A Penny For My Thoughts??

I awakened (about 5) to the sound of rain running off the roof. We had ground fog--or a cloud touching the ground?! Birds were twittering!! This rainy weather is unseasonable. Extreme heat in the West!! And California is preparing for "The Big One." (I experienced several earthquakes while living in Los Angeles County.) Have we created our weather problems by abusing the environment?? (I'll leave that question for you, and others, to answer. I do my small part by recycling and buying earth-friendly products.)

Yesterday afternoon I tackled an apple box full of VHS cassettes. I planned to bundle them in smaller packages, for sale, at future Flea Markets. Guess what? I got side-tracked watching "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman." I loved that series!! (And "Christy," too!!) I taped them... and "Hallmark Hall of Fame" programs. Still great, and inspirational, viewing!! I'm tempted to watch them before I sell them, or give them away. Is there any market for old VHS privately taped programs (full of commercials)??

I'm such a sentimental old fool!! I believe in morality, values, integrity.... Dr. Quinn was still a virgin when she married Sully. We don't see wholesome television programming any more (in my humble opinion). Hallmark Hall of Fame is the admirable exception. What messages are indelibly printed on the minds of my grandchildren and great grandchildren??

As I process through boxes, and slowly "down-size," I walk down "Memory Lane." A picture album of my marriage to Don Edwards on May 29, 1977. We were married in the beautiful gardens of Westmont College near Santa Barbara, California. (I've wondered if the recent terrible fires damaged the campus.) Don died in 1983. I haven't dated..., I have been celibate. (Too much information?? Sorry!! Just trying to make a point about morality.) The world is moving at "warp speed." Now we have digital TV; the old analog signal will soon be obsolete. People are so busy they don't have time to get acquainted with their neighbors. Now everyone carries a cell phone, or Black Berry (or some other name sophisticated gadget), and they text, and twitter. They listen to an I-Pod. (Do they ever hear the birds "twitter" as I did this morning??)

I confess that I use, and enjoy, my laptop computer (with WiFi). I'm grateful that I can rely on "spell check" before I post e-mail messages, or a blog. But I'm, by nature, a good speller--and I have dictionaries. I'm shocked by the misspellings, and poor grammar, in most of the messages I read. And, honestly, I don't understand the abbreviations!! Someone advised me that LOL is "laughing out loud" and not "lots of love." I understand that our words--on the Internet--will be "out there" (in cyberspace) forever. I don't want my grandchildren to read illiterate messages!!

I frequently use the Google search engine to find information (and that's a very good thing, in my humble opinion). I Googled Joe Lando yesterday because I was curious about what happened to him (I haven't seen him on TV since Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman). ~~ Thanks to Google (2/09/09) I found the answer to my illness and I'm grateful for that "warp speed" technology.

As I said, I'm walking down "Memory Lane" (and how grateful I am that I do not have Alzheimer's or dementia). When we get old, Society puts us on the back shelf. Employers don't want Senior Citizens--although Seniors can read, write, spell, punctuate, and carry on a conversation with good grammar. Children are "too busy" with their active lives to look in on their parents. (Almost every Senior I talk to has little, or no, connection with their children and grandchildren. How tragic!!) I have an over-abundance of time to process through a lifetime collection of possessions. Better to give away while I can experience the joy...; better to spend some time at local Flea Markets where I interact with people. (I had several conversations, recently, about health and nutrition. Maybe that is why God leaves me on this earth?? I can share my thirty-plus years knowledge re: health.)

I woke up this morning with an old hymn playing over-and-over in my mind:
"Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand,
But I know Who holds the future,
and I know Who holds my hand."

I'll leave you with the link to an inspirational message I received as an e-mail this morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Postscript: It's 4:15 PM and we are experiencing torrential rain, lightening and thunder!! I felt so sorry for students dashing home from their school bus. I'm sure they got thoroughly soaked!! The weatherman says a "cold mass" (from the West) perpetrated this storm. Thankfully, the air has cooled from the extreme humidity!! ~~ Earlier today, between rain showers, I walked back-and-forth to the laundry room and did two loads of laundry. Clean clothes--and recent grocery purchases--mean I could isolate myself in my apartment for an extended period of time. It seems I'm ordained to work on the downsizing project!!