Admittedly, living on an island comes with a unique set of disadvantages. It’s far away from everything, there’s no place to shop, getting on and off is a problem especially with nothing more than a two lane bridge, and sand is as common between our sheets and in our hair as it is on the beach. Yet, I believe the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Life here is different than living on the main-land, where the synergy of city life generates constant motion. There is an attitude on the island that commands a slow and easy pace of everything and everyone living here. We go by what’s affectionately termed, “island time.” Time is slower here. Minutes drag out and hours linger on the clock, each reluctant to give way to the next. Island driving takes getting used to. Most folks drive slowly, a little under the speed limit, usually because it’s nearly impossible to tear our eyes from the snow capped mountains and sparkle’s dancing on the water. Consequently, we slow down and enjoy the view and arrive late everywhere we go. Eating out here, is always fun. We have a few nice places to enjoy a good meal without…
Author: Mary Ann
What’s For Dinner?
Now that’s a question I’ve been asked a few times. In fact, I bet that’s the number one most frequently asked question in the history of the world. What ‘s for dinner? After all, it’s the most important thing on our minds from the minute we’re born, right? So, what is for dinner, anyway? I for one, am all taped out on the menu thing. I have no idea what’s for dinner any more. I just can’t keep coming up with what’s for dinner. I’m a good cook; not a great one, but a good one. Yet, I’m tired of my own cooking. It’s been going on for about 35 years. That’s a long time. Going out helps, occasionally. But it’s a bit of a drive, and staying home is nice and the food is actually better than at most restaurants, and I can control the fat content. Eating low fat and natural foods is an issue in our household. We like it that way. In my dreams, a chef shows up every evening and surprises us with what’s for dinner. It’s healthy and fresh and delicious and served on fine china. Then, the chef does the dishes before leaving.…
The Art of Aging, Without Killing Someone
It has been said, women are aging more gracefully than ever. That women over fifty are still beautiful and desirable, and even better the older they get. Well isn’t that nice. I guess on the surface, most of us still look pretty good. But don’t let that fool you. It’s not what’s on the outside that counts, folks. It’s what’s happening on the inside. Underneath the smooth, wrinkle free, microderm-abrased face, and whitened, a million times over, smile, is the heart of a women sick to death of just about everyone in the whole world. Especially the freaks in our country that insist we not only look as good as we did twenty years ago; but better. It’s Okay, now days, to age, as long as the aging is done in the most appropriate and non-offensive manner. What does that mean, you young girls may ask? Well, let me be the one to tell you. Aging inoffensively means do it, but don’t let anyone know. Take all the anti-aging precautions available in the entire world, never stop moving, exercise like your training for a marathon every free minute of your life, eat all natural and in tiny portions. Get manicures…
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
It’s surprizing how many people become Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve no Irish blood in me, but I love the whole St. Patrick’s Day celebration. When else do we have the opportunity to cover ourselves in green spray paint, stick shamrocks on our faces, leprechauns in the closets and enjoy a cold Guiness to boot? When else do we absolutely die for corned beef and cabbage? How did it all happen, this super hype over a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Maybe we just needed another excuse to have a party, something more to celebrate. I think it’s important for adults to take the opportunity to be goofy, and applauded each other for it. We’re always so serious. We work, parent, clean, train, study,worry, and work some more. St. Patrick’s Day is a day off from all of that; a chance to be a kid again. At least for a few hours, anyway. So, even if you’re not Irish, get Irish for the day! Put on a Leprachaun hat and some green nail-polish and go out for a green whatever. Listen to some good ol Irish music, some bag pipes and Oh Danny Boy. Remember;…
It’s a Dogs World
I think my relationship with my dogs is a little out of whack. The other day one of my neighbors asked where they’ve been lately and I announced they were on restriction. I said this like I was totally disgusted, and I was. I know she thought I was nuts, but they’ve been very bad lately. My dogs had been disappearing, running off into the woods for hours at a time and coming home filthy. Consequently, they’ve been restricted to outside on leashes or outside locked in the yard. They hate it. They come in the house and follow me around all day whining to go out. When I let them out, they sit in front of the gate barking to get out of the yard. Finally, I get to the point where I simply can’t stand it any more, so I let them out and they disappear. Next time I see them, they’re filthy and they want back in the house. It’s never ends. The sad thing is, even though they drive me crazy, I would be lost without them. They get me up and out the door every morning. They insist we walk for miles, regardless of the…
Just Thinking
I’ve been having a hard time deciding what to blog about lately. I rarely have writers block, but this has been a long stretch, about 10 days, and I’m wondering what the problem is. There are unlimited topics to discuss, yet nailing one down and running with it appears to be a difficulty. Am I sick? I have been battling a tiny bit of a head cold lately. Am I just brain dead? That’s a possibility. It’s also possible that I have so much to blog about, it’s difficult to pick a topic. Moving into spring is always a mental boost. Our dark winters leave us craving sunlight and warm air. Yet, before we get there, we need to finish the business of winter. It’s as if we’re on the job and have been offered a promotion. We need to get the old job finished up and everything in order before we can walk away and take on something new. We need to finish up winter. We’ll wait patiently for the sun to rise early enough to be the alarm clock and the high tides to recede so Puget Sound isn’t quite so cluttered with debris. We’ll get serious and…
The Girl She Was
Mother is eighty-three now. She has spent the past thirteen years in a wheelchair, unable to read a book or speak her mind. Unable to be the girl she used to be. Jackie was a trouper when us kids were growing up. The mother of seven, a wife forever, an old fashioned homemaker. She loved to play a little golf and walk a few miles every day. She read every novel she could get her hands on and then passed her favorites on to us. As we got older and she had a little more time, she became a wonderful quilter. She made a quilt for each of us, even the grand-kids, until the stroke happened, that is. Her quilts are full of beauty and love, a valuable reminder that she hasn’t always been like this. There was a young girl quality about Mom, as if the child within refused to be discouraged by the body aging. I claimed “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” by Cindi Loper, as her theme song, years ago. She was a good time waiting to happen. Jackie was thin and petite, still is, which allowed her the luxury of wearing just about anything she wanted.…
Scouting For Buttercups
There seems to be a promise of spring in the air lately. Cherry trees are blooming, tulips are popping up, and temperatures are mild. Yet, I hold out for Buttercups. Nothing says spring like those brightly painted, happy little wild flowers, picked by the fist-fulls as kids. They are the official stamp of spring in my book. I’ve been keeping an eye out for them, maybe I’ll spot an early bloomer here or there. But so far, I haven’t seen any. Buttercups prefer warmer weather and sunshine, kind of like I do. The longer the days are, the more likely we’ll start hearing reports of Buttercup sightings. They are almost as important as whale sightings this time of year. When the whales come through, we know summer is just around the corner. When the Buttercups bloom, it’s even closer. I think they’re under-appreciated. Have you ever seen a happier flower? Do you know of any other color that smiles the way Buttercup yellow does? And Buttercups demand nothing of us. Everything they need is provided by Mother Nature. No soil preparation or fertilizer required. No weeding or hoeing. They get to be wild and free, the way we’d all like…
Quiet, Please…
There is a lot of talk about cleansing these days. It’s supposed to help prevent cancer and all kinds of medical issues. But cleansing is just as important for the mind as it is for the body, most specifically, noise cleansing. There was a time when the sounds of the city were woven into the fabric of my life. It didn’t matter what time it was or weather it was night or day, the background sounds were always there, filling every possible nook and cranny of my brain. Constant traffic noise, the activities of neighbors, voices, lawn mowers, a drill, a saw, music blasting, door bell ringing, dogs barking, airplanes overhead, even the static of electricity charging through the electrical lines hanging above our house. There was a time when I was so accustomed to an abundance of sound, that most days it went unnoticed. Anyone been there? An astonishing amount of noise passes through us on a daily basis, yet I find it most noticeable when I am removed from it. The noise seems to stand out in total silence as if it takes time for all the sounds to fade away. When it finally does, we are left…
Supplement This!
As I nestle into the 50’s, I’ve noticed some rather disturbing likenesses between my parents and myself. Now, they are in their 80’s and are therefore expected to have less than reliable memories and knees and hips requiring repairs. It’s also normal to see them throw ten or twenty pills down in a twenty four hour span. I’ve spent many years shaking my head and vowing to be as different from them as night and day. I will not be a slave to prescription drugs nor will I take a suppliment for every little thing that comes along. Right? I was doing quite well on my no pill diet until my cholestrol showed up in digits high enough to stop an elephants heart mid beat. That was the beginning. A little Lipitor for that along with something herbal. Well, two or three herbal things, actually. Need to get that under control. Then came the “change”! Oh, yes, I am in the midst of the ever so dreaded change. Go crazy or break down and take some flax, nighttime rose hips, femal, soy, etc. There now. That’s not so bad. Just a few suppliments here and there. I’m no spring chicken after all. Oh, the…