Rainy Day Sunday

I started my morning hearing the pitter-patter of rain hitting my roof while I was tucked away in my bed. I had a great sigh of relief knowing that I didn't have to get up for work so I rolled over and allowed the rain to lull me back to sleep for a few more hours. It was one of those early fall moments that rejuvenates my soul. When I did decide to join the living I merged into my morning routine of coffee and internet news with some quiet music and a cat in my lap. Although I had many tasks to tackle before I jump back into work week and had potential plans with a friend, I was in no great hurry to get everything done by noon. The season clearly dictated a 'me day'. And it has been totally worth it. Tasks have been completed, potential plans rescheduled, and work mode meals ready. I made a nice dinner this evening paired with some wine, popped in a good movie and planted myself on the couch with the sound of more rain coming in through the windows. Time well spent. Not too bad for a Sunday, eh? elizinashe

Random Update

So I was going through one of many boxes of books that I have collected and no longer need. One of those books came from some guy that was wooing me when I lived in Arkansas. It's an early 1900s book on the history of Ireland. Why he gave me this particular book is beyond be, I guess he thought I wanted to touch base with the minute Irish heritage that runs in my veins. I also found in this book the 3 or 4 'love notes' he left me on the bar napkins when he came in at various times. He was quite the romantic. Rhymes & romantic 'put you up on a pedestal' type of phrases. Clearly I kept it for the momento factor but I never went out with this guy although I clearly remember that time of my life. He even brought me a huge chunk of rock that was embedded with crystals. I still have that too. It currently rests in my rockwork as I enter my front porch. I am certain that this guy was relatively harmless and maybe a bit too romantic for my taste but he became a little too pushy for me which I didn't like. I was also still reeling from a really bad breakup earlier that spring and was quite negative about dating and suspicious of this guy as well. He soon dropped off the radar which was fine by me. I ended up dating another guy a couple of months later which was way better for me anyway. The second guy was a wonderful stepping stone back into the relationship world and helped heal my heart. But like a fool, I broke off that relationship to pursue a dream a few months later and chose not to bring him along with me. Sometimes I regret that but I believe it would have ended anyway and that would not have been fair to bring him along when I knew I had to stand on my own two feet again. Funny how one box of books brings back a chain of events that happened in your life.

We all know how much our environment has changed over the years. There has been much speculation and experimentation done on how all these changes has affected our well-being and quality of life. There have been suspicious links to the chemicals that we put on our growing food and supplements that we give to livestock to our over-all health, ADHD in our children, Autism, cancers and a damaged planet. I do believe there is some truth to all this hypothesizing. And of course all this stuff will have a domino effect and rubs off on Mother Nature and all it's creatures. Case in point: I have had some bird poo on my windshield for over a month now. I have washed my windshield many, many times as I'm driving down the road. We have even had some rain yet it still remains! Granted it's not as 'thick' as it was before but this stuff won't come off! I washed my car on Monday and I'm talking about the high-powered blast off all the dirt & grime soapy wands and a thorough rinse and it STILL was there!!! Now that's some toxic bird shit. Clearly the changing of the environment and food chains have had an effect on our little friendly chirpers. You think we could harness all that bird poo and make into a form of fuel to run our vehicles? If bird poo is going to last that long on a windshield even after many washes then it certainly can make an efficient fuel for our future. Forget methane, I vote for bird poop!

Labor Day has come & gone and September has arrived rather quickly it seems. It's dark now when I leave for work. The early mornings are cool and quiet and it's beginning to feel like fall is around the corner. The oak tree above my bedroom constantly rains acorns sometimes waking me up in the night with a fright. My walkway to the front door is speckled with fat, green acorns along with a few random leaves. Yep, fall is a-coming. I will soon be exchanging my spicy sandwich wraps & salads for hearty soups and roasted root vegetables. No more naked toes and sandals. Back to my favorite clogs, wool socks and heavy blankets. No more pictures of flowers and sunny skies. Time to slow down and regroup. I look forward to this fall season and I hope it will be a nice, lingering fall. It will give me time to slowly unwind from life and plan for a new future. Yes, I plan to turn over a new leaf. haha...couldn't resist that one. Perhaps I will come up with a plan to harness all the bird poop and turn it into a green source of renewable energy. ;p elizinashe

Random Stuff

I love salads. Big, fat jumbo bowls of greens, red onions, funky cheeses and funky dressings. Chicken, steak, salmon, beans, sprouts, veggies, avacado, mango, croutons-whatever, I say bring it on ! Now I'm not talking about your typical 'house salad with ranch dressing'. ( or as they say down here in their southern jargon, 'rainch') Yuk. How boring. I like exploring the world of mixed greens and topping it off with nuts & berries dressed in a funky vinegarette that stands out from the norm. I have a variety of dressings in the fridge that I like to try at home but nothing seems to equate the loveliness of a restaurant's own creation. It's a continual journey of mine, experimenting with store bought dressings and recipes to create my own. My newest fave was a white wine lemon vinegarette that I tried on vacation. I found one bottle of a champagne lemon variety that was close but no cigar. But I keep eyeballing the dressing isle at the store just in case something new comes up. It's a never ending obsession. I guess there could be worse things to be obsessed about.

I have two girlfriends who are both in their early 50s who are fighting amongst each other about some loser guy. Seriously! Apparently Girl #1 has/had a crush on this one dude for sometime now and claims she has said something about it to Girl #2 in which Girl #2 claims that Girl #1 never did. So the dude took an interest in Girl #2 and has been calling her and has taken her out a couple of times and now Girl #1 is pissed at her friend Girl #2 for doing so and has been acting ugly towards Girl #2 and has told her that she (Girl #1) does not want her (Girl #2) to go out with this guy. OMG!!!! Is this junior high school shit or what? And guess who gets to listen to Girl #2 gripe about all this shit? Girl #3 aka Switzerland aka me. I don't give a fuck! Work it out amongst yourselves. I have enough drama and stress of my own and I surely don't want to be pulled in the middle of this shit. And I can guaran-dam-tee-you that if Girl #1 never said diddly squat to Girl #2 about her crush for this guy that Girl #2 would not be interested in dating this man. Girl # 2 just doesn't want to be told what to do. How mature is that? I wish my really close girlfriends who currently live out of town/state lived closer or I had more money to travel so I can go visit them b/c we sure as hell never had stupid, immature drama like this.

On a lighter note, I've been practicing my piano music a lot more lately. I've been tweaking up my Gershwin Preludes and Rachmanioff's Prelude in G Minor. Dang how I love them both. And I really LOVE Rachmanioff altogether. Just listening to his music gets me all excited that I sometimes cry. Not in a sad way but in an excited state of mind way that I wish I could play all things Rachmanioff. This particular prelude is difficult but maybe one of the easier pieces to play if you can imagine anything Rachmanioff to be easy. However I can pretty much rock the first page but going into the second page which is STILL the ' first movement' I begin to lose momentum. I forget how tiring playing piano pieces can be. The second movement of this prelude is so beautiful and such a great transition after all the previous chaos and big chords it becomes a relief but then again, the second movement build to the last and most powerful two pages of the whole piece. Dang!!! I feel like I need some ADHD meds to keep my focus just to finish the whole thing. You'd be surprised as to how draining playing a powerful prelude can be. I can see why perfomers who play whole concertos which can last up to 25 minutes usually play just the concerto and drip with sweat as they come to a close. Seriously. It really is taxing on the body & mind but once you come to the big finale there is an awesome feeling of excitement that runs in your veins that nobody can take away from you. It's such a groovy feeling. In my next life I hope to play all things Rachmanioff to which I am certain I will explode from excitement in a spontaneous combustion at the end of a concerto with all my bits splattered on my audience. Now that will be some concert! Better than a Beck/Palin rally don't ya think? elizinashe