The Road to Rivendell

Today’s SoCS prompt is to use a word ending in sty. First I thought of the word, fantasy, but that doesn’t work. I had to look up words that end in sty. The first one I liked was, “misty.” That lead me to the Misty Mountains and this story….

What have I gotten myself into? Elya wondered if she should just go back the way she came. But she couldn’t take another day, another night, at the Prancing Pony. She was too old to be working in a pub. If only her husband Dane were still alive, she would never have had to take that job. Her horse seemed to keep plodding along as if knowing something better lay ahead.

Elya had heard stories about a beautiful place called Rivendell. It was east of Bree, somewhere near the misty mountains. It sounded magical, a place with elves. She knew she never really belonged in Bree. If they really knew her mind, they would think her a witch. But she was just different. Swallowing with nothing to swallow, she let her horse lead the way. She had come to trust her beast and companion over the years. Would there be monsters along the road? Would they be there by nightfall? She nudged her friend further.

As darkness fell, she fought back the panic and found a place off the main road, almost a hideaway, under a willow tree for them to stop for the night. She ate the last of her bread and found cool water from a stream, then hummed quietly to herself needing to sleep, but too afraid. Somehow she drifted off.

The sunlight woke her and she gave thanks that she had not perished at some strange sword. She had kept the knife close and was glad she didn’t need it. Onward they went, eastward until they found a path off the road late in the afternoon. She didn’t know why she took it, something told her it was the way. After a time, a view opened up. The misty mountains were to her right. The air smelled different. The path had seemed to disappear, but there was something, a beam of light, directing her left. Just north of the mountains, the path became more twisty with rises and falls. She could barely see a path.

Elya dismounted and walked leading her horse. The sun was behind her now. She stumbled, then stood and took a breath. Light shown through the trees ahead. A few more steps, then she saw it, bathed in golden light. Rivendell! It had to be! Below her was a stream, and across the stream, paths that led up the hills to the beautiful castle doorways set among the waterfalls.

Would they accept her? Would they understand how much she longed to belong in a place of beauty and peace? She patted her horse and headed down to cross the stream.

~~~

You’ve probably heard “Misty Mountains Cold” droned by the dwarves in The Hobbit. Here’s an instrumental version on an ocarina:

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For more info on Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit our host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 27, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

SoCS: Nerves ~ Correlation is not Cause ~ Peace ~ Dreams ~ and the Wizard of Oz

The prompt: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “nerve.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

The first thing that popped into my head was the expression, “You’re about to get on my last nerve.” It isn’t exactly logical, but it’s fun to say. One thing that gets on my nerves, is when someone posts something that suggests a correlation is a cause, like the meme I just saw that had a photo of gas prices in November and gas prices in January with the heading/comment: “Biden’s America.”

To my credit, I did not try to engage in debate, but neither did I pass it by and ignore it, which is sometimes the best thing to do. Here’s my comment:

“In statistics class, we learned that correlation does not necessarily mean cause. There are likely other variables/factors to be considered.”

I do not need to engage in any further discussion that would irritate my nerves. This is why I try not to scroll on FB. I actually want to reduce my time on FB, but every now and then, these things come up. Then I was happy to be able to like and love some photos of her grand daughter.

I’m in training. Besides having a personal (exercise) trainer, I am in training to “practice peace that overpowers darkness.” I know that sounds somewhat presumptuous, but it is practice. I don’t always get it right, especially when things get on my nerves. This idea for peace training comes from the February 11 reading from the daily meditation book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I certainly can’t do this practice on my own. But if I connect with the guidance and strength of Jesus and my Creator, I can do my part.

“Nerve” can be used in so many ways: nervous energy, nerves of steel, a bundle of nerves, “You’ve got a lot of nerve!” Then there’s the nerve cells I learned about in college with axons, dendrites, synapses, and all that fading knowledge that I don’t use much, though it could be helpful in cellular imagery for the purpose of meditative healings…..

Where was I going with this? There was something I didn’t want to forget. Oh, in college – The Psychology of Consciousness, all those years ago, was my favorite class. I do recall the dominant theory of dreams being that our sleeping dreams are created by random nerve cells firing while we sleep. But what part of us assigns meaning? And what meanings that mean something important? Though maybe sometimes, they are just random, like the stream of consciousness. But is it really random? There is also a not so dominant theory that when we have a deja vu, we are experiencing something we dreamed since we dream so much that we don’t remember. I mentioned this in my college class. The professor was not impressed. But hey, anything is possible.

The “cowardly lion” in the Wizard of Oz, didn’t believe he had much nerve. But he really did. Or at least he found it.

And Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn’t already have.

I love this song and the mellow sound.

~~~

For more on the Saturday Stream of Consciousness,

visit out host, Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 20, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

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.

…

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.

…

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: Time Out, Petting the Cat, ASMR, and Shoe Size

The prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “in the corner.” Write about whatever the image or thought of “in the corner” brings to mind. Have fun!

Interesting prompt. I might just try #JusJoJan this year, too. No promises. If I miss a day, I won’t put myself in the corner. I don’t recall being sent to the corner as a child. There was usually furniture in the corner. But I was sent to “sit in the chair” for a time out. It was not a bad chair, just a normal chair. Now, I wouldn’t mind that at all – taking a time out in the chair.

There’s a comfortable chair in Mama Cat’s room which is a smallish room with a cubby and a window seat made from a pillow and blankets. She has a lot of blankets. A couple of days ago, I sat in the chair in Mama Cat’s room and she hopped up on my lap as she has started to do over the past month. I sat there in the late afternoon, or maybe it was evening, I don’t recall, stroking her soft fur as she fell asleep, and I almost fell asleep. Petting Mama Cat put me in a sort of trance. I can feel the brain waves changing if someone rubs my head or an ASMR thing – the tingle, which I find fascinating and easier to get to the more it happens. You can read more about ASMR here. I can imagine how it could be addicting. But on a brighter note, I’ve read that cat purrs can be healing like meditation.

“Stop playing with that thing and pet me.”

But I can’t spend too much time there in the chair petting the cat. I need to get some energy. There’s that thing about inertia.

My main goal for 2021 is to improve my health. It’s not bad, but I fear I’ve gained some weight and feel tired more than I want to, so I’m going to be exploring joining a gym or/and other ways to increase my exercise, like walking and hiking more regularly. That will involve getting some better shoes.

Here’s a question for my older followers. No, more mature followers might sound better. Wise and experienced readers…. or anyone who might know. Has your shoe size gone up over the years? I think my feet might be feeling uncomfortable because I need to go up to a 8 and a half. Maybe even a 9? I haven’t changed shoe size in a lot of years, so maybe that’s it. Seems like I wore a seven in my 20s. That would be better than going to a foot doctor. Anything to keep me from getting totally hooked on sitting in the chair and petting the cat… or TV, but let’s not go there. I can always do some yoga stretches while watching TV.

SoCS and Just Jot January are hosted by Linda G. Hill. You can read all about it at:

Stream of Consciousness Saturday | (lindaghill.com)

Happy New Year!

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: Senior Moments, Mini Skirts, and Yoga Pants

Well, it’s official.

I’m a senior citizen. Today is my 65th birthday. (As you’re reading this on Saturday, because I’m writing it on the eve of my 65th birthday.)

What is the minimum age at which a person can claim forgetfulness and confusion is due to a “senior moment?” I know some folks could say it’s in your fifties. I have been getting a senior discount at the movies for maybe ten years. Oh, I miss going the movie theatre. Maybe some day that will happen again. I’ve been having senior moments more often, though not every day and with no serious consequences. If a person has a touch of ADD or head in the clouds since childhood…. but those aren’t senior moments are they? Now, I can call them senior moments. Now, I have Medicare. Hope I don’t have to use it much, but it will probably be better than what I had.

Going back to the prompt remember mini skirts? My dad hated them. I think they started in the 60s. Late 60s maybe. Not very comfortable. I used to wear shorts under my skirt in junior high school. And how could I think that was okay to have the original classic Star Trek female crew wearing those impossibly short dresses? Now, it makes me cringe. In the pilot episode the psychiatrist wore pants. Good for her. But later, it was ridiculous, but I had no idea it was ridiculous, since I wore mini skirts. I’m not even going to look for a video.

Maxi skirts are much better. I have maxi skirts now – made from stretchy material like my yoga pants which I love to wear almost all the time now. Because I CAN. Yoga pants, sweat shirts. Yeah, I might get dressed up again some day, maybe even for my birthday dinner. But only if I want to. The plan is to go hiking in the afternoon. Doesn’t matter how far, as long as I get out into the woods and walk around on my 65th birthday.

A couple of days ago, I found a sketch I drew probably in the 70s. Mini skirts were still around, because I remember wearing one during my senior year in high school. Anyway, here’s the sketch. No idea how I came up with it. Probably had something to do with my head being in the clouds, naturally, not even on drugs necessarily, but lets not go there.

There’s a story here, right? Feel free to add a caption or title for this sketch.

Today’s SoCS prompt was: “mini/maxi.” Use “mini” (the smallest of something) or “maxi” (the largest) or both in your post. Have fun!

For more streams and the rules, visit our host, Linda G. Hill. at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 12/2020 | (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)