Category: Musings

Posted in Musings

Monday Moments – Musings – May 6, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

The Garden

So much on my mind today that I would have to write a book to share it. Instead, I’m going to share a piece of it and that is my flower garden. Things are blooming and are beautiful! Not everything yet. Some perennials bloom later than others.

From left, top to bottom: Clematis, iris, peonies, rhododendron bush, iris

From left: Japanese painted fern, (not sure of variety of fern), hostas

More will bloom as May goes on!

The rhododendron is native to the area in which I live – the Daniel Boone National Forest in the U.S. The rest are perennials that I have added to my garden. The flower garden has a problem right now. It needs to be heavily fertilized with an organic fertilizer. It is raining so much here, almost daily, that I can’t use my fertilizer right now.

Later today, I am driving to an excellent vegetable market to pick up produce. I try to eat as healthy and natural as I can. That’s tough here in the winter, but spring has come and the vegetables are flooding into the local vegetable markets. Unfortunately, the closest market (25 miles) has not received their order yet. The next closest market is 50 miles away and we are making a trip there today. I try to buy fresh produce at least once a week. It’s a considerable drive regardless of what I’m shopping for.

If we make it to a local market today, I will take pictures of their wonderful offerings to share with all of you.

Posted in Musings, Non-fiction

Tuesday Twists – April 23, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

See this house? It was unexpected that I had the occasion to think about it today. This house was built in 1901, remodeled of course since then. It was built by my grandfather for my grandmother and what he hoped would be a growing family. HIs family did indeed grow.

The daughter of the oldest child is my first cousin. Even after my grandparents passed away and my cousin moved into our family’s home place, it was the place we always gathered. I almost cry when I say those days are over now.

The cousin who lived here was placed in hospice care today. She was elderly, but her illness came on quickly only a few days ago. She isn’t expected to live very long at all. Her life can probably be measured in days. Her husband can’t live here in his home alone since he has dementia.

My cousin and I were very different but quite close in our own way. I will miss her, just knowing she’s there along with the family gatherings in that old house.

The old home place will be sold after they are gone and the last of my grandfather’s beautiful farm will just be a memory. It was a very emotional day for me today, which is why I’m writing instead of sleeping in the middle of the night. First, I have to deal with my cousin’s demise and, at the same time, the fact that our family home will soon be forever gone. A double whammy of grief.

For people my age, these years are called the Golden Years. Tonight, in the throes of my grief-induced insomnia, I say not so much to that.

Do you have an experience with grief to share?

Posted in Musings, Non-fiction

Friday Feelings – April 19, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

If there is one thing I’m good at, it is examining my own feelings. I usually do that when I spend time daydreaming. I’m pretty busy with practical stuff most of the time, but I do give myself time to sit and think – and, I guess, feel.

When I was a young girl and even into mid-life, I was good at sharing my feelings with my girlfriends and partner. As I have passed mid-life and am into my last quarter, I have become quieter about my own feelings and I listen more to others. You can learn a lot by listening. I don’t share a lot with anyone now except my partner. There are a couple of very long-term friends and we share our lives with each other, but not always our feelings.

My feelings about many subjects are complex and multilayered perhaps because as you age, you also gain wisdom. I’m surely not making myself an example of a wise sage or something similar, but I am more able to see different viewpoints and the complexities of situations more easily now than in the past. However, these days, I’m more likely to withdraw than discuss feelings, particularly my own.

My feelings about almost everything feel more private to me than ever before. I don’t know why that happens as you age, but it has to me. Maybe it’s because I know that everyone has their own set of problems and mine are no more or no less important than theirs. Maybe it’s because I realize that most people are just not that interested in knowing me, or any other person, that well. Maybe it’s a trust issue because by the time you approach older adulthood, you know who you can trust and who you can’t. Quite possibly, it’s all of the above.

The people who see me a lot know that I’m different now. I’m not as forthcoming or as open. I hope they realize that it is not due to a problem with them. Instead, it’s how to I seem to be approaching this last quarter of my life.

Yes, blogging is good for me!

Posted in Musings, Non-fiction

Thursday Thoughts – April 18, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

Thinking about the benefits of the sea…….

Photo @ R.M. Carlson

I talked with one of my best girlfriends this morning. She and her husband are planning a short vacation to America’s Gulf of Mexico coast. The picture above is of the Gulf at sunset, looking west from the western coast of Florida. Hearing her excitement and then looking at my ocean pictures have caused me to long for the sea today.

I’ve never lived by the sea unless you count the year I spent teaching at the University of Porto in Porto, Portugal. During that year, I lived several miles from the coastline of Portugal, but I went to the sea often. A little later in my life, my husband and I spent the winters in Florida in the U.S. We had a small place just a mile from the Gulf and I went there daily just to sit by the sea.

I’ve always said that spending time by the sea heals my soul. I think I need some of that now! It turns out that there is scientific evidence that supports my theory. The sound and motion of the waves lapping against the shore can improve your circadian rhythm and allow you to sleep better. Spending time in salt water can moderate your blood sugar and improve your muscle and nerve performance.

Photo @ R.M. Carlson

The above photo is of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea in 2019. This shot is off the southern coast of Italy.

Salt water even rejuvenates your skin. It can heal minor cuts and scrapes. It is full of the mineral magnesium which is essential for so many body functions. Magnesium can cure migraine headaches and is beneficial in so many ways. It is almost impossible to get enough magnesium in a western diet unless you live by the sea and consume a lot of fish and seafood. Magnesium helps the heart function properly. It, however, is not plentiful in food and we often should supplement the right type of magnesium.

Salt water is also full of other minerals and trace minerals that are essential for good health. Minerals such as zinc, iron, and potassium along with a whole host of trace minerals are bio-available in sea water. No, you don’t have to drink it. If you spend time in the sea, your body absorbs the minerals.

I’ll talk about the many other benefits of the sea in other posts. Right now, I think I’m going to get better about taking my magnesium supplement and hope that a trip to the sea is in my near future! Does the sea make you feel better? What are the benefits of spending time at the sea for you personally? I’d love to hear your comments!

Posted in Musings, Non-fiction

Wednesday’s Words

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

If you get to know me through my writing and these musings, there is one overriding thing you will discover about me. I’m always thinking and thinking deeply. I think they call it busy brain. It used to be that my brain was so busy I couldn’t sleep at night. But, I’ve learned to put myself in a state of Zen at bedtime and block out the roaring river of thoughts in my head.

What do I think about? I think about the minutiae of daily life and things going on around me in which I’m interested. I’m also a big picture kind of girl. I can see the big picture best when I think about global issues like world peace, poverty, homelessness, democracy, and the like. I’m not as good at seeing the big picture when it comes to my own life. We are not as objective about our own lives.

One thing I’ve discovered is that my generation (baby boomers) and younger generations (millennials, Gen X, etc.) have quite a different outlook on life. You would think I would have discovered this during the almost 30 years I spent as a college professor. But not so much. The generation immediately behind me was not so different from my own. Now, when I can look back more than one generation, I clearly see the differences and I think they are rooted in how our parents raised us. A second cause is probably technology.

How do you feel about this? Comments?

Posted in Challenges, Musings

Musings: What Made Me Smile! #weeklysmile March 2, 2024

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

My #weeklysmile this week has to do with one of the furry ones in my family. This is Hazel and I’ve introduced her briefly before. She is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, one of the dog breeds I have always loved.

Hazel is my #weeklysmile this week. You see, Hazel is a newcomer to our family. She’s only been with us for two months and was a rescue. Initially, Hazel was really disoriented here because it was so different from where she’d been. She never ate well and we, at first, thought it was just anxiety and an adjustment problem. We found out that was not the case.

Poor little sweet Hazel was sick when we got her. After lots of veterinary care and research, we figured out her problem which is rather unusual. We had to put together a treatment plan for her. It is rather experimental and we have no idea how she will do.

She has been on her treatment plan for about a week and a half. My #weeklysmile is that she is responding to her treatment so well! She is doing just great and it has given us hope that we have a future with her! I am so happy and smiling all over myself.

Thanks to Trent for his weeklysmile feature!