Just a little venting......and a day of joy!

I'm tired....

.....tired of the markets falling like a parachute with no rip cord, the ground coming up fast and the sound of "splat" faintly riveting in my ears.

....tired of the "he said", "she said", he voted for this, he didn't' vote for this, he wants to raise your taxes, he wants to keep us in the war, I promise I'll do this, I promise I'll do that, the constant grown up bickering between two relatively intelligent people, wearing themselves (and their followers/listeners) out, by trying to come up with just the right words or actions to build themselves up or cut the other one down, to sway the people....who are all just so tired of the whole mess...of elections....I for one just want to say, "could you just cut the bunk and stand in a room and tell us what you're going to do, actually explain your plan, instead of wasting time bashing each other. But then I'm aware that's a pretty Pollyanna notion......it never changes, they all make promises, some they'll try to keep and some they have no intention of keeping......it always gets down to the finger pointing and name calling......and it always makes me tired......but I'll be right in front of the "boob" tube on the 15th watching the final debate.........and I'll be right in the voting booth on November 4th.

One thing I do know for sure--there's not enough money in the whole world to ever make me want to be President of the United States!

Whew! There now I feel better!

I can hardly believe that it is yet another Saturday, closing in on yet another week that's flown by. Time is always flying, fleeting seconds ticking by as quickly as a spilt glass of milk at the dinner table.....for a nano-second it feels like everything is in slow motion....but then the milk just rushes out of the glass and no matter what you do, you can't stop it.....

Have you ever notice how quickly time passes when you're on the computer? I always find myself surprised when I write or check my e-mail or look things up....to discover how such large blocks of time pass so quickly. I've always been amazed too, how I get lost in time when I am painting, writing or doing needlework. I always used to say it would be a great way for me to go on a diet.....I simply forget time when I allow myself 'time' to indulge my creative passions. I totally get lost in the creative zone and taking time to eat means nothing to me. I know that this yesterday morning when my alarm went off, I wished I had more time to sleep. When the morning slipped by, I wished I had more time to get ready for work, as the day slipped by, I commented that 'there are not enough hours in the day to get my work done', and as the evening slipped by, I thought about how few hours there are to enjoy home and the ones I love.

I do, however, know of a way to slow time down ......at least it works for me.....and I haven't done it in ages. You get in a little metal or wooden boat; one that has a small engine just big enough to get you out in the middle of a lake or bay......make sure you have all the appropriate gear, fishing pole, bait, net, a stringer, hooks, weights etc. etc. etc. When you get out to the middle of the body of water, comment on how you've heard this is just the right spot to make a big catch and how good they'll taste when you clean, gut and cook them up. When your pole is all geared up.....don't put any bait on it and then whip the line out to just the right spot....lean back, take in a nice deep breath, let it out and watch the world go by. It's great, time just seems to inch along like a duck slowly lolling up and down on the slight ripple of the water. Enjoy the steady slosh of the water lapping up against the boat and feel the gentle rocking....don't think about work, or the stock market, or anything that involves time. Just let random pleasant thoughts skip in and out.

You'll be amazed at how wonderful it is when time has no relevance....it's like heaven in slow motion.

(Lucy and I agree those words of wisdom are worth about 5 cents...but it does work for me) :)

The trip up the Kangamangus Passageway was just lovely. At every “stop for a beautiful view” place, you could hear the click click click click of no less than 50 digital cameras recording memories. You could hear the verbal uhhhhs and ahhhhs as people gazed upon the beauty Mother Nature was unfolding across the White Mountains. There must surely be literally thousands of pictures taken everyday this time of year up and down that passageway. Some of those pictures I’m sure would turn out much more vividly and professional than the ones I shot, because there were serious photographers there too; with cameras that had huge (let’s capture a Nat’s ass) lens on them. I’m sure in those pictures you could see the very veins on the multi-colored leaves. John laughed at me as I clicked off my 100th picture! I was officially a “tourist leaf peeper”.

If you’ve never driven up the Kancamagus Highway (also called the Kangamangus Passage),into the White Mountains in New Hampshire, you should put it on your list of “things to do”. It winds around the mountains…..if you look it up on the internet, you’ll find such descriptions as:

The Kancamagus Highway is traveled by over a million people each year. The Kancamagus Highway cuts an east-west channel through the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest from Lincoln NH to Conway NH. When the dense trees change their leaves from their summer greens to breathtaking shades of yellow and red in the Fall, they are illuminated against the colorful mountains, making this a dramatic and enjoyable leaf-peeping route. Motorcyclists relish the twists and turns as the highway climbs to almost 3,000 feet at the peak of Mount Kancamagus. The easily accessible trailheads and parking areas are often sought by hikers.

And there were many many many motorcyclists enjoying the ride and the day. There were also the brave (and in much better shape than I) bicycle riders………oh my gosh, some of the inclines up the mountain (even on the paved road) were treacherous and you could see the sinewy calf muscles bulging in their work to pedal up the trail. They were obviously not amateurs….I got out of breath just watching them in the comfort of my passengers seat.

We stopped and took the gondolas up the Loon Mountain ski area….with of course no snow this time of year. The ride goes really high with the top wheels of the gondolas skimming along the huge cables. When you get half way up and realize how high you are and that you’re only half way up, it can start the butterflies in your stomach. But you are saved by the exquisite beauty being that high up (in the air) allows….

…..the words to the song “Up Up and Away, My Beautiful Balloon” danced through my mind...
(The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon. It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon. We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky...For we can fly, we can fly)

…. It must be just as breathtaking when the mountain is covered with snow. John says in the winter, you can watch the skiers rushing down the trails below….what joy that must be!

We stopped and had a lunch (of egg salad sandwiches) with the simple unpretentious beauty of nature as our “picnic basket lesson”.

It was a glorious day….I wish you could have come along.