Missing the word

I just want to send a message to all of my blog connections....sorry for my "no show", "no word" life lately!  I have been a bit "slumpie" lately and every word I type seems to be missing something or falling short of what I want to say....
Today, I knew that I had to come back, so I hope the slump has passed, I missed reading your life bites and laughing at your clever expressions!

Who knows, maybe I can get something on paper today besides this note to all of you!

Thank, J.

Just a Bitch...

Oh, no...maybe I mean, "just a gripe!"
After all, one must maintain a certain dignity and political correctness, right?

Okay, life sucks a bit, the economy is bad, I have lost some extra work and my funds will be lower.  Insurance has been adjusted and my medication has gone up over 300% from last month.  My Dad just passed away, my boyfriend is on crutches and is on workman's compensation, until he can get back to work!  I have not been taking great care of myself and I guess I am just overwhelmed with feeling, "It just ain't gonna get better".

SO, big move!  I am getting back on track, eating in check, vitamins, if I need extra money, I will find something to do, things will come my way!  I am reading a good book, starting my yoga again and writing!  You know,  getting things done, this will all turn out okay.


GO to the lovely park that is very close to my office on the way home.  Smile and walk, smile and walk... things are going fine, birds are singing, the weather is great.  Smile and walk, acknowledge people and talk to the little baby with the funny stripped leggings on tiny bowed legs (really cute).  The train rumbles by nosily, down the track.  I have been around those tracks for more than 30 years and have even taken a ride on a steam engine, when I was a kid.  My Dad was an engineer, so we got to go along with him, it was so awesome!  We went across Lake Pontchartrain and the bridge was so narrow it was like a being inside a giant sea serpent, as he jumped in and out of the waves and headed to the far shore.  Seems like trains have always been in my life, the passing giant is a comfort... I smile and walk on, glad that I came.

As I am making my way around the circle for the 4th time, I happen to look up.  I read and walk and then I stop!  Huh?  I back up and read again!  Oh my God, I am in a public park and the sign says "No sports related activities allowed in park"!  Are you -------- kidding me?

I take my camera from my pocket and snap a shot, seems like this might be a topic for blogging.  I live in Southeastern Louisiana, hot bed of politics and the best (and most fattening) food around.  There is no public transportation, so you have to drive everywhere... I tried walking from my home to the nearby shopping center once, and took my life in my hands!  There is not even a good clearance on the side of the main road, which is a highway, so you just can't get there from here, on foot or by bike anyway.

There are national programs (that I am guessing are paid for with public funds, as was the park) underway right now, with advertisements for people to play and hour a day.  We have to promote the idea for our kids to get outside.  My guess is that the national add campaign does not fit in with the city planning here; Guess you cannot stay healthy in this park..... some politicians decided that we need to limit the use of a park and green space to no allow no sports related activities!  That is insane.

What you cannot see from my photos is the row of flags in the park, one of them THE AMERICAN FLAG....if my eyes did not deceive me!

I am floored and more depressed than before.    I know why it happened, I just cannot believe that it did.

During the spring, I spread a blanket and read a book in a very pretty spot, near the bayou.  After school, bunches of kids came out and were playing football.  There was a boom box, and lots of activity...and these kids came from the center of town.  Not the better neighborhoods, actually, close by to where I lived as a child.  So, in order to manage the use of the park and not liking what they saw, my guess is these signs were the answer to control.
I think what it should have meant to those we entrust with our care, is that maybe we need more open spaces for the kids to play!  I am sure that they cannot go on to the school fields, because that would be some liability.  There are private fields and tennis courts.  But no open basketball courts or space for football, and surely not in the middle of the city.
This is not the first time I have been upset by these types of rules.  We have a beautiful seawall along the shore a town a few towns over from mine.  It is beautiful, there are benches and very old oaks, great views of our lake and on a clear day, you can see the outline of the city of  New Orleans.  Just don't try to plan a family picnic or bring your bagged lunch, because those signs say "No food or Drink Allowed".
Amazing!  I guess the taxpayers who live in those lovely homes overlooking the water (that I envy) don't think public use should be uncontrolled.
I have been to very prominent lakes in other parts of this country, with some of the most expensive housing around and I was free to picnic with my family under those oaks...
I really don't know what else to say, except that life sucks a bit, right now...  And apparently for more people than just me!

The world has gone crazy!

One on Muzz...

Today is My Grandmother's 97th Birthday...so this is a re-post is in her honor.
We took her out for oysters and she has been munching on her cake, she got a new purse and a gemstone ring, also phone calls and some cards from friends and family! She had a great day! Happy Birthday, Muzz!

Just a note of tribute and blast from our past...there is only one Muzz!
She is still going strong and has put up with a lot of things in her life. She is funny and still wants to be 20, but her body just won't let her. She cares about her family and wants to wear stylish clothes. She saves coins for the kids and loves to read her paper everyday! She loves to eat, no matter what I fix, she loves it, and my Mom cannot take her out to eat enough times in one week. She has a "boyfriend" waiter at the local Mexican place, he takes her arm and escorts her to her table.

She loves routine and hates being late, she also hates those the little weeds that grow near her car door. She is a bird watcher and wants a bose wave radio...
Napping is a "no-no" even at 95 and she hates politics. Men in their 60's who hold a door and smile are "old coots" and she must have her hair is done once a week!

She hates her hearing aid and is looking for a cane...but she is not stopping. I think she really wishes she could deal with a computer!
This women made my clothes, played battle with me until she must have been exhausted, she let me set the table and clapped when I did my dance routines to Lawerence Welk.
She worked for a record company and was a fabulous cook...
She misses her Fuzzy and all of those who have gone before her. She has seen a whole lot of things change in her lifetime. She has problems understanding why the world has changed so much and still expects customer service and merchants to know her name.
She loves little Andrew (her great, great grandson) and still misses her Daddy and Mother.
Thanks, Muzz for all that you have given us, we are glad you are here!

I am here for you,

I have spent my days waiting for the very moment we will share a single space in time...

You are there,

doing things you say are for others,

but there must be something in it for you...

I am very strong and believe in myself; I can do anything on my own! But my heart beats with a thunderous power when ever I am near to you. A grey and solitary day is not where my longing is satisfied...

Time continues and yet, no change takes place.

Seasons come and go and once again the dying leaves of winter surround my pale, bare skin.

You are supposed to be the loving witness to my life... of my every proud belief and of my smallest, selfish fears. Yet, as I speak aloud, only an empty echo return from the void.

What will change?

The earth will rest in winters cold and dying leaves will nourish the blooms that form in spring. Cycles will keep time with a natural rhythm and nothing will remain unchanged.

Summer rains will violently fill open skies with a thunderous power and I will only cover my ears.

Because when I speak aloud, I will only hear the empty echos of my lonely heart...

I am here!

You are there!

There must be something in it for you...

I am Fickle Cattle.: The Winner of Fickle Cattle's Very First Fabulously Fantastic Giveaway is...

I am Fickle Cattle.: The Winner of Fickle Cattle's Very First Fabulously Fantastic Giveaway is...

I was surprised and happy to win and look forward to using my gift card at the CSN Stores (csnstores.com)!

Thanks for the opportunity and please check out my blog...Wish I Was on Higher Ground (I am just beginning to write and would love the comments).
And also, you should really check out the blog of the contest organizer, I am Fickle Cattle!

Thanks!

Six Word Sunday!

I picked this up from one of the blogs that I follow, "Crazy Thoughts" by Starlight...this is just for a day when you just do not seem to create like you feel that you should; It is something to share and a it can be challenge to pick the words that actually paint the picture of your day! I loved reading those created by fellow bloggers. Here is my first stab at it, have a nice Sunday!

Solitariness,

Introspective,

Snuggled,

Snuffly,

Affirmed,

Prizewinner!

Lavender Veil...

Wrapped in warmth beneath a pale, lavender veil...coolness settles down upon the shoulders that have escaped from my cocoon.

I turn and stretch, pushing the harsh light away from my sleepy vision as I resist the necessary order of the day.

Secure and serene, I wish to languish in the warmth, forever.

Unwrapped, exposed, as I ride along my way; breeze caresses my face and I notice the earth wrapped in a silken mist.

Water lies invisible beneath the bridge as I cross over, the trees hidden from my sight by swirling billows of a filmy, gauze cloak.

The sun is a far and diffuse broken light that attempts to push through the cocoon...

It is as if the earth reflects my lazy morning view as the day bursts upon us.

Secure and serene, mother nature echos my wish to languish and hide from the necessary order of the day... beneath her pale, lavender veil!