10/31/2020 - Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead eve

Although I hate to see my fave month

come to an end, it always crescendos in

wondrous cultural celebrations.

Here in the US, we are accustomed to

celebrating HALLOWEEN. The children 

dress in fantastic costumes, the scarier

the better. They go door to door in what

is known as 'Trick or Treats'. Obviously,

kids want candy and threaten pranks if

not rewarded. All in good fun . . .

For those practitioners of Paganism, 

the celebration is SAMHAIN. This is

our most important Sabbat of the year.

It honors the third harvest; gleaning

takes place, both physically and

metaphorically. Samhain marks both

the end of the current year and the

beginning of the Pagan new year. 

The three day Pagan celebration of 

Latin America's Días de los Muertos

begins. Many use the entire month of

October in preparation for this event.

This being the EVE of the three-day

celebrations, families and friends 

congregate around sundown, many in

costumes. Altars to lost family are built.

Amazing foods, for both the living and 

the dead, are set up on tables. Dancing, 

eating, story telling ensue . . . all in 

honor of our beloved dead.

so missing my dad

tonight i visit with him

the veil is thinning

10/30/2020

Pondering comeuppance and just desserts . . .

On the one hand, what with the majority 

of us having a bit of a sweet tooth, how did

the concept of just desserts ever come out 

of our love for confections?! Perhaps, 'tis

the end of this meal that is life . . .

Obviously, there are many who don't go

for sugar, per se. Still, we probably could

all do with that one piece of chocolate now 

and again. Extrapolating here, how then

does one ensure that the baddies get their 

just due?

Sometimes it's all about the law, and alas, 

the law most likely deals with those bigger 

crimes. Karma steps in from time to time

and takes care of business. Still others take

it upon themselves to punish and protect,

sometimes paying a high price as well.

Perhaps the operative word here IS karma.

Bringing out those wise old adages . . .

"Stay in your own lane. Mind your own 

business. Do right by yourself and others. 

Keep striving! Keep your hands clean."

Seems to be there's a bit of wisdom in 

those old axioms! Me thinks I'll just try 

to be a good girl and enjoy my chocolate 

after dinner!

mama done told me

a good spanking awaits

must mind p's and q's

10/29/2020

Me thinks life is a sphere of concentric circles . . .

Visualizing our tiny beginnings and those small

endings . . . LIFE, with our living fleshed out in

the center. I find those beginnings of interest,

that little life I was living as a child. My whole

world was the town I lived in, the church we

attended, those few family and friends, and my

beloved school.

As I grew and left home at 15 to study abroad,

so did my world. A bigger city, more friends,

a plethora of nationalities, different ways of

thinking and a broader exploration of politics.

I was WOWED . . . and loved every moment.

Marrying out of my own race, living south

for 20 years, studying a variety of unrelated

disciplines, all brought about this broadening

of life experiences. I love to think the center

of my own circle of life is my children. Such

amazing, beautiful creatures they are. 

41 years of teaching in two countries . . . 

talk about a broadening of life experiences!

Truly, nothing else can compare. Alas, as one

walks away from a beloved career, slightly

bent and facing the cane years, that sphere

begins its travels towards the finish line. 

I'm nearly there . . . tremendously interested 

in that upcoming experience, a bit frightened, 

yet anxious for a good look-see. 

that enticing sphere

coming round full circle 

beginnings endings

10/28/2020

Thinking about forgetfulness as it applies 

to me. Forever and a day, we've all heard 

the elder forgetting jokes and can't help 

but wonder if that's us waiting to happen.

I just took out the trash and can't remember

if I brought back my guy's trash can! Go

figure! Sometimes, I eat two breakfasts, fun! 

And, I've been known to answer the same

e-mail twice or comment a couple of times

on the same post.

So, I've been having a think . . . Is it that I'm 

truly forgetful, or is it that I don't pay attention 

to business? Maybe, my mind doesn't consider

whatever to be important and dismisses it.

Perhaps, I'm acting by rote and am pondering 

some things I consider to be important and am 

distracted. It may even be, d) all of the above.

Bottom line, I'm coming to the conclusion

that we humans show all of the above traits 

at all ages and we don't particularly pay

attention to this until we're oldsters.

I'm beginning to think forgetfulness is fairly

unimportant, so I'm going to treat myself to

second breakfast with Tolkien as my guest.

a light in the dark

forgetting remembering

both phenomenal

10/27/2020

Then there's all those fantastical words . . .

It almost seems that they've been made up.

I find myself flummoxed by all those crazy

words enticing my silly side at every sound. 

Most people have very lackadaisical attitudes

towards their own speech patterns, but I get

a kick out of them anyway.

I mean, when you think about it, a lot of

lingo is completely discombobulated. For

me, most of it is gobbledygook anyway.

Poppycock! Today, most of these young 

whippersnappers would get entirely lost 

in the kerfuffle when it comes to language!

Well, I'd probably better stop lollygagging

around here. The neighbors are making a

horrific hullaballoo with their Halloween

party. For me, it's a lot of malarkey. Maybe

I feel that way because we weren't invited.

seduce me with words

verbiage is to my liking

love me the lingo  

10/26/2020

Lingo on my mind . . .

Contemplation or thought? Humungous or

large? Nice or awesome? Sweet or lovely?

Phenomenal or good? Delicious or delectable?

Not certain it really matters. We all have a

different predilection for various kinds of

language. Some prefer simple, direct, clear.

Makes for good understanding. One of my

fave authors, Robert B. Parker, wrote his

plethora of books in exactly this manner.

There are those who seem to dote on the

more flowery side of linguistics, almost

poetic. I find I can do floral bouquets of

language just about as much as I can do

PINK . . . so NOT well! Having finally 

confessed, I will say this . . .

 . . . I love! LOVE!! L O V E !!! language.

I revel in the use of those absolutely delish 

words. Give me a . . . transcendent, prolific,

soniferous, veridical . . . and as my practice

is cartomancy, I may as well add that to the

list.

Time was when a word a day was the norm.

And, as we grow older, this kind of thing

becomes even more important. Give it a try!

One a week might be more like it at my 

speed!

lingo at its best

gift me some delectables

language enamored

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