Tuesday, August 30, 2011

If I am what I eat, I must be nuts



Well, what a way to end the summer break before heading back to work on Friday. First a check under the hood followed by getting the headlights looked at and then off to have my windows checked. And last, but not least, a brake job. Next up - a check of the exhaust system.
Now, of course, only one of those really IS about a car. The rest? Let's just say I'm in excellent health!
I take my health very seriously, but that doesn't mean I can't lighten things up a bit, now does it? I encourage everyone to make sure you get your checkups and screenings scheduled and done.
I plan on living long enough to become a wrinkly, dried up ol' lady! Not one of those grouchy ones who always complains about her aches and pains and "today's young people". No, sir! I want to take the other path and be one of the old folks everybody loves. Sweet, docile and a joy to be around. That way, if/when I get a little nutty or fart with every step across a crowded room or ask loudly 'what are we doing here?' in the middle of my great grandson's nuptials, people will smile and make sure I am well cared for and just love me.
So if you want to have wheelchair races with me at the old folk's home someday and laugh and giggle our way to the very end, please get your annual gyno/prostate exams, mammograms, eyes checked out and a colonoscopy. And get your brakes done on your car when they need it! What good is excellent health if you can't stop in time?

A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Life is too short to drink bad wine






Uh-oh, writer's block... Is this it? I know what I want to write about, I just can't seem to get started. Hmmmm.... well, then off to Purple Smile Wines for some tasting to get the creative juices flowing. Literally.

I love wine. Good wine. So much so that recently I decided to just slow 'er down a tad. But as the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus said, "Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance." Makes sense to me. So my few tastes of the good fruit add up to a glass and now I'm burning up the keyboard like a secretary from Mad Men after a slap on the fanny!

When Pat and I see a film in the theatre we can't bring ourselves to pay laughable amounts of money for popcorn and sodas. Thus we bring the Beer Purse. We put a couple beers or a bottle of vino in it along with some nuts, cheese, etc and sit in the back row, enjoying the film in style. This worked great until one evening I accidentally knocked the empty bottle over and it rolled downhill all the way to the front row and everyone giggled as it 'clanked' when it hit. You could hear it rolling and picking up speed all the way down. argh... The next time we hunkered down a few rows from the back in a fairly empty theatre and sure enough some people came along and sat down right behind us. "Hello, people! There's something wrong with the other 97 empty seats in this theatre? You just HAD to sit behind US?" Ahem...

I don't even really care that much about having this beverage in the theatre. It's the sneaking it in and getting away with it that keeps me coming back (reminds me of sneaking Wendy into the drive-in movies in the trunk of the car back in high school). Now some theatres are even stooping so low as to check purses upon entry. So, how do we attend to this situation? We buy The Wine Rack! No, silly, not a wine rack. THE Wine Rack - it's a sports bra with a bladder in it that holds an entire bottle of wine or other beverage of choice. But wait! There's more! Added benefit - it makes me look like a DD. Talk about a rack! Check THAT, Cinema dude! HA! The only worry is that if it's filled with red wine and springs a leak... how do you explain you're lactating cabernet?

Well, besides wearing a purple shirt and drinking up in a hurry (not a good option) I would have to just chalk it up to another teachable moment and laugh about it.

Either way, wine to me is not just a beverage. It's art. It's passion. It's good food, good company and good health. Perhaps it's pleasing to me because as I age, I slow down a little and see things differently than when I was much younger. I see the importance of enjoying every day and the components I've mentioned all lead to a richer life.
"With years a richer life begins, the spirit mellow: ripe age gives tones to violins, wine and good fellows" John Townsend Trowbridge




Monday, August 15, 2011

"When the fun is done, the adventure begins"





That quote is from a dear little boy who sees the world through innocent eyes. Have you ever wondered what life would be like if adults would communicate with each other the way children do? Just walk into a room where you know no one and see how long it takes another adult to approach you. But watch the kids and they will immediately be drawn to each other like magnets and begin playing together. No need for introductions. Like puppies at the 'arf park' - same thing. They simply enjoy the camaraderie without inhibitions.
I spent the weekend camping with dear friends and family on Camano Island with several children in attendance. Sitting back and watching them interact with each other and with adults was fascinating. They will not only 'say it like it is', but while they are speaking they may stroke your hair or play with your jacket zipper as matter-of-factly as if they were sipping a cup of coffee during conversation. Gives me cause to take an introspective look at how I communicate with others.

Next time I'm at Boundary Bay Brewery I'm going to strike up a conversation with whomever is sitting next to me and challenge him or her to a hula hooping contest and see where it takes us. Who knows, I may make a friend for life. But don't expect me to play with their zipper!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Wonder Woman may be stacked, but she doesn't know Jack about...





Sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh... don't tell anyone, but, I have secret powers. Yes, sirree. Truth is, I've known this for a long time.
[cue: Superman theme song]
Years ago I worked in customer service and a visitor remarked "You are a very capable woman!", and there it was... my new SuperHero name: Capable Woman. I even had a nametag to prove it. Well, it was better than the old nametag: B.O.W. That one was merely for a coworker who apparently didn't care much for me as her lead and was sharing with anyone and everyone that I was the Bitch On Wheels. So, of course, I had the nametag made in order to put an end to her malicious, defamatory remarks. It worked, too! But I digress...

It has recently come to my attention that the middleborn child (which I am) is not the neglected, overlooked and confused mess our society has characterized us as for so long. Research has shown that we are 'beholders of secret powers'. Yeah! Turns out the archaic perception of middleborns as being resentful loners with a negative outlook on life and shying away from the spotlight has been wrong all along. Well, duh... Capable Woman could've told you that! We are "self-aware team players with remarkable diplomatic skills" according to this research. We are outgoing, flexible, motivated more by fairness than money and have a deep sense of family, friends and loyalty. We are not a supercilious bunch, although we tend to assess others based on how they treat another living being. Well now, these are superpowers I can be proud of!

I see all of us as having these traits and more - regardless of our birth order. I believe we are molded by our families, life experiences and society's perceptions and labels put upon us. It is up to each of us to set the record straight and show the world our best selves.

Now, if only my secret powers could transport me to Olive Garden where Mr. Wonderful awaits my arrival. SuperHeroes aren't supposed to be late for lunch!

Monday, August 1, 2011

We the Peeps...


That's it! I'm starting my own country. It shall be known as Moxie. It'll be a micro-nation so we'd better have micro-homes, microbreweries and micro-workweeks. We'll skip the microphones and microwaves, thank you very much. We, the peeps, will be proud of our autonomy and simplicity. We will not feel the need for constant reassurance that we are the greatest country in the world, because it just won't matter. We will have no debt issues due to the fact that we will have no monetary base. Our tribe will enjoy life's necessities and appreciate anything more than that as a condition of great ease and comfort. Life in Moxie is simple. Our basic philosophy is taken directly from Robert Fulghum's All I Ever Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. The following is an excerpt from his book.


Wisdom was not at the top of the grad school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Kindergarten. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Shar
e everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

W
ash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the Dick and Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to al
ways put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
Robert Fulghum, 1990.©

LOOK. LISTEN. BREATHE.