The day the music stopped....

That would be today -- Lent. Partying's over but, of course, the music continues. Now to start taste-testing some of those yummy seafood dishes available everywhere. I'm not Catholic, but around this time of year I try, really try, and do something to improve myself. Tonight, I'll be thinking about what that something is going to be this year. This year I'd really like to turn outward and give something back.

Oh, and if you caught our guv last night after the State of the Union....ewwwww! Horrible performance. HORRIBLE. And he's normally a passable, if not pretty good, speaker so I wasn't worried he'd flub it. I should have sent him some good vibes. Okay so he's dorky. But he's smart and that's not a esay to find quality in leadership around these parts. IMO. And....he usually talks fast and A LOT, but last night his voice sounded an octave higher than normal. I don't know what was up. Nerves? And what was with that walking out of the dark, around the corner to....nothing?

He was just plain bad, and I hate it. It was a chance to showcase someone from down here who wasn't holding out his hand begging, or....being led away in handcuffs.

Slow down and....catch some beads....

Sometimes, sometimes, I really love living where I do. Like -- now --
during Mardi Gras season. Everywhere you go you hear music -- damn good music -- music that makes you smile and puts a little oomph in your step. People walk around with beautiful gaudy beads hanging around their necks. Children skip by, tossing purple, green, and gold beads into the air, expertly catching them as they fall back into their hands. Parade routes are the topic of the day on the radio, in the newspaper, on tv. It's not unusual to spot an oddly decorated truck on its way to or from a parade. You greet each other with "Happy Mardi Gras!" even if you have no intention of celebrating. There is just no way NOT to be part of what's going on. It's in the air. Like it or not, odds are, you're going to be caught up in the spirit one way or other. Whether it's catching beads from a co-worker, from an apartment balcony, a front porch, or a passing car -- you won't escape the season without a glittering new strand of precious gems to add to your collection. I'm willing to bet that not even the most dour of souls is able to resist smiling at least once during carnival season.

So, folks, from just up river of the Big Easy, HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

Mandalas....

Has anyone tried coloring mandalas -- they're sort of like what you'd see when you held that thing (whose name I can't think of right now for the life of me), but when you held it up to your eye and as you turned the bottom the shapes of colored glass inside would shift and form new shapes? Along with hubby's birthday gifts, my daughter sent me a book of mandalas -- along with a box of colored markers. The artist/illustrator who did the book says it's active meditation. Thirty minute mandalas, she says. (Can you guess where this is going?) Now, I've always found repetitive action soothing (excluding housework, of course), and I do relax while working on the mandalas in the book -- until....I start wondering if my 30 minutes are up. I guess I need to stick with it and practice actively meditating for a full thirty minutes. (How long do you think I'll be able to resist setting a timer?)

I wonder if....

I wonder if:

as I'm looking out my windows, the fishermen floating by in their boats can see me as well as I can see them....

at night, the people across the lake can see me as clearly as I can see them (which really isn't clear -- just dark shapes)....

I should order those window coverings I've been putting off odering....

I'll be living in Mobile in a month or so....

we'll ever see any money from that stupid rent house....

I should have enjoyed Mama Mia as much as I did....

I'll ever lose any weight....

I can resist buying one last king cake....

I'll ever lose any weight....


Well. Enough of this foolishness. I don't know why but today's found my mind traveling at light speed to many different places. Maybe a glass of wine will ease it into calm. Maybe.

Well....

not much going on around here. The weather is getting way too warm, way too quickly, and hurricane season is getting nearer and nearer. After the tree-in-the house thing last year -- let's just say I'm a bit gun shy. Don't want to go through that again. I did rejoin Netflix because J kept saying there were soooooo many movies he wanted to see. One of the reasons I put our membership on hold before Christmas was because he never watched anything, plus with Christmas coming, getting moved back into the restored rooms, and J being laid off -- I wasn't watching many movies either. So....it remains to be seen if he'll start watching once again. If he doesn't, there are several movies I want to see, and since I'm stuck at home while most of my family is traveling around the country, I should have the time.

Is anyone else concerned about the economy? I mean really concerned? It's so difficult to know how much of what I hear and read is true or just hype. Personally, around our house it's more like Jimmy Carter days. That was when J had to start traveling for work -- becoming an independent contractor traveling from job to job. That wasn't easy or fun. Before all this financial crap hit, things had settled down for us somewhat. J had been able to work here at home for three straight years, we had insurance (good insurance). Now, he's traveling again but at least he can usually come home at night -- so far.

Oh. If you watch the state of the union address, you'll see our guv -- Bobby Jindal. He's giving the Repulican response. Big deal, I hear. Actually, he's traveling around the country giving many, many speeches. We've always heard the Republicans have big plans for him and it seem true. I like him. I voted for him twice -- not necessarily for his conservative views, but for his smarts. We need smarts around here and he's a 37 yo whiz kid. He's doing fine so far, and, believe me, it's not easy to do fine around these parts. I hope he does well. Maybe people will see that there is hope for us-uns living below the Mason Dixon after all....

I'm becoming less inclined to doubt movie plots now....

Have you ever found yourself wondering where script writers get their ideas? Have you ever found yourself watching a movie thinking....that never happens in real life? And then, have you ever had something happen in your life that you only thought happened in the movies? I had that happen once in the boonies of central Louisiana (of all places) when some friends and I ended up in the same restaurant where the husband of one friend was rendezvousing with his hussy. You'd think (and hope) this would be one of those once in a lifetime events and would not happen again. But, it has, and it's really, really weird. Again, thank the good lord, it didn't happen to me (I'd probably be in jail because I don't think I'd handle it too well), but it happened to someone I care about and it's sad.

I won't go into details but....imagine, on your anniversary, going out to lunch with a gal friend, driving down the road to the restaurant and seeing your husband's truck in front of you. Something strikes you as wrong because he's supposed to be at work, so the two of you follow him -- right to an apartment complex. He doesn't even notice you as he gets out and goes into an apartment. In fact, he doesn't even notice that you and your friend get out of the car and follow him. In fact, once inside the apartment he doesn't even bother locking the door behind him (which was apparently left unlocked for him), allowing you and your friend to walk right in -- finding him lying on the bed (still dressed except for his shoes). And then his (fill in the blank) walks out of the bathroom -- not so fully dressed.

Again, this happens on your anniversary. Why do people do things like that?

Sounds like a movie, huh? I've gotta tell you....it's getting to the point that I think twice about going out for lunch with friends.

UFOs, Indigo Children, Katrina, Meth Labs, House Cleaning....

From that title can you tell how scattered my mind's been? J's been out of town this week and I've had a chance to catch up with some friends I don't see or talk with often enough -- which leads to the question of the day, "Do you believe in UFOs?" If so, why? If not, why?

I have a couple of friends who believe -- strongly believe. One friend claims to have had experiences. Now, these people are (as far as I can tell) normally functioning human beings, so I don't know what to say when we are in discussions about things like UFOs. I have no frame of reference to relate to them (thank the good lord!), but to say I didn't believe what they were saying would be to call them liars. And....there are so many commonalities in people's UFO stories and encounters from around the world that I'm open to the possibility that something just might be up (or out there). I know there are lots and lots of theories explaining these encounters but, even so, I haven't heard one theory that fits all. Are we alone? (Now, see. Doesn't that question sound ridiculous? That's why I hope I'm never visited and faced with having to tell people about it.) I think Marianne Williamson said that when we label something New Age we take away its power.

And. Just so you'll have little doubt that I'm weird, have you heard of Indigo children? I think two of my children are Indigo children (the oldest and the youngest). Maybe I shouldn't say that because I don't know a lot about Indigo children, but the little I've heard and read makes me wonder.

What I'm about to write about next has nothing to do with the paranormal but to me it's almost as unbelievable. I heard on the news yesterday that there had been a fire at a local hotel -- not too far from me actually. As they were showing video I saw a school bus stop in front of the hotel and pick up children. "Oh, no," I thought. "It couldn't be." But...indeed it was. Over 100 Katrina evacuees are living in that hotel -- three years after the fact. I don't know what to think about this -- or who to blame. Maybe I'll just try not to think about it and decide that everyone deserves a bit of blame. Oh....BTW....last I heard, they think the fire was caused by a meth lab set up in a bathroom.

Yes. My thoughts have been a bit scattered lately, but I think I may be getting control of them. This morning I found myself thinking about more mundane things, like a new cleaning routine. My thinking is that I'll clean a room a day -- instead of trying to do it all in a day. These thoughts may not be as interesting as where my mind's been, but....you've got to fit them in somewhere.