Once more into the breach--

Well, in a little while I'll be off down the yellow brick road again, this time to see the flying monkeys at the ER. Because I've got a crick in my neck, Dr. G. said go get blood work done. So, lemme get in the shower and get ready for take-off. Sister Ramey's going to drive me down there.

***

Weds., June 1 - There's no defense against the Medical Monster. We got home last night at 11:00, after I spent 8 hours in the emergency room, mostly waiting. I feel worse for Ramey than for myself, because she likes to sleep.

Okay, it was a harrowing experience for a 162-year-old crone like me. But what about the young girl with her obviously sick husband asleep on her shoulder, her infant in a carrier, and her toddler making the only sweet light in the place?

What about the old gentleman who could walk although he couldn't stand up straight? No one was waiting with him.

The emaciated young woman who had some kind of a seizure, rolled around screaming on the floor until a big guy came in and picked her up and left?

Crowds of them waiting there all day and into the night, obviously because of the signs on the walls saying it's illegal to deny medical treatment to anyone just because they can't pay for it.

Not to mention the medical staff, not one of whom ever let a harsh or ill-natured word out of his or her mouth.

Maybe it was cruel of Dr. G. to send a weak old woman to the ER, when he could have let me go to this little secluded clinic in Leeds for "some blood work." We, who are strong enough to stand it, should all be subjected to such cruelty, to be shown how the other half tries to stay alive.

Uh oh!

'"Will Bullwinkle be able to extricate himself?"

'"I will, as soon as I get loose!"'

I've got to extricate myself from this lazy-dumps mood--I've got a dental appointment this afternoon, so I need some energy from somewhere. But it'll be all right as soon as I drag myself into the shower. I'm sure.

Three Days of the Weird Sisters

 

What a great weekend and Monday! Ramey and I went to the thrift store Saturday where I got a painting of three pears and stocked up on china coffee mugs. Afterwards we went to Cracker Barrel and I gobbled up some "campfire chicken" and vegetables.

On Sunday Susan and Ramey picked me up after church, and we went to Logan's and chowed down. Then Monday night Ramey and I went to poetry group meeting at the Arts Center; there was a crowd--13 poets and Spurgeon, whose mind is one long poem.

Somehow the subject of "Michael," the movie, came up. Since they didn't remember much about it, I'm thinking of inviting them over to watch it on Netflix if I can find it. Or maybe we could watch it at Susan's, so she wouldn't have to travel.

I napped this afternoon, so I can watch the final episode of "The Night Manager" on TV tonight without falling asleep in my chair.

Getting Stuff Done

Thursday and yesterday were very productive. I decided that I want a prairie-points edging on my leaf quilt. I folded paper for a pattern, assembled fabrics, cut out all the squares, folded and pressed them, and removed the old binding that I had messed up from the quilt's edge.

I plan to put the points around three sides, and bind the top edge with green bias tape. That's probably going to be the centus ultimus of my quilt-making, though I'm not sure I've made quite a hundred.

The lights keep going off and on. I've had to restart the computer. Wonder what the weather's doing.

Also yesterday, I wrote a poem, or the germ of a poem. I'll probably still be working on it years from now. The subject was suggested by Joan, according to a poem some guy had written. It's a run-on bunch of words with no form or rhythm. Poetry group meets Tuesday night (May 24), or maybe it was Monday night, I'll have to check, and I plan to go, although I can't hear what's going on.

Several days ago I ordered a new pair of jeans and two tee shirts from L.L. Bean, and they arrived yesterday. Very light colors, because it'll soon be summer. But the shirt that matched the jeans was out of stock. It's always something.

I'm re-reading John Le Carre's book, Call for the Dead. Then I plan to read Dictator, the third volume of Robert Harris's trilogy about Cicero and ancient Rome.

Today I need to go to the store, weather permitting.

Fontana Village

Fontana Village, near Ashville, NC, has changed a lot since we used to go there. The rates, compared to the 1950's-70's, still seem reasonable. Checking it out online, I didn't see anything about horses; I guess they've got rid of those nasty mammals. It looks so high-end and modern now, I don't think I would be so thrilled by it as I used to be.

Now I'm Resting.

I made chicken cacciatore, rice, and a salad for lunch. Dropped half a can of fire-roasted tomatoes in the floor and had to mop the kitchen. Flipped a piece of chicken under the burner on the cook-top and just got mad and flipped it back into the skillet. Fortunately, whenever I cook up a "mess o' sump'n," the rescued remains nearly always tastes good.

So now I'll go and see if lunch is as good as it smells.

A Good Family Trip

Ken Burns's documentary of Lewis and Clark's search for the Northwest Passage is showing on PBS, but it makes me so sad, I can't watch it. I've read Stephen Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, on the same subject, and just the words "Meriwether Lewis" sharply recall scenes from the book, which I can almost see. Lewis apparently inherited some of that clan's mental anomalies; otherwise, his personality and intellect should have enabled him to be a great statesman or explorer.

One fact I remember from Ambrose's book, was that of all Lewis and Clark's crew and the thousands of miles they travelled in unknown country, they lost only one man, someone who died early in the voyage of natural causes. Another "interesting" observation was that every man in the group received monetary rewards when they arrived home, except Clark's black slave York, who was a great help on the expedition but received nothing as a reward. At least he was freed later on, I think it was when Clark died, but I'm not sure.

Our weekend trip to Cullman, Ave Maria Grotto at St. Bernard's Abbey, was wonderful, if a bit exhausting for some of us. The path wound through the park, at first steeply downhill, and then on wandering paths, always on the rise. Ramey, India, Kylie, Reed, Jed and I all enjoyed it very much. This is my favorite photo of Jed on the trail:

Jed got some good shots of me, as well as the shrines and other buildings created by the monk Brother Joseph, but for some reason I can't print individual pictures from his collection. But here's a link to his photos: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOnjqLkdFaqVIY1yP9Ba5KF98cFEpJTgTJO1yYk1-LWNaMESWqtT04IaFc9iglzrA?key=QlVLZmx0MEtlUGVTMkNKUlR0eHFZRHQ3QXZ0by1B

 

This was a beautiful blooming bush along the way. I thought it was some kind of hydrangea, but it may be a "snowball bush."

There's a most interesting series showing on the AMC TV channel, "The Night Manager." The fourth episode airs tomorrow night (Tuesday, May 10).

Well! I did figure out how to print a shot from Jed's Saturday pictures--very typical of me. I think I sat and rested on every bench along the way.

"Pretty Enough to Frame"

 

I saved this New Yorker cover all these years, and finally got around to putting it in a frame. Also posted it on Facebook.

Jennifer had a doctor appointment today, so Dave brought his friend Mike to help clean up the house. They really did a good job. Mike also helped him paint my kitchen about a year ago. Dave cleaned and "combed" all the carpets in the house, and it's a shame to have to walk on them and mess them up again.

Mr. Reed's guys also came today, mowed the grass (mostly clover), and cleaned up the yard.

We're going to Cullman on Saturday, "we" being Jed and I, and maybe India, Pat, Reed and Kylie, if nobody backs out. Susan remembered she and Andy had a date to go to a movie and lunch Saturday, so we'll miss them. The Ave Maria Grotto is what we'll visit in Cullman.

"Known throughout the world as 'Jerusalem in Miniature,' [the Ave Maria Grotto] is a beautifully landscaped, four-acre park designed to provide a natural setting for the 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous historic buildings and shrines of the world. The masterpieces of stone and concrete are the lifetime work of Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk of St. Bernard Abbey. Begun as a hobby, with various materials he could find, and infinite patience and a remarkable sense of symmetry and proportion, Brother Joseph re-created some of the greatest edifices of all time."

The Wikipedia article about Br. Joseph states that he was not accepted as a priest because of a rule, at that time, rejecting any candidate for priesthood who had a major physical deformity, and he had a stooped back as the result of an accident when he was young.

Cinema's Exiles

Monday and Tuesday this week were unusually good nights for TV. I watched Casablanca again on TCM, and on PBS Monday night watched Cinema's Exiles. It was shown again Tuesday, and I think can be viewed online. It shows a lot of film shots from the 1930's and later. In 1933, Hitler banned all Jewish movie actors and executives from German cinema, as well as Jewish sympathizers in the medium. They had already started fleeing Germany in, even before, 1930. Many of them succeeded in getting to the United States and helped make our film industry great in the 20th century. So many of our great actors, directors and producers have been Jews.

Spring Beauties

"Her lawn is like a meadow,

and if she mows the place,

she leaves the clover standing

and the Queen Anne's lace."

 

E. St.V. M.

 

*

I guess Mr. Reed's crew will be here tomorrow or Thursday to shave off all my clover.

There was a beautiful white cat with gray and orange spots in the back yard. I went to get the camera, and of course he/she left.