White noise

White noise:  A term I never heard of until a few years ago.  Now, I have my own living example of it. 

Pretty Boy is a green parakeet I am fostering until his momma gets out of Rehab.  His soft twitters, cheeps and occasional “pretty, pretty, pretty” fill in the background of the house with pleasant sounds.  My recently visiting granddaughter said it was like “white noise”.  I like that term.  Pretty Boy does it to perfection.  

Wish I had a photo of him.  But don't know how to do it without cage wires in the way.  I tried shooting through the door and he went into a panic with that big, black eye poked at him.  Don't blame him at all. 

I told Ginny that when I get old(er) and can’t get around anymore to care for doggies, would they get me a parakeet as a pet?  It won’t have to be walked, or fed expensive food.  Parakeets hit a high point of popularity when I was a teen.  We had them when I was a kid. 

Anyway – what is the definition of “old”?  It seems “old” is always about 5 to 10 years older than I am at the time.  At this rate, I’ll never get there. 

Are there any pet bird lovers reading this?  What kind of bird do you have?  Are you glad to have one?~pam

Happy Easter!

What is the weather like for you this Easter morning?  I have to remember Easter isn’t always in spring.  It depends on what hemisphere you live in. 

As would be expected in SW Florida it will be hot later in the day.  We’ll take off our church clothes and resort to our uniform of flip-flops and T’s.  My kids who live near St.Louis will have rain and maybe storms again. 

I remember soggy Easter days when I was a kid in the 1950’s.  A pretty new dress, maybe patent leather shoes and every thing was wet!!  Easter egg hunts on soggy turf.  Gathering cracked muddy eggs.  This was before the sanitary plastic eggs with bagged jelly beans inside.  Advance to the 1960's - I remember one dress I made for my little girl.  It was pale yellow with a white dotted swiss pinafore.  She looked like a lemon sherbet.  Then, my two little boys in white shirts and tiny bow ties.  As soon as dad would tuck in one shirt tail, the other boy’s shirt tail was flapping. 

This Easter is a quiet one for me with just my two small dogs and a fostered parakeet.  I am not at home.  I’m in Central Florida for a few days in my RV so I can paddle the many springs nearby.  Summer will come any time now making the sun too intense for this old hide. 

truth and truer truth

A good novel has a way of speaking a truer truth.

Non-fiction writing has a truth, but a good novel can say a truer truth.  I read that somewhere or heard my old English Prof. say it in class.  Its somewhat like attempting to explain with words what can only be felt. 

My teen granddaughter has been visiting from Missouri for a while and we’ve done so many things I like to do while she’s been here in SW Florida.  Spring is almost summer – days have been sunny, hot and dry.  No rain while she’s been here.  Perfect!

We were kayaking one of the broad, tidal creeks of Charlotte Harbor.  Like all modern teens, she had her cell phone and was trying to text to a friend what she was experiencing.  She looked up at me, flung out her arms and said “It’s so peaceful, I can’t find the right words to tell Janie what it’s like”.  I said, “I agree, there are no words for this”.  It was such a joy to see her experience and love these things that I love as well.  She leaned back and let her arms extend until her fingertips skimmed the water. 

This granny isn’t a cookie baking granny.  I don’t fit that mold at all.  But like passing along a treasured family recipe, I was privileged to pass along my love of nature and be able to show her the beauty that our world has when we can look with eyes to really see.   ~pam

Its just the gypsy in my soul

Itchy feet -- rolling stone – gypsy -- vagabond – all of those terms could describe my wanderlust.  I love to travel.  I love driving down the road just to see what might be around the next bend – what might be the charm of the next little town I go through.  I like travel even if I’m not doing the driving.  Seeing new things, people and places is a thrill of discovery. 

Recently a friend described a trip she was making saying it’s just a few hours drive from home.  I was happy for her as she loves trips like this.  But in the back of my mind, my hidden gypsy mind said – “only a short trip?  That would be over too soon.” 

By examining my silly response I knew that for me, travel itself is a goal.  The destination is secondary.  I love starting out on a journey of several days in my small motor home.  Gasoline has severely limited my travels, but I pack in as much enjoyment as possible per mile.  This summer I will return to the Mid-West to visit family and friends for a month or so.  I’ll take a slightly different route so I can see different things along the way.  How many routes are there through Alabama?  I’ll let you know. 

spring re-visited

Spring is such a lovely season - why not experience it again? 

This week I did just that and traveled to the Suwanee river area of Florida for a few days of R&R at my favorite campground.  I haven’t seen dogwood bloom since I moved permanently to SW Florida.  I’d forgotten the surprise to see the stark white of the blossoms tucked among the new spring green of other trees.  I wonder if Red Bud can live here?  They always followed the dogwood trees in bloom in the MidWest.  I hear different birdsong.  I can recognize the cardinal.  Not being a true birder - other chirps and twitters I can’t name, but enjoy them all the same.  There are the tiniest white flowers scattered among the grass that I can't name but can still enjoy.

In northern Florida,  Spring seems more gentle, more soft and quiet unlike the Spring I wrote about a few blogs ago.  Don't you feel the hope in the season of spring?  This campground owner already has his tidy garden of tomato and pepper plants set out. 

Robert Goulet sang “if ever I would leave you, it couldn’t be in springtime”.  I feel the same about the time I will eventually clock out of this life.  It just couldn’t be in springtime!  I’d miss too much!  ~pam

Precious Mem'ry

“Precious Memories, how they linger….”  so goes the first line of that old hymn.  Precious indeed.  As I slide into my 7^th decade I’m amazed at all the rich memories life has given me. 

In my little town in SW Florida, trains go through several times a day.  If I’m not distracted doing something, the train whistle brings back memories of my childhood in a little Kansas town criss-crossed with train tracks.  We’d put pebbles on the track to see the cars smash them to powder.  Rich kids put pennies on the tracks.  

On the “Goodies but Oldies” radio station I sometimes hear the tune “Sleepwalker” by Santo and Johnny.  I am again 18 and a curvy waitress in a roadhouse diner.  I’d match the truckers for a dime to play that song on the jukebox.  Now, hearing that tune returns me to that time of hope in a wide open future and the promises it held. 

I’m sure we can all relate to what things trigger our own memories.  I read once that in our brains, the part that stores memories lays right next to the part that stores our sense of smell.  A whiff of Chantilly perfume brings memories of my mother as it was her favorite fragrance. 

On this day, spread out on the spare bed, is a quilt top almost ready to be quilted.  The blocks are Friendship Blocks or Memory blocks.  My many friends have each written in the white portion of a block.  Some blocks have a name and city, some have an email address, some have a nice quote, some - name only.  Once finished, I can lay under it - touching each block. - bringing the memory of that friend back to me and relive our times together.  What a treasure!  What Precious Memories.  ~pam

cell phones = mixed blessing

What was it like before cell-phones dominated our daily life?  How common is it to see a person walking along the street or shopping in a store while their attention is diverted by the ubiquitous little bit of electronics. 

I’ll have to admit, and maybe it’s my generation, I resent being always on call.  I don’t want my movements tracked!  I am actually glad sometimes to find I have ‘no service’.  My grown kids know I may just turn the phone off on a whim.  I have been glad for the cell phone when I’ve needed to call AAA for car trouble.  So, I guess it’s a mixed blessing.  At least I can turn it off when it annoys me or I’m on a secret tryst.   

The reason for this theme is my recent trip on a cruise ship.  It actually caught my attention that people weren’t going around distracted and talking into their hand.  They actually saw you and gave a smile - we engaged with one another in a polite friendly way.

See?  I was really there!