I Love a Rainy Day

Unlike the Carpenters‘ Rainy Days and Mondays song always getting them down, I like rainy days.  The kind of day that begs for hibernation, curling up with books, and reflective thoughts of life.

When I awoke this morning to that delicious half light that accompanies immane cloud cover (BTW immane is a new word I learned – means monstrous, huge), my consciousness cuddled with my soul and prepared for one nice snuggy day.

I love skies filled with clouds (note I say that while staying in and looking out.  Not unlike my admiration for snow filled days also).  The best clouds in the sky photos are taken by my friend Celi so pop over here at thekitchensgarden to have a boo at this header.  

*and catch up on her farmy adventures!  Below is one of Celi’s skies.

I must admit that retirement has rendered me one of the lowest maintenance gals around.  My needs are simple.  Gone is the need to impress anyone, including to dress to impress, to speak to impress, or anything else of the ‘ess’.

Especially days like this.  Some tea, clouds, and of course reading material.  I figure I will never run out of material because push come to shove I can make up my own.  But I love well written books and my sources are many.

One of the most exciting things I did this year was to make an effort to get out of my comfort zone in the literary world.  I know what I like.  But this year at the encouragement of my dear dear New Zealand blogging and Skype buddy, Judith who chooses how she will spend each day and who started another blog near and dear to her heart, about of course, books and more book 2017. I ventured out to other sorts of books.  I am glad I did!  I just wish I kept track of every book just to impress the daylights out of you. OH! forget the ‘impress’ anything.

Another wonderful source that soothes is Joss Burnel, words to live by, breathe by, dream by and who has found Eden in Ecuador.

 

Quiet days like this means leisurely perusing the news.  So today I see that Vancouver has beaten Toronto as the most expensive in Canada to live.  Of little matter to one such as I but an interesting fact.

Also Canadian, is that in a bar in Dawson City, Yukon, you can buy what is known as a ‘sourtoe cocktail’ and that said toe is a truly mummified toe that must touch your lips as you drink your cocktail, AND that said toe was stolen, AND that the alleged thief sent a letter to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) saying that he had returned the toe to the bar by mail. And you think we Canucks don’t have news?

Next I read an article that the approaching solar eclipse is expected to cause a terrestrial problem for us.  It seems it will cause a 70% reduction in energy output which will in turn put stress on regular old energy production.  If you rely on solar power, we are forewarned that at 2:30pm on Monday August 21st production will drop.

Well, other than a fine chap from the Ottawa area who won 22 million dollars in one of our lotteries, and who is NOT related to me, or is one of the people on this earth who adores me, but intends to benefit others with his win, I think I am finished with news.

I will make another cuppa, work a bit on my own creative endeavor, and then resume reading. AHHH lots to be grateful for.

 

2011 The Last Hurrah

As I read the last of the year posts by my buddies at WordPress I marvel at all they have accomplished and their memories of 2011 which then prompted me to look at my own adventures. My year, like most, included events that were happy, sad, miraculous, mundane, motivational and the odd time downright irritating, and or downright silly. All in all I am not sad to be bidding adieu to the year as a whole.

So in as few words as possible and as many languages as possible (just to make sure you get the message 2011:

　

Goodbye – English

creole- ba bye

Farewell – English (formal)

Bye – English (casual)

totsiens / tot siens – Afrikaans (standard)

tot weersiens – Afrikaans (informal)

tot wederom – Afrikaans (informal)

wederdom – Afrikaans (informal)

koebaai – Afrikaans (informal; derived from English “Good-Bye”)

ghoebaai – Afrikaans (informal; derived from English “Good-Bye”)

baai – Afrikaans (informal; derived from English “Bye”)

arriewarie – Afrikaans (informal; folk etymology from “Au revoir“)

tatta / tata – Afrikaans (children’s language)

vaarwel – Afrikaans (formal)

elalleqa – Arabic

khodaa haafez _ persian

aabar dekha hobey – Bengali

Donadagohvi – Cherokee

Hagoonea’ – Navajo

Ahoj – Czech

Ja ne /

・ｶ・・・ﾋ (informal) – Japanese

Ja mata ne /

・ｶ・・・ﾜ・ｽ・ﾋ (formal) – Japanese

Sayonara /

・ｳ・・・ﾈ・・ (if you will not see them for a long time) – Japanese

Auf Wiedersehen – German

Bis dann – German

Tschüss – German

Ade – German

Tschau – German

Bis Spater (Bis Schpaater)- German

Viszlát! – Hungarian

Arrivederci – Italian

Addio – Italian

Ciao – Italian

Buona sera – Italian

Adieu – French [add-ee-uh] (farewell) very formal

Au Revoir – French (aw reh-VWAH)

À bientôt – French (see you later)(ah bee-EN-toe)

À demain – French (see you tomorrow)(ah deh-MAN)

Hejdå – Swedish

Aloha – Hawaiian

Le’hitraot – Hebrew

Shalom – Hebrew

Aavajo – Gujarati

Punha Bhetu – Marathi

Sampai Jumpa – Indonesian

Adios – Spanish

Paalam – Filipino

Zai Jian – Chinese, Mandarin

Zoi Geen (the “g” is pronounced like geek) – Chinese, Cantonese

Farvel – Danish

Namaste (same as hello) – Hindi ( this video shows you how to pronounce namaste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXlcpjgyrOg )

Fir Milenge (see you) – Hindi

Alvida (Goodbye, bit formal) – Hindi

Ayo – Papiamentu

Rub Rakha – Punjabi

Feri bhetaula (lit. we’ll meet again) – Nepali

Do zobaczenia (see you) – Polish

Żegnaj – Polish

Adeus – Portuguese

Tchau – Portuguese

Do svidan’ya/До Свидания (until we meet again, formal)- Russian

Poka/Пока (pronounced pa-ka, informal) – Russian

Do vstrechi/До Встречи (until we meet again) – Russian

Selamat jalan – Malay

Selamat tinggal – Malay

Tot ziens – Dutch

Dag – Dutch

Doei – Dutch

????

– Chinese

Yasou (YAH-soo) – Greek

Hwyl fawr – Welsh

Annyeonghi Kyeseyo(if the person you’re talking to isn’t leaving) – Korean

Anyeonghi Gasyeo(if the person you’re talking to is leaving) – Korean

Näkemiin (See you) – Finnish

Hyvästi (Farewell) – Finnish

Hasta La Vista (see you later) – Spanish

Adios – Spanish

Te veo despues – Spanish

Vale- Latin (to one person)

Valete- Latin (to more than one person)

La revedere – Romanian

Veloma – Malagasy

Sige la – Pangasinan

Khuda Hafiz – Urdu

zai jian – Chinese

Ha det bra – Norwegian

Ha det – Norwegian

Sees – Norwegian

Snakkes – Norwegian

Vida parayunnu – Malayalam

Vidaiperukiren – Tamil (very formal, in fact no one uses this)

Ok maams – Tamil (very informal, use with mates only)

Poitu Vaarein (Taking leave but will visit again)- Tamil (standard fare)

Vaarein (Will come again) – Tamil short for Poitu Vaarein

Slan – Irish

Aavajo – Gujarati

Чао – Macedonian

Doviđenja – Croatian (litteraly means “Until we see again”)

Bog – Croatian ( litteraly means “God”, but can be pronounced Bok! so it is differencianised from the word “God”)

Ćao – Croatian ( Primarily used in Coastal Croatia, because of it location very close to Italy, where you would say “Ciao” and the prounanciation of Ciao and Ćao are similar, if not the same)

Mattae Sigona – Kannada (Used for meet you again sometime)

Chao – Serbian/Bulgarian

Nawatha hamu wemu – Sinhalese (This means “Catch you later”)

Subha dawasak – Sinhalese (This means “Have a nice day”)

Nasvidenje – Slovene (Formal)

Adijo – Slovene (Bye)

Čav – Slovene (Also čao and is pronounced as italian ciao

　

Thanks to: http://www.wikihow.com/Say-Goodbye-in-Several-Different-Languages

11 Famous Successes That Stemmed From Failure

I have seen this list a number of times and find it inspiring and then forget about it, so am putting it front and center

11 Famous Successes that Stemmed from Failure

Peter Legge

http://www.healthywealthynwise.com

The pursuit of success is full of some failures. In fact,

the more we fail, the greater our success. History is

chock-a-block full of people who might never have made a

success of their lives without some big challenges.

See if you can figure out who’s who in these descriptions.

(Answers found at the bottom.)

A.) He failed the sixth grade and was defeated in every

single election for public office until he became Prime

Minister at the young age of 62.

B.) He was booed from the podium when he first released his

ideas, and was considered an outcast by his peers and the

scientific community.

C.) In the first year of her contract, she was dropped by

her producers because they thought she was unattractive and

couldn’t act.

D.) He did not speak until he was four years old, and

couldn’t read until he was seven. His parents thought he

was “sub-normal.” He was expelled from school and his

teachers described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and

adrift forever in foolish dreams.”

E.) He was fired after his first performance at the Grand

Ole Opry and told by the manager, “You ain’t going nowhere

son, you otta go back to driving a truck.”

F.) She was broke, living on welfare, severely depressed,

divorced and a single mother while attending school and

attempting to write her first novel.

G.) After a screen test, the memo from the director read,

“can’t act, can’t sing, slightly bald, can dance…a

little.”

H.) A professor suggested he drop out of the English

department and college altogether. At his very first job,

he was paid in cases of shaving cream, soda and nail

clippers. His first book was rejected by 27 publishers

before printers accepted it.

I.) Enduring a rough and often abusive childhood, she faced

numerous career setbacks including being fired from her

first job because she was unfit for TV.

J.) He was told by Emperor Ferdinand that his operas were

“far too noisy” and contained “far too many notes.”

K.) They said he was too small and didn’t skate well

enough. Yet, he set the standard for grit, courage, skill

and humility.

Answers:

A) Winston Churchill; B) Sigmund Freud; C) Marilyn Monroe;

D) Albert Einstein; E) Elvis Presley; F) J.K. Rowling; G)

Fred Astaire; H) Dr. Seuss; I) Oprah Winfrey; J) Wolfgang

Mozart; K) Stan “Steamer” Smyl – Vancouver Canucks.

If you never fail, you’ll never succeed.

  http://www.healthywealthynwise.com

Secret Tapes

Secret Tapes

I have discovered the illicit fun to be gotten from having the recorder on my phone
tape delightful secret words.  I have meandering chatter by G2 as he explores his imagination with his toys unaware that his sweet voice ……

This past Saturday my sister and I went to visit a dear aunt; a sole survivor of ten, and my Mom’s sister who is now 84 years old. I listened, awestruck as she recounted things from her youth, the war and life in Canada.  She and my mom were both war brides.

It was the best three hours I have spent ever.  Tea and chat – laughs and tears.  She is the
last historian for that side of the family, the last voice to be heard.  I sit now listening marveling at her memory which may take a few minutes to unravel but unravel it she does.

I listen to, “It was in 1936 and…..”

Several things strike me as wonderful and in some ways a little sad; her work ethic for
one.  We seem to be afraid of this kind of work ethic these days, and would call it child labor, but then everyone worked.  When she was 10 she delivered papers early in the morning then returned home for breakfast and off to school.  After school it was chores, then supper, then brownies and then she ran deliveries for the local merchant.  The next morning it started all over again.  She said that each week when the merchant would pay her she would have him keep back a portion of her pay and then each Christmas a huge basket of food would arrive at their front door from the shop keeper.  The gift was anonymous and no one ever did find out who it came from.

Her husband to be was from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and both he and his brother Gerald were in the same unit.  Gerald never did make it home and when he first died it was unknown who he was.  His brother had arrived at the cemetery in
France to deliver something and seeing his brother’s body was the first time he
knew he had died.  My aunt took a few moments to remember and name several others who did not make it home.

Working hard is not something this lady did…it is something she continues to do every
day..and she continues to do for others.
She is smart as a whip about current events and her opinions are based
on good thought….she is who I would like to be when I grow up….you know..once I
leave my sixties..it takes some of us longer to grow up than others.

Life’s Straight Course vs The Roller Coaster

I would never ever, even if begged, bribed, or coerced ride a real roller coaster.  I don’t doubt the safety but wonder if my heart would just stop mid ride but I have habitually ridden those rickety tracks in life, living with passion and energy, embracing the highs and philosophizing my way through the lows, mostly with a ‘this too shall pass’ attitude.

I love feeling the thrill, the joy, the superman of it all but I find with advancing age that I now feel if I want this engine to keep running I had better slow my life to a more consistent speed.  Hmmm slow is the wrong word because I am not slowing, just attempting to keep things at a more constant rate with less revving and down shifting (is that the right term?) guaranteeing a smoother longer ride.  That’s the smart way…right?

Now who am I kidding……I am just feeling a little tired tonight and know that when the morrow dawns my current quiet joy is going to blossom, rev, and ride again!

Sweet energizing dreams all!

200+10,066=Amazing!

200+10,066=Amazing

It was a day of no specific consequence other than the business of daily living, laughing and just plain old surviving until it dawned that revelatory stats on WordPress.com …uh…revealed an opportunity to match 2 milestones; post number 200 coinciding with my site’s 10,000th hit.  I had control of the number of posts but none over the number of hits.

Most of you will not believe this or will at least look askance at this next bit of information but I am a pretty shy person…okay two minutes to ROFLAO but that’s it…now really it’s a well kept secret because I pretend not to be shy. I know, I know…I have been admittedly brazen and / or brash on occasion but but but….

Anyway regardless of my natural nature I just had to reach 10,000 views so I cautiously stepped out of my shy pod to send out a request to everyone I could reach so….I posted my plea on Facebook and then sent an email to as many contacts I had, which given my shy nature (remember) is not a long list but is a valuable list.

Now here is the Amazing Part:
I posted that I needed 77 hits and received 153 which by the way is an all time new one day total.

What took it from a day in November to an early Christmas or Birthday gift?  The numbers..yes and ..the comments!

The very first comment came minutes after posting from my friend Mary on Facebook.  The Delightful Divine Ms. M. has come to my rescue more than once, (once having driven to a little berg in the middle night to pick myself and belongings following the breakup with one of those kissing frogs and giving me tea and sympathy and a roof over my head!…ooo so long ago…yikes).  The point is..we may not see each other often but my friend Mary saves me and was the first to respond!

Mark, who is not, but who writes under the moniker ‘TheIdiotSpeaketh’ at redriverpak.wordpress.com  was most kind.
“Congrats Chris! I see you have raced past the 10,000 views mark….. I undoubtedly was, in fact, the 10,000th visitor, without a doubt…… what did I win? Is there a prize?….or cake? I was told there would be cake….. where’s the dang cake?…….come on now….cough up the cake Chris! ……. Seriously, congrats and wishing you continued blogging success”

This Texas gent who has my upmost respect for his work and readership actually was enthusiastic about my small achievement.(To put it in perspective he hits 100,000 or so a month..yup all those zeros are accurate…it’s sort of like some big star encouraging a protégée forward. )  NOW all you age thinkers who know our true age disparity and who would prefer to think of Mr. Pakulak helping an old lady across the road instead of protogeeing just step back.

Judith, my New Zealand blogging friend and often inspiration at “growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com” is also being kind.  We have been blogging about the same time and she is a beacon I follow.
‘Greetings lovely princess and congratulations on 10,000 hits.’

Crowing Crone Joss is my cohort and an amazing blogging and author and poet!
crowingcrone.wordpress.com 
“congrats oh magnificent princess!”

Souldipper is a west coast delight who so makes me want to move to The Island and share her experiences.
souldipper.wordpress.com
‘Congrats, Your Royal Highness. May your realm continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Or…is that what you want the frog to do? Whatever…progress, not perfection! ‘

Cecilia has an amazing site who makes me feel…yes it can be done!
thekitchensgarden.wordpress.com 
“Awesome! and so many hits, you must be doing something right, Princess! 

Katherine Gordy Levine at emotfit.wordpress.com is always informative and supportive and very complimentary although the envy is often reversed.
“Step by step, hour by hour, keep moving forward. You always turn my skin frog green with envy when I read your posts. You write girl as they would say on the streets of Harlem.”

Sister Act
What can I say?  She is my sister and my best friend! 
“You always make me pause to think Thank you”

sister act
“excellent I always enjoy your writing”

sister act
“you are so right all them frogs one must be a prince. youd think. Thank you for a nice thought”

So thank you all who read and all who commented..you sure made this one nice day!

Once Upon A Time..again..

Once Upon A Time

…..in a land separated by decades rather than geography where rivers and oceans ran clear and children romped in the sun for hours with no knowledge of sunscreen played outside until the glow of street lights or hunger drove them home there lived a princess.  At least in her mind and heart she was sure of her royal lineage convinced a mistaken baby switch at the local hospital.

She endured the hardship of every day life convinced that a magic carpet, or genie, or fairy from Walt Disney’s Magical Kingdom would someday arrive and transport her to her proper palace beloved by her prince.

Imagination is a wonderful thing, a wonderful place to live and I have wondered if modern technology has taken away this joy from today’s youth but everyday I see children’s dreams at work.  I visit a school yard and see them running and laughing joyfully.  I listen in on a three year old’s conversation at play with his toys.  The young I see have lost nothing.  Instead they have gained a wider scope of knowledge and understanding in technology but it is still nice to see imagination at play.

Oh and the princess?  Never did meet her prince unless he was well hidden in all the frogs she kissed but oh my she still dreams, imagines, and maybe someday..just maybe….

Oh and this is my post number 200 and very shortly, today will hit 10,000 hits, a modest record compared to some but not too shabby for this princess!

It Started With Grumpy Old Men

It Started
With Grumpy Old Men

Original Grumpy

That really was the start of a new awareness about life and the uh elderly..no..I mean life in the more senior population.  Notice I say life in not life about.
I’m talking about the movie, not real life grumpy old men.  Or real life grumpy old women for that
matter.   Age, or aged, depending on how
you look at it is popular right now, probably because all we baby boomers decided not to accept ‘old’ as meaning ‘old’.

When I was twenty I thought thirty was ancient and how ridiculous that seems now.  At twenty I could not imagine feeling or looking any different – ever.  A woman I know at
the age of seventy-six went zip lining a couple of weeks ago and loved it.  Now I tend to think eighty-five is old but may have a different point of view when I get there.  I tend not to glimpse in the mirror as often anymore as the reflection belies how I actually feel.

I do seem more conscious of age now and have been looking at what makes age ‘old’ because in spite of people thinking I am much younger the facts are the facts: I am a
senior citizen.

It seems to come down to energy and joy in living.  I have met some in their thirties who are much older than I, who seem beaten down, exhausted, too weary, and as though gravity itself is a weight that relentlessly prevents living.  Energy does not even
have to be physical activity but can be mental.
The fountain of youth as sought by Ponce de Leon was thought to be a fountain and the myth of magic waters actually extended back a thousand or more years.

Men and women alike seek eternal youth through plastics and injections which to me really has the opposite effect.  Nothing
like spotting implants and unmovable facial skin makes me shake my head and wonder where the common sense is and what trigger in their brain convinces them, as they stare into a mirror that they are younger or better looking.

Longevity is of interest to me (current life span in America is 78 and in Japan is 83)
but it is not the number of years of living but the quality of life in those years. Tibet’s longevity is interesting for there the goal is for a long and healthy life. One is no good without the other.
There are a few things that are consistent in everything I have read
about youthful living.

My idea of 5 Factors for Ageless Aging

1)      ENERGY of course that makes each day
an adventure whether physical or mental – actually looking forward to each day
or minute.  Moving with intention.  Showing interest in just about anything. That
is energy.

2)      A SENSE OF PEACE or acceptance – the
feeling that you are not at odds with the world on a daily basis.  It is not that you accept injustice but within you your mind and soul are at peace with yourself.  I don’t think this applies only to religious folk but each of us can find a viable truth within ourselves that makes some sense of existence. Que Sera Sera.  No point in getting your girdle in a knot, as they say about things you cannot change.

3)      SENSE OF HUMOR – this seems to be core to even wanting to live a long worthy life because if you cannot laugh at the irony of life or at yourself for that matter then why would anyone even want to exist for however long?

4)      GRATITUDE – so essential, not because you have to, not because God demands it, but because it increasesappreciation of everything large and small around us.

5)      JOY – What was the last thing you were really joyful about?  Try looking at
just about anything right now, the first object to your right and finding some
joy in it.  Just for the heck of it.  Just because.

What is your true age and how do you define it?

‘The eyes are the windows to the soul’ is an oft used phrase and is pretty accurate as
they reflect pain, sorrow, happiness, deceit, smugness, life, love..the list
could go on and on…but they also show age, for the youth, regardless of years
have a sparkle called life and when that sparkle ceases to show then regardless
of years, there is only ‘old’.

BTW sparkles can come back.  There is little
else more rewarding that bringing joy to another and seeing life.

Fishing ….. For Advice

Fishing..for Advice

I can’t think of a memorable fishing experience mostly because I haven’t done it however I am looking for some experts in the tried and true of three year old night fears.  I wondered that G2 had not gone through that stage yet, however this week it began.

Seems there are people coming out of his curtains and those wicked shadows once so nonthreatening have taken to scaring this little boy. Having read up on all kinds of advice, it occurred to me that I have a host of blogging buddies who are experienced and I would love to hear about what has worked what has not.

G2 is having a physical and imagination growth spurt, the imagination being delightful during daytime hours.

What has worked for you?

 Please help me reel in a winning solution cause there is nothing quite like a tired little boy!

Night Fears

I For An Eye and No Mayo

I For an Eye and no Mayo

It’s 9:56 am and feels way too early which may sound strange since I have been waking at 6ish each morning and dashing off to the track full of vim and vigor, a brain brighter than the newest star or the last burst of a dying one.

Like a newborn babe struggling to get the feel, the flow of life, my days and nights are off.  Night before last my mind would not rest until I blogged so it was post midnight by the time I finished which still would have been okay but in opening the doors to the barn to let a few horses out I accidentally welcomed a fresh herd of ideas that kept me up til early light.  I slept until nine and actually woke refreshed and had a very comfortable feeling day.

Now my expectation was that I would self correct last night and would have had vile, delicious temptation not reared it’s ugly head.

My name is Chris King and I have an addiction.  Reading, reading reading.
I have become strong enough that I can actually put down a good book for bit and have learned that bedtime routine reading should be interesting but not gripping, unless it is something I can complete in a short time.  Short stories work well for this. Currently my pre sleep angel is Stephen Hawking.  Read a bit, snuggle down and dream of space, time, universes and the fact that most of this science is supposition, but oh so intriguing in a Disney Fantasy Land sort of way.

But my daytime fare, Clive Cussler/Justin Scott came to mind briefly as I was about to roll over the ledge of consciousness to restful, restorative slumbers, and I congratulated myself on my strength in resisting an all nighter with ‘The Spy’.

I tell you I felt like a Stepford Wife (the movie version with Nicole Kidman,which I love).  Somewhere in an alternate universe Christopher Walken was throwing a switch triggering my electrical system into action independent of my sanity.  I found myself, entirely against my will I assure you, pulling back from the precipice of comfortable slumber and getting up, walking to another room to get my fix.

Oh and the Title of this?  Well I slept in till 8:30 forgetting I was taking my sister to the Eye Doc so did not get any time for brekkie.  Right next door to the office is a Wendy’s.  Unlike every other fast food who provides breakfast fare, this establishment does not. Oh and they have no mayo for the sandwich…it was still good in a lunchy sort of way.

So here I sit with a spicy chicken burger and coffee while sis gets her eyes checked and really all I want to do is get back to my book.  Maybe for lunch I will have breakfast.

Forecast: Tired today so all systems should self correct tonight due to a 90% chance of exhaustion?