But Here I Am Now January 24, 2024
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Balance, Mindfulness, Spirit & Ego.comments closed
Some learn to sail
To soar over the waves
And be free
But here I am now
On my deck
With no sails in sight
Just me and the breeze
Keeping company
As my spirit takes flight
“What you are looking for is the place you’re looking from.”
~ St. Francis of Assisi (maybe)
Aah . . . that’s better!
LET GO! January 11, 2024
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Less IS More, Life Balance, Mindfulness.comments closed
For 2024, I’m halfway between a word and a resolution ~ my focus this year is to LET GO!
LET GO of anything that isn’t working to enhance my life. LET GO of physical clutter, stale grievances, unpleasant memories, and any and all other detritus of life that has outstayed its welcome or is getting in the way of making the most of THIS moment.
By way of example, I shredded an entire notebook containing 30+ years of Christmas Newsletters and related biographical notes because reading over the collection skewed my perspective of our past pathways.
Among other failings, the annual missives paid too much attention to “closing doors” (i.e., deaths in the family, deaths of pets, leaving jobs, moving, etc.) and not nearly enough on the day to day JOY of being alive.
Moreover, they didn’t even come close to capturing the essence of who we are NOW.
Why keep hanging on to bits and bobs of the past that tend to detract from our enjoyment of the present?
Just Let Go!
Aah . . . that’s Tiggerific!
But, by all means, hang on to your sense of humor:
“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher
Have A Merry Magical Moment! December 19, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Music & Dance.comments closed
Enjoy this brief performance by a talented string quartet performing in the Historic Wren Building on the Campus of William & Mary.
Aah . . . very Merry, Mary & William!
Stealing Pumpkins Is A Crime! October 11, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Blogging, Home & Garden, Humor, Joke.comments closed
As the season of “all things pumpkin” approaches, please remember that stealing pumpkins is a crime.
It’s theft.
It’s theft if you steal them from a farmer’s field that he has carefully watered and weeded all summer.
And it’s theft if you steal it off of the carving block in a home you’ve just broken into.
And entered.
BTW: That’s called breaking and entering . . . even if you don’t steal the pumpkin!
No. It doesn’t matter if you are Goldilocks, or the Three Bears, or Little Red Riding Hood. You still do not get a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.
Of course, stealing pumpkins may not rise to the level of felony, but it certainly qualifies as a misdemeanor . . . or a public nuisance . . . or disorderly conduct . . . or misdeeds and mayhem . . . or, you know, something.
So don’t steal pumpkins! *
Well, glad I got that off my chest.
Oh good . . . still plenty of time to grin and bear it before Halloween!
*The pumpkins depicted in this post may or may not have been borrowed from Carolyn’s blog. I can’t be more specific until I’ve consulted with my lawyer.
Beware The “I” Of The Storm! August 31, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Life Balance, Nature.comments closed
Since moving to Florida in 2008, we have been under mandatory evacuation orders (or, as my older brother refers to them, “forced vacations”) three times.
Each time, the orders issued due to approaching hurricanes of sufficient magnitude that they stirred up both the seas AND our local emergency management teams.
Their names?
~ ~ Idalia (2023)
Coincidentally (or maybe not), all three started with the letter I.
Why? Why do so many bad hurricanes start with I?
It all comes down to timing. Tropical storms and hurricanes are named in alphabetical order, and I is the ninth letter of the alphabet. Often, the ninth storm of the year hits around peak hurricane season, from mid-August to late September, reports the Washington Post.
For the same reason, hurricanes starting with I tend to have the highest retirement rate:
When a tropical storm is extremely deadly or destructive, or “the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate for obvious reasons of sensitivity,” the name is retired, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is removed from the list, and another name replaces it.
Of the Atlantic retired list of names, those beginning with the letter “I” are the most prominent, with 14 names, which is about 15% of the list.
This week’s evacuation due to Idalia involved rolling up our sleeves to: pack supplies, load the car, unload supplies at the hotel, unpack, watch storm coverage on rotating channels, enjoy a perpetual picnic of storm supplies, and grow increasingly bored.
Once roads re-opened (allowing us to return home), we kicked up our heels to: pack up, load up, drive home, unload supplies, unpack supplies, put away supplies, and B~R~E~A~T~H~E.
Breathing included a HUGE sigh of relief that our villa was still high and dry rather than being inundated with salt water storm surge.
As a completely unexpected bonus, we never lost power. Not here and not at the hotel. Huzzah!
If only everyone in Idalia’s path had been so lucky.
Today?
We rolled up the hurricane shutters, took down the plywood sentinels guarding our sliding glass doors, caught up with correspondence, and looked around our island habitat with satisfaction.
There is NO PLACE like home!
Especially when it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood with gorgeous weather and low humidity promised for Labor Day weekend.
Aah . . . that’s better!
A Wink And A Smile! August 12, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Magick & Mystery.comments closed
Yesterday was my Great Aunt Edie’s 131st birthday. Here she is (on the left), with her sister (my maternal grandmother), and her brother-in-law (my maternal grandfather).
After wishing her a Happy Birthday, I did a few chores in the kitchen before heading into the guest room. Once there, I opened our gift drawer (where potential presents await the presenting) to add something to our stash.
My eyes landed on a stack of gift boxes packed up a few months ago to give various and assorted nieces for Christmas. I hadn’t opened any of them since I packed them up back in April or May.
On a whim, out of curiosity, I opened the top box and smiled. Big time.
The selected box just happened to contain Elsie Heard’s gold locket. Elsie Heard being Aunt Edie’s mother and my great-grandmother.
But wait! There’s more.
Also in the box?
A photo of Great Aunt Edie smiling up at me.
I had no idea that the photo (taken in my parent’s backyard back in 1980 on the occasion of their 25th Anniversary) was in the box. I had not opened the box searching for it or for any other remembrance of Edie on her birthday.
It just happened. With perfect timing!
Such a lovely surprise!
What I Did NOT Do This Weekend July 23, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Less IS More, People, Travel & Leisure.comments closed
For reasons which remain unfathomable to me, many purveyors of newsiness are pushing for a Double Feature of Barbie and Oppenheimer this weekend.
I suspect, despite their repeated pushiness (instead of newsiness), that these so-called-news outlets are losing that battle.
Lest you think I’m promoting propaganda of my own, I’ll share some actual factual stats with ya!
This morning, the Best of NPR included the following rather ridiculous statement:
The nation has hopped on the “Barbenheimer” train — more than 200,000 moviegoers bought tickets for a double feature this weekend, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Say what?!
How does a news outlet retain the respect of its readership when it equates “the nation” with the rather paltry figure of 200,000?
Wait! Has the extended heat wave currently blanketing much of the country decimated the nation’s population without those drastic losses becoming front page news?
Did the Barbenheimer train derail that newsworthy stat? Not likely.
By last count, there are approximately 334,233,854 potential movie-goers in the nation. Give or take a few score.
Did even 10% of them hop on the media-driven Barbenheimer train?
No.
Despite persistent FOMO, which can be both produced and promoted by the nation’s addiction to Social Media, nowhere close to 33 million people bought tickets to both of the promoted feature flicks this weekend.
OK. How about 1%? Again, no. Not even 3 million people took the Barbenheimer bait, despite record-breaking heat discouraging outdoor enthusiasts AND air-conditioned theaters beckoning with cushioned seats and massive tubs of popcorn.
OK. How about 1/10 of 1%. Still no. That would equate to 334,233 ticket sales . . . 67% more than claimed by NATO.
No, not that NATO. I am referring to the National Association of Theatre Owners quoted by NPR.
OK. The bottom line:
Unless NPR meant to say “way way way more than 200,000” moviegoers bought tickets to the promoted double feature this weekend, then only 0.0059838% of the nation hopped on the Barbenheimer train.
The only thing newsworthy about that train is that it hopped the tracks way before it pulled into the station.
Choo Choo!
Another Step Forward May 28, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Health & Wellness, People.comments closed
Check out this story:
FREEDOM!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Happy Mother’s Day! May 14, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Blogging, Happiness, Humor, Life Balance.comments closed
In organizing some archival documents this week, I came across a handmade Mother’s Day Card written by my older brother in 1964, when he was 7 1/2 years old:
Dear Mommy,
I love your mink coat. I also love you more then [sic] the mink coat.
Signed
10-1-13-5-19
He must have been feeling especially prolific that year, because I came across a second handmade Mother’s Day Card written by him the same year:
Dear Mother,
I hope you will have the best Mother day [sic] anyboby [sic] ever had before!!
Signed
10-1-13-5-19
Here, I will echo his sentiments:
To all the wonderful Moms, Mothers, and Mommies out there ~
I hope you will have the best Mother’s Day anybody ever had!!
Signed
14-1-14-3-25
Aah . . . that’s better!
A Step In The Right Direction March 26, 2023
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Health & Wellness, Life Balance.comments closed
I tend to steer clear of controversial topics here on SLTW. Most of the time, anyway.
In point of fact, even a charitable observer might point out that I have steered clear of any and all topics here on SLTW. Since January, anyway.
Point taken.
Anyway, I hope that what I say here will not anger my readers unduly, but I feel it must be said:
Getting Old . . . isn’t always a step in the right direction.
Yesterday, I was prepping salad fixings in the kitchen when I noticed that the back of my left heel was complaining vociferously each time I shifted positions.
The pain had materialized out of the blue with no warning shot fired.
It was as if my body had commanded:
Let there be pain.
And there was pain, and it was NOT good.
I scanned my activities of the previous day to see if I had over-used or abused my Achilles Tendon in any way, shape, or form and saw nothing that would explain the pain.
At first.
I had engaged in normal ADL’s all day ~ rising ablutions, a light break fast, brain games, paying bills, checking e-mails, fresh fruit for lunch, biking to the clubhouse to play Bridge, shelving books in the communal library . . .
Something niggled at the edges of my admittedly aged memory.
Had I over-stretched my reach when reshelving books on the top shelves?
Perhaps.
Could I have stretched my Achilles Tendon to the breaking point?
Perhaps.
Ach! What to do with an aching Achilles Tendon?
To stretch, or not to stretch, that was my next question.
Instead of racing to the Bat Cave for answers, I hobbled from the kitchen to my office to confer with that sage giver of advice . . .
Google.
Google advised me that IF it was torn or ruptured, I was going to be side-lined for some time.
I decided to take it easy for the rest of the weekend to see if there was any improvement before contacting an approved medical provider for assistance.
In short, I listened to my body.
And . . . when I arose this morning, it felt somewhat better. I’ll continue not to overstretch my reach for a few more days, but it appears that I may already be on the road to recovery.
Aah . . . a step in the right direction!
Have any of you noticed as you traveled again and again around the sun that unexplained injuries arise with increasing frequency?
Or that even normal ADL’s conspire to produce lumps, bumps, bruises, contusions, sprains, pains?
Or that conversations with fellow agers tend to gravitate to current health ailments more often than when in our 20’s and 30’s?
If you are still in your 20’s and 30’s, feel free to share something hip and happening with us Golden Oldies. We like to live vicariously!
Spirit Lights The Way 