19 April 2022 Surprises on Walks

Hello to you. How are you doing? I didn’t do a video for Twitch again today. It’s been about a week. I just haven’t felt up to it. It’s been hard to convince myself to get out of bed lately! I just hurt!

I was doing some surfing yesterday about joint pain and arthritis connected to having Covid. Turns out it’s indeed a thing! I’m really starting to believe what I’ve been going through is post Covid related stuff. Here is a link to one of the videos I found where a man and his wife have been experiencing joint pain after Covid: https://youtu.be/fyR9uJHCdKA – if you are experiencing inflammation and pain in your joints, like for me it’s my upper thighs and knees, this video might resonate with you. I am hoping it will eventually stop!

Despite the pain, I’ve been trying to get out for walks with Link. It’s so rewarding when I do! So much to see! There have been surprises lately too! This morning I looked down for just one minute and was amazed to see not one but two wild pansies in the edge of a yard we were passing! I struggled to get down to take the picture…..getting up made me curse gravity a bit lol….but it was worth it!

A lovely surprise for us today on the morning walk- a wild pansy!

Other pictures from yesterday and today:

The tulips are out here in Idaho – when I see them I think of my Mom. She used to grow flowers like tulips
“You make me smile…”
I noticed this yesterday in the shopping center on our walk
This beauty caught my eye even with being surrounded by so many power lines
Part of what makes each tree an individual is their bark – I love seeing trees in afternoon light
This little one made me think of a cat we used to see all the time in Alvarado TX! Love the mustache!
A blue version of the car I used to drive in Sr. High School! Mine was red. I’ll never forget Dad and I practicing stick shift in a parking lot lol!
Ridleys is the grocery store I always go to. I told the cashier I was so grateful she was there (they seem a little short handed), that I was grateful to wake up to peace and quiet and that there was food in the store…..little things people in warring parts of the world aren’t experiencing today. We are so fortunate!

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light f my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace – A Woman’s Spirit

https://youtu.be/bFeNjMjk0dA – Toni Cornell singing Nothing Compares 2 U in honor of her Dad Chris. Her eyes are so sad to me. This was the first song Kyle and I listened to (the Sinead O’Conner version) after we said goodbye to our sweet dog Sam. It’s hard for me to listen to for that reason but I toughed it out to hear both Chris and now Toni’s interpretation of it. She did her Dad proud I think!

6 April 2022 A Tangible World

Check out 6 April 2022 Wednesday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1448162389

Hello to you. How are you? I hope you are well. Today I got out of my comfort zone and went to a Middleton Woman’s Group. They had their first meeting at our local bakery called The Rustic Oven. All of the ladies were recent transplants from various parts of California like the Bay Area. It was interesting to hear the different reasons they left California. For some it was the politics and others stuff like the fires. It was a nice first meeting. I went from interacting purely in the digital world to interacting in the tangible world. I got out of my comfort zone!

I had an orange roll here was really yummy. Got a chance to meet some nice ladies!

Today there was a good message in A Woman’s Spirit:

We can say yes to life even at its darkest moments if we can see it as part of the greater reality. – Mary Norton Gordon

We glimpse only the opportunities that bear our name during any experience. We have heard many times in this program that we are never given more than we can handle. We can trust that this is true. We have also heard that God tells us only what we need to know right now; the rest will come to us when we are ready, when the time is right. That too we can count on as truth.

It goes without saying, then, that every moments experience is part of the bigger design for our lives, a design that always has a positive outcome. If we feel scared or confused by the changes in our lives, it’s only because we have forgotten that God is in charge of the plan for our lives. We can say yes and be at peace.

I know that what comes to me today is a tiny part of God’s big plan for my life. I am not alone.

———————-

Some pictures from my walks yesterday and this morning:

Matthew 19:14New International Version

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs(A) to such as these.”(B)

2 April 2022 Helpers

Check out 2 April 2022 Saturday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1444240928

Hello to you. Hope this finds you well. If your not well, if some shit is happening in your life, I hope there will be support for you. Remember the power of prayer and meditation. Remember you are not completely powerless no matter how things may seem right now. Even if we can do one small thing….better than nothing.

Yesterday was a day to get out a little bit. I walked up to Ridleys to pick up my pills and then stopped by The Sunrise Cafe for a yummy breakfast. The people that work there brighten my day and their cook always makes my breakfast just right. On the way there and on the way home I took a few pictures. Spring is so inspiring! All around me Gods creation waking up and reminding me just how beautiful this world is.

This morning my thoughts turned to Mr. Rogers….helpers. Being a helper can be doing big things and it can be doing small things. Sometimes being a helper starts with yourself – self care for example and then expand out into the world you live in as you feel lead. Clear the blockages you make in your head and in your life so that the Spirit can work in you…make it possible for you to be a helper.

26 March 2022 Spring

Check out 26 March 2022 Saturday chat (spring) https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1437351008

One of my neighbors trees. The bees were loving it!
Grape Hyacinth (I think) I thought it was a blue bonnet like in Texas at first glance
Spring peaking up through winters debris

Hello to you. How are you? Hope this finds you well. I dreamt about my dog Spot again last night. She was running loose for some reason and found me. I miss her but she’s living her best life right now so grateful about that. She and I share dreams pretty often.

Yesterday I walked over to the Sunrise Cafe (https://www.theoriginalsunrisecafe.com/) for breakfast and got to witness one of those God moments. A man with a cane walked in and sat down at a booth by himself. Then the main waitress went over and sat across from him. She noticed he was wearing a hospital bracelet and asked him about it. He said he was having some “medical stuff” going on. One of the the things was cancer. He was going through chemo. After she left I then had the courage to say hello too. What was so beautiful was his smile. For all that he was dealing with he was still smiling. Your attitude when your facing adversity really makes a difference in how things will go for you. The Sunrise is becoming my go to place ! Good food and good people both who work there and the customers.

Todays message in A Woman’s Spirit talks about how sometimes we have to let go of our problems that might be going on that we just don’t know what to do about and make space for spiritual solutions….”let God on it!”

“When we loosen our grasp on our concerns, there is room for the spiritual essence of all life to move through us in such a way that healing occurs.” – Carol Sheffield

I will not be caught in a problem today if I am quiet and ready for the solution. Stillness engulfs me now.

This morning I was looking through my books and decided to take out a book of poetry written by a family friend named Tom Snooks. He struggled and died from cancer many years ago. It made me think of the man from the restaurant who is currently struggling. The poem I want to share is one he wrote about spring:

Tom prefaced his poems with what prompted him to write it.
Is it Spring?

25 March 2022 Little Pieces

Check out 25 March 2022 Friday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1436265682

Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. Last night my Aunt, three friends of hers and I went to see the opening night of Matilda at the Nampa Civic Center. We made it through the first half and decided that was enough. The little girl that was cast as Matilda just didn’t resonate with us. For example for the first song none of us could understand what she was singing and it was loud. My favorite character was Miss Agatha Trunchbull. The man playing the part was hilarious. As with most things in the performance arts, the performer will either resonate with you or they won’t. Not everyone likes Bono from U2 for example. The little girl just didn’t resonate with me. That’s not saying she wasn’t talented or anything like that. So that was interesting and it’s the first time I’ve driven at night here!

I was thinking about my post yesterday about how I see, experience and understand God. What came to me as an example of how complex it must be to answer even the smallest of prayers was a family meal. Think about some of the meals you make, even just the trip to the grocery store. So many little pieces go into even just a hot dog or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s like an episode of How It’s Made but for each and every part of the meal. I think about all the people involved with the life of food, machinery, climactic conditions like floods or droughts, the health of the animal stock, fuel prices….so many little pieces have to fit together for just one hot dog! When I began thinking about how complex it is to make a family meal or even feeding just one person, it made me think of what it must be like to be God answering or not answering a prayer. How complicated it must be to have everything in alignment…..so many little pieces. Sometimes pieces seen as insignificant or not relevant but if they are missing things can’t happen. I truly believe that behind every unanswered prayer there is a reason. The other thing to remember too is sometimes what we want and are asking God for isn’t possible…..realistic. Sometimes the answer isn’t how we expect it and we miss it. Sometimes we have to wait for answer. Just like with putting together a meal – all the individual pieces in all the ways those individual items come to reality have to be acquired for that meal to happen! I think Covid has shown us a lot about how dependent we are on each other – like factory workers and truck drivers for example.

The other thing I thought about yesterday with regards to answered and unanswered prayers – people in particular. What is often overlooked is the individual will of the people we are praying for. We don’t know what they want for themselves. We don’t know what kind of conversations they are having with their Higher Power. For example we might find out someone has cancer and immediately begin praying they be cured. What if the person doesn’t want to be cured? What if they want things to be over with? Again….not as simple as things may seem. I think about what we are told Jesus said when he prayed about the sparing of his own life…(Luke 22:42) 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(F) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus had his own relationship with God. The apostles could pray for his life to be spared but Jesus was already working things out with God for himself.

Little pieces of the big picture to consider when you are deciding if you do or don’t believe in God. The stuff I’m sharing is what strengthens my personal relationship with The God of my understanding.

The messages from A Woman’s Spirit were good. Sometimes when people get into recovery and are feeling better they try to make up for lost time. They try to do too much at once. It’s important to remember that even doing a small part, a little piece of what you want to accomplish is enough:

I don’t train for a marathon when I simply want to run five mile races. -Patricia Roth Wuertzer

Today I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to complete a big project every day. Making some progress is enough.

26 February 2022 Responsible Creation

It was hard getting up this morning

Hello to you. How’s your day going? I’m getting a late start to the day. I just didn’t want to get out of bed!

Check out 26 February 2022 Saturday chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1408892493 my

Todays Twitch stream was good. We talked about a lot of stuff today! Addiction, the choice to have pets, psalm 26, different cultures living together, world peace, technology and responsible creation. One of my viewers asked if I feel like technology has brought people together and my answer was yes but it’s also a bit of an illusion. With technology I’m able to communicate with people all over the world – something without technology I wouldn’t be able to do. Without technology my life would be very lonely….but I have to remind myself that technology isn’t a replacement for one to one contact. Technology can’t replace what happens between people having face to face contact.

I wish there were more visionaries in the world of creation. So much of our worlds operations is based on short sightedness. How much money will this make me? Not how will this be a benefit to mankind. Follow from creation and through the entire life cycle of what is being created – where is what I want to create going to end up? Taking responsibility for our creations. When I really started thinking about my crafts and hobbies I ended up stopping a lot of what I was doing! I liked to paint but realized the environmental impact of my enjoying it – the paint in the water for example. One area of late that I am concerned about with this is robotics. I would like to see more vigilance….more regulation but it’s already kind of too late! Anyways, talked about a lot today.

“Focus on how we are the same not how we are different.” – me

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Ukraine and Russia – any part of our shared world that is in conflict of any kind. We must learn to focus as a world on what we have in common not how we are different – what separates us. It’s like taking out your mental gratitude list. Once you think of one thing a whole bunch of others come to your mind! I just hope everything is going to be alright with all of this.

I highly recommend this video – we are all responsible for the “stuff” that gets manifested in this world: https://youtu.be/9GorqroigqM

ob·so·les·cence/ˌäbsəˈlesəns/Learn to pronouncenoun

  • the process of becoming obsolete or outdated and no longer used.”computers are infamous for their rapid obsolescence”

The Ocean Clean up Project: https://youtu.be/8HQEd_IX6A8. I’m very proud there are young people like Boyan Slat in the world.

5 February 2022 Saturday

Check out 5 February 2022 Saturday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1287928568

Hello how are you? I hope this finds you well on this Saturday. The weeks are going by so fast aren’t they?!

Last night was fun. My Aunt came over and picked me up. She wanted to go out to eat with me someplace. We drove to Star which is a few miles down the road and were just going to eat at Dairy Queen but found a place called The Rustic Table instead! It turned out to be a really nice sit down restaurant! We decided to make it an early birthday treat and order some nice things on the menu! She had Halibut and I had filet mignon. The meal came with yummy garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw. For dessert we shared some chocolate cake. It was just really nice to get out of the house and experience a new place with my Aunt!

My Aunt and I made a nice memory last night

I got some sleep last night but I’m having to go through a lot of Hydroxyzine to do it. My body is treating it like Benadryl. I will get a couple hours of hard sleep and then I wake up. I’m feeling pretty good this morning so it’s worth it !

My stream this morning was pretty short. Just had one viewer and she she doesn’t talk much! I talked a little bit about s book I’m trying to read about Energy vampires by Dorothy Harbour. I read a little bit about the different types of vampires there are. For some this might be a new concept of energy exchanges in relationships.

Some morning cuteness from our Link!

4 February 2022 What brings us Together

Check out 4 February 2022 Friday morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1286643827

Hello. How are you? How is your day going so far? We have lovely sunshine this morning and I got some sleep last night. Lots to be grateful for!

The Twitch stream this morning was interesting. We talked a lot about food and I shared a couple recipes. I have one viewer that loves to joke about potatoes because I’m from Idaho. We agreed that it’s food and music that brings us together. Both of them use more than one sense to enjoy. Eating and listening to music is a multi-sensory experience and are things common to all walks of life. We fight about most everything else don’t we?!

A new viewer joined us and shared a story about his brother being bullied and beat up and we talked for a long time about that subject! This particular viewer was from England. Bullies go way back! I was bullied at school. I think it’s all too common a thing that happens in the science experiment that is public school. Being a bully is taught and learned. Now with all sorts of social media and video game platforms this kind of behavior has migrated there. The phrase “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” isn’t really true in a modern digital world. Words do hurt.

Last night I called my Aunt ad I was feeling lonesome and kind of anxious about trying to go to sleep. We talked and she recommended this psalm that she said she reads to my Uncle if he is having trouble sleeping:

Psalm 23New International Version

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd,(A) I lack nothing.(B)
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,(C)
    he refreshes my soul.(D)
He guides me(E) along the right paths(F)
    for his name’s sake.(G)
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a](H)
I will fear no evil,(I)
    for you are with me;(J)
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table(K) before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;(L)
my cup(M) overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love(N) will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

15 January 2022 Saturday Morning

Hello. How are you? It’s really early as I write to you. When I wake up early I don’t know what to do with the darkness!

I found this website this morning and found some comfort : https://www.southernliving.com/culture/comforting-bible-verses – 50 Bible Verses of Comfort and Strength

Check out 15 January 2022 Early Morning chat https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1264424008

I ended up streaming for a couple hours with people from all over the world – Russia, Australia, Seattle and India. I learned about a pancake like food called blini in Russia. The man from Australia was in Singapore but his family moved them so they would have a more relaxed life. He really is happy there. Anyhew its so nice to have people to visit with this morning. It really helped. What happened is one of the things I like about Twitch.

Yesterday I visited with my Aunt and Uncle and that was nice. We had some butter bean soup and cornbread. I got to try out one of their new pieces of furniture – so comfortable! Link and Smokey got to play a bit. Link gets a little rough so we had to break them up for a bit!

Still having “stuff” going on my head – drainage. We are going on 2 weeks with this crud! I keep having this light headed uncomfortable feeling. I’m really starting to wonder if there is something going on in the air. I just want to feel normal again – solid in my head. Hopefully soon.

I hope you have a great day!

30 December 2021 Snow

Check out 30 December 2021 Snow https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1247967777 – just a little video to share the heavy snowfall with you!

Good morning to you from snowy Idaho! How are you? I’m doing pretty good. I decided to unbury my car and go get groceries before we get so much snow I can’t get out. I’m so grateful to the people who work at our local Ridleys grocery store. If it gets much worse I hope they’ll let them close early but after talking to one of the gals who lives here in town, she said it’s unlikely they will close. These folks are some of the unsung hero’s in our world. I pray they will all be safe getting to and from work. Anyhew I am grateful. In awhile I need to go out and rearrange some of the snow that’s fallen! It’s accumulating fast!

Last night I had a nice stream on Twitch. A couple followers visited and that’s always fun. One is from London and the other France. We just talked about random stuff. It’s nice to have company in the evening. The only thing that is kind of annoying is the delay in the chat sometimes. They enjoyed getting to see the snow!

My friend contacted me about getting together tonight and we decided to cancel. With the roads like they are and all the snowfall we decided it was just better to wait til the weather was better.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to paint another shirt yet or not. I will say it’s been fun taking some old plain tshirts and breathing new life into them with art!