Goodbye July...Hello August

I like  my calendars, both of which were presents this year.

July  goodbye...

It will be August...in the morning, or any minute if I don't go right to bed. August, 2010, a new month, a summer month, an opportunity.  No point in saying "coulds" or "shoulds," just  do the leaning in to hope and purpose in the realms that matter.  That's what I am telling myself.  Step it up...What are you doing in August?

Cool Coast Cat Walk

Want to go for a little walk?  Down here?  All the way down?

 

The coast has ways

                                           of making up for days

                                            that have no yellow sunshine.

                             orange ways

and other ways too..

                                                        Come on...keep going...

We three were the stragglers.

                                                                   But we caught up...

so pretty no matter if you look north

   or south.                                                                                                              

A Meta Blog Moment ~ Blog Types and Why People Write Them

I never do this...just open up the new post box and start typing without a clue as to what I will be entering.

Have you have ever mentioned that you have a BLOG to someone who  has not ventured into the "Blog-o-sphere" and you see the eyes glaze over and the lips form the word as if it might dirty up their mouth a bit..."a blog?"

Why do we share what we share? BLOGS... Some are very specific and generous and it seems obvious...there is much to share.  It got me thinking about all the different kinds of blog categories that I have encountered.  It also made me think about how my own two blogs can't be tightly categorized themselves.

I  began making a list...hmm...maybe I should sort these approximately alphabetically so I don't hurt any one's feelings.  Obviously I am not going to even think of all the types, let alone write them down.  And of course there are some "types" of blogs that I just rush right over, like stepping over the leavings of a stray dog, trying not to even break stride while employing full caution.


To the list then and my annotated comments and a few referrals  to blogs that might illustrate my point.  Incomplete, partial and biased though it may be, please remember, I do take comments and you can tell me what I have left out.  And I ask you now, as Daniel Webster did when he finished  his first dictionary, please notice how much I have managed thus far to  include.


*Arts and Crafts  There is an amazing amount of sewing,  painting and creating going on. Sometimes I am inspired and sometimes am so impressed I just marvel.  I have seen tutorials that are flat out designed to teach from A to Z.  I have shared a few things I have made, mostly just to join in the fun.
*Book reviews Books take time, steer me to the best ones.  I have written up a few reviews.  I actually find it helpful in terms of thinking through the reading.  I am grateful for good reviews I have read from others.
*Cooking There are a lot folks prowling the web looking for recipes for meals that make themselves while the cook is surfing.  However, there are a  lot of real cooks  blogging and sharing their skill and the joy of feeding people good food.  I have shared a recipe or two and I must say in my behalf that I try not to be a bad influence.  Kale and chard, not chocolate, have been my public focus.  ( You do know by now that  I am not a tell-all kind of person.)
*Creative Writing The art and craft of writing...well...a wise author knows one has to be careful posting work in progress because if it is good, it just might get clipped and shared, copyright be d**ned...but writing about writing lives large. 

*Farming  I love your horses and chickens and goats  and donkeys and all the other animals that don't live at my house right now.  I still have a dog, two cats and do live amidst the wild wanderers, so a few animals make occasional appearances in my blog land.
*Families   Bloggers have uncommonly cute children...( please don't spoil them.) And consider not printing  out their full name and birth dates and all too... did you notice one of the recent apprehended possible spies was using the name and birth records of a child who had died at 6 months of age? Also think about how you will feel when your little ones are larger and ask you in very convincing terms to please just take all posts involving their potty training down now or else.  But the interactions and support and wisdom sharing that does go on via the family blogs is something to behold. 
*Gardening I  enjoy seeing what others are growing and what they are learning about the primal struggle known as gardening.  Recently a woman asked me what we have in our greenhouse and after naming a few of our lovely plants, I added "and lots of mealy bugs."  She had a solution, another "bug" commonly called  "mealy bug destroyers."   We got some expensive little Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, and if they work, well, I am sure that either I or my husband will blog a bit about  them. 
*Health & Well Being I am thinking of starting a new blog...about the need to add ourselves to our list of doctors....self-doctoring.   My first piece of advice will be based on how we too need to observe the  Hippocratic Oath: "First do no harm." It is really the best way to take care of ourselves and often the hardest with which to comply.
*Journey Logs... classic journals that document climbing mountains, sailing the seas, touring foreign lands. I have seen lovely photos of places I am unlikely to ever visit, painstakingly documented by people I will never know...amazing...thank you.
*Personal Journey Spiritual Blogs There are a lot of encouragers on the web.
*Movies  Movies old and new pop up in blogs. I find myself reading a blog in India and laughing about old American movies.  This link could very easily also been in the stream of consciousness section, if you read any of him you will understand why.
*Music  I haven't added any music to my blogs...and I often leave my speakers off so if you have music on yours I may not have heard it, unless that is obviously what your blog is all about.  But as I sit at the computer, live music is all about me...so...I am listening!

*Nature blogs I live on the Pacific Coast 

  and I try to share it photographically with you frequently, but I am not as good about it as some of the bloggers I've been reading.  One man in Yosemite posts almost every day.

*(Get) Organized Blogs You know, like how to get your kit together. People sit down at their computers and start realizing they don't want to end up on the next televised production of "Hoarders" and so they blog about purposing to get organized and get rid of things they don't need or use. Oh, and then there is talk about UFOs  that means, I think, unfinished objects...projects that are haunting one's psyche.  Confessing UFOs on a blog moves the project  up to a higher level  of priority and completion then not only gives one something to photograph and blog about it sets one free for new creations.  The thing is, this actually seems to work.  Folks that blog seem to be getting more things done.

*Photography...the pictures I have seen...thank you all. And there are even those who would teach us how to use cameras and photo editing programs more effectively. 
*Political Blogs  It was Will  Rogers who said   "On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."  but  I better let you find your own political blogs...people tend to get hot over this stuff.  Wasn't it G. K. Chesterton who said something like: It's good to get into hot water, it keeps you clean. Okay so over on Write Purpose I  speak up a little about politics.  I try to be diplomatic...or is it that I try to get all the curved lines in focus knowing that I won't be able to straighten them out?
*Special Interest Blogs Thanks to this blogger, I have seen lighthouses all over the world...straightforward and a truly special "special interest."
*Stream of Consciousness Blogs Hey, I am trying today (well, thank last night for this really, that's when I typed up most of it, but I felt enough concern for you all that I didn't post until ( wait, I still haven't posted it, so we will have to wait and see if and when that happens.  I am obviously a firm believer in giving myself permission...never mind that is another story, back to my blog about blogs. (And if you had an English teacher who told you that if you have to use parenthesises there may be a better, more elegant and comprehensible way to say whatever you are trying to say, he or she was right...but that too is another story.)  

*Stream of Unconsciousness Blogs   Enough said.
*Technology  A type of blog where I might go for help, but you are unlikely to find me writing one that would be of any help.
*What I did today blogs Clearly for obvious reasons, some people can pull this off better than others.  I mean, by all means, it might help all of us to write down what we did on any specific day, but some of  it clearly is not, shall we say,  fit for human consumption.
* What I wish I did today blogs  no cheese down that tube
*What I should do tomorrow blogs this could have some promise
*What you should do tomorrow blogs Ah, thanks...I think.

*All the kind of blogs I have left out unintentionally or otherwise blogs
*And then...blogs about blogging ...is this a Meta blog?
 ~~~~~~

I warned you it would be incomplete....the day is calling. Look what Mark just brought in from the garden:

Now should I just press post?  Or should I struggle back here soon and find all the photos that would so delightfully augment this?...Later! We need to go for a little drive and pick up the mail.  And when should I find all the "typos" and "thinkos"?  I better not post this yet.....

A Proper Thank you for a Blogger's Kindness

A few weeks ago I asked if a little wall hanging quilt I saw on Julie Bagamary's quilting blog was for sale, and I was delighted to learn that it was.  And then I made a comment on another post on her blog and was randomly chosen to  receive a  giveaway she was offering, a 2010 Cloth Paper Scissors Calendar. 

 As Julie  acknowledged in her giveaway, we all  know the year is almost half done.

It is, isn't it?...when June is gone, oh June , we barely knew you ; today the 27th and the last Sunday in June, half of 2010 will be part of the past.
But marking time or remembering dentist appointments is not really the point of many calendars, they are often to inspire and amuse. And  it was fun to receive a gift from another blogger.

  Readers of the magazine of the same name, were asked to illustrate what, in any given month,  life is  like for them...and capture it in a 12' x 12' box. " Life is like a box of ..."

My favorite depiction is from the month of April...

Life is like a box of tools  use them wisely, know the rules, build your future make mistakes, be prepared to fix what breaks.

                                                                   July  for some people life is like a box of quilt squares...

But this one, by Jean K. Brown of Elgin Illinois in its ingenuity is my favorite and I think I will frame it to hang by my husband's workbench...the place where he so often and ingeniously fixes so many things. 

The last little image is a clay polymer heart held together by a small clamp steadied by a doll's hand.....

click on the photos to enlarge....

Thank you Julie!
I hope you will check out Julie's work...it's inspiring.

An Anti-dote to Embedded Journalism Troubles

I recently met a man who doesn't read newspapers and doesn't watch television and is not, as he said, "an Internet person."  You can imagine all the things that us news followers have been deeply aware of that I did not tell him about.  I wonder if it is possible to not even hear about the oil in The Gulf or the "change of staff " and the folks in Afghanistan who may be wishing that they too had shunned the media. 

My mother, as I have mentioned before, told me to not write anything that I wouldn't want to have published in the morning news.  And we could add...and don't say anything you wouldn't want  interpretively written up by someone else. Just because a rolling stone won't gather moss you can't assume that nothing else will be collected.   It's important to be careful who you, as they say in the journalism world, embed.
I was thoroughly "embedded" myself this morning and I woke, not because I was ready, but because my cell phone was ringing.  I answered but no one spoke back to me. I put it on speakerphone. I could see who it was that was calling, and I waited, it was someone I'm always willing to talk to.  "Hello, hello, I'm here," I said.  Whistling came through, sweetly, loud and clear.

"Summertime"  was the melody and he can not only  carry a tune, he even mimicked the vibrato of singing.  As I lay in bed, in between giggling and waking,and enjoying the whistled tune. I realized it was an accidental call.  I was apparently the last call he'd made the prior evening and now some button had been pushed and his private whistling was being aired. As innocent as it all was, I felt strange, because he didn't know I could hear him nor had he intended to be heard.  He was free whistling, whistling in his own private moment for all he was worth.

 I hung up and called him back and when he answered I spouted, I wasn't up for singing yet,  the lyrics to the song of his tune:  "Summertime and the living is easy, fish are jumping and ..."

"Ah, my meeting just started, can I call you back?" he said.  Did he sound somewhat bewildered or had he already figured out that he'd called and given me an unintended early morning cell phone concert?

That's how easy it is for information to be unintentionally shared, and while "Bread on the Water"  is no "Rolling Stone,"  here I am telling you about it, albeit not in any way injurious to the identity,  mission or hopefully even the feelings of the exposed whistler.  I'd like to think I'd protect him even if he wasn't someone very dear to me who I've known my entire life.

But think, you could accidentally push the button on your phone while you are making some ad hominem attack, some comment that reveals your  irritations or prejudices rather than your intellect or heart; these things can and do happen. 

I say with great respect that some people have impossibly hard jobs; I can't begin to understand all that some duties might entail.  So all I can suggest is, if at all possible, whistle while you work. It could cover, like love, a multitude of sins and it might even keep you out of the news...though you could still wind up in someone's blog.

Emergency Kits Earthquakes Expired Meds and Old Canned Food

The recent earthquakes in California and round the world have prompted us to take the time to renew our earthquake emergency supply box.

The box itself, and some of what is in the box we  inherited from grandma's supplies before she moved.  She has her new kit all in a five gallon can now.  The theory is you can grab it and take it with you,  but she said even that would be hard for her to lift.

We have a large box outside.  Inside our kit there are some satchels we could carry if necessary.  Why am I blogging about this?  Well, just to remind you to be prepared and even if you have been prepared in the past, you might want to check out the condition of your emergency supplies. Our  aging batteries needed to be replaced with newer ones.

I  guess if we were stranded we wouldn't mind if the beans were a little outdated, but we may not have been  able to "eat those beans, sister and like them."

And if you need a  painkiller, you at least want it to be marked good for this century, right? Out goes the 1999 bottle. So the good news is, we haven't needed the supplies that we've set by. 

When we took a break today we ate a can of wild salmon that was "best before July 2010."

If we were stranded we wouldn't be too worried about the BPA's in the canned food, but generally I have been trying not to buy canned food at all. And I must say, those pretty dry beans I have in glass jars look lovely in the pantry and I really do mean to remember to soak them the night before and cook them nice and slowly more often than I do.

But hey, today we remembered and acted upon cleaning and renewing our emergency supplies.  Just a little trip to the store and we will be all done.

The suggested things to stow might be different for your area so check it out with your local agency and see what you should have on hand.  Storing water is always important. Hopefully you will never need it, but you'll be glad to have it if you do.

 What a great collection of items were in the smaller little blue box packed back when by Grandma and Grandpa...safety pins, scissors, water purifers, a knife, bandages, reading glasses, soap, lighters, matches, pain pills, toothbrushes and .... yes, Grandma, we put the bottle of  brandy back all intact. Age in brandy is good thing, right? 

Wild Life on the Coast Fortunately Unfortunately

Our dear daughter, R. used to write fortunately- unfortunately stories…this one is for her.
     Fortunately things went well for the wedding and by late Sunday afternoon all the folks who had been staying the last few weeks and the more recent influx of guests had left and we were home alone strategizing for the next gathering, which begins Wednesday.
     Unfortunately we don’t have quite as much recovery and prep time as would be truly graceful before the next demands, but fortunately we had talked ourselves into believing we can do it.
     If you read about Phoebe the cat’s narrow brush with death in the jaws of a bobcat last week, you’ll understand why we have diligently sought to bring and keep the cats inside before sunset, as sunrise and sunset are two of the times bobcats most like to prowl and hunt. Unfortunately, that is also true of spoiled little domestic cats.
     Fortunately, late yesterday afternoon, we cajoled both kitties inside. Unfortunately, Princess Kitty Bumpkins wasn’t happy about it and was crying rather loudly.
     Fortunately, the volume of K-Bump’s complaint and request did not stop me from hearing a human child’s cry in our driveway. Unfortunately, the child had not liked traveling the windy coast road in the back of her family’s car. Fortunately, the parents of this family of four were able to safely pull off in our drive. Unfortunately they did not have all the supplies their little emergency required. Fortunately I jumped through the hatch and ascertained what the travelers needed and called Mark on the phone.
     Fortunately he found and delivered through the hatch to me what help we could offer. Unfortunately Princess Kitty Bumpkins had a split second open door chance and she took it. Yes…
     It would be fortunate if I could end the story here…but as fortunate as we briefly felt when Mark succeeded in luring Kitty Bumpkins back to the house a few hours later, unfortunately she had been sprayed by a skunk.
     Fortunately, we decided she could safely pass the night in the garage. Unfortunately this has hurt her little cat feelings. Fortunately she smells somewhat better this morning and is now safely sleeping in her kitty bed.
     Unfortunately I don’t have time to hunt down any perfect pictures to accompany this story. Fortunately, for now, we still plan on coming out smelling like a rose.