Diversity, Lilies and Gorgeous Horses in Everyday Ramblings

So far, so good, on the Paris adventure. We are all holding our breath, metaphorically speaking, and hoping for the best. Well, except for Miss E. She is I am sure, totally immersed in all the new impressions and experiences and connections she is encountering with that young (read not full) brain of hers and those vital growing senses.

I took this picture on my early walk this morning. I so enjoy mornings when I have the time to get out and walk first thing if the weather allows and there is enough light to be out early safely.

The audiobook on the history of the multifaceted discovery and mapping of genes is fascinating and I want to keep walking and listening to it. When I am home doing chores I can’t fully concentrate on it so it is better for walks.

Because of a schedule change in the family it has been a bit of a respite weekend. Where normally I would walk with S and Frieda after Weight Watchers I just walked directly to the Farmers Market, where I couldn’t find the nut butter guy, but I did get my very first fresh tomatoes of the season!

Yum. If I cut them up in small chunks I can eat them without any significant chewing,

I admit I was discouraged when my Periodontist told me on Friday that although I am healing really well his preference would be that I don’t eat anything other than soft foods for another month. I am getting food stuck in the most recent surgical site. If I am really diligent about cleaning in that area I am allowed to start doing more normal hygiene but otherwise I am going to get inflammation and, well… pain.

Compared to what my oldest sister went through with her colostomy though, this is a piece of cake. But there have been a series of days lately where Grumpy has been my constant companion.

Although I have having molds and a couple of small fillings on Tuesday I won’t have any more stitches (they are all out now!) for 5 weeks. My next big surgery is scheduled on July 21st. I am thrilled to have a date to focus on.

My newest food thing is cold bananas rolled in peanut butter powder with a little cocoa mixed in. There is only so much pudding or smoothies a person can eat.

We had our big annual floral parade yesterday and it is a huge event here. I managed to find out where they stage all the horses for the parade by accidentally walking that way and it was so cool to see these fabulous animals so close and personal. The light was bad though so what pictures I took are not so good. I got a fair one of a Wells Fargo Stage Coach with an awesome matching floral arrangement on top that I put up on Instagram.

I would love to do a whole photo shoot of all the folks waiting and prepping their horses for the parade. Maybe that can be a goal for next year. And I can put some impressions in a poem.

I finished the first draft of a new poem about the changes in the neighborhood this week. These new historical poems are so dense and different for me I need to continue to zone in on a structure that I feel is still lyrical but captures the feel of the place.

They took the locks off the garbage dumpsters this week. Someone had come through and took some of them off and replaced them with key locks as a protest so none of us could get in. Sigh. A couple of days ago I saw a scary mentally ill addicted man coming out of that area with a small stolen bike talking to himself and angry as these people often are. This morning there was a broken trash bag of bottles and cans on the side path away from the area.

The poem is about this, the growing obvious disparity in our world. The book is about the genetics of that. We need diversity! But we also very much need to help those that suffer.

I watched a clip of President Obama talking about hope on a talk show last week, as he begins to campaign for Clinton. It is a message I need to keep hearing in these difficult difficult times.

Last updated June 12, 2016