Summations, Prognostications, Summaries, and Resolutions

Good afternoon!

I have been thinking of changing my blog.  I'd thought to go back to "The Grasshopper News," which I used to write on my word-processor days, duplicate, and send to my sisters via snail mail.

I thought to change over on January 1, 2013, but I can see by the clock that I am not ready to do it--considering how much maundering and blundering I'd have to do in order to accomplish the change.

Re: the subject of this posting.  I can wait till tomorrow to do that.  Perhaps I should have put, "Procrastinations" into the subject line as well.

As to big prognostications, I predict that California will have an earthquake of considerable size this year.  It will most likely be in Southern California, since it's more our turn.

Perhaps our earthquake, Theo's and mine, will occur as part of a natural happening just on our very small scale. I no longer buy green bananas, as the wits say;  logically, I do expect change will be part of our lives this year.

The social worker who came to see us thinks that we should go into a Home, one of those with cycles of care where you start out at the second floor, and gradually progress where you're at the basement where it's a short roll to the driveway door.  We have talked about it and we don't want to do that. I am much too fond of eating my own cooking and choosing my own food, and staggering through my own piles of papers and books on the floor, and looking at the right place in the bookshelf and seeing an old friend there. Taterton is the same way; he is much too much of a curmudgeon to be attracted to a "Vegas Night" party at one Home who is trying to get clients in with that enticement. 

I'd always thought to end my days in Brownsville, Texas, in a little Mexican house with or without paint on its exterior walls. Eating shrimp and drinking margaritas, as a brother in law once suggested for an ideal Brownsville menu. But we got too soon old and too late prepared, so that kind of move is not likely to happen.  We don't know what will happen.

So, on the larger scale or the smaller, we anticipate change, and that reminds me: where's my I Ching? It's time. It's New Year's Eve!  YAZZYBEL  

The Music of Love

Good afternoon!  It's been and still is a gray, cold Sunday.  It's been raining--what a blessing! Right now it's what's called "clearing," which it means it's a little brighter outside.

Off to church betimes this morning, and it was beautiful this morning in church. The light was brighter there because there were not many clouds over downtown San Diego at the time; and it was just light.  And cold. And the Christmas wreaths and big red velvet bows were still cheerily up, and all the candles were lit for once.

I am thinking of light because I watched that movie about Vermeer (his maid, rather) as I took my nap. The whole movie is one big Vermeer painting and I love it for that.

I hate to apologize for my work, but this essay about the music of love isn't going to be a good one; that is, it's not going to say what I want to say.
That's because I don't yet know what I want to say, but I've been putting it off for time to think, and that time hasnt showed up yet after two weeks, so I'll just make a stab at it.

I was thinking of the beautiful Nachtmusik II of Mahler's Seventh Concerto, "andante amoroso." The first time I ever heard it, it stopped me in my tracks.  I felt it as the most erotic piece of music I'd ever heard.  What was it about that composition that captured so well the stirrings  of erotic love?

Well, I have thought and listened and the more you listen and the more you think about it, the less you feel capable of describing anything about it.  It's so complex and there are so many different feelings and sensations running through the lines.

Yes, at first, I was attracted to the most obvious device--which is like a quiver, a stabbing quiver, like a bee stinging, or like a man when he's at the apex of his climax....It accompanies an almost courtly, lighthearted humorous dance: a courtship dance. Courtship is meant for public consumption, no? It takes place out where society is functioning in its proper way.  And then it takes place more privately, where it is called loveplay.  And then that little swooning quiver which is at the heart of lovemaking...

But as I've listened more, I have noticed an almost sinister beat underlying the whole movement.  Of course!  The Creator of the Universe has to keep the whole thing going all the time.  He cannot rest a minute.  And He is relentless!  That is the force that rears the crop of new young males in every generation.  They will not be stopped...(for they are the agents of that Creator, though they aren't thinking in those terms.)  Interesting. And very scary.  Listen to it.  Three times at least, and then again tomorrow.  You'll get the idea. YAZZYBEL

How I Make My Bed Now

Good evening!

What a strange caption for a blog posting, no?

But there have been so many different subjects I've been meaning to write about this week....(The Music of Love, More about the Mass Shooting in Connecticut, and the good cookie recipe, amongst others) but it's hard to find the right quiet time in which to write.  C'mon, I know, no excuses!

So I'll write about how I make my bed now.  Since I am 83, I don't have all the strength in the world that I used to have.  So I make the bed up in the easy way.  It's quick, it's neat, and I am happy with it.

I don't like contour sheets any more.  The mattresses have become so huge and fat that fitted sheets don't really fit them.  New sheets are made extra large to fit these mattresses, but they don't really fit either, truth be told.

So, I use only flat sheets.  I lay one sheet down for the bottom sheet, and smooth it out.  I lay a second flat sheet down for the top sheet, and smooth it out. Blankets, puffers, and quilts go on top of all that.  Easy to put on, easy to smooth out and rearrange if it's not wash day, and easy to take off if it is.

It's not too easy to buy just flat sheets unless you are paying top dollar at a good good store...you have to buy the proper 'set'....but too bad; I have foiled them by picking up odd king and queen sized flat sheets over the years, and just use those.  Old sheets are smoother and softer, too.  Not eerily soft like the new 'sateen' 600 thread count sheets; soft and smooth like cotton that's been washed and washed and washed and is still getting more comfortable.

That's how I make the bed now.  No painful lifting of mammoth mattresses, no tucking of corners.  No, the bottom sheet doesn't come loose. It was never un-loose to begin with. It was just smooth.  And remains that way, in our tranquil elderly bed.  Bonne nuit, everybody.  YAZZYBEL

The Monday After

Good morning.

I've been trying to find the words to express my thoughts about Friday's tragical events. I haven't been able to find those words.

However, I have found two blogs where the writers have found all the right words. Please read them. Here they are.

www.anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com
 and
www.kunstler.com

These two writers, however vastly different their perspectives, are telling the truth about what happened on Friday in the United States of America.    And it will happen again, because people are not serious about their lives...they are hiding their heads in the sand, saying, "Thank God, that's none of my business,"--saying, "God just lemme forget and it will go away....,"---

I had a son with "serious" mental illness.  It was serious because he was miserable.  Thank God, he never became violent to others.  But God, why did he have to turn on himself?  Why couldnt someone bigger and stronger than himself just SAT on him until his confusion passed?

The psychiatrists to whom we entrust ourselves have all made pacts with the devil. Even the best psychiatrists Gregory ever had ended up signing deals with pharmaceutical companies, whereby they ran little "groups" mainly dedicate to the application and study of the effects of a certain drug. To see how it all played out.  In Greg's case it was tragic. I cannot bear to think about it even now.  And there are too many doors between the parent/caregiver of this patient and the actual facility or doctor who's doing the "care."  It's all screwy. 

Please read the two blogs I have sent.  Then think about it and tell the country via your emails and letters to the editor (if they still have them) to put forth your suggestions. YAZZYBEL

Good Cookies, Dead Santas, Diets, and Sad News

Good evening.  I'm told it's time to write a new posting, so will attempt to do so.

Already, I cannot put in the good cookie recipe because it's lost in a big stack that I don't want to go through right now.

So, on to the dead Santas.  I hate those inflatable Santa Clauses....!!  By night they may be prancing and pawing around the houses with their reindeer, but by day, when I am out and driving about in our town, those guys look as if they'd fallen where they are, dead drunk, and sleeping it off until nightfall. When, I assume, they'll rise again in glorious light and once more pretend to be okay. Whoever conceived that kind of stuff as an acceptable house decoration for Christmastime?  House after house, yard after yard full of deflated plastic lying asprawl all over the place.  I vote NO to dead Santas.

As to diet, I am losing some weight because I am trying to limit my fat intake to 3 grams per meal. That means if seven crackers gives me 3, I can eat one or two with impunity. And that's usually enough.  I never thought I ate that much fat, actually.  I have eschewed fried foods even at home, for years.  I ate salad dressings as I wished because they were made with good olive oil, but apparently even olive oil can be quite fattening--or at least, fattening enough to keep you at the high weight you started with. But really avoiding fats seems to make a difference if you get serious enough about it. Ah, Dr Atkins.  We had a good time while it lasted....

Of course, it was when I added carbs to Dr A's diet that the plaques formed in my veins. I have always had the theory that it is the mixture of fat and flour that thickened up the blood (i.e., cream gravy). The fat alone wouldn't do it. Good fat wouldn't....and I haven't used Crisco, etc. forever.

Now they say that coconut fat is the best, healthiest fat in the world...Yes, it probably is...but not for arteries already clogged up with residue.  Diet is important, folks.  So I am going to eschew fat (not chew it) until I get the good word from Above (Kaiser) that things have cleared up.

As for the sad news, you know what it is. I feel so for those parents and siblings who are having to deal with the absence of that bright little face around the table.  They are going to have to go into the closet and dresser and fold up and give away those little clothes, and go into desk drawers and clear things out--for what? they will ask.  Parents, cherish your children.  Vexing little creatures they can be, but you are the grown ups. Cherish your children, and cherish your spouse, who can be the most vexing of all.  He or she and the combination of the two of you is very important to your children. Some rifts do not heal; they fester and corrupt and ruin lives. Forgive your spouse and pray that he or she forgives you. Love each other. And may God have mercy on all of us. YAZZYBEL

A Delicious Vegan Dish

Good morning!

Here is a delicious vegan combo that evades all the overly sweet marshmallow-y aspects of sweet potatoes, while providing you with a filling and satistying 'main dish' for supper.

Bake a sweet potato or yam. I always forget which are which; I like them both.  I think I bought a yam because it was quite red, but it could be the other way round.

As the yam bakes, cut into cubes:

green bell pepper
yellow bell pepper
red bed pepper
onion
tomato

Saute the above in a spray of oil until they are done.  You must have green pepper because it has its tendency to be un-sweet and you don't want all sweetness in this dish!

I like hotness, so add something picante to the mix. This time I added cayenne pepper, one of my favorite tastes, to the vegetables, and a little bottled salsa (La Victoria).  If you have fresh jalapenos so much the better, a little of those too.

This combo of semi-sweet peppers, hot peppers, and sweet potatoes is just delicious. I discovered it long ago when I added just the La Victoria. Now we try to get more fiber into our diets, so I like to play with lots of the real peppers.

ANOTHER TIP. If you live near a Safeway supermarket, go to the bread section. Safeway makes a number of breads in its in-house brand name, and they are all good and significantly cheaper than the name brands.  Anyway, perhaps because it's Christmastime, they have a great loaf of Cranberry-Orange bread.  I have just been looking for a raisin bread with NO horrible false cinnamon in it (impossible to find for me so far), and this Cranberry-Orange bread just fills the bill.  For a treat, it's great with cream cheese (if you haven't had a heart attack!).  For someone like me, it is fine with a spray or two of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. YUM YUM>  YAZZYBEL

Thanks for Everything

Sometimes things happen just right.

As when I had my heart attack, and there were the Dr. and his team just finishing a procedure and ready for me to slide in right then and be next.  How lucky can you be?

My favorite glasses, small, fragile, rimless, have been lost to me ever since I went out into the back yard with dearest Foxy, and the glasses fell out of my tee shirt where I'd stuck them, and went into limbo.  I was and am sure that Foxy grabbed them and ran off with them, with who knows what danger infliced by his baby teeth...dropped them somewhere, that only he knew,--and forgot about them. I have looked for them again and again but went out once more today, peeking under flower pots and under yard debris...

I thought that I'd write to Ben this following: "Please ask Foxy Angus to tell me where the glasses are in a dream, and perhaps I'll get the message."  I figured in a dream, because from his dreams to mine are the only way he and I can directly communicate.  Or perhaps, I then thought, he will help me to just stumble across them.

Shortly I looked into a bed where I have looked several times before, and saw in the twilight (it's always twilight around here, or it just my eyes?) the thinnest glimmer of a line of metal....Couldn't be, I thought, but my wishes were stronger than my thoughts. I leant over into the dark planting bed and plucked out, unbelieving, my lost glasses.

Thank you, Lord!  Thank you mind that received the message from unconscious little Foxy!  I have been lucky beyond measure so many times.  My wishes are granted to me and I thank you, Lord. Hallelujah!!!   YAZZYBEL