How many Mondays?

My mental meanderings on the drive home went something like this:

Was there anything about this day or in my head worth writing about? The very quick, almost automatic answer -- no, not really... ....

What made this day different from any other Monday?  last Monday? the first Monday of November? Monday a year ago? Do I remember Monday a year ago?

Or maybe the real question ought to be how did I want this day to be different? How did I want to feel about this day? Did I have any expectations?

I can't answer any of the questions, except with more questions. I don't remember the first Monday in December a year ago. I'm not sure I remember what happened Monday of last week or the one before that... except that Monday's do have a kind of flavor to them... and first Monday's of the month sort of have their own flavor too. There is a mixture of new beginnings and catch up.

How many days have I lived??     How many Mondays is that?? Since they are a finite quantity, shouldn't I be paying more attention?

How was yours?

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Among the mundane

It becomes necessary to look more closely amid the mundane to find the little delights and be determined to enjoy them in spite of the gray clouds that must be lurking somewhere.






Taken from the car window




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Seasons

There is an old joke which comes to mind now and again- the punchline is "We have four seasons here in LA, too; Mudslide, Drought, Fire, and Earthquake".


The above was taken on Saturday from my window upstairs. The Santa Anas had been blowing strong all night and there were fires to the west of us.


This was taken this morning, from outside. The winds have pretty much died down, but the smoke is moving in.


This was taken only a few hours later.

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A piece of summer

We went to Cambria in July. We stayed in an inn on Moonstone Beach. It was the first vacation as a couple that didn't involve a trip to the Mid-West or East coast to see family. We've been married 25 years (in July) and never been on a vacation alone, just the two of us. Almost scary stuff, that.

It was gorgeous and interesting and of course, chilly on the central coast. We walked on the beach several times a day. We did some touristy things like going to Hearst Castle, and a little local art and trinket shopping. I am always amazed at the amount of 'made in some third world country' stuff mixed in with the real thing that is available in these little tourist towns.

It was a very pleasant week. But there were vague, discomfort just below the surface, feelings, bobbing into almost focus in random little moments. That has been happening for a couple of years. I haven't figured out exactly what is wrong and what I ought to be doing instead of what I am -- and I think that flows over into a lot of different things it has no business coloring.

And at the oddest moments, it still does.

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Intentions

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. ~Peter F. Drucker
On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of decision, sat down to wait, and waiting died. ~Sam Ewing

I've opened a compose page once a week, every week, for months. I write, edit, get stuck somewhere before finishing, then wander off to look up something or clarify something or think some more, get sidetracked, and give up. It's not thought that is stagnated exactly, nor creativity, but something else that stops me. And often something in my thoughts and the writing seems either too honest or not honest enough.

I've learned a few things in the past couple of years in between my very sporadic posts. But I don't know if I can articulate anything of value for anyone else. I don't necessarily want to be just part of the noise. Yet I am not entirely ready to say I've quit blogging completely.

I've got a few pictures to post, a few thoughts to see if I can put down, simply because I need to share somewhere. I think I'm ready to try to keep some kind of regularity here on this page. Intentions aren't enough. Action and follow through are all that matters.

OH... I suppose it goes without saying that I'm happy with the way the national elections turned out.

If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. ~Barack Obama

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"there is a special place in hell"

"Women must help other women. I have this saying that I use quite frequently, which is that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other. A woman with power must understand that, in actuality, her role is to help others. For a woman who wants to be at the center of power, she must understand that her power is actually maximized by encouraging more women to participate in the system."
~Madeleine K. Albright former U.S. Secretary of State in an interview at iKNOW politics

I found myself close to apologizing yesterday for gender being the final plus factor in my support of Senator Clinton's run for the presidency. And then I thought screw this; why should I apologize for wanting a woman whose policies I mostly agree with to win the nomination? I have some issues with Senator Obama and some of his policy positions (though there isn't a huge gulf between their positions) and I honestly am a slight bit uneasy about some of his untested areas and some of his foreign policy statements and positions.

I like and agree with most of Senator Clinton's policy statements. She has experience, passion and level headedness AND she is a woman. In my lifetime there hasn't ever before been a candidate for any office I have been more pleased with supporting. And shame on me for even momentarily considering I might need to apologize for giving weight to gender.

More snippets of the Madeline Albright interview:

"My advice to women is to have a sense of confidence that what you have to offer is worthwhile. You can make a difference. You have to make a difference. Then, having made up your mind that you have been put on this earth to make a difference, you must use the resources that are available to you ..."


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The Politcal Season

"If you want something said, ask a man...if you want something done, ask a woman." ~Margaret Thatcher

I'm heavily leaning towards ... Senator Clinton... but not yet fully committed. Her banner is on my car side windshield, but I haven't contributed to her campaign... yet...

I'm not registered to that party, so I won't be able to vote for her in the primary next Tuesday, but my husband will.

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Lists

Ran into this wandering around:
Fifty Things I've Learned in Fifty Years

It has such gems as:

10. Empathy is the greatest virtue. From it, all virtues flow. Without it, all virtues are an act.
That sounds right....

and
35. Candor is overrated. It’s hard to unsay what you’ve said in anger and almost impossible to take back what you’ve written.
Oh yeah.. at least the second half is so very regrettably true.

and this one
39. All the stuff you have lying around that you’ll never want, need, wear or look at again? It just makes it harder to find what you do want, need or intend to wear. File it, donate it or throw it out.
I need to engrave this one where I will see it daily..

and these
49. Whatever your passion, pursue it as though your days were numbered. Because they are.

50. Readers love lists. You got to the bottom of this one, didn’t you?

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