Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hope, trust, future
With all the bad news, sad news, crazy people and crazy things that fill our lives and our media, people, like my little girl here and my brand new son-in-law - perfectly sane, articulate, intelligent people, mind you - choose to marry. It's just a wondrous, hopeful statement. It says "You hang in there. Enjoy everything. Life is grand."
Loving it
It's the coolest thing to look forward to going to work in the morning and look forward to going home in the evening. I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Acorns and Mushrooms and common sense
Although I'm a psychotherapist by trade, I will never understand why people do some crazy stuff and don't do some really sane stuff. Maybe someone can help me with this.
Why don't more people eat acorns?
Why don't more people learn which wild mushrooms to eat?
What's wrong with free, wild food?
Why would people spend money to bring toxic chemicals into their homes when less expensive, safe things work just as well?
Why doesn't every building have a rain collection system (rain barrels?) and use this "gray water" for flushing and watering plants?
Why do people think it's a good idea to put chemicals on their lawns to grow grass that they then mow with air and noise polluting lawn mowers? Who came up with the idea of grass lawns anyway?
Why do people drive to a gym to exercise?
Why do we (Americans) pay more for healthcare than other countries and still have such a large percentage of people who can't get proper healthcare?
Why do we teach our children good nutrition in the classroom and poor nutrition in the cafeteria?
Why does our government subsidize tobacco and subsidize anti smoking campaigns?
Why is marijuana illegal, morphine and benzodiazapines legan when prescribed, and alcohol legal to anyone of age?
Why does it evidently make sense to people to kill people who kill people to show them that violence is wrong?
Seriously, does any of this make sense? Can ya splain it to me, Lucy?
Why don't more people eat acorns?
Why don't more people learn which wild mushrooms to eat?
What's wrong with free, wild food?
Why would people spend money to bring toxic chemicals into their homes when less expensive, safe things work just as well?
Why doesn't every building have a rain collection system (rain barrels?) and use this "gray water" for flushing and watering plants?
Why do people think it's a good idea to put chemicals on their lawns to grow grass that they then mow with air and noise polluting lawn mowers? Who came up with the idea of grass lawns anyway?
Why do people drive to a gym to exercise?
Why do we (Americans) pay more for healthcare than other countries and still have such a large percentage of people who can't get proper healthcare?
Why do we teach our children good nutrition in the classroom and poor nutrition in the cafeteria?
Why does our government subsidize tobacco and subsidize anti smoking campaigns?
Why is marijuana illegal, morphine and benzodiazapines legan when prescribed, and alcohol legal to anyone of age?
Why does it evidently make sense to people to kill people who kill people to show them that violence is wrong?
Seriously, does any of this make sense? Can ya splain it to me, Lucy?
puny
I'm staying home today. I'm not sure what it feels like to be hit by a buffalo, but I'm thinking this might be close. My chest burns when I breathe and hurts when I cough. My bones ache. I think I'll go to sleep again so I won't just complain.
It might be silly to be grateful for a body that hurts, but I am. I'm not quite grateful for the hurt itself yet. I'd like to say something profound, but I'm much more likely to say something profain.
It might be silly to be grateful for a body that hurts, but I am. I'm not quite grateful for the hurt itself yet. I'd like to say something profound, but I'm much more likely to say something profain.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
A bright, crisp blue autumn day today. I planted a shade garden which is most of my front yard. The goal is to never mow and have a beautiful, peaceful garden under four huge oaks . Sixteen hostas, four ferns, lots of English and Virginia bluebells, lilies of the valley, coral bells, foam flowers, creeping myrtle, and probably other things I'm blanking on now are now doing their autumn magic in the secrecy of the soil.
I outlined a winding path through the garden with bottles waiting on a trip to the recycling center. I wanted to make sure didn't plant in the path, which I heaped with extra mulch and walked back and forth on to compact. I was amused when a neighbor drove by and shot me the peace sign as I carried empty beer and wine bottles to my front yard. I was even more amused an hour or so later when I remembered that I was wearing a shirt with a big peace sign on it.
Planting a big garden requires a lot of bending, squatting, talking aloud to the Universe, and happiness. I gathered rocks as I dug and carried them to the back yard where a veggie garden to be is surrounded by a French drain to keep it from washing away on it's sloping location. On one trip to transport rocks and stretch my legs I found toadstools growing in a cluster the size of half a basketball. I took them to my compost bin.
The compost bin is an amazing thing. It makes me feel all green and wonderful until I realize that the Earth has been doing this without my help for its whole life. My little attempt must make the Earth smile if not laugh. Still it's a joy to watch it work. Put in chicken poo, vegetable scraps, weeds, leaves, the occassional toadstool. . . . and out comes stuff your garden loves.
I don't at all mind making the Earth laughing with me (as my siblings used to tell me, they weren't laughing AT me, they were laughing WITH me). My best hope is that I'll always laugh along.
I outlined a winding path through the garden with bottles waiting on a trip to the recycling center. I wanted to make sure didn't plant in the path, which I heaped with extra mulch and walked back and forth on to compact. I was amused when a neighbor drove by and shot me the peace sign as I carried empty beer and wine bottles to my front yard. I was even more amused an hour or so later when I remembered that I was wearing a shirt with a big peace sign on it.
Planting a big garden requires a lot of bending, squatting, talking aloud to the Universe, and happiness. I gathered rocks as I dug and carried them to the back yard where a veggie garden to be is surrounded by a French drain to keep it from washing away on it's sloping location. On one trip to transport rocks and stretch my legs I found toadstools growing in a cluster the size of half a basketball. I took them to my compost bin.
The compost bin is an amazing thing. It makes me feel all green and wonderful until I realize that the Earth has been doing this without my help for its whole life. My little attempt must make the Earth smile if not laugh. Still it's a joy to watch it work. Put in chicken poo, vegetable scraps, weeds, leaves, the occassional toadstool. . . . and out comes stuff your garden loves.
I don't at all mind making the Earth laughing with me (as my siblings used to tell me, they weren't laughing AT me, they were laughing WITH me). My best hope is that I'll always laugh along.
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