was still careful with money, once saying he would never pay more than $50 for a haircut. This leaves Sam shaking her head, because she spares no expense when it comes to her hair. What's something you splurge on?
A. I used to get a massage every six weeks or so.
7) Andy's Moon River Theater still draws tourists to Branson, MO. Have you ever been to the Ozarks?
A. I think I may have been through there but I am not certain.
8) Andy had a discerning eye for Native American art. His collection of Navajo rugs was sold at auction for nearly $1,000,000. Have you ever bid on an auction?
A. Yes, I have. Many times. I've bought tools, glassware, and books at auctions.
9) Andy told an interviewer that his earliest memory was hiding from a storm in the cellar of his family's Iowa home. What's your earliest memory?
A. I remember running into the house to tell my mother there was something horrible wrapped around the tree in the front yard. I was so scared I couldn't speak, but finally she understood that it was a snake. I had been playing right at it for a long time before I saw it.
Friday, October 24, 2014
I Could Spit and Hit
This little buck is in my front yard, just outside my office window. I swear I could open the window and spit on him, he's that close!
Clouds, Not Eclipse
I really wanted to see the partial solar eclipse yesterday, but when the time came, alas, there were clouds.
I even had my pin-point paper and all set up to see the thing, but there was nothing but cloud.
And while it made for pretty sunset shots, it did not make for a good eclipse.
And it wasn't long before the sun was behind Tinker Mountain and I couldn't see it anyway.
I even had my pin-point paper and all set up to see the thing, but there was nothing but cloud.
And while it made for pretty sunset shots, it did not make for a good eclipse.
And it wasn't long before the sun was behind Tinker Mountain and I couldn't see it anyway.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Thursday Thirteen
1. Today is National Mole Day. Apparently this is not to celebrate either the growths on the body or the little things that plow burrows in the yard, but instead is a celebration of some kind of math equation. Go figure.
2. I read frequently about habitat and how the loss of it is greatly upsetting our ecosystem. The migration of monarch butterflies is one example. The collapse of honey bee hives is another. At one point there was a lot of talk about frogs being a barometer of things gone awry. I've noticed it in some migration patterns. For example, late this spring we had a flock of white pelicans on the pond. It was a first in anybody's memory. We have more Canadian geese in the fall. We also have stink bugs now, which up until about five years ago were things I'd never even heard of.
3. Hunting season has returned to Virginia. I was reminded of this earlier this week when I went trucking through the house without a stitch on, seeking out the clothing I wanted in the laundry room, only to emit a quick screech and slink back into the other part of the house for my robe when I realized there were strange vehicles in the driveway, and hunters standing around in camo. Fortunately, they all had their backs to the house as they were watching the woods. They were my husband's friends, but still. You don't want to give people a heart attack.
4. I have 19 items on my to-do list at the moment. If I get the top three done I will consider it a good day. My suspicion is that I won't, though I may knock a few things off the list.
5. CNN says China is going to the moon. I was disheartened when we began defunding NASA and it saddens me to see our space program in the toilet. I watched every space launch that I could, including the one in 1969 when a human being first stepped on the moon. I have cried when shuttles exploded and lives were lost, but the space program offered us hope as a nation and gave us a common ground for national pride, something we seem to be lacking these days. That is, unless you want to be proud of being first in the world in the number of people per capita you incarcerate, or first in the world in military spending, which I do not and am not.
6. Speaking of space stuff, there is a partial eclipse of the sun late this afternoon, visible in the US. Apparently it begins around 5:50 p.m., close to sunset. Don't look directly at the sun as it can damage your eyes. And looking at through a digital camera is not something I recommend, either.
7. I've been seeing a lot of posts about health care insurance costs. Most of these blame the Affordable Care Act (I refuse to call it by its misnomer, though the media does it), but our health insurance has been rising steadily since the 1990s, and even with an employer picking up the tab for one of us, we pay out more than $9,000 a year just to insure the other one on the same policy. The insurance company was constantly bullying us about medications and doctor visits pre-ACA. I don't think the ACA was a good deal - I think it was a gift to private insurance companies - but I also think the insurance companies have looked for and found every loophole they can to increase premiums and deny claims. I'm grateful we have health insurance - we'd be bankrupt if we didn't, given my poor health and my husband's accident this summer - but yes, it is expensive. It is not, however, as expensive as the $100,000+ it would have cost us out-of-pocket to save my husband's arm. So I guess in the long run, you need to ask yourself if you're worth it or not. Maybe you can do without an arm.
8. In the meantime, we need real health care reform, and for me that means a national single payer system. Yes, Medicare for all. Of course it would not be perfect, but then absolutely nothing dreamed up in the human brain is. I would, however, like for everyone to have the opportunity to keep their limbs should they have an unfortunate accident.
9. I am who I am. I don't need anyone's permission to be me. Nor do I need anyone's permission to dream, big or small, or to do much of anything else for that matter. Unless I am invading someone's personal space, they really don't have much of a say over what I do. But when I am invading personal space - whether with words, too close in body contact, with cigarette smoke, perfume or whatever - then yeah, they - and I - have the right to say something. It's called boundaries. Like Baby said in Dirty Dancing, "This is your dance space, this is my dance space. Spaghetti arms!" Or something to that effect.
10. Some days coming up with 13 somethings is tough. Today is one of them. Can you tell?
11. This is my horoscope for today from tarot.com: "It's not too late to improve your daily routine, even if it's an upgrade you should have made much sooner. Today's Scorpio Solar Eclipse plants the seeds in your 6th House of Habits, indicating sudden changes that can set a series of profound consequences into motion. The potential is greater than you realize, so make every action count as much as possible while you have the planetary magic on your side."
12. Psalm 121: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. Levavi Oculos in Latin. It's the motto of Hollins University, my alma mater. I've been putting it in my blog header for about two years and not once has anyone asked me about it. But that would be the answer to the question.
13. And speaking of Hollins, I just received a notice in my email that it's Tinker Day. Tinker Day is a day off from classes given each October; only the president of the university knows the date. The students find out about 7 a.m. that classes are cancelled. They dress up, perform skits, and climb to the top of Tinker Mountain, where they are served up fried chicken and Tinker cake trucked up by the college staff. The tradition dates back to the 1880s. Enjoy your day, young ladies. You are our best hope for tomorrow.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 366th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
 |
| Pelicans on the farm pond |
3. Hunting season has returned to Virginia. I was reminded of this earlier this week when I went trucking through the house without a stitch on, seeking out the clothing I wanted in the laundry room, only to emit a quick screech and slink back into the other part of the house for my robe when I realized there were strange vehicles in the driveway, and hunters standing around in camo. Fortunately, they all had their backs to the house as they were watching the woods. They were my husband's friends, but still. You don't want to give people a heart attack.
4. I have 19 items on my to-do list at the moment. If I get the top three done I will consider it a good day. My suspicion is that I won't, though I may knock a few things off the list.
5. CNN says China is going to the moon. I was disheartened when we began defunding NASA and it saddens me to see our space program in the toilet. I watched every space launch that I could, including the one in 1969 when a human being first stepped on the moon. I have cried when shuttles exploded and lives were lost, but the space program offered us hope as a nation and gave us a common ground for national pride, something we seem to be lacking these days. That is, unless you want to be proud of being first in the world in the number of people per capita you incarcerate, or first in the world in military spending, which I do not and am not.
6. Speaking of space stuff, there is a partial eclipse of the sun late this afternoon, visible in the US. Apparently it begins around 5:50 p.m., close to sunset. Don't look directly at the sun as it can damage your eyes. And looking at through a digital camera is not something I recommend, either.
7. I've been seeing a lot of posts about health care insurance costs. Most of these blame the Affordable Care Act (I refuse to call it by its misnomer, though the media does it), but our health insurance has been rising steadily since the 1990s, and even with an employer picking up the tab for one of us, we pay out more than $9,000 a year just to insure the other one on the same policy. The insurance company was constantly bullying us about medications and doctor visits pre-ACA. I don't think the ACA was a good deal - I think it was a gift to private insurance companies - but I also think the insurance companies have looked for and found every loophole they can to increase premiums and deny claims. I'm grateful we have health insurance - we'd be bankrupt if we didn't, given my poor health and my husband's accident this summer - but yes, it is expensive. It is not, however, as expensive as the $100,000+ it would have cost us out-of-pocket to save my husband's arm. So I guess in the long run, you need to ask yourself if you're worth it or not. Maybe you can do without an arm.
8. In the meantime, we need real health care reform, and for me that means a national single payer system. Yes, Medicare for all. Of course it would not be perfect, but then absolutely nothing dreamed up in the human brain is. I would, however, like for everyone to have the opportunity to keep their limbs should they have an unfortunate accident.
9. I am who I am. I don't need anyone's permission to be me. Nor do I need anyone's permission to dream, big or small, or to do much of anything else for that matter. Unless I am invading someone's personal space, they really don't have much of a say over what I do. But when I am invading personal space - whether with words, too close in body contact, with cigarette smoke, perfume or whatever - then yeah, they - and I - have the right to say something. It's called boundaries. Like Baby said in Dirty Dancing, "This is your dance space, this is my dance space. Spaghetti arms!" Or something to that effect.
10. Some days coming up with 13 somethings is tough. Today is one of them. Can you tell?
11. This is my horoscope for today from tarot.com: "It's not too late to improve your daily routine, even if it's an upgrade you should have made much sooner. Today's Scorpio Solar Eclipse plants the seeds in your 6th House of Habits, indicating sudden changes that can set a series of profound consequences into motion. The potential is greater than you realize, so make every action count as much as possible while you have the planetary magic on your side."
12. Psalm 121: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. Levavi Oculos in Latin. It's the motto of Hollins University, my alma mater. I've been putting it in my blog header for about two years and not once has anyone asked me about it. But that would be the answer to the question.
13. And speaking of Hollins, I just received a notice in my email that it's Tinker Day. Tinker Day is a day off from classes given each October; only the president of the university knows the date. The students find out about 7 a.m. that classes are cancelled. They dress up, perform skits, and climb to the top of Tinker Mountain, where they are served up fried chicken and Tinker cake trucked up by the college staff. The tradition dates back to the 1880s. Enjoy your day, young ladies. You are our best hope for tomorrow.
 |
| Tinker Mountain in the background |
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 366th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
|
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
More Purty Pictures
This is looking back at the farm from the Botetourt Sports Complex.
This is Uncle Bill's house, nestled in the trees.
***
I am doing better compared to when I was at my worst, but I am still nowhere close to where I was pre-gallbladder surgery in June 2013. I still can't believe that such a "simple" surgery has completely changed my life, and not for the better. My activity level has been reduced significantly, and my pain level remains high. It is tough to walk around with a level 5 pain in your belly all the time. It is especially difficult when it shoots on up there to an 8 and bends you double.
On top of that, scar tissue and adhesions have pulled my hip out of alignment and created a problem in my gait, which has caused severe and chronic tendonitis in my foot. The pain in my ankle feels like someone is hammering hot spikes up my foot and into my calf. I have been using a cane off and on now for nearly a year. I have good days when I don't need it around the house, but I don't dare do something like venture into Walmart without it.
My husband is doing very well following his horrific accident with the hay baler. He still has some mobility issues in his hand, and I am concerned about the cold weather. I fear it will bother him and cause him some pain this winter. However, he is back to work and mostly doing everything he was before, with some modifications. I am so thankful he is recovering well, and grateful his injury was not worse.
The last two years have certainly not turned out like I had hoped. But I guess that is how life happens: when you least expect it, a beer truck comes crashing through your house. Not that this has happened, but it kind of feels like it.
Anyway, I hope that you, dear reader, are well and spending your days feeling loved and comforted, and in good health. Thank you as always for taking a look at my little corner of the world. I am grateful that you take the time to share it.
CountryDew aka Anita
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Watching the Weight
It's no secret that I am overweight. I've mentioned it here before and anyone who looks at me can see that I could stand to starve for a few days and it wouldn't kill me.
Dieting is harder for some than others. My weight issues began around the same time I started having trouble with endometriosis. Doctors put me on drugs that they now admit causes terrible hormone imbalances and weight gain. Twenty-five years ago, though, I was told that the medicines had nothing to do with weight gain, even though I put on about 30 pounds in six weeks without changing a thing in my diet.
Drugs change you, and change you forever. I seriously doubt I could ever get back to the weight I was when I married simply because my hormones are so screwy.
Of course, I have picked up some bad eating habits along the way. I also don't care for cooking, which makes convenience foods attractive. And then there are those hours when I grow bored and a perhaps a little lonely, and my friend Mr. Chocolate Bar saves the day.
I used to tell myself that I wasn't *that* overweight - I wasn't one of those women whose body fat droops over the edge of the chair, the ones with bellies hanging out of shirts or whatever. The ones driving around on the little cart in Walmart because they can't haul their own body weight around. And I am not that large, but I am at an unhealthy weight.
Serving sizes are a constant challenge. This morning, for example, I chose to eat a fat-free Pop Tart. I've gone back on Weight Watchers and so that's 5 points gone for today, and I only have 29 points all day long. But there are two Pop Tarts in a baggy in the box. If a serving is one single Pop Tart, why don't they put them in separate baggies? Because of course the other one is going to go stale before I get back around to wanting another 5-point Pop Tart. I don't eat them that often. A box of those will last me a month.
Nobody I know actually eats 1/2 cup of cereal, or drinks a half bottle of pop, or eats just 1/3 of a can of Vienna Sausages. They eat a bowl full of cereal, which is at least a cup if not more, and they drink the whole bottle of soda, and they eat all the little Vienna Sausages in a can.
While I take full responsibility for the state of my health, it would be nice if the food industry would also look over the corn stalks and take responsibility for its role in America's obesity epidemic. They don't have to supersize it, and shouldn't a serving of Pop Tarts, when there are two to a baggy, be listed as two of the darned things?
Virginia has a reported obesity rate of 25-30 percent of the population. Right next door, West Virginia has an obesity rate above 35 percent! Nationwide, about 34 percent (78 million) of Americans are obese. Not just overweight, but obese. If you count the folks who are just a little overweight but not yet obese, at least half of the nation is in need of a diet.
I have lost weight on Weight Watchers before. I manage to make it about 3 months before something happens - a holiday comes up, or I simply tire out, or I become ill and then can't get back on track with the diet. I've had so many new health issues pop up in the last 14 months that dieting has been the least of my concerns, but I need to worry about it now.
People who don't have weight issues have no idea how much of a struggle it is to deal with eating problems. It's not like being an alcoholic - you don't have to drink bourbon in order to live. But you have to eat.
The thing I most dislike about Weight Watchers is that I don't think it teaches you how to eat well or how to eat healthily. If you look at some of the foods they recommend - mostly their own brands of snack foods - they are full of stuff I don't want in my body. Aspartame or sucralose, carrageen - all sorts of things that aren't good for you. So Weight Watchers is really all about the money, like most things in the USA, and not about making people healthy. Weight Watchers does help with portion controls and if you stick to the points and simply stop eating when you hit your daily allowance, it works.
However, I want to learn how to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle. My head knows how to do this, sort of, but there is some disconnect between my brain and the rest of me. I've read enough books on the topic to know to eat fresh veggies and as little processed foods as possible, but that not-liking-to-cook thing gets me every time.
Also, at present I can't exercise much because of pain issues. Whatever is wrong with me simply isn't going away.
If you've been successful at dieting and have any tips, I am open to them.
Dieting is harder for some than others. My weight issues began around the same time I started having trouble with endometriosis. Doctors put me on drugs that they now admit causes terrible hormone imbalances and weight gain. Twenty-five years ago, though, I was told that the medicines had nothing to do with weight gain, even though I put on about 30 pounds in six weeks without changing a thing in my diet.
Drugs change you, and change you forever. I seriously doubt I could ever get back to the weight I was when I married simply because my hormones are so screwy.
Of course, I have picked up some bad eating habits along the way. I also don't care for cooking, which makes convenience foods attractive. And then there are those hours when I grow bored and a perhaps a little lonely, and my friend Mr. Chocolate Bar saves the day.
I used to tell myself that I wasn't *that* overweight - I wasn't one of those women whose body fat droops over the edge of the chair, the ones with bellies hanging out of shirts or whatever. The ones driving around on the little cart in Walmart because they can't haul their own body weight around. And I am not that large, but I am at an unhealthy weight.
Serving sizes are a constant challenge. This morning, for example, I chose to eat a fat-free Pop Tart. I've gone back on Weight Watchers and so that's 5 points gone for today, and I only have 29 points all day long. But there are two Pop Tarts in a baggy in the box. If a serving is one single Pop Tart, why don't they put them in separate baggies? Because of course the other one is going to go stale before I get back around to wanting another 5-point Pop Tart. I don't eat them that often. A box of those will last me a month.
Nobody I know actually eats 1/2 cup of cereal, or drinks a half bottle of pop, or eats just 1/3 of a can of Vienna Sausages. They eat a bowl full of cereal, which is at least a cup if not more, and they drink the whole bottle of soda, and they eat all the little Vienna Sausages in a can.
While I take full responsibility for the state of my health, it would be nice if the food industry would also look over the corn stalks and take responsibility for its role in America's obesity epidemic. They don't have to supersize it, and shouldn't a serving of Pop Tarts, when there are two to a baggy, be listed as two of the darned things?
Virginia has a reported obesity rate of 25-30 percent of the population. Right next door, West Virginia has an obesity rate above 35 percent! Nationwide, about 34 percent (78 million) of Americans are obese. Not just overweight, but obese. If you count the folks who are just a little overweight but not yet obese, at least half of the nation is in need of a diet.
I have lost weight on Weight Watchers before. I manage to make it about 3 months before something happens - a holiday comes up, or I simply tire out, or I become ill and then can't get back on track with the diet. I've had so many new health issues pop up in the last 14 months that dieting has been the least of my concerns, but I need to worry about it now.
People who don't have weight issues have no idea how much of a struggle it is to deal with eating problems. It's not like being an alcoholic - you don't have to drink bourbon in order to live. But you have to eat.
The thing I most dislike about Weight Watchers is that I don't think it teaches you how to eat well or how to eat healthily. If you look at some of the foods they recommend - mostly their own brands of snack foods - they are full of stuff I don't want in my body. Aspartame or sucralose, carrageen - all sorts of things that aren't good for you. So Weight Watchers is really all about the money, like most things in the USA, and not about making people healthy. Weight Watchers does help with portion controls and if you stick to the points and simply stop eating when you hit your daily allowance, it works.
However, I want to learn how to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle. My head knows how to do this, sort of, but there is some disconnect between my brain and the rest of me. I've read enough books on the topic to know to eat fresh veggies and as little processed foods as possible, but that not-liking-to-cook thing gets me every time.
Also, at present I can't exercise much because of pain issues. Whatever is wrong with me simply isn't going away.
If you've been successful at dieting and have any tips, I am open to them.
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