10/25/2020

byword - one that is notorious

curse word - an obscene word

swear word - a profane oath

Mirriam Webster

Obviously, I have been tantalized by language

my entire life. I imagine 'twas born of my love

for reading. I remember a vocabulary test my

5th grade teacher gave me to determine age vs.

word usage. I may have been only eleven, but

I tested out at 84 years of age! Damn that Bill

Shakespeare!

A fun side of lingo is of course, the 'naughties'

as I tend to think of them. In our daily use and

misuse of them, we forget these words have a

history, as well as very specific meanings.

A byword by definition, is a substitute word.

For example, darn instead of damn. Crap in

lieu of shit. Hades rather than hell, although

heard extremely rarely.

Listen to the term curse word. It actually

refers to placing a curse on a given person.

Obviously used in days of yesteryear, but

now we flaunt it rather loosely.

The same applies to swear word. In days

of yore, this referred to swearing allegiance

to a feudal overlord or the lord of the manor. 

This served to underline one's affirming the 

truth to uttered words and/or promises. Ah,

such, such fun 'tis language!

words of yesteryear

verse making love to the soul

rest in its verbiage 

10/24/2020

Only one more week . . .

 . . . and my fave holiday finally arrives.

What bothers me, I fear I'm so anxious

for Halloween that I'm not remembering

to enjoy each and every day of my birth

month. I intend to find ways to celebrate

during this below freezing week whilst 

Samhain awaits . . .

I've watched a couple of seasons of one 

of my best mysteries; does that count for 

something?! A few besties have visited, 

a couple of phenomenal drives gifted by 

my guy, ice cream for breakfast, and I'm

almost out of ideas for making naughty! 

May as well confess, I've even been 

working on my December Yule cards . . . 

ouch! 

So, if you want to brave the weather, I'll

do the cooking. Fire on the hearth adds

to the 130 year old cabin mystic . . . and

I promise not to start tatting! I couldn't

compete with my gran anyway; I swear

she could break the speed limit tatting.

Phenomenal!

fun and games at last

partying fast as i can

lets get on with this

10/23/2020

October isn't even over . . .

 . . . and it's 15 degrees outside. I would be

the first to admit I have issues . . . it comes

from having SADS, and that is what it is.

But, couldn't the weather, in general, and

the snow, specifically, have waited until 

November? Just saw the forecast . . . the 

entire week is low temps. Here was me 

thinking we had yet another week of Fall. 

My bad! 

So on a note of happy alternatives, the fire

place awaits. I have this fantasy, dream if

you will, of sitting in front of the fire with

my guy and maybe even sipping a glass of

red. Much better idea than bitching about

the snow.

lets celebrate life

heres to happy beginnings

glad to be alive

Salud!

10/22/2020

"When real Democrats and Republicans

were running our country, we didn't hate

each other. We didn't vote for parties. We

voted for ideas that came from both parties

that made us better as a country. We didn't

label ideas or parties as racist, sexist or

un-American. We did what we thought 

was best for 'We the People' and accepted

the winner as a united country!" ~Unknown

As a kid, I wanted to choose my own party.

So, I determined I would study the three

major parties for a year. I did so with the

help of my school books, the local library

and my 5th and 6th grade teacher, Joyce

Morse. At the end of the year, I announced

my party of choice to my parents.

We always had family dinner at the table and

had lively discussions about different topics.

My father was an Independent, my mother,

a Republican. And, as a budding Democrat, 

I was eager . . . I look back at those 'lively

discussions' with a certain amount of awe.

We each had our positions. We took turns

defending them, always expected to back

them with data. We talked, argued, debated,

but never disrespected each other. Wow!

The above quote may be a tad rose colored,

yet it is as I remember it. It seems now that

one can hardly have inter-party friendships.

Must be tough on families! Mine continues

to endorse different parties . . . we just get

on with it!

enjoy discussing

why should different matter

still longing to learn

10/21/2020

 Girding up my loins, sallying forth . . .

 . . . and conquering!

Alas, I don't remember the exact Biblical

reference, but I swear, there are times when

I feel just like this. There are simply days

when it takes every effort one possesses to

do exactly this!

My birthday plans for today got canceled.

That just may be part of the problem. On

the other hand, I have so much to get caught

up on that this in itself is a deterrent. Me

thinks there may be nothing wrong with

lying back and getting caught up on my

writing.

I have to laugh at we oldsters who have the

wherewithal to criticize our youngsters for

always being hooked up to something . . .

albeit a smart phone, mini computer, games.

Just ask one of us to be without our flat

screens for a day or two . . . nah, make that

days and days, and we may actually get the

point!

So, here's to catching up to my place in 

cyberspace, learning not to critique others

until I've had a good look at my own bits

and pieces. May we all learn to live and

let live . . .

take another look

learning to mind my own biz

almost makes me laugh

10/20/2020

So what's with all the dreaming already?! 

I swear, there are times when I'd almost

rather not go to sleep than have all these

god awful dreams.

This time, several of us gals from high

school were in an antique store trying on

costumes from yesteryear. We were asked

not to inundate the bathrooms for dressing

so we formed a dressing room out of the 

racks themselves by making them into a 

square. We were all in the middle, trying 

on different garments, when we realized  

we were being watched.

It was a kid from our school who happened 

to be a tad on the weird side. He came right 

on into our 'dressing room' and sat himself 

down on a bench with a newspaper. He told

us to proceed, that he'd been assigned by the

dean to make sure we kept our of trouble.

What I don't get is that we all kept trying on

costumes in front of him, chatting and laughing 

as if he weren't there. He kept on reading his

newspaper, but obviously looked up from time

to time to check that all was well.

What the hell?! Why did we allow ourselves

to be taken advantage of in this manner? Was

this dream a sign? A warning? Perhaps, I need 

a closer look at some of my actions!

take a look woman

why do we do what we do

are we so programmed

10/19/2020

Oh my God . . . 

. . . my son and his lovely gal gave me the

most wondrous b-day ever. 

We all dressed up and went out to Miner's 

Alley and enjoyed the Speak Easy. The

ambiance was perfect. And the bartender 

was a performance artist. It was so much

fun to watch him at his craft. They weren't 

terribly busy, so he would come over and 

visit with us from time to time.

Best of all, was spending proper time with

my son. He graced our time together telling

tales out of school. So fun to hear stories of

oneself from the kids . . . a whole different

perspective.

It is truly wondrous to have reached this 

amazing age and find that your children

are glorious people. People you like and

enjoy spending time with. No greater gift

can life serve . . .

so loving my life

like to stay another while

ever so grateful

10/18/2020 - 71 years old

Today is the day . . . 

. . . the end of a full year of celebration. 

God, I have so enjoyed being 70. It was 

never supposed to happen . . . and yet it did.

I need to make 71 a good sequel rather than a

let down. So, what do I want to do with 71?!

Perhaps, 71 will have more to do with living

rather than celebrating. Maybe moments of

joy rather than partying.

I know life is messy. It's almost like a meal.

The baby years are much like hors d'oeuvres.

The younger years, the salad. The mid years,

perhaps the mail meal and the final years,

dessert and brandy.

But, I'm actually thinking, I'm in the middle

of coffee and port. Upon reflection, maybe 

the afters are the best part. I know one thing

for certain, I want to enjoy the afters as long

as I can.

So, raising my brandy snifter, here's to enjoying

every single moment. Life  R O C K S !!!

learning my lessons

living versus existing

finding joy in life

10/17/2020

I've often heard people complain that 

they partied too much in the latter months 

of the year. Thought it rather silly until I 

took a look.

So, October has always been my fave . . .

Halloween! Yay! Moving onto November

and we have Thanksgiving. I've always

loved Thanksgiving because family makes

the effort to get together! And December

must be king as it brings us Yule, Christmas 

Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

Can't help but wonder if there will be

anyone sane and sober during December.

hey want to party

three months to get it going

think to invite me

10/16/2020

I have to laugh at myself . . .

Today, I find myself without a computer 

as I took it in for maintenance yesterday 

afternoon. It's the first thing I reach for 

every morning as I begin the day with 

writing my blog and haiku. 

I like to check in on Facebook and have 

a look/see into the news, the goings on . . .

along with family, friends and acquaintances. 

By then, I hopefully have something in mind 

about which to write.

So, here I am with pen in hand, finding my

penmanship much degraded. I'm trying to 

decide whether to blame this on lack of

practice and use or on the computer.

Obviously, it has naught to do with age!

So, today begins life without a computer.

We'll see how I fare.

back in the old days

no technology in sight

modern life awaits

10/15/2020

Finding myself sooooo frustrated . . .

Every guy and his dog owns a computer

in today's world. Some are knowledgable

and others, like me, limp along just trying

to send a few e-mails, look things up and

enjoy Facebook.

It's rather along the lines of heartbreak when

learning that your FB has been hacked or

that half of your servers are fraudulent. And,

it might even be worse . . . I don't even know 

Techno-Lingo. 

Reminds me of driving the highways when

you really have no idea if the other driver is 

16 without a clue, or 90 and shouldn't be

driving. We all think, "I've got it!" In reality, 

there is much knowledge to be garnered and 

we're not even half way there!

Not sure if I'll resign myself to  limping along 

in this techno-driven world of if I should just

bow out and enjoy my own ignorant existence!

call me frustrated

old dog not learning new tricks

so not keeping up

10/14/2020

. . . Living in a town where wildlife and 

humans seem to co-mingle with great

success, makes me ponder certain humans

of late. 

We tend to slow down as both elk and

deer pad along the road at their own pace.

We quietly and slowly back up when Mr.

ginormous bear saunters up the sidewalk

next to where we're having afternoon

drinks! We just chuckle when we see a

couple of wild turkey enjoying the heat 

of the engine and then leave us a gift of 

excrement in thanks.

. . . And then someone, purportedly 'out

of towners', comes blazing through, horn

a beeping, window down and shouting

at the herd to get out of the way. Where

the hell are they going in such a hurry?!

I never really feel we're in danger. But,

bottom line, we're in their territory and

me thinks they're quite patient with us.

Pretty impressive though, when a bull

elk lets out a proper bugle. So, we'll 

continue to enjoy the wildlife, be on 

the lookout and take care not to get in

their way.

Still, a word to the drivers . . . slow

down already!  What's the rush?!

love me my wildlife

let me get out of the way

a gift of the gods

10/13/2020

October is full of marathons . . .

 . . . and alas, not the running kind! There

are family and friendship marathons. Coffee

ice cream binging comes to mind. Seeing

Practical Magic, my usual Halloween flick.

Watching fave series in bed. E-mailing my

besties and above all, being as naughty as

I can! October only comes once a year, 

after all!

What is it about birthdays and birth months

anyway? We've all enjoyed them since we

were kids. I suppose in the early years, our

parents enjoyed them for us. As time passed,

we learned to milk the day, as it were. And

then, there's we elders, doing the month up

right!

I'm thinking! I'm thinking! It all must have

to do with reaffirmation of life! There's

naught like a birthday to remind us that

we've been here, done that and are still

doing it, and planning on doing some more.

The older we get, the more we comprehend

the concept of living over existing. Every

moment counts because time is literally

running out. Sooooo, me thinks I'd best get

ready to do some serious celebrating here.

My dearest and best, the first woman I met

upon coming to Denver, is a birthdaying 

with me today. 

Oh, don't you wish you were here!

the older i get

find my heart embraces all

tis life at its best