Creative juices

I plan to fix stir fry for dinner tonight. I have the meat, vegetables, rice and even egg rolls, but no sauce. Oh no! What to do? I looked up homemade stir fry sauce and guess what? I found what I was looking for and even had the necessary ingredients on hand.

Stir Fry Sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 shakes pepper flakes
2 tsp. sugar
3 Tbl. soy sauce
1/4 cup water

Cook the meat and add the vegetables. Pour sauce over them and cook about 20 minutes.
Problem solved!

Graduation 2020

It has been decided that this year Grants High School graduation will be a drive through on the school grounds. They are allowing one car per graduate to pick up their diploma. It will give my youngest grandson, who is a Senior, a great story to tell his grandchildren someday.

The good thing is that it will be on Facebook, so I will be able to see the ceremony without leaving home. Of course there will be no party until the pandemic ends, but at least they will officially be graduates.

An amazing adventure

I have been keeping my trips to the grocery store to once a week. Yesterday was the first time in weeks that I felt comfortable going to Smiths. As I stood in line I noticed signs every few feet that said everyone was required to wear a mask. As my turn came up I was handed a sanitized wipe to clean the basket handle. Finally entering the store, I was aware that there were fewer than usual customers, making social distancing much easier.

During the last few weeks we have pretty much been eating as usual, occasionally changing a recipe to fit what has been available. I'm still looking for a jar of yellow Ragu to make macaroni and cheese with leftover ham.

Passing the meat section, I splurged and picked up a package of pork loin. It isn't that expensive as there is little waste and no bones. This morning I found a crock pot recipe that will work nicely. It even gives me something to do with the two Granny Smith apples I had left from making a pie the other day.  

The only thing I had not been able to find was T paper. On the off chance that the store might have some I wondered up the paper aisle. No way! My eyes settled on a couple of different varieties. Not many, but some. Noticing that one option offered 30 double rolls for $9.99 I put one in my basket. It was the same price I had been paying at another store for 24 single rolls. I couldn't pass up the bargain, even though we didn't need it yet. You never know what will happen next.

All in all my trip to Smiths yesterday turned out to be an amazing adventure.

A face off

Today is the day the Mayor of Grants, NM goes against the Governor and opens up small businesses. I am staying home because I do not want to get in the line of fire between the two. Although the governor will not appear in person. She is sending her troops to take care of the offenders to her rules. Although I believe after hearing some of the mayor's comments on TV, I agree with a resident who said he is an embarrassment to Grants.

I am reconsidering my opinion of the situation. My first question is, what qualifies the Governor to decide what is essential? Grants is a small town and she doesn't live here. As long as businesses are following the governments recommendations of masks and social distancing I do not see a problem with the decision to open up Grants.

I personally do not like wearing masks, but if that will help keep me and others safe I am willing to comply for the time being. The only problem I have with the Mayor's comments is when he invited others to come to Grants to shop. Seriously people stay home, we already have enough empty shelves and we don't need you buying up what is available.

Rant over!

Moderation

For some time I have liked the expression, everything in moderation. Even diabetics can have sugar, in moderation. At the moment the Mayor of the closest city to me and the Governor of my State are in a battle about when things can open up. In my opinion this is plain stupid and simply a tug of war to see who has the most power. It is childish!

This whole thing with the rules for the pandemic is childish in my opinion. Since when do we need to be treated like children, who don't have the intelligence to stay away from dangerous situations?  Lately life reminds me of the old TV program, "Mash", with the land mines all over the ground. Be careful where you walk, it just might be your last step.

I really do not think we need to live in fear, but we do need to pay attention to what is in our environment. Burying you head in the sand is equally as stupid as overreacting.

Sometimes I think about all my family members who are no longer here. They left before all the fun started. I am finding it a challenge to keep my head up and continue living, in moderation, of course.

Perhaps in another life I was a Buddhist.

A fairytale to ponder

Waking up to a world that had gone crazy, once again, I decided to escape. I got into my car and drove to the top of Mt. Taylor, situated at the top of my little Southwestern town. I have always felt protected by the arms of this mountain. I know it is one of the four sacred places revered by the Native American tribes in the area.

Parking and getting out of the car, I began to explore the environment. The sky was blue and the air seemed much cleaner than it was below. I noticed the cactus and native plants were beginning to bloom. As I walked on I heard a faint noise that I couldn’t immediately identify.

A man, who appeared to be very old came into view. Startled, I stopped where I was. He began to talk to me about the situation I had left behind. He said his home was a cave carved in the mountain and he lived off the land. He invited me to join him.

Frustrated with what was going on below, I decided to take him up on his offer. As time moved on the old man shared stories of his history with me. Before I knew it, forty days had passed and I was anxious to see what had happened to my town in my absence.

I said goodbye to my new friend, found my car, and started on the drive down the mountain. To my surprise, things had changed during my time away from the problems I had left. People were talking to each other, the sky was bight blue, the plants were blooming and the birds were singing.

All was right with the world- even better then it was before I left it behind.

Seeds

When you plant a good seed in fertile ground and the climate permits it will grow and produce an abundance of choice products. When you plant a good thought in a fertile mind it will grow and produce an abundance of good things. What you plant is what you get.

"What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action", is a very true quote. Our thoughts are food for our mind and they affect our feelings, which are our body's reaction to them. Negative thoughts equal negative feelings and they can literally make you sick when you dwell on them. I believe our negative thoughts are the result of "thinking from behind". Things like, "I remember this experience from the past and it didn't turn out very well last time." Instead of learning the lesson that the original experience offered, we freeze and do nothing out of fear of failure.


An expression that I truly dislike is, "We have always done it this way". It goes along with the also irritating, "I am who I am". For me they both produce a picture of a very tall stone wall with not even a tiny crack to allow light or new growth.



I am always very grateful when I am given the opportunity to rethink and redo. While it is true that we can't change our past thoughts about anything or anyone we can use them as seeds to grow more positive thoughts about our today and tomorrow.

I believe Buddha once said "The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love".

What seeds will you grow?

Alone

In thinking about my current situation I spend most of my days alone. My son leaves for work a little before 8:00 a.m and returns about 5:00 p.m. He then has dinner and retires to his part of the house. I mostly don't see him for the rest of the night. My only adventure away from the house is a weekly trip to the grocery store to pick up what we might need. It is not a fun trip! I wonder the entire time if I have picked up the virus. So far, so good, but who knows what will happen next time.

I have a friend who is complaining because he is stuck in his apartment. He has a caregiver who checks on him and gives him his medications. He is also given his meals, cooked by someone else. So he might be bored, but he is living in a safe environment, with people looking out for him. I am getting a little tired of his complaining.

I try to spend my days doing what I can to help other people, at a safe distance, of course. I also try to forget that the majority of my family don't give a rats ass about me. In the last six weeks I have not received one phone call of Facebook message from them asking if I am okay.

Like everyone else I am trying to cope with the current situation. 

Protection

It took me three tries to go to Walmart just to pick up a prescription.The line to get in the store was around the corner. I didn't want to shop I just wanted to go to the pharmacy. I finally got in the store and walked to where I needed to be, observing the 6 ft. markers.

When I got to the pharmacy there was one man before me, so I again waited on the marker. I'm sure he must of picked up prescriptions for more then one person because it took forever. I patiently waited for my turn.

At last I moved up to the counter. The assistant stood behind a two ft. plexiglass plate wearing a mask and gloves. While waiting for her to complete my transaction she asked me to stand back.I left the store wondering just how much protection an employee needs. I am also wondering how many things she touches before she changes the gloves she was wearing.

I can see a certain amount of safety measures for both the employees and customers, but this was ridicules!

Intuition

If people would just listen to their intuition things would not be so bad. I'm not talking about the health care workers and those on the front lines. They have bosses telling them what to do and not to do. I am talking about ordinary people like you and me.

I have been trying to make masks, but my sewing machine has been seriously acting up. I finally just gave up. I even checked Walmart online to see if I could replace the machine. No luck, they are sold out. Well that saved me some money!

This morning in frustration, I decided to call a local repair person that I had used before. I asked him if there was any possible way he could look at the machine. I know he is retired so I was hopeful. His answer to my question was, "Where do you live now?" He then told me he would be here in half an hour. OMG, if I had not listened to my intuition I would be stuck with a sewing machine that is refusing to work. To make things even better, when I asked if he would prefer a check or cash when he brought it back he said, "If you have $20 cash that will be fine."

Time for a change

For years I have been using a recipe for apple cake that my mother gave me years ago. Checking it I discovered it called for three eggs. Eggs have been hard to find during the pandemic so I looked for another option. Found it and it only requires one egg. Sharing for others in the same boat.

Apple Cake

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 Tbl. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups chopped apples (I used frozen and thawed)
Mix ingredients in order given
Topping
1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 Tbl. butter melted
Put in 9"x 13" pan, sprinkle topping over dough
Bake @ 325 degrees for 45 minutes



Sorry Mother had to do it!

Sharing

A site came through on Facebook that got my attention. It was from Good Samaritan Nursing Centers, giving people an opportunity to send a note to a resident. I know the one in Grants, NM has been locked down to protect the residents. This site lets you send a message to a resident or you can even send it to "any resident" and it will be delivered. You don't even need a stamp. How cool is that?

I don't know any residents at the moment, but I decided to choose the any resident option and have sent a couple of my poems, with the hope that it will send an uplifting message to someone who  might need it.  So far I have sent two poems.

As I was flipping through the poems I have written I came across one that seems fitting to share with readers today. Here it is:

Greed

When you ask for more than you really need
You are asking to be taught a lesson in greed
You might be given exactly what you ask
To teach you aren't ready to handle the task.

If what you want is only for you
And not about helping others too
God could consider your request too vain
and insist you rephrase to include His name



When power and wealth and material things
Become more important than human beings
Perhaps it is time to take a break and live
Taking time to reflect on things needed to give.

Barbara Loure` Gunn 2001

40 days

A week or so ago someone posted the suggestion that a period of 40 days will be significant, regarding the current virus. They stated the flood, lent etc. is 40 days. I thought that was interesting, but my question, in regards to the virus, was when do you begin counting? I didn't get an answer so I started thinking about how does that apply to my own situation?

On March 12th, 2020 my life and surroundings were normal, so to speak.

On Friday, March 13th I began my day by picking up my friend and going to the family center to do our regular exercises. Then I took my friend home and proceeded to the Smiths grocery store. Entering the store was my first inclination that the world as I had known it had gone crazy. I should have realized something was wrong when I saw there was only one shopping cart available. People were running around like ants. I tried to pick up the things I needed but it was like swimming upstream in a small pond.

I ran into my son-in-law, who is a department manager. He said he had been off work the day before and came back to this. He stated if people would just shop normally this wouldn't happen. I said, "That's what I am trying to do". I proceeded to pick up the last package of napkins on the shelf.

That was my life on 3/13/20. What in the hell happened?!

Now I want to go back to the 40 days. If you are counting that should be April 21,2020. That date may not be significant to you, but it is to me. For years the number 22 has popped up in my mind over and over. I have never been able to figure out why. Now I am wondering if that is the day things will begin to get better?

As this is only April 12th I do not yet have an answer. I know the positive case numbers in my county are low, compared to other areas in my state, so it is entirely possible that April 22 could be the beginning of good news. 

Happy Easter

As I wrote yesterday, I made sure I was sitting in front of my computer when the podcast offered by my friend Bob Luckin and his wife Judith came on Facebook. Interesting that we were in two different time zones, since they are in Florida and I am in New Mexico. It was 10:30 for them and 8:30 for me. It reminded me of the words to a song; the more we get together the happier we will be. In any case this was the best Easter service I have ever attended.

The talk this morning was pretty much about death and renewal. I think the most important message I received from the program was: some people are so afraid of dying they have no time to live.

Before I got out of bed this morning I had a little conversation with my Creator. I stated that I was not ready to die because I knew I still had things to do to inspire other people. I simply asked for guidance and direction to do that.

 

Easter services

I'm trying to remember the last time I attended an Easter service in a church. It has been years. At the time I was a practicing Catholic because I married one and decided it was my job. In 1999 the marriage at last ended and that was perhaps the year I also left the church. Well except for weddings and funerals.

What is really odd is that I am closer to my Creator now then I have ever been in my entire life. I got tired of trying to follow the rules set up by man. My relationship with God began when I was a teenager. I belonged to two Masonic youth organizations. Although they are not religious, as some people think, God is at the center of the organizations. Even though I was the presiding officer in both, my favorite office was always, chaplain. I loved it and felt I was talking to a real entity as I knelt behind the altar and recited the prayers, including the "Lords Prayer".

Many years later when I became a Catholic I found the rituals very uncomfortable and foreign. Now I believe it was because I really didn't need them. It was simply an experience for comparison.

2020 is going to be a wake up call for many who believe they need a building to communicate with their Creator. I plan to sit in front of my computer and listen to a podcast by my friend, Bob Luckin and his wife, Judith. I am really looking forward to hearing what they have to say. They are both down to earth people just trying to help others. They don't need robes, rituals or a special building. They just do what they are meant to do, give you something to think about.

I hope you all enjoy tomorrow in whatever way you choose to do so. Happy Easter! 

Another Angle

On September 11, 2002 my first newspaper column titled, Another Angle, was published in the Cibola Beacon. For some time my intuition has been telling me to share it once again. If you know anything about me you know I follow my intuition, believing it is my soul speaking to me. With that said I am sharing that column with you today. Here it is.

In our little town of Grants,NM it is not unusual for things to disappear and appear overnight. Remember your reaction the first time you drove by First and Santa Fe and the Gunderson Furniture Store was gone? This column is a little like that in reverse. One day it wasn't and now it is, thanks to the vision and opportunity offered by the Cibola Beacon.

I have accepted a major gift of sight which allows me to see things other people see from a slightly different angle. This column focuses on positive people, doing their best to live their lives, no matter what happens to them. Before you ask, no I do not have a degree in journalism. I have a degree in life and love writing. Recessed genes, perhaps! A sense of humor has always worked when all else fails.

Many people have left their mark on my life. President John F. Kennedy made a lasting impression on me for his creative use of words."Ask not what you can do for you, but what you can do for your county.", still rings in my ear as clearly as if it just spoken. It is as appropriate today as it was over forty years ago. Substituting family or town for the word country, makes it more personal.

Some people have taught me by example, what not to do. My deceased mother had some wonderful sayings that I have outgrown. Her, "Never put anything in writing", makes this column all the more fun to write. I have some sayings of my own. One of my favorites is, Believe and it will be.
 
I like to write about people whom, when told they can't, do it anyway. People who listen with their heart, and judge for themselves, no matter what others say. If this column is for you, welcome to the family!

A different road

I just watched another podcast by my friend Bob Luckin and his wife Judith. If it were not for the fact that I have social media I would not be able to do this. The topic today was based on the Robert Frost poem, A Road Less Traveled.

Bob's words caused me to have a different view of the problems the entire world is facing now. It changed my perspective from being locked up via the government to feeling that it is a privilege to be part of this experience. Think about it! Have any of your ancestors ever experienced anything this serious that has affected the entire world?

We apparently are the chosen ones. Please be assured that I am in no way decreasing the sadness of those who have died because of this pandemic! I am sure there is a lesson to that, I just don't know what that is.

The earth is healing because people are staying put and factories etc. are closing. People are being kinder to each other. It is almost like we have been given a wondrous gift to be part of this world wide experience.

I for one am changing my attitude and I am going to put my trust in the Creator.

Happy Palm Sunday

I wonder how many people will realize this week that having a personal relationship with our Creator is more important than any building could ever be?

Everyone has an opinion

I just listened to a guy spouting off that the government telling people that they cannot gather in groups of more then 10 or that they cannot run their business is against our constitutional rights. He sighted people being arrested for disagreeing with this and then put in jail cells with let's say, 12 other people, is okay. When you look at it that way it just doesn't make sense.

 I am staying home, not really because our Governor says so, but because It is the smart thing for me to do as a person who cares about myself and my fellow man. I do not consider it a violation of my constitutional rights, even though it might technically be true. I am doing everything I can to stay safe.

One month down

We survived the first month and have one to go- hopefully. There is so much misinformation out there it is hard to know what to believe or who to believe. I am happy that I live in a state that is in the lower percentage of positive virus cases. I believe our Governor is doing a great job of leading us!

I remember back in 1977 when I was first introduced to New Mexico. My first question was, "Where is the grass?" Everything was brown.

Today I am grateful that the Universe moved me to a place that is safer than many others, especially California, where I moved from. Who knew then what was going to happen?

After all these years of living here I have experienced many things that I have decided to accept. First, I have found it to be a very spiritual area. Back in 1977 that would have meant nothing to me. It is also a melting pot for many nationalities that I previously knew nothing about, namely Native American and Spanish. 

Living here has been an education and I am happy to still be alive to experience even more.