Dreams in Pandemic Times?

 I rarely have the types of dreams that stick with me anymore. Do you? Once upon a time, I was one of those people who would recall their last dream's every detail to anyone who would pause to give me an opening. My sincere apologies. Seriously, that was terrible. 

But last night, I experienced what might be described as a bad dream with Covid 19 stirred in. N, I, the offspring and their partners, had stepped into a building. The building turned out to be a bar, filled with people drinking and smoking and no one wearing a mask. A chill fell upon me, when I realized the risks around us and none of us wearing a mask. And of course there was the drama and tension of finding everyone.

That's it. That's all I had to say. Perhaps (K hopes) if I write this down, it'll leave my brain sooner. Anyone else having weird dreams? Can't just be me. Love, K

Anxiety Resources

 

Learning to Drive a Stickshift

 Does learning to drive a stickshift, create a stronger memory than learning an automatic? I mean, with the extra brain growth, thanks to the third pedal and all the humiliation it offers, it seems like a firm foundation for long remembering. 

It was the early seventies, and there were three vehicles I can recall learning to drive in. One was a homely, unreliable, Ford Maverick, that Mom used to try to teach me, but only in the upper driveway. Guess she wanted to be close to home or hoped the stress would be less in a driveway. My favorite, was a car my father hated, a red Toyota Celica (formerly owned by older brother). Such a (short-lived) joy to drive! 

The third vehicle, was a Ford truck--most likely a 250. It sat high and had, what Dad called, a Granny Gear. Dad would take me down to our small town's frontage road. The road was built for traffic to easily navigate our small "industrial area" by the river. There was so little traffic, that the road was a safe bet for a new driver. 

During one of our drives, Dad spotted a friend coming towards us on the road. We stopped and the two of them enjoyed a nice spell of jawing, as I kept that strong clutch pedal down on the floor. It wasn't easy, but I wanted to show him how strong and able I was to hold that foot down and steady. But that's not what he noticed--he noticed an opportunity to tell me about neutral. Always something more to learn . . . 

The Love - Black Eyed Peas and Jennifer Hudson

A Few of My Favorite Things

 Don't we all have our ever changing list of favorite items? Items that vanish from stores and we "ugh and sigh" at their loss and then buckle down to search for a replacement. No, you're correct, they don't always disappear, but we notice when they do.

Soap for instance: I prefer liquid soap over bar soap in the shower. Who knows why or when this occurred, but it's one of the items I've had to search for and replace. One brand that I recall, was Nature's Gate. They sold their company, but prior to the switch, they removed several items from their offerings--choosing to focus on shampoo and conditioner. Oh! And the same thing happened with Aubrey Organics. The latest fav soap, that appears to be gone, is EO Products', Vetiver and Coconut. It took me some time to get used to the scent, but now it's all I want. It's never a good sign, when you spot online folks selling lots of four of your fav scent. 

On the other hand, I can remember becoming a Paula Begoun fan back in the 80's. She was a regular guest on a morning show I watched most weekdays. Eventually, in the mid-nineties, she began her own cosmetics company in Seattle. Which led to me using her shampoo and conditioner for over twenty years. When you find something you like and need (unscented), you stick with it. (Did a search to check when she started, and learned she sold her company seven years ago. Now K is bummed.)

So, it's decision time once again, in the soap department. And I'm considering staying with the same brand and settling for one of the other scents. Settling--did not like typing that word, but there it is. It's not that big of a deal, K, plus--a good search takes time and you've got that. 

Later, K