Sleepless Midnight Symphony

The midnight silence heard only on sleepless nights

Twines sinuously with the constant whirr of the ceiling fan

Stirring the night air into unrest.

Gently and softly, the slow inhale and exhale introduces a percussive cadence.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

sgdfh

Faintly, in the distance,

The metallic clink of cats' tags meeting food dish.

A whimsical touch.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Clink.

Exhale.

sdgfhsd

Now the inhalation takes on a hint of a snoring trill.

Overhead, a plane flies beneath the clouds

Creating a rumble of false thunder.

Inhale - trill.

Exhale.

Rumble.

Clink.

Inhale - trill.

Exhale.

Clink.

Rumble.

sdgfh

Sleeping kitty breathe adds

The barest hint of syncopation

To the rhythm of the night.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale . . . inhale.

Exhale.

Clink

Inhale.

Inhale. . . . Exhale.

sdgh

A car engine roars unexpectedly to life.

Sports car power.

Revs.

Revs.

Revs.

Then zooms into action!

sdgfh

Seemingly endless zooming.

Zooming.

Zooming.

Zooming.

Fading into the distance

sdgfh

Only to appear again with surprising strength

Zooming.

Zooming.

Zooming.

Momentarily before finally disappearing

sdgfh

Beneath

Inhale.

Exhale. . . inhale.

Inhale.

Clink

Exhale.

sdgh

The sleepless midnight symphony continues.

The listener wondering when the deep rumble

Of allergy induced snoring will enter the mix.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Clink.

Inhale. . . inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Clink.

Exhale . . .

Funk Fighting

Hi All!

Happy Wednesday! We have all made it to the middle of another week! YEAH!

Is my positive (and slightly wacky) attitude bothering you yet? No? Good!

I am happy to say that the positive mental attitude (PMA) is really doing a number on that nasty old funk that has been hanging around for so long. Currently the funk is hanging on by the tips of its teeny fingernails. I have confidence that soon it will loose its tenuous grip and will be banished!

Of course, there is always the danger that it will reappear.

While it is fighting for its life, the funk is throwing everything it has at me. My back is hurting despite all of the stretches I have done this morning. The temperature this morning was back to a chilly 58 (not nearly as chilly as the temps that Nobel Pig has to walk in though!). I had to duel with a headache yesterday at work along with some very "interesting" phone calls to the insurance companies. No one else in class has emailed their sections of the list we divided up. And . . . the lowest blow of all - I am getting a nice crop of zits on my face.

That is right - a CROP. Not one or two but several. *sigh* Oh well - that nasty funk can keep trying but . . . it WILL NOT win! I am too positive for that!

I am reading a new book - well, new to me anyway! It is called Dying for Chocolate and is a mystery/thriller/cookbook from Dianne Mott Davidson. I will review the book on my blog in a while but in the meantime, I am savoring each page! What makes this (the reading of a new book) so special that I put it in my blog is the fact that while in the deepest depths of the funk I was unable to read at all. Now I am started on my fourth book in a week! Yeah!

Today I don't have to work and have absolutely NOTHING planned until my class later tonight. Well, I take that back. I do plan on going up to the college a bit early to work on an assignment with some friends from class (NOT Frick and Frack even though I am doing MUCH better about loving them). However, the idea of a day stretching out in front of me with so much unstructured time is thrilling. My mind is racing with ideas of things to do.

There is some sewing I could do. There is always reading. The piano has been calling my name lately. The kitties can always handle some extra play time. Some tidying around the house wouldn't hurt. Some extra time spent on classwork could be a good idea. A nap always (I mean ALWAYS) sounds good.

Now my only problem is . . . how to choose what to do?

Trisha

Voice Update: Well . . . the jury is out for a bit until I get talking today. While at work my voice seemed to be doing really well. Then I noticed last night while reading our devotional that I was really struggling with those darn unvoiced consonants as well as the hard ts. In fact, there was one word - darn . . . can't remember it now - which I had a tough time getting out at all! I guess I need to add intense vocal exercises to my list of thing to do today!

Therapy Chickens????

Hi All!

Today is day two of my positive attitude to oust the "funk." So far I have the funk on the ropes but haven't quite given it the TKO yet. Maybe today will be the day that it will turn tail and run for the hills!

This morning, in contrast to yesterday's chilly 58 degrees, it is a very humid 74 degrees. Is it any wonder that lots of people in Texas have colds on top of their seasonal allergies?

Despite the steamy morning, I actually made it out to walk this morning and - after I got started - it wasn't TOO bad. At least I managed to sweat those nasty toxins (or that negative attitude) out! I listened to my devotional podcast and the Bible in a year podcast (back to the Psalms today with a really, really young reader who did a fine job) and then switched to the NPR show "Wait, Wait - Don't Tell Me!"

For those of you who have never heard this show, Wait, Wait is a game show which uses items (real and imagined) from the news as questions. There is a panel of people on the show - normally comedians or humorists - who "help" callers find out the correct answers and who also add their own humorous touches to the game. Throughout the game, the panelists are asked bizarre questions from the news.

The question which stood out for me this morning was the one asking about what kind of animal a woman is trying to make into therapy animals. CHICKENS!

CHICKENS!

The woman's reasoning is that many older Americans grew up with chicken and so holding chickens takes them back to happier days of their youth.

CHICKENS!

What will they think of next?

Okay - class update. Did you make a prediction as to if Frick and Frack had their part of the list completed? If you guessed that the answer would be NO - you would be correct. Frick knew about it and assured us that she would be spending all day Friday working on it - she has taken the day off of work to focus on the task. Then she added "If not on Friday, definitely on Sunday!"

Frack claimed to not know about the division of labor at all. To his credit - he might be correct. At the beginning of the class he was late, left early, was busy talking, a lot of the time and he certainly could have missed our conversation. He did make notes about which section he is in charge of and pledged that he would work on it and get it completed as soon as possible.

Should I believe him?

I did give both Frick and Frack my portion of the work. Another student, K, was upset that I did that. She said that she wasn't going to give them anything until they gave her their section. I told her that even with my section of the work, they wouldn't benefit from it unless they take the time to study so . . . I didn't mind giving it to them.

Trying to spread the love.

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing well. I got a short massage yesterday from Susan while I was working, which was very nice. I work again today since L is feeling a bit worn out from a weekend of illness. Fun, fun!

"D" Day!

Hi All!

While not totally out of my funk yet (this one seems to be hanging on for dear life!), I am determined to get rid of it by thinking positively and keeping busy. Wish me luck.

As part of that effort, I have started today off by jumping out of bed (okay - rolling out of bed after the alarm went off for the second snooze!), making lunch for Hubby (which showed me that we are almost out of peanut butter and I just went to the grocery store yesterday!), and sprinted (do you believe THAT??) out the door for my walk. The weather was a chilly (for Texas) 58 degrees and that meant that in my shorts and t-shirt I was walking quickly to warm up.

While walking I listened to my daily devotional - which interestingly dovetailed nicely with the devotionals that Hubby and I are reading each night AND with the sermon at church yesterday - and my daily dose of bible verses - 2 Timothy even though we haven't heard 1 Timothy OR finished the Psalms. What is up with that??

After my religious fix, I listened to something a bit more "secular-" the Grey's Anatomy Podcast. To get myself oriented again, I listened to the podcast about the end of last season. I plan on listening to the podcast about the start of this season next. Probably tomorrow.

I took a quick tour of my garden to see if it needed watering. It didn't thanks to the inch and a half of rain we got over the weekend and the cool temperatures. Then it was inside to work on some stuff for class that I SHOULD have done this weekend.

Why didn't I? Well, I am finally interested in reading again and so I was reading this weekend. I think the reading is going to help yank me out of my funk soon!

Anyway - the class stuff is what the title of this post refers to. "D" Day! No - not the day the war ended but, rather, the day some group work is DUE in class.

We have a long list of linguistic terms which we need to research and understand for our various tests this semester. As a class we decided to divide and conquer the list. Each of us has five or six words to research. Then we are sharing our research with the others in class. Sounds good, doesn't it?

I came in from walking and hit the computer to make sure that the words I am responsible for are in good shape. I printed out copies for the people in class. I have been working on these words for a good three to four weeks - they are complex in meaning! Now, they are ready to be given to the other people in class.

I am just wondering if Frick and Frack will have their words ready.

Is that not being loving? I am working on loving them like we are told to love everyone. An important clarification was in our devotional last night. God tells us to love our enemies. He doesn't tell us to LIKE them. That helps a lot!

I will keep you updated!

Trisha

Voice Update: Well - it is sounding pretty good but I am having a tough time keeping my throat loose. Maybe it will get easier as my funk lifts!

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Hi All!

Well, I am sad to say that I am still in a funk. This one just won't seem to let go. I do plan on doing some heavy duty sleeping today in the form of a nap. I am also taking some time for myself. I am smelling the flowers . . . .

My moonflowers are doing very well. In fact, now that the night time temps are cooler, I am getting a LOT of blooms pretty much every night. I know it won't last forever but . . . while it does last . . . I am enjoying them!

And for those of you who remember that I promised to post a picture of Hubby's new car . . .

Taaa-daaa! Isn't it pretty? Now if only I could figure out a way to get him to let me drive it!

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing well. I am really trying hard on my exercises. Of course, today might not be so good if I take that long nap I am planning!

Time Flies . . . .

Hi All!

Happy Thursday!

What? You noticed I was gone for a couple days? Really?!?

Well, let me explain! I have had some "issues" lately in the mornings.

On Tuesday I woke up and I wasn't feeling well. I got ready and walked but had to shorten my route so I could make it home before "not feeling well." After that, I just headed to bed and took a nap before heading to work.

At work I felt pretty good - well, at least my stomach did and that was the problem in the morning. However, I developed a nice little headache throughout the day. When Hubby picked me up to go get our new car (yes, a new car!!), I had a good headache working. I took two Excedrin Migraine tablets while Hubby drove to the dealership and was fine.

There will be more about the new car in a future post.

Anyway - it was a late night and we didn't get to bed until past 11:00. Then I woke up at 3:00 A.M. with a HORRIBLE headache. You know, the kind which makes your head feel like it is getting ready to explode! I lurched out of bed and managed to find some more Excedrin. Back in bed, I slept until my alarm rang at 6:30A.M.

Then I got up and made a lunch for Hubby (yes, he is spoiled but I do it because I love him so much!), and headed back to bed. I slept until about 8:30 when I called my mom - her computer blew up a couple of days ago and she wasn't on the computer to IM so I called to let her know what was going on.

We talked for a while and I managed to eat a few nuts and raisins to soothe my growling tummy even though it protested the introduction of food by making me think it would send the food back! Then - you guessed it - I went back to sleep.

I slept until it was time to get up for my speech appointment. Luckily, the headache had retreated into a tiny little annoyance. Unluckily, I felt like I had been hit by a truck!

Speech went as well as could be expected considering my funk had managed to tighten up my throat/neck really, really well. It took quite a long time to get everything worked out. Then we managed to squeeze in a little work on unvoiced consonants so that they are a bit easier to say. That is what my "homework" is this week - exercises working on those darn consonants!

After speech I came home and made myself some fried rice for lunch and watched an episode of Hell's Kitchen while working on some stuff for class. I also played with the kitties a bit but obviously not enough (Skor is at my feet with his string whining to be played with at the moment!).

Then it was off to lab and class. Remember - I am feeling like I was hit by a truck at this point in the day. That is my FAVORITE remnant of a headache! Anyway - in lab I tried to finish watching a video but it was difficult to understand - even the lab assistants, who are Deaf, had a hard time understanding it! Yikes!

Class wasn't too bad but my brain felt like mush and Frick kept wanting us to "hurry up so we can leave." That made me laugh since SHE was the one who made us so far behind in the first place! Ironic that SHE is the one who is in a hurry now, isn't it? AND the fact that she is clueless half the time - last night she couldn't figure out her handbook because the pages (which are loose and need to be put in a binder) had gotten turned over so they were out of order.

Got home and ate a little something and fell into bed. Woke up this morning still feeling like the truck has worked me over. Doesn't that sound like a super way to start a day of work??

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing a bit better now that my throat/neck is worked out and is a bit looser. I need to maintain it now. Susan told me to stop being so stressed . . . yeah, right! I need to get out of this funk! I am working on my ts and ps so that I don't "push" them so hard - which makes them not come out correctly. Fun, fun! I am thinking of resurrecting my friend, Mr. Timer, to help me with this but just can't get myself motivated to do that yet.

Monday

Hi All!

First - a comment on the carpet cleaning. It went very well even though our carpets were not very dirty (thanks to Hubby!). The whole no bare feet thing . . . I am not sure why you can't walk on the carpet in bare feet. Maybe the oils from the feet? Maybe it was Hubby overreacting? In Hubby's opinion, it is because your bare feet attract more dirt than rubber soles. Who know????

Yesterday I had quite a busy day. First I went to the New Life Deaf Fellowship church. I met my friend Beth and her boyfriend, Zach - who is deaf, and Beth's mother, Gina. After church we went to eat at a very good Mexican restaurant - whose name I totally forget! I was very happy because I had been craving a good Mexican meal for a while.

It was a fun time talking to everyone and getting to practice my sign language skills which seem to be a bit wild lately. That is probably because of the funk I have been in for a while. A funk really keeps the brain from working correctly!

After I got home from lunch I headed back home to get my grocery list together to go to the grocery store. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Then it was back home to get everything put away and pick up Hubby to go out to eat at Boston Market and shopping at Sam's Club. However, we ran into a slight roadblock! Apparently, Sam's closes earlier than we realized on Sundays so . . . it was closed! There went my plans to buy cups and napkins for work! I will have to see if I can get to a Sam's today between lunch with my friend M and class tonight. Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, as exciting as this blog has been (I know, I know! I need to do something more exciting in my life!), I am going to have to post now so that I can get ready for my luncheon date and class.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and have a terrific Monday!

Trisha

Voice Update: Still working, still working. My voice has a few more breaks in it that I would like - right now the main "culprit" seems to be the "hard t" sound. It is even worse when it is combines with some other sound that I can't identify as in the word two. More exercises and more massage!