SoCS: On Being a Night Owl, Listening Skills, Dogs in Heaven, and Making Christmas Last

Here’s the prompt:

“Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first thing.” Start your post with the words, “first thing” and go from there. Bonus points if you end your post with the last thing. Have fun!“

First thing in the morning…. it would be nice if I said I pray before I get out of bed. But I don’t usually. It would be a nice habit. To be honest, the first thing I do in the morning before I get out of bed is hit the snooze. I am not a morning person. I am a night owl. The husband is a morning person. Good for him. Lately, I have started listening to music on Youtube to help me wake up – James Taylor is my favorite, but yesterday, I listened to a Ted Talk. I have to find a good Ted Talk, and one might wonder that if I’m going to go to all that trouble to scroll and find a Ted Talk, I might as well get up. But I’m a night owl. Listening to a Ted Talk helps even if I drift off a little.

First thing we need to learn is how to listen to each other to understand. I’m thinking about the political divide problem. But some people are good at listening and need to be more assertive which means being honest with RESPECT. If someone talks a lot, goes on and on, like one of my old boyfriends used to do, I cannot hold that many ideas in my head to be able to process. It can be overwhelming.

That’s why, when I was working on bringing my soulmate to me, I made up a song to the tune of Janis Joplin’s song about “Oh, Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV.” I changed the words to, “Oh Lord, won’t you find me, a man who can listen.” David is a good listener when I need to talk about something important. When it’s a more mundane thing about household chores, well that’s another thing. But nobody’s perfect.

First thing I want to see when I get to heaven is my dogs, especially the dog I wrote about yesterday. I’m sorry Jesus. Maybe the dogs should come after Jesus. Yeah, unless Jesus is busy and wants to let me get settled in at the cabin in the woods with the dogs.

First thing to do when we have a list of things to do might be the most important thing unless it’s something really hard and you have to break it down into small steps and maybe it would be okay to do something easy on your list so you can check something off.

My Christmas tree is still up. Don’t laugh, sometimes I’ve left it up into February because I love Christmas lights. I took down the lights outside except the ones on the fence, because they are pretty, and things look so bare when the Christmas stuff is down. I took the decorations off the tree and put them in a box. It still has the colored lights, because they are attached. I took down the Christmas cards. This is actually good for me to have this stuff done before MLK day. Taking down the Christmas tree and getting it up in the attic this weekend will be the last thing. But there’s usually something that I have forgotten to put in the attic in which case, that will be the last thing.

Oh, yeah, let’s have cats in heaven, too.

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For more streams of consciousness and Just Jot Januarys, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 16th | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: With all the Infinite Possibilities, Choose Wisely

Our prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “sky’s the limit.” Write about something that has or seems to have no end. Enjoy!

Doesn’t everything have an end? Or maybe nothing has an end, it’s just transformed. There’s a law in physics that goes like, matter/energy can not be created or destroyed. That has stuck with me ever since I heard it in high school. This law suggests something about life after death. Our spirits have no end, in my belief, they may transform in the type of energy that goes on while our bodies decompose. Isn’t that cheerful?

Possibilities never end. Choices never end. There will always be choices for somebody, some being, even if the choices are made by amoebas or angels. Some organism or entity will exist in some form. But this is a bit esoteric. No, that’s not the word. But I do like how it sounds. Abstract maybe. Let’s move on.

“Infinite possibilities” is something that caught my attention in the following video offered by North Carolina representative Graig Meyer in responding to the attack on the capitol. I watched it Friday morning and was impressed by his sense of hope in how to respond to the craziness. I suppose if I watched it again to comment further, that would cross the line on minimum planning. If you’re interested in the question of how to respond and healing, you could visit my post from yesterday as well.

One of the main things I’m feeling right now is frustration at people who reinforce the divide. I have to look at myself though and notice if I ever do this. The goal is to bridge the divide. Don’t pour fuel on the fire. Put water on the fire. Water seems to have no end when you’re standing at the edge of the ocean, but you know what? Water is finite. Use it wisely. We need to use our words wisely. With all the infinite possibilities of word combinations, we need words of hope, peace, and cooperation.

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PS. Okay, I went back and watched the video again after I finished writing this post, and I recognize he’s addressing North Carolina democrats directly. If you’re not a NC Dem, I hope you can overlook that part and glean something good from his message. I don’t think we need to get everybody to agree, we need to learn to disagree with respect, compromise, and find common ground.

For more streams of consciousness, rules and possibilities, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 9th | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Saving Boxes, Watching the Sky, and Feeling the Thrill of Hope

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is, “box.” Short and simple with all kinds of possibilities. Even though I’m more of a circle person and like to think outside the box, I do like boxes that are sturdy or pretty. Maybe you could say I collect boxes, though I do break some down and put them in the recycle bin. Cereal boxes get recycled, ordinary cardboard boxes get broken down and recycled, but if a box is sturdy or pretty, it’s a keeper. Because I might be able to use it for something. I take pride in putting boxes inside boxes to store them in the attic.

My favorite boxes are Christmas card boxes that are both pretty and sturdy. Like this year’s edition bought last year:

And this box from a few years ago:

They contain Christmas cards leftover that I hope to send one year.

Box. There used to be a question years ago, routinely asked in guessing games like 21 questions.

“Is it bigger than a bread box?”

Do people still use bread boxes? We had one when I was a kid. It was yellow and seemed to have some metal on it with a pull down door. Seems like it was big enough to fit about two or three loaves if you stacked them. Now, I put my bread in the refrigerator. Cause ants. Many years ago when I lived in an old house downtown, we had mice that climbed on top of the refrigerator and burrowed a hole into the bread that was on top of the refrigerator. Though we don’t live downtown anymore, I still put my bread INSIDE the refrigerator.

But what I really want to talk about, or write about to be accurate, is seeing the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Dec. 21st was the big day to see it, but sunset came so fast and we missed it. Instead we went downtown on Dec. 22 to the riverwalk at sunset as directed and looked to the west/southwest. We didn’t see it right away, and I worried that we had missed it, but David saw it as the sky moved into twilight. Seeing the conjunction excited me and feels like the highlight of my year, even though the year is not over. It is a sign of hope. The timing with the winter solstice, Christmas, and the holy days, tells us that… I don’t know what it tells us. What I know is that I felt the thrill of hope.

You can learn more about the conjunction of 2020 and see the rings of Saturn here among other places. What I saw was Jupiter with a second light of Saturn right next to it as the sky got darker. I don’t know if you can see that in my photos, but here they are.

You can barely see it in the upper right.

And here, just right of center.

Here, the conjunction is reflected by the river.

Have you ever felt the thrill of hope? Remember that feeling!

The Nativity Story is my favorite film about Jesus’ birth.

May the holy days carry us through

to a new and better year.

For more streams of Consciousness, rules and suggestions, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill, at

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 26/2020 | (lindaghill.com)

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SoCS: Magnets, Manifesting, and the Star

Today’s prompt is the word, “magnet.” We get to use it any way we want and of course, enjoy!

Magnet reminds me of, magi, as in the three magi who saw the star over Bethlehem. One reason this came to mind is that I’m excited and hopeful about the great conjunction happening over the next few days. Saturn and Jupiter are going to be aligned in such a way that they look like a very bright star. This hasn’t happened in a long time like (okay I had to peek) not since the year 1226. It’s kinda the same thing that happened at the time of the star of Bethlehem. I’ve written about this before and refer to the documentary The Star. I wonder if that will pop up as a related post. We’ll see….

The upcoming conjunction is going to be visible from all over the world. I think that’s what the article said. You can read more about it, here. In the northern hemisphere, Dec. 21st is the easiest day to see it (in a clear sky) in the west near the horizon at twilight.

December 21 is the anniversary of my deceased parents. I’ve been writing about them in my family history maybe a novel some day, Betty and Jim. Takes me back to my childhood. Remember those games where you put hair or a mustache on the bald guy using a magnet? What was that called?

Wooly Willy! Really? I don’t remember the name, just giving him hair with the magnet.

Magnets. The possibilities are endless. They seem like magic. The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter might seem like there’s something pulling them together, but it’s really a matter of timing and position. Timing. Trust it. Focusing on what we want, good thoughts, are like magnets, drawing things to us. If those things are meant to be ours. So, we need to catch ourselves when we are thinking negative thoughts. Sometimes I catch myself worrying or imagining something I DON’T want and say, “Stop it!” Then I have to go back and imagine what I DO want. It’s surprising how often this happens.

Imagining a compatible partner drew him to me like a magnet. But not until the time was right and we were ready.

Imagine what you want for the year ahead. Health. Peace. Traveling safely. Having fun painting and writing. Joyful relationships….. Draw these to you like a magnet.

I also thought about this song when I saw the prompt: “Magnet and Steel”

I wish there was a Christmas song about a magnet. I bet someone somewhere got a Wooly Willy for Christmas once upon a time.

Here’s one of my favorite Christmas song about a star by the lively and impressive Angel City Chorale:

For more streams of consciousness, rules, and fun, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 19/2020 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Compatibility, Snoring, Melatonin, and the Magic Desk

Today’s prompt is: “List.” Make your list and check it twice. I just edited a wee bit because I forgot to mention the prompt!

“Must love dogs.” That was somewhere near the top of my list when I was manifesting a soulmate. Spiritual was up there somewhere. Open minded. Intelligent. I got those things in my compatible partner. There were other things that I got that might not have been on the list, but were in my mind, like, He knows how to fix things.

What I didn’t get, because maybe it was on the bottom of the list, or maybe it wasn’t on the main list, because there were multiple lists, was, “He doesn’t snore,” or “doesn’t snore loud.” That did not manifest. But in the big picture, if that’s our biggest challenge, and it might well be, it could be worse. At least he turns over easily if I ask him to. Problem is, he even snores on his side. But there’s a lot more to be thankful for than complain about. Gratitude gets you more good stuff.
Ear plugs decrease the snoring noise by about 40 percent. That’s not enough for the discomfort. Going in the next room decreases it by about 80 percent. Taking melatonin or half a Benadryl helps, but I better not take the latter too late, if I want to get up early.

I just read that melatonin is being looked at as a treatment for COVID because it (melatonin – a natural sleep hormone) helps with decreasing inflammation and helps immunity. I had no idea! That’s great!

Back to my compatible partner: after 23 years, he finally bought himself a new truck. I didn’t take a picture of it yet, but what I did take a picture of was the signing of the documents with the financial guy at the car dealer. The truck buying process took a BIG part of the day. But the interesting thing was that almost all the documents to be signed, and there was a very long list, were signed on a screen that was also the desk. There were only a couple of pieces of paper to sign for the DMV. David got a nifty little flash drive of the documents.

There’s no paper.
He’s actually signing the magic desk
with a magic pen.

If we can do all this with technology, we should be able to feed the hungry, clean up the planet, and figure out how to get along. And we can. Sorry, he didn’t buy a hybrid electric truck, though. We have almost no trash to throw away at our house on most weeks. We recycle and reuse like crazy. But it’s his truck. He picked it out. Nobody’s perfect. But we are compatible.

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For more streams, a whole list of them in fact, and rules, visit Linda’s blog:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 5/2020 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Family Options, Letters from Vietnam, and a Thanksgiving Day Hike

Our Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “opt.” Use it as a word or find a word with “opt” in it and base your post on that. Have fun!

Have fun, because misery is optional.

We opted out of family Thanksgiving with extended family. It was me and David and Mama Cat who slept through dinner. (Mama Cat slept, not David and me.) We made an almost vegan dinner with stuffed acorn squash and a roasted cauliflower. David made an apple pie. There was a little butter somewhere which was not vegan and humane certified hard boiled eggs in the stuffing.

But that is not what I was going to write about. I was going to say that we always have options. But some people have fewer or more options than others. I was going to write about mask wearing options and how it annoys me when people wear a mask below their nose, but maybe they have a chronic respiratory illness….. I don’t know.

I’ve been reading my dad’s letters from Vietnam for NaNoWriMo research which has slowed considerably to a trickle, but has not stopped. And will not stop for more than a day, because I’m rolling slowly along. Gathering no moss so far.

My dad had options in Vietnam, but not many. Most were about attitude and whether to pray. Mom was having nervous breakdowns while he was there. It was an awful year, and we moved a lot that year. My dad did have the (illegal) option of deserting, or “bugging out.” But that option was so distasteful, so full of way worse consequences of shame and dishonor, that it probably felt he had no choice. He chose to make a commitment to the Marine Corps and to honor that commitment, to do his job well. But it was so hard. He had also promised my mom he would come home to her and us kids. He had orders to return fire, not knowing who might be killed. He was the only enlisted Marine (a Gunny, not an officer) in charge of a platoon in his company. He was a natural leader who would be haunted by nightmares for the rest of his life by what happened in Vietnam. I’m so proud of him and my mom who were half a world apart on Thanksgiving and Christmas when Dad was in Vietnam. They did a lot of good service work together after Dad retired.

My dad in Vietnam (1967) He lost about 40 pounds there.

I feel like I’ve spent more time lately with my deceased parents, through Dad’s letters, than other family members living outside of my household. Maybe for now, that’s okay. For now.

What happened to having fun? Fun is different now than it was when I was a kid, or a teenager, or in my twenties or thirties. Fun can be relaxing and watching a movie. Or taking a hike on Thanksgiving Day. Like this one at our neighborhood creek:

A pair of ducks

Graffiti on a drainage pipe

A pair of old hikers

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For more Streams of Consciousness, rules, and maybe even some options, visit:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 28/2020 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Butternut Squash Soup with Peanut Butter, Our Neighborhood Creek and a Slow NaNo

This should be a fun prompt: “the last thing you put in your fridge.”

The last thing I put in the fridge on this Friday evening after dinner was the leftover butternut squash soup made my my sweet husband who offered to do the dishes even though he was tired. (We wash dishes the old fashioned way.) I thanked him, but it was my turn since he cooked. Though I did make some roasted asparagus to go with the soup. We make our butternut squash soup with peanut butter, a little garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes, and of course butternut squash. This was a really good squash – orange and lots of flavor.

It will be strange to have Thanksgiving with just me and David. Mama Cat will be here, but she’s likely to be hiding since she is still a little scared of David. I hope we get to go for a hike, at least to the creek which is about a half mile from our house.

The city gave the banks a crew cut a few years ago.
They’ve since gotten better about leaving a buffer.

If I have seemed distant from WP, NaNoWriMo is my excuse. I’m still writing every day on the novel based on my parents, though not likely to add 50,000 words as reading letters from Vietnam is slowing me down. I’m going to have to move it along though because we are heading into, barreling into, the end of November. One would think that staying home and being retired would make time slow down. But time just keeps zooming along. I guess I’ll just have to trust time and make the most of the moments we have. And be thankful.

I’ll be here for Good News Tuesday, but if I don’t “see” you, and even if I do,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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Today’s prompt and the whole SoCS shebang is brought to you by Linda G. Hill. For more info, rules, and streams from the frig, visit:

https://lindaghill.com/2020/11/20/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-21-2020/

SoCS: The Lord of the Rings and Letters from Vietnam

“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check,

but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday

deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay…

small acts of kindness and love.”

Gandalf in The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Today’s prompt is the word, “ring,” to be used in any form and to have fun with.

Fun comes in many forms. One way I have fun is to watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies. Being a huge fan, I can watch these movies over and over again, especially the parts with the elves.

LOTR is about heroism, good winning over evil, sacrifice, fellowship, loyalty, natural magic, and more set in a place that allows me to escape the things I want to escape from that I will not mention. But the qualities and messages are still relevant in reality.

There’s a scene toward the end of the trilogy when Sam and Frodo are exhausted and don’t know if they will survive. They reminisce about their sweet home, The Shire. Sam imagines the goldilocks girl, barmaid he would like to marry. The reminiscing starts at 1 minute. Be sure to watch til the end when the Eagles come!

Coincidentally, but not really, I’ve been reading about all these things in my dad’s letters from Vietnam since Veterans Day.

I’m reading them for research for the novel I’m writing for NaNoWriMo. Reading the letters is slowing me down, but it needs to be done this way. So what if I don’t write 50,000 words by Nov. 30? It will be okay.

My dad’s letters show how much he adored my mother. He writes of dreaming of her constantly while asleep and while awake in Vietnam. It almost seems like he puts her on a pedestal. The dreams and images of her keep him going, keep him sane, and give him hope to stay alive to come home to her.

I watched a video about another guy talking about doing this in Vietnam, dreaming about his girlfriend kept him going, sane, alive. Let see if I can find it…. The speaker, Dr. Earhart, was a high school teacher after he got back. Toward the end of the video, at around 13 minutes, he talks about the girlfriend that had sent him a “Dear John” letter. The whole video is eye opening.

My dad’s letters mention that a lot of guys got “Dear John,” letters. Maybe that’s why he expressed so much love for my mom in his letters and always signed them,

All My Love,

Your Husband Forever,

Jim

When things are going badly, when we don’t know what’s going to happen, even when it seems like we might not make it, dreaming of a better future, imagining holding our loved ones in our arms, being with family in our homeland, these are legitimate coping skills. Valuable survival skills. And so we keep on doing those small acts of kindness and love to keep the darkness at bay whenever and wherever we might be.

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For more Streams of Consciousness, rules, and such, please visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 14/2020

SoCS: Bonjour to the Journey

Our prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “jour.” Find a word containing “jour” or use it as is. Bonus points if you start or end your post with that word. Enjoy! (Thanks Linda Hill!)

Bonjour!

I took three years of French in high school and loved it. Thought about majoring in French even. Then, biology, then psychology…. a journey of revelation. Such is life.

Spanish would have been more practical. Maybe someday, I’ll learn Spanish. But the older I get, the more I realize my time is limited and I must prioritize.

This month, I’m prioritizing NaNoWriMo. Not that I’m knocking myself out, but I’m doing it. Writing a novel is work. Incorporating my family history, or rather basing the novel on my parents, requires some research – just to try to get the timelines accurate. At least when I’m done with the first draft, I’ll have a family history for my kids, plus some fiction to fill in the gaps.

Writing a novel is a process. A long one. Like this election in the US is a process, not an event. Like recovery. The process will hopefully prompt ongoing recovery. A healing I hope.

It might take a long time for my country to heal from the damage that has been done, for us to bridge the divide that has grown at the hands of so called leaders, a divide widened by media’s focus on our differences and conflicts. But it is a journey we can decide to take in faith, or at least in hope. Because if you can’t find faith, look for hope, and hope will lead you to faith.

One step at a time.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” LaoTzu

Sometimes we don’t know how many steps the journey will take, but we can start taking them anyway. Maybe it’s better not to know. Just keep moving toward the light at whatever pace works for you.

Rest when you need to, but don’t give up!

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For more streams of consciousness and rules, please visit Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 7/2020

SoCS: The Medium is the Message from Journalism, to Psychics, SciFi, and Faith

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is… “medium.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

When I read the prompt, I remembered something we learned in journalism class in the community college I went to before I decided to major in psychology. This was in the late 70s and I flirted with the idea of being a journalist. We went on a field trip to the newspaper and I was told that they better not hear of any of their journalists having their name on a petition, let alone, starting a petition, which I was known to do in my little community college where I got to be a big fish in a little pond. So I decided not to major in journalism because I might want to start a petition some time.

But back to the message which was, “The medium is the message.” That was a famous quote by Marshal McLuhan, probably in the early 70s or late 60s. When I saw the prompt and remembered the quote, I became curious and looked it up. That was at least an hour ago so I’m writing from memory in SoCS style and not breaking the rules. Not this time, anyway.

I now understand the quote, “The medium is the message,” a little better having read a brief summary that refreshed my memory. The message is made up of content and character. The medium of mainstream TV news, or even on-line news, has a sensationalizing character which affects the choice of words and content. Too much news can make us crazy. But we have a lot more control if we read the news, than if we watch one of the major networks at 6:30 PM. Oh, we can turn it off or change the channel, but reading or browsing gives us more choice about what we focus on. That’s why I try not to scroll on Facebook. Facebook is a medium which is part of media. Social media is plural. My FB page is a social medium.

Medium can refer to what type of substances I use to make art. I usually do acrylics, but have experimented with alcohol ink. Collage can be fun, then there’s mixed media.

Medium can be comfortable, an in between place on the thermostat or a setting on the stove. It’s the safest bet in most cases, unless you’re talking with a psychic medium.

I went to a psychic once. She said I had been imprisoned as a witch in a far ago past life, but that I was not a witch and never had been. I got this image of brick walls. I’d forgotten about that. It was like 15 years ago. There was a time when I thought I might become a Christian psychic. I bought this book about becoming a Christian psychic on my kindle but I seem to have lost it when I got my new phone. Never read it, but I’m still interested. I bet they (as in Christian psychics) recommend lots of preliminary prayers for protection. It’s not something I’d want to jump into without protection.

Maybe psychic ability is something science will be able to explain some day. There’s a reason why I can find a lost item (sometimes) when I shut my brain off and just tell my body to take me to it. We know stuff that we don’t know we know. Science feels safe when it can explain things. But some things do require faith. That reminds me of the movie, Contact, which is one of my very favorite movies.

In Contact, Jodie Foster plays a scientist who is an atheist. She has an experience with extraterrestrials but has no proof. Her friend and love interest is Palmer, a man of faith played by Matthew McConaughey. I love Ellie’s speech at 2 minutes into this clip. The movie (one medium) is based on a novel (another medium) written by Carl Sagan. Early in the story, they get a message from the extraterrestrials in another medium.

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For more takes on medium, and the rules, visit our SoCS host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Oct. 10/2020