November 17--Too Much Energy Going to Pain

If you are doing something to avoid pain, then pain is running your life. 
--Michael Singer

    Yesterday's crankiness encountered a kindred spirit and bless the human sense of humor, we were able to laugh our way out of it. I shared a photo of a couple items from my post-it note collection (below). 

    Today's quote was my morning "2x4 upside the head." Pain has been running my life since being in Bali. Even as I grow physically stronger and pain lessens, I have an ongoing fear of pain, so it's still running my life. I'm now halfway through PT for my left foot/ankle/calf, six more sessions to go. I succumbed to scheduling a long overdue physical for mid-December. Despite six weeks of PT on my right shoulder, it has shown no improvement, though I got some temporary relief from a shot. So in December, I have the physical, conclude my foot PT, and get another shoulder shot. I declare that when those are complete, I am DONE with medical attention for the entirety of 2026 (and hopefully beyond!!). Any remaining aches and pains will simply be lived with and I will keep moving. 

    Weary of the "organ recital," our common term for excessive medical/ailment talk.

        Leta

Poor sleep is the big culprit!

November 16--Is It Nap Time Yet?

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. --Exodus 20:8

    I'm cranky from poor sleep, so I'm taking the day off. Alas, I wish sleeplessness was as beautiful as the painting below.

        Leta

"Sleeplessness at Night" by 
Leonid Afremov

November 15--Let Us Use Imagination Wisely

No one has ever hurt their eyes by looking on the bright side.  --Mary Davis

    I have a magic magnifying morbid mind. I think that Grammie dying suddenly when I was four years old implanted the idea that something horrible could happen at any minute, and my imagination went wild and never stopped. My interminably long recovery from sciatica and the current U.S. political horror have only exacerbated the scariness. When I head down a frightening path, I'm developing the practice of dragging my thoughts in a more positive direction, while giving myself credit for my vivid imagination. I'll say to myself, "Good one! But that's not helping my mood, let's go elsewhere." That same imagination that scares me also enables me to paint, garden and write a blog. 

    Less terror, please!

        Leta

Nature's beauty in our neighborhood

November 14--BUGS! and Such

My mother is a walking miracle.  --Leonardo DiCaprio

    Why am I having goofy thoughts this morning about my long-deceased mother? She passed in 1979 at the young age of 61, so for the bulk of my life, I have been motherless. 

    She had a thing about bugs, most especially roaches, lice and bed bugs. She believed that having any of those critters in one's home was a clear sign of "white trash." (Note that I grew up in an area with very few non-WASPs.) Those bugs were a crisis to be avoided at all cost. 

    Dishwashers, Kleenex and margarine were Communist plots. Dishwashers wasted water, and who needed one when you had a daughter (me) perfectly capable of washing dishes? Kleenex were wasteful--use a handkerchief. And margarine--Good Heavens! Why would you use fake stuff when you had real butter?!!? I grew up in a family that worshiped butter, and I still do to this day! 

    Mom loved her roses and she had a bed of about a dozen bushes in the back yard. Japanese beetles were the bane of her existence. She was generally an organic gardener, but for her roses, no chemical was too strong to keep them thriving and bug-free. She raised and preserved, via canning or freezing, nearly all our fruits and vegetables. 

    Mom never drank alcohol. Dad drank enough for both of them, and I think not-drinking was her one truly self-righteous stance. She brought a bottle of champagne back from France around 1971, and never drank it. We found it when we cleaned out the house many years later. 

    Mom took me on trips to France, Italy, Canary Islands and Japan. She was always trying to sneak back home cuttings from exotic plants. She would certainly be "pulled aside" at airports these days!

    Her favorite late night snack for watching Johnny Carson was to fry up a batch of chicken livers. 

    I would easily label Mom as a hypochondriac, and she spent hours poring over our two-volume medical encyclopedia (yes, actual books in those days!) trying to figure out what was wrong with her. 

    In hindsight, I'm amazed that I turned out even close to "normal."

        Leta

Bird of Paradise, Mom's favorite non-rose flower

November 13--Life As It Is

Just for today, rest in the acceptance of what is. Don't judge it or analyze it. Rest where you are in your heart. Allow gratitude to pour freely from your soul. Decide to love your life today. Just as it is. Especially as it is.  --Mary Davis

    This sentiment is a challenge for me. My healing journey is dragging on, now with foot issues requiring me to rest from pickleball and limiting my walking. Days have settled into exercises, swimming, painting and watching basketball. Twice a week the routine is supplemented with physical therapy. It is easy to become bored, so I remind myself that I do like all those activities. The phrases "one day at a time" and "this, too, shall pass" are sanity-savers. After swimming seven days in a row, I think I shall take advantage of our glorious weather and do some winter-prep in the garden rather than swimming. That will help my "acceptance of what is" and my gratitude level. Hands in the dirt is fine therapy.

    Below is the photo of the northern lights my son sent last night from Minnesota. 

    Enjoy today!

        Leta

November 12--A Good Education

We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves. 
--Henry Ward Beecher

    I've worked through a lot of angst relative to my upbringing and the people I was closest to. I know they loved me and did the best they could. I do not know much at all about any early life experiences that helped to shape them. There is much to appreciate about these flawed (like every one of us) folks, so here goes...

    My mother taught me to sew, crochet and cook, skills that I have used my whole life. She somehow passed on the joy of gardening even though I did not appreciate it at the time. She taught me to clean house and iron, skills I would rather not have! Mom is the one who planted the "travel bug" in me, taking me on trips to France, Italy, Canary Islands and Japan. 

    Dad taught me to swim, still my favorite exercise. He had his own business and passed on a wealth of knowledge about the administration, customer service and grind of it all. He rescued me many hours from home with truck rides to deliver lumber. He taught me about stock market investing. He instilled in me the value of generosity. He put me through college and grad school.

    I am grateful,

        Leta

HOT!!!
My brother's wedding, 1961

November 11--Appreciating Their Service

Here is the Kansas connection to Veteran's Day, written by Jason English:

The reason we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11 dates back to 1918, when an armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed that essentially ended World War I. The first Armistice Day was celebrated the following November 11.
World War I was billed as the war to end all wars, but of course it didn’t. By the 1950s, with so many American veterans of World War II and the conflict in Korea, some thought the term "Armistice Day" was outdated.
Alvin King, a shoe repairman from Emporia, Kansas, probably isn’t in many history books, but he deserves at least a paragraph. In the early 1950s, he thought "Armistice Day" was too limiting. He had lost family in World War II, and thought all American veterans of all wars should be honored on November 11. So he formed a committee and, in 1953, the city of Emporia celebrated Veterans Day.
Ed Rees, Emporia’s congressman, loved the idea and took it to Washington. President Eisenhower—another Kansan—liked King’s idea, too. In 1954, Eisenhower formally changed November 11 to Veterans Day and invited some of Emporia’s residents to be there when he signed the bill. King was one of those invited, but there was one problem: he didn’t own a nice suit. His veteran friends chipped in and bought him a proper suit and paid his way from Kansas to the White House.
In 2003, Congress passed a resolution declaring Emporia the founding city of Veterans Day.

    I am grateful to all those who have served us and fought for freedom!

        Leta

Including my brother, Arlie, an Army Ranger
who served 2 tours in Viet Nam