This is actually one of my random "get rid of scraps of paper" entries. . . but I took some suggestions on lowering your blood pressure and personalized them. I need to use these!
1. Get more sun.
2. Spend time with animals (go to the zoo).
3. Help others (worry about self less).
4. Meditate (even at work).
5. Hug Louie more.
6. Sing and dance.
7. Strength exercises.
#2 is funny - now that we have a puppy again, I feel as though I'm spending *lots* of time with an animal!
#4 amuses me . . . now that I've quit my job
I love doing #5 and try to hug him often!
Last time I donated blood, my BP was very good. I must be doing something right!
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
Siblings
I am so glad that I have Tom, Ann, and Louise for siblings! I love them (and go crazy with them sometimes). I'm glad we've shared so much of our lives and stories with one another.
We went to the lawyer's office on Thursday, April 13 to take care of some of the last (I hope) paperwork in regard to my parents' estate. Then we went out to dinner at the Timberlodge Steak House. After dinner, we went for a walk in Old Town (at Southtown). Louise, Tom, and I had pretty specific memories about hanging out there as teenagers. Ann, not so much. There was an area for the Easter bunny and we took some photos. Fun!
We went to the lawyer's office on Thursday, April 13 to take care of some of the last (I hope) paperwork in regard to my parents' estate. Then we went out to dinner at the Timberlodge Steak House. After dinner, we went for a walk in Old Town (at Southtown). Louise, Tom, and I had pretty specific memories about hanging out there as teenagers. Ann, not so much. There was an area for the Easter bunny and we took some photos. Fun!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Harry Potter / J.K. Rowling Wisdom
I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books (as a de-stress mechanism) and I really want to "hang on" to this quotation from Chamber of Secrets:
It is our choices, Harry , that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Dumbledore
Our choices. More than our abilities. Choose wisely.
When Harry told Dumbledore that he thought it was his father who had created the Patronus and sent it across the lake to save him and Sirius Black, he said, "It was stupid, thinking it was him, . . I mean, I knew he was dead."
"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?"
I've been missing my mom a lot lately, and struggling with some of life's issues. This scene made me cry.
(above written on 4.7.17 / below on 5.16.17)
Order of the Phoenix - page 495 when Harry is determined to head back to the Dursleys, since he believes he is responsible for attacking Arthur Weasley as the snake he saw / was in his dream. The painting of Phineas Nigellus passes on the message from Dumbledore to stay and wait. Harry blows up.
"Stay there? That's all anyone could tell me after I got attacked by those dementors too! Just stay put while the grown-ups sort it out, Harry! We won't bother telling you anything, though, because your tiny little brain might not be able to cope with it!"
"You know," said Phineas Nigellus, even more loudly than Harry, "this is precisely why I loathed being a teacher! Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything."
Although I certainly do not loathe being a teacher, sometimes students can be maddening.
page 823, after the battle in the Ministry of Magic, Harry is back in Dumbledore's study.
"I know how you are feeling, Harry," said Dumbledore very quietly.
"No, you don't," said Harry, and his voice was suddenly loud and strong. White-hot anger leapt inside him. Dumbledore knew nothing about his feelings.
"You see, Dumbledore?" said Phineas Nigellus slyly. "Never try to understand the students. They hate it. They would much rather be tragically misunderstood, wallow in self-pity, stew in their own - "
"That's enough, Phineas," said Dumbledore.
For some reason, I just really liked Phineas this time around . . .
(below added 5.26.17)
The Deathly Hallows, page 697:
"Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second." Yes. Life is precious and can be gone so quickly.
(adding again - 11.14.17)
From Sorcerer's Stone:
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” - Dumbledore to Harry when they talk about the stone's destruction and what that will mean for Nicholas Flamel and his wife.
It is our choices, Harry , that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Dumbledore
Our choices. More than our abilities. Choose wisely.
When Harry told Dumbledore that he thought it was his father who had created the Patronus and sent it across the lake to save him and Sirius Black, he said, "It was stupid, thinking it was him, . . I mean, I knew he was dead."
"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?"
I've been missing my mom a lot lately, and struggling with some of life's issues. This scene made me cry.
(above written on 4.7.17 / below on 5.16.17)
Order of the Phoenix - page 495 when Harry is determined to head back to the Dursleys, since he believes he is responsible for attacking Arthur Weasley as the snake he saw / was in his dream. The painting of Phineas Nigellus passes on the message from Dumbledore to stay and wait. Harry blows up.
"Stay there? That's all anyone could tell me after I got attacked by those dementors too! Just stay put while the grown-ups sort it out, Harry! We won't bother telling you anything, though, because your tiny little brain might not be able to cope with it!"
"You know," said Phineas Nigellus, even more loudly than Harry, "this is precisely why I loathed being a teacher! Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything."
Although I certainly do not loathe being a teacher, sometimes students can be maddening.
page 823, after the battle in the Ministry of Magic, Harry is back in Dumbledore's study.
"I know how you are feeling, Harry," said Dumbledore very quietly.
"No, you don't," said Harry, and his voice was suddenly loud and strong. White-hot anger leapt inside him. Dumbledore knew nothing about his feelings.
"You see, Dumbledore?" said Phineas Nigellus slyly. "Never try to understand the students. They hate it. They would much rather be tragically misunderstood, wallow in self-pity, stew in their own - "
"That's enough, Phineas," said Dumbledore.
For some reason, I just really liked Phineas this time around . . .
(below added 5.26.17)
The Deathly Hallows, page 697:
"Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second." Yes. Life is precious and can be gone so quickly.
(adding again - 11.14.17)
From Sorcerer's Stone:
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” - Dumbledore to Harry when they talk about the stone's destruction and what that will mean for Nicholas Flamel and his wife.
My State of Mind Lately
Random scraps of paper that I've jotted over the last few weeks tell a tale of sorts . . .
"I am sound and fury signifying nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"I feel the urge to write poetry for the first time in over 35 years. I should do that."
"Mortality. What if Louie or I die before Lou does?"
"I am sound and fury signifying nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"I feel the urge to write poetry for the first time in over 35 years. I should do that."
"Mortality. What if Louie or I die before Lou does?"
Friday, March 31, 2017
Canadian Relatives - Gertrude
Rather than start an entirely new blog, I'll just make entries periodically in this one about my dad and his family. He's already been dead for more than a year . . . and I don't want to lose stories and details too much.
His sister Gertrude passed away on 28 January 2017. She had been in poor health and I'm super glad he got to go see her the summer of 2015 or 2014. Tom took him to Canada and that was my dad's last time seeing his two remaining siblings - Therese and Gertrude. His little sister Therese died, then my dad, and now Gertrude. They were the last of that generation in our immediate Somers family.
My cousin Monique called to tell me about it. (I have more than one cousin named Monique! It was Therese's daughter.) The funeral was on February 25 in Quebec City. Gertrude was cremated. Ann sent flowers on behalf of the four of us kids.
Monique (in addition to losing her own mom recently) said that her husband Denis had hip surgery in July. He had some cardiac issues during the surgery and ended up spending fifty days in the hospital! Then in early February, he went in for a right shoulder replacement.
My goodness, this aging stuff isn't fun. As Louie and I adjust to some of the challenges and aches of getting older, I realize that I really need to take better care of myself! Life is far too short.
His sister Gertrude passed away on 28 January 2017. She had been in poor health and I'm super glad he got to go see her the summer of 2015 or 2014. Tom took him to Canada and that was my dad's last time seeing his two remaining siblings - Therese and Gertrude. His little sister Therese died, then my dad, and now Gertrude. They were the last of that generation in our immediate Somers family.
My cousin Monique called to tell me about it. (I have more than one cousin named Monique! It was Therese's daughter.) The funeral was on February 25 in Quebec City. Gertrude was cremated. Ann sent flowers on behalf of the four of us kids.
Monique (in addition to losing her own mom recently) said that her husband Denis had hip surgery in July. He had some cardiac issues during the surgery and ended up spending fifty days in the hospital! Then in early February, he went in for a right shoulder replacement.
My goodness, this aging stuff isn't fun. As Louie and I adjust to some of the challenges and aches of getting older, I realize that I really need to take better care of myself! Life is far too short.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
YouTube and Middle Schoolers
Here's another get-rid-of-a-scrap-of-paper entry:
Students often recommend YouTube videos to me. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised! Other times, I think, "Kids actually spend time watching other kids play MineCraft??!?!" Then there are times I just think, "Boy, am I oooooooold!"
Charlie the Unicorn is strange. I might have enjoyed it as a sassy pre-teen. Charlie's stoic attitude and the urban legend tweak are mildly amusing . . . but I really don't get the appeal. And yet I have students who can quote from it. Hmmm.
Unbelievable Dub Step Dance Crew . . . it's interesting to watch the way a person can move his body so dramatically, but the music is enough to make me leave!
Yep. I'm old. I'll take Tom and Jerry and Fred Astaire.
Students often recommend YouTube videos to me. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised! Other times, I think, "Kids actually spend time watching other kids play MineCraft??!?!" Then there are times I just think, "Boy, am I oooooooold!"
Charlie the Unicorn is strange. I might have enjoyed it as a sassy pre-teen. Charlie's stoic attitude and the urban legend tweak are mildly amusing . . . but I really don't get the appeal. And yet I have students who can quote from it. Hmmm.
Unbelievable Dub Step Dance Crew . . . it's interesting to watch the way a person can move his body so dramatically, but the music is enough to make me leave!
Yep. I'm old. I'll take Tom and Jerry and Fred Astaire.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Tiaras!
Okay, this is about more than just tiaras . . . I'm getting rid of another scrap of paper, but it has a story attached. This may be my legacy - random stories about random scraps of paper in my life.
Approximately a decade ago, I went to this Theatrical Costume Company www.theatricalcostumeco.com/ to buy a deerstalker (Sherlock Holmes style hat) for my nephew Luke. His birthday is in early December and this is something he really wanted. As the clerk went into the back storage area to find the hat, I waited in the front and looked at the display case of tiaras.
War began.
"Ooh! That's beautiful!"
"No. I'm just here to get Luke's birthday present."
"I've wanted a tiara for a long time."
"No. Christmas is coming up and I'll be spending plenty of money. Now is not the time to buy something for myself."
"I rarely ever buy something for myself. I really want that tiara."
And so the war waged on . . . and by the time the clerk returned with the deerstalker, I "had" to have the tiara.
Sometimes these stories end up with a "that was dumb. It's just a thing. It wasn't worth the money." HOWEVER, in this case, I can say that I really enjoy my tiara. I wear it a few times a year and always love how beautiful I feel when I wear it. In fact, I should probably wear it more often! It's lovely and I'm really glad that I treated myself to it.
This website is *not* well-designed or maintained, however I included the link since it has the pertinent info. The company is still in business and is still the source of the nicest tiaras I've seen for under $100. (I was appalled when I shopped with Louise at Crafts Direct . . . the high prices and less beautiful tiaras made me a firm fan of Theatrical Costume Company.) Besides, theater and costumes are a huge part of my life.
War began.
"Ooh! That's beautiful!"
"No. I'm just here to get Luke's birthday present."
"I've wanted a tiara for a long time."
"No. Christmas is coming up and I'll be spending plenty of money. Now is not the time to buy something for myself."
"I rarely ever buy something for myself. I really want that tiara."
And so the war waged on . . . and by the time the clerk returned with the deerstalker, I "had" to have the tiara.
Sometimes these stories end up with a "that was dumb. It's just a thing. It wasn't worth the money." HOWEVER, in this case, I can say that I really enjoy my tiara. I wear it a few times a year and always love how beautiful I feel when I wear it. In fact, I should probably wear it more often! It's lovely and I'm really glad that I treated myself to it.
This website is *not* well-designed or maintained, however I included the link since it has the pertinent info. The company is still in business and is still the source of the nicest tiaras I've seen for under $100. (I was appalled when I shopped with Louise at Crafts Direct . . . the high prices and less beautiful tiaras made me a firm fan of Theatrical Costume Company.) Besides, theater and costumes are a huge part of my life.
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