Raking the leaves

(A note for those reading this as a Facebook note; if you click on the View Original Post link you'll get the pictures that go with this post. Actually my blog posts are usually way longer than what Facebook shows on the note so if you don't click the lick you'll be missing most of it anyway). So, with that out of the way......

Thanksgiving day in Garner North Carolina didn't start out beautiful but the sun came out just before midday and stayed that way the rest of the day. It was also lovely and warm in the sun.
The house is normally dull and dark even when i open all the curtains and blinds and doors. I just didn't want to stay in a dark house when it was so lovely outside. My hosts were dozing in a darkened room in front of the Telly so I went out for a walk.
I enjoyed walking down their quiet street looking at all the houses and gardens (sorry, 'front yard's as they call them here).

When I got back I decided to do something useful that enabled me to spend the afternoon outside. I decided to rake the leaves.

As you see there are loads of them. Two weeks ago George hired a guy with a strong blower who cleared the front yard of leaves but there were still loads on the trees and so they came down and covered the place again.

The trees are mainly American oak trees in this yard. The leaves are a little larger than the British oak and some (as you see here) are enormous. But these are the exception.

So here I am with my rake ready to start work. Their neighbour, Pat, came round to give some cranberry bread that she'd made and offered her electric leaf blower. I accepted and she took the picture on my phone (can't use it to phone here but it makes a good camera).


I couldn't get the hang of the blower and came to the conclusion it was best for a fine sprinkling of leaves and not for a the many layers we have in this yard. So back to the rake and cart. (pic of pile and cart)

A few hours later I'd raked half the yard and driveway and decided to stop.

The leaves are piled at the road ready for the municipal vacuum to suck them up. I hope it comes before the wind does.

If it's a nice day tomorrow I might do the rest of the yard. I'm a fare weather gardener and only really enjoy 'yard work' as they call it here, on lovely days.

My hosts had bought ready prepared items for the Thanksgiving dinner form the local store. Each item had a massive list of ingredients - something I'm careful to avoid, so I'll just have a little bit.

Reflections on a Summer Morn

One morning in August I had an experience that I wanted to blog, but as I was very busy that day and had no time to get on the internet I jotted it down on a piece of paper to post later.

Now is the 'later'. I've just come across the paper:

At 7:15 this morning I saw an amazing sight.
The sun shone through the leaves of a tree and projected a moving picture onto the wall through the open window.

There was no wind. The leaves were the shadow and the sun was the light but there was movement showing within the light. Something was emanating from the leaves. It went in all directions; up down and swirling around.

It took me a while to work out what it was until I came to the conclusion that I was witnessing the evaporating vapour of the dew on the leaves as the sun warmed each drop.

Jeff's Room/My Room

The room I'm staying in is less like a cave now that I've managed to get to the windows and opened the curtains.
I've also sorted all the towels, and face cloths, putting most of them in black bags in the basement so I have room to store other stuff, like my clothes.
This household has about 150 facecloths, 100 small towels and more than 50 large towels.

My hosts had a visit from their son's family this weekend. I asked him to open the windows as I couldn't budge them and like to have fresh air. His children, now young adults, spent many a summer at their Grandmom and Granddaddy's house. They joked, when they saw the room I'm in, that they didn't know it had a carpet, (or the table in the dining room was made of wood).

The son told me that I could throw out of give away anything in th room that belonged to him apart from his yearbook, which he's not been able to find for years. Shame he couldn't have done all that chucking out years ago, then he probably would have found his book. - and his grandchildren would have had a more comfortable stay each summer.

It's lovely to see such a loving and close family. They drove 5 hours each way to visit for a short weekend, and cleaned the leaves off the roof while they were there too.

Martha Beck

I downloaded a happiness lesson from Martha Beck's site. I was shocked to hear her children are grown now! Why is it that when I read a book I expect time to stand still for those written about? Adam, her son with Down's Syndrome, doesn't talk but communicates to her, she says, via dreams.

She is a little off the wall. She said that a few years ago she had accomplished all her dreams and so she thought it was probably time for her to leave this life. She thought that the reason she couldn't see what she should do in the future is because she would be dead. So she doubled her health insurance and got her affairs in order. Then she went out to Africa. And found another dream to work on.

She said "I'm too old to keep pretending I'm not crazy". When Adam was small he kept showing her dreams of Africa. She painted a picture featuring the dreams she had with a portrait of Adam in it. She said to him. "Do you remember sending me these dreams?" and he blushed to the roots of his hair, he had a big smile and he said "yeah".

The Joy Diet

I picked up a book at the library that I thought might help me write my website. It's called "The Joy Diet" by Martha Beck.

The author's name seemed a little familiar and then I realised she wrote a wonderful book called "Expecting Adam" about her pregnancy of her 2nd child who had Downs Syndrome.

She is now a life coach, so having a feeling of already knowing her I decided to read the book.

She has a chatty style and gives a 10 step program to becoming more joyful.

I haven't read the whole book yet, but have bobbed around the chapters and note that creating connections with people demand a willingness to risk being hurt, and willingness to be truthful with yourself. I'm wondering about my not being a 'people person' and thinking that I need to do her 10 steps.

The first step she recommends is to do nothing. For at least 15 minutes each day. For only then, can we hear that still small voice within.

Sounds like good advice to me so I'm off to do nothing.

Being Interested in Others

I read 3 chapters of Mansfield Park, but Marjorie said she had difficulty understanding who was who. I can identify with that. If I hadn't seen the film I would also have trouble. So I went to buy a DVD of it for her.

The store Best Buy had none in stock but very cleverly encouraged me to order it online at the store from them to be sent to me by post. This way they don't mss out on a sale.

After I had read the 3 chapters Marjorie expressed a wish for me to tell her about myself. She said she didn't really know me.

This got me thinking. Why hadn't I told her much about my life? I've heard myself tell people my life story more than once, yet I don't talk about myself when I'm with her.

The answer could be that she has not asked me questions about myself, has not seemed particularly interested in me. She has asked a few times how the girls are, but has not asked anything specific about them.

I have a friend, Maggie who I used to visit maybe once a year and each time we met I was always amazed that she remembered the details about my family and asked pertinent questions about them. She was genuinely interested and this made me realise that I was not so generous in spirit.

I will talk away about my favourite subject (myself) to anyone who is interested, but not if the recipient isn't.

So what do I do? She wants me to talk about myself she says. Today during our conversations I injected some anecdotes about my own life that were relevant to the conversation but she didn't seem to be interested in what I said.

I know that we are surrounded by people who mirror us and I've seen in myself a self centredness that I'm not proud of. I think it's time I changed.

Interpreting What People Mean

G&M have been telling me I'm doing too much and I've eventually realised what they mean by this.

They mean "Your doing too much other stuff and need to spend more time with Marjorie". Ah, but I prefer cleaning. Hm, I guess this is what I need to learn in this situation. Marjorie is a lovely lady but I'm not particularly a people person when it comes to interaction.

I watched the film Nanny McPhee on TV with her. I'd not seen it before and enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed the parts that were the actual film. About a third of the time was taken up with adverts. (I'm not a fan of British TV but I think I prefer it to the US version.) It seems that British TV has twice as long gaps between adverts and half the time devoted to them within each slot. It's not easy to follow the plot with so many and such long interruptions. Fortunately Marjorie muted the set during each break so we could converse.

I'm going to read her Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I think we will both enjoy that.

Libraries

Entering a many British libraries, the visitor is confronted by the following notices;
"No Smoking"
"No dogs"
"No phones"
"Turn off phone"
"Please do not eat or drink in the library"
".............. libraries (or council) accept no responsibility for loss or damage of personal property"
"No public toilets"

This does not seem very welcoming in my opinion. However lovely the people who work there are, I still don't feel welcome in a British library.
If you want to use the computers, you have to sign a long list of don'ts also.

Down the road at Asda supermarket car park I notice a refreshing change of attitude;
"Although we take every care to protect your car and belongings we regret that we cannot take responsibility for them."

Although, when distilled, both disclaimer notices give the same information they give two different messages.

Asda is part of the Walmart group of America. I don't particularly like shopping at Asda partly because of the music they play but I've been impressed with their customer service.

The libraries that I've visited in the USA (3 of them regularly) have a very different atmosphere than the British libraries I've been to (too many to count).
Two of the libraries on the USA, and several in the UK, have been new buildings.

I'm sure you can guess that I prefer the US ones.

I was very surprised, though that the well endowed library in Garner NC, doesn't have the book "What Katy Did" by Susan Coolidge on it's catalogue. Funny that England has this American classic children's book readily available in libraries and book shops. Yes, it is old fashioned but it has a wonderful message that (seemingly justified) self absorbment and self pity leads to unhappiness whereas selflessness leads to happiness.

I haven't noticed that British libraries offer the facility of WiFi with plugs to power laptops. The 3 US libraries I've visited have this very useful facility.

It is also normal for children to be tutored in the US libraries, within the children's section. This offers a neutral and safe place for both parties, with the advantage of resources to hand.

Electromagnetic and Geopathic Stress

The last time I was in North Carolina, I would often do some cleaning and laundry for G&M.

M's eyes are too poor now to do crochet or read so, she says, watching the television is all she can do and bemoans the fact that it's all 'Sodom and Gomorra'. When I arrived from the airport there were 3 TVs blaring different stations. One in the lounge, bathroom and bedroom. I remember this was normal and whenever I came to clean etc I would feel drained after having been in the house for just 15 minutes.

During my adult life I have rarely owned a TV because I don't find it restful. In fact I find it an intrusion. I don't want strangers dumping their energies in my home.

I remember when I did have a TV I felt dissatisfied after an evening of watching it. I always felt I could have used the time more productively.

I remember reading about some scientific research that showed watching TV does not in fact relax people.

So, I knew that I was going to live in a house with TVs on 24/7. M actually goes to sleep at night with the TV on too. I do however, turn off the TV if no-one is in the room watching it, so most of the time there is just one going.

In preparation for this, I bought a Raditech Oyster. This is a portable device that neutralises geopathic and electromagnetic stress. The day before yesterday I noticed I was flagging, feeling tired when I'd not done much and I realised I had left my Oyster under my pillow. I went to get it and perked up. I'm so glad I made the investment.

My previous house had strong geopathic stress in most of the rooms. Geopathic stress is caused by the normally benign energy that comes up from the center of the earth through the earth's crust. When the energies have to pass through subterranean water or a fault line they speed up vibration and become harmful to most living things.

You may have noticed a certain spot in your garden where nothing much grows, or a pot plant in your house dies when put in a certain place. Or you wake up feeling stressed and not rested in a certain bed. It's likely that that spot is a geopathically stressed place.

I learned about geopathic stress many years ago and I realised I was sleeping in a geopathically stressed place. I bought a large Raditech for my room and started sleeping better and feeling more rested when I woke.

I noticed I always felt achy and not rested in the morning at White Gables, (my previous house) but it came home to me how bad it was when I went to a conference in Paris and slept really well the whole time. Once back home I woke feeling awful again. I did some research and found the house was also within 100 metres of a mobile phone mast. This is a dangerous amount of electromagnetic radiation as well.

The old raditech I had didn't work as well as it used to because it wasn't designed to neutralise electromagnetic waves and the geopathic stress from the earth has got stronger in recent years.

I had a lovely couple renting a room in my house. The lady, however was ill more than she was well, and I realised she was sleeping in an unsafe place due to the geopathic stress. This GS has been found to be the common denominator in cot deaths, miscarriages, infertility and cancer. If you sleep in a geopathically stressed place, your body, which should be repairing itself during your sleep is busy trying to cope with the faster vibrations and, depending on the severity of the stress can have disastrous results on the body.

So as this lady was staying in my house and I knew why she was so ill all the time (GS lowers the immune system) so I gave her my Raditech. She had been trying to have a baby for several years, but the month after having the Raditech in her room she became pregnant!

Meanwhile I was feeling awful and decided to do the next best thing and put black plastic bags under my bed. Apparently the black plastic absorbs some of the vibrations. (A better substance for this is cork tiles but plastic bags are much cheaper.) It's not a permanent solution as they have to be renewed every so often. The morning after I put the newly bought, strong plastic bags under my mattress, I felt really ill.

I was even more achy and so put another layer of plastic under my mattress. My bed had wooden slats that the mattress rested on and so the bags were on top of the slats. The next day I was even worse and I couldn't understand why. It was several days before I realised that the bags were made from PVC and I was sleeping in a room filled with toxic PVC fumes! No wonder my muscles felt toxic.

Meanwhile my generous daughter bought me a little new generation Raditech and although it took a few days, I felt so much better. It covers an area of 3 square metres.

Then the lady in my house started to have a threatened miscarriage. I knew that the mobile phone mast was likely to be a strong contributing factor to this event so I lent her my new, stronger Raditech, because I couldn't sit by and see her lose the baby when I had the means of helping to prevent it.

So I had the weaker one back. The bleeding stopped and all was well, except I felt awful again. I gave the couple the leaflet about the Raditech in the hope that they would buy their own, but they didn't.

As time went on my heart hardened and I decided they needed to take responsibility for their own health and I asked for the stronger Raditech back. I had only had it a few days when she started to bleed again. So I gave it back and the bleeding stopped.

Now I've left that house and I hear a family have moved into White Gables. As I write this I'm thinking of the baby and other members of the family sleeping in an unsafe place and so I've decided to write to them to tell them about the geopathic and electromagnetic stress. Once they have the information, then they can decide what to do about it and my responsibility ends. I do feel knowledge is responsibility.

Crochet Time

I started crocheting a blanket about 3 or 4 years ago when. Helen had a particularly cold bedroom and she spent time in it whilst studying. I was staying with her and Claire for Christmas, on a visit from Kuwait. I then took it with me to my my mother's so I could feel productive whilst we chatted.

Helen never got it because it's still not finished. It seems I don't do enough chatting. I knew i'd be wanting to do something whilst I chatted with Marjorie so I brought it with me. I also brought two other projects along because Marjorie is housebound - mostly bed bound, and I knew she would enjoy chatting with me.

Crochet is something that requires very little attention and thought, so it's a perfect activity to chat by. I know that extroverted people would feel a long chat was time well spent. But as an introverted person I feel I've wasted time if I've spent time only chatting. I know that chatting can be a useful activity and so as a compromise, I like to do some sort of fabric craft at the same time.

Interestingly, the converse is also true. I rarely crochet as an isolated activity. I feel the need to also have some input using my hearing, and maybe sight, and will listen to a lecture, (or dictation) or even tutor a child who just needs some prompting whilst doing their homework set by their school.

I must say I rarely follow a complicated pattern because then I would have to concentrate solely on the piece of craft.