Tid Bits

In case you were wondering...

Snow White III
Snow hasn't left our shores yet. And she's really pissed at me. Originally, she was hoping to take a swift current on the early September hurricane winds to help her cross the Atlantic. Alas - I started cleaning out my apartment. Snow hasn't gone anywhere. She said, "I thought better of you after our conversations. Yet here I am, still stuck in the U.S. because you put me on a shelf and forgot all about me! I've had enough of that behavior from others. Why do you think I want to travel? To get off the damn shelf!"

I am deeply sorry for my behavior and have given Snow White my deepest apologies. As long as I get her to the ocean today - I'll be forgiven. So, I am taking her to the beach this afternoon - to launch her on the next leg of her journey. Snow's still hoping to make it across before the winter storms become too strong. Why not fly? Snow explained that getting to the airport is difficult. Also, there's no guarantee she'll even be allowed aboard - for some reason. She'd rather rely on Mother Nature.

My Tree
The young tree, that was planted to fill in where the old Mulberry fell during the March nor'easter, is alive after a long, hot summer. I was out there every day watering it. You'd think I gave birth to it! lol. I think it's grown. It's hard to tell. Like with kids - you see them all the time, so their growth is so gradual it's normal. You don't really see the change unless you leave them for a while. (No, I'm not advocating child abandonment here!) I'm guessing it'll be the same with the tree.

And yes, its leaves changed color. It wasn't dramatic, but kind of cool. The leaves turned yellow from the edges inward - slowly taking over the green. Then they were all yellow. Yesterday, after a day of rain, they turned reddish orange, and then, suddenly, after the winds last night - they've all fallen off! You'd think I'd expect that by now. 'Cept, as with children, it was only "yesterday" it seems, it was planted. I'm very glad it's there.

Well, it's an absolutely gorgeous day out there - 70 degrees, sunny and breezy, and I've got Snow White to launch. TTFN!

P.S. Snow White was launched at 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. She flew through the air with a shout of sheer joy. Last I saw of her, Snow was heading directly for the open sea.
Bon voyage, Snow! May you never be stuck on shelf again!

The Wondrous Hook

Yes, now you're imagining that I'm going to warble on about the philosophy inherent in the evil Captain Hook as pertains to Peter Pan. No such luck! The hook to which I refer is far less lofty, and, in fact, is far more useful. No. I'm not talking about a musical hook, or a crocheting hook (does anyone still do that?) or even a shephard's hook - or is that crook? Anyway.....

Whilst a friend of mine was discovering the bidet in Europe, I was rediscovering the joy of the simple, household hook. Yes. That one. The kind you screw into the wall for the purpose of hanging something from it. I realize that a hook does not remotely compare to the investigative process required by the workings of a bidet by an American citizen newly living abroad. However, the thrill I felt far outweighed - I believe - my friend's trepidation.

Why am I caroling about a hook? Well, being in the throes of tossing my entire apartment, I've been at a loss where to put some things. Installing and using a hook or two in my closet never once crossed my mind. I can only put this perceptual blindness down to being a renter for many years. (Not to mention a Mother who found hooks somewhat vile.)

Ask any one who's done it. Renting can be risky. Especially with regard to the "damage deposit." One hears horror stories of false damage charges, and violent accusations. So, I had become accustomed to only timidly hanging a picture or two on my walls. And closet interiors? They were not to be touched. 'Course, that may have just been my landladies. Truth be told, I have only had wonderful landladies. It was my hang up. :)

But hey, I'm an owner now. (Well, the bank is.) I can put nails in all over my walls if I want. So, now, (happy sigh) I have a hook in my closet to hang a bag. And since you cannot buy just one hook all by itself.... I am in joyful contemplation as to what else I can hang in that space. It was an ephiphany to rediscover the "hook." I may very well put another one up. Or maybe, two.

No. I'm not in Europe, nor am I warily approaching a bidet. However, I can move on now. I have hooks!

I've Got Bumper Stickers Now - Gasp!

It's all a result of this excavating I've been doing. I unearthed two bumper stickers I'd bought several years ago. I had never applied them to my car bumper because of a number of "old" parental judgments about aforesaid stickers. Yes, weird, I know. It's just that those parental judgments can suddenly pop up out of pure, thin air, and blindside me into frozen indecision over the bizarrest (sp?), and smallest of things. Which is probably why I think I kept them in various piles of papers over the years, only to find them once again.

Well, today, I decided to ignore those old messages of "I would never put one on my car. It devalues the car!" "It's really rather tacky. Only people with no taste would put one on their bumper." "You can get into trouble if someone doesn't agree with you." And implied..."Only low class people have bumper stickers on their cars." So, our family cars (and my car) have remained bumper sticker free my entire life. Today, I decided that I would stand up, take fate into my own hands and put those bumper stickers on my car. Hallelujah!

'Course the moment I did, I realized that no one in my condominium parking lot has a bumper sticker. Nor apparently, if you look, do any other cars driving in my town. Or even on the Interstate for the 4 exits that I drove today. Oh, dear. Suddenly, I was feeling very exposed. Talk about putting yourself out there.... Now, it's too late to change my mind. According to legend, once on, you can never remove a sticker from your bumper. So - I've decided to claim them with all the bravado I can muster.

Actually, I do like what they say. Hopefully, they will be thought provoking. One, I hope will gently change people's behaviors. What are these paragons of bumper sticker wisdom???

The first - "Visualize Using Your Turn Signals" (with arrows) - this is a pet peeve of mine, and usually perpetrated by non-hands free cell phone users. The joke is that quite likely "they" are already visualizing without using the signals. :)

The second - "Equal Rights Are Not Special Rights" - this came out (I believe) during the time of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). I think it applies to many civil rights issues of our time. Take your pick.

So far, my world has not ended. Mind you, I only applied these stickers early this afternoon. I'm kind of curious to see if they receive any reaction at all.

Why write a post about my bumper stickers? Because putting them on my car felt surprisingly risky. Who knew?

Excavating

About two months ago or so, I decided that I needed to stir up the energy in my life to get moving again after my summer "hiatus." In the principles of feng shui, by de-cluttering your home, and moving the furniture about into hopefully beneficial arrangements, you can actually improve your circumstances. So, with renewed resolve and energy, I started. It's still going on.

I mistakenly thought the whole process might take a couple of weeks to simply move around the big pieces of furniture and, voila! Not so simple. All of a sudden, you wonder, will it all fit that way? Can I reduce two bookcases into one? Good grief! How many piles of paper do I have on the floor - not to mention, books? And they all have to be gone through because there could be something important "in there."

So, what was supposed to be a simple re-arrangement of the great room in my apartment has, instead, become an interesting and challenging undertaking. Why challenging? Oh - attachments to the past, attachments to that funky looking stick I picked up one day, the suspicion that an important bill or two has been buried "in there" somewhere. And, man! Let's get rid of this. Wait a minute....I might need it. O.K. Where can I put it? Oh, but father gave that to me when I was 12. And so on!

I've decided the whole process is rather like dieting. Once you get past the decision to "do," then, you start. And it's not happening as fast as you thought it would. In fact, moving something sometimes creates more problems, and the resolutions take two or more days to solve. I've been doing things in surges. Once I figured out where the main pieces would go - this invoved about a week of staring into space while I moved stuff around my mind - the actual moving only took an intense, and exhausting, day. (I also forgot about the necessary physical recuperation time!) Then, with the next step in mind, I'd move on. Onto going through all my books, cds and dvds to see what I could give the library as a donation. And the clothes (still in process).

And just like dieting, I've found, you have your plateaus. You're up and running with your new way of eating, and after a nice drop of 5 pounds or so, you stay there - day after day, even week after week. Well, after accomplishing my goals of reducing my books, clearing out the storage, getting bookcases to Goodwill, books to the library, clearing out the closet, cleaning out storage drawers, etc., small problem. Every horizontal surface is covered. And I do mean covered. You can barely see a surface anywhere - including my couch.

I am a feng shui disaster!! I am overwhelmed with stuff. Mind you, at least I can see it now. Also, there are treasures I've found. For instance, I rediscovered a poem I wrote years ago. And I really like it. I'm thrilled I kept it. I'm even more thrilled I found it. The poem will probably show up in a post in the near future, as it is Fall, and I wrote it at the change of season.

The decision has been made. This "plateau" must end! Like a diet, I must return to my quest. So this week, I am determined to uncover at least three horizontal surfaces. They may be small, but nonetheless, the contents potentially complex. The treasures I hopefully find will make it fun. I'm planning on being done by Halloween. Onwards, and upwards!