Tag: human interest

  • Listen to the birds!

    Often I sit and listen to the sounds around me.

    Sometimes it's an F-15 or 2, more often it's one of the many airplanes taking off from PDX, the traffic I hear from I-5 and Marine Drive, or the water critters and pets that live here.

     

    None of this is bothersome to me as I love the sounds of cities.

    But every once in a while it's just the birds in this tree. And for whatever reason, the other sounds are not in the background at all!

    Listen to my birds with me in the video below.

     

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you.

  • Awesome Late Summer Morning

    Woke up very early and this was my gift for getting up!  It was awesome.

    Spectacular sunrise – complete with a plane taking off from PDX. [see video]

    I don't think I've ever before seen a sky that looked like this.

     

     

    The morning sky in Portland is like no other place I've lived!  Love it!

    [Well except when it's cloudy and rainy and yukky – but then I dont get up and take pictures;(]

     

    Comments? Thank you.

  • Finally – Shoes I love To Wear

    5fingers and nasturtiums

    Vibram fivefingers with nasturtiums

     

    I love my fivefingers! A shoe that I am not in a hurry to take off when I get home.

     

    I don't rave about shoes but I love them so much I even wrote a review for REI [where I bought them.]

    Shoe shopping and I have a love/hate relationship. I know I need shoes but the process of getting them is no fun so I do it as infrequently as is possible.

    My feet are not made like the manufacturers think all women's feet should be made and I've learned to buy men's shoes –  but that only works for sandals and running shoes. When I need to get "dressed up" I am stuck with uncomfortable shoes.

    I tried on a pair of the fivefinfgers late last year but waited until REI had it's member's get 20% off sale to buy them. Also wasn't sure how they would manage winter.

    Anyway – they are comfy and not too many people think they are odd [but I do live in Portland where one motto is: Keep Portland Weird.]

    If you don't go barefoot a lot of the time, these may take some getting used to. But if you do yoga and have learned to separate your toes [like you did as a kid] then these will not feel odd.

    They are much the same a walking barefoot and you feel the gravel and rocks underfoot but they don't puncture the shoe or your foot. I'm going to wear them for a run and a bike ride this week and am tempted to wear them to the next event for which I need to get "dressed up."

    And for next winter I shall get a pair that are a bit heavier and also some finger socks!

    **********

    For those who like shoes without flowers, here is another picture

    fivefingers

     

    Comments?  Questions?

  • Are You a Non-linear in a Linear World?

    Do you, like this child, march to your own drum?

    Are you often seen as a square peg in a round hole?

    Are you thinking of yourself as ADD or ADHD?

    STOP! Think again!

    It may just be that you have a non-linear mind!!

    If you find yourself asking asking ”What is a non-linear mind?” – you are probably in that super majority of people who have a linear mind.

    And if you are linear – you may not really understand what it is like to not be one of the linear minded people.

    But – that small percent of us who are non-linear minded do “get it.”

    We non-linears even understand that you “do not get it.”

    What is a non-linear mind? It’s a mind that is constantly in motion – scanning, thinking, creating, jumping from point <a> to point <h> without seeming to pass through points b to g.

    [We non-linear people could, at some later time, fill you in on the b through g parts – we just don’t see a need to include it in the conversation.]

    Conversations between two or more non-linear minded people may sound bizarre to the linear minded. The talking may seem confused, disconnected and on several topics at the same time and many or all may be speaking simultaneously. Yet the non-linear people having the conversation understand each other very well.

    Why are some of us non-linear? It’s probably genetic but, like most development, it can be influenced by one’s environment. Because we live in a linear society we are more often exposed to that type of thought. And in our culture – we also have a notion that children who display the above listed non-linear qualities are ADD/ADHD.

    And so our parents and teachers behave toward us in ways they think are best and try to get us to act like “everyone else” and to not be so “unfocused.” Or if you are a non-linear child, you may just get medicated.

    Other aspects of being non-linear are that we can get lost in books and the Internet as it is ALL so interesting. We may not finish all our projects because something more interesting comes along and we may not follow a secure career path or have a major interest in retirement funds and pensions.

    Some, usually the linear-minded, see the above as negative aspects of non-linearity. But the world is changing and is beginning to function in a more non-linear fashion.  We are beginning to recognize major brain/thought differences and we are no longer so quick to label one type of thinking as “good” and another as “not-so-good.”

    We each encompass linear and non-linear aspects – and the non-linear creativity and entrepreneurship in all of us should be encouraged!  Especially in children!

    Let your non-linear mind be free!
    Go – be creative – the world is waiting for YOUR non-linearity!

    Thoughts?  Comments?  Thank you.

  • Rocking the dock!

    karaoke from hell

    My friend and neighbor threw a 60th birthday bash for her hubby and the neighborhood was invited – plus many of their friends and family.

    Karaoke From Hell played for 6 [or more hours] while we sang, danced, drank, ate and had fun – way late into the evening…

    And in case you are wondering: No – we never fall in the river – though we would have gone swimming if the water were not so cold.

    The band set up on one deck and the food, liquids, chairs and tables were set up across what we call our lagoon or backyard and our partying started even before band had set up!!.

    [The moorage was very strangely quiet on Sunday.]

     

    We have frequent potlucks and parties in the neighborhood but this bash outdid all of those and will go down in the annals of Bridgeton.

    Enjoy the movie:  see my neighbors, friends and moorage and rock to the music!

    PS – my house is seen at about 1:14

    Comments? Thank you.

  • Happy Birthday to My Son

    newborn

    33 years ago, at 3:55AM in Boston Massachusetts, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy!

    About 20 years ago, when he was a new teenager, we went to see City Slickers.

    There is a scene where Billy Crystal is awoken at 5:16AM by his mother who reminisces about his birth.

    "Oh no" said my son, "I can see it now" ;)

    Well – I never did start the reminiscing calls because for one thing – 3:55AM and I have been strangers in those 33 years. And I never could find the clip on YouTube.

    Then last year my son gave me a good suggestion and I got the video from the library and filmed it on my TV.

    So kid – pardon the lines running through the video clip – but here it is:

    Mommy's birthday call:

    Happy Birthday Honey!

    Thoughts on birthdays?

    Please comment below and thank you.

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