SHINE ON HARVEST MOON!!!

"The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand. "   Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Last night I was spellbound by the beauty of the full moon in the clear night sky.  There are so many windows in this new house - some span two floors - so they provide perfect ways to enjoy the outside world (without encountering mosquitoes!!) 

As I was surfing the net this morning, I discovered that tonight - for the first time in 20 years - we will have a "Super Harvest Moon".  The action begins at sunset tonight...the last day of northern summer.  As the sun sinks in the west, bringing the season to a close, the full Harvest Moon will rise in the east, heralding the start of Fall.  The two sources of light will mix together to create a kind of 360-degree, summer-autumn twilight glow that is only seen on rare occasions.

As the Moon creeps above the eastern skyline, it may appear strangely inflated.  This is what I like to think of as "moon magic"...or, for those of you less enchanted by fantasy - an "illusion."  Astronomers don't even really understand why a low-hanging moon appears wider than it really is.  I don't need to have an explanation - I just want to enjoy it!  They say that the view improves as the night wears on.

I never questioned the reason for calling an autumn moon a harvest moon - but I discovered this morning that it started in the days before electricity.  Farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset so that they could gather their ripening crops in time for market.  I guess the farmers would really like the one we are going to see tonight because it would be extra "Harvesty."

Anyway - be sure and enjoy tonight's celestial fanfare welcoming the Fall season.  They say it won't happen again until 2029.  Warning:  Don't try and calculate how old you will be then.  It's depressing!

LICENSED TO DRIVE

"If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side."

I don't know who said that - but I like it.  Today I had to get my Pennsylvania driver's license.  Sigh.  During my adult years, I have spent many a frustrating hour waiting at the DMV, so I was prepared for the worst this morning.  It is called the Photo ID Driver's License center here - and if I had not used the Garmin, I would never have found it.  Tucked away on some obscure road, behind a warehouse.  The front of the building didn't even face the road.  When we arrived, the parking lot was packed and people were standing outside, smoking and looking like Zombies who had been waiting far too long.  Marilyn and I got our numbers - 209 and 210 - and she found a seat.  I just sat in the aisle in my wheelchair.  We looked up and realized that they were working on number 124, so we took a deep breath and prepared ourselves for a long, LONG wait.

Within moments, a policeman tapped my shoulder and told us to go to the counter.  WE HAD NO WAIT.  The clerk was so friendly and helpful, and she said that I didn't have to wait because my wheelchair was blocking the aisle and it was a fire hazard!  So - today - it was a good thing to be in a wheelchair.  Definitely an example of polishing the dull side of life and finding the shine!

BACK IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction."  Winston Churchill

Here I am, alive and well, having emerged semi-victorious over the mountain of boxes and packing paper!  Moving is an atrocious job, shaking us to our core.  At least, that is what it was like for me.  And yet - now that the dust is beginning to settle a little, I find that I really like where I am.  In many ways it reminds me of Warrenton, where I grew up.  The rolling hills and farmland stretch before me every time I leave my driveway.  We are definitely in the country and I love it.  I can hear the birds in the morning and that constant drone of traffic that I was used to in Richmond is gone.  It is quiet. And, at night, it is REALLY quiet.

We have lovely neighbors across the street who showed up at our front door with food during our first days here.  The people we have encountered in the grocery store have been pleasant - and amused by my accent.  Oh well.  Having lived in the south all my life, I recognize regional differences here - not bad - just different.

My sister came up on the train and spent a few days.  That was wonderful!!!  We worked and played - okay...we played more than we worked!  I was sad to see her go...but she will be back soon.  I made her promise.

We still don't have everything done - the living room looks like a war zone and we don't have pictures hung.  There are still boxes in the basement to sort through - and we are constantly searching for things.  I'm sure that most of the mysterious disappearing items will be found buried in one of those boxes in the basement.

I was most worried about our elderly dog and cat adjusting - but they are thriving.  Actually, it seems to have given my dog new life!  Goes to show what a waste of energy worry is.  Of course, I am sure I will continue to do it!!!

I am glad to be back at the computer...back to blogging.  Thanks for all your good energy and prayers during this transition.  Now it is time for me to settle in and return to writing.  I will keep you posted!

IS IT HOT ENOUGH FOR GLOBAL WARMING YET?

"I have not seen Al Gore's movie."  Dick Cheney

Well - I must admit that I have not seen it either...but I believe in global warming...especially on a day like today!  Went to Walmart and it was hot inside the store.  The clerk was begging us to call management and have them lower the temperature.  So - if global warming hits Walmart - then it is bad!

I have tried to sit quietly and write a blog for two days now - and life has interfered.  So instead of frustrating myself further - I think I will simply give in to taking a few weeks off, now that I am in the middle of the move.  My Internet service will not be up and running in the new house until the 31st of August - in spite of lengthy conversations with Verizon...emphasis on lengthy.

The movers arrive on the 18th and will pack us on the 18th and 19th...load the truck on the 20th....and move us in on the 23rd.  We will spend three nights in a hotel (with the dog and cat...that ALONE will provide me with material for a blog!)  So - I will restart my blog the first part of September, when I have a clear head.

Enjoy these last weeks  of summer...in front of a fan, preferably.

See you in September.   I think that is a title for a song.

FACT OR FICTION

"Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs."  Pearl Stracham Hurd

I've been thinking about the power of blogs, lately.  Not just because I write one - but because I have become increasingly aware of the degree to which they affect the information we receive.  It used to be that we heard the news at 6:00 by good old trusty Walter Cronkite who ended his broadcast with, "And that's the way it is" and we believed him because he said so.  His voice was the be-all and end-all to the news.  He told us everything we needed to know.  Life continued after the designated news hour without the rabid craving for more and more information that seems to consume us now.  Were we better off then?  I don't know.  Hey - I surf the web as much as the next guy, so I can't really make a judgment.

The thing is, however, that I wonder if we have lost a clear avenue of truth.  It isn't just a matter of the 24 hour news channels which are truly more about opinions than facts.  It is this whole slippery slope of the internet...a place where people can put anything about anyone out there for the world to read/see with no real perimeters for the truth.  I could write in this little space that Sarah Palin wears men's underwear...and if it is a slow news day, someone trolling the internet might stumble across this insignificant blog and decide that bit of completely unfounded information was newsworthy.  Theoretically, I could turn on the TV and see "Sarah Palin proves she has balls because she wears men's underwear" scrolling along the bottom of CNN.

Blogs are unrestrained by traditional journalistic methods and ethics and some of them have readerships larger than many newspapers, TV and radio shows.  They have the power to shape opinions and affect lives.  Just look at the recent debacle with Shirley Sherrod, the USDA worker who was forced to resign because of a political-media fiasco that was started by a blogger.

Unfortunately, there are no electronic filters that separate truth from fiction.  There really is only one tool we can use:  critical thinking.  We truly have to think about what we see and hear.  We have to evaluate and select.  We have to engage our minds. 

Maybe that is a good thing.  In this world where technology is taking over everything - it is nice to know my mind is still my most valuable tool.

Still, some days I miss good old Walter.

BITCH, BITCH, BITCH

The Five Stages of a Woman's Life:

To grow up.

To fill out    

To slim down

To hold it in

To hell with it!

I saw this in a catalog today, and it made me laugh.  I am so at the "to hell with it" stage of things!!!  Of course, the question here is what was I doing wasting time looking through a catalog when I have a zillion other things to do.  I was wasting time...I was procrastinating (see earlier post since I have already confessed to this weakness.)

I have been "intending" to get to this blog for hours now, but I kept getting interrupted.  As can be expected at this stage of things, there are a lot of last minute papers to be forwarded, checks to write (actually, I feel like I am hemorrhaging money), and more loose ends to tie up then I was aware of.  No wonder "moving" is listed as one of the most stressful things in life...right up there with losing a spouse. 

I have printed out so many papers and forms and I keep running out of ink!  I think this whole printer/ink thing is a rip-off.  Actually, I have owned printers that cost less than the price of ink.  Now that we have all these different cartridges for separate colors as well as black, I don't think any of them last as long as they used to. 

I sound like an old fart - complaining.  All I need to do is start a sentence with, "In the good old days...."

Oh well...what can I say...to hell with it!

p.s. Keeping true to form, I nearly deleted this entry before I posted it.  Damn!  Thank goodness for auto-save!!

I MEANT TO....BUT....

"It is not good enough for things to be planned - they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation."  Walt Kelly (cartoonist most known for his comic strip, POGO"

I read this quote, and my immediate response was, "Well, Duh!"  There is certainly nothing profound in these words.  Still, it seems to be the place where I am prone to slip up.  I am great at making lists...at scheduling things that need to be done.  But sometimes, I fall victim to procrastination (a particularly attractive temptation to me) and my best intentions fizzle.

One of the most repeated pieces of advice given to writers is to be sure and write something everyday.  I can certainly see the value in this - and I have known many would-be writers who talk about writing, but never get around to actually doing it.  But, I think placing such a unyielding requirement on writers can backfire...especially if they are like me, and prone to self-flagellation when they miss the mark...or miss a day or two....or four.  If I am honor bound to write everyday, and life interferes and I don't write for several days, I feel guilty and my motivation dissipates.  Then I have to jump-start the writing rhythm again, laboriously wading through the thick sludge of inactivity to uncover a single creative thought. 

So, instead I tell myself that I will TRY and write everyday.  I know this is not a particularly noble ambition.  Actually, I heard someone say once that to say you will "try" means that you intend to fail with honor.  That sounds harsh - but I can see that there are times that would be true.  Like when someone invites you to an event that you have no intention of attending, but instead you say that you will "try."  Oh come on!  I know that I am not the only person who has done that! 

With my writing, the "try" method works best for me.  I would love to say that I will write a blog everyday...but I know, especially now with the move, it is unrealistic.  So, I write as often as I can.  Tomorrow I already have a list of things to do:

1. Go to the Social Security office and apply for a replacement Social Security card. (Lost mine years ago and suddenly I realize that I am going to need it for a PA driver's license.)
2. Pick up change of address cards at the Post Office and an application for a passport. (Marilyn is insisting that I do this in case we want to go to Canada for Christmas shopping.  Hmmmmm....oh well.)
3. Call and make appointments with the vet for Sophie and Bizy
4. Go to the bank
5. Take boxes in the back of my van to Goodwill
6. "TRY" to write a blog.

I found another quote that I will include here, simply because it is by someone that I NEVER thought I would quote!  "Good Intentions are not good enough"  George W. Bush

I guess he ought to know!