Because May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Karen at Simply Amusing Blog has been asked by a group of local oncologists to write about prevention; they're using a Q & A format, and she's asking readers for questions for the physicians to answer. Summer's almost upon us, the sun will be blazing guns in no time, so her goal is to get readers to think about better choices before any damage is done.

Robin alerted me to this, check it out.

Round Robin - Norwegian Wood

This weeks' challenge is by Kiva, who authors the blog, "Eclectic Granny." Here is what Kiva says about this challenge...I'm into a Beatles mood this week. Norwegian Wood - take a photo of anything wooden. Merriam Webster defines the word "wooden" as: 1. made or consisting of wood. 2. lacking ease or flexibility, awkwardly stiff (e.g., wooden performer, a wooden speech). A picture of John Wooden or anyone named Wooden qualifies.

I could have shown photos of my home, I have wood everywhere, floors, furniture, decor, etc. My daughters use to despair - "Oh, no, not more wood".

But I decided to show my wooden birdhouses that I picked up on our travels, and my woodpile. Looks like I have enough for one more winter.









Now visit all the Robins.

Saturday’s Photo Scavenger Hunt - Candy

This week's Photo Hunt theme is Candy. When we went to our fave diner this week, Richie's, I took photos of the marvelous assortment of candy they have for sale.

Chocolate covered Sunflower Seeds, anyone?

Stick candy.

Taffy

Lollypop Tree

It's all Dad's fault

This is one of our adult daughters fave saying. As they age, and things go wrong, they blame Bob. When Shingles strikes, Bob gets the blame. When they have back problems, Bob gets the blame. To me, this seems fair; I wouldn't have it any other way. Carrie even designed a line of shirts around this theme.


One of VistaPrints recent promos was for a free item, you just pay shipping. I got this t-shirt for Bob. He loved it, because he knows it's his fault.



He's posing next to one of his watercolors. That's his fault too.

Music to my ears - Friday

Eric Clapton/JJ Cale-After Midnight

Meditation, No Way

I thought I'd tell you about another meditation. This is called Spring Forest Qigong, it was developed to help cancer patients heal. I think that means it'll be good for all of us. It's pretty easy, and when you finish you really will feel wonderful. Since this doesn't involve foot movement, you might do it in front of a mirror, at first, to see how it looks. You'll end up doing it with your eyes closed, once you have the hang of it.

Spring Forest Qigong

Stand feet shoulder width apart, feet parallel (this will feel pigeon-toed), knees slightly bent. Arms are relaxed at sides.

Begin by moving your right hand to your upper chest, your left will cover you lower da tien (lower stomach). Neither touches your body, or the other hand. Hand movements come from the elbow.

Your right hand will move out and down, your left hand moves in and up. Exhale - your right hand moves down. Inhale - your right hand moves up. There is no pause in the movements. Let your right hand control your breathing. Breathe deeply and slowly. Complete 5 to 20 minutes.



Ending – your right hand will slow and stop, hovering over the lower da tien. The left hand will continue, and arrive to cover the right hand. Hands do not touch, or touch your body. Take 3 deep breaths.

Feeling Qi – Inhaling, move your hands outward, as if pushing thru seaweed, remaining relaxed. Exhale, slowly bring your hands back toward the center, never touching, and hold the qi. Repeat 3 or 4 times.

Minimal Massage

Rub hands together, rub your face, as if washing up and down.

Rub hands together, tap the top and sides of your head from front to back, min. of 3 times

Rub hands, work on your ears. Squeeze and press every inch of them. End with 3 tugs at top, side and lobe.

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting for a treat

ABC Wednesday - Q

These are the two Quadrapeds that live at my house.

Lizzy is 10, and she is very quick.
Her nickname is Killer, because she's caught and killed
rabbits, mice, lizards and birds, all in our back yard.

This is Dudley, he's 8.
His nickname is Dud the Boy.
He is very sweet, and a cuddler.

Now, visit all the Q's at Mrs. Nesbitt's

Tales from the Bookstore

Today I had a real chuckle at the bookstore. A woman asked for the new childrens book by C. S. Lewis. Now, as you probably know, he's been dead for a long time. Here's the first paragraph about him on Wikipedia:

Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish writer and scholar. Lewis is known for his work on medieval literature, Christian apologetics, literary criticism, and fiction. He is best known today for his series The Chronicles of Narnia.

See, dead for almost 45 years, not writing new books.

We booksellers are frequently amazed at the questions we hear on a daily basis. Here are some of my favorites:

I can’t believe you know who wrote that. (Clockwork Orange, Hamlet, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.)

This is a incoming phone call:

Do you have a Scrabble Dictionary handy?

- Yes, I can get one from the shelf; do you want me to put one on hold for you?

- No, I have a problem, sort of a bet, and I need you to look up a word for me! ! ! I left him on "ignore".


Is there any one who works here who's an expert on a IMAC? - Not that I'm aware of - I don't believe you, let me talk to the manager!

There’s a new movie out, “Pride and Prejudice”, was that a book first?



These 3 are similar:

Are they (the books) arranged by title?

How are the books arranged?

I need an Anatomy book, are they filed under "A".

Amazing, but fun; customers like these are one of the reasons I keep going to Barnes and Noble three days a week.

Yesterday, I had a quiet Mother's Day. Which for me is ideal. I received my gifts via U.S. Mail and sent mine the same way. We've never been big on Mother's Day celebrations, and we don't live close any more. Carrie is 2,568 miles away, Sharon is 65 miles away, and Mom is 72 miles away. 65 & 72 miles may not seem too far, but we'd rather get together on our time, not Hallmark time.

From Sharon I received some wonderful Mango bath products. She knows what I like, no florals because of allergies.

From Carrie a handmade Market bag. She picked one with the Left Coast on the label. It's from Etsy, we're big on Etsy, in our family.

I sent my Mom food. She's 86, still drives, and is very active, but I thought some variety in her diet might be nice. I received a catalog from Home Bristro, and really liked the look and variety. I picked out 4 dinners I thought she'd like, she's not a fussy eater. She was thrilled with my selections. They arrived packed in ice ready to go into her freezer until she wants to use them.

Happy Mother's Day

And for all the Dad's

As The Garden Grows, Friends

Saturday’s Photo Scavenger Hunt

This week's theme is share ANY photo, so I decided on this one:

Freeway Traveler

I caught this while driving on the freeway. Traffic was light, my camera was out, so I took the opportunity to pull along side this handsome fellow. He was actually eating, but I caught him between bites. I really like this photo, I hope you do too.

Now visit the other Photo Hunters.

The Pill

Today is an important one for women. On this day in 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a birth control pill. Margaret Sanger had campaigned for more than 40 years for a contraceptive that would be inexpensive and widely available. She raised $3 million from her friend Katherine McCormick to fund the research of doctors John Rock and Gregory Pincus, who began working together on the project in 1952.

The first oral contraceptive pill was called Enovid-10 and was a 10-mg combination of synthetic hormones norethynodrel and mestranol. It was approved first in 1957 for treating menstrual disorders. Then, on this day, the FDA announced that it would approve the pill for the use of birth control. The pill prevents pregnancy because its synthetic hormones block the ovaries from releasing eggs that can be fertilized.

It wasn't until Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, however, that the pill became available in all states to married women. With Eisenstadt v. Baird in 1972, the pill became available as well to unmarried women in all states. In 2000, more than 16 million American women were taking the pill.

When the pill was first introduced, it was very strong, and a woman could only take it for a relatively short time; with time this also improved.

Music to my ears - Friday

29 palms- robert plant

Meditation

Have you ever thought - Meditation, No Way. I was right there, until I learned how easy it is. Some times, now, when I'm doing Tai Chi, I sink into meditaion, and just get lost. Instead of doing 108 movements, it could be 365, or 72, but my class keeps close watch on me, so it's usually 108.

Here's a really easy meditation, it's a form of QiGong, and it's called Tai Chi Ruler. Remember, meditation doesn't happen immediately, you kind of fall into it with the repetitions.

Here are the first things to learn:

Your hands are always 8-12 inches apart. Like holding a ruler!







This is a moving meditation, your feet move in a zig-zag pattern.




Each step starts and ends in the Cat's Stance.





As your hands move up or in, you inhale, as they move down or out, you exhale.


Then you put it all together, move forward 8-10 steps, then move backward 8-10 steps. Backward is more tricky.



So, right foot, cat's stance, step right - left foot follows, moving into cat's stance. While you're doing that, first your hands come up, as you inhale, then throw out and down, as you exhale. Then, step left, right foot follows, moving into cat's stance, etc. Remember the zig-zag.

Tai Chi and QiGong, are moving meditations that ususally involve doing two or more things at the same time.

Wordless Wednesday - Teamwork

Check out everyone's Wordless Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday - P

Presenting the letter P, for today I found a lot of P words.

A power plant.

Peanut packs from our local teams.

Pears, three types.

A bed of Pansies.

A small urban pond.

Pink Roses, from my garden.

These Pigs are trying to hide.

They're at a Petting Zoo, and want nothing to do with People.

Visit everyone's M post at: mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/

Message In A Bottle

This has been floating around the blog-sphere, and I snatched it from Pamela. Go here for the rules.


I tweaked the rules, and did two, and I'm not tagging anyone, but you should do it, if you want. I've included a 'blank' to help you.

This one, because my anniversary was a couple of days ago.

This one, because I love Will Rogers.

Fun Monday - Hero(s)

Kitten is this week’s host, and this is her assignment; I'd like to know "Who is Your Hero" Not from TV, but your real life hero. It can be one or it can be many. Just someone you have or do look up to. You can do this any way you would like and if you want or can, share pictures!

I'm going with my first thought, I have two heroes and I'm related to both of them.

First, is my hubs, Bob. He's not perfect, really. But here's an example of what a wonderful man he is in his core. The year is 1969; we've been married for 5 years, living in our home in Long Beach, and have one wonderful child, Carrie. Bob had been working in the aerospace industry since leaving the Navy. In the Navy he was an aircrew man - aircraft mechanic. When we were married and up until 1969, he worked for North American Aviation in Downey. He worked in the Clean-Room, building the Apollo Command Modules that went to the Moon. Well, when that project was complete, he and many others were laid-off. He came home and told me not to worry. I was a SAHM.

The next day he went to work for General Motors in South Gate. His job was delivering parts to the production line with a forklift. He hated that job, can you say boring. But he kept working until he found something else, a pipefitter at Shell Oil in Wilmington. He actually liked that position, it was varied and interesting. He learned a lot.

Bob had always wanted to be a policeman, so during this transition phase, he applied at every local police department that was taking applications. You'll notice thru all this he never missed a single day of employment, he didn't mope around and wonder what to do. He took action, and took care of his family. Becoming a police officer is a very time consuming proposition, it took months. He was eventually hired by LAPD, and went thru their academy. When he graduated from the Police Academy, I was ready to deliver our second wonderful child. She was born a couple of weeks later, and didn't cost a cent, between the health insurance we had, first Shell Oil, and then LAPD. A free baby. This photo is of Bob and the free baby, Sharon, all grown up.

My second Hero is my Dad, Rex Davis. He was born on June 9th, 1920, in Lodgepole, Nebraska. He was a great Dad to my sister and I. He made sure we were well taken care of our whole lives, until he died. Without him I'm sure our childhood, my sister's and mine, would have been Hell. Our mother is a nice woman, if you met her, you'd love her, but she was a horrid Mom, and not much of a Grandmother, either. (It's funny, she's a pretty good Great Grandmother.) We always knew that we were important to him.

As children, we saw the whole United States, except New England and Florida, for some reason, thanks to Dad.

Dad was a telephone man, and once a co-worker questioned him about how he could afford to take us so many places on a telephone man's wages. Dad asked the guy a few of questions of his own.

"Do you smoke, how much do you spend on cigarettes a week? a year?"

"Do you drink, how much do you spend on booze?"

"Do you go to the bars, how much does that cost?"

Dad told the fellow, "I don't smoke, drink or go to bars, so I have that money to spend on my family."

When we were older and active in scouting, Dad spent many of "his" vacations chaperoning scout camping trips. These were usually co-ed scout trips. We were Mariner Scouts and the boys, among them our future husbands, were Sea Scouts, we did a lot of joint trips and cruises. Dad was always there if we needed him. That way he knew what was going on, and we were safe.

Dad stayed married to our Mom until we were adults, married with children. Then he figured it was time for some happiness of his own. Our Mom was shocked, he had made her happy for 27 years and had no idea he wasn't happy. Neither of his daughters or our husbands were surprised, and we were happy for Dad, that he was finally taking care of himself.








This is Dad at my wedding, in 1964.

This poem describes how I felt when my Dad died. I still miss him, not grieve, miss, every day.

"Moment of Inertia"

by Debra Spencer from Pomegranate


It's what makes the pancake hold still
while you slip the spatula under it
so fast it doesn't move, my father said
standing by the stove.


All motion stopped when he died.
With his last breath the earth
lurched to a halt and hung still on its axis,
the atoms in the air
coming to rest with
in their molecules, and in that moment
something slid beneath me

so fast I couldn't move.

This is my Dad in 1967, at our Davis Family Father's Day Picnic.

Now go visit the other participants at Kitten's.

Award

Alison granted me an award:

I now feel all lovely and special. I'm awarding it to some lovely and special people, too. These are the lovely and special people who are my frequent commenters.

Jessica at One Swift Click

Judy at Grand Life

Lisa at Lisa's Chaos

Allie at The Chambers Family

Mrs. G at Derfwad Manor

Mel at Growing Up

Pamela at The Dust Will Wait

As The Garden Grows, My Garden this week

Photo Hunt - Time

When I think of 'time', I think of this clock. I've had it for about 30 years. Now, it hangs in the office, but in the past it was in the living room. I think it's a great functional piece of art. In the office, it's part of a greater display I call 'Bob's Glory Wall'. It has lots of mementos from his retirement. A certificate from the City of Los Angeles, letters of congratulations from the Governor and the President. Ten years ago the Governor of California was Pete Wilson, and the President was Bill Clinton, how times change. There are also some of his athletic medals, won at various competitions, and a couple of photos.

Now check out all the PhotoHunters.

let's find out about each other...

If you have a moment fill it out and let's find out about each other...

Fill in the X's by all the things you've done and remove the X
from the ones you have not. Answer the 25 questions at the end. This is for your entire life!


( ) Gone on a blind date

( ) Skipped school

( ) Watched someone die

(x) Been to Canada

(x) Been to Mexico

(x) Been to Florida

(X) Been on a plane

(x) Been lost

(x) Been on the opposite side of the country

(x) Gone to Washington, DC

(x) Swam in the ocean

(x) Cried yourself to sleep

(x) Played cops and robber

(x) Recently colored with crayons

( ) Sang Karaoke

(x ) Paid for a meal with coins only

(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?

(x) Made prank phone calls?

(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose?

(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue?

(x) Danced in the rain?

(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus?

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe?

(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about?

(X) Blown bubbles

(x) Gone ice-skating?

(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors?

(x) Gone to the movies?

1. Any nickname: Many

2. Mother's name: Grace

3. Body Piercing? ears

4. How much do you love your job? a lot

5. Favorite vacation spot: Bermuda, NYC, pretty much all of U.S.

6. eaten cookies for dinner - yes, chocolate chip/oatmeal, delicious and nutritious

7. Ever been on TV? yes, every day, twice a day

8. Ever been in a car accident? Yes

9. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle: 4 door

10. Favorite salad dressing: Ranch

11. Favorite pie: apple

12. Favorite number: 8

13. Favorite movie: impossible to pick

14. Favorite holiday: Christmas

15. Favorite dessert: ice cream

16. Favorite food: Mexican

17. Favorite day of the week: no fave

18. Favorite brand of body wash: Crabtree & Evelyn, Caswell Massey

19. Favorite toothpaste: Crest

20. Favorite smell: clean, fresh baked goods

21. What do you do to relax? tai chi, reading

22. What is your #1 pet peeve in the whole world? people who are assholes

23. How do you see yourself in ten years? healthy, happy, active

24. Favorite music/band? R&R, baby

25. Bath or Showers? Showers

For Bob, I love you

I Married You
by Linda Pastan,
from Queen of a Rainy Country


I married you
for all the wrong reasons,
charmed by your
dangerous family history,

by the innocent muscles, bulging
like hidden weapons
under your shirt,
by your naive ties, the colors
of painted scraps of sunset.

I was charmed too by your assumptions
about me: my serenity —
that mirror waiting to be cracked,
my flashy acrobatics with knives
in the kitchen.

How wrong we both were
about each other,
and how happy we have been.

Today is our 44th Wedding Anniversay.
In this 1967 photo, we'd been married 3 years.