Dreaming In Multi-Color

Most of my dreams are in color. Brilliant colors. Brighter colors than on a television screen or a cinema screen. My life has certainly not been dull, so the fact that my dreams are such amazing colors seems as natural to me as having my first cup of coffee in the mornings.

I said most of my dreams are in color. There are a few stragglers from my distant childhood that remain black and white. Unpleasant dreams. Not of any actual events, but visions that were unnerving for the child experiencing the nocturnal nightmares.

Leftover dreams from my childhood are in black and white.

I don't have those dreams very often anymore.

Today's dreams feature people, pets, adventures. In brilliant color.

Missed Calls

This morning there were three missed calls on my cell phone. I am not one of the people walking around holding a cell phone to an ear or driving while trying to negotiate traffic. I don't begrudge anyone who uses a cell phone most of their waking hours. My lifestyle is different by choice.

To the best of my recollection, people used to use etiquette on the phone and this was taught to children in beginner telephone 101.

In the past, if I wanted to know if I missed a call I would install an answering machine to the home telephone and that way someone could LEAVE A MESSAGE. What a unique concept.

When I see the orange blinking light on my cell phone, I know I either have a message or there was a missed call.

If there is a missed call, I console myself with my standard approach of "hey, if it were important, they would LEAVE A MESSAGE".

Chili For Breakfast

We chopped green peppers, lots of onions, and opened cans of black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans while ground turkey and chili seasoning browned on the stove. These ingredients were placed in the crock pot and stewed tomatoes were added to the mix.

We awoke to the smell of chili.

We scrambled eggs and poured chili on top.

How's that for a hearty breakfast???

Like the shrimp in Forest Gump, we can do chili dogs, chili nachos, chili and cheese, chili on baked potato, chili rice, chili spaghetti, chili burritos, chili fries, chili casserole, chili macaroni, and chili and shrimp!

Guess that makes us full of beans!

This Baby Makes Sense

Lists, Lists, And More Lists

My life is ablaze with a myriad of lists.

Not just the standard grocery list. Or the Target list.

Nah, I have lists of chores to get done by next month. And then lists of chores to accomplish by two months from now.

I have attacked one of the lists this week and have put the items up for sale that will not go with us on our next move. The second car was snatched up in the first day. Only two other large items to sell and then we can have a yard sale.

Elimination can mean so many things.

Love and Romance

I Found My Heart In The Dust

On the tall dresser is a small box of gold leaf and etched glass. Inside are all my bracelets.

My dear husband casually mentioned that he had left me a note on the dresser. After searching later that afternoon, I saw something beautiful.

Written in the dust of the top of the etched glass was a heart and and arrow pointing to the heart. Since it was glass, it was not easy to see and did not stand out.

So when I walked back into the living room I said "I found my heart in the dust".

Ah, true love. It is so grand.

Scabs On My Knees

There is difference between scabs and callouses.

Callouses are like wearing a medal of honor to show continuous work.

Scabs show my inability to let it heal, my unwillingness to give up the pain and my pleasure in picking away at the sore and my enjoyment in the new pain.

Learning to live a healthy life is a circle of becoming aware of when I am picking at the scabs as opposed to building up the callouses.

Mushy Stuff

Valentine's Day is approaching. I am aware of that because of the advertisements in the newspapers strewn across the tables in the lunch room at work and hearing snippets of conversations between co-workers. There is an excitement akin to the Christmas holidays with people looking forward to presents, flowers, or at least a box of chocolates!

This is not a Bah-Humbug post. Not at all. In fact, I am one of the proponents of romance and love and mushy stuff. But in my case, I like that mushy stuff throughout the year, not on one day a year.

At our house we do not give each other Valentine's Day cards or presents or flowers or even chocolates. The reasons for this are:

We sneak little notes to each other several times a week, in a cupboard, in the medicine cabinet, on a pillow, inside a book one of us is currently reading or in an odd place that presents us with a happy surprise. There is no need to buy a card and sign it or even make a card when we do that all the time.

We do not buy presents for each other because we are at an age that we have what we need and want and the more important reason is that we have been the loveliest gift to each other and we are thankful for every day we have together. We are a gift to each other every day, not one day a year. Even when we argue, we don't want to hurt each other, we just want to be heard and get our opinion recognized as important.

Flowers are lovely and we each appreciate the glorious beauty of nature; however, seeing a smile on my beloved's face and the twinkle of the eyes brings more joy than a roomful of flowers could present.

Chocolates are not out of the question completely, except that we do not use any sugar; not natural sugar or synthetic sugars. The only sweeteners we have used for a year and a half are honey and pure maple syrup. We make our "candy" using carob and natural items and we share a piece of candy in a loving, peaceful atmosphere throughout the year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day and maybe some of the sweetness of this particular holiday will find its way into your life more often throughout the year and not be absent in your life until the next Valentine's Day.

Little Red Wagon

A neighbor has a sweet older red wagon on her front porch.

Her name is stenciled on the sides in white paint.

I think we all should have a sweet little red wagon with our names on it to remind us of a time to play and laugh and run and share rides.

I never had a sweet little red wagon, and never had a childhood of laughter and play and shares. I do now though. My goal is this year to find a small sweet little red wagon and put my name on it.