SoCS: Way Down Below the Ocean

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is:  “above/below.” Use one, use both, use ’em however they inspire you. Bonus points if you use them both. Enjoy!

The first thing I thought of was being under water. I love swimming under water in a pool with a mask so I can see the wavy lines of light. Swimming gave me great comfort in rough times. Last summer, remember when it was warm, I tried to teach my grand daughter to swim. She got really good at swimming UNDER the water, but has yet to trust the water to hold her up to swim above the water for more than a couple of strokes. She’ll get it though.

Once upon a time, I had a dream that I could swim under water and breathe under water, too. It was as natural as breathing above the water. Did you ever see the movie, The Shape of Water ? It’s one of my favorites. It’s a love story, AND it has a happy ending. It’s a strange movie. Intriguing. Some hard parts where I had to remind myself, “Its just a MOVIE.” But the ending is fascinating. Here’s the trailer:

The water creature is played by the same guy who plays the alien Saru in Star Trek Discovery, Doug Jones who is an actor, contortionist, and mime. Also staring in The Shape of Water, is Olivia Spencer who is in a lot of my favorite movies, like Hidden Figures, The Help, and she played God in The Shack. Sally Hawkins plays the main character who is mute. She did a good job.

Earlier in the stream, I thought of an old song by Donovan called “Atlantis,” because there’s the part that goes, “Way down below the ocean, where I wanna be, she may be….” or something like that.

I miss the beach and swimming. I was going to join the YMCA for the pool, but instead, joined a small, cozy gym and have been going to a personal trainer for the first time in my life. There’s a restorative yoga class there Saturday at 10 am which is why I’m going to maybe publish this post early. I am not a morning person. Maybe with the personal trainer and yoga and other classes which are part of “Silver Sneakers,” I’ll be ready to swim well by the time it gets warm enough to go in the ocean.

I took a scuba diving course in my twenties but didn’t follow up with it. Swimming under water with Scuba gear was the most wonderful feeling – like being on another planet. We ever saw a school of barracuda. I had to be in the water a lot because I get seasick on a rocking boat…. Maybe some day, I’ll go scuba diving again.

Before you watch this video of “Atlantis,” the song, imagine it’s warm.

Enjoy the mermaids!

Happy Valentines Day!

For more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday and takes on the prompt, visit Linda Hill at:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Feb. 13, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

Good News Tuesday, 3/10/20: A Hospital’s Compassion, Meals for First Responders, Earth Friendly Alternatives, and Our Weekend In the Mountains

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

 

Tennessee Hospital Will Not Charge Tornado Victims

Cookeville Regional Medical Center will not be charging patients for medical care resulting from last week’s deadly tornados. Insurance companies will be billed, but not the patients.  “If they don’t have insurance, they will not be charged.”

Here’s more of the story from ABC News. 

Meals for Event Spectators Sent to Nashville First Responders

Meals prepared for a bodybuilding show in Ohio where donated to first responders in Nashville. Meals had been prepared for 200,000 people, but the show was prohibited from allowing general public spectators in order to contain the coronavirus, so they decided send the food to Nashville in refrigerator trucks. Here are the details. 

 

…

Palm Oil Alternative

Bill Gates has invested in a company producing an alternative to palm oil to help reduce deforestation. C16 Biosciences uses a fermentation process to make the product. Here’s more on the palm oil alternative. 

Sustainable Oats

“Research has shown that oats crops are far more sustainable than the production of coconut, almond, or rice milk.”  GNN

Hälsa Foods, a Swedish company based in Florida, uses oats as a dairy substitute for their organic yogurt. They’re offering help to small, struggling dairy farmers who want to convert their pastures to oat crops.   Read more from the Good News Network.  

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Our Mountain Weekend

In personal good news, we spent the weekend in the mountains and took  care of my granddaughter and grand dog for an overnight. We also got to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, and we even got to see snow! David loved walking grand dog  “Rumpke” whose name was inspired by the band, Rumpke Mountain Boys.

Plus, I got to swim at the Y, and my granddaughter learned to float on her back, swam under the pool rope, and did a cannonball!

…

What’s YOUR good news?

Please share in the comments!

Good News Tuesday: Three Rescues

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Teen Swimmers Rescued by a Boat with a Special Name

Tyler and Heather decided to go for a swim off of Vilano Beach, Florida. Their plan was to swim to an offshore island but the powerful current pulled them away. Then they tried to make it to a lighthouse, but they were pulled further out to sea. They linked arms and floated to conserve energy, and they prayed. Thirty minutes after their prayer, they were rescued by a boat named, “Amen.” Sometimes our prayers are answered quickly, sometimes it takes a while. This answer came in the nick of time.

 

 

…

Quick Thinking and Skill on a Crane Rescues 14 People

Lan Junze, a 19 year old crane operator in China rescued 14 people from a burning building.  I saw this story first at the Good News Network. 

 

…

37 Spotted Seal Pups Rescued and Released

Found by police three months ago, the seal pups had been captured by traffickers in China to be sold to aquariums, shops and other commercial venues.  Eight suspects were arrested as spotted seals are “now a protected species in China.”

I spotted this story in my Goodnewsletter email which led me to this AP article.

The article gave me a jolt of sadness because all the seal pups could not be saved, but at least 37 were saved and released. Kudos and commendations to the officers who rescued them and the people who cared for released them!

I wish I could’ve found a video with these spotted pups being released, but we can use our imaginations.

Here’s an alternative video of harbor seal pups being released a couple of years ago.

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Got good news?

Please share in the comments!

 

Overcoming My Fear of Heights, Sort of, But Not Really.

Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is, “high/low.”

I am not a fan of heights. That’s a nice way of saying I have a fear of heights, or rather a fear of falling from a high place. Was it an anxious mother or something wired into my brain? I suppose it would be a good adaptation for a child to be born with. But if you’re born with it, it’s not an adaptation, except for the species.

I’ve pushed myself outside my comfort zone doing an outdoor adventure ropes course, walking on a wire in a harness. Loved the zip line once I trusted the equipment. But most heights are not a natural high for me. One exception is if I’m jumping into water. In my early twenties, I flirted with becoming a lifeguard  being trained by a lifeguard who was sort of flirting with me. I didn’t follow through on it, because I was in my twenties and….got distracted easily. But I did get to jump off of a diving platform that was about ? 35 feet high. That’s just a guess. I was scared at first, but knowing the water would catch me, it turned out to be exhilarating.

Water is my friend. The earth is my friend. My natural highs are mostly low to the ground. Water envelopes me, like in the womb maybe. It cools my fire sign – Sagittarius. I’ve always wanted to go caving, and loved scuba diving in my twenties. So quiet and peaceful down there.

I sometimes wonder what I’d do if I HAD to walk across one of those swinging bridges, miles above a crocodile-filled river. The kind of bridge with old wooden slats you can see in  between.  The only way I could do it would be to not look down. That’s what I’ve learned.  I walked on the “Mile High Swinging Bridge” at Grandfather Mountain in NC once.  Looking down made me feel nauseous. I was okay as long as I only looked where I was putting my feet, and held on to the railing. And nobody made the bridge swing. And there was no wind. Then it was a piece of cake. I was happy to get to the last step and onto solid rock.

I do like to look out across the mountain tops from a good solid piece of earth.

No outcroppings. No dangling my feet over the edge. (Unless there’s deep water below and no crocs.)

My natural highs are earthy. Riding horses. Swimming.  I don’t mind deep water I know will hold me.  Digging in the dirt. Re-arranging plants and seedlings. And dark chocolate.  Let’s not forget that! Watching sunsets. Colored glass. Singing – especially figuring out harmonies and getting them to blend. Getting a massage. Soft, steady caresses that take me to a trance.

These are things that would tend to keep my blood pressure low which it normally is. My husband on the other hand, likes to fly. He wants to re-certify his pilot’s license. He tends to have high blood pressure. He is not fond of swimming. But he goes into the ocean with me, even though he’d rather be in the sky. Some day, I’ll go flying with him.

(The first two photos are from Pixabay. The last two are from me. )

The Saturday Stream of Consciousness is brought to you by Linda at:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/08/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-517/

Stop by Linda’s blog for more takes on high/low.

Here are the SoCS rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

October Swim

 

Just one more swim

Before the water gets too cold

It’s invigorating!

As long as I keep moving.

When I rest,

My fingertips feel numb.

.

Back on the beach

Water offers more

 than just a swimming pool.

I study  her art

on the canvas of sand.

 I ask the golden sun

To erase my goosebumps

And grab my sweatshirt.

Summer sleeps now.

(All photos by JoAnne Silvia)

Retirement Ball on the Horizon

Retirement is coming, and it’s gonna be a ball.

Not the kind of ball Cinderella went to, or the Marine Corps Ball my parents went to when I was a kid. Not a volleyball that I really enjoyed in college, but it might hurt my hands now, unless they have Nerf volleyball for seniors.

Wait a minute. I’m not really a senior. Am I? I don’t feel like a senior. Okay, I am 60, and I am tired more than I used to be… Oh, let’s not go there.

Let’s go back to the ball! For me, having a ball is going to be writing, painting (both art and walls of my little urban cottage) puttering around the yard as I sculpt mother nature just a tad, and naps! I love naps. That would have sounded boring to me 30 or 40 years ago, before I had kids, but ever since I had kids, I love naps – even though the kids are grown – maybe because I don’t get a lot of naps.

I also want to do some swimming. I miss swimming so much this time of year, before the water is warm enough, which now is in June. When I was 18, I went into the ocean in March. Yikes! But I still love to swim. Maybe I’ll join a club where I can swim year round.

So the ball of retirement is coming one step at a time. It will be process, but the ball is rolling! I’m taking vacation time, and in about two months, I’ll be cutting down to working one day a week at the agency where I do counseling. I want to keep doing my stress management group,  cause I always need reminders about that. But some day, I’ll be a full time artist and writer and putterer – puttering around my back yard.

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I do love snow globes, and I have a plan- a plan to have a ball as I slide down the water slide, a slow but not that slow water slide – faster than a lazy river anyway – into the lovely pool of retirement, which for me, will be full of creativity and service work without all the paperwork, and puttering, and naps – naps on the beach!

I think I need some practice!

 

Photo by JoAnne Silvia

 

I bet you can guess today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt. If you’d like to have a ball, visit Linda at :

http://lindaghill.com/2016/03/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-1216/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

A Sticky Mud-Sucking Adventure

Badge by: Doobster @ Mindful Digressions

There have been times when I’ve been accused of being a stick-in-the-mud. Not when I was in my twenties, but later, after I had kids and got responsible, and all. But there are lots of different ways of being a stuck in the mud.

One way I’m not a stick-in-the-mud is when I’m swimming. I’m not afraid to swim out far into the ocean, well I don’t go as far out as I did in my twenties, but I love to swim.

One time I would not stay stuck in the mud, after having kids, and becoming responsible, was on a canoe trip with a local environmental group I took my daughter on. Back then, it was mostly just me and my girl. She was in her early teens; I was in my early 50s.

Paddling out  on a beautiful summer morning, the air was fresh and clean as we cleared the basin and meandered through the canals in the marsh grass. We saw white egrets and a sea hawk. I love the coolness of the water droplets on my skin when paddling in the summertime….

Anyway, on our way back, the tide had gone out, and we had to carry the canoe when the water became too shallow. We were toward the back of the group to begin with, and then we became last in line. The people in front of us got further and further away, so that eventually we couldn’t see them anymore. It was just me and my girl, and the mud sucking at our sneakers as we carried the canoe that got heavier and heavier with the sun directly overhead.

We stopped for a rest on a narrow strip of beach. I realized what a beautiful day it was, and squatted down to take a picture of the marsh grass and while fluffy clouds, that gave no hint of the sucking mud.

Photo by JoAnne Silvia

“Why don’t we just leave the canoe here, and they can come back and get it?” my daughter asked.

“Because it’s our responsibility,” I said. “Besides, we’d have to swim when the water gets deeper and I don’t want to get my camera wet.”

“Well, you might as well leave me here to die,” she said in her best drama queen voice.

“I’m going to throw mud on you!” I teased, bending down to scoop some up.

“Something just jumped in the boat!” she yelled. “What the hell is that?”

Something was flapping around in the canoe.

“I think it’s a shrimp.” I said. “And don’t say, hell.”

“Okay, that means we have to have shrimp for dinner,” she said.

“We have to get out of this mud first,” I reminded her. “Are you ready to move on?”

“I guess so,” said A.

We got the little shrimp out of the canoe and persevered through the mud, finally making it back to the basin, and the joy of paddling, to find the rest of the group as relieved as we were. They hadn’t realized we had been left behind until the head count was short.

The misery of the sucking mud soon faded, to be replaced by the memory of accomplishment by me and my girl.

 

This week’s Stream of Consciousness Post was: “stick” If you’d like to join in the fun, visit:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS May 16/15

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!

Opposites Attract, But Similarities Sustain

Opposites do attract. We’re often drawn to partners or friends who have qualities we lack. This can be a good thing, up to a point. If there are too may opposites, there’s going to be trouble.

When we were dating (for the second time) my husband confessed, “I’m allergic to fun.” I thought he was kidding. He works hard and is hard on himself. I can understand this, but my desire for myself is to have more fun. We had lots of fun when we dated, getting to know each other again; the butterflies and excitement of falling in love tends to make us giddy and overlook things.

Fortunately, we also asked a lot of questions to find out if there were any deal breakers. To find out if there was  enough common ground.

But back to the opposites. He says he is not artistic. And he’s not when it comes to free flowing things, improvisation, dance, playful art. I am more artistic. He is more precise. I tend to be scattered. He is more focused. (I’ve come to believe that’s mostly a guy thing.) He is great with numbers, me not so much.

I love to sing. My husband stopped singing in his late teens after being ridiculed. When we found each other again, he didn’t sing at all. But he’s been working on this for a couple years, and now sings in our church choir with me. He knows how I love to sing and wants to be with me enough to overcome his fear of singing. He’s also overcoming his fear of swimming in deep water due to a close call a long time ago.  I love to swim. He was a fire fighter and pilot, so he’s not at all afraid of heights like I am. I get motion sickness at the drop of a hat. But when he gets a chance to fly a plane again, I’ll be there with him, right after I take my Dramamine.

I used to be addicted to TV and movies. My husband doesn’t watch TV and rarely goes to movies. But he did like Interstellar which we saw together. It’s a good thing I took my daughter with me to see Wild. And there’s no way he’ll want to go see Into the Woods. But that’s okay.

Even though opposites attract, similarities are necessary for a happy, long lasting relationship.

My husband and I both love dogs. We  like to grow things in dirt and eat healthy. While we both partied plenty in our younger days, we’re now conservative in our lifestyles, though not our beliefs. We are responsible, frugal and conscientious. We believe in giving back to the community. We search for meaning in spirituality. We’re both Christians, but we’re open minded enough to respect the beliefs of others. We respect each others differences. We listen to each other. We both like garlic.

These are important similarities. Without them, it wouldn’t work.

And it’s working quite well.

 

This week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday Post was the word: “opposite.” If you’d like to join in the fun, visit:

http://lindaghill.com/2015/01/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-january-1015/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!