Like birds in the sky, feelings and thoughts come flying in from nowhere then fly away to who-knows-where.
We think all the time, that’s just what people do. We think….and we feel. Thoughts and feelings go together. We’re convinced by them….we hold on to them…too long, sometimes. Can we let them go to just fly away like birds in the sky.
The thing I love about being by the ocean is all that sky…. and the sand and the sea and the shells washed up on the shore and the seagulls and sea urchins and ocean fishes and sand crabs and sand dollars and the grasses growing on nothing but air and sunlight and I wonder if I could do the same.
The thing I love about being by the ocean is everything.
Just thinking. If I go to the beach from time to time and take my time just walking, looking around, listening, lingering here and there, breathing it all in….if I do all that, maybe I’ll have more time.
The New Math! 🧮 Today’s lesson: 4 + 4 = 1 and 1
Fun with math: math-e-matics…cat-e-matics🙀…meow-e-matics😽…purr-e-matics😻
Focusing on the soft curve of the cobblestone border, I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was kneeling, until a woman passed by and commented, “That’s really something isn’t it—all that ginko.” Only then did I take a good look and see the fan-shaped leaves and orangey-golden fruits. Oh, no! I quickly straightened up and made my way carefully over to the sidewalk. Later, when I got in the car, my nose told me I hadn’t stepped carefully enough. Soon as I got home, I took off my shoes before stepping inside to wash the soles of my shoes, but the smell in my car lingered there another day or two.
“Ginkgo Stinko” is a cheery hoot for those familiar with the stinky smell of crushed ginko fruits, which are often described as being like rotten butter or vomit or dog poop!💩🤥
We were stepping to the rhythm and the beat…. then Dan, eyeing a couple heading our way, grinned and said, “I’ll give you a blessing if you give me five dollars.” The man smiled and replied, “I’ll give you two bits.” “I’ll take it!” We all laughed and walked on. Having fun just playin’ and sayin’!
Taking no chances, fenced in behind two fences, the wood pile packed in so tight you couldn’t get a toothpick in there! 😘
After dinner, we went to the Dollar Store to roam the aisles, just browsing around. It’s a fun thing to do. I chose a box of my favorite tissues, Scottie brand, they’re nice and soft. Dan chose two bottles of antibacterial soap, one for the dishes and one for the hands, and then he found texting gloves. He chose two pairs, green for him and red for me, my favorite color. With touch screen sensitivity, they’ll be handy for staying connected and keeping our hands warm inside while we use our phones outside in the cold. They were a real find!
Here’s what I like about dollar stores. You can count on them for simple household basics from chewing gum to aspirin to candles and cards to aluminum foil to reading glasses and drinking glasses to pet food and people food and socks and envelopes and coloring books and yarn and gift wrap and seasonal holiday doodads. The possibilities are endless, it’s convenient and cheap, and you never know what little surprises you might find in the Dollar Store!
Looking up into the sun makes me sneeze.
Yesterday, on the way home, the unmistakable sounds of geese overhead made me stop and look up at the sky. The glare of the sun was strong….made me want to sneeze….I couldn’t see the geese but kept clicking the camera anyway.
For me, there’s something special about geese in flight, with their loud honking sounds way up in the air and their flying formations all together. I always stop and look up….and watch. I don’t know why but it makes me think of home. My mother grew up in Prague. She once told me that during the war, at the warning sound of sirens, her job was to carry the family’s goose down into the air raid shelter.
Some days going out into the woods can be like walking through a magical mystery show, where the Master Magician, with a wave of its hand, leaves a single leaf 🍁 suspended in mid air at the top of an impossibly skinny little tree….and you stop and stare and say to yourself, “How does that happen?” That’s life!😘
*(Chestnut Hill College from one day to the next)
