A Strange Thing Has Happened in Dreamland

In dreams, we enter a world that's entirely our own.

Steven Kloves

Good morning, everyone.  Tuesday.  Tiu's day.  Tiu  is the English/Germanic god of war and the sky. He is identified with the Norse god Tyr. In ancient Greek it was 'day of Ares' and in Rome, the 'day of Mars'. The weather has been great, a little more humid than I would like, but it has been clear and sunny. And the nights have been cool.  Good sleeping weather.  Speaking of sleep....

Aside from a few rather serious, lucid dreams, most of my recent dreams have been about farming--growing vegetables, raising animals, etc. Usually, I can never seem to get caught up, and I take some flack from the boss. I never really see this boss. But he is always issuing orders.  For the heck of it, I posted one of these dreams on a dream site and was informed that these are probably some past life memories trying to come to the surface.  Interesting concept, but far from the truth.

Actually, I have become addicted to the farm game 'Hay Day' where you raise crops and raise animals for eggs and milk.  And, as you proceed through the levels, it becomes harder and harder to keep up.  There are my dreams in a nutshell.  They are a continuation of the game.  This is why when one tries to analyze a dream, it is important to consider what is going on in the person's life at the time of the dream. 

The dream did spur me on to do a search for on my first boyfriend.  Remember, he came up in a dream not too long ago?  Well, his family were farmers so I spent some time yesterday on Google Earth searching for the farm.  No luck.  Then, I went on to Ancestry.  I did find someone who could possibly have been him.  Too bad my memory of him is so bad.  I do remember that I was a year older than him, and the Richard I found was born in 1948.  Unfortunately, he passed away in 2011.  No family members are listed in the information I found so I may never know.  

Now, back to the dream.  It's taken a turn that I am not too happy with.  Over the weekend I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  Hubby had fallen asleep with the television on again.  I just didn't feel like walking around the bed to get the remote to turn it off so I just climbed back into bed.  The television doesn't bother me.  So, I am lying there and listening, and I hear this man crying.  "I killed my wife because she killed my children.  She had to die."   There was something about this man that made me shudder.   Hubby said it was actually, a good movie, 'Shutter Island' with Leonardo DiCaprio.  Most likely it is, but not when you are in that mysterious space known as 'threshold consciousness.'

SO THE NEXT THING I KNEW THE MAN WAS IN MY DREAM.  Yes, there he was crying about killing his wife in my dream.  And, it didn't end there.  He showed up  in my dream on Sunday night and then again last night. This has never happened to me before, and to be honest, I don't want him there, but don't know how to get rid of him.  Any suggestions?

Monday Morning This and That

 A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe. 

Thomas Keller

Good morning. As we start this new week I hope you are all rested and raring to start a new week.  What a beautiful weekend it was!  Saturday actually felt more like fall than summer.  Doesn't bother me any.  I am grateful we haven't had those heat waves like those of last year.  They say the temp is going to rise on Thursday, but by the weekend it will be comfortable once again.

Not much to report this Monday.  Had a rather quiet weekend.  Did the usual... trips to the fruit stand and Rite Aid, tidied up the apartment after my walk on Saturday, and went to Church on Sunday.  My sons came for dinner on Saturday.  Meat has gotten so darn expensive, it was so hard deciding what to buy so I settled on some Italian sweet sausage and spaghetti in garlic and oil for dinner. I just get tired of throwing together a pot of sauce every time they visit, and although they never say anything, I am sure that they are more than eager to have something else.

I also put together a nice salad.

And made my own special salad dressing

Funny how little things bring up memories.  It must have been about 17 years ago that we had one of hubby's friends for dinner.  The poor guy was enormous while his wife was so tiny and petite.  It was the 'Odd Couple' to be sure.  So, I  cooked my spaghetti with garlic and oil and roast two large chickens.  Oh my.  He ate so much that his wife felt she had to apologize to me.  Here I'd thought I'd be able to make some chicken soup with the leftovers, but he cleaned every last bit of meat from the bones of both chickens and at two big plates of the spaghetti.  I'd not thought of this in years.  

Hubby and I laughed about it for years.  It was one of our 'remember when's'.  I don't know what happened to the friend and his wife.  They moved away soon thereafter and were never heard from again.  Just another example of how people come in and out of our lives.

You know, I do enjoy cooking when it comes to making something special for guests, but I'm not too enamored with everyday cooking nowadays.  I first began cooking in my early teens. My mom and dad both worked, and when I got home from school, it was one of my chores to fix dinner.  No one taught me how.  I learned it on my own, and throughout the years became quite a good cook, I must say.

In fact, many years ago I took up a certification course in catering, and worked along with my sister-in-law had a little wedding business.  She set up the hall, did the decorating, and even taught the wedding party how to dance.  Meanwhile, I did all the cooking. Any cuisine they chose...Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Italian etc.  I could throw together a five course meal.  It was a lot of work, especially after working all week 9-5 and going to school 3 nights a week, but I enjoyed it.  Of course I had so much more energy back then.

Even hubby never knew what to expect. I even used to make my own noodles. I'm just not into cooking anymore.  After all, I've been cooking for over 50 years. It's time that someone cooks for me.  Of course, realistically, I know that is never going to happen.  But, one can dream, can't they?  Hoping when the cooler weather comes about, I'll have more interest.  I really do want to bake this year.

Sunday I stayed home.  I just didn't feel like going out.  No stores.  No Church.  Just a total 'me' day.  Watched 'Candid Camera' and 'The Golden Girls' on TV Land.  Had more than a few laughs and enjoyed the old memories that 'Candid Camera' stirred up. 

Well, that's about it.  Time to get a move on over here.  I like to shower early so I can have an hour or so to sit with Miss Minga before I leave.  She expects that in the morning.

Hoping you all have a good one.

Friday Roundup

 If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. 

Mother Teresa

Good morning, and a happy Friday to all.  We're in for some nice weather here this weekend, and I am looking forward to getting out and enjoying it.  I was thinking Coney Island, but this weekend is going to be packed.  I stay out of crowds as much as I can.  I just don't have the patience anymore.

I stayed home from the center yesterday, and I am not going today. I needed some time to figure out how to handle a situation that happened on Wednesday.  Remember I told you about the peer who comes bowl in hand and gets free dinners to bring home...even though she is now living with her daughter who cooks and feeds her?  It was just last Thursday that they were talking about the Chinese food they had had the night before, and the daughter was talking about the eggplant parmesan she was making that night.  And just as she was talking about it, the cook came out of the kitchen and handed my peer a bowl of food to take home with her.  We hadn't even been served lunch yet, but the cook saw to it that my peer was served her dinner first.

I become frustrated when I see people take advantage like that. And I have seen for myself that the first thing my peer does when she comes in is head into the kitchen to leave her bowl to be filled.  It wouldn't bother me if she really needed the food, but she doesn't.  She is making out very well now.

So, it really bothered me on Wednesday when I saw another woman begging for some food to take home because she had no food in the house....AND THEY REFUSED HER.  Oh, I am so mad.  I wanted to march in and really let the kitchen staff have a piece of my mind, but there are times we have to hold our tongue and that was one of them.  There have been people barred from the center, and in all other respects, I love the place.  I also thought of going to the director, but she wasn't in.  Besides, who knows how she would react if I came in snitching on the kitchen staff?  

So, instead of creating waves, I told the woman that after lunch I would take her to the corner store and buy her a sandwich and a juice for her dinner.  She asked if I could give money instead so she could go store by her house.  No, I do NOT give money.  You never know what they are going to use it for.  And I informed her very nicely that I will not give her cash.  If she wanted what I had to offer, she would let me buy it for her.  Well, she didn't meet me after lunch.  Oh well, I guess she wasn't so hungry after all. 

I was glad then that I didn't act impulsively and burn bridges.  But, I am still upset that they so easily give to someone who doesn't need and turn someone away who does need.  Obviously this woman didn't need as badly as she said she did, but maybe the next one will.  So, yesterday I  decided that I will write it down and slip it into the suggestion box when the hall is empty.  Someone will see it, but no one will know that it was me who wrote it.  I just can't sit around and do nothing.

Hoping you all have a great weekend.  Summer is almost over so be sure to enjoy some outdoor time.

Thursday Ramble

Each of us is a being in himself and a being in society, each of us needs to understand himself and understand others, take care of others and be taken care of himself. 

Haniel Clark Long

Good morning, and a happy Thursday to all.   Hard to believe the week is almost over.  It just goes too fast for me.  Had a nice day at the Center yesterday.  It was quiet.  Many of the clients went on the Atlantic City trip.  I haven't gone this year, nor did I feel like going.  Last year was great.  I'd wanted to go back to the place of childhood memories, but time had moved on, and Atlantic City was so unlike the Atlantic City I remembered.  I am really not much of a gambler, so after playing for a short while, I found my way to the boardwalk where I spent most of the day.  

To be honest, I had planned on going once this year just to have one of those delicious cheeseburgers I had purchased at this fantastic little stand not to far from the casino, but the center doesn't go to that casino anymore.  Many of the casinos in Atlantic City are in financial trouble, and some are closing down. The casino they go this year has no access to the boardwalk so that pretty much make my decision for me. 

I am so looking forward to the fall.  Along with Spring, it is my favorite season.  I am also looking forward to doing some baking.  I was in Rite Aid not too long ago, and I found and purchased the 'Dump Cake' cookbook that is advertised on television.  There are some fantastic looking recipes in it that I can't wait to try.

I never buy anything from television sight unseen.  Hubby does, and then regrets it later.  He never seems to learn his lesson and still calls me in to watch commercials of items he feels I can use. He has purchased all kinds of gadgets. A couple of them have worked, like the mustache trimmer, but most weren't worth the money.  I, in turn, wait until I see them in stores and have only bought two items.  One was a chopper for $10.  It served its purpose...for awhile.  Wasn't able to hold up under the pressure.  The second was that green non-stick frying pan.  Not a good purchase for me.  Oh, I am not saying it doesn't work.  It just doesn't work for me.

Meats have gotten far too expensive here in NYC so in recent times I have been buying cheaper cuts to 'season and simmer'.  Hubby and his mom taught me to cook my meats and poultry the 'Dominican' way...

Marinate meat in seasonings of your choice. Add a small amount of oil and teaspoon of sugar in pan. Heat until sugar is brown. Add meat. Fry on both sides. Add water, bring to boil, and simmer. If water boils down, add more. Continue to simmer until tender, then allow water to boil down until it thickens. What you are left with is a very tender cut of meat and a delicious brown gravy...

The meat just doesn't turn out as well.  I have yet to try frying eggs in the pan.

A Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Edgar Allan Poe

Have you ever had a dream within a dream?  I had one  last night.  It was an extremely vivid dream, one of those dreams that I never forget. In fact, it reminds me of the dream I had over 40 years ago which I can still recall in vivid detail. That was a dream that had a purpose; it was there to save my life. The dream I had last night may not have been a lifesaving one, but I do believe it held a message for me. I just haven't figured that out yet.

But, first, let me tell you about a bit about it. I have no idea of how old I was although the setting and my actions in the dream lead me to believe I was younger. But I also may have been as old as I am now.  I've never believed that age in a dream is important.  It's the content that holds meaning.

Last night's dream began with my looking for someplace to stay. My mom had told me I couldn't come home, and I had nowhere to go. The next thing I knew I was in this place where I was able to rent a room, but had to share it with someone else. Reminded me of either the old Hotel Earle where I stayed when I first moved to New York or the halfway house I worked in.  It wasn't the greatest of places.  It was dark and dingy, but it  was a roof over my head.

My roommate and I got along so well that we decided  to a club together.  There were so many people there.  The music was loud, and everyone was dancing and laughing.  (Now mind you, I was not a club person. I liked to go places where the folk singers performed. )  I not only got very drunk there, but I also met up with the first boyfriend I ever had. My goodness!  I've not thought of Richie for many years.  That was a relationship that I stupidly let go because I want to sow my wild oats.  Richie and his family were farm people, and I had wanted a more exciting life. I wanted to be free like the hippies, so when he offered me my freedom, and I took it. I am not gonna lie. Throughout the years, there have been times I wondered what might have been, but for now,  back to the dream.

As the evening progressed, I began to think that there was a good chance of us getting back together, but he broke my heart and told me that I had made my choice, and he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. I start to cry and leave the club. I am crying, and I am lost. I discover that I have lost my pocketbook.  I have lost everything.  My money, my ID.  I don't know what to do, where to go.  I am becoming hysterical as I wander about. The lost money doesn't bother me as much as losing my identification and the hoops I am going to have to jump through to replace it.

Suddenly I awaken. Or at least I believed that I am awake. I am back in the room with my roommate. It doesn't register that I am still in the dream.  I am all upset that  I will have to jump through hoops to get all my ID back again.  Slowly, it occurs to me that it was only a dream; my purse is safe.  Nothing has been lost.  But I want to go back to the club. I want to finish my 'dream' so I will myself back.  I am pushing through the crowd searching for my old boyfriend, but I cannot find him. I begin searching for my purse again, and I stop people asking them if they have seen it.  Of course no one has.  I am now really beginning to panic.

I hear a howling sound in the distance.  It grows louder.  I glance at the clock.  It is 6 am. I am in my bed.  I have slept later than usual. No wonder Miss Minga is howling for me to get up. It becomes clear that my earlier 'wake up' was a 'false awakening'. It had only been part of the dream. 

A dream this vivid is really must have meaning, but I haven't had time to really sit down and decipher it yet. Usually when you lose something in a dream it means you are under some kind of stress in real life.  Does it have to do with retirement?  I love the freedom that comes from retirement, but work has been my entire life.  Without it, I sometimes feel that I have lost my identity. (Not that I would ever return)

Ironically, in my dream many years ago I had lost my ID as well.  Any ideas on what it means?

A Wee Bit of Nothing

 Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul. 

Alice Walker

Good morning, everyone.  We've had some lovely weather here, but that's about to change. We're in for a bit of humidity and some rain.  Amazing we haven't had a heat wave this summer, a couple of 90 day temps here and there, but nothing long term, and there are none forecast for the near future. I'm glad.  I was worried for hubby in the summer because of his breathing issues, and Miss Minga.  I can't keep the AC on 24 hours every day, can't afford it.  Thankfully, I haven't had to make the choice this year.

Had an interesting evening last night.  Watched 'Gone With the Wind' on Livestream with 50 other kitten watchers. The mama and her babes are rescues, and the person that sponsors them is allowed to do the naming. There have been the tea kittens, the kite kittens, etc. These were named after GWTW.  The babies names are Ashley, Stuart, Brent, and Butler.  Couldn't have Rhett because a cat at the shelter already has that name.  The foster mother for the GWTW kittens put a video on and we were able to watch the film, chat, and watch the kitties at the same time.  I think I am one of the few people who never saw the movie. 

This is my newest acquisition...a coffee plant.  It is supposed to be an excellent indoor plant which can be grown into a tree 3 to 5 feet tall or a shrub.  Haven't made up my mind yet what I am going to do with it.  For now, lets just see if I can get it to grow.

 My herb is really taking off.  These are the only herbs that grew.

My Moon Flower is starting to bud.  I planted this one from seed.  Will have to check after dark to see if the flower is opening up yet.

The above plant is growing so large I can't get the whole thing in one picture.

This is the second part.  It us growing too large for the window sill.  I am stumped as to what to do with it.  Any suggestions?

Monday Morning This and That

 Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.” 

 Leonardo da Vinci

Good morning everyone. Another Monday has arrived.  I had a nice quiet weekend.  On Saturday I fixed myself a nice bowl of fruit and headed off to the park.  I absolutely love this weather.  No heaviness to the air. It feels so much like fall that I have been digging out my autumn recipe books and skimming through them. We did have a wee bit of rain, but that's okay with me. I love hearing the raindrops hit the air conditioner.

On Friday I went to the fruit stand and came home with quite a lot of loot.  That white chocolate is the best I have ever eaten.  Not pictured are the whole wheat pita and breakfast bars I also picked up.  It's funny.  Before I retired I had all these plans to make fabulous breakfasts for me and hubby.  I even bought a box of pancake mix and syrup to get started.  Never even opened it so I guess it is time to heave it out.  I just don't feel like cooking when I get up.  Cooking dinner is enough.

 

This is what I have for breakfast every morning along with a banana. I like that they are not crunchy. For some reason, I don't like crunchy foods.

On Saturday I made myself a tuna on whole wheat pita, packed some cherries, and headed off to the park. I'd planned on working on a tree exercise I found in a book I've been reading, 'Spinning the Web: Wise Women in Autumn", but the little Chinese man with the magical instrument arrived, and all my good intentions were set aside. I'm never been able to meditate, but this man's music brings me so close to a trance-like state. 

Dinner was beef chili, yellow rice, and avocado salad.  This is my plate.  You can see why I can't lose weight.  I eat way too much.

On Sunday I attended Church in the morning and spent my afternoon watching Leverage. That's one of my favorite shows, and although they show the same reruns over and over again, I never miss them. I just can't understand why they would take an award winning show off and replace it with crap. Personally, I am so sick of these reality shows. There is absolutely nothing 'real' about them, and some of them are just plain stupid. Who cares what the pawnbrokers are buying? I am far more worried about keeping food on the table and a roof over my head.

Well, guess it's time to get ready.  Now with lunch only a quarter for the next month, I have to get there early so I don't lose my seat. My peer came in at 8:45 and her seat had already been given away.  Not fair to those of us who attend on a regular basis.  Once this month is over, we won't see half of these people again.  In my opinion certain tables should be reserved for the non-regulars.  

Remember.  The way you start your week can affect the whole week.  Make it a good one.