Tag: Arizona Wildcats

That’s a bummer!

I have discovered, to my dismay, I have probably developed an allergy to incense. No! I love incense and I am pretty particular about what I burn.

I usually use incense in concert with candles creating a nice welcoming vibe. 🕯

Saturday after hubby left for work (he works night shift) I lit two candles and burned a stick my most favorite incense. I’d made a yummy fish dinner and you know how the fish smell  hangs out, so I figured some candle flames and the gentle incense would freshen the rooms. The ceiling fans were moving the air so I did the dishes and settled into the evening to watch the University of Arizona Wildcats beat yUCLA in basketball.

With in a couple of hours I noticed some congestion building, and I was starting to cough – things got worse.

By the time I got in bed I was having typical allergy symptoms: running nose, watery eyes, cough, sneezing, it was awful. I ruled out the candles since I had been using them nearly every day, but the incense was the difference.

So now what? My body got busy clearing it out by pumping my head with histamines, and my sinuses have been overflowing with the yucky mucous stuff. Oh man it’s a drag. No headache, fever or sore throat, thank goodness. Tonight is a Navage before bed and cough medicine with a decongestant.

Anyone need some incense?

Cheers!

-N

Fading away, but starting fresh

My house is slowly losing the strongly imprinted energy of a human who resided there for years.

My mother.

She and dad moved in with hubby and I in 2000 after dad had a really bad stroke. He passed in 2002, and mom stayed for several years after he died. During part of that time she spent five years in a retirement community before coming back to us – she had physical needs costing a chunk of change each month. She moved back into the room she lived in with dad, and refreshed her energy in that space.

Now she has moved on, her physical body is resting with dad in a shared spot. They are, in our minds, together again. So the energy is fading ever so gradually.

The room, their room, is changing into a guest room with a University of Arizona theme. The walls are being painted cardinal red and navy blue. The furnishings will be different. The bedding and wall hangings conforming to the theme.

Yet…she and my father will still reside in this room that was originally built for them. Dad and mom’s UA sports memorabilia will fill the walls, joining the items we have and the things our daughter, a UA alum, is loaning us. Although the room will look strikingly different from the cozy room she passed away in, she and dad will be back.

Their human energy will fade, but memories will be nurtured for future generations to remember two cool people.

Cheers! and Bear Down,

-N

 

 

 

NFL goes out with a bang-for me

Yesterday was the “Big Game” for the NFL. I have to admit, as a football fan, the NFL has been a troubled platform for lots of fans and players. As a military kid, dad was Air Force, I have a strong patriotic heart. It’s true I was disheartened at the continued disrespect I saw, but this was not just in the NFL-it was everywhere.

It made me harken back to that time when we were on our way back to the US from the Philippines after my dad spent most of that tour in Phan Rhang, VietNam. We were told not to mention our dad serving in VN, and it was best not to mention our father was military. He was told not to wear his uniform on once he reached the shores US because of the strong and sometimes violent anti-military sentiment at that time.

1969 it was.

When I saw the protests of the players kneeling, the flag burning, and the things said about our military forces, it was Déjà vu. I felt my late father was being disrespected-again. His career in the Navy during World War II, and in the Air Force for Korea and Vietnam seemed to have no value or meaning to many of these humans who weren’t even around at that time.

So, yesterday I got a a bit of mine back.

I live outside of Tucson AZ, home of the University of Arizona Wildcats. My in-laws, my husband, and my daughter are all UA alum. I’ve worked there, and hubby currently works there.

If anyone was watching, the Wildcats had four ex-players in the game. Two for each team. It was splendid for me and for my dad’s memory. You see, for at least eight years my father volunteered his time to the UA football team for Coaches Larry Smith and Dick Tomey, as a time keeper for football practice, on the sidelines holding headset cables (before wireless,) and helping out with anything coaches, players, and trainers needed.

My dad loved Arizona Football. 

To see Nick Foles, Coach Dave Fipp, Rob Gronkowski, and Marquis Flowers playing in the Super Bowl would have brought my dad incredible joy. He would have been happy no matter who won, but I’m kinda thinking he would have liked Nick getting a Super Bowl ring, since Rob already had two. But just knowing some of his boys were playing, well lets just say there was cheering in heaven!

Everyone has their own opinion about the topic of what the flag means and why they protest. That is their right. But this is mine. I love my flag just like I love my country. I know history shows there was very bad and wonderfully good events. This is the point of keeping history, to be aware and make sure those mistakes are never made again.

Cheers!

-N

 

Brain dead

My brain is resisting the focus I need to do some writing. As soon as I sit down at the computer all the crazy stuff that keeps me awake at night flitters away. I have a notebook next to the bed but I forget to write in it. Ugh! I’ve been doing lots of webinars about writing, reading writing helps online and the more I do the more my brain screams “Not gonna do it!”

The TV is on and Chuck is watching the Arizona Wildcats play Washington. He is also on his tablet and his phone. I’m not sure which thing he is the most attentive to. The game is going back and forth but he’s not really yelling at the refs through the TV so who knows where his brain is.

I have an office full of banker boxes so I can start packing books for storage. I don’t know if I can work in here without books. They are my friends. Do you know how many character names I have gotten from looking at those books? I may have to keep some of them nearby just in case.

I have to clear it out so we can sell the house.

I’ve mentioned that I am a member of two different wine clubs. I just got my shipment of twelve bottles from one of them (I’m a happy girl) and in two weeks I will be getting eight bottles from the other. Anybody wanna party?? I like dry, full bodied reds with a deep color. When I first started drinking wines I wanted semi-dry whites. To me now any sweet or semi-dry wine tastes like cough syrup.

My palate has really evolved.

I was watching Valerie Bertinelli’s cooking show this morning and it was enlightening. She cooks like I do and it would be fun to cook with her. My hubby says I am good at taking a group of unrelated things and making a meal out of them.  I’m looking to try my hand at minestrone soup. I love it and would like to develop my own recipe. I have a great tuna casserole recipe my husband loves and he’s not much of a casserole guy. My fiery pasta dish is a favorite of his.

I love my dog but German Shepherds shed, a lot. I have this little vacuum I keep in the kitchen to run every day to pick up dog hair. Needless to say our clothes always have hairs. It is gonna be bad when it warms up. The undercoat is like bunny fur and comes out in clumps.

Well I managed to give you readers something. Now to try to work on my story.

Cheers!

-N