01.29.2020: 1730: A late afternoon view of our house.
We’ve had a busy day today. Exercise with our PT, a meeting with my Neurologist, lunch with Betsy from Sierra Vista, finding good news from Al across the street, that all the flyers for our neighborhood have been distributed. (We hope to qualify as an historic neighborhood.) Our area is over fifty years old.
I wasn’t able to practice shoot outside (cold and windy), and it was too late to go to the club. 1800: I fixed Salmon patties and stirfry leftovers. We watched PBS SANDITON and went to bed.
01.30.2020: A Desert Willow, a night-blooming Cirrus and a Penny.
The Robert-McKenzie Tree and penny. The penny is Super Glued to the walkway. Some well-meaning person chipped it off for us a few years ago. We glued a new penny with a different date, but the memory is still there. The Desert Willow came as a volunteer shortly after we bought one for the Children’s Memorial Walkway along the Pantano Wash in Michael Perry Park. Note the slow-growing Cirrus twisting its way up the willow’s trunk. That is in memory of McKenzie, (16), who was killed in an auto crash. We became friends with Shannon, her mother, through The Compassionate Friends. She gave us a Cirrus cutting for the Desert Willow. Today is Robert Eric Turner’s Birthday. He would be 46 years old, the youngest of our family, who died July 2, 1997.
A friend told us that they were happy to see that we had “gotten over it.” No! We never get “over it” (“it” being Robert). Ask a veteran if he/she gets over the loss of a buddy. No! They don’t get over it. Hopefully, they get through it. They go on living. We continue living with Rob’s Spirit.
Part of the celebration of Rob’s Birthday is Marvin the Martian. Rob liked Marvin so much that he had Marvin tattooed on his shoulder. At the time, we thought it was silly. But now, we don’t. We had Marvin etched on his grave marker in the Grand Canyon Cemetery. Collecting Marvin memorabilia became a primary focus of ours: coffee mugs, ties, socks (look closely – I have Marvin socks on.) All of this was acquired over the years after his death. We are wearing pendants with his picture on them. He had a great sense of humor. You can see how serious we are in these shots.
01.31.2020:
Tomorrow is Rabbit Day, of course. I hope you remembered! 0700:I had my regular four-month dental check-up. All went well. 1230: I started my League shoot for score. I managed 158/300. Not good at all. Of the ten scores, my best score was 21/30. My worse score was 03/30! Not worth taking a picture.
What should I do? Give up and say I can’t do this. OF COURSE NOT! If I were writing a novel, should I quit and say, “No one will like this story. It wasn’t on the mark. Why bother to finish working on it? Why should I even keep writing? I think I’ll just crawl over in the corner and suck my thumb and feel depressed.
OR
I could sit myself down and write another sentence. Write about something different. Maybe write about bubble gum cigars! and a 1955 Oldsmobile 98. Now I wonder how those could fit together and be on target?
OR
in the case of archery, I can start fresh tomorrow morning on the first of February and nock my next arrow, take aim at the yellow, hold the left hand steady, keep on my anchor point and continue to practice my follow-through.
02.01.2020: 1000: PJ and I are going shopping for our Tuesday morning meeting of Quail Run Writers. We will have special guests. We’ll have special treats. How exciting! I’ll have three memoir pieces to share if we have time. 1500: I’m going to practice. Shot thirty arrows: 15 @ ten yards; 15 @ twenty yards. No stabilizer. Tighter grouping and better follow-through. The left hand is weak. Sunday, I’ll tack up a target for scoring. 1530: back to writing. 1630: Julie drove us to the monthly Boy Scout Dinner, where Jessa is the chef.(She’s the boss since Joe has his ankle in a cast and can’t move around.)
She served chicken Cordon Bleu and mashed sweet potatoes. We enjoyed the meal and got to take some home.
PJ has “Floramingo” dressed for Valintine’s Day. Some day, I’ll tell you about the neighborhood flamingos and why and how they got there.
02.02.2020: A SPECIAL DAY, TODAY: A PALINDROME DAY that HAPPENED-900-YEARS-AGO-DAY.
Super Bowl and Ground Hog Day.
I took my own challenge and wrote about a Bubble Gum Cigar.
Enjoy!
02.03.2020: Up at 0500:Fixing breakfast for PJ and me. Her hot oatmeal must be cooled to room temperature before the powder probiotics can be added. Our North is cold enough that everything will be chilled by the time she is ready. Quail Run Writers has a happy member. The Chiefs took the Super Bowl! Bev is from Kansas City.
02.04.2020:Quail Run with Bobbie (From Georgia) and Flo’ daughter, Kathy and Paula visiting. (She was in the group years ago.) We started our six-minute writing with one question: Who is (fill in your name)?.
Pauletta, Sharon, Flo, Kathy, Bobbie, Bev, Guy, Phyllis, Paula
SHARING:
Sharon: Making a Good Impression: Four children and Sherlock (their English bulldog), were sequestered in a back room so Sharon could make a positive impression on a guest who was interviewing her for an elite woman’s club. Enter Sherlock wearing an old pink tutu stretched around his body. On his head was a pair of boys jockey shorts. Culminating his presentation was a deep burp followed by an enormous escape of gas from his other end.
Beverly: Presented a poem – STARDUST – prompting us ever to gaze at the night sky and dream.
Sam: Presented a piece from his 1999 Journal about the promise of winter and the constellations that accompany their appearance.
He added a piece – A BUBBLEGUM CIGAR about his first date with Phyllis.
Paula: wrote of the two months after Christmas and the relief of February and Valentine’s Day followed with the ordinary life because it’s more fulfilling than any holiday could ever be.
Flo: THE WATER CISTERN: A Memoir: A nine-year-old enjoys the pleasure of cold, cistern water after playing in the hot desert.
Guy: I DON’T NEED THIS A garage door system that breaks only to find that, even with a warranty, replacing the old system is going to cost him.
Pauletta: MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR : Interestingly, my ex-husband’s name was Bob also. We found we had so many interests in common, especially involving music (Symphony, concerts, Broadway musicals, and plays). From Athens, Prague to San Diego, life was good.
Bobbie: YOU KNOW YOU HAVE BECOME AN ATLANTAN WHEN: You address everyone you’ve met with “Y’all.” Every other street is named Peachtree, and turning on a turn signal is forbidden.
1400: I attended our monthly Parkinson’s lesson. The subject was the Alexander Technique for movement presented by Ellen Melamed, who teaches at the University of Arizona and also has her own practice. Her question was: What do you do after you are through exercising? She helped us to become aware of how we sit down, how we stand up from a chair, and how we walk. I ordered her textbook: Moving Meditation. She has lived with spinal scoliosis for 30 years. She wore a brace as a young girl back in the days when braces were made of steel instead of plastic. She offered preventative activities, which are essential to all PD members.
02.05.2020: “The Brain, the Gut and Parkinson’s.”
Included with Parkinson’s is a side effect dealing with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Often it is constipation, or it is diarrhea. Accomplishing an even balance between the two is a challenge. Since I have been incontinent for about 20 years, I have become used to an external catheter. (I even wrote a book about this: Living With an External Catheter.) I cannot blame this on Parkinson’s. My external catheter is the result of a total prostatectomy surgery gone wrong!.
02.06.2020: 1030: We practiced Tai Chi this morning. Again, I was hit with an attack of diarrhea as we were driving home. This time, I was able to “survive” with no significant problems.
1230: Julie arrived to fix PJ’s phone and the connection with her hearing aids. She also “walked” me through this word processing program that you are reading. Hopefully, it will work for you. Any glitches are probably my fault. There is a place at the bottom of this Maytag to let me know the problems. Gradually, I’ll get the kinks out. Notice that the pictures are “stacked” in spaces of their own. This should be easier to produce.
1400: I shot eight ends in practice (24 arrows) at 20 yards. The groups are getting tighter. I’m more consistent today. 02.07.2020
02.07.2020: Archery League at 1300 (for me) Everyone else shoots in the evening. I don’t drive at night. I shoot with my coach. 10 ends (30 arrows) I shot 192/300. My best score so far this season. Goal: Break 200+.
02.08.2020: Practiced archery in the back yard (still 20 yards) I shot 12 ends (36 arrows). Sometimes, I could get two out of three in the bull’s eye, but one seems to go out – way out.
Julie helped me build this new MM format. After she left, I couldn’t find my file. It took me an hour and a half to realize that I had accidentally clicked off the power to that thumb drive.
NOW, Let’s see if I can publish this.