You would have to hog tie me and put me in a wheelbarrow....

Sometimes I think the only thing I know for sure is that I am not going to reserve a cabin on a cruise ship - ever.  You would have to hog tie me, put me in a wheelbarrow and push me screaming all the way up the ramp.  It is a been there; done that situation.  Just not my cup of tea. I will spare you the details – like descriptions of seas so rough that my sister and I were belted into our bunk beds with bands that looked like wide seat belts.  (That cruise was over 60 years ago. I have a long memory.... But I digress….)

After almost a year now of staying at home, following what are basically repetitions of only slightly modified routines, I have come to the point that I find it necessary to organize my "nutritional supplements" in one of those dispensers that have little compartments for each day of the week -- so I know if I took them or not.  I keep a wooden calendar on my kitchen counter so that I know what day of the week it is – unless I forget to slide it to the next day before I go to bed the night before. (Thank goodness I can find this information on the lock screen of my phone or in the lower right-hand side of my computer monitor.)

I clean something in my house every day.  Sometimes I get on a roll and clean a bunch of things that I would have totally ignored for years on end before the damncovid. I make To Do lists and then thoroughly enjoy checking items off.

My laundry is always caught up.  I have taught myself how to steam my denim shirts rather than iron them. (It takes longer to steam.) The mending is caught up. I have the time to do all sorts of stuff. I crocheted one and knitted two afghans in the month of December.  I cannot even begin to guess how many books I have read or how many puzzles I have done on my iPad. Currently I am working on a counted cross stitch project that is roughly the size of Kansas.  The amount of my television watching is shameful. However, I must confess that I have not cleaned out closets.  Every closet in this house is too full of stuff.  I am waiting for a particularly desperate day to do closets. I almost reached that point last week. Almost....

I try new recipes, enjoy cooking for family dinners and write to people with whom I have not communicated in years -- or ever. (I exchanged notes recently with a very nice person who owns a small book store in Oregon.)  I have cleaned my silverware drawer and gently scraped hairspray off a mirror with a razor blade.  I sometimes scan my home for cobwebs.  I think the spiders are in hibernation at the moment. Dust still appears though -- somehow. I figure it is a sign of life. In contrast -- I sit too much.

I write for a couple of hours every day (sometimes more than that) -- part of that time is on a documentation of life in my part of rural America during the damncovid. I am writing this with one of my cousins. She also lives in rural America, but she has a lake. Anyway -- we communicate by email and are now up to about four pages per day x 30 days/month – now starting the twelfth month. You do the math.  Guess we will have to cut a bit before we store it away someplace for future generations to discover. I know from talking with her that she, too, has closet issues. It's not a bad thing really.

Then to finish my list... (and then I can check it off my To Do for the day...)

Going to the store for groceries has become an outing and...  I almost enjoy it, although I am thinking more and more of shopping online and just driving through to pick up.  Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I am not a fan of, nor have I mastered the wearing of the mask and breathing at the same time. (Dr. Fauci is not one of my faves these days ....) So…

How are all of you doing?  It's the small things that become the big things sometimes. Right?  Does anyone else wish that they could do more to be useful in these nutty times? I am thinking that is a big YES.  It’s a helpless feeling at this stage of the game. Come to think of it -- that is another thing that I do know for sure. The damncovid has made everything underlined and harder. 

   

An abundance of caution and glass doorknobs....

There have always been things that I have found annoying, but of late I seem to be focusing on language -- words and phrases that make me want to slap something. I am thinking that you know that feeling. This happens to me a lot when words or phrases are misused or overused.

Take the word "transparent" for example. Until recently, the word transparent described something one could see through clearly to the other side - like a window or Saran Wrap.  Saying that one is transparent now implies that what they are saying is above board...honest. I don’t “buy” this.  It seems to me that "transparent" is enjoying this popularity even though it is often used inappropriately or inaccurately to describe things as above board or honest that are not at all above board or honest at all. Saying that one is being transparent does not make it so. That just doesn’t work for me. Semantics does matter. A "home" is different from a "house" although they could be defined the same. Honesty and transparency are not the same --- in spite of what an urban dictionary may imply. Those dictionaries, by the way, also state that "woke" is an adjective (seriously?) and more importantly they define it in multiple and contradictory ways. I would make sure that you know what it means in all these definitions before you use it on a regular basis. Language can get one into trouble these days.

Moving on to groups of words… the phrase at the top of my slap list today is ... "out of an abundance of caution." It is used, frequently, in reference to restrictions and unpopular controls put on an already suffering population -- that is you and me and every other person in the country and at times -- maybe the entire world. This is a phrase often employed by those who are, in many cases, enjoying their temporary positions of authority a bit too much.  I am thinking that you know exactly what I mean. Anyone else waiting for Karma or hoping that there is such a thing? Saying that something is done out of an abundance of caution is supposed to make it okay… and sometimes it is.  At other times – not so much.  

So – anyway and in contrast -- I think it is most important to find fun language examples to balance things out.  You know things that make you laugh out loud and forget about the bad stuff.  Now the dialog in reruns of The Big Bang Theory almost always makes me laugh out loud.  But -- the tall trophy of the day goes to the person who was responding to a Facebook comment that I happened upon while browsing. I forget exactly what he was talking about now, but he used the phrase "... slicker than snot on a glass doorknob".  Didn't expect that, did you? I didn't either when I first read it. Hope it made you laugh too… or at least smile….  We need that these days -- for sure. 

The daily challenge is... can anyone use the words and phrases mentioned above in the same sentence?  Perhaps keep in mind that both glass doorknobs and snot could be considered to be at least somewhat transparent?  Further -- we are all aware of how important it is these days to approach anything we touch with an abundance of caution.  So ... there is that to consider as well.  

Truth or Consequences ...

 

A long time ago the American philosopher/preacher, Jonathan Edwards, wrote about two sides to every story and the importance of waiting for the truth to come out.  He obviously was a much more patient person than I. 

In light of the situation(s) today on a whole lot of issues – in this country and throughout the world -- it is most difficult to sort it all out – especially when it seems, at times, that only one side is listening.  So – if there are two sides to every story … and then there is the truth …, the question becomes one of -- whom do you believe?  The problem is compounded by this – I am not sure that I can believe or trust anyone in "positions of power" in these times (that includes all politicians, all big tech and... all forms of media).  It’s a dilemma, and... I do think that it is one that is shared by many. 

I just wish I had the ability to sort it all out and the foresight to know what the consequences will be for all of this …. For now, I will just believe and trust the people I actually know well enough to believe and trust.  It's a start.

I am listening….  I am waiting.... I just hope we don't have to wait too long for Truth. I am wondering if I will know it for certain when it does appear.  There is a lot of fear-mongering going on that muddies the waters -- on all sides of several important issues. 

Thumb Texting... Oh, the horror....

The idea for this blog entry just popped into my head after I corrected multiple mistakes while trying to write about another subject ...  the phrase I thought of is that “… it was like I was typing with my thumbs”.  Obviously -- it was an easy jump from that to the whole thumb texting issue.  After repeated attempts at thumb texting – I see now that "clumsy thumb" phrase is relevant even today. Think for a moment of the first person who texted with thumbs. You know that they couldn’t do it either.  Why did they continue?  Is that why auto correct came into being?  Is that an example of typical techno nerd dark, twisted sense of humor?  (One of my nieces told me one time that she used to work in the .com world – whatever that means – and that many techno nerds make things difficult for the average man because they think it is fun to do so.  An ostracized smart man’s revenge perhaps?  But – I digress… By the way - I think I am rather nerdy and proud of it -- just not techno nerdy.  There are differences. Knowing how to thumb text may be one of those differences.)

Anyway -- Research indicates a couple of interesting tidbits (amazing what you find in a Google search). One is that the method one uses to text may in fact be age related.  Other studies offer that thumb texting is faster than index finger texting, but less accurate.  Duh....  (I wonder if the researchers received government grants to support these "most important studies"?  Now that would be an interesting, but perhaps sad research project ....) Alas... I did not find anything on those who mix thumb with other finger texting methods.

I did try to learn to text with my thumbs.  I made a valiant effort. Why? Because I think it looks so cool and because I needed to learn something new.  You know the "thing" -- you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  I have to tell you -- I gave up rather quickly even though it made auto correct relevant to my life.  Why did I give up? ...because I found the process most annoying and... because I am absolutely terrible at it (pathetic really) and ... I have better stuff to worry about.  That's why. On to the next project….