Bountiful Blessings

My life is full of 'em - blessings, that is.

I had a wonderful cook-out with Katie and her friends. When Katie was small, she was sweet, delightful, funny and fun, smart and clever. Grown-up, Katie is still all these things. What's more, so is Ethan! Ethan, even more so than Katie, is the perfect combination of his dad and mom. At one minute I would think, "He's just like Jimmy" - the next minute: "He's just like Kim."

Austin, Katie's boyfriend, did the cooking and he did a tremendous job. He made chicken, seasoned with his own herbs and spices. It was flavorful and juicy and tender. Josh, Amanda's boyfriend, rolled up hamburgers that Austin called silver bullets. They were slightly larger than a fifty-cent piece and about an inch thick. Still, Austin grilled them to perfection, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

We don't have a picnic table so I set up two card tables in the middle of the driveway (the only level spot on our yard) and Katie and Amanda brought the ubiquitous green table cloth. Made for a patio table with an umbrella, it has a zipper up one side and a hole in the middle. I covered the hole with an impromptu arrangement of black-eyed Susans. The food was gone in a hurry, due to the fact that Ethan kept lobbing bits of it to Barkley - or "Charles" as Ethan kept calling him. By the end of the night, Barkley was on the couch beside of Ethan with his head in his lap. "BB? Can I take this dog to my house?" Ethan wanted to know.

I had found some games for teens on the internet and that was fun but in between games, Ethan kept yelling that he wanted to play "The Newlywed Game." I got some questions from the internet and we played. Katie and Austin seemed a shoe-in to win but flaked out at the end and lost to Josh and Amanda. I thought they all did really well for teenage couples who aren't even married.

We played Beatles music and worked on crafts projects for Katie's and Amanda's dorm room. It was late on Saturday night and Josh was cutting lengths of wire while Austin and Katie wrapped them into circles around the widest part of magic markers. Amanda was on the floor gluing colored, glass stones onto a mirror. Katie said to the guys, "I bet this isn't what you had in mind for a wild Saturday night."

Ethan and Brittany were long gone and Austin and Josh left so I put in "Mothman Prophecies" that Katie and Amanda wanted to watch but they went to sleep almost immediately, both squished together on the couch, underneath one blanket with Tantra cuddled next to them. I tried to get them to go to bed but couldn't wake them up. I went on to bed then got up at 3 a.m. Amanda had lost the covers to Katie and also a lot of the couch so I said, "Amanda, want to come to bed?" She said, "Mm-hmm" and, still asleep, shambled to the bedroom with Katie trailing behind.

Terry's and my bed is like unto the feather bed of John Denver's Grandma: Nine feet high, 6 feet wide and soft as a downy chick. It will hold at least three grown women, three dogs and two cats, although one of the dogs eventually gets too hot and crowded and opts for the floor at the foot of the bed.

The Morning After

They're gone now and I'm left in the wake of the aftermath with high humidity hair, a chili encrusted bowl, card tables in my driveway and stale chips on the kitchen counter, and a decidedly pleasant feeling of contentment.

Things to be happy about:

-the creak of an old door or gate (and if I may add a personal favorite: the creak and slam of an old fashioned screen door).
-freshly laundered jeans (I love denim/lycra blends)
-cherub cheeks
-air-conditioning
-taking a dare
-offering to do a Tarot reading with scented candles and Irish coffee
-ungodly hours

My personal list of things to be happy about and/or thankful for from this past week:
-a long, chatty phone call from my cousin, Pam.
-a long, chatty visit from my cousin, Kim.
-dinner and a movie with Pam and Rusty.
-six-month-old Jezik pulled up to stand in her crib for the first time.
-Katie coming over to laugh, talk and spend the night.
-e-mails from Beth.
-Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
-Jimmy and Ethan mowing my yard.
-cook-out with Katie, Ethan and their friends.
-Terry saying he loves AND appreciates me.

Lunch and Lammas

This weekend is an ancient Celtic Festival of the sun god called Lughnasadh (or Lammas). It is an autumn (!) festival, the first of three, ending with Samhain (or Halloween) on October 31. It is a time to celebrate the beginnings of a bountiful harvest and be thankful for all blessings that come from the beauty of the sun. At the Boone Universalist Unitarian Fellowship on King Street, they are celebrating Lammas with "Lunch and Lammas" today from noon until 8:00 pm. I had thought about attending this event but have decided to stay at home today and prepare for a cook-out tonight with Katie and her friends. Katie's dad and brother are even now here at my house mowing my yard. I have a lot of blessings to be thankful for today.

Instant Karma: Make a good impression on yourself.

Shine on, Everybody!

Happiness Is a Warm Puppy

The morning air was cool when I woke up today but I was warm and snuggly underneath a heavy pink comforter with Tantra curled in my left armpit and Karma against the small of my back. It's comforting to wake up every morning with their two little warm bodies next to me. Sometimes Simon and/or Gracie are lying near or on me, too. Usually Gracie. Simon is off elsewhere in the house doing his Ethel Merman impersonation: a loud, raucous call with lots of harsh tremolo that's in the exact key as There's No Business Like Show Business. I've tried to teach him Everything's Coming Up Roses but he doesn't like it so much.

I've got a lot of housework to do today so I wanted to post this blog early so y'all could get a jumpstart on being happy this week! First though, here is my own list of things to be happy about from last week:

warm puppies under the covers
burning incense, lighting a candle and the trickle of a tabletop fountain
the drive to Boone and the Dancing Moon
walking in the Relay for Life
spending time with Katie
awakening to the full moon shining on the bed through the window
Barkley playing with the water hose ... and, finally ...
a long-awaited, long-distance phone call from my husband

Now from 14,000 Things to Be Happy About Seven More Things:

standing up for yourself
recipes from old books
succulent baked chicken or country ham accompanied by fresh-baked rolls
accomplished musicians
the distinctive aroma of garlic or bell peppers
pajamas at breakfast
reed-fringed lagoons

Now go be happy!

Saturday Is for Karma

I've been away from the blog for a couple of days. Katie came to spend the night with me on Thursday and I did a Tarot reading for her. I've done a few now and I'm always surprised by how significant the cards are for each reading. At one point during the reading, the interpretation I was giving for a card made no sense or had no relevancy to her life at all. Then I realized I was reading it as if it were Swords and it was Pentacles. When I gave the Pentacle interpretation, it made all the difference in the world. I think Katie was a little skeptical and a little fearful (like maybe the cards would foretell bad fortune or something) but by the end, she was very pleased with the results of her reading and wanted to make sure that I would give her a summary of it to keep.

Then last night - Friday night - Karma, Tantra and I walked in the Relay for Life, with the High Country Church of Christ team at the local high school. Katie had invited us. Tantra went around that track as if he had dreams of one day becoming a greyhound. About 3/4 of the way around the first lap, Karma stopped, turned around and lifted her front legs up to me like she does when she wants to be picked up. I carried her the rest of the lap and one whole lap and then made her walk again. All of my laps were like that - walk awhile, carry Karma awhile. Despite that, Karma, Tantra and I had a lot of fun and our little community of 20,000 raised over $50,000!

Today, Karma and I had a girl's day out. We left the boys at home and went to Boone. I don't get over to Boone very often. In fact, this was only my third trip this entire year and after having a pretty stressful week, I felt like I needed to get away for a little while and take my good Karma with me. We went to the Dancing Moon and were standing at the front of the store looking at Yoga books and videos. People from the sidewalk could see Karma and I kept seeing people stop and point at her. Finally, a family came into the store and accosted me with questions about her. What kind? Where did I get her? Was she expensive? Is her hair like that naturally? What's her name? How old is she? I explained to them that she is pretty much one-of-a-kind since her litter of pups was accidental but that I knew of a fantastic breeder and I happened to have a card from Wee Care Kennels with me. I put Karma down to get it out of my purse. (Yes, I was carrying her again!) She did her "lifting up her front legs thing" for me to pick her back up and the little family nearly melted on the spot. "Just like a little child would do!" the husband gushed. Terry and I read somewhere once that most dogs have the intelligence of a two-year-old child but Terry maintains that Karma is more like three years old. It does seem like she gets sharper and more clever and human-like, the older she gets. She was really sociable today and licked Bob (the Dancing Moon owner) right on the nose. He gave her a little tiny pocket guardian angel. She was loved and adored everywhere we went and even did her "Swim, Karma, Swim!" trick at Ancient Wisdom. Ancient Wisdom is much like Dancing Moon with a slightly less energetic vibe and much higher prices. We finished up at Chik-Fil-A and shared a 12-pack of nuggets. We came home where the boys were happy to see us and all took a late afternoon nap. One of the phrases that Karma knows and loves so well is, "Karma, wanna go back to bed?" You would think that she was a sluggish couch potato because she wants to be carried and go back to bed all the time but I think she is just so vibrant and vital and expends so much energy just being awake and alive that she has to recharge quite frequently.

Although I have yet to become one with a Yoga pose, last week's Instant Karma instruction was quite a blessing. One of the great things about this blog is it brings me interaction with people that teaches me, entertains me, inspires me and brings me much happiness. Dan and I talk about books and music, as do Beth and I but different books and music. David has responded with interesting musical notes. Maria has started her own blog which I am loving. If you haven't yet, check it out. Tracy constantly challenges my way of thinking by redirecting my attention and maintains our friendship even though we almost never talk or see each other. That's pretty incredible, isn't it? Plus, I keep in touch with Mary, Lanette, Carla, Karen and Keith and many others who have stopped by, left comments or sent emails and this past week, my average daily traffic jumped from 20 per day to 40! Thanks to everyone!

Now, completely at random, here is this week's Instant Karma instruction: choose one fun thing to look forward to each day.

Hmmm... I do this already. I look forward to knitting everyday. Should I look forward to it more ardently or should I find a second fun thing to look forward to? Oh, I look forward to reading a half hour each night before I go to sleep. I also look forward to listening to music on my iPod at work and when I get home in the afternoons. And then there's this blog ... I look forward to that. Is there something each of you look forward to everyday? Let me know.

Stop by tomorrow for seven new things to be happy about.

Blessed be to all of you!

Moon Day

Since today is Moon Day, and the full moon, I would like to do something to honor it. I was saving this one for a special occasion and today, apparently, is The Day. This playlist was inspired by and is dedicated to my friend, Tracy Luna. The songs I chose are meant to represent the changing phases of the moon - some of the songs you'll love, some you'll inevitably ... ahem ... not love ... some will make you laugh and some might even bring a tear to your eye if it's a song you've forgotten about but brings back a memory of a time and a place when you first heard it. By the time I finished compiling the list, I thought it might be fun just to see how many versions of Blue Moon I could find. (8) Email me your favorite moon song or any I might have forgotten. (You'll have CDs soon, Tracy, I promise!)

Y'all go out and howl at the moon tonight.

mOon sOngs iPod pLaylist

1. Here Comes the Moon by George Harrison
2. Bad Moon Risin' by Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. Broken Moon by Billy Troy
4. C Moon by Paul McCartney
5. Blue Moon by Elvis Presley
6. Desert Moon by Dennis DeYoung
7. Full Moon Half Heart by Billy Troy
8. New Age Girl [Mary Moon] by Dead-Eye Dick
9. Brain Damage [Dark Side of the Moon] by Pink Floyd
10. Blue Moon by Mel Torme
11. Bark at the Moon by Ozzie Osbourne
12. Shoot the Moon by Norah Jones
13. Shepherd Moons by Enya
14. Man on the Moon by R.E.M.
15. Blue Moon by the Mavericks (by far the best version I found)
16. Moon River by Andy Williams
17. Blue Moon of Kentucky by Elvis Presley
18. Moon Over Parma by Drew Carey
19. Beach House on the Moon by Jimmy Buffet (Tracy, you had to know Jimmy would make the list, right?)
20. Blue Moon by The Marcels
21. Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra
22. Walking on the Moon by The Police
23. Moon Over Bourbon Street by Sting
24. Between the Moon and New York City by Christopher Cross
25. Blue Moon by The Cowboy Junkies
26. Mr. Moonlight by the Beatles
27. Moonlight Bay by the Beatles
28. In the Misty Moonlight by Dean Martin
29. Moonlight Sonata by Robin Alciatore
30. Moonlight Serenade by Frank Sinatra
31. Moonlighting Theme by Al Jarreau
32. Blue Moon by Sam Cooke
33. La Luna by Belinda Carlisle
34. When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again by Elvis Presley
35. Blue Moon by Frank Sinatra
36. Moon on My Shoulder by Lyle Lovett
37. Clare de Lune by Stevan Pasero
38. Tea House Moon by Enya
39. Moondance by Van Morrison (my all-time favorite moon song)
40. Blue Moon by Rod Stewart (featuring Eric Clapton)
41. Moonraker by United Studio Orchestra
42. New Blue Moon by the Traveling Wilburys
43. Once in a Blue Moon by Van Morrison
44. Eclipse by Pink Floyd

Brenda's (and Beth's) Book Club

I started reading Wolves of the Calla and, as I've said, I am loathe to start. I don't want the Dark Tower series to end. I don't want Roland to die (I don't know if he does but I'm fearful of it) and I don't want the adventure to be over. At the same time, I want to devour it in one sitting just like a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I'm about 88 pages in and have decided to stop reading it and start reading something else.

Today Beth brought me this book to read. She said it is a romance - probably the only one she's ever read except maybe for Danielle Steele when she was in grade school. I'm not a big fan of romance either (except for Janet Daily when I was in grade school.) Although, Steven King considers The Wizard and Glass a love story. Come to think of it, a love story is not the same as a romance novel.

Outlander seems to be a historical romance fantasy. This is from the back cover:

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon - when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach - an "outlander" - in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly differnt men in two irreconcilable lives.

Wow, huh? On the inside back cover is a color photograph of the author with flowing black hair wearing a long sarape/cape/poncho thing in front of Stone Henge (which, as all Eddie Izzard fans know, is the greatest Henge in the world).

I love it already. Best of all? It's Volume 1 of a series. It will tide me over until the second novel in the Inheritance trilogy is released in August. Maybe then I will work up the courage to continue on the Path of the Beam to the Dark Tower, the nexus of all existance. And then, and only then, will I be able to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Just one more thing: this.

I Must Have the Monday Blues

Even Committees of Congress are not a happy enough thought to lift me out of the doldrums I have sunk into this evening. The dogs are really on my nerves - even the cats - and I feel like lying face down on the carpet and crying. For what reason? Who knows? Sometimes I feel blue when the moon gets near full (Thursday). Maybe it's because Terry has been gone for four weeks and will be gone for three (!) more. Maybe I'm having Katie withdrawal. She had been staying here nearly every night while Terry is gone and now I haven't seen her in a week. She's working and then gone to orientation for school in Raleigh. Maybe I just need a big hunk o' chocolate. Has anyone tried the Karmel Sutra ice cream from Ben and Jerry's? I highly recommend it as a cure for the blues. And if that doesn't cure what ails ya', maybe this will.

So David, Natalie and Beth go to yoga classes at the Downward Dog. I am very much interested in going with them although they are all in the advanced class. Natalie is scaling back to the beginner class since she is pregnant and Beth is scaling back to the beginner class due to a schedule thing. I'm sure all three are like Phoebe: "very bendy." (Remember that episode of Friends? I'm not, nor have I ever been, "bendy.") All of them seemed very excited at the prospect of me attending the class with them and assured me that I could do it.

I found this information on the internet:

In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which is a two-thousand-year-old collection of the oral teachings on yogic philosophy, there are one hundred and ninety-five statements which are a kind of philosophical guidebook for dealing with the challenges of being human. The Yoga Sutras provide an eight-fold path called ashtanga, which literally means "eight limbs". These eight steps are basic guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They are a prescription for moral and ethical conduct. They direct attention toward one's health, and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of our nature.

The first four steps or stages concentrate on refining our personalities, gaining mastery over our body, and developing an energetic awareness of ourselves, all of which prepare us for the second half of the journey, which deals with the senses, the mind, and attaining a higher state of consciousness.

Yama

The first step deals with one's moral or ethical standards and sense of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in our interpersonal life. These are, literally, the controls or don'ts of life. They include areas where we must learn to control tendencies which, if allowed expression, would end up causing us disharmony and pain. They are the same moral virtues that you find in all the world's great religious traditions. The five yamas are:

Non-violence: Refrain from harming or demeaning any living thing, including yourself, by action, word or thought.

Non-lying: Control any tendency to say anything that is not truthful, including not being truthful to yourself.

Non-stealing: Curb the tendency to take anything that does not belong to you which includes not only material objects but also things such as praise or position.

Non-sensuality: Learn the art of self-control; to control the tremendous energy expended in seeking and thinking about sensual pleasure and to abstain from inappropriate sexual behavior.

Non-greed: Learn not to be attached to or desirous of "things"; to learn to discriminate between "needs" and "wants".

That's just the first step. It's a lot of responsibility. How can Yoga aid you in this step? Is that even possible? I could do some self-work in all of these areas, actually. But not until I get up off the floor or the moon starts waning again, whichever comes first.

When the Student Is Ready

When the student is ready, the teacher appears. This is from an old Zen proverb and reminds me that now must be The Time for me to begin to study and practice Yoga. I have always wanted to but have been inhibited by my lack of knowledge, flexibility, self-discipline and time. My schedule is already crammed so full of the pursuit of interesting studies that I am thinking about giving up sleep and work, in that order. This afternoon, the featured blog on Yahoo! was this. Yesterday, I drew the "visualize your body holding a yoga pose, become one with the pose" Instant Karma instruction. Immediately before that, my cousin Carla, had sent me the link to the latest Creativity Portal newsletter. If you click there, you will see a whimsical Folk Art painting of the word "Namaste." I was already familiar with this word or greeting but not in connection with Yoga. When I was doing my research yesterday, I came upon this site. If you scroll down a bit, you will find this message from the man who publishes the site:

Namaste. I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I bow to your divine spirit, to your inherent buddhahood, to the great ball of sunshine that radiates from your heart.

Wow.

I feel that sentiment so strongly inside me that I am almost moved to tears every time I read it. I very much desire to express that to each and every person I come in contact with on a daily basis. Can you imagine if everyone were able to do that, to feel that, to express that to everyone all the time? Isn't that what being a designated listener or improving your health, mind, body, spirit and becoming more enlightened is really all about? Honoring the divine spirit inside ourselves and others? Couldn't everyone, no matter their doctrine, dogma, creed, rede, rite or religion agree with that? If Yoga will help me achieve the spirit of Namaste in my heart and foremost in my mind all the time, then I will commit to it, starting today.

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

First off I want to express heart-felt thanks to those who faithfully support my blog (I average about 20 hits a day-woo-hoo!) and an even greater thanks to all those who have left comments and sent me emails with their thoughts, opinions, support and even ... dare I say it? ... love. My face blushes, my heart gushes. My blog may never be as popular as Yarn Harlot or Daily Dancer but I feel good knowing YOU stopped by today to find out what's going on in my life.

I did some research on yoga yesterday and it promises myriad benefits with longterm practice. It will bring health to your mind, body and spirit as well as help you along the path to enlightenment. I've looked at a few of the poses but have not yet imagined myself as being one with the pose. I know a couple of people at work who go to yoga classes and I'm going to talk to them about it tomorrow. Ideally, I would post a different picture everyday of myself in a different beginner pose but as I've said ad nauseum, Terry has the picture-posting computer with him in ... let's see ... Indiana. Wouldn't it be cool if he would post a blog about life on the road? In an ironic twist, I have the picture-posting camera.

I really need something to be happy about today as the 6th and penultimate Harry Potter book was released at midnight on Friday. I'm sad because I don't want the books to end. Ever. Just like Friends, I think J.K. Rowling should carry on with the story forever. I have delayed reading the final three books of the Dark Tower series for that same reason. I'm pretty sure that one of the four main characters (in the Dark Tower series) will die although I don't know it for a fact and I don't want any of them to die. And I don't want to find out who it is, either. I'm reading Wolves of the Calla now and I'm actually reading it by holding the book in my hands instead of listening to it. It will be my next book review, I think.

I didn't mean to get so off the topic. You came here today to get reasons to be happy this week and I'm going to give them to you, courtesy of Barbara Ann Kipfer. By the way, was anyone's heart gladdened last week by the seven items? Let me know. And now, this week's reasons to be happy are:

Today - Something springing from mind's eye, to sketchpad, to reality
Monday - Committees of Congress (Really? You've got to be kidding me. Just the thought of this makes me angry!)
Tuesday - Hams cured the old-fashioned way (Does anyone still do this? Reminds me of my Grandma Miller who didn't cure hams but always had a cured ham on Easter and Christmas.)
Wednesday - Snow croquet (Uh, OK. Hey, Maria, remember playing croquet at your friend's house in Salt Lake in 1991? There was no snow, though.)
Thursday - Many pillows (You've got to be kidding me, again. Has anyone seen the scene from Along Came Polly about the pillows? I'll never look at a pile of pillows the same way again.)
Friday - Singing alto in church (Linda? Are you there? This reminds me of you.)
Saturday - Cheap formal gowns. (Hmmm... I don't know about this one.)

Well.

There you go.

Be inspired.

Namaste.

Instant Karma!

My friend Rita told me earlier in the week that I was already the designated listener, even before I decided on this Instant Karma experiment. Truly, it does seem like I listen alot more than I talk sometimes but not always because I do love to talk. I guess I love the exchange of lively conversation more than anything and spend many hours talking with girlfriends and cousins and my sister and even my husband. Whenever I drive him to Nashville or pick him up, we usually talk as fast and as hard as we drive and don't even turn on the radio or put in a CD! We've always been that way. We've always been able to talk to each other and never run out of things to say and that is one of the many reasons I thought he was a good choice for a mate.

I've learned something very important about listening from Terry. You can't just listen. You have to participate in the listening. Terry gets upset with me if he's talking to me and I stop looking directly at him to check on what the dogs might be up to or a pot that's about to boil over on the stove or just to escape the intensity of his words. "Hello?" he says as if I'm not sitting right there in front of him or as if I haven't been hanging on his every word for the last fifteen years. I have to look right at him and I also have to respond in kind or he thinks I'm not listening or paying attention to him. So I've learned that if you are the designated listener, you also have to give something back in the form of direct eye contact, certainly, and also, whoever is talking needs you to acknowledge what they're saying and verify it by agreeing, offering advice or at the very least commiserating. Being the designated listener means validating the speaker.

This is not difficult if the person you're talking to is interesting, funny, entertaining or saying something with which you agree. It is difficult if you think they're crazy (not talking about Terry now). What if the speaker is prone to go on and on about how much they paid for everything in their life since time out of mind down to the last micro-cent and your eyes glaze over and you start thinking about how you wish someone would come along and lop off either your head or theirs so you no longer have to endure their obsessive nature? What if someone tells you they're stalking their ex-husband (!!!) or their mother is taking out a restraining order on their boyfriend? What if you feel like you're hearing the script from a real-life episode of Jerry Springer and all you can think about is how can people be so mean? crazy? obsessed? so un-Christian? so un-enlightened?

So I learned another lesson from being the designated listener: Not only do you have to listen, maintain eye contact and validate what they're saying, you also have to remain unattached and non-judgemental. I listened to all these stories this week and tried to sympathize, tried to offer advice and tried not to fall asleep, laugh, or roll my eyes. I think I did say once, "I'm calling Jerry Spring right now!" I couldn't help myself. It was just too crazy not to be televised.

Also, being the designated listener made me more aware of the things I say to people. Do people think I go on and on about my dogs too much? Do they get tired of hearing about my iPod playlists, my knitting or my New Age beliefs? So, I've mostly confined all that talk to my blog for all you lucky people!

Now, let's see what Instant Karma we will be focusing on in the upcoming week. I close my eyes, open the book at random and point to ... visualize your body holding a yoga pose, become one with the pose.

I don't do yoga but I've always wanted to. Now is the opportunity for me to do some research and learn something about it. You have your assignment. Go do some yoga and come back tomorrow for 7 new things to be happy about. Oh yeah, and don't forget to email me or post comments with your own experiences or observations on your own Instant Karma!

mOnster bAllads iPod pLaylist

Most of this music is from the late '80s to early '90s and reminds me of a time in my life I remember with much fondness. It's when I lived at home with my parents and my sister - we both worked at Hanes and got off work at noon each day. We had the rest of the day to spend the way we wanted and we usually went to Boone and hung out on King Street. Dancing Moon was in an upstairs room back then and was only a few tables with some books and crystals. There was Sonehinge and Art Skibby's and Macado's (all of which are gone now except for Macado's). An excellent hair dude named Brandon worked at Macado's and we always hoped he would be our waiter. We also always hoped for the booth with the Beatles' pictures in it. We always ate the same sandwhich and talked about the same things: the Beatles and 1964 as the Beatles. These songs (along with Journey and Nelson) were the soundtrack to that time.

1. Heaven by Warrant
2. Something to Believe In by Poison
3. High Enough by Damn Yankees
4. Almost Paradise by Ann Wilson and Mike Reno
5. Is This Love? by Whitesnake
6. To Be with You by Mr. Big
7. Carrie by Europe
8. More Than Words by Extreme
9. Headed for a Heartbreak by Winger
10. When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse
11. Winds of Change by the Scorpions
12. I'll Never Let You Go by Steelheart
13. When I See You Smile by Bad English
14. Don't Close Yours Eyes by Kix
15. When I'm with You by Sheriff
16. Amanda by Boston
17. Always by Bon Jovi
18. Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi
19. November Rain by Guns 'n' Roses

The Magick iPod and, oh yeah, My Dogs Speak English

I think my iPod is magic. Remember last week when I wrote about telling it to play "something good!" and it did? Tonight I was in the kitchen lifting snickerdoodles from the cookie sheets and thinking about a new iPod pLaylist I've been compiling. I'm calling it "Magic Rock" and it's songs that are magical or mysterious in some way. So far, I've only got four or five. While I was dunking the cookies in the cinnamon/sugar mixture, a Fleetwood Mac song was playing from the shuffle mode on the iPod. Another "magic" song occurred to me just then: That Old Black Magic! Almost immediately I remembered that I had it on the iPod, sung by Kevin Spacey from the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil soundtrack. I intended to play it after I got through with the cookies but got distracted by ... well ... eating the cookies and didn't do it. But as soon as Everywhere finished playing, you couldn't possibly guess what came on next ... or could you?

After that big build-up, it would be incredibly disappointing if I didn't say, That Old Black Magic, wouldn't it? Don't be disappointed because that is the exact song that played next. My jaw opened in an "O" and, for the moment, the cookies were forgotten.

Just a quick poll. How many of you think it's just a coincidence? How many think that there is something esoteric and magical going on? How many think I made it all up just for something to post on my blog today? Email me or leave me a comment, doggone it. Only my sister and my best friend have left comments. I know there's more of you lurking out there.

Sunday night I was at my cousin, Kim's house for her birthday party and I had Karma with me. She was mostly good except for a couple of minor skirmishes with Ethan's puppy, Oscar. Otherwise, she mainly sat on my lap or perched on the back of the couch.

Ethan's girlfriend, Brittany, came and sat on the couch beside me and was talking to Karma. She asked her name and her age and remarked on her cuteness. I said, "Karma, say hi!" This is a trick Terry and I have been trying to teach her for nearly a year. When we say it, she is supposed to lift her paw in the classic "shake" maneuver. She does it sometimes but mostly she doesn't unless she wants something, like a tidbit from our plate. No one can ever say Karma doesn't recognize opportune moments. When I said, "Karma, say hi!" she bowed her head slightly, shyly and demurely, rolled her eyes in an upward, coquettish glance and delicately lifted her left paw. It was just so adorable you would have never believed it outside of a Disney animation. Brittany, all of 17 years of age, went into paroxysms of glee. She veritably screamed and melted at the same time. I couldn't have been prouder than if she had actually opened up her little Yorkie mouth and said plainly with a Cockney accent, "'ello!"

Yesterday, I was at home for lunch to let the dogs out for a little exercise. I knitted three rows on the baby blanket I'm making and then it was time for me to go back to work. Tantra was nowhere to be seen - either he was in the basement having a snack from the litter box or he was in the bathroom rummaging through the trash. I called him and he came running. "I've got to go back to work," I announced. "Time to get in your crate." I didn't gesture nor was I standing near the crate but, apparently, he knew what it meant in any case because he bounded over and leapt right in. Barely had I time to recover from that when: Barkley was lying on the floor by the couch chewing on a rawhide bone. I said, "C'mon, Barkley, time to go in the basement." He stood up, ready and willing. I said, "You can take your bone." Believe it or not, he turned around and picked up his bone from where he had dropped it on the floor.

When they start answering, I'll let you know.

Good Karma Sighting

A group photo from Karma's fan club meeting.

Simple Knitting

I finished a new project over the weekend - an asymetrical poncho made from Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Waterfall, a beautiful aqua. The poncho doesn't look like much until it is worn and then its simplicity shines beautifully. This is the second poncho like this that I've made. The first one was for my Aunt Bonnie for her birthday in May and this Waterfall poncho was for my cousin, Trina for her birthday which was in June. (I'm a little bit behind in my project schedule.) I have a lovely picture of Trina wearing the poncho but have no way of uploading it until Terry gets home. You'll get to see it then and any other projects that I've completed.

Tonight I finished a pastel blue puppy sweater. I'm hoping to get several items made up by fall and cool weather to sell and the puppy sweater is the first of those projects. Meanwhile, I've got several birthday and baby gifts to make, not to mention sweaters for my own dogs. There's never enough time to knit everything and I'm beginning to worry that I might not live long enough to knit everything I want to knit. I usually don't think of things in those terms because no one knows the length of their time on this earth but I certainly would hate to leave with a half-finished project on the needles. Not to mention a box full of unused yarn!

I usually take my projects to work with me for show and tell because several of my coworkers are also knitters or crocheters or both or they would like to be one or the other. Often someone comments that they wish they could do what I do or they say how smart I am or that they could never do something like that. While I appreciate the compliments and acknowledge them in a way, it isn't like I designed the pattern myself. Someone else did and I just followed the instructions. Knitting is really quite simple. It is a matter of knowing two stitches - knit and purl. Once you know those two (and I purled wrong for over a year before someone pointed it out to me) you can knit anything there is to be knitted. I believe that about myself: I can knit anything there is to be knitted. I'm not saying that to toot my own horn or brag on my ability. Most people have the same equipment that I have in order to knit: two eyes and two hands. I don't have some extra knitting appendage that makes me able to knit what the general public cannot. The thing that I have that someone else may not is the desire to do it. And after the desire is a passion for the process. While I'm very glad that the people who receive my knitted items like the things I make for them, I mostly knit for myself. It satisfies a creative need inside me like nothing else I've ever done. I love the flow of one long, continuous string from between my fingers making shapes and textures and designs depending on just how and where and when you make the knit and purl stitches. I love the challenge of a new project or technique and I also love the familiarity of something I've knitted before.

Knit and purl. Desire and passion. Maybe you don't want to knit badly enough to take the time to learn to do so. That's all right. There's lots of other people who will fill that void for you. Your job - your purpose - is to find that thing in your life that fills you with desire and passion. The thing that I can't (don't wanna) do or that the general population can't (don't wanna) do. And then go do it!

In Memoriam

The tide recedes but leaves behind
bright seashells on the sand.

The sun goes down but gentle warmth
still lingers on the land.

The music stops but still it echoes
on in sweet refrains.

For every joy that passes
something beautiful remains.

--author unknown

Billy Ray Bare
August 12, 1935-July 10, 2005

Something Good

I also have Barbara Ann Kipfer's book 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. I've had it for about 15 years. I think on Sundays, the day after my Instant Karma day, I will give my blog readers a week's worth of things to be happy about. In this day and age, if you've got a roof over your head, something to eat and someone to love, you've got plenty to be happy about. Anything above and beyond that is just excess. But if you've still got a reason to feel sad, lonely, depressed, or - and this is my biggest pet peeve - bored, then take some of these suggestions into consideration:

Today - party spreads.
Monday - straw fedoras (is "laughing at" the same thing as being "happy about"?)
Tuesday - broiling meat or toasting bread on the top rack of a wood stove (does anyone have a wood stove or know anyone who does? I don't, although I've seen one sitting on the porch of an old storage building along the side of the road on the way to my dad's house. It looks like it is in pristine condition. I wonder if it's a reproduction and what it's doing there ... ?)
Wednesday - chopped raisins and cranberries gently sweetened and wrapped in a tender pastry and topped with vanilla ice cream
Thursday - flowers thriving on love and friendly words (blooming in a field near you: black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace)
Friday - frozen yogurt
Saturday - peppermint-crunch candy (or ... a personal favorite: peppermint crunch candy ice cream!)

What's Going On

I haven't written much about my day-to-day life but it has, as usual been busy. I always have many more things that I want to do than I have time in the day to do them. Terry just finished up a few dates in Escanaba, MI, and left this morning to go back to Nashville. He will be there for a couple of days off and then I think he goes to Terre Haute, IN. It's still a few weeks before he comes home.

My friend from work, Kristal, had her baby 6 weeks early. It was a girl and she still weighed over five pounds (I don't remember the exact ounces) and they named her Hannah Rose. She was doing very well last I heard and was expected to come home from the hospital this weekend, I think. She was born on the 4th of July.

On June 30, my friend, Wendy, from Ohio, gave birth to triplets! They were due about the same time as Hannah Rose but it was known all along she would have them early. They were scheduled to be delivered by Caesarian on July 4th but had to be delivered early. I guess it was getting too crowded in there. They were two girls and a boy: Antonia, Celeste and Brandon. They were tiny - like 2 and 3 pounds each - but all three are thriving and Wendy says they should be coming home in a couple of weeks.

And I just found out last week that another friend at work - Natalie - is pregnant! This is her first baby and, of course, she is very excited about the prospect of being someone's mom. She will make a great one, too. Natalie hasn't been at McFarland very long but I really do like her.

So, that means that there are only a couple of people left at my work who can still have babies but who haven't, yet. I'll let you know when their number comes up.

My cousin, Katie, has been spending a lot of time with me while Terry is gone. We've been having almost too much fun. We stay up well past midnight - something I just don't do much anymore - and we talk and watch movies and listen to music. The other night when she was here, I was playing songs on my iPod through the stereo. I had the iPod on shuffle which means it just plays songs randomly. I have almost 3,000 on there so some of the songs I don't even know. It kept playing all this weird, strange, even scary music. Sometimes it played hokey music that kind of curdled Katie's stomach, I think, except she's too nice to say. The battery went dead so I went over and plugged in the charger, waiting for it to come back. I pushed the shuffle button again and some other, strange song that I didn't want to hear came up. I advanced it one song and another unknown song came up in the queue. "Grrrrrr!" I said and held the iPod up to my face so it could hear me. "PLAY SOMETHING GOOD!" I demanded and advanced it one more song. The song that came up then was "Something Good" from the Sound of Music soundtrack. "Nuh-uh!" Katie said when I told her but there was no denying that was the song. It immediately began to play through the sound system. Those iPods take everything so literally!

Today is Katie's mom and my cousin, Kim's birthday. We have been spending all our available time working on a talent show which will play out tonight at Kim's house. Katie and her friend, Amanda, spent the night with me last night and worked on "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy" and "All That Jazz." They'll probably be back later today to work on some more. Meanwhile, I've got to bake the cake because Katie has to go to church, go to a bridal shower at Jefferson Landing and squeeze in some practice time.

Katie's friend, Amanda has a new Maltese puppy who is 7 weeks old. He spent the night, too. The Maltese, Brodie, doesn't weigh a pound, yet. He is just adorable, tiny and solid white. I took pictures of him with Tantra and he makes Tantra (all of six pounds) look like a big dog. Brodie could have reclined on Barkley's tongue and the big dog would have barely noticed. I put Barkley in the basement. As gentle as he is with Tantra, he could still step on a tiny dog and break him easily. His attention was disconcerting in the least. He wanted to sniff the little morsel all over and had a very noticeable drool while doing it. Karma didn't pay any attention at all until she saw Brodie on the floor playing with Tantra. She went absolutely ballistic. She acted like she could have killed him and I think it was because he was playing with her Tantra. And Tantra didn't want the other dogs to have anything to do with Brodie. Tantra thought Brodie was his. He nearly bit Barkley's lip off. He and Karma had an infrequent but horrible skirmish and Karma was just plain mad. She really showed herself last night. I put her in her crate and put her in the bedroom where she barked hysterically for about 10 minutes, then silence and three seconds later, she came prancing down the hall like Richard Starkey paradin' by the Thames in a flat, cloth cap and a duster coat. She can open every crate we have from the inside.

It was after 3:00 when we went to bed. Brodie slept in his crate. Karma and Tantra, Simon, Gracie and Emma (who never sleeps in the bed) and Amanda, Katie and I, all in the bed. Barkley slept on the floor at the foot of the bed and snored and moaned in his sleep like an old man.

So that's my news. I'm going now to wax rhapsodic over the thought of party spreads and start dreaming up one of my own. Have a great week everyone!

Brenda's Book Club - Instant Karma

I'm still listening to Wizard and Glass: Dark Tower IV which is the best of the ones I've read. It has a witch and a romance and a crystal ball and mystery and action and anything else you could want from a novel, much less a Stephen King one.

In the meantime, I got Instant Karma by Barbara Ann Kipfer, author of 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. I love this book! It is "8,879 ways to give yourself and others good fortune right now." If you chose one a day, it would take 23.3 years to do them all. I would be about 60 years old and so stored up with good karma, I would shuffle off the mortal coil into eternal bliss without all that messy transmigration business. It's actually a little more complicated than that, though. If you're unclear on what karma actually is, click here. There is also a wonderful chapter about karma in Gary Zukav's book The Seat of the Soul. I haven't talked about this book much but it is probably my favorite book of all time and after I read it, my life and entire belief system was changed forever.

Instant Karma is just the neatest little book. It is about 4 inches square, two inches thick and weighs about a pound. It is chock full of little things to do and think about in order to bring good karma to yourself or others. Here are a few examples: pack cookies in popped corrn and send them to a sibling, your sense of self and peace of mind should originate within, share your ice cream, eat something green, select an inspirational book to always have on hand to give to friends, use, but don't abuse, others' talents, write notes thanking people for what you have learned from them. Aren't these great? And there are nearly 9,000 of them.

Here is what I propose. I am adding a new feature to my blog wherein I will close my eyes and completely at random select an action for instant karma. I will spend a week focusing on the action and encourage all my blog readers to do the same and at the end of the week, I will blog about my experience and invite others to share any significant events they may have experienced. Sound good? Sound fun? Sound karmic?
Without further ado, let's begin:

Ooooo! This is going to be good. It is something I especially need to work on, anyway (go figure, when the student is ready and all that...): be the designated listener.

We all shine on, everybody!

Good Karma Sighting

Good Karma Yoga

For Women Only

Today I want to talk about tampons.

You might think there wouldn't be much to say about tampons and maybe you would think there isn't much you would want to say about them but I have something specific to address. And, yes, it's about tampons. About store brand tampons. A specific store brand which I will not name but which is probably the biggest store brand in the country at this time. Hoping to save a few pennies, I opted for this brand, having faith in the promise that it would equate the nationally-known namebrand tampons. Sometimes this is a gamble that pays off. Sometimes you can buy the store brand and never know the difference. Sometimes, though, you buy the store brand and, as Terry is quite fond of telling me, "you get what you pay for."

Everyone knows how a tampon works, right? Even men, I'm sure, can grasp the general concept of tampon construction and engineering. You grasp the object between the thumb and forefinger and place it ... um ... where it goes. Then, with the other hand you use the ... uh ... erm ... ah ... plunger to help it along it's way to it's eventual destination. This works well and like most things in that area, it has to end up in a precise spot. I've never had this not work. Ever. Well, once there was no string but that is a different story. Apart from that, I have not ever had a malfunction of the delivery. In 29 years of usage, which amounts to over 10,000 tampons, I've never had a single one refuse to budge from the barrel, so to speak. I do not know why but today was the day for my run of successful tampon usage to end. When the plunger was depressed, it did not plunge. It did not depress. It did not do anything. I "plunged" with a little more torque applied, difficult in that position but I did it and my arms started to cramp from the weird posture and still nothing happened. I held the thing in front of my eyes and attempted to plunge into the air like a doctor with a syringe, hoping to ascertain the ... um ... hang up and still nothing happened. I also could not see any reason at all for the thing not to work. So I tried again as if the stupid thing could see and tell that I was only kidding about plunging it into the air. Needless to say, it still didn't work. All that happened is that the cardboard plunger accordioned onto itself and the tampon itself remained firmly in place.

I eventually gave up and tossed it away, retrieving another one from the box with the exact same result! And another and another. I was growing desperate by then as they were all that I had. By this point, I would have given every penny I had ever saved by buying store brands for just one little ol' 8-count box of Kotex or Playtex or even - OB! At that thought, a light dawned and with dire trepidation, I ripped off the cardboard, braced myself and did what I had to do. Six hours later, I still burn - physically and emotionally - from the pain of it.

There are 36 tampons left in that box and I, for the life of me, still can't figure out their purpose. Did they save me money? No. Did they equal the brand name? No. Did they do what I needed them to do? What I required of them? No. What is their purpose? Why are they here? Next to them on the shelf in the cupboard in the bathroom is a floral print box of Kotex tampons with 39 left, all of them, I'm sure, ready, willing and waiting to fulfill their destinies like stolid, dependable little troopers dressed in industrial whites like a clinical military. How I love them.

New Moon

Tonight is the new moon. This is a good time to make plans and new beginnings or make a new start on an established project. Put new resolutions into practice. Now is the time to launch a new project, meet new friends, start a class or take up a new sport or hobby.

Kissing Your Hand to the Moon*

Kissing a hand to the Moon is an old custom for bringing luck. You can also make the ancient sign of the Horned God (consort of the Moon) by bunching your hand into a fist and then extending only your index and little fingers, so your hand looks like the head of a horned animal. Hold this up toward the Moon so she looks as if she is cradled between the "horns." This works best as a New Moon greeting - a little act of worship that you can follow by making a wish.

*Information from The Little Book of Moon Magic by Teresa Moorey.

iPod pLaylist - mIracle mIx

Anyone who has spent any time with me at all knows the long and sordid history of Terry's and my relationship. It goes back over 15 long years and more mileage than I care to remember or reiterate. These are the songs that, when I heard them, usually by chance at just the right moment, kept me going and didn't let me give up on us no matter how important it seemed that I do just that. These songs, from whomever, wherever they came (I always secretly thought they came from a future self who could see the final outcome) were (still are) my miracle songs.

1. Don't Stop Believing by Journey. The day I met Terry was June 2, 1990. My sister and I traveled to Roanoke, Virginia to see a Beatles tribute band: 1964 as the Beatles they were called at that time. Marla drove her turquoise 1965 Mustang and this song played on the radio while the wind whipped our hair (no air conditioning in that old car). "Just a small-town girl, livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere..."

2. Dream On by Aerosmith. By the summer of 1992, the dream had taken a horrible turn and I didn't much see how I could hold on to it. Steven Tyler exhorted, "Dream until your dream comes true..." So I did. It took 11 more years. A long time, yes, but better a long time than never at all...

3. Feels Like Home by Bonnie Raitt. The summer of 1998 was a turning point in our relationship - at least for Terry. I was long committed by this time. He was sad and lonely in Myrtle Beach. He missed me, he said. He needed me, he said so I went. I hadn't seen him in over two years - our longest separation ever. Instead of feeling strange or awkward, it felt completely natural, like coming home.

4. Fields of Gold by Sting. March 2000. Another reunion in Myrtle Beach after a long separation. Terry said this song made him think of me.

5. Happy Together by the Turtles. August 1990. A quick snapshot of Terry and me after a 1964 show in Kingsport, Tennessee showed our heads pressed together, both of us beaming idiotically like two crazy kids in love. Which we weren't. Or rather, he wasn't. "You look so happy together," Marla sighed reverently. To this day, the opening notes of this song have the ability to lift my spirits and make me feel all the hope of a twentysomething who dares dream for what she can not, will not have.

6. Magic Man by Heart. Summer 1995. Exiting Akron Public Library on South Main with a stack of metaphysical titles including a couple on astral projection, I got in my car and the radio was blaring this song. I felt an immediate and electrical awareness of HIM. It brightened my day and I pulled out of the parking space, drove exactly one block and witnessed HIM pulling out of a parking space into traffic in the direction I was going. Coincidence? You could not have convinced me of it with any amount of cajoling. You still couldn't. The me who is a big Glinda head looking into a crystal ball roiling with pink smoke at the little me inside living my life sees the entire tapestry and weaves the golden thread into my everyday experience.

7. Miracles by Jefferson Starship. This story is too long to tell in blog format but the short version is I would hear this song nearly every day while I was sewing t-shirt sleeves at Sara Lee in the summer and fall and winter after I met Terry. And I always thought: "If only he would believe like I believed... If only ..."

8. When You Wish Upon a Star by Ringo Starr. This is a rare track by Ringo - one only available on a Disney CD and it is the first CD I ever bought, specifically for that track, before I ever met Terry. There was a time, about a year after I moved to Akron, that I thought I didn't love Terry anymore. I was just over him. I didn't even think about him anymore. I was having a hard time in other aspects of my life though. I was babysitting for friends one night and watching TV after the kids had gone to bed. I was shocked by hearing this song that I had never heard before except from my very own CD and I started to cry. I knew that night that I was still in love with Terry.

I've tacked on three alternate versions for additional affirmation. I hope that if you burn a disc with these tunes, they will bring you as much hope, joy, and love as they have me. May all your dreams come true!

9. Dream On (live version) by Aerosmith.

10. Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy from Live at Blues Alley.

11. Happy Together by the Nylons.

Let Freedom Ring

Wolves of the Calla or Dark Tower 5 is dedicated to Frank Muller of the dramatic audiobook readings. The afterword of same is dedicated to him as well. Stephen King said, "He hears the voices in my head." What bigger compliment? Apparently, King used the audio recordings of the first four Dark Tower novels as the impetus for completing the last three and met with Muller about their narration. Muller agreed to the job and told King that the Dark Tower novels were his favorites of all that he had narrated. Muller's voice, inflections and dramatic production are well-suited to the timber of the story. Muller did not do the narration for the last three Dark Tower novels, however. Shortly after the meeting with King to discuss the prospect, Muller was in a devastating motorcycle accident. He survived it but only just and will probably never recover enough to resume his career as audio narrator.

I felt horrified to learn this as I feel I have spent the last three days with the man in my living room. Certainly, his melodramatic voice has boomed forth from my sound system all this weekend, enlivening and almost embodying the characters of The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, and part of Wizard and Glass. (I don't have The Waste Lands). Stephen King and some associates have set up a foundation for Muller's rehabilitation and most likely lifelong care. I'll add the link to my list at left for more information.



I have spent the last three days at home, alone, with only the dogs and cats for company. I ventured out once, to Walmart, and the rest of the time, remained undisturbed in my solitude. Marla called a couple of times, and Katie and Terry although none had much time to talk to me. These last three days at home from work and free ... free to do with as I wish ... have been some of the most pleasant I've spent in a very long time. I've done some long-neglected housework: cleaned carpets and finished backed-up piles of laundry. I gave all three dogs baths. I've listened to The Dark Tower and I've cooked and studied Tarot and blogged and picked pink wild roses on the hillside by my house. They're in a glass jar that was my mom's in the kitchen window over the sink. I wish I could get pictures from my camera to this computer to show you just how pretty they are. I can't stop looking at them.

And I've knitted. I finally finished the project that endured throughout the month of June and took pictures (although when I'll get to post them, I do not know) and started a new project of which I am over half-finished. The new project is also a gift. I thought I would turn it out quickly (it's all in garter stitch) and then intersperse my next few projects with dog sweaters. I've already had some interest expressed even though the time of wearing sweaters is still a ways off ... I hope.

My independence is over after tonight. I must return to work tomorrow and at 6:00 a.m., too. Flex hours are fun when it's time to leave at 2:30 in the afternoon but 6:00 comes early after three days of freedom.

Happy Fireworks, Everyone!

The Drawing of the Three

When I read The Gunslinger the first time through, I do not remember noticing how many times the word "sardonic" was used. It's a good word. A useful word and a word not often used in everyday speech: "Did you see the sardonic look she just gave you? Bless her heart." Sardonic makes me think of John Lennon who was almost always full of mocking, sarcastic humor. When you hear something read aloud and the word keeps popping up, you notice. Sardonic. Sardonically. I thought briefly about going back through and counting how many times the word was used and then thought that this was just the thing that Stephen King would roll his eyes over and wonder about the purpose and usefulness of another's life who didn't have anything better to do with their time than count his overuse of the word "sardonic" in a novel he wrote in the time before the world moved on.

At the end of the audiobook, even after the Afterword read by Mr. Melodrama but in the first person voice of Mr. King himself, the missing bit of the middle of the book resumed up until the part where it cut out before. Weird. Anyway, I was pleased to be reminded of the use of the Tarot cards by the man in black. Not Johnny Cash but the elusive Walter who Roland the Gunslinger pursues during the main part of the story. He reads Roland's future in the cards which is played out in the second Dark Tower novel: The Drawing of the Three.

I have a fascinated interest in the Tarot (prounouced tear-oh - does not rhyme with "carrot" - I looked it up). It is thought to have originated in Italy in the 14th or 15th century and represents mystical symbols which have evolved over time using the basis of many different belief systems. It is most often thought of as a divination tool or fortune-telling device but that is not the view I hold of the cards. I look at the Tarot as a medium for contacting my Inner Guide or Spirit. It is a way of quieting the mind and coming in contact with something that we already know in our hearts but have a hard time hearing because of the day-to-day noise and raucous disturbances of work, family, world and life.

I have been studying the Tarot off and on for less than a year. It is a long, involved process and I feel humbled by the task of it. I've done a few readings and they have been time-consuming but very rewarding. I have had requests for other readings but have felt compelled to deny the requests due in part to time constraints but mostly because I did not feel that my mind was in the right place for the reading to be beneficial. I do not take the Tarot and the consequences of a reading lightly. I'm still learning the definitions and interpretations of the individual cards -there are 78- and the meanings are myriad.

The movie The Red Violin, in spite of it's title, is all about a Tarot reading that lasts throughout the ages. And the recent HBO mini-series Carnivale depicts a lovely set of cards in the opening which have been highly sought-after but are not available, although HBO missed a real marketing opportunity there.

I envision myself giving readings in the back of a darkened shop to believers and sceptics alike, bringing joy and hope to the former and erasing the sardonic expression from the faces of the latter by some amazing insight or prediction. My mystical, blue-eyed cats loll languidly in the background while candles and incense burn on a shelf nearby. My charm bracelets dangle and clink with each revelation of the cards and profound secrets are whispered to the curious querent.

But not now. Now I must go toss a rubber chicken up and down the hallway for Barkley who STILL smells like a skunk!

Brenda's Book Club - The Gunslinger

I finished Eragon and it ends quite nicely, leaving you hanging and wondering what happenes next but not enough so that you become frustrated as if Eragon were dangling over a cliff with man-eating tigers in the ravine below and Pterodactyls snapping at his heels and a mean ol' geezer stomping on his fingers from above. This book is not contrived at all. The action scenes are original and artfully done. The deaths and injuries are believable and natural, not just interjected for the shock value. I'm amazed that this book was written by a 15-year-old. How could he have such life experiences for reference? Did you read it yet? Go. Shoo. Go read it NOW! It's the holiday weekend. Grab the paperback, get a drink with an umbrella in it and find your favorite spot. That's where I'll be because last night I started reading (for the second time) blast of trumpet music:

The Gunslinger - Dark Tower I - by Stephen King.

You all knew it would lead to the King eventually, didn't you? I've read Dark Tower I-IV already but it has been quite some time since I finished The Wizard and the Glass and even longer - several years I'm sure - since reading The Gunslinger. The Gunslinger was hard for me to get into. It's quite different from the other novels by King I had read up to that point. Now, though, it seems as if the characters are all familiar to me. The Gunslinger's name is Roland and anyone who has read King's grocery list knows that Roland is the King in The Eyes of the Dragon and also the man in black from The Stand. Coincidentally (or not - I have yet to find out) "the man in black is who Roland, the Gunslinger, is chasing for almost the entire time in Dark Tower I. Is he chasing himself? Could be. Anything is possible in a land that seems set in the Old American West to begin with but then we learn that it is a world that has "moved on" meaning a land of the future? Could be. The Gunslinger enters a bar in a near ghost town where the piano player is playing Hey Jude. It's not the past and it's not our world but it is connected to our world as we later discover when Roland meets up with the boy Jake who has been murdered in New York City and awoke in the Gunslinger's world. I was hooked from this point on.

Once again I am listening to this book. I forget the name of the narrator of this story. I'm not crushing on him like Gerard Doyle from Eragon but this guy's style of reading certainly is intriguing. It's like a cross between Elaine's boss from Seinfeld - remember him? - and Robert Stack, the guy from Unsolved Mysteries. He is almost too melodramatic with inflections where they would not be in ordinary speech but maybe it suits the strange landscape of Stephen King's creative ground.

About midway through the story last night (I was knitting at the same time) the iPod gave a lurch and skipped over a major portion of the story. I think it had to do with the questionable quality of the original than with iPod failure. Fortunately, I knew what happened and, in a pinch, have the book to refer to should it happen again. I'm only reviewing these stories anyway until I can pick up with Dark Tower V, which I haven't read ... yet.

Hitting the Highlights

Robbie came over the intercom at 2:40 and announced that he was declaring the rest of the day a holiday and we could all go home - that is unprecedented in my history at McFarland as well as 2 hours off work with pay. Wahoo! It was a bit of a pick-me-up considering how my day started. I got up at 6:30 to find Tantra running rampant through the house. Usually, I attach him to his lead and attach it to my arm and he knows that he can't get down in the night and doesn't even try (unless Terry is home). The lead was wrapped around my arm and chewed off right at the metal hook which was still attached to his harness. This lead is less than two weeks old and Tantra's fourth in his short life. I know who did it. Tantra couldn't do it because he couldn't twist himself around to his back and chew it off so closely to the harness. It had to be the Chewmeister himself: Barkley. This is the 4th lead of Tantra's he has chewed up and the 7th lead he has chewed up in his history as a dog at my house. He feels really bad after he's scolded but forgets to feel bad the next time he is confronted with big soppy brown eyes begging for freedom. No one - NO ONE - not even Barkley can resist Tantra. Well - except maybe Karma.

My house teems with cats. There are cats everywhere. Emma, the persecuted, creeping along the outskirts of the rooms, always looking for a comfy spot to lay down, always finding one, always being evicted from it when Terry decides to rearrange. Simon and Gracie almost always together, running along ahead of the dogs, tempting and teasing and yowling as only two 1/4 Siamese cats can. And then there's Phoebe who is not really our cat although we took her in and fed her and now we can't complain that she time-shares here. Sometimes the teeming of the cats and the galloping and frisking of the dogs, all between, under and around my feet at all times make me bonkers. I was already mad at Barkley and the added aggravation of running a living, moving obstacle course the 15 feet from the bed to the toilet was almost the extra impetus needed to ignite the white-hot nova of temper that ever-threatens, eternally near the surface of my emotions these days.

I needed a Diet Mt. Dew and I needed it badly.

When I got to work, I started toward the drink machine to get one and half-way there, realized I had forgotten to get any change out of my purse. I walked back to my desk and purse and got the change. I walked the length of the building and up a flight of steps only to find the door still locked from the outside. I pounded on it but no one came. In my mind's eye, I could see all the editorial assistants hunkered behind the counter in the kitchen sniggering because they had already seen me make one false trip in this direction. At nearly 9:00 in the morning, why would the !@#$ing door still be locked!!!??? I went back down the stairs, walked to the other end of the building, in the door, up the stairs on that end (where we're not usually allowed to trespass, thus explaining why I didn't go that way in the first place) down the length of the building to the kitchen. I passed the desks of the editorial assistants or assistant editors or whatever they're calling themselves these days, noting with annoyance that they were obviously engrossed in their work and ignoring my presence, not to mention my earlier knocks on the door.

Now I know, of course, that in the larger scheme of things - death and taxes - that these little details are small and insignificant but it's also the small pleasures in life that offset these niggling irritations. Pleasures like being home at lunch and having the lawn service arrive to cut down knee-high grass in about an hour that has been growing unabated for six weeks. Or, dreading the long, drawn-out unfolding of a pre-Holiday afternoon at work and having it abruptly and unexpectedly cut short so I could come home and spend time with the teeming masses.