Enlightenment

What did you do before enlightenment?
Chop Wood Carry Water.

What did you do after enlightenment?
Chop Wood Carry Water.








Some people do well with change. Others don't. I'm in the "don't" category. Anything new puts me in a real tizzy. I recently unboxed a new printer that had been sitting in a closet for a year. I was comfortable with the quirks and blank spaces of my old one.

How about new cars? That's a tough one, learning about all the new gadgets. My car is three years old and I still don't know how to run the radio. Why were knobs such a bad thing? At least I could find a station.

People speculate on what they would do if they won the lottery and were suddenly millions of dollars richer. A lot of spending would be going on but not at my house. The latest new thing to make me climb the wall is a water ionizer. OMG the buttons, the different settings. I live in fear I'll push the wrong button and never find my my old setting or that I'll be drinking acid water.

Is it weird to be a woman and not like shopping for clothes? I shop in my daughters Goodwill bag. No labels to cut off and I know things will fit. Besides, they're free.

Should You be a Vegetarian?

Because I haven't eaten meat for 35 years, I've had people ask me if they should be vegetarian. If your blood type is A, like mine, you definitely shouldn't eat animal products. If you are an O you need meat. If you are a B, you need some meat. Often our bodies tell us what foods are best for us. For instance, I've always been attracted to peanuts. If I had a dish of mixed nuts I'd eat all the peanuts and toss the cashews. When young, I'd feel guilty because I'd heard peanuts had aflatoxin, which is a mold. After research was done on eating for your blood type, I realized peanuts were very beneficial to me. Books have since been written on this and I use the above book by Dr. Peter D'Adamo. It covers all four blood types or you can buy just a little book on your blood type.



If you are trying to lose weight and can't, you are most likely eating foods that are not acceptable to your blood type. The father of my children was an O blood type. O's absolutely thrive on meat. I'm an A and should stay as far away from meat as I can. When the kids were young, we'd get a sitter once a week and go out for dinner. He would order a big thick steak and want me to eat one too. I remember this clearly. When we got home, he was bursting with energy and I was miserably sick. I said, "I think meat poison's me," He laughed and said we need meat and his proof was, he ate it every day. We were both right. He did need the meat but it poisoned me.

If you don't know your blood type, you can get that information free if you "donate" blood or you can visit one of those quick-care units and the doctor will order lab work for a small fee. I just found out you can do self-testing for a reasonable fee. North American Pharmacal, Inc. will distribute "Home Blood Type Testing Kits."

Are any of you familiar with eating for your blood type?

To Spritz or Not To Spritz

Evening in Paris

Hey Babes and Babette's,

Is fragrance "in" or "out?' I don't honestly know. Years ago when I lived in Morocco, we'd say (if in a hurry to get dressed) "do the French thing," which meant spritzing perfume and no bath.Today, I hear people complain about the annoying smell of fragrance in work or public places. (Forget the whales). More Morocco notes: Movie theaters were a strange olfactory experience, garlic ala Chanel #5. Now there's a smell that will turn your head.

But the fragrance of a lifetime, the scent you'll never, never, never forget is "Evening in Paris." While I was growing up, the whole world smelled like Evening in Paris. Every female wore it and everyone loved it. It was made in France from 1929 to still being made BUT they stopped exporting it to the US sometime in the '50's. (Although now it's in the US again)

Men always knew the exact gift to get their woman.When I was 15, a special boy gave me the large set for Christmas. Each item was embedded in a box lined with a heavenly diaphanous fabric. My supreme ecstasy was unparalleled. All of my life's wishes were suddenly fulfilled. Anyone ever heard of it?

My Mother's Day Present

Is everyone tired of Flamenco? Last one, I promise. I had the best Mother's Day and it didn't involve my kids. Flamenco performances are almost unheard of in Montana but last Sunday a fantastic travelling troupe gave a high energy show in Helena.

I sat with my students and was delighted to watch their reaction to this powerful performance. None of them had ever seen live Flamenco with guitars and singers The absence of both in Montana force us to perform with Cd's. I was extremely pleased to know I had a large part in preparing the students foundation so they were able to fully appreciate it. Their feet silently danced and their hands were keeping rhythm with palmas.

I put together a few clips that I took with my flip camcorder. The stage was quite dark and the clip is shaky in places but it gives you some views of the show. It's customary for every performer to do a small dance at the end of a performance. Then everyone walks off together, often entwining arms and always in a jovial mood. This is called the Fin De Festival. I lost my program but I think the troupe's name is "Noche Flamenco," featuring Soledad Barrio and guest artists.

Things I Learned From The A-Z Blogging Challenge

The A-Z Blogging Challenge is behind us but the memory lingers on. What a great learning experience that was! Here's a few things I learned about writing blogs.

Short is always better. A new word I learned is "drabble," meaning 100 words. A perfect length when you have many blogs to read. For example JJ at the "Disconnected Writer" writes a short and to the point post. Always good but easy reading.

Do you really need "word verification"? I look at it as a big time waster. I have never been bothered with SPAM since I turned mine off. I know, I know, you want it and need it. OK, it was just a suggestion.

I love videos and music, probably better than the next person, but it's so nice when you supply a button for the reader to use if they are in the mood to watch a video or listen to music. I guess I have a one track mind and I prefer quiet when I read.

Multiple blogs are definitely confusing. I inevitably first pick the one where the last post is over a year ago.

Now that my following is growing, I love all your blogs and I want to read as many as possible. You are a joy and you make my day. Love and peace.

What is Our Answer to British Royalty?

Is this our answer to British Royalty? Oh no, we have movie and music awards and the Red Carpet.

I've heard criticism of the royal wedding, the royal lineage and British female hats. Some say it's a disgrace to keep Royalty in style when bad economy is knocking at the world's door.

Economy IS bad but I've seen a lot worse. I remember the big depression of the 1930's and could tell you stories of deprivation that you would say I'm making up. I'll spare you stories except one. I remember our whole family gathering around the radio in 1936, listening to Edward Vlll abdicating the British throne. The world was grasping on every word of British royalty. It was a light, a beacon in our drab existence to know there were still kings and queens and royalty. What's wrong with taking our minds away from poverty and replacing it with a royal fantasy?

I'd pay my 10 cents on a Saturday matinee just in hopes of catching a glimpse of the British princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret in the news reel. Their tradition of female hats has always intrigued me. American women wore hats in the 50's but then it faded.

I was up at 3 AM watching the wedding live. Watching the hats and all the pomp, I felt joy in my heart for British tradition. How bleak the world would be without it. What do you think?