2012: Week Four

Holding a petite, innocent, beautifully-constructed newborn in your arms fills the psyche with the amazing wonderment about how far each individual develops within an entire lifespan. Most every parent feels this way no matter what flag their child is wrapped in. My husband's great granddaughter shown here was born in my birth month that I share with both my paternal and maternal grandmothers. This year those ladies would have been ages 145 and 120 years old, respectively, had their cycle of life lasted longer. What wisdom could they have imparted to this brand new, precious life? Being born under the sign of the (water) Dragon myself, I feel a special affinity with this particular new year that began on the 23rd...yet I am unsure if I am of the Yin or Yang variety. One source tells me Yin while another completely refutes that and indicates Yang. Regardless, the pendulum of life swings back and forth, like a lullaby in diurnal motion, completing the cycle for generation: next.

Photo Credit:  Choo Yut Shing

©2012 Debbie Ballard (text only)

2012: Week Three

Wow! Wild Weather Week! First, moderate snowfall that was compacted down, followed by accumulative inches to feet of widespread snow, followed by freezing rain that created a thick, treacherous ice crust on top of the snow along with wind that broke weighted-down branches and trees on to homes, cars, power lines or just plain collapsed roofs, followed by the melt/thaw and a very, very slow clean up that hasn't even begun yet...sounds like the layers on an ice cream sundae, doesn't it?...some places look like absolute war zones...however, what I will take away from this experience was that nothing beat walking in fresh fallen snow at 4:30 in the morning for the insulation of absolute quiet with no airplanes flying over...sheer bliss...

Here's just a few of the memorable things that happened during the last 7 days :

Over 300,000+ households without power
All 3 runways shut down at Sea-Tac airport, hundreds of flights canceled
2317 car crashes within a 24-hour period
Tacoma Narrows bridge shut down for hours because of falling ice
More than one county or city spent half their snow budget on just this storm, alone...and that was before the end of it!

Here's some of the best videos I found on YouTube that best describe visually the greater Seattle area's 'La Nina winter fun' adventure:

P.S. As a VERY deep surprise I learned that one person was alive this week after not hearing from them or about them for almost 5 years and I learned that another became deceased after no contact for 41...talk about standing upon the extreme edges of life's spectrum-this week was definitely it!

© 2012 Debbie Ballard (text only, no videos)

Happy Birthday and RIP JP...January 19, 1952-May 13, 1976...may your favorite song and your sweet memory remain in our hearts forever...

2012: Week Two

Third week (and beyond) of the respiratory flu and still no end to coughing jags and exhaustion for me. Alas, this virus was not very conducive to celebrating my birthday or welcoming a first great-granddaughter in to the world; both momentous occasions, indeed! It seems as though everyone I talk to knows someone who has this 'bug' in varying stages. I did get out of the house more this week and in doing so I kept noticing one thing in particular: people totally engrossed in their smart phones. Mind you this was not while they were by themselves...oh no. This was in the full presence of family and loved ones at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table. I saw fathers completely (and I mean completely) ignore their children during the entire meal. I saw mothers get annoyed if their little ones interrupted their mesmerized gaze in to the lighted rectangle held within their hands. I saw a couple in jogging attire that never said one word to one another, but instead were captivated by whatever they were looking at on their respective phones. Just like internet addiction, one thing about smart phone junkies is that they forget that real people exist outside of some screen. Remember to interact with those real people in your life too, please. A little cold wind and the enchantment of snow at the end of this week solidified this image in to my psyche.

©2012 Debbie Ballard                                                                                                                   

P.S. This week also made me think twice about ever wanting to take a cruise on a ship 3 football fields in length with a capacity to hold 4500 passengers. Keeling over at 90 degrees and going for an unexpected swim in frigid waters would not be my idea of fun. Is this a new feature of "all inclusive" I wonder?

Ode to Twinkie

***Please sing to the melody of 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'***

Twinkie, Twinkie:
little cake.
Hostess Cup Cakes:
no more bake.
Wonder bread, 

but most of all

I will miss the pink Sno Ball!

Twinkie, Twinkie,

won't you stay?

$$$ troubles,

GO AWAY!

Ho Hos, Ding Dongs,

Donettes, too...

all these gone 

will make folks blue!

Lunch will never be the same,

all because of corporate gain.

Hostess, Hostess

my oh my...

you now make us

cry and cry.

Zingers, Fruit Pies,

Suzy Qs...

all the flavors

and jobs, too!

Lost forever in U.S.

making economic mess!

Twinkie, Twinkie:

so, good bye...

I remember 

with a sigh.

©2012 Debbie Ballard

P.S. Unless you never roasted a Twinkie over a campfire, you've never lived.

2012: Week One

Nothing like waking up from a dream on New Year's Day in which accomplished actor, Robert De Niro, calls you on the phone to exclaim, "it sucks" in true NYC Shakespearean form! I soon began to realize that he was referring to the respiratory flu I have had since around December 23rd. Now I truly understand why Hugh Hefner wears pajamas all the time...they're damned comfortable when you feel like excrement! New Year's resolution to lose weight? Heck, you don't need one when you have this virus! Nothing like celebrating the New Year by going to bed at 8:30 at night and never to hear so much as a firecracker 3 1/2 hours later. While feeling my worst before retiring I contemplated that if my demise was upon me that many of my projects would be left unfinished for my family to unravel, hence my sole 2012 resolution: GIT 'ER DONE! I've been crossing off items on my bucket list ever since, thanks to a slow-moving Saturn and Neptune trine that I am told is formed about every 11 years. Ideas and visions implemented during this time period (approximately a month) will have positive and long-lasting results. So, a good time to clean up my act. Now, if only I could breathe without the hinderance of phlegm, have my normal energy back and be able to smell fragrances again, I might be able to call life good. In the meantime I'll spike my cup of hot black tea with cumin, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice and a jigger of rum!

©2012 Debbie Ballard