Things I Like Thursday – The Mom’s National Park Passport Book

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

As I was cleaning out The Mom’s apartment after she passed, I found lots of things that warmed my heart, made me laugh and made me cry.  But one of the most special things I came across was her National Parks passport book.  She loved the National Parks and visited as many as she could, usually with organized tours. 

Flipping through the pages, seeing all the stamps that represented trips and locations that she got to see, it just made me so damn happy.  I brought it back across country in my purse and now it lives in a box of precious items to be grabbed in case of evacuation (living in Cali, you need a designated box or two in case of earthquake, fire, flood).

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Lessons in Grief, Part 1

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve written. 

My mother passed away March 6. 

Grief keeps its own schedule:

Not showing up when expected, like when I ordered the date to be carved into the headstone she shares with my grandparents.

Visiting at odd times, like when I tried to deal with a check written in her name.

But always at one o’clock on Saturdays, the time I used to call her every week.

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Things I Like Thursday – 2 Word Game Apps

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I’m not a competitive person.  When I play a game, it’s usually for my own enjoyment and personal best.  I don’t pay much attention to metrics like scores or the time it takes to finish or solve.  I have Spider Solitaire and Mahjong  on my phone and they’re my go to’s when I’m watching tv – they don’t take much attention and I can keep track of the plot as I listen.

I have two word games I play, though, that need undivided attention.  One is new and one I’ve been playing for a while.

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Faces of Ukraine and Russia

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I used to watch a sub-titled South Korean soap opera in the 80’s, that encompassed several generations of families, including Western influenced young adults.  And though the characters were fictional, I had experienced the lives of people half way around the world who, when North Korea started rattling their sabers, I could reference.  I may not have known specific South Koreans, but I knew some of their stories and how they lived and so they were not faceless unfortunates spotlighted for three minutes on the evening news.  They were people just like me, trying to live their lives in peace.

I’m having a similar, but much more authentic, experience now with Heygo.com.  I’ve mentioned Heygo, the virtual travel site, before.  I’ve taken tours with Olga Dudakova in Kyiv and Anna Levina in St. Petersburg and though they are not friends in the tradition sense, they are the people I immediately thought about as night after night of the evening news showed Russian troops gathering on the borders of Ukraine.

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Chick Flicks for Valentine’s Day

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For years, The Husband and I had a movie for every holiday (The Quiet Man for St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day for the Fourth of July, etc.), which we seem to have let fall by the wayside in the last few years.  But our Valentine’s movie was always Roxanne, Steve Martin’s take on Cyrano de Bergerac. It will always have my heart because it’s funny and smart and, ya know, Steve Martin.

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Things I Like Thursday – Royal Valentine by Jenn McKinlay

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Thank goodness you don’t need a working knowledge of Jane Austen to enjoy this fun novella.  I’m not big on Austen or the Brontes but I do love Jenn McKinlay, author of some of my fave cozy mystery series (Cupcake Bakery and Library Lovers), plus Paris is Always a Good Idea, first of a romance duology. 

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Slowing Down – But Not in a Bad Way

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The Husband and I are trying to get consistent in our nightly walking.  We tend to go in spurts, being Good Doobies for months, then getting waylaid by rain or Santa Ana’s (wind conditions) or cold (yes, it goes into the 40’s in So Cal) (and yes, we’re weather wimps).  We also do various floor and strength exercises because we want to keep active and healthy for as long as we can.  It’s probably more important now than ever.

I also go through my meditation phases.  When the least little thing sets me off like a rocket and I’m constantly tense, I know it’s time to light a candle, sit cross legged on the floor and get myself quiet.  I think meditation is highly individualized and we should find our own method to give ourselves the peace we need.

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