Share Your Thankful World…11/21/18

This SYW Challenge comes from sparksfromacombustiblemind

She says: I will post four or five different questions each week for you to answer.  

Are you an Early to bed, early to rise person, a night owl and day sleeper/dozer, or an ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’ person?   

I don’t. Sleep that is. Well, I do, I mean I must, right, or I wouldn’t still be here at 70. But I have never been able to pull off anything considered normal or regular, apparently not since I was 18 months old. So it was perfect to have a job for almost 40 years that had me “on call” 24/7.

My sleep record in recent years is almost 5 hours in one stretch. Usually it’s way less. I often sleep in two segments…2 hours in, I wake up and am ready to roll since my body thinks we’ve just had this great nap. I trick it, into thinking we are up for the duration and do something inane for a while and then we go back to bed and usually pull off a longer stretch.

For the last 18 years I have had an almost daily NAP! A ritual started as a way to connect with my slightly feral cat. We got to the place where I could say, “Zorro, wanna take a nap with me?” and he would beat me to the bed…and then wait for me, no matter how interrupted I had been.

Zorro passed away in September from kidney disease.

I have not had a nap in 82 days. I still can’t do it……

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I get really wordy when I haven’t slept. Can you tell what kind of a night I had last night?

 

What are some misconceptions about your hobby, should you have a hobby?

Uh, I raise Giant Spiny Australian Leaf Bugs that get to be about 8 inches long.

What do YOU think of that?

 

 

A penguin walks through the door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?

Dance lessons start in five!

 

Aliens have landed…do they come in peace?

They’re not Here, They’re not Coming

From the Arizona desert
To the Salisbury Plain
Lights on the horizon
Patterns on the grain
Anxious eyes turned upward
Clutching souvenirs
Carrying our highest hopes
And our darkest fears

They swear there was an accident
Back in ’47
Little man with a great big head
Splattered down from heaven
Government conspiracy
Cover-ups and lies
Hidden in the desert
Under endless skies

Well, it’s a cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold
Post, postmodern world
No time for heroes, no place for good guys
No room for Rocky The Flying Squirrel

They’re not here, they’re not coming
Not in a million years
Turn your weary eyes back homeward
Stop your trembling, dry your tears
You may see the heavens flashing
You may hear the cosmos humming
But I promise you, my brother
They’re not here, they’re not coming

Would they pile into the saucer
Find Orlando’s rat and hug it?
Go screaming through the universe
Just to get McNuggets?
Well, I don’t think so, I don’t think so
It’s much too dangerous, it’s much too strange
Here in a world that won’t give Oprah
No home on the range

Well, it’s a cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold
Post, postmodern world
No authenticity, no sign of soul
The radio won’t play George and Merle

They’re not here, they’re not coming
Not in a million years
‘Til we put away our hatred
‘Til we lay aside our fears
You may see the heavens flashing
You may hear the cosmos humming
But I promise you, my sister
They’re not here, they’re not coming

To this garden we were given
And always took for granted
It’s like my daddy told me
“You just bloom where you’re planted.”
Now you long to be delivered
From this world of pain and strife
That’s a sorry substitution
For a spiritual life

Well, it’s a cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold
Post, postmodern world
No place for sentiment, no room for romance
Bring back the Duke of Earl

They’re not here, they’re not coming
Not in a million years
Turn your hopes back homeward
Hold your children, dry their tears
You may see the heavens flashing
You may hear the cosmos humming
But I promise you, my brother
They’re not here, they’re not coming

They’re not here, they’re not coming
Not in a million years
‘Til we put away our hatred
And lay aside our fears
You may see the heavens flashing
You may hear the cosmos humming
But I promise you, my brother
They’re not here, they’re not coming

Lyrics from Genius

 

What are you really, incredibly thankful for this week?

My husband, my son Michael, my grandsons Julius and Luca, all of whom live with me in a house I have owned for 43 years.

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I don’t know how I could be any more grateful for a building than I am for this 110 year old, funky, maze of a house that has supported me, more than 40 other people and countless animals living here over all these years.

 

 

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https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2018/11/19/share-your-thankful-world/

Cee’s Share Your World 3-12-18

Questions this week are great!! Very thought provoking!

If a distant uncle dies and you were always his favorite and leaves you $50,000 (any currency) in his will, what would you do?

Put it in the bank. That would buy us another whole year in our house!!!!

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Bedraggled though she is, I adore my funky old house!

 

What sound or sounds do you love?

Have to agree with Cee, that it’s usually the ocean…but at this time of year it is the bird orchestra that tunes up and plays it’s Daily Opus…just before sunrise. It is truly spectacular! You probably have an orchestra in your area too. You may just need to get up early to hear it.

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Love the morning songs from my local covey

 

What’s your middle name?  Why?

I also have a middle-name story.

I never had one as a kid. Always just Kathie Bessey. Then I found out Mr. Bessey was not my biological father. So I rebelliously took it upon myself to add my birth father’s last name as my middle name. I became Kathie Kelly Bessey. Then I married my son’s father and again, still a little miffed about the childhood deceit I experienced, dropped the Bessey and became Kathie Kelly Arcide. That Arcide guy did not stick around for long but now it was my son’s name too, so I kept it.

Then, as time passed (and I did some serious personal therapy), all was forgiven so I added back in my “real” Dad’s name and became Kathie Kelly Bessey Arcide.

One of the best stories I have ever written is about that. You can read about it here…

https://chosenperspectives.com/2016/02/25/its-never-too-late/

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Dad about to “give me away”

 

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?

Honestly, I appreciated Blogging. The whole experience. The discipline to write and post often. The wonderful new friends I’ve made. A terrific excuse to carry my camera around with me everywhere. The kick in the butt to go for a walk even when I can barely move my legs, just because I might capture a photo for my blog!

I love all of it!

 

 

 

 

Share Your World – March 12, 2018

ShareYourWorld 3/5/18

Cee Neuner has all these great “challenges” to get us talking with each other, sharing photos, flowers, personal history, etc.

Today I am participating in her Share Your World challenge, four questions she poses (and answers herself) each week.

What did you or did not like about the first place you lived without your parents?

I loved having the option to go live with my aunt, uncle and cousins when, at 15 years old, I basically ran away.

But, having fled my childhood home to escape oppressive responsibility (way too much for my age), and ending up living with a completely different set of restrictions was really difficult.

Oh, and the complete culture shock of leaving the casual and delightful beach life of San Diego,

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only to find myself in Natchez, Mississippi…well, that was a huge adjustment.

Talk about Culture Shock!

What is your most favorite smell/scent?

the ocean………..

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Would you prefer snowy winters, or not, and why?

Absolutely NOT. Yeah, yeah snow is pretty and all, and it provides the means for one of the world’s most popular sporting activities, but as Steven Wright, the comedian, used to say if we were meant to go barreling down snowy mountainsides, god would have designed us with boards nailed to our feet…well, that’s not the right quote, and apparently I am very easily distracted because I just spent 40 delightful minutes listening to old Steven Wright comedy routines…looking for that quote.

I don’t like snowy winters…

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

I had a great week, appreciating life so much and capturing some pictures I really like! Here’s a slide show:

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Share Your World – March 5, 2018

SYW (Share Your World) for 1/22/18

The questions posed by Cee Neuner in this innovative challenge:

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewelry?

Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

 

My Answers:

List 2 things you have to be happy about? 

  1. I am so happy that James is home. He’s been in this 2 weeks here and 2 weeks gone cycle. It is a little hard on us because we both do really well being alone so there is a big adjustment on both ends of his travel: when he leaves, remembering the comfort of solitude, and when he returns, adjusting again to the joys of sharing the everyday life again.

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2. I am relieved and blissed out (oh, it is too a word!!) that my 17 year old “Heart-Cat” is still alive since I was told back in October he might only have days to live. He definitely has kidney disease and has lost a ton of weight, but he is still here and as ornery as ever.

Well, maybe not. This is a cat who, for 17 years, has let no one pet him but me. And even that never included him being on my lap…but these days, he accepts pets from everyone and will sit on my lap for a whole hour if I let him.

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Have you ever owned a rock, pet rock, or gem that is not jewelry?

I have been a “rock hound” since I was a small child. My Dad, in his quiet genius, got us a rock polisher. We would find rocks on the beaches and from the mountains and everywhere in between. Then we would wait…literally for months. Opening that polisher was a miracle every time. I learned so much from that experience, especially about delayed gratification and memory and anchoring experiences. I could write a book about all the lessons from this amazing, covert teacher. (Oh wait, I AM writing that book. My Dad is who taught me about choosing perspectives.)

Early in my therapy practice, I learned that some clients really needed concrete reminders of the things they were leaning, so, being my father’s daughter, I gave them Quartz, Lapis, Hematite or Amethyst hearts….and over the years, hundreds of polished rocks.

And, I have a basket of what’s left of a really old collection of pieces of polished petrified wood, from long before it was illegal. Not exactly rocks, but in my mind they qualify as “gems”.  (There is a great story there, too long for today’s post but this has reminded me to write about it.)

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Are you a hugger or a non-hugger?

Oh I am definitely a hugger. You might even say I have hugged for a living for more than 40 years.

I’ll just let that sit there and see if you have any questions.

 

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week?

David Letterman’s new Netflix show, called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. His first interview was with President Barack Obama. I laughed and I cried, and I longed for more of the intelligence, humor, depth and light these two men bring.

What a waste……..

 

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