Return to UCA

It feels comfortable walking back into Thompson Hall. This is the building of Creative Writing classes. I like the professors. They all seem inspired to teach me something new. The Doctor of Rhetoric is a deep thinker and I'm trying to follow. Maybe I need to work on the depth thing. My New Tech class still threatens me but I am determined to make it through.

Yes, the parking lots are full. That's no different than last year. The most noticeable change is the size of the students. There is a greater number of grossly obese young folks. This is unexpected in this environment. How are they going to make it if they can't fit into the desk? I see them taking the elevator instead of the stairs. To save their lives can't the school require them to be in special nutritional classes or get a fitness exam? Our society has an abundance of self destructive folks.

Makes you want to herd them all into a camp for a few weeks and make them walk until they can run!

Tired of Summer

I have always loved summer. I like sunshine. This summer has beat me down to declare that I am tired of 100+ temps where I can't enjoy being outside. Maybe I'm just tired. Selling houses, buying houses, moving stuff has been going on since Spring.

One last fling to capture summer fun at Magic Springs on Friday. Call me crazy but I promised the kids a water park experience and we're going down that slide with a scream!

Carded

Disbelief is the word. You could tell by my gapping mouth. The bartender actually "carded" me and husband before serving us a beer at the airport.

"You must be kidding!" was my reaction. Actually I was thinking that it was reasonable to check my age but Dean's, really!

My sister said that if that had happened to her, she would have been across the bar to give him a big ole hug.

Pretty soon they will enact a law against serving senior citizens alcohol, then we will know we have gone full circle.

Summer Breezes

The summer breeze that whisp the clouds across the blue sky frees our minds to wander away. This day is perfect....we are swimming at the sandy beach on a small lake. The grandson is fishing. There is no need to travel to a faraway place where tourists crowd the shores. The scenery across our lake is green with trees. The concession stand sells ice cream cones that are so tall you fight to keep them from toppling.

Life is good!

Southern hospitality---Alive & Well!

A few days in the deep south (Savannah, Charleston & Charlotte) is enough to restore your faith in civility. Not only are they proud of their heritage, their good manners live on!

We enjoyed some fabulous seafood. The tasty she-crab soup was to die for. Yes I did get the recipe for that little goody from Miss Paula Deene herself. Well it was really her handsome son that signed the book but I felt her presence in the ambiance of the Gift Shop to her resturant. That was in Savannah. In Charleston I experienced the most outstanding southern meal you could imagine--sweet tea, moist cornbread,Southern Fried Chicken (buttermilk battered), baked sweet potato and collard greens to die for! Yes, I got the recipe for those collard greens and I know a chef that is going to beg for that one. Are you listening, Lisa?

The last stop was at friends in Charlotte that forced us to share a Lutheran dinner because she was recovering from surgery and her church friends loaded her refrigerator. Love those Lutherans. They know how to show sympathy.

Moving Feast

Today I harvested my fresh produce--well it was the lettuce that I planted in my flower bed. It was a nice lacy green leafed version. Washed it a few times and put it together with some boiled eggs, tuna and black beans before adding lots of dressing. To my surprize about half way through lunch, the lettuce began to move about. Hiding under that good lettuce was a baby slug. His tentacles that protrude like antenna ears were not prominent so I know he wasn't well developed. He did manage to make the rest of the salad very unappetizing and suspicious even though Dean pointed out that in some parts of the world, this would be considered valuable protein.

I don't mind worms and slugs, I just don't want them on my plate.

I turned 67 this week so I really am two thirds of a century old. That's something to celebrate.

Ready for the River?

Okay I'm considering moving again. We generally move every four years and I feel that urge coming on. We are considering a move to the banks of the Little Red River in a cabin with a nice dock. Dean loves to fish and so does the grandson. We could have a garden.

It would be inconvenient to run to town but maybe it would help me to learn to be still --- to read and write more.

I Miss You Already

Sometime ago when my grandson was still little and hadn't become one of the older "cool guys", he said when we started to leave one another: "I miss you already!" It was one of the nicest things ever said to me.

Today a dear friend left after a short visit. I didn't miss her until she came and left for home. It is the same with family you don't see very often. You miss them more after they leave than before they came. We didn't do anything special but did things together.

I guess that is a compliment when someone misses you.

Always Wright

There we are celebrating who we are (offspring of Troy Wright) at a ranch near Ft. Worth.
We observe that all seven us have little tendency to be "in charge" and most of confident in that mode. Some how we always manage to do this without friction since we recognize our traits in the other brothers and sisters.

We're there to celebrate the sister who was born on my 13th birthday's marriage to a Yankee! We like him and forgive her this indescretion since I did the same thing 25 years ago.

The barn was molded into an elegant reception and the afternoon was a true reunion of friends and family. The evening ended with plans made for next year's bash. What a fun bunch!

Blog Coach

The workshop offered a credentialed coach on the value of blogging with purpose. That sums up the problem with my blogging and, perhaps, my life--discovering its purpose. Isn't that true of everyone? Please tell me that you don't always know who you are and what you stand for!

We learned that if you want something, you have to work for it. I'm not sure I want anything that badly. I kinda like just drifting into things. I have done that all my life in relationships- I think I know a lot of great people; have had great husbands, bosses, friends; no great spiritual leader.

I'm still on the fence about which religion I follow. Today I'm leaning toward a mix of Buddhism, Naturalist, Feminist and Christainity. I think I'll start a new one and blog on it-modified humanity in transition.

Anyway, back to the workshop--very imformative. I think I will be studying her handouts and website. I'm adding a Linda Fulkerson link for your benefit.

Moving Granny

Her wheels still make her mobile. Now a days they are attached more often to a walker than a bike but she is still moving.

At last an independent living apartment has opened up for my mother to try living with other old folks. She really was the the prettiest and the brightest one there when we visited the St. Patrick Day Party yesterday.

She needs that social interaction and we feel better knowing there is immediate assistance in case of a medical emergency. She says that she has been talking to herself and knows that she isn't going to get any younger. It is all in how you look at things. Her apartment will be cleaned, meals provided and laundry facilities available. There are daily activities and celebrations for those that want them.

It looks like a pretty good deal when you're ready to give up your own home. That's the hard part. We're leaving the house in tact in case it doesn't work out. She can be pretty critical so she could get pissed off at someone and get kicked out!

Florida-Go-Round

If you wonder why I haven't blogged, it's because we went to Florida seeking warmth. It wasn't there but we did see some neat things-the white sands of Destin area, mantatees in Florida Bay at Everglades National Park(learned a lot about them!), nice little fishing villages, the furtherest tip of the U.S. at Key West and back up on the eastern shore to The Kennedy Space Center.

The warmth of Arkansas welcomed us home.

Now that I have more time to spare, I've been using it to register for prizes on the internet. I really think that I will win the Home & Garden 2 million dollar house, plus furniture, plus car, plus $500,000. I have to wait until March 15 to have H&G verify that I am the new owner then I'm packing up to go to New Mexico. Love the southwest in the spring! You all can come visit. There is a guest house.

The joy of Valentine's Day!
The love of candy will see us thru.....
or maybe just "I'm thinking of you" phone call will do.
Nothing warms us up more than a grandchild's hug,
It is the main thing that keeps us from being a slug!

New Book by Kingslover

Oh how I love Barbara Kingslover! I'm enjoying her new book, Lacuna. She prods you to think about history and the American political interference of foreign governments in a different way. I loved the revelation of the lives of the Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and how they influence the fictional character in this novel. He attention to details is phenomenal.
She did this in The Poisonwood Bible which was her first novel that brought her to our attention.

I'm feeling so cultured---We went to the "World of the PHARAOHS" exhibit this week. It was overwhelming with the volume of pieces and information. Glad we went!

Snow Day

Today we just looked at it--the beautiful snow. A few years ago we would have found a way to plough thru it with our bodies. I remember sledding in Tulsa behind Springer Clinic on a steep hillside with Paul who was a teenager at the time. I remember as child not wanting anyone to mess up my view of the yard. I wanted no tracks to mess up my view.

I need a kid to play with!

AVATAR

The movie extravaganza was a rich experience comparable to the Star Wars movies in innovation and social message. In my mind it told what we did to the American Indians, these interglactic travelers did to the Na'vi indigenous tribes on Pandora. The belief system that all living things both animal and plant are connected energies was pure American Indian.

The question I have the day after seing the movie are: Where are the Na'vi children that were referred to in the film?
I didn't see any families in the film.
The special effects were dramatic and some were particularly beautiful. My favorite were the little seedlings that were irredescent and appeared to be as spiritual as a beautiful butterfly.

Avatar could give contemporary society new insight into the necessity to preserve our natural world if anyone out there can see past their own comfortable life.

Happy New Year-Twenty-Ten!

Great start to this new year- bloody mary's, scrambled eggs and fried oysters! We went slightly healthy on the fired oysters using wheat pancake mix with obay seasoning in the batter. Didn't hurt them a bit. Of course bloody mary's have tomato juice and that's healthy...so everything in moderation.

One more good omen- the federal government deposited the social security check on December 31st instead of January 3rd. That must be a good sign.

My only resolution for this new year is to have more fun. I hope that you do too!