Category Archives: Bed Blogging

Apr 7 2012

And….Easter!

I started writing this just before Easter, glanced up, and now it is Easter.  Now I have to edit my tenses…

I completely tossed my plans (even dancing!) last night and worked on my nest, inside and out, all day long. So much was accomplished that it feels like it was an excellent use of my time. Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful day here. Warm, sunny, and light breeze. Mentally, I was four running naked in the yard…giggling, joyous, and alive. Maybe there was a lawn sprinkler, a dog, other kids. But only mentally. Blue skies and high billowing clouds. All my concerns about life were momentarily swept away. Days like this are truly a gift. It’s too early to nod and say yes, it’s another beautiful day. Right now, it’s hallelujah, it’s a beautiful day! And what can I do to enjoy it? Put a bow on this one. It was an incredible gift.

So I tackled the patio, which was more joy than tackling. Everything is spit spot and back in place for summer.  Hanging plants are hanging, wind chimes are chiming, leaf debris and cob webs are but a memory now. I trimmed back the herbs, and found my hands smelling delightfully of rosemary, sage, and thyme essential oils for hours afterwards.To smell herbs, even this brought me joy. But for me, the best moments in life have always been the little things. A smile, a touch, a sweet, soft spoken thoughtful word or phrase, a gentle breeze, a bird song…things that define the moment as special and heart-felt take my breath away.

Then indoors to prepare three loaves of banana nut bread, two batches of raspberry and blueberry scones, and two loaves of carrot cake bread for sunrise breakfast and service tomorrow morning. They are sliced, plated, and wrapped to go. I could go on for days about how much I love this church, but what makes my literary heart sing and swoon is how the works of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and yes, Star Wars are part of the message to connect ancient scripture to current works with the same story or theme.  Best. Shepherd. Ever!! I have taught these works with an overarching theme of good vs. evil to teach about life as well as story. I believe deeply in a literature-based English language arts program and learning vicariously through story and characters that introduce students to deeper truths about the world we live in.

On the writing front, the Pacific Northwest Writers Association has author interviews as podcasts on their web site. Nice! The concept is the interviewer asks three questions of the author, and then the author asks three questions of the interviewer. This is the format of the interviews except when it isn’t. I couldn’t stop listening to them. It was ear candy. Authors talked about the spirit of writing and its nuances. It is very liberating to writers who may be struggling with something like, I don’t know, outlining. I know what outlining is, have taught it, but do I faithfully do it in detail? *Cough* Look, a squirrel! Let’s just say only if I am forced to with a gun, a knife, or a ticking bomb…in close proximity. Two authors on PNWA web site said that it is important to feel your way through your story.  I almost said “amen.” A general idea of the path you intend to pursue before writing is good, like a key word or key idea outline, but in detail ad nauseum is hardly necessary. Feel your way through your story. I think I probably said “thank you” in a small, quiet voice as I listened to the podcast voice say “feel your way through your story.” I will be sashaying along now, just so you know, unencumbered by or intimidated by the lack of a fully proper outline, thank you very much, as it is a bit of okay and a whole lot of alright. What seems to work best for me anyway is working out a plot graph, deciding on chapters, naming them, and writing chapter summaries that may change. This process is working right now, which isn’t to say that it will work next time. Sometimes, it’s color pencils and blank paper to which I sketch out ideas as images and caption with text creating a visual representation, a storyboard,  of the plot. And listening to the direction that the story wants to go in is just as important as listening the process that seems to say how it wants you to work on developing the story. Writing is a funny thing. The more logical I try to make it, the more spiritual it becomes to me, which is really freeing. Sweet thing, writing.

Sep 5 2009

Yoga for Life, Eating for Health, & Sleep

Just an ordinary but satisfying Saturday. This morning, I was up early with the intent of going to yoga. I actually made it and on time without rushing at any point. Yoga was wonderful today. The Saturday yogini is beyond belief. She is a yoga goddess. Her yoga sessions are a mind, body, and spiritual experience that is non-invasive and such a beautiful expression of the art of yoga that you feel like an artist creating something amazingly original, personally interpretive/expressive, and alive that connects you with the divine. My practice is getting stronger and more meaningful as well. It’s deepening, and I love it more each day. All of me loves yoga…mind, body, and spirit. It is truly one of the most amazing discoveries of my life time, and I hope to continue in my practice for the rest of my life. It transforms, it heals, and it shows the way.

It was a rainy day here which kicks in my soup and home made bread urges. So after putting on some chicken noodle soup, I made a batch of French bread dough, seasoned the dough with Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning herbs, and garlic powder,  and after baking, brushed with melted butter, Parmesan, garlic powder, and seasoning salt mixture to seal the deal.  It was totally wonderful and savory rainy day faire. Sheyu photographed his meal before eating. So another one of my meals becomes a blog entry somewhere in China. I’m switching all recipes that call for sugar to honey. Today was the first time I made the switch with this French bread recipe this the last time I made it. I just made it an even substitution for honey instead of sugar to activate the yeast, and the yeast did just fine. The bread was very nice. I’m avoiding as much processed food as possible and aiming for whole foods each day to the extent possible. The difference is processed food is food that has been stripped of its fiber and often nutrients with only extracts remaining as the food substances which robs the body of complete nutrition. Honey is so much better for the human body than refined sugar. I rarely eat dairy, flour, sugar, or beef anymore. Today was a small exception with flour for the bread. I’ve learned over time to think about everything I eat and to eat smart, respecting my body. As a result, I don’t have cravings, I don’t binge or fad diet, and I don’t yo-yo. I’m healthy instead, and the rest is exercise and proper nutrition. Feed your body properly, and it will respond.

So I hoped in bed to bed blog, and now I’m getting really sleepy. Think I’ll say good night. Sweet dreams of wonderful things.

-Patricia

Apr 1 2009

Spring Break, Road Trip, Tatooes, Books, and Library

Hi all, and it’s the end of another day. Wow. I have been a whirlwind of activity today, ticking off the final hold outs on the to-do list before taking to the road to Vancouver, B.C.  I’ve been properly exercised and car maintenance complete, writing project due dates met, yep. Life is good. Now to other things that I enjoy.

A Spring storm is blowing away outside, and I’m tucked warmly, comfortably in bed thinking about, I don’t know,  nothing terribly complicated. The sound of the rain on the roof, perhaps, and how relaxing it is.  I have been making an effort to just relax and recharge over the past few days as school, the schedule, the rigors, and finishing National Boards has all played its own role in draining the last ounce of energy out of me and leaving me wrung out and at a  deficit.  So, my focus has been getting healthy with my time on break.  Summer vacation will soon follow.

I heart books. Books have always been there for me to enter new worlds. I was reading some pretty heady stuff before I was out of fifth grade, reading for pleasure. Things like Arthurian Legends, Treasure Island, A Thousand and One Arabian Knights, Shakespeare, the KJ version of the Bible, Huck Finn, etc. I have always enjoyed reading. In high school, it was Dune, F451, Salem’s Lot, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Asimov, and such. I was a very active-minded, adventurous kid, so reading really helped me to have amazing adventures in an otherwise trying adolescence. But this started it all. I have been an active reader at least since fifth grade. That’s when I can remember always reading after school. And library was a safe haven for me. My free time was spent in a library somewhere…school, public. I have spent my free time in libraries since my school days. I love being in libraries surrounded by books, reading, perusing. It’s the best. I can remember discovering in school that I could go the library at lunch time, which I did often to sit and read whatever my heart desired. Then in the summer, I spent many days at the public library cruising the stacks finding great things to read. During my college years, again in the library and much of it for pleasure. Now, it’s a library or a bookstore combing through books to read. Most often it’s now a bookstore as I want to keep the books I read.  So it’s safe to say that lost in a good book is where you’ll find me. Now some sleep.

G’night,

-Patricia

Mar 28 2009

Earth Hour, Twittering, Movies, and Road Trip

So today’s Earth Hour…one hour to think about mother earth and all she does for us. I think she deserves our love and attention year round. We give our moms that much, and earth mom gives us many important things, too, that collectively create a sustainable living environment for us human types.

Here in the PNW the notion goes that you leave is as good or better than you found it meaning do not deplete the land and leave it.  Respect and work with the land, air, and sea.  When land is logged here, two trees are replanted for each harvested tree.  Fish counts are monitored and seeded with fish hatchery raised salmon  to maintain healthy, viable levels of salmon.  Clamming is monitored and digging seasons are open or closed depending on abundance.  Natural resources are managed and cared for. Leave it as good or better than you found it. Please be responsible in your decisions that impact the earth.  Care for the earth and its inhabitants. There’s only one earth, and we’re all counting on it.

Today was a day of restfulness for me. My strength meter indicates a need for recharging my life source, so I eat and sleep until I feel more like myself. Today I twittered and watched two movies, Waking Ned Devine and Maid of Honor, both passing good. So now a bit of bed blogging and web surfing to end my day. Some things done today, some will wait, so mostly a leisurely pace today. It usually takes me a few days at the beginning of Spring Break to regain my strength. Then I get on with traveling, etc.

This coming week takes me to Vancouver, B.C. namely Granville Island for some time with family and getting out and about for daily  walks, visiting tea shops and book stores, having new dining experiences, and talking with the locals. Merlin will be boarding with his nice kennel caretakers who walk him several times a day, play music for him,  provide play time, and aroma therapy. It’s really a vacation for him, too.  The family I am visiting are bird people, and that’s it. They have parrots and aren’t comfortable with other animals around. I’ll be sure to blog a bit while there.

G’night,

-Patricia

Mar 22 2009

Cold, Orange Juice, Into the Wild, Parent Relationships

Getting over a nasty cold…arrgh.  I’m feeling much stronger. I have drank a half gallon of orange juice today.  That has been my nutritional subsistence for the day.  No appetite to speak of.    The river that was my nose has finally dried up, and my nose has been sufficiently chapsticked throughout the day to heal it. I’m thinking by morning, I should be right as rain.

Tonight I watched a couple of movies, and Into the Wild was one that I didn’t see when it was first out.  Don’t know why. So, I watched it tonight and am so glad I did.  The literary references alone make it a must-see.  The transcendentalist writers provide some of the main character’s quotes. But I wouldn’t recommend leaving society to live in the wilds of Alaska with zero bush experience… unless you’re going there to die. To go into the wild so unprepared…let’s just say that these are the people that search and rescue find usually during Spring thaw.  There’s so much to know about living in the wilds that never occurs to those who never have, and it could cost them their lives.  Mostly where I live, it’s mountain climbing or water rafting related accidents. But I digress.  It was a good movie for many reasons. One of the most profound themes in this movie for me was the impact of a parent/adult relationship gone bad on the child.  His dying words reveal that they, his arguing parents, created a hell on earth for him… He wanted peace, he wanted happiness, and he learned in the end that happiness is best shared.  Being single and living in a remote location, his shared happiness epiphany resonated with me.  So if you haven’t seen this movie, you should. It’s beautifully, artfully done, very touching, and offers insight on the impact we have on others in our lives.  I’m adding it to the home library.

Okay, getting sleepy. Think I’m going to say g’night.

-Patricia

Mar 14 2009

From Road Trip to Tea to Nerd Heaven

So I went on a road trip today. I stopped in my adopted hometown of Olympia, Washington  and visited a few places that make me especially happy. I did some browsing about and came home with additions to my teapot and tea cup collections.  Not only is tea a daily necessity, it’s also a hobby. I have an interesting collection of unique/lovely/unusual tea cups, which I do use by the way, and a colorful collection of teapots as well.  The tea cups in my collection are especially artistically beautiful in their design and craftsmanship. This began when I went to a high tea once many years ago and all of the tea cups were unique. It made an enjoyable moment even better and more interesting.  Teapot collecting goes back even further. I still have my first teapot that served up breakfast tea for twenty something years. I’ve since turned the page and started a new chapter in my book of life but collecting continues.

After the teapot/tea cup collecting adventure, I started home and needed to sleep very badly. So I pulled over in Portland, Oregon, took a nap, and then finished the last part of my road trip home. The nice thing about having a Jeep Grand Cherokee besides the 4X is being able to stop, crawl in the back, grab a blanket, and nap as needed.

I have been in pj’s since arriving home and want to simply relax for the rest of the day.  So I took my little Macbook, a good book to read, and me to bed where I am enjoying the remainder of the evening. Sometimes I need to just unwind. let go. relax.

-Patricia

Feb 12 2009

Long Day, Valentine's Day, a Real Meal, and Rockin' the Bob

Day is done. Longer day than I expected, but sometimes friends need help.  Glad to provide a little assistance.  A friend of mine is just beginning the National Board journey and needed some help reading her essay for the application and such.  No problem. People have read so much of my writing going through this process, I’m thrilled to read for someone else. I’m almost done, and now that I can see the end in sight and not freaking out about finishing in time, I’m enjoying it. But…I will be glad to finish.  There are other writing projects that I want to put more time into…namely my own writing.

So tomorrow is Friday and the last working day of the week.  My students will be writing poems with Valentine’s Day candy hearts with curt, little expressions on them simply for fun…to enjoy writing…as it should be…for pleasure, for fun, for amusement, to scratch your creative itch, to tickle your muse.

I’m rockin’ the new haircut with fabulous, edgy product included.  Nothing perks up the girrrl in me like a good cut and new hair product. Just to say….

So dinner at my house tomorrow night will be special because it needs to be.  It’s been a while, and I do love a good home-cooked meal.  I’m thinking chicken tikka masala or  do some country cookin’.  Hmmm….yeah, I think the country cookin’ just won out.  It was the home-made biscuits.  They have the most electoral votes when deciding what’s for dinner.  Usually, what’s for dinner isn’t such a big question, but since I haven’t had a dinner the entire week, it’s pretty special at this point.   So I love to cook, am great I’m told, but I’m not in the kitchen all the time. Just enough to enjoy it.

Here’s wishing you a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  May people be kind to you. I’m beginning to fall asleep and feel blessed to be happy and content.

G’night.

-Patricia

Feb 6 2009

Coraline *spoiler alert*, Rotten Cold Progress, Bed Blogging

Tonight was my night to see Coraline. I along with an extremely bright thirteen year old girl who is also a student of mine went to dinner and then the movie. Dinner was a Mongolian Grill and the movie, well, amazing!! The animation is over the moon. The garden scene is a garden of delights with flowers that light up, and I have always loved Bleeding Heart which are the heart-shaped flowers that light up. Coraline is the cutest animated character I have ever seen. That blue hair, shirt with stars, striped leggings, and galloshes. What a cutie! There were so many things that I enjoyed about this film. One was a personal connection. I come from a family of “interesting people” with “unusual talents.” One person in my family in the past was a water witch or dowser. They taught the next generation how to dowse and so on. This is done with a willow branch which naturally seeks out water. A forked branch is held with wrists facing up which allows for greater sensitivity to the willow branch’s tugging and bending toward the earth for water. In the right hands, it works. In Coraline, the little darling went dowsing for water with a poison oak branch!~ The poor dear! She ended up with a rash on her palm. This bit was especially interesting for me personally because it reminded me of my dad and grandma. But enough of witchery…such things are mostly best left unsaid. The themes that I felt were especially powerful in Coraline was the grass is greener and love your parents as they are. Her character arc undergoes tremendous growth over the course of the film, and she emerges as a young girl who has learned some of the bigger lessons in life. She ends with loving her parents for who they are and not who she wants them to be, that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere…it may be an illusion to make you think it is…so be careful…and being more concerned about others than yourself are important character traits to have. My thirteen year old movie companion this evening thought the theme of loving your parents for who they are is a very important theme in the movie, that other kids could benefit from learning from the dynamic growth of Coraline. Kids reach a certain age and begin to see their parents as people which can be a little to a lot disappointing for them. Then it demonstrates the dangers in thinking that the grass is greener elsewhere. The other mother simply projected what Coraline wanted to see in a mother and father to lure her into her web with the intent of deceiving her and stealing her soul. Coraline is a smart one. She enjoys the other mother’s treats but is wary of her with just cause. The minute other mother doesn’t get what she wants, the grass is no longer greener, but dead, and Coraline is on the run. But Coraline’s concern for the children who have not faired so well against the evil other mother is evident when she chooses to help them. She becomes a she-ra of epic proportions. You go, grrrl. Rockin’ that blue hair. There’s so much to love about this story, about this movie. Thanks to all for their vision and commitment to excellence.

Rotten cold became rotten bronchitis and paid the good doctor a visit this morning. She put me on antibiotics, and I’m feeling stronger already. Guess I made the nurse’s day with a lower than normal body temp which is typical for me when I get sick (Mine goes down, not up) and a blood pressure she couldn’t find at first!! Pretty sedate…

Bed blogging is one of my favorite things to do. I snuggle into my very comfy down everything bed with my little Macbook, turn the fan on for a slight breeze, and enjoy writing, reading, and relaxing. I can play games like weboggle, blog, Twitter, Facebook for family and friends, listen to music especially as I write, and read up on pretty much anything. Thanks to a wireless home network that I set up, it’s much less complicated to bed blog. I recently installed a wireless printer, too, which means I can surf in bed and print to the writing nook. A wireless router is very simple to install and manage. And there you have it…a bird’s eye view of my nerdyness all in one easy to read paragraph.

I need to wait to have a total “2 a.m. in the morning nerdfest” for another night. Now, your gracious blogging hostess needs to do my best to get well which means lots of rest, taking my meds, and drinking lots of water. I don’t need to drag out this being sick thing as I’m not real patient with just laying around being sick waiting to get well. So, let’s get on with it and get over it. I’ve so much to do.

So good night to you, fair reader. May your dreams be sweet and joyous and your slumber be golden.

G’night and blessings from above,

-Patricia