"lazzier les bon temps rouler."

Wow It's been a long time since I "blogged".

I promised myself I'd only post happy stuff and the roller coaster that is my life has been in a down mode for a while.

My mood is improving so - I'm back !

The sunflowers are gone.

I harvested them and spread out the seeds for the birds.

This morning I was standing on the porch watching Taneya sniff the grass and a humming bird came within 6 inches of my ear, checking out the morning glories.

This is the way I like nature, in my yard, on my terms. None of that hiking in the woods for me. When I've had enough I just go back inside and turn on the trusty TV. Gotta keep up with Days of Our Lives!

I've been having a "fun" time lately.

Yesterday, for example, I was on my way to a meeting:

Stopped at 7-11 for a quick hot dog and to by a paper. I didn't lock the car because the windows were down and to raise the driver's side I have to use scissors (long story-see previous post) anyway I just popped in.

I got a paper, milk and a hot dog. Almost forgot to "dress" the dog.
Went to the back corner for the toppings, then out to the car.

Got in, put my purse and the food on the seat reached in my pocket - no keys. They were not in my purse or clipped to the side. Went back inside, retraced my steps - no keys. Back to the car, dumped the contents out - no keys. Back inside looked in all the not obvious places, under the cooler etc.

A man was putting stuff on his hot dog and saw my distress. He looked at me questioningly. I told him my tale of woe and as I was saying the keys were not in my pocket, I raised the tail of my shirt to show my pocket. The keys were hanging on the top edge of the L shaped pocket and SOMEHOW I missed them. I thanked the guy wished him a blessed day.

Okay that was fun.

THEN I went to my car, planning to drive to the meeting place, eat my dog then go in a little early. Not meant to be that way . I came out to find an 18 wheel coca-cola truck taking up 4 spaces - its front wheel right in back of my bumper. No way to get out. So I just sucked it up. Waved at the guy acknowledged that he was a working guy just trying to do his job. I told him I'm from a long line of working folk. He said "Thanks I'll be less that 20 min."

Decided God must have a reason to keep me right there, I ate my hot dog and drank my milk, read a little of the paper. About 15 min. later the guy waved, thanked me and got in his truck.

I got to the meeting about 4 min late, found a parking spot right in front - and was not the last one there. Shared my story, people laughed with me. A great ice breaker.

Who knows why this happened. Maybe it was a test. Maybe God was bored and needed a little amusement. My life is just always like this. A "rollie coaster".

When I'm down I try not to despair,

and to listen for the "clicks" that let me know we're going up again.

When I'm up I try to just enjoy and not think about the impending fall.

In French: "Lazzier les bon temps roulier."

In English: "Let the good times roll."

Drama among the Pots

My little guys left their soldiers on my porch.

The kid in me took over and arranged them.

The big hulking soldier found himself at the mercy

of the well armed li'l troopers.

All he could do was throw up his arms and remind

his captors of the Geneva conventions.

When Paulo saw the display he said, "OOOOH awesome. Can I have'em?"

I guess he forgot they were his in the first place.

See - this is why kids ask me "What are you gonna be when you grow up?"

And I always answer "This is grown-up as I'm gonna get!"

Nature at My Door

When we were growing up on 58th Street in Maywood

there were Morning Glories in the rusted corrugated tin fence by the clothes lines. To me they were the best thing about the old place. A splash of beauty in an otherwise dismal yard.

In early Spring they had a packet of seeds at the 99cents store

so I bought'em. I had to make a lattice of string and dowel so

they'd have a place to crawl up and now there's a cascade of blooms

that greet me each, very early, morning when I let Taneya out

for her first constitutional. I have a moment to savor their blooms

then we go back to bed until we get up "for real."

By then the blooms have gone back to sleep

through the heat of the day.

Well I'm just glad I got'em !

Karma in da car

Well some time ago, as I was driving around my neighborhood,
I was nearly crashed into by a nun - twice in the same day!
There is a Carmelite Monastery nearby,
they are a contemplative order.
That means they mostly pray,
taking turns around the clock.
They do go out to run errands, groceries, gas etc.
I know this because I've chatted with them in the market a few times.
My 14 years of Catholic school make it impossible for me to walk by
without saying, "Good afternoon sister."
Then she replies, and sometimes asks if I am a former student
of catholic schools and given my chatterbox nature,
and the fact that I have yet to learn the meaning of the word stranger,
it leads to an interesting chat.
Anyway on the day in question I was entering the CVS parking lot
and out of the corner of my eye I saw a car
coming out of the aisle to my right.
The driver didn't see me and just whoosed past.
I saw the white habit and thought. "A NUN?"
Later, coming out of the lot onto a side street,
I was nearly clobbered from the left - different car - Nun driving.
"Huh?"
I've been driving especially alert since then - watching out for
the revenge of the nuns.
There is one nun still alive who had the challenge
of being my 11th and 12th grade teacher,
she'll tell you it was - interesting.
Well - karma is weird!
Just a while ago my li'l neighbor, Paulo, came running to tell me
there was "a cop in front of the house."
I went to see - yea nosey - I know!
Yes, there was a "cop" - giving a ticket to a . . . nun !
I'll just say hmmmmmmm !

lady bug on the corn

There was a lady bug on my corn stalk today.
What am I doing with corn?
Well, the bird seeds are on a tray and when the birds eat, they scatter it.
Some corn kernels fell into the flower bed where the morning glories are, and sprouted.
So, a few morning glory tendrils are climbing up the corn stalk.
There are also three or four sun flowers.
Because this is a spontaneous and neglected patch of nature, I have many aphids,
and snails and slugs and spiders and ants - laisser faire !
Anyway, as I was saying, I saw a little red lady bug creeping up the corn leaf.
Maybe she'll call her friends and they'll come gobble up the aphids.
I made a trellis-net out of strings, and a dowel, and a pulley
The morning glories are almost up to the beam just under the eaves.
There are some little green buds just waiting to sprout.
I can't wait to see the awesome purple flowers!
Watch this space for pics !

ART, or not.

I have a compulsion to make "art" from bits found around the house. I make a basic object from cardboard, styrofiam, tape, paper, starch, then "paint" it with pieces of torn paper. I don't know if it's really ART, but I just have to do it. More works can be seen at www.tornpaperart.com .

I make boxes, flowers, life representations. I just gotta do it.

My "peeps"

People are always asking my if I miss teaching.

The answer is "Yes and No."

I don't miss the frustration of too many kids and not enough space.

I don't miss a principal who has forgotten what it's like to spend all day surrounded by hyper, stubborn little imps with perpetual runny noses.

Who could miss spilled paint, oozing glue, tripping over crayons, sitting in tiny chairs or the words "Teacher, he's bleeding!" ?

I really do miss the look of awe on a little face looking at a bug, pouring water , listening to a story, chasing bubbles, building with blocks, singing a silly song, discovering the magic of reading.

The two little imps above are my neighbors, Paulo (left) and Dylan (right).

They keep me from missing it all too much.

My door is usually unlocked and they pop in from time to time.

I have toys (blocks, hot wheels, play-dough) and sometimes even popsicles.

Sometimes they just come to say hi or to see what I'm doing, or check on Taneya.

Paulo (6) gets to use my computer to go to kid web sites (he sits on my knee so I can supervise. Dylan (almost 5) is too young for that but he understands.

On the day this photo was taken they were playing "cops" and stopped in to see if I saw which way the robber went.

Like a good citizen I reported, "Yes, He was really tall, wearing a red shirt and black shorts, he had brown eyes, black hair and went (pointing West) thatta way!"

They asked, "Did he have a gun?"

I answered, "um - he had his hand in his pocket." As they started in pursuit, I said "Oh and he had on a blue hat."

"Thanks, ma'am." they said and headed out the door.

Ain't life grand ? ! ?

I gathered rocks

from the shore.

Smooth, wave-tumbled rocks,

changed by the action of the sea-

Tumbled, over and over,

the way life tumbles me.

I'm looking out my front window as I type.
The birds are having a mid-afternoon snack. There's a tall shrub that's just the right size, so I put a tray with assorted seeds out, and within minutes a variety of birds showed up. I'm not very savvy about identifying them but my friends say there are phoebes, sparrows (top pic), pigeons, finches, and doves. (bottom pic)
Amazingly they get along in groups of multiple species or they take turns. I like hearing their little chirpy noises.
I took the photos through the window - had to sit really still and wait for them to come. I know, you're going to say it was hard for me to be still, but I did it - So there ! Taneya gets on the back of the couch and just stares at them. They don't mind unless she makes a sudden move. Then in a flash of feathers - they're gone.

Today June 14 is Taneya's birthday! She's fifteen - my longest "relationship"!

I have known her since she was an eight week old ball of fur. At that time she was in the "custody" of a show handler/trainer. Carol had many dogs and intended to train and breed Taneya for dog shows.

In fact her AKC registered name is - jeepersamIcuteorwhat. (Don't blame me I didn't do it!) Tanya flunked out of the show class because she had too many "flaws". Her ears are too far back, her teeth are crooked and her coat is too soft.

Anyway, I kept telling Carol she had too many dogs and she wasn't spoiling "my Taneya", properly. Finally when Taneya was three, Carol saw the light and said, "I'm going to let you have her - take her and spoil her." And so I have. She is well behaved and earned a "canine good citizen ribbon: during agility training.

Now in her golden years she is the total boss of me and she is only required to look cute - which she certainly does ! WE celebrated her day with a few bites of cheeseburger for lunch and dollop scrambled eggs for dinner. Oops! I am becoming a stereotype going on and on about my pup !

title explained

It just occurred to me that I have failed to explain the title of this blog. In high school our class motto was "veni, vidi, vici" Julias Caesar's famous saying "I came, I saw, I conquered". Well, so far in my life: I came-I am here, I saw-I am aware, almost-a work in progress.

I have discovered a church that lets me express my faith in fellowship with others who accept people as children of a loving God. I can be out as a "lesbian" and it's no big deal. It's a small part of who I am, and I can engage in dialogue with these folks on many topics. It's just so empowering. I am probably going to pursue some kind of ministry in the church. Maybe visiting shut-ins or Eucharistic ministry. WOW !

It's a long long way from the church I grew up in and I thank God I found it.

ps. The photo is one I took from a cliff overlooking the Long Beach harbour.

Have patience with me

Well -
Nothing much going on - took Taneya to the vet. She's got her boosters. Monday she'll go to Pestmart for a "proper bath". We got an excellent burger and shared it at the park in Downey. I'll sign off now while I try to learn how to post pics.

My &*+%$#" car

Sorry - this is a rant.

In 1982 a beige Buick Regal was probably a mighty fine ride to a certain portion of the population, I don't know for sure - I was driving a Camaro at the time. As many of you may know I received the "gift" of said Buick in August of 2006. I paid my auntie $600. "for the tires " and spent another $500 to get it road ready because it sat in her garage for two years. The A/C was kaput and the cost of fixing it outrageous. So I ejnoy long hot Summers. By November I had to buy a new radiator.

It was mostly OK though because I didn't have to ride a bus to the market and laundry, and could use it to drive mom where ever she wanted to go and to drive auntie in deference to mom's request.

Now, however, she's pretty used up and starting to drive me loco. First the right rear turn signal quit and when I had it changed it'd burn out in two weeks. So I get to use arm signals when I turn right. People look at me like I'm nuts, or think I'm waving or giving them a rude gesture. Wierd and exciting at times.

It has a power antenna that would go up when you turn on the radio and down when you turned it off. It quit with the antenna in the up position. At the same time I noticed the dome light and power door locks no longer functioned. I changed the fuse but it lasted only a couple of weeks. Then the passenger side window stopped working, at least it was in the up position. It works sometimes now - but I'm scared of it because I don't want it stuck down.

Well, a few weeks ago the little plastic tab that you push to raise and lower the driver's side window, snapped off. No problem - there's a little hole - so I just stuck a screw driver in an voila!

But the other day the plastic at the top of the little hole cracked! So I could put the window down - but not up. It was dark and raining so I put a plastic bag over the door and slammed it shut.

The next day on my way, in a hurry, to a meeting I stopped to check in the trunk for some other kind of tool. The air hinges that are supposed to hold the lid up, failed and it came down on my noggin - ouch! No serious damage, it's a gift to be hard headed. I finally found a pair of scissors (no I don't know why there were scissors under the seat!) and twisted until I made a little hole in the plastic and finally was able to raise the window. It's all good - except for the fact that I have to actually LOOK at the spot to use the tool and can't do it safely in traffic, sometimes - so I have to be too hot or too cold. (alas poor me) Oh but don't forget I have to have it down when driving to wag my turn signal arm. OH life is just a bowl of cherries - but watch out for the pits !