A Desert Hike
On Friday we went to a wildlife refuge north of here. We led a hike for a group we belong to. We had a total of 19 which for me is the limit on these hikes. On Thursday the wind blew hard through this area so we were anticipating tumbleweeds strewn across our path but we lucked out. Had a beautiful day and ate our lunch on top of a mesa.
Composting
In a comment on a blog I stumbled upon this wonderful site.
Naomi talks about
composting with red worms in her apartment in NYC.
I am so impressed. Here, on my block, in a fairly well to do town, we are the only ones who have a compost pile. We have had it since the day we moved in - almost 30 years ago. We have the best dirt in the world if I can say so. But the best part is how little goes out in our garbage can. We have one can allocated to us. It maybe has one bag a week in it. My neighbor always uses it when hers gets filled. I said ok when she asked if she could use it. At the same time, I suggested that recylcing would eliminated her problem altogether. She ignored that. She even puts leaves in it!!
I just don't understand it. I though that the current generation and the boomers, who grew up hearing the words ecology and recycling would be totally into this but they are not.
Friends think it is "cute" that I have a bowl by the sink where all vegetable matter goes. No, there is no smell.
And don't get me started on drying clothes outdoors. I have my original clothes dryer as I hardly ever use it and never do once March is here. In this dry hot climate where we live, my clothes dry in less than an hour! And did I mention how clean they smell? Life is good.
And read the rest of Naomi's site. Knitting and crafts also add meaning to her life - and to mine.
Trying new things
I am beginning to wonder why I keep on trying new things. This week, I was equally inept at both Spanish and ice-skating.
It is hard to remember all the new words we get in Spanish although I do have a good handle on conjugating verbs. I really need a couple of months in Mexico! Some of us have been casually talking about this and maybe it will materialize.
And ice-skating - first I hate to fall and Alex wanted us all to fall and get up. Apparently this is on the list of things you need to do in order to pass the first phase in the syllabus (?). I did not do it although I have been practicing at home and may try in on Tues. Then after gliding, he demonstrated edging and cross-overs -presuming we were all good at skating on one foot. We responded with a deer-in-the-headlight look! My new skates have been ordered. Maybe they will help.
It is 14 degrees outside this morning and expected to stay cold for awhile - the good thing is that the sun is shining.
Reply to Jane
I thought that I would put this reply here instead of in comments to Jane's blog. She posted today on her
plans for the future. Simply put (and one should read the whole thing), she is looking for a stress free life which will give her the ability to do things she enjoys doing. And while that sounds like what everyone wants, in truth, that is not the case. Most people in our country do want to make big money and spend it big time. And most people just accept stress as the price.
Jane,
I thought that since I am probably the only one in the family that can look back from the position of a career that paid well, I thought I should weigh in on your blog. I started out to be a high school teacher and student taught high school history. I am not sure I would have made a very good teacher. And I know that I do not (or ever did) know history like your mother does. When I hear her talk about her classes and what she is doing, I am in awe of her. Plus I know she really knows history - must be that insatiable curiosity she has. In any case, the computer world was just taking off and ads for Computer Programmer Trainees attracted me.
I started work programming and hated my first job. I would look up from my desk and see a sea of heads in a very large room - all pouring over coding sheets - that was the way it was in big companies. My next two jobs were far better. I was on my own essentially. And I loved solving puzzles which was what programming was (and still is) about. Time off to raise two kids was good but quite frankly, I missed work. I was lucky and found work near home (5 min). A great job with good people. And I did it all including being on call for systems problems at night to writing performance appraisals.
Your grandmother once said to me, Keep life simple. I always quoted that and tried to incorporate it into my life. It is not easy with so many pulls away from it but I think, in our family, we are more able to do it than most people because we have well grounded values. Big houses and waste are actually abhorrent to us. (And yes I know we have 2 airplanes but lots of recycled parts!)
I think you are wise to identify what you want. I always use to tell workers who asked me for advice (or on those dreaded appraisals) to think of where you wanted to be in 5 years. It doesn't mean you will get there but you have a road map. And most important keep yourself open to change. You have already found that certain kinds of stress do not agree with you and you are smart to know that early on. We too have seen people work in awful circumstances and die with heart attacks or even commit suicide. When George retired at 55, I could hear your grandmother's voice lamenting the fact that I was still working while he was off doing his own thing. Quite honestly, he had a plan and I was enjoying work so it was ok. And he with the phd. (and yes, they are worth something in the sciences) wanted to be a mechanic for awhile. I am so glad he did it at 55 as it does get harder the longer you wait. Now he is going to machine shop classes every day at the local community college - maybe he just loves being a student - which is ok.
I was nervous about my retirement but I decided to just "see what happens" - and every day I now get new opportunities to not just enjoy life but to do meaningful things. I think it has to do with being open to what is out there.
Your cousin, George, does not take stress well either. And for now he likes his low stress job. It gives him time to read and study Japanese which he likes. He is doing ok.
The most important point is that life is short and definitely do not tie yourself in knots with something that you don't like. Trust your gut. And be open to change as I suspect that you will not spend the rest of your life in SE Georgia but maybe it is not a bad starting point. And I don't think you will ever be a hermit. You have good friends who won't let that happen.
Aunt Mary
Signs of Spring and the cat
A crocus is blooming on the south side of the house and the sun is shining. The temp should be near 50 today. Brie just likes to lie in the sunny spots around the house. And chase balls of yarn that I have left lying around for her. She will not let me alone when I am knitting - those strands of yarn moving every which way are just too much fun! At first we had all these rules for Brie - no getting up on counters and no sleeping with us at night. Well forget all of that - she now rules the house. She likes to sleep on a couch with a teddy bear at night but always manages to snuggle in with us in the morning. She likes to get up on the kitchen counter for a better view of the birds and to find out what's for dinner. Such a life.
This morning I am going to walk up Badger with a few friends. Then we are picking Kim up at the airport from her week in Mexico and will fly her from here to her place up the valley. Tonight is a "Sweetheart Ball" at the Eagles. The good thing is that lots of singles come and everyone dances. I hate the idea of this sweetheart thing as while it's nice to have a partner, it is more important that everyone is included in having fun. And, in our case, we have more friends who are single than married.
All this keeps me away from the news which is just getting more contentious. Hearing Mike Brown yelling, hearing about all the continuing FEMA problems, seeing people still without housing - it all makes you wonder why we bother with hearings - just fix the problem. And then all this Middle Eastern stuff. Last night a friend told me her daughter was going to Mongolia by herself and mom was worried - I said I thought it might be the safest place out there and it sure sounded like a lot of fun - she would be traveling on horseback and sleeping in tents.
And one final thing found on the Time Goes By site:
Daily Show's Jon Stewart's spoof of Bush:
Camera cuts to a recent Bush speech, of Bush proclaiming: "I don't like doubt." Camera cuts back to Stewart in apelike Bush stance: "It hurts mah think-bone."
