Gravity, and Other Obstacles

Yes, gravity still works.  Entirely too well.  Just ask the skin between my right eyebrow and my right eye, and the hamstring muscle on my right leg.  Seems the shoes I wore for my exercise walk Friday night were the wrong shoes to wear.  Not enough traction on the soles.  (Strangely enough, I changed them because my "good" shoes are now completely worn out.  Heel counters have rubbed through inside, can cause blisters, soles almost worn through in spots.)

I was walking along, had slowed down a little, because I had to go out into the street to avoid a very muddy patch on the sidewalk and to get ready to cross the street, and my right heel just slipped right out from under me.  I guess I tried to soften the landing instinctively, but it happened VERY fast.  I broke the screen on my phone, too.  The scariest injury was a cut to the soft tissue between my right eyebrow and the eye.  It was where my sunglasses contacted the curb, because I couldn't stop the fall fast enough.  The right hamstring on my thigh area is VERY bruised, probably because it landed on my left foot, which was bent under me, my left knee having taken some weight, as well.  Nothing on the left side hurts, though.  The heel of my left hand and the palm have some small bruises, but nothing painful.  I think the only reason I hit my face was because I didn't have enough time for the right hand (holding my phone because NO POCKETS) to fully reach for the curb.  I instinctively tried to get to the grass by the curb to soften the landing for hands, etc. Didn't make it.  (Shoulda tossed the phone toward the grass.  It would've been fine.)

So, now, on top of a budget that is stretched tight because we have new siding on the house, I had to shell out $30 co-pay at the ER (superglued the eyebrow.)  and $99 deductible for new phone.  At least we also got the phone bill reduced while we were at the Verizon store to find out how to get a claim submitted. That'll help the budget!  Got a line on a further possible discount, as well.  Love my Verizon store peeps!

The leg is a bit less sore every day.  It, and my eye, are more colorful every day.  I have to go and ice the bruises now.  This is SO much fun. 

bruise on the right thigh.

eye after glue

Left Knee

I have also gained weight because I can't exercise, though I don't see how, since I haven't eaten a whole lot, either...

Up about 3 lbs since Thursday.  Grrrrr.
Probably water.  Trying to stay hydrated so bruising will heal more efficiently.

So, yes, gravity works, and somehow, budget obstacles get worked out," and all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well..."

Also, I have the joy of knowing that a lot of people care about me!  Neighbors stopped to check on me before Matt came to pick me up.  (Right leg felt like it was made of foam rubber right after the fall, so I called Matt to come get me.)  All my coworkers and friends have sent well wishes, and well, I just know that I am loved and cared for,  Always a major silver lining to any mishap. 
I am indeed blessed.

Life Is Too Much With Us...

There never seems to be time to do the things I WANT to do.  Or THINK I want to do.  I end up reading in my "spare" time, or staring at social media. 
Don't get me wrong, I love to read, and I have learned many odd and useful things from books, and I have "met" many interesting and informative people on social media. 
There are things I would like to do, like writing, that don't get done, though.
The housework mostly gets done, my exercise gets done, but the writing... well...
Usually there is just the feeling that there isn't anything worthwhile to say.  Some days, life is just routine and rather drab.  There are small things, though, that shine brightly and ought to be savored in those days. 
Laughing with my husband, seeing a child's face light up at the library when they check out a book they love, laughing with my coworkers, secretly doing some small thing to make some one's day better, enjoying a really good meal, seeing the garden sparkle in the sunlight after a summer shower, birds singing, children laughing and playing in the sun, listening to music that makes me want to move, enjoying the fact that at my age I am still strong and healthy.
All good gifts, and all very much appreciated. 

The thoughtful turn of phrase just doesn't always come along these days.  There will be times when words will hound me until I get them on the page,and then there are the silent times, or the times when things are just whirling too fast to get from my brain to the page.  Also, writing is fun for me, not a job.  My actual job is a job, but also something of a holy calling.  Libraries, and the free access to information that they stand for, are very close to my heart.  Always have been.  I went into teaching because literacy is important to me.  Learning to read opens SO many doors.  The realities of life in the public schools were just TOO much stress for me.  I knew I'd burn out if I did it full time.  Even now, in a job I really love, and can handle well, I only work half time.  I am grateful for a husband who earns a good enough living that I can afford to do that.  Stress and I do NOT combine well.  I stop sleeping, and well, that way lies danger, Will Robinson! 

The things that are happening in the world today have me more worried about the future than I was even during the height of the Cold War.  (For those of you too young to remember it, many of us grew up with the thought in the back of our minds that certain annihilation was just around the corner in the form of a nuclear war.)  I was actually in Germany when the Wall fell.  It was a surreal moment.  Driving in to the base (Rhein-Main Air Base) and hearing on the radio that the Berlin Wall was coming down.  Then the upheaval in the Soviet Union.  Russia no longer the great big boogie man that it was.  (Though it's still a threat, make no mistake, if they want to, they can hurt us.)
Just that then there was pretty much a single threat.  (A HUGE one, but only one.)  Today, there are a thousand little threats that are all adding up against the peace and stability of our world.  Too many injustices, too much hate, too many extreme ideas, and too many selfish agendas with no compromise. 
In the face of all that, all any of us can really do is keep plugging away, making our little patch of the world brighter, more loving, more peaceful, more accepting of the different ones, and keep praying that it makes a difference when you add it all up.

So much for my rambling brain this evening.  Hope you haven't been bored out of your skull.  Thanks for reading!

Some Bits and Pieces While I Wait for Stories to Upload...

Life is quite hectic right now.  Summer Reading is in full swing at the library, which means we are busy, and my shifts, especially when on the Customer Service Desk, are often very hectic. 
We are getting new siding put on the house.  This was supposed to not happen until August, but the contractor had an opening pop up, so they plan to start next week.  Re-arranging budget allocations and cutting expenses so we can pay for it is very hectic.  It shall be done, but there will be sacrifices.  (I'll stop having my hair dyed at the salon, we'll give up our diet soda, stuff like that to keep some breathing room in the budget.)

Often I have planned to write something for this blog lately, only to find myself far too tired physically and emotionally to even begin to write.  So I sit and vegetate, or read, usually a fanfiction story, nothing substantial.  Brain can't handle that after a day of work in Summer.

There have been upsides.  I have learned to make a few new cocktails because the search for something to unwind me after work prompts me to take up my bar guide and experiment.
(Only once in a while.  Can't overdo things.  All things in Moderation.  Including Moderation.)

The fitness quest has been going very well.  I have gotten back below 140 pounds, in fact, I was down to 136.4 one day.  This and being able to walk farther and faster is helping keep me in a positive frame of mind.  The last two days, I have done a 3.2 mile walk in 44 minutes. That's a pretty good walking pace for a 55 year old lady who used to take 25 minutes to walk 3/4 of a mile!

There hasn't been a lot of poetry happening that I feel is finished or good enough to share lately.  Head's a big jumble right now, and the poetry reflects this.
Part of the jumble-ness is because we have lost a few really good people from work lately.  Our branch manager left for a great opportunity, my immediate boss has left, also for a good opportunity, but at least still in our library system, and one of my "library kids" is going to get a promotion and move to another branch.  Proud of her, extremely so, but sad for me because I'm gonna miss her.  I can handle change after all these years in library land, but not having people there day to day who made my job a joy is going to be difficult.  At least I'll still have Molly, Grace, Darrin and of course, Julie.  Wouldn't know what to do with myself without Jules.  She trained me, she's a good friend, and she keeps us all hopping.  She is also "Julie all-knowing and all-wise."  There's nothing about running Circulation that she doesn't know.

I have to call my Mom, and I keep forgetting to do so during the hours she would actually be able to spend a few minutes talking.  She's in the same time zone, but I have to work around her meal and sleep schedule, and my own commitments here.  I'm a bad daughter.  (But hey, I called her every single day for years, and I called her from Germany whenever I could.  I  also lived at home until I was 24, so Mom and I have had LOTS of together time during my life.  And I had her all to myself for most of my childhood.  The other kids were a lot older when I came along. )

There were three stories I was going to read tonight, but the second one was so long, and it still isn't done processing, so I only recorded two.  I'll be posting links to them in a separate blog post in few minutes.

We have a couple of fun things scheduled this weekend.  Matt and I are going to SoonerCon on Saturday.  It's a local fan-run convention and is being held in MidWest City this year.  We're going to watch the screening of Star Trek Continues, and hope to see one of our Twitter correspondents while we are there.  I also hope to score some more lanyard flair.  We'll see.
Sunday we are going with friends to see Inside Out at the Moore Warren.  We have  balcony seats.  It's gonna be WONDERFUL.  The Warren always is.  Love that we have such a great theater right here in Moore.  I can see it across the highway from the library parking lot when I go out to get the last bookdrop load on Thursday nights.  A sparkling, neon- trimmed oasis in the twilight gloom.

Must go.  The second video I recorded is almost done processing.  Will be ready by the time I get that post ready to link. 
Sorry for the dearth of good observations or poems, or wit lately.  I'll try harder.  No promises, though, it IS Summer Reading season!

A Little Library Tour in Two Parts

Just for my friends far away:  I made a couple of short videos at work tonight, so you can see where I work.  Sorry they were a bit noisy for having been made in a library, but Zumba class was underway, and also we had an unhappy kiddo in the Children's area at the time.

Here's the lobby, by the meeting rooms, and coming into the library:

Coming In To The Library Through the Lobby


There is also a little video to show you how our automated book drop works, even though we were pretty caught up tonight and didn't have many books to put through it.  Also shows the Circulation work area where I work when I am not out at the Customer Service Desk.

Automated book return and Circulation Work Area

I hope you enjoyed the little peek at the library where I work.  I really love my library.  It's a fun place to be, a happy place.  I hope your library is a fun and happy place to be, too.

Just Playing With Words

Rain
CKArmistead
May 2015

It fell first in drops,
Then in streaks,
Then sheets,
Then torrents,
And then a continuous
Deluge,
As if someone were
Spraying the world
With a giant fire hose.
I wish it would stop,
For the ground is squishy,
The plants are looking sickly,
There are mosquitoes everywhere,
Though for years we prayed for rain,
It occurs to me that
There CAN be too much
Of a good thing.

Rambling Thoughts
June 2015

I may wish I still looked young
But I know I don't.
So I leave my photos alone.
I put that saggy neck and those crepe-y arms out there
For the world to see.
Soon, I'll let my hair go gray
And find out how that will be.
On the inside
I am still the geeky fangirl
I was in my teens.
Maybe a bit more mature,
But still silly sometimes.
The older I get
The more I learn
That what's on the outside
Isn't who I am,
Except for the sparkle in my eye,
The dimples in my smile,
Put there by the brightness
In my heart.
Part of me has always felt older than my years
I feel like the rest of me is finally catching up.
There are times I feel I've heard an ancient song
Playing down the years
That nobody around me hears.
Places in my heart that bagpipes speak to,
When I've never been to Scotland,
Visions of mountains and lochs
That my eyes have never seen.
Fiddle tunes and banjo pickings
That stir my heart and set my feet to tapping.
When I have spent little time
In those places that my family lived
In this country.
Transplanted to California,
When the family was all from the South,
And the Appalachians.
Still, mariachis and flamenco guitar
Make me happy
Because they are the sounds I heard often
In my environment in my youth.
As well as Gospel songs,
Motown music,
And playground clapping chants.
Life has been so rich, so full of laughter, music, and friends
I've had the love of a good man
For many years now
We've seen good times and bad,
Been separated by thousands of miles
But still close
In our hearts. 
He's taught me to trust myself
Taken me to live in a foreign land
Vexed me something awful,
Made me laugh,
And loved me even when I was being completely unlovable.
Wherever my mind rambles,
It always wanders back to him.
My knight in smelly flightsuit,
My loadmaster,
My Matthew.

Summer
June 2015

Sticky, mosquito laden air
Makes me glad I cut off my hair
Busy, child filled library days
Make me glad I keep in shape
But the sun is so very welcome
After all the rain
Calm weather
After all the storms of May
In Oklahoma,
We are always glad to see the end of May
Too many sad anniversary days
Come around in May.
June is usually hot and dry
And that  is a blessing this year
That we are thankful for.

Poetry Has Happened Again...

Stubborn Love

By C.K. Armistead

May 2015

And what am I

That thou shouldst

Love me?

What worth hast

Thou seen

That none other can?

Why do you forgive my faults

When I insist

On counting them,

Wearing their number

Like a badge of

Dishonor

Proving that I

Am worthless?

Why dost thou love?

And with such persistence!

I know myself to be

Unworthy.

But oh, I treasure

That love of thine.

Hoarding

By C.K. Armistead

May 2015

And so I put

The three small pieces

Of chocolate

Back into the bag.

Extra saved for

Another day.

Instead of a splurge

For today.

I never wanted to become

This careful person,

This hoarder of today’s

Good things

Against tomorrow’s scarcity.

For there’s no guarantee

Of tomorrow.

And when did I become

This way

With my love?

Hoarding the one thing

That grows

If you give it away?

All I have done

Is impoverish my todays.

And my joys,

I try to hoard those

As well.

But joy unshared

Festers in storage

And begins to reek.

My solitary nature

Is averse to all

The good things I seek.

Amber

By C.K. Armistead

May 2015

O frozen blood

Of ancient tree,

Held in the thrall

Of time for me

The fire trapped

In thy soft stone

A future mapped,

Retold by a crone

In thy occluded heart

Memories of the past

Are safely caught

And held fast

O frozen tears

Of Earth's lost art,

Even after thousands of years,

Your beauty warms my heart.

I  have felt like I'm just marking time lately.  The arrival of finished poems on the page helps.  The fact that I have actually accomplished some things I set out to do today helps.  It is indeed a good thing that life comes to us one day at a time.  I must remember that when I get overwhelmed by what I must do, must deal with.  

Thursday Night At The Library is over for another week, and tomorrow's FRIDAY!!!  

Life is indeed good. 

Greetings From the Tornado/Flood/Earthquake/Loose Wild Animals State...

To say that this has been QUITE an evening in Oklahoma is an understatement. 
Since about 3pm, when I returned from my shift at the library, we have been in the midst of an ongoing weather circus of the bizarre. 

First, a very slow-moving, undecided tornadic storm that EVENTUALLY produced several tornadoes.  Thankfully none were as huge and voracious as the May 3, 1999 tornadoes that this storm was compared to, but they were bad enough.

I got the "tornado closet" set up early.  It's really just our master bedroom closet, but it's the place with the most walls around it in this house.  (No, we don't have a certified shelter.  We have too many other expenses right now for that. Someday.  When we get some things paid off...)
I clean out some of the things that normally live in the closet, and put folded blankets down on the floor to sit on.  I make sure the small electronics, their chargers, and the hand-crank emergency radio are in there.  Also flashlights, medications, and our bicycle helmets.

This time, for the last round of tornado warnings, I had my hydration bottle with a margarita mixed up in it.  (Thanks for a great suggestion, Michael Ornstein.  It made the claustrophobia LOTS easier to get over!)  We keep a VERY close eye on the television coverage and the radar scans.  Tornado warnings are given for the whole county, and quite often, the storm in question has already gone south and east of our location by the time the warnings are given.  (For which circumstance may God be praised, and may our good fortune continue!) 

During all these multiple tornado- producing storms, we received a record amount of rainfall.  This caused flooding in many areas, including many roads in Moore.  Far as I know, our neighborhood is OK, but I have wisely chosen not to leave the house.  There was also a small earthquake reported tonight.  If that wasn't enough fun, the animals at a small wildlife park west of the metro got loose in the storm.  (Lions, tigers, bobcats, and BEARS!  Oh, my!)  The animals were quickly rounded up and safely returned to their enclosures.  But still.  Wow.  All on the same night in central Oklahoma.
That's just more "fun" than one state ought to be allowed to have!

Our poor little French drain pump is working overtime.  Glad the power stayed on, or we'd have a permanent lake in the back yard!  I just hope my plants survive.  Poor babies didn't need quite so much water!  Most are well drained, but some may have an issue.  Especially some of the "drought tolerant" roses...
Good thing we gave choir rehearsal a pass tonight.  There was a tornado that crossed the highway we'd have been on at about the time we'd have been on it.  NOT a good thing! 

Through all of this, social media has been very useful, both to keep track of the weather and our friends, and to keep us from going nuts.  Being able to share jokes and information with friends is a wonderful relief in the midst of so much angst.
So, now I am going to head for bed and hope and pray that the weather shuts the hell up so we can sleep.  Thanks to all my friends for being there and for keeping us laughing!  We love you all!!
Here's hoping there are no storms tomorrow.  Tomorrow is #ThursdayNightAtTheLibrary ! I have to be there from 12:30 to 9pm!  Please, God, no more storms.  We've had enough fun for this season.