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Pix from yesterday's time in the country...

 

 

 

 

First Snow Nov 2008 Highway 151

 

It's been a long month - but 'one day at a time' right?

So... my favorite part of the day today was during my daughter's tutoring session when she was trying to blend phonemes (sounds) to creat the word 'Mask'. -mmm - aaaa - ssss - kkkk. The tutor said each sound with a space between them, then asked her to blend them together into a word. She had trouble so the tutor left a shorter space. My daughter still didn't get the whole word, but she got a funny smile on her face and asked: Did you just say the A-word? I laughed so hard! She wasn't all the way successful, but her brain was working on blending!

Return to LVM...

While my daughter was undergoing her dyslexia and language processing testing, I treated myself to some fresh fall air in my old neighborhood. There is a conical mound in the woods near my childhood home that I used to go to by myself. In those days it wasn't identified as an official Indian Mound, but I knew it was a very special place. Here's a few pictures I took there today.

The leaves are so colorful - I tried to catch a few with my camera before the rains and wind whoosh them all away

It's a tough one...

I suppose today's favorite part of the day would have to be when I found out I don't have skin cancer. My sister and my dad have had it and I figured it was time to be checked over by a professional. Done! One less thing to worry about for a while. Plus, I got some good suggestions for sensitive skin products!

And...then I was able to take a picture because the rain had stopped, even though the skies were gray.

Spelling Practice

Amazingly, I enjoyed the spelling practice this evening. My daughter has dyslexia and her spelling list is a bit too random to be easy, so we turn it into a wider educational adventure -- discussing the rules involved in the weird words and the strange idioms they sometimes live in. Here are the sentences she came up with (with the spelling word in parentheses) -

Her mom yelled at her. (her)
"After you," I said when I opened the door. (after)
Matt is playing a song about you. (about)
These dogs are barking. (these)
Can I have your phone number? (number)
I sleep on my pallet. (pallet)
Sometimes I'm sad. (sometimes)
The quarters are on the table. (quarters)
Honestly, I was honest to my friend. (honestly)
I was taking care of business. (business)

A few moments at Cherokee, a baby exhibiting true relaxation

It's challenging for me to think of this as a positive day, but there really WERE some nice moments...

I love this man! Andrei Codrescu did an EXCELLENT piece on NPR yesterday.

Suzy's Blog!

What a lovely entertainment from a new old friend on Facebook (college roommate...)

Luminiferous Ether

Reading, Learning, Letting Go

I'd have to say my favorite part of this day just happened a few minutes ago as my daughter willingly read out loud to me for 20 minutes from Stuart Little 2 - The Movie Storybook. Fluency, word attack for longer words, excitement for exclamation marks! Such a simple time but such joy it gave me, as we have been struggling for so many years. What's different? I'm sure she has dyslexia, so I'm helping her break things down to break up the syllables and see the connections in figuring out "weird words." She's trying, she's really trying. I think she knows that I'm trying to help her too so that things come a little bit easier for her during this schoolyear.

The second favorite part of the day was talking to Jackie Carter about doing dyslexia testing. She also mentioned that it sounds like she might have a Language Processing Disorder. She said there are a lot of modifications that can be made to her instruction that will take more time than just reducing the number of questions to answer... I'm grateful that I'm going to have someone in my corner on this. I think we are going in the right direction. My daughter and I are both very willing to work, but we need to also have good communication and cooperation with what's going on at school. That's something I need a professional to back me up on. Maybe, just MAYBE things will get better.

The letting go part Jackie also helped me out with today. I'm starting to forgive myself for not getting more help for my daughter earlier. I did the best I could at the time. The professionals in her life just weren't coordinated and aware enough about her particular mish-mash of "issues," and I freely admit there are many. I think I'm almost ready to just forgive us all and move on -- there is no conflict, only an ever-increasing circle of cooperation.

Smiling Baby Blessing

 

Getting a few sweet smiles from Baby Abby

This was so wonderful today at church. I've been feeling kind of out of it, but this baby's smiles when she heard my voice and looked straight into my eyes really made me feel good. This photo was taken a few seconds later but you can still get the idea. I just love those Buddha Babies!

Lunch at Lao Laang Xang

Very tasteful, very quiet, but visually interesting. Very nice waitress with a pretty smile. A man came in and sat at a table looking out the window where there were a lot of plants. He pulled out his sketch journal and grabbed a pen and began sketching. He looked nice and seemed like a good person, so when I was done eating I asked to look at his sketch and he asked me if I was artist too when I commented on all of the interesting lines in the plant he had chosen. Very unusual for me! But it felt good. Then I left, thanking him, and that was it.

The Lunch Cart Experience

Okay, so I felt patient enough for my 2 veggie spring rolls again. While I waited, I saw a butterfly (big and monarch-like) fly around and then start climbing upwards. Up, up, up, above the buildings (6 or 8 stories high!) around and swooping and fluttering, out of view, into view. My goodness! I never knew butterflies would fly up that high. What was it looking for? Perhaps the nearby rooftop garden has some attractive flowers. Maybe butterflies enjoy warm sunshine too. Maybe it just liked the view. How wonderful.

Thistle Flower

Took a sunshine and photos walk...

The crickets were very loud! The butterflies and bees were very busy! The sun was bright and the air was warm. I think this video from my little camera is a little blurry but you can still follow the white winged creature.

Connecting with Turkey, the country

Someone in Turkey bought one of my zazzle designs. How cool is that?

Walking in the sunshine - not too hot, not too cool

Shopping at the Willy St Coop after work - all by myself

It was so peaceful. So many people smiled at me. I could make choices about what I wanted without interference from outside forces. Fast food that's not full of total crap. Ah. It was a spiritual experience for me...

Find out more:

Lunch with my good friend KB!

It's never too late to celebrate your birthday in my book, so I really enjoyed celebrating my birthday 2 months late today. Here is my beautiful friend's picture. Although it was taken a few (maybe 20) years ago, she looks almost exactly the same due to her healthy lifestyle and kind manner.

Blessed be.

Glamour Girl Postcard
by

Poetlady

Create postcards online at zazzle.com
See more Vintage Historical Postcards

Was designing a new card...

I was going through lots of photos on the computer and this one made me go - "OOO" so I turned it into a card and added one of my favorite poems.

Painted Sky With Change Poem Card
by

Poetlady

Make your own photo cards online with Zazzle
See more Spirituality Inspirational Cards

Talking with Eden who is turning 6 on the 13th while waiting for lunch

I was waiting for my 2 veggie spring rolls from the cart just off The Square in Madison over my lunch hour yesterday and in front of me in line were a man and his little daughter. The man had many tatoos and he seemed very kind. The daughter had long brown hair and was jumping all over the place. Another man in line in front of me wished her happy birthday because she had one of those birthday star badges on. We all started guessing how old she would be and if she would have cake etc.

Now, let me explain. I like the food at this cart a lot and I think it's probably a healthier choice for lunch than other options, so sometimes I go there. I can only go there when I am feeling patient, though, because they make your order while you wait and the people who work there do not move quickly. No.

They move s-l-o-w-l-y.

I only have, technically, 45 minutes for lunch and it takes me 5-10 minutes to walk there and 5-10 minutes to walk back, so I usually start to feel some anxiety if I have to wait in line for more than a minute and a half for my lunch. But with this place, the people in line are usually so interesting that I use the opportunity to practice being in the present moment. I try to remember to breathe. I really look at the people and things around me. I feel the air on my skin. I watch the clouds move by. I make up stories about the people walking by. I talk to strangers. I even sometimes run through a lovingkindness meditation. Then, when my food is finally ready. I take it back to my desk to sit down and enjoy it as mindfully as I can.

So, even though I think I waited a REALLY LONG TIME for my food yesterday it was quite worth it because I also got to reconnect with the world around me and really APPRECIATE my food. Amen.

Is right now -

Check out this video about enjoying the moment -

Joanne's Joy

Yesterday I had a truly wonderful moment. I was talking with the woman who runs Fired Up Pottery in Cottage Grove and I showed her one of my poetry cards and she loved it. She said "that's how I try to live my life" and so I gave it to her. Now I am inspired to buy more cards and keep handing them out to people I meet...

Sunshine, sunshine and more sunshine

I was so glad to see the sun this morning again! After our very long winter with more than 100 inches of snow, (and a few flakes on Saturday!) I need as much sunshine as I can get.

Jump Right In!

My favorite part of the day today was my 15-minute walk through the labyrinth in the early morning sun before my fasting bloodtest. The birds were chirping. The air was warm. I was all alone on a hillside with no time pressures. I want to hold that picture in my heart...

The Days Roll On

March 13 (today) - I'm grateful for the sunshine and friends who call and send emails when I'm down and I'm glad that I can get over being down too.

March 12 - Warmer weather

March 11 - Nice funeral service for my Aunt Joanne and connections with family members I don't usually have much time for. Grateful for my friend who minded the kid while I was gone. My sister really liked the poem

March 10 - Very glad that I could just vegg out after a day at work, lots of ongoing grief and still trying to get in sync with the time change - I wrote a poem for my aunt that I was happy with

A difficult short day - I'm glad it's almost over

Oh yeah, one of those... and I did have a JOYFUL time playing a game of "Simon Says Water Aerobics" with my daughter and her friend at the new Y... AND my daughter DID get her braiding completed today with no tears... And my friend liked the magnet I sent her from my zazzle site and said I could add it to my site... zazzle.com/poetlady*

See? It was a pretty good day after all.

Wow, how time flies!

March 8 (today) - loving portion of the day with a friend who doesn't mind me babbling on and on about my past, my family, and my dreams... and discovering a great new junk shop nearby - came home with 4 mirrors, two frames and more little stuff all for under $5.

March 7 - falling asleep easily

March 6 - Hm... an email from Ruth?

March 5 - A day ending

(Can you tell I'm in my hut? I'm trying to put a positive spin on a lot of sad experiences I've had lately and losses...)

March 4

Hah! March forth! Get it? I'm having a hard time today coming up with my favorite part of the day. I'm not sure why. I think it was my phonecall with my friend Mary. I got to be the listener for a while and that felt good. We are all on this journey and more than ever I am feeling like there are all of these paths and we all have messages for each other and we can all help each other and enjoy each other and find the beauty in life. Oh! That reminds me -- there was a really magnificent sunset this evening -- the sky was clear and the air was cold and there were brilliant colors and wisps of clouds and steam and exhaust ... It just was a fabulous skyline with light and color. I could see much further than I've been able to see for a long time. For that I am grateful, and also for taking the moment to see and appreciate this beauty. Wonderful Moments!

March 3rd - Hmmm...lots of exercise with Wii Sports

March 2nd - I forgot to add - my miraculous travel through dense and dangerous mists to pick up a printer which also led me to a new church that was very interesting.

More days strung together...

Sunday 3-2 -- Going for a walk in the 50-degree weather with my daughter (for exercise and spotting interesting things to photograph) AND watching the movie "In My Country"

Saturday 3-1 -- Found some "cool teen" clothes for my daughter at Goodwill and got to know her new friend a little more AND had a successul grocery delivery AND got to talk to my sister in person AND my mom looked like she's doing well

Friday 2-29 -- Hmm...hearing my daughter laugh and laugh and not needing to interfere while she's hanging with her friend AND learning that I don't have any horrible eye diseases AND finding out my local post office is open until 7 p.m. Fridays.

Thurs 2-28 -- Work meeting where I was prepared, listened to, and valued

Wed 2-27 -- Hmm...that was so long ago. I don't remember.

Feb 26th - Falling Behind, Starting over again!

Feb 26th - Favorite Part - All morning - lots of sunshine
Feb 25th - Finding my missing cat (in my apartment!) and getting some sample meals from the nutritionist (I HATE meal planning...)
Feb 24th - Meeting my daughter's new friend and liking her
Feb 23rd - Shopping for healthy food and eating some and talking to my friend Ruth

So far... not doing too badly. I'm getting a little exercise every day - at least 15 minutes of bowling on my Nintendo Wii! Last night I got a 191 - best game ever.

Ah, life is good

Feb 22 - More Sunshine, Matt, and Ground Zero for healthy eating...

Finally the weather has warmed up a little and I had the day off from work and there was a lot of sunshine and my young friend Matt got to hang out with us today. I guess I could call that a good day! I probably also lost some weight. I am now officially targetting healthier eating and weight loss in order to cure my pre-diabetes so I bought a water filter pitcher that adds flavoring and I also bought a new digital scale. So... I don't want to publish how much I weighed this afternoon because I'm ashamed to have reached this size, so I'll just call it GROUND ZERO and track my losses as they come along. More vegetables, fruits, smaller portions more often, balanced food blah blah blah I know the drill and I promise to stop drinking soda altogether. I really want this to work. Wish me luck!

Feb 21st - belatedly - Brought home the Wii!!!

And had a blast playing it

Feb 20th - My Favorite Part of the Day Is the SUNSHINE

It is still REALLY COLD out (near zero with wind chills even lower and a low of 15 below expected tonight) but we are being blessed with a SECOND day of sunshine and it feels just great! Maybe next year I'll vacation in Florida in December...

Feb 17, 18, 19 Hmmmm

On Feb 17th we had an ice storm followed by snow -- My favorite part of the day was looking out the window and seeing our neighborhood hawk swoop down and grab brunch. Very up close and personal.

On Feb 18th I went back to work and scored a lead on a Nintendo Wii, which I have been trying to purchase (at an affordable price) since early November...

On Feb 19th I was glad to be able to vote and I was also glad that my country has finally progressed enough to have two "firsts" as the Democratic primary runners. No matter what happens, I'm glad that we are advanced enough to have both a woman and a black man as presidential candidates. That would NOT have been possible 20 years ago. Go USA.

Feb 16 - Waking up and not feeing like death warmed over

Feb 15th - Finally Getting My Internet Back

What was your favorite part of the day today?

Okay, let's get positive. I'll tell you mine and you can tell me yours...