Dog days of summer

It is summer and there are days, but who let the dogs out? I am still looking for mine.

Time is still a bit askew in my world and I am still not fully connected. It is getting better, however. In fact, on Sunday I had an amazingly fabulous day that I thought someone had re-written everything while I was sleeping. Did someone turn the world around and put it back correctly on it's axis? Did everyone have a double-shot latte on their way to see "Hairspray" after the dog park? Oh, and President Harrison Ford (hey, he had more practice on screen than Reagan did) announced that that the troops are coming home.

On Sunday, I was the guest speaker at the Pacific Center for Positive Living in Lake Forest. On the way, we had a few bouts of thunder and rain and the air even smelled differently. I felt ... well, positive and enthused about this opportunity.

Rev. Lynn Gabrielson from this church had called me a month ago to book me and she was just so endearing on the phone I knew this was going to be a lovely experience--and it was. Immediately upon arrival, I felt a welcoming energy not only from the presiding practitioners and the head greeter but all the people as they came in. Don and I joined in their meditation service which was delicious and I surrendered to it fully. The music was awesome-- Hal Ratliffe, formerly with The Righteous Brothers, was the musical director and keyboardist; and guest vocalist, Gail Chasin--whose rich, sultry voice was an unexpected delight for a Sunday morning.

By the time I set foot on the platform, I felt so comfortable, safe and accepted.
I had such fun giving my talk and the diverse group easily 'got' my humour. Whew. I was a bit concerned since I was a complete stranger to this church and it wasn't even within the UCSL ranks who might have at least heard of me.

My faith was as they say, restored. And the grinning irony of it all did not escape me. The name of the church, Pacific Center . . .their choir was named the JOYful Voices...and, they meet in a Masonic Lodge hall! (although this bright and airy center was unlike any Masonic center I have visited).
It felt as if the circle was complete in an odd, parallel life kinda way and now I can move on. Thank you, Jesus (or Buddha, or Mohammed or Uncle Ernie...)

The emotions spiraled again on Monday as Don and I put together the flier for Mom's memorial service--something about seeing it in print. Concurrently, David sent the photos he scanned for me to use at the service and it was bittersweet. The advantage to not working right now is that I don't have to keep eye make-up on or explain the red puffies.

It has been documented that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. It is three weeks today since my mother died but I don't think I have broken the habit of missing her yet.

Oh-oh-ohhhhhhh, Starbucks has two new blends created to pair with food. The Ubora blend and the Joya del Dia. Oh my, they sound wonderful. And kudos to them for initiating another new health practice of only use % milk (unless you request whole milk). Maybe I should re-think working there again...

The warm weather does not help for getting these tedious projects done.

Oh and here's a sqwinkle in the scheme of things: Took HenryHonda in for regular servicing at my wonderful car repair shop, Smitty's here in Normal Heights. This is an honest shop with great people who run it. But I digress.... while running a service check, they learned my battery was running at 5.6 volts--waaaay under norm, so I authorized then to install a new battery. Cool, right? Well, I did not realize that would throw off the electrical system and it meant the CD player would not work and required the standard Honda theft deterrent code to be re-entered. Argh. Well, I found the code but not till after Don and I were pushing all the buttons to see what we could accomplish. Then in reading the owner's manual (don't ya wish we had one for ourselves?) I come to learn that if you incorrectly enter the code after three tries you will be locked out. And what's the solution?? Ok, here it comes-- the car must have the CD unit ON for one hour continuously before it will accept a reset. You have got to be kidding! That means I am supposed to drive to Orange County or sit under a shade tree in Balboa Park with the engine running. Forgive me mother nature that I have to waste gasoline and pollute the ozone so that I can listen to my music again.

Lookout, today my bark is equal to my bite.