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Category Archives: SOC


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SoCS: Sunburns, Tin Man, Tinnitus, Buttons and a Light at the End of the Tunnel

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tan/ten/tin/ton/tun.” Use one, use ’em all, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you manage to get four of them into your post. Have fun!

When I was ten years old, in the late 1960s, I had my first bad sunburn. Being fair skinned, it was the first of many bad burns. Most of my back became one big sheet of blister. We had to take a day trip somewhere and as the blister’s popped, they prickled any time I moved against the car seat. You’d think that would teach me a lesson. But as a teenager in the 1970s, having a tan was almost a requirement, or so it seemed in the summer. I had to burn first, and eventually my sunburns would turn into tan. We lived on the east coast, 20 minutes from the beach, and practically no one I knew wore sunscreen, well maybe OLD people wore sunscreen. Now, I wear sunscreen, or at least a hat and long sleeves. I’m probably lucky that so far, I’ve only been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma above my right eyebrow. (Knock on wood.) That was a couple years ago. My skin cancer screening last week turned out okay – nothing new. By the way, my tick disease tests were negative, too, so I’m thankful for that and for feeling better.

Tin is next on the list. Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn’t, didn’t already have. I love the band, America. I love America, too. I feel a little sick in my stomach now thinking about what I could write about politics in my country. But America, the American people, are still mostly good, I think. Regular people still help each other out in disasters, though right now, we’re in sort of a slow simmering disaster. But I DON’T want to write about that. We get enough negativity on mainstream media. Sigh.

Or better yet, sing!

Tin. My tinnitus is getting worse, but I can still sing, and I don’t always notice it, unless I think about it or when everything is very quiet. It’s like a bunch of mosquitoes buzzing around my head. Maybe bees. I could have said a ton of bees, and used that prompt, but that would be exaggerating.

Button has ton at the end. I still have a bunch of buttons in a tin, ha! and some buttons that have slogans and stuff. Do I have a picture? Well, here’s my favorite button right now.

There’s a light at the end of this tunnel.

Third Day’s song, “Tunnel” helped me a lot when I was a single mom working a stressful job.

Keep holding on!

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

and the rules, visit our host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Hiding in the Tapestry

 Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hide.” Use it way you’d like. Enjoy!

There are fond memories of playing hide and seek as children in the neighborhood, maybe after dinner, before the streetlights came on…..

Sometimes, when I’m embracing my inner introvert, I like to hide from people in general, at least physically, by staying in my house. There’s a facebook page that has a lot of memes about the coziness of staying home which reinforces my tendency to want to be a homebody. The facebook page name has the word, cottage, in it. It’s all about coziness. But the little section of my brain that tries to hide secret thoughts of conspiracies wonders if this is a plot to keep all women at home with their pretty flowers, cats, and coffee mugs. There was a time, many years ago, when I disdained stay at home “housewives” as they were called. Now, I understand the loveliness and luxury of staying at home, decorating, planting flowers, tending the home…… Life can change like that.

Hide. Mine has never been naturally thick. In fact, my skin is physically thinner than when I was younger, and my psyche has always been on the sensitive side. I sometimes envy people who have thick skin… thick hide… Sort of….

There’s a song by Carole King called “Tapestry” which I used to listen to in the early 70s, with the line about the drifter passing by wearing a coat of many colors around his leathered hide. That’s some imagery there. There’s a Joseph in the Bible who was given a coat of many colors. So maybe the drifter was more than just a drifter. He must have had a colorful life. Anyway, it’s a beautiful song about life and death.

I read somewhere about how a tapestry does not make sense from the back, with lose strings and all, but from a different perspective it makes sense and seems to go together. From close up, things don’t always make sense, but in the big picture, it all works out. That’s what I’m believing today, in the stream of consciousness.

I just now found this video of the song, Tapestry with the background of a tapestry made in honor of Carole King.

And since it is Easter Saturday, I thought of this song about trusting Jesus as my hiding place, which I suppose can happen even in a crowd.

Happy Easter!

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit our host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: It’s Not Always Easy to be Hard

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “easy/hard.” Use one, use both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you get both words into your post. Enjoy!

It’s not always easy to be hard. This is especially true for those who care, for people who are empathic or compassionate. We may have a hard time setting boundaries. But sometimes boundaries keep us safe. If you’ve given a lot already, and it seems like the situation isn’t getting better, then we have to say no.

Well, we don’t have to say no. But maybe we do, because you can’t pour from an empty cup. This may have to do with money, but also it could be about energy or time. We need to set limits.

Sigh. I didn’t mean to start off so serious and general. But the song came to mind, “Easy to be Hard.” It was in the play and movie, HAIR, but I like the Three Dog Night version better, maybe because I listened to it a lot many, many years ago.

In the Bible it says, “Love your neighbor as yourself. ” It does not say, instead of yourself. It doesn’t say more than yourself. It says, “as yourself.” And it wasn’t just in the Bible. It’s something Jesus said in the Bible as the second most important commandment after loving God.

This loving our neighbors as ourselves goes along with including ourselves in our circles of compassion.

Yet there are some people who do find it easy to be hard. Right? Maybe people who are hard and tough feel secure in this habit. Like the current president of the US for example. It seems it’s easy for him to be hard, cruel, and uncaring. After all, what we practice we get good at. Some people become desensitized to the suffering of others. Maybe they always were insensitive or self-centered. I don’t know.

Dang. This is a downer of a post, but sometimes that happens, cause, life…..and mainstream news….

What can I do to turn this around?

In the music video from the HAIR movie, the guy who’s being hard turns around, because his friends convince him to turn around and go back to the mother of his child. You can see that around 3 minutes into the following video. It’s more powerful and personal than the Three Dog Night version. I had forgotten that.

It’s okay to change your mind.

Even Jesus changed his mind about helping the woman who said, even the dogs get the scraps (or crumbs?) that fall from the master’s table.

I had to look that up. It’s in Matthew 15: 21-28. At first, Jesus is hard in refusing the Canaanite woman asking Jesus to heal her daughter. Some might say he was downright rude because the woman was not part of “the children of God.” But when she said even the dogs get crumbs, Jesus changed his mind.

I love that Jesus changed his mind. I love the woman’s courage, and I love that Jesus came for everyone, not just a select group.

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit our host, Linda Hill,

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Love Transcends Distance, Remembering my Sister, Shelter Dogs, and an Apology

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “distance.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

You’ve probably read here, and elsewhere, that sometimes we have to love people from a distance. That might be because a person is toxic and we’re trying to take care of our well-being. Or it might be because they moved away, or you moved away, or deployment in the military which makes me think of my parents when dad was in the corps for 20 years. Letters were the thing back then. Talking on the phone long distance was expensive.

David, my first boyfriend moved back to Connecticut with his family in 1972. I loved him, pined for him, from North Carolina. He wrote two letters and I wrote four. It as summertime and I was 16 so life went on. and on… Then in 2011, David found me again online. We had a long-distance relationship. Fortunately, we had cell phones by then, and it didn’t cost extra to call. My heart would beat faster as our regular 9pm calling time approached. Then we visited a few times, and he moved down to NC in the fall of 2012 after his company told him it was time to retire after 30 something years. Good timing! We got married in December of 2012.

Love can transcend distance. Prayer transcends distance. There’s even such a thing as reiki healing from a distance. My younger sister was killed in a car accident on her 16th birthday. A drunk driver hit her boyfriend’s car and killed both of them as they were going out to celebrate her birthday. That was so long ago. March 7 is the day she was born, two years after me. Today is her “heavenly birthday.” Though it’s easier to feel my father’s presence from heaven, I can also feel my sister, Mary Kaye’s presence, if I tune in to her. It’s vague. Or are these just memories?

My little sister, Mary Kaye
Mary Kaye and Lobo

Sometimes, when I watch a Harry Potter movie, Harry’s friend, Hermione Granger reminds me of my sister.

Sometimes I imagine (or do I hear?) my father’s voice. Maybe I feel or hear him more because I have more memories of him. He died in 2017. I’m glad we got closer before he died. I only have 16 years of memories with my little sister. If she had lived, I think she would have been a nurse or something like a home health aid. She did not do well in school, but she volunteered regularly at a small home for disabled children in the 1970s. She was kindhearted and a free spirit. I guess I’m missing her today and wishing we could have had more time to work through our sibling rivalry. I wish my daughter, my son, and my granddaughter could have known her.

I did not mean to go into so much detail, but that’s the stream of consciousness for you. If Mary Kaye had lived and was alive today, she would have maybe gotten me to not take things so seriously. Maybe we could have sung together. My older sister, Linda liked to sing, too….. They would have encouraged me to sing and to enjoy life. Maybe they are encouraging that right now as I write this.

Take time to laugh, to sing, to play. Eat chocolate. Dance. Laugh some more. That’s what they’re saying to me. From a distance, or from right behind me.

My mother collected angels. They’re all angels now. Smiling, dancing, because I am listening to them.

I feel their feathery kisses on my cheek.

~~~

Speaking of kisses, I got sloppy kisses from Cooper at the no-kill shelter where I volunteer.

Cooper is healing from a skin condition and is starting to put on weight. He’s great at fetch!

Cooper just wants to be loved. Not from a distance, but up close and personal. Dogs remind me to enjoy the gift of the present.

Here are a few more dogs from the no kill shelter which rescues exclusively from the high kill county facility.

Apollo
Rocky
Odie
Milo
Beautiful Ivy
Spanky

There aren’t enough homes for them all. Please consider rescuing a homeless dog or cat.

~~~

I wrote the above Friday night. This morning, I read that US airstrike was probably responsible for killing 165 people, mostly students at a school. I mention this because I want to be clear I am not oblivious to this horrible news. I am deeply sorry for the actions of the US government. This is sadder than anything personal that I wrote above, but it feels personal. Iran does not feel so distant today. It’s not enough, but I apologize for the actions of my government which does not feel like my government.

Still, the daffodils bloom. They give me hope.

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit our host Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Grief and Grace (From an ICE Shooting to the Love of Dogs)

Today’s prompt for #JusJoJan the 10th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “don’t get me started.” Use the phrase in your post or just write about the first thing it conjures in your mind. Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

“Don’t get me started,” is often used in connection with politics or things in the mostly bad mainstream news. I don’t like to talk about politics much, but every now and then, I’ll delve into something that happened in the news, even if it’s something bad.

I’ve watched at least 4 different videos of the shooting of Renee Good by ICE. I’ve watched the videos multiple times, trying to understand, trying to have an open mind. In all the videos I’ve watched, it looks like Renee, a mother of three and a US citizen, if that even matters, is trying to leave the scene. The most recent video I watched which was shown on FOX and reportedly from the POV of the ice agent with a cell phone, shows the agent walking in front of Renee’s vehicle, walking from one corner of the front bumper to the other corner. He (purposely?) positioned himself near the front bumper at the left corner of the vehicle. In all videos, Renee drives to the right trying to get away. One video, which I kept pausing to get clarity on the details, shows the wheels of her vehicle are turned hard to the right.

All this shows that she was trying to get away and not trying to run down anybody. If someone I don’t know was trying to open my car door, I might try to get away, too. I don’t know. Now, Renee is dead, killed by an ICE agent. I’m sitting here shaking my head, my heart pounding. Now, taking a deep breath, and thinking, I’m glad I live in a small town where ICE is not likely to come. And if I’m ever in a situation where ICE is nearby, I want to stay as far away as possible. That’s my gut reaction. But unfortunately, some people can’t do that, for whatever reason. Don’t get me started.

You might not want to get me started talking about dogs, because as many of you know, I LOVE dogs. Dogs can unite us. Dog lovers run the gamut (what a weird expression)…. people from different walks of life, from opposite political sides, can be dog lovers. Dogs don’t care about politics. They could love an ICE agent or Renee Good, or anyone else who feeds them and gives them at least a little positive attention. Don’t get me started on dogs being left outside in all kinds of weather with no caring attention. Don’t get me started, brain, because I don’t want to think about that.

I should have told myself, don’t get started on your SOC post at 5:20 Friday evening when you’re also browning onions for soup. It’s okay, the onions are salvageable.

(I found above “The World is Both Burning and Blooming” on FB right after writing this post. But we don’t have to let it ALL in, because that could make us crazy. I try to give at least equal time to the good stuff.)

Dogs deserve more time than ICE agents. Still, you have to be careful with both.

One of the dogs at the no kill shelter where I volunteer, was terribly afraid of people. Some dogs really shut down in the shelter, though most crave any attention they can get. Last week, when I saw Milo, he started shaking every time I walked by his kennel. I was told to give him space because he had growled when someone got too close. He had just been brought over from the high kill county “shelter” and didn’t even want to come out to the play yard. One week later, I was able to get him to come out to the play yard on his own terms (not on the leash) following me down the fenced walkway. I gave him some space, and he gradually started to trust me. Then I discovered he liked to catch balls! He even gave me some kisses! It’s a wonderful feeling when a very frightened dog starts to trust you.

Milo catching a ball

Here are a few more of the shelter dogs I met recently who are looking for their forever homes. The first one, “Rocket” looks like “Rocket” in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He runs like a rocket and can’t be more than a year old. The third dog, Rocky, looks a lot like Milo but is stockier.

Rocket
Odie
Rocky
Apollo looks to be part Great Dane
Milo with frisbee

Below is a video of Rocky with his big handsome head and a toy.

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit out host, Linda Hill,

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Cookie Dough and NO Vertigo

 Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “batter/better/bitter/butter.” Use one, use all four (for bonus points), use ’em any way you’d like. Have fun!

I’ve always liked batter better than the cake or cookies. That’s why I’d like chocolate chip cookie dough, if I were to eat ice cream. My birthday cake had vegan cookie dough frosting, but it got to be too sweet after a while. Cookie and cake batter usually seem a little saltier than the cooked products. Salty and sweet combo is my favorite. Peanut butter is a good choice to add to ice cream, if I were to eat ice cream. There IS vegan ice cream, often made with coconut milk, so maybe I’ll look for some. Maybe they have Moose Tracks which is vanilla with peanut butter and dark chocolate.

The thing I like about chocolate chips is that they are “bittersweet,” which does not seem bitter to me, just not overly sweet. I can’t really taste the chocolate in milk chocolate.

When David goes to the gym, he says he’s going to burn some butter. We both need to go to the gym more often. I usually go on Mondays for my yoga class, and then do a little work on the treadmill with my dizziness exercises where I turn my head from side to side and then up and down while walking on the treadmill. I try to not hold on, but when I go to turning my head diagonally, I MUST hold on or I’ll fall. I’ve gotten over wondering if people think I’m crazy. Mostly.

Last Christmas, I had a terrible case of vertigo for several days and missed church and everything. That’s how I eventually learned some dizziness prevention exercises in physical therapy, starting with the one where you look at the letter X on a sticky note and turn your head from side to side without moving your eyes. The exercises all seem to be aimed at acclimating to things that might make you dizzy like your body doing something different from your eyes.

(I am in NO WAY recommending any of this, because everyone with vertigo issues needs their own health care provider and/or physical therapist.)

Hopefully I’ve built up some tolerance, reduced stress, and this Christmas will be way better than last. It’s all about balance!

May you have peace and balance over the holidays!

~~~

For more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday,

visit our host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: From Buddy and Jovie’s First Date to Jesus Changing His Mind

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “crumb.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

The movie Elf is running in the background as I type this Friday evening. I think there’s a scene where Buddy takes Jovie on a date to a place that has a sign like “World’s Best Cup of Coffee.” Jovie tastes it while blindfolded (she’s pretty trusting on this first date with a weird elf) and says, “It tastes like a crummy cup of coffee.” Or something like that is what I remember from having it on in the background a lot. Yes, I watch movies over and over because familiar movies equal comfort, and I love Christmas movies. My favorites are Last Christmas, Scrooged, The Holiday, The Nativity, and It’s a Wonderful Life, just to name a few.

Well, I just watched Buddy and Jovie’s first date on Youtube and I was wrong. She says “crappy” cup of coffee. If you knew that, then you really know the movie.

There’s another story about crumbs, and I think I might be closer in remembering this, but I’ll look it up to see if I’m close in my paraphrase/recall.

So, Jesus is with his friends, and this woman comes up and asks him to heal her daughter. She’s an outsider, maybe not even Jewish, and Jesus says something like it would be wrong to take food away from the children and give it to the dogs. I think he means the children of Israel, and he’s calling the woman or her people dogs? This is very unusual for Jesus to say something so mean. He is usually unusually welcoming and kind to strangers and foreigners. Maybe he was having a bad day, or maybe he was tired. He was certainly showing his human side.

Anyway, the woman replies that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Aside from the fact that my dogs have always had way more than crumbs, this was a brave thing for the woman to say back in those times. She was persistent. Her daughter needed healing. And guess what! Jesus was impressed by her faith and persistence and healed her daughter.

Jesus changed his mind. Because a woman, a mom, talked back to him with humility for the sake of her daughter.

If Jesus can change his mind, maybe God can too. I like that kind of flexibility and compassion. I like that Jesus allowed himself to be influenced by this woman (at a time when women and children were like property). I don’t know the timeline in this Bible story, but maybe Jesus became more compassionate after that, more inclusive. Who knows?

That’s my take on it from memory. You can read the verses in Matthew 15:21-28.

Many things are open to interpretation, like whether it’s the world’s best cup of coffee, a crappy cup of coffee, or a crummy cup of coffee.

I love their simple sense of awe.

What are your favorite Christmas or Holiday movies?

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit our host, Linda Hill

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: A Teacher’s Influence (and Pilot Knob Trail Part 2)

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “pop.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Soda pop is where my mind settled soon after reading the prompt. It will show up later. As I write this Friday evening, I remember that earlier this afternoon, in the shower, after doing a lot of yard work, I was thinking about a teacher I had at the community college in the late 1970s. Why I was thinking of her, I have no idea. It must have been its own stream of consciousness.

I had a rocky start to college life and will not go into all the sordid details, but with some emotional challenges, boyfriend issues, a bit too much alcohol, and angsty codependency, I dropped out once or twice before I got serious again. Community college was good for my first two years that turned into three years as I was trying to find myself. Though I finally got serious about going to classes, I still had a wild side.

In my third year at the community college, I took classes I was interested in – just for fun, outside the realm of my stated major of biology, like acting, voice, and psychology. Getting back to the instructor, she taught psychology which I found fascinating on multiple levels. It was also what I needed. Her first name was Michelle. I don’t recall how to spell her last name, but it sounded like, Modazesky. Miss Modazesky was young and pretty, and she had subtle ways of supporting me. She saw my potential since I made good grades (after limiting the alcohol to weekends, mostly) and I probably asked interesting questions in her classes. I had done an informal, self-motivated survey of students at the little college about something I was curious about. When I mentioned my survey (no idea what the topic was) she asked me to come to the front of the classroom and present my findings. This was a surprise, but I had had fun writing my data on the board and sharing my results. Miss M. asked, jokingly I assume, when I was going to publish my results. She planted a seed of confidence in me.

One weekend, there was a college sponsored dance or event at a place that served alcohol, and Miss M was one of the instructors in attendance. Maybe she was a chaperone or something. Anyway, we said hi and maybe chatted a bit. Then my friends and I said something like let’s find the booze, or something enthusiastic about drinking. Miss M said she was going to find a soda pop. I laughed and said, “Soda Pop?” drawing out the words with a grimace meaning it was weird to drink “soda pop” out on a Saturday night or something like that. (Plus, nobody said soda pop anymore.) She just smiled and went merrily on her way to find her soda pop. But she planted a seed that there were alternatives. (It’s funny now, that I no longer drink alcohol, having downed my share.)

One time in some informal office where students and instructors were sort of hanging out, we were talking about tennis, and I mentioned I wasn’t that good at it. Miss M. offered to play tennis with me. I didn’t take her up on this, thinking it was odd and feeling socially awkward. But looking back, I suspect she knew about my wild ways and wanted to have more opportunities to positively influence me. Who knows?

As I write this now in SoCS, these seem like small things, but they were firmly planted and remain clear in my memory, showing how the little things (small acts of kindness and encouragement) can influence us in big ways.

Oh, and when I transferred to the university, I ended up changing my major from biology to psychology. It was what I needed.

Speaking of confidence, here are the rest of my photos from our Pilot Knob Trail hike. Last week I shared the south face photos. Below are photos from the north face. It was my goal to hike this trail before turning 70 next month, and, in spite of my fear of heights, I DID IT!

David on trail
Eastern Sauratown Mountains
More steps
David and Marley
Moss and Lichen
Almost done!
Pilot Knob Trail at the …..
… base of Pilot Mountain aka Jomeokee

~~~

For more streams,

visit our host, Linda Hill,

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Enjoyment with a Side of Fear

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “something you enjoyed.” Write about something you thoroughly enjoyed. Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

We’ve had some wonderful weather here lately that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. The air is crisp and the sunshine has made blue, blue skies. My favorite place has turned golden.

Can you thoroughly enjoy something even though there’s a little fear, like when I step outside at night, usually with Marley, to look up at the stars. We have a fenced in yard, and there’s not much to be afraid of except I have such a vivid imagination. Still, the enjoyment definitely reigns supreme over the fear. That also applies to our most recent hike.

There’s enjoyment in knowing and sharing that I MET MY GOAL to hike the Pilot Knob Trail before my 70th birthday next month. We hiked the trail on Tuesday. The weather was perfect with highs in the mid 60s and plenty of sunshine.

The Pilot Knob Trail goes around the base of Pilot Mountain, aka, Jomeokee, which is a “metamorphic quartzite monadnock” sticking up out of the surrounding hill.

Pilot Mountain, aka Jomeokee

Jomeokee means “The Great Guide,” in Native American, likely the Saura tribe that lived in this area. You’re not allowed to climb the big pinnacle, which I might have tried in my 30s, but I enjoyed seeing and touching the rock. Rocks are cool. I collected them in my childhood and even now have a rock or two sitting around on a bookcase or in a dish with seashells in my house. I especially like the sparkly ones.

I thoroughly enjoyed touching and seeing the big rock formations and the views at around 2000 feet, as long as I stopped to look at them. The biggest challenge was not all the steps going up, or even down, but my fear of heights really kicked in when the trail narrowed and I looked out toward the horizon. I’ve always had a fear of heights, and it may be worse now since I have some dizziness issues. Fortunately, my balance is good from doing yoga, and I’ve done some dizziness exercises (need to do more.) I am also grateful for David’s patience and support. He kept asking me, “Where are your feet?” A good question for wandering minds with too much ample imagination. He asked what I was afraid of, and I realized I was afraid of falling. It helped when I actually looked at the nearby slopes and saw they were a little more gradual than my imagination imagined when I looked out in the distance.

David even offered to have me walk on the inside next to the rising walls of Jomeokee with him on the outside. I didn’t like the idea of him being that close to the edge even if the drops weren’t that sheer, but I took him up on it once or twice. David is amazingly fit for 68, plus he was walking Marley on a leash the whole hike. Thankfully Marley was a good boy – he’s about to be 10 this month! I assured David that I wasn’t going to freeze or anything like that. I knew I could do this. I just had to take my time and keep my eyes on the trail and my feet, leaning into Jomeokee when the trail narrowed. I could only look at the views if I stopped in a place where I felt safe which were available many times.

If I do this trail again, I want to have hiking poles and do it at a time when there aren’t so many people. This is peak time for the fall autumn colors, and there were busloads of school kids on the trail. I like kids, but they can be unpredictable. We stopped a lot to let groups pass us.

The gallery has a few photos from the approach and the south side of Jomeokee. I’ll share photos from the north face another time.

steps
and more steps
This is what I came here for
Looking straight up
Feeling safe here
…and here.
A Room with a View…
David and Marley

I think I’ll enjoy the autumn colors in my comfort zone for a while.

~~~

For more streams,

visit our persevering host, Linda Hill (FEEL BETTER SOON!)

by clicking HERE.


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SoCS: Un-Hooked and Honest Signs

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hook.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Fishing phrases are coming to me. “Hook, line, and sinker” reminds me of falling for something that I wish I had not fallen for. But then, I got away, so all’s well that ends well. Being off the hook is a good feeling when you really didn’t want to do something. The ones that got away were meant to be that way. Each one was a lesson or two or three and getting away and made room for something even better.

Hook. Hooked. Baby, baby, don’t get hooked on me. That was a yucky song, so never mind. I will never again be “hooked” on a person. Even loving David with all my heart and expecting to live the rest of my life with him, since he’s pretty strong and has a great constitution and will probably outlive me, but then you never know…. I still don’t want to be hooked on a person, as in addicted. I never again want to feel that sense of desperation for a person or a substance like with cigarettes. So thankful to be done with those!

Love should not have a sense of desperation or addiction. Love should have a sense of freedom and balanced dedication, partnership, comfort, mutual respect … all things that go beyond infatuation.

I might be hooked on Stream of Consciousness Saturday, since I can’t seem to not do it. But that’s okay. It’s only once a week, and it’s more like a good habit. Thanks, to our host, Linda!

For the gallery, I’m going to go out on a limb to share some photos I took in an ice cream shop/bakery on Main Street in Mount Airy. Along with some signs praising rednecks, moonshine, and the Andy Griffith Show (since the city is Mr. Griffith’s hometown) there were lots of signs on the wall that made me chuckle. Some said things I think privately but would not likely say out loud, because they might be considered in bad taste, so while I’d already cropped out the signs I did not like, sharing these here is a step away from people pleasing and toward greater authenticity…. or just having a little fun. The one about the boobs I think of as a response to the stupid question, “Are those real?”

You might have to click on some images to read the signs. The first one is my favorite in this collection, and the clock. Do you have a favorite sign?

PS. In the olden days, taking the phone off the hook was the easiest way to avoid getting calls. But you didn’t get ANY calls, and everyone who called got a busy signal.

Here’s one more sign, from our Key Largo honeymoon in 2012:

~~~

For more streams of consciousness,

visit our host, Lind Hill,

by clicking HERE.