PaD: Glasses

Here is my selection of glasses.  I have already written about my poor vision so these are my standbys.  The wire ones are not bifocals so they are perfect for watching TV in bed.  The red ones are my favorites because they don't make my eyes look so tiny.  The black ones have rhinestones on the temples and were the most expensive.  The red and the black are both no line bifocals.  I really wanted to get a pair of tortoise shell ones when I had my eye exam this year but I could not justify another $500 pair of glasses in my wardrobe.

I wear contact lens every day but it is a good idea to have at least one pair of up-to-date glasses.  Back in 2000 when I was seriously ill and in the hospital for a week, I was stuck wearing my old, big '80's glasses that used to have my initials stuck on the corner of the lens.  It was embarrassing and I promised myself if I lived I would get some new glasses.  The wire-rimmed glasses were bought the next year.

Well, today is April 30th and the last day of my Picture-A-Day challenge.  I have enjoyed doing it.  Hopefully, I will write on my blog more often now that I am in the habit.  See you in May.

PaD: I wore this today

Today I wore a maroon, 3/4 length sleeve top with gray slacks and my magnet necklace made into a bracelet.  I like this top but I don't wear it much.  It is too warm and dark for summer but too light weight and short sleeved for winter.  I have worn it with a jacket but the cute flower detail is covered up, so, what is the point?

I did find out today that a selfie of what you are wearing is more difficult to take than I thought.  Teenagers do it all the time by taking a picture of themselves in the bathroom mirror wearing their PJs or work uniform.  Maybe there is a class they teach in high school about how to take a decent picture of yourself by yourself.

I also wore today my new matching gray and burnt orange workout pants, top and jacket that I got for Christmas.  I have missed the last two weeks of yoga due to a meeting and being out of town.  It was a little difficult to do tree pose with my bum foot but I managed and I looked good doing it, thank you very much, Santa.

PaD: My Sunday

After a very rainy, soggy Saturday, Sunday is somewhat better.  No rain.  Just overcast skies.  No problem.  I plan to stay in all afternoon anyway.  After church and lunch, I kicked my poor feet up and tried to catch up on the three episodes of Project Runaway I have recorded but not watched.  It is my guilty pleasure.  I finished two episodes  and a couple of loads of laundry and baked three loaves of sourdough bread before it was time for a special gospel singing at church.

What has happened to my lazy, Sunday afternoons?  It seems I no longer have time for Sunday afternoon naps, reading or just catching up on TV shows.  Maybe the older I get; the slower I get and it just takes me longer to get everything done.

P. S.  My left foot is much better from the bad fall I took last Sunday afternoon in my daughter's garage.  Still bruised and very tender but healing.  So thankful!

PaD: Earth

I came back from East Tennessee and did one of my favorite things -- I took a walk around the yard checking out the flowers.  The daffodils have faded but the iris are blooming, four different colors.  Everything has shot up in the last week in large part due to the April showers.

This morning there was a downpour as I left for my writer's class.  The driveway and the neighbor's yard were large ponds.  When I got home, the rain had slacked off.  A fat robin was taking a bath in a pool of rainwater standing on the sidewalk.  I tried to take a picture of him (or her) but he was too quick for me.  The earth is totally saturated from the rain with more to come overnight.

I love rain and rainy days.  It cleans the air and caused everything to burst forth with life.  The leaves and grass turns super green and lush.  The trees can drink all they need.  The flowers soak in the rain to feed their blooms.  With my birthday only 18 days away, my peony bush needs the rain to produce its gorgeous pink flowers for my birthday.  There is a reason for the saying, "April showers bring May flowers."

PaD: Childhood

Just in case you have been in a cave for the last couple of months, the video game shown in the picture is Candy Crush.  It is a silly game where the player has to match three pieces of like candy until the assigned task has been completed.  At that point, "Sugar Crush" is announced and floats across the screen followed by Swedish Fish that swim across the candy field popping candy and ringing up your score.  There is no sweeter sound in the whole world.

What is it about American adults that makes us love to play childish games?  Maybe other advanced societies play games as well but certainly adults in cultures where they have to work all day to feed their families don't sit at a computer all day playing a silly game based on popping candy.

I will admit I am addicted to Candy Crush.  I am on Level 88 and am proud of that accomplishment.  Now, why I am proud of that accomplishment, I cannot say.  I don't play sports.  Never did.  I admire and envy people who go out and actually exert physical energy to play a game of sports with other players who are exerting physical energy.  I am somewhat mystified by people who spend time watching games on TV and follow sports teams religiously.  The game that really has me scratching my head is a game based on how the well contestents perform playing fantasy ballgames that are based on a real ballgames.  Believe it or not, there is even a sports segment on ESPN that reports on fantasy ballgames.  Huh?  To me, this is like a Russian doll.  It is one game based on another game that is based on another game.  How lazy can Americans be?

Maybe we are all trying to recapture our childhood.  Life is difficult sometimes.  (See yesterday's post.)  What is wrong with wilying away a few minutes or hours popping colorful candy?  It sure beats trying to figure out who has the best fantasy Candy Crush player.  At least my finger is getting some exercise.

PaD: Life is . . .

Life is . . . like being parked on the interstate.  You know that you should be moving forward but you can't.  You are blocked by some force larger than you or by some emergency, accident or illness.  It is pointless to struggle. 

You are trapped inside.  You want to get out but you are unsure.  Is it really safe out there?  At least inside you are surrounded by your belongings and you are safe.  You can survive inside alone at least for a short time but you wonder what is going on outside.  What are you missing?

You know it is not normal to be stuck but after some time it starts to feel normal until you see other people moving on with their lives.  It is amazing how fast others seem to be moving when you are sitting still.  Everyone is making progress except you.  Everyone is ahead of you.  Can you ever catch up or make up the lost time?

Today I was literally parked on I-40 West due to a tanker accident about a mile ahead of me.  I put the car in park, turned off the ignition and sat contently listening to my XM radio.  After about 30 minutes, I finally got out of the car and we were told to back up, turn around and take a detour since the interstate was closed in both directions.  I followed my GPS, rejoined the interstate and continued my drive home.

Maybe it is just me but I have had times in my life when I felt like I was parked on the interstate.  A memorable time was when I was seriously ill and life had to be put on hold.  I feel like I was somewhat "parked" during the last three years due to my mother's illness.  Not able to go forward or turn around.  (Sort of like the untrained U-Haul driver in front of me today.)  Since her passing in November, I am slowing putting my life back into gear.  I trust my Heavenly GPS.  He knows the path He has for me.  It may be a detour from the path that I had been on but that will be fine with me since I know the path will lead me home.

PaD: I saw this person today

This is my granddaughter dancing in the rain.  Today is my last day in Jonesborough and it was as jam-packed with activities as all the other days!

We went to the country club for her golf lesson but it was rained out.  Her brother was determined to get some putting practice in so he stayed on the putting green after we had run to the van.  By the time he joined us in the van he was soaking wet.  Crazy kid.

On busy days like today I need to remember to slow down and dance in the rain.  Who cares if your clothes get soaking wet if you are doing something that you love?  Life is too short not to enjoy even the rain.

PaD: Time

What a frustrating day it has been!  I spent THREE hours this morning calling a hot water heater company to get a part replaced under warranty.  Suffice it to say, they did not want to cover it under the warranty but eventually did when I jumped through enough hoops.  I thought it would save my daughter and son-in-law a bunch of money and, maybe it did, but the plumber is charging an arm and a leg to do the labor.  What is a mother-in-law to do?  The grands and I have been without hot water for four days and the parents return tomorrow.  This had to get done, folks!

The grands have learned some valuable lessons the last four days:

1.  Having running hot and cold water inside the house is a luxury.

2.  You can get clean in four inches of bath water.

3.  Do whatever you have to do to solve the problem.

I am a "Get 'ur done," problem-solving type person but I must admit I was ready to throw in the towel, a dirty, can't do any laundry towel, this morning.  The American Hot Water Heater Company of Johnson City, Tennessee, almost broke me.  I had all these wonderful plans of things to do while I was visiting this week -- visiting friends, making meals, sewing, reading, etc. etc.  My time has been consumed with solving the hot water heater problem and doing stupid sixth grade Science homework.  It's all good.  It's like I told Turner last night while we were both working on his two hours of Science homework, "In a month this will all be history."  In about 48 hours I will be back home with my snuggle bunny, sleeping in my own bed and missing my grandbabies.  Time is on my side.

PaD: Blurry

Are you kidding me?  With these eyes, everything is blurry.  My glasses are the thickness of the bottom of a Coke bottle and my contracts are 8.5 power.  I started wearing glasses when I was in the fourth grade.  My father thought glasses were a source of revenue for doctors and nothing else.  He found out differently when he could no longer read and needed some himself.

I remember the first time I saw rain.  I had just got my first pair of soft contact lens.  I honestly had never seen the individual drops before or at least that I could remember.  Contact lens also solved the pesky problem of depth perception.  The first time I went to buy shampoo after getting my new lens I thought I was getting a bargain of a bigger bottle.  Jerry told me the bottle was the same size as always.  I also had trouble distinguishing between a soup spoon and a dessert spoon.  That was when Jerry knew why I was never good at tennis.

While in Jonesborough, I have been looking at the night sky.  I have missed being able to see the stars.  The city lights of a metropolitan area like Nashville produces so much light even at night that your eyes can no longer see the dimmer stars.  They are still there you just can't see them.  There are actually very few places on the earth still dark enough that you can truly see all the stars.  (Google it.)  Here in Jonesborough I can see many more stars but they are blurry to me.  I would love to see what the moon really look like.  I need to try out Carson's telescope one of these nights.

One day I will have perfect vision.  Oh, what a day that will be!

Now, let's talk about those eyebrows. . .

PaD: Fire

Today's word is fire.  I did not encounter any fires today.  Thank goodness.  I do have a fire in my belly and it is not acid reflux.  Today was Prayers for Paisley Day at my church.  Paisley is the 9 year old daughter of a friend of mine.  Paisley is very sick and there is no treatment for the disease she has.  That is an unheard of situation with our modern medicine.  Surely there is something they can do.  It turns out her problem is so rare that no one is really even working on it.  There is nothing modern medicine can do so our prayers even more important.

There are a lot of causes in this world to care about.  Many of them may affect a larger number of people than one 9-year old girl but to this one family it means everything.



PaD: On my mind

Today's suggestion for a picture is "on my mind."  There is normally a lot on my mind and I don't care to give you a piece of it.  I suppose anyone who writes a blog on a daily basis feels like they have something on their mind that they want to share.  How do you take a picture of what is on your mind?

Well, today is Saturday and we have just been hanging out today.  We slept late, ate lunch at McDonalds and watched two and a half movies.  The best part of the day was working in the yard with my grands, Turner and Carson.  It was a cool but sunny day.  Their dad had fertilized the yard before they left on vacation.  After two days of rain, the grass had grown and needed to be cut.  We tried to get the riding lawn mower started but the battery seemed to be dead.  So, we pulled out the push mower and Turner mowed the front yard.  We also pulled up weeds and racked the excess grass clippings.  It was an awesome afternoon.

On my mind now is a shower and we seem to be out of hot water. . . 

PaD: Button

Buttons!  Buttons!  Buttons!  I have been driving my daughter's van around for the last three days.  It took several tries to get the air conditioner working.  I think Turner had pushed too many buttons.  I have also figured out how to open the sliding side doors although I don't always get the correct side the first time.

I am also being "button-challenged" by the four remote controls necessary to work the TV and satellite system.  It was two days before I was able to find the simple network channels.

So, we are getting the hang of things.  I am finding my way around Jonesborough though I have to take directions from an eight year old.  She is actually better at giving directions than the eleven year old who waits until I am at the street before he tell me to turn and then has to tell me to turn around.  He doesn't think I know how to drive the van.  Hey, I got it.  I am in control of these buttons.

PaD: Hello!

Well, hello, there.  This is Ace, my min-pin granddog.  I am staying at my daughter's house to take care of my grandchildren but Ace comes with the rest of the family.  It is fairly well know that I am not a dog person.  Actually, I am not much of an animal lover in general.  I am fine with them from a distance.  It is up close where it gets, well, hairy.

I had a pet dog when I was a teenager.  He was a black dachshund named Tiny.  I loved him dearly and cried a bucket of tears when he came to an unfortunate end while chasing a "girlfriend."

When our girls were young, we had a cocker spaniel named Heather who had a liter of puppies.  We kept an especially cute one we named Speedy.  Cocker spaniels are not the smartest breed nor are they the best dogs to have on a farm.  Heather and Speedy both got a little too close to the busy road in front of our house.  That was the end of our dog ownership.

So, I am here with Ace while the kids are away at school.  We have established an easy working relationship.  I take care of him and he doesn't lay in my lap.  I even gave him a tiny bit of scrambled egg yesterday.  He is growing on me.

PaD: Busy

For the next week I am staying with my grandchildren and my granddog while their mom and dad are in New York City on a trip my daughter won at her work.  In my normal life, what I think is a busy day is not really a busy day!  It is not even 8 p.m. and I am ready to go to bed.  I don't know if it helped or hurted that it has rained all day and Turner's golf match and Carson's golf lesson were both cancelled.  We went for frozen yogurt and stopped

by the grocery store instead.  Jeepers, I forgot how much trouble two kids can get into at a store.  You would think by the age of 11 and 8 they could control themselve just a bit.  Must have been the sugar from the yogurt. 

We are now working on sixth grade homework.  What happened to the idea of giving questions drawn from the material?  His social studies questions were based on a video not the book.  The science questions are in a workbook.  Maybe there is a book but I haven't seen one.  Luckily, math was not complicated tonight.

To help me stay on task, my daughter wrote out a schedule for me with all the places I am suppose to be and when I am suppose to be there.  So, yes, you can say I am busy.

PaD: Your favorite color

Today the picture of the day is of my favorite color - pink.  The picture it is of a redbud tree.  Now, yes, the blooms on redbud trees are not red and I don't know why they are called redbuds.  (I have had this conversation with my grandson recently.)  Redbuds are the first blooming tree of Spring in Tennessee.  The splash of pink here and there mixed in with all the bright green, new foliage was very lovely as I drove to East Tennessee this afternoon.

I don't wear much pink unless it is a brighter shade that compliments my pale skin but pink has been my favorite color since I was a young girl.  I even have a set of pink china that I dearly love.  My table is set with it right now.  Maybe a girl never gets over her fascination with pink. 

PaD: Alone

Do you see anyone in that booth?  No, neither do I.  I am sitting at a local coffee shop ALONE when I am supposed to be doing a Medicare presentation with a guy that called me to set up an appointment TWICE.

I hate being stood up.  Don't you?  It happens to me more than you can imagine.  I guess since I don't have an office and I have to meet people at public places they feel if they don't show up it is OK.  What I hear the most is, "Oh, I forgot."  Well, do you make an appointment with your doctor and not write it down somewhere?

It is partially my fault.  Years ago when I first started selling I was advised not to call to confirm appointments because people will overwhelmingly cancel if you call them to confirm.  Also, when I make an appointment with someone, even weeks in advance, I put it on my calendar and show up.  I really must start calling people to confirm their appointments.  I like my own company and usually don't mind being alone but it needs to be on my terms!  Being alone in the middle of productive work time is a waste of time and money.

PaD: Water

The word for today, Sunday, April 14, is water.  When I saw that the word "water" fell on a Sunday, I thought it would be cool if I could get a picture of a baptism today.  I was not surprised (well, maybe a little) when the pastor said there would be two baptisms today.  If you ever wondered if God has a sense of humor or cares about the little things, let me assure you, HE DOES.

I don't think the water "saves" you or why would Jesus have needed to be baptized.  I believe immersion in baptism is an outward expression of the inward repentance that has already taken place in your heart.  Being buried under the water and being resurrected into a new life is a wonderfully simple yet profound thought.  Kind of like water itself.  We take water for granted; yet, we cannot live without it.

PaD: View from your bed

After fighting the idea for months, I started sleeping with a CPAP about a year ago.  I still hate it.  What an aggrevation to sleep with a hose?  I do sleep better.  There is no argument about that.  Jerry likes it because I sleep quieter.  I do refuse to let anyone see me in the mask.  Aging is not pretty so why add to it by having a large gray hose hanging from your nose?  It is humiliating.

My sleep is also disturbed by light so I keep an eye mask by the bed as well.  When I wake up to the sun, I take off the CPAP mask and put on the eye mask.  My grandkids have become quite fond of the eye mask idea and now have their own.  That is just how we roll.

(Shout out to my friend, Lisa Dreher, whose promotional coaster is also by my bed.)

PaD: In the middle

I was born in the middle.  My sister is five years older and my brother is four years younger.  I am also the shortest with the thickest glasses.  Sort of the runt of the family.  I think because of this I have always tried harder, striving to get attention from either my parents, my siblings or just people in general.  I am driven to matter, to be heard, to be understood.  At my age, you would think those things wouldn't matter to me any more but, guess what, they still do.

Tonight is date night so my husband and I are going downtown to attend a Nashville Predators game.  I belong to our local chamber of commerce.  (Former secretary, board member, chairperson -- can you imagine why?)  Our chamber has arranged a block of tickets for the Nashville Predators ice hockey game.  We are encouraged to ride the local commuter train into downtown Nashville for the game as a way to highlight this wonderful mode of transportation available in Hermitage and Donelson.  So, I bought tickets for the game and the train.  Problem is:  train leaves too early for working folks (5:07) or next train arrives too late (7:30) to get there in time for the game (7:00).  Bummer!  

Crowds like the one tonight at the game are always a challenge for me because of my short stature.  So, tonight I will be in the middle of the crowd, in the middle of the seats and in the middle of the action.  (Preds lost 5 to 2 -- only action was one fight.)

PaD: Detail

My mom passed away last November.  Today I took care of one last detail for her -- I filed her last tax return.  She owed nothing, of course, since she had spent $58,000 to pay for her nursing home care in 2012.

I had been putting off this last act of my mother's care.  I have been taking care of every detail of her finances since our dad died in 2003.  That's ten years.  I have sweated each and every cent that went out of her funds since I knew they had to last her until this day.  They lasted.  As my dad always wished, their money and their lives came out equal in the end or almost equal.  There were a few dollars left for my sister, brother and me.

 

Thanks, mom and dad, for a life well lived in all ways including financially.  You have set a high standard for all of us.

 

PaD: A place

The place I chose for today is my garden.  I so enjoy spending time in my backyard garden.  Sometimes I just wander around checking out what is blooming or what needs to be done in the yard.  During the last few days since the weather has been over 70, the fish have started to swim in my pond.  That means it is time to get back into a routine of feeding them and cleaning out the filter every couple of days.   Daffodils that I planted last year are now blooming and they are beautiful.  There are some with a pink center that are especially pretty.  The cherry trees in the front yard are also blooming and full of bees.

It is still a little too early for bedding plants or potted veggies.  I planted some lettuce seeds in my containers about three weeks ago but I think it has been too cold on them.  I will probably have to sow another round of seeds to get any lettuce this year.  Around the end of the month, I will make a trip to Home Depot for flowers to fill my pots.  That is when the garden will begin in earnest.

I don't know what it is about this place but it just makes me happy.

PaD: Tiny

My dad used to say he could have built a wing on the church if he had saved all the money he found in streets and parking lots.  Well, I didn't find any money today on my walk to the gym but I did find this small, blue toy soldier.  He is the same kind of guy my grandson, Turner, used to stage mock battles all over my house when he was here for a visit.  I would find them days later in very odd places.

But blue soldier man was not tiny enough for today's Picture-A-Day assignment so I kept looking down and started noticing an abundance of tiny blue flowers.  They look like a miniture pansy or viola.  Blue soldier man is using the field of tiny violas as cover against the invading forces of. . .hum, crickets?  More blue soldiers?  The army of people out walking the neighborhood tonight in this glorious 80 degree sunshine?

My advise to you is not to go through life looking down for the occasional penny or blue soldier man.  Instead, look up and smile into the faces of your friends and family or the other neighborhood walkers with whom you are sharing the road.

PaD: On my plate

I love leftovers.  To me it is like being at a restaurant that only serves your favorite foods.  I can pick and choose just what I want to eat.  I love it!

Yesterday was the Odum After-Easter Family Dinner.  Since everyone brought food, I only had deviled eggs, salad and mashed sweet potatoes left.  We also had leftover pizza from last night's Bible study group.  There were also a couple of slices of Key Lime pie.  What a treat to just walk into the kitchen and serve up a salad and pizza with no planning what to make or waiting for delivery.  I love it!

Jerry, on the other hand, hates leftovers.  We had similar childhoods but since he had two older brothers maybe they ate all the food and they had no leftovers.  I can remember eating cold pinto beans right from the refrigerator.  Now, before you judge, you need to try them.  They are especially good with a little ketchup on them.  Jerry would rather eat a cold sandwich than hot leftovers.  Not me.  I love leftovers!

PaD: Dreamy

I almost forgot my photo for today because it has been a long but wonderful day spent with family and friends. We started the day early by attending church.  It was such a thrill to have our whole family there together on the same pew.  All of us except Todd, our son-in-law.  We hurried home to start preparing food since my family, most of them anyway, where coming over for our after-Easter family lunch.  There were 14 of us all together setting around two tables.  Some how we squeezed ten in around the dining table adored with lovely tulips eating off our mother's china.  To me there is nothing more wonderful than the sound of a loud family enjoying each other's company.

 

The party slowly moved to the deck where family dragged up chairs that have not been used since last fall to just sit and enjoy the beautiful warm weather and each other.  People finally started drifting away including my daughter and grandchildren who had a long trip home to East Tennessee.  It left the house quiet and the kitchen full of dirty dishes.  Jerry and I dove in and got them all cleaned and put away so we would have a little time to rest.

In the evening our friends came for our small group Bible study.  More conversation, laughter and food.  More dirty dishes that will just have to wait until Monday.

At the end of it all, there was just Jerry and I, tired but happy.  It has been a perfect day.  A perfectly dreamy day.

PaD: Air

Air!!!  How do you take a picture of air?  It is all around me.  I breathe it in constantly without even thinking about it.  That is until pollen season arrives.  Thus, to represent air I present a picture of the pear trees in full bloom in my back yard.  After being outside just a little while, my eyes are burning slightly.  Soon all the cars will be covered with a thin layer of green dust.  Pollen!  The bane of our existence but something we must endure in order to have all our wonderful trees and flowers.

It has been a glorious day in the 70's.  I have enjoyed being able to just wear a shirt with no coat!  Having my daughter and grandkids here is wonderful, too.  We all loaded into Jerry's car, picked up our other daughter, Kelly, and spent the morning at the mall doing summer clothes shopping for the grands.  I can't ever remember the six of us being together like that.  It was a fun morning and one I will remember for a long time. 

PaD: Something good

Today's picture is of something good.  How much better can you get than a picture of a Mallard couple floating across a slimy green pool at our local club?  Have you ever wondered who swims in the pool the nine months when you aren't?  Ducks evidentally.

This has been the first warm, sunny day we have had in quite a while.  Everyone has had a severe case of cabin fever during these snowy, rainy, dreary Spring days.  We needed to get out and take advantage of the warm day so I took my eleven year old grandson, Turner, and his buddy over to the club so they could shoot basketball.  We all enjoyed it.  It has been a good day.

It is profitable to ponder something good.  We need to think about what good has happened in our life every day because even on days we consider "bad" there is always some good in it.  Enjoy the good!

PaD: This happened today

Today my grandkids and their mom came for a long weekend.  They live in East Tennessee and any visit is very precious to me.  It is their Spring Break and we are also celebrating a late Easter.

My granddaughter was excited by the Aflac version of the classic game, "Operation."  I asked her if her mom had a version from her work.  She rolled her eyes at me.  Of course, not every insurance company has their own version of "Operation."

Right now we are in my offfice playing secret agent.  For those of you that know my obsession with James Bond, knows this is right down my alley.  My grandson is the code breaker and my granddaughter is a field agent trying to crack a "lock" on my file cabinet.  Hum, what character can I be?  Here is my chance to be a Bond girl so I need a cool name!

OK, that is what happened today.

April PaD: something beginning with AFLAC!!!!!

I am doing an employee benefits fair tomorrow so I borrowed the medium-sized Aflac duck from my regional manager.  (Yes, there is a bigger one.)  Today, the Aflac duck has been riding around town with me.  I got a strange look from the lady parked beside me at Publix; then, I remembered I have a large stuffed duck sitting in the front seat of my car.

This year marks my tenth anniversary as an independent health and life insurance agent with Aflac.  It is quite an accomplishment.  Sales in any industry is hard but many folks don't make it to six months in the insurance business so I am proud to say I have made it ten years.  Some years have been really good.  Most of the awards in my office are from 2006.  I had a terrific gal in my district who was an insurance selling machine.  She moved to New Mexico in 2007.  With my mom's health and the poor economy, I am not winning any awards but I am still chugging along.

My longest tenure any where was the eleven years I worked for Philips Semiconductor.  Maybe I will make it twelve with Aflac.

April PaD: Blue

Today's word is blue.  I have a strange fascination with blue and white pottery.  You will find it in every room of my house.  OK, wait, not the bathrooms but it is hanging on the walls of my office.  Plates are displayed on the wall and in the china cabinet in the dining room.  Two tiny plates hang in the kitchen.  Various blue and white objects are on display in every book shelf in my house.

I know when it started.  I worked for the Dutch electronics giant, Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors), from 1981 to 1992.  As a part of my job, I HAD to make several trips to The Netherlands (Holland).  On one of these trips, they gave me a Delft plate made specifically for Philips.  That did it.  I have been hooked ever since.  On every trip to Eindhoven, I would pick up some piece of blue and white pottery.  Some are plates like the one above but some are windmills or Dutch shoes.

Any one who knows me well knows about my obsession.  A secret pal (Flo Waddell) years ago gave me a complete set of Willow dishes which is an English pattern depicting an Asian scene.  I cherish them and remember her every time I set a blue and white table.  My eye is always drawn to new pieces but, honestly, how much blue and white pottery does a person need?

It is crazy really.  I don't wear much blue.  I don't decorate with blue.  Another hobby of mine is geneology so I am always looking for a Dutch connection.  I do have a many English distant relatives though.  Maybe that explains my blue and white pottery fascination. 

April Photo A Day - play

My friend posted about doing a photo a day for every day in April.  She included a list of what each day's picture is to be about.  Today's picture is for "play."  Now, just seeing the word "play" evokes some strange thoughts for me.  Such as lazy.  You see my parents didn't "play."  I don't think anyone from the Greatest Generation did.  They had to work to survive the Great Depression and WWII.  My father's sports were fishing and watching NASCAR.  When you want to know why I never learned to throw a ball, that's it.  Did my mom ever play?  Do you call sewing or crocheting play?

It seems that when I think about my parents and play all I can come up with are activities where they produced something that could either be used to feed or clothe the family.  Maybe that is why I have such a hard time with play myself.  My sister, brother and I have discussed the word "lazy" on many occasions.  I consider many of the games adults play and take very seriously as a waste of time.

I do have some hobbies -- writing, photography, geneology, yoga.  I guess you would consider those things play.  I go to yoga class once a week on Mondays.  So, it was appropriate that for the word "play" I look a picture of my yoga mat.  So relaxing, so good for my body, mind and spirit.  Good play.  To honor the word of the day, I think I will go spend a few minutes on my new favorite form of play, a video game called Candy Crush.  It is a total, absolute waste of good time.