The Blog: Spellbound by our own imperfect lives...

This is our big Golden Doodle, Gus. There is nothing he likes better than a walk in a place where he can be off the leash to run and chase sticks or his ball. He's good about sticking close to Regis and coming back when he's called. Gus and Regis went for a walk by the hospital the other evening. It was getting dark and cool so Regis was surprised to see a gentleman standing out in a field, hands in pockets. Assuming he was a bird watcher, Regis was ready to move on...but not Gus. Gus ran out into the field and made a few circles around the man, ignoring Regis's calls to return. He sat down in front of the man and watched his face. Regis finally trudged out to see why Gus was ignoring him. The man said he had gone out for a walk but was lost. He admitted to not knowing where he was and he couldn't name the place where he lived. Regis suggested that he and Gus would take him in the truck and find his home. When they got to the truck, Regis named a few of the ...

After a dark winter, my mood has lifted. Thanks to a little sunshine and a little chemical help from my doctor, I am awake...finally. One of the happy side effects of that is I am more interested in righting the ship of state, our house. I can see a pile of stuff and have some ideas about how to sort and organize and put away. For a while, that was beyond me. So, I started the ritual of packing away winter sweaters, coats, mittens, and boots and bring up from the basement the sandals, t-shirts, skirts, and summer pajamas. A guy just can't wear fleece leopard print pajamas in July, you know. I tend to put things on the list and then I avoid the list, or perpetually move some items to the bottom. Making copies of some family papers and sending them out seemed like such a simple thing to offer to do. Why do I keep procrastinating? Most of these jobs, once started, are not nearly as bad as they appeared. In the last few weeks, I have cleaned out the refrigerator, taken five box...

I haven't written on my blog for almost two months. I have thought about why that is and there are a couple of reasons. For a while, I got concerned about the opinions of other people about what I write. That was short-lived. Not a reason anymore. I got in the habit of using my blog to document my daily life. That got oppressive because I felt like I had to have pictures and I had to keep up so it was current. Once you get behind, it's punishing to try and catch up. Like cleaning your house. I'm giving up on that notion. I'm going back to using my blog as a place to write my observations about my life rather than what I did today. I quit using my the big computer in my office and started using the iPad more. I hate typing anything longer than a few sentences so I avoided my blog. What happened to five fingers on the home keys? That works so much better for me. I've developed the game habit again...sitting in the chair playing Scrabble (some minor brain activ...