Pain is love turned inside out

I can't see
there is a mist forming on the horizon
it's like a fog
a haze over my eyes
that will spill over with some thought

I can't see the doors
but I know I've walked through them
I've pushed them
I've kicked them
I've slammed them shut tight

this feeling is familiar
I've been this very place before
but I was on the other side
of this

this pain...
I know this pain...

I've caused it
I didn't mean to
but don't we do that
growing up?

we push out the pain we have
through a door
and slam it into someone else

but it comes back
later
maybe years later

when you think you're done
because
you've wised up
you've made your mistakes
you've learned
and
you're kinder now

you love more
you laugh more
you forgive always

and more importantly,

you're sorry

then it happens
that pain cycles back around

to you

and you wear it now
differently
you keep it
quietly

because you know
you know
you know,
you
know

you do not want to put it out there
anymore
because
you know
it will come back
and someone else will be slammed with it

will wear it.

the eyes of someone else will mist over...

so let mine be the last.

It's okay now
I can keep it now
I can be the place
where pain goes to die

I don't have to feel it anymore

I can make it not real
I can know
Pain is just love turned inside out

~~Miss Roxie

Occupy the Postive Vibe

Start the snowball rolling.
If anything can go right, it will.

Doesn't matter direction
up or down a hill
around a bend
crick in the road
I will stay in the fold
of the motto

Occupy the Positive Vibe

I support the movement.

Does Elizabeth Warren Make Sense?

"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody," Elizabeth Warren said. "You built a factory out there — good for you!

"But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.

"Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea — God bless. Keep a big hunk of it," Warren said. "But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along."

In my space

In my space I try not to despair
I do the necessary things
That is Helpful
No one trips
Things smell nice
You can find things
Next stop
Out with stuff

Yesterday I bought something
For someone
I didn't think about how I didn't
really
have the money
I just did it
because
I wanted to
and it seemed
they needed a kindness
out of nowhere

Then out of nowhere
somebody paid for my dinner
and my husband's dinner
and
I got back more
than
I put out

Wow.

Sharing begins early

If I look ahead to far
I might fall down
from fright
from the actions of Big People
Selfish and Greedy Big People
in the
Big World

but I mustn't stare
at that
Because
there are children
on the horizon
Little Children

What will happen
if the Big People despair
And don't learn to share?

The world cannot grow up sad
It just cannot.

I'm sorry Big People
in the
Big World
You need to learn to share.

Isn't that
what you tell the
Little Children
on the horizon?

Stop this nonsense!
Share your toys!
Grow up!
Ooops,
Big People
You already are!

What is the matter with you?
You probably didn't listen when you were Three.

My space in the universe

I'm in a space
in the universe
the rent is due here

a place where
I can keep space
right now
from all the unknowns
certain things I can't think
to worry about.

It's now that I can think about.
this second,
not the one that passed
Now.
only know.
Think of being 3.

God Knows
I don't
I can only hope
and pray for those of us
who don't have jobs
or ways to make
the pay days easier.

I baked in my space today
made scones
they turned out well.
I will take that as a good sign.

I may find I can write from my space.
I'll see
if that works for me.

Good night.

Paradox Continues

I have writer's block right now. I feel stalled in the ocean.

It's kind of a 'thing' I am working on to 'put it all down' as the Zen Masters say - and learn to just be in the moment for real. I notice that the more I try to do this - the more I notice when other people try to 'ruin that' (lol)-- but it remains my struggle.

I think I am still at a conflict of 'inside and outside' - still concerned about how my hair looks to others once in a while, then at times, I don't even think about it. But, I find myself walking around with a burning desire to still be artistic in some form and that not happening.

My movements are maintaining a busyness to keep things orderly and help others and do daily tasks, and I am going around in a circle....Okay, it's weird to explain.

But nothing is what it is but then on another day, it might be.

Veggie Topping for Nachos or...

...whatever. Last night I put this on Refried potatoes in the oven. It was great.

Here's the list:

One Tomato diced
1/2 cup scallions
1 tsp garlic
2 red and/or yellow bell peppers, diced
3 tsp Lime Juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mix that altogether in a bowl.

You put all that on your Nachos, then top with 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese and bake at 400 for 5 minutes.

What's great about this recipe is you can add basically anything you want. You can put chicken and grilled onions on the Nachos (or potatoes) before you put the Veggie Mix. You can use another kind of Cheese. You can add onions or different veggies. I think it's the cilantro and the lime juice that sends it into the Fantastic Zone.

It's all good!

Let it go.

Don't despair

people worry too much

about what will happen

and what other people think.

Who - programmed - you to too worry

about

What other people think?

You don't seriously think you were born
with that being an important thought?

So don't worry.

What's the point?

What is one thing that it gains for you?

So another said something that you didn't like?

So what?

"Who are you," said the caterpillar to Alice...

Why should another person's thoughts affect what we believe?

What is the point of that?

Where does it say you are so special?

That they are so special?

Why can't you just live where you are

be who you (think) you are

and let others be who they think they are?

Peace

Love

Patience

Kindness

Forgiveness

PLPK -F-why not?

Let it go.

Leaving Earth

Foodfor thought:

I happened to see this post on the Huffington Post :

4 Theories On What Happens When We Die

I do know one person who had a near death experience. And, I know people who 'have seen dead people'. I've had experiences with things concerning death that I found to be of the supernatural realm. I've had dreams that can't be explained by the natural world.

I don't have any problem in believing that 'something in us' does go on. I don't have fear like I used to. I have figured out, in my own-self, that the way I was raised worked it's way into the way I thought God was, and as I grew up, read more, experienced life more, I realized that was all just part of an earthly experience just like all the rest of the experiences I keep having. I keep learning because I want to. I think it's there for anyone who wants to search for it; the answers, the knowing, the feeling of what might happen after we die.

Some people don't like to talk about death or what follows. I don't necessarily like to think about it, although it doesn't scare me to die. It's more of a consideration of this thing about what is going to be going on around me while it's happening.

Do I have to be a hostess? I've instructed my husband that my room must be neat and tidy and pretty. Flowers and paintings and nice colors. Comfortable and smelling good. I want to, if I can, leave this world from a pretty place, anyway. I don't think that's such a bad thing to ask.

"It's Kind of a Funny Story"

A Movie Review:

A 16 year old boy decides he wants to jump off a bridge and kill himself. Instead of doing that, he goes to the ER and begs the doctor to help him now, right now. So, the doctor decides to check from into the Psyche Ward. He ends up with the adults because the teen ward is being renovated.

I loved this movie. It was so well acted! There were all these unknown actors making you believe them and some you will recognize. Just superb performances.

It dealt with all the usual stuff that has to be mentioned when a situation comes up like this -- the teen really has no *real* reason to do this, other people have bigger problems, friends are going to react maybe badly when they find out you think the way you do but maybe they will still be your friends if you try to be honest, parents don't get it, being kind feels really good, and your parents will be there for you if you just ask, and so forth.

But I applaud the way the subject matter was presented. Honestly. There was so much honesty in the conversations even when questions asked were not answered. I adored this movie.

Let me know what you think. I know that the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes weren't great but I think they are so wrong this time. Kudos to the leads in this movie. They can be proud of their work. Even that crazy Zach Gilifianaski.

"Who forgets the words to Take It Easy?"

..so said Jackson Browne.

Someone had requested Running on Empty, which he says he has a hard fast rule that if someone requests that, he has to play it, and then he played Take It Easy. And he forgot, some of the lyrics. He stopped and said to us, "Who forgets the words to Take It Easy?" He had the most charming startled look on his face! He gets such a kick out of himself when he does these things. He never loses that friendliness and charming way he always is when he wants to show bits of his real self to the crowd.

Last night in Melbourne, Florida, Jackson Browne bedazzled another crowd with his charm, wit and musical abilities. And this night featured a most unusual beginning.

I've seen Jackson several times in the 10 years I've been a fan and never have I seen this happen:

He comes out onto the stage to the applause and hoots and whistles of the crowd, and the pre-concert music is still playing over the speakers, the crowd is still applauding, Jackson gets his guitar, waves hello, and sits down in a chair,

and the music kept playing ...
and playing.

Jackson smiled at the audience, signaling in every direction to anyone backstage or in the sound booth, while still smiling, that he had no sound ...the canned selected special of the venue kept playing.

Alas, as always, Jackson is so cool. He laughed. Then, he leaned back in his chair really relaxed, with his guitar positioned like a lucky puppy, as if he was just hanging out with the rest of us listening to the pre-canned selection. We all laughed and applauded. He finally had to get out of his chair and walk back stage before it got fixed. He came out again ...and the crowd went wild. Absolutely wild.

He opened with Barricades. It seemed very softly. But, that didn't dictate how the rest of the evening would go.

I find it tough to write a review as I am there as a fan. It is like no other experience for me. I love it. And I want to experience it at all the levels and remember it all and then come home and write about it, too. It's like you don't want to miss any of those nuances, and you want to share them at the same time with the same flavor that you are feeling them because you are just tingling because this is just so cool to you. I mean like real pleasure, like dark chocolate or a fine wine, and you need time to feel that feeling for as long as you can before you release it. Okay, so -- I'm nuts, whatever --
I want to tell the best I can remember of what happened.

The set list - which is in no perfect order -- which, of course, put my tale of this night in no perfect order, as well.

Barricades of Heaven
I'm Alive

Something Fine - yeah, he told that story about how he was staying at the place in England and that girl was staying there, and how they yadda,yadda, yadda, and then sang the song really soulfully. I decided, if I was his girlfriend, I maybe didn't like that girl ...

Peaceful Easy Feeling - This was one of those priceless stories. Jackson said he was searching around on You Tube for videos of himself. And he saw one where he sang this song. And he said to himself, something like, "I don't sing this song,? do I know this song? "and he found about 25 You Tube clips where he is singing this song and apparently messing it up. And he says, "I know this song, I do know this song". And then he sang it really well. (I do think he messed up the words a bit, though, but hopefully, we will all find this whole clip on You Tube!)

Actually, he did mess up some lyrics in a few songs, more than I have ever seen him do, although he still sang really well. I have read a few cross comments from people who get annoyed that he has messed up lyrics. Well, sorry, I am not one of them -- He has written a lot of freaking songs. You try to sing 24 songs in a row and don't mess up a thing and still be charming and steal the show -- good luck with that.

Looking Into You
Alive in the World - He said to some guy,' you keep asking for this, so' ...and he sang it. Very well.

Willin' - A song by Little Feat - Before this song he told a story about how he had met Lowell George and how a beautiful woman had introduced him to Lowell and how he really wasn't interested in Lowell at all, he just kept thinking about how he could get with this girl. So, he said to Lowell, "yeah, hey", and diverted himself back to the girl. He said Lowell was their drug dealer. I have no idea about this being fact or what ...
And some people were confused as to what song this was, and Jackson said with total resolve, like anyone who didn't know this song, didn't know much, "This is a great song. Everybody knows this song"--right in the middle of the song. (I felt silly because I didn't know the song!)

Muhammad's radio
Shape of a Heart
Pretender
Everyman

--Now I have to tell you, when he sang like those 4 I just mentioned, it was like being in church! Matter of fact, his voice was so good, you were certain there were spiritual parts. Everyone around me was commenting on that fact that Jackson's voice was really great that night--

Going Down to Cuba - he talked about the time he went there as a representation of a religious group. Now, I've only heard this story from Jackson, so I can't give you details. But he makes sense that we should be able to talk to other people in other countries about our ideas. I'm sure it's all much more complicated than I really know.

Just Say Yeah a song about my girlfriend (He said this like this was the title)

Rock Me on the Water - I think it was during this song that the keyboard stopped working. He was pushing the pedal and asking, 'can you hear that? can you hear that?" And nobody could, so these two guys came out from the left and the right, I'm not sure what they were doing, and he was doing stuff, and then it worked, they left and he said, "I fixed it." We love this stuff. More applause.

Shaky town - a roar from the crowd almost a standing ovation - did a great job. Loved "that's a big 10-4 from your back door, just put that hammer down..." He made this song sound like one you really should like.

Rosie
Birds of St Marks

Take it Easy -- as I said earlier, this was one of the songs that the lyrics got a little fuddled up, and he said that quote, "Who forgets the words to Take it Easy?" Then, after he messed up on the rift part, the song got really long, and I think he forgot the 'wooooo, woooo, wooo" part at first, which is the part that really important to him, as I remember at one concerts he said the Eagles don't give you the 'wooo wooo wooos" and he got back on track and we did a whole lotta 'woooo wooo, wooos" I don't think I've ever done so many at a concert before.

He also talked about how he stopped playing TIE for awhile because he didn't want people thinking he was playing an Eagles song.

Running on Empty
Doctor My Eyes
Linda Paloma

Here Come Those Tears Again - When he sang this, the arrangement was a little different. He said this was really a country song and that he had just recorded it with Don Henley, but that he probably wasn't supposed to say anything about that.

Sleeps Dark and Silent Gate

Load Out - The Encore (longest Stay part I've ever heard. But I was up at the stage at that point, so fine with me. He encouraged the audience to sing on this.)

Back tracking a second: About 45 minutes in he said that we should take a short break. He explained that the way the theater is set up, it difficult to get in and out without disturbing anyone when you need to take care of things, "so let's take a break for those of us over 40".

His voice was a bit raspy. Des said it could be old age and I punched him in the arm. Jackson did have to stop on one song for a second and massage his throat but then kept going. His range and depth of range was impressive. He sounded really great is what I keep saying.

Somebody put a Gardenia up there while he was on break and when he came back he smelled it a couple of times (at first I thought he had an inhaler). He made a comment about how someone had put that there and that he really did like Gardenias.

One of the first things he said was about the Set List, "you guys know I don't have one, right?" Okay, so the concert's going on, he's running back and forth from this guitar to that guitar and sits down and then gets really quiet.

He says, 'it a weird thing, I have conflict with this." He said with all the calling out he really couldn't hear anybody, but then he'd think of a song, and grab a guitar; then he would hear a song someone called out, and he'd think, oh yeah, that's better, and then hear another, and he seems to have a problem making up his mind, and that really what he needed was for someone to just come up and whisper to him, (he cups his hands around his face) "play this song".

I told Des,' I'm right here, I could do that', and he looked sweetly in my eyes, and said, 'no'. He was smiling ... There was another time Des told me 'no', when Jackson was telling a story about when he was here last time and this guy came out on the stage to play with him, I think he said his name was Bill McCullugh and he was from Kiss-A-me. Which is really pronounce Kiss sim me,so the crowd corrected him, and Jackson says, "not Kiss A Me?" And I asked Des, 'could I yell out, you can Kiss A me?' and he said: No.

I may still remember some more things later, and I hope I do,

By the end of the show, I sure wasn't tired, and couldn't believe he had sung so many songs! I didn't wait afterward to maybe talk with him for a couple of reasons, one was Des was really tired, and also there was a guard at a gated area where the bus was, and another was that I just happened to be dressed the same as Jackson -- we were both in grayish shirts and blue jeans. So, dear Jackson will have to remain satisfied with the memory of talking with me last year after the Miami Show. He can probably live with that.

All in all, great show by an endearing singer/song writer who songs I love. Funny, charming stories, we love to hear, told by the person we want to hear them from. Makes me always look forward to the next time.

Yeah, Jackson Browne. He still does rock.

Today's Top Ten

1. Seared Tuna

2. A sunflower, taller than my granddaughter, growing in my yard! With more buds on it!

3. 21 butterflies, so far this year, released from my porch. Tons in my yard.

4. Bike riding every morning. Almost. Most mornings, but still ...it's cool. Des found my bike in a ditch out in the middle of nowhere. I love it.

5. Sharing a laugh, wine, chocolates and 30 Rock with my daughter (Twenty-freakin-One already). I still remember pink laced roller skates and an invisible friend and labor and child birth!

6. Sneaking my granddaughter M & M's and watching her laugh. They are so small - but two is a really big deal still!

7. Rain! Grass is green again, plants are fat and healthy looking. I love watching the rain fall in my yard. Shoot, I even like watching the sprinkler, but that costs money!

8. New music, to me, Mumford and Sons and Pink. Such energy from these people! So different, one from another, but still - cranks your soul to happy toes.

9. My daughter asked me for some of Jackson's new music, so she could catch up ... I'm sure he would smile about that.

10. #2 son has a real job that he starts on Monday. I thank the God I pray to for that blessing. And I thank all my friends for their prayers, thoughts and understanding.

Life might be short, but it can be full of big things.

Best to you,
Miss Roxie

This just in....

1. There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

2. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
~~Douglas Adams

My meatball recipe (today's way)

My meatball recipe before I forget --

1.14 lbs ground sirloin
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 fresh basil leaves chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano chopped
1 TB green salsa

1/4 of a large onion sauteed with
1 large teaspoon garlic before added to meat mixture

1/2 ground pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

After I added all the ingredients and formed the meatballs, I placed them into the pan that had been used for sauteing the onions and garlic. I just browned each side. Then I placed them in a crock pot with some sauce.

I haven't perfected a sauce recipe for myself that I love, so I used, today, two jars of Classico brand Tomato and Basil. So, we will see what happens. I have it on low and will check it in three hours.

Now, I am going to make some Spinach Balls when my granddaughter watches Teach Your Baby to Read.

Jai guru deva om

It's Mother's Day. And I am tired. The day isn't over yet; I still have sushi to look forward to and I am happy about that part.

This morning I did a brunch. Only 10 people; did it mostly for my mom and Des' mom. The compliments for the breakfast were fast flowing, as the food was really good. And, I think, it's because I chose some good recipes and know how to cook. At least I have learned something from all these years of being alive. But, true to form, my mother didn't think I had made four casseroles (3 quiches and a potato dish), cooked ham and pancakes all by myself. When will she realize I'm not 14 anymore?

I just got back from a trip visiting my youngest niece who had her first baby. Her baby had to go to the *Knee-Que* -- I dunno, they just kept saying that, and when you get to be my age, it's like "whatever". I'm sure it is really an acronym for something because the world lives on acronyms now. TWLOAN. Like that, right? ;) But, the baby is doing well although there are somethings they have to keep abreast of, and I'm glad they do that these days.

While I was away, I had dinner and drinks - (who knew tequila shots would be $2.00!!) - with some very old good friends (or good old friends, both fit at this point) along with a few of their children, that I have known since they were so, so tiny, and we all still love each other and appreciated those 25 years we put into living on the same block. Little did we know that the kids thought we owned the block, sort of, because our properties covered this huge triangle and it gave them a very, very safe area to roam freely. And for kids, that's huge.

So I come home, I do a hundred thousand things, kill a lot of germs that have been growing, clean the refrigerator because it is now _totally_ empty. Perfect time, right? And basically take the world that has been tilted for those at home and bring it back to center.

I still haven't caught up on emails or messages and probably won't be able to, posted a song on my Facebook page with the F-word, and I'm sure I've done 14 hundred loads of laundry.

When I walked in my son's house upon my return, my granddaughter was in her highchair and not facing me and called out "Grandma!" I said, "How did you know it was me?" And she said, "I knowed it!" Is that not just the best? (28 months old and she just knowed it.)

It is nice to get away. It helps clear your mind from the day/to/day that can become a grind should we not be careful. Emotions can pile up and spill over and then we can have toxic waste. I needed this break. I do like to travel and wish I could do more. But I am beginning to be alright with not worrying about it because I am becoming more at one with whatever it is that people can become one with. And *that* - you either get, or you don't.

Old Traditions can be sucky

1. Does being a man mean never having to say you're sorry?

2. If this moment right now isn't perfect, what are you going to do because this is all you've got right now?

3. My father who is 82 yelled in my face. Somehow, I don't see how this is a very good example of what I should be like when I grow up.

What I realized was this, my father doesn't see me as a person in real life. He sees me as one of the children he had that interrupts him when he is talking. His children interrupted him with some need that was in the category of a child needing things.

And the biggest thing I, in particular, interrupted was his Life. When my mother became pregnant, back in the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth and ruled the minds of moral dictates, my parents - 17 years old and owning not a damned thing - had to 'do the right thing' and get married. Oh Freak Out.

So this act began my placement in the family as the Scapegoat. It was My Fault, you see, that 'his life' - which was not so great at the time, but apparently had potential - took the turn that it did.

I have bared the brunt of this feeling he created in his head,

(as that is what happens in a lot of situations when control is taken away from you by circumstances - as he felt his was taken away from him - you put your anger about the situation on the object that you feel created that circumstance - well, that you think created it anyway, and a lot of babies are considered to be 'at fault' for their parents odd beginnings)

but Thank God, many people are growing out of this Old School Way of Thinking and the Precious Babies are not being blamed any more for the parents indulging in an 'active moment' in their life, shall we say? At least, I hope so!

4. Anyway, since I have emotionally grown in so many ways as a human bean, as a person on the planet, and now being Older Than Jackson Browne, and understanding so much of what causes people to act the way they do - I always think that others may have grown as well. This is not necessarily so. Ah, so sad.

My father, bless his heart, is stuck in a time zone/warp/era or something someplace where he never got to prove he was right about whatever it is he thinks he was right about. At least he is with me. He is, however, very, very kind to strangers and people he meets outside the family. This is also typical. As in his mind, they cannot hurt him. As he feels, he has the control. He goes out of his way to tell us stories about how he made someone smile or have a laugh on a day in his life (and, of course, I can't interrupt).

Oh well, I am working on coming to the conclusion that my father and I, may never have a regular ebb and flow of conversation. That I may always be the child who just has to listen and he will always be the person who has to talk.

I'll live.

One through Four and Three more

1. I'm getting better at accepting that sometimes, I just don't plain understand. And, it's okay. The other person probably doesn't either.

2. Each will see life a certain way. Each will want events to go a certain way. Sometimes, these points cross in other lives, and therein, lies Time.

3. I was figuring it all out, but now I'm putting it all together. And, damn, I am in a really good mood about that.

4. Today I cooked three meals while I watched my granddaughter. Tell me I'm not just about so cool? I totally rock!

5. Forgiveness is the key to everything. But it's not about forgiving other people, really, it's about forgiving yourself.

6. Little kids live in the now. Or should I say, Little Kids know how to live in the now.

7. You know you wanna live right, eat better, and take care of yourself. So what is stopping you?

8. More later ...movie time.

Rick Scott is Florida's Governor...

...and heaven help us all.

From the Palm Beach Post (Thursday, April 5, 2011)

"Scott is a political novice who won the governor's race in November after spending $70 million of his own money on his campaign.

He's the former CEO of the hospital chain Columbia/HCA, which paid $1.7 billion in fines for defrauding Medicare, Medicade and other government health programs while he was in charge."

I posted that, just in case, you didn't know these things about Mr. Scott. If you don't believe them, please do your own search and see what you yield.

Please notice the words
"NOVICE"...
"$1.7 BILLION in FINES...
"DEFRAUDING"
"WHILE HE WAS IN CHARGE"

...I mean, just sayin'

Just 3 little thoughts

1. In the end we don't have the circumstances. We just have each other.

2. Life is a boisterous never-ending round about. Drive carefully keeping your eyes on what's ahead of you, but remembering you still gotta yield.

3. It's only fattening if you eat it.

...from Miss Roxie

Find some peace in your days

Mystically brilliant day. I think the moon helped pull me through the Day Light Savings Time slump that happens to me every year when we spring forward. My body just can't move that fast. And that moon- biggest it's been in 18 years ... It Was Wow. Something, something mystically brilliant about a full moon like that one.

Best advice I could give anyone today is to never worry to much about what other people think about regarding yourself and your life. It's yourself and your life. Live it without complication of drama --

--or if you are a person who thinks that drama is necessary in your life - if you want that King or Queen hat for that type of thing -then make sure you give people in your life plenty of space. Drama is just so boring. Been There. Done That. Done with that. No More. Drama is for amateurs.

So back to point, don't be burdened down by what other people think, or even might think, because a lot of times, people don't really know what other people think. And it gets all mixed up and crazy when people start to make this private little assumption like they do think they know. Leave it behind you. Do what you gotta do -- just make sure you do the right things. And if you feel like that's a catch, well, it should be the high-road or no-road anyway if you should desire any kind of balance in your life.

Be honest and true to yourself. An age old concept. Nothing knew there. And it truly works.
Read things that will inspire you to thinking.
Help someone who looks like they might need help. When is the last time you baked a cake for an overstressed friend? Actually, when was the last time you made a friend?

Right now, for me, I am planting things I love. I am planting roses. Hearing all these things about roses, they're temperamental, hard to get along with, need a lot of care...And I thought, whoa, that sounds just like me. So, roses, it is.

There are other things I want to do. Like Someday....Someday I'll paint.

Someday.

I can still dream about it. I can feel the peace of it coming.
Peace is inside you, residing sweetly waiting to serve you everyday.
Say good morning to it, invite it out and about ...
It belongs to you no matter what you see or hear.
It belongs to you.
It yours to have forever and ever and a day ...Amen.
You have the right to let yourself be peaceful.
Be your peaceful self
tonight, tomorrow and everyday.

Best of days to you,
Miss Roxie

One through Ten on a Monday

1. I am so not a fan of day light saving time. I am always annoyed for at least 7 days. One down, 6 to go.

2. I am so tired. Why would day light saving time be responsible for that? I do not know. But it happens every year. Starting the first day. It's uncanny and mystical.

3. I forgot it was day light saving time until 9:30 Sunday morning. I was fine until then.

4. I have a headache.

5. Nobody listens to me when I have good advice to give. Everybody hears me when I say the wrong thing.

6. I am becoming indifferent to being ignored. It is like being a soothsayer or an oracle without being blind.

7. My husband says I don't have to do the dishes at night any more. I knew that. But somehow, him saying it made it better.

8. What is the difference between defining the moment or letting the moment define you?

9. I have so many things I want to do. But I guess that's alright because if I had done them all, then I'd be done.

10. On Tuesdays I will not be broken.

John Prine and Iris DeMent - In Spite of Ourselves

What is a complete sentence?

Complete sentences have been eluding me. Just short choppy thoughts:

1. If a person does you wrong, be sure to not label that action as one that will come from everyone you meet.

2. Move away from drama, unless you are on an actual stage and getting paid.

3. Move forward in your life. Unless you have reached the mountain top and the view is great, and the soul is filled with God's love, and you are now one with the universe -- keep moving forward. And, really, don't look back.

4. To play with a two year old, you will need a trainer, a good pair of shoes, and appropriate clothing. Don't go out there unprepared. The two year old cannot be your trainer because they have no mercy and a mind that way, way ahead of you.

5. I know what happens when you don't put the coffee carafe on the plate. But you do fill the filter, add the water, turn it on and go check the plants. Some days it is too early for early.

6. Gardening is a commitment. It serves a very good purpose. It's a lovely exercise in the cycle of life.

7. Be the better version of yourself on your best day. And all will be well with you and yours.

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

Vulnerable 2

So,
if you didn't know before,
now you know for sure.
I am human. I am flawed.
I can buckle under stress
to my knees and feel pain.
I can disappoint.
I can over react.
I can fall, trip, stumble...

But,
I can also stand back up again.
I can put support under that beam.
I can be better than I was the last time,
for longer
because
I can learn.

There is not
one mistake
that I cannot learn from
because
we make
some of our
greatest
advances
after
an error --

I can be better.
I can learn.
Even though I am no superman,
I am willing
and
it is necessary
to go on...

I am,
at times,
vulnerable...

but
I will
survive.

The Perfect Stranger on a Gray Day

Today was a beautiful day in the sunny south. I was in the yard gardening and enjoying it immensely, when a lady and her dog were walking by. I was close to the edge of the yard and we mutually said hello and began to chat ...

I was wearing old jeans and pretty much gardening clothes and no makeup and hair to the wind - going gray, oh my gosh what a chore that is --

and then the talk hit on grandchildren. She has a new grand-baby, 2 months old, and I told her about my (darling) granddaughter, 2 years old and she said,

"You look to young to be a grandmother!" (wow)

What a nice thing to say to me!

Since I have decided to let my hair go gray, I have really been struggling with what I see in the mirror. And, I have noticed two groups of women come forth. The ones who don't care about growing gray and think I am an immature baby. And the ones who say, no way and think I'm pretty much crazy to entertain the idea and good luck with that.

It's been such a process of waiting, waiting, waiting. Since I am a (retired) hairdresser by trade, coloring my hair has been something I've always fooled around with and cutting it myself is something I've been doing for over thirty years. Actually, I fooled around with coloring my hair since before I became a hairdresser! Come to think of it, my mother started coloring my hair when I was twelve!

(Oh and the reason I cut my hair myself is that since I always complained about whatever hair cut I got, my husband said, just do it yourself and then you don't have anyone to blame but yourself - so there, that solved that).

So, anyway, I completely stopped coloring my hair in August of this year. While I was coloring my hair, I thought my hair grew at a rapid speed. It seemed to need coloring every time I turned around! Now, since I have stopped coloring my hair, I feel like my hair grows at the oldest snail's pace.

I cut it shorter in August, lopped off 7 inches and nobody noticed. And then shorter. And then shorter than shorter. Then, it was to full on the sides, and then to fat in the back, and then to un-this or un-that, so blah, blah, blah, I haven't got something on my head I like yet...but another thing that is happening is that the texture of the new hair (old gray hair) is different than the texture of the color treated hair, so as it grows I am dealing with a complete unknown.

Oh well...life does go on. And in the midst of it, a perfect stranger comes up to me in my yard and tells me I look to young to be a grandmother. I was wearing sunglasses, so, maybe she didn't really get a good look, or maybe all people who are gardening look young, I dunno...

My hair may look worse but my yard looks better.
So. There we are.

And here is a website on going gray. Can you believe that? How going gray became modern day trauma, I do not know. I just know I'm in it, but I am making no promises as far as to what I will do once it's all gray. The challenge of just getting there is enough for me right now.

To know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living. ~Henri Amiel

You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. ~Ogden Nash

Kids today, oh gee...

“Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.”




– Socrates (470-399 B.C.)


(LOL...)

2011 - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

New Year's are good. I think I'll do better each year. It's like a permission slip to improve, to change, to just put down the old habits, you know, cast them aside and start afresh. I like that.

I began my random list of all the things I have to do. I couldn't remember them all, but that's okay. They will eventually float to the surface, I'll keep my paper handy, and jot them down. It'll all be good.

Heavy things coming up this year. Family member coming home after being gone for 10 years. My husband's work contract will be looked at for renewal in October. Those are two really, really major events for us. We will need much prayer.

I want to remember this day, this beautiful calm day. I want to remember the beginning of this lovely day. The sun shines just bright enough, the green looks just green enough, my plants are starting to recover from the cold of the winter and are showing off their colors and glitter ... it gives me just a pleasant, calm feeling to look out the door this morning.

I'm going to hang on to that.

There are some things I've come to know:

Although each of us may wish that our paths were made clear to us, that is not always possible and we must learn to walk slowly in the fog.

It doesn't matter if one has reached the highest level of enlightenment if one cannot function in the Here and Now.

The earth is our home. We all have a responsibility to take of it. If everyone took care of just the part they walk on, imagine what an improvement that would be.

In my world, God is everywhere in all things. If I reach out with love and understanding, I find him there. And I've learned that he seeks me out if I don't. He sends me messages through friends who send me gifts and words of understanding, of caring, during times I did not expect anything, but was in a place where I needed a nudge to know I am loved and thought about.

Gandhi said, 'Be the change you wish to see in the world." Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Those two things make really, really good sense. I will be trying that.