This Perfectly Imperfect Life

(Some may think I'm crazy here, but it's whatever you believe). I've been off balance, so to speak, and not feeling well since June. I'm not getting any better and even though for me with my health there's only so much better I can be, I'm tired of feeling like crap every minute of the day for weeks on end. My body is producing too much bad flora, often a problem for those of us with auto-immune diseases, and I've been trying to get it under control. That bad flora is spreading itself into other area's of my body, which I didn't know it could do until I was Googling around one night before bed, wondering if there was a connection. But, there's been more to it than that. Sure the up and down weather hasn't helped, us adjusting to Vic being home all the time hasn't helped either. But, I've known, off in the distance of my mind, that there's something else, creeping into my chest, leaving its' invisible mark on everything in our ...

Golden sun light warms the color of all it touches, casting friendly shadows Sirens blare to and from the fireman's fair around the corner The air is gloriously cool, barely 70 degrees, the low humidity such a relief Our home smells of cinnamon and vanilla, another batch of zucchini bread baking in the oven, this time with dried cranberries instead of raisins Sunflowers bloom elsewhere but will bloom in my garden sometime this month, Morning Glories blooming on the trellis since last week The mole is back, I found more of his mounded trails again this afternoon in the back yard The fat little black mouse is back too, scurrying to and from the thick over growth on the other side of the fence out back to eat bird seed The windows & doors have been open all day for the first time in weeks Finally the courtyard is quiet, all seem to be in for the evening or at the fair Lightning bugs, taking flight, blinking Crickets chirping, Cicada's buzzing grumpily, some other kind of insec...

Part 3 Hubby walked in the house as thunder rumbled over head, both causing me to jump in my chair. "Hey sweetie!" I called from this kitchen. "Hey jumpy!" he yelled back from the living room, already changing out of his work boots and into his slippers. I giggled and felt myself smile at the sound of his voice, but it quickly faded when my hand started throbbing. I sighed. Should I tell him about this morning? He'd probably be quick to think I'm making something out of nothing. He was too logical and rational when it came to things like this. Not that he wouldn't believe me, he would. He would also have an simple explanation for it. I sighed again. I didn't want to think about this anymore. Besides, I still had to get dressed! Part 4 The thunderstorm had brought little relief from this morning's heat & humidity. In fact, it seemed worse. Against my better judgment, I told him about my experiences earlier. What piqued his curiosity was the...

Country music playing softly on the radio Rain falling, pouring since 5, tapping & thudding on the roof, splashing in the lake A single bird chirping merrily Suddenly sleepy again Doe walked up to me at dusk last night not 10 feet from me Wild Turkeys and their young around the bend the little ones following their parents as if exclaiming, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" Great Blue Heron, stood regal lakeside in the afternoon sun BEAR up in the tree Correction, Bear under the tree He causes a commotion, interrupts my writing, then wanders off before I can take a picture Hhrumph.Some nerve!

August 1st. Already? Really? Yeesh. I'm calling this "Did You Know?" for the time being. And I did have a direction for this when I started but then lost it towards the end. Did You Know? In Celtic times, August 1st was called Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-naa-saa). Today was traditionally the first grain harvest of the season and was celebrated from sundown through following sundown (though sometimes started at sundown on July 31) with a festival honoring the harvest & grain gods and the god Lugh, referred to as the god of the harvest, the god of light and the god of sun (depending on who's opinion you read). Corn and blackberries were also harvested. (The corn husks were kept to dry and be made into 'corn husk dolls' a tradition carried over and continued in America to this day). It was also considered to be the first day of Autumn! The last "official" Lughnasadh festival took place in Ireland back in 1169. After Catholic influence appeared, th...

Once home I turned to look behind me before opening our front door and shook my head, thinking I was being ridiculous. "Too many horror movies," I chuckled and entered into the welcoming relief of our air conditioned home. Because I was drenched with sweat and the sky was turning dark, the first thing I did was peel off my clothes and take a shower. The water cooled my body temperature and began clearing my mind so I could process the events of my little adventure. How do we know what's real and what's not? What our mind produces vs something else outside of us producing it? And like one of the characters points out in the novel "The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe, "Just because you don't believe in it, doesn't mean it isn't real." Sure the novel is a work of fiction, but the statement was true. There are always elements of truth in fiction. I realized I was staring out the bathroom window up at the canopy of maple ...