Taking a break

 I'll continue to post on "When I Was 69" and just needed to stop doing quite so much computer work! 

See ya over there, if you're willing. Yes indeed, I'll still be reading your blogs, commenting if I can't stop myself, and even replying to your comments over there on the other blog. 

It's August!

 Rabbit Rabbit...or good luck for the beginning of another month. August!

Black Otter Rex rabbits

August 1 is a pagan holiday of Lamas. Celebrate with fresh breads, products of the wheat and corn harvests!

Hares at it...by National Geographic

For Celtic celebrations, August 1 is known as Lughnasadh, another harvest celebration.

However you approach August, stay cool, calm, healthy and share the love!

The rain garden is working

 

These photos were taken Thursday, July 25, 2024.

I couldn't find my earlier photos of dismissing this trench of rocks as being a bit of overkill for the parking lot drainage by the lake.

But just look. It is full of water!

We've had 11 days straight with measurable amounts of rain (not continuous of course) as of last Friday. And it's due to continue all next week too.

Today's quote:

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013)

Sharing with Wordless Wednesday

A new dragon by Gary Rith

 My Gary Rith dragon arrived on Monday! I'm so thrilled. Tuesday's coffee will be imbibed from the lips of the mug, while dragon looks on from the handle. Isn't she cute?

Thanks a lot, Gary, for creating this charming mug!

A complete surprise was the little tail on the other side of the mug!

Here's his Etsy shop if you are looking for some unique and charming pottery.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Rith?ref=l2-about-shopname&from_page=listing

Today's quote:

In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary. -Kathleen Norris, novelist and columnist (1880-1966)

Grey days at the lake

My second choice for a blog header.
 

Lovely black eyed Susans.

Parking is easier for the seniors on coolish grey days because fewer families come to the pool. I've noticed one family is poolside every day, under an awning at a table, then they eat lunches out of their lunch boxes. Or maybe it's a day care, because almost all the kids are about the same size.

Another fun event happens several times a week at the pool, and that is a van load of kids from Asheville's inner city recreation sites, who come to enjoy the water, no matter how cool it is. They splash around and have a good time, some wearing a shirt to keep a bit warm when they get out of the water. I love watching them enjoy themselves.

When it's hot and sunny, there are the sun worshipers, who always smell of coconut oil as they apply tanning (maybe sun block?) products. They lie out on towels, and I don't know that they ever even get in the pool.

I hope your summer is relaxing. I read a saying which recommended for adults to let children just be when they appear to be doing nothing, that these are the moments when seeds are beginning in their thinking, whether they know it or not. I want to return to a relaxation where I don't have a single worry in my brain!

Today's quote:

If you truly want to grow, make a practice out of gratitude: the daily art of celebrating the life unfolding before your eyes.

MORGAN HARPER NICHOLS

The new gadget I can't live without

 Yes, living a simple life...with a few modern conveniences!

I dragged it into the kitchen, and left it for later when I went to lunch last Wednesday.

I had finally ordered one, much smaller than the free red one which smelled like it was about to catch on fire. I gave it back to the maintenance man, who carried it to the curb for household pickups. 

I went with Black & Decker, because it's a brand I know. It's all made in China anyway.

Lots of the components are visible through the screen holes in the back. I never noticed that before.

Yep, it's small. But I can get a dinner plate in it to warm up left overs, and it boils water/coffee fine.

I'm happy.

I was not happy having to use a sauce pan to reheat the coffee for about a week. Not at all. But that was part of my "sickies" times. Times to be forgotten!

Today's quote:

My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.

DESMOND TUTU

My honey habit

  

Here are 20 interesting facts about the importance of honey and bees:

1. Did you know that honey never spoils? Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible!

2. Did you know bees are essential for growing many of our foods? They pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

3. Did you know honey has natural healing properties? It can help soothe sore throats and even speed up the healing of wounds and burns due to its antibacterial qualities.

4. Did you know bees produce a tiny amount of honey in their lifetime? A single worker bee produces only about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her entire life, but together they make a lot!

5. Did you know bees communicate through dancing? They perform a "waggle dance" to tell other bees where to find the best flowers.

6. Did you know honey can help your brain? It contains antioxidants that may support brain health and improve memory.

7. Did you know beeswax, made by bees, is used in many everyday products?** It's found in things like candles, lip balm, and even some types of food packaging.

8. Did you know honey can be a natural energy booster? It provides a quick source of energy because it's packed with natural sugars.

9. Did you know there are over 300 types of honey in the United States alone? The flavor, color, and aroma depend on the flowers that bees visit.

10. Did you know that beekeeping helps many communities around the world? It provides income, supports agriculture, and helps improve food security in many regions.

11. Did you know honey can be used as a natural preservative? Because of its antibacterial properties, honey has been used to preserve fruits and other foods for centuries.

12. Did you know that some bees can recognize human faces? Studies have shown that honeybees can remember and recognize human faces, much like they remember different flowers.

13. Did you know honey can improve your sleep? A spoonful of honey before bed can promote relaxation and better sleep by raising insulin slightly and allowing tryptophan to enter the brain.

14. Did you know bees are colorblind to red? Bees can see ultraviolet light, which humans can't, but they can't see the color red. Instead, they see it as black.

15. Did you know honey can help with seasonal allergies? Consuming local honey is believed by some to help build immunity to local pollen and reduce allergy symptoms.

16. Did you know that royal jelly, produced by worker bees, is fed to all bee larvae? However, only those destined to become queens are fed royal jelly throughout their development.

17. Did you know honey has different medicinal uses in various cultures? For example, in Ayurvedic medicine, honey is used to treat digestive issues, and in ancient Egypt, it was used to treat wounds.

18. Did you know bees have a built-in GPS? They use the position of the sun, the earth's magnetic field, and their own memories of landmarks to navigate and find their way back to the hive.

19. Did you know honeybees are the only insects that produce food eaten by humans? They are unique in their production of honey, which has been a staple in human diets for thousands of years.

20. Did you know that honey can vary greatly in taste and texture? The type of flowers the bees pollinate affects the flavor, color, and texture of the honey. Some honey can even be creamy or spicy!

Thank you, precious bees!

Text credit: Earth Unreal

Image credit: Rory Shapland

How do I take my honey each day? A teaspoon at a time in each of two cups of coffee. Nothing else.

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My health continues to improve, slowly in the breathing and stamina of course, but able to go to chair Yoga yesterday. We've had a measurable amount of rain each day (not all day of course) for the last 11 days. I plan to start at the Tailgate Market today, and may well go sit in the car for whenever it is difficult to breathe the muggy air. I did dig out a few new pots to sell. It meant really cleaning the dust off the ones on bottom shelves!

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Today's quote:

Wholeness does not mean perfection. It means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life.

PARKER PALMER SHARING WITH EILEEN'S SATURDAY CRITTERS

Trees and seasons

 I love reading other blogs! They are such interesting people, all over the globe. And close to home. But almost always they post something worth while, either inspiring me, or bringing me into their lives to understand them better. Thank you, fellow bloggers.

Today I first clicked on a blog with a poem, by Mary Oliver. Here it is. When I am Among the Trees

Redwood Forest by Will Stenberg

Along Flat Creek, Montreat NC

Entrance to the Tailgate Market, any day but Saturday!

The trees make this tailgate market special, and more comfortable on hot summer mornings.

Outside my living room windows on a foggy morning (the result of rain the night before)

I live in a nest in the treetops on one side of my apartment. Different seasons bring different amounts of light inside.

Have a wonderful day, and look for a tree somewhere!

Today's quote:

Ultimately, work on self is inseparable from work in the world. Each mirrors the other; each is a vehicle for the other. When we change ourselves, our values and actions change as well.

CHARLES EISENSTEIN

What it's like to wear the vest

 A vibrating vest, which has a tube where air is pushed through various smaller channels in the vest, hooked to a loud heavy machine which controls the length of time and the amount of vibration. 

Yep,, everything is out of focus while I sit for 15 minutes.

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And if you're not Canadian, you might not know of the Group of Seven. Artists I discovered thanks to  blogger "Ottawa Daily Photo" Here's the post on Landscapes.

Autumn's Garland, done in 1915-16 by Tom Tompson of the Group of Seven

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Yesterday I first read Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson, with my first cup of coffee. Not only did she speak of Kamala Harris' stunning beginning of her campaign, she mentioned Republican efforts to get a slamming campaign against her. Unfortunately still the country suffers from Republican lack of law making skills.

"In the House, Republicans have been unable to pass the appropriations bills necessary to fund the 2025 U.S. budget, laced as they are with culture-wars poison pills the extremists demand. Today House members debated the appropriations bill for the Interior Department and the Environment which, among other things, bans the use of funds “to promote or advance critical race theory” or to require Covid-19 masks or vaccine mandates. 

According to the European climate service Copernicus, last Sunday was the hottest day in recorded history. The MAGA Republicans’ appropriations bill for Interior and the Environment calls for more oil drilling, fewer regulations on pollutants, no new regulations on vehicles, rejecting Biden’s climate change executive orders, and reducing the funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 20%.

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My health is continuing very slowly to improve, so I'm terrifically grateful for friends helping out with some tasks that I felt a bit beyond my energy level at this time. I am resentful that I have to spend so much time on nebulizers and the vest to shake the mucous loose, so my coughs are productive. There is no end to the coughs, but they are mostly from about 4 o'clock on. Of course if I lie down to try to nap, suddenly that makes me cough. So I take small breaks.

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Today's quote:

The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them that we call them everyday things.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

New little dragon has joined the family

 

Dragon number 4

Number 3 and 4 sided by side. Dragon No. 3 is actually a Dra-duck-gon. I made that up.

Size doesn't matter until they sit next to one another!

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Yesterday morning was apparently pyramid day. Look at this chart showing how the great pyramid was structured...which appeared at the top of my Facebook page today!

And then my newsletter, Open Culture brought an interesting article about the Grateful Dead playing at the pyramid and near the sphinx. No coincidences are there? Well they gave 3 clips on YouTube of the Dead playing...which of course I'm listening to right now. These recordings are great, much better than my many-times-copied cassette tapes of the 70s. I haven't ever been to a Dead concert, so I guess I'm not a real Deadhead, but I do enjoy their music.

In September of 1978, the Grateful Dead traveled to Egypt and played three shows at the Great Pyramid of Giza, with the Great Sphinx looking over their shoulders.

Logistically speaking, the concerts weren’t the easiest to stage. Rolling Stone reported that an “equipment truck got stuck in sand and had to be towed by camels.” Because the electricity in Egypt was an “a winkin’, blinkin’ affair,” Bob Weir later recalled, the jetlagged band had difficulties recording the first of the three shows. But, as with most adventures, the inconveniences were offset by the wondrous nature of the experience.

Here I shared..."the Dead performing “Ollin Arageed,” with Egyptian oudist Hamza el-Din and other local musicians, before seguing into “Fire on the Mountain.” The clip gives you a good feel for the awe-inspiring scene. Just above, we have a longer playlist of performances that took place on September 16, 1978 — the same night there was a lunar eclipse. The complete 9/16/78 show can be streamed on Archive.org, as can the shows from 9/14 and 9/15. A 2CD/1 DVD package (Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978) captures the Dead’s visit and can be purchased online. 

Today's quote:

It's early for high summer

 

But even on cloudy days, it just feels so muggy out. Here over the lake you can see clearly the YMCA Blueridge Assembly building with it's red roof. That was the first home of Black Mountain College, for which this area has a bit of notoriety in art and educational circles.

I walk quickly into air conditioning at the Lakeview Center for Active aging, for lunch anyway.

Today's quote:

We cannot forget that our real power is not necessarily to change the world, but to make a world of change to the people we encounter every day.

CORY BOOKER

A simple breakfast

 Breakfast the other day!

Not exactly my normal granola with other stuff. That day I had some potato/beet/carrot salad with boiled egg crumbles. 

I had half this slice...the thinner part on the right. Saving the rest for tomorrow!

And I had a normal serving (since I don't have delicacies like that salad slice every day!) of organic blueberries and Greek style yogurt. Then thinking I've been doing really well at managing things (why did I even think such a thing?) I proceeded to stack the blueberries on top of the yogurt container, and turn to open the fridge.

And blueberries went everywhere! I saved the little bit that remained in the container, and got out the broom, and hoped none flew under the stove. I didn't do more than run the broom across the front of it.

So that's my little world on one morning! Hope your day has started out better!

Sharing with My Corner of The World

Dragons be all around these days!

 Not sure where this first flying one came from into Facebook-land ... but what a gorgeous view.

Someone was very creative to make these dragon bookends.

My friend and fellow potter, Gary Rith made a dragon mug, and one with a unicorn!

I just put my 5th little one into the kiln with glaze on her. No. 6 is waiting to bisque. I haven't felt quite up to creating in clay for the last week or so. I have some big ideas stewing in my mind however!

I've always loved the Bosch detective stories, and listening to this one again has been enjoyable. I can stop the story any time my coughing interferes with the story. Incidentally, no dragons were harmed in the making of this book...indeed they are simply a reference to the Triad gangs from China. Those people were violent!

Dare I share dragons with Eileen's Saturday's Critters?

Hope you have a great week ahead!

Today's quote:

The history of the Universe has been summed up thusly:

"Hydrogen is a light, odorless gas, which, given enough time, turns into people."

—John P. Wiley Jr.

(quoting Edward R. Harrison)