Loose Leaf Notes

1. My 7-year-old grandson Liam asks: Why is it cooler in the mountains? I thought it would be warmer because it’s closer to the sun.

2. Three wishes granted or three strikes you’re out?

3. Past Blog Posts with “Ball” in the titles: On the Ball,  Have a Ball, Keep Your Eye on the Ball, The Curve Ball, The Whole Ball of Wax and Wane, Have a Ball and, of course, Are You Going to the Mardi Gras Ball?

4. Living off the grid as a simple living devotee, my neighbor Jayn first had an outhouse and then graduated to a composting toilet. Now she’s getting a new septic system and a flush toilet, and my son Dylan is doing the plumbing! Another friend who grew up playing at Zephyr, like Dylan did, is overseeing the construction.  Others have pitched in making the project a community effort. – Read more about my friend Jayn’s “sweet new suite” HERE.

5. A wildflower date night hike HERE.

6. My brother Bobby put a video of THIS on my Facebook Timeline and I LOVE it.

7. I learned a new word last week, one that’s defies traditional spelling: Chtonic: concerning, belonging to, or inhabiting the underworld.

8. I like to study my face in pictures more than I ever have because if I look deep enough I can see my sister Kathy there (who died in 2016).

9. Bruce Springsteen’s Rahs and Greasers were what we called Rats and Collegiates back in Boston in 1968.   Later, we never called ourselves “hippies,” only “heads” or “freaks.”

10. Bruce on Dylan:  “Bob Dylan is the father of my country… He inspired me and gave me hope. He asked the question everyone was too frightened to ask, especially a 15-year-old: “How does it feel … to be on your own?’ A seismic gap had opened and the flow of history, your compass spinning, internally homeless. Bob pointed true north and served as a beacon to assist you in making your way through the new wilderness America had become. He planted a flag, wrote the songs, sang the words that were essential to the times, to the emotional and spiritual survival of so many young Americans at that time…”

11. I often want to say that Trump’s lost all credibility but then I remember he never had any.

12. “…A recent study in Nature Neuroscience found habitual lying can desensitize our brains from “feeling bad,” and may even encourage us to tell bigger lies in the future… This is particularly troubling since the average American tells one to two lies a day. Those who tend to be insecure or have an anxious or avoidant attachment style are more likely to be dishonest to avoid being criticized, rejected, or left with less than someone else has, according to a 2010 study. Also, those who believe lying will give them monetary or social recognition are more likely to continue being dishonest.” – More HERE.

13. My energy is like a ball I’m trying to keep up. If it falls, it stays down for a while. ~ From 100 Things About Me.

_________Thirteen Thursday