Today's Exercises in Musing

I've taken quite a few photos on my walks with Rufus, but when I get home and start looking at them, I don't have any that are good enough. Not good enough to post on the blog, not good enough to print, not good enough to send out. And yet, several of them are too good to delete. But if they aren't blog-worthy, what should I post here? Drat. A conundrum.

Therefore, without further picking and perfectionizing, here are some shots and thoughts from today's walk.


The air was calm today, and we couldn't pass up the pond reflections.


I love to look at the sky, and I love the texture of faraway trees.

Today was the first time I've seen the new fiddleheads this spring.

I watched two herons in flight. It was date night and they were heading to a dinner spot. So graceful, and such amazing wingspans. I didn't attempt to take pictures of them.

Up ahead, I saw a little critter run across the trail. It held its skinny tail up off the ground, so I think it was a chipmunk. When we came back to that spot, we saw it again, but carrying something large and brown in its mouth. Maybe a mama chipmunk, taking the baby for a swing in the park? Rufus didn't get excited about seeing her, but he sure did pick up on her scent each time. If I hadn't seen the critter, I wouldn't have appreciated his olfactory sensitivity. Later, he trotted nose-down for a good 30 feet, obviously on someone else's scent. Interesting.

Rufie was very pleased that I let him drink some pond scum. Ah, cold and wet, that's the ticket. He also got to go wading a couple of times when I stopped walking to take photos. I wonder how my car is going to smell tomorrow... Oh, well. We spent a fine hour together, and both of us came home refreshed.

A Place With a View

I was blessed, privileged, and honored to join a few friends for a get-away at the beach last weekend. It was beautiful, uncrowded, and fun -- and those ladies can COOK! Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

The Hiccup Cure No One Seems to Know

As noted a while back, this blog continues to get one-shot readers from all over the world. This week, we've had visitors from Egypt, Romania, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Germany, and Finland. This amazes us, and we've wondered what marvelous thing we could post that would be of benefit to our reading public. If we thought they'd be regulars, there wouldn't be pressure to come up with one amazing post. But chances are, there are tens of people who will drop in this week and never find (or seek) this blog again. This could be our big opportunity! What should we write?

It came to me tonight. There is one thing I know, which apparently very few others do, that could change one moment of one person's life. I know how to stop hiccups, and Rufus can attest to this fact.

Yes, that's right. For many years, I have been afflicted with occasional flares of diaphragmatic spasms. I have never had the hiccups for more than an hour or two, thanks to the efficacy of this family cure.

Get a glass of water, but make sure it's only half full. (Even a pessimist should be able to measure this.) Try to make sure no one is watching, as they may develop their own conniption fit when they see what you're going to do next.

From a standing position, place the inside of your upper lip on the far outside rim of the glass. You'll have to lean forward and tip your head out and down. Continue to lean forward, so your head is almost upside down. Let a little water dribble into your mouth, then swallow it carefully. Take a few more sips, breathing slowly and carefully.

Check to see if the hiccups are gone. Stand up and breathe slowly but normally. If you hiccup again, repeat the upside-down drinking technique for a few more sips.

There you have it. To all our international fans: Rufus and I are pleased to present today's post for your education, and we invite you to wander back here any time to see if we've written about our extensive research into migraines, ingrown toenails, and post-natal separation anxiety.

Almost Easter!

Blind culture is an oral culture. Object lessons can be appreciated by all. With these things in mind, I collaborated with my friend to come up with an especially tactile version of "Resurrection eggs" for next Saturday's Blind Mission luncheon.

I had a great time putting these objects into the plastic eggs, and I'd love to get some audience participation here. Are there one or two items in the photo that are significant to your understanding of the Easter story? Please leave a comment and tell the world! Oh, and because I'm partial to the abstract-random learning style, there are multiple possible explanations for each item. There are [almost] no wrong answers!

In case it's hard to see them, here's a list of the things in this egg:

sponge
twine/rope
round stone
coin
thorn
strip of fabric
nail

Thanks for telling a piece of His story! Oh, and feel free to check out John 19 for a little identification help.

All Is Well

We were sound asleep tonight. All of us, especially Rufus. The house was completely still. Someone even remembered to turn off the last light.

Then the phone rang.

The phone, in the deep dark of sleep.

I've heard that ring before. It was later, darker, and that time really ominous.

This time, it was a son's friend. No, that son is asleep. In his own bed. Right upstairs.

Isn't he?

Mom had to go check, even after the call had ended. Yes, that boy is most definitely asleep, right there in his own bed.

Thank You, Lord. Thank You. Not this time.

The other time, it was a call of warning. "We're bringing him home. He needs you. He needs a doctor."

Thank You, Lord. Not this time.

It's been two hours. Maybe I'll get back to sleep soon. Thank You, Lord. All is well.

Ups and Downs of Anosmia

I've been smelling for about a week.

(I'll wait while you think of all the one-liners this statement attracts.)

Several years ago, I noticed that I was detecting phantom odors. Sometimes wood smoke, usually chemicals or vinyl. Nothing was ever really there -- no one else smelled these things. It was all in my head, so to speak.

Then I got a sinus infection. A killer sinus infection. When I finally recovered from it, I couldn't smell anything. Not a bar of soap shoved up my nostrils, not a clove of garlic, not my stinky dog, nothing.

I remember crying in the shower one morning, sobbing over my inability to smell shampoo. I kept trying to smell, and I prayed hard that this sense would be returned to me. Nothing happened. I was crushed. Even though it was only my nose that didn't work, scent is perhaps the most memory-evoking sensory experience. No more fresh Crayolas. No more onions and pot roast in the slow cooker. No more babies' sweet scalps.

Over the weeks and months and then years, I adjusted to not being able to smell. When we got a puppy, I didn't have to be the one to track down the location of his accidents. Driving past the dairy farm, it doesn't matter to me if the windows are open. Unwashed, halitosis-laden library patrons get unbiased treatment from me.

But for the past week or so, at random times, I've smelled a sweet detergent odor. I think it's like the windshield-washer in my car. (Have you ever sprayed your windshield and had the scent come through the vent?) It's pleasant. It's nice to be smelling something once in a while. It brings back some of the longing I used to feel, to be able to smell everything again.

But it's all in my head.

International Roadside Attraction: This Blog!

There's a stat counter attached to my blog. It's fun to see that people have checked it out, and occasionally I recognize a friend's visit. Lately, though, a lot of folks have passed through as they zip along the information highway of the blogosphere. I've often had ten or twelve visitors a day from all over the world, but usually they don't stay long enough to browse these posts. It looks like they're hitting the "next blog" button at the top of the page -- something I've done, too, just to see what's out there.

In my random visits, I've found a few Blogger blogs that I wanted to keep reading. Here they are, in no particular order:

Cake Wrecks -- fall-off-your chair hilarious, sometimes "adult" humor

Educated and Poor -- insightful, funny, real life, sometimes "adult" content

Settling in Gently -- honest insights on trying to fit in, in paradise

The World According to Gaber -- beautiful watercolor paintings, but only a few posts

Then there are a couple of other blogs I've found one way or another:

Add Humor and Faith... Mix Well -- warm, witty remembrances and photography

Planet of the Blind -- pithy, poetic, meaty musings on life and sometimes disabilities

There are many more blogs on my favorites tab, but these are the ones I most wanted to highlight for you, dear reader. Somehow, I don't feel drawn to read stuff that's very similar to my own. That's true of the books I choose, too. I'd love to have the clarity of thought or funny material that some of these other writers do, but I can only work with what I've got. That's okay.

When I see that folks from Sweden, Brazil, Spain, United Kingdom, Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, and India have wandered through the dog's blog, my imagination strays to those locales. I might pull up Google Maps and zoom in on a random spot on the map in one of those countries. It's all the better if I can find a street view. Just yesterday, I had a lovely drive through a French village. On a recent visit to London, I couldn't get my eyes off those wonderful cars. I've spent a little time in New York City, as well.

That's all quite entertaining for me, but this isn't doing much for my readership statistics. Oh. This blog started out as a class assignment, then morphed into something to share with friends and family. Every person who takes the time to read my ramblings is a valued guest, even if I'm only a minor attraction on the side of the superhighway of the ether. See you on the map!

While We Were Waiting

At the library this week, someone was charged with the duty of standing outside to encourage the use of a certain piece of equipment. From this vantage point, waiting for the next unsuspecting patron to meander up, she enjoyed the view. Mount Rainier peeks over the freeway on clear days. Jets leave ribbony vapor trails high above. Crows warn one another from their perches high in the firs. And right there in front of the doors, there is functional sculpture that begs a photo.

I like to call this one, "Between the Lines".

 

And this is "Tree Rings".

It was a nice week at the library.

A New Way to Walk

 

Rufus and I tried out a new trail this week. I had Monday off, but my second son had to go to work. He had told me about a riverside trail near his place of business, so I offered him a ride to work and brought Ruf along. Halfway there, even though I hadn't used the word "walk", Ruf had his chin on my shoulder. It was doggah-speak for, "AREN'T WE THERE YET?" (Emphasis his.)
 

This trail is in a more urban neighborhood, but there are a number of bird-friendly adaptations. Across the river is a nesting platform for hawks or eagles (it appears to be unoccupied, if anyone's interested.) There were three shelters from which to observe the avian public bathing area. (Who knew that crows like to play in the water?)

The one portion of the trail that Ruf did not like was when we passed under eight lanes of interstate freeway. Every time a tire hit a seam in the pavement, it echoed down to us and he would give a little jump. It was hard for his doggah brain to deal with phantom noise like that. Further on, the route is next to a retaining wall that keeps the traffic thirty feet above the walkers.
 

Overall, I still prefer my regular trail, but this one was very nice. We'll go back and walk the other direction sometime. That way parallels a different freeway, sans retaining wall. Should be interesting.

Amazing! I Like Endorphins -- and They Like Me!

It's finally happened. A couple of years ago, my eldest (and very buff) son told me that part of the fun of exercising is the endorphins that kick in and make you want to keep going. "Ha!" I snorted. "I've never met an endorphin in my entire life. Maybe I'm immune. Exercise is NOT fun."

Last fall, I loaded some of my favorite CDs onto my cute little MP3 player and decided to take Rufus for a walk around the block. Once around our block, side trip to the wetlands included, is about a half mile. Ten minutes. Three songs. Okay, maybe two laps, just to listen to a little more music. Hmmm... That was kind of nice, actually. After a few days of that, I decided to check out some new construction, a little subdivision that was half built before the market tanked. See that patch of weedy, rocky ground over there, with the cement foundation? The flyer says they can finish that house for you in five months, and maybe you could negotiate to get the price below $300,000. And then I had to walk a little farther to visit the new man-made wetlands next to another new development.

After a good month of walking three or four days a week, I developed foot and ankle problems. Ugh. I went to see the podiatrist, who told me to stretch and ice and stretch and ice and get a new pair of shoes. Eventually I eased back into walking, this time on a paved trail through wetlands and woods and neighborhoods. It's GREAT! Last week, I didn't want to stop, and the Ruf and I made a record-setting 4.5 miles in 70 minutes! We saw new territory, chatted with the owner of a gorgeous black-eared Dalmatian, sniffed countless sniffs, and took a few nice photos. (Unfortunately, I still haven't diagnosed my photo-transfer problem, so nothing to post yet. Grrrrr.)

It's just like Andy told me -- now I'm at the point where the endorphins kick in when I start planning my next excursion, and I can't wait to go! Before I even got out of bed this morning, I realized that if I drive Pete to work, Rufus and I can walk on a different trail today. Yee haw!

Hey, son, wanna get to work early? Do ya? Can we go now? I've got my shoes!