On Vacation

See you in a week or so!

Tales from the South and Star Party

Man, I have the coolest friends ever.  First I emailed my buddies S and D about my upcoming visit back to Arkansas, and that got me an invitation to a star party.

Then I emailed another old friend, and she wrote back the following:

I would love to meet you at the Starving Artist Cafe on Main Street in the “Argenta District” of North Little Rock. I can meet you on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday next week. On second thought, can we have dinner at the Starving Artist next Tuesday evening, 6/28?

The owner of the restaurant, Paula Morell, produces a nationally syndicated weekly radio show (NPR) called “Tales from the South“. She records the show at the restaurant every Tuesday evening. Those with dinner reservations get to be in the live audience for the show. There is live music as well as southerners telling interesting stories. It’s lots of fun. Let me know if you can/would like to do this and I will make the reservations. In fact, your mom and Mike might like to join us. Whadda ya think?

Excited to be seeing you again,
J

Is that not the coolest? This is my first time not to make a detailed plan for how my friends and I will see one another. I’m just throwing these emails out there and then seeing what comes back.  Wow!

Going on Vacation

Every time I take a holiday I face the same dilemma. Plugged or unplugged? On the one hand, it feels great to unplug and get back to the simple things in life, the real things, like reading books, talking to my family, sitting in cafes watching the people go by.  Going a whole week without a single email or text is amazing.

But it’s scary and hard, too. Because I’m soooooooooooooooo addicted.  In the end, that knowledge is usually what helps me decide what to do.  It’s because I’m addicted that I know my soul would benefit from a week unplugged.

The only catch is that my mom has internet. So if I get to jonesin’ badly enough, a fix is not far away.

Well, I guess that decides it, then. Now that I’ve put this out there for the whole world to read…

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Technology and cyberspace aside, I get a huge rush from traveling light. I love figuring out how to have all the real necessities right on my body so that even if my luggage is lost, I’ll be fine.  When Olivia blogged about her Scottevest, I had fits of envy. I love the idea of being a sort of walking transformer. Maybe I should invent an outfit that converts into a sleeping bag and pillow with self-inflating air mattress built in.

There is a surreal cross-over feeling between waking reality and my dream life when I travel because I have for two decades or more had a repeating dream motif of being a traveler without baggage or anyplace to sleep. I don’t know if that goes back to the months I spent hitching Europe or what. Did that experience so brand itself in my psyche that I still dream about it? Or are my so-called “nomad” dreams about something else entirely?

Whatever it is, when I travel, I feel as if I’m stepping into my own dream.

Because travel has, for me, a sacred aspect to it, I like to get all my affairs in order before I leave. I clean my house, do my laundry, and finish all the things on my to-do list. I adore that feeling of total freedom, of knowing there is nothing waiting for me.

How do you feel when you travel? Do you have that feeling of excitement at venturing out into the unknown? Is there a feeling that–potentially–anything could happen?

Grace in Small Things 156

• Thunderstorms.
• Ma made two strawberry pies and sent one home with me to share with the ACIM group. (The strawberries were from a roadside stand out past Cottam.)
• After we enjoyed yummy pie, I passed around a blank greeting card with a vintage illustration of a rose on the front. Everyone signed it to thank her for the pie.
• It helps me a great deal not to take things so seriously when I remember that I don’t exist.
• Mulberries are ripe now.

Clothes and Comfort, Power, Freedom

It is said that we wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time.  Is that true for you? I’m pretty sure it’s true or close to true for me.

When I was dating Michael, who was self-diagnosed as being “in the spectrum,” I did a lot of reading on and off-line about Asperger Syndrome. One common trait I thought was interesting was a tendency to have a uniform. Michael certainly did. Every single day, no matter whether he was headed to work or to a wedding, Michael wore the same type of pants, the same kind of shoes, a graphic tee shirt from a thrift store and an unbuttoned long-sleeved shirt over the tee shirt. Every day.

I notice in myself a strong desire to find the perfect outfit (perfectly comfortable and not too unflattering) and buy it in several colours so that I can just wear that same thing day in and day out.

This summer I have such an outfit. It consists of:

1) Bermuda shorts;

Gap

2) A super soft tee shirt in a faded colour such as smoky grey or desert green like the one I found recently at Jacob (so SOFT);

Banana Republic

3) a pair of sport sandals;

Timberland

4) and a cross-body passport pouch instead of a purse. You might just call it a wallet on a strap.

ShirtLine Hemp Passport Pouch

When I am wearing this outfit, I feel cool and comfortable, but also strong and independent. I like the feeling of freedom, simplicity and flexibility. I feel ready for anything, and I like knowing that I can run fast if I suddenly need to.

Do you ever use clothing to change your mood or boost your confidence? When I was struggling to shift the balance of power in my first marriage, I cut off my long hair and stopped wearing flimsy shoes. I found I could more confidently stand up for myself when I was wearing hiking boots. Is that crazy?

Do you have a set of clothing you wear most of the time, or an outfit that makes you feel comforted and loved? Free? Powerful? What is it?

And the Winner Is…

As Sylvain and I were walking down the Ganatchio Trail between his home and mine, I jumped in front of him and shoved both closed fists under his nose. “Pick one!” I said.

He quickly pointed to the left hand.

“Thank you,” I said. You just helped me choose the winner of the draw.

“Who won?” he asked.

“Tom.”

The book will be mailed off this week.

My friend Elaine will be joining me for tea and will have a chance to look over a couple of other books that were pivotal to me over the past year or so.

Book Give-away

I am giving away my copy of Busting Loose from the Money Game by Robert Scheinfeld. It is hard cover with a dust jacket and is still in very good condition, though not “like new.”  If you would like a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post saying that you want to be entered in the draw.

I don’t think this book is for everyone. In fact, I don’t think it’s for more than a very small minority of people. In order to benefit from reading it…   No, scratch that. In order to be able to stick with it past the first chapter or two, you would not only have to be spiritually and metaphysically adventurous, you would have to be bordering on crazy.  I am in that small minority who thrive on the teaching material that makes eccentric look normal.  The concepts in this book changed my life for the better, and those changes seem to be permanent.

If you are one of those people who gravitate toward weird and “out there” teachings, this book might be right up your alley.

I will draw a name from the hat this coming weekend, at which point I will ask the winner for his/her mailing address.

Cheers!   K

Grace in Small Things 152

• Freaky and amazing. If you like music or neurology, you gotta check out this 3-minute TED presentation.
• By ten this morning, I had finished my housework.
• On the way back from Sunny Glades naturist resort yesterday, we stopped at Parks’ Blueberries where I filled a box with an assortment of goodies for tonight’s company: turnovers, muffins, scones and bars. I love being a good host!
• I gave a lesson on restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses in the advanced class. At fifteen minutes till three, which is when they usually become restless to leave, I announced that those who needed to catch buses or pick up children from daycare could leave; those who stayed would receive help forming their own sentences of each type we’d just learned about over the preceding two hours. Nobody got up to leave.
• Tiger Swallowtails

ABC

I stole this idea from Blissful Bohemian (Annie), who got it from KJ and Jos.

A is for age: about to turn 48

B is for beer of choice: Killian’s Red, or Sol with lime on a hot summer day

C is for career: teaching ESL…finally!

E is for Essential item(s) you use everyday: Burt’s Bees lip balm

F is for Favorite song at the moment: none

H is for How About Whatever Favorite I Choose: place to chill – Taloola

G is for favorite Game: Set or Quarto

I is for Instruments played: alto sax

J is for favorite Juice: coconut

K is for Kids: I love children…other people’s children.

L is for last kiss: a few hours ago

M is for marriage: one annulment, one divorce and current engagement

N is for full Name: I don’t think I’ll put that on my blog, thank you.

O is for Overnight hospital stays: none, unless you count times I slept all night in the room with a patient or sat up all night with them in E.R., in which case probably five or six.

P is for phobias: making phone calls, especially to friends and acquaintances.

Q is for quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi

R is for biggest Regret: not asking my step-grandmother to teach me to make her light and fluffy biscuits

S is for sports: Swimming and birding

Time you wake up: around 6:00, but closer to 7:00 on the weekends

U is for color underwear: all colours and patterns, mostly Aerie thongs  (see photo)

V is for Vegetable you love: artichoke

W is for Worst Habit: correcting, criticizing or judging others

X is for X-rays you’ve had: dental, lower back

Y is for Yummy food you make: Aunt Catherine’s Corn Casserole

Z is for Zodiac sign: Cancer on the cusp of Leo

my underwear drawer

panties - thongs

Yes, this is a shameless bid for hits via Google images. What can I say?