I can't keep up!

It has been almost two months since I've posted in this blog. I have been busy. Actually not THAT busy, but somehow two months has passed with a few blinks of my eyes. I can't keep up.

The biggest thing going on, and it has been an adventure at least as good as a three month road trip, is meeting a few nice guys. After forty (gasp) years, I am dating once again.

I have this urge to have a "blast while I last," as my younger brother is fond of saying. It has created a few changes in my life style. I find myself coloring my nails, shaving my legs more often, using more expensive lotions (the kind that are supposed to soften the signs of aging!), getting a little sun, even though I know the sun is not supposed to be good for me I look better with a little tan on my arms and legs, and I am trying out Crest white strips. I am considering perfume, something I haven't used over the years, happy to just smell clean and fresh. In other words, dating is time consuming not even counting the actually date itself!

I've met nice people. I have heard stories from others of people showing up much heavier and older than expected or nothing like their online profile. (we are talking about internet dating here.) That hasn't happen to me. Everyone looked good and all conversations were quite enjoyable. I don't know what is down the dating road, so I am not even going to do any serious thinking about it. No analyzing. No particular expectations. Just enjoying the journey to new feelings and places.

And speaking of the road.I will be back on the highway next month and heading north. I am ready. Being gone will give me time once again to have serious conversations with me, myself and I. They are pretty good listeners and I could use some reflection and advice. I will not have any dates for a while! I will be attending a family reunion in Tennessee and then a 45th class reunion in Ohio and then head to the 1000 islands in NY before turning around south again.

I will be back to write more soon, but I just wanted to keep in touch.

Jan

It's a date

It is almost May 1. Oh Oh! Would have been our 41 anniversary, had we stayed married. It is funny how something, in this case a date on the calendar, can bring back one of those memories I would rather forget. Tsk!

Speaking of dates. I have had a couple, thanks to eharmony! And a few phone conversations and some emailing. Putting oneself out there is hard. I am learning.

After a short while and some eharmony essay reading, I am finding that I need to update my wardrobe. My current clothes are fine for a barbecue with old friends but wrong for a date with a fellow. I have started painting my finger nails. I am considering perfumes. I have been more of the outdoor sporty type of gal before and I am trying to be a little more feminine and dare I say sexy, even if I am 63. And although I want to be myself, surely there is some flirty somebody hidden inside. Not to mention passion. A few changes in my old habits is welcoming, and I am enjoying making them and hoping to also make a better first impression, and oh, did I mention I even bought high heels and a dress, something I gave up a few years back.

Life continues to be an adventure with new roads before me all the time. There are setbacks of course, bumps, and poor signage, but I seem to be heading in the right direction, at least it seems that way.

So other than romance on my mind, I am enjoying the heat wave that finally settled into Florida bringing the sun and blue skies. As you know, this past winter was long and chilly. City events and activities have been plentiful and I have enjoyed volunteering, be it selling beer and wine or painting a rain barrel to be raffled off. Being single, I make the effort to attend these events just to be surrounded by all the terrific people who live in this town. This is a good place to be single.

Last week I went away with my friend, Donna. We went on a road trip to Savannah where we walked for hours following a self-guided tour booklet. We inhaled the southern smells of jasmine, savored fried green tomatoes, oysters, and beer, admired the huge overhanging oaks festooned with Spanish moss, and read all the historical markers in the squares of Savannah. We also walked Beaufort, SC, and spent a night on St. Simon's Island, both charming. We, throwing off any thoughts of healthy eating, started the trip with a stop at the Dairy Queen for a soft ice cream cone (which, being from Ohio, we both call frozen custard) and we ended with a cone on the long way home. Ahhhh. I think our getaway smiles will last for a while.

Next week I will head to Seattle to see the grand babies. I can't wait.

Jan

Just checking in.

I just wanted to let my you know that I am OK.

It has been a while since I've written. I can only attribute that to being too busy and being too lazy, and while that may seem like a contradictory statement, I can assure you it can be so.

While I am not currently traveling, although I will be soon, I have embarked on a new adventure of a different sort. I am getting out there in another way, taking advantage of my single status and looking to meet someone I can share a "romantic" dinner and wine with. My picture in on eharmony.com. and while several million other people are seen there too, for me, it is a new adventure. I have no experience in the internet singles meeting singles arena, but, on a whim, I signed up.

So lest you wonder, I will tell you about my first meeting. It was absolutely wonderful. It was my first "date" in 40 years, if you don't count dinner out with a husband, and I'm not. All I was expecting was a pleasant distraction for an hour or two. I got much more. I met someone who was able to bring out long dormant feelings and lightly touch my soul. He has a way about him. I don't know where this new road will lead, but like my last big trip, it's the journey, the glory of the ride, not the destination that's important. Not a bad start on a new adventure.

And

Finally, the air is warming and the sun is shining and I can breathe easier. The cold spell has broken. The chilly weather made life a little difficult here in my home office, which, with it's high ceiling, is not suitable for cold. The heat rises where I can't get at it. Maybe I can blame it for not having written or painted much in the last few months. Cold makes me uptight.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi again. I still haven't thought of a new name for a new blog, now that I'm not 62 anymore. I will think about it . . . . . tomorrow.

Love ya,
Jan

Life 101

I have posted 100 times in this blog, "62 Years on the Road." This will be 101 and coincidentally, this month I turn 63!

I will probably need a new title to work with. Something like "63 to 64," or "Beyond 62," or maybe simply " 63 in 2010." I'll work on it.

Cold weather is getting me down. I never liked the cold when I lived up north and I still don't do well with it. It makes me crabby and tense and I find it hard to get any real work done.

So with that said, let me say this.

One nice thing about this blog is that I can be crabby, write about some stupid complaint and wine about whatever I want, feel like I told the world, then highlight and delete! It is like ranting and raving without the consequence of retribution. I can say *(^#*/!... and ain't he */(^#! and aren't they______ and just #Gr!*8;?ETC.......DELETE! What fun!!! So there, I feel better.

Marcus Aurelius said "If you are distressed by anything, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it and this you have the power to revoke at any minute." And he didn't even have a "delete" button.

Attitude is everything!

So I hate to think about yesterday when I let pesky people bother me. For a little while I got caught up in local politics, I took a stand and felt intimidated to back down, and I did, a little, and I hate to say it, but I also gossiped, just a bit, and I am mad at myself for doing it, although it wasn't really hurtful gossip, but still. Sometimes behaving human frustrates me. I would rather think I am above petty annoyances and confident of myself, and not care what people think of me, but sometimes I'm not, I'm not, and I do.

Today, my little world is better simply because I think it's better. Cool huh? To whatever extent we can, we get to choose an illusion that appeals to our current temperament, then live it and be happy. So here I am living comfortably in my funky eclectic office gallery studio close to the glorious Gulf, with plans to meet friends for breakfast and dinner and get a haircut in between. I am writing in this blog feeling quite cozy while sitting in bed this morning with a hot cup of coffee beside me and frankly, in spite of a bad economy, in spite of a faulty weather system, in spite of pesky people, and in spite of...... well there is no other "in spite of," I am pretty happy with "things." I wouldn't mind a few million in the bank, but hey, life is good just the same. And it is getting even better as I write!!!

Choose warm happy thoughts! Remember you are loved.

So far, I haven't found a tenant so that I can move and reduce chance of the close encounters. That was another resolution, to move. The sign is up, the place is listed. Patience.

I met another cool person yesterday. She's quite an accomplished artist, earning money as a nurse, getting married on the beach in two weeks and so interesting to talk to. Very creative, she has a website, and great ideas and enthusiam. We're having lunch Thursday.

I seem to meet terrific people everywhere I turn.

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening!

Today is the last morning of February, 2010.

At 6:00 AM. I glanced out my window and saw a big golden full moon not to high in the western sky. The sun wouldn't be seen for at least a half hour. I thought I might be lucky enough to see my second moonset. I put on my woollies, filled an insulated cup with hot coffee and headed out to the beach.

I walked north while the moon slowly dropped toward the Gulf. The eastern sky had ever so slight a hint that the sun was working its way up. As I walked I sensed a race between the two. Would the sun come up before the moon reached the horizon and cast enough light to obscure the setting moon from my view? I got a feeling that time was irrelevant for a while. It was both day and night all rolled into one. It was beautiful. The moon was a bright ball in the west above the Gulf, just like the sun gets when it sets in the evening.

It looked like the moon would get to melt into the water before the sun was high enough. I felt so lucky. Then, Oh No! Unexpectedly, the moon only fifteen feet above the water (or so it seemed), suddenly got flat on the bottom. Oh No! It was slipping into a slice in the sky and disappearing. I couldn't see any clouds, but the moon was now only half a moon, then only the top quarter of it could be seen and I was so disappointed. And just when it was about to disappear all together, the bottom of it slipped out from another slice and it caught my breath. There was still enough sky at the horizon for whole moon to sit. Maybe! It was still dark enough, although barely. The eastern sky was beginning to get pink. I held my breath. There it was...the bottom half of the moon! Moving toward the water. Then... another shadow, another cloud, the moon once again getting flat on the bottom but not yet at the water line. At one point the moon was a rectangle in the sky before it disappeared completely no more than a foot above the horizon. Drat! I didn't get to see it set into the Gulf. Double drat!

As I walked home a very bright yellow sun popped up. Another day had begun. It was 6:40AM.

Although living alone has it definite advantages, one of the disadvantages is that when something interesting happens, like almost experiencing my second moonset, there is no one to tell. By the time I got this computer up and running, the awesome feeling I had of being out on the dark beach watching the sun and moon vie for the sky was waining a little. I thought I'd gotten lucky and then it was over. But all in all, it was a great way to start the day. It's seven:19 on a lovely morning. 50 degrees. Light blue sky. I hope your day will be, is, or has been fantastic. Mine is looking good.

Twenty ten twice!

Two months into 2010.....already! TWO MONTHS GONE. Yikes! I have so many things I want to do this year. So here's an idea I have. When January 1, 2011 comes along, let's all pretend that it is 2010 (again) and make 2010 two years long. We could then maybe have time to actually get something done this year. I bet most people would go along. We have ten months to think about it.

Besides much of this year has been lost due to the weather, and that seems to be the case no matter where you live in continental USA. The cold has made us sluggish. It has confused us. We are off kilter. How can we ever be expected to accomplish anything while hunched and huddled trying to keep warm.

While traveling last summer, I had hoped to have chance encounters with cool people, but it really didn't happen in any significant memorable way. But yesterday right here in my own backyard (a figure of speech), a gal stopped into my gallery and we got to talking. While I was traveling last summer so was she, touring the USA by herself, camping and staying occasionally in hotels. We had been to many of the same places doing many of the same things, each of us by ourselves. Any new subject raised in our conversation came with smile and a seriously shared understanding. We were so much alike it was spooky and wonderful. I felt like I'd met a younger me. She is in her mid forties. She had been recently laid off from a long time job and took the opportunity to travel. I was recently divorced taking the same opportunity. I hope we can get together again and share wine and stories. (She mentioned that when she was on the road and in a new place and feeling lonely, she had to put herself out there to meet people. You know, walk up and say 'Hi." I gave her my number. I hope she calls and says "Hi.")

Often in life, we get what we ask for, but it happens a bit differently than we expected it to. I think its true that our thoughts become the things and events in our lives. Ask, believe and be patience. Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.

Which leads me to thinking about 2010 again. I better get busy.

Click!

Today I feel immense, powerful, happy, oriented. I would take the last brownie off the plate because I feel I deserve it as much as anyone. I feel that good.

There is no particular reason for this feeling. I haven't won the lottery (although, I bought a ticket last week just for fun and was hopeful), nor have I found a tenant or publisher. Really nothing has changed except my feelings. This is one of those good days.

Actually yesterday wasn't bad either. I'm on a roll here.

I felt something change the day before yesterday. A click into place. I've heard that click (snap)before and it's a good sound. It means something has been secured in my emotional self, something has been positively resolved, and it will be lasting. I love that click. I am sure it has to do with my good feeling.

That's all.