From inside a handbasket

This picture actually has nothing to do with this episode of Splendora's Blog. I just really like it. It was taken in Alaska and it was a beautiful spot.

I didn't go to Church today (gasp). I woke up with a headache and stayed home while Phil went to help Kathy do the Godly Play group. He also skipped the service. We are trying to get accustomed to a new routine on Sundays.

I got the new Peggle Nights game and spent about 4 hours today playing it. It is mindless fun!

We watched the documentary film "I'm Your Man' tonight. It is a tribute to my favorite poet...Leonard Cohen. In one of the interviews he said something about life being easier when you cease to be the hero of your own drama and stop expecting victories. We both liked that comment.

Thanks again to Leonard..

"Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in..."

I read an interview with Elizabeth Edwards and she mentioned the song "Anthem" on 'The Future ' CD. I hadn't listed to this in a while and so I put in on my iPod. It is almost a perfect song.

Go Pokes!

I was finally able to put Jordan's OSU overalls on her. I bought them when she was about 3 months old and they are a size 18 months...so I've had to wait a bit.
Phil and I took her to the park today and she got her clothes wet in the fountain. When we got home, the only thing I had to put on her was this outfit. At least that's the story that her OU loving mom gets told.
She has a leaf on her head because she likes leaves and wanted this one on her head.
She is quite the outdoors girl. She likes to be outside and she likes walking around barefoot.

It's raining, it's pouring...

We've been watching the Weather Channel and checking the radar as Hurricane Ike dumps its leftover water on Muskogee. Hurricane rain is different somehow...kinda salty. Of course, we are having nothing like what people have endured in Texas. It is odd to have the rain swirling in from the east instead of the southwest. I do have a great umbrella to use, so I will not get too wet when I go out. I just keep thinking that "a hard rain is gonna fall."

I've been eagerly watching the construction of the new Braums that is being built across from the Health Dept. Every day I see more progress being made. It won't be long before the glorious new, big, drive-thru Braums has its grand opening. For those readers who aren't able to see this magnificent building project, I've included a picture. This is just one of those things that make living in Muskogee worthwhile.

Updating last 10 weeks.

Since today is Labor Day and I have done NO labor all day...or all weekend, I am going to labor on updating my blog.
New developments in my life:
1. Got a great new refrigerator with freezer on the bottom!
2. Signed up for Schwans' food delivery of frozen foods to put in my new refrigerator with the bottom freezer.
3. Learned that going on a cruise is the ultimate vacation and that I was born to cruise.
4. Learned that Alaska is a great vacation spot.
5. Enjoyed chasing Jordan around now that she is walking/running.
6. Said goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye to really good friends. Still having some issues with the departure of the Woodliff family.
7. Finished selling property in Edmond...load of bricks off my back.
8. Discovered the Schwans' "Black Raspberry Supreme" ice cream is really yummy.
9. Got an IPhone and have had great fun playing with everything on it.

I don't want to hurt my brain, so that's all I can post tonight.

Mouse Obit

I just received a copy of this obituary and thought I'd pass it along:





From the Rodent Gazette


Thursday, June 12, 2008



We mourn the passing of our beloved great grandfather, grandfather, father, brother, son, nephew and friend, Artoo Biscuit Abukcheech son of the late Chompers and Nibbles (Keegoomsk) Abukcheech who was taken suddenly from us in a tragic food foraging accident. Artoo was on his usual nightly forage (always providing for his growing family) and mistook a lethal trap for the humane trap that had always been available for him. He died instantly.
He leaves to mourn his passing his wife Snickers, sons, daughters, grand and great grandchildren and other family members too numerous to mention.
A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church in Muskogee (where many of his family have been deported) on Monday June 16th at 1 am. Officiating will be the Reverend Panya Achbor. In lieu of flowers, the family requests peanut butter crackers all around.

Crunched Metal and Sweets

If you've read M&Bs Blog, you know about their bumper-car ride on the Turnpike last Wednesday. Since they chose to encase themselves in a sturdy steel box with great safety features, they are in relatively good shape physically. Megan called me to pick them up after the wreck and the two of them were shaky and shocky. Jordan, however, was her usual cheery self and seemed perplexed about all the hubbub. I immediately bought her 2 new toys from Target to make up for the wild ride she took. I then thought I should get Megan and Brett a treat also, so I got them blackraspberry jam and truffles. I think a sugar coma will be healing.
Although I was calm, supportive and helpful to everyone and thought I had it all under control, I think I was a little stressed out by this event. I realized that I had been stressed when I got up in the morning and started to put my contacts in. It was then I found that I had not taken them out and instead slept in them all night. So I have tried to heal myself also and ate a bag of dark chocolate covered cherries and some truffles. Yummmmm. I'm all better now.

Of Mice and Granddaughters

I've been following the adventures of the Shea/Harper mouse-capades. My theory is that the little rodents love to commute between the Lutheran Church and M&Bs house. But since this is a little tiring for their tiny legs, the prefer for one part of the journey to be in a special metal box. I believe that this is their version of an SST. They can scavenge for bits of Jaxon's dog food and then be treated to a quick ride to the church's kitchen for more snacking...maybe even communion wafers. If Brooke could make little outfits for the mice, then it would be easier to track them. I think a variety of clothing styles would be good, since we don't know their taste in apparel.

And now for something almost completely different, my empathetic granddaughter. When Phil was holding Jordan yesterday and patting her on the back, she began patting his back at the same time. Megan said that Jordan does this to her also. Phil sees this as precocious empathy. He just might be right.

Plastic Brain

I just read an article in "Science" magazine about adult brain plasticity. Now this is probably not DIRECTLY applicable to humans because the research was done on rats, but the results were very interesting. Exposure to antidepressants increased brain plasticity in these rats in regard to their visual systems. Chronic administration of antidepressants increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the visual cortex and reduced intracortical inhibition and promoted recovery of vision (the mean scientists had caused long-term monocular deprivation).
Since the mechanism of action of antidepressent drug is not clear, this may help explain it through neuronal plasticity.
What a great idea...Prozac (and Zoloft and Celexa and Lexapro and.....) make the brain more plastic and could promote brain growth and change.
I have an image of my brain made of different colors of Playdough and being squashed and rearranged. Or maybe it is more like Silly Putty.
And why is this important to me? The study of rat brains? Well, it is because in the Chinese system I AM A RAT. So it has to apply to me.
Whoops, I forgot to take my fluoxetine, better go take it now. I might even double my dosage.

Inheritance?

A word about my lovely grandchild, Jordan. I think it may be possible to inherit acquired skills. How else can you explain an 8 month old baby crawling across the den floor, bypassing all of her educational toys, finding the X-Box controller, turning ON the X-Box and happily sitting in front of the TV pushing the controller buttons? I think video game ability must be in her DNA! And that DNA came directly from her game-playing parents! I couldn't be prouder.

My very first time!

I have finally done it...set up a blog site. I noticed that when I read other's blogs, my fingers would start twitching and I had all kinds of exciting, insightful, and, well, brilliant things to say. Now that I have those twitchy fingers on my own keyboard, my neurons have stopped firing and my brain hurts.
With all the interesting things going on in my life, I should be able to write inspiring prose for the benefit of all humankind, but I find it is much more difficult than I thought.
I think I'll start posting some pictures. Everyone is interested in pictures.
Later