Happy (Pharrell Williams)

Confession Time.  I've lost my concentration again.  I scaled back my walking because it had gotten so hot and, although I'm still doing yoga, my treks around the complex are now few and far between.  I'm still eating healthy, but crappy food is finding its way back into my day on a more-than-a-treat basis.  Of course, all of this is affecting my sleep patterns, blood pressure, and blood sugar, as well as my mental health, which then becomes a self-confidence issue, and I'm kinda one big ball of insecurities right now.

I was doing so very well but, when I'm feeling good and/or complimented, I have a tendency to self-sabotage.  Yesterday was the first day of April and I smacked the proverbial fool I'd become and re-acquainted myself with my inner Wise Woman, channeling Cher in Moonstruck:  "Snap out of it!".

Back to moving my body on a regular basis.  A return to checkmarks in my Daily Dozen app.  Resurrecting regular phone chats/visits with friends.  More consistent blogging (which I have vowed to do for April anyway, since it's National Poetry Month).  In search of a volunteer opportunity.  In a nutshell:  Radical.  Self-Care.  Again!  Oh, and no more "accidentally vegan" thin mints... 😆

As is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy!

~ Over 3 Million People Took This Course on Happiness. Here’s What Some Learned:  It may seem simple, but it bears repeating: sleep, gratitude and helping other people. (my bold!)

~ The January “Show Spotlight” segment from BROADWAY PROFILES WITH TAMSEN FADAL, shines a light on the 2019 Tony Award-winning best musical HADESTOWN. Host Tamsen Fadal catches up with the show's Tony-winning creators Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin about their long road to creating the Tony-winning musical plus the excitement of taking the show on tour.

~ Super Bowl: Stephen Colbert Enlists Tom Hanks, Sam Elliott for an Ad Supporting a Local Bookstore in North Carolina (thanks to Nancy and Judi for the heads-up on this!)

~ SPUD GINGER LEMONGRASS VODKA:  Light, mouthwatering & flavorful, this vodka features a fleeting sweetness at first, though it's soon taken over by a woody lemongrass note, followed by spicy ginger on the finish. Use for Asian-inspired drinks, or pair alongside Asian dishes. (where can I find this locally?!?)

~  WFUV's QUESTION OF THE DAY:  SPRING AWAKENING:  It's Benham Jones in for Corny O'Connell. Settling into this weekend high on the promise of a bright future because tomorrow it is officially SPRING! The tail slap of the post-pandemic winter has been heavy on us all but let's keep our eyes (and ears) on the prize: in honor of tomorrow's equinox, we are looking for songs that name-check the most elusive of seasons. (I meant to post this two weeks ago!).

SONG:  Happy by Pharrell Williams

BOOK:  Happy Is the New Healthy by Joan Neehall PhD

POEM:  Subject Matter by Hal Sirowitz

The reason you don't have much

to talk about, my therapist said, is

because you're not doing anything. If I

stayed in my room all day, I'd have

nothing to talk about, either. You should

go to a dance, & even if you don't meet anyone,

you can at least describe to me what it was like,

which I'd find interesting, because I don't

go out anymore. I'm not trying to sway you.

If you insist on talking about nothing,

I'd still listen, but I'm convinced you'll be

much happier if you had something to talk about.

QUOTE:  "It's a conscious decision to choose your priorities every day." ~ Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Call It Democracy (Bruce Cockburn)

I couldn't decide between the two memes, so you get both (the first from Sarah via her friend Nicole, and the second from Judi via her daughter Jennifer).  Thanks and love to all.

Where do I even begin?  How much time do you have?  Last week's insurrection/riot (it was not a f*cking protest!) was the proverbial poop icing on the sh*tshow cake that has been this presidency.  Crazy that it is only in the last two weeks that some (not all, mind you!) Republicans (including our Vice President) have realized it's a smart move to abandon the sinking ship.  Then again, they are doing it for the party, and not for any reasons of ethics or integrity.  Where were they for the last four years as everything we stood for during the intelligent and articulate eight-year Obama administration was systematically dismantled?  Really, they get a wake-up call two weeks before Biden's inauguration?  Then again, better late than never, I guess. [shrugging woman emoji is working overtime these days]

To paraphrase the longstanding chant:  this has *not* been what democracy looks like!  But we are soon to be reminded that our country consists of more than angry white racist armed men (and women) who thrive on hatred and violence.  Justice and equality will prevail, and I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when we are moving forward again... 💞

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert YouTube Channel says it all.

 

This from Penzeys:  "Honesty is the heart of democracy. This week after 25,000 false and misleading statements by the president we witnessed the clearest example yet of how far from truly safe these lies have left our democracy. As a spice business we connect you to history like pretty much no other business, and if history has a lesson about democracy it’s that democracies are a lot like chickens. If you want to keep them safe you have to keep the foxes out of the henhouse.

That so many congressional Republicans after Wednesday’s events would choose to vote against the will of the people and vote in favor of fueling the president’s lies about the outcome of November’s election is heartbreaking, but after these last four years not unexpected. The henhouse of American democracy is now thick with foxes.

We’ve overcome so much these past four years, but to hold onto our hard-won victories we are going to have to get back to the basics of democracy building. That starts with standing up for truth and holding those accountable whose lies intentionally destroy the public good. We have laws against most everything that we’ve witnessed since the election and it’s past time we use those laws. But this is about more than laws, this is about basic decency and the fundamental difference between truth and lies, between right and wrong.

As we witnessed this Wednesday, Republican lies about the legitimacy of November’s election have brought our nation to the brink. There’s a very good probability that not all of Wednesday’s events were actually spontaneous, and that a whole lot of what we saw was crafted. History is full of what at first appeared to be failed coups that turned out to be dry runs for future success. It’s time to be done believing there is some sort of politeness in failing to call out the lies of those who would do our country harm. In this moment the stakes are far too high to be silent.

Truth has a fundamental basic value far too great for us to simply let it be another victim of our time. As cooks, as people who give of ourselves to care for others, the values we live by are far more respected than many of us may imagine. Through caring for others you’ve earned moral authority; please use your standing to speak out for the truth. Your country needs you."

SONG:  Call It Democracy by Bruce Cockburn

BOOK:  Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think by David Litt

POEM(S):  What Kind of Times Are These by Adrienne Rich

There's a place between two stands of trees where the grass grows uphill

and the old revolutionary road breaks off into shadows

near a meeting-house abandoned by the persecuted

who disappeared into those shadows.

I've walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don't be fooled

this isn't a Russian poem, this is not somewhere else but here,

our country moving closer to its own truth and dread,

its own ways of making people disappear.

I won't tell you where the place is, the dark mesh of the woods

meeting the unmarked strip of light—

ghost-ridden crossroads, leafmold paradise:

I know already who wants to buy it, sell it, make it disappear.

And I won't tell you where it is, so why do I tell you

anything? Because you still listen, because in times like these

to have you listen at all, it's necessary

to talk about trees.

Revolutionary Letter #1 by Diane di Prima

I have just realized that the stakes are myself

I have no other

ransom money, nothing to break or barter but my life

my spirit measured out, in bits, spread over

the roulette table, I recoup what I can

nothing else to shove under the nose of the maitre de jeu

nothing to thrust out the window, no white flag

this flesh all I have to offer, to make the play with

this immediate head, what it comes up with, my move

as we slither over this go board, stepping always

(we hope) between the lines

QUOTE:  "It'll be a shame if history allows one horrific event on this President's watch to overshadow all the other horrific events on this President's watch." ~ Stephen Colbert

Giants (Matt Maeson)

[The Wildlife Exhibit at Flamingo Gardens... :-) ]

What?  It's Thursday?  Where did Wednesday go?!?  From having a totally-decimated social calendar, my life seems to have gotten super-busy again, lots of little things that have then added up to full days.  Chiropractor appointments three times a week.  Walking with Rob three times a week.  Various online concerts, most recently Eliza Gilkyson (her 70th birthday celebration!), Friction Farm, Tracy Grammer, Grant Peeples.  Weekly Zoom calls with friends and, most recently, helping clear out Reba's apartment, as she has decided to give up her snowbird status (not ready to face this one emotionally yet).  Family park meet-ups.  Helping with Colin transportation.  

Speaking of Colin, Sarah invited me to join them at Flamingo Gardens a few Sundays ago, and we had a blast.  Sarah was able to keep him in the stroller for the first 10 minutes, and then she let him out to run around.  Who ran around?  We did!  Wish I could get an energy transfusion from that little guy.  We saw turtles/tortoises, otters (my other spirit animal, in addition to the dragonfly), butterflies, flamingos (of course!), various other birds, so many peacocks, as well as flowering plants, fruit trees, etc... plus there was an exhibit of Lego sculptures throughout the park (there until September 13).  We also went on a tram ride which was about five minutes too long for a toddler.  It was hot, so we ended the day with watermelon icees to lower our body temperatures.  We're thinking of getting season passes next year, as he'll enjoy it more the older it gets.

I am a positive person, and always try to be "for" rather than "against" policies/procedures/philosophies.  I said in a previous blog post that I was choosing not to watch even a minute of the Republican National Convention, exactly for the reason(s) Stephen Colbert states below (full monologue here).  With all this talk of the next four years, we also need to remember the years and decades after that... for our children, and our grandchildren.  Vote for your own needs and wishes for this country, but cast your ballot for the next generation.  As Michelle Obama spoke last week during the DNC:  ""If you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can, and they will if we don't make a change in this election.  If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it."

Because they do!


SONG:  Giants by Matt Maeson (thanks to Sarah for the heads-up to this wonderful singer-songwriter who was new to me until recently.  Now I'm obsessed!).

BOOK:  Vote for Our Future! by Margaret McNamara, Micah Player (Illustrator)

POEM:  One Vote by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

After reading a letter from his mother, Harry T. Burn cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution

My parents are from countries
where mangoes grow wild and bold
and eagles cry the sky in arcs and dips.
America loved this bird too and made

it clutch olives and arrows. Some think
if an eaglet falls, the mother will swoop
down to catch it. It won’t. The eagle must fly
on its own accord by first testing the air-slide

over each pinfeather. Even in a letter of wind,
a mother holds so much power. After the pipping
of the egg, after the branching—an eagle is on
its own. Must make the choice on its own

no matter what its been taught. Some forget
that pound for pound, eagle feathers are stronger
than an airplane wing. And even one letter, one
vote can make the difference for every bright thing.

QUOTE:  “Now, I know by not watching the R.N.C., I didn’t do my job tonight. I just want to say, I feel great about it. Why should we pay attention to what they’re saying if none of what they’re saying tonight is about what’s happening in America right now? Why should we watch their reality show if it doesn’t reflect our reality? Why subject ourselves to their lies that stick to your soul like hot tar? Lies like ‘Donald Trump cares whether you live or die.’” ~ Stephen Colbert