The Weird People

You probably have a few in your life. They're usually artistic and creative in some way. Often they're hobbyists. But nevertheless they're artists or crafters. They're the poets, the painters, the writers, the musicians or the arts and crafts people (who get their start at stores like Michaels.) They're the weird people.

When you are reading, looking at, or hearing their work, you almost believe in possession again. These artists must have a muse or some connection to a higher power because their work is the outcome of apparent channelling. Sometimes the channelling is clear, bright and strong and other times it's like a backed-up drain. But you know when the artist has got the power in addition to the skill and technique.

I've felt the power a few times when I've been painting or writing. But unfortunately I couldn't channel it like I wanted to. One needs to be trained and have skills and a technique to convert the power.

So like playing scales on the piano every day, I write as much as I can so I'm ready for the flow when it happens. Because we weird people are connected to something...dare I say that comes and goes... and is sometimes even spiritual?!?!

Losing Weight Without Losing My Mind

I've got to give credit to my Grandma Fay. She was a pioneer in eating healthy in the days when you were considered a "nut case" for juicing fruits and vegetables. Well, she taught me how to eat healthy; she made me juices and salads both fruit and vegetable. We even walked to the grocery store. Grandma Fay lived to 93; I'd just like to lose some weight.

And as many of you know it's not easy to lose weight. I've got myself an ideal situation. I can make losing weight my main purpose in life. I'll shop for groceries, eat healthy and exercise on the treadmill. And go to weekly meetings at Weight Watchers. Kinda of a narrow and a bit repetitive. But so necessary for my health. I'm diving into this after years of denial. It's a problem that you can't hide. And I FINALLY am doing something about it.

I take it on one day at a time. 1500 calories a day. Sometime a meal at a time. Counting calories. Finding ways to fill full without stuffing myself like a glutton.

I drink a lot of water. The fancy Italian type that has bubbles. About 64 ounces a day. It sure beats diet coke and I actually feel hydrated. It tastes better than tap water too. It's expensive but so was 8 cans of diet coke a day.

We even got a talking scale. So there's no fudging it.

So away we go...I hope I'll work out how to eat on this diet and I won't be so obsessed with dieting and losing weight because, you know, I've got so much more to do with my life.

Taking Lessons

As many of you know I have begun taking piano (or keyboard) lessons. I have employed an excellent teacher who has taught piano and vocal music at prestigious private schools in the DC area. He is in between school teaching gigs and so I'm lucky to have gotten him.

I've only had five lessons so far. I'm learning about scales, chords, intervals, harmonics and melodies. But mostly I learning to dive into this ocean known as music and to swim. Sometimes my feeble brain doesn't work and my hands don't seem connected to what my eyes are reading. Oh, that's right I'm learning to read music. It's a language all of its own.

I find this all very fascinating. And I'm in love with playing on my keyboard. My keyboard is no baby grand piano but she's perfect for me right now. She sits on a stand that Kathleen got for me and put together for me too. My keyboard is only a step or two away from my chair that I spend most of my time sitting in. So my keyboard is close to me and definitely within eyeshot.

The funny thing about taking music lessons is that all of a sudden you start hearing music differently. You start to get inside the music. And it becomes so much richer when you discover that there is something called music theory.

Right now I can barely tell you which note is which. But I'm learning and my brain is re-wiring itself too. I've got some rhythm but mostly the beat goes on without me. Tempo can be the hardest thing to learn and internalize.

But I love learning to play the piano. I can't remember why I ever stopped when I was young. I guess I didn't have to work that hard to get the lessons. This time around I convinced everyone in my life that taking lessons was what I wanted to do. Well, I think I convinced everyone else and myself too!!! 

It's the Hot Part of the Day

Everyone but me is laying down now. It's Sunday afternoon and 2 ish. I just went over to a friend's for brunch and got an introduction to her new cat. Truman is his name. He's quite handsome and playful. He'll fill out his presidential name in no time. He's smart too. He knows his name which is unusual in cats. Any which way he's a love.

Cats have preoccupied me for some time now. I blame Kathleen and her love of cats for this. What else does one do when you live with a cat goddess and in a cat shrine. I've gone with the flow and am now a bewitched member of the staff (to the cats only.) I don't feel very alone since Facebook is filled with cats and kittens on every other page. Cats are definitely in fashion (for the moment at least.)

Here in the Capitol where our celebs are presidents and our causes are political, most of my friends have given their cats names of this locale. One friend I know named her pair of cats Bill and Hilary. Another friend Truman and we in protest to a boycott on French imports and the Iraq war named ours Perrier and Evian. I tell you even the cats are political here in DC.

I can't tell you when exactly I became a crazy cat lady. I think I "came out" as one at my father's funeral. My cousin asked me what I know about and in my crazy grief-stricken state i said "CATS!!!" I do spend a lot of time in the care and bonding of our cats, but I'm no expert. Just crazy about them, don't cha think?

A Fabulous 4th of July

Early this afternoon when the skies were clear (for a moment) I looked out my glass screen door and saw two little boys putting mini American flags on everyone's front lawn. I looked up my street and saw flapping flags and thought that I'm now a part of this America not just some disenfranchised minority without rights and who is barely tolerated to exist.

Things have now changed. I have the right to openly serve my country and to marry whom I love. Progress indeed. Now if the rest of the country will only grant the right to marry for everyone, our country will be even a better place to be a citizen. Momentum is with us LGBT. The future is ours if not only a little way in the distance. So in the meanwhile have yourself a FABULOUS and HAPPY 4th!!! Because we earned it.