The Book of Joy

I just finished a book called The Book of Joy that was conversation during a visit between the Dalai Lama and Reverend Desmond Tutu. It was such an amazing story that I'll carry it along with me on vacation so I can read passages of it if there is quiet time at the hotel. I wish all of you could read this book and get out of it what I did. It's pretty simple actually, find a way to open your eyes to what true joy really is. Everyone will see where their joy lies in a different way. I won't bore you by droning on as to how I can go about finding my joy but suffice it to say while I read this book I thought of the tragic state our world is in. If the leaders all around would stop and have a five to ten minute time-out and become a bit reflective during that time together, what a more joyful place we would all live in. Yeah that's a fairy tale, right? I'm just not letting it get me down anymore, I'm going to work harder on making me keep joy in my life. In a week I'll be overflowing with joy once a special six year old gives me a big hug and says"Hi Nana!" So get within or out to see beauty or give of yourself to a cause of your own and find joy. Our universe will be a better place for it, isn't that obvious?

TESTING, TESTING...

My last post on the blog was 6 months ago. How does time fly by so quickly? There is a short dreamtime story I will be posting later and since I don't pay attention to fb enough this is my reminder.

Story for an old friend

I have an old friend turning 60 on Tuesday. I think he sort of became an old curmudgeon but don't really know since we broke up back in 1979 and I met my soulmate who took me away from my small hometown, which keeps me from being in touch with Jimmy and other friends from my wild and crazy growing up years. We did have a couple of interesting adventures, one being a 2 week drive over lots of miles through Canada and a bunch of states. So in the spirit of the fun we had together all those years ago I'm sharing this very short memory.

The rest stop had cool green grass and was on a bluff that overlooked Lake Shasta. The picnic dinner set out on my coat in the grass consisted of a couple cokes, chips and wheat bread that had bologne between two slices. Twilight was descending a and the hot tip of the cigarette was visible as we inhaled. The parking lot was beginning to be less busy with the coming and going of Saturday traffic in interstate 5. The sleeping bags were unburied from where they were hooked to the Honda 750 motorcycle and thrown on the ground. We had a late start so would crash for the night at the rest stop just a couple hours from home. When the sunrise came it would get us up and moving to get an early start for day two of our couple week long ride into adventure. As I fell asleep under the wide sky seeing shooting stars, I didn't even realize I slumbered. That is until I felt showers on my face. I couldn't imagine it raining in June in northern California. The sun made a bright glitter on the lake waters as Jimmy and I quickly sprinted with our sleeping bags to the bike away from the Sunday morning sprinklers. The wet wake up was better than a cup of coffee. Just the paper towels from the rest stop bathroom, brownish and rough as I dried the best I could. I put on my jacket and figured I was going to get dry hair the natural way, wind from the highway as we rode north.

Spilt milk part 3 or how to not make ice cream

It's national ice cream day! So here you go...

The salt and ice had been placed in the metal container that was in the center. I poured the chilled mixture into the spout and hubby started turning the crank as I reread the instructions. If this didn't work we would be having fruit for dessert since the cabin is a 45 minutes from the nearest store and we sure weren't driving out for more supplies. Eight to ten minutes of cranking required to make soft serve delicious treat! I could see the metal ice container getting frosty. The milk, sugar, vanilla mixture was churning. I probably shouldn't have been so excited but you have to understand that hubby and I can't usually make something like this work. We would have either read the recipe wrong or put the doo hickey together wrong. But it was actually working and I was thrilled! I volunteered to take over the cranking for awhile. It turned kind of hard but I was determined. Hubby held the ice cream maker since while the cranking was going on it caused a little wobble. Suddenly while I'm cranking along I see the milk mixture pouring out of the maker, it's like I can't believe my eyes. I'm cranking while the ice cream maker is getting emptier and emptier! Soon there was spilt milk all over the kitchen table, dripping onto the floor. Ever have that moment when you've got all sorts of reasons to have a meltdown but it has nothing to do with a stupid ice cream maker but the idea of no ice cream is what puts you over the edge? Ok well maybe you had to be there. I suddenly bolt out to the deck, throwing myself against the rail. Sobs are coming out of my throat so loud that for all along the river canyon other weekenders can hear the crying carried by the evening breeze. I can hardly believe that there must have been something faulty about the contraption. No, hubby trying to console me says he mistakenly jiggled the lever that is used to open the bottom when you are ready to get the soft serve ice cream. I can't stop sobbing but I'm pretty sure it's not about the spilt milk or that I have to eat fruit for dessert or that now there's a mess all over the kitchen. I'm sobbing that I miss my sailor kid and have spent the weekend reminiscing about our fun times while he was a cute little guy and that I don't know when he and his new little family can join us from 3000 miles away for future visits. I did finally recover after a solitary walk down the road throwing some sticks and kicking some rocks, found some daisies to pick. And knew I wasn't going back to that mess, I didn't make it so it wasn't going to be me cleaning it up. Hubby comes and drives me back, the kitchen sparkles and we have our last night at the family cabin.
The End
So now you have the story of spilt milk. And you also now know how to not make ice cream.

Spilt milk part 2

It was the silliest thing really, almost a kids toy actually but it was mine to be had for free from our friend's garage sale. A plastic hand crank ice cream maker. For a week I pictured of how fun it would be to have at our family cabin so all the generations might use to enjoy a frozen treat. We had the salt and I made sure to put all the supplies I would need to make ice cream on the shopping list. When we arrived for the long 4th of July weekend I just knew our last night's meal would include berry sundaes for dessert! Sunday arrived and I pulled out the instructions, recipe said " should chill for several hours for best results".

Stay tuned for the riveting conclusion!

Spilt milk, Spilled milk...

Now that almost a week has passed I think I can talk about what happened. Although the sign on the cabin wall says "what happens at the cabin stays at the cabin", since it's all about me I think I'm ready to share the story.

To be continued...

Summer School

Taking a required 1 credit Library Resource online class this summer. So far not doing too bad on week number 2. Here's what I wrote as my student bio to get extra credit. See below, let me know what you think.

Hi, my name is Mona and I've been going to college since before most of you were born. I have worked a bit toward a couple certificates but then would quit when I either found the work I would do after getting said certificate was boring or I took classes from a less than steller professor and had to quit because they made me want to scream! So now after finally visiting a counselor for the first time in the 32 years of my student career I am hoping to get my degree in social and behavioral sciences when I'm 63 in the year 2019. Just in time to retire from my bank job, yay! Right now the joy of my life is my 5 year old grandson who lives with his mom and dad (my son and daughter in law) in Chesapeake Virginia so our vacations usually take this nana out there on visits with my husband who I could write a book about the love he has for that little guy! Well in fact we are collaborating on a children's book with the grandson as main character, "Carson Finds a Job". Hope all of you are enjoying the summer. As I always tell my son who's made two deployments to the Persian Gulf as a United States sailor, stay safe and sane! Good luck with class. Sincerely, Mona Mechling