#464...on being phenomenal.

I got this in an email today - probably many of you have too at some point or another - but I thought it was worth posting for those who didn't and should have...

(did that make sense?)

In April, Oprah interviewed Maya Angelou on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. And, there on television, she said it was "exciting." (really now...)

Regarding bodily changes, she said there were many occurring every day...like her breasts -  "They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first." The audience laughed so hard they cried. (this is not funny, trust me..)

She is such a simple and honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words! Here is what she shared with the audience that day:

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today,  Life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow." (yeah, but which tommorow is the kicker..)

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, (great for cooking and watching old movies) lost luggage, (uh...stroke material) and tangled Christmas tree lights." (make the kids do it.)

"I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life." (every day.)

"I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as "making a life." (but making a living helps with the "making a life" part...am I right?)

"I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. " (and thirds..and fourths..)

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back." (and keep a bat handy too why doncha...)

"I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision." (and sometimes risk getting a heartache...)

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one." (why?)

"I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back." (or a good kick in the pants - and I mean that in a very loving way...)

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn." (moi?)

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  (hmm...I wonder - )
                  

Of course, I was too lazy to pass this on to all my other phenomenal friends via email...but that doesn't mean I don't know how fortunate I am to be surrounded by phenomenal women online and off - every single day...

and phenomenal men too, for that matter...

thank you and cheers to my phenomenally phenomenal friends!

#463...on living.

Your life is a sacred journey
and it's about to change...
growth, discovery, movement, transformation,
continuously expanding your vision of
what is possible, stretching your soul,
learning to see clearly & deeply,
listening to your intuition,
taking courageous risks,
embracing challenges at every step along
the way.
You are on the path exactly where
you are meant to be right now...
and from here, you can only go
forward, shaping your life story
into a magnificent triumph,
of healing, of courage, beauty,
wisdom, power, dignity & love.

~anon.

#462...Living Eulogy

 

she danced.
she sang. she took.
she gave. she served.
she loved.
she dissented.  She
          enlivened.
she saw. she grew. she
                      sweated.
        she changed.
she learned. she laughed.
she shed
     her skin.
she bled on the pages of her days,
                 she walked
               through walls,
      she lived with intention.

                                                      ~maryanne hershey

Today, I received a note from Slac, informing me that his mother Jane, fondly known to the rest of us as Hane the Matriarch, has passed, deciding to move onto bigger and more wondrous things...

Rest well, Miss Hane - and know we will look after your favoured son ...as he does us in wonderous and amazing ways...

"And i am especial

Happy that grief is short & passing,

but Love and Forebearance are both

strong and long=lasting.

*

Remember, then, your own fair Mother

who taught you all the same exact

things. They Orphan us Not."

~slac~

#461...one of my pet peeves.

I stole this from Paul, who got this from Jay, who got it from Ray. " Where did Ray get it? I'm thinking from Kay, or Fay, but I really don't know." ~Plittle

 

1-WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT?

  Einstein's Cosmos, by Michio Kaku

oh, and the complete FAR SIDE Collection by Gary Larson

(depends on how much fiber I had that day...)

2-WHAT IS PRINTED ON YOUR MOUSEPAD?
mmmm...lets see...

"for a good time - call Flora at 789-3314"  - hey! wait a minute!! 

3-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOARD GAME?

Chess -but the kids always quit when I capture their Queen. 


4-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MAGAZINE?

Discover Magazine - whenever I can steal one from a waiting room. 

5-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SOUND?

   "Honey, I left $150. bucks for you on the counter.."

what.

6-WHAT'S THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

  The worst feeling in the world is throwing up after just eating bean soup. 

don't even ask, I am still traumatized. 


7-WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF IN THE MORNING?
"Damn, I missed morning again." 


8-HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU PICK UP THE PHONE?

If my kids don't get it by the fourth ring - then why should I? 

9-WHAT WOULD YOU NAME YOUR FUTURE CHILD AND/OR DOG?

  Imaculatta Conceptiona and Fifi.

you guess which is for whom...

10-WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE?

  Uh, oxygen.

Wait - was that a trick question? 

11-WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE FOODS?

peanut butter and strawberry jelly on wonder bread, ice cold milk, tuna on rye, chocolate cake, pinapple juice, peaches in season, shrimp cocktail, bagel & cream cheese, turkey club done just right, chicken soup, homemade anything, pretzels, mashed potatoes, chocolate, chocolate covered strawberries, rice pudding, cheerios, poptarts, grilled salmon, eggs, cheese, coffee, butter on fresh rye bread, and a kir royale (veuve clicquot ponsardin) with two raspberries. Do you want me to go on? I could you know.. 

12-DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST?

especially while singing "fun, fun, fun, on the autobahn..."

but a fast boat on the open ocean is even better.  yee-ha!  

13-DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

only after I make him a good meal...

14-WOULD YOU CLASS STORMS AS COOL OR SCARY?

  I would class them as scarycool in a stormy way, that is.

15-WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

at 16 - an already vintage, light blue 1964 biscayne chevy. 

no power steering, no power windows, no power brakes,

no power, period.

 

and you wonder why I like to drive fast.....

16-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
DOM Benedictine on ice, after a breezy cold walk on the beach with my love. 


17-DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OFF BROCCOLI? 

of course, don't you? 

18-IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

been there, done that,

have the roots. 

19-IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
    now that depends on the size of the glass now, doesn't it?

20-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? it's a tie..
I'm a Lion in Winter/ Lord of the Rings/ Gladiator kinda gal.. 

21-DO YOU TYPE WITH THE CORRECT FINGERS ON THE CORRECT KEYS?
catholic schooling - what do you think?  

22-WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?

a trebuchet. 

23-WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? 

my husband trying to bathe the cat. 

24-SAY AT LEAST ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU:
           he believes he's a cowboy poet. (we all know differently.) 

25-WHO HAVE YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
uh.. 

26-WHO HAVE YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
uh.. 

27-DO YOU PREFER HORROR MOVIES OR COMEDY FILMS?

  comedy films are pretty funny..and horror films are pretty scary - that's a toughie...I'd have to choose

drama. 

28-WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF DAY?

"...But she knew that for a minute before sunrise, when the sky began to lighten, showing dark early clouds, there was often a pause when nothing moves, not even time, and she was always happy to be up and in that moment."   <---yeah, that moment.

29-WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

that game...oh you know..."34 questions." 


30-IS THERE ANYONE YOU HAVEN'T FORGIVEN?

no. and still haven't forgotten either. 

31-WHAT TYPE OF MILK DO YOU DRINK?

skimmed. (it's a catholic guilt fashion mag kinda thing) 

32-DO YOU MAKE YOUR BED IN THE MORNING?

in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, even -

it's not my fault. My mother instilled very strict cleaning values. 

33-HOW MANY TVs ARE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD?
three - but only two with working remotes.  (ask the son where the third one is)

34-WHO PUTS THE GARBAGE OUT?
whoever happens to be within screaming range.

#460...Flora's Deep Latin Thought #1

So, I was sitting around thinking about that last entry in Latin the other day, when suddenly it occurred to me:  "ignotum per ignotius." (: (explaining) the unknown by means of the more unknown )

I mean really - he's such the homme moyen sensuel (: the average nonintellectual man)  for being the President of these great United States...isn't he?

 

 

#459....the king reigneth supreme-eth

Supremely sovereign in his own Neo-neanderthal kinda right.

am i right?

 

view for yourself~~~

                                http://media.ebaumsworld.com/sovereignty.mov

at least he's entertaining...in a larry, moe, curly kinda way...

he really is his own little entity, isn't he?..and in his own little entity world too, for that matter

(in bushspeak, that is.)

   

#458...a ornithology service announcement.

Okay, so on the first morning of the first day of the new+year, the first son yells from the kitchen =

    "Mom, what the hell kind of bird is that?!  Look - it's eating a snake!"

And lo and behold on the neighbor's rooftop was none other than a giant blue stork enjoying a new year's feast. 

It was an exciting discovery, yet also a little disturbing all the same - I mean, come on! - we just do not have storks in Pennsylvania - and we certainly do not have (shivering...) SNAKES in the backyard.........do we? !

so, we grabbed the camera and ran out in our pj's and slippers - and caught up with the blue stork in a nearby creek, searching yet for more slithery things..

After a few shots and a wee bit of research, apparently, we do have snakes in the backyard   as well as Ardea herodias'...

don't believe me?  well, looky here folks...er...rather - due to a FTP space overload - look up there folks...

yep...that thar bird up there is called a Great Blue Heron, more commonly known as the Ardea herodias (but some of you probably already knew that...)

it stands 46 inches tall, and has a wing span of 72 inches. 72. I repeat - Se-ven-ty two inches - wing span...why...why...that's a full 6 (SIX) FEET! ...that ain't no tweety bird folks - that's a frickin Boeing 747 sitting in my back yard...

and probably yours too.

For apparently the Ardea herodias is "the most widespread and familiar heron across much of the country, andalso the largest heron in North America." It habitats the wetlands and still water, builds an "untidy-looking" nesting platform of sticks, either in trees, bushes, or cliffs, sometimes up to 100 ft above the ground.  It can fly 10-15 miles to where fish (or snakes apparently) are plentiful, to stand patiently in the water or on a bank waiting to spear a catch. 

Oh wait..and it also says here - "they also sometimes eat frogs, snakes, and small mammals."  huh! small MAMMALS??!!...it's a fricking pterodactyl!  hmmm...that might explain the missing cats in the neighborhood...

So thanks to Aunt Flora's Ornithology Lesson #1- the next time you have a shadowy this---->

 pass over your house, with no accompanying jet engine sounds - you will immediately be able to identify the UFO as none other than the harmless catstealingsnakegulpingbabyeating Great Blue Heron of North America.

 

Thank you. And Happy New Year.  I return you now to your regularly scheduled program.