Writer Lady

Where does time go?

2012-01-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

I've been reading my favorite blogs this evening. Each one is a treasure to me as it brings me into the life of the writer and shows me the things that make up their worlds.

I'm at a bit of a loss today as it occurs to me that I have nothing so very wonderful to say on this rainy evening. I guess I'll ramble on a bit.

Roy's outside garden is producing peas and carrots. The peas are so sweet because they've grown slowly on their own schedule.

In case you didn't know, I'll tell you that winter is citrus season in our world. Our tangerine tree began having sweet tangerines in December and is still loaded down with tangerines. We've been eating two or three every day. I think maybe a garden fairy puts more tangerines on the tree at night.

Yes, these are not our tangerines, but our oranges in the photo. I'm too lazy to go out in the cold rain and take a photo of the tangerines. Take my word for it that the tangerines are growing every bit as thickly as these oranges.

Roy has been experimenting with his greenhouse. Now that the weather's cold (by Southern California standards) he's been leaving a light on inside for warmth, but he has to turn it off and open the doors to cool it off if the day turns sunny. He has lettuce and beets growing, but the tomatoes aren't happy. We did have ripe tomatoes from the winter garden, but that was just a bit of luck - a very warm fall.

Pally (my implanted defibrillator) and I are doing fine. I received a surprise box in the mail. It's a heart monitor. I wasn't expecting it, but there it was. It is plugged into the telephone line and sits on my nightstand for the sole purpose of interrogating Pally as to how I'm doing and reporting back to the doctor. This is happening on Monday nights while I sleep. At first I felt a little out of sorts about it, but now I just ignore it. It sits there with its bright green eye (on light) and when I'm ready to sleep, I cover the light with the instruction book that came with it. If I don't cover the light, when I turn out the lights it casts a spooky green light all over my bedroom. Don't the people who make these devices do a home test? Who wants to sleep that way? Not me.

Our granddaughter who lives in town is expecting a baby boy in late March. We are all so excited. We expect lots of company when he arrives because Brandy and Ken's little condo doesn't have a lot of guest space - I think the sofa is where guests can sleep.

I'll write more in a day or two. In the mean time, please keep entertaining this lazy blogger with your beautifully written blogs. I love them all.

Marilynne

A little sand and salt water

2011-12-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

Our family has a wonderful Christmas tradition here in San Diego. Sometime between Christmas and New Years we go to the beach. I know, life is sometimes tough. Let's say it in pictures.

The day was sunny and warm.

My granddaughter has a new eReader

It was a great day for kayaking

You can hardly see the gull for the sun
sparkling on the water.

We had lunch at the harbor.

The fog crept in about 4 PM.

When it started to get cold
we left for home.

Hope you had a great day.

Marilynne

Pally update

2011-12-10T16:42:00.001-08:00

Three and a half weeks have gone by since Pally (my defibrillator) joined my life. I thought I'd be feeling a lot better by now, but I don't. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations.

Roy joined me on a test drive to see how I did. It felt good to be behind the wheel again, but the seat belt that crosses my shoulder pressed hard against Pally when I drove the Honda. My Silverado pickup - not so much, so if I drive I'm taking the pickup. We tried putting the shoulder part behind my back. That works, but it isn't ideal.

Dancing Western

I'm not really back to cooking again, but maybe I haven't made my best effort. I adore eating out. On the other hand, Roy would love it if I cooked and he's been such a big help to me, now that he's pretty much over his cold.

Both of us are tired a lot. Maybe that's impatience as much as health. We do need to let our bodies heal.

Marilynne

Looking forward

2011-12-03T14:53:00.001-08:00

It's been two and a half weeks since Pally joined me in taking care of my heart. Our plan was for Roy to pamper me (guy style) and for me to enjoy it and focus on getting better. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

I was recovering from serious (but not difficult) surgery while at the same time Roy was suffering the cold to end all colds. I now know what he'll look like if he lives to be 100 - terrible. We managed pretty well, but I think I needed less nursing than he did.

When we could finally take a road trip, we went to the
casino/outlet mall. It felt so good to be away from the house.

Roy's cold prevented him from holding my hand before and after surgery. I missed that, but we both agreed that he was much too contagious to be visiting the hospital. He never went inside. I signed myself in, and he was waiting at the curb when they wheeled me out to go home. Not what we had planned at all.

So now we're both better. I'm still not allowed to drive, square dance, or go to Curves, but that day is coming.

I'm seeing the doctor almost weekly so the tech can fine tune Pally. It makes me laugh when he says "I think I'll raise your heart beat a little," and he does it.

More next time.

Marilynne

Thanksgivings Past

2011-11-23T17:05:00.001-08:00

It's going to be a quiet Thanksgiving here this week. I'm still getting used to Pally and my husband is sick with a nasty cold. Do I need to say I'm not cooking the big dinner?

So, I'm thinking about Thanksgivings past. I have a photo from our Thanksgiving in Florida where Roy and I are smiling at the camera and everyone behind us is making faces. I didn't know it until I saw the photograph. That's how our family is at Thanksgiving - laughing and enjoying themselves.

A quiet moment at the beach

This photo is from the same thanksgiving - two sisters talking while they dip their toes into the Gulf of Mexico. That was a good Thanksgiving, but there were others.

Same daughter, another state (Washington). Our daughter and her husband had bought a brand new house and invited us for dinner. She had spent a bonus (when companies still paid bonuses) on a brand new cherry dining table made by the Amish. It was gorgeous, but before we ate they covered it well with pads and tablecloths. I laughed inside, but it was really a lovely Thanksgiving. They are really good cooks.

Same daughter, another state (Idaho). (She learned this moving around business from her parents.) They had bought a quirky old house in Idaho. There was a gorgeous Japanese maple just outside the dining room window. Our whole family was there. She had bought a kit for making a gingerbread house and we had a fun time putting it together. (The kit had enough candy in it for tasters.) It was cold and icy. I knew there was a secret floating around, but it didn't come out. Later we heard from the quiet daughter that she was divorcing her husband. She would have collected so many hugs if she'd just had the courage to come out with it.

Harris Ranch. We have family all over the Left Coast (the Pacific Coast). We have driven from San Diego to Washington State many times. In the middle of the drive up the center of California there is an oasis called Harris Ranch. By time you get there you have driven many miles through farmland and large empty spaces. We are so happy to arrive at Harris Ranch and rest a while.

One Thanksgiving Day we were traveling and hungry and stopped at Harris Ranch to find they had a huge Thanksgiving Buffet. Dinner with all the trimmings. You can see why we call it an oasis.

Lyons in Stockton. We had been visiting my mother in a rest home that Thanksgiving. On the way home we were hungry and stopped in Stockton to eat. It was late, but when the staff heard we hadn't had Thanksgiving Dinner they rustled up the full deal. I'll always remember their kindness.

The Bank Bldg. in Woodland. This is the saddest one. Roy's father had died a day or two before. All the relatives were in town for the funeral. It was Thanksgiving Day and the Bank Bldg. was closed for the holiday, but when my mother-in-law asked them, they opened the restaurant just for us - a single menu - and we all had Thanksgiving dinner together. Some of us hadn't seen each other in years. It was a sweet sad time.

Our home in Phoenix, Arizona. My parents had come to visit for the holidays and I'd cooked the big meal. Roy was a surveyor and his crew consisted of young men on their own and from many backgrounds. That morning one of the men dropped by to talk to Roy and pick his brain about surveying. He was embarrassed when he found we had company, but we talked him into staying. He was great company, talking about his home in Connecticut and regaling us with stories of living there.

Our home in San Diego. We often invite someone we don't know for Thanksgiving - if there's anyone left to invite. San Diegans are hospitable people at Thanksgiving. We've had servicemen from Camp Pendleton and a family who were new to the area and sort of lost. We've had our kids together and separately. (When we're looking at houses to buy, I always think about a place big enough to have the family over for dinner.)

The first Thanksgiving my kids took over the meal for me. They were at our home for a visit and I was not really up to cooking that year, so the kids just threw me out of the kitchen and cooked it themselves.

Last Thanksgiving. We invited company, but I was finding it was all of a sudden too big of a job. My granddaughter stepped up and together we made the big meal. That's the kind of family we have.

So, this post started out a little sad, but I'm smiling now as I write. Whatever your circumstances this Thanksgiving, enjoy your day.

Marilynne

The other side of the mountain

2011-11-18T18:21:00.001-08:00

When I have a tough time ahead, I try to look at it as climbing a mountain. You struggle to achieve the top, and then, just as you achieve the top, you can see that the rest of the trip is downhill.

I'm a lady, of course, and my chest is
a whole lot prettier than this one.

I've started down the other side of my health mountain. Last Wednesday my doctor implanted a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) made by Boston Scientific in my chest. I call it my Pally for short. You can thank Lin of Duck and Wheel with String for the name. She always calls her readers her Pally. Well, my Pally is pretty close and intimate with me. I can hardly say the scientific name of my device.

Pally will live with me the rest of my life. Her job is to make certain my heart is beating regularly and doing the best it can. If my heart's in trouble, Pally can give it a shock to bring it in to line.

It was a tough decision for me. I had no idea that I was ready for such interventions. I thought I was doing pretty well for an old lady. I square dance regularly and go to Curves three times a week. I eat well. It took me a while to think it through and decide that this is what I wanted to do. (Well, I think I really didn't want to do it, but it was the best of my options.)

I was in the Cardiovascular Institute near my home from 6:15 AM until 4 PM. That's not long considering what happened in that amount of time. I was semi awake for the operation. (I would have been more awake, but I had to get up powerful early.)

A rep from Boston Scientific told me he was in the operating room to operate the device. He told me that a day later when he hung a magnifier-like device over my shoulder, went to the computer and told me everything was fine - except that he wanted my heart to beat a little faster - so he told the device what he wanted. I could feel my heart speed up a little. I really feel bionic now.

So, it's a little more than 48 hours later and I've been taking care of myself and marveling about Pally. It was scary not being in the hospital even overnight, but it had it's pluses - like I slept in my own bed that night with my husband beside me. That beats the hospital any time.

Now that it's over I wonder what the big deal was. The procedure itself was clear cut and fairly simple. I've been promised that I'll feel a lot better. Feeling better hasn't happened yet, but what do I expect in 48 hours or so?

So, Pally and I are fine and learning how to work together. My scar is just under my collarbone and won't be a problem when I wear a bikini. (That's because you're never going to see me in a bikini.)

Now I have to follow instructions and work towards driving again (groan) and going back to my usual stuff. It will just take a little time.

Marilynne

One down and one to go

2011-11-11T10:54:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to report that the angiogram went well. My arteries are clear, meaning that we can go ahead and implant the defibrillator. With the exception of a little soreness on a very private part of my anatomy, I'm feeling good.

I hope next Wednesday goes as well.

Thanks to our service men today and always. You're doing a splendid job. We wish you were home with us, but your job is important. We care about you.

Marilynne

On a more serious note

2011-11-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how much I want to say about this. I'm having some health problems. To most people I look pretty healthy. I go to Curves three times a week. I square dance a couple times a week. I keep track of my flowers and my birds, my watercolors, and my reading. I visit with friends. All pretty normal stuff for someone my age who's in good shape.

The problem is, I'm not in as good of shape as I thought I was. I'm doing great with my diabetes, it's my heart that's complaining.

A month or so ago, my cardiologist told me I needed a defibrillator for my heart. It's actually known as an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator). He made an appointment to have it done within a week of his talk with me. I left his office in a daze.

The problem was, I had no idea this was coming. None. Nada. (That's Spanish for none.) I just shut down in shock. At home I started searching the web to find out what it was and why he wanted to do it. My daughters searched the web for things that could cause ventricular fibrillation. The girls came up with a common antihistamine (most contain large amounts of caffeine) and I came up with coffee. I'm a real fan of Starbucks - the strong stuff. I love it.

I was feeling a bit railroaded into this and I called the Dr.'s office to say I wanted a month to think about it. I took that month. I was very in tune now with my heart and it was doing funny jumpy things. I came to the conclusion that in spite of quitting that antihistamine and changing to decaf at Starbucks, I really did need the device. But still, I kept that month to think.

When I finally saw the doctor a month later he was furious with me. I understand that. I'd be furious with me too, but what about taking the time with me to lead up to this instead of just flat out hitting me over the head with it. It might have taken 10 or 15 minutes to tell me what was happening. If he had, I might be telling you how much better I feel with my new bionic device.

As it stands now, I go in to the hospital to have an angiogram next Wednesday and return to the hospital a week later so they can implant the ICD. I think I took too much time thinking, but maybe not. I'm going to allow the doctor to monkey around with my heart. I think I should have the time to prepare myself for such things.

When it's all done, I'll have a device implanted that will be able to shock my heart when it misbehaves. It should take care of my little flutteries and it should give the initial shock to my heart in the advent of heart attack.

I will set off alarms at the airport.

So, I'm a bit frightened of it all. The doctor promises (almost) that I'll feel better and have more energy once it's done. But I'll never be the same again. That gives me pause for thought.

If you're the praying sort, please pray for me.

Marilynne

Lin, who blogs at Duck and Wheel with String, has sent me such an encouraging note I thought I would share it with you. I have her permission to share.

Marilynne--My girlfriend's mom has one and has had it for years. In fact, shehad to have it replaced because she had it so long. I think it is very scarywhen you are given these medical issues and the doctors are most times immuneto the reaction of the patients. It isn't their fault--they become desensitizedto this stuff as they see it every day.

Go. Go now and get it done. Your life isn't worth waiting another day. You willbe fine. You will feel great and you will live a long life afterward.

I'm thinking of you and sending love and prayers my friend. Please keep intouch with me and let me know when you are going in so I can say some extraprayers for a quick recovery.

I promise you, you will feel GREAT!

Spooky - Grandma's pumpkin

2011-10-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

It was fun cutting up that pumpkin, but it's very fresh and I'm worried it won't make it until Halloween. I used my pumpkin tools to decorate. I have a power cutter for pumpkins, but it kept getting stuck. It's better to stick with those little orange tools you can buy for a few dollars.

Here I'm threatening it with a screw driver.
Not yet, I've got a lot of carving to do.

I decided to use the part of the pumpkin that lay on the ground to make my ghostie. I thought that ugly surface would make an ugly pumpkin.

Here I am making a little progress with
my battery-operated power tool.

Now and then an escapee hit the floor.

My ghost is taking shape. I decided
to put a baby ghost in its tummy.

I test it with a candle inside, but
my flash goes off. Rats!

At the end of the driveway there's a stump
from a palm tree that used to grow there.
It makes a fine place for a pumpkin.

Time to go outside and light it.
Happy Halloween!
BOO!

Marilynne

Halloween for Grandmas

2011-10-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

We drove out to Bates Nut Farm near Valley Center to buy a pumpkin for our family's biggest kid - me.

Look at all those pumpkins. I can't choose just one.

How do you like this fella?

Is she from Hawaii?

How do fairies fit in?

I think she's just shopping.

Well Lady, which do you want?

Roy says I can't have these, but
look at how they make me smile.

These are my choices. There are three little pumpkins and
a bumpy orange gourd in the bag.
The biggest pumpkin is the heaviest one Roy
was willing to pick up.

I'll show you how I decorated it later.
Marilynne

A hot day at the mall

2011-09-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I took my camera to the mall. My objective was to find out what caught my eye and in the process walk the mall from end to end. Enjoy the photos.

I love the hollow, magnified sounds of the mall, looking down
to another floor and all the lights.

I was greeted by a familiar figure - the ANGRY BIRD.

This mall had lots of things for kids to do. I can see older kids with large allowances spending a lot of money just in the fun zones.

Some people came to relax and enjoy the
air conditioning.

I wanted to shop. Apparently the mannequins
know how to keep cool.

Summer handbags for sale in bright colors.

Do people still wear these? Maybe that's
why they were up high.

Just what I need for our yearly
7 inches of rain.

T shirts in bright colors, but they
are on sale for men. 8-(

I thought it was against the law to sell babies.

This baby is definitely not for sale.

Look at that BLING! This is only a small
part of the display.

Pretty reds and pinks.

I walked so far gawking at everything that my feet hurt into the next day. Still, I needed my mall fix - don't you?

What do you see when you go to the mall?

Marilynne

The Greenhouse in August

2011-08-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

We live live in a sub-tropical place. Our greenhouse is empty right now. It has no potting benches or beds of seedlings. Why?

The summer sun is beating on the roof.

The temperature is high.

Seedlings growing on the porch railing.

Roy has started his corn seedlings on the railing as always. He doesn't want to cook the poor things. He wants a second crop of corn. September will likely be warm and we'll get that second crop.

Meanwhile Roy is making plans for using the greenhouse. He's even looking into hydroponic gardening. Now wouldn't that be fun?

Marilynne

They're in the jar - the dill pickles that is

2011-08-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Recently my husband presented me with a counter full of cucumbers. He dislikes them, but plants them because I like them. Pretty aren't they?

You see? It doesn't look like much of a plant, but it's happily producing a lot of cucumbers. I can't eat that many!

The solution seems to be to make pickles. Dill or bread and butter? That was the question. We had tried dill pickles several years ago and they didn't turn out right. Should I try again or just go with bread and butter pickles which I perceive as easier to make? I printed both recipes, but decided on the dills.

I chose an easy recipe from the web. It didn't take long at all. Soon there were five quarts of dill pickles lined up on a towel on the counter.

Beautiful aren't they? I hope they're good to eat. I have to let them cure a week or two before I open a jar to taste them.

Marilynne

Tuesday's NoPubl - Moving part 2

2011-06-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

When I left you for father's day sweetness, I was writing about moving. I was talking about how to help the kids over the hump. We'll begin where I left off.

. . .

If it's not too far, or the expense is not prohibitive, let them invite an old friend to visit. My experience is that they spend hours telling the old friend how great the new place is - even though they were planning to run away and go back to the old.
This brings me to another point. If you think your child yearns so desperately for the old place that you think they might run away, capitulate and arrange a stay for them at the house of a friend. When that runs stale with too little privacy and too many new rules from their friend's parents, they can come back with honor.
If you wait until they run away, then you have to wait until they are ready to negotiate. (Providing that they reach a safe haven.) A teen has a hard time admitting that he/she has made a mistake and needs to return home. The teen prefers to forge ahead until things get better - or until things are so bad he/she is forced to admit failure. Even then, a teen would rather think it was your fault. Don't take it personally.

Women need friends too. So, now you are in the new town - again - and the house looks bare even with the packing box end tables and your husband is at work (making new acquaintances) and the kids are in school (or in the case of little ones, happily outside playing in their new yard), making new friends, and there you are staring at the soaps and worried to death you'll become like them. You find yourself leaving the TV on even when you're out in the yard just so it isn't deathly quiet when you come back in. I see two choices:

Get out and find some friends.
Go back to work.

I put going back to work second for a reason. The people you meet at work are usually friendly, but not always friends. Going back to work for the sole purpose of being near people just doesn't always fill the bill.

Note: I found myself at a luncheon put on by the local welcome wagon. After lunch there was a fashion show where they tried to convince the older attendees that they could and should wear fashionable, younger-looking clothing (all of it pencil thin, of course). At that time, I realized I didn't want to be there, I didn't like the people I was meeting, and what I really wanted to do was go back to work. I love working.

Still, I stayed at home until I knew where my teens liked to go and who their friends were and only then went to work.

Marilynne

Happy Father's Day to my Dad

2011-06-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Let's put aside the NonPubls for a moment. I'd like to tell you about my Dad, Fred. He was a preacher and the son of a preacher, and last of a line of preachers way back before time almost. He was proud of the fact, but at first he didn't want to be a preacher. I have to put names to these people or you'll lose track of who is who.

Fred's father, Heinrich, came from Germany via Canada around the turn of the century. That made Fred a first-generation American. Though both parents spoke German and English, Fred spoke German as his first language, only learning English when he began to go to school. His mother died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Fred was 5 years old.

A few years later, Heinrich married Christina - a first generation American herself. Christina took on the job of raising a spoiled little boy (so she told me) and soon brought her baby son Carl into the family.

Fred had lived the life of being the preacher's kid (PK), and he'd found it difficult. He thought he'd be an engineer. He did like to tinker with things. But before he could get his engineering degree, he changed his mind and went to Theological College. He just couldn't be anything else, but a preacher.

Sometime during college his father, Heinrich, became very ill. He was dying of cancer. His mother, Christina (step-mother, but truly a mother to him) took Heinrich home to care for him. She sometimes ran a care facility and she knew what to do. Fred, my father, came home and took over the preaching so there would be an income. Whether it was this experience that made him decide to be a preacher or something else I never knew. When you asked him, he would tell you he'd had a call. To him that meant that he felt God calling him to the ministry.

So, for a year, Fred took the pulpit, visited the congregation, and did whatever it is that preachers do while his mother, Christina, took care of Heinrich. Soon it seemed the end was near because the tube that drained Heinrich's stomach stopped up and quit. But the end wasn't near at all. After that happened, Heinrich began to get better and slowly he began to take back the work Fred had been doing.

Fred returned to school, much strengthened to know Heinrich, his father, had recovered against all odds. He continued to work his way through Theological College and became a preacher in his own right.

While all this was happening, the US was in the midst of a depression, or climbing out of it. Somehow Fred managed to stay in school. When he graduated from school, he was offered his first church in Canada. Actually, he had two churches there and served them both. Good Start.


My father made our Christmas Cards. Here's one when I was 10 or 11.

Now jump ahead in time and Fred is my father. He has one girl (me), the oldest, and three sons. My mother, Dorothy, also came from a family of many preachers and others in service to the church. I was the first child and the only girl. My father and I bonded early.


Two brothers more to come. My father loved to take pictures.

As a preacher, Fred was what I think of as a shepherd preacher - one who takes care of his flock. When he wasn't doing that, he was taking care of his family. Well, my mother often took care of the boys while my father and I went out to do things, things like visiting parishioners, visiting people in the hospital, going searching for liturgical supplies. I was spoiled by the people he visited, but I also learned about death and dying at an early age. My father felt that good things happened when sick people were visited by children. Almost everyone was diverted and forgot their troubles for a moment or two. As a child, I also stood by the bedside of sick people while my father offered a prayer. Sometimes afterward he'd tell me he felt that person would die soon. I accepted that because it was a part of what he did.

Don't think my mother and brothers were totally left out. No, there were church dinners with singing after supper, picnics in the park, and trips to historical places. We had fine times on Sunday afternoons. We even went camping a few times.

My mother didn't like camping a lot, but, think about it. She was responsible for cooking and keeping the campsite tidy, she watched us kids, she slept on a cot and worried about wild animals attacking us all. Dad set up the camp, took us on hikes, and helped my mother with the propane heater and things of that sort.

One time when we were camping, a police car came and took my father away. We were terrified. Our father was going to jail!!!!! In our limited experience, that's all a policeman did - take people to jail. My mother explained that someone had asked the police to find us and bring my father to the phone. A member of the congregation was dying. My father had to go back. He left us there at the campground. We told him we'd take care of our mother until he came back. I'm sure he was only gone a day or so, but it was scary to be there without him.

Dad and I were good buddies most of the time. When we fought, things could get loud. By the time I was a teen, I was openly defiant. My father didn't know what to do about it. When I wasn't arguing, I'd kiss him on the top of his bald spot and call him Daddy-O. (An old song.) He complained, jokingly, that the bald spot was there because I was always kissing it.

I remember telling him he was so mean I was going to run away. Since I had already held a job or two, I thought I could manage it. He challenged my thinking. I told him I had enough money in the bank to live on for a while. He told me he'd confiscate it. I hid my bankbook so he couldn't get it - though he never tried.

When I graduated from high school, he sent me to his old college, Pacific Lutheran. He forgot to send any money with me, but then he'd gone to college himself with very little. His old professors would tell me how well my father had done and tell me they expected as much as me.

I didn't handle college very well and was soon home again. I was allowed to mope for a month. Then my father told me to get a job or go back to school. I'd been to school with no money. I decided to get a job. My father gave me a list of opportunities and expected me to land one. I did. He drove me to and from work for a month or two (an advantage of a preacher's loose hours), then took me to a dealership for a car. He had already discussed this with the dealer and they had selected two cars for me to choose from: a little white Chevy coupe, and a bright red, new Triumph (TR3) - a snazzy sports car. They explained to me that I could afford both of them. If I bought the Chevy, I could pay it off in a few months. If I bought the Triumph, it was a couple years. I could choose either. I chose the Chevy.

My father didn't think he was overbearing, he thought that was what a father should do. Never mind, I loved having my own car and soon it was paid for - along with repairs, insurance and gas. A lot of gas.

So, in high school I worked baby sitting and helping out on a farm. In college I worked for the phone company and made more money than my grandfather, who was still working. I learned to work. I learned to live up to his expectations. I learned to take care of myself. That's what a father does.

In his dying, I learned how to die. I came to stay with my mother and drive her back and forth between home and the hospital. I learned that you care for the living as well as the dying. In the hospital my father just lay there quietly, waiting. We'd think he was asleep, then he'd say something that showed he'd been listening to the conversation. My mother sat by his side for hours. I took her to meals and home to sleep. We were at home when he died. I am so glad I was with my mother at the time because she also needed me. Dad didn't need me any longer, but she did.

Like my father, I found the life of a preacher's kid difficult, but he helped me through it. If no one else was my friend, he was. I miss him. There's still a warm spot in my heart that belongs to him.

Marilynne

A NoPubl for Saturday - Moving

2011-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

This one was written about 1978. It speaks for itself.

Moving

Well, here I am in a new town again. We have moved so much these last few years that I feel like a perpetual newcomer, a packer and mover by profession, and a stranger living in other people's houses. I'm not really a professional mover, but I rate packing as one of my skills should I need to support myself and the kids one day. The last move, they only broke one thing and I wasn't the person who packed it.

The movers broke one of the kid's beds by putting it together wrong, then snuck off without saying a thing about it. I didn't know it was broken until my daughter cried out in the night and found herself on the floor. It wasn't sleeping on the floor that bothered her, just the sudden descent.

Two houses ago she had to sleep on the floor because the room where she slept with her sister was too small to hold two twin beds, if you left the frames on them. Two mattresses on the floor, yes - two beds, no. She's used to roughing it. They called it their "pad" and had black light posters all over the walls and ceiling.

Later, I found out there was even a little "local atmosphere" outside the windows. Someone was pushing dope there every night. (We lived in an apartment complex.) That's a little much to put up with. I'm glad we moved from there - I think.

I can't complain that our new house doesn't have room for all the furniture. The girls are growing up and they need a little privacy. We made certain while we were house hunting that we chose a place with plenty of room. (I flew here for a weekend house-hunting trip.) We also made sure we weren't on the regular dope route. (The kids are growing up, you know.)

The furniture. We have plenty of room here, but the furniture is pretty much the same as we had two moves ago when we lived in the little place. That brings up a technique for moving.

Buy furniture that will spread out or squeeze together
Buy furniture that fill function in different rooms
Buy furniture in neutral colors.

We moved from a pale gold carpet, to a rust shag carpet, to a white with green stripes carpet, to wood floors and beige carpet. If I had bought an avocado green sofa, no mater how pretty, for the gold carpet house, I would have been in trouble with house #2. The same applies for turquoise in houses #1 and 3.

Believe me, there is enough trouble trying to fit your household needs into whatever your income says you can afford without having to look for a house that matches your furniture or worse yet, buying new furniture every time you move.

Packing boxes. I discovered during this last move that packing boxes on the floor of the closet make great drawers for younger kids and leave plenty of space for play in the bedroom. Packing boxes can also double as night stands and end tables. All you do is throw a fabric or a cheap tablecloth over them and place a lamp on top. The boxes they use for packing lamps are particularly nice for this purpose. Eight of 10 people will call you clever - for the first year.

We've also tried using the super size packing box for a makeshift dinner table, but there's no room to put your legs. You end up lounging by the "table" in a style like a Roman orgy, with a hotdog dripping mustard into your lap.

Save some of your packing boxes for the things you had a place for in the last house, but you don't in this house. If you save it, it may look great in the next house. For me there's always been a next house.

The kids. Save some pity for your kids. You were probably consulted about moving. Your husband probably got the word from higher up. But the kids, well face it, you just picked them up from where they were finally beginning to feel like they belonged and put them down again in a new place.

If you have older kids, you've given them extra work to do, griped about how they did it, and have always been too busy when they wanted to talk about it. Sure, you say "Give it time and you'll like it here." That is no comfort to the kid who thought she was going to make first string basketball - before you moved - and who just found out that soccer is the big game in the new town and everyone else has been playing soccer since babyhood.

There comes a time when, although you ache for adult company, you are going to have to spend more time with the kids. You have to take the place of the friends they left behind and be willing to abdicate when new friends take your place.

It's easier with smaller kids, because you're the center of their little world. You can take them in your lap often, talk to them at their play, make cookies, color together, and play with them and their toys.

With older kids, teach them to play with your toys.

Teach them how to bake bread, pizza, and bagels.
If you have room, indulge in a ping pong table to encourage activity and crazy laughing. Ping pong tables are inexpensive and easy to get rid of when you move again.
Teach them your favorite card games, bridge, pinochle, or canasta. Card games played for fun are a great way of diffusing tension, and you all will have tension.
Go out to dinner. I don't know why this one works. Later, you won't be able to make them go to dinner, but when you're new in town, they LIKE it.

Be patient with teens. Let them stay home from school now and then. Not every day, but perhaps when you sense they don't feel like facing another day of strange kids, rooms they can't find, no one to sit with at lunch, and teachers who think you couldn't know anything at all because you came from another school. Be sympathetic. They've got an uphill road.

Let the kids call their friends "back home." Encourage them to write letters. (This was in the 70's remember.) Supply the stamps. Show them how to save by using economy night rates. Forgive them when they sneak in a person-to-person call on Wednesday afternoon because "I knew she'd be home then Mom." (I have to explain to my younger readers, that for a big extra charge you could call and ask for a specific person. If that person wasn't there to take the call, you weren't charged. If they were there, the extra charge was by the minute.)

NOTE: We're still far from the end of this note. I'll continue it tomorrow.

Marilynne

Friday's noPubl - What's a typewriter?

2011-06-17T20:09:00.000-07:00


Whatever IS that bunzie?

Our lives have changed so much. I wrote the next piece in the early 1970's. I have a hard time believing this was me talking. It's hand typed on legal sized onionskin paper (so it erases easily).

Writing Tools

I have a new typewriter ribbon. It surely is an improvement over the old ribbon. It's the wrong ribbon for this typewriter, but I put it anyway. By the way, I think it's silly to write yourself notes on the typewriter. If it was one of these machines that talked back to you, wouldn't I feel strange?

I saw a machine like that at Learning Foundations last winter. You put a card in the machine, typed the spelling for the word, and then the machine pronounced the word and gave you the correct spelling. I wonder how a kid feels with this big machine telling him how to spell. He certainly must feel he's smarter than the machine.

I feel that I'm smarter than the machine. I just stand here watching it parrot out the words on the card and I feel so superior! As a human being, I think thoughts other than those programmed into me and I make mistakes. I have a right to make mistakes. The machine doesn't.

I resent the attention the machine receives for flawlessly reproducing the thoughts of men, and then receiving all the praise. Isn't it so smart! Think about it. Somewhere there's a human who thought all this up. This machine that receives so much attention is just a glorified tape recorder.

There's another machine - the computer! Do you know how much of our lives are tied up in computers? Did anyone ever tell you how these things count? By ones and zeros. You know - 01001101. Using that method, the computer can count all the way up to 386,995,774,123.44 (where on earth did I get that number?). Even my kindergartener can do better than that.

They do have a super smart computer that counts 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2x 2, The only problem with it is that it can't talk in any terms but 2 x 2 x 2. So, if you want to know what 64 multiplied by 128 is, you have to tell it 2 to the 6th power multiplied by two to the seventh power which gives you 2 to the 42 power, and which I am not going to work out for you. Use your friendly neighborhood computer. (I am dismayed to find out that I can't raise the power numbers for easier reading.)

My husband has a computer he uses in his work. It saves him countless hours of man labor. This computer is so small that it fits in the palm of your hand. It's so fast you can't see the numbers flying by. It just sort of blinks and gives up the answer. It can even remember the answer until a later time - up to 16 totals, I believe.

That brings up microfilm and microfiche. Now they don't have to save your original correspondence, they just film it on an 1/2 inch square of film and file it away with millions of other tiny squares of film That way, there's room to keep everything. No one has to clean out files any more, they just film it. Do you have any idea how many boxes of tiny films are sitting around these days?

So people rebel. The fold, staple, and mutilate the punch cards. That's not destructive. That's how an ordinary person shows a computer how easily they can crash it. You can X-ray microfilm (accidentally, of course) and the film gets all cloudy. Then we feel superior to the math machines. They can't do anything until we let it.

Have you noticed no one criticizes or threatens to do away with these inventions? Last week I saw someone give a computer a karate chop. It was hillariously funny. And we all laugh at a movie where a computer goes bersrk.

Still, the typewriter is quietly taking its place among the indispensable. No one would think of throwing it away. Besides, mine has a new ribbon in it.

Marilynne (who is shaking her head in disbelief.)

Thoughts that never made it - Intro

2011-06-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm going to start a series on words that never made it to print. I like them so I'm going to put them here.

The first entry explains why:

Noisy crowds of words

Live in my head

Clamoring for freedom

All want to go.

They drop from my mind

And slip down my arm

To fall from my pen

One letter at a time

Strings of words,

Forming themselves into

sentences, stories, poems . . .

I wonder

Where did they come from?

And who they belong to?

Sometimes writing is easy

sometimes it's hard,

sometimes I just feel

empty and used up.

Too tired to think

Weary from pen and keyboard

I need to rest and renew

Until words are once more

Jammed in my head

Screaming to be let out.

Then it feels good. Like

Putting a baby to an overfull breast

Ever mindful that the breast too

Needs to rest and fill up again.

Marilynne

The problem with anise - or is it fennel?

2011-06-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

There is nothing so tantalizing as the sweet scent of fennel. So why do I want to cut it down?

It looks lovely from inside my house.

It looks pretty good from the outside too.

It has grown so tall, it's higher than the eaves. Parts of it are dying and crumbling to be dry bits on the ground. Other parts just grow greener and higher.

What's left are piles of dead fennel leaves and clumps of root. Unless we dig it up, new fennel will grow from these clumps. What I thought was so pretty: those feathery leaves, the lacy yellow flowers, and the sweet smell, has now become a fire hazard growing right next to my house. I'm sorry I let it grow. The yard has room for it elsewhere.

I'll miss looking at it out the window. I'll miss the smell. But it just has to go.

I have both anise and fennel in my yard. I just looked up the difference between anise and fennel and if I can go by the yellow flowers, I have fennel.

I noticed some time back that I have two similar plants growing. One has white flowers and the other yellow. The seed pods are different too. I thought this was anise, but according to the web it's fennel. That means the leafy stuff I have in the front yard is anise. Same yard, different plants.

Well, I know for sure that I had better cut it down, but maybe I'll also dig up a clump and see if I have roots or bulbs in the ground.

Marilynne - who is giggling as I finish this post.

Roses, roses, I both love and hate them.

2011-05-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan to have roses when we moved to this place. I did inherit some and now I take care of them. They're a lot of work. This beautiful rose is the easiest to care for. It blooms from spring until winter cold. (If the winter isn't too cold, it blooms then.)

This rose only needs to be cut back now and then. It backs up to a plum tree and a nut tree (type unknown, they're round nuts) and uses the trees to climb on. It makes beautiful shade on summer days.

My addition to this part of the yard is on the west side of the house. This area was once dry and full of weeds. Now, hummingbirds sip in the saliva and bees buzz in the lavender all day long. Salvia and lavender are easy to care for.

Birds hide in the salvia because it's close to the feeders. The lavender also functions as a home for rabbits. Rabbits cause a lot of problems for us, but they're so cute.

Marilynne

2011-04-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

This video says it all about who is a regularly published author and who is a newbie.

Marilynne

Foreclosed - A Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery - a Review

2011-03-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

I always love an old house that needs fixing up. Mitzy Neuhaus does too. This Realtor with the big hair is trying to keep her business alive and well during a business slow down. She wants to keep her workers working and her business viable. When she sees an old house, now in foreclosure, she thinks it would make a great bed and breakfast if she just fixed it up a little.

Mitzy knows how to hang on to her money and she has enough cash reserves to buy the old house without risking her business. Life is better when she and a friend peek into the windows and see that the previous owner has been updating the house. They exclaim about the newly remodeled kitchen. It's just perfect for a bed and breakfast.

Mitzy begins the process of buying the house. As soon as she does things begin to happen. The house next door, which Mitzy owns, catches fire and is unlivable.

Adding to her problems is a good looking contractor named Alonzo who wants to keep his team working. He thinks the house would bring a lot of work for his staff and he could sell it at a profit when it was upgraded.

Both Mitzy and Alonzo want the house. When Mitzi returns for a second look she discovers that someone has been stripping the house of everything valuable. This makes her angry. Was it the owner or someone just stealing from a house in foreclosure? And who is the owner? An interesting house brings more money. What is the story behind the house? Add a museum selling some antique jewelry. The plot just thickens and thickens.

Read it for yourself and see how it plays out.

Read Foreclosed: A Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery by Traci Tyne Hilton. Published by Smashwords. It's also available at Amazon.com .

What's my cuppa tea?

2011-02-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

Jilly asks today "What's your cup of tea?" Easy, I love tea, but my favorite cup of tea is English Breakfast. I like its hearty kick. It helps me wake up and start my morning. I also like green tea and mint tea, but not those sissy herbal teas made with rose hips. Rose hips and I don't agree and most herbal teas seem to start with them.

I also love my cups. This one is a gift from one of my daughters. The cup is newish, but I have an antique cream pitcher that matches it. I'm sure that's why she sent it.

I have some special Nevada City Blend tea, that is blended in Nevada City,a great northern California gold-rush town. My daughter wanted me to taste it because it's naturally sweet, without sugar. I can always do with "without sugar."

This cup also has a design on the bottom. How clever of them to put one there.

I also love bears. This bear comes from Paris. He's a gift from another daughter. I think he's the only French thing I own, but what's he doing in the tea cup?

I hope you're enjoying the blog tour. If you want to visit the other blogs on the tour, just click on the pictures below.

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon.

Marilynne

What's blooming in my world besides a blog hop?

2011-02-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

Now isn't this blog hop fun? I hope you're checking out everyone on the list. Join us for some fun.

My world has been pretty wet lately, but I have some roses, some California Poppies, and some succulents (a kind of cactus without stickers).
I do a Christmas cactus. It began blooming last fall and it's still at it. You never know about Christmas Cactus.

The California Poppies are popping up everywhere. They look fragile, but they're tough little dudes. They are the first to come up from seed in the spring.

Here's what I call a rain rose. That's because the rain just dusted the rose and made it even more beautiful.

Last of all, my favorite succulent. These "flowers" are as big as a dinner plate.

Now go click on another photo and see where it leads you.

Thanks for vising. Come back soon.

Marilynne

Join us in a blog hop

2011-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Read this blog, then click on one of the pictures below to visit the other blogs.

Thanks for vising. Come back soon.

A new day

2011-02-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I was a little down in my last post. I want you all to know I weathered it and am now fine. Part of the reason I'm fine is that after doing an echogram of my heart, my cardiologist says my heart is a little better than it was a year ago. That's good news.

I contribute the improvement to regularly exercising at Curves and keeping my diabetes in check. You know now what I go through, but I have to be honest and tell you that all of that fuss hardly slows me down. Depression is common among diabetics and if you read my last post, you know why. Sometimes all of that seems overwhelming, particularly if you aren't feeling good.

So, having told you all I'm better, I'm leaving to walk the dog. It's a beautiful sunny day between yesterday's rain and tomorrow's rain. Gotta do it.

Marilynne

Later - That was a very brisk walk. An antsy 100-pound dog has a hard time walking slowly. We did it though!

M

Dieting and Diabetes

2011-02-08T20:39:00.001-08:00

All of my doctors agree that I should lose weight. The benefits are many. I'm not totally uncooperative, but the difficulties of dieting when you have diabetes are more than you might think.

I have some things going for me.

I exercise regularly
I am up to date on how to diet and how to manage my diabetes
I have very good doctors
I have a husband who doesn't like sweets (this is very big)

So what's the problem?

My diabetes doctor says it's all in the portion size, BUT he also wants me to eat a balanced diet, take my insulin, and take the rest of my meds on schedule. He does not want me to skip meals. He wants my meals to be about the same size throughout the day.
My heart doctor says it's all in "taking care of yourself" and gives me diuretics to help me lose water (the water my diabetes doctor and my exercise coaches say I need)
My internist forgets to even notice that I've lost weight - no encouragement there

I take insulin four times a day: once before every meal and once at night. The nighttime dose is my base dose. It's good for twenty-four hours. If I don't take the right nighttime dose, then I have to adjust everything else. If I don't take the right meal-time dose, then my sugar levels go whacky. If I'm going to exercise then the calculations change.

My meal-time insulin must be calculated on my blood-sugar level at the moment, plus what I intend to eat. If I don't calculate correctly, I'm going to have to make some corrections. (That means more sticks or feeling bad.)

These calculations mean that I have to know what I'm eating. I am a conscientious reader of labels. I hope they are telling me the truth. I hate TV dinners (I like to eat them actually) because I eat them without the sauce, without the dessert, without the gravy. So, how many calories were in that gravy that I didn't eat? Does that mean I should eat a little more or what?

Exercise changes what I need to eat. It changes the way the insulin works. It changes how many calories I need to eat. It helps me make good use of my insulin and the small amounts of sugar I eat. Exercise is good for me, but it's not so simple as just walking out the door.

After I exercise I need something to eat. Do I need insulin with that? Or is it covered by the exercise?

I love oranges, but I should eat the orange not orange juice - except, of course, if I have very low blood sugars and need to get it up quickly.

Do you hear me saying "I need to eat"? When you hear that term, take it seriously. The person who says it means exactly that.

You see what I mean? It's just not simple. It's hard. I don't like to be a "special" person with special needs. I like to be like every one else. I feel like a juggler.

In spite of the problems I am losing weight. I don't know how I'm doing it or why. I just know I'm accomplishing it slowly, but steadily. I'm grateful for small things.

Marilynne

The Union Quilters - a Review

2011-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of the Elm Creek Quilts series. She writes about quilts and the people who piece them. Her stories are more about people than about quilts, but once you read her books, you will gain an appreciation of quilts and why people piece them.

The Union Quilters is a story of the women left behind as their men go to war. In the time of the Civil War (or The War Between the States if you prefer) the men go to do their patriotic duty and the women are left behind to cope.

From the wife packing for her husband to go to war to women vigorously doing their part, this book takes you into the very personal part of war - the people.

The Union Quilters form to make quilts to warm their men. Later they manage to send funds to the cause, to build a hall in which to meet, to learn to speak up as women. These women do not sit at home and cry. They "do something" which in their case means everything within their abilities. They grow as women and change with their changing times.

I'm not a fan of war stories, but these stories are so real, so personal in feeling, you'd think to find their names on plaques scattered around the battlefields.

Jennifer Chiaverini has done a fine job of telling this story. I recommend it.

"The Union Quilters" will be available February 22, 2011. You can pre-order at copy from Amazon. You can find more about Jennifer Chiaverini and the Elm Creek Quilts series at http://elmcreek.net.

Good reading to you.

Marilynne

The End of Marking Time - a review

2011-01-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

I just love a book that tickles my imagination. I love to read and I run around all day long with a book or my Kindle in my hand. When I find a book that stands out, I pay attention.

That's how it was with CJ West and "The End of Marking Time." We start out with a thief - a very successful thief if you believe what he says. He claims to be invisible moving in and out of houses. But he's getting a little too cocky for his own good. This time he takes a few things that he usually wouldn't - like the victim's Mercedes. And he selects the wrong victim - the DA. All of this leads to him being caught. The thief pretty much knows the penalty and what probably will happen.

When he begins to sell things, they go well for him at first. He makes plans to take a vacation using money he's saved. When the cops come for him he runs, they find stolen items in his pocket. He knows he's been had, sold out by the very crooks who had helped him.

He does well the first time he goes to court. Eventually he is sent to prison. On the way to prison he is in an accident and is left in a coma. A very long coma.

When he wakes up the world of the criminal has changed. He doesn't go to jail, he is put in rehabilitation. In my opinion, this is the meat of the story, the very best part, so I won't tell you about this part of the plot. I'll simply tell you that there is a prison reform of gigantic proportions. He's given another chance to do well, but no one tells him how to do it.

I urge you to read this book for yourself. CJ West is a good writer and not afraid to tackle something a little bit different.

This book is available in paperback and for the Kindle. It's a good buy and a good book.

Marilynne

Books and reviews

2010-12-24T13:05:00.001-08:00

Several books are waiting for me to review. Two in particular entice me to put down what I'm doing and settle in for a good read.

One is Robert Fate's new change of pace book called "Kill the Gigolo." I love his Baby Shark books and am looking forward to reading this one - if only I could find the time.

The other book is an ARC (advance review copy) of Jennifer Chiaverini's book "The Union Quilters." I loved reading "The Cross Country Quilters" and "The Lost Quilter" and am more than ready to read this one. Jennifer puts her quilters into an historical moment. I like reading history from a quilter's standpoint.

I have more waiting, but these are the two that intrigue me the most. My stack of reading is high, but I love to read so it won't be a chore.

First, I must wish you all a Merry Christmas and charge off to do my social duty of enjoying friends and relatives and eating myself silly.

Marilynne

Oh those golden slippers!

2010-12-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

My golden slippers are peeling, the heels are worn down, I've danced my last dance in them. They're worn out. They're my second pair of dancing shoes, but these are my much loved golden dancing shoes.

When your feet are shod in shiny gold, you just dance faster and better. You twist this way and that, and your feet can keep pace with the music. I also have a red dancing skirt with deep ruffles of golden tissue around the edge of the skirt. I dance better when I wear that skirt. While I dance, I flip up the edges with my fingers and watch the golden tissue drift down into place again. It's kind of flirty on a skirt. There's something about dancing in gold, especially wearing golden slippers.

After I took the photo of my dancing shoes I threw them away. One more memory to keep. Now I need to find another pair of golden shoes - or should I get red ones covered in sequins? The possibilities are endless, but they need to be comfy because when you're 71 and still dancing you need happy feet too. I can't complain about that, can I?

Marilynne

The incredibly delicious donut

2010-10-29T17:18:00.001-07:00

This morning I was naughty and bought myself a donut and coffee for breakfast. I was naughty, but I truly enjoyed it. Because it is a no-no I think I enjoyed it even more - a big fat coconut donut and a coffee to go with it. I'd show you a photo of the donut, but I ate it. Every bite.

It's pretty easy to find a donut to eat. It's harder to find an incredibly delicious donut. Grocery stores, restaurants, and even Starbucks sell donuts, but they don't taste like this morning's donut. Here's where I bought it.

In my neck of the woods, this is what a donut shop usually looks like. It isn't much of a looker, it's all about buying a dozen donuts to take somewhere.

A little further from my house, across the railroad tracks from a State Campground is a place called VG's. VG's is legendary. They stay open all night while they're making donuts. Can't sleep and awake at 2 AM? Go down to VG's for a still-warm donut fresh from the kitchen. I've done it. Nothing in this world tastes any better.

I'm sure the word is out at the campground too. There seem to be a lot of campers crossing over the tracks (at the crossing, I hope) and landing at VG's.

So today I urge you, in the interest of keeping both the pleasure centers of your brain and your sweet-craving tummy, to go to a REAL donut shop for a guilty delight.

Marilynne

2010-10-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered Kevin Wu. He is so funny.

Marilynne

Friday Movies

2010-09-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing to say, but let's watch hot air balloons.

Marilynne

First, let's have a look at the Plano Balloon Festival, then off to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Balloon Festival.

Now, New Mexico

New Mexico hot air balloon festival.

Take off.

The Baby Thief - A Review

2010-09-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

I've been reading so many good books lately. This one is by one of my favorite authors, L.J. Sellers.

What happens when a disreputable doctor starts a commune and becomes their religious leader? What happens when the women of his commune want to have babies by artificial insemination? Is the doctor impregnating young girls on their 16th birthday?

No one knows what's going on in the commune because, let's face it - most people don't want to know what goes on at a commune.

On the face of it women and their children are living quietly off the land and worshiping in a gentle way. Underneath is the kidnapping of a woman for her ovaries, the impregnating of young girls without their consent, two doctors going over the edge, and a criminal building his retirement fund from the process.

Add a reporter with very good connections with the police force. Mix with love and the kidnapping. It all makes for a real page turner.

The Baby Thief is available now for the Kindle and other eReaders and is due out soon as a paperback. Meanwhile, visit LJ Seller's web site for an excerpt of the story.

Marilynne

The Forgotten Garden - A Review

2010-09-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve just finished reading The Forgotten Garden: A Novel by Kate Morton. This is a multi-layered cake of a story with several related story lines going at nearly the same time. I often had to go back and determine which layer I was reading. I found this annoying, but having finished the book, I admit to having enjoyed it very much.

A little girl is left on a dock in Brisbane, Australia after a large ship from England has finished unloading its passengers. She is holding a white leather suitcase. There is no one to fetch her and no identification on her. The dock master takes her in his care and when no one comes looking for her, he simply takes her home.

Thus begins the mystery. Who is this child and how did she get there? The child herself is not able to provide information. She simply tells him she was told to hide until the Authoress comes for her. The dock master and his wife raise her as one of their own. They don't tell the child how she came to be in their family until the father is old and dying.

The story, of course, sets out to solve this mystery. We have the story of the little girl, whom they call Nell. We have the story of her granddaughter, Cassandra. We have the story of how they individually go to England to try to solve the mystery. And we have the story of the little girl before she was hidden on the boat.

If you like puzzles, then this is the story for you. If you don’t want to work a little in order to savor the richness of the story, then perhaps you would like something else. Here's a description from the author herself.

Marilynne Smith

Does your book feel right in your hands?

2010-08-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

Does your book feel right in your hands? What about your Kindle, Nook, iPad? How do they feel?

I’m thinking about the feel of a book. It’s true that some of the larger paperbacks really feel good in your hands. I ruffle the pages and something like pleasure hits me and I do it again. Sometimes a smaller paperback will annoy me because its binding is stiff and unyielding. I don't hesitate to break the spine of these books, because otherwise it will annoy me to the end. (That's when I throw it away in frustration.) There is nothing that will replace for me the pleasure of opening a large art book and beginning to pore over the large-size color pages.

Can you find my Kindle on the photo on the left?

It doesn’t surprise me to say that I didn’t like the hard metallic feel of my Kindle when I first opened the box. It took me a week or so to realize that it needed a book-like cover. It not only needed the cover to protect it, it needed the cover to give my Kindle a book-like feel. I chose a cover with moleskin on the inside and leather on the outside. I love holding it and feeling that moleskin while I read. I guess I’m a touch person. I also add my artwork to my bookshelves. See Photo number two. It's called "Rhonda's Legs".

I have been reading eBooks at random almost and I’ve found a lot of new authors who do a fine job of writing a good story. I’ve also decided some popular authors aren’t interesting enough to make my list. It’s a very personal list, I find.

We need a service to to a better job of rating eBooks. I need a recommendation that this book, which I can buy for $3.99 is worth reading, and that book for $12.99 is not worth reading. I need a way of choosing the good books to read regardless of price. Oh No! Am I asking for the return of book reviewers and critics? I think I am if they'll just try an eBook now and then.

Here's a better look. My Kindle hides among the books. It's the slim black book.

Marilynne

Valley Center (CALIF.) Promenaders Annual BBQ & Dance Caller Jim Randall...

2010-08-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some memories of a fun party. The square dancers of our area of North County were invited months ago for a grand BBQ and square dance party. This party is put on yearly by the Valley Center Promenaders and called by Jim Randall. We all look forward to this fun summer evening. Tickets go fast so you have to plan ahead. We always have a good time, but this time was better. It was reasonably cool outside and I could dance a little. You have no idea how much I enjoy getting back to being able to dance after a knee injury.

So watch and enjoy. If Roy and I are dancing, we're in the back left corner.

Marilynne

An update to my last post

2010-08-03T21:03:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, or was it Monday, I was dead-heading the roses when I stepped on a spongy spot in our very dry lawn. Those who have been through it may recognize the signs of a possible broken water line (or worse yet a broken sewer line).

Monday, my hubbie dug it up looking for the leak. (If you want to view his work, look at my previous post.) When he found the leak (a water leak) it was among three repair/patches on the line. So he called the plumber.

The plumber came out post haste (whatever that means – he came quickly) and took out the old repair and put in a new one. My hubbie didn’t fill up the hole because he wanted to be sure it wasn’t leaking any longer.

So, now it's Tuesday, and my hubbie went out to get the paper and guess what? He found another soft spongy spot about 50 ft. from the first. He came in grumbling that he didn’t feel like digging another exploratory hole.

I was leaving for Curves and I’d no sooner left our driveway than I saw a day laborer-type walking down our road. I stopped and asked him if he knew anyone who wanted to work – to dig a big hole. Conveying that in my awful Spanish and his almost nonexistent English required a lot of pantomime, but apparently there was communication. I showed him which house and when my hubbie went outside, he found the laborer there with his friend and immediately put them to work.

They dug a huge hole. My hubbie asked them to return tomorrow to fill in the holes. The plumber came just as quickly this time and patched the much-patched water line. We think that it’s not only day laborers that need work.

We are not looking to keep the plumber in business, but the plumber mentioned in passing that part of the line was not water piping, but electrical conduit. He said it will work, but . . . . We are hoping we don’t have to dig up the entire lawn to fix this, but you know about old houses.

Don’t you love old houses?

Marilynne

Is it a fish pond, a footprint from a giant, or what?

2010-08-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have a hole in the ground. It has water in it. What is it?

I've threatened to buy goldfish to put in it. It looks like it needs something in the way of beautification.

Down in the murk lies a pipe. It's not a straight pipe. It has a lot of connectors. Hubbie says it's the water line for the house. Oh no! It's leaking! It's costing us water-dollars every day.

What a mess! It's blocking the driveway. There are piles of dirt all around, an abandoned shovel, a bucket that's been tossed aside, a chair upended. What are we going to do with it?

My vote is to make a fish pond, but my hubbie has called the plumber.

Marilynne

Missing Mabel by Nancy Mehr

2010-07-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading Missing Mabel by Nancy Mehl. This book is targeted for the Christian audience. The religious part of the story is very natural and not forced. Hilde Higgins could be one of your friends, maybe someone you know from church.

Take a woman who dresses hair for people who are about to be buried, mix it with a boarding house full of people, some good friends, a long lost friend, and a new friend and you have the beginning of a good book. No blood, no horror, no steamy scenes, just a good puzzle to work out.

Hilde takes her job at the town mortuaries seriously. Using a photo of the deceased as her guide, she does her best to make her clients look just like the person in the photo. Sometimes she even whispers in their ear “You look really nice.” Sweet of her, isn’t it?

On one job, she has only a quick glimpse of the deceased before the body is whisked back to the morgue for an autopsy requested by the grandson. When the body is returned for burial, Hilde takes a good look at the photo, comparing it with the body, and announces “This isn’t Mabel!” How could she possibly tell because her pet dog is shown in front of Mabel's face. Hilde is sure it isn't Mabel because the body has a side part and the photo shows it parted in the middle. She knows people of Mabel’s age don’t usually change the part of their hair.

No one will listen to her concerns and the body is buried as Mabel’s. Hilde expresses her concern, first to her friends, and then to Mabel’s family. No one seems concerned, though a few friends help her in her investigation. Hilde is sure the family wouldn't want the wrong person in Mabel's grave - and who is the person being buried anyway?

Along the way Hilde makes some new friends and solves the mystery of who killed Mabel, proving first that Mabel was murdered, then that Mabel is not the person the family buried.

Congratulations to Nancy Mehl for constructing a murder with no easy answers, and a lot of mystery. I enjoyed the book and I recommend it as a great read.

Missing Mabel can be purchased from amazon.com or from Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, OK 44683.

Marilynne Smith

Peter Rabbit has nothing on our bunnies

2010-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the story of Peter Rabbit who was always sneaking into Farmer McGregor's garden for a little snack? Do you remember how he was almost getting caught, but managed to get his fill anyway?

Rabbits can't climb trees, so they wait for our peaches to fall.

And then they feast.

Our master gardener, my hubbie, has set a rabbit fence around the zucchini, but I think the zucchini will eventually escape it.

What do you think? Will the rabbits just wait for the zucchini to escape the fence?

Marilynne

Visitng Beautiful Places

2010-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

There are so many beautiful and interesting places in this world. We should visit as many of them as we can. This week we're visiting in Shohomish, WA, which is a favorite place for more than one reason.

One of our daughters lives here. One is visiting; another is missed very much.
We are staying at the Countryman, which is a very nice bed and breakfast place
We are in the midst of fabulous scenery and interesting people

Here is family at the bed and breakfast where we all seem to congregate on the big, soft bed. I'm taking the photo.

Amazing! We have had sunshine every day but one. Today we visited Seattle's Pike Place Market so it didn't matter if it was raining.

Marilynne

Puppy Love

2010-06-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

A favorite photo. Our puppy Honcho was a little ball of fluff on his first outing to the beach. He looks this way because he can't climb over the log to go and play and he doesn't know enough to try to go around.

Marilynne

The lavishness of a wet spring

2010-05-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

My husband has allowed the radishes to go to seed. Who would think a tiny radish could grow into such a bouquet? Roy says when it goes to seed he'll have radishes coming up all over his garden.

These 6-ft. tall radish flowers bloom in his vegetable garden. They smell lovely - not at all like radishes.

On the west side of the house, the lavender needs to be beaten back as it's taking over the round garden. My determined creeping rosemary, which is now sharing with the lavender, just sneaks out from under all those flowers.

The lantana is beginning to be a proper size bush. It's a gift from the wild birds that I feed at the back of the house. Its parent plant in a shady spot on the east side isn't doing nearly as well.

All this is the result of a winter full of gentle rain and now, the late spring sun. I'm going to enjoy it while I can. My rocking chair is well used as the air warms. Summer is coming.

Marilynne

The road traveled leads - where?

2010-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

When you walk a path, sometimes you have no idea where it will lead. It just looks interesting, so you walk down it. Wouldn't you walk a ways along this forest path? I did.

However, sometimes it's not clear where the path will take you. There are no promises. It's just that it intrigues you. Your curiosity has caught you and you just follow it somewhere. Hasn't that happened to you?

Have you ever looked into an old window and wondered what's inside? Did you just follow your curiosity?

I received a Kindle for my birthday this week. This is a milestone for me and my curiosity. A Kindle, if you don't already know, is an eBook reader. A book is electronically stored on it for you to read. My Kindle already holds about 20 books and can hold many many more. I am intrigued by it. Looking back, I see a path through my life that leads to the Kindle and my eBooks.

What seems like a very long time ago, but was probably in the late 1970s, I was introduced to a preliminary form of eBook. The final product was on paper, but I worked on it using a computer. If you remember the computers of the 1970s, you remember that Microsoft had not yet invented Windows. There was no Word program. It was pretty basic.

What caught my curiosity was that I had to code my books using a program called Cande. A programmer had been curious about whether she could write a program to create documents and I happened to be using this program to publish company documents. With Cande you had to tell it what to do. There was a code for headings and one for paragraphs and wonder of all wonders, there was a code for making lists. When I wanted to print the document I had to run a compile program that took two hours or more, depending on whether the company wanted to use their computers for anything else at the same time. Once the compile program was done, I would print it by sending it by telephone lines about 40 miles to another company facility that owned a high speed printer. They would print it overnight on big pages with holes on the sides and green lines running across the page so you could keep your place. A messenger would bring the copy on his regular run between our facility and theirs.

When I first was introduced to HTML (hypertext markup language used for creating web sites) I saw the similarity to coding with Cande and pretty much gobbled up the learning curve. No problem. I knew the applications and was more than willing to learn. At the time, HTML language was growing so fast you could barely keep up with it. I did because my curiosity had me. I wanted to try it and see what I could do with it.

You may think I was a programmer. In a way I was, but only because I was writing and publishing documents, and later web sites using this simple programming language called HTML.

Jump ahead many happy happy years of programming documents and find me talking to a new company with a new boss about the what was the most exciting thing in publication then. I enthusiastically said HTML. They hadn't even begun to explore what you could do with it.

I told them I thought we should write books just for the web (I hadn't imagined eReaders then). I thought they could have flexible endings. You would reach decision points in your reading, and depending on your input you would have this story or that one. You could read it many times and have different stories because of your choices. Well, that hasn't proved financially interesting yet, but I did go so far as to have a web site of my own where I posted stories for my grandchildren and any other child who happened to find it.

They hired me to - you guessed it - create documents, including books, that would be printed later, but while I worked on them, they were programmed in a more sophisticated code that was still similar to HTML. Were they ever going to get around to eBooks? Was that such a bad idea?

Here I am joking around on Halloween at this company, while in truth, showing someone how to make flow charts. Graphics were such a pain in markup language.

Still it all progressed and now I have my Kindle. I absolutely adore it. While I had nothing to do with developing it, I saw the ability to do it growing right in front of my eyes. I feel a connection with its e-ness. Try out an eReader and see how it goes for you.

Marilynne

Design a Bikini? Here's my choice

2010-04-10T15:40:00.001-07:00

Help me to win, vote on my bikini here!

Low Water Needs Plants

2010-04-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have a very dry garden. In the summer the grass dries up and dust rises. I water the roses and the trees and most everything else is left to grow or die on its own. It's not that I want it that way, but water use is restricted in my area. The cost of watering anything, including people, is very high.

When we moved the mailboxes to our side of the property it looked so bare. My hubbie helped me make a barrel garden next to the mailboxes. Time passed and the mailboxes were sunk in another barrel garden next to the first. My neighbor planted wildflowers, which sometimes look more like weeds in her barrel. I planted all sorts of things in my barrel, but nothing survived the hot, dry summers.

Then, in a moment of inspiration I planted three 2-inch pots of succulents in the garden. Succulents are known for storing water in their trunks and leaves. Those succulents have been growing for a few years. They've grown big and tall.

This year we had a lot of rain in nice, measured amounts. What does a succulent do when there's plenty of water? Unless the roots have rotted from being too wet, not a likely scenario in a barrel garden, succulents grow while the water is available. I have three spikes of yellow blooms on the dark colored one. The stripy green and yellow one has "flowers" as big as dinner plates. It's quite a show.

The flower spikes are taller than the mail box. They look so unusual. I should also point out that if that dark succulent were growing in shade or part shade, it would be green with a dark edge on its leaves.

Enjoy. Marilynne

Fun things to do

2010-03-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Julochka from Moments of Perfect Clarity has a sweet list of things on her web site. I thought I'd try the list from my own perspective. It looks like fun.

If I were . . .

If I were a month I’d be October

If I were a day I’d be Thursday

If I were a time of day I’d be 10:30 a.m.

If I were a font I’d be Comic Sans

If I were a sea animal I’d be a graceful, sunny Garibaldi

If I were a direction I’d be southwest

If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a commodious old-fashioned writing desk

If I were a liquid I’d be orange juice

If I were a gemstone I’d be amber

If I were a tree I’d be a redwood reaching for the sky

If I were a tool I’d be a router because it changes things

If I were a flower I’d be a hibiscus

If I were an element of weather I’d be a summer breeze

If I were a musical instrument I’d be a brass drum

If I were a color I’d be a rainbow

If I were an emotion I’d be happy

If I were a fruit I’d be a mango

If I were a sound I’d be melodious

If I were an element I’d be silver

If I were a car I’d be a sporty convertible

If I were a food I’d be BBQ ribs

If I were a place I’d be home

If I were material I’d be silk or calico or something else pretty

If I were a taste I’d be tart and sweet

If I were a scent I’d be the scent of the summer wind

If I were a body part I’d be a heart

If I were a song I’d be May I have this Dance? sung by Anne Murray

If I were a bird I’d be a canary

If I were a gift I’d be musical

If I were a city I’d be San Diego

If I were a door I’d be locked with a handsome doorbell

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be white sandals

If I were a poem I’d write it myself
-----------------------------------------------

Check out Julochka's list. If you were all these things, who would you be?

This is a fun challenge. I'm amazed how quickly the answers
just came to me. So try it. Please do,
then leave the URL to your blog on my comment page
so we can click over and read it.

Marilynne

How to feel good working on the computer

2010-03-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

My daughters were talking about having monkey neck from working on the computer. I never heard it called that, but I know they're talking about the sore, rigid shoulders and neck that you get from working on a computer all day. Here's my advice to them.

Dear kids. I used to teach this to people while I ran the proposal room in LA. A few minutes spent every hour or so will work wonders for how you feel when you’re done. When working at the computer, every now and then:

Flex your shoulders
Push your shoulders to your ears and hold a few seconds
Pull your shoulders forward, hold, then backward and hold
Rotate your shoulders forward and back
Rotate your neck

Buy some resistance bands. A resistance band or two tucks easily into a desk drawer.

Use them
Especially helpful is to pull the band in front, high and behind as low as is comfortable. I think I probably should demonstrate that one, but it’s probably in the box the bands came in.

It doesn’t take long. Make a habit of it when you’re working hard. The few minutes you spend not working will not put you behind on your work. While you’re at it, take the time to look into the distance, anywhere, and give your eyes a rest as well.

When you go home, try working with free weights (dumbbells), especially those for the upper body. You need to release the tension that builds up in your body.

Love, Mom

A taste for art

2010-03-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today I traveled a few miles north of my town to the village of Fallbrook. Fallbrook has a large art community and I wanted to see an Exhibition of the National Watercolor Society. Fallbrook is a cute little town surrounded by orchards and small ranches. The main crop is avocados and oranges - and art. I went to see the art. I was not disappointed. The art was fantastic! I just wandered through the exhibition in wonderment. How could you do such fantastic things in watercolor? Watercolor is not an easy medium to learn and I've been working at it for several years. The exhibit opened my mind to what you can do with it - almost anything, it would appear.

Once I picked up a handful of brochures, toured the exhibit, walked through a few art galleries, and checked out a quilting store I was tired and my feet hurt. Where could I find a coffee shop where I could rest? I asked the lady at the quilt store. She directed me down the street. "It looks like it's a bank, but it's a coffee shop" she told me. She was right, it looked exactly like a bank, but it was a coffee shop filled with big overstuffed chairs and tables. All taken.

I am no longer a shy person. Sometimes it's hard to believe I was ever shy. I walked up to where a couple was sitting in a space for four and told them I was tired and needed to sit in one of the comfy chairs. I was plopped down in the chair with my latte before they could object.

However, I was lucky. I had joined a friendly couple, Cyrene and Sam whom, I discovered, had just moved south from the town where my oldest daughter lived for many years. We had lots to talk about and I spent a pleasant time resting my feet and talking about places we both recognized, from Friar Tucks to the shop that sold Cornish Pasties.

There are times when life is good and this afternoon was one of them. My little trip was crowned by my hubbie having dinner ready when I got home. Could a woman ask for more?

Marilynne

A bit of springtime for my snow-bound friends

2010-02-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Winter has disappeared at my house. For the benefit of those of you who are still snow bound, I offer the hope of Spring.

Tiny snow bells sneaking out from behind a Gardenia Bush.

The promise of summer peaches

Peas growing almost as tall as I.

Shelling peas at the table. I ate all I shelled. My hubby put his in the refrigerator for me to eat later.

Our dog Jake enjoying a quiet moment.

Marilynne

Making up recipes: biscuits, cheese sauce, ham and peas

2010-02-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

I don't like to cook much. I'm usually tired at dinner time and don't want to be bothered. My long-suffering hubby is OK with that. (No, you can't have him.) Sometimes he cooks, sometimes we scrounge in the freezer or refrigerator, and a lot of the time we go out to eat. We are a family of two adults. That helps too.

This afternoon though, I felt inspired by the bits and pieces of ham I found in the chest freezer. Meat, I had then. What should I cook with it? We ended up with a yummy cheese sauce, home-made biscuits, and freshly shelled peas. How fresh? My hubby was shelling them up to the time I told him to get his plate, dinner was ready.

Biscuits you can find a recipe for. I used Bisquick baking mix.

Ham, of any sort. I frizzled it in a bit of butter to make it warm.

Cheese sauce - here's where you need a recipe - home style, the way I made it.

Dice 1/2 small onion and cook in butter or margerine until transparent.
Add salt and pepper. Stir it in well.
Sift about 1/4 cup flour into the onion mix. (I said sift, but I kind of shook the measure and let the flour fall out.) Stir the mixture, adding butter, if necessary, to keep the mixture soft, not hard and lumpy. Stir and cook about 1 1/2 minutes.
Slowly stir in at least 1 cup of milk. Keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken.
Turn down the heat and add 1/2-inch slice Velveeta - from a 2-lb box; a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese; and a half slice or more of Tillamook pepper jack cheese. The Tillamook cheeses add a bit of flavor that's lacking in the Velveeta. Stir mixture until the cheese is melted and the sauce is evenly textured.

Meanwhile, get hubby busy shelling peas. He's slow and if you don't keep after him you'll have to eat the peas raw. (Actually, we did eat them raw because fresh from the garden peas are sweet and delicious raw.)

The meal goes together like this:
Slice the biscuit in half, top with frizzled ham, cover with cheese sauce. If you like your peas this way, sprinkle the raw peas over the top. It gives it all a bit of crunch.

Good luck! The ingredients are so tasty that if you don't follow this recipe exactly, it will still be pretty fine eating. I would recommend not stirring the ham into the cheese sauce before serving. You want it to taste like cheese, not like ham.

Marilynne
[I fixed this recipe Feb. 8, 2010. MRS]

My little ebook reader - do I want one?

2010-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

Would I like to have an ebook reader (eReader)? You betcha I would! Can I afford it? That comes down to how much do I want one. I could spend that much money on one, but is it worth it to me?

After so many years of Kindle, now all of a sudden there are a dozen eReaders on the market. (See http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3508_7-10002312-1.html?tag=mncol;txt for a discussion of eReaders.)

What would I like in an eReader?

An absolutely mammoth number of book choices
An easy way to find the book I'd like to read
Light in weight so my hands don't get tired while I read
Easy to read so my eyes don't get tired while I read
Pleasant design - I don't care much for just silver.
A cover or envelope to protect it.
Able to read it in any light.
It would be nice if it would read the book to me when I'm tired.

Here's a big one. I'd like to be able to hold it in my hands and try it out before I buy it. Is that too much to ask?

The first Nook (Barnes & Noble) I held in my hands wasn't operational. It was a non-working dud. I don't think much of that as a marketing point.

Today, some months later, I was able to hold a working Nook (Barnes & Noble's eReader) in my hands. That was after I

Saw the sign and a cardboard version of the Nook at Barnes & Noble
Asked if I could see a real operating Nook.
Waited while the clerk went to get a key
Waited for the clerk to unlock the drawer with the key
Waited for the clerk to set it up in this locking display so I couldn't run off with it
Waited for it to boot up and contact the Internet

By the time the clerk put it in my hands, I wondered how they could possible sell the Nook if they kept it under lock and key all the time. Why not have the clerk wander the store offering to let people try it? It's what I wanted to do - try it.

Once I had the Nook in my eager hands, I read that I would receive a discount for a Nook Book (is that what you call them) when I bought the Nook. That's not a selling point for me. I want to experience reading on a Nook, or a Kindle, or a Sony eReader. Let me just play with it for a minute, OK?

The clerk finally decided to trust me with it for a moment. No matter what arrow I pushed I couldn't get rid of the coupon. It kept asking me if I wanted to buy the coupon for free. I did not. Finally I caught the clerk's eye and told him I couldn't make it work. "Oh, here's how" and he clicked some things that caused the control panel to pop up. OK, I was able to call up a list of best sellers, read a bit of it, download it for a very reasonable price compared to buying it in hard back.

I punched buttons a while, just looking around. Then it hit me. Every time I asked for something else, I had to wait. What if I was reading a book? Would I have to wait every time I wanted to turn the page? I read in great gulps. That is, I read very quickly if I'm enjoying what I read. This would slow me down.

I explained to the clerk what my problem was. He said it wouldn't be like that if I was just reading a book. It was happening because it was connected to the store's wireless. He didn't explain how you turned off the wireless.

I had looked forward to actually having my hands on an eReader. I'm pretty sure I'd like to own one, but which one? In my opinion, they are still experimenting.

There is no common interface. While Barnes & Noble seems to be sharing its technology with other eReaders, Amazon.com is saying my way or no way. Now, with the iPad coming out with its ability to be an eReader and do other things, we'll have another standard for the books.
For the most part they're ugly. I don't want a flashy design that would compete with the book I'm reading and drive my eyes crazy, but what's wrong with a soft leather in a creamy shade? I'm in favor of texture because I know that stainless steels, brushed aluminum, whatever that cover is, will show any little thing that gets on it. I intend to use an eReader just like I do my paper books - in a comfy chair with a cup of coffee and maybe a cookie or two by my side.
I want to be able to tuck it in my purse.
I want a cover on it
I want it to be light
I want it to be sturdy. When I drop a paper back book, I only worry about my bookmark falling out of place. I want my eReader to be nearly indestructible.

But wait. Are the manufacturers even asking the readers what they want in an eReader? Oh my, I hope they are!

Marilynne

Rain Welcome but do we need so much at once?

2010-01-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

In Southern California, we have been dealing with drought for several years now. I was used to my dead grass and watering my trees by hand so they'd survive. Now, late in an El Nino season, it has begun to rain. From our perspective, that's a wonderful thing, but do we need it all at once? The truth is, we'll take it however it comes.

Our rural street crosses a creek at one point. If you want to get to my house, you have to cross it. It's called an Arizona Crossing - a low-lying concrete structure that's designed to allow excess water to go over the bridge when there's too much to go under it.

Normally there is a bit of water going under the bridge. I don't know where it comes from. Sometimes the neighborhood children lay on their stomachs on on the bridge and fish for a kind of crawdad that lives here. Keep this picture in your mind while you watch the movie.

The place where the children like to lie and fish for crawdads is where you see the tiny waterfall on the left side of the road.

All that noise is from the rain falling on my umbrella. The movie begins with water flowing down my street and into the creek. The main flow of water is directly over the bridge.

Isn't that something? The water was flowing harder yesterday, but there is more water in the movies. The water coming up to the bridge is higher and deeper than the bridge itself.

I wish we could save every drop of it, but much of it just flows to the ocean.

Marilynne

Let's have a dose of reality - the home shows on TV

2010-01-07T13:11:00.000-08:00

I watched HGTV's Dream Home special the other day. I'd recorded it, so I watched it at my leisure.

When I first saw a photo of the 2010 Dream Home I told my sis-in-law "I want to win that house!" Look at that statement in a different light than other years. This year I REALLY would like to win that home. I love its classic Santa Fe lines.

But where are the logs sticking out from under the roof. They are so earthy in this style of house. And where are the sheltered courtyards? Once that thought hit, it was bad news so far as my liking the new Dream Home.

I cling hard to my impossible wants. If I know my chances are a billion to one of winning, then I feel free to want it, knowing I won't have to make the big decisions that come with actually winning the prize. I'd like to live there, but that would mean giving up my husband's garden, giving up our friends and most likely our square dance groups, being even further away from our kids, and settling down in a new community.

Other than the above, what would it cost to accept the big prize and move in? Well, there are taxes on your winnings, security for the property (it's famous now), different utility costs (especially since we're currently on solar electricity), changes in my personal likes and dislikes, and probably costs I've never even dreamed of.

I wonder why they didn't put in solar for electricity? Santa Fe is an excellent location for solar and they've got the room, they don't even have to put it on the roof. They could position it over the curve of the hill and it wouldn't even affect the view. Water conservation got a nod with dry landscaping, but there is no passive heating or cooling that I can tell.

At times when I was watching the show, I wondered if this was a case of a New Yorker meeting the New Mexico desert for the first time. HGTV showcases some Santa Fe artwork, but most of it looks like they bought it on the East Coast.

And the furnishings? They were purchased in New York at Ethan Allen. I know that Ethan Allen has a line of southwest-style furnishings, but you aren't likely to see them here. The furnishings look like they were purchased for a New York apartment. Look at all the dark wood. Look at all the wood period. How far away was that shipped? Did anyone look at Santa Fe style? Yes, there were a few pieces of light wood, but they still were square and hard looking.

I must say here I am a lover of the Santa Fe style, but I live in Southern California. The Santa Fe style is a wonderful look, full of quiet colors, light colored wood, and tiled floors. Stucco inside is popular, especially for the fireplaces, but not required. You know what I'm talking about, don't you.

So, I was really disappointed with the HGTV Dream Home. I still love it's outside look, but if I win, and that's a big IF - especially since I just posted this critique, I'd have to strip out most of the inside and start over. I hate the heavy decor and closed in spaces. I'd want more Santa Fe art with enormous creamy landscapes and Indian pots, and such. That's what I'd do if it were mine.

What would you do to it? Do you like it the way it is?

Marilynne

Afterword: Do you have any idea what the paddle-shaped cactus in the front yard is going to look like in a few years? Nice to great your guests with 4-inch spines.

The sky in winter

2009-12-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

I live by the beach. Today we walked on the beach at Carlsbad California. The sky and the sun and the water made such great pictures. It was cold, but pleasant. The surfers looked like two-legged whales in their black wet suits.

Marilynne

I know I can do this. I'm a NaNoWriMo winner!

2009-11-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting experience. Can I write 50,000 words in a month if I ignore misspellings, bad punctuation, and places I am yearning to edit? The answer is yes. I accepted the challenge toward the end of October and I met it today, November 28, 2009.

What's interesting is the feeling now that I can do that. I can do it. If I can do that, then I can edit it to perfection and hopefully send it out for the next test: does anyone want to publish it. From my writer acquaintances I know that selling your novel can be difficult, but not impossible.

In my case, I know I can edit and polish the book. I've done that for years as a technical writer. I know there will be some surprises, but there were surprises when I wrote the draft. For instance, I didn't know Charlie would nearly drown because he couldn't swim. I didn't know about the secret tunnel, or that I would gain new friends by meeting adversity. Once I got going, I just went whoosh! If I did it once, I can do it again.

If you think you'd like to try it next year, go to the NaNoWriMo web site and check out the rules. Then next November, let the fingers fly. I expect to do it again next year. See you there.

Marilynne

Just a drop of water

2009-11-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

I found this on Facebook, brought to me by Dana Stabenow, the author. It is so cool I thought I should help pass it along.

Marilynne

NaNoWriMO

2009-10-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. I'll be checking in here now and then to tell you my woes or my word count or whatever I have time for.

Wish me luck. 50,000 words is a lot of words.

Marilynne

Nov. 1, 2500 words to start. So far, it's easy.

Nov. 4, 9000 words and more to write today.

Nov. 7, 16, 300 words. I'm beginning to enjoy this.

White Sand, Nothing But White Sand

2009-10-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

We've been to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. The dunes are beautiful, wonderful, awe-inspiring. I took a movie so you could see. I am turning in my spot a full 360 degrees.

Music from Tombstone, Arizona

2009-10-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

We visited Tombstone, Arizona, this week. It's where they had the gunfight at the OK Corral. It was hot and so we visited the Big Nose Kate Saloon. The music here is provided by Mick - no other name given.

Enjoy.

Marilynne

Unintended accusations

2009-10-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

Last night I left one of my poems at moments of perfect clarity .

Julochka said of the quilt she had pictured that it had been made from clothing her children had once worn. She always thought of them when she looked at it. I related to that and thought of the poem.

I thought today that I would tell you a bit about the way this little ditty came to be.

I was in my first writing class and I’d joined the class late. Our teacher liked to knit while we read or discussed things.

On this day we were to write a limerick. I’ve always loved writing limericks and this one popped into my head nearly whole, as my poems often do.

Writing Class

There once was a teacher of note
Who listened more than she wrote
To words of great wit as she sat and knit
Words and letters entangled became.

One day she spied a sweater
And remembered every letter
Of the words between the stitches she had knit
To the words she gave her name
To who belongs the fame?
To the sweater, or the teacher, or the wit?

(c) Marilynne Smith

There is an odd ending to my writing this limerick. When I wrote it, I didn't realize there is an accusation here. After all, I was only writing a silly little poem. I was proud of it and told my teacher that since she was the inspiration for the poem, I was giving it to her.

Ah, unintended accusations. My teacher never returned to the class. I was only encapsulating a thought as a poem. I meant nothing. I did not intend to accuse her.

I've always felt I would have liked to apologize to her. But then, would that be making it worse? I don't know. I just know that limericks tell a little story and that is the one I told. It was nothing more than that and nothing less.

Marilynne

WiFi clog.blog

2009-10-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today as a treat I went to Barnes and Noble and used the 15% off coupon they sent me in the mail. I grabbed an audio book and an armful of Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarten books to read on our vacation. I was having a good day.

I went to the in-house Starbucks for lunch. I ordered my lunch, and turned around to find a table. The tables were all filled with people and laptops using the WiFi. Some had even stacked their books on the adjoining tables so they were holding down two tables! ARRRGGGHHH! Here I am with lunch coming and nowhere to eat it - except at the counter in the sunshine. I guess I should be grateful that sunshine and laptops don't get along.

Having WiFi at a coffee house is a great thing. I do like the idea. However, does one cup of coffee entitle you to a seat for a morning or an afternoon? Time to do your homework with a friend or crash out some work in a friendly environment? Are you entitled to hog the space?

I asked that, but I really don't care about the answer. All I wanted was a nice place to eat my $8.50 lunch. I felt entitled to a comfortable table and they were all taken. I wish they would expand these coffee houses now to make room for the environment they created. I wish everyone could have a seat there.

Marilynne

Old Gardeners Never Die . . .

2009-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Old gardeners never die, they just go to seed. This saying is on a small plaque on the porch that leads to our garden. I tend to believe it.

Think about it. You're getting lots of fresh air and sunshine. Depending on your physical limitations, you can get a lot of hard exercise like tilling the ground with a shovel and trimming trees and bushes, or you can just do a little tinkering, like dead-heading the roses.

At our house, my husband is the one who likes to dig in the dirt, going through all the steps to make a fine big garden. I lean more toward the dead-heading of roses. Good exercise in a nice environment.

Psychologically, this exercise is rewarding. For your efforts you receive a handsome amount of fresh vegetables, or, in my case, lovely cascades of roses. It's hard to be depressed when you're a gardener.

EXCEPT, when the gopher pulls your lush tomatoes down into his hole for a snack. Or the nematodes strike the roots. (Too bad the nematodes don't attack the gophers.) In the spring, rabbits love to nibble on the fresh shoots. That requires plastic fencing around the seedlings. Gardening teaches you to fight for what's yours. It brings out the gentleness in you if you fence away the rabbits and fill in gopher holes instead of killing them.

You appreciate the things that insects and small animals do. Our rabbits love the tender seedlings of the weeds in our yard. They eat them first. Bees pollinate (and once set up a hive in a tent of green peas). Bees and other insects make sure pollen falls on each and every strand of silk in our corn patch. Try pollinating yourself with a Qtip and see how much you appreciate the work of the bees.

We have a little black and white bird that likes to sit on the handle of our shovel, or on a stake if the shovel's in use. He watches my husband turn up the soil, then eats the bugs that fly up. He's a clever little fellow, fast and agile. He's a lot of fun to watch. Because we feed the birds, we have a lot of them. You might think the birds just eat the seeds. Nope. We have volunteer sunflowers that grow by our bird feeders. The birds snack on the seeds, then they snack on whatever is living on the leaves of the sunflowers. They seem to like variety.

So, you have a nice environment, good exercise, an upbeat life, and the ability to fight nicely for what is yours. What else?

You have the pleasure of the harvest. All your hard earned work now pays off and you have more fresh vegetables and fruits than you can eat or put away for winter. We find that we eat frantically, trying to eat as many veggies and fruits as we can while they're in your prime. You can practically feel the vitamins singing their way into your bodies.

I always feel better when my husband is gardening. I also feel better when tending my roses and the bird feeders show results. Even in this long year of drought my roses are blooming madly.

I am watering the garden by hand so nothing is wasted. For my trouble I have five new pepper trees and two eucalyptus coming up from the mulch. Yes, I know they aren't primo trees - or are they? They're handling this drought just fine. As are the fruit trees. The citrus trees are putting out a bumper crop this year. I find myself unhappily thinning these trees.

I'm beginning to wander. The whole point of this post is to say that if you want to be healthy, plant a garden in the winter years of your life.

Marilynne

Running the electrical meter backwards

2009-09-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

We have a new system for solar energy. Today it was gloomy and overcast at 4 PM. The picture shows it's not an ideal day for solar energy. BUT, take a look at our meter running backwards.

There are more photos on
http://marilynnesmith.com/blogging

Isn't that fun?

Marilynne

From the Old to the Young - a visual message

2009-08-30T15:03:00.001-07:00

I bring this to you because it moved me. I hope you enjoy it too.

Thanks to Judy Neiman-Sander for bringing it to my attention.

Marilynne

Little Boy Big Dancing with Special Effects

2009-08-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

I follow Glosson Blog which is written by a young boy with a very big talent. Today I discovered he has a younger brother who dances. I don't know who did the special effects, but I don't think he forgot to use any.

Still, I am impressed with these young people and thought I'd share some with you. To read Glosson Blog, follow the link. Here's the dancer.

I hope you loved it.

Marilynne

The scenic route

2009-08-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Whenever we get lost or have to go out of our way to get somewhere, we say we've taken the scenic route. That phrase probably began on the super highways of the USA. Probably someone wanted to get away from the slick, fast, and straight and see some of the local scenery. Thereby, they left the super highway and took the scenic route.

Lately I've noticed that as you get older, you take more scenic routes. Mostly not by choice. But it's not a bad thing. You see a lot more on the side roads. They have restaurants and gas stations, stop lights, and whole towns you can drive through. If you have the time, the scenic route is a great choice.

Today we were looking for the Sizzler. We love their Sunday brunch, but our closest Sizzler has let down on quality. We wanted to see if another was better. It was. However, we had to take the scenic route to get there. We remembered what street it was one, but when we arrived at the intersection, we forgot which way to turn. So we did a scenic route the wrong way, then a direct route to the Sizzler. On the way home, a wrong turn took us on another scenic route. We saw routes and businesses we'd not seen before and checked out Auto Row to see which Dealers were taking old cars.

When you're older, it's excusable to take the scenic route. It becomes a mini adventure.

Marilynne

Dang Me

2009-07-25T12:27:00.001-07:00

Roger Miller was a big part of my dating life with my husband. We'd sing along so happily about the bad boy in Dang Me. Here he is singing that song again.

Why do I like it so much? I don't know. Maybe because he's so open about it all.

Marilynne

Trees put to new uses

2009-07-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

I seem to write a lot about trees. That's because with the drought in California our trees have been less resistant to disease. We can't afford to water them all, so selected trees have to go. In addition, we had to take down a large pepper tree because it shaded our south roof. The south roof is where the solar panels are going to go. (BIG GRIN)

A couple weeks ago we had someone take out the large pepper tree and three diseased trees. Then he mulched them and left a huge pile of mulch out by the road. The first picture shows the big piles of mulch. I took on the job of distributing the mulch, but it was too big for me. My husband helped a little, but he has other gardening to do.

So, along came this nice man looking for work. I hired him to spread the mulch. He, a friend, and two kids (one kid too little to help) spread the whole pile in 5 hours. No wonder I thought it was too much for me.

Picture two is how my yard looks now. The trees haven't left home, they're just mulched so the remaining trees can survive. We took some of the big trunk pieces and put them in a circle with a large one in the middle. Now we have a rough seating area there. That's kind of cool.

Some little pepper trees and one liquid amber tree are coming up in the lawn and so I'm watering them, hoping they'll survive and make big trees. Peppers grow fast and they mulch themselves, so they're pretty easy. I also have a young eucalyptus growing. These plants are all young and healthy and will help me get over losing so many trees. Maybe I'll even get something pretty for the front yard.

So, all about trees, why to cut them down, and how to help others survive.

Marilynne

My Ever Lovin'

2009-07-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is my ever lovin' hubbie making the centers for deviled eggs. He stubbornly refuses to cook any way but his way. When I saw this, I just had to take his picture. His deviled eggs are really popular with our square dance crowd.

A gushy review of a good book

2009-06-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Borderline by Nevada Barr. I am astonished how much this already great writer has improved. Borderline is a real page turner from the puzzling "Confession" to the last page.

Let me quote part of "Confession"
"For purposes of mine own I have done many terrible things. I have moved thousands of tons of rocks from . . . "

I read this short paragraph three times before I realized it was like an Acknowledgments page. Nevada is telling us that for the purpose of her story she has changed the scenery around a bit. I loved her amusing way of telling us so. Most acknowledgments are pretty dry.

Nevada Barr is known for her books that feature park ranger Anna Pigeon. They take place in the various National Parks. Borderline, the book, takes place in Big Bends National Park. Big Bend is on the border of Texas and Mexico and much of the story takes place IN the Rio Grand. Or should I say the best parts do.

Anna Pigeon has had a traumatic experience (told in the previous book) and has come to Big Bend with her husband Paul suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. She's in bad shape. She and Paul plan a rafting trip through the park and down the Rio Grand. Everything goes wrong, of course, and Anna finds herself not only caring for a newborn baby, but carrying it around during some of the most treacherous parts of the book.

I can't tell you more without giving things away. This is such a good book and I hope you'll read it some day soon and find that you agree with me.

Marilynne

Del Mar Fair

2009-06-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the fair. In my early teens I knew some of the guys who rode in the rodeo. I'd visit in a whirl of colors and a swarm of friends. The teens are still there, they just aren't me.

Yesterday's fair was different. My teen years are so far in the back of my mind, the pictures play in my mind like looking at old photographs. Yes, I know it was me, but it was sooo long ago.

The reason this fair was different was because last year we rented a wheel chair so I could go. I was still in a lot of pain with my knee and making the rounds of the doctors. This year, thanks to a lot of physical therapy and over 100 visits to Curves, I walked myself. We walked around for about 3 1/2 hours, sitting when I needed to, but on my own power. I like the fair better this way.

I had a roast beef sandwich before I left home, then told my hubbie the diet was off and I was eating junk food at the fair. I had potato twirlers (one potato cut in a swirl, then deep fat fried and salted way too much), corn roasted over a grill (our favorite), and a funnel cake with powdered sugar, which I regretted eating once it was gone. Don't we always regret breaking our diets AFTER the deed is done?

It was fun. Today, in spite of massaging my feet and legs, I am too tired to visit Curves. My legs feel like rubber and my feet are complaining mightily. My knee doesn't hurt, though. It hasn't hurt in a long, long time. Like a little kid, I need a rest day.

Here's a picture from the fair. It came from this site. Well, blogger wants the picture elsewhere. I hope it brings back fair memories for you too.

Paper, Plastic, or Reusable?

2009-06-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

On Facebook.com today there was a poll. Do you use paper, plastic, or reusable bags for your groceries? It's an easy answer for me. Even though I do sometimes use plastic bags and recycle them, currently I'm using big strong canvas bags. I especially like canvas bags that I can sling over my shoulder. It's much easier to carry the weight when it's over my shoulder.

I bought canvas bags years ago when consumers were becoming aware of the fact that it takes trees to make paper bags, but that plastic bags take a very long time to decay. While plastic bags are still loose on the earth they harm wild life and dolphins. Why dolphins in particular? I don't know, but you'd think any type of wild life could be harmed.

So, years ago I bought my generous collection of canvas bags and I've found them incredibly useful - not just for moving groceries from store to car to home.

Most of my bags are also art objects. In particular, the largest bag (maybe the oldest bag) carries the hand prints of my oldest daughter, her husband, and her three children. I don't know what she used for paint, but it's lasted through many washings.

Then I have a few bags from Barnes and Noble featuring famous authors (though not necessarily my favorite authors).

There's the bag I bought in the Phoenix Airport that's green with Indian designs on it. The bag I bought at a Wells Fargo Museum that has symbols of the old west and the pony express. I have a few with the name of a grocery store on them - usually a health food store. I take the bags reserved for the grocery store and stuff them all in the big bag with the hand prints. That way it's easy to get them out to use.

I have quite a collection. I even have some smaller ones big enough for a book or lunch, but not for groceries.

I have a huge bag I can sling over my shoulder that carries my art supplies to class and back. I have another huge bag that just carries my stuff: writing supplies, lunch, camera, whatever.

I guess you could call me a bag lady of the educated sort. What do you use, paper, plastic or reusable bags?

Marilynne

2009-06-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of a very bright young lady.

In the moment

2009-06-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Diego. The ocean was unbelievable - a deep turquoise, with white-as-light foam on top of the waves. There were fluffy clouds scudding across the sky, making areas of light and dark on the water. I couldn't stop but I rolled down the windows for a good dose of sea air. Sea air always makes me feel energized. I think there's a scientific reason for it.

The sand was smooth and mostly untouched. Did you ever think about the fact that the ocean wipes the closest sand clean twice a day? Twice a day, on the wet side of the beach it's a new beach, clean, full of different things.

Do you ever think of the ocean as a kind of living soup? The first time I realized this I couldn't stand to go back in and get wet. Take a gulp of ocean water (accidentally, I hope) and who knows what you've ingested?

Do you ever think about the fact that the water in our bodies is salty - our connection with other life and with the ocean?

I digress. I just wanted to tell you all how incredibly lovely it all was. Hope you have a good weekend.

Marilynne

High-speed trains - are they an answer?

2009-05-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

From an article by Victoria Bernette in the New York Times online edition:

"By 2020, Spain plans to spend close to 100 billion Euros on infrastructure and billions more on trains. That figure could give pause to places like California, a potential high-speed corridor whose area and population are about four-fifths the size of Spain’s.

“High-speed rail is good for society and it’s good for the environment, but it’s not a profitable business,” said Mr. Barrón of the International Union of Railways. He reckons that only two routes in the world — between Tokyo and Osaka, and between Paris and Lyon, France — have broken even."

This is a great article. I encourage you to follow the NYT link above and read the rest of the story.

I admit I'm a little jealous that it isn't the US that's doing this. We talk about it - it's even on President Obama's talk list, but is this the right time for us to do it? Probably not the right time to build it, but the right time to plan it.

We have a cute little train that runs near our house. It's called the Sprinter. It links two Interstate highways - Hwy 5 and Hwy 15. But wait, highways are for cars and the Sprinter is a train. Yes, but by using the Sprinter, people in our area can meet the north-south trains on the coast and go to LA or to San Diego in an easy train hop.

Our little Sprinter (usually only two cars) is Swiss-designed and developed. It runs so quietly you hardly hear it coming. At the cross roads there are no clanging bells, only a discrete whistle. The whistle says "If you don't respond to this whistle and stop, I'll have to get a bigger whistle and then people will be angry at you." The whistle is actually focused to be heard mostly in the narrow area of the tracks. Crossings are heavily engineered to make you stop when the train goes by. So far, so good.

People complain about the cost of it. Surely it's only busy at commute times or good beach times. Oh! Did I mention it's a straight shot to the beach in Oceanside? The youngsters love it. On good beach days I've seen our little two-car train become four cars and three sections of four-cars (their max trains, I think) taking people to the beach and bringing them back. The big train advantage here is that you don't have to park the train. It takes care of itself while you enjoy the beach. Parking for cars along the beach is way too little on a hot day, but not bad on a pleasant winter day. (grin)

My mother used to take the train from Sacramento, CA, to Ohio where her mother and sisters lived. It was cheaper and she felt better about going that way. Besides, there is the gorgeous scenery. (And the not so gorgeous scenery as you ride through certain sections of the towns.)

I took the Shasta Daylight from Sacramento to Tacoma, WA, when I was going to college. It saved a little money and I loved to ride the train.

There it is. I love to ride trains. I'd love to see a network of nice European trains criss-crossing our country. (Do we build trains? I don't think so. Maybe the auto industry could look into that.)

When they built the Sprinter, they upgraded the tracks to accommodate it. A nice upgraded track benefits all the trains that run on it, not just the high-speed trains.

Marilynne

Things that make me feel patriotic

2009-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today, let's talk about things patriotic. I've been puzzling about this a lot. Let's think this through.

This flag makes me feel patriotic because it shows a basic right, that ALL of the US belongs under the flag. That means whatever our color, race, religion, we all belong.
The pledge of allegiance makes me proud that I belong. When I was a kid, my dad used to tease me and tell me I didn't have to pledge allegiance to the flag because I'm Canadian born. But I have a piece of paper that says I'm a child of US citizens who was born abroad. I belong.
When immigrants take the pledge to become citizens of the US, they usually know more about US history than the rest us - because they just studied it. Because they chose to be citizens.
Flags stuck in the grass of our lawns or in flag poles. It means to me that the people who live here support the US with all its faults. We fly our flags proudly because we belong.
Parades make me feel patriotic, especially those parades celebrating our country. At those times I believe that we can make it work.
Celebrations of our military. How can I explain it? I'm proud that we have strong armed forces that can defend our borders and that these men and women are in the military by choice. That's a huge service to the rest of us and we shouldn't forget that. I am so afraid for our armed forces. I don't want them to be hurt. We can't all be in the armed forces so we should be behind them 100%.
I'm really patriotic when I think about freedom. My grandfathers came here from Germany when their home country was taking away the people's freedoms. I'm glad there was a place for them to go. I hope the US will always be a place for those who seek freedom.

If this seems soppy, well deal with it. I'm joined by millions of people who feel soppy about our country. We love it, with all its faults.

We are in the process of a great upheaval in our government. Changes must happen. They will happen. It's my prayer that our country will become stronger for it.

Marilynne

My free clip art came from http://www.ace-clipart.com/american-flag-clipart-01.html

Things I don't like, make me angry, or I wish they'd just go away

2009-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

I should start by telling you that I'm not angry about anything. It's just that, in this politically correct world we live in, some things displease me. What are they?

You don't mean that

I dislike someone telling me that I don't mean what I said, or correcting me to the politically correct way of saying things. I try to say what I mean, not what some people think is correct.

The traffic bullies. We probably all have different ideas about this, but . . .

I dislike people who, while I'm driving down the freeway, race up the ramp to be first, then act like they were there first and expect me to yield.
I dislike people who just pull over in front of me even when there's not enough room.
I dislike people who pull up behind me in the lane and blink their lights because they want to go faster than me. Why shouldn't they be the ones to go around? Why should I pull over into the next lane?
Women (I haven't had a man do this) who aren't paying attention to driving their car and when they run into you, they pull the flustered little lady act. I am supposed to forgive them for dinging my car? I'm female, too you know, and I take responsibility for what I do.

The guards at the gates. These are the people who control who goes in the door, who gets what table, who gets to do what. I don't dislike them all, but I dislike the ones who misuse their miniscule bit of authority to keep me from doing what I want.

Waiters who put my napkin in my lap. I'm guessing this is supposed to make me feel pampered. I don't. I feel like a little kid who can't be relied on to do it herself.

People who follow the rules down to the last nit. There are times to follow the rules and times when a bit of thought should be applied to the rules. If the rule doesn't make sense then maybe it shouldn't be applied. I used to take a bus to college, then walk through the parking lot to get to where I wanted to be. The parking lot had signs all over saying "No pedestrian traffic." When a person parks their car and leaves it, haven't they become a pedestrian? If you're not allowed to walk in a parking lot, how do you go where you want to be?

Controllers. I am passionate about not being controlled. It probably comes from my Germanic heritage, but nothing will make me angrier faster. Nothing will make me push back faster.

Manipulators. These are the cousins of the controllers. They know I don't want to be controlled so they try to manipulate me so I do what they want. I once told my boss at work. "I work for this company. I report to you. I expect to be told what to do. Why don't you just tell me what you want?"

If I thought a while I could double this list. What are do you not like?

Marilynne

What gives you pleasure?

2009-05-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Now and again I like to reflect on the things that give me pleasure.

1. The first thing that comes to mind (not in order of importance) are my bunny pictures. Here they're sitting on top of my sketch/watercolor book. The book sits on a desk where I keep my watercolor stuff out. I love it all, the bunnies, the sketchbook, painting in watercolors.

2. I love my laptop. It's just exactly what I want. It was a Christmas gift and I got to choose exactly what I wanted. Although . . . the other day I saw a netbook and it was soooo cute I almost bought it on that basis.

3. Bookstores, big and small. I just feel at home surrounded by books. (I am surrounded by books at home too.) There usually is a book near my hand, some times many more books than I need by my hand. (There's also a book or two on my laptop.)

4. Flowers. The first holiday after I was told I had diabetes was Easter. I wondered how one celebrates Easter without the candy and other sweet stuff. The answer was flowers. I always have a big bouquet of flowers during Easter season. They don't work as well on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I've learned. I decorate my tree with candy canes as usual. I used to let the kids give them to the friends from the tree. The big difference now is that I pack the candy canes away with the Christmas decorations each year. (They're real, but no one's going to eat them.)

5. Pets. I was always a cat person until I became allergic to them. Then, pet less, I decided to try a dog. Our Norwegian Elkhounds have turned out to be splendid pets. They're also not interested in chasing cats, though you can't convince the cats of it. The live bunnies now, they must think the dog is just a giant bunny.

6. Little things. If you look around the house, you'll see collections of little things, some so tiny you can hardly see what it is.

7. A day spent just bumping around, unfolding minute by minute. It's my good fortune that my husband also likes to do that, but lots of the time I just do it myself. There's a freedom about being on the road.

8. Friends who are low maintenance. I like friends who are my friends whether I saw them last week or not.

9. Blogging. I love blogging. I am so happy that my daughter got me started and there are sufficient places that I can blog to my heart's content.

10. Children. I love watch them, to talk to them, to see them discovering things. I have, however, lost my ability to be around them for hours. That doesn't mean I don't like them, but I think they draw my energy and I draw what should be their tiredness.

What are your favorite things? I'd love to hear about it.

Marilynne

If you look away for a while, it happens and you don't know it

2009-05-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

I drove into the city for a doctor's visit this morning, so I decided to go to the mall afterwords to shop for 1) a tea kettle and 2) some short exercise pants. Not usually a big chore.

I went to a big mall where I have been many times in the past, but not lately. They have gone upscale! By that I don't necessarily mean that the merchandise is upscale, but the prices certainly are.

When I visited this mall regularly some years ago, there was a move in management to get rid of all "oversize" clothing. Only skinny anemic types wanted, I guess. I objected at the time, pointing out that a large number of their women shoppers were "oversize." That was true.

On this visit, there were no "oversize" women shopping because there was no clothing for them to buy. Maybe they were at Sears buying sheets, I don't know.

This really upset me because I wanted something new, but also because I keep hearing about our overweight population in the news. Apparently this shopping center hasn't heard the news.

OK! I'm shut out. I can't shop for clothing. But what about the tea kettle? I found three: a brushed metal, a fancy polished metal, and a copper teapot (that had to be kept polished) priced in the range of $60 to $130! This store is known for its quality cookware, but $130 for a tea kettle you have to polish? No way! With our hard water, even with care it will soon be full of mineral deposits.

Worse yet, I didn't really want any of them. The two most expensive ones were full of places for dirt and grease and mineral deposits to hide. The cheapest one had nothing to recommend the price except for the fact that when you tilted it, the lid to the spout came up. At least it could sing or something!

So, I had a nice lunch of chicken curry and rice and went home. I did get a good walk out of it. It was a nice day and Brighton, purveyors of all things expensive, gave me a bottle of branded water to drink while I gasped at the prices. Maybe she just thought I was thirsty.

Happy shopping.

Marilynne

Bear encounters with TV Crew

2009-05-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

In Florida, a TV crew comes a little closer to a bear than is comfortable. However, I enjoyed the bear's encounter with the garbage can much more. Now, will someone feed that poor bear? He looks skinny.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/video.

Thankful Fridays

2009-04-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

I must thank Julie of Moments of Perfect Clarity for this idea. She listed 10 things for which she is thankful on her Friday blog and I'm hoping she'll forgive me for copying her idea.

I'm thankful for

Being alive and moderately healthy. Tomorrow is my 70th birthday. I have much to be thankful for, including Curves and Zumba, both of which have been toning this body until I don't feel 70. Even though I've exercised hard five days this week, I'm thinking of going to Zumba class tomorrow just to say I did it on my 70th birthday.
My loving and supportive husband and children. They just say "go for it" instead of trying to talk me out of things.
The blogging community. I love you all. I love to blog and I love to talk and it's all compatible, isn't it?
Living in Southern California. We've moved away many times and we always came back "home." Neither of us was born here (my youngest daughter was) but this is the spot that truly feels like home.
My flowers and my husband's vegetable garden. These things are good for both body and soul. I'm grateful to have them.
Square dancing. We learned to dance late in our lives and now it's an important part of it.
The fact that I worked at many jobs. More than family, house, and such. It made me feel like I had an important place in the world. It's more than bringing home money (my husband does a good job of that), it's about the world respecting you and what you do.
That I don't work any more. I miss it, but I do a lot of things now that I didn't have time for before.
Love of art. My kids grew up visiting San Diego's many museums. I think (I hope) that is one of their grounding experiences. Art is so important to everyone.
Love of music. It's always been a part of my life and it's something that will probably carry through the rest of my life.

I didn't think I could make it to ten. If I do this again next Friday, the list is going to be harder.

Have a good weekend.

Marilynne

It's been a long time

2009-04-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy blogging in other places that I've let my other blogs grow dormant. Today I'd like to announce that I'm back.

I love blogging for its own sake, but I also love to meet other bloggers. I especially want to blog with other watercolor artists and writers.

Today is going to be a really good day.

Marilynne

An interesting gift

2009-02-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

Last year for Valentine's Day my oldest daughter gave me a blog. I'd never had one before. I wasn't sure what it was all about.

She set it up for me with a feminine banner in bright red and I loved it from the start. Of course, I needed lots of coaching in how to use it, but she patiently mentored me until I got it.

Now I'm a blogging fool and it's all her fault. She was right in thinking I needed a blog, but five blogs? I am now blogging at

http://womenoverfifty.today.com
http://marilynnesmith.com/blogging (she helped me with that one too)
http://www.myspace.com/mysterymarilynne
http://maxiebooks.blogspot.com/
http://mysterywriterlady.blogspot.com

I have all of this information stored in Microsoft OneNote, which is a great place to store quick notes and web stuff - if you can figure out how to find them again. I keep working with One Note hoping I'll become proficient. It looks like a fine tool with a long learning curve.

So thanks to Katalina Mau for my blog. I'm sorry I can't show you the first one. It became spam heaven with 50 or 60 spams/day. The only way I knew to stop that was to cancel the blog.

She's still responsible for the children of her efforts, isn't she?

Marilynne

It's amazing

2009-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

When I think of all of the bloggers blogging their hearts and souls out day after day I am amazed. We write to be read, but without any assurance that someone will read us.

I am amazed when I think of the number of emails flying this way and that all day long. My snail mail is now mostly solicitations, circulars and bills. We talk about leaving a trash can by the mail box so we don't have to bring it to the house.

I am amazed by the information I can find just by searching on the web. If we didn't have those search engines how would we find anything?

I am amazed that my granddaughter who lives in Finland can keep track of what's going on with the friends she left behind, and of the new friends she has made.

I am amazed that another granddaughter was able to visit Slovakia and send us pictures of her visit before she came home.

It's just an amazing web world we live in.

Marilynne

Busy day

2009-01-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

All my days are busy, but today was so busy I had to cut out line dancing. 8-( I was looking forward to the dancing, but I slept in so something had to go.

I did go to Curves. I have made a total commitment to exercising three days a week at Curves. It's 34 visits and counting. It was tough through Christmas and New Year's, but I managed to get in 13 visits in December.

I'm proud of that because I used to be a total marshmallow and my joints were beginning to complain loudly. Now that I'm exercising regularly I can walk easily, though my endurance isn't strong yet.

My day was full - just like I want my days to be. Now I've still got a commitment to do before the day ends. I want to begin filling in content for a newsletter I've just taken over for Sisters In Crime. Because a large percentage of the members are writers, I want the newsletter to be special. It may take a month or two to get there. Wish me luck!

Marilynne

Are you feeling neglected?

2009-01-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling like I'm not paying attention to this blog, or did you just go elsewhere? I admit to doing things other than blogging lately.

For one, I'm working on a book and Jason has got himself in trouble. Well, I should say he's in trouble. No one can make an earthquake happen. It's just that he decided to work late again. He's so tidy. He doesn't like to leave the office with work undone. So, it happened that he was in his twelfth floor office late at night when the earthquake happened.

Now he's trapped and hurt and no one knows he's there. It's night. It's dark. The bookcase has fallen on his legs and he can't move them. He just cowers there under his desk and listens to the building cry about being moved about in such a fashion.

You see why I haven't been blogging. I could hardly leave him there like that. Gotta go and rescue Jason.

Marilynne

Nativity Photos

2008-12-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled across these photos of a nativity scene. They are gorgeous. To see them, go to

http://miketerry.blogspot.com/

Marilynne

Rainy

2008-12-15T16:27:00.001-08:00

It's cold and rainy here today. That's not unusual for most of you, but Southern California is in the middle of a drought. It's really unusual here. It's really raining, too, not just a sprinkle now and then.

Our Arizona crossing has water going over the top. That's how it was designed, but still if you want to drive across it's up to you to assess the risk. Usually the water is running fast, but only a few inches deep. Still, if you drive a small car,do you want to risk the crossing?

The same thing happens with the letter carrier. He drives a small, light postal truck. It's part of his livelihood. If the crossing looks treacherous, he doesn't cross. It's his call. I understand, but on these long wet afternoons, I kinda wish I had a new Christmas brochure to look at.

So, I'm here blogging when an email comes from my daughter who lives in Northern California. Still in California, but what a difference. She has several inches of snow. The picture is of her sledding down a hill by her home. I feel like she's one-upped me. Snow is certainly more playable and more fun to look at.

So, tomorrow it should rain again. Then next - who knows? Rain isn't that common where I live.

Marilynne

2008-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

I came to receive a book in an unusual fashion this Fall. I was at the La Jolla Writer's Conference for a weekend on Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the closing hour of the conference I wandered into the book store to see if I'd missed anything. I had.

There on the table was "The Knock At The Door" by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert. I'd never heard of her, but looking at the back, I saw she was describing her mother's ordeal as a young girl during the Armenian genocide in Turkey. I asked if I could buy it, but the book store directed me to someone else standing in the room.

When I asked if I could buy it, the man said "No, but I'll give it to you." I was puzzled, but soon found out he was the publisher and he gave me the book. After mumbling my thanks, I left.

He gave me a signed copy. The publisher is Beaufort Books of New York. The book was copyrighted in 2007.

The author goes between present day as she talks to her mother about this ordeal, and the fictionalized account of what happened. She calls it fiction because her mother was in her 90s at the time. Much of what her mother said could not be verified, but Margaret said, "She told me the same stories again and again and the details never varied."

So, this is a very personal account, often pleasing as she tells of being an Armenian child growing up in Turkey. But the mother tells us, "I had so many mothers. Has any other child had so many mothers?"

This is a story of horror told through the eyes of a child. Through it all she survived. It's a story of strength and survival.

I recommend it.

Marilynne

"The Knock at the Door" by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert, Beaufort Books, New York, 2007.

Vapor at Blogspot

2008-11-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

I was floating around in the ether here on Blogspot. No matter what I did, I couldn't get to this page so I could post. I'm not sure what was wrong, but I'm glad it's better.

I'm just back from our early family Thanksgiving dinner. Good friends, good food, and I ate too much.

A lot of my homemade cranberry bread was left. I wish I could offer you all a piece. Why not take it with a virtual cup of coffee? I'll guarantee the good taste, if you guarantee you ate it.

I think I'm too silly to post tonight. Have a good weekend.

Marilynne

Do I dare let Maxie go to a Writers Conference?

2008-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Maxie wants to go to the La Jolla Writers Conference.
with me this weekend. This would be fine, except that Maxie's a character in my book, not a real person.

I've been to several sessions of the La Jolla Writers Conference. I'm going to the latest conference this weekend. What do they have to offer besides a splendid resort location in San Diego? Contact with other authors, workshops to help you improve your writing, 5-minute pitches to an agent or publisher, and enough information on how to improve your writing to make your head ache.

At the moment, I'm working on Maxie Book 1: Murder in Malibu. That's what I call it since every time I get warmed up on the writing, Maxie takes over and goes some way I never anticipated. Like the time she chased Charlie onto a boat and out into the boat channel, then had to rescue him because the boat was sinking. To put it mildly, I have an out-of-control character.

To be truthful, it's kind of fun watching the words fly on my computer while Maxie does the thinking. It's much more fun than thinking it all up by myself.

The question comes up: Does Maxie live in my head somewhere, somehow? Probably. Who wrote this post anyway?

Marilynne

Evening thoughts

2008-10-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

I have a mental block trying to create a new web page. I know how to do it, but every time I begin to code, I just fuzz out. It's a problem with words. Yes, stupid little words that line up in chains to make sentences. As a writer I know how to string them in long melodic ribbons. However, put some HTML code in front of me and I block.

It's not that I don't know HTML. Somewhere a friend has a sample table I made for her showing that you can code anything. If you can code a crazy table and use a cascading style sheet, you should be able to create a web site.

So, with the web site on my mind, I'm going to say "Good Evening" and take myself to bed. By morning I should have it all written and coded - it I can remember it at all.

Better luck to you.

Marilynne

Escala

2008-10-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here's Escala playing electronic strings.

Marilynne

2008-10-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Children in Art from UTube.

Watercolor and writing

2008-10-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

These are my two favorite things (as opposed to family and friends who don't even count as things). I love to do both.

Today was watercolor day. All day, I sat with my paints working on a little picture of a vase and some flowers. I finished the vase and flowers several weeks ago, but I lacked the courage to begin the background. Somehow I was sure I would mess up, so I left it on my desk.

Today I decided to do that background. I painted the background wet on wet, which means I wet the paper, waited until it soaked in, then carefully dropped paint onto the wet paper and watched it spread. I love doing that. The paint doesn't go farther than the wet paper, so if you're careful with the water, it only goes where you want it to be.

Wet on wet allows you to drop more than one color on the page and watch them compete for space. They don't mix unless you brush them. So, one color flows along, and the other color competes for space. Today it was the lovely red/orange color of burnt sienna and the dark and stormy Payne's gray. I painted with the burnt sienna first, then dipped the grey into the corners to form shadows and such. It's fun to watch.

Then, just as the burnt sienna and Payne's grey settled down, I dipped a pale bit of alizarin red into the mix. Yummy! To make it more fun, I lifted some of the paint with a Kleenex. This left a whitish spot on the paper, but it was still wet. Paint flowed into the white spot and made a paler mix of the colors.
So they're all there in the background. You can see each color separately and the overall effect is a beautiful rusty orange darkened in places with the gray and sparked with the red.

The reason I was reluctant to start the background was because the foreground was a lovely pale vase with white roses in it. I was afraid that it would be overwhelmed by the bright background. Was it? No, it set it off and I have something pretty to hang on my wall.

The overall result of the day was not only the painting, not only lunch with my friend, but also a sense of relaxation, delight, and accomplishment. Why shouldn't I pursue something that gives me such satisfaction?

No reason at all. Still, in the back on my mind Maxie is waiting. Maxie is a character in the murder mystery I'm writing. Last thing I wrote, she entered a strange house in the dark. She was at the top of the stairs when a big earthquake hit. Maxie was tossed back into the stairwell and fell down the stairs to a little landing. That's where she waited out the earthquake in the dark. Afraid and alone.

So, after a day of painting, I've got to go and rescue Maxie. I need to know how she survived and what she decides to do about the house. It's tough work, but someone's got to do it.

Marilynne

A new blog for a new day

2008-01-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

Well, today's a new day and here's a new blog to write in. I've just been reading that today's young people don't like to read. I'd say that's wrong, they just don't read the sort of things I did when I was young. I think they read a lot, just not what young people read even 10 years ago. Do you agree?

So, I'm a writer. How do I adapt to the new day in writing? Let me ask - have you ever read a text novel on your phone? I can't imagine it. It started in Japan where they can get many novels as text messages on their phones. Now it's gradually coming here. I'd love to read one. Have you?

I still love books. I can't imagine curling up in bed with my cell phone to read. (I can imagine curling up in bed to talk to a friend.)

One thing I love about books is that it I can feel like I'm the person in the book and have a thousand adventures without leaving home. I have books stacked on my bookcases that I've already read. I can pick one up and be transported once more into that book world.

Sure, you can do that with movies, DVDs, and other videos, but it's not quite the same. When I read a book, then watch the movie made from that book, I find I know a lot more about what's going on. I enjoy seeing the movies made from them, but they lack the depth of a book.

It's time for me to go. Have a good day. Pick up a book and try it out.

Mystery Writer Lady

Llamas and the llama mama

2007-11-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am thinking of llamas. Woosi raises llamas and on the way home from her place I began thinking of a llama story. Llamas are intriguing beasts. They have big heavy bodies, long shaggy hair, tiny feet, and dainty heads with gorgeous eyes and a cute nose that looks like a cartoon. Just reading that description, you'd think I'd made it up. However, llamas are real and Woosi has a herd of them. Two are pregnant. I wish I could be there to see the babies.

Woosi also has two very white, long haired puppies that are bigger than most full grown dogs - well, not all, but usually big and fluffy doesn't go on a big dog. These dogs are sweet tempered and beautiful. They live with the llamas. When they're grown they will protect the llamas from all sorts of things. We saw them in action when a neighbor's dog came to check things out. The puppies were nearly as big as the dog, and they barked and carried on like crazy, finally convincing the dog (a lab) that he should go home. They should do all right when they're grown.

Well, that's it for tonight, but we'll be back soon to find out what we're going to write about.

Writer Lady