Spread a Little Kindness

I  haven't got a title for this post yet!  Just  some random thoughts--perhaps comments on ideas for activities from Stay-at-Homers.

One darling friend posted that she had received a May Day basket.  It was exactly what we used to do as kids. We would make  baskets out of colored paper,  fill them with wild flowers, hang them on all of the neighbors' door knobs, ring the doorbell and run of sight.  It was such a delightful thing to do during these times, and perfectly safe, because they kept out of sight!  They were such a hit, like a Drive-by-Pouring out of Friendship and Comradery! A loving memory from childhood!

In our Desert Aire community, a beautiful friend from our church, Drove by our homes with palms for Palm Sunday.  Another had made masks, and dropped them by our homes, having called first, we got to wave from our windows as they frantically escaped from the porch unnoticed.

Because we always wore corsages on Easter Sunday, I made corsages out one pastel carnation and a pretty bow for my part in our Easter celebration from inside our homes.  Our pastor youtubes our Sunday sermons, continuing to do so now, as we speak!  I am now working on another long-term project, something I can do to continue to spread-a little- kindness, which is the title of this blog!

Coronians

We have entered into a very scary time in 2020.  I have reopened my blog because a disease which has doctors, scientists.and global researchers at a loss for a cure.  COVID-19 has been spreading worldwide.  Out of desperation, Coronavirus, (as dubbed by the media) an epidemic that is a deadly killer, has us, as a people without national boundaries, coming to a halt.  We have closed down schools, all businesses that are determined to be non-essential, parks, even movie theaters.  COVID-19 is thought to have come from China, and has taken off, without anything to stop it, globally.

Schools have closed -- children of all ages, are safely home.  Their education, being temporarily halted, will continue by their brave, diligent teachers with the help of technology, are getting their lessons online.

My grandson, Parker, is graduating from high school this June, and has also completed all of his requirements online. As a proud grandmother, I will make sure to celebrate, in person.  There is no other option.  Our technology is so advanced that we could even watch the ceremony virtually if necessary.


With all of our geniuses in the world, we will soon find a solution to this overwhelming disease that has truly halted the world as we know it.  Rather than a global WWIII, we have a pandemic, an event so insurmountable that it has us all in our homes, cut off from everyone close to us, nuclear
weapons cannot help.  We have only our own scientists to be our weapon.  For once, we are all globally united to fight a disease bigger than ourselves that threatens our lives.  I am going to retrace us with a summary of all of the main events of our time:

WWIIers:  As the war ended the joie de vivre was everywhere.  They celebrated and The Greatest Generation emerged.  In 1946,  the year of my birth, was the beginning of the Baby      
Boomers.  We were loved and indulged, and I think the 1950s was idealic, until a horrible epidemic emerged:  POLIO.  Children were the target of this awful disease, and Iron Lungs kept those afflicted breathing.  The Salk Vaccine arrived to save the day.  I and my classmates became Polio Pioneers.

Mourning Willard

People of all ages morn the loss of a beloved pet.  This most recent acquisition of two new kittens was my way of avoiding the complete void of the death our first kitty, Celeste.  About 20 years ago, Son Jeff, knowing that we were looking for a kitten, brought us one that came from a litter his co-worker was giving away.  I had been so deprived, that the moment I hugged her, she purred.  Her face was calico on one side, and striped on the other and the same with her body, they had named her "Half-n-Half".  I  redubbed her Celeste and we had an instant bond.  After 16 years with her, she died of natural causes.  I didn't think I could love a pet as much.

I  eventually replaced her with Lily.  She was a mischievous kitten and absolutely adorable.  She thought it was really funny to perch on our headboard of the bed, and bonk sleeping Husband John on the head.  It made him angry, which she loved.

After she was about a year old, I decided that she needed a companion, and happened into a pet store.
There, I found a tiny little white kitten.  1 was told it was a she, and named her Violet.  She quickly gained weight, so I went to get her neutered, and much to my surprise, she was a he.  We changed her name to Willard, and he grew quickly into a beautiful white, long haired cat with green eyes that looked at you lovingly.  While I adored Lily, Willy, as he was nicknamed, stole my heart.  He was very athletic and joined Lily as great hunters.  They regularly brought home some poor victim.  Once, Willard came home with a live mouse, which he let go inside the house.  I freaked out, and literally stood on chairs until Mickey was finally cornered by Willard in our family room, as I breathed a sigh of relief, and we captured Mickey and threw him out.

A month ago, Willard became ill with Feline Diabetes,  Unable to respond to treatment, he passed away.

Yes, we have a lot of pleasure with our Kitties, and Lily is still with us.  We will always have pets, and will love and mourn each one with their passing.

Agates, and Pretty Rocks to polish and Beaches to Visit

I love the beach, the hotter the better as long as I am in the water!  As a child I would even try to swim in the sewers around our house, making sure I didn't get my clothes wet, until my mother raced to get my naked 2 year old body home quickly before I even could get in.

Me, under a smaller waterfall inside the grand Palouse falls, which was formally made into the state falls of Washington.

As I was growing up, we lived in the in the Puget Sound area, and our family took trips to Birch Bay, where I found beautiful agates and rocks, which I polished with my trusty  rock polisher.  (as an adult, I have been collecting rocks everywhere we travel to and then polish them.

The pure joy I feel at the beach, whether it is on Puget Sound, or the Columbia is only replace by my love for my  grandchildren, children, friends, and of course, my John

 A swimming pool will do, (me on my floater in our above the ground pool in Everett, )

 I am overlooking the Columbia River from our deck in Desert Aire

John & Me

John and I travel from our new home in Eastern Washington on the Columbia River, to the Pacific Ocean on the Washington coast, to Puget Sound, a channel, fed by the Pacific Ocean, that divides the Coast of Washington from Seattle, and surrounded cities on our other coastline  We love to travel by car, and visit as many places with wonderful water spots from Washington state, down the Oregon and California waterfronts.  After much travel, we find many other attractions inland, brimming with water activities.  I absolutely adore Oregon's  Crater Lake!  One really can't swim there, however it is magnificent

Ferry on Puget Sound, WA

At the ocean on the Oregon Coast

I could go on for hours about our great United States of America gifts for all of our tastes of activities, but only focused on my choices as those for a water baby.

Time Marches On

It it great to get back to blogging.  Because my eyes are getting dim, I am switching to large print.  

As I get older, time flies by.  When I was a child, a whole summer
seemed to be a grand and long season.

 We lived across the street from Elizabeth Park, which was my joyous playground, with swings, a slide, tennis court, and even a
pond.  I went back there as an adult, and they filled in the place where I caught polliwogs,  and every other swimming creature
you could imagine. I met my best friend there.  Her older sister spotted me, and took me home to meet Vicki.  We were exactly the same age.   I learned to ride my bike there, and made braided necklaces and ran all day long, except when my mother called me in for lunch, and then, for the day.  Mother's voice 
could be heard for miles.  Like an opera singer!  In those days,
We would go out, and the door would close, and not open again
until we were called in.  Moms could never do that now!

The school year was a lifetime, year by year, yet I was very happy at school.  We had a huge Maple Tree in the middle of the playground.  We played  on it for years, and it sort of separated the girls and boys.  The girls were on the paved part of the playground, where we could play jump rope, hop scotch, square ball, etc.

The boys mostly were on the play field,  for football and baseball, etc.  But the bars were behind their field, closer to the back fence, so we (the girls) would gingerly walk on the edge of the field to play on the Bars.  I would take my jacket off to put under my knee as I turned round and round on them.

So this is the aging of Linda right before your eyes:

                                   Infant Me

                                  2 year old me

                               Adult Me

Aging Me  (present)

 

Even as a young mother, time began to speed up, and soon your child is in school, and then you blink, they are grown.  By the time one is a grandmother, a year is like a week, and my first grand baby
is suddenly a senior in High School.
I now hang on to every moment, for time now is cherished!

OPTIMISM

 My previous subject was intended to be followed by my next posting: Optimism.  To me, this is the flip side of Procrastination.   There are so many things to be missed by putting things off.  When I
have done that, I miss out on my favorite activities.  Most things in my community start early, so I have learned that I must get myself on an earlier schedule.  instead of being lazy, and sleeping in until 9AM,

By then, everything has already started.  It is a bit late to begin my household chores, because in the summer,  it gets too hot to work outside by 11AM.   I have decided to begin golfing, which is also an early morning activity.  Most people I know that golf are on the course by 8AM, getting up long before 9AM.

Another thing I want to do is learn to fly an airplane.  I have taken a few lessons, but decided to wait until we got over here in Eastern Washington.  No trees or other planes at Paine Field, where we used to live by, to worry about.  So, I have lots of things I want to do,

We live in a retirement community called Desert Aire, and when we first arrived, my only desire was to jump in the Columbia River,  in front of our home.  And I have done that, and have been content to do this for several hours per day.  The  hotter the temperature, the better!  I still do it, but as I have met some lovely friends, I want to do other things, also.  I am still young, and have many years ahead to accomplish more dreams, like flying.  I may leave golf for after flying. lessons.  So, there is a lot more to do here than play in the water!

                                         Me, playing in the water

                                           Playing in pool

                                        on deck at Desert Aire.

PROCRASTINATION

My blog is titled Thoughts for the Day.  Meaning that it is not done everyday, however, once a month is a little longer than I had started out thinking.  I certainly have a thought provoking spark come into my brain everyday, but some days, I just sit in my chair and stare.   Or read, but not think.

I think it started when I was working.  I was either teaching, or flower designing,  which required a lot of thought and creativity,  so when I retired, my brain did too.
After I begin to forget what I was going to get when I got there, I decided I had better begin to stoke up my brain a little.  After all, I have a new baby granddaughter to give wisdom to, besides my other wonderful 2.  I am so amazed that they are so bright and beautiful.  And I never thought we'd have a third baby girl (neither did Son James, probably)

                                         Me, Willard the cat, and my beloved flowers

                                         Grandson Parker, Granddaughter Cailin, and boyfriendl

.                                        Baby Ara Mae

I don't know how fortunate I am to have such beautiful grandchildren, but I do.  And they are such nice kids.

I also have a nice home my husband John and I chose, in our retirement resort of Desert Aire.  So I guess I tend to get reticent about doing anything, and begin not to notice the glorious life I have.   My days of sitting and staring are just my days of procrastination.  I know that now that I am retired, I don't have to do a smidge, but now

days. I do not feel that I should waste my days, any of them. @ Desert Aire with my family.