A Hankerin' for Joviality

It has been one of those intense weeks. Nothing terrible. No one is hurt or in trouble. Just intense at moments. Not that there haven't been breaths of relief or hope.

Retina with jagged surface and membrane

Jim had appointments with a new ophthalmologist and then retinal surgeon and has scheduled surgery on November 16. It is outpatient and really is quite fascinating as they are going to remove a membrane that is contributing to retinal puckers. (See example) He is excited to improve the vision in his right eye by 50-75%, as it has already been helped with his cataract surgery last spring. Gives a whole new perspective on "pucker up", huh?

I've been in a good bit of pain lately, which is just par for the course, and I am thankful for techniques and medication that help so much. And then, I trip by catching my jeans on something and fall in the den. Nothing broken, can't even see a bruise, but my body sure is fussing. Hot baths seem to be the order of the day.

I did meet a wonderful and exuberant woman from the Nashville Public Library who did a workshop about books and play with young children and how this leads to reading. We made a good connection and it turns out that she was very interested in my involvement with vestibular integration (Minds in Motion) and mindfulness and invited me to lunch. I hope to hear from her so I can meet a new group of people in Nashville.

Just busy and tired and sore and needing some joviality and then I ran across this picture that Jim and I took in Florida this summer. We must have laughed for fifteen minutes and made sure we got a good shot of this because it just doesn't get any better. 'Nuff said.

An Adventure

Meg and I are getting ready to have a "Pretty in Pink Party" to support breast cancer awareness and research and honor and support the Kim Rowden Breast Cancer Memorial Fund. I encourage reading about Kim and what her fund supports at kimrowdenmemorial.org. Our fund raiser includes a friend's Mary Kay presence and Meg is starting out in Silpada silver jewelry sales and making her debut.

So, in all things pink, I discovered a new foundation called

http://pinkpumpkinpatch.org/

the Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation. They are brand new and support breast cancer research by contracting with farmers to grow and sell Porcelain Doll pumpkins, the sale of which donates $.25 per pumpkin to the foundation. It has been amazingly successful and the pumpkins are beautiful!








I searched the Pink Pumpkin Patch list for places to buy the pink lovelies and then Craigslist. Since Jim was traveling this weekend and driving doesn't hurt me, I decided to go on an adventure. OK, call this silly, but I traveled all the way to Glasgow, KY to a farm where they grow all kinds of pumpkins and gourds, including pink and blue ones. Not Porcelain Doll, but pink none the less.

The day was overcast but beautiful, as the leaves were just beginning to turn. As I got on the smaller roads, there was absolutely no one, no one but me. It was glorious. The road and the terrain was of course on the plateau of middle Tennessee which brought back floods of memories from travels as a little girl visiting my Granny Vaughn.

I had lots of time to think and process many ideas that have been turning about in my head and to notice details of the day. The trees that were already ablaze, the trees just starting to turn, the rock that had been cut and blasted to make the road, the sky as it changed with clouds gray and blue and sometimes sunshine peeking through. Pastoral scenes sped by and it was nice to be quiet. No radio, no talking, no music. And I finally found the pumpkin farm... thank goodness for my Garmin.

Tammy Harris was just wonderful and when she heard all about pink pumpkins and the party, she asked if I needed to go out in the field and get more! I had plenty and by that time knew I needed to get back and not overdo it. I had taken her the information about PPP Foundation so they might consider growing Porcelain Dolls in the future. I loved meeting someone new and someone who does something so different than me.

Going back the time passed way too quickly. The trunk was full of gourds and pumpkins of all sizes and colors: pink, blue, maroon, green, deep red, and, uh, orange. Most were $1 and the most I paid was $4. There were no grocery stores out near the farm, no gas stations, no convenience stores, no WalMart. Gives room for pause.

 

“Others inspire us, information feeds us, practice improves our performance, but we need quiet time to figure things out, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearth original answers.”
― Ester Buchholz

And after the quiet is the glory of returning home, jumps and licks from doggies, dinner with my sister and brother-in-law and nephews, and faces in awe of funny pumpkins and gourds of all colors and shapes. Warty ones from my adventures to Planet Pumpkin!

 So now it's back to preparing for parties and washing dishes and appointments and feeding the dogs. In the midst of it all, I am going to be mindful of what others are doing for those touched by a horrible disease and the paridoxical beauty of what we have around us if we only take time to look.