January 18--Break Time

Sometimes when you're overwhelmed by a situation - when you're in the darkest of darkness - that's when your priorities are reordered.  --Phoebe Snow

    I am feeling so much distress and grief relative to our national crisis that I am quite uninspired to write. New horrors and foolishness surface every day. Writing about it does not help me, and right now, my rose-colored glasses are broken. I can't write about peace, love and harmony when all I want to do is kick some ass. 

    I may return.

        Leta

The beginning of my current artwork...

January 17--How Can I Be Bored in Times Such as These!?

Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events.  --Ralph Waldo Emerson

    I have heard and read it many places that every single one of us is here on Earth at this time for a reason. Right now that elicits a couple thoughts: 1) What was I thinking?!?!?! and 2) I'm glad to be closer to the end of my life than the beginning--if I was much younger, I would be even more scared over current events. I'm not even sure that makes any sense.

    I'm starting the last day of my flu-recovery-quarantine. I don't feel bad. My energy level is quite low and my boredom level is quite high. Just like last year, I am back to having the arduous task of regaining my strength and stamina. 

    Fortunately, before I went to Florida, I had started another painting. Below is a page from a Panama City Beach arts magazine touting the joys of creating. It says "Science has found a powerful connection between art-making and emotional well-being -- just 20 minutes of painting, doodling, or other mindful creative play improves brain health." I would add "and saves one's sanity." 

    Let's go with "one hour at a time."

        Leta

January 16--Gratefully Back Home

Let him learn that everything in nature, even motes and feathers, goes by law and not by luck, and that what he sows he reaps. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

    We can only hope...

        Leta

January 15--Paranoia?

Paranoia: a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. 
--Merriam-Webster Dictionary

    I have been seeing writings online about getting your personal information off the internet and videos explaining how to change the settings on your smart TV so that it does not spy on you. Is this what the hateful savagery of our current administration is reducing us to? 

    I have deleted my Facebook account. I never use it anymore and see no reason for letting it flounder out there. I also don't care to support the billionaire Trump supporter, Zuckerberg who runs Facebook.

    What's that old saying... just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you! At this point, nothing this vile administration does should surprise us. 

        Leta

January 14--Harmony and Balance, Please

The celestials regulate the balance of the terrestrials. The night dusk comes to softly compel all creation to enter into rest and the calm brings about refreshing coolness to the world. The advent of the day provides new life and new opportunities like the embrace of warmth for plants, animals, and humans. The moon regulates all the waters. The sun regulates each season…. Everything created is in harmony and balance with everything else and with the Creator. 
--Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley

    Don't "harmony and balance" sound wonderful, given how far out of balance our country and leadership are right now? 

        Leta

Last night's sunset in Wichita

January 13--Keeping the Post String Going

Bless me to understand that the suffering of one of us is the suffering of all of us. 
--Mary Davis

    I'm still sick, thinking rather than a cold that this is flu. Now the third of our group of four is coming down with something. Being sick on vacation sucks. 

    I would offer up the Substack app (link below the logo). There are subscription options, but I have not investigated those yet. There is an abundance of very well written anti-Trump, save our country pieces along with loads of other good stuff. Don't kid yourself--what happened to Renee Good can happen to any of us. ICE is nothing but a bunch of hyper-macho, fu*ked up vigilantes with no respect for the law or any individual. Oh, that describes the POTUS who deployed them, too!

        Leta

The Substack logo

January 12--The Best Laid Plans

Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.  --AA Big Book

    Once again I am reminded of how little control I have over anything, especially my body. I acquired the chest cold among us and spent most of yesterday shivering, reading, watching basketball, and sleeping in bed. This is not the "charmed life, especially when traveling" that I expect on adventures. I can sit here and demand instant wellness, but of course, my body is taking its good old time getting there. I do feel better this morning, and I am grateful for any improvement. 

    Hopefully today will be more interesting than yesterday!

        Leta

January 11--Can I Stay Forever?

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. 
--Earl Wilson

    Yesterday's post was short because I literally was awake all the night before. Fortunately I had a good book to read. I was serenaded all night by a Westminster chime clock going off every 15 minutes. I did not think this would bother me, as I grew up in a house with this every-quarter-hour chime. I thought I could rely on my childhood ability to ignore it, but that did not work. So I spent the day lazing in the pool and took a nap. I was not cranky, just kinda dopey. It was a relaxed day at the "Hill Resort" and we capped it off with Rummikub. 

    Last night the chime was turned off and I slept great. The weather has turned cooler (high in the low 60s), so I may be the only one brave enough to get into the 94-degree pool. It may be a good day for a walk on the beach. 

    There is an Underwater Museum of Art here, the "first permanent underwater sculpture garden in the U.S." It is at a depth of 58 feet, about a mile off shore. Besides the joy of art and diving, the website offers this:

The sculptures quickly attract a wide variety of marine life and, over time, metamorphize into a living reef. This eco-tourism attraction not only entices art lovers and divers from around the country and around the globe, it provides a much-needed habitat for local marine life and fisheries as well as providing marine scientists, wildlife management professionals, ecologists, and students with an opportunity to study marine life and measure the impact of artificial reef systems on the Gulf ecosystem.

    I won't be doing any diving, but I love the idea! Creativity at its finest!

        Leta

Eco-Bug by Priscilla D'Brito,
one of the underwater sculptures

January 10--Arrived!

I'm just taking up a brief amount of space this morning. We are safely in Panama City Beach. I'll write more tomorrow. 

        Leta

January 9--I'd Like to be an Ostrich

The trouble with lying and deceiving is that their efficiency depends entirely upon a clear notion of the truth that the liar and deceiver wishes to hide.  --Hannah Arendt

    Today I am flying to Florida for a week's vacation with three girlfriends. We shall eat, drink, be merry and play games, all to excess. We shall laugh a lot. We shall burp and fart and giggle about it. We shall laze in the heated pool even though the temps may be chilly. I am seriously hoping to avoid for a few days any further news of our country's steep downhill slide and the lying and deceiving cowards that are supporting it. 

        Leta 

January 8--"Now matters are worse." Yoda

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.  --Yoda

    I feel like that small one. His words are playing out as I type. My feelings of powerlessness are close to overwhelming. What is happening makes no sense to me, the complete abandonment of moral integrity to greed and the desire for power. I'm clinging to my prayer for immediate eternal bliss for the lying, perverted sack-of-shit that is our POTUS. 

        Leta

January 7--Fun Ahead!

This would be a good day to choose to bring our divine vitality wherever we go. We leave our mark, however slight it may appear. Will we bring wholeness, vigor and inspiration?  --Margaret Stortz

    So there is this nasty "help" provided by AI when I'm writing the blog. I just typed "Margaret" and it changed it to "Mary aren't." What?!!? I can't find any way to turn off this "feature." I will be the first in line to say that I don't want anything to do with AI. Why don't we do something about grossly wide-spread human stupidity before we tear off into artificial "intelligence"?

    Back to divine vitality... my chances to spread mine around today will be in pickleball and assorted errands, including paint shopping for my newest creation. Pickleball play is with random partners who tend to say "sorry" when they screw up. My reply is, "It's a game!" Most of us who play at this time and place are older, and I'd bet that once we are out the door, none of us can remember how many games we played or whether we won or lost. Simply stated, the purpose is FUN. After pickleball I will have the great joy of playing with the paint sample strips at Lowe's. I'm like a kid in a candy shop with all those colors in front of me. 

    Playing and painting--I'm happy to share my divine vitality! 

        Leta

January 6--Really, Nothing Should Surprise Us

Five years ago today was the most shameful day in American history. 
--Robert Reich

    Geez!!! I should have saved yesterday's "venom" post for today, the 5th anniversary of the Capitol attack instigated by DJT. 

    I saw this phrase somewhere in my reading: "critical ignoring." We need that skill now more than ever. I'm trying to do this more often: read the headline and ask myself, "Will I feel better after reading this?" Generally the answer is "NO!" so I move on. I do have a couple of writers I especially like, including Reich and Heather Cox Richardson. I have never been a history buff, but Richardson delivers history in interesting and comfortable ways.    

    Slowly climbing out of the negativity pit, 

            Leta

January 5--Preferring Expiration over Inspiration, in this Case

Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to this vice of lying! 
--William Shakespeare

    I want to give credit where credit is due, noting that our current President is extremely skilled in at least one area. His super-power is inspiring hate. I received a SPAM text yesterday that said, "Your social security went to pay an illegal immigrant's college tuition." I kid you not!!! I am fully aware that hating is not good for anyone or anything, but I would be lying (like our POTUS) if I said that I felt no hate. I hate that there are people stupid or ignorant or greedy enough to believe his lies and continue to support him. I hate that our Kansas Republican Congressmen have no balls whatsoever to stand up to him and do what is right. I despise all the threats that have been issued and the unlimited desire for vengeance. Everyone who supports DJT is a traitor to our country, and don't even think there is any connection between being a DJT supporter and being Christian--those are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum. I hate that DJT is even still breathing. I will be one of the first to start singing the Munchkins' tune, "Ding, dong, the witch is dead!" on the glorious day that he moves on from his mission of destroying the United States. I am embarrassed to be a U.S. citizen. 

    I generally try to hang on the side of love and hope, but now and then I need to vent.

        Leta

January 4--The "Newly Resolute"

New Year's resolutions work like this: you think of something you enjoy doing and then resolve to stop doing it.  --Charlie Brooker

    So true! LOL! I have been a YMCA member for nearly 50 years, first in Green Bay, Wisconsin, then here in Wichita. Every new year we see an influx of the "newly resolute." They are ready to go with their exercise regimen and plan to transform their health and lives. We politely welcome them and share our swim lanes with them, knowing that we will likely see them only a few times. While the intentions may be good, the necessary discipline is not there. 

    I've been in that place. That's why I've resolved to give up on resolutions! I simply plan and hope to continue those daily/weekly/monthly practices that have been supporting me for many years. We remember that it is always easier to continue a practice than it is to restart it. 

    Moving forward, one day at a time,

        Leta

January 3--Giving Back

Willingly I bring my gifts to life: kindness, generosity, joy, compassion and love.  
--Margaret Stortz

    I'm adding creativity to the list above. 

    I have heard folks say "I'm not creative." Well, if you are alive, you are creating your life. That's why we choose to come here. 

    I am extremely dependent on nudges from Spirit for my paintings. They have come consistently ever since I took up the hobby. (Fortunately, Spirit knows I love bright colors, glitter, Green Frog Tape and straight lines!!) I am going on a Florida vacation in a week, so we'll see what "lands" on me; it may be after I get back home. I love waking up knowing there is a painting project about six feet away from me. 

    Which of the gifts will you focus on today? Multiples are allowed!!!

        Leta

The other grandson's name painting

January 2--We Can Do Better!

Critical thinking and curiosity are the key to creativity.  --Amala Akkineni

    I offer the wisdom below, seen at a recent stop at one of Wichita's finest stores, The Spice Merchant. Let's do a better job in 2026 with critical thinking. It is required to get us out of this mess and create a sustainable future.

        Leta

January 1--An End-of-Year Kindness

Performing miracles isn’t a matter of doing the impossible, it’s a matter of re-imagining the possible.  --Mike Dooley, "Notes from the Universe," 1/1/2026

    From the Dec 28 post:

    Just as I'm floating along this smooth, easy river of life, I look up at the woman cave ceiling at a brand new wet spot underneath where the kitchen sink and dishwasher reside. This will rearrange my husband's already lengthy project list, oh joy. I have offered my prayer to the Universe that this is a simple, easy repair.

    My husband went in search of the leak, starting with pulling out the dishwasher. There was no leak there, and he was able to reinstall the dishwasher more level and securely, so it was an OK effort. Ultimately he discovered the leak within our Culligan reverse osmosis (RO) system, in a uniquely shaped part that he could find NOwhere, despite online and hardware store shopping. So he arranged for a Culligan repair this past Tuesday. The dispatcher said there would be a minimum $200 trip charge. 

    A young man arrived late in the designated service time window and, with my husband's direction, saw the problem right away. Side note: different dates of home construction, plumbing, and materials make each RO installation unique. The repairman just happened to have one of the needed parts in his truck, and he had no idea when he might have an application for it. It had our name on it! And he fixed another issue that we didn't know about. And, drum roll, he did not charge us!!! An impressive end-of-year kindness! 

    Prayer was answered (as always) and the woman cave ceiling is drying 😀

        Leta