Blessings And Good Fortune

This morning Debra from She Who Seeks had a Friday the 13th post. One of her memes featured a photo of a black cat with the quote "May this Friday the 13th bring thirteen little blessings, unexpected good fortune, and a universe that finally decides to be on your side."

I decided that this would be a wonderful day to keep an eye out for and document my thirteen little blessings and unexpected good fortune:

1. My morning cup of coffee was fresh and strong.

2. Our resident black cat, Foster Tilapia, has finally started warming up to me and Hubby Tony. She has sat on his lap a couple of times. I am still waiting for that pleasure, but in the meantime I am getting plenty of head butts from her.

3. By the time I left the house this morning it was warm enough to put on my lightweight winter coat instead of the heavy one.

4. On the way to a meeting I ran into road work; one of the two lanes in the road was closed. Traffic was backed up for a couple of blocks before the actual closure, but I was able to make it through a gridlocked intersection before the light turned red.

5. Even though Costco was very busy I only had to wait a couple of seconds for a register.

6. At the Asian market the produce department had Napa cabbage for 77 cents a pound. I was ready to put a head into my bag when I saw that big (full-sized) bok choy was only 57 cents a pound. At that price I put back the Napa and dug through the packages of bok choy to find the biggest one.

7. I use Hotmail for my main email address, and as a Microsoft product it got caught up in the global outage, but by the time I got home everything was back to normal.

8.  I get tense and frustrated when things are cluttered in my living space. This afternoon I had a big chunk of free time, which I spent picking things up/putting them away/doing general straightening. Now the clutter is gone and I feel so much better.

9. Our downstairs neighbor is having remodeling work done in her unit. Earlier in the week there was a lot of banging. Today it turned to drilling. All the work stopped early today. Maybe because it's Friday?

10. I went out on the deck to sweep off the accumulated leaves and noticed the tree by the building still had some beautiful color. Tonight we're forecast to have the first hard freeze, which means the autumnal color will come to an end. I'm glad I noticed it when I did.
    

11. I took out my cell phone to take a photo of the tree and noticed that my battery was in the red zone. Instead of panicking, all I had to do was walk down the hall to the bedroom and plug the phone into the charger.

12. There were dinner leftovers waiting in the refrigerator, so no cooking for me tonight.

13. Hubby Tony took charge of putting that dinner on the table and cleaning up afterwards.

Tropes And Half-Truths

A Facebook friend that I've known for decades has always posted interesting information about crafts, local businesses and events, with some positive historical religious items added in. But a couple of weeks ago the tone of the posts shifted. Instead of forwarded breaking news stories from local channels and reported store openings/closings, there were forwarded domestic and international Christian vs Muslim bashing posts.

Image by rawpixel.com

I tried to ignore the posts, and for a couple of days even unfollowed the person. But then I wondered if it would be a better tactic to point out the xenophobic nature of the content. The next time I saw one of the person's outrageous posts I did a little research, then commented:

The claim is not true. It is a viral hoax 

This article strikes me as very similar to the anti-Catholic movement in the 19th Century (where, among other things, Protestants claimed that Catholics were loyal to a foreign sovereign-the Pope-rather than the U.S. Constitution. There were also rumors that the Vatican secretly plotted to take over American institutions). You might want to do some research and see if you agree.

I hoped the person would get what I was trying to say, and was pleased when they thanked me and took a break from outrageous content. However, I've noticed that it's been slowly creeping back in, so now I will have to decide what my next step is.

Five years ago: Thank You For Your Service......But Not You

Teacher Life

This has been making the rounds in my social media feeds. I've spent enough time in classrooms to know it's pretty accurate.

Open your book to page 31.

No, seriously. Page 31.

Put your phone away. Close the Chromebook. Get off the game. Take your earbuds out.

Stop talking while I'm talking.

Stop talking while your classmate is talking.

Stop poking your neighbor with a pencil.

Throw your trash in the trash can. Not the floor. Not your desk. The trash can.

Put on deodorant. Please. I'm begging.

It's 24 degrees outside. Why are you wearing shorts?

Show me where you found that answer in the text. No, "I just know" is not textual evidence.

Read the directions before asking me what we're doing.

Stop making noises just to make noises.

You cannot go to the bathroom every single day at the exact same time during my class.

Yes, you need to write in complete sentences.

No, you cannot turn in a blank assignment and expect a passing grade.

Stop arguing with me about something you didn't hear because you weren't listening.

Keep your hands to yourself.

Be kind to people. Even the ones you don't particularly like.

And for the love of everything holy, **TURN TO PAGE 31.**

I spent years in a classroom, and I can assure you that if teachers are indoctrinating children into anything, it's basic hygiene, reading comprehension, personal responsibility, and the ability to follow a two-step direction without needing it repeated 47 times.

But sure. Tell me more about our secret agenda.

Five years ago: Chance Commemoration

Surprise Frozen Fruit

This weekend Hubby Tony and I traveled to the other side of the state for a fellowship business meeting. The actual meeting was all day Saturday and Sunday morning, but to make it easy we arrived on Friday night. The hotel room includes a small refrigerator, so I brought some breakfast food and snacks.

I've heard about some great breakfast restaurants close to the hotel, but that would require me to either wake up earlier or hustle to get out the door so I could be finished by the time the meeting starts. I much prefer to eat in the room so I can move slowly.

On Saturday morning we had overnight oatmeal (pre-prepped containers with oats, chia seed, raisins, and dry milk, then activated with water before bed and put into the refrigerator with raspberries mixed in at the last minute) and coffee from the in-room pot. When I pulled out the containers in the morning I noticed that the oats had a couple of ice crystals but the raspberries were fine, and attributed the issue to the fact that the containers of oats were on the top shelf of the refrigerator and the fruit was on the bottom shelf.

This morning's breakfast was prepackaged hard boiled eggs, grocery store muffins, oranges, and coffee. The eggs had been stored in the refrigerator door and were fine, but the oranges from the bottom shelf were downright frozen! We used a plastic knife to saw through the oranges and cut them into chunks. Tony chose to peel his. I just used my teeth to munch the fruit off the peel. The first few chunks were popsicle-like. As they unfroze the last few chunks were pretty mushy, but still tasty.

Five years ago: Noisy Neighbor Issues

Medical Meditations

Because my yearly routine blood work requires me to fast beforehand, this morning I was at the Urgent Care right when it opened. I was the first patient, but the receptionist asked me to have a seat in the waiting room while she logged into her computer.

The waiting area is a small rectangular room with chairs arranged along two of the walls and a television hanging in the corner. The other times I've been to the clinic the TV was broadcasting a non-offensive channel like HGTV. Today, while I was waiting there was a mixture of health-related public service announcements, healthy living tips...and something I had never seen before, a guided breathing meditation.

Five minutes later I was called over to be checked in. While the receptionist was pulling my orders up I heard another meditation from the corner of the room. This one invited people to tap on different parts of their body to relieve stress and tension. Even if I had been seated in the waiting room I doubt if I would have followed along 😏.

Five years ago today: I Live In A World Of Wonder

Now That's Self-Confidence!

A woman told her husband, "You know what, yesterday I saw a very attractive girl!"

The husband couldn't believe his wife would say such a thing, so he asked, "So what happened?"

"I just kept looking at her, admiring her..." she replied.

"Wow, really!?" he exclaimed. "What happened then?"

"Well," she answered, "then I moved away from the mirror." 

Public Domain Pictures

Five years ago: Just a Tuesday In Retirement

Fall, Finally

The St. Louis area had an unseasonably warm October. Mid-month when the temperatures dipped into the 50°F range I got out my fall and winter wardrobe and put all but a handful of short sleeved shirts away. Four days later things jumped back up into the mid and high 70°s. The early fall shirts got pushed to the back and stayed there for the rest of the month.

But today finally felt like Fall. The change back to Standard time meant that it was less than completely dark when I got up. It was cool and gloomy all day; the dusk to dawn sensor pathway lights outside the condo building never turned off. And thanks to the change sunset occurred at 5:03.

Looking at the ten-day forecast I decided there would be no more eating outside. It was time to cover the table and chairs on the deck.

Needpix

Every year when I uncover the small rectangular bistro table and two chairs I think that this year will be the one I invest in a dedicated waterproof cover to use in the fall. Then all of a sudden it's the end of the season and the outdoor furniture department at the hardware store has turned into the holiday decoration department. The first year it happened I bought a tarp and set of bungee cords and MacGyvered the protection into place. I've done the same thing every year since.

After unfolding the tarp I draped it over the table and chairs, then pulled it down snugly, lifting up the table and chair legs and putting them on top of the tarp to help hold it in place. I folded in the excess tarp at each end, used the bungee cords to secure it at the bottom, and called the job done.

Music For Meditation

Last week I received a flyer about a Sound Healing session that was going to be offered in the community club house. I read that:

"This sound healing journey will last 45 minutes. Tibetan singing bowls, gongs, chimes and drums will be used to facilitate energy clearing and to promote a meditative state of consciousness for relaxation. You may come with your own intention or you may simply join us to experience healing vibrations in a safe space."

The event sounded intriguing, and I decided to sign up.

When I walked over to the club house it was still bright outside. The door was open, the inside lights were dimmed, and there were candles burning on the fireplace hearth and in the far corner of the room, where the collection of instruments the practitioner would be using was set up. The atmosphere was serene but also a little mysterious.

I arranged my yoga mat at the end of the row of other mats, then took off my shoes and sat down.

The practitioner briefly explained the flow of the session, then invited us to lay down and get comfortable. I took off my glasses and put them inside my shoe so they wouldn't get stepped on. As soon as I stretched out I realized my sinuses were clogged up and I should have taken some allergy medicine. The headache meant that I had trouble getting comfortable, but I did my best.

For the next 45 minutes the practitioner played a sequence of instruments-gongs, chimes, rainsticks, and bowls. The sounds went from soft, to loud, back to soft again. Sometimes the sound was a vibration, and sometimes it sounded like there were multiple instruments going at once. It took me a while to stop thinking about my sinus issues, but eventually I entered into the wall of sound. 

Image by rawpixel.com

 I am the world's worst meditator; I can't clear my mind for more than a couple of minutes, but concentrating on the music kept my mind from wandering. I lost track of time, and although I didn't fall asleep I entered into a dream-like state.

At the end of the session, the music faded and the practitioner let us know it was time to slowly return to the real world. When everyone had sat up there was a short decompression discussion, then everyone gathered their things and left. 

It was dark and peaceful on the way home, and the peace lasted all the way until bedtime.

Five years ago today: What Do You Do?

What Do Skeletons Do While They Wait For Halloween?

They work out

They do gymnastics

They go fishing. (See the tiny white fish swimming through the "water"?)

They play music

They pole dance

They wish people in the neighborhood a Happy Birthday.

Five years ago: Halloween Spirit

Exercising And Eating

I had a marketing birthday coupon from a Mediterranean restaurant twenty minutes away from the house that expires at the end of the month. There was nothing on the calendar for today, the forecast called for lovely weather, and the Grand Center area around the restaurant is quite walkable, so last night I told Hubby Tony I was going to combine exercise and eating. It took him about a second and a half to decide to come with me. 

This morning I was reading the newspaper. When I got to the page with the horoscopes I decided to see what mine said for the day. All I would have to do is substitute the word 'morning' for the word 'afternoon' and it was a great summary of today's adventure.

Parking can be tough in the Grand Center area, so I came up with a plan to park at a grocery store lot several blocks to the west and walk through the Saint Louis University campus to get to our destination. At 10:30 in the morning there weren't as many students on campus as I would have thought so we were able to get a good look at things.

The campus of the Catholic university is a mix of historic and newer buildings, some going back to the late-1800s. The Cupples House was originally a private residence, then a student center, and today is a museum and art gallery.

Cupples House

What would a Catholic university be without an awe-inspiring church? St. Francis Xavier was a missionary who co-founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The church named after him is built in the Gothic Revival style.

St. Francis Xavier church

The campus clock tower and fountain was in the middle a large plaza, and could be seen from quite a distance.

Wikipedia 

When we got to Grand Boulevard several blocks south of the restaurant it was still too early for it to be open, so instead of turning left we waited at a crosswalk, then followed a stream of students across the street.

 

We eventually ended up in the athletic complex area...soccer, baseball, and softball fields, and the Chaifetz Arena where the basketball team plays.

Main entrance

Across the street from the arena is the campus of Harris-Stowe University, a historically black college formed by the merger of two teacher training schools (Harris Teachers College for White students and Stowe Teachers College for Black students) in 1954. Tony and I wandered through a little bit of that campus, and then decided we were hungry and turned at the first main street we saw to double back.

I was surprised that we ended up on a section of the Brickline Greenway, which is still under development. By 2030 it will stretch for ten miles. This section of the trail was nicely designed, with separate sections for biking and walking. We passed some historical placards, several of them highlighting the history of the Mill Creek Valley, a predominantly Black neighborhood that was demolished in 1959 in the name of urban renewal.

We also saw a mural honoring the St. Louis Stars, a Negro National League team, who won the Negro National League World Series in 1928, 1930, and 1931.

 

When we reached the restaurant both Tony and I were hungry. The associate at the counter apologized for having trouble inputting our order into the computer, explaining she was new on the job. I told her to take her time. We ordered a falafel entree and a large chopped salad of tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and onion to share and each of us got a coffee drink. The food came quickly, and we dug in. Just about the time I realized I wasn't sure if there was enough food an associate came over with a piece of red velvet cake on a plate with two forks. She wished me a happy birthday as she set the plate down. After dessert Tony and I agreed we had eaten enough.

We walked back on different streets so we could see more of the area, but before we got in the car we stopped in the grocery store to buy a couple of items so we didn't have to stop on the way home. At the checkout counter there was a sample station with small oatmeal cookies. Tony and I each took one.

Five years ago: Oh My 'Gourdness'