Feeling Blue

It's a blogging kind of day today. We have had a very Spring like episode in the weather here in Texas with blue skies and sunshine when outside activities have dominated our days. We finally managed to get outside to start tidying up the garden and enjoying the daffodils and the blossom trees l after a longer and colder winter than we are used to. Now today we are back to gray skies and cold winds so inside activity is the thing to do.

Yesterday we painted our hallway , which tends to be a bit dark and a bit gloomy at times. Hallways are a bit like that. So to brighten it up we chose a yellow paint and I'm still not sure I like it.

Yellow once was my favorite color. Choose a new blouse or dress and I'd opt for a bright yellow. I was young . It was fresh and I loved yellow.

As I got older. like a lot of other things, even my choice of colors has changed. I have to think that now blue in all its many variations is my my color of choice. I began to let my mind ramble on why that might be. For sure a bright blue sky can do wonders to lift a flagging spirit. Even if it is really cold as it often is in Canada, a bright blue sky makes it feel less so. We are blessed in Texas to have many bright blue sky days but in the dog days of summer when it gets hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, the sky looses its blueness and becomes almost white and just add to the feeling of malaise and inactivity.

Crater lake painting by SAB

Have you noticed how the blue in the sky changes? You would if you tried to paint it.

A year ago we visited Crater lake in Oregon. A wonderful trip and a must see if you visit out West. When I came back I tried to paint an oil painting of Crater lake but it was the sky with all the variation of blue that I had the most trouble with getting right. The lake itself was the deepest color blue for a lake that I had ever seen , rich and strong without being that ominous dark blue you see in some lakes.

Wedgwood blue ,that lovely light blue, is such a wonderful tone. Paint a room with it and you don't get tired of it. It always looks fresh and gives a sense of calm and peace.

I've always thought how great it would be to have blue eyes. Not so many people seem to have blue eyes anymore and we all miss Paul Newman who had outstanding , penetrating blue eyes. I met a girl once, a friend of friend and she had such intense blue eyes that I couldn't help staring at her. They mesmerized me. I had never seen eyes so blue. It was not till afterward I was told they were only colored contact lenses. I should have guessed. They had been too blue to be real. What a disappointment.

Blue also brings to mind my blue cat. Blue was a stray cat that was hiding out in our barn

Blue Cat

and at first he looked a bit like a cat out of a horror movie. His coat was dirty and almost black ; he was scrawny and thin and very very scared. It took months for him to become the beautiful Russian blue cat he became. His blue was a very special blue, a silvery blue grey. He loved sitting on your lap and I can guarantee the best kind of Blue to have.

There are a lot of songs with blue in the title and as I think of them it brings back memories. “Blue Moon' brings to mind an intense young man I danced with years ago.”Blue Skies” always makes me feel happy but the “the Birth of the Blues' makes me think of the other feelings associated with blue. The dark side. Are you feeling blue? That's not a nice wedgewood blue feeling more like a dark navy blue tinged with charcoal with maybe a mournful trumpet playing in the background.

Definitely not my kind of blue.

Here's one more blue song much more to my liking by one of my favorite singers, Neil Diamond of his greatest and well known. “Song Sung Blue.”

Listen and enjoy , courtesy of youtube.com 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ighSddnnaPE&feature=related

Just looked outside and there in the clouds is “enough blue to make a Dutchman's pair of trousers “ so be assured grey skies are clearing and it will be a nice day after all.

Seeds of an Idea

        "I wonder what it could be?" I looked down in my red tin of seed packages and saw all kinds of packets and seeds .There at the bottom was a seed that was quite large and I couldn't remember it from last year. Well I set it in some potting soil, watered it and left it and maybe if it grows, the penny will drop, and I'll say "Oh yes, it was so and so..."

The best part of gardening to me is planting seeds. I am always just amazed that from these tiny little fragments can grow such wondrous things. Not only that, they all seem to know if they should grow into a dahlia or a daisy. They know if they like an abundance of water or sun and if they will be large or small .They know what kind of leaf they should grow, what color to be and  if they like bees or butterflies best .However the most amazing thing is  they produce new seeds that will look just like them. Within that little miniscule seed is all that information.

I read somewhere that every different kind of seed from all over the world is being collected into huge seed banks to be stored for future emergencies. Can you just imagine how big the building would have to be to store seeds from every kind of flower, tree, bush and growing thing? It's like an Ark for seeds.

 See Wikipedia for more info.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seedbank

Banksia seed pod

Most plants make seeds in great abundance. Open a seed package and there are just too many to count. Look at the acorns underneath our oak trees in the garden and know nature is planning ahead to make sure at least some new oak trees will grow.

I suppose with humans and other living things our seed package would be in our genetic DNA and the miraculous thing is that is also packed into  tiny spaces and has a wealth of information. From a single particle of a hair, all kinds of things about me as an individual can be known. Not only that, information about my mother and father and what I might also pass on to my children and even their children is there for the reading if you know how to do it. I wonder one day if there will be a home machine where we can read our own DNA seed just like we look at our blood pressure readings. Now wouldn't that be interesting?

  

That sounds like the seed of an idea. But where do these abstract ideas come from? Is there a seed for ideas already planted in our DNA?. Maybe Great Grandma Millicent originated different ideas but didn't use them and so passed them on to me. So do we have ideas already buried deep within our DNA? Seeds passed on through generations of ancestors. Does that account for the prodigies of early age we hear about?

Or just maybe an idea is a new original seed that is just being evolved. How would it happen? An idea springs in your mind but comes from where ? Maybe it's an idea seed particle that you have read about or seen or heard or touched and it lodged in your brain. Maybe there are trillions of idea seed particles floating about in the universe all around us that we haven’t discovered yet.

Who knows, maybe there will be a machine to collect and read those floating idea seeds one day too. Now that would be truly amazing.

Rambling Around in Circles

Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be.

As I listened to the song “Happiness Runs” sung by Donovan, my mind drifted into a circular thought and I asked Mike if he had any thoughts about circles. He said,

” Did you know that anyone who can draw a perfect circle is considered clinically insane?” . Well I tried to draw a perfect circle and realized that drawing any kind of circle freehand is ultra difficult if not impossible. I have to think, if you did manage by trying over and over to draw the perfect circle, you would in fact, go insane. I did ask Mike where this information came from and he said according to Jack Farley, an old friend, this was well known and came from the Department of They.

Of course I fell for it.” Never heard of it .What is that?” I said.

“Oh surely you have heard of them…. They said this and They said that…” Obviously an old version of Wikipedia

So I looked around and started noticing circles everywhere and some important ones at that. The most obvious ones are the wheels on our cars. Have you noticed how many different kinds there are now? Some seem even more fancier than the car itself. Probably if there hadn’t been circular wheels we’d all be a long way behind in civilization. Square wheels don’t work too well unless you are Fred Flintstone

I’ve always liked circles Remember those playground games where everyone held hands in a circle and chanted various rhymes.” Ring a ring a rosie, a pocket full of posies”. Little kids love that one and I found it to be a good ice-breaker for the kindergarteners.

Think of all the ball games you know- where would they be without a circle to start. - Tennis balls, soccer balls, cricket, baseballs and ping-pong balls. The list goes on. Yes I know a few have squished the ball to make it an oval but that probably came about after the circular ball got sat on a few times.

Our world is a big huge circle as well. When we think of the planets and stars not many rectangle or square ones come to mind. I really don’t think there are any, well at least none that we have found as yet. Maybe the square planets are somewhere in those black holes that everyone talks about.

And what about the circles, the ones we can’t see. My ramblings circle through my mind and link one to another circling round and round. I expect you’ve noticed that by now.

 Have you ever walked a labyrinth? It is a circular type pathway maze once used by pilgrims. Now it is used as an experience for expanding the mind. You walk on pathways that go round and round in circles. If you ever find one, try walking it and let your mind circle as you walk. It’s very satisfying and calming for the soul..

If you think about it, life seems to go in circles anyway. From birth the baby grows, becomes a child, becomes an adult, gets married, has offspring. gets old, get incapacitated, becomes like an infant again and then dies thereby circling life.  Just one gap in this circle, the one between birth and death which is still a mystery but I am one of those people who think there is surely a closure to complete the circle. I’ll save that deep ramble for another day.

The Numbers have it or do they?

Counting  the cardinals ( photo by Mike)

Inch worm, inch worm, Measuring the marigolds
Could it be, stop and see, How beautiful they are….

Frank Loesser

We have a lot of trees on our acre yard. Mike will tell you there are about 300 and he’s more than willing to go out and actually count them to make sure. That’s the difference between us; he is a “numbers person” and I am not.

I have to make a big effort to learn any new phone numbers, driving license numbers or car license numbers and even now I have to look up my social security number even though I’ve had it for a lot of years. Now Mike on the other hand, can remember a tremendous amount of phone numbers even of homes we lived in ages ago. He knows all the license numbers, even mine, which is very helpful when I have to fill out forms.

The numbering system I use is fairly loose. I use a lot, not many, quite a few, far too many to count, etc rather than basic numerals, That is not to say I can’t understand or do mathematical problems. I was taught the basic skills, recited my times tables until they came out of my mouth automatically and even mastered algebra and calculus when I was young but never really truly enjoyed it or found much use for it. Combine that with growing up in England and figuring out pounds, shillings and pence and pounds, (different kind), ounces and stones and you can see why my love for numbers is not pronounced.

 

When I was teaching grade 1 in the 60s, New Math was all the fashion. Can you imagine a class of 35 kids 6 years old each with their own box of Cuisenaire rods, a clever system of colored blocks based on a numerical size. By manipulating them in different patterns, numbers and basic math was taught. The kids loved them. The noise of all these blocks of color being shifted about was incredible. The rods were forever falling on the floor getting lost. Kids stuck them up their nose and in their ears. Lots of interesting structures were built. How much the kids learned about numbers is debatable.

Trying to visualize large numbers is incredible difficult too. All those huge crowds that gather for large events and someone always seems to be able to say just how many there are. Quite amazing really and not always believable. I liked the idea of the school that was collecting 1,000,000 cents to give to charity but also to let the children visualize a million.

I’ve also noticed that we don’t seem to use millions so much anymore as billions and trillions are much more in fashion. I doubt if many people can even imagine a trillion so it becomes just another word. Writing it is entirely a different puzzle. Just how many zeros would that be? A lot!!

Maybe that’s why I never buy lotto tickets. I can’t imagine those huge amounts of cash and whatever would I do with it if I won it. Lucky numbers feature in many people’s choice for choosing lotto numbers and most people seem to have a regular lucky number.

Now is it a coincidence or just luck that my house number when I first met Mike was 171 and I found out shortly after that his house number was also 171. Did that seal our destiny? Our house number now is 1177 so I can only think luck and good fortune  is still with us.

So numbers except for the few I need to use, hold no fascination for me.

You won’t find me playing Bingo. Meanwhile Mike is fixated on Sudoko but I give up on it after the first line.

 P S. Please post your thoughts on this topic in the comment box and become one of my followers.

Rambling with Names on my Mind

Big Sad Tom

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

William Shakespeare

I often have to think about names. Names can be the difference between life and death in a few cases. That’s a bit dramatic until I explain it. Every week or so I take photos at my local animal shelter of all the adoptable animals so I can advertise them on the internet. I have sometimes found the name I give them can make all the difference between being adopted or not. Take for instance, Big Sad Tom. When I saw him, a huge tabby cat with a few years on him, I doubted if he even would get on the adoption list. He looked so sad. So that’s how he got his name. Prospective adopters must have thought so too because in a few days he was adopted.

And it’s not just him. People often adopt pets because they had a Buddy when they were a child, or Lucy reminds them of the daughter that is no longer with them, or Fluffkins is obviously the cutest fluffiest kitten you can imagine. Mind you, Fang for a little timid chihuahua and Snowball for the blackest cat I ever saw worked well too.

It’s a bit like that with peoples names as well. If you say any name you immediately get an impression about that kind of person, depending on your personal experiences. Bill and Fred seem very straightforward and reliable to me. Tiffany or Vanessa are ladies destined to be famous in some way. Does our impression really hold true of the person? Does the name itself shape the person? If that is true it would be wise to really study names.

We all have some time looked up the meaning of our name and depending on what it says, agree or disagree. Its always nice to read you are a ‘seeker after truth” or “the most loyal” Have you notices it doesn’t often say in those name  meaning books , “a real nasty piece of work” or “liar “ or “ glutton”.

A great deal of time usually goes into a finding new baby’s name. Does it sound right? Is it modern enough? Will it go with the surname?  Our granddaughter Ashleye was in the newborn nursery flanked on all sides by nine other little babies, Ashley, Ashleigh, Ashleey etc. The era of your birth is often associated with your name. Not many Flo or Matilda’s about now.

Some names are also funny, at least to other people. I went to school with a nice girl called Hazel Hedge and I often wonder if she got married and what her name is now. I hope it isn’t Hazel Bush or Hazel Nutt.  My mum once told me she stopped going out with a boy called Bert Bug as she couldn’t bear the thought of becoming Mrs. Bug. She saved me from being a little bug  Thank you Mum.

As you get older, it seems names get less important. I look at a photo of high school friends and even though I can remember the person and even events of that time, their name completely escapes me... So if I met one of these friends now would I remember her name if I came face to face with her but then again would I even recognize her at all? A thought to ponder.

The Spark in the Mind

Chrissy's gift

          We all have it. It’s far more developed in some and if you ask some people they will tell you, “ Oh you are so  clever, (artistic, musical, inventive etc.) but I couldn’t  possibly do that”. So what is it?  It’s that creative spark, that I think  we are all born with.

      

I know we all have it because I used to teach Grade one and every single child had it. Just give kids of that age a piece of junk, a cardboard tube, a few felt markers and they come up with all kinds of interesting objects indeed some are so creative you really can’t tell just what they are !. Yes there are a few kids that stand out even at that age. I remember a little guy named Phillip who was so creative, that basic skills like writing and reading were not important to him. He was forever making things and drawing things and then inventing wonderful tales to cover his creativity. His parents didn’t understand but through his creativity he was learning not only his basic skills but lots of other essential skills as well. I often wonder how he managed in life.

  

 What parent hasn’t bought a great toy for their young child for Christmas, only to find the toy discarded after a few moments as the box it came in was  far more fun. A big cardboard box and an idea is a lot more fun than a pile of plastic. They even show these occurrences on YouTube these days.

  The same way give a child a computer , show him the basics and let creativity take over. I imagine many parents gets surprised at just what their child can do.

In the 70s we  bought our son Russ a pair of new  skis as he was just learning to ski. At that time skis were extra long, measuring well over a person’s height. After only one outing, we heard sounds of sawing coming from the basement. Russ had cut a good 2 feet off the skis to make them work better so that he could ski faster. Have you noticed how short skis are today. ?

  

 I was standing in my kitchen one day and turned around when I heard,”Mum??” and came face to face with my son’s waistline. Normally I could look over my son’s head easily. What had he done? He had taken an old pair of shoes and nailed blocks of wood on the soles to make himself taller because he was fed up with being one of the smallest boys at school. That idea only partially worked but it was

a lot of fun and he got an A for effort and idea.

  When I was at college training to be a teacher we had an exercise which we had to do to develop creativity. We were put into small groups, given a brick, and an hour and told to come up with as many ideas as we could. For a while, we all sat stunned and then the creative juices started to flow; some very clever, some silly but everyone could think of something and at the end of the time period we were just amazed at how many ideas there were.

     

So I cheered aloud when I heard President Obama, say the way out of our current recession was to foster creativity and initiative in education. Without it we are dead in the water and any amount of memorizing facts and figures will not help. Sure basic skills are important but the ideas and with it, the motivation must come first.

Jain's champagne bottle top chair

    

So creativity is still very much alive. Just check out the internet. For instance  Go to StumbleUpon.com. Each page shows it in all kinds of forms.- music, jokes, photos, stories, writing etc.  I find young people especially creative as they dare to do things and will find time for it as well.

  Another fascinating video showing creativity in action is the Dreaded Stairs. See it on Youtube .I watched it and thought what a great idea for losing weight.

 I also think it’s important to keep the creative spark alive especially as you get older and often have more time which does help . When you are making something be it a painting , a craft, a piece of music or learning a new skill, it makes you come alive. You can feel your brain tingling. You can’t get bored or depressed. You communicate with others about your ideas . You don’t get lonely so all in all it’s a good thing. So try something new. I have. I’m writing this blog but who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll try to line dance!!

     

Rambling through Moonshadows

Slowly silently,now the moon,

Walks the night in her silver shoon 

Walter de la Mare

One of the simple pleasures of life is sitting in a hot tub bathed in moonlight  under a canopy of skeleton trees with stars twinkling up above.  No wonder so many great songs and poems have been written about the moon.

When you look up at the moon, what do you see? What do you think?

As I am a lady of a certain age I still look for the man in the moon; For the younger set out there who haven’t done this if you squint your eyes you can just make out his face..

       

In China , the man has a name , Wu Kang. He is known as the God of love and marriage and what does he do? he ties the feet of lovers together with an invisible chord. Now that was news to me and maybe why so many great love songs are written about the moon. It  makes the chord stronger. Just ramble through some for a while…. “Moon River”, “Moonlight becomes you”, ‘Fly me to the moon”, “Blue moon”.

One of my favorites is “Moon Shadow” the song by Cat Stevens ….“ I’m being followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow”  and for a short time I was. Moonshadow was a darling little kitten that followed me everywhere. He was a little dappled gray tabby that danced in and out of the moon rays and like all kittens was a mischievous soul. I missed him when he passed on.

Might as well make a wish while you look at the moon. It’s also believed that if you do that on the evening of your birthday, you can see if the wish will be fulfilled  A crescent moon with its tips pointing up means your wish won’t come true . But if the tips point down, your wish will come true. A full moon signifies a year of good luck.

The moon has always been a thing of mystery and beauty .The Algonquins called each moon by a different name; January was the wolf moon. Can’t you just picture the wolves slinking through the snow over the mountain passes lit by the moonbeams and shadows. The native peoples have such a great way of seeing life.

Now what is the moon made of? Green cheese. Fortunately the smell of it doesn’t come through the atmosphere. It would probably be stronger than carbon gases and we don’t want anything more to worry about or to add to global warming.

Unfortunately the moon as a place of great mystery changed somewhat after a remarkable event that happened in the 60s. Do you remember it? It’s one of those events that is sealed for ever in your memory if you were alive then.  Seeing JFK on the television the other night I remembered he was the President that fired us up to get to the moon to see if it really was made of green cheese. Now when we look up at the beautiful orb in the sky we have a better idea of what it really is. Although I prefer the green cheese theory .

 That event certainly brought moon madness to the fore. Remember moon boots!. My boys had them and I still think of them clunking about in the enormous oversize boots instead of sandals. They must have been really comfortable.

I read  there is an effort underway to return to the moon . Maybe to test for sure the green cheese theory or to see if this time they can find Wu Kang.