Magic Moments

I was taking to America this week - had a chat with Miss Weasley on Monday and then the kiddlies later Friday.

This has got nothing to do with favorites or anything - it is the celebration of the moment. J2 (pictured on the left) asked me join Stardoll so we could stay in contact when she moved back home. I was sceptical initially (me - fashion, fame - you have got to be kidding) but it is so fabulous for us. We happily chat on about people we have met there, things we have done, how to behave in certain situations, personal boundaries - it goes on forever.

I sometimes feel very aware that being away from the kids I love (one family lives close by as does Abbey's briliant daughter, but the other two familes are a long way away) and not having kids of my own, it is easy to lose contact, easy to lose an involvement in their lives. It has nothing to do with being loved less, it is just practical. After all maintaining friendships between adults is hard enough when life takes things in different directions but I think that kids can be even more so. After all I only met them because I am friends with their parents - and they don't have to involve me, it is a chocie for them.

So while I had a great catchup with all three of the kiddlies (and they are really too old to be called that anymore) it was coming back and the continued chat with J2 that made my heart skip a happy beat this week.

Hmmm

A friend has told me some news recently. My friend is very happy with their news - and it certainly isn't bad news, nor it is detrimental to them in any way. I was a little surprised but genuinely pleased when I heard this news.

So why can't I get it out of my head? Why is it going around and around? What I do I keep saying to myself "yes, but ..." and not really coming up with anything after that.

I do a little self-analysis: am I worried that this news will change the friendship somehow, am I jealous, do I think it all might go pear shaped, am I projecting something from my own life? No I don't think any of them apply but surely the answer must be in there (this is my issue after all) somewhere but I still have no clarity.

I just gotta get out more ... sigh ...

It's About Attitude

I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

Abraham Lincoln

Art: "Yellow Rose" by Greg O'Leary

Handy Website

I have just stumbled across the Cook's Thesaurus and thought I would share.

It describes itself as "a cooking encyclopedia that covers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools. Entries include pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions. " And it actually is.

I am presently researching recipes from the Szechuan region of China and have found this invaluable for looking at what new ingredients are, getting some information about them - and finding out what I can substitute.

Very handy indeed :-)

Those Who Forget History

I don't for a moment doubt that the final authority must be in the hands of the Sunnis, in spite of their numerical inferiority. Otherwise you will have a mujtahid-run, theocratic state, which is the very devil.

Gertrude Bell on Iraq

Gertrude," he (Winston Churchill) countered, "you simply cannot draw a line around Mosul, Baghdad and Basra and declare everything inside it a nation! It won't matter whom you use as a figurehead."

"Well, of course," Miss Bell said airily, "we'll have to take Kurdish sentiments into account."

Gertrude Bell was the considered the female "Lawrence of Arabia" and is largely held responsible for the creation of Iraq in the 1920s. Even at that early stage she accurately predicted the outcomes that we are looking at today now that Iraq can comfortably be called a failed state - what do they say about those who forget history are destined to repeat it.

Do yourself a favor and Google Gertrude - this is a particularly fascinating woman and there is a mountain of information out there.

The Bonobo's Back

Yah - Vanessa is back in the Congo and her Bonobo Handshake blog is back up and running.

For newer visitors to Musing's, bonobos are one of my favorite animals because, if nothing else, they have a very healthy attitude to sex (make love not war started with these little beauties - well if it didn't it should have lol).

So join me in following Vanessa and her work, not to mention learning about the Congo and the Congolese. Nothing like vicarious travel :-)

The Best Friends

I try to be a good friend to those I care about - to help out when I can, to share a laugh or a tear or just bits of myself, to freely share my time and whatever resources I have.

And it may sound silly, but I am constantly amazed when people go out of their way for me. Abbey bought me my new book this week (which put me in rapturous heaven) and Nairbe has today got my computer running like a dream.

He spent 4 or 5 hours on it last Saturday and another 3 today. Actually today he was finished in about 15 minutes this morning but wanted to make sure all the bells and whistles were loaded and working properly.

I was going to make this my Magic Moment and while it is that, it is so much more. I truly do have the best friends in my life - some from my time in WA that I have held onto and the new ones I have made here. No longer to have 'negative' forces in my life but only the cream of the crop.

Some days I feel ever-so blessed :-)

Netball Moments

When I was little, I am guessing about 7, I was playing netball (as GK - Goal Keeper) and our team must have had a good day because the ball never game down my end of the court.

To amuse ourselves the Goal Shooter played airplanes. Now I can't remember how it started but it did make sense and it amused us to no end.

My birth mother wasn't amused and repeated the story for years, always emphasizing how humiliated she had been.

I have been watching junior netball for a few weeks now and to my utmost delight I have found girls in a similar situation searching for flowers on the pitch (the younger kids play on a grass court instead of the more traditional asphalt), having conversations, looking at birds, sitting down and waiting patiently and ... well filling in the time any way they can. And the parents on the sideline notice but they express no shame, more of a sympathy or at the very least an empathy. Add to that an incredible sense of pride as they watch their little athletes, or their team mates, develop their skills and do things this week that they didn't do last week.

Our team is not the best in the competition but all of the players turn up with a light heart, genuinely looking forward to having a run around with their friends. And they improve as they go along.

It sounds silly but I have been so ashamed over playing airplanes ever since it happened - and now I realize it is perfectly normal.

So I throw away the shame, and replace it with a smile and a warm heart. After all, kids are kids and junior sport was always meant to be fun :-)

Love is...

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection.

Buddha

Art: "Inner Bunny" by Zoe Freney

Summer Fun

During the Depression a massive project to build a diversion drain - to divert the Harvey River from its original course to the ocean, a depth of about 30' and a distance of abut 20 miles - was completed (by men with shovels). This ensured that the river wouldn't flood and industries based on irrigation could be developed in the Harvey area. That is my memory of the story of how it all came about anyway.

In any case, as a result of the development, the entire district has grids of drains that carry the irrigation water. Not only did this water feed the 'beloved' oranges but it also gave us an almost permanent swimming hole (well a long hole) that went right through the property. This luxury had a still pond at one end (very suitable for just lounging), it had water that ran fast enough you could actually ride it for much of the length, and a tunnel (bridge that went over the road). And if you get get over the periodic leach attack, this was heaven on a stick.

So while going to the Weir (these are the days waaaay before the town had a public pool) was a lot of fun, it did necessitate getting parental transport and conning them into spending time away from whatever they were doing. The irrigation drain was right there on the doorstop and only needed a quick holler as you ran out the door to let the adults know where to find you, and it was as cold and wet as any girl could dream of on a hot summer's day.

Happy days :-)

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live?

A delightful blue sky, winter day - heading for a maximum of about 20 C which, if it is like yesterday will hit abut 2 pm and then rapidly cool off.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

About 6. I really enjoy my job but I think (to use the current vernacular) the "work-life balance" is more important than promotions or aiming for big dollars. So I work for about half of the week and then spend my time blogging, cooking, painting, catching up with friends and the like.

Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

I rent so it is all default - venetian blinds in the living areas and spare room, lush foliage for bedroom privacy and naked windows for the sun room at the back.

Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up.

Blogging, friends, Meat Loaf, meditation, writing, listing all the good things, sleep, being in special places (mountain, beach and the like) ... well the list goes on :-)

Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

I have two alarm clocks - never needed the second. It goes off and I am up and moving (even if I don't want to .... especially if I don't want to lol)

The Important Things In Life

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

Albert Einstein

Art: "I Just Sit There Naked" by Debby Haskard-Strauss

How Low Can They Go

As part of their pre-Olympics propaganda campaign ... ahem, I mean celebrations, McDonalds is releasing a new world-inspired product each fortnight. Thanks to Yahoo I am a bit up on this. We currently have the McAmerica breakfast bagel and something before that - was that an Aussie something. Anyway, it is all very shallow and very McDonalds but I didn't think that even they would sink so low as to go for the McAfrica Burger (available until 11 July)!

Now I can't tell you what is in it, or what secret sauce they are going to proclaim represents Africa but then again I don't care.

Am I being politically correct and/or over-sensitive or is this new sandwich very poor taste (no pun intended). With part of the continent facing starvation and food shortages (for a variety of reasons), political turmoil leading to the torture and deaths of hundreds (if not thousands) each day, and an AIDS epidemic that we in the west can only imagine and people being too poor to afford treatment, isn't a McAfrica burger just so very ... wrong?

I know it is 'all about the Olympics' but fast food representing a continent like Africa - it just doesn't work!

Okay rant is over

Photo Challenge - Body

From Random's Blog

1. What time is it? 2.45 pm
2. What are your full names? Pearl Grace M
3. What are you most afraid of? Failure
4. Place of birth? Armadale WA
5. Favourite food? Depends on the day - today it is crispy pork belly - and the butcher is out of it so I sit and dream instead
6. Natural hair colour? Redhead (apparently)
7. Have you travelled? Not as much as I would like
8. Do you scrunch or fold (toilet paper)? Definitely a folder - with a prejudice against scrunchers
9. Loved someone so much it made you cry? Yes
10. Been in a car accident? Only if you count bingles
11. BMW or Mercedes Benz? Huh - with the insurance and registration costs, neither. Give me regular little car anyday :-)
12. Favourite day of the week? Sleep day
13. Favourite Restaurant? I have been dreaming of Sicilian's lately - and there is one in Sydney
14 Favourite Flower? White daisy with a yellow centre
15. Favourite sport to watch? Test cricket
16. Favourite Drink ? Water with bubbles (sparkling mineral water)
17. Favourite ice cream? Cookie dough
18. Disney or Warner Brothers? Warner easily
19. Favourite fast food restaurant? Subway
20. What colour is your bedroom carpet? A lovely dusky pink :-/ (yes I rent)
21. How many times you failed your driver's test? Got it first time
22. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Stephen
23. Bedtime? Anytime I have a moment free
24. What means the most to you? Integrity and respect
25. Favourite TV shows? Anything that provides background noise
26. Dating MALES or FEMALES? Me, date, you have got to be kidding!
27. Tall or short? Short
28. What is your favourite colour? Purple
29. How many pets do you have? I am a pet
30. What would you like to accomplish/do before you die? Live
31. What is your star Sign? Leo

Another Blessing

The fabulous Abbey blessed me with a book yesterday - and one from my favorite author no less. I was given a copy of Alice Walker's "Now Is the Time To Open Your Heart".

Now before you start thing 'who?' - this is the woman who wrote "The Color Purple".

Last night was cold and I am too much of a miser to heat the entire living space just for me so I retired to my warm bed and read half of it in one go - should finish it this afternoon.

Amazon's review is: Kate, a successful author fearful of aging and uncertain about continuing her relationship with Yolo, an artist, sets off on a journey of spiritual discovery. She has been profoundly unhappy for some time, dreaming of rivers, until she takes off for rivers--the Colorado and the Amazon. Among strangers, Kate is able to distance herself from her life and her relationship. Yolo, on his own separate journey, meets a former lover, a Hawaiian woman now overweight and weighed down with the recent loss of her son to a drug overdose and a sense that she--like her son--has lost her way. Kate finds growing intimacy among a group of disparate souls who unburden themselves of their pasts under the influence of yage, a South American medicinal herb. Kate finds that the herb allows her to reveal her innermost secrets and puts her in touch with the elders. Despite their frictions, Kate and Yolo have similar reawakenings about the land as mother, overcoming personal and ethnic oppression, and dismantling barriers between the sexes, the races, and young and old. Walker's dreamlike novel incorporates the political and spiritual consciousness and emotional style for which she is known and appreciated. Vanessa Bush Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

And it is all that but oh, so much more.

Very highly recommended :-)

Farewell to the Democrats

Yes the day has finally come when we bid a fond farewell to the Democrats.

For over 30 years they have held their seats in the Senate - relentlessly trying to "keep the bastards honest" (for readers outside of the country, that is the party slogan). Their skills with legislation are better than none- especially when you consider the resources they have available to them, compared to that of the major parties.

We all have our favorite Democrats - be it the man who started it all Don Chipp, Natasha (Tashi) Stott Despoja and her Doc Martins or present leader Lyn Allison who has battle on admirably during the darkest of times for the party. The list can go on - Janine Haines, Cheryl Kernot. John Coulter and Aden Ridgeway all contributed.

To be honest I blame their electoral demise fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Meg Lees and thought the rest of the country felt the same way but I have met someone who sees things differently (holding Tashi the responsible poor deluded person). Whatever the reason, a chapter has come to an end and while there is talk of the comeback, I can't see it on the horizon any time soon.

So thankyou and goodnight - you will be missed.

Thought for the Day

If a man does his best, what else is there?

General George S Patton

Art: "Awakening" by Paulette Insall

Goddess Moments

I had a big chat with a gf the other day about how I have finally accepted the way I am - with all of my quirks - and I realise that that choice will probably mean I will never have a partner - even for the short term. And I am okay with that - I don't want to compromise me. It has nothing to do with the toilet seat being up, or who takes out the garbage, it is to do with my interests and my personality. I like me - and all the bits that sometimes make it hard to fit in with regular people.

And before anyone says "oh you will meet someone one day" consider this: in my nearly 38 years on this planet I have found one person with similar interests to me. Since I was 17 I have only been attracted - even initially - to two people - and I would still have to change me if there was going to be a 'lifetime of happiness' with either.


I have woken up this morning to realise that, if I was feeling blue, I could have reached the same conclusion but under the guise of "I am unlovable - no one will ever love me for me".



I have meditated on this for a bit and have determined, that I really do believe the first thoughts - this isn't a defence mechanism, nor am I feeling blue and just trying to put a spin on the situation. But it is all in the attitude.

Art: "Independent Woman" by theharmfulspork

Cooking Days

It was cooking group day and I leaned out on a very thin limb and set the theme as "vegetarian". Now I am pleased to report that the sky didn't fall in, nor did any of the lovelies collapse at the lack of meat in a meal - in fact they even ate some of it - the staff knocked off the rest lol.

So the menu was:

• Two Potato Soup
• Mushroom and Walnut Scrolls
• Vegetable Strudel
• Wendy's Zucchini Slice
• Caramelized Onion, Olive and Feta Tart
• Layered Potato Cake
• and
• Curried Vegetable Burgers (which we served as a fritter)

All recipes have been posted on the work blog YesWeCanCook.

As you can see I also skillfully avoided including tofu and all other 'contentious' vegetarian options that were bound to just push the 'acceptable food' boundaries that little bit to far lol.

Next week we are doing Chinese again, even though I did explain (quite explicitly) that it wouldn't taste like the local Chinese restaurant because we weren't going to use packaged sauces and we were going to look at more regional food options. I guess that means that the sky might still fall next Wednesday ... I will keep you posted :-)

More Maya

Okay I know I have done my quote for the day (and by sheer coincidence it was featuring the fabulous Maya) but I have just checked my Google homepage and Maya is the featured "Literary Quote" there too - and I am not going to let the opportunity pass to share a double dose of the good Doctor with us today lol

Some critics will write: 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.

Maya Angelou

Photo by John Loengard

Maya Says ...

Life loves the liver of it.

Maya Angelou

Love Q #9

How young is too young to get married? To put it another way, what is your ideal age to get married and why?

I generally don't believe that anyone is ever at the ideal age for marriage. We should always be open to growth, change, learning and heading off in different directions. Having someone you that you have a contract with limits those changes or, if you follow the statistics, leads to divorce. So what is the point of the marriage in the first place?

Life is a journey and while we may have a mate that walks some of that journey with us, the chances of finding someone who will still want to walk by your side once you extend your wings, or whether we want to walk with that same person as they grow and develop is unlikely. Unless of course someone begins to subvert their own needs, views and possibilities.

If I had to pick an age, I would say over 40, once life and our personalities have stabilized a bit but I do acknowledge that the 'children factor' then comes into play big time - making a Brady Bunch family isn't all it's been cracked up to be.

Maybe over 70 would be a better option ...

Happens To Us All :-)

A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.

Winnie the Pooh

Mountain Arch

Crispy Pork Belly with Caramel Vinegar

I cooked this on Friday night and the more I think about it, the more delicious it was. The recipe suggested serving it with rice and bok choy but as I was cooking for both adults and kiddlies, I served with with stir fry vegetables and noodles.

As with any roast it takes some time but there is no real difficulty involved with it all :-) I would recommend that you get the butcher to score the skin for you though. As an additional note, I ordered mine from the butcher, it cost a few cents over $12 and would comfortably feed 6 - fabulous food for a very budget price!

1.5 kg boned pork belly with skin

2 T sea salt

1 T olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 C red wine vinegar

1 cinnamon quill

1 C chicken stock

4 strips pared rind and juice 1 orange

1 long red chilli, seeds removed and very finely sliced

Score the pork skin in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Rub salt into skin. Set aside for 3o minutes.

Preheat oven to 220 C and drizzle a large roasting pan with oil. Wipe salt off the pork with appaer towel and dry well. Place pork in the pan, skin side down, drixxle with a little oil and season. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce oven to 190 C and roast for another hour. Loosley cover with foil and roast for a further 30 minutes until pork is tender. Remove foil and carefully turn the meat, then return to oven for a further 20 minutes or until skin is crispy. Remove, cover loosley with foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the sugar, vinegar and spices in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then increase heat to medium-high and bring to the boil. Simmer over medium-low heat for 7 - 8 minutes until syrupy, then stir in stock and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Add orange juice and rind then simmer for 15 minutes until thick and syrupy. Season to taste.

Slice the pork. Drizzle with some of the carmel vinegar and garnish with chilli.

Recipe from delicious. magazine - June 2008, page 88

Pick Up Lines

The best pick-up line someone ever spun on me... "was that you I saw riding around on a bicycle naked last night .... no ... oh well it must have been me". It was definitely unique, it made me laugh, and it opened a conversation that lasted for over 10 years.

What's yours?

Heads or Tails

I Did LOL

Develop your eccentricities while you are young. That way, when you get old, people won't think you're going gaga.

David Ogilvy

Art: "Quirky" by Mylares

What A Way To Start The Day

I woke up tonight to come to work singing (in my head because the neighbors were all asleep) in the best Aussie rocker tradition John Paul Young's "Yesterday's Hero". Where that came from I am unsure. I am not sure what interview was playing on the pod but I know that it didn't include JPY. So while I had my shower and got dressed I had re-runs of Countdown happening in my mind.

And even better than all of that, when I was looking for a photo to accompany this post and typed in "yesterdays hero", Google gave me lots of photos of John Howard lol

Quirky Wisdom

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

Mountain Clouds

Mountaingirl Flies

My biggest goal when I over over here was "to be free to be me" - in all aspects of my life - and I have tried to keep to that the best that I can.

I have done something else to keep true to the mantra. Now I know it is rude to now say that I am not going to say what it is (and I am not trying to be but some things are just personal) but I feel alive, empowered, vibrant, and just like the goddess that Abbey frequently refers to me as.

I am woman, I am Mountaingirl - and I am very happy in my skin thankyou very much :-)

Art: Ix Chel (the goddess often associted with creativity) from Hecetate

Nearly A Real Woman

I got mistaken for a Netball Mom yesterday - another step towards womanhood (yes I have attended a Tupperware party).

It was an easy mistake - a woman from the club was distributing flyers to all of the adults on the sideline.

I admitted honestly, openly and immediately I was just a guest (although my heart did a skip at the complement - we barren, single woman miss out on little things like that - I am certainly not out to misrespresent my role in the family of my friends, nor do I want that role to change in any way. But it was a lovely little moment nonetheless :-)

That's What Friends Are For

I think it's important that we don't all have to hold our heads high all the time saying everything's fine.

Nicole Kidman

Magic Moments

Despite my computer being out of action this week, and not being able to blog (do you know how much of my life revolves around blogging - or thinking about blogging - I certainly didn't until now lol) I have had the best week - especially the best weekend (Thursday - Saturday).

So should my magic moment be the dinner I cooked on Friday night, or Nairbe spending 4 hours on my computer yesterday reloading XP and helping me rebuild things generally, or the friendship of Abbey who has held my hand all week - especially when I was grumpy and frustrated... all of these are worthy but there was one outstanding Magic Moment.

I went to the mountain on Thursday - with the plan on using Nairbe's computer and catching up on my blogging but even that plan went astray so I had a long nap and started reading instead (everyone was out until about 8 that evening).

Mid afternoon found me on the front porch reading my second book, taking photos and generally finding my peace. And then it happened - the thunder started rumbling. Now, for me, thunder comes from one place, rumbles and then goes away. THIS thunder began rolling over to the left side of the sky, rumbled all the way over to the right and then back to the left. Once I started counting it lasted for 12 seconds - and I started once I realised it was going on for a bit (maybe 4 or 5 seconds).

It was the most incredible experience - does it make sense to say that I could watch the sound?

Friday Photo Challenge Updates

Apologies to all for my negligence in posting this but what with the computer problems .... hmmmm. Now I can post mine from this week and get on with the Mr Linkies

Friday 27: Body

July 4: Hope

July 11: Green

Nostaligic Saturday

When I was growing up we had an orange orchard on our property.

You have got to know I didn't appreciate that one little bit (apart from the climbing options available of course). Having an orchard meant that child labor was involved in picking oranges and packing oranges. Then there was the constant supply of the beasties - and never say "I'm hungry" because the automatic response was "have an orange".

And whenever guests came child labor would be involved in squeezing 10 litres or so - which wasn't a big deal because we had an electric squeezer - but orange juice is sticky and the empty skins are even stickier and the kitchen needed to be cleaned at the end of it all.

Then came the glorious day when the orchard was pulled out - "freedom" I cried but it was really on the beginning of the never-ending stick-picks that required ongoing child labor.

Is it possible that I am exaggerating? Possibly. Did I also mention that we hired labor to help with the picking? No. Does it mean I will eat an orange? No, definitely not! I will use them in cooking, and if someone else squeezes them I will happily drink real juice but I can't bring myself to eat one - and never ask me to peel one with my fingers ....

Photo Challenge - Texture

Many thanks to Abz who has the Mr Linky going for this week :-)

Pooh Bear Tuesday

Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.

Winnie the Pooh

Mmmm .... Bread

I have finally found another thing that I miss madly and passionately about WA (Joe's Fish Shack being the first) - the Pizza Bianca from the New Norcia Bakehouse.

Just a bit of background - the Bakery was started by the Benedictine monks at New Norcia using their own milled flour and in the best woodfired oven you have ever seen. Actually, I have never seen it but I have tasted its produce so I know it is good. Btw, New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia (which I knew but Wiki confirmed), Anyway a company now makes the bread - but uses the oven and recipes from the monks.

The pizza bianca is a little hard to describe but to give the experience a go: you pull up out the front of the Mount Hawthorne bakery to be greeted by the heady smell of fresh bread. You enter the shop and find an array of products that makes the mouth water - many are still warm from baking. Your eyes dart around but you know you are going to get the pizza bianca anyway. I always buy what I need plus one more - there is the drive home to consider.

I have eaten it warm and I have eaten it cold and, while warm is the sort of thing they talk about in heaven, cold is very adequate. The bread itself is golden but not crusty. Chewy but light. The sea salt explodes in your mouth. The rosemary hits both the tastebuds and the soul. The oil is *real* oil and caresses the mouth with a smooth fruitiness. And all of this happens at once.

I have tried to make it before (accepting that I don't have a wood-fired oven) but it just isn't right. Subject to how much time I spend on the computer, I think I will have another go today.

My longest drive to buy this bread - 4 hours each way. When I lived in Perth I was even known to sit in peak hour traffic (voluntarily) to cross town and buy this bread and thought nothing of a 45 minutes each way drive to get it on Sunday afternoons.

Life is so simple :-)

Smile

To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.

Sigh ... Computer Still Broken

Maybe today ... reloaded a few things .... eliminated some possibilities yesterday ... onto more options today ... will visit everyone as soon as I can ...

It's All in the Attitude

I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that don't work.

Thomas Edison

Magic Moments

Every since I was a teen I have been plagued by bad dreams - not nightmares, just unsettling or unpleasant manifestations of something or other. My solution to this has been to sleep with music, tv, the radio and now my pod playing - it slows them down considerably to the point that I might only experience them a few times a year. It also means that I don't really have dreams of any kind that I regularly remember.

This week has been different - I have been having positive, exciting and magic dreams all week. I awaken with a smile on my face and a zing in my step. Have I done anything different, no - pod still playing. Am I thinking about this too deeply - no - just enjoying the ongoing magic moments :-)

Imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge...

Albert Einstein

Photo: "Imagination" by Andre Chave

First Kiss

My first kiss wasn't really my first kiss but it is the one that I count as my first.

It was the night of my 16th birthday and G joined us at the movies (The God's Must Be Crazy). He sat next to me. I had liked him since I was 12. He had apparently thought I was 15/16 then so asked my Dad could he take me out - and G, so the story goes, nearly died when he found out I was just 12, especially as G was 19 at the time lol.

Anyway I spent half the movie trying to figure out how I could 'accidentally' make physical contact with this man, to let him know that he was still oh so special when I eventually gave up and just dropped my arm on the armrest - to find his directly underneath! He wrapped is fingers around mine and yes, we held hands for the rest of the movie.

I don't quite remember what happened when we got home, I know it would have involved at least a cup of coffee with the folks (after all of these years G was definitely in the 'family friend' category).

Then it was home time and I was nominated to walk G to his car. So on a cloudless night, with the stars shining ever so brightly, we hugged and we talked. And then we kissed - his arms firmly around my waist, his lips on mine. Yes my legs turned to jelly and my heart skipped a beat and he just held me tighter.

I have never experienced any kiss so powerful since, nor has any other kiss ever made my knees go weak.