It's 9:30 a.m.—do you know where your husband is? Oh, he just came in. "That library is great," he said as he dropped 2 books on the coffee table; Tortilla Flat and Of Mice and Men (two stories in one book) by Steinbeck and Go Down Moses, by William Faulkner. Now that he's not working he's reading quite a bit—all the authors he's always wanted to read but didn't have the time to read. I, on the other hand, am still working through my M.C. Beaton books. I started with her Agatha Rasin series on audio book when I was still working and driving 1 hour to work—couldn't stand the music anymore. Chronologically and during those tedious driving hours (there and back again) I listened to all my old favorite Agatha Christie books; then on to The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun; finally getting to M.C. Beaton's Agatha Rasin and Hamish McBeth series of books. When I was done with all of those I started on her Edwardian and Regency romance novels written during the 80's under her name Marion Chesney. There are so many of them I think I'll be reading into my grave! But they are great books. I'm going through my Edwardian and Regency romance faze, which actually started long ago when I read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibilities.When I retired in May 2013 I didn't have to listen to my books anymore. I had a Kindle, but I preferred going to our library for real hard cover books. I only use my Kindle when I read in bed so as not to disturb other sleeping members of my family with a bright lamp on.

I did cut down on my reading for a while when I decided to start working on my novel, Commonwealth of Souls, which I have been writing for over 30 years. I joined the Writer's Workshop at our library and began enjoying the process more. It's a small workshop with only 3 of us—and we're all named Chris; Chris, Crissy and Christine (that's me) to distinguish ourselves from one another. I also joined the open art workshop on Friday's at the library. I'm learning to do water color—which I'm not so good at yet. My niece Kelsey gave me a great book for Mother's Day entitled 462 Things To Draw and I'm having so much fun with it. On each page is a THING to draw—a rolling pin; scissors; baskets; bricks; hills and valleys and I'm doing really well with it. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to learn how to draw first with pencil than to march into water color—paint brushes blazing—when you don't know what you're doing and you hesitate to ask the instructor for help.  I'm really having fun with that book. You should see my hills and valleys.

So, this is what retired life is like; reading, writing and painting—oh, and helping to take care of my mom. She is 95. I enjoy spending the days with her. When I'm not there my sister or my nieces are there so we make sure she's never alone. She enjoys our company and most of all she enjoys Kelsey's dog Carmen.

Today is a very hard day. We had to put our cat to sleep. That sounds horrible doesn't it? But it's really not. Pollyanna is in a better place—so much better than where my husband and I are right now. The house is so empty. It's funny how one little 18 year old cat can fill a house with warmth. I loved my Polly and had a good cry today, but my husband is taking it harder. Polly was daddy's little girl. She followed him around the house and always found a welcome lap to sit on. She sat on my lap too, but not as often as the daddy lap, where she was most comfortable.

When we moved from Long Island to Pennsylvania in 2004 we had four cats; Tomasina, Ali, Polly and Mushie. We adored them. They were the children we did not have. After our dog Benji died in 1996 they were the next pets on the roster. The absence of Benji in our lives prompted us to go out and get Tomasina and Ali (our first two). A year later came Polly and the following year came Mushie. They are all gone now, but their presence is still felt within the confines of our home. They were indoor cats and very pampered. Each had her own personality (all female) and there were a few head butts now and then. Polly stalked Ali and Ali hid under the bed and in the laundry basket. But all in all they lived very happy lives here with us. They brought us so much happiness over the years and we cherish each and every moment they were in our lives.

Kicked Out of the House

So today my husband finally broke and said I had to leave. No, not for good thank goodness, just for the morning while he cleans. It appears I'm under foot. I should count myself among the luckiest of women. My husband actually likes to clean. I told him that I could help now that I'm retired, but he will not hear of it. He finds cleaning the house very therapeutic. He's got a routine that he has adhered to for nigh on ten years, and I'm not going to argue with him. He even does the food shopping—yes, I am the luckiest of women.

So what do I do? I left my house early and went to the Flamingo diner for breakfast (they have the best food for the price). Now I'm at the library and I thought I'd do a little writing in my blog, which I find therapeutic. I've never tried this before—writing at the library I mean. It's a great atmosphere and is conducive to serious thought and creativity.

So what do I write about? Well, there is a lot going on in the world right now. I'm terribly worried about Yosemite and my heart is breaking for the firefighters and all the families and wildlife in that region. My heart is breaking over the Sequoias. Visiting Yosemite and standing under the trees is a dream of mine. As of this morning I read the Rim Fire is 60% contained, but could take until September 20th to be fully contained. 

So next on my worry list is the Syrian situation, which is totally blowing my mind. I wouldn't want to be in the President's shoes right now. He'll be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, which is always the plight of any commander in chief. I don't know how I feel about us getting involved, but my heart breaks for all the people who died in the chemical attack—most especially the children. I am glad the President decided to wait on Congress for a vote. It is clear that whatever is to be done will have far reaching consequences one way or the other, but allowing Congress to vote is a good thing.

My Favorite Song

My Favorite Song

a reflection by Christine Young
Did I even hear the words then
Sitting in our circle,
Caught up in the heat of the beat;
Within that blissful gathering
Of pure pubescent equivalents?
Did I hear the words then as I do today,
Sitting on my kitchen chair playing solitaire
And sipping my favorite tea;
Hearing it termed “an oldie” —
“but goodie”;
Caught up in my eager journey
And wistful gathering of memories?
　

Nothing can bring you back in time as quickly as hearing your favorite oldie but goodie over the radio. Of course we have our CD’s and we can You-tube anything we want to hear whenever we want to hear it, but that’s not the same as driving in your car or sitting in your living room with the radio on and, unanticipated—out of the blue, having that favorite song pop out at you over the air waves, prompting an immediate trip down memory lane; hearing I Want To Hold Your Hand and, for me personally, remembering when I heard the Beatles for the first time, sitting Indian style on the living room carpet with my best friends, animated and hyperventilating over the album cover on which I saw John, George, Paul and Ringo for the first time; the happy and carefree days of our youth reminding us of where we’ve come from, what made us happy or sad, and who we really are deep within our souls. It’s a time in our lives when we are transitioning from puberty to maturity in a metamorphosis that is unique to each one of us. If we’re lucky we never abandon the kid inside, tapping in to him or her every so often to keep ourselves grounded.

Concerning the Slaughter of Baby Seals
An Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Canada

I cannot understand the brutal slaughter of these defenseless seals and how any human being can take a club to a baby seal while it's mother watches and can do nothing. How can they live with themselves after such an act? How would they feel if, God forbid, someone came into their homes and into their nursery and clubbed their baby to death in front of them? The human parent would not let it happen. The human parent would defend that child with his or her very own life. The mother seal cannot do this. She is without the power to do this. Instead she watches her baby suffer and, yes, she feels unbelievable sorrow. Do you think because she is not human she does not feel sorrow? How arrogant we humans can be in this respect—to assume that animals do not feel pain or sorrow.

Somewhere down the line the consequences of this act will come to fruition in a negative way for our planet and for mankind. The slaughter of baby seals is wrong. If we keep on destroying God’s most precious creatures, we’ll feel it in the end—somehow, someway we’ll learn the error of our ways. There are so many good people on this earth within every country and within every society, and it would be a shame for the goodhearted to suffer the consequences of the coldhearted.

I am not a obsessively religious person, but I am an innately caring person, and during my journey through life I have never forgotten the quotation “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”. I believe there are many variations of this in religious texts of all faiths. As a child I heard the words and they became important to me. And whenever or wherever I witnessed a brutality toward an animal I repeated the words in my mind. Even then I understood the magnitude of such acts and I felt guilty for being human. As an adult I became acutely aware of the atrocities committed by mankind over the years. These atrocities cannot be undone, but I believe a counterbalance can be and will be achieved by kindly people around the world.

I am begging you, Prime Minister, please be a part of the solution and not an obstacle. Please call off the seal hunt now.

My husband didn't exactly like the Hobbit. We watched it last night. If you are one of his FB friends you can visit and see what he had to say about it. Such profanity! But, I agree. I have a good mind to write a lengthy review of this movie comparing it to the book. Unfortunately I have to go to work tomorrow. But my mind is still boggled so I will generate a small critique . All I can say is the architects of this supposed adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit did not handle it with the same care and insight they gave to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was terribly disappointed. I did not like how the dwarves were portrayed. First of all, in the book, Thorin Oakenshield was among the oldest of the dwarves, so the actor who played Thorin—although easy on the eyes, was therefore not Thorin to me. Second, the breakfast scene in Bilbo’s Hobbit hole, aka his cozy abode, was atrocious and could have been left out all together—they didn’t need the chip the glasses crack the plates scene either. That scene would add nothing to continuity (had there been any). The dwarves were portrayed as crass, sloppy and grotesque. In the book they were a little insensitive at times, but nothing like this crap I saw on the screen. And, the character of Bilbo was not exactly right. Had this first adaptation been put together with more care (I understand there are two more adaptations coming my way), I would have gotten used to him, as he did look like a young Ion Holm. Ion Holm was a good Bilbo, and in the beginning of this movie I was happy to see him reminiscing. Lastly, and the most annoying to me, were the special effects. There were way too many and they were blown out of proportion. What ever happened to simple. What type of audience were they so intent on impressing. I’ve had my say, but I may revisit this diatribe after the next movie. Yes I will have to watch it and no Ray does not have to be present. Oh, yes, one thing I did like—perhaps the only thing other than the short visit to Rivendell—was the singing of Over the Misty Mountains Cold by the dwarves, as in this video—calm, subdued, ominous. This is the impression I had in my in my mind when reading the book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRUBe2RTq74

President Obama has done a lot during his 4 year term, and there was a lot of hardship going on at the time he took office. We were in the midst of an economic crisis that could very well have brought about another great depression; an economic crises that I believe was brought about by the lax regulations that governed the financial and banking industries. So many of us were propelled into a false sense of security and an allusion of prosperity resulting from our ability to buy what we wanted on credit whether or not we could afford it. But that is in the past. We know better now—at least I do. I maintain that 4 years is not enough time to cure all the ills of our country, but we surely are on the right road, and I see it as a journey forward; not only economically, but on a human scale within our communities and around the globe environmentally. President Obama has foresight. He is trying to strengthen our country by building stronger foundations that can be sustained by the people and for the people.