What's on YOUR Desk?

A friend sent me the question:  List ten things on your desk.  Now, I know you didn't lose sleep because you didn't know what's on my desk, and I know that knowing this doesn't matter one whit in the grand scheme of things, but answering this was kinda fun!

Okay.  I am a coffeeholic.  I have cups of coffee, some still hot and some that have cooled completely, all over my house.  Well....maybe not all over....  Nevertheless, the first noteworthy thing on my desk is my cup of coffee.

I don't have a lot of "open space."  I've always been like this.  When I was employed outside the home, I had "disorganized organization."  That's a nice way of saying that my desk looked like a bomb exploded on it.  Perpetually!  

So this corner of my desk has a phone (yes, I still use a landline!), business cards are clothes-pinned together, a Netflix DVD that I need to return, and a menu for Chinese food!  In the background is an organizer (which, in itself, for MY space, is really ironic!) with bills and greeting cards and statements and CDs, then there is a Facing Your Giants calender.  Apropos!

 

On the other side of my desk is my Greyhound mug filled with pens and pencils, stuffed Panda bears, and behind the bears is a wall calender hanging from the back wall of the hutch.  Then I have pix of some of my sponsored kids, HP printer, a stuffed chickadee (?) is on the printer (this was a Christmas present--when I squeeze it, it cheeps!), the paper behind its head is a list of 2012 suspense dates for a newsletter that I do for an organization, and a fold-out greeting card is taped to the back wall of the hutch.  Oh!  To the right of that is a pic of a friend and the book for a Bible study--"When Life is Hard."  In front on the desktop is my mouse, a wooden star which reads BELIEVE (another Christmas present!) and the remote control for my radio.

Well.  I have not been in the work force for over ten years, but little has changed regarding my desktop.  And I guess I still have trouble counting to TEN!

Now, I'm going to fire another question back to my friend.  Before taking pix, did you "tidy up a bit" first???  HA!

Poetry Pause - On the Edge of the Moon

It's not the same
as in black-and-white movies
where the good guy always wins,
the boy gets the girl,everyone lives happily ever after
and nobody ever dies.

I'm living life
on the edge of the moon.
Not afraid of falling off, exactly,
but a bit nervous of falling down
to Earth
and to full-color reality.
It's nice up here--
so much closer to Heaven.
But here, I am alone.

The hurt is healing
and, ultimately, I was born
with a determination and
a strength that Mother
never taught me
but exists, just the same.
It's in the blood.

So I will journey away
from the dark side of the Moon.
I will not fall from the edge
but I will take a leap.
Look out below.
I am coming back.

by Pandora
appeared in Stand Alone Literary Magazine
February 1999, Vol. 3, #1

Have you ever felt like this?  I wrote this several years ago.  I was down and depressed when I began to write, but writing things out is one way to change my attitude and perspective.  In writing, I realize that all is NOT gloom and doom, and I do have a choice NOT to be a victim.

Easy is good!

I am disabled with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.  As such, one of my many life mottos is, “Easy is good!”  I struggle with weakness and fatigue so I try to make life simple.  With that being said, welcome to In the Kitchen with MS -- Makeit Simple!  And this could apply to ANYone, really…Moms, seniors, any one who’s busy and doesn’t have a lot of time for fixing meals.

I always loved to cook, however I no longer cook the way I used to.  I look for recipes that are fast and easy, and prefer ones I can make in a crock pot or casserole dish.  I like a “medium-size” recipe that will yield about four servings.  That way, I have leftovers (which I LOVE!) and/or extra helpings that I can freeze for later.

Some additional “helps” that I do--when I get a LOT veggies and am not going to use them immediately, I try to freeze each in their own baggies.  This works with almost anything—onion, green peppers (green, red and hot ones!), broccoli, cauliflower, etc.  Whenever I need them for cooking, they’re right in the freezer.  Same with ground beef.  Either I make hamburger patties and freeze them, or I brown the burger in pieces and freeze that to use in chili, soups or casseroles.

I also like to make up my own recipes.  When I can, I go gluten-free.  (I feel better when I cut out the gluten, MS-wise.  By the way, this appears to be helping a LOT of MSers.  Gluten-free!).  One evening I made, what I call, Chicken Veggie Pasta.

Made gluten-free pasta.  Sautéed garlic in olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then threw in some hunks of chicken to warm up.  (Made the chicken in the crock pot the night before.)  In another small pan, par-boiled a crook-neck squash, drained, cut in pieces and added them to the chicken. Cut up a tomato.  Added a handful of cooled, cooked black beans.  Grated Parmesan.  Threw it all together in the pan with the garlic chicken, covered, cooked on low until hot.  Then, poured this on top of the pasta.  Pretty tasty.  Even for being (GASP!) gluten-free.

Marriage and Home and Life and Love

I’m on a nostalgia kick, here.  I keep this picture on my desk.  It’s probably one of my favorite pictures of Mother and Daddy.  Photographically, it wouldn’t win any awards.  You can’t see their faces.  But it’s one of those pictures that, for me, speaks volumes.

I remember taking it ... I was only about eight or ten years old.  I was sitting on the staircase behind them.  I see so very much in this picture ... had to be winter because of the boots to the left of the front door, and Daddy’s sweater, and Mother’s slipper-socks.  Daddy is standing there, looking out the window which looked out over the valley ... what was he thinking?  Was he imagining?  Dreaming?  Trying to sort out a problem?  Or simply thinking about shoveling more snow tomorrow?  Mother, ever present, looking up at him ... in love? (Always ... she adored him.)  Talking?  Dreaming with him, or problem-solving with him?  His arm around her shoulder (there was always physical contact between them) ... drawing her close ... in love? (Always.) ... maybe protection?  And there was our little poodle, Smoky, bottom center, gazing up at the both of them.

Taking that picture at such a young age, it was like reading a living example of what Marriage and Home and Life and Love is all about, should be about.  Not a lot of money, but more than enough of themselves to go around.  I’m sure, though, that this picture draws only me.  And it does every time I look at it.  So blessed.

Wordless Wednesday ~ It's for the Birds!

Wait a minute Mister Postman

I am a dyed-in-the-wool letter-writer.  Email is fine for exchanging jokes, sharing photos and short updates with friends on the other side of the country or just down the street.  But, there’s just SOMEthing about receiving a letter or card in the mail from a good friend, addressed to you alone.  I think it’s knowing that someone cares enough to want to share this piece of their life with you.  It’s knowing that your friend knows that this could be oh-so-boring to other people – “I made a good, strong, hot pot of coffee this morning.  It’s gray and raining buckets here.  I have a massive headache, but I’m still going to try to do some writing this afternoon….” 

But Friendship is the bond between you.  It’s knowing that, upon opening this envelope, I am about to be transported miles from my home to a small, friendly kitchen in another part of the country…another part of the world.  I can almost see my friend’s face through the steam from the cup of coffee…almost inhale the woodsy fragrances of her home…almost hear soft strains of music wafting from the dining room…almost feel the warmth and silky fur of her cat on my lap…almost as good as being right there with her.

…I must be off now.  I think I’m going to go write a letter and mail some love.

Computer Literacy

It all began innocently enough.  I am not very computer literate.  I mean, I can edit photos.  I do documents in the word processing side of it.  I make greeting cards in Publisher.  And email.  So when I couldn’t download a game, I emailed my “computer guru” friend, “It’s telling me there’s not enough space.”  His response: “That’s impossible.  I’ll come and look at it.”

He did.  And you know that little pie chart that shows you how much space you have?  My pie was solid blue.  My friend, “How did you DO this?!”  My response was a deer-in-the-headlights look.  He continued, “This is a 7 gig hard drive!  It’s FULL!”

Now, this means basically nothing to me.  I have no concept whatsoever of how large a gigabyte is, nor kilobytes, megabytes, nor any of that.  I’m more of a “visual person.”  I can take a 5-lb. bag of flour, pour it into a bowl and, if it overflows, I need less flour or a bigger bowl.

“You can keep working,” he said.  But he was muttering as he left, “I gotta research this…how in the world…?”

So I just won’t play games for now.  Not that I’m a big “gamer” to begin with.  There are less than a dozen games downloaded to my computer – the usual like Solitaire, maybe two or three hidden object games, a word game, a trivia game….

I can write letters, get and send email and download photos.  That’ll tide me over for a while.

When I know something, you’ll know, too.

Wonder how many gallons are IN a gigabyte?

Meet my 4-legged "kidz!"

I hope to cover a variety of topics on this blog:  Greyhounds, recipes, Multiple Sclerosis, volunteering, the Answer to life, amateur digital photography, books, humor…and YOUR ideas about where you would like to go on this journey.

I think I’ll begin with my four-legged family.  I am a Greyhound Mom, and adopted my first retired racing Greyhound in 2002.  I will talk about ALL of my “kidz” later on, to be sure.  But I have only two right now—the oldest is my fawn-colored boy Max who will be 13 this May.  The second is a seven year old red fawn and black brindle girl, Mia Pasha, and each of her names is from my two closest friends.

My favorite story is about, Max.  A few years ago, I was fostering another Greyhound in addition to mine.  She found the basket of stuffie toys that I have for my Greys, she found a toy she liked, and promptly trotted out the dog door with the toy in her mouth!

I was outside on the patio and thought that I’d just retrieve the toy when she dropped it.  But I didn’t have to!  Max then came out the dog door, looked at me as if to say in disgust, “Doesn’t that new dog know any better?!  We don’t take our toys outside!”  He went up to her and took the toy from her, turned around and took the toy into the house!  I never taught him to do that!

But he is a very smart boy…well, he’s an old man at 13.  Ah, he’ll always be Mommy’s Boy!

I’ll think of a story to tell about Mia Pasha tomorrow.