The Story in the Wood......

The doors throughout our condo are fun. We began to notice special elements soon after moving in. Pictures in the wood that sparked imagination.

There is the upside-down heart .....  or, depending on your viewpoint, an elephant lying on it's back...or a nose?

 And then the huge butterfly - sadly his wings are caught in the door when it closes.

There is a strange being on the door to my sewing room ..... long pointy nose. Maybe another elephant?

But my very favorite is the one that is on the outside of our front door. An alien being who welcomes our friends and visitors. I love his tall pointy head (reminds me of Saturday Night Live's coneheads!) and the eyes hanging off the sides....they look right at you as you approach!

"Hello earthling....come on inside!"

It Started With a Dish Towel......

As a quilter I find inspiration in many different places. I never know when something will provide me with a good idea for a quilt. I've seen paintings that prompted an idea. Sometimes it is one of Dave's photographs. Sometimes it's a quilt pattern or something in a quilt magazine. Or it's a "copy" of someone else's beautiful quilt at our guild's 'show and tell'. I'll see something and put colors together that I never would have thought of combining.

And then there was that dish towel. My friend and I were exploring shops in The Third Ward down in Milwaukee about a week ago. We weren't really shopping for anything.....just sort of browsing and enjoying each other's company. It was a beautiful November day....perfect for wandering in and out of shops. After going around two blocks we put more money in the meter and kept on walking. We opened the door to Anthropologie......just because I love to see the displays. Whoever is in charge of the wall displays, and imaginative things hanging from the ceiling and decorating the windows has a wonderful imagination.

We slowly walked through the store and I found myself in the housewares section......with some colorful dish towels on display. I took one out, looked at it, re-folded it and put it back. Then another caught my eye. I unfolded it and discovered a beautiful, colorful, rooster-with-an-attitude! And I could not resist.....so off to the cashier I went so I could take the dish towel could home with me.

I wasn't planning to use it to actually dry any dishes! Immediately I could picture this rooster as the basis for a quilt....a wall hanging size quilt. He would give me a chance to experiment with colors I don't usually put into my quilts and use up more of my stash.

I spent a lot of time sitting at my machine this week......and here he is. Since he was sitting in the bottom right corner of the towel I decided to put him at the bottom right corner of the quilt.

Fun....and inspiration from an unexpected source. Keeping my eyes open for the next chance to think outside-the-box!

Comfort.......

There is just something about "old" friendships that just can't be beat. Spending time with someone special who "knew you when"! Memories shared, similar experiences.....conversations started years ago and finished in the present.

My freshman college "roomie" came to visit us for a few days and we had such fun. We met at Ripon....and we both chose that small, liberal arts college for similar reasons. One from Massachusetts, one from Illinois. Both from big high schools feeling rather "lost" and ending up at a small college where we could feel more comfortable and find ourselves.

And I'm glad I found Marcia and she found me! We've never lived close to each other as adults. She spent her adult life working and living in Boston and then retiring to Cape Cod. I jumped back and forth from the midwest to the mid-Atlantic states....so we didn't connect very often with the exception of Christmas cards.

But in the past five or six years we've crossed paths several times.....and re-finding each other has been very nice. So when she planned her trip to see a friend in Chicago she also planned to come up and see us for a few days.

And we did have fun.....in spite of a few mis-steps (arriving in Milwaukee on Monday and planning to have lunch at the Milwaukee Art Museum did not work out so well. Why didn't I remember that most museums are closed on Mondays?!). But plan B was fun so we just continued on. We explored, we talked, we laughed, we walked Fenway, we shopped, we went out to eat, she joined me at my quilt guild meeting. We crammed a lot of fun into a three+ day visit.

So when I dropped her off at the bus to take her back to O'Hare Airport today it was with a little bit of sadness. We hugged....and I told her that as I age, times spent with such special friends means more and more. We plan to see each other again in September 2017.

Time flies....but that seems like a long time between visits!!

Saturation.....

Driving home from Milwaukee today with the car radio on. Listening to news on NPR and then I switched stations to one that features music from the 1980's until today.

And there it was.....Christmas music. Already. It's November 17th and almost 65 degrees outside. I am just so not ready for this yet.

I enjoy holiday songs and know most of the lyrics by heart. But I am just so not ready to sing along just yet.

Back to a country music station.

I know it's just around the corner.....but I am just not ready!

Dissonance......

I've been trying to figure out what I am feeling since election day. Disbelief certainly came to my mind when I woke at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday and found out the results. And ever since I feel like I'm sort of walking in a fog....even though we've been enjoying beautiful, sunny, blue-sky days here in Port Washington.

My social media is flooded with all kinds of political comments and crap....the talking heads are talking and talking and talking....and I find I just can not listen anymore. I keep thinking that this just can't be "my America"....and it isn't.

I'm white, I'm upper middle-class, I went to college, I had good jobs, I enjoyed nice homes,  now I live in a mortgage-free condo overlooking Lake Michigan, I travel, I'm married, our kids are grown/college educated/independent, we are enjoying a comfortable retirement.  That's my America. It doesn't reflect America for so many others....and the left-behinds roared into the polling places on election day responding to a candidate who said, "Only I can fix it."

We're still figuring out "what now"....and it saddens me so to see that we now have can't-argue-with-it-proof that racisim is alive and well all over the United States of America. Individuals who, before election day, might have shared their racist comments only with like-minded individuals, now feel free to scrawl them on school walls, hurl them at the "other" in their neighborhoods. It saddens me to see the protests in the streets although that is certainly a measure of the free speech we enjoy here. It saddens me to see that our peaceful transition from one President to another will not be so peaceful this time....and the whole world is watching.

So again I muddle through the day wondering just what I am feeling......and then I went to the dictionary. The word "dissonance" means a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements.

That's it.....every time I hear the words President Elect partnered with the name Donald J. Trump I feel a ripple of dissonance vibrate through my brain.

For me, I fear it's going to be a very long four years.

Something Positive.....

I've been in a semi-funk since election day.....as has about 50% of the country. But I am trying really hard to avoid all of the Facebook posts....they just make me feel worse. Determined to find the good....and that means looking for another close-to-home volunteer opportunity to connect with people who need a little extra help. A food pantry? A homeless shelter? I'll find something.

I do look back to my quilt guild's annual "Love and Comfort" workshop - where members assemble baby quilts to distribute to area hospitical NICUs. These small quilts are colorful and are designed to drape over the baby's to protect their eyes from the harsh hospital lights. And they also bring a little touch of color, love and warmth to an otherwise sterile environment.

This year we spent our two days assembling 114 finished quilts. The pile grew as the day progressed.....and it was such fun. Conversation, laughter, sewing machines humming at top speed.  We have a tradition where, as each quilt is added to the pile,  quilter gets to ring a cow bell and everyone applauds. We wait for that bell!

It's a small effort....and only helps a little bit. But it does help. The parents who visit their babies in the NICU...who worry and wonder and can't wait to take their newborns home. At least they can walk in and immediately see that someone is thinking about them....and sending healing thoughts their way.

Love and comfort....many of us could use a little more of that right about now.

And the hospital NICU!

Those Special Words.....

It's Wednesday November 9th and the sun came up in the east. I walked Fenway feeling a huge sense of disconnect......America changed during the middle of the night. Our democratic process worked and there was (so far) a peaceful change of power and we have a President Elect....but not the one I expected.

And I think back to just some of his words:

"An 'extremely credible' source has called my office and told me that Brack Obama's birth certificate is a fraud."
"You know, it really doesn't matter what the media write as long as you've got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass."
"I will build a great wall - and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me - and I'll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best.....They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists...And some, I assume, are good people."
"All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me - consiously or unconsciously. That's to be expected."
"What's a Gold Star family?"
"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich."
"My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body."
"The point is, you can never be too greedy."
"My IQ is one of the highest - and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure; it's not your fault."
"Such a nasty woman."
"Why can't we just use nuclear weapons?"
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
"I alone can fix it."
"From a moral standpoint, I believe in it. But you also have to get elected. And there's no way a Republican is going to beat a Democrat when the Republican is saying, 'We're going to cut your Social Security' and the Democrat is saying 'We're going to keep it and give you more."
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay? It's, like, incredible."
"I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me....I would bomb the shit out of them."

And on Friday, January 20th I will watch Donald J. Trump put his hand on a Bible and say the following words: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

And he will walk into the oval office and begin the job of leading this Country. And I will try to respect the office......even if I don't respect the man.

Almost 70.....

For about a month each year I tease Dave that he is married to a "younger woman". He crossed the bridge to 70 at the end of October.....this year I will celebrate the same milestone on Thanksgiving Day.

Recently our daughter asked Dave what he imagined life would be like at 70....and that got me to thinking about my life and what I envisioned it would be. And, oddly enough, looking back I realize I didn't really envision any of it.

I met Dave in college and we married when we were seniors.....so young. And here we are almost ready to celebrate our 49th anniversary. And I didn't really picture what a long-term marriage would look like. My imagination didn't go much farther than the wedding day and graduation. I didn't picture myself as a mom....but had a son and then a daughter and we seemed to learn how to parent along the way.

I didn't picture moving as often as we did from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states. Back and forth as Dave's insurance career developed. I never would have imagined owning eleven homes!

I didn't see myself in any specific career....but found meaningful jobs as the kids grew. I loved selling real estate in New Jersey and felt proud about putting the kids through college. I loved my 15 years in volunteer management. (Working with people who give their time and energy because they support your organization's mission is just the best.)

And if anyone had ever told me that I'd learn to sail, never mind live on a sailboat for two years I would have thought they were crazy. That was never part of any life-plan I might have imagined.

I didn't picture myself as a grandmother....but here I am with four amazing, healthy, bright grandsons!

So maybe not having a life-plan worked out for me.....would it have been very different if I had a master plan to follow? I look back and think that luck played a big part, but so did hard work. Doors closed and others opened.

And day by day my life just "happened". Almost 70 isn't what I expected it to be.....but then again, I didn't really have any expectations about it. I guess I'll just continue to go with the flow and enjoy the life I've got. And share it with those I love....and every day realize just how fortunate I am.

Those Magic Needles.....

For more than two years I've been visiting doctors. My primary care physician, and then lots of specialists. An allergist, a skin doctor, a pulmonologist and a sinus surgeon.  Everyone trying to figure out why I have a persistant cough and constant sinus drainage. I had sinus surgery.  I'm on two different antihistamines and three inhalers. And yet the "health adventure" continues.

I've had x-rays and MRIs......inhalation therapy treatments.....advice about diet.....you name it and I've tried it. I should have purchased stock in companies that produce cough drops.

Now I realize that this, in comparison to many serious health problems, is a minor annoyance. But it is an annoyance....and a frustration. Not only for me but for everyone around me as they are treated to the sound of my "productive" coughing. I'm pleased that the doctors involved have ruled out any really bad diagnoses.....but I am tired of being a "mystery".

So.....off to the acupuncturist I went. I've gone to two other acupuncturists over the years, both times for more muscle/nerve related problems that were not helped by traditional medicine. The first time, while working in Delaware, someone suggested I try it for my bursitis pain. And I did. Six visits.....pain gone and it never came back.  Years later, living in Bay View, I was having difficulty with my wrists. Too much time on the computer at work combined with quilting. Doctors were beginning to talk about carpal tunnel surgery. But I decided to, once again, try acupuncture before surgery. I figured it wasn't invasive and besides....what did I have to lose?

Six visits.....problem gone....never returned.

So about three weeks ago I decided that I would again give it a try....for cough and sinus. I was not sure that it would make any difference since I couldn't point to a specific spot and say "here is where I hurt".....but all my doctor visits with all my well-meaning specialists had not made any difference either.

Here I am, after three treatments and I feel so much better. Hard to explain, hard to understand....but I am better.

My father worked for the American Medical Association. He would have been very dismissive of this "woo woo" medicine. But I figure there are reasons why alternative forms of treatment have been practiced in other countries for centuries.

Those magic needles....no pain, all gain. Next time I have a health adventure I won't wait so long before trying the alternative.