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Flip-Flop Days

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My feet are shod in flip-flops today. The sun is already shining and it is supposed to be a glorious day. I stare down at my feet and my toenails in a darker shade of pink are staring back at me. They are happy I presume. The black flip-flops are comfortable, perhaps deceptively so, and a soft sigh of contentment escapes from my lips. It’s been months since my feet felt this kind of freedom having been encased in boots and when at home socks or fur-lined house shoes kept them warm during winter.

Now, it’s time to let freedom reign! It’s not quite summer yet but the warm days and lots of sunshine brings me back to another time and place. I was an island girl once a long time ago. I loved those carefree days of walking on the beach barefoot or feet in flip-flops as I looked for whatever treasures the ocean had dimmed fit to throw at my feet. Some days, I would sit on the sandy beach as close as I could get to the water and let it wash my feet as I leaned back on my elbows and dreamed of faraway places. Places I wanted to visit someday. Little did I know that that dream would come true one day.

The island girl mentality still shows up when the weather takes a turn for the better and my hands reach for those flip-flops! The days of carefree wonder still runs deep and is waiting just beneath the surface waiting to be rekindled again. Today is such a day.

I am dressed for comfort in a white t-shirt and dark blue linen pants. It is still cool in the garden so a grey sweat jacket completes the ensemble of understated and laid-back dressing. The flip-flops on my feet bring a smile to my face. I can picture myself on that beach again but only then I was running around in shorts and whatever t-shirt I could find. Clothes didn’t matter way back when my life was simpler and the ocean was my best friend.

I notice the quiet in the garden but I know that nature is hard at work. I see its handiwork in the clematis drapping over the green fence, their pink blossoms simply gorgeous. The scented rose bush is awash with blooms and the lovely scent, a cross between vanilla and something sweet is mesmerizing. I make a mental note to get the glass bowls out and get some potpourri going. The rose petals make the best potpourri and instead of letting them fall to the ground and wither away, I’ll put them to good use as I did last year.

I can feel the dew drops brush against my feet as I make my walk through the garden. It feels good. The apple tree has lost its sweet-scented flowers and little apples are starting to form and there are plenty of them. A bumper crop this year? Who knows? I’ll let it surprise me. The cherry tree has more than two cherries this year so everything speaks of abundance! The bees are moving from one flower to the next and a lone blackbird is singing from the roof-top. Its song is high-pitched but sweet nonetheless. Everything is touched with sunshine, not the sticky variety that shows up when summer is in full-swing but the kind that feels good on your skin and for now sitting outside with a hot cup of coffee is heaven in itself.

I snuggle back in the chaise lounge just as a huge bumble bee goes whizzing by oblivious to my presence. It too has work to do but my mind is on relaxing today. The sky is a bright blue, the birds are singing and I am at peace. Oh, and my feet are loving their freedom shod in flip-flops! It’s going to be a gorgeous day.

Have an amazing day.

LOL!

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It’s Sunday and time to relax and a dose of laughter doesn’t hurt either. Enjoy!

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Three weeks after her wedding day, Joanna called her minister. “Reverend,” she wailed. “John and I had a DREADFUL fight!”

“Calm down, my child,” said the minister. “It’s not half as bad as you think. Every marriage has to have its first fight.”

“I know, I know!” said Joanna. “But what am I going to do with the BODY?”

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THREE WISE WOMEN: You do know…..what would have happened if it had been three wise woman instead of three wise men, dou’t you? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts.

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A guy is walking on the beach somewhere in California. He sees a lamp, rubs it, and a Genie comes out. The genie is so happy that he decides to grant one wish to the lucky guy. The guy thinks about it and says, “I’d like you to build a highway to Hawaii because I am afraid to fly. The genie responds that this can’t be done because it would be technogically impossible considering the depth of the ocean and the distance to Hawaii. So he asks the guy to wish for something else. The guys thinks about it and very enthusiastically wishes he would understand women.

The genie then said, “Do you want your highway to have 2 or 4 lanes?”

🤣🤣🤣

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I’m still looking for that frog and mermaid but I’ll add the genie to my wishlist as well!

FREEDOM

It used to mean financial security, a loving man by my side and not having to worry about anything.

Well, that has changed. Freedom today means PEACE. It also means being able to do whatever I want to, whenever I want to. Financial stability is still important but my whole world doesn’t revolve around it.

I find freedom during my treks outdoors. I find freedom when I am sitting outside watching the birds and the bees. I find freedom when I don’t have to answer to anyone. Freedom has been defined as, “the state of independence where one can do whatever one likes without any restriction by anyone.” Freedom is what I make it and often it is not about monetary or materialistic things. It is what brings calm to my mind and gives my soul wings to fly on.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”

Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Daily writing prompt

What does freedom mean to you?

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Fragments of Yesterday

“And then, just like that, my heart broke. My face crumpled, my composure went and I held him tightly and I stopped caring that he could feel the shudder of my sobbing body because grief swamped me. It overwhelmed me and tore at my heart and my stomach and my head and it pulled me under, and I couldn’t bear it. I honestly thought I couldn’t bear it.” Jojo Moyes

That last line held me in its grip and I went along for the ride for as long as it took. “I couldn’t bear it,” was my mantra when the dream splintered into a thousand pieces and lay in fragments at my feet. “This couldn’t be happening to me!” was my other cry but none of that mattered because the end had arrived and there was no going back to what was.

Cheating is one of the most despicable things one human being can do to another. If truth be told, it happens all the time. It has become a norm in this easy come, easy go world of ours. When it happens, you find yourself going under, and in my case I lost my best friend, a long-time life partner I had known and trusted for a long time. The aftermath is hard to describe. I went from a confident woman to someone I didn’t recognize anymore. There was sadness and of course tears but that line, “I couldn’t bear it,” was the slogan that kept me in the hole that someone else had dug for me.

However, let me tell you, YOU are fully capable of bearing it! It may seem like all is lost and you may feel like you’re looking at absolute darkness but I assure you that you’ll find your way into the light as I did. It took courage, strength, forgiving yourself for what wasn’t your fault and to slowly rise again. Rise again you must because you have no other choice! Let me also tell you that you are enough and those “fragments” of a shattered heart will learn to mend itself. You will learn to look at love and life through different glasses and the next time around when love walks in, you will know better.

“Over the years, confusing fragments, lost corners of stories, have a clearer meaning when seen in a new light, a different place.” Michael Ondaatje

I’ve changed from that young and trusting person I used to be. I thought love once yours would remain forever. I gave my trust to a man who had vowed to me forever, had called me the love of his life and because best friends don’t hurt each other, I had thought we would make it to the very end. Wrong!

However, I can’t change what I want.

“And that was the cause of my heartache. I wanted everything or nothing at all. I’m not impressed by bits, parts, or almost. I’m a seeker of that which is whole, full, and complete. Completely mine or completely not.” Unknown

If that is in the cards for me is left to be seen. Only time will tell. You can overcome the insurmountable and even though you will carry those scars for a lifetime, you are built to survive. You are strong, you are resilient and you are beautiful. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror after it happened. I felt UGLY! It took time to overcome that as well.

Cheating causes emotional turmoil, mental health issues, a trust deficit, low self-esteem and sometimes PTSD-like symptoms. Sounds daunting doesn’t it? IT IS! However, the YOU within is capable of overcoming pain and resilient enough to overcome the challenges that it entails.

“You’re not broken. You’re just becoming. Unfolding slowly – like petals in spring. Give yourself time. ”

AND

“What sticks to memory, often are those odd little fragments that have no beginning and no end….” Tim OBrien

Be kind to yourself, love yourself, build yourself up and learn that those “fragments” which were part of your yesterday can help you towards a better tomorrow. Here’s the thing, YOU CAN BEAR IT!

Have an amazing day.

Trump!

It is hands down the man with the orange face and the one who thinks he has commonsense!

I pretty much disagree with all of his policies. The tariffs are a bust! His immigration policies are under scrutiny. Gestapo tactics are not working and for obvious reasons. Common sense is nowhere to be seen and intellect, well that is sorely and totally lacking. What do you expect from someone who can’t even make a proper sentence let alone know what he is talking about! Picking fights like a schoolyard bully is not working and he is getting trumped from all sides and since no one wants to play with him anymore it is time to cry foul!

His administration is comprised of Fox News alums most of whom are unqualified for the high-ranking posts they are holding and it is all about brown-nosing to the highest order! The latest addition is Fox News host, Judge Jeanine Pirro who will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Either he has a love affair with Fox News or he thinks he can’t find anyone better out there! And that right there is the problem.

Enough said.

Daily writing prompt

What public figure do you disagree with the most?

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My Career Plan

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I am currently a children’s book author. I love giving voices to animals and especially Chachi, the cat. He will be the main guy in my next book. The little fur ball makes for a cute addition and the book is filled with some interesting animal characters. The next book will be out sometime this year, it is in the final stages of production and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it gets out there before Christmas.

Other than that, I am also working on a romance novel. It is taking forever because I get to a certain point and can’t seem to move forward. It happens now and then and sometimes I am just too lazy and that is a big problem. Productivity and creativity is suffering currently because I want to spend my days sitting out in the garden and whiling away time! It is just too nice to stay indoors at the moment.

I am already thinking about a sequel to the current children’s book but I’m stuck. Nothing new there. Some days I can’t stop writing and at other times nothing there at all which is frustrating. However, I like this new version of me. No more hectic and no more pressure. It is working out just fine.

Oh well, back to the garden to see what the bees are doing!

A Ghost Story

Asia is steeped in folklore, superstition and the paranormal. I think the belief in such entities brings about more of the same. The Kuntilanak is a female ghost from Indonesia and she is often seen wearing a long, white dress and has a frightening expression on her face. Another variant of the same is the Pontianak. This one is depicted as a bloodthirsty and sinister entity. Then there is the Langsuyar, it is an undead which has the ability to take the form of a woman. Add to that the Seventh Month Ghost Festival which is also known as the Hungry Ghost Month where it is believed that the gates of the underworld open and spirits come to roam the earth and it is no wonder that spirits are present everywhere!

I came face to face with mine on a dark and rainy night. I was making my way back from a meeting and it was almost midnight. The wind was picking up speed and the roll of thunder and flashes of lightning was spooky to say the least! I was dropped off at the main road and had a short distance to go to get to where I was staying.

Little did I know that it would turn out to be the scariest experience of my life! The rain was falling steadily now and I was getting wet so I started walking faster. It was dark and the one street light at the corner was out for some reason. Just then, I saw something white go into a drain nearby. I told myself it was a cat. As I approached the corner where I needed to make a turn, right where a fire hydrant stood, a slight rustling sound caught my attention and I quickly turned my head towards it. There sitting on the fire hydrant was something dark, it had a shape and it moved back and forth whispering something! I didn’t wait to find out what it was saying, I took off running and believe it or not, the crickets were chirping alongside and keeping pace with me!

I got to the foyer wheezing and as I turned around to look at the entrance and there it was. It was about 7 feet tall and draped in white from top to bottom. There were no visible features and it was standing absolutely still! I let out a scream, loud enough to wake the dead so that people came running. They did a check of the surroundings but they found nothing!

It has been many many years since that horrific experience but that night has remained etched in my memory. Recently, I found out what it or that spooky entity could have been. It is called a “pocong” meaning ghost in Javanese. The belief is that “a pocong is the soul of someone who has not been properly released from their shroud due to incomplete burial rites or unresolved issues in life.” However, a “pocong” is wrapped in a white shroud with visible features. What I saw that night had none. Whatever it was, it “scared the bejesus out of me!”

Are ghosts real? I think they are. What I saw that night didn’t come out of an overactive imagination although I do have one! I would go on to experience several more experiences of the spooky variety in Asia but that’s for another time!

Last Live Performance I Saw?

I can’t remember! I recall that I was in the front row and my blond beauty of a friend had a total crush on the guy but I can’t remember his name! I only know that she was screaming so loudly that I felt my ears go numb! Plus, I had a headache the day after.

My son is into rock concerts and going to live performances is all the rage. He loves the head-banging variety. I can’t understand why he would want to be there amidst the huge crowd bopping along but I guess “music” is different to every generation. The concerts he goes to are usually loud and since I am a “recluse” now, noise is not to my liking. I love the peace and quiet so I am glad that those days of tagging along to see whoever we had a crush on are over with.

I wouldn’t mind going to a stand-up comedy show. It’s something I am into now. When I need some cheering up, I turn to the funny variety to bump my mood up. It usually works.

Nothing fascinating to talk about but that’s the way it is when your world revolves around nature, meditation and the like. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Daily writing prompt

What was the last live performance you saw?

View all responses

LOL!

Three guys are having a relaxing day of fishing. Out of the blue, they catch a mermaid–who begs to be set free, in return for granting each of them a wish. One of the guys just doesn’t believe it, and says, “Okay, if you can really grant wishes, then double my I.Q.” The mermaid says, “Done.” Suddenly, the guy starts reciting Shakespeare flawlessly, and analyzing what he’s recited with great insight.

The second guy is so amazed, he says to the mermaid, “Triple my I.Q.” The mermaid says, “Done.” The guy starts to spout solutions to problems that have been stumping all the great scientists of the world: the mathematicians, physicists, chemists, and so on.

The last guy is so enthralled with the changes in his friends that he says to the mermaid, “Quintuple my I.Q.” The mermaid looks at him and says, “You know, I normally don’t try to change people’s minds when they make a wish, but I really think you should reconsider. The guy says, “Nope, I want you to multiply my I.Q. times five and if you don’t do it, I won’t set you free.”

“Please,” the mermaid says, “you don’t know what you’re asking! It’ll change your entire view of the universe. Won’t you ask for something else, a million dollars, anything?” But no matter what the mermaid says, the guy insists on having his I.Q. increased to five times its usual power. Finally, the mermaid sighs and says, “Done.”

And he turns into a woman.

I absolutely LOVED this one! My ex is a physicist by the way, I wonder what he thought about this one. I’ve been looking for that frog that grants wishes but I guess this mermaid will do just fine!

Trump Jong Un (Archives)

Update:

Looks like it is going to take place, the parade that is. The estimated cost could be as high as $45 million. Trump says, it is, “Peanuts compared to the value of doing it.” Why?

“We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it.”

There you have it, right out of the horse’s mouth!

It’s not enough that he has tanked the economy and blown up the WTO system of global growth and stability. The man who loves jumping at anything he sees as a money making scheme is off and running to another debacle, one which is more to his liking.

Rumor has it that he wants a military parade for his birthday. Nothing new here, he has been hinting at it ever since he attended one in Paris for Bastille Day in 2017. If it takes place at all, it would fall on his birthday which is Saturday, June 14 and coincidentally it just so happens to be the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It is rumored that the Trump administration is “reportedly looking to add a parade that would stretch nearly four miles, from the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River, into D.C. How about Hegseth leading the charge, bare-chested and flaunting his tattoos and wearing the Amerian flag? Patriotic enough? Let’s not forget Musk doing the Nazi salute and Trump grinning from ear to ear.

The cost of such a parade would be phenomenal but didn’t he say they’ve got 2 billion coming in each day from tariffs alone? Should be enough to cover the cost don’t you think?

Global economies are hanging in the balance and a full-blown Trade War is looming and hissing at the fringes so what’s missing? Let’s add a military parade to the mix why don’t we? One that proclaims America’s might as a superpower with a message that says, “Don’t fool with us!” Remind you of anything?

Enough said.