"Out of This World"

Every day it seems that more and more information is discovered about our world, Space, and the Universe.  It has always intrigued me.  I wish I could live long enough to learn a lot more!!

I saw this image from the Hubble telescope taken in 2003,on Facebook today and wanted to share it with you all. If you have even the slightest interest in our Universe take a look.  It is "Out of This World"....literally!  Absolutely fascinating and amazing! 

As the article says, "This is the most important image EVER taken." 

 (citation below photo)

"On September 3rd, 2003 The Hubble Space Telescope began pointing its camera at a small area of the night sky. This area, about 1/10th of the apparent size of the full Moon, appeared to be complete blackness with no stars visible to the naked eye. Hubble kept its camera pointed there for more than 4 months, taking in all the light it could. This is what the Hubble Telescope saw."

https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

Also if you cannot get your mind around how enormous space really is, here is another site that will give you a much better appreciation of how small our planet and our solar system really are!

http://bit.ly/wDFH0x

And still there are many people on our little insignificant planet who see no value in exploring space!! No Value??? We have had NASA for over 60+ years and gotten no farther than our own moon! And not even there, after Gene Cernan was there with Apollo 17 in 1972!!! 

Exploration, expansion, discovery....it is what brought us out of the caves. Without it we would still be Neanderthals (or some such) cooking over an open fire and wondering what a wheel could do! 

No Value?? Exploration of space is the greatest value there could be. There is an unbelievable Universe out there.  Much more "Out of This World"  than we could ever imagine.  No Value???  It is the future!  Space is humanity's destiny!!!

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"

I really am not intending to stop writing and  posting on this blog.  Still it's been two weeks since I've managed to write a complete post.  I've started several others, but somehow they just aren't coming together.  Early on in the Musings, I did alert everyone to the fact that I can only write on some days, not all. Some days I just cannot put a sentence together, much less paragraphs!  I have to have the motivation to write.  In this case, motivation means having something I find interesting or feel strongly about...and those kinds of days don't seem to be coming along as regularly as they used to!

Part of the problem right now is that there really is not much going on in my life.  The fact of the matter is that I just "Don't Get Around Much Anymore."  In fact, it's been deadly quiet and boring.

I've had another setback in my theater efforts (again!) and that has really depressed me.  Also that means I'm not involved in anything having to do with theater right now.  And to be honest, I am running out of time.  Who knows how long I will stay healthy and energetic enough to take on the responsibility for a show.  If I'm not getting the opportunities I wish for, it means that there is that much less in the way of possibilities.  

And I appear to have no other interests!  How annoying.  My darling daughter pretty regularly lets me know about different activities and events she thinks I might enjoy.  I appreciate her efforts but somehow I never manage to actually do any of them.

Well,  I am still reading a lot, but that's not very interesting to write about.  My reading material is pretty much all, light-hearted and and predictable, but most "good" books just don't hold my interests anymore.

The Big Guy is working all the time, (six days a week 3 to 11:30 pm)  so my days are left to my own devices and I am the least self motivated person I know.  I'm not what you call a self-starter, I never have been!  Give me an assignment and I will jump on it, but left up to me, I just don't have any interest in doing much besides sitting at the computer.  And we all know how productive that is!    HA!  Besides if I'm not doing anything, there really isn't anything to say!

Basically, I think I am just plain bored and there is nothing more conducive to depression than a boring and un-motivated life.  I am a slug.  Bleech!

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day....or the next day....

"Tea for Two"

One of the many charitable organizations in Austin is called St. Louise House.  This group sponsors transition houses for homeless women with children.  The group also provides these families with many essentials for setting up a new home, including bedding, linens, cookware, dishes, flatware and other such items, which the families can keep and take with them when they are ready to move into a home or apartment of their own.  Their fund raising has been quite successful; at present there are about 35 residences available as transition housing for homeless mothers and children!

A few weeks ago, the organization held their annual Spring Tea and Silent Auction, which was held at Green Pastures, an historical Victorian residence that was converted to a fine dining establishment many years ago.  The residence was left mostly intact with individual dining rooms in various rooms that once were parlors, sitting rooms,  bedrooms, etc.  It is beautifully appointed and sits among a beautifully landscaped site that is very peaceful and serene.  There are several peacocks roaming the property which lends a rather exotic feel to the property.   It was a lovely setting for the Tea and Auction.  The weather was perfect.  The food was delicious, the speaker not too long-winded, and the auction items were unusual.  In addition, there were some activities outside for the younger children.  All in all, very well done!

Ratchlet  has recently become a supporter of the organization, and as this year's theme was Mothers and Daughters, she invited me to join her along with M-T-G for "Tea for Two!"  (Well actually, in our case it was "Tea for  Three!")  As you might expect, the attendees were dressed in lovely Spring dresses and more than a few of the women wore hats....very elegant and sophisticated!

In a break from my usual routine, I actually brought my camera along!  Not only did I bring the camera, I even remembered to take a few photos!  I'm still not much of a photographer, but I thought you might enjoy seeing me and my girls out for High Tea!

 

Just FYI,
Ratchlet  was wearing heels, I was not!
We are  much closer in height than it looks!

M-t-G was not wearing heels and
she is a bit taller than I....sigh!
How did that happen??

As I mentioned there were several peacocks roaming around or perching in the big old oak trees! (Seeing a peacocks take a flying leap into a tree is unnerving!!) Anyway, as we were leaving, a WHITE peacock was strutting around across the street from the grounds. I don't think I have ever seen a white peacock before. It was quite stunning. Of course, it did not spread his tail as I had hoped. Still, I managed a couple of shots for those of you who have never seen one either! Truly a nice addition to an enjoyable afternoon!

A really beautiful bird....

...but when they open their mouths,
the very loud squawk that comes out
really doesn't fit their elegant look at all!! 

"Bits and Pieces"

Just a few little bits of this and some pieces of that....

*****

I should not write late at night when I am on pain medication!  I said I only had one molar left.   That's not true.  I still have the molars on the upper right and one on the upper left, I just don't have any molars on the lower right or left.  I've been eating nothing but pudding and noodles for the last three days! I don't even like pudding all that much.  I'm hungry for real food! Did you realize that practically everything that is protein needs to be chewed???   And my mouth still hurts!  This hasn't been fun!   I'd better get lots of kudos and praise from my dentist when I go back to see her!  It's the least she can do after I did what she told me to do!!  :)

*****

I don't know what happened, but the day after I wrote about the cat family that had taken over my deck, they disappeared.  We haven't seen either the cat or the kittens since!  Do you think it was something I said?

*****

The weather has been really wonky this Spring.  It gets into the upper 80s then it plummets back into the 40s and 50s.  That is not my idea of Spring at all.  It is May....in Texas....it is supposed to be warm, maybe even HOT!!!  SNOW was predicted for Amarillo last night!  Our HVAC is flip-flopping between AC and Heat.  It's impossible to know how to dress.   I'm glad they changed the terminology to "Climate Change" because this sure doesn't feel one bit like "Global WARMING!"

*****

The Big Guy has been very diligent about doing everything to reduce the effects of the Bell's Palsy.  He is doing Acupuncture, taking vitamins and other natural things like zinc and fish oil,  drinking a specially blended herbal concoction that sort of looks like tea but sure doesn't smell like tea!  And it has ..."things"....floating in it! Nevertheless,  I am thrilled to report that something is working.  The left side of his face pretty much looks back to normal.  This is really good news!  The second go-round has been much less dramatic than the first time!

*****

I am going stir crazy.  I haven't been out of the house since Monday.  Four days straight!!  The pain meds are still making me groggy which has meant I couldn't drive, but I can't stand it one more minute!  I am going somewhere today....anywhere!  (And no, I'm not taking the pain meds today...at least not until I've been outside!)

*****

Sorry to be so grumpy, but this just hasn't been a great week!

"There's Something Missing"

I may have mentioned before that I have the worst teeth in the world. Well, maybe not the worst, but they're probably in the top 100!  (Or should I say the bottom 100??) Well, at least I used to. But today "There's Something Missing!"   They're not so bad today because yesterday, the worst of then were unceremoniously removed from my mouth!  I am embarrassed to report that the oral surgeon removed....(gulp)....FOUR (!!) of them yesterday.  Yes, four....sigh.  One wisdom tooth and three molars.  I have only one molar left and it is an upper molar, not much good for chewing!  All the other molars and wisdom teeth are gone.

Now some will be replaced with a partial, but until that happens there is nothing left to chew with!  Goodbye steak and other meats!.  So long crunchy things!  Only soft, mushy, and liquids will be allowed.  I think I will be hungry!

It's all because I have very soft teeth.  It doesn't  take much for another cavity to appear.  And as some of the fillings have been around for a long time, they are vulnerable as well and most have been replaced until there is more filling than tooth.  Let me tell you it sucks swamp water!

Just so you know, I have been fairly diligent about taking care of my teeth. Really!  Nevertheless, I haven't always been consistently diligent.  So there are times when I get really tired of flossing and brushing and rinsing and cleanings and fillings and crowns and all the rest.  After more than 60 years of on-going concerns,  now I pay the price! As I just got them out yesterday, I am still suffering the effects of the anesthesia and the painkillers, so yesterday I was really groggy and sleepy and although I wasn't in agony, I did have significant discomfort.  So I spent most of the day and night sleeping!

Today I'm still kind of bleary-eyed and it hurts and I'm hungry so I get to have some more ramen noodles which seem to go down easily without much chewing.  And still no driving because I'm so groggy.  A second day wasted.  Great.....right!?

Coincidentally, my niece is just about to graduate from dental school, so we'll have our very own dentist in the family!  We're very proud of her, but  uhhhh....shhhh!  Don't anybody tell her that her aunt has the worst teeth in the world, OK???  It's embarrassing!