Blinking Eyes...........

When you blink your eyes, life in a split second passes by.  It's August 2015......where did June and July disappear to?..............

Flaming Gorge, Wyoming

My life as I see it has moved along without stopping to smell any roses or flowers along the way.  I've blinked way too many times and the days and weeks have flown by.......

Manila, Utah

I have a fondness for wide open spaces.  It's in these places that you can hear your thoughts rumbling in your head.  You can hear the birds singing, bees humming, frogs croaking..........you can hear the grasses swaying in the breeze.  You can hear everything but chattering voices, machinery, cars........there is no noise pollution to mar your hearing of absolutely nothing but nature itself...........

It's in these spaces that I wonder who passed here before me?  Pioneers crossing the plains heading west?  How many heads of cattle, sheep, buffalo roamed these pastures?  How many Indians rode in these valleys?..................I daydream a lot...........

I'm reminding myself that stopping more frequently, and not from time to time, to smell the roses along the way, is what I need and should do.......there is no better time like the present.  I am living in the moment.................

As the sun sets over the mountain, the rays reach out to signal all is well.............goodnight, sleep well, dream big..................


Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

Inner Eyes

Spring time gives relief from an itchiness that I suffer from during the cold months.......it's called Winter....  I don't like being cooped up.  When the human is cooped up, I'm cooped up right along with her. It was a long and hard winter.  I didn't like being held prisoner while my human recouped from injuries that kept her down for most of the winter.  I'm anxious to head up to the lake..........it's spring and even though the temps are not optimal, the lake beckons me to come and see for myself that all is well....................

No one is here right now.  We are the soul inhabitants of our favorite place to camp.  No one is down at the beach.  No kids are playing in the sand building sand castles.  No one is tying down their canopies so they don't blow away.  No one is sitting in beach chairs.  No boats out on the water.  No water skiers for that matter, too.....No one is here.  Absolutely no one except for three of us, and our 4-legged barkers..................

Quiet and peaceful...........perfect place to bury your winter cobwebs, dust off the gray matter and start the sparks of building new memories...........yep.......there is nothing like sucking in and filling your lungs with clean, crisp mountain air.  Or opening ones eyes to gaze out over a gorgeous lake and seeing vast amounts of blue water, mountains that still have just a touch of snow on the peaks, clouds white and fluffy that remind me of cotton candy.

I enjoy being the inner child of a human.  I do keep this woman young or younger feeling now.  The term over the hill is not part of her vocabulary.  It is rougher and tougher to get around these days, but she doesn't care.  She can still walk, although a little slower.  She can still move her hands to type and snap pictures that I see through my eyes, the eyes of an inner child..................for now, that is enough.

Get out and move around.  Look up and see.  See what you've missed or are missing.  There is no place like home, but there's no time like right now to start your adventure........................find the inner child inside you that is begging to come out and play.  I dare you......I double dog dare you...........


Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

I wish......

Oh, I wish I was back in the good old days of reaching for the telephone to call for a repairman and actually talk to one "live"...........

I spent the better part of a nice, sunny afternoon trying to establish a connection with a technical advisor to come back and finish up an installation, and a customer service rep to cancel a service that was no longer needed............

I found myself pressing so many numbers followed by the # sign that I'm sure that my brain was mixing up the (#) pound sign for a (#) hashtag sign or a (#) number sign.........hashtag, number, or pound.....#WTF.....press "1" followed by # for English and then pray.............

I was frustrated for having to waste my time via a "live" chat on line with a customer service rep on my computer as I wasn't getting anywhere via the telephone.   My mind decided that I was trying to tweet and put in hashtags on my phone #pressoneforenglish, #presstwototalkwithacustomerservicerep.  I was having to press a zillion numbers followed by # to get to speak to a human on the phone, and then be transferred to another customer service rep only to get disconnected.................ARGH!!!  And then..............having to start the whole friggin process all over again.  There was no easy fix to either of my problems. But.............I prevailed and after 2 hours (I'm not lying) I got results and within 24 hours, the installation was finished, and the service no longer needed...........

I can rant and rave all I want but it won't get me anywhere any faster or solve a problem in a timely fashion either.   A light bulb went off recently when I put one of those nifty vinyl quotes up on a wall in my living room:

The BEST things in life  

are the PEOPLE you love,

the PLACES you've been, and the

MEMORIES you've made along the way.

I've taken life way too seriously lately and it's time to loosen up, live it up, and get a move on.............

Utah has some pretty spectacular sunsets.  I'm partial to them as I live in Utah.  I can walk out on to the front porch and snap a living color piece of sky artwork.  I love sunsets and I love sunrises and I adore clouds.   I live from sun to sun as it is anyway.  I'm finding lately that I shouldn't, and I am trying real hard, to not take life so seriously, I have a human who does that for me.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am the inner child that is full of pee, vinegar, and more trouble than I know what to do with.   I've lived a good life, a long life and with good health, some luck, and a prayer or two thrown in from my human, I will live a good while longer.  

Life does and will continue to throw a sour grape or lemon out there.  Learn to dodge them as best as you can.   If you get a little sour mash on you, its a lesson learned.................brush it off and move on.....or do as I would do.....put it in a good glass of fine spirits and drink hardy!!!......................

CotySimon@twitter.com

Instagram/Howunique310

Eyeing the wild side......

Winter here in Utah hasn't taken the walk on the wild side like it has done for the people in the midwest  to the east coast.  It's been rather meek and mild......I know Mother Nature is going to sock it to us sooner rather than later and we will be paying for it........The only walk on the wild side I have done lately is take Charlie the dog on a stroll in the neighborhood......that's about as wild as I can get right now.........

I'm aching to get out and venture to places once again.  Soon I keep telling myself, soon.  Since taking off and going somewhere is not on my agenda, I've had to find my own visual entertainment.................

Walking along the streets of the neighborhood with Charlie the dog, I am seeing things pop up before my eyes that I know have been there, but I haven't really seen.....I haven't paid much attention to it.  Charlie the dog has to stop every 10 feet to smell, walk around, smell some more which leaves me ample time to look up and around................

There isn't much life in the plant world at the moment.  The trees and bushes are still sleeping through winter.  The twisted vines of a grapes threading itself in and out of a fence tells me it's grabbing a hold and not letting go.

The valleys of an old telephone pole that has been worn and carved out by snow, rain, and wind, I still can see the beauty it has to offer.  Colors of worn wood that gives a fly time to warm it's wings before he flies away........

I would love to see at least one, good showing of the white fluff falling from the sky.........as long as I don't have to be in it and it's not in the middle of May....................


Twitter@CotySimon
Instragram.com/Howunique310

Baby Jack...

I'm sitting here at my computer typing & looking out the window in my office.  It's January and the temperature today will be in the high 40's.  There is no snow on the lawn, the quail dance their way up the grass by 4's, then another group, to feast on the bird seed that drops down from a feeder by the patio.

I see my garden, all bare and naked waiting for something to be planted into the earth. I'm thinking what am I going to plant this year.  Without any snow out there, it's easy to visualize the bounty of vegetables coming out of the garden.

Pumpkins are always a given for my little garden.  Pumpkin plants were late arriving at the nursery last year.  When they did arrive, each plant container had 2 to 3 plants growing from it.  When they were all planted, tucked in for the summer in the garden bed, I had 12 pumpkin plants.  Too many?  At the time of planting I didn't think so.

I watered, fertilized them, nurtured and carried on lovely conversations with them.   "Oh, you're growing so fast" or "don't crowd, there's room for everyone to have space of their own".........

I swear overnight the magic happened......I had a baby pumpkin growing that I know was not on the vine the day before.   I welcomed to our garden of delight.......Baby Jack.............Baby Jack O'Lantern...

Baby Jack grew and soon he had a sibling growing right beside him.  The garden welcomed Baby Bro......not too long after that, Baby Sis came along.  The pumpkin patch came alive with pumpkin after pumpkin growing and fighting for their little space of dirt.  All in all, a nice family of 26 O'Lanterns came from those plants.   I gave most away, but kept  Baby Jack and his sibs, several Aunts and Uncles, too.

Now I sit here and let my brain ponder on what to plant in the garden.  More tomato plants this year?  I'm just about out of salsa. That's a big Y.E.S........ Less pumpkin plants....maybe 3 instead of 12.  A cucumber plant again.  For some reason this plant does not want to grow nice in my garden.  Might try my hand at onions.  Never done them before.   Jalapenos, green peppers, red and yellow ones, too.  It's time to do some research........Let's go Google.......show me what to plant for my area..............

Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram/Howunique310

Twenty Fifteen

January 1, 2015......another year has gone by with a blink of an eye.  It's the top page of a new calendar, the first day of a brand new month, the first day of a new year........

No resolutions, no broken promises........that's how I roll. I don't like disappointment, but unfortunately it's a fact of life.  Can't get around it or through it without being in it.......

A room with a view.  Perfect for capturing
the sun as it said Good Night, San Antonio.

I traded in the white fluff of Christmas Day that blanketed Utah and headed to Texas for a day and a half of 60 degree weather before it bottomed out and turned windy, cold, and rainy for the next few days after that...... I didn't care......I witnessed beautiful sunsets, woke up to fog thicker than pea soup, felt the drizzle of freezing rain on my face, and warmed my belly with Irish Coffee........wandered the old missions of San Antonio and couldn't help but envision the people, the children, nuns, priests, and Indians walking around.  I felt as if I was one of them wandering down the worn pathways, through the wooden doors, kneeling at the alter............Drove to Austin, Texas....saw my favorite blues player....Stevie Ray Vaughn...actually just his statue....I play his music often......loud, very loud......I've wondered what it would have been like to have SRV, Eric Clapton, BB King......all together in one room jamming away on their guitars.  Pretty sure it would have been amazing.........

I couldn't leave without visiting the Alamo.......I've read about it, watched old movies about the battle at the Alamo.  I have an appreciation for that part of the history books now after visiting there.  It sits nestled in the surroundings of modern day hotels, refurbished olds buildings....it looks out of place...until you walk through the iron gates and you are transported back in time and imagine the war going on both inside and out of this small, yet mighty fortress that still stands after all these years exposed to the elements of weather, time, and people passing on by.  It's strange to walk the sidewalks and have cars roll on when it should be open range full of grasses waving in the wind, dust storms kicking up grit in the eyes, or the hot sun beating down upon your brow.............

It's all in the details.  Who puts detail like this in
their buildings anymore?  No one.  It's a lost art.  Hand carved pictures.  Beautifully
carved out of stone and wood.  Still intact after all the years of weather pounding
on it.  They were not a throw away society as we are today.  Tear down the old, build new.....at some
point it needs to stop.  Buildings can be recycled......

I walked more in 5 days than I have in a long time.  People are accommodating to a mad women on crutches!!!  I managed to not trip anyone and not fall again myself.  I'm looking forward to going back sometime to visit the baby boy.  There's more to be seen and do.  Plenty of pubs to sample, both in good food and drinks, more missions to see, more of the wide open ranges, towns and cities of Texas to visit.

I made it through another year.......I listened, watched, and felt the pain of many who had sorrow and heartache. I listened, watched and felt the joy from those who had blessed events happen.  It was another year for the mental history cells to grab a hold and remember in the brain.  Time is not standing still for me or for anyone.

I'm taking one day at a time.....not worrying about what I am going to do tomorrow.  I can only think about what today is bringing me, if anything.  The day will be either good or bad............


Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram.com/Howunique310

Keeping it Simple..

City sidewalks busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style.  In the air there's a feeling of Christmas.  Children laughing, people passing meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner you'll hear.......

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city

Ring-a-ling, hear them sing

soon it will be Christmas day.

For the first time ever in all my years, I have not been out on the busy sidewalks or inside the crowded malls doing what I thought I liked to do.......shop.  What shopping I have done has been inside my home where it's warm, comfortable, and in my jammies........I had a love affair this year with Amazon.com.......

By my own doing (actually stupidity and clumsiness) I have to keep it simple this year.  I go all out in decorating my house for the holidays.  Why not?  I love Christmas.  The colors, the candle aroma of cinnamon and other spices.  The hustle and bustle of shopping amongst all the other crazy and harried people.  Cooking......baking................but not this year..............

I watched as my middle son brought out the Christmas tree, set it up, and then placed each ornament on a branch.  As he pulled out the ornaments, I gave him a history lesson on a few of them, actually a lot of them.  I have ornaments from when I was a child in the prehistoric days, some we bought as a married couple for our first Christmas together.  Ornaments for each birth of our children.  I have sailboats, moose, sea shells, sea horses (I'm quite fond of the ocean & lakes), snowmen, shiny baubles, bears.......its an eclectic mix.  Ornaments that my mother had as a child.  My most precious are the ones my children made me.  A little battered and torn, but they still go on the tree.  My all time favorite is one I had as a child.  It's a round, yellow orb with a face painted on it.  Supposed to be a sun I am presuming.  It was a Christmas light that was part of a light strand in our tree.  I remember so well the year it burned out.  Nothing could control the sobs of a 5 year old.  My mother threw nothing away.  She recycled, reused, repurposed everything.  As I look at my little orb of yellow, this one time I am grateful she didn't throw it away.  It still has the original foil she put around the socket to hold the pipe cleaner so she could hang it on the tree as my special ornament.  I haven't bothered to fix it and make it look better.  If I did that, then it wouldn't be my special ornament.

The repercussion of falling in a hole and breaking bones is still haunting me and keeping me from doing what I love to do this time of the year.  I can't do anymore, nor can I do any less.  It is what it is.........I have all that matters...............family...................and a Christmas tree that shines brightly in the corner of my living room....................and a Charlie Brown poinsettia.

I was given this exactly one year ago.  I nurtured, watered, and held conversations with this plant.  It eventually shed it's red leaves and dropped a few more of the green ones.  It's come back to life once again with deep red leaves.  I'll continue to water, nurture, and carry on more conversations with it after the holidays are over.  Along side of it, I will do the same with a new plant I got this year.  It's a pretty plant and I like it, but I love the other one better.  It's simple.  Along with everything else this year, I am keeping it simple.................

Twitter@CotySimon
Instagram.com/Howunique310