Sheila

With the help of a cane or a walker;   works great and you get where your going.   Never knew I had so many muscles until I started using the cane, not weight baring but then you are not suppose to lean on it....wonder if they give lessons.

Talk about friends.....we've got them.

Another truism that we could debate as it all depends on what the problems are.  

A dinner to drool over

Sheila is responsible for the picture of the lobster dinner as she is on the road and in the part of the country that specializes in sea foods.    She is having a ball, enjoying every day on the road and her news yesterday was meeting up with some folks from Bainbridge Island so she got to visit with hometown folks.    She is having one very special and great vacation. 

 

Sunday and we are hoping for sunshine as there is a big to-do going on down town.   There will be fifteen bands, bar-b-qu food to eat, a bit of street dancing, after a beer or two.  I'm sure and if I am not mistaken, some of those beautiful big motorcycles with their riders.    Not my cup of tea.  If there was  a big band, now that would get my attention.   Christine and her crew are all set up with a booth, not sure what they are showing today but you can bet they are touting Port Orchard .  

The fifteen hundred piece jig saw puzzle is on the board but it looks like we will have to move it to the table as there are four more end pieces to put in the frame and no more room.    It is a crazy wind storm puzzle with people and things flying about so it is a busy colorful one that will take some time to do.   The huge brick wall will slow us down as the pieces look like they fit, but they do not. . . a challenge.   Aggie came in yesterday, took one look at it and said . . "not for me . . . that is much to hard to tackle" so she visited for a while then went back to her apartment where she has her five hundred pieces.   I think I should go help her.

The monthly meeting went well as Karen gave out information for emergencies and the do and do not of apartment living.   New fire boxes; New paper forms for the doors showing the best exits, safety features and a little advice about having your really important papers in one place to grab as you go out the door.    A small packed bag just in case;  she didn't mention  some need a trunk just for depends.   So today, I think I'll check out my files and see what should be first on my list of things to worry about taking with me in an emergency.   First I have to find the tin box, and I know where that is, but the key....now that is a different problem.....It is somewhere...but where?    a safe hiding place, you know, you have one of those.   It is like hiding special deserts in the freezer thinking you wont eat them so fast only to find out frozen goodies are just as tasty as fresh ones.   

Enjoy your Sunday;  find an activity that suits you.    Think dinner, there was a wonderful little video on the computer yesterday with a simple dish that looked scrumptious .   Put chicken breasts in a roasting dish, cover with a basil paste, add fresh tomato slices and last a cup of mozzarella cheese;  bake 350 degrees for forty minutes and devour.    Simple, tasty and delicious especially when shared with those you like and love.   Don't forget the walk in hugs.    Hugs to all.

An Extra Musing . . . just because!!

A Word
Depressed
Dictionary says: adj. 1. to lower in spirits; sadden. The condition of feeling sad and melancholy, dismal gloomy....and more....

Some one, who loves me, recently thought that I might be depressed.   I gather my writing has changed in their eyes as I write about the change in home and hearth;  the change in friends and mostly the change in my daily menu.  Now that is a subject that would fit . . . depressed. . . institution food is depression at its height and those that cook it rarely eat it so they do not equate poor cooking with taste buds.

When you and I reach' that' age;  and I have reached it long before YOU;   I try my best to write words that will alert you to change.    That is the word we should be talking about as change is an often visitor into our lives.  We don't ask for it, it just enters without warning or invitation.

We celebrate birthdays joyously;  never giving thought to numbers, after all they are only numbers; but like all mathematical problems they have to be solved and resolved when it comes to our beings.   Each year we grow more both in size and wisdom.   We start off so small and delicate and reach the ripe old age of becoming a senior member of society , not all at once, but in small increments of seconds which become an awesome number in the retirement era.    All the years from infancy on to teens, to young adults, to middle age persons and then into the senior management program ;  for that is what it is.    Seniors are remarkable , resilient people, with all of the attributes they worked so hard to achieve in a life time.  

The problems, as I see them, are not the actual age number we reach, but the acceptance of the changes in body and mind.   We seniors have taken it for granted that we have grown older but wiser; have conquered the mastery of loving and living and can go on , on our own, as long as we want to.  Not a truism.   We age, we lose muscle first, sometimes brain power becomes iffy and our strength gives us away as it ebbs and flows in defying us to just get up out of a chair.    It is a natural progression we never even thought of and now that it has caught up with us we are amazed, a bit crazed and angry, a little full of wonder as to how we even arrived at this stage of the game.   Yes, life is a game from start to finish, one we have to learn to play.  Some do, some don't. . . but we all have the necessary need to do our best to make one day , each day, fulfilling and add a bit of love and laughter.   Easier said than done if you find that you never thought to prepare for what is known as 'the golden age' or as some have come to know  it as 'the age of rusting buckets'';   expectation; now there is a word ....what we do expect and what we get are a far cry from what we think.

Yet we fight depression.  That is an ugly word.    We are human, we have the same hope, need for love and fulfillment that we have worked a life time to achieve.   When circumstances create changes we have not given thought to, we rebel...but only to get both feet on the ground and recite that lovely Prayer of Serenity . . . "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."    For faith, hope, and love carries us through 'depression' and leads us on to bigger and better things.   It just takes us more time to get 'used to' changes in our lives.

So start preparing for changes. . . they will come about, no matter what age you are.    In truth it has little or nothing to do with depression.   Giving up Independence is the cause of some depression, not because we want to stay masters of  our world forever, but we want to be able to continue to do what we 'used to' do without thinking.   Thinking becomes a chore when the words disappear and chase a  loose circuit around the head before it comes to rest on the right vibe of remembrance. So the circle closes slowly and emotions work at trying to stay caught up.    Success is keeping a positive attitude in faith, hope and love; assembling strong virtues over the wants, and, remember to stay with the needs;  fulfilling a duty to be the best you can be no matter what stage you are emoting from.   

Depression cannot find you  unless you decide, on your own, to give up.  "Give Up". . . what's that?  We will never know.

Hugs to all.

Good Morning!

A barn owl, what a beauty.   I wrote a short story about a barn owl.   This one looks like it is in a cocoon; I would like to see it spread its wings, smiling eyes, like peep holes in  a blanket..

I was very lucky in my lifetime to have a best friend or two;  yeah lucky . . . one was a pen pal for sixty years , what a history we wrote about our families  as we traveled the country side and had tales to tell from new and distant places.    Life at its best.   One was a curmudgeon who delighted in scaring everyone away but it didn't work as I used to sing "you made me love you" and she finally did.   How many wonderful delightful years we had.   Both gone on to bigger and better things and they remain close in heart.   New best friends have come along and make my life bright and beautiful just because they are in it and delight in caring and sharing.  Yes,  lucky is a good word.

 

I think daughter Christine said there is a little luncheon at the Sydney Gallery today and she bought tickets for me and Patricia too.   We are going to lunch.   I'll tell you all about it.  The new display of talent will be out and I can hardly wait to see it. 

My girls sent for some new slacks for me.   They came, they didn't fit....Okay, you can laugh.  I forgot when I told them my size that I have gone from five foot seven to five foot two.   My tall svelte figure has become somewhat of a barrel shape that reminds me of my grandmother.    Back they went.  I suggested they try a woman's size...a bit larger, hopefully with shorter legs or I'll have to roll them up.

Another old tress.  I love old trees.   Lovers??  A fisherman with his catch?    A hunter?   a monkey high up and a bird.  Yes, I love old trees that are a canvas of art work all their own.

The week is ending, leisure time for all of us to plan a lazy day for ourselves.    Working all week inside and out of our homes;   hustle and bustle and time gets away from us .  Weekends make up for it . . . time to do what we need to do to catch up with ourselves both in house and out.    Then creating space. . . space to do a lot of nothing special . . . space to slow down and smell the flowers.   We all need it.   We all should find time to relax and catch up with the inner self;  the neglected self which  is too busy doing just about everything you can think of to keep your world going around.    Saturday is the Sabbath Day which we have always celebrated on Sunday . . . rest day. . . a day to and for yourself . . . so if you have been neglecting you, catch up with yourself and plan a day of rest.  But before you laze about get that one good deed done...a prayer for our service men and women;   a kind word , a gentle touch then partake of your favorite pastime and enjoy.   Hugs to all.

Hey There!

Hope you can read this;  sounds really negative until you read it backwards...a nice surprise.

Some folks know how to set rocks;  not me.....I tried but just never got the hang of it.  Now I can pick up a rock and find all kinds of faces and little creatures in it, but try and build a little fence and my sense of 'chink' is lost.

Mother Love, can'tyou feel it....What a beautiful pair.   The first thought is 'I want one...."   ; on second thought...nah...I really don't.   Nice to look at but not to hold.

Reminds me of the balloon festival in Nevada when the skies are filled with colorful , awesome balloons.  The affair was always held in the dusty desert , never in a field of beautiful flowers like this one.    I bet a ride in a balloon, like this one, is special, think of the scenery, the awesome feeling of floating high in the sky.   I just never had the courage to try a balloon ride, or jump out of a plane, or climb higher than my little kitchen ladder...and then I held on tight..

Guess what we have another Friday....yep, the days fly by and it is laundry day for me .  A down day can be fun as it allows you to catch up with yourself.    It has been a good week with a little rain , some warm sunshine and fresh Fall air, nothing to complain about,  good company, daughters to spend time with and get some of those hugs I talk about all the time.    Last evening Christine and I went down town and stopped in for some of that fish chowder. . . oh my, freshly made and so delicious.   I see little difference between the cup and the bowl  ..well price wise, I do.....but , my favorite word, the bowl could and should be larger as the soup disappears long before the taste buds are satisfied.   I'll have to google a recipe and see if I can come up with something close to their specialty.    Let me see, salmon, clams, white fish...oh, oh, now I see why it is expensive....have you priced fish lately?    Jock....where are you when I need your catch of the day?  

 

I know it is Fall when friend, Marcia, writes that she has been notified the apples are ready for picking and it is time for her to make her applesauce.    I am hoping she finds some plastic jars to fill so I can buy a case or two as she makes the most delicious applesauce, chunky and full of cinnamon.    I just finished up the last jar from last year.   Pat has an apple tree in her back yard and actually got some apples and made some applesauce which she shared...yum....not enough apples to go very far but maybe next year there will be more.   The tree needs a little attention, a bit of pruning and a lot of love.   she has grapes too but the birds ate every one of them.    She sure had a wonderful crop of tomatoes and there is nothing more delicious than a vine ripened tomato with a pinch of salt.   that is one time even the doctor doesn't complain about the use of a little salt.   Home grown just can't be beat.    Remember the victory gardens....think we need to start up again and let the folks growing food with all that GMO stuff eat all that food themselves.    We are working on a healthy body and a healthy mind..

 

So, today, make out your grocery list and look for the local food growers market to shop for home grown vegetables and fruits.   If you haven't had a chance to have a garden of your own, maybe this winter you can spend some time plotting and planning a garden for next year.    Those boxed gardens can be a boon.    Just think you can get a little dirt under those fingernails.  It washes away easily, not to worry.    If you have already done your shopping for this weekend, invite family and friends in and have a vegie binge;   corn on the cob, baked potato, white and a sweet one too,  asparagus, and a big juicy tomato, even something you favor, like turnip  and a cucumber never hurts, and if you can't do without it, a hot dog wouldn't hurt.    Enjoy the food and the company.   Be kind, be gentle, be magnanimous. . . you can do it.   Hugs to all.

Hello.....Hello!!!!

Still locked into the old Princess style and love it; even made to let you hear better; bet that cell doesn't do it.  Sounds like someone in a tunnel; but the callers of all the things you don't want are still able to reach us on the land lines and if you don't respond the way they want calling one a 'bitch' is the sweet word of the day.    Such a change in our world.  

I never found a quarter;  but I did look...did you?

ha,ha,   I think this is a great idea...how come we haven't thought of it?  

A truism.    hum a favorite tune and listen to your heart.

Now this is something to think about.    I think we are all pretty. . . inside and out.

Good morning, coffee. . . ah . . . . woke up at four thirty and put the pot to work and took out the homemade coffee buns that our 98 year old Doris made yesterday along with some of her cookies, which I didn't get out this morning.   She is a wonder.   I think the rest of us think baking , at any time of day is a big job, but not Doris, she thinks it is a way to relax.   How much we enjoy the smells and the treats.   I went down the hallway to visit her yesterday and found her working on a puzzle.   She is one who thinks pounding the piece into place is a good idea so we had to stop and undo some of the frame as it was a little strange and she was never going to be able to finish it.    I don't have a puzzle on the board as yet as the new one is fifteen hundred pieces, a bit dauntless, so I'm thinking about it but a little reluctant to start.  Maybe when the winter weather confines me to quarters then I'll get busy ....  or, maybe not, although I miss not having a puzzle to play with.   I still have the all in one color blue one to try again although I failed the first try.   Meanwhile, I had a new visitor, a lovely lady named Doris who joined the luncheon table yesterday.   She asked if she could come and see my books  as she used to write a long time ago.  she enjoyed my pictures and knick knacks more but did take a book home to read.   I hope she enjoys it.    Pat came bye and picked me up for a trip over to the pharmacy to get a few items that are getting low, then on to her house and a few more episodes of "Reign" which is on Netflick.   If you have not tuned in, do, it has been great.   I love those old English history stories and this one is well done.  Other than that, nothing exciting around here.     The days fly bye and I  marvel that seventeen days of September are already gone.   Here at Ridgemont time has a different meaning as the residents are in their seventies, eighties and nineties , all in different stages of health so it is like being in a doctors office waiting for the next turn to go in for a check up hoping he wont find anything wrong.    That makes me think of the time I sat waiting to go in for my prenatal examination and the nurse opened the door for a head count and as she was closing it we heard her say, "Doctor that lady you got pregnant is here."  We had a good laugh over that  . . . come to think of it, he was a very handsome man and such a sweetheart. . . um. . . . nah.....I already had one of those.  

So, today, get that good deed done;  share you with someone you like and love;   soft words, a gentle touch when you pickup your current gadget to contact that special someone in your life.    Hopefully you will reach out and brighten the day for someone who is in need of a small reminder that today is a good day to be alive.    Use those seconds and share YOU with those you like and love.    Send a verbal hug or two, I can always use one.   Hugs to all.

A September musing

The Gold Country of California

Today I had a visitor, a fellow old timer who lives down the hall from me and keeps company with one of our ladies.    He was out for a walk and saw my door open, which means company is welcome.   I was at the computer so when he came and sat in my walker and looked at the screen I was able to show him my blog and a few other interesting tidbits on the computer.   We had a long discussion about Hurst Castle which I always meant to visit but never did get down the California coast to visit there.  I wanted to, but something always came up that deterred the prospect of a visit.  He had been there several times so he regaled the history and in word pictures described the wonders of the Castle and its surroundings.    We discussed books and authors and we both had read Louis L'Amour.  He still owns his leather bound collection and I gave mine to son Michael.   They were absolutely wonderful reads and I thought that all he had done was tales of the West.   Not so, I was enlightened, surprised, absolutely mind boggled, when he  brought me up a book to read...a loan....and I sat and read it from cover to cover...a book of poems written by Louis L'Amour.  

The book is called "Louis L'Amour Smoke From This Altar"  a Bantam Book/December, 1990.   All I can say is go and buy it and keep it by your bedside.  I guarantee you will read and re read it. . .it flows...a man of words  which will make you laugh out loud and cry a tear or two.    It is wonderful.

Here is a taste. . .
Called.. . "Secret Pass"

Those hills remember me, for I alone
Sought out their solitudes and silent ways;
The harsh, forbidding cliffs and canyon maze
Recall each step I took, each path, I've known;
No trees are there, but barren butte and cone,
And empty aisles where long, lost shadows graze---
Or wind-worn monuments that marked my days
with all the voiceless eloquence of stone.

If only I possessed their fortitude.
Their somber freedom from this searing pain!
If only I could lose in solitude,
These hollow useless hopes that still remain!
If only I could find my  heart subdued,
And cease its sounding on that old refrain!

You can almost see the novel coming out of his brain and heart.    No wonder he was a successful writer.

So that is my musing for today.   I enjoyed a special hour of reading and just wanted to share.

Take time to go to the library and see what they have to wile away some of those lonely winter days that will be coming up.  Maybe not lonely, just not as busy as the spring and summer days.    If you do decide to try a bit of poetry by L'Amour, drop a note and let me know how you did or did not agree with my surprise of his hidden talent. . . a poet. . . I just thought he wrote cowboy stories...which he did...great ones.   Yep, A L'amour Fan for sure!!

Go.....be a cowboy......smile......enjoy and  I am betting you will read some of the poems out loud, and more than once.

Happy Trails to YOU as Roy and Dale would say.   Hugs to all

A Bit About Ridgemont

This is the activity room ;  the tables and chairs are moved around in different settings for the event of the evening.  Used for exercise early Thursday mornings;  replacing the chairs and tables for Bingo game or Card games.    We sometimes have a sing along in this room and on Sunday morning you can hear a preacher with his guitar and a few folks singing hymns.    A true activity room.

 

When I step out of my door and look to my right  I see this corridor which leads to the laundry room at the end of the hallway to the left and on to the ramp leading to the elevator to get to the third floor and dinner.

This is Doris who , believe it or not, is 98 years old.  She is the lady who bakes cookies practically every day and shares them with all of us or to a selective group of friends she takes care of for their sweet tooth.  A wonderful bright and cheerful lady we all love.  

Doris is a collector of dolls and these are a few she has left.   She has given many away to family and friends.   They are all beautiful and well taken care of.

One of the most important rooms....the laundry room.    We have a schedule and there is never a problem.  Some time is free so you can always make good use of the laundry equipment and let someone else use your time .  

Ron was waiting for the elevator to go up to the third floor to have lunch.  I asked him to pose and he did.  A really very nice man.

A new lady and I don't know her name.    I heard it, honest, but the brain didn't retain it.   She is very friendly and a lovely person.       

The dining room.    Darlene is just getting into her seat;  Doris is walking to hers, Ginny is over by the table I usually share with her.    Lovely ladies.    I think that is Margaret right behind Darlene but I wouldn't swear to it.   Fresh white table cloths every day.    Neat and clean.    The girls who work here do a great job.

This is Vinnie.    Vinnie and I have a reading session almost every day.   It all depends on what is going on.   We agree to agree if both are there and free we read;  if one or the other is not there, then we pick it up another time.    He is a sweet man, loves to talk and tells many tales of his Navy time.   He is finding the book, "Winds of War" familiar as he saw the movie in which they did an excellent job.    It is an easy read and chalk full of history.

Miss Rose.    She has a crush on Vinnie.    She will be 100 on November First.....her daughter is going to throw a big party for her in October before she leaves on her trip.    We are all looking forward to it.

"Winds of War"   about half way through.....

Another shot of the dining room.   Way back at their usual table is Jan and Don, two of the foursome who have claimed that table as their own.     One of the foursome, Wally, died today.  It was a somber occasion.  He was doing pretty good until a few weeks ago and landed in the hospital with heart problems.    He returned and was doing good , went to his room, turned on the television and sat down and quietly expired.  The way we would all like to go.    In the background you can see Samantha, a real sweetheart and a very hard worker.

This is Jan.  The reader.  She is an avid reader and loves books.   She is going to help me start up a group this winter and try to make a book reading club.    We will be confined in a lot more once the snow and ice begins to appear;  I think up here in the Northwest there is a lot of that kind of weather.   

So that is a start in introducing you to Ridgemont.    I'll take my camera again and ask others to pose.  Some will, some wont, but I can ask.    It is a different type of family.   It is a different kind of life style.    It really is something to be thankful for, especially for those whose family members are away or in fact, have none.    Everything is not perfect, but what is??

Change is a part of life.   Change is both good and bad.    Change is frightening.   Change is fun.   Two sides of the coin of life.    Jan came to our table today and volunteered to read to Vinnie if I was away.   It has taken weeks for her to think about it but she is willing to change....from her quiet solitude to joining in on a task that is worthwhile and fun to boot.

Losing Wally is sad, scary in fact, like waiting in the waiting room for your turn.    It is inevitable.  It is life.    Sadness gives way to the thought that it really was his time to leave us.    We will miss him but we know he is where he wants to be as the uncertainly of life has been taken away to what we all hope is a bigger and better place.  

Our prayers, our thoughts our expectations guide us on a daily basis.    So when you say a prayer, light a candle be sure you include the folks here at Ridgemont.

Hugs to all.