Blogging Journey

I feel like a teenager who is counting the monthly anniversaries of the person they are dating!! Too silly, really. But it has been almost 3 months since I started blogging!! Who would have thought!

Blogging is an interesting experience. I always thought that blog "talk" existed within a limited sphere: the posting, the comments and building a list of readers who "follow" publicly. But it is so much more. Almost daily I hear from someone who has visited the blog - leaving no trace that they were there, but who drop me a private email or stop me in person to comment on something I wrote or a picture I took. I am thrilled when I hear from a family member or friend, but I am very excited to hear from total strangers as well. In fact, most blogs I visit are created by people I have never met and yet we have developed a kind conversation about events in our lives and shared interests. It is great fun.

This week I had a real surprise. In a previous post I spotlighted a crock pot cook book by Stephanie O'Dea called Make It Fast, Cook It Slow. And the author actually commented on my blog post. I was thrilled. What a generous gesture for her to make. It was just one more surprise in the blogging journey.

Now I won't say it isn't a thrill to see my list of public followers grow (I am up to 13!!!) But it seems like public followers are just the tip of the iceberg in this whole blogging process. To someone like me who is pretty much tied to the house, this has been a great way of reaching out to people and hearing back from them.

Thank you all who have become public followers. I love it (not that I am counting or anything, but 13!!!) A huge thank you to those of you who regularly comment. As you know if you read a previous posting, I am a big pod cast listener. Pod casters always plead with people to leave comments in iTunes for each recording. I think I better understand why they want comments. The process of blogging and pod casting is somewhat similar: it is a one-way communication. It is so much more fun if it becomes a conversation.

So if you are reading this posting, don't be shy! Use that comment box. And if you really want to make my day - become a public follower! Have I told you recently that I have 13 public followers so far!!!

Not that I am counting.

Oh no, not me!

I am not counting.

I am not obsessive at all.

As my son's girl friend said so eloquently when she shared an article she had written with family and friends ... "Stop Shameless Self-Promotion". :-)

And I responded with: I LOVE shameless Self-Promotion ... obviously!!

Thanks for stopping in!

Pod Casts - a tale of obsession!

This is a tale of obsession.

I am hoping that someone will read this and say ... Oh, yes, this happened to me too. And then I won't feel so so different!

Four or five years ago, I was given a Apple Nano iPod for Christmas by my son. I remember opening the box and thinking "oh, my - whatever will I do with this." Being a good mother, I quickly expressed my thanks. He started showing me how to use it. I search the Apple box for a booklet of instructions. There were no instructions. My thoughts raced. (I am a Microsoft person. I wanted, expected, prepared for complicated processes when it came to technology. I wanted written instructions. Darn. I would have to focus and remember what he said .)

And then he showed me how iTunes worked (oh man, no instructions there either ... keep focused on what he is saying, nod your head, ask questions, look interested!). He then showed me all the music I could download (I guess he didn't know that I really don't really listen to music.)

And then the first inkling of what was possible dawned. I felt a small buzz.

He started talking about pod casts. Pod casts are similar to radio shows. Some are done by professionals and many are done by talented amateurs. And the topics run the whole gamete - any topic you can imagine. (hmm, maybe there was something in this I might enjoy.) He asked me what I was interested in, and I said "knitting" (ha! good luck getting a hit on that topic). He typed "knitting" in the search box. A whole bunch of free pod casts on knitting popped up. (oh no, pages and pages of free knitting pod casts filled the screen.)

I don't actually remember much after that - truthfully ... the next 3 weeks were a total blur. I was busy searching for pod casts on all kinds of topics, downloading, listening, deleting ones I was done with, searching for more, and downloading again, over and over and over ... several times a day for weeks.

At some point my son dropped by for a visit. I held out my Nano and told him that he had given me a "life sucking" piece of equipment. I was no longer the master of my own life. I was addicted to this thing. What had he done? He just smiled.

Fast forward 6 months. I moved on to a iPod Classic ... way more memory ... able to store gazillions of pod casts. Yes, in just 6 short months I had 2 iPods. Addiction counselors would see the signs of escalation - red flags. Warning! Warning! - someone spinning out of control! I listened to pod casts of every description. At one point I had over 500 free pod casts on my iPod. Some were as short at 10 minutes, some ran to 90 minutes. I figured out that if I listened to pod casts non-stop, around the clock, until they were all gone, it would take me over 12 days to listen all the pod casts I had downloaded. But I had lots of memory and the pod casts were free!! Free entertainment. The more the merrier was my attitude!! I was in "pod cast hoarder heaven"!

And then my iPod broke.

Well not entirely broke - just sort of broke. I couldn't add more pod casts to my iPod. I had lots of unused memory but it wasn't accepting new pod casts. Since it was still under warranty, I could return it and get another one ... but what about all the pod casts that were on this unit? A new unit wouldn't have all my downloads. It would take me hours to re-download all these pod casts. I felt a little unsettled! Signs of withdrawal?? So I started listening and deleting pod casts off the iPod at an accelerated rate. Other pod casts started backing up on my computer just waiting to be put on an iPod. By the time I was ready to trade in my broken iPod ... I had reached a certain level of burn-out. Pod cast burn-out! I am sure that now in 2010 - this is a condition that has been studied in a medical journal somewhere. I am surprised that we haven't heard about it on the nightly news.

When I returned home with my replacement iPod, I took a deep breath! The Apple spell was interrupted. I started to think rationally.

Did I need all these pod casts? I mean, like really. Does anyone need hundreds of pod casts?

When I began down loading again, I severely narrowed my subscriptions.

Fast forward to the present. I am cured ... mostly. I don't download every day, I am subscribed to far fewer pod casts, and I think if my equipment failed, I would not hyperventilate. I would handle the situation with clarity and maturity. Of course, I haven't been tested, but ...

And besides, this past Christmas I got an iPod Touch and I discovered the wonderful world of Apps! The Apple advertisement that says "There's an App for that!" doesn't lie. You can get an App for everything. Lots of them are free. Most are reasonably priced. My iPod Touch has so much memory. I have tons of free memory still. And much of it is free entertainment!

And then in the spring Apple launched the iPad. So now I have one of those as well. And more memory and lots of space for Apps.

But I am much better, really!

Rain Out! What a Crock!

No walk for me today. Between all the down pours that are passing through our area and the errands I needed to run, and the trips to get the dogs - all 3 dogs - the day just didn't have enough hours in it for a walk. It is a shame, because I would enjoy a rainy walk today.

Before I left on my errands this morning, I set up dinner in the crock pot. There would be no time for making dinner later in the day. I love my crock pots (all 3 of them), and I love having dinner pretty much made by dinner time. Crock pot cooking is something that I do all year long, but fall and winter are the best times for using the crock pot, because the meals are usually stick-to-your-ribs in character. Perfect for cold and rainy days. And you don't have to be a great cook to use a crock pot - even a mediocre cook like myself can place a great meal on the table with the help of a slow cooker. The book pictured is called Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. I love this book for several reasons. First and foremost, she is a blogger. In 2008 she made a New Year's resolution to use her slow cooker every single day for a year and document her results daily on her personal web site called Crockpot365.blogspot.com. By the time I discovered her, she was just about ready to release this book. Like most cookbooks, she has recipes. No surprise (but wouldn't it be fun to issue a cookbook with no recipes!! Maybe just talk about recipes but no actual recipies??? Ok, that is a dud of an idea, even for me). But what is charming is that on many of the recipes, she has a section called "The Verdict". Here she documents her experience in making the recipe and how her family felt about it. This section sounds just like excerpts from her blog.

This recipe is not from the book. This morning I didn't have time to plan anything. I just marched to my pantry, openned the door and hoped that something in there would go with beef. After I ruled out Marshmellow Fluff and Cheerios, I settled on garlic, mushroom soup and Beef Broth. Later when it is closer to dinner I will taste it and decide what else I should add. I think I will add some thickening agent and then serve it over rice. That is what is so great about crock pot cooking. You almost can't go wrong (well, maybe if you added the Marshmellow Fluff ... that would be bad).

It doesn't look like much but the smell is really wonderful.

Towards the end of the morning I was traveling north on Route 95 with Milo sleeping peacefully beside me. The rain was so heavy at times that it collected on the roadway. There had to be 3-4 inches of standing water. It is unusual to see that much standing water on a major modern highway in our area. Roadways are graded to avoid just that scenario. At one point I glanced to my right - looking east - and was startled to see that there were no geographic features to be seen. A light steel gray color extended from the ground right up to the sky as far as you could see. Looking left to the west, geographical features could still be seen. I couldn't help glancing frequently to the east to make sure my eyes weren't playing games with me. And looking north, the sky was a dark steel gray in color. I was definitely driving into the worst of it. I was very glad to get home where the fragrance of tonight's dinner had filled the house. I usually like big weather events, but I like them best viewed from my front living room window with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. :-)

The rest of the day should be a very quiet and uneventful time. It is the sort of a day you can curl up on the couch with a good book or knitting, or maybe watch a movie ... and be grateful for the tranquility of your home. Of course, with 3 dogs in the house today through tomorrow evening, there is little chance that things will be quiet or tranquil.

Oh well, I dream on.

Halloween popping up all over

It is not Halloween yet, but I can feel the excitement building in the neighborhood. I love Halloween.

I love standing outside on October 31st with my bucket of candy and greeting all the kids. I love seeing the parents who also dress up while they follow their little ones around on their first Halloween. I love watching these parents prompt their offspring to say the magic words "Trick or Treat", they then prompt them again to say "Thank You". Silly parents! Once the candy hits their little bag, the costumed Super Man or Dracula, or Princess got what they came for ... and they are on to the next door. I love sitting outside on a cool to cold evening with a hot cup of cider, wrapped in a shawl, watching the excitement of the kids as they walk up my sidewalk. Yes, Halloween is special.

Some of my neighbors really get into it with decorating their homes. This year I can hardly wait to see what they do. Creepy "Thriller" music plays loudly from one house, another house has a graveyard in the front and the residents greet the "Trick or Treaters" in costume. One year someone had a fog generator that kept the whole front terraced area filled with rolling waves of fog. It was very atmospheric!

I walk my neighborhood daily now and Halloween decorations are beginning to pop up down every street. It makes the walk so interesting. I missed this in past years. Either I wasn't walking or I wasn't looking, but I know I never saw the decorations of the surrounding neighborhoods.

These two pictured decorations belong to my next door neighbor. The spider on the front door was so cute. I stood there looking at it for a bit. I don't decorate, but I pondered if I should get something for my door.

Decorating for the various holidays used to be a passion for me. Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving. In fact, decorating for Christmas alone, used to take me several days. I spent tons of time unpacking decorations, setting them out, packing away other stuff (yes, I was a bit of a clutter bug), and then when the holiday was over, I reversed the process and it took days to undo what I did just 3 weeks prior.

Over the years I dropped all the decorations - except for Christmas. I still decorate for Christmas, but I limit it to one day of decorating. I discovered that all the decorations seemed to take the fun out of the holidays for me. No one in my family enjoyed helping decorate. I never got the feeling that they enjoyed the display of decorations. It didn't seem to add to their enjoyment of the holidays.

I remember one year, I decided that I needed to have a real tree for our Christmas Tree. My husband and I shopped for the tree - he didn't care which tree I picked - he said they all looked fine. But he did the heavy lifting, carrying the tree into the house for me. When I was ready to decorate the tree my son was home. I asked for his help getting the tree into the tree stand. He did his best to help, but the tree base was crooked making it difficult to mount it straight in the tree stand. After about 45 minutes of adjusting and swearing and adjusting again, I remember him stopping, looking up at me from the floor where he was struggling with the stand, and saying with a very straight face, "Could I get you to convert to being Jewish?"

The next year I decided to simplify.

And I made a very pleasant discovery! I was happier. I enjoyed everyone else's decorations and I enjoyed all the holidays more. Less effort, less stress, more satisfaction. So simple.

But it was so interesting to see the temptation arise in me to buy maybe just one Halloween door decoration or maybe a pumpkin. But the reality was, no one else in my family cared about it, and it didn't add that much to my enjoyment of the holiday.

No, I will pass on decorating. But I am so very glad that there are people who do this and enjoy the process. Yes, I can appreciate what others do and enjoy my own holidays without the added hub-bub!

I am so looking forward to Halloween!

Ahhh! Fresh air, ducks and Tai Chi

What do you have when the morning air is cool, the sky is blue, the ducks are singing and the trees are beginning to show their fall colors?

What you have is a perfect day for Tai Chi in the park - made more perfect because it was Columbus Day and a holiday for our Tai Chi instructor - who came to our practice!!! I tell you, this Tai Chi outside could become habit forming!!

Here is our instructor leading the group through a difficult movement.

So this move looks easy, but I can tell you, it isn't! Balance, balance, balance. That is what it is all about along with lots of concentration. Our instructor makes it look easy. Guess if you have been doing this sort of thing since you were a child - it should look easy.

We are looking really good here! At least I think so.

But this move is just prior to another one legged balancing move. When I am doing this, it is right about here where I am thinking ... "ok, now concentrate, don't embarrass yourself, don't pinwheel your arms, don't think about anything but balance, balance, balance."

Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. That is why I am taking the pictures! ;-)

Our instructor has such grace.

This move isn't that hardest one, but getting the weight on the correct foot is critical for me. I am forever trying to put my weight on the front foot, and then trying to slide on the front foot. Take it from me. Back foot for the weight, front foot for the slide.

Anything else ... failure!

You would think that the knowing and the doing would go hand and hand.

Not!

The beauty of this lake can't be overstated.

It is the perfect back drop to the peaceful practice of Tai Chi.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

When you hear the words - Appalachian Trail - most people on the east coast of America know what you are talking about. Bill Bryson, another of my favorite authors, wrote about this trail in his book A Walk in the Woods, Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. If I had to pick only one book as my favorite, it would be this one. This is the story of Bill Bryson, novice walker, and his very out-of-shape friend Stephen Katz as they prepare for and hike the Appalachian Trail (AT).

For those not familiar with this hike, the AT is 2,100 mile long trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine in the USA. As Bill Bryson notes, it is the "granddaddy" of long hikes. The trail meanders through numerous states, following forests and mountains. The trail is the home of bears, bobcats, snakes, wolves, wild bore, coyotes ... the kinds of things you would expect to see in a wildness area. The temperature ranges from below freezing to the sweltering heat of summer depending on when and where you begin your hike. Periodically the trail has open wooden shelters that hikers can use, but typically the shelter provided is the one you carry on your back - a tent. In fact, in true hiking style, you must carry everything you need on your back and plan carefully where you will depart from the trail to replenish your supplies and get a shower! All this and more was discovered, learned and shared by the author in this book.

This book is more than just a hiking book. Interwoven in the story of the hike is the concerns for our fragile ecosystems and a plea for conservation of America's last great wilderness area. Respecting nature is the thread that runs through this book in a very moving way. In addition he shares some of the stories about the risks of hiking this remote trail, from reported bear attacks to brutal murders. It is a fascinating look at what it takes to walk the trail from start to finish.

One of the appealing aspects of this book is Bill Bryson's very humorous style of writing. He is very comfortable poking fun at his and Steven's naive beliefs and ignorance. In fact, chapter one was laugh-out-loud funny. Not being a hiker previously, Bill Bryson goes on a shopping trip to a local outfitters, the Dartmouth Co-op, to purchase equipment. That chapter launches to rest of the book into a very enjoyable read.

To close I would like to leave you with a quote from the book in where he talks about the woods. This quote is from Chapter 4. It is very early on in his experience with walking the trail so his observations are probably pretty typical of an average person who lives in our built up country. Some one like you or me.

"Woods are not like other spaces. To begin with, they are cubic.

Their trees surround you, loom over you, press in from all sides.

Woods choke of views and leave you muddled and without bearings.

They make you feel small and confused and vulnerable,

like a small child lost in a crowd of strange legs.

Stand in a desert or prairie and you know you are in a big space.

Stand in a woods, and you only sense it. They are a vast, featureless nowhere.

And they are alive."

Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods.

Note: The book is categorized as Travel and was originally published in 1998. Since that time the author has written several other books. I haven't read all his works, but those I had read have all been worth the time. He is a gifted story teller.

#10 Appreciate the Small

My life is filled with so many wonderful smaller things ... stuff I overlook all the time. Like the trees as they change to brilliant colors in the fall. Who looks at the single leaf?

If left unchecked, I would focus on only the big stuff of life - big fun, big loses, big achievements, big hurts, big happiness ... missing all the little stuff ... the little stuff that actually fills my life.

I once owned a book called Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It has one of those glitzy titles ... one meant to catch the casual shopper. And it caught me, but it does have a great message. I can't find the book now, but I remember the first time I read it. I thought, "Wow, great idea, slowing down the pace of your life, paying attention to the everyday activities, enjoying the moment, focusing on the now." And then, of course, in one of my fits of cleaning I pitched the book. I wish I hadn't. Now I have to get another copy.

I know can find happiness, satisfaction, contentment in the everyday activities of living if I focus on the everyday things that give me happiness and satisfaction and contentment. I did alittle of that focusing during "beach week" ... the week when my family went to the Outer Banks and I remained home. In previous years I ruminated for a whole week on what I was missing - the whole darn week!! This time I focused on my walks, on my visit with friends, on my knitting group, on Tai Chi, on my cats who were thrilled with my undivided attentions. Yes, I still missed my family, and the grand dogs, and the missed the fun of the sand and the ocean, but I was able to live with what I had rather than what I didn't. I focused on the smaller contentments rather than the big missed vacation. It was a happier week.

The challenge is how to apply that focus to the whole of my life - not just one week.

Writing this blog has helped me see the daily events in my life differently. Walking, pets, hobbies, writing! I had a huge response to my posting on feeding the wild birds and the squirrels. Birds and squirrels are such a small part of my life, but when I think back on it - focus on it, I realize they are so much more. They have provided endless hours of entertainment for my 2 cats and my mom. I can't tell you how many times my mom says "oh, look at the red bird" - like it is the first time she has seen it instead of the tenth time. And the cats think of my deck slider as "TV for Cats". They love staring down the squirrels (and everyone is pretty brave with solid glass between them). And I have learned so much about the kinds of birds that reside in my neighborhood. I have identified almost 20 so far. And writing about my experiences was great fun and seemed to provide entertainment to others. A small thing that was bigger than I thought.

And then there are the things in life that are minimized and overlooked, but are huge when they are at risk of being taken away ... like vision and reading. In a previous posting about reading more, I commented on my husband's reduced vision. Certainly neither one of us ever thought for a moment that one of us would loose the ability to read. Reading is like breathing, after all. You just do it. You were lucky enough to be given the gift of reading as a child, you've done it all your life, you assume because you can do it now you will always be able to do it. It becomes minimized over time compared with the other things in your life. And so you forget to appreciate it, to view it as important, to see it as an immensely vital part of your daily living.

It is small.

Until you don't have it.

Small stuff ... appreciate it!