What Now? - 7/25/07

Well what now? In the best of all possible worlds Harry Potter would just continue on and on for as long as I wanted to keep reading about his exploits. Maybe until we got to "Harry Potter and the Social Security Administration" or "Harry Potter and the Deathly Dentures". Alas, that is not the case and now I can either start all over again or move on to something else. I could go back to "2012 the Return of Quetzalcoatl". I could open the box that came from Amazon today and read "13 Moons" or watch "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell. There must be a dozen partially read books strewn all over my house I could pick up and finish. The point is, I have entertainment resources available. I just may have to wait for a few stray curses to wear off from the last battles before I start something else.

I ordered Joseph Campbell's series on myth to help me better understand some dreams I had recently on cannibalism. It didn't feel uncomfortable in the dreams (yes there was more than one), but thinking about dreaming about cooking human bodies made me uncomfortable. It was suggested to me by my acupuncturist that I watch Campbell's series because he talks about cannibalism as being an archetype for communion or the Eucharist. I'll let you know where this particular thought pathway takes me.

Finished! - 7/24/07

I finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at 10:45 p.m. My muggle-born husband pried the secrets out of me, but no one else shall.

Expelliarmus!

Only 100 Pages Left - 7/24/07

This is my predicament tonight. I only have 100 pages left in "The Deathly Hallows". Do I read until I'm done, or do I stop now and finish it tomorrow? I can hear my daughter saying "finish it already....its' my turn" but there is a part of me that wants to savor this last book. I'm already planning on buying myself the whole set to have and re-read at my leisure, but unfolding this story for the first time is special. Of course I have chores to do tomorrow so perhaps I should just finish it tonight. Oh, what to do, what to do?

OK, you talked me into it....I'm off to finish the book!

A Reader's Block? - 7/22/07

I received my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" yesterday. I'm hoping that reading it will cure my sudden inability to sit with a book for hours and hours. I've noticed that I can't keep my attention focused on what I'm reading for more than a few minutes before I remember something else that I need to do, or be, or think about. A few days ago I literally forced myself to read a chapter in a book that I really want to read. That's no fun. I don't understand what dynamic is at work here, but hope its a passing one.

Today I just want to enter the magical world again. I wonder what effects will show up in our consensual reality from so many millions of people of all ages reading the same thing at the same time. Perhaps there will be a dragon or a broomstick sighting over London.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Here Kitty Kitty - 7/21/07

This is my other new grandcat Dinah (sister to Harley). She was the runt of the litter. Isn't she cute?

The Eye Test - 7/14/07

I took my Mother to see the eye specialist yesterday. She's been complaining over the last 6 months or so that her vision has gotten much worse. It turns out, she was right. She has 5 things working against her eye sight at the present time:

1. She has large, benign pituitary tumors in her brain that have pressed on her optic nerve in the past causing it to partially atrophy. She had some of the tumor removed in 1996, but what had to remain has grown back. These may be pressing on the nerve again.

2. She has minor age related macular degeneration.

3. She has cataracts in both eyes. Not just regular cataracts but what they call powdery which are more difficult to remove. It could take 2 surgeries per eye.

4. She may have a kind of glaucoma which does not cause the pressure in the eyes to raise because her optic nerve looks like someone with glaucoma looks.

5. The cardiologist put her on a drug called Amiaderone to control irregular heartbeat, but that can be toxic to the optic nerve. The ophthalmologist is going to call the cardiologist and talk to him about the necessity for this drug.

No one is sure which of these is the culprit in the sudden loss of vision. They've put her on eye drops for the possible glaucoma and suggest that she go ahead and have the cataracts removed. The doctor said if her vision improves after the surgery it will clear up (no pun intended here)some of the confusion about what her problem is. She is 83 and in generally good health. Vision is really a quality of life issue for her so I suspect that we'll be doing the surgery at least in one eye to see if there is improvement.

Does anyone else see this trend in my life as medical companion to the sick?

I had no trouble finding the place yesterday. It was really only two turns off Rte. 26. I had anticipated being lost but thankfully that did not happen.

Since I spent the day with my Mom yesterday (I got her groceries after we got back home from the doctor's), I get to spend Saturday at home which is unusual. I decided I'll tackle cleaning the bathrooms, after I attend to reading and writing blogs and answering e-mails. Hopefully there will still be a few hours left in the day to do something else.

I hope you have an enjoyable Saturday. Don't let it be all about catching up on errands and housework from the week. Let it be about indulging yourself in your passions whether that be art, or music, or passion for that matter. Be your best, happiest you you can be today.

p.s. If you do not see a number 12 in the picture, you might need an eye check up of your own.

Creatures Great and Small - 7/12/07

There were animals in my dreams last night. First there were whales (Orcas) that had somehow gotten trapped in a small harbor surrounded by houses. There were four of them (I was one). We decided that the best way to get out was to make waves big enough that each of us would be pushed up and over the barricade into the deeper water. And so we began to thrash around in the small harbor until one by one we were propelled out. When it was my turn and I was out in the deeper ocean, I sped off into the depths at great speed.....end of dream. It was in color too, I remember the incredible blue of the ocean and the exhilaration of swimming so fast.

I got this from Cat's blog of 8/12/06 entitled "Whale, Prime and Phone Calls".

Whale medicine is connected with the kinds of memories deeply embedded within our minds and spirits, even our DNA. That sounds really useful, doesn't it? Actually it is, but it requires not being too shy or timid to use it. Whale medicine works with sound. A whale medicine person uses sound to awaken the memories within; they often use drums or rattles or flutes. Clairaudience is often their gift, or perhaps to hear sounds in frequencies usually inaudible to humans. Often they seem to just know things and only later have the knowledge confirmed.

Whale says, "Drum. Give yourself to the drumbeats and remember. If you don't have a drum, use a counter-top or an oatmeal box or a book, but drum. Just start. Find a rhythm that feels pleasing and drum it. Put whatever problem occupies your mind on your drum.(bring the problem to your consciousness and start drumming. Stop thinking about the problem and feel the rhythm that you've established. It's a way of changing things.) There isn't one right way, there is only what is inside you waiting to be heard, so drum."

Interesting that it speaks of drumming and clairaudience don't you think?

In the second dream I received a baby parakeet. It was green. I remember wondering if it was old enough to be away from its Mother. Then I realized I had no cage or feed for the little bird....end of dream.

Perhaps having no cage or no feed for the bird is important. It seems to me it reflects on my fear's concerning how I will take care of myself if Warren passes away; being pushed out of the nest too soon? Its not that I won't be fine financially, but I haven't really ever been out on my own in my whole life.

Parakeet's Wisdom Includes:

Ability to change direction suddenly
Communication
Imitation
Love
Trust
Assists with goals within the community

Update - 7/11/07

Warren came home from the hospital yesterday. He didn't have any ill effects from his little medical altruism. We'll go back on Monday for a clinic visit and perhaps we'll find out which protocol he'll begin in early August. Its good to have him home again.

Its been hot here, but not really too bad. A line of strong thunderstorms came through yesterday (while I was driving over to pick him up) that cooled things down considerably, and as a bonus washed my car. We may get more storms today. It never rained where I actually live yesterday, so hopefully it will today. We need the rain.

On Friday I have to take my Mother to an appointment to the Kreiger Eye Institute in Baltimore. I'm hoping that its easy to find. We have to be there at 11:00 a.m. I'm still trying to figure out what time I have to leave my house to drive 45 minutes to get her and then turn around and drive probably another hour to get there (all while its still rush hour)!

Right now, I'm going to get ready to go for my acupuncture treatment.

If I felt like fighting crowds, I'd go see the Harry Potter movie today, but no thanks, I'll wait.

Enjoy your day.

Calling my Drum - 7/8/07

A few weeks ago I had an appointment with a woman who does cranial sacral work and she uses a drum in her sessions sometimes. I wrote about it then because it was so interesting and relaxing. I especially liked the part where she drummed over me from my feet to my head. In fact I was so taken with the drumming that I decided I wanted to get a drum of my own. I live in the Washington metropolitan area, and as diverse as this area is, I had no idea where one would go to purchase a real drum.

I began to ponder how I would go about finding a drum, when I had the thought that I didn't have to know where the drum was coming from. All I had to do was know that the drum would find me. I sent the intention out into the universe that I wanted a drum and then I just let it go.

A few days later, a friend from the West Coast emailed me and said that she had a drum she was thinking about sending to me and did I have any input on that? I told her I thought perhaps she was answering my call. And so now I have the drum that I called and it came through a dear friend, from another dear friend who had passed away. I am so in awe and humbled at how that all came about.

I haven't been able to find out what animal/animals are represented on the drum face. We assume it is a traditional Northwest Indian design, but all my searches on the web haven't turned up an answer. If anyone out there would like to venture a guess or has the answer, please let me know.

I have to get ready to take Warren to the hospital for his short stay 3 day, 2 nights of fun filled medical procedures...all expenses paid. Its almost like a cruise isn't it? Once he's admitted and settled in, I'll come back home. I'll go see him tomorrow afternoon because I want to be there when they do the second biopsy.

This evening I want to do some serious drumming. I don't think the neighbors will hear it, because I can't hear their TVs and stereos. That should be interesting and fun.

The heat is starting to creep up here and tomorrow we'll be inching close to 100 with high humidity (A/C don't fail me now!).

Enjoy your Sunday.

777 and Me - 07/07/07

Partial Reposts from April 1st and 30th 2006

My Father passed away in 2001. After he died, I was driving on the capitol Beltway one day and noticed a bright, huge, red pick-up truck driving ahead of me. On the back windshield was painted "Redz". My Dad's nickname was "Reds". My eyes were immediately drawn to a smaller red car next to the pick-up truck and I saw it had a license plate with triple sevens (777) on it. I suddenly knew that that was going to be the sign by which he would let me know when he was around me. Some might say, that is just Cheryl's imagination working overtime, but its not. There are just times when I have moments of clarity and know things that really don't leave any room for doubt. They just are.

Here are a few of the times he has helped me in hard or difficult situations.

One of the most dramatic times was when I was coming home from my Brother’s house by myself at night. It was winter and the snow that had melted in the afternoon sunlight had refrozen sooner than I had anticipated covering the road with black ice. As I started out I wasn’t too concerned because I drive a Jeep with 4-wheel drive available when I need it. I was driving slowly because I knew it was icy, when all of a sudden the car started sliding sideways. I thought I was steering into the slide, but apparently I over corrected and the car started spinning wildly out of control. I ended up off the road in the middle of some farmer’s field upright. For a few seconds I had thought the car was going to flip over. I was scared, partly because of the spinning car and partly because I was still 45 minutes from home and partly because I couldn’t get back to my Brother’s because of the icy hills and about 4 miles down the road from where I was the road drops sharply (at a 50-degree grade) down towards a stream and some railroad tracks. How was I ever going to maneuver that road to get to the interstate where I knew it would be cleared? I sat in the car and called my husband and he told me to put the car in the lowest gear and drive the slowest speed. I sat in the car a few more minutes and then a salt truck came by and was salting the road I needed to travel! I got behind him (not too close) and put the car in the lowest gear and chugged along. I was still worried about the condition of the big hill, but apparently so was the County because by the time I got there it had been sanded and salted. As I pulled onto the interstate a red car passed me with (you guessed it) 777. I suddenly knew that my Dad had been looking out for me and had a hand in bringing that salt truck along just when I needed it. I could almost hear him saying “Women drivers!” and laughing at me. I didn’t have anymore trouble on the way home that night.

When I went to England in the fall of 2003, I was very excited to be on that trip but a little bit apprehensive about flying over the “Big Pond”. As I was awaiting take-off, I picked up the plane information brochure from the pocket in front of me only to see that I was flying on a Boeing 777. My Dad was an airplane mechanic for United Airlines for 33 years. I didn’t worry about the flight after that at all.

The last time I had some extensive dental work, I had to have a Maryland Bridge made (two of your own teeth anchor a false tooth in the middle – that’s 3 crowns $$$). This work involved taking impressions twice. I have a terrible, irrational fear of impressions and having all sorts of dental appliances in my mouth. I made the dentist give me a prescription for Valium which I then wouldn’t take because I’d gotten mad at myself for being a big baby by the time it was time to take the drug. Anyway, at the first visit when he’s doing the demolition part of the work, the dentist has to leave the room to take a phone call. I decide to get up and take a potty break and as I walk out of the room, I hear the dentist giving someone a phone number and he is saying “seven, seven, seven”….I smiled (as much as you can when you can’t feel your mouth anyway) and relaxed a little bit knowing I wasn’t alone.

I don’t know why he picked 777. Was it because he was an airplane mechanic and he was familiar with that plane? I know he wasn’t a gambler so it probably isn’t that. I understand that it has some esoteric meaning but I haven’t been able to find out what that is yet. That’s just part of the mystery. I’m just glad he has found this way to let me know he’s there. By the way, he’d have been the last person on Earth to believe any of this was possible. That makes it all the more fun.

Maybe I'll re-post this on 7/7/07. What do you think?

Cat sent me this information shortly after I posted the above in April:

Now 7+7+7=21=3:
Saying one's truth, imagination, optimism, playfulness, creative expression, gift of words, joy-bringer.
Three also means the ascended masters are near. They've responded to your prayers and want to help you.

Numbers - 7/6/07

This afternoon the total view count on my blog was 12,345. I love when numbers line up like that. If I look at the clock and its 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, 10:10, 11:11, or 12:12 it makes me smile as if my life is syncing up with with universal forces. Strange or no, it makes me happy.

Tomorrow, 07/07/07, people say is an auspicious line up of numbers, magical. All of the venues for weddings are booked and have been for over a year. People want to ensure that their marriages will start under auspicious circumstances.

Have you ever picked a particular date for reasons other than convenience? My lucky number has always been 13. There is 13 years difference in my husband and my ages. It was 13 years to the day of when we first met to when we became lovers. So when we were choosing a wedding date, I wanted it to be the 13th. It was December 1981, and the 13th was a Sunday so that was out, but when I looked at the calendar I realized that the 12th was the 346th day of the year. Those digits add up to 13. So we married on the 12th at 13:00 hours (1:00 p.m.). They must have been auspicious numbers too, magical.

Weather as Entertainment News - 7/5/07

Have you noticed over the last few years how weather has become entertainment? We had a series of severe thunderstorms with tornado warnings yesterday afternoon, so the TV media spent hours tracking the storms with their Doppler radars and I must admit we were riveted to the screen. During one ten minute time period they were talking of tornados bearing down in the areas where one of my brothers live and another where my daughter and granddaughter live. Nobody actually got a tornado. In fact once looking at the radar we were under a huge red blob which should have meant heavy rain and thunder and lightening and it wasn't doing anything outside. Just how accurate is super Doppler?

Since the advent of the Weather Channel weather has become news too. In the summer they talk endlessly about heat, then there is hurricane season, followed by snowfalls and spring rains. Nothing is ever just cyclic and part of nature here on planet Earth. There is drama all the time. There is global warming, too much rain, too little rain. And let's not forget "It Could Happen Tomorrow" where all apocalyptic disasters ever conceived by man can be laid out scientifically for your titillation. You can catch that thrill of fear without living through the 8.0 quake, or the tsunami, or Category 5 hurricane.

Its weather, its normal. Deal with it. :D

Happy Independence Day - 7/4/07

I think just about everyone on 360 is off enjoying their 4th of July holiday (at least here in the States). Its been pretty quiet on the blogs.

We get a front row seat in our kitchen for the local Independence Day Parade. It goes right by on the road outside our building. It was made up mostly of the local Fire company with antique and modern trucks, the Boyscouts, Soccer teams, Realtors and this year even a Sunoco oil rig was there to toot its horn. The parade offers one bit of modern Americana which I find amusing. There is a group of men who march with lawn chairs and do a routine of tossing them back and forth (like a rifle drill). The truly funny part is that they are marching in sleeveless undershirts and red, white and blue boxer shorts, black shoes and long black socks. I can't remember what they call themselves (I'll have to get back to you on that) but they certainly are making a spectacle of themselves.

Other than the parade its been very quiet here. I took a nap and now Warren is taking a nap. Tomorrow we have to go to NIH for some blood work and then run some errands. I often wonder how Warren has any blood left, but apparently he does.

Its gotten very dark in here in the last few moments. I just turned on the weather channel and we have a tornado warning! I wonder if I should wake Warren up in case we have to go into the stairwell. I think I'll wait a few minutes to see where its headed.

I decided I'd better wake him up. I'm going to end this now until the storm passes. Enjoy your day.

Bad News/Good News - 7/2/07

We had high hopes for the heavy duty chemo that Warren has been on for two months, but despite that, all of his tumors showed growth since the last CT scan. The good news is we won't have to start the next series of the chemo next Monday. They have two other protocols currently available and he will start one of those in about four weeks time. In the meantime he's agreed to participate in a Phase "O" (zero) study which is not intended to be therapeutic but rather informational. He'll get one dose of a drug to test whether his tumor expresses a certain enzyme and whether or not the drug suppresses that enzyme. If it does that would bode well for further study on that drug. In fact one of the studies coming up would use that drug in combination with another. Tomorrow he'll go for a biopsy for the Phase Zero study and Sunday night he'll be admitted to the hospital, get the drug and a second biopsy on Monday, and will come home on Tuesday morning 24-hours after receiving the drug.

A Perfect Summer Day - 7/1/07

This is a perfect day in the Maryland/D.C. area. Its about 80 degrees with very low humidity. The sun is shining and the breeze is blowing. I have opened all the windows in the house to air it out; all except the den where my husband has retreated to stay warm. I even figured out how to open that bathroom window that I had such problems with when Warren was in the hospital. It was all a matter of leverage. Most of the windows here are tall with the sills being about 2 feet off the floor so it is easy to get a good leverage for raising them. The bathroom window, however, is shorter and set higher in the wall. This morning I thought that if I stood on the step stool I might be able to get it open. It took standing on the top step, but it opened right up. Even Warren hadn't been able to budge it before. I love overcoming seeming obstacles.

I've been doing laundry and and prepping food for dinner. I'm going to make stuffed peppers, but with red, yellow and orange peppers instead of green. I also made a small batch of potato salad with some tiny red potatoes that I had left in the pantry. I cleaned out the vegetable bin in the fridge, more commonly known as the "rotter", tossing out a mushy green pepper and some romaine lettuce that had decided to go the way of all flesh. When there is fresh air moving through, I have a lot more energy and enthusiasm for my tasks.

I had a request from someone new this morning to become my friend in Yahoo. Normally, if I'm not familiar with the person (haven't seen them commenting on other people's blogs), I will check out their page, their profile, and their friends to see if they are someone who I would enjoy interacting with in the future. I take "friends" very seriously and don't view this as a contest to see who can amass the largest friends list. Anyway, I decided to check her out. Yahoo says she's 22 but her profile says she's in high school. There is no blog. I look at her friends, most of which have no blogs, but some that do are written in Arabic. Can she read Arabic? In her connection request she said that she was randomly scanning her friends profiles and found my pic (not my blog mind you) on one of my friends friends list. When I checked my friend that she mentioned, she was not on his friends list or on any of his friends lists. So far her score for being accepted by me is "0". I was just wondering if the rest of you get requests of this nature. Am I being too restrictive? I wouldn't have a problem at all with a teen aged friend who was writing and genuinely interested in what I was writing, but this does not appear to be the case.

Moving on now.......I am so enjoying the quiet peacefulness of this airy day. Tomorrow we go back to NIH and get the results of the CAT scan Warren had on Friday. We're hoping for some good news this time, but are prepared for whatever comes. I've given up trying to "read" his health, its just too hard to do with someone this close to me. There is so much of my own fear and emotion in the way.

The first of July already. Its high summer now. I'm considering doing a mini-road trip this week up to Pennsylvania for a picnic and dip in a cold mountain lake. If Warren is able to continue in his current chemo protocol, this will be the last week of break before the next 2 weeks of daily treatments.

Have a wonderful Sunday.