March 13 through 19

Another week. This one didn’t have a lot of stuff going on, but some things were time consuming, so it feels like a lot.

Andy’s birthday
The week started with my youngest and youngest son’s birthday…a magical 44. Yep, my ‘baby’ is 44. I always refer to him as ‘my youngest’ because he never really had a chance to be a baby.

Poetry Workshop
Monday night was poetry workshop night. I brought my Ekphrastic poem for critique. As often (always?) happens some people don’t understand what I’m getting at and make suggestions for changes that are absolutely not going to be made. ☺ However, some suggestions were valuable. I haven’t looked at all the comments yet. I’ve had other things on my mind.

Ekphrastic Poetry
An Ekphrastic poem is a poem about any work of art, usually a painting. I chose Mid Winter Moonlight by Regis-Francois Cignoux. This painting hangs in the New Britain Museum of Modern Art. On April 17th, over 20 poets will be at the Museum reading their Ekphrastic poems. Mark your calendars…12:30 to 4 pm. You’ll hear fantastic poetry and view beautiful paintings. It’s a 2-fer! ☺ I do believe the usual admission fee will be charged.

Meeting at nursing home
For starters I received 2 notices about this meeting for two different days and my mother’s name was spelled wrong both times. Having straightened that out, only one meeting was held. On one level it was very productive. I posed the question about the level of caring (not care…caring). I asked if it was too much to expect the aides (in particular) to treat the residents as if they were their parent. Sounds so simple doesn’t it?

More poetry
On Thursday night, I went over to the Wintonbury Branch library in Bloomfield to hear Stephanie Elliott and Susan Deer Cloud read what I thought was going to be native American poetry. There was a little of that, but the rest got very political. After the readings, one of the poets was discussing a rally coming up this weekend in New Haven to have our troops pulled out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. I had to leave. I have one grandson who gave his life in Iraq and another who has been fighting in Afghanistan preserving the right of others to disagree and protest.

I can't emphasize enough, I may not like war (who does?), but I am in full support of our troops. God Bless and Protect every one of them.

First bike ride of the season
Thursday of this week was the best for a bike ride…close to 60° and very little wind…not like today’s gusty winds. I took a short 11.5 mile ride. It felt good to be on two wheels.

I finally got around to naming my bike. It’s a Raleigh so I thought naming it after Sir Walter’s wife (if he had one) would be appropriate. I Googled and found out he married Elizabeth Throckmorton. So my bike has become Lizzie Throckmorton. What a silly name for a bike! I have to laugh every time I think of that name. And, if you’re looking for a good story read the history of Walter and Elizabeth. My kind of people (rebellious). ☺

Basketball
Of course I’m watching the NCAA basketball tournaments. It’s the men right now. The women won’t start playing until Sunday. The guys are wearing so much ink you could fill a swimming pool. Why do they need all those tattoos? Probably could take their clothes off and you wouldn’t even notice.

Is it just me or do people just not think any more?
Lets start at the nursing home. I had to request they do a throat culture because my mother has had a very sore throat for about a week and a half now. They thought that was a really good idea. Ya think?

Then they were having trouble with their suppliers and their own pharmacy getting Cepecol lozenges to ease my mom’s sore throat. They kept telling me they were readily available over the counter. Today I took the initiative and went to the drug store myself and bought some. That wasn’t such a good idea after all. They gave her a lozenge and it numbed her throat and her whole mouth to the point she no longer could feel where the lozenge was in her mouth and it slid down her throat. I yelled for nurses STAT and had two within seconds. The potential disaster was averted and I took the rest of the lozenges home with me.

They are supposed to have a throat spray delivered late Friday afternoon. I’ll go back Saturday to check…and I’ll have a bottle of spray with me just in case.

Lets talk about the temperature of the pool here at the condo complex. It’s been COLD for about a month now. Alice is the leader of the water aerobics group and she is on the Board of Directors. She has complained to the management group to no avail. So I emailed the MG and told them how uncomfortable is was to workout in cold water as well as dangerous to be stretching cold muscles.

Today they sent someone in to check it. So what did they do? They checked the thermostat in the control room. They always check the thermostat. It was reading 92°. Therefore, Alice and I are crazy. Right? Wrong. Today Alice brought a thermometer to the pool and we proved the water IN THE POOL was 76°. Oh! I think the problem will be solved and we will have warmer water. No one thought to check the water in the pool. Oy!

As I check my calendar, it looks like (outside of going to the nursing home) I have nothing going on tomorrow (Saturday). And that’s probably what I will do. ☺

Have a good week and Happy First Day of Spring!

Happy 89th Birthday to Jack Kerouac...

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!’" (Kerouac)

Kerouac was/is one of the prominent poets of the beat generation. There are, currently, a few poets who apparently think they are equal to the originals and do their best to emulate the lifestyle and bravado.

My advice is: you and your poetry were better when you were being yourself, and, if you keep up this contrived, beat generation thing, you will end up destroying yourself and your poetry.

Have at it.

March 6 through 12 Summary

Photos
Clockwise starting at top left: pairing up; shimmer; feed me; everybody up

Felt like I caught it
Back on the 4th I had gone to the nursing home to see my mother knowing they were having a GI event on a rampage throughout the facility. On the 6th I thought I was coming down with the grumblies. I was scheduled to attend a poetry reading featuring my good friend, Colin Haskins, in Willimantic, but canceled it not knowing if I was going to be sick. Got up the next morning feeling fine. I guess had a touch of it. My mother, it seems, was probably not a victim of the “bug” after all. It was another problem that has since been taken care of.

Beautiful day for a walk
On Tuesday, I took a walk down to the boat launch. I had a bag of old bread for the ducks and geese and I wanted to see how high the river had come up. The river, as you can see in the pictures, wasn’t very high and the geese were demanding. It is a nice walk…about half a mile. I need to do more walking and probably will now that I’m working on my exercise regimen. More on that later.

Alliance for Wholistic Living
Thursday I was scheduled for an orientation meeting with The Alliance for Wholistic Living (… a group of centers, practitioners and interested community members, focused East of the Connecticut River with the mission of promoting holistic living in our communities through collaborative ventures.) I was on time, but I was in the wrong place. I’ll try again next month.

Earthquake and tsunami
We live in such an incredible time of instant communication. To think we were able to see the totality of the earthquake and resulting tsunami as it was happening. I’m get so excited about that, but it still boggles my mind.

Welsh poetry
Saturday, the 12th, I will be at a poetry reading at Russell Library in Middletown (2 pm). Friends, Glyn Dowden and Stephanie Elliott, will be celebrating Welsh poets. Glyn, a genuine Welshman, will read as the persona of Dylan Thomas. Stephanie will read the poetry of Welsh women. There will be an open mic and I will read my poem, “Beyond the Mists,” which has Celtic roots and is the title of my first chap book.

Working out
Starting this week I have forced myself to workout every day. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday it is The Core Program as outlined by Peggy Brill, P.T. in her book by the same name. I don’t know if the book is still in print. The Core Program is strictly for women and works on strengthening the back, abdomen and hips. The first couple of days my right hip flexor was really barking, but today it was good. AND I was able to walk normally because the flexor doesn’t hurt like it used to. The Program also works on the legs by virtue of their connection to the hips.

On Tuesday and Thursday I start out in the morning with water aerobics (sometimes Saturday, too) and later in the day I work with free weights.

I need a strong body for bike riding season and for walking and running up and down two flights of stairs. In other words, I need a strong body because I have plans. ☺ ☺ Can you say zip-line?

So that’s it for now. Hopefully we’ll get together again next week.

Meet Mason

Top Photo: Look at those paws! (no, not Lou's hand, the puppy's)
Middle Photo: Mason and me.
Bottom Photo: (from left to right) part of Lou, Jake, Layla, Mason and half of Jessica

Mason is Jessica and Matt's new bull mastiff puppy. When he is full grown he will outweigh Jack and Layla; probably be taller at the shoulder; will also have a massive head; but will not have the long-hair coat.

Mason is well behaved and has already been trained to 'sit.' He has a sweet disposition, loves his Leonberger cousins and is loved in return. Could not believe how well they all played together.

Back on Schedule?

It’s been a long time since I did any regular exercise. I’ve been doing water aerobics since I moved into the condo, but that’s not enough. I need strength training and exercises that target my core.

I started today. So on MWF I will do core strengthening exercises and T & T I will do water aerobics followed by weight resistant strength training alternating upper body and lower body.

If I don’t start now, I’m going to have a tough time bike riding this year. I know my right hip flexor needs attention. As I started my core workout this morning one of the exercises addresses tight hip flexor. Mine started to bark. BUT, later on when I was out doing errands, I was walking a lot easier…once I stopped waiting for it to start hurting.

I have to start walking again, too. Of course that depends on whether or not I can stretch that pesky hip flexor. Everything is connected.

Shelburne Falls, MA

The day started out with more snow. The wet, snowman making kind of snow. No time for making snowmen...Barbara and I were scheduled to go to Shelburne Falls, MA for a gathering of writers.

The drive up was most uneventful. Roads were clear and very wet. Thank goodness I topped off my window washer fluid before we left. It's an hour's drive, but it passes quickly as we find so many things to talk about. I bring my GPS just so we don't miss the exit...easy to do when the conversation gets so interesting! :)

We love Shelburne Falls. It's one of those old fashioned towns that time seems to have forgotten. However, there is so much going on in the cultural arts and civic pride. Makes one seriously consider moving there! :) (No, I think I'll stay right here where I am) I look forward to the reopening of the Flower Bridge...so pretty when everything on the bridge is in bloom. Then there are the glacial pot holes. Love this town.

On the way home the traffic became very slow and stop and go around Northampton. So I got off the interstate figuring I'd go home on Route 5. Interesting choice. I got into slow and stop and go traffic in Northampton. The scenery was more interesting than the highway, but I hopped back on 91 at the next opportunity. Slow on the interstate is faster than slow through every little town on Route 5.

Major Catch Up

It has been brought to my attention (and I have been aware) that I haven’t been posting on my blog much lately. The culprit is FACEBOOK. Yes. I seem to be out on facebook several times a day and posting little tidbits here and there. So I owe it to my V A S T audience to bring you up to date as best as I can.

Let’s start with my Woman Cave

You can call it the basement, the den, family room or my cave. No matter what you call it…it’s cozy and comfortable…my cocoon. I don’t think I’ll come out as a butterfly, however. :)

The bookcases came down in mid-January and it took some doing to get all the books placed. They are in alpha order according to subject. I also have a database that tells me which bookcase and what shelf any given book is on. It should be much easier finding what I want from now on.

My office is fully functional and I’m super thrilled to have everything in its place!

This is where I create…write, think, then write some more. My muse has come out of hiding and I’m writing poetry again…and I’ll tell you more about that later.

Water Aerobics

Two to three times a week I go down to the pool house and join a group for water aerobics. It’s excellent exercise, low impact, and it has contributed, in part, to the weight I have lost since moving here. It’s been fun losing pound number 13…then it finds me and I have to lose it all over again. This has been going on for some time now.

This morning I got on the scale and saw I lost another half pound. Astonished, I got back on the scale and it said I had lost another pound. I got off and back on only to be told I had lost yet another pound. I really don’t want to replace the battery. I like it the way it is…malfunctioning. :)

Winter

What can I say that hasn’t been said already. This winter has been brutal. However, I don’t have to worry about snow removal. Well, that’s not completely true. I have to clean off my car and shovel enough to move it so the plowing can be done. And I have to shovel my deck each storm so it doesn’t collapse under the weight of feet of the white stuff. That’s it. It gets me outside doing something physical while doing a meet and greet with the neighbors. It’s a lot of fun as we shovel out our own cars and help others who have a tougher time with shoveling.

Furnace and water heater venting

Due to the snow there had been a problem with my water heater going out. Once the vent becomes blocked (with snow or ice), the pilot light goes out. I have a service contract with the gas company so a phone call takes care of that.

Then there was a problem with fumes…presumably from the furnace. The way the vent was positioned outside, it was thought the fumes were coming into the house along the foundation. The guys from the gas company cut the pipe so it is now a straight shot out (no longer curves down and against the foundation). This will have to be re-modified later, but for the moment, the problem seems remediated. It also helped that the snow has melted away from the building allowing better ventilation.

I will have my water heater replaced in a couple of months (to an “on demand” type) and will have the furnace vent properly reassembled. I’m hoping to hold off replacing the furnace. I’m also going to research having a pellet stove insert put in my fireplace. Not sure I can afford that just now.

Energy audit

The utility companies were offering free energy audits to senior citizens so I took them up on it. They completely taped up every inch of the exterior of my fireplace. The cold air coming through there was unbelievable! It is too dangerous to use anyway, because the flue/damper does not work properly. Thus the yearning for a pellet stove insert! :)

Poetry

Several poetry events are coming up…and I mean big and important.

1) On March 12^th, Russell Library on Broad Street in Middletown, Glyn Dowden and Stephanie Elliott will read Welsh poetry. Glynn (who is from Wales) will be reading the poetry of Dylan Thomas, and Stephanie (who lived in Wales for a time) will be reading from other Welsh poets. 2 pm, public invited.

2) March 27th will see the publication party for South Windsor Voices, an anthology of poetry written by South Windsor residents and former residents. I have two poems in the book as well as being on the Steering Committee. I was a resident when the assignment began and became a former resident as time went on. March 27^th at the South Windsor Public Library, 2-4 pm. Open to the public.

3) April 17^th, Ekphrastic Poetry event at the New Britain Museum of American Art, 1-3 pm. “Ekphrastic” is poetry written about a work of art…usually a painting. I have chosen “Midwinter Moonlight” by Regis-Francois Cignoux. Open to the public…should be a spectacular event. The lineup of poets alone makes this a stellar event.

And so it goes

There’s a lot more stuff going on, but this will give you an idea of how busy life can get. Sometimes I would like just one day where I didn’t have to go somewhere or do something. Where I could go out for a walk…down to the boat launch perhaps to feed the ducks.

Mom still doing well

Yep! My mother is still doing well. If she makes it to September she’ll be 99! I’ve tried to get her to consider transferring to a nursing home closer to me, but she’s content where she is and doesn’t mind that she sees me only twice a week now instead of almost every day. Two days of me is enough? :)

Well, there you have it. I will try to do better as far as posting more often.