On doctor’s “orders” I’ve been struggling to lose weight. The biggest problem I’ve discovered is swallowing. Now that art classes have resumed I think I’ve solved the “swallowing problem” . . . I’m painting . . .
Fur Fun: Think About It
“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Thinking Thoughts by Peggy
Ode to Tom
A Turkey’s Tail
by Freddie
His story is such, so they say
Waking at dawn
he’d peck at the lawn,
searching for bugs,
nibbling on slugs
of which he was particularly fond.
Then a Thanksgiving day, out of the blue
Gobbledy gobbledy gone.
So if YOU took Tom from off his farm
in the middle of the night
please give him due thanks
for gracing your table. (It’s fitting and right).
And for all the bugs and many slugs
which make him an organic delight
Dear Human Beings,
- I am thankful that I was not born in places that eat dogs.
- I am thankful you are all my best friends and fans.
P.S. I was told to tell you my Human wishes that you things to be grateful for in your life, like me for example.
Don’t ignore this turkey tip!
It’s THAT time of year again for “Cooking with Judy” Here’s my yearly Thanksgiving post — cuz it’s tooooo good not to be shared!
I have a reputation, among those who know me, to have an “interesting” sense of humor. Even though How to Cook A Turkey with 500 degree heat sounds like a joke IT IS NO JOKE.
The turkey comes out brown, beautiful and MOIST. I’ve done this every year for over three decades and it’s never failed.
All the people who have tried it do it again and again. . . except for the woman bought a ButterBall Turkey* . . . to see why, keep reading.
Ingredients:
10 – 18 pound turkey* and a sense of adventure
Directions:
- Pre Heat oven 500 degrees (this is not a typo)
- Clean the bird
- Throw it into a covered container – put on lid or aluminum foil
- Do not add ANYTHING to the pot and/or the bird.
- Do NOT baste or look at until time is up (you will hear burbling, don’t worry, by the time you hear burbling the turkey is dead)
- Bake (and I do mean BAKE), 7 minutes per pound, unstuffed at 500 degrees FARENHEIT
- 7 1/2 minutes per pound, stuffed
*WARNING: Do NOT buy any *turkey that has ANYTHING injected under the skin (especially butter!) or the fire department will join you for dinner after you scrub the black soot from your ceiling.
Q & A (I won’t bother you with the Q-part)
- Yes, it comes out brown and beautiful.
- No, it is moist and delicious
- I always put the stuffing in a casserole rather than the turkey – others have stuffed the bird and said it was great.
- Yes, it will smell like Thanksgiving not like a house-on-fire.
- No, PETA would not endorse this because it is more humane . . . for the cook
- Yes! 500 degrees. It is not a typo
- Yes, 7 minutes a pound
P.S. A typical turkey will take a little over 1 hour to bake. The first year I made the turkey this way I had the critter sitting out raw and naked as a J-bird when the guests arrived.
When they found out nothing was in the oven everyone nervously inquired what time we were going to eat.
Made me smile.
“Food for thought. “
SPECIAL Tree of Life for the Holidays
It’s unusual to receive a card in snail mail nowadays. Increasingly, social media, text and e-mail messages are the choice for everything from birthday greetings to wedding invitations. It was a nice surprise to receive a card from Sharon Bonin-Pratt (A “CURIOUS” Well Done Woman) and was struck by how lovely and whimsical the trees were.
I was even more surprised and delighted when I saw Sharon had hand drawn and painted it.
Peggy, too, loved it and made it into a poster. With Sharon’s urging we are donating one third of all profits to The Gentle Barn, Animal Rescue charity. (Judy)
Available on Zazzle, click here
“It is a tree of life to all who grasp it,
and whoever holds on to it is happy;
its ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all it paths are peace.
(Proverbs 3:17-18)
To get your own Sharon Bonin-Pratt Tree of Life poster click here to purchase it
Web-site: Sharon Bonin-Pratt’s INK FLARE
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
They love toys.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Fur Fun: Positive Thinking
OPTIMISM IS GOING AFTER MOBY DICK IN A ROWBOAT AND
TAKING TARTAR SAUCE
WITH YOU!!!
Ahoy! by Peggy
Thanks Lyn!
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
They need plenty of rest.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
PEM’s and PEM – How I try to cope
Peggy loves to use multiple exclamation marks when she writes. Probably to her chagrin, I edit them out. I refer to it as PEM’s or “Peggy Exclamation Marks”.
One of the reasons I retired was after seeing clients I was exhausted for days. Because I felt fine when I was in session I largely ignored crashing afterwards. Besides I was used to feeling exhausted socializing, exercising or even taking a shower.
Having been diagnosed with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue in 1996 I am relatively well versed in research, symptoms and treatment. However, I just recently came across the term PEM! I did a double take.
Turns out that, in relation to chronic fatigue and fibro, PEM stands for Post-Exertional Malaise and has nothing to do with Peggy’s excitement. I was gobsmacked to find a name for what I thought was just a weird reaction, I alone had, to anything stressful, whether positive or negative.
This is how “gobsmacked” looks
How do I explain that I dread taking a shower because it fatigues me. How do I tell friends I don’t want to get together because “they” exhaust me? I constantly evaluate cost/benefit of whether any activity is worth hours or days of exhaustion afterwards.
It’s a relief to put a name to my experience:
“Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is the worsening of symptoms following even minor physical or mental exertion, with symptoms typically worsening 12 to 48 hours after activity and lasting for days or even weeks. PEM can be mitigated by activity management (pacing). The goal is to avoid PEM flare-ups and illness relapses by balancing rest and activity.” CDC.gov
Some of my coping mechanisms.
- I avoid telephone conversation. E-mail is one-way – my pace, my time and not as energy depleting as two-way conversations.
- I watch lots of Hallmark TV movies – there’s always a happy ending. Any violence or tension sends my brain into over-drive.
- I eat constantly – Food gives us energy. So far all it’s given me is a roll of fat around my middle.
- I live vicariously through friends and fellow bloggers who travel to far away places. I daydream of moving to live in another country. My day dream always includes a villa in Southern France with servants.
- I try to find humor in life . . . “try” being the operant word.
- I never take a daily shower. I figure the sweat will help the dirt roll off.
- I take 3 hour naps immediately after I wake up in the morning.
Now I know why I edit out PEM’s (the Peggy kind). Exclamation is exhausting . . .
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t let her kid you, Judy is very successful at finding humor in life, to the delight of us all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peggy
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men, I learned from my CAT.
by Peggy
No need to rush in and prove your prowess . . . let them climb down their own tree.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Fur Fun: All God’s Creatures
If cats and pups can cozy up
Why oh why can’t we
lie down with our “enemy”?
“Do not exalt yourselves above others, but consider all as your equals, recognizing them as the servants of one God.” Bahai World Faith, Abdu’l-Baha
“If we go to the fundamental level, we are the same human being. … Seven billion human beings are the same human being.” Dalai Lama
1 Corinthians 1:10
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
Thanks Dr. Carolyn M.!
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men, I learned from my CAT.
by Peggy
Stroke them every day to show that you appreciate them.
Can’t think of anything “significant” to appreciate? . . . A cat doesn’t need to do anything to get your loving attention . . . that’s the “tooth”.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Naturally Nude Smart Broads Society
No purple & red hats. Your commitment is to forgo 2 items promoted by the cosmetic industry. (ex. Wrinkle cream, contouring make-up, grey touch-up coloring, lip fillers, eyebrow tattoos . . .)
We will meet in the fall in Paris and in the spring in Italy to buy our couture wardrobe; in the summer on the East Coast and in the winter on the West Coast to practice being classy broads.
Our inspiration for being a “Naturally Nude Smart Broad” is Christine Lagarde.
She’s a model of how to grow “older” gracefully and not pander to “beauty products”
(even when you can afford them).
Elegant,
Natural hair, nails, eye lashes, minimal makeup….French couture wardrobe
Here’s a bit about Christine Lagarde:
A French lawyer and on 28 June 2011, she was named as the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund for a five-year term, (replacing Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the aftermath of his sexual assault legal case) managing emergencies as head of the trillion-dollar International Monetary Fund
On November 2019, she will take on a new crisis as president of the European Central Bank, trying to keep the world’s second largest economy stable as it is battered by trade wars, Brexit and historic uncertainty.
Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finances and Industry and before that Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G7 economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.
A noted antitrust and labour lawyer, Lagarde made history as the first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. On 16 November 2009, The Financial Times ranked her the best minister of finance of the Eurozone. In 2009, Lagarde was ranked the 17th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.
Naturally Nude Smart Broads Society: Pearls & champagne required, broaches are optional.
Are you with us? (Peggy & judy)
See original post: Naturally Nude and She’s no slouch!
It’s not your imagination if you’ve not been getting our blog posts because we have moved to a PeggyJudyTime newsletter:
Easy to subscribe!
1. Click the link below
2. Type “subscribe” in e-mail subject line
3. Newsletter from PeggyJudyTime will arrive in your in-box (or spam folder) . . . so look for it about the middle of every month)
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CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men, I learned from my CAT.
They Like to keep warm.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Ick or treat? – 7 facts about candy corn you didn’t know . . . or do you?
2. It actually looks like corn
When candy corn first came out, roughly half of Americans worked on farms, and the treat was designed to look like chicken feed.
Stack it up, the candy looks exactly like an ear of corn.
3. People love it or hate it
For an innocuous little treat, candy corn can spark strong opinions. Like fruit cake some believe that
manufacturers just collect and resell the same candy kernels year after year, because nobody actually eats the stuff.
But the treat scored first or second for preferred Halloween munch in most states,
Are you a candy corn lover?
4. It used to be made by hand in large kettles
Candy corn is not a modern invention. It dates to the 1880s, before the automobile and the commercial telephone. The Goelitz Candy Co. began making it in 1900 before the family-run operation changed its name to the Jelly Belly Candy Co., which still produces candy corn today.
In the early days of the 20th century, workers cooked sugar, corn syrup, marshmallow and other ingredients into a slurry in large kettles and then poured the warm mixture by hand into cornstarch trays imprinted with the kernel shape.
Today it’s untouched by human hands – machines do almost all the work.
5. There’s a proper way to eat it
Many people believe that candy corn should be nibbled in sequence.
While almost half of candy corn consumers gobble the whole piece at once, 43% start with the narrow white end, according to a survey by the National Confectioners Association.
Another 10% begin eating the wider yellow end first.
Which end do you nibble first?
6. It can be deep-fried
Of course it can. Amy Erickson has posted a recipe on her food blog, Oh Bite It!, that involves rolling three or four candy corn kernels in a ball of dough and then frying them in hot oil.
Does frying make EVERYTHING better?
7. It’s a beer
If you don’t like eating candy corn, now you can just opt to drink it.
Wisconsin’s Westallion Brewing Company created Candy Corn Cream Ale, which was “brewed to smell and taste like candy corn with notes of vanilla and cream.”
Tempted?
click & Look at our no-candy-corn-collection!
Fur Fun: Eat, Pray, Love by Penelope
Penelope and I met many years ago. I went for a carton of milk and there she was, an albino pig, in a grocery store. She was in a dangerous situation – it was only time before she ended up on the meat aisle. (OIY VEY) So for $9 I took her home with the milk.
I gave her a bit of color and a bow and she went to live in my therapy office.
Very few clients ever commented on her. I always suspected new clients didn’t quite know what to say and my long-term clients knew me well enough that they didn’t need to say anything.
Penelope retired the same time as Freddie Parker but she still has a lot of good advice:
How to Live Life to the Fullest
by Penelope the Pig, CPT*, RET
-
EAT greedily all the delectable things life gives you.
-
WALLOW in what’s soothing & cool.
-
SNORT at those who are not loving.
-
CELEBRATE how delicious you are.
-
PRAY you will not be eaten before your time.
-
PIG OUT on LOVE
*CPT, Certified Porcine Therapist
(jw)
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
Greet them in a way that shows you belong with each other. Let the mark you as “theirs” and mark them back.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
My Mom, the Balloonist
The Blue Max is why I took up boogie-boarding at age 50. Let me explain . . .
My mom Helen wanted a “flying belt” since she was a kid. When she turned 50 she figured the closest she would get was hot air ballooning. So when she and her husband Andy were offered a ride in a hot air balloon there was no hesitation.
They loved the experience and as soon as the balloon landed, Mom announced, “I want one”. Her “flying belt” balloon was blue and white and she named it The Blue Max.
However, there’s more than just strapping on a flying belt to piloting a balloon. Mom had to get a balloon piloting license which she couldn’t pass because her right arm was too weak to pull the rip cord. (She had had a mastectomy for cancer), Andy became the pilot.
The family ballooning soon ballooned. My sister Sally, her husband and their son all took up hot air ballooning, and became pilots. Mom’s 2 great grandsons are now learning how to fly. Sally named their first balloon (she is on her 3rd or 4th) after mom. She called it “Helen’s Fault”.
In the family tradition, to celebrate my 50th birthday I thought I should do something “equally” as adventurous . . . I took up boogie-boarding.
Mom is 98, no longer balloons, but knowing her when she hits 100 I have to wonder what she will take up then . . . and if I will feel that I should follow suit . . . in some way.
Peggy
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
Keep them purring.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle Click here.
Halloween Pome
Orange pumpkins, black cats
skeletons, and scary bats
mummies that horrify
Witches flying through the sky
Thank goodness witches aren’t like birds
screeching and dropping turds
See our Halloween collection, with witches, black cats and Woofer at Zazzle. Click here.
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
They prefer to be able to come and go as they please.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
I’m so disappointed
When I was in grade school we did “duck ‘n cover” drills. Ducking under a desk and covering your head was suppose to protect us from an atomic bomb drop. It was the height of the cold war between the United States and Russia.
I lived in Phoenix Arizona which was a small (by today’s standards) city surrounded by miles and miles of uninhabitable dessert where many alien spacecraft had been observed.
I prayed that the aliens would land and the entire world would then, out of necessity, come together in solidarity to protect the planet.
Alien Baby, by judy – acrylic on cardboard box
“Weird space object ‘Oumuamua’ was not an alien spacecraft after all, scientists say. The 1/4-mile long rock was first spotted in October 2017 by astronomers peering through a telescope atop Mount Haleakala in Maui, Hawaii. In the weeks after that, other ground-based telescopes around the world and space-based telescopes in orbit continued to monitor Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “scout” or “messenger”) as it zipped through the solar system at about 85,700 mph.”
There was also wild speculation that it came from an alien civilization.
“After a fairly exhaustive search, scientists couldn’t find any artificial radio signals coming from the interstellar objet known as Oumuamua.”
“The alien spacecraft hypothesis is a fun idea, but our analysis suggests there is a whole host of natural phenomena that could explain it,” said Matthew Knight, the study lead author from the University of Maryland, in a news release.
‘”While Oumuamua’s interstellar origin makes it unique, many of its other properties are perfectly consistent with objects in our own solar system,” said study co-author Robert Jedicke of the University of Hawaii. In fact, Oumuamua’s orbit, its path through our solar system, matches a prediction published in a scientific journal by Jedicke and his colleagues six months before Oumuamua’s discovery.”
One theory is that the object could have been ejected by a gas giant planet orbiting another star.
“Even though we know it’s a natural phenomenon, “we have never seen anything like Oumuamua in our solar system,” Knight said. “It’s really a mystery still,” he said.”
Decades later “duck ‘n cover” has been replaced by “lock down drills” for shooters. The aliens are still waiting for us to figure out how to come together without their help.
judy
The new study was published in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature Astronomy.
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
They can instinctively focus for long periods of time.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Last day to get FREE eBook about Maui, a reminder
We wanted to remind you that today is the last day to get your FREE ebook:
The Pulling, Pushing, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and His Back Legs ,
free Kindle version, click here.
If you’ve read any posts on MAXyourMIND you know the blog was inspired by and is dedicated to Peggy’s cat Maui who lived to show the brain CAN be rewired and healing IS possible.
After losing the use of his back legs Maui didn’t need a physical therapist, a coach, or a professional of any kind. He had his own reasons to use his back legs again and he just kept at it. Peggy wrote and illustrated a children’s book for her grand daughter that tells Maui’s story.
“The Pulling, Pushing, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and His Back Legs”.
“It’s true, I loved this book and it’s real-life message. But my grandson adored it. The first time I read it to him, he was so very anxious about Maui, urging him on, hoping him better. Then he wanted it over and over. Easy to see why. Both the book and the message it contains are wonderful gifts for any young child.” Sheridan Bentson
Here’s a synopsis
“Maui’s Healing Tale”
Fur Real: You R U
“Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Seuss
3 Happy Women Poster, available on zazzle. click here.
Brain Plasticity – Even if you lose it, you can get it back –and a free Kindle book link
Research on the brain has shown the old adage “Use it or lose it” isn’t always accurate.
Brain plasticity is not just for cats*.
At the Taub Clinic* patients are restrained from using the parts of their body that work so they have to try to use the parts affected by stroke. The patients are given exercises and unrelentingly pushed to try doing them. The program is an intense 6 hours a day for 10 days. Eighty percent (80%!) of stroke victims improve, and not just the ones who have had a recent stroke.
Patients start out doing small things such as lifting cans or “washing” tables, writing the ABCs. Slowly, fine motor skills come back.
*I’ve witnessed first hand how with patience and perseverance the brain can be rewired, even the brain of a cat.
After losing the use of his back legs my cat Maui didn’t need a physical therapist, a coach, or a professional of any kind. He had his own reasons to use his back legs again and he just kept at it.
Maui proved the brain is plastic. It took time but by incremental steps Maui rewired his brain and developed new new brain maps for his back legs. His story also inspired our blog about neuroscience and mind-body health on MAXyourMIND
Get your free e book copy, only good until September 23
Click here for “The Pulling,Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and HIs Back Legs” ebook
* * *
*University of Alabama at Burmingham
Constraint-Induced therapy (CI therapy, or CIT) is a family of rehabilitation therapies designed to help “rewire” the brain and thus regain some level of limb function in those who have had an injury or illness such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, brain tumor, or multiple sclerosis. Research pioneered at UAB over the last 25 years by Edward Taub, PhD, has shown that patients can “rewire” their brains and “learn” to improve the function of the more affected parts of their bodies rather than depending on the less-affected parts. These results have been found to be true for both movement of the affected arm or leg as well as the use of language, and the therapy typically produces excellent results. Brain imaging studies have confirmed Constraint-Induced therapy’s effect on the brain as a result of this therapy, indicating that there is “rewiring” of the brain taking place. Constraint-Induced therapy has been found to be effective no matter how long ago the injury or illness occurred so long as the treatment criteria are met.
Four days left to get the free Kindle book about Maui!
If you’ve read any posts on MAXyourMIND you know the blog was inspired by and is dedicated to Peggy’s cat Maui who lived to show the brain CAN be rewired and healing IS possible.
After losing the use of his back legs Maui didn’t need a physical therapist, a coach, or a professional of any kind. He had his own reasons to use his back legs again and he just kept at it. Peggy wrote and illustrated a children’s book for her grand daughter Lucy that tells Maui’s story.
Four days left (ends September 23) to get
The Pulling, Pushing, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and His Back Legs , free Kindle version, click here.
“The Pulling, Pushing, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of Maui and His Back Legs”.
“It’s true, I loved this book and it’s real-life message. But my grandson adored it. The first time I read it to him, he was so very anxious about Maui, urging him on, hoping him better. Then he wanted it over and over. Easy to see why. Both the book and the message it contains are wonderful gifts for any young child.” Sheridan Bentson
Here’s a synopsis
“Maui’s Healing Tale”
FREE Kindle Maui and His Back Legs book!
I’ve been delighted and gratified to have a great response from all around the world to my very first book:
“The Pulling, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of
Maui and His Back Legs”
“You had one strong, courageous cat there! The story is great to read, and inspiring to say the least. It does go to show us the power of the mind, and how we all possess the power of healing, ourselves and others. It comes with courage, belief, perseverance, hope, and most of all love and passion for life. I applaud you for your determination but most of all for your vision of Maui walking again.”
Paul Del Sordo, Martial Arts Instructor and Special Needs Inclusion Coordinator
“I read the story of Maui. It is touchy and inspiring. Though being a cat, Maui was determined, to resolve her back leg problem with continuous & renewed hope. And the Pictorials were so lively, pleasant and explanatory. These type of stories are good for children, parents must make a habit of them read inspiring stories, which has fun and moral, which is Determination.”
Anil Kumar Morathoti, Sr Social Worker-Child/Student Welfare|Education|Development. State Coordinator, OISCA Telangana|AP States, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
I’ve signed up for a Kindle publishing opportunity – for me and for YOU –
for 5 days STARTING NOW you can get a FREE KINDLE copy
by clicking on the title below:
“The Pulling, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of
Maui and His Back Legs”
“The Pulling, Climbing, Falling Down Tale of
Maui and His Back Legs”
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men I learned from my cat.
Let them show you what good hunters they are.
Graciously accept their gifts, even if it is something you will dispose of later.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Frankly Freddie – CAPTIONIt! #9 & 10 and the WINNERS #7 #8
Dear Freddie Fans,
Create a Caption and I’ll post them to share with all my fans.
To get you started, check out CAPTIONit! Part I and CAPTIONit! Part 6 or 7 or . . .?
#9
#10
* * * *
The WINNING captions from my And as you know by now, your prize is MY delight receiving entries and YOUR WORLD blogging fame.
#7, The WINNER!!! Shari B-P
“Left foot, left foot, can’t you tell your left from your right?”
#8, The WINNER!!! –Joyce K.
Prisoner of Love
Shari, Joyce, human-beings,
You are currently my favorite winners! Thank you from the bottom of my treat container,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Humor Editor
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men, I learned from my cat.
Help them keep their tools sharp.
Keeping their “claws” sharp is important, so make sure there is something for them to “tackle”. Something you want “shredded”.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle. Click here.
Fur Real – Poisoning
(Grumpy Cat Poster, available on Zazzle, click here)
I got mood poisoning
Must have been something I hate
Marilyn Manson
CATegorical Purrrrrspective
Everything I know about men, I learned from my CAT.
Happy cats need to have territory to mark as theirs . . . so . . . 
. . . give a man space to claim as his own . . . he’ll be one cool cat.
Calendar (small) from this series available on zazzle, click here
Worthiness
Fur Real – If not you . . . who?
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde by Raine Szramski
Letter to My Granddaughter
My granddaughter has always loved pictures. When she was small I lived two hours away so I sent her “letters” in the mail. Since she couldn’t read I made stick figure drawings.
This “letter” chronicled a weekend we spent together–building a fort (a common interest of ours), shopping for food, eating dinner with her mom, and playing on the floor. It was the first of many “letters” that still remind me it’s the small pleasures I cherish spending time with those I love.
Peggy
Inside the Mind of a Procrastinista*
Procrastinista 
(Procrastinista poster available on Zazzle, click here)
*My Monkey taped my Panic Monster’s mouth shut a long time ago . . . all he can do is wave his monster arms at my Procrastinista. Judy
Frankly Freddie – CAPTIONit!, #7 & #8
Dear Freddie Fans,
Create a Caption and I’ll post them to share with all my fans.
Get inspiration – check out CAPTIONit! Part I and the Winner of #5 & #6 below*
#7
#8
Congratulations Bernice!!!!
*You wrote The WINNING captions (Actually, you don’t win anything except my gratitude for participating and WORLD blogging fame.):
Caption It #5 – Money DOESN’T grow on trees.
Caption It. #6 – Portrait of “Screaming Mimi”
Send me your captions for #7 & #8 . . . . for consideration
Frankly, Freddie
Humorist Editor-in-Chief
Still hysterical – I’m well practiced
1995: The end of life as I knew it:. I began experiencing excruciating burning pain in my hands, arms and legs. In 1996 fibromyalgia was not recognized by the medical community as a “real” ailment. Doctors considered it to be a syndrome: unexplainable, unverifiable and in all probability psychosomatic. Their unofficial diagnosis was “Hysterical Middle Aged Woman’s Syndrome”.
Doctor after doctor, told me, test after test after expensive test came back negative, that nothing was wrong with me and to go home and “Get a life”. Some looked at me knowingly, like we shared a secret “You’re a psychotherapist. You know about psychology” – Wink, Wink. The only reason I winked back was to blink away the tears that were threatening to disrupt the façade that I wasn’t a hysterical middle-aged woman.
I just wanted someone to put a name to what I had. Gynecologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, neurologists, rheumatologists, environmental specialists, acupuncturists, immunologists, chiropractors, Yup you are reading right! They are ALL in the plural. I didn’t just see one of each. I saw private practitioners, researchers, and heads of hospital departments. I’m sure each of them wrote “HYPOCHONDRIAC” on their charts.
Over two-plus decades later I’m no longer middle-aged, just hysterical. I still struggle and some mornings I wake up feeling like a locomotive hit me and the bottoms of my feet on fire even tho the only thing they touched for 7 hours was a sheet. BUT now that the pharmaceutical companies have realized there’s over 10 million people, in the United States alone and millions more world-wide, with this condition the research is progressing.
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue/ME are finally recognized “officially” as an illness. The research now points to the possibility these conditions are auto-immune, neuro-inflammatory disorders in the brain.
Those doctors were right after all — it IS all in my head!
judy
Frankly Freddie, CAPTIONit! – #5 & #6
Dear Freddie Fans,
Create a Caption and I’ll post them to share with all my fans.
To get you started, check out CAPTIONit! Part I
* * *
#5
#6
* * *
The WINNING captions from my CAPTION IT! Part II (Actually, you don’t win anything except my gratitude for participating and WORLD blogging fame.):
#3 -Cheesey CATatonia
and
Who moved my mouse?
#4 – “Taking ZEE Nap” . . . as they say in France
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CCH
Fur Real – comedy & tragedy
There has been much tragedy in my life;
at least half of it actually happened.
Mark Twain
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.
Did you know . . . Anteaters prefer termites
Its food consists mainly of termites, which it obtains by opening nests with its powerful sharp front claws. As the insects swarm to the damaged part of their dwelling, it draws them into its mouth by means of its long, flexible, rapidly moving tongue covered with sticky saliva.
- Their tongue can be flicked up to 150-160 times or more per minute.
- Giant anteaters have a two-foot-long tongue and huge salivary glands that produce copious amounts of sticky saliva when they feed.
- They have small spikes on their tongue that help keep the ants and other insects on the tongue while they are swept into the anteater’s mouth, where they are crushed against the hard palate.
- What we call an anteater’s nose is actually an elongated jaw with a small, black, moist nose, like a dog’s nose
- A full-grown giant Anteater eats upwards of 30,000 ants and termites a day and also eat ripe fruit if they find it on the ground.
- The Giant Anteater and regular anteaters have no teeth. Their physical digestion is aided by the pebbles and debris that they consume when they ingest insects.
- The giant Anteater lives above ground. The anteater finds a place to sleep, curls up, and covers itself with its bushy tail.
The female produces one offspring per birth. During much of its first year of life, a young Anteater will ride on its mother’s back. It is generally acknowledged that giant Anteaters have a poor sense of sight but a keen sense of smell. Their sense of smell has been estimated to be some 40 times stronger than that of humans.
Fur Fun: Turning to exercise
Twist and shout
work it all out
Pound the pillows
you’ll lose the kilos
Toss and turn
Calories will burn
Wake up thinner
in time for dinner
Frankly Freddie – Guide to World Peace & Goodwill toward All
My 5 simple rules EVERYONE should follow for Peece on Earth
and Goodwill toward Man
- Instead of raising arms, raise your leg. No one ever dies from a squirt of pee.
- Never bark at strangers, greet everyone with a friendly sniff . . . below their belt.
- Raise your tail, not your flag.
- Rolling over is not a sign of defeat, it’s an invitation for a belly rub.
- Don’t wait for others to scratch your back, give love.
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CDT RET
Wishing you a life of treats, back rubs and bowls of plenty.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Canine Dog Therapist, RET.
“It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world.
The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”
See also: The Hope for Peace and a Prayer.
Did You Know? – Luscious Lipped Bat Fish
Luscious Red lips,
lanquid eyes
this guy’s in disguise
a femme fatale?
a walking bat?
Can you imagine that
A fish that doesn’t swim
Ogcocephalus darwini
An identity crisis of the first degree
he needs a psychoanalyst
It’s not normal to be THAT carefree
This Red-Lipped Batfish (aka Ogcocephalus darwini) walks around the deep waters of the Galapagos Islands. They are terrible swimmers since their fins have evolved into legs.
To attract prey, the red-lipped batfish uses a shiny lure that comes out of its head once it gets really close to its preferred meal, like crabs, mollusks and shrimp Some scientists think the males’ red lips are attractive to females during mating season. To each his own . . .
Thanks to Charlie at Doodlewash for the inspiration.
Red-Lipped Bat Fish, NOT CHARLIE
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s SUPERMOUSE!
They created a Supermouse.
Superman can see the world in infrared. Humans can’t.
Mouse eyes, like human eyes, are limited to seeing “visible light”,
which makes up just a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
SuperMouse by SuperPeggy
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China
and the University of Massachusetts Medical School developed an
“ocular nanoparticle” that can detect near-infrared light (NIR).
They injected it directly into the eyes of mice. Their study*
shows that the mice were given “super vision”, allowing them
to see beyond the visible spectrum, without any effects
on their regular vision.
The team ran the mice through a series of water Y-mazes in an effort
to determine whether they could make out visual patterns in infrared
light to find a hidden platform. They trained the mice to associate an
infrared light pattern with the platform and then tested both injected
mice and non-injected mice to see how they fared.Mice that did no
t receive the ocular injections only correctly found the platform 50 percent
of the time, but those with the nanoparticles in their eyes were abl
e to do so around 80 percent of the time even in the dark.
Moreover, the nanoparticles continued to work for up to 10 weeks
without any residual side effects or long-term damage to normal vision.
Because the new technology is compatible with regular vision,
it could provide a new way for mammalian vision enhancement
or even open up new avenues to repair normal vision —
the nanoparticles could be tweaked so they parse different
wavelengths or alter them to deliver drugs into the eye.
Fur Fun: hard to watch
In the interest of full disclosure we have a tv in every room of our house, with the exception of the bathroom. Several of them are so old they are neither flat, nor high definition. I suspect they will outlast the latest models.
We didn’t have a TV at home until I was 10 years old. It was black & white, there were only 3 channels and programs ended at midnight with test patterns. I grew up reading, playing outside and making up ways to entertain myself with household objects. It may partially explain why I’m relatively creative but doesn’t explain why I have the attention span of a gnat.
Fake Snake
Snake
When my granddaughter was a baby, I started keeping old toilet paper rolls, thinking we could make something to of them together, maybe a giraffe or other animal. Our first project was the easiest: a snake. We painted the rolls, then put a string through them. We used a small matchbox for the head. She trailed it behind her, letting it slither around the house.
Peggy
xxxxxxxx
My Brain on Non-standard Time
“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one, and each day brings a miracle of its own.”
— Paulo Coelho
This morning I woke thinking that today was yesterday. This afternoon I thought that today is tomorrow. Holy Toledo! (wonder where that expression comes from?) Time is mushed in my mind.
If cells in a petri dish can be taught to tell time I need a petri dish.
Cultured Brain Cells Taught to Keep Time
The UCLA findings are the first to suggest that networks of brain cells in a petri dish can learn to generate simple timed intervals.
The ability to tell time is fundamental to how humans interact with each other and the world. Timing plays an important role, for example, in our ability to recognize speech patterns and to create music.
In a three-year study, UCLA scientists attempted to unravel the mystery by testing whether networks of brain cells kept alive in culture could be “trained” to keep time. The team stimulated the cells with simple patterns — two stimuli separated by different intervals lasting from a twentieth of a second up to half a second.
After two hours of “training cells”, the team observed a measurable change in the cellular networks’ response to a single input. In the networks trained with a short interval, the network’s activity lasted for a short period of time. Conversely, in the networks trained with a long interval, network activity lasted for a longer amount of time.
Duke Researchers Find Brain’s Motor Center Keeps Time Too
By measuring activity in the brain as reflected by blood flow, Duke researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the brain’s motor control center also keeps track of time. Their experiments show that in both animals and people, the striatum, a portion of the brain once thought only to control movement, keeps track of timing short intervals, from seconds to minutes.
“In addition to providing the first map of a neural circuit for an internal clock, the results have implications for Parkinson’s disease patients, because the timing mechanism is located within the basal ganglia, which is damaged in people with Parkinson’s disease. The findings also may help define the role of timing in learning and memory, said Dr. Warren Meck, associate professor of experimental psychology at Duke University.”
“We believe timing is the foundation for learning and memory,” Meck said in an interview. He suggests that defective timing mechanisms may underlie some learning disabilities and may contribute to dyslexia. Before these experiments, how the brain keeps track of time intervals in the seconds to minutes range was unknown.”
ScienceDaily
Creative Expression – Running Out
My husband is always after me to exercise. In Southern California it’s difficult to use weather as an excuse so I’ve been using fibromyalgia brain fog rather creatively:
- “What!? It’s midnight already!? I was just about ready to go for my walk”
- “Are you sure? I could swear I exercised today”
- “I couldn’t walk today. I locked myself in.”
- “What do you mean the doctor stressed exercise?! I swear she said not to stress over exercise.”
I really had a good reason not to exercise when I began to get light-headed on my walks and figured out it wasn’t the heat, lack of food or dehydration. I suspected my heart arrhythmia.
(It was heart arrhythmia that led to my getting Tullulah, my pacemaker.)
This is a series of pictures I did when I was first diagnosed with atrial tachycardia. I wasn’t focusing or even thinking about my heart when I was painting. I painted spontaneously and very quickly. The only reason I painted 3 was that I didn’t want to waste paint and throw away what I hadn’t used. About 6 months later as I was putting together a presentation it hit me that these paintings represented my heart.
It’s easy to identify which picture is my heart in normal rhythm and which paintings represent the various stages of arrythmia.
That is the wonder and power of Therapeutic Creative Expression.
Whether it’s painting on canvas, crayons on paper or magazine pictures in a collage we express our unconscious knowing and inner wisdom.
Now that my arrhythmia’s are under control the most exercise I’m getting is running out of excuses.
judy
CURIOUS to the MAX 