Non-atttachment

 

 

Nice numbers. What a relief.

I watch nature videos on YouTube now while I take my blood pressure. What's the big deal? 

My hypertension was an ongoing issue for months, shuffling me between unhelpful appointments, then urgent care, then finally the emergency room and hospital. It's too bad it took a medical crisis to finally get the right care, but I'm grateful.  

And along the way, I developed this phobia about using a home monitor. When I saw those scary numbers, I panicked. Honestly, who wouldn't? Anyway, that started the classic negative feedback loop. 

Speaking of observation: 

"The ability to observe and not instantly react is the highest form of spiritual intelligence." Blah blah blah. 

Total non-attachment to outcome is the stuff of saints and monks. We can try, but we're fighting human minds naturally wired for instant judgement and flight or fight reflex. 

Many good things have already come from this ordeal, some small, some life changing. As the numbers started coming down, I was finally able take it at home without dread. And now I'm watching that it doesn't go too far in the "right" direction. A nicer problem. 

Only one week ago today I was released from the hospital, barely able to walk and looking and smelling like a pile of beach wrack! Yesterday I made 6,000 steps. Onward we go. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Cute alert

 

 

Millie? Can we be friends?

 

Learning from Nica, the fine art of being underfoot in the kitchen...

 And getting loved to death...

And the art of total relaxation comes naturally to this breed...

Hey, maybe I wouldn't need pills with a little lap dog? 

 

It's been a quiet week on the home front. Our excellent, hardworking gardener came yesterday to cut back an overgrown lilac and give the laurel hedge its annual trimming.  Neat as a pin. 

 

Seattle summers are warmer than they used to be, warm enough to sit in the yard after dinner without a jacket. When I turn on a sprinkler, the chickadees show up and take showers in the olive tree. Speaking of blood pressure, this sure beats the evening news. 

 

When life gives you tomatoes

 

Make some tomato sauce...

That is about a third of the Roma tomatoes we got from one potted plant. They just thrive on that hot side of the house. 

I bought a fancy food mill last fall to make pear butter and haven't used it since, so I set John to work yesterday milling that bowl of tomatoes. He enjoys kitchen tasks that involve sharp knives and mechanical gadgets. 

 It cooked up a bright pot of fresh tomato sauce, which we put on frozen cheese ravioli. 

 

It was tasty but a tad on the thin side, so some sausage or meatballs would help. I froze three containers for other pasta meals.

Speaking of the freezer, we are grateful this week that ours is packed with good food. The little bit of effort it takes to make a simple meal from scratch is so worth it. Anyway, our home cooked wholesome food is helping me get my appetite back. 

No one expects hospital food to be good, but with the exception of Cheerios, most of what they what they gave me was inedible. The meals were packed with cheap processed salty food, even though I was supposedly on a "heart healthy" diet. 

As I'm sure you know, wine has always been an enjoyable part of our lives-- a relaxing social time at the end of the day, and it makes good food taste even better. But for now I'm taking a vacation from all alcohol. This feels good actually, although life is a bit duller come 4 o'clock when John makes himself an old-fashioned. 

Well, life is also short, so put wine on the list of things to look forward to. In moderation, of course. We have a trip to the Napa Valley planned at the end of September, and I told John save your money to buy me a glass or two of expensive local wine. Quality not quantity is the new motto. My box wine days are over. 

A tempting sight

 

 

I'm impatient for the plums to finally ripen so we can preserve as many as possible. This is a rare year when the tree produces that many big ones. I want to replenish our stash of plum chutney and also can some halves for yogurt and cottage cheese. 

Understandably, with stone fruit averaging $3 a pound in the grocery store, these big beauties are a tempting target from the sidewalk. 

 

Yes, it came down to this. 

I saw a man jump up and grab some over the fence while his two little kids looked on. (Teach your children well.) Even though they look purple, they are still hard and inedible. 

I told him nicely we're happy to share excess when the time comes, but please don't pull green ones off the branches now. He looked guilty as sin and apologized profusely. I'm working on my reputation as "the mean old lady who lives on the corner."

 

The Seattle afternoons are warm and sunny, but the morning fog suddenly put a fall feel in the air. I've enjoyed our yard and birds more than ever this summer, and good thing, because we've been stuck at home since we got back from Europe in June. 

Fires are still burning in every direction across the eastern part of the state, so the smoke collects in the Methow Valley however the winds blows. Relief from that claustrophobic air pollution won't come until the fall rains finally extinguish the wildfires. 

My friend Karen said everyone who can get away leaves the Valley as much as possible this summer. On top of that, downtown Twisp is still torn up with construction as they renovate the sidewalks, streets and storefronts. Not a good time for bike riding or strolling around the peaceful shops. There's always next year. 

Puppy and pear

 

 

And a pretty girl in the orchard with "Yoko." 

They love her like crazy and she fits right into the farm life. But Maya said she might "never have children" because babies are too much work. So cute!

Some of my dear followers noticed that Feathers and Flowers went dark last week. Long story short, I was admitted to the hospital critical care unit for treatment of severe hypertension. 

The good news is, I'm on new medicines and everything is finally headed in the right direction. I feel much better already, and gradually getting back to my normal activities. 

Best of all, extensive testing did not reveal serious underlying conditions and the cardiologist pronounced my heart healthy. I follow up with him this week. Welcome to the senior years. 

I will spare you a long rehash here, but just want to say that John was wonderful support through the whole ordeal. Although by the third day, he was ready to take over management of that hospital. Pack your patience if you ever have to be there. 

"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love." 

Thank you, everyone. 

 

And the cat came back

 

A newly discovered design, carved in the earth in southwestern Amazon, sometime  between 600 BC and 850 AD. Yes, that's a cat, with a ton of personality, lounging around as cats often do.

And this blogger is back also...

Have a good weekend. Enjoy these precious, waning summer days. 

 

If dogs could talk

Nica: Maybe it will go away soon.

Puppy: Hey, it looks pretty cool around here!

 Amanda and "Cowboy" 

And in other news, Happy Birthday to our Amanda today. 

The house has changed and so have we, but I'm sitting right where this picture was taken back in 1981. How blessed we are.   

Welcome to the family

 

 

 

This weekend, our Carlton family adopted this adorable Chihuahua mix puppy. She came from a rescue home in Bellevue, and they brought her over last night before we went out to dinner. 

About 3 months old and downright adorable. Also healthy and spunky, and like all puppies, a great big project. But the girls are jumping right in with the training and spoiling. Lucky little dog. I'll wager she soon finds her niche with the other house pets in front of the Russian stove. 

Happy Birthday to our darling Nova today. This is the poem I wrote 17 years ago. It feels like yesterday.

"A Poem for Nova" 

That morning you arrived,
You were our bright summer star.
And I drove East to greet you,
Body, Mind, Spirit--
With a prayer for every mile.

Time passed. Road and silence.
Mountains, rocks, fields,
The occasional gift of horses grazing.
And finally, clear desert light
Above the ancient river.

Then your Mother's call, at last!
Wonder and tears
Turning a roadside nowhere into Somewhere.
Oh, you thrilled us
With your big entrance: Here I Am.

So, an old story but still a fresh miracle.
And I arrived at a new place, too.
A little hand to hold,
Precious life to cherish,
The circle complete. 

 

 

A fine line

 

I bought this book for inspiration, but it had the opposite demotivating effect when I realized she "paints" with single strand floss. 

If you know anything about embroidery, then you know that is indeed tedious and finicky. I'll stick with two-strand work and simple Aunt Martha iron on patterns.

That good old Aunt Martha brand, sold by family owned Colonial Patterns, has been around since the 1930's. I remember when these cost a quarter at the five and dime store. Now Amazon will throw one on the porch for about $6. 

Most are quick and easy, fun and relaxing, nostalgic or silly. I'm not aspiring to become an embroidery artist at this stage of the game. 

 

The plum tree is groaning with fruit (isn't that a great expression?) and a few hot days away from ripe. Hopefully can do some canning soon. Since they are visible from the sidewalk, I actually worry about people coming in the yard and stealing when we're not around.  Yes, that kind of neighborhood now.  

Blue sky and fresh air back this morning, although the smoke pollution on the east side of the state stays relentless. Our Carlton family is coming over for the weekend for a quick escape. They won't be staying here this time, but we hope to see them Sunday afternoon.

Have a good weekend.  

The pleasure of open windows

 

But not today. We've had the windows closed and both air purifiers running. Not so pleasant with temps in the 80's and no AC in the house. 

John does have a method (when I'm gone) for keeping the house cool, which involves keeping most of the upstairs blinds shut. It's depressing enough being stuck inside without stumbling around in the dark. 

We have seen much worse smoke, but my ukulele group still cancelled the Thursday outdoor meeting. I could have used some fun diversion, but cancelling was probably a good idea, since most of us are in that "sensitive" group (aka old.) You really shouldn't be singing at the top of your lungs in this air. 

Still Seattle has nothing to complain about, compared to eastern Washington where the air is absolutely horrible from the many uncontrolled fires. 

When people visit from other parts of the country, they are surprised how we can leave unscreened windows hanging wide open the summer. Insects have never been much of a problem. But who knows what climate change has up its sleeve next.  

They say tomorrow will be a better day.  

 

The cows come home

 

A blog post without photos? Who wants to read through my rambling text without even a pretty picture? What was once so easy (above) on my laptop now takes a complicated work around process. That only works sometimes. 

Anyway, delving deeper into this photo uploading problem on Google Blogger revealed a giant hodgepodge of a password mess (according to my tech support person.) This is what happens when you allow things to just evolve "organically" letting technology make decisions without any master plan. Things work fine-- until they don't. 

But as Albert Einstein said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." 

Good morning, Sunshine

 

We call this the “end of the world” sunrise. The air not as bad as it looks, but we will be under the murk for a few days. 

Having a spat with Blogger this morning so short post. 

Gentle times

 

A little photo diversion from all the bad news. 

This is a family gathering on the farm in Bucks County where our dad was born. Everyone is dressed up with cakes on the table, so maybe a special occasion like a wedding. Unfortunately, these long gone relatives are unidentified.

In the 1950's, we had family parties in that same spot in Grammy's front yard. 

They didn't have fancy outdoor furniture, so trestle tables were set up (with tablecloths) and kitchen dishes and chairs brought outside. There was good simple Pennsylvania Dutch food like ham, potato salad, pie and watermelon. 

Food in those days was always passed around in bowls and platters, never buffet style. Seconds were OK, once everyone was served, but it would have been considered rude to pile your plate high. Meals lasted a long time (kids were expected to sit and listen until excused) because people ate slowly and talked. 

My, how old I am. Another aging observation: stuff gets bigger but not necessarily better. 

"A typical 1950s dinner plate (8-9 inches) comfortably held roughly 800 calories worth of food, compared to modern 12-inch plates that can hold over 1,900 calories."

We have escaped the air pollution from the fires so far, but our luck changes mid week when they say it will turn both hot and smoky in Western Washington. Bad combination.