Mangos and Cherries: Oz versus Africa...you pick

Mangos and Cherries: Oz versus Africa...you pick

Oz versus Africa...you pick

Today has been a stressful day...I worked 6 hours on quotes for home and car insurance, info on refinancing my house, and trying to resolve my medical insurance dilemma that has hung over my head since March 2010. After 4 weeks of 2 calls per week, I received that lucky call today. I found the people i used to think were peers were/are really not that at all...they are disrespectful, blaming, rude and mean...they pretend to be powerful and almighty like the great and mighty Oz...leading me from one task to another, phone numbers, people, meetings...none of which helped me. It was like the promise that Oz gave to Dorothy and her posse...just bring me the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. I followed through and when I anxiously "presented the Wizard the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West" there was yet another assignment...one they said they had told me...and I had forgotten? Soon my conversations to these "helpful" people will be recorded for Quality Assurance purposes...I was sad.

Then, I heard the beep of my computer which means I received an email blog from my son in Niger, Africa...a portion of it read...

I walked through Galmi Hospital today, a day of traffic, a day where hundreds of people covered the ground, trying to get in, waiting to be examined. Everyone there was hurt, a hurt within themselves or hurt from seeing their loved one hurting. And no one leaves another’s side. Family is next to the bed, tending to feeding, clothing, washing old clothes. I sometimes think their culture is more advanced than my own…

I saw two women preach in a maternity ward. Though they were singing in Hosea, if I wasn’t converted before, those women might have done it for me. They brought in their wooden pulpit, set it on one end of the room and began singing. The room was quiet with new mothers and newborns everywhere. My eyes watered. Because those two women cared about each individual woman personally and cared personally for each of their souls.

THEN another beep...a blog from my daughter...a portion of it read...
A trip to Kenya which would fulfill my required sociology credits and would keep my graduation date where it would have been anyway, right after summer quarter.
I am someone who didn't want to do a typical tour of a foreign land, but instead get dirty, work with my hands, and help people who need it....and then here was this trip. I would be visiting cities without electricity and running water, I would be a living as an active part of the tribe (which is such a rare experience that's normally fostered by relationships that take years and years to build within the community)....
...But here is the best part: I wouldn't be coming in to share with them talents of my western culture like reading, writing, technological advances, or sources of environment sustainability.... I am learning from THEM....THEY are teaching ME. I am the one there to learn how they live, survive, entertain, and love. I will be the one learning to live the simple life.....where food is for fuel not taste, and water a privilege not a right.

And so...I am humbled...if only through blogs...I will not be brought down to the level that the Great and Mighty Oz people want to bring me...they will not bring me to the point of giving up. My new friend Sonnie sent me the video link above (just click on the title of this blog and it will take you there.) It, my son, and soon daughter reminded me...these people are happy, caring, nurturing, blessed with their family and friends...they do not connive or manipulate...they are grateful. I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME

Whatevva...

It is already the start of December...money is always tight...this year more than ever it seems....all electronic items I touch have served their time...my computer (ugh I can't even begin to tell...it is why I have a counselor appointment), my camera, my cell phone, the heat compressor, furnace repair, rising house payment, missing shingles, kitchen faucet broke off in my hands (that was a tricky one to live without), vet bills (ouch), water pump for new car (and by new I mean used lol), city irrigation connection (huge ough)...medical insurance company which now is asking for all their money back (unbelievable on this one), etc. I try to see a pattern...at first I thought it was signals to tell me to move...NOW. But then it was also communication equipment, things to keep me in touch with the "world". I followed a lead by an artist I adore Linda Woods...her blog is insightful and hilarious at times...she used this concept to rid her house of spiders. Since I share her post-it documentation/listing I too begun to write out 'BAD THINGS GO AWAY'...like I get the drift right? I placed these notes everywhere I am (oh yea, mainly in the kitchen...burp), and each time I am upon the site of one I read it aloud (my dogs are used to almost anything)...BAD THINGS GO AWAY. So how do I know if it has helped...I mean, even though my precious dogs chewed away at the white-trash looking vinyl/wire fence and got out...and even though my SUV which is no longer 4-wheel drive is the choice I made to go find them...and even though I got stuck twice on route, and had to open my door to call their names because the windows were frozen, and even though the postal driver and the 2nd time an older man scooping his drive had to help me push my SUV back in the direction of my house...and even though when I tried to pull in the garage it only went in reverse and smashed the front of my sweet white car....SO....hmmmmm...are the notes working? Could it have been worse than this without the notes? I found my sweet dogs, I have ribboned, wired, bungied, roped and twined the heck out of the fence...my car still drives, I now have heat, I have a kitchen faucet with running water, I have a replacement cell phone, my mom is helping me buy a computer soon, my camera...well I always have the disposable kind...and the bills...new phrase for me..."do you have a payment plan?" Life goes on, luckily...BAD THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN HERE! (reworded)

S T R I N G

Have you ever walked into Walmart after "regular" hours....I mean like after midnight? The aisles are so filled with huge equipment and pallets and boxes, and like a zillion people that you don't usually see in the light of day working there...and perhaps there is a reason for that. Well, 3 nights ago I did just that...I was finishing a project, wrapping 30 little boxes with brown paper and wanted something simple/organic look in nature to tie them...so I decided on string. Off to Walmart...now I personally love Walmart....I love the prices, food (except produce), sundries, clothes, etc...and I'm so sorry that I don't know all the political negatives about Walmart...their labor unions, or wages, or benefits, etc...so in my ignorance, and to make me feel better about being a devoted shopper, I ask the checker....do you enjoy working for Walmart? Do you feel they treat you fairly? Then whichever way they answer (and they are usually quite open/honest in telling me), I proceed out to my car. Ok, I digress...one of the many, many helpful faces in the early hours asked..."May I help you find something?" Now I feel I pretty much know the entire inventory/stocking process/whereabouts at Walmart, but string I had not purchased at Walmart. So I replied well sure...I'm looking for string.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This gap in the typing is me standing and the young man staring at my face as if one of my eyeballs had dropped out. I repeat..."string". "String he says, like for decorating?" Ahhhhhhh, well no, no, not for decorating. "Oh for hanging lights?" Ahhhhhh, no, no not for hanging lights. "What are you using it for?"" he asks. Well, I just wanted to tie some packages. "Oh.....oh....well I think its in fabrics, yea fabrics." Really? Fabrics I responded. Now you/I know sting is not going to be in fabrics but now it is 2:15 a.m., and I'm tired....off to fabrics. "May I help you find something she asks." Yes they sent me here for string. "String?" Yep string. "Well we don't have any." Walmart does not have string, that is funny I tell her...but off I go to forget the freaking string and check out. On my way to the front door I check out Office Supplies just in case...no string, but as I turned the next corner another helpful soul was there..."did you find everything you were looking for?" I thought, what the hell, I'm giving it another try...well actually I didn't find string, yes I'm looking for string. "String"? he says. Yep string. (Now the word sounds odd when I say it, string, string, string, so I think I need to Google it when I get home to make sure I am saying it correctly.) "You mean yarn?" he says. Nope just string. "What is it made out of" he asks. Cotton usually I say, but probably other things also. I'm looking for the cotton string. "Wow, Ive never heard of it, but good luck finding it." I rub off the rest of my mascara, pay for my new hotwater bottle and leave.

More art

August....really?

Well, my all-to-familiar template for this post is gone...all that was left was a black page...and as I recall this was Goal #3, so I need to keep on top of it. So I chose "this" template for now...not really me...but I don't feel like investigating how to change it right now...so "green" it is.

After 27 hours of intensive training...I PASSED LES MILLS BODY PUMP TRAINING! Yep, Goal #1 (goals not in any particular order!). Who would have ever thought I could "run the race with the big boys"...but I did...over 40 toe push ups, ran in the smoky air and then lifted weights for hours and hours...who would have believed it...not me. I said a little prayer before going to training...please dear God don't let the Trainer assign me shoulders to learn (since my sweet dogs had dislocated my right shoulder on our evening walks)...and God said, ok...and I got squats (hooray)...but I forgot to ask the prayer again for the following night...and there it was "Melitta - shoulders"...ugh. But blasted through it without a hitch...so for just this blog I will brag...I am proud!!

DH??

Yard work...I think about it all day/night. Two weeks ago as I was putting in my 2 hours to mow/trim the front I noticed a pickup/trailer and another small car pulling up to my neighbors house. Out jumped 4 guys, one dog from the truck and another 2 guys from the small car. They each pulled off a mower, trimmer, edger, blower from the trailer and started the yard work. So there they all were, shirtless and such, and I tried not to laugh still mowing, as they whistled to the dog and jumped in the vehicles and off they went...job well done. So that brings me 4 days ago. Raining, sweatpants, hat, hoodie...i'm applying the fertilizer to the front and zoom zoom here come the "crew" across the street. Well, one of the shirtless guys (who reminded me of Gabrille's yard boy from the day on Desperate Housewives) comes to chat...lol...."hey I see you have piles of bushes, etc., your roof seems to be missing in areas, your lawn looks like it could use some help, etc...lol." Well by the time he left he gave me a quote on hauling off the truck load of rubbish, a roofing job, and obtw he is a dog trainer....Yep!!!! To me, that sounds like a match made in heaven!!!

Surplus Helicopters

Out of necessity, I am obsessed with yard equipment. I SOOOO want industrial machines like the rotors of a helicopter which are turned into a weed eater, a mower that can withstand blades engaged while driving over rocks, a rototiller that starts within ahhhh 20 pulls and can chew up sod! And my sprinklers...there are WAY too many placed randomly on risers which means with each/every mow I need to use 3 pieces of equipment in order to "just mow"! I hear the neighbor's sprinklers hitting my fence...the coverage is sheer beauty....mine barely have enough pressure to oscillate!! Which brings me to the current issue...a break in a water line somewhere under the acre of land my house sits upon. I leave random notes on my neighbor's window like....ahhhhh LEAK across street, any ideas? or.....25 mole holes in yard???? He is more like the neighbor on Tool Time..."Hey you say you have a leak? Did you dig up the "hot" lines going to/from the valve box?" Like, what the hell? I had no idea that the lines were "hot", and if they were, it doesn't seem like I would want to dig down to them. All I really care about is that I can some day mow over each and every sprinkler without praying/holding my breath as I roll over the tops. Oh besides the sprinklers, water leaks, mole holes, missing roofing, etc...there is 1/4 acre of sod to be removed, huge areas to be rototilled, a truck size pile of branches, sod, and debris to be hauled....so far this week I have clocked in 42 hours of yard work...some days working 9 hours. And even with all those hours, the yard looks like crap....BUT PLEASE DON'T ASK IF I GO TO A TANNING SALON OK???

Maple Tree....

I am so sad to say....our sweet Maple Tree died last night....I have lost track of her age either 12 or 13 yrs. She had a lot against her...huge cantaloupe size tumor in her tummy, legs that would hardly work individually, teeth broken off at the gums...a bark that was now only a squeak, 2 bouts vestibular disease that left her deaf, and clouded eyes... but she still "ran with the big boys" in her own way, picking her battles, she considered the garden's compost pile as Granny's Buffet, she picked/ate fresh peaches, apricots, plums including pits (thus the teeth situation), and would always be there for petting. But the last 2 days I knew she was now on a different journey. Hamburger and a great hunk of bread was not even worth a sniff, she no longer wanted to move, only pant...till...it was so close to the end...and I thank my God that my son was home...and we transported her to emergency...and there she died...we all love you Brownie's baby...our Maple Tree...Winslow, Manuel (not Emanuel), Bocachica, Sergio, Delmar, Moses, Manchester, Tiger, Melky, Anna, Taffeta....and I'm sure I have forgotten a few...she loved to add to her name...mainly a lot of sports stars...she was a good friend/companion...I will miss her soft/wavy/blond fur...and her bark at night to help her move...I will miss everything about her...Love....Lady

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Hey just like in the day...105 for me...not too "rusty"! :)

online typing test (c) CalculatorCat.com

so....onward...

The mat arrived at Patricia's door still enclosed in its "concrete-form" cardboard tube, still with the bubble wrap, still with the giant flannel pillowcase surrounding it. It made it...I am happy that she is happy...I am happy that it has perhaps opened a window of opportunity...I am happy...IF I CHOOSE...I can make art...I can write my book...I can be stronger inside/out...I can believe in myself...I can wear cut-up tights on top of my leggings to the gym...I can wear handbands made from colored nylons...I can have hair that is many colors...I can wear purple mascara (on only one eye)...I can wear all different earrings...I can be short or tall depending on my shoes...I can sing...I can play...I can live...
And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed....Dr. Seuss

Memoir or.....?

Well there it sits...the passion I could hardly wait to create...3,000 typed pages of part of my life...its massive size overwhelms me now...I move it to different locations in the house, trying to find a "home" which seems more fitting to begin. It seemed easy to write those pages, well they were written for me, I just needed to remember/document those 6 years...but somewhere during that time the book changed into another form...ahhhh...like an avatar:) Now I look for help to reconstruct the pages...but I'm the only one who knows...I hate that. Why is it in life all the "tricky" things that you never want to encounter, happen...and they can only be solved alone/by yourself...to get through...to the other side....ugh Oh how I wish for someone to be there to share...oh how I wish...while I still feel the incredible love and hate...while I still cry...before those feelings are gone. For now, just for today/tonite I will use the stack as a small eclectic end table to sit my soda...throw my keys...just for today/tonight. Tomorrow I will look at it again, that 12" stack of pages and it will remind me to break it down to something possible...like that diet I was to start on Monday...many Monday's ago...and it will seem simple and I will delight in my progress...

Experiment almost over...

Floor mat only a day/so from mailing so this will be the "deal-breaker"...IF it arrives in Oregon looking like it did in Washington...I will soon be opening my Etsy store for my artwork. If so, I give my new friend Patricia the credit for setting up this challenge for me. I think if I were to "know/know" Patricia, that she is an artist herself...and artists tend to encourage other artists to create. So that was Patricia's role for me...and it could take my life in a much-needed new direction...so "Please Mr. Postman....." help us out here!


Also little Stella fitting right in here...it was "iffy" at first, but she tags along with Gretta absolutely everywhere she goes. To my delight I heard a ruckus outside my bedroom window to peek and see them rolling/frolicking together...pretty sweet. She sleeps in between Gretta's lets or uses her tail as a pillow. Thus the answer to my question...why did I pay $$, drive 5 hours to get a Great Pyr mix dog (which isn't a Great Pyr mix at all)...ahhhh yes..."Sozo"...to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction Amen....

Oh Stella....

This is her "puppy progression" tonight...2 days and this...so now I know why I paid/drove 5 hours for this pup...her beauty is definitely showing...sweet as sugar candy!

Mulligan? Hmmmmm......

Have you ever wondered why things happen to you in your life? Have you ever tried to analyze it...if ONLY I had LOVED more/less, tried harder/less, worked harder/less, shared more/less, spoke more/less, believed more/less, listened more/less, offered advice/less, cared more/less, more emotion/less, laughed more/less, cried ahhh less, heard more/less, felt more/less, served more/less, slept more/less (don't think possible lol), cried ahhh less, gave more/less, more cooperative/less, offered help/less, exercised more/less, ate ahhh less, thought things out more/less, friendlier/less, comforted more/less, fought for rights more/less...and so on...that things would be different...I am transparent, loving, a passionate mom above all, delight in small things, loyal to the end, I am willing to try to save anything, friendly, funny, creative, an "artist" of sorts, kind, generous of spirit/nature, loving, forgiving, forgetful, anxious to please, hard worker, funky dresser, singer, animal lover, compulsive eater, baker, writer, yard worker...and so on...I am not hateful, always right, have to have my way, a player, cheater, liar, vindictive, inhumane, heartless, inconsiderate, selfish, deceptive, scoundrel, and ahhh tall...and although that list seems adequate for a human on this earth, it is not enough in my life...I still have such shortcomings that people I loved have to "hate me" in order to claim their life "guilt free" from creating a dilemma in mine. It is all about "wearing my heart" on my sleeve, when in fact it should never be worn on the outside, in the weather...those "hurter" people don't care about a list like above, they don't care how broken you can become because of their actions...if you live...or die...because it is easy for them...destroy and move on...never to return. I am tired of people who say/believe that we tend to learn/grow from those things that are a struggle/not easy for us. Therefore, the "Mulligan" issue. If I were to "do over" one piece of the puzzle of my life, which part would it be...which part might have saved me?

Shirley, Shirley, Stella...

Yep...Stella it is...she is tiny with little wisps of fur that finely stick out all over like duck down. Her tail is long/thin like a mouse with 3 white hairs at the end....3 paws have white hairs on the ends of her toes...only one leg white with spots...she is not a "beauty" but sweet. I was expecting a larger framed dog, one who could be a companion for Gretta to play...and maybe that will happen. She had a 6 hour ride today bless her heart...but did pretty good. I put her in the tub asap and it took 80% of the "dog" smell. After her bath introduced her to the girls...Maple looked for a long and then her eyes focused after about 10 minutes and she barked like crazy dog. Gretta thought she might be able to play but the puppy yelped her way into the house and jumped back into the bathtub...so right now all the dogs walk in different areas of the house/outside. But she wanders the house on her own, has an awesome bed/toys and is starting to scamper a bit. Wherever I am...she is there also...

Sonic

My absolute FAV drink (other than you Starbucks) is Sonic's Diet Cherry Limeade with extra sugar-free cherry syrup. I might not have stumbled upon this icy delight, but Sonic is back-to-back with my gym Kia Ora Fitness. Therefore when I took a spin through Sonic parking lot I noticed a huge sign which said, "Kia Ora Fitness and Sonic are Partners". Well now, isn't that perfect...so by frequenting Sonic, I am just establishing a tighter bond between the two businesses!! With my infatuation of the drink, I was excited to see a Coke Rep at our Walmart jotting down secret notes on a clipboard as he stood in the soda aisle. Hello Mr. Coke Rep...I have a question for you regarding your products. Then he spoke...well I know everything about all the Coke line-up. Perfect, I said and explained to him about the Sonic drink made with diet Sprite and Coke's diet cherry syrup. So...can the general public buy your diet cherry syrup I asked (already dreaming of making this concoction at home). He said, hey we used to sell that drink as he pointed to a spot on the pop shelves. Really, a diet sprite/cherry drink I asked? No, it wasn't diet and it wasn't Sprite, but it was kinda like that. Oh, i said...well back to the diet cherry syrup is that available for purchase? It is in a box and they hook it up to the tubes to make the drink he said. Ahhhh does that mean you do sell it or don't sell it? Nope he said. I thanked him and picked up my 24-can/cube of Diet Pepsi.

Never Wear "Church Clothes"

Being artful and being ahhhh smart may not go hand-in-hand. Therefore, listed below are some items which you may wish to heed...

1. NEVER assume you can "open" a container of paint with your Good Clothes on! Even if you just want to let's say Dot-an-"I" with the tip of a paint brush. Nope it just doesn't work. You/like me would probably place your arm down on the canvas in order to steady your hand and BAM...paint on your new adorable Spring shirt. I have turned so many Good clothes into Yard clothes...like I WANT an assortment of Yard clothes?

2. NEVER leave containers of paint open even if out of reach of you/your brush. Let's say the phone rings and you would hate to miss that potential $million dollar call from Ed McMahon (even though he is no longer alive)...so you twist around, your necklace catches on the corner of the table and BAM...paint on your canvas...redo! p.s. take jewelry off also!

3. NEVER paint at night...my computer/filing/storage/paint room has maybe ONE 45 watt bulb in the overhead light fixture. Therefore, it gives the same illusion as when I put on makeup in the same night-time lighting....looks awesome in that room....looks horrible outside of that room in the "real light".

4. NEVER assume that wet paint dries instantly and you can begin to paint another coat. Nope that doesn't work either. It only makes the first coat into a textured mess and now you have to wait for double the time....so remember when Grandma used to say she was just "waiting for paint to dry"....maybe there is something to that.

Flower mat....

Well, thanks to someone "having the faith" I am painting my very first mat to ship to another state...now I am lucky to say I have some mats in Germany and England...but they were carried onto/off of the plane, so that doesn't really count :) So here is what it looks like in the beginning stages...perhaps my new friend Patricia will find these pics make her anxious...I know I would. In the beginning of any of MY artwork, I think it looks like crap and try to decide if I could chop up the art into ahhhh coasters or something. But hang on Patricia...it will all come together!!