Can you remember things that happened in childhood that impacted you? Did you interpret what was said or done around you? I can remember my aunt was trying to get me to eat. I was always a picky eater. Still am. So she pointed down the street of my grandmother’s house toward the dairy, “If you don’t eat, you’ll dry up and fly away, and the cows will eat you!” I ate.
I remember interpreting from a bedtime tale that castles were dragons. The nightmare that night caused me to scream out that there was a castle under my bed. Children can misunderstand words and deeds. The Boy Who Was Left Behind presents that theme. Here’s the blurb on the GoodReads and Amazon pages:
“Vimal lives with his grandmother. His parents, who are NRIs – non-resident Indians – leave him with his grandmother when he is two. Vimal grows up in Jaipur, happy and secure in the loving care of his grandmother. His parents are a blurred memory made up from short visits. When Vimal is eight, a phone call in the night turns his world topsy-turvy. His grandmother leaves him with relatives and goes to London.
Once again, Vimal is left behind – this time with a secret that is too big for a young boy.”
This book would be a great read-aloud for parents/teachers/counselors, and children. It could instigate conversations of help and healing.
Rarely do I share another review. Not because mine is so good, but rather I don’t want to overwhelm myself or others. If I put it out there, the readers would find others to read for themselves if it struck interest. But Grady’s Review on Amazon and GoodReads is super and tells what I feel about the author.
I just read and reviewed How to Die In Space. Wormholes were the thing Mr. Sutter said was the least likely item out there. Yet how would Star Trek, Farscape, or even Doctor Who get around without them? See? Case in point! They have to exist!
A little more serious. I do believe in the power of prayer. Not like I learned at church, but what I have absorbed metaphysically. When I pray, I feel I take the time to put my mind onto something or someone; I find the energy flows and have seen results. Often, I find my prayer worded so that I need to revise on occasions to be the most loving outcome for all. No, I cannot be the one that brought about the result. That means whether my hope went one way or the other, the result is out of my hands. Love is in charge. In that case, then, I believe, God/Goddess is love.
Do animals have morals? Exclude human beings from the equation please.
Here is the question that John Holton and I differ on. And from the mere observable point of view watching our cats. I suggest, like every group, there are terrific and rotten and variants between.
I had a cat who took in some other cat’s kittens. Kimberlina raised these kittens, caring for them like they were her own. With four kids in the house, she became mother number two. She would lead me to see naughtiness in the works. Many other cats we’ve had were not as morally beautiful. But in cat-world, we believe she was a saint.
Meet Kimberlina, Kimby for short. She’s the big one on the right. The kitten is a foster my son, not the one pictured, but the one who worked at a pet store brought home knowing Kimby would be good at taking care of it. Kimby came to us when she couldn’t even hold up her head. Her eyes were closed. We couldn’t find anyone with milk for her, so we used plain yogurt, and she seemed to like and thrive from it. We had her, I think, for 17 years. Through divorce and a million moves. (Exaggerate much?)
In fact, this very balcony was where she decided to see if she could fly. We were on the second story. Talk about scared! But the kids (who were late teens and early adults) found her and brought her home. She hid under my bed for a couple nights. One night I couldn’t handle it anymore. I whispered out to her. She came out. She shook it out. Jumped up on the bed with me and seemed just fine for another six years. Gosh, how we all miss her! It’s been 20 years, and we all still talk about her with tears just below the surface.
Thanks for the memories!
Is there inherent order in nature or is it all chaos and chance?
Wow! Nature prevails over the chaos and chance, I think. Chaos, like forest fires, may kill everything in the area, and yet before long new life exists in the burnt areas. Look at Chernobyl. Nature has managed what we humans haven’t. The above chaos is manmade. But hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, meteors, etc., can kill everything off, but Nature brings life back.
Where is your least favorite place in the world?
I’ve not been very far in the world. But I bet I can universally narrow this down. Offices full of cubicles. I can’t think of any I could ever handle again, no matter what country or planet it resides in. I have met some really awesome people in that work environment and am still friends with them. But I couldn’t survive another moment in that kind of place.
GRATITUDE SECTION (Participation Always Optional
Feel free to share something about the seasons that makes you smile!
Growing up in Southern California, we had Summer and warm everything else. So when we moved here in Outback Oregon, we have most of the seasons. I’m smiling at the upcoming summer is showing its face. The following is probably done for a while.
But this is today:
This last picture is the same mesquite bush that was full of snow in January’s picture. Sadly, we still need to drip water at night. But I was in T-shirt while taking the greenery above and only a little chilly. Yay! Warm is coming!
This was the best non-fiction book I have read in a long time! I could not put it down. Paul Sutter is an excellent teacher and author. His sense of humor rescues what could be dry hard science and keeps it fun.
I always wanted to go to outer space. Mr. Sutter might have just discouraged me with his many ways to die.
I highly recommend the Audible version as his voice is so expressive and full of fun. This might be a legit class, and this its textbook. It is a class I would have wanted to take over and over. Maybe eventually, I’d get an A. If not, I still would have loved the education that sunk in.
As I am in the David Tenet season of Doctor Who, I look to my left and see the two socks I told you about yesterday. I didn’t get to knit much today either. I had a job to do. If I am to make read-aloud or podcasts, I need the table in my bedroom clean and ready to go. Since my son moved in, all the stuff in my hobby room got moved out into the rest of the house and never landed very neatly—a moment. Also, to my left is my green tea. Let me take a sip before continuing.
It wasn’t just the fact of his moving in and losing a whole room to store my tools and supplies for my crazy times. It was pain. And fatigue. But I am feeling so much better now. Unfortunately, there is so much piled up all over that I need to straighten up, toss, or give away that I am somewhat overwhelmed. But today, I started tackling this monster.
Ah, and one would think with the amount of time I worked, the job would be done. Nope. The top layer of stuff was heavy winter stuff that needed to be put away for summer. That meant ordering big bins to stack in my tiny closet. That meant using smaller containers, for now, just to get the clothes and blankets out of the way. Then I started throwing things into a box to sort through later; heaps of electronic bits for computers past and present. Primarily things that probably don’t work. So once the box is filled, I will bring it to the living room to go through it from a comfortable sitting.
Tomorrow the table should be clear. That table won’t be the only place clearing. I plan to move my Paint by Diamond kit on the podcast table. That brings it off the dining table. That is part of another project. My brother and I will move the dining table closer to the kitchen. The piano will go with the light from the south sun where the table will have been. The armoire will take the place of the piano. I can’t wait! That and having new eyes, I will be able to see the notes on the music.
Anyway, I recorded this momentous occasion. I captured me talking about the pile and then took pictures of the progress. It always surprises me when cleaning, how you have to make a bigger mess to clean up a mess. My bed was piled high with the incoming summer clothes and I had to figure out where to put them all. As I lose weight some of the clothes call to me to dress up a bit. Positive process happening.
Per Linda G. Hill:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “to your left.” When you sit down to write your post, look to your left. What is the thing closest to you? Write about the memories that thing induces. Enjoy!
The above socks sans cuffs are among many projects not finished this week. Three days of appointments, two of which were out of town (two hours each way), kept me from my usual machinations. I had to look up that word. I’ll stick with it as it might make those who know me have a giggle. There are no evil schemes afoot—just my knitting, writing, and editing.
Dare I say this? COVID19 has made doctor visits more efficient. I take along reading material and knitting for those sitting times. So far, that hasn’t happened at all. Walk-in. Temp check. Empty room with empty chairs to fill out forms. Then call to a solitary room—everyone with masks and lots of hand sanitizer. I felt safe, and the jobs were done quickly and like a well-oiled machine. And no uncomfortable waiting in a room of ill people. It is as though they have figured out how to take care of individuals. I think that is a good thing. Now, will they be able to maintain the good when things go back to ‘normal?’
Still, no time to sit and read or edit or knit or write while waiting. Talking with my husband and singing happened. Those don’t have a finish line, do they? I hope not. Well, soon enough, I will have new eyes, and I will be able to read real books. I miss the tree books!
Well, back to knitting as I watch Doctor Who. Did you know that the first of Christopher Eccleston’s Who is on HBO Max? He was my first Doctor Who. Though David Tenet is my favorite. Had better writers been used, Jodie Whittaker would have been. The actress did the best she could with what she was given.
By the way, if the URL shows up in the podcast, I’m sorry. I’m still learning how to do this.
Duh! I hoped above hope that the reason I couldn’t read anything online or otherwise was a cataract. The symptoms started like my husband’s with halos around lights. In fact, when I would take Kali out at night, the small amount of light out here looked like a bunch of Ferris wheels. That was with the left eye. The right eye needed correction, I felt. I have my medical background, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, The Good Doctor, New Amsterdam, ER Untold Stories… Yes, I’m an addict. Hello, my name is Darlene…
Oh, back to the main story. So for the second time this week, I went to the big city (snerk). This time my husband drove me. I knew I would need him to drive me home; dilated eyes shouldn’t drive.
Coffman Visual Clinic was marvelous. Clean and safe in every way. Doctor Guyle was my doctor. He’s a writer, too.
So we hit it off. Oh, the eyes? Yeah. You know that biggest E on the chart? My left eye can see the color white and the black blob. My right eye is doing better than with glasses. Just not arm’s length away. I was worried. I do have a mild case of diabetes. I take Metformin. I plan to reverse that with my fasting diet. Dr. Guiley looked into my eyes, and both have cataracts. He couldn’t even see into my left eye. It is so bad. Best diagnosis I could hope for. This is fixable with surgery. I know several people that have better eyes than ever because of the surgery. So the system is setting me up with the surgeon and dates.
The trip home was fun. Oh, I forgot, the trip there, no music. We were having such fun conversations that we just didn’t need it. Coming home, the windows were down, and so conversing was out. So Savage Garden sang us home. My friend and my younger adult children got to see them in concert when they were still Savage Garden. My only rock concert ever—that from a Baby Boomer. Loud music was never my thing, even classical, if loud does me in. But these guys were great!
We had to nap since being home. My dilated eyes were tired. My body was tired. That trip takes it out of me. But the promise that I will soon have eyes that can read other peoples’ blogs and real tree books instead of listening to text-to-speech or Audible gives me the energy to do a dance. Don’t watch!
Went to my PCP today. Guess what? I’ve lost 6 pounds! Yay! It’s working. And becoming less work as I learn. I’ve picked up the paper copies of The Diabetes Code, The Obesity Code, and The Complete Guide to Fasting, all by Dr. Jason Fung. I read The Diabetes Code and The Cancer Code. You can click on the underlined titles to see my reviews. I’m getting ready to read The Obesity Code. Dr. Jason Fung can write a thought-provoking book while displaying a sense of humor.
Intermittent Fasting using low-carbs high fat or keto is proving to be easier and easier. I seem to be doing quite well on one very healthy meal a day. That means a 20 or like today 22 hours of fast and a two to four-hour window to make sure I’ve eaten well.
I was delighted that my team at the doctor’s office knew about and encouraged this method of achieving better health.
I’m tired. I had an appointment at 11:30 in La Pine. That’s an hour and a half away. So I set my alarm for 8:30. Kali had a different thought. She was waking me every few minutes from 6 o’clock on. I went to bed early, 12:30, just to make sure I’d get my 8 hours. Yeah. That happened.
I chose to do the trip alone. It had been a long time since I got the chance to sing with Barbra Streisand. Alone. Babs and I had a great time. Hardly noticed the pain of roads that needed work and the jarring of my back. What I noticed is that she can hold a note far longer than she used to. Okay, I realize it is quite the reverse. I can use more work on my breath. I need to sing more. Period.
When I got to the clinic, I called as requested to let them know I was in the parking lot. I felt pretty good as I was there a good 15 minutes early. They said they were horribly embarrassed as they didn’t know when they set up the appointment that this Monday, and it NEVER happens, but the doctor is actually in Bend. Well, Barbra didn’t mind my caterwauling, we could go another half hour. That worked for them, and they were overly apologetic and planned to rearrange appointments and lunches to fit me in if I’d do the drive. Google driving instructions got me to the office.
I watched the procedure. I find medical things like stitches, shots, and the like fascinating. One of my spots on my arm, I could watch the whole thing. It was cancer blah, blah, blah in situ. That calls for a cryo– oh, here is the definition:
Cryotherapy. Cryotherapy, or cryosurgery, is a freezing technique used to remove sunspots and some superficial BCCs. The doctor, usually a dermatologist, sprays liquid nitrogen onto the sunspot or skin cancer and a small area of skin around it. This causes a burning or stinging sensation, which lasts a few minutes.
But honestly, this is how I saw it: The doctor deadened the spot with a couple pokes. Then he took a woodburning tool and burned the bad skin off. A swipe and cleaning then once more burning the cancer skin. Then clean and a tiny Band-Aid. I had another in the middle of my back, but, of course, I couldn’t watch it. It was all done far before I finished the paperwork. The deadening needle vaguely hurt, and it did its job fast.
Now, at home, having had a nap, I’m feeling great. What a fun day for me, lf, and I, with Ms. Streisand. When I go to these two towns with my husband, brother, or son, I usually chose the music we can agree on. Babs doesn’t get the respect she needs from the males in my house!
A thought struck me as I skipped this song, what happened to Yentl when she went to America. Wouldn’t you love to see part 2?
Oh how I hate how block wants to come in and mess up everything I worked on. If you see the mismatched paragraphs and words cut off, blame block! UGH! Trying to post this the third time and whatever it is stays!
I often show my loom knit projects. I just thought it would be fun to share with you an interview with one of the ladies that got me started. Denise Canale. Actually, my first teacher was a nice lady, Carol, here in Christmas Valley who is the head of the Hat Huggers Charity. But soon I graduated to the LoomaHat.com videos on YouTube.
This is presented by the ladies at CinDWood Looms. Yes, they hand make each and every loom. I love those looms I have about 6 of them. Find the interview HERE.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Where ancient wisdom meets modern technology. Stories that illuminate the wonders of science, culture, and life — crafted with human creativity and a touch of AI magic.
The Boy Who Was Left Behind by Gita V. Reddy
Darswords 
You must be logged in to post a comment.