Tuesday, March 02, 2010

In Which Our Author Talks About Random Things...

Things like...

* I'm currently reading The Bible: A Biography (from the Books That Changed The World series) by Karen Armstrong. It's essentially a history of how the Bible came into being, who wrote it, and why, and how it's related to the Torah, etc. It's completely fascinating and a little bit above my head. It's taking me forever to read. But it's so interesting! The rise of Christianity is particularly interesting, especially how historical events played a part in Christianity being 'rescued' from obscurity. I have many thoughts about this book. It's not a religious book at all; it's a historical accounting, which makes it even more interesting to me. It actually made me want to look some things up in an actual Bible. I don't even know if we have one? I'm sure we do somewhere...

* We rescued an adorable husky puppy yesterday. He was running loose, and we managed to grab him after almost hitting him while driving. Poor guy was totally frantic and worn out. Thankfully he seemed glad to be captured, and didn't fight us. We put him in the car and called the number on his collar tag. His owner was completely shocked that he was out -- apparently he is usually in the back yard, but somehow escaped. We were so, so glad that that story had a happy ending! Although, we wouldn't have minded having a puppy visitor at our house for a little while...

* Is there something going on astrologically? Everywhere I look, people seem to be having an unusually grumpy time. Or maybe it's just me. Also, things just seem weird. Weird goings-on at work. Weird interactions with people at the store. Weird mood swings. Also this seems to be coinciding with the sudden onslaught of spring allergens. I don't ever notice my allergies (I don't get itchy eyes or nose or anything obvious), but apparently they are the reason why every spring, my ears fill with fluid and I get ear infections. This year I am just going to take the allergy medicine and see if I can keep my ears safe. The downside to this is that I'm very susceptible to allergy medicine side-effects, so I either feel totally drowsy and weird, or totally speedy and weird. Basically, things just seem weird. Is it me?

* Using an additive approach, there are a number of things I'd like to do more of. They include, in no particular order:

Going to the library and reading magazines
Sitting in coffeeshops and writing
Hiking or trail runs
Watch more movies (I am really bad at this for some reason; I end up half-watching TV/half-reading instead, because somehow I think a movie takes too much time. Bizarre!)
And of course, paint. Tonight is Tuesday: time to paint!
And also, go listen to people/authors speak.

* It is becoming very obvious that if we buy in Oakland, it will be a condo or a townhouse. We are holding out hope for a townhouse. But we are also thinking that in the spring, we'll be looking elsewhere, because we'd really like a house with a large yard. Petaluma, or Martinez, perhaps. We're going to drive around and look at surrounding towns. It's a little disappointing, but you never know what will happen!

* Also, I'm thinking of starting a support group for families affected by chronic illness. There are a few support groups for the people actually afflicted, but not any, that I can find, for the families or partners of the ill person. I know that we could certainly use some community and occasional help (even with things like: carrying furniture up the stairs, or perhaps someone might need some meals delivered sometimes, that sort of thing). Other people must, also. We can't get to church (it's too early in the day for Terri) and frankly we'd like to be surrounded by people who 'get it.' I'm thinking it would be more sharing/fellowship than therapy-style support. Get together once a month to share what's going on, see who needs help with what, etc. I think this could be really great.

That's about it. Everything feels a little weird right now for some reason. But I hold firm to my idea that this year is going to be a good one.

7 comments:

teabird said...

I think a group of people struggling with family members' illnesses would be a great idea - how many people out there don't talk about what they do for fear of seeming whiney?

I agree: something is grumperizing the world today. Bleah.

Anonymous said...

that book about the bible sounds fascinating. from what i understand there is a lot about christianity that they dont want to teach you in church like how its rooted in other religions. i can see how that would be a heavy read though.

i highly recommend watching more movies. i used to not think of myself as a movie buff but after joining netflix, i have to say i feel like i missed out on so much. i feel like its enriched my life, which totally sounds corny. we have the cheapest possible netflix plan ( 8.99+tax a month) and if we watch a movie a week, it more than pays for itself. plus i have access to foreign films and other things that i wouldnt normally be able to get in this one horse town.
god, i sound like i work for netflix.

i want to hear more authors speak too. nobody good ever comes here though. the last one i saw was david sedaris five years ago. im sure this will all change when i get to portland though. :)

i think your support group idea sounds wonderful. i can totally see how other people might not fully get what you go through.

D'Arcy said...

When I lived alone, I used to not read as much for a while because I thought I would get caught up in the book and procrastinate on everything else. Then I realized that I was getting stuck in front of the TV every night for two hours, which would be time MUCH better spent reading. So I went back to books.

Your support group idea is fantastic. It's one way of people finding the help they need for things like what you mentioned - meals, shoppng, etc - and also just a place to talk about what you're going through and feeling without hearing platitudes from people who don't get it, which I imagine you hear from time to time. It's like after I had Sammie, I had some depression (I think now, in hindsight) as a result of the c-section, and people would tell me, "Well, you have a healthy baby, that's what matters," which then made me feel worse about feeling depressed. I hope you and Terri find the support you're looking for.

Stefanie said...

My allergies are kicking in too with dry eyes and crawly skin. I never used to be able to take allergy medicine because things like Bendryl knock me out as soon as they hit my system. Generic Claritin has been a godsend though James can't take it because it makes him jittery. I like your support group idea. Caregivers need support too!

Ana S. said...

I want to give you a big for rescuing that puppy. This may sound weird, but the story made me even gladder because nobody was able to rescue mine...I'm glad some of them DO get rescued. I don't want to imagine anyone else going through that, though I'm sure it often happens :\

Daphne said...

Ana: we were awfully glad we were able to rescue that puppy, too. I'm so sorry about yours. :( Hugs.

Daphne said...

Thanks for all the nice words, everyone. I'm going to try to put the support group together. Mostly I think it would be great to have a local community of people who 'get it' and we could all share resources. More of a hopeful, happy thing than something that emphasizes the things that are hard... but with room for that stuff too.

I'm a terrible movie-watcher. I'll have to work hard to change my ways. :)