In The Zone

Today I enjoyed taking a couple hundred pictures at my mom's house, all outdoors. She and dad have a garden just jam-packed with all sorts of plants, both blooming and non-blooming. There are ornamental grasses, hostas, sedums...Sunflowers, firecracker vines, canna lilies...Ponds with water hyacinths, lotus, waterlilies...Just everything in its season. Looking through the pictures from today makes me feel so happy. I think actually taking the shots pleases me even more.

When I was younger, I never could understand what athletes meant when they'd recall being in "the zone" during a game. I guess I've gotten involved with my music or artwork in that way, but maybe never quite to the extent that I'd call it "the zone". (Although worship in music would qualify, yes, but this context is a bit different).

But photography, there is my zone! When I was knee-deep in the ornamental grasses today, getting just the right angle for a shot, I was there. And what came bursting to my mind were the words of the character Simon in As Good As It Gets. Simon's an artist, and a few times he expresses that need to capture something he sees. Oh, I can so relate to that! It's like the scene where Carol is drawing a bath at the hotel, and Simon is mesmirized; he's not lusting after her (he's gay, for one), but he's captivated. And he says "I have to draw you!".

Yes! I have to take pictures. I can't type fast enough to keep up with the excitement I feel just at saying this. I see all these marvelous things - colors, patterns, events, blooms, expressions, ironies - and I just have to record them. Even if those images are destined to be seen by only a handful of people, only my family, I need to take them. Life - everything around us - is just so cool if you just look.

I especially love close-up photography. Doing close-up work has taught me to notice things fully. Today, for instance, I saw a tiny crab spider on one of mom's flowers. Had I not been looking closely at the blooms, I never would have seen it. These spiders blend in with their suroundings, much like a chameleon does; if you're not looking, you'll miss them. I loved the fact that I saw it. Wooooooo! I was so excited to see it, I exclaimed aloud. And I was so glad I could get a picture of it to share.

This is why I quit carrying a purse in favor of my camera bag and gear. There's too many times I've been out and seen something truly wonderful, only to rue the fact that my camera was back home. I don't want to miss a thing! :)

I think I need to get some sleep now, LOL. I've been working on my photos from today and felt compelled to blog this while it was fresh in my mind.

I'm working on a photo gallery, but it's not ready for its debut just yet. But stay tuned!

Update About Chanah

This is the same thing I posted at her site, so just skim it if you've already been there, LOL.

Vikki called and said the surgeon got in there and saw everything from her tonsilectomy had healed up nicely...Except one scab. A big scab (since those tonsils were whoppers, you'll recall). That one scab, though, was over an artery, so when it came off, she bled. A lot. He cauterized the artery with the laser, just to be safe, and they cleaned out her stomach so there wouldn't be any blood coming up if she got nauseated. The whole Willis clan has seen enough blood for a lifetime, don't you think? And, AND...Chanah went back home this afternoon. She slept several hours; when she woke up, she said she was HONGRY and promptly downed two bowls of ice cream. She's playing games on their computer right now.

Vikki just called. Chanah woke up sick at 2:00am, vomiting blood and blood clots, so an ambulance was called. She's in surgery right now, and they're doing exploratory surgery from her nose on down her throat to see where this bleeding is coming from. Please, pray -- Vikki's having a tough time of it, as you can imagine. I'll let you know more as soon as I hear. Thanks, everyone!!

Hey, ya'll, keep Busgirlie's daughter in your thoughts and prayers. She's having some complications from her tonsilectomy. Go to Busgirlie's blog for more info and updates...

I've republished my entries as well as my archives, but still I am faced with a "page not found" when trying to click any of the entry's links on this first page here. The archived pages work fine. I also notice that my August 25-August 31 entries are not archived as they should be, but are still on this current page. It's probably something really simple I'm missing here, too. Aaaargh!

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.35

1. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you on a date?
It would probably have to be something that happened when I was in high school. I must have been a freshman or a sophomore, tops. My boyfriend and I were riding my horse, and my horse tossed his head backwards, soundly connecting with my nose and giving me a fine bloody nose! My head snapped backward and, since BF and I were riding double, hit my boyfriend's head. He suffered no ill consequences, of course. I remember being mortified that he would have to see me all gross with a bloddy schnozz!

2. Do you eat your veggies?
Oh, yes! I especially love asparagus, fresh picked and steamed. I've never gotten around to growing any asparagus because we don't have a good, sunny spot for it, so I settle for supermarket asparagus when it's the season for it. If you've ever wondered why eating asparagus makes your pee stink, thanks to this link and this other link, you can find out just why. Inquiring minds want to know!

3. Most people are comfortable going to the bathroom in front of at least one person. Has anyone ever used the restroom in front of you that you wish wouldn't have? What happened and how bad was it?
Heh, heh, heh....Yeah I have a story about this one! Back when Howie and I lived in the lower of an old house, we had one bathroom. We both had the flu or food poisoning, or what have you. Not a good situation. I was sitting on the pot (again) and Howie came rushing into the bathroom. "I've really gotta go! Are you going to be long?" Well, I was in the throes of another colon spasm and wasn't going anywhere too soon. Poor guy was so desparate he grabbed a bucket out of the closet and used it. Oh, it was not a fun day, no.

4. Have you ever had a bad online transaction? You know, the item wasn't what you thought it would be, you got totally ripped-off, no refunds, it just plain sucked? What's
the story there?

The first feedback we received on eBay was negative, owing to a vendor who got ticked off when I asked him to make right on a item which did not meet our expectations. It was an antique railroad stock certificate which had holes in it, ones which didn't show up in his scan. He wrote a nasty feedback in all caps "not nice people!!!". I was crushed that my first feedback would be so nasty. Now I have 40 positives and that's the only negative we ever had, so I've gone on with life. I survived it. ;)

For the most part, our transactions have been flawless, actually. When we have had problems, I've found that writing a polite e-mail, one with all the facts stated and my expectations clearly spelled out, has gone a long way in remedying the situation. I think a lot of people zap off an e-mail in anger and forget that the people answering the e-mails usually had nothing to do with the problem and are only trying to help. Who wants to help when the e-mail he's received reams him before he's had a chance to do anything, you know?

5. Ever have a current love find any old love letters (or similar item) you kept that probably should have been thrown away? How did that turn out?
LOL, my husband has seen some of the cards and letters from a few ex's, but he isn't really threatened. If those ex's and I had been physically intimate, that would bother him. But we weren't.

6. A secretary at work was telling me about a trip she took to Mardi Gras. She showed off her beaded necklaces and proudly said she "earned' each and every one of them (for those not familiar with this tradition, ladies walking up Burbon St. in New Orleans will flash people who are upon the balconies, in return the guys will throw them worthless plastic necklaces). I was shocked, I had no idea this quiet gal had a wild side. Was there ever a time when you did something totally outrageous because you knew no one would know who you were, or maybe didn't care even if they did?

No, not totally outrageous. I did some stupid things when I was in high school and hung out with a not-so-good crowd, but nothing totally outrageous. And if I had, modesty would prevent my giving the details, anyway. ;)

7. Hey, what happened to you last night? I waited forever!

Good things come to them that wait. ;)

BONUS: I know I could break you down, but what good would it do?

I could surely never know
That what you say is true.
Here i am in silence,
It's a game i have to play.
You and i in silence.
With nothing else to say.
more...

I've never heard this. I'm just a fan of Google.com, LOL.

Today's Comment Question*: Who's your favorite recording artist?

I have several in different genres. It depends on my mood for the day, really. I love The Beatles, Phil Keaggy, Kim Hill and John Tesh, especially. I like female vocalists who have alto voices and that sort of sing-songy delivery of lyrics, and I love good accoustic guitar work. And I like oddball stuff like Daniel Amos/Terry Taylor.

Quick question for you blog experts. How do I put a link in each entry that's a permanent link to just that entry? Some day I'd like to go through and put headings on each entry so they can be indexed somehow, too. Better do that before this gets huge and unmanageable, hadn't I? :)

My BIL Steve the miracle man. If you have a good, strong stomach and want to see what my BIL Steve's injury looks like, I have made a page on my website. It's really a testimony to God's protection and how He works through skilled surgeons.

Congratulations are in order!

The seller accepted the Busgirlie family's bid on the cedar house! And at an offering price of $35k less than the seller's asking price, that's a bonafide miracle and answer to many prayers (not the least of which were offered fervantly by Vikki and co.!). Anyway, congratulations you guys!!

By the way, I like how Razzi has her blog page set up. I like the list by date with the entry titles. Very cool. :)

Friday Five Time!

1. What's your favorite piece of clothing that you currently own?
Hmmm, I'd have to say it's my Birthday Suit. It fits me like a glove. Second to that would be a black knit 3-piece trio of shirt, jacket and slacks. The fabric is a wonderfully draping, sort of shiny knit. It is so comfortable and it's flattering. I like my Birthday Suit, but it looks a whole lot better when clad in my black suit. :)

2. What piece of clothing do you most want to acquire?
I would love to find a soft cotton knit sweater that's actually long enough for my torso and arms. Something generously cut and comfortingly casual.

3. What piece of clothing can you not bring yourself to get rid of? Why?
I have a few...I garden, so I have several loose, stained t-shirts which are irreplaceable for working out in the yard. They look horrid, but I figure no one expects a person to look her best when she's out sweating in the sun and has dirt and mulch adhering to nearly every surface....Right?

4. What piece of clothing do you look your best in?
See #1.

5. What has been your biggest fashion accident?
Well, none of it was an accident; I did these things on purpose. But I was a teenager, so I was insane. That said... Gosh, probably the 80's. Tight, tight jeans with a bandana tied around one leg, just above the knee. Tank tops (or, worse, tube tops) overlaid by open-weave mesh. Spiked hair in front, long hair in back - no graceful transition between the two lengths. Oh, and legwarmers. I need to find the photo of when I dressed up with some friends and went to Max & Erma's restaurant on my friend's birthday. We really thought we were dressed to the nines, too.

This column is way too wide! And my right column is too far over; it's lost in the far-scrolling-reaches for those viewing 800x600 I'm sure, and I hate for anyone to have to scroll back and forth on a page. In a nutshell, right now I want the text in this column to have a right margin about the same as this left one, but with the whole column being narrower. Blargh! I am not an HTML queen, and have just been modifying a very basic template. Help, Angiepangie!

Eventually, I'd like this center column to have its own scrollbar independent of the sides. That would entail frames. Shudder.

Sarah and Howie, my two first loves as a married lady. Sarah's my first dog (as a married lady), and Howie's my, well, first and only husband. ;)

This struck me as really, really funny...Folks, this is NOT gumbo. It's condensed, chicken and vegetable soup with a little rice thrown in for good measure. It isn't even spiced, let alone spicy, for Pete's sake! You ain't HAD gumbo 'til you've had Lisa's gumbo. That gal can really cook. We're going to Louisiana for Thanksgiving this year - the first year either of us has made plans outside our families for the holiday. We've gotten to know Lisa and her hubby through Dave's Garden, and they invited us to come on down south and visit. We can't wait to try turkucken. Ya'll heard me right....Turducken. See it for yourself, and drool. You can also listen to the Turducken Song at that same site. ;)

My BIL Steve came home from the hospital today! He's staying at my MIL's home while he heals. She changed his bandage today and said his poor arm looks terrible, but what can you expect? It's an arm and it's attached again, so it's a miracle. He has what the surgeone jokingly called an "erector set" bolted into his arm to immobilize the bones while they heal. I'm looking forward to visiting him now that he's back home and five minutes from my home - I just wasn't up to the long drive to and from the hospital plus the long walk from the parking garage to his room and back. I felt so bad not visiting, though!

Howie came home today with three doggie presents: three Nylabones, the kind with the transluscent middles full of nubs to clean their teeth while they chew. AND they're bacon flavored. I tell ya, this evening was the first time since Buddy came into our lives that it was quiet. All three dogs were gnawing away in happy abandonment.

Emma demonstrated one of her peculularities again; for some reason, she loves to take a chew toy and put it in one of Howie's shoes while she chews it. Whether this produces some added olfactory zing, I'm not sure. I suspect so, however. She also seems to like how she can prop the bone up in the shoe. Howie's friend Mark stopped by tonight with his wife and one of his girls so they could meet Buddy, and Emma was true to form, bringing her bone over to mark and putting her paws on top of his shod feet to chew her bone. Goofy dog.

Our old meezer cat Elliott used to take his toys and make a game of putting them in empty tennis shoes. There was a little wind-up furry dog he especially loved, and at least one time I put my shoe on only to find my toes blocked by that little gadget stuffed down in the tip of my shoe. For that matter, he liked just burying his head in stinky shoes and wrapping his front feet around them. I'd forgotten about that until just now! Ah, memories.

What IS it with shoes??

I'm sad right now. I just learned that a friend of mine from Dave's Garden died. A prayer request was posted for her family. I'd never met Tink76627 (Peggy) in person, but we'd e-mailed back and forth and she posted a lot at Dave's. She was always sending some little cheerful e-card or note, and I'll miss that. She had crippling rheumatoid arthritis and had a lot of pain, but she still kept gardening, still laughed, and just went on living. I don't face near the trials she did every day, and I get mired down in self pity sometimes. God love her. I hurt for her family, too, and pray they'll be comforted. :(

We just finished watching Braveheart and I am once again reminded of (1) how complacenet and comfortable I am in my freedom, (b) how darned sad it is when a great character is killed in a story and (three) just how much I like Mel Gibson and his movies. It's been so long since I'd seen this movie, much of it - especially the strategizing, politics and betrayals - were new to me. I was feeling like heading to bed with my Stephen King novel and letting Howie finish watching the movie on his own, but now I'm glad I watched it. Historical accuracy/inaccuracy aside, it is a movie of epic proportions and brings out some incredible acting from its players.

It also brings out some thoughts in me. America. Of course I love living here. But do I value the freedom? When I watched the horrific battle scenes, perfectly realistic given the weapons of war we know they fought with back then, I recoiled. It was repulsive! Now we push buttons and make phone calls from the safety of bunkers, and planes deposit their payload on our enemies, and missles are launched remotely.

When I see something like Braveheart, I am forced to think about the battles which have been waged so that I can enjoy this complacency I find myself in. Isn't that ironic? Ugh.

The following was hand-written in a little spiral notebook because a thunderstorm prompted us to unplug all the computer equipment. I was going to scan the pages and post them as images, but decided to just type them here, verbatim, instead. Just pretend what you see is written with a gold metallic gel pen in my loverly handwriting. ;)

We had a good bit of steady rain today. The computers are unplugged as I write this, and I am stretched out on my side on the couch, hunkered down in its voluminous cushions, snuggled up with Buddy and Sarah at my feet. Emma's sought out a more solitary siesta by herself on the loveseat across the room. That's probably for the best since things are a little crowded.

The rains have ceased for the time being, but it is still overcast. It is nice to have the blinds drawn open; usually the afternoon sun forces us to shut the living room up, dark and cavelike, until nightfall.

Sarah, as she always is when the view of our yard and street is unobstructed, lies up against the back of the couch with her head resting on a pillow. She's watching for squirrels, people, and other dire hazards.

Buddy is curled behind the crook of my knees, breathing softly in slumber. He's not gotten to the point of snoring just yet. Besides the hum of the electric fan and the occasional hiss of cars passing by on wet pavement outside, it is really quiet here.

Why am I writing this? Because it's all culminated in one of those sublime, peaceful moments in life. As I lay here reading my novel, I got one of those lovely feelings of well-being. When you get right down to it, stripping away all the petty complaints and whinings about wants, what more could I really need?

I have a comfortable, restful home, a husband I love dearly, and these surprisingly wise and wonderful goofballs with fur. It's raining, the couch is comfortable, and my book is really good.

And I've learned that I am still able to write without the aid of a keyboard and mouse.

Is it GODZILLA?
brought to you by Quizilla

In case you don't know what this is about, check out this link. It's only one example of Toho Co., Ltd.'s quest to stomp out anyone using "zilla" in his or her name. Why? Because Toho owns the trademark and all rights to GODZILLA. Gimme a flippin' break. Go to http://www.davezilla.com and show your support, y'all!

An update about my brother-in-law Steve, whose right arm was caught in machinery at work this morning. The arm was pretty much severed below the elbow and he's in surgery now - and they're attempting to re-attach his arm. The surgery was expected to take 10 hours. Please keep him in your prayers. Thanks so much!

ADDED: Another update. It wasn't as bad as they thought. The surgery went well. The arm was more crushed than anything and they think he'll have use of it back within a year or so. He will be in the hospital about a week, they think. Oh, thank God.