Dogs' Memories....etc

Sometimes I wonder what memories are stored in my dog's head.  Obviously there are some...for example...she gets excited when we pick up her leash ...or when we take her down to the dock for a boat ride...but there has to be a trigger for her to seem to recall something.  Can she bring up past memories at will? Does she remember living on the streets of Puerto Rico? Does she recall that she had a litter of puppies there? Animals can remember people after long absences...would a dog remember puppies that are all grown up, after not having seen them for years.  If so, would it be a scent thing?  Apparently parrots name their offspring according to parrot experts.  Elephants mourn over a lost herd member. So there's much more to the world of animals that we sometimes think.  For humans recalling can be glorious thing....or a relived trauma of horrid experiences. For example, I can picture vignettes of trips I took many years ago and enjoy this reverie....being at a watering hole in Africa, going over volcanic regions in Hawaii.  I can think back to yummy foods I've eaten- gelatto caramel with a hint of seasalt, or out of the garden corn, and I know my mouth waters by what my mind's eye is experiencing. Virtual experience, it is.  I can also remember the death of JFK, the morning of  9/11, particularly cruel things said or done to me. The humdrum parts of life just appear as vague happenings, but out of clear focus, and all rather blended together.  I know there is an emotional component to learning and memory. Do these more vivid memories serve to make us yearn and move toward or away from situations we can experience in the future? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no.  Think of how many people recreate and relive the trauma of early experiences by doing things that will certainly lead to those negative experiences....selecting an abusive spouse for example?  Does our brain get wired for the familiar? How can we undo this wiring....conditioning? therapy? Many of life's lessons and belief systems  are formulated  in the earliest years. Yet, because of nature/nurture some people survive seriously traumatic childhoods and do seemingly fine , while other are crushed by them and  just can't seem to get off the track that leads right back to what they should want to escape from.  I think a good form of self-therapy is to bring up pleasant recollections and bask in them.. They say if you smile, you physiologically feel better.  I bet if you bring forth pleasant memories you are doing something physiologically as well.  During meditation you are supposed to empty your mind. But I like my approach better. I guess the lesson is not to dwell on the negative for long unless you are coming up with strategies to make the future better. Dig up those fun, happy, pleasant memories and relive them again and again. There, Sigmund,....How did I do?

True to Form....but...

Most sentences explaining something about yourself that have the word "but" in them are really veiled, or not so veiled excuses or rationalizations. So look at my title again.  BUT, there are some valid excuses, which in that case they aren't really excuses, they are explanations. I have not written for quite some time, BUT I did not feel like writing....or didn't want to put in black and white most of what I have been thinking....serious illness reared its ugly head just about the time of my last post...it isn't over, it hasn't gone away, but it is a work in progress, hopefully a recovery in process.  Unfortunately, we won't know that unless or until the other shoe falls. Negative will be a sign of positive. How's that for a riddle for someone to have to solve. I don't need to go into detail because my close friends and family and others somewhat in my life know what there is to know at this point.  Roles have changed, plans have changed, yes, life has changed. No one goes through this life without some (or a lot) of these inconvenient (that's a euphemism, of course) events. So I don't say, Why me? Why us? Just open your eyes and you will see that this is life....sometimes superb....a lot of the time...just ho hum, and now and then.... yikes ! Many people have walked in these shoes, but each time someone does it's never really the same. We are walking along a road that others have walked and they have left behind bits of information, small discoveries, subtle options, faint clues, that give hope so that those of us who are following that road  now can benefit from a journey that may not have ended at the destination earliers hoped for. If our road reaches the destination we want, we shall be very blessed.  If not, the fragments we leave along the way will help guide those who follow us, as there will be others. Oh...I think I see something ahead....it's a sign saying "Hope.....this way." I will follow it. Is it a mirage or is it real....I cannot say.

How I know when I am really sick

I cannot explain it. There must be some physiological reason for it. Maybe someone can explain it to me. When I get really sick with a heavy cold, or bronchitis, or a nasty sinus infection, I not only lose my taste for coffee, I am repulsed by it. Recently (as you may realize from the lengthy interval since my last blog entry) I had sinusitis. I am still not 100%, but I know I am on the mend.  I can stand coffee again. There was about a 5 day period when the thought of it was revolting. I wasn't terrible hungry anyhow, but when told to drink plenty of fluids, one of those fluids just couldn't be coffee...yes, tea, herbal tea, water, juice, but no coffee. It would have been torture. These mysteries in life, with no seeming explanation.  If anyone has a scientific reason for coffee aversion during illness, I'd love to hear it.

Masterpiece Theater.....Masterful!

I love the music that begins Masterpiece Theater.  It seems to announce the arrival of something regal....and it often does just that. Recently I started watching it on Sunday evenings. It is starting to become a weekly ritual. The good news is that if I miss an episode, I can later watch it online, so no break in the mini-series that may only have 3 or 4 episodes.  The writing is superb, the storylines captivating....they almost each seem to be worthy of an Oscar type award.   When I consider a lot junk that's on tv, it's nice to know there is something like Masterpiece Theater....PBS have been threatened with elimination of federal funding....what a loss that would be. With all them money people spend on hundreds of garbage  cable and dish channels, it's amazing more donors don't give to Public Television and Radio...shouldn't we aspire to greater quality in all things including tv. Not if we rely on sponsors like beer companies and soft drink companies, or sugary cereal companies.  I guess if you think about what those companies are peddling, it may explain the shows they sponsor.

Meyer Lemons and Greek Yogurt

One of the beauties of living in the 21st Century is the availability of  foods.  I don't mean the types conconcted at some food lab in New Jersey, but foods from other areas of the country and the world....If a recipe calls for Meyers Lemon...no problem if you live in a fairly populated area and have literally dozens of grocery stores available within a ten mile radius. No more having to go to Greece for Greek Yogurt....it's now prolific on store shelves. I remember having a new student arriving from Russia many years ago to find that there were literally dozens of types of ice cream.  She had only heard of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. (No Bubblegum flavor there!) In the United States we have the luxury of being able to find endless quantities  and varieties of food from both near and far.  There was a time years ago when many food were only available during a very short season. Now with advanced transportation, freezers and such, those days have gone by. Do you know I can actually remember the first time I ever tasted pizza ? I was about 7 years old and it was offered to me at a friend's house.  It seemed like an exotic offering...I am sure most kids taste pizza shortly after their teeth start coming in.  Oh the varieties of restaurants we now have...Thai, Indian, Somalian, Vietnamese...the list goes on...no doubt influenced by the influx of immigrants..We get bored with foods and want endless variety...pages of offerings on menus. Cookbooks galore, right down to highly specific ones such as 25 Tasty Turnip Recipes. (just kidding). Now with online recipe sources, one could cook chicken in a ne way 365 days a year and never repeat...I remeber as a child being taken to a bakery in Chelsea to watch real bagels being made. They were not widely available outside of Jewish neighborhoods.Now they are as mainstream as apple pie. Maybe with all the foods we now have at our fingertips, we should go back to saying Grace for this bounty...whether to your God, or Goddess, or Mother Earth, or Human Enterprise...but just stop and give it a thought now and then...especially in a world where malnutrition and starvation still exist...out of our view.

How To Create a Consumer....from Birth!!!!

I am not talking about the parents of the said child (see blog title).  I am not talking about the sway tv ads have over impressionable minds. I am not talking about observing what  all your  little friends have. I am talking about a Gift Registry for Children...for Christmas and Birthdays, and whatever other occasions a child might be given a gift...Easter, Losing a Tooth, a Visiting Relative, Bribery for a passable Report Card.....etc.  I went to a get-together yesterday, part of which was to celebrate the Birthdays of a 7 year old and a 5 year old. I learned there that Toy R Us have to Registry for Children. I must say when it comes to being stunned in my life, this was added to that list of experience immediately.  At first I had trouble believing it....but soon realized it was no joke. Very clever of them (the toy store) to come up with such a marketing device.  Bring your child to the toys store, and let them point left, right, up, down, back and forth to all the things they want, regardless of cost, age appropriateness, safety, violence quota, or availability....Put it together, and what have you got....a mini-consumer right from the cradle. Now we as gift givers no longer have to think, to be creative, to expand the child's horizons with anything that is not on the shelf of ToysRUs!  This certainly leaves no surprises...just request exactly what you want. Voila...it appears. No more handknit sweaters from Grandma...heaven forbid she not get the Super Duper Exploding Whatever....As I think back to some of the gifts I have given my daughter, some of her favorites were things she had no ideas she was getting, and in some cases things she did not know existed (and they certainly were not exclusively from Toys R Us). Maybe my gut reaction will temper with time and I will see the value of this method....Why not just tell a host exactly what to serve for dinner when we are invited? I will have roast pork with garlic mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and a lemon souffle for dessert....should we always get exactly what we want?  What about poor kids? What if a parent is unemployed? What if you just don't think it healty to inundate your child with plastic gizmos from China. What about the gift of a special experience...A Children's Museum, a Science Museum..... Well, one thing is sure, that  practice of Re-gifting will go the way of the Dinosaur. I wonder what Seinfeld would have to say about that.

Life Plans

When my husband and I were first married many, many years ago, we sat down and wrote out some "Life Plans".  We wanted to think ahead to things we wanted to learn, to do, to experience, and places we'd like to go in our lifetime. It was quite an ambitious list. Over the years the list ended up buried in a drawer with life's detritus, but was stumbled upon one day by me not too long ago. To my surprise, we really had done quite a bit on the list. Also to my surprise, I found things on the list that in my early 20's seemed like pursuing, but now I have no inclination toward.  One that comes to mind was "becoming an expert seamstress". That likely wouldn't make my list of the top 10,000 things I'd like to do now.  Having done that list was, in retrospect, a great idea. Perhaps we all should do one of these lists at the beginning of each decade of our lives, sort of a plan for the decade rather than our ambitious " Plan for Life".  I am sure some things would remain on our lists  time after time, and others would drop away.  That would  usually be a good thing.  It shows we are dual in our nature, wishing for a lifetime for some things, yet realizing that time changes us too. Parts of that 20 something person still lingers in me.  The trip to Hawaii on the original list is staying there until it can be checked off...and it will be....very soon.

Everything's Relative......

From one who is sometimes guilty of catastrophizing events, it's worth reminding ourselves that it's all relative, and must be put into perspective after our initial meltdown (even silent ones in our heads).  The cliches once again come to mind....Tomorrow things will look better....It will all work itself out...and such words.  But aside from personal experiences and events, we really to tend to exaggerate things in what we say. For example, yesterday the temperature was above freezing for the first time in weeks. It felt absolutely"tropical" yet if I were on a beach in Florida and it was twice that temperature, I'd be so disappointed.  We say we're "freezing" when what we really mean is we are cold.  We say we are "Starving" when the hunger pangs have just kicked in.  We said we were "old"when we turned 30, when we had no idea what old really means unless we really are old, of course.Then there's the old favorite of saying you are"fat"...well some of us are a bit chubby, but I am talking about those size 0-6 people who say it.  Another favorite, saying how broke we are when we own  3 tv's, 2 computers, a summer vacation home, and some $ in the old bank account.  What we often mean is that we are short on cash at the moment (until we get to the ATM) because we have overspent on some things that really poor people couln't imagine having. Fortunately, we all know these rules, but if you aren't really old, or aren't really fat, or aren't really broke, or aren't really starving, don't make the mistake of saying you are to someone who truly is one or more of those things.

Something Has Been Bothering Me....

Well, I guess with that teaser title I have awakened the snoop in you (and me)  that likes to get into someone else's head and know what they are REALLY THINKING. Well, here you go.  With the arrival of the So-Called Social Network (among other things)...humankind has been asked...or should I say allowed to give their opinion on anything and everything no matter how ignorant or uninformed they are about something, and then somehow all these responses get treated equally.  For example, a local television station now asks during its newscast, "Let us know what you think about THUS AND SUCH." At the end of the broadcast they say, 62 percent of you believe this and 38 percent of you believe that. What nonsense! Let's look at one I have been hearing people venture opinion on....Should we cut US Aid to Egypt?  Go ahead and ask a bunch of people. You'll get some percentage saying yes, another percentage saying no, hopefully you will get some who say, "I am not in a position to really venture an opinion on that.  I really need to hear from people who are experts in US Foreign Aid Policy and History, as well as Egyptian History, Politics, Sociology, Economics (to just list a few)...and hear detailed discussions from informed people, then perhaps draw I might be in any way qualified to venture an opinion. In many things no one can be sure (even those with years of learning and experience....but to ask any  man/woman on the street is unforgivable.  It tells that man/woman on the street that what they have to say is equally valid to people who have watched and studied such matters for decade.  What if we did this with medical treatment? (Well, actually, now that I think of it, some people do.) You get stupid, uninformed answers like "Oh my Great Aunt Mabel had that done and she died during the procedure....tranlation YOU WILL DIE IF YOU DO THIS. Or My Great Aunt Mabel had this done and she lived to be 110.....translation YOU WILL LIVE TO BE 110 IF YOU DO THIS. We need to stop venturing opinions and drawing conclusions on things we know almost nothing about. We can try give the odds like ITS LIKELY, OR  PERHAPS HIGHLY UNLIKELY CHANCE THIS OR THAT WILL HAPPEN. But things that are nearly impossible happen all the time in life, and things that seem like sure bets, can be eradicated  in their tracks without warning. Life is a crap shoot in all matters to a greater or lesser degree.  You will win some and you will lose some. I can say it will be HIGHLY LIKELY THAT YOU WILL LOSE SOME THAT SEEMED INEVITABLE, AND YOU WILL WIN SOME THAT YOU NEVER ON EARTH CONSIDERED POSSIBLE. Remember the inverse is true too. So I say, look at the odds, consider the possible outcomes, and then place your bet if you are the Betting Kind. 

Dr. Jeckyll and Mr.Hyde

Well I started reading the above story.  We also know the general story....beloved doctor becomes crazed man who goes out  in the night and commits mayhem.  Well I wanted to fill in my gaps in the story, which were many for me.  Why? My daughter's friend is going to be singing in the musical version of it. Now I understand the musical has some differences, but that doesn't really matter.  I can then compare the two versions...book vs musical. Being in a stage performance is so much fun AND so much work. Well to add a few additional thoughts... We all have a bit of Jeckyll and Hyde in us...some more, some less.  Sometimes kindness comes from some us that is truly beyond what we thought could muster, and once in awhile some venom pours forth as well. As they say, we are only human, and that's what being human means.  I guess we need not arise to Jeckyll perfection, and hopefully we won't sink to Hyde's abomination, but aim for the center. Another cliche comes to mind...moderation in all things...but what fun would that be IN ALL THINGS? Those cliches do have their nuggest of truth....but should be followed in moderation, I'd say. But when it comes to human kindness, I think we should strive to be a lot more like Dr. Jeckyll.

O-B-A-M-A spells Obama!

No, I am not going to discuss the State of the Union address.....most people close to me know where my political allegiance is...but for those who don't know, you'll be able to figure it out as you read.   For about a year, I have been tutoring a sweet woman from Haiti who wanted to learn English.  This is my volunteer work, which really does make a retired person feel good and useful...Anyhow, she not only knew almost no English, she never, and I mean NEVER, went to school as a child, so she was totally illiterate in any language. Progress has been slow, but this kind of progress can be the most  rewarding, because every baby step feels like a GIANT step.  I was giving her a ride home from the library  where we meet  when she noticed a bumper sticker on  the back of my car. She read the letters.....O_B_A_M_A.  I told here what it said. It a delighted voice, she said OBAMA!!! Then she proceeded to repeat the letters and say the word twice with a huge smile on her face.  She may not know many things about America, but she knows who our president is, and now she knows how to read and spell his name now. Priceless!

Everyone Is Talking About the Weather....

Correction: Most everybody is talking about the weather.....that's why I am not.  We all know what there is to say about the weather....we have been doing it all our lives....when it gets too hot, or too cold, or it snows, or it rains too much....so there's not much new to say about it, other than these extreme patterns lately seem to be indicating Global Climate Change...So I will talk about something else...today my hubby and I are heading over to Salem.today.and it's not even Halloween. We have been reading a book called The Lace Reader for our bookclub. A number of locations in Salem are central to the story, so we want to go over to refresh our memories, and also check out a few things we weren't familiar with over there.  There's a mentioned sandwich shop called Reds...and they serve a Chop Suey sandwich at Salem Willows, which I will certainly pass on. But we also want to head out to some of the tips of the peninsula's that are part of Salem, just to get more of a "lay of the land". Apparently there is a campground out there and a section formerly known as Restaurant Row. So we will really bundlle up, and not spend a lot of time out of the call...heck it's ZERO degrees out there!

I Have a Follower!

I have my first Follower! (Disclaimer:It's my daughter). I think this is her revenge for my being on Facebook. Now I am feeling a bit self-conscious about what I say....sort of like singing in the shower versus performing with an audience. Anyhow...I must carry on. Well, one thing on my mind is that my "Eight o'clock Date" of the last several years is no more.  Last night was Keith Olberman's last night doing Countdown.  It came as an out of the blue announcement at the end of the show and delivered by him.  I must say I have come to really like Rachel Maddow these last few years, so I have her still. Well, maybe that should be my "productive hour" now, from 8-9. I could get more laundry done, do more dusting, things like that. Yes, I will start with lofty goals such as those, of course realizing this is NOT a resolution, and therefore subject to change.  As they say, (whoever this well-known THEY is), when when door closes, another opens. Vaccuum cleaner, here I come, maybe.

Wow! 50 Years Have Gone By

 Like so many people, I remember exactly where I was when I heard JFK had been shot.  But today isn't the anniversary of his death; it's the anniversary of his Inaugural Speech. So many changes followed, both inspiring and tragic. Today I am still a politics junkie...I don't know why I find it so fascinating. Maybe because it is in many ways like a soap opera...casts of characters, intrigue, suspense, duplicity, disappointment, villains and heroes. But we are not just viewers, as we are with soap operas.  We are the people whose lives are made better or worse by the workings of politics.

Geneology

Now I am already wondering if my title is correct. I will check it later, fix it if necessary, and you won't know if I made a mistake or not! Anyhow, I had a some serendipity going on last night and today.  We have an old family document appointing Cyrus W. Ruggles as postmaster of Brookline in the 1880's (a little impressive).  Anyhow, I am trying to find exactly how I am related to this man. It turns out he had a daughter named Theodora Alice Ruggles who was a talented sculptor and was commissioned to do some pretty impressive work. Turns out she did some things at Vicksburg National Historic Park as well as on the Boston Common and many other pieces. She was married to a man, also a sculptor, who did the Minuteman Statue at Concord, on which she apparently collaborated on because he was ill and suffered from depression.  Pretty impressive. Coincidentally, my bookclub is reading Lace Reader, which takes place in Salem, and had made mention of the statue of Roger Conant, founder of Salem, was created by Theo's husband. Will have to check some of his and her work out again, in person with new eyes. Now I need to find out what her children's names are so I can continue establishing my exact link to these folks.

Too Long/ Too Short

My husband's aunt is almost 95 years old.  Lately she has begun to say she has lived too long.  Mind you, she is passable health, lives in a nice assisted living facility, gets visited and taken out to lunch on a fairly regular basis....but she's done.  This brings to mind the issue of life being far too short for some, yet too long for others.  I have frequently said or thought that anyone living a reasonably decent live until 85 has done pretty well, and we probably shouldn't think of it as a life cut short.  But who is to judge in some cases?  It's easy to realize if  life was much too short for a child or young adult.  But when is enough enough? My own mother died at age 58, much too young, suddenly and totally unexpected.  Her earlier life was spent raising 6 children (along with other weighty issues), so when death took her when she had begun to be free of many of those issues, it was so unfair.....not enough "quality time," as they call it. In some ways it's too bad  our years of life were a little like a bank account.  If you had enough, or the quality was minimal, with little or no hope for improvement, wouldn't it be nice it we could donate those extra years to someone else whose life was cut short?  I know there's a saying " It's not how many breaths you take, it's the ones that take your breath away that matter." I guess the lesson is to try to be the person you want to be, and do the things you want to do while you can.  What would your obituary read like? (subject of a sermon recently given by my minister)  Are you content with what it would say? If not, start thinking about what you would like it to say and make some of it happen.

Hiatus

Well, the events in the Nation have left me without motivation for doing a "Blog Lite" piece for several days. For posterity, I am talking about the shooting of a Congresswoman from Arizona and many others, six of whom died.  I think it should have the effect of subduing talk, and encouraging thought, including intospection.  I have been doing that as the events unfold. It has made me realize even more that life is is like a play where we don't know who the actors will be in the next scene...we just have to wait and see.  People we never knew or heard of become front and center in our thoughts for a time.  We have the luxury of sympathizing, empathizing...but then being able to move  fairly easily on to what comes next in our own lives...while so many lives will have changed in ways most profound. I guess we could call that "Grief Lite"...I think the important thing is to decide if an event like this should call you to do something different in your own life....a little move away from something  in our current lives or toward something else in our lives that may need fine tuning... Only you and I can answer that for ourselves.

Mission Accomplished...

Actually, week one of the mission has been accomplished....if you have been reading along since Day 1, (unlikely)...so I will review.  One of my New Years Resolutions is to make at least one new recipe a week..from the numerous cookbooks I have.  Well, this one was found online...so I think that should count. I a made a new recipe tonight with boneless pork, sage, apples, cinnamon, a bit of brown sugar, allspice,..sauteed in a bit of oil, with a touch of butter on the apples.  Not bad...especially with baked sweet potatoes. I am writing a day ahead as I am busy tomorrow and may not get to it. I realize it was no Paula Deene, Rachel Ray or Martha Stuart...but it's a start.  Bye

New and Final Name For Blog

Have you ever just liked a word? We may have our favorite color, favorite animal, favorite book, favorite movie.  I have a favorite word....in both the way it sounds and what it means.  Some words sound nice, but thir meaning isn't anything special.  On the other hand, some words have lovely meanings, but not an appeal sound.  I just love the word SERENDIPITY. I love how it sounds.  I love its meaning...and it looks ok too.  So here you have it.  My final permanent name for my blog.

This Is Getting To Be a Habit...

Well, I guess this is good...I am writing for the fourth time.  I have met my minimum weekly standard. I am going to leave the Blog name alone today, as I am pressed for time.  I have to leave to do some volunteer ESL Tutoring in about 20 minutes. I still need to pick up ingredients for the new recipe I am making...we'll see if I have time today. I am already getting bored with talking about my Resolutions as I assume most people are (since they don't want you to start pointing out that they aren't following theirs)...so I need to branch out a bit on my topics.  The Real/Ideal Selves will always be looking over my shoulder, so there is no ignoring them...Well, how about The Holidays...???  They are over, but evidence of them still lingers in my house...a tree still standing (yes, a real one!), presents yet to be put away, decorations to be taken down etc.  HOWEVER, we have done very well eating up the leftovers....my "don't waste food" mantra had to fight with my "don't gain weight" mantra, and you can see who won.  There is still some chocolate in the house, but I give it to my husband to hide so my Real Self can't get ahold of it and scarf it down. My ideal self hates that I have to do this, but it's the only thing that works with chocolate and potato chips. Question of the day:  Why don't we ever have to hide broccoli and celery from ourselves.  I actually like both of them, but never overindulge in them---unless of course there is some rich dip to stick them into.  Gotta go.

Only I Know...for the moment..

Well, seeing I don't have any followers as of yet, especially since my daughter is the only one who knows I am doing this, and she has better things to do than spy on her mother, my title is a mystery. But my Evil Twin just doesn't keep secrets well, so she is about to tattle. I just spend about 10 minutes changing the names (yes, plural) of this Blog. I decided anyone looking for words like Evil (from the previous title) wouldn't likely be a nice person...and my Real Self doesn't want to deal with nasty people any more than necessary, so I have tried a few changes.  I figure someone looking for the words Flip Flop is thinking about relaxing on a beach....then again, don't mean politicians say that to eachother?  I thought Real and Ideal self might attract therapist types, and they can have fun diagnosing me. I am now rethinking the new title.  I'd better put the new one here for a permanent record, since it probably isn't going to last.  It is "Flip Flop aka Real Self vs Ideal Self." Now it sounds like a assignment for Psychology 101. Well, I need to come up with a better one....one I can stick with...or I won't ever have finding this including myself. I won't remember the name. To briefly report on my Resolution #2, I have picked out a recipe to make this week.  Now I have to get the ingredients. Unless of course I change my mind. My Ideal Self doesn't think the recipe is complicated enough.

Oops!

Well, my Evil Twin informs me that my first resolution has some flaws.... She wants to know how I will determine if I have met the 1 hour requirement it states...should I keep a timer going while I write? Should I record my typing speed for one minute, then extrapolate how many words I should write in a minute...oh, then I'd have to count it all up and see if it came out right...in that case would the counting time count as part of the hour? So, she has convinced me to adjust my resolution a bit.  I hope that's allowed according to the New Year's Resolution Rule Committee. So let's just say I will Blog 3-5 times a week. That gives me flexibility. Maybe all resolutions should be done this way. I'll bet there would be more success that way..now that I've done my Evil Twin's bidding (but I must admit she was right this time)...I am going to start thinking about what recipe I will be making this week. My cookbooks are in about 5 different locations, so maybe I will just grab the first one I find, pick a page at random, and make that recipe-even if it's something I hate. Otherwise I'll end up spending the day just reading cookbooks...*See previously mentioned neurotic habit of reading cookbooks. So long.

It's Started Already.....

So here I am trying to fulfill a New Year's Resolution (one of thee, actually). I figure that way one of them is sure to survive, at least until Ground Hog Day. The first resolution is to write at least an hour a week hence the Blog.  I've always liked to write, and like some, have had delusions of being a "real" author. The second resolution is to make a new recipe at least once a week from the dozens (someday I will count them) of cookbooks I have purchased over the years. I have read most of them from cover to cover, yet I have made hardly any of the recipes in them.  There must be a psychological name for this neurotic behavior, but truly it gives me pleasure to see and read about what I COULD make.  The third resolution is one you will have to take my word for, as I want to keep it private.  I'll just let you know how I am doing on it from time to time. This isn't a challenge for someone to try and guess what it is.  Just accept the fact that I am not going to disclosed it. ....Now on to the title of the Blog.....A few words of explanation.  We all have a REAL self and an IDEAL self....although sometimes we aren't honest enough with ourselves to tell them apart. They carry on this never ending dialogue within our head....a kind of "sibling rivalry" so to speak trying to be right, trying to have the last word...things like that.  Anyway, the Evil Twin has already corrected my grammar in the Blog-telling me the title should be My Evil Twin and I. Round 1 my real self scores a point leaving it ME!!