Mar 7, 2010 by Naomi.

Sunday is a day of leisure - set aside from the rat race of the forty hour work week. I attend a loosely knit group of nonbelievers who come together at a local bookstore for coffee and free talk early in the day. Individual members come to discuss or unload their grievances/ideas/preferences. Often these are secrets, intensely personal and the communication never goes beyond those who wish to share. Quite unique. Not completely private, simply withdrawn from public view. Makes for an energetic exercise of intellectual free thoughts and action. Among other information I got today, I learned about old fashioned carburetors and sticky brakes. Never can tell when that will come in handy. To mull that over I retreated to bask for the afternoon in the sunshine from my back porch. Darkness creeps in and my thoughts are free to fly away.

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Mar 6, 2010 by Naomi.

One time won’t do the trick - trim down my middle - but I hope to start a habit of using the exercise machines in Richland Community Center. I did five minutes on the tread mill and five miles on a machine while sitting stationary and pushing with my feet. Increased my heart rate. I was already tired from the treadmill. The day was sunny going on sixty degrees. Off to my library I chose a dozen more books, paperbacks to read in bed except some para normal books about werewolves that are not beddy bye stuff. Those are a real change of pace for me. My usual choice is Johnston romance or Coulter FBI thrillers. I spent several hours in the sun walking in the back yard and sitting on my back steps with lunch. Good place from which to see my flowers grow. After dark I watched the second DVD of the Civilization BBC series, Kenneth Clark narrating. Three hours of renewing history, rather fun. Late now so I will find out just how long my eyes will stay open for Nora Roberts.

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Mar 6, 2010 by Naomi.

Think again about evolution - Some things never cross my mind. I’ve gone through decades of existence and only in the past few years have begun to think why. How did I get here is an old question. Also for decades I accepted the idea that people were at the top of power and I am one of that species. Well that part is true. Homo sapiens sapiens is a superior species for only one outstanding fact. Speech. Language. Not just the communication. Many other species communicate with sounds and actions. We have just begun to realize the extent of that. However it appears that they say only what is relative to the present – greetings, pleasure, danger, excitement. History is not passed on. Human communication goes much beyond the immediate and the future. Ours is the ability to assign and record symbols that will be processed and understood by our offspring for generations. That did not happen over night, nor in the past hundred years. The human brain developed and figured out many things. Everything right up to the keyboard on which I work came about by evolution. Experiences recorded for centuries and built upon by those who could decipher and understand and add more experiences. Contrary to fantasy preachers’ contention that knowledge leads to sin and distruction, information adds to the foundation of greater technology. True, selfish hearts and minds can lead to violent actions but our species will survive that. We wouldn’t have evolved to the present without the ability to reason. Two hundred years ago, Darwin predicted in “Origin of the Species” – There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one: and that whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

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Mar 5, 2010 by Naomi.

Anthropologists frequently remind us that the bipedal posture acquired by humans brought on spinal problems that do not always appear to warrant the benefits of freeing our hands for creative activities. Back aches, vertebrae dislocations, and nervous disorders haunt many adults of the human species. A book I retrieved from my library about what makes us human revealed one habit of our species that had not been brought to my attention before. When we decided to run about on two feet our hips put on great muscles. What was not mentioned before in the literature, at least not in such vivid word pictures to my knowledge, is how personal hygiene was affected. Think about the chimps and great apes, whose internal digestion is much like our own, occasionally get up on their hind legs but never developed butt muscles. So what? Well Peter Farb back in 1978 brought up, among other important ideas, that most mammals defecate in a particular space away from their “nesting” place, the feces dropping cleanly off their bodies. Lo, humans developed bilateral symmetrical muscles, one on each hip that pinched together causing fecal matter to stick to the inner surface. Sanitation was considered. Early humankind recognized the need to assign separate areas for defecation and the need to teach the culture’s approved method of anal cleaning. Farb contends that human societies would have for health reasons resolved toilet training well before developing the arts of painting, song and dance. What do you think of that?

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Feb 26, 2010 by Naomi.

The rain gently fell. Clouds deep gray looking for all the world settling in for the day. I reflected from a comfortable chair in my sunroom, certainly a misnomer on this day for lack of sun but I was looking forward to coffee and a tasty breakfast. Despite the clouds the day would be rosy or so I thought and I readily welcomed the day. The feeling that settled in my gut shortly thereafter was most unwelcome. The pain nearly brought me to my knees. Luckily I was at the sink and rested my head until the feeling passed. What was most unusual was the nausea that followed. Liquid poured into my mouth from my glands. No bile. I felt really sick. Breathe deeply. Relax. Mounted birds in my car must be returned to the refuge. The birds were a display I took to the Jason Lee Elementary school in Richland as part of their Science Extravaganza. The school is a few blocks across town from where I live and because it was after eight in the evening and raining I parked at home for the night. But I could not leave the birds in my car all day so settle down, dear stomach, I have a mission to accomplish. I was able to dress and return the valuable items to the education building where they belong. The trip is only thirty miles but I held a plastic barf bag handy just in case. I undressed, took pink medicine and crawled into bed where my system managed to recover during a two hour nap. I was weary and laid back in my easy chair. My entire body felt as though pressed into the chair by enormous weights. Hours later I am beginning to feel normal. That was an experience I would prefer not to have again.

nauseous, bellyache, taxidermy,

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Feb 26, 2010 by Naomi.

That is all I can say about the past twenty four hours. I registered at Columbia Basin College (CBC) and paid a student fee which gives me access to the college library and counseling. I spent some time with the counselor to explore courses and goals. She suggested that I go for sociology and psychology books before I invest in classes. That pleased me no end because I am not much of a student. I got five related books in my public library and find them extremely interesting. Later from suggestions received at the refuge I began to reorganize my McNary website. The sun has been bright and lured me into my back porch. I looked with envy at the wide window I brought years ago from the old Ed Center building and thought of my handyman Douglas do-right. Within fifteen minutes of my call he arrived to begin the installation. It is secured in place and tomorrow he will finish the caulking and trim. I tossed the carpet therefore I must shop for a new piece. There is just end to the work I create for myself.

window, porch, sociology, psychology, handyman,

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Feb 26, 2010 by Naomi.

What a pleasure and yes a comfort to sit in my sunroom, a.k.a back porch, on such a bright sunny day. Not that I do not enjoy the scene under any distribution of those coagulated puffs of water vapor from the same vantage point. After having my handyman install a large used window in the solid wall of my back porch I exiled the carpet so heavily laden with fine grains of desert soil to the garbage bin and sent it off to enrich the city’s landfill. A full ninety degrees of my backyard now comes into view. The conifer trees are delightfully green all year around. The flowering shrubs enliven the scene with colorful stems, buds, and blossoms according to the season. A limited area immediately in front of my new vision is unfortunately void of flora. Well except for grass, a boring lawn cover which also unfortunately requires taming, actually cutting off literally below the knees, to remove cover for encroaching felines that wish to settle in and prey upon unsuspecting songbirds. Besides I dislike tall green little blades tickling my knees whenever I choose to sojourn in the backyard. Would colorful plants enliven the view? My creative vision conjured flowers of many colors like those of Joseph’s biblical coat. What a wonderful idea! Except I haven’t the power to make them magically appear. Off to the plant nursery. Whoops. Those plants are in pots no less. Can they be left on the back porch? If so they would not survive. Well then, I have given myself a physical task to be performed before I can sit down and perform the mental appreciation of my vision. No matter how lovely the thoughts, real life just isn’t simple.

window, handyman, sun-room, grass, vision, clouds, dreams,

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Feb 18, 2010 by Naomi.

Optimism found me out in the sun, never mind the temperature was less than fifty degrees. After having a week of clouds I squinted into the bright sunshine when I returned from the library at one pm. How could I possibly sit at the computer? Well I did not. There are many more leaves to rake and so I did. And to take most advantage I stripped down to as few clothes as the temperature warranted and spent several hours raking and soaking. My jawbones ached as they always do when I breathe chilly air through my mouth which I often do while hard at work. I filled the yard waste bin, never mind that it should have been on the sidewalk before seven am. So I am a week ahead, the bin is full for next Wednesday. Furthermore there are piles ready to fill it again. If tomorrow is sunny I can soak up more sun. No work required.

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Feb 17, 2010 by Naomi.

Something had to be done. Outdoor temperature is below comfortable so I can’t keep doors and windows open. How then am I to get fresh air? Artificial air fresheners are not under consideration. So what is there? Should I go to the source of real air? Oxygen comes from plants, but you knew that. So I will bring plants inside. Before purchasing I looked at the plants in my own yard. Spearmint, yarrow, sage - come to mind because while I weed among them their scent appeals to me. Why not indoors? I potted those and others that are odorless but will deliver oxygen as well. Every windowsill and other open shelf now harbors chlorophyll laden leaves that will enrich the air I breathe. I may buy a potted tree that can be later planted outdoors but for now the only cost was for the pots they were removed to. What effect they have on the air may be minimal but their presence makes me feel good, clearer air or not.

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Feb 16, 2010 by Naomi.

Ever wonder what it would be like if you had no sense of smell? It’s tough enough to wake up from an otherwise great night’s sleep with one sinus stuffed and the odor of fresh-brewed coffee drifting in the air but think of pleasure missed if one could not smell at all. Fresh baked bread and roasting ribs bring on happy thoughts with the aroma. Those alone make me glad I can smell. But necessary for survival?  Oh no. Still I might survive a fire because I got the first smell of smoke, or escape other dangers by recognizing gas vapor, or exhaust fumes. When I opened the door of my house after having been away for three weeks, the odor that rushed out to welcome me for an instant made me wish I couldn’t smell. The building was put together in 1945 of post WWII lumber and plywood that while aging as wood should, also exudes an unwholesome odor, not poisonous to be sure but unpleasant nonetheless.  Nothing I can do about it. Air freshener can not mask it. Nothing can be injected into the wood to erase it. I sleep in an unheated room with an open window and avoid it. But these first days of spring when all nature marches forward to procreate, the pollen from over sexed plants decides to reside in my nostrils and close off what little sense of smell I have on the best of days.

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