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!!