Solar Power

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows

A couple of years ago  I crafted a post called "Agree to Disagree." In it I shared the notion of "perspective." In that previous post I used the illustration of the five blind men and the elephant. Each held a view of what was before them based on his own limited perspective. 

In a sense, this post is also about perspective. 

Not limited. Informed.

It's about the weather. As I craft this week's post, Mike and I have been pretty much housebound. We have been fighting a virus of some sort and the weather has not lent itself to going out and soaking up some much needed sunshine.

Sunshine cures many an illness. It's a fact. Sunshine is packed with vitamin D. Vitamin D builds strong bones and helps the immune system fight off those nasty viruses and such. 

Even though we live in Florida, the Sunshine State, our weather in Citrus County, as I craft this post, is NOT warm. We do have lots of sun, but at the moment, we are experiencing a not so balmy 45 degrees. It is a cold forty-five. In fact, my weather app says it feels like 41 degrees. I think it feels colder than that. Especially near the water. The wind has been blowing and dead leaves are strewn across our deck as if it were a sunny and warm autumn day. 

It is January. It is sunny. But it is not warm. It is winter. It is supposed to be cold. Maybe... but I don't have to like it.

I checked the weather in other parts of the country where we have family. The temperatures in Ohio and Wisconsin are much lower than what we are experiencing. And the "feels like" temps? EVEN LOWER. 

My family members in Ohio and Wisconsin are seeing temps in the single digits. And their "feels like" temps are enough to make me shiver a thousand miles away.

As I said, the post is about perspective. When you are sick, you long for warmth. When you are "under the weather" you long for sunny skies and warm temperatures. Outside temperatures, that is. 

What is your go to "home cure?" Chicken soup? Gatorade? Or are you like me? A person who thrives on fresh air and warm sunshine?

Love/Hate Technology

My Continued 

Love/Hate 

Relationship with Technology

Yes. I both LOVE and HATE technology.

When it works, it is a writer's best friend. It not only holds my thoughts in one place, the computer offers advice for spelling and grammar. It can allow me to ramble now and edit with ease later. 

When it works.

It doesn't always work. 

For example, I turned to my go-to word program to compose this week's blog. Everything seemed to be going nicely...until...I no longer have the ability to copy and paste it into my blog? What's that about? 

I used all my known strategies to retrieve my blog post. 

Nothing worked. 

So I abandoned the post about the sweet memory of my early experiences at the University of Cincinnati, and spent the next three hours traveling every rabbit hole I could think of to fix my word processing capabilities. 

It is important. I have books I'm working on...stories to tell. I have documents I value. I need my ability to craft on my computer. 

I need to save documents and retrieve them. I am no longer attached to my No. 2 pencil or my blue pen that moves smoothly across the paper. I am attached to my laptop!

At least I know how to write with pen and paper. It may be a lost art. 

My biggest problem is reading what I write. I'm serious. I scribble and scratch as I write. 

And writing a story or book? I can get so engrossed in the writing I can't read it later. I sit there and stare at the scribbles on the page. 

I would consider dictation, but there is something about seeing the words and being able to revise as I go or follow an idea to the logical end that feels better when I am engaging my hands in the process.

Perhaps it's like kneading bread dough. You can tell much about the dough's readiness by the feel, the elasticity of it, the weight and color and the dustiness of the flour. Anyone can read a recipe, but to pull warm bread of the right texture out of the oven? There's a physical connection unlike any other.

For now? I am composing directly into my blog. My techies all live up north. I know it will work itself out or I'll figure it out. Or...well, there are probably fifty ways to leave your computer...hmmm...sounds like song in there somewhere. 

For a Caring Man...Go to Deer Lake Road

For a Caring Man...Go to Deer Lake Road

I am sick. Not the kind of sick that can be cured by Mike's Wonder Drug: Vick's. I tried. If you missed that post, CLICK HERE.

No. This is the achy, sore throat, totally congested sick that hits you suddenly and doesn't seem to want to go away. I have coughed all night. I'm pretty sure my raging cough scared Tiki Kitty. 

And today? Even as I write these words, I feel as if my head will explode. 

To top it off, I have a blog post in the wings for such emergencies, but can't seem to access it. Seriously. 

This Palm Tree Had To Be 
Removed.
It has nothing to do with this post except 
I'm pretty sure the inside of my head looks like this.

Stuff like this happens. We can never be fully prepared for what lies around the corner. Only to know it will happen. Our best intensions will be shattered and we need to remain calm. There is likely a reason.

I have no clue as to why I'm in this predicament, but here I am. And I have to trust I'll be better for it in the long run. 

Mike is taking good care of me. He has cooked every meal, brought me medicine, and, since it's Tuesday, he did the laundry. The man came for the water softener so Mike took care of that as well.

Sometimes Mike gives me jewelry and often he takes me out to dinner. But caring for me when I'm sick? That is true love. I have been blessed to have had two such men in my life. 

They were friends and both grew up on Deer Lake Road. When someone said to me once, "Where do you go to find a good man?" 

I told her, "Personally, I go to Deer Lake Road."