TGLP Gratitude Monday – I’ve Got Rhythm Edition

It’s the final Monday of 2007 and I’m pleased to report that it is not my final Monday. My heart is now ticking in proper rhythm after having an irregular beat for quite some time.

I didn’t know it was zipping along with an extra tick, a kind of grace note of the heart if you will. The top chambers of my heart weren’t working at all while the bottom chambers were skittering along like a mad hamster on a loose wheel. This led to fluid in my lungs.

I’m grateful this was found and treated successfully.

Over the years I’ve heard many a patient complain about being poked and prodded and injected and bled. Complaining is the height of ingratitude. If you didn’t want your life saved, then why did you seek treatment?

I spent 10 days in three different hospitals. At least half a dozen doctors and more nurses than I could count put their skills, training, and experience into saving my life and making me healthy again. I am grateful for their diligence.

And to all my blog buddies: thank you so much for your well wishes, kind words, good vibes and virtual chocolate.
It was heartening (the pun’s unavoidable) to hear your concern for me.

I’ll be writing in great and glorious and maybe even gory detail about my experiences in future posts. I even have photos.

For now, I’m just happy to be here.

Back

Hello,

Thanks so much to everyone who worried and sent good vibes and virtual chocolate. It all helped.
I got home Christmas Eve and am a bit weak, but healthy.
I'll be blogging again shortly, and there's not a blessed thing any of you can do about it.
Ha!

Fodder For Later

Have you ever made small talk with a call girl?

I have. My former housemate of 25 years ago, R. Airhead,* used to call a particular escort service, avail himself of the product, then tell the service provider he had no money.

Airhead, in fairness, had been in a very serious accident and had to relearn to walk. It also left him with the attention span of a gnat. Perhaps that’s why he got away with it. Despite his getting along in the world, having a job and driving a car and even having a girlfriend, he really wasn’t all there.

Maybe it’s because I’m a writer that I can see something interesting in most people. Certainly Airhead provided plenty of fodder.

So I did have a bland conversation with an escort one evening while the guys of the house asked some specific questions regarding services and rates, etc. It was several years before I could work it into a conversation, but one boring afternoon at the newspaper my knowing the rates for services perked things up.

On another occasion I was reading one of Frank Herbert’s Dune series when either his girlfriend or a service provider asked, ”What have you got there, a book?”

And one stellar evening I came home to a lovely aroma that originated in my closet. My nose led me to a suitcase stuffed full of individually packaged bags of pot. When I confronted Airhead about it he bragged that it was about $10,000 worth and all I had to do was tell the cops it wasn’t mine.

I’m glad I’m able to look though a writer’s eyes and see all this as interesting bits of life to be used later. Sure, he was irritating as all get out. But between drugs in the closet and the knocks on the door that might be someone coming to clear up a debt, Airhead made life exciting.

*Airhead was our nickname for him.

Merry Subversive Christmas

Feeling subversive? Why not throw caution to the winds and send out an old-style season’s greetings? Wish someone a Merry Christmas and don’t apologize for it.

Canada and the US are among the worlds Christmas celebrating countries. This is not a crime even as millions of citizens of those countries are of a different faith or no faith at all. So what?

Would anyone water down his or her Happy Hanukkah greeting? Or apologize for a hearty Good Yule? No, nor should they. And anyone who follows the Christmas tradition shouldn’t have to torque down their beliefs either.

It’s another symptom of the fear of difference. We think we’re doing everyone a favor by homogenizing the holiday.
Instead we get head-shaker moments like the New York store’s hams for Hanukkah window display.
And this from the Department of Antipodal Assininity where a Santa was fired for saying Ho Ho Ho. All the Santas in this Australian store were instructed to say Ha, not Ho, because the American slang meaning may offend some women.
Mr.Subversive Santa got all traditional and said Ho anyway. It got him turfed.

Enough fun. My point is while not everyone is a Christian those who are ought to be able to celebrate their season openly and without shame.

Merry Christmas.

Gratitude Monday - Every Breath I Take

We take so much for granted like water will gush out when we turn on the tap, and when we hit that little button the computer powers up, and when we go to the grocery store the shelves will be stocked with all that we need and don’t need.

We don’t think about our new basics of life like electricity and running water and mass produced food. These are the simple facts of our daily lives, like breathing.

But what happens when something as basic as breathing is no longer simple?

The other night I awoke in the early hours and kept having to toss and turn in order to find a proper position for breathing. Some were good for inhaling, others provided some limited ability to exhale. Finding a position that offered both was difficult.

I didn’t get back to sleep for several hours and when I did the sleep was nearly as shallow as my breathing.
I have mild asthma and have been blessed to not be bothered much by it for the past several years. This has reminded me that I am grateful for every lungful of air I can get.

December Abundance

It’s the new moon and you know what that means. It’s abundance cheque time.

What you do is this: within 24 hours of the new moon in your area, take a cheque from your chequebook. If you don’t have a chequing account, then draw a cheque on a piece of paper and fill it out accordingly. It’s all the same to the Universe.

Put your name in the Pay To line and write Paid In Full in the amount line underneath. Write Paid In Full in the little box where the dollar figure goes.
Sign it The Law of Abundance.

Do not date it. Do not write a dollar figure anywhere on it. If you like you can write Thank You in the memo line.

Put the cheque away and get on with your life. The Universe will look after the rest.
Bear in mind abundance means many things beyond money. You’ll get what you need.

Happy Abundance.

For The Birds

One casts a longing look to the peanut feeders.



As another prepares to launch from a tree.




The Downy Woodpecker from the shed got there first.

Feed And Tree

We get Hairy and Downy woodpeckers here and they are very pleased with the peanuts and peanut butter we set out for them.
This Downy couple were by several times on Sunday and consented to be photographed.

I'll be posting other, better photos later.

Memories

Memories of autumn for a cold, late fall day.

Gratitude Monday – Herbal Remedies

I’m happy to say I’m feeling much better. For the past 5-6 weeks I’ve had what felt like a very friendly and very well-fed pussycat flopped on my chest.

It’s hard to love an oppressive weight and even harder to get shed of it. I tried the Edgar Cayce castor oil pack which in this instance did nothing. Lavender oil eased things a bit and assorted herbal teas helped to a degree. Commercial cough syrups did little. I almost went to a doctor, but decided instead to try a different cough syrup.

I had two choices, one of which I’d used many years ago. The other was totally unfamiliar. What they had in common was their ingredients were listed by botanical name. My husband has degrees in forestry and botany and ran a health food store for more than 12 years. He prefers plants be listed by their botanical names as the common names can refer to different plants depending where you live. Fortunately, he was with me in the store.

One syrup had only on ingredient which I think he said was an extract of geranium. The one I’d tried in the past has dandelion and loquat and European licorice and coltsfoot and a few other herbs. It was exactly what I needed.

I’m grateful the invisible pussycat is getting thinner. I’m grateful to be feeling better, and I am especially grateful that my husband understands botanical terms.