Drones: Here, There, Everywhere

In and out!  That's how they fly.  Blink and they are gone.  Out!  No one expected to see a drone in a small rural airport. They began to wonder.  Why? 

Nearly everyone was talking about the dark operations going on throughout the countryside, with a heavy presence in western North Carolina around PARI (Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute).  Black helicopters, UFOs.  Some say it is the crystals in the mountains, other the clandestine government activity.  What was going on under PARI?  Why such secrecy?

To continue reading this story, please visit:   http://bethstillwell.blogspot.com/

Should Have Stood

My sixth grade teacher had an expression for aspects of one's day we just didn't enjoy.

"I should have stood in bed, " he would say.

Dishwasher won't empty water, despite two attempts.  Did I mention I am baking?

The phone rings and I am annoyed just having discovered nothing inside the dishwasher is dried. It is full of water, too.   I shouldn't have been annoyed, but I was.  Didn't feel like talking.  In this process (baking and sponging, I lost my kitchen sponge). Clearly, it is in another dimension.

Have we talked about that?  Other dimension?  Funny how we look and look for something and it suddenly appears in front of us. 

Oh yea, I retraced my steps.  Went into the microwave and what do you think I found?  The SPONGE.  Pulling myself together, I put the new sponge away and finished cleaning off the counter.

The spicy pumpkin cookies are baking.  Soon I will frost them with a spicy pumpkin icing.  This is a good aspect of my day.  I will focus on the good.

                                                            :)

Out There

Standing by water's edge
Colors burst from the rocks
I almost missed them

A moment taken
when all is quiet
Eyes wide open

Deep waters, deep waters
The distant boat glides along
A warm feeling washes over me



I'm in love
With all that is
And bound to the waters

Forever

Three days Of Bugs: A Grasshopper, Two Bees, And A Moth

 Bugs.  They are everywhere in my life   First there was the grasshopper sitting on the table outside:

Grasshopper:

Grasshopper teaches to take a leap forward in life and to trust in your own instincts and rhythms. Listen to your inner voice and let grasshopper guide you. He teaches patience to be bold and move with pride and grace. Grasshopper can teach the ability to take more chances and continue onward with persistence. He demonstrates the power of intuition, feelings, communication, awareness of surroundings and circumstances. Are you trusting your instincts and listening to your inner voice? It may be time to guard your exterior self and protect your emotions. Grasshopper medicine will show the balance between outgoing behavior and quite solitude. He demonstrates the skill of being courageous as well as taking flight when needed. His medicine lends stability and solidity to new endeavors. Grasshopper guides in the transformations of thoughts, ideals and perceptions as new spiritual insights are acquired.

Then two bee stings yesterday at a family barbeque.

Bees:

Busiest and most useful of insects so it is time to examine your own productivity in life (mentally, physically, spiritually), shows how to communicate effectively, teaches how to carry loads and ideas to make them productive, teaches concentration and empowerment with lightness and agility. Are you reaping the honey of life by your dreams and opportunities? Are you productive in your actions? Dedication, working with others and working hard will propel you towards your goals.

This morning, a moth got into my slacks:

Moth:

Moth teaches sensitivity to touch, smell, taste, intuition and physical/spiritual awareness, along with heightening sound and vibrations in this world and in others. Moth aids in the metamorphosis of your being. Which stage are you currently in; egg, larva, chrysalis or flight? Moth will help in each transition and show how to adapt to the new surroundings. He will teach you to find your own light as a beacon in the direction you should go. It is time to pay attention to your feelings to clarify your movement and discern what is real and not. Are you listening carefully to verbal and non-verbal cues,to what is and is not being said? Are you sensing the world around you? or sensing too much? Moth will teach how to be still, rest and listen and balance your being. In finding your own light clarity in the moment of darkness will be found and your sensitivity to Spirit increases.
Source:   http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/dictionary_of_insects.html

September, a transitory month, reminds Scorpio to take a leap forward, gathering the nectar of life following the beacon onward.

Bee Stings And Sleuths

A day with family couldn't be any nicer.  It started off with a little face coming into my room just after six a.m.

"Hello, Nana."

"Hi, sweetie."

"Can I get in?"

"Sure.  Need help getting up?"

Never ask a three year old if they need help.  He ambled his way up, right foot on the end table, left on the bed rails.  He wanted MY side.  He got MY side.

Later we enjoyed a family barbeque. While  I was helping a nineteen month old up a jungle gym set when it happened.  Instant pain.  Two places - wrist and thigh.  Same time.  But I had a job to do.  Ensure this little tyke met his buddy on the platform.  He did.

A quick trip inside the house, I applied baking soda to the afflicted area. This non-smoking crowd definitely wouldn't have cigarette butts, which take out the sting. It's an old fashioned natural remedy.  Find a  used cigarette butt, remove the tobacco, mix it with saliva. Apply it to the sting like a poultice.  As it dries, it draws out the venom from the bee.  It won't swell up as much.  Baking soda helped a lot.

Then one of my buddies said it.

"You took one for the team."

"Yellow jackets.  They even sprayed for them the other day," I said.

"Well, the good news the tyke made it to the platform. His Dad took over."

My three year old grandson and his little friend, a four year old, the inspector general,also met on the platform. They are on a scavenger hunt, looking for clues.  Plastic bag in tow, just in case. My grandson is an awe.

"I like him," my grandson said.

A proud moment.   And surrogate big brother with a huge imagination who is showing his new friend the ropes. His Nana stands near, caked in baking soda.

The hunt continues.

Fun At Nana's

Fun!  Nana's!  Isn't that the best.  Being a Nana is sheer delight.  Playing.  Cuddling.  Baking.  Nurturing.  And it isn't just the grands.  It is the whole family.  I love it.

Black Bottom (the mini-cupcakes) with a bread filling topped with cream cheese and chocolate chips.  This time, my special grand who loves cupcakes has cream cheese frosting (not shown in this picture). 

These are organic.  Organic eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, flour, butter, vanilla.  Lots of bread/batter mixture left over.  For another time.

Did you notice 'one' is missing?

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I AM The Customer

Financial barons!  Wake up.  Enough of hiring too fire workers, enough of lack of training.  If you don't provide us the service we expect, well, you won't be a baron much longer.

I spent the first two hours of my day on the phone with my erstwhile insurance company.  The agent didn't know the policy.  So I placed a call, at their suggestion (they were too lazy to do it themselves) to the first of six people within the company.  I realized they put me in the wrong plan.  Another call to my insurance agent.  Yep, she had the right plan, but the erstwhile insurance company not only has my address wrong, they didn't put me in the plan I requested.  I am told that is fixed.

My health care provider wants a baseline test.  So, I am scheduled for one.  But, I want to ensure the testing service is in my plan.  IN NETWORK.  The long and short of it is (including a call to the hospital and the various departments within the hospital)... they don't know.  They say the hospital is IN NETWORK so that the various departments follow.

Give me a break.   I AM the customer.  Don't you forget it.