The End .. For Now

To readers and followers of this blog:

I appreciate everyone who took time to visit my blog this year. Although I seldom get a comment from anyone, I do appreciate knowing that the blog is read by people around the world. Even with a fairly low readership, this blog provides a creative outlet for me and it gives me a reason to write, something I have enjoyed since childhood. So I thank you for that.

This year saw visits by readers from several new countries. I am always amazed to see where my readers are located. 

Readers were from 36 countries around the world, the majority from the United States. Other readers were from Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States.

If you enjoy the blog, I invite you to sign up to receive an e-mail each time something new is posted. That is the only e-mail you will receive. You won't get spam, ads or any kind of spam. I won't sell your e-mail address to anyone. I would also appreciate your telling friends about the blog so they can check it out.

I wish each of you a safe, happy, gentle and prosperous New Year.

The Calendar

Every year as the year draws to a close, I look forward to getting new calendars.

As an avid photographer, I make two wall calendars for myself, with each page featuring a full color image that I have taken during my travels that year. I also order a desk calendar with a photo for each week. The desk calendar is purchased commercially. I use it to keep track of my walking and hiking.

So as I approach the end of each year, I start to wonder how I will fill in my calendar in the coming year. If I’m lucky, as I have been each year except for the horrible pandemic year of 2020, I will mark down all of my trips. I will also enter less exciting things such as doctor appointments, veterinary appointments, appointments to have the furnace checked out, etc. All in all, each calendar provides a snapshot of the highlights and, let’s face it, the lowlights of the year coming to a close.

It's always interesting to look back on the year's calendar and remember things I might have forgotten. As I grow older, I have become more aware of the passage of time and the fact that I have more years behind me than ahead of me. 

I have already started to fill in appointments and trips for 2022. And as always, I am hopeful that the year ahead will be filled with lots of good things and wonderful experiences.

The calendar starts out as a blank slate, and while I can record some upcoming events, the pages remain largely empty. The year has yet to reveal itself and what things and opportunities it will bring. Undoubtedly there will also be some unwanted events along the way.

We cannot control the passage of time, no matter how much we may wish to do so. We cannot control or foresee all the things that will happen to us and for us in the year ahead. 

But we can control our reaction to the events that will occur in our lives. 

My wish for you is that you will fill your calendar with good, with kindness, with positive opportunities. We can't know what we will be given each day, but we can determine to react in a positive way no matter what comes our way in 2002.

Wishing each of you a peaceful, prosperous, safe, fulfilling 2022.

Alone But Not Lonely

Another Christmas alone. 

And that's OK. My siblings and their families live in Oregon. My daughter lives in Kansas. I'm not feeling the so-called Christmas spirit again this year, so my dogs and I will spend a quiet, rainy day at home. I plan to cook some salmon and whatever else sounds good. 

The nice thing about spending time alone is the freedom it gives to eat whatever and whenever I want. If I want to crank up the music, I can. If a nap calls to me, I will nap. I am alone, but I am not lonely.

This time of year is the perfect opportunity to appreciate what I have in life, rather than dwelling on what is missing. I have financial resources that allow me to travel. I have a beautiful house. I have two dogs who love me beyond measure. My health is relatively good. I have plenty of food. I have friends around the world: England, Scotland, Kenya, Tanzania and Russia among them. I have a full travel schedule planned for 2022. I reconnected with family this year.

And best of all, I like being alone. I like my space and my privacy. I prefer to be alone or with a couple of people rather than being part of a large group. That has never made me comfortable. I have already started to think about my goals for next year. 

However you are spending today, take time to celebrate yourself and all you have achieved.

Random Memories of Christmas

 I was listening to Christmas music this morning, and something in one of the songs brought back a memory.

My parents used to make popcorn balls, peanut brittle and a white confection called 'divinity.' I never cared for divinity, and I preferred to save my calories for something I liked more than peanut brittle. But I have found memories of my parents in the kitchen, my dad making popcorn balls as my mom made peanut brittle and divinity.

I am not doing anything special for Christmas again this year. It isn't worth the effort, and I don't need to have a bunch of calorie-laden goodies in the house. 

I have some memories of Christmas when I was a young child. I was thrilled to receive a small record player and a copy of my favorite song on a 45 rpm record. My brother received a Lionel train set with an orange engine, various train cars and a track. I got a doll one year, something I never enjoyed. I much preferred stuffed animals over dolls. We went to church services every Christmas Eve. Of course, we always had a decorated tree in the living room, purchased from a lot somewhere in town that sold cut Christmas trees. My favorite lights were bubble lights that held some sort of colored liquid that 'bubbled' when the strand of lights was plugged in.

Those days are long gone, but it's nice to have the memories pop up from time to time.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

What Is Your Opinion?

Do you know what I think when I hear the word 'Facebook'?

Several things come to mind. Greed. Inconsistency.  Politics. Right-wing tendencies. Data mining. Lies.

Let's look at these things one at a time. Greed. Nothing personifies Zuckerberg and his minions more than greed. Facebook, it seems, will do anything to make a buck. Newsfeeds are so filled with ads -- most of them totally irrelevant -- that it often seems there are as many ads as posts. And whatever the Facebook algorithms are that determine ad placement, they suck. Why do I see ads for hardware stores in Indiana when I live in New Mexico? Or ads looking for an anesthesiologist? (And who advertises for a skilled medical professional on Facebook anyway?) But I guess the greedy at FB will take any ad as long as they get paid to blast the ad everywhere, right?

Inconsistency. The application of the so-called 'community standards' is a joke. Posts glorifying the slaughter of animals are OK, but I was warned that I had posted 'hate speech' because I had commented that I was sick of the ongoing actions by China to send numerous animal species to the brink of extinction. That was not hate speech. I never used hurtful language. I never used a racial slur. I never called for the extermination of everyone living in China. But the goons at Facebook apparently considered my comment to be hate speech. The so-called community standards are applied inconsistently, or not at all, depending on -- what? No one knows.

Politics and right-wing leanings. These became too obvious in the run-up to the 2020 federal elections. Independent studies have shown the right-wing tendencies and policies in play at the social media giant.

Data mining. Have you noticed how, if you do an Internet search for something -- say, a new printer -- all of a sudden your FB newsfeed is filled with ads for printers? 

Pressure to buy an ad to promote my tiny photography business. I used t6o hid these ads, but6 now Facebook has removed my ability to do that.

The bottom line is, I am sick of Facebook. The ads are endless, especially when it comes to the constant pressure for me to 'boost this post' or 'connect with customers with an ad', and pay for ads for my small photography business. 

And like other social media, Facebook brings out the worst in so many keyboard warriors. People seem to feel emboldened to post hate-filled, inflammatory garbage, knowing that nothing will be done to rein them in.

The only reason I keep a presence on Facebook is because it provides an easy way to promote the sale of custom photo wall calendars, something I do to raise funds for a charity. Even then, I question whether I will maintain my presence. I stopped using my Instagram and Twitter accounts many years ago. Social media needs to be known as asocial media. I believe it does more harm than good.

Social media has outlived its usefulness in nearly all arenas. Whether I continue to maintain a presence remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts about t his behemoth platform? Good or bad?

 

America Loves Its Guns More Than Its Children

Today marks the ninth anniversary of the slaughter of 26 people, among them 20 six- and seven-year-old school children. That horrendous event took place in Connecticut on December 14, 2012.

To the surprise of no one, there was yet another school shooting a week or so ago. This one resulted in the murder of four teenage students and the wounding of seven other people. The 'alleged' shooter? A 15-year-old whose parents bought him a gun as a Christmas gift. Despite evidence of their son's disturbed mind, the parents refused to respond to calls from school officials. They refused to withdraw him from school, and school officials let him return to class with a backpack, later believed to have held the gun used in the killings. The parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for their part in the killings. School officials who failed to suspend the teen from school, instead letting him return to class, also are facing possible charges.

How long will we who continue to tolerate the slaughter of our children?

How much longer will students be expected to take part in active shooter drills, to pass through metal detectors at school entrances, and to fear for their lives each day they go to school?

How long will we ignore the warning signs of dangerous mental illness? 

How long will we fail to hold the parents of these child murderers accountable? 

How long will parents have to wonder each day when they send their children off to school whether that will be the last time they get to see their kids alive?

How many children have to be killed after being caught in the crossfire of gun battles in the streets, or during drive-by shootings? 

How many children in their homes, doing homework or sleeping or watching television, have to die?

There is a fundamental problem in this country involving firearms, the Second Amendment be damned. No civilian needs to own a semi-automatic handgun or rifle for hunting or self-protection. No civilian. Something has to be done. But as we have seen time after time after time, there is lots of hand ringing and there are lots of ‘thoughts and prayers’ offered by government officials, but nothing changes. 

If the slaughter of 20 young children in 2012 didn’t result in any changes, I have to wonder what it will take.

The bottom line is this: America loves its guns more than it loves its children.

Of course, children are not the only victims of gun violence. Recent shootings in public places have included grocery stores, shopping malls, businesses and movie theaters. Nowhere, it seems, is safe from the threat of being killed by some crazed or vindictive person with a gun.

It is long past time to answer the question: Does America love its guns more than the lives of its children? If the answer is 'no,' what are we as a nation willing to do about the violence against our children?

Be A Spark

The world is a dark place.

Environmental disasters. Political and civic discord. Wars. Oppression. A burgeoning crime rate across America. A pandemic that still claims more than 1,000 American lives each day. Poverty. Homelessness. Hunger. Religious zealotry. Politicians who care only about holding on to their power and serving their corporate masters. Rampant gun violence. Overwhelmed health care workers and hospitals. Mass extinctions on the horizon. People in my part of town report having their outdoor Christmas decorations stolen.

It all seems very overwhelming. What can I as one person do? Truth be told, not much. I do what I can, which isn't much. I recycle everything that is recyclable in the city where I live. I drive a fuel-efficient car. I drive only a few thousand miles a year, far below the national average. I turn off unneeded lights. I keep my house at a comfortable temperature without having the furnace or air conditioner run constantly. I try to buy products only in recyclable containers. All of the junk mail gets recycled. But in the big scheme of things, when against up against corporate polluters and countries that don’t care about the environment, my efforts seem puny indeed.

But perhaps if each of us determines to be a spark of light in our daily, mundane lives, the world won't seem quite so dark. I alone cannot feed everyone who needs food. But I can donate food and funds to my local food bank. I can volunteer. I cannot save elephants from extinction, but I can symbolically adopt an elephant orphaned by drought or by human violence and help those who will raise it until it is ready to resume its place in the African savannah. At least I can offer a friendly word or a complement that just might brighten someone's day. Kindness and a smile cost nothing.

I know. This isn't much. But maybe that spark will ignite a spark in another person's life. Maybe that person will pass that tiny spark on to someone else. Just as a stone thrown into a pond creates ripples, so, too, can a small spark possibly be the beginning of something much bigger. Maybe all it takes is a small spark to brighten the world for someone else.

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the darkness of this world, especially during the winter when daylight is in short supply and temperatures are uncomfortably cold. I know the feelings all too wall. I love the sun, and I bought a house with large windows and lots of skylights. So staying upbeat is a struggle during the winter. But I find solace in doing what I can, small as it may be, to help others. I like to think I am a spark in some small way. And that spark helps to brighten my world just a bit.

Be a spark.

I Despair

I have had this feeling for a few years, and it is getting stronger.

And indeed, world events combined with activity in the US are making this feeling even stronger.

I am in despair. I despair for the future of the United States as a democratic nation and as a nation of laws under which all are allegedly created, and treated, equally. 

I despair for the future of our planet because of our refusal to take the serious and immediate steps necessary to combat climate change. 

I despair for the future of wildlife as they struggle to survive as their habitat shrinks and as they are slaughtered to satisfy the greed of humans.

I despair for those who live their lives in abject poverty with no hope of escape. 

I despair for the place of women in our society as our rights continue to be stripped from us. 

I despair for the future of free elections, untainted by cheating, manipulation and voter suppression. 

I despair for the survival of a country so deeply divided not just over politics, but over a lack of respect for science and truth and compassion and equality and vaccinations and equal rights for women, and over everything necessary for the survival of a nation when there is no longer common ground.

I despair over politicians' willingness to ignore what is best for the nation in favor of their holding on to power.

I despair that Rethuglican politicians are working hard to disenfranchise communities that traditionally favor Democratic candidates, by closing neighborhood polling places, eliminating drive-up ballot drop-boxes, and taking similar steps that make it more difficult for the poor, for minorities and for the elderly to cast their ballots.

I despair that women still are treated by far too many as second-class citizens. It isn't only the Taliban in Afghanistan who treat women as 'less then.' 

We may lack the physical strength of some men, but we should be far removed from the days when brawn was more important than brains. We have the brains, the talent and the abilities of men. We can lead, often in a more compassionate manner, as well as men can. The daughter of a friend of mine has an extremely successful career as an officer in the US Navy. She has had command of a ship during the Gulf War. She didn't receive her command because of her muscles. Her ship wasn't painted pink. She earned her position. The next position above hers is rear admiral.

So why do we women, and our male supporters, continually have to fight for equal pay and for equal opportunities? 

I despair as this country moves ever closer to becoming an oligarchy, where wealth and power and control are in the grasp of only a few old, white men.

I am old, and frankly, I am glad that I won't have to live in a country that has fallen so very far from the ideals on which it was founded.

Tis the Season

Yep, it's that time of year again.

Thanksgiving has come and gone. The leftovers have been shoved into the refrigerator. 

Now it's time to start the annual tradition of rushing around. Time to create all sorts of stress for ourselves. Time to feel pressured and overwhelmed and not good enough. Time to spend ourselves into debt once more.  

It doesn't have to be that way. What if we take a step back and think about what we actually need to do versus what we think we have to do? What if we think about making some new traditions that won't destroy us physically, emotionally or financially?

What if we don't pile our plates high with fattening foods, no matter how tasty they are? What if we instead fill our hearts with love? Or if we fill our hearts with kindness? What if we try something different this year?

Don't spend all your money on frivolous Christmas gifts. Spend your innate gifts and talents to make the world a better place.

Don't fill your home with piles of  material things. Fill your life with memories and experiences and other things no money can buy.

Don't work so hard to accumulate more things. Instead, work to accumulate what I call karma points. We get karma points by doing good.

Don't get caught up in the madness of the season as you search for 'the perfect gift.' Instead of rushing around to buy more things you don't need, see how you can invest your time and energy to help others.

Don't try to show people you care by buying expensive and often unwanted or unneeded gifts. Instead, show the special people in your life that you care by planning a meaningful activity with them, or by helping them with a difficult chore, or by doing something else meaningful.

Make sure you take care of yourself. Take time to savor the simple things in life. Go for a walk. Play ball with your dog. Read a good book. Volunteer to help others. Develop your talents. 

I have drastically cut back on holiday activities. I no longer bake several kinds of cookies and make a 3-pound batch of fudge. Maybe I will make some shortbread this year, but that's it.

I don't rush around looking for 'the perfect gift.' If I find something I think someone would like, I buy it whenever I come across it. But there is no obligation, and I don't expect, or want, anything in return. 

I know that my daughter loves Hatch green chile and Dion's ranch dressing. So I mailed her three jars of green chile salsa and four bottles of her favorite ranch dressing, including one bottle with green chiles. She isn't expecting anything from me, but I knew these simple things will brighten her day. And they did. She messaged me to say how much the box of goodies means to her.

A friend loves to try new kinds of coffee, so I recently got a deal on three bags of beans for her to enjoy. Another friend likes to cook with flavored olive oils, so I will get her a gift card to the local olive oil shop.

I'm not stressing over shopping, because I feel no obligation to buy anything for these people. I buy something I know they will enjoy. None of these things is expensive. 

Television commercials screaming about Black Friday deals, the 'lowest prices of the season' and other inducements to get people to spend drive me crazy. I record everything on television that interests me, then I fast-forward through the commercials. Or I mute them if I happen to be watching in real time.

Instead of wasting money on buying things friends and family may not appreciate, I donate a bit extra to my favorite charities. Last week I sent a check to the local Meals on Wheels office, which provides hot meals and a bit of companionship to homebound elderly in my area. I made a large donation to a charity in Kenya that rescues, raises and releases orphaned elephants. I have a list of five other charities that will receive a donation this month.

Rather than feeling stressed over holiday gift buying, I feel a sense of happiness that I am able to financially support causes that are dear to my heart.