Time Traveler

I hadn't been to the library since spring. Not that it was out of my way (since it's a block and a half away), I can't really give you a reason.  But that aside, I went to the library yesterday and got out 3 books.  Lately I have been interested in Numerology (amazing, the numbers don't lie???).  The book chosen (from the "card catalog" now the computer--sigh--I used to love to run my fingers over the index cards in the card catalog, see the ancient lettering from the old typewriters...(I see another story in this).  Back to the story at hand..."The Life You Were Born to Live" by Dan Millman was the book indicated by the librarian. Now I am an avid reader, but a book has to really grab me within the first two pages.  How's this? "The paths of life hold adventure and danger, pleasure and difficulty.  Our own path may seem clear and direct for a time, then turn sharply in a surprising direction.  At certain points on our journey, the road forks and we make choices that influence the rest of our life; we may choose...each path has its own challenges, each challenge contains a lesson, each lesson leads toward the summit of the mountain we were born to climb...we cannot fall 'off the path." It may twist or curve but it will eventually lead us upward...this metaphor...allows us to reconcile an ancient paradox about whether we truly have free will or whether our life is somehow predestined.  ..we always have the power of choice, discipline, responsibility, and commitment. No life path is harder or easier, better or worse, than any other, except to the degreee we make it so....we often teach what we need most to learn."  Anyway, I'm having fun and can't wait to read more.
The second book chosen was by Sylvia Browne, Past Lives, Future Healing.  What a fun read!  Sylvia gets right down to it sharing stories.  Again, I am underlining, if I can't find interest within the first two pages, it's a cooked goose.  I pulled it into bed with me just to wander through and had read 30 pages before choosing to turn off the light (no, it did NOT put me to sleep!).  I am looking forward to seeing what she has to say.
The third book is by Deepak Chopra, "Life After Death." (I think so, it's upstairs and I'm not running back up those steep stairs to find out right now...) I do find his books very interesting and inspiring.
More to follow I'm sure.
Follow the numbers....
Oh!  I almost forgot!  The reason behind the title!  If you are an avid reader, you can do anything, you can go anywhere, past the restraints of time and space.  You can become king, queen, lady in waiting (suggestive or otherwise lest he be off with your head), warrior, climb Everest, or enjoy the field of summer (in the dead of winter).  You can become a techno-guru of mechanics or computers.  Your machine?  Just step into your spaceship:  the library, or perhaps your favorite bookstore.  You can find it online, I'm sure, but it's much easier to enter the continuum in the spaceship.  The quiet hush of books.

The Summer of 2012

Typing this my mind goes back to that book "Summer of '42."  No, it's not the summer of 42, nothing like that at all!

"Toto" and I made it to Kansas.  It was a wonderful trip.  We stopped and visited cousin Roseann in Cincinnati, and Ginger too (the puppy).  Ginger wasn't sure about Dante, and he wasn't sure what it meant to be in a fenced in yard (no, you don't need a leash, go run and be happy).  Rosie and I enjoyed a lovely light meal and then went downtown to visit an older hotel and take photos.

The next morning Mr. Dante was right and ready to hit the dusty trail once more...

He was very excited to head west.  Alert for most of the cities, especially around the tricky arteries of St. Louis  

Exhausted from the nerve wracking driving, not to mention the HEAT, it was easy to just crash!

We did make it to Stacy and Aaron's about 7:30 p.m.  Which is pretty good, we'd left at 8:30 a.m.!  Enjoyed the fun and activities of Kansas City's first Friday night and ended up at an Irish pub for a wonderful meal of fish and chips (no doubt with that American twist).  The next day we visited Union Station

and the Titanic Exhibit.  Each visitor received a boarding pass with the name of a passenger and followed the journey to the end.  My passenger was Mrs. Isidor Straus (Rosalie Ida Blun) from New York, NY.  The Straus's owned Macy's Department Store in New York City.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Straus lost their lives, Mrs. Straus choosing to remain with her husband on board.

Overall, it was a wonderful time and it was a great adventure.  I look forward to seeing Kansas again soon!

Taking Toto to Kansas
Trip in 2 weeks. I had to schedule it between my court duties and my humira injection (needs refrigeration).  Kind of in keeping with my journey, I guess.  First stop my girlfriend in West Virginia.  Looking forward to some girlie kind of fun!  Then off across the United States to bring my grandpuppy to his Mommy.
First I bought a car seat.  And a car harness that attaches to the seat belt.  Then we took practices around the block, then to Norwich.  This morning we drove for two hours.  I think we are good to go.

2011 in Retrospect

It was a hellish year in some ways. I became gravely (literally) ill. I wound up not only in the hospital, but in 4 different hospitals. I have no healthcare (yet) and my bills are horrendous. (More on this in another post.)

I started my own photography business (see my website, www.mykatesparrow.com) once again. I am finding that I like to focus on fine art (aka, the strange things in life!). I love to do books on people's homes.

I am enjoying my two grandchildren. I see one all the time, the other not so often, but do try to keep up with them. I am so excited, my 3rd grandchild, Blakesley Eden, is coming in May. She will share my birthday month! Milo is an exciting boy, and Brooke and her gramma get along so fine!

It's been awhile!

It's been awhile since I have posted on my blog site.

I'm sitting here on this cold blustery February Sunday. My daughter is with her father in St. Marten (sigh). What I would give to be on the island at this moment, sipping a juice for breakfast, enjoying the early beach morning with a cup of coffee! However, choices have been made by me and here I sit looking out the window onto grass that is slowly becoming choked with snow, I've finished my coffee and have finally put forth the effort to becoming creative. (And here we are!)

Personal Summer Days

It's not what you think. My personal summer moments just began recently. They quite snuck up on me. I thought it was a fever! I thought, "oh no! I'm getting sick!" "oh my! It sure is hot at my son's house! Why do they keep the heat that high?" Welcome to the middle world of menopause and the hot flash. You can be all wrapped up in your snuggly butterfleece overalls and oversized sweatshirt, or wearing that great 100% wool sweater from your favorite manufacturer and basking in it's warmth against the cold bitter January air (oh yes, that gust of wind that comes swirling in when you finally let the cat in) and suddenly all you want to do is run out into that January wind because it takes too much effort to strip down and you already know you aren't going to get relief that way. They leave as quickly as they come, and the butterfleece once again does its trick to warm you up. And anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours later it happens again...but it's a wonderful life anyway (excuse me, the cat wants in...)

"Rituals"

Ritual or routine? Wake up (mostly to a cat staring in your face, nudging you, trying to BITE you so you will get up and let him out). Shuffle downstairs hanging for dear life onto the railing because ONCE you fell. Let/put/throw cat out. Prepare coffee in the stovetop espresso pot and here is the ritual...the water goes in, the beans are ground and you turn the stove burner on to #9 and wait for the whistle, and then when it stops, its done and one of the finest cups of coffee you'll ever experience! Life revolves around that moment when you pour your espresso into the yellow San Francisco very very now chipped cup that your good friend Valerie gave you (it's the ONLY cup it really tastes best served in) and the very first sip. Ahhh!