Challenge # 39 It’s Nap Time

 

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.  My personal goal is to do this for one full year.

Question:

Do you believe “power naps” are beneficial?  Do you think they should be incorporated into the workplace?

Is It Nap Time Yet?

Yes I do believe in “power naps” and I do take them.  A power nap is considered  a nap of 15 to 35 minutes.  I don’t have the ability to automatically wake up so I set an alarm for these naps.  If I don’t have a set agenda or an appointment I will just allow myself to wake up naturally.

Today it was a 15 minute nap because I had a rough night.  My pandemic worried brain woke me at 3 AM for no particular reason.  Over an hour later still awake I put on some soothing music to sleep another 4 hours.  So after lunch is a 15 minute quick nap and I am refreshed again and ready to move on.

While working at one of my large telephone centers, we had a “quiet” room.  This could be used after you had a tough call to reset and get back to the phones.  One of my coworkers had a family member pass away and she needed to simply sit in that room for a bit before leaving for the day. Mainly it was used by agents to take a quick nap

We all have from time to time a day with too much activity and so that room came in handy.  I once had a Paul McCartney concert on a school night that went way too late in the evening.  Before everyone had cell phones, I grabbed a kitchen timer as I walked out the door that day.  Lunch found me pulling into a quiet park in the area and setting the timer for 45 minutes, then right back to work.  I think that was more of a rescue nap than a power nap. LOL

Some corporations are realizing that a short nap can really do wonders and allowing employees to check out for  1/2 hour or so.  Sleep deprivation can be brutal and cause damage in lots of ways.  Maybe with the work from home scenario we are in now, more people will learn how to sneak in that little nap and better handle the 9 hour day they are putting in at the computer.

Take a nap!!

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Challenge #38 Bag Lady

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week. My personal goal is to do this for 1 year.

Question:

How do you keep yourself organized?

Bag Lady

Pre-pandemic and quarantine, many of us had lives and in some cases very busy lives.  As an active senior citizen with a variety on interests, I had my fingers in a large variety of pies and enjoyed every minute of it.  My solution was tote bags.  Not only did I make my own, at many events and functions I received them as a participant.  It also told me what day of the week it was.

Monday, I was going to one of my quilt guilds and based on what project I was working on, I had a tote bag with all my items in it.  Throughout the week, if I came across a pattern or some fabric that I was not going to use, into my quilt tote to take for the sharing table so others might take the items home.  Also, during the course of the meeting some of us worked on small hand held projects to pass on or share with others.  I also made sure that this was right by the front door on Sunday night so I did not forget to go to the meeting.

I taught several different crafts in my community so based on what I was teaching that week I would organize by tote bag. If it was flower arranging, the containers and oasis and tools in one bag, for making bracelets it was beads and wire and another type of tools required.  If I had a special request from a student I would make sure the items went into that bag.  For work, it was a whole different group of items in my tote bag.  Gym days, another tote bag. Not included are the bags  I took to the grocery store to cut down on the use of plastic bags.

For many years now I have driven a pick-up truck and this means no trunk, if I had a trunk some of these bags would have been left in the vehicle until needed.  On really good days, I walked out with three separate bags for my current days events.  I did make sure bags were different colors and styles so I did not arrive at the gym with only my jewelry making supplies.  Now that could be a whole new direction to this story.

Spam Is Not Just For Eating

This is my submission for this week in the 99 word challenge.  This week the prompt was  Monreal Dorf which is the name used by someone trying to enter spam sites in the regular submissions from everyone else. Monreal is the name of a small town in Germany also the name of a soccer player and a line of clothing.  Dorf is the German word for town and is the name of a region in Switzerland.  It’s also a name used by Tim Conway in a comedy bit. 

 

Had she missed the opportunity to go jump in the lake?  Would they ever invite her again?  Living in this hamlet in Germany I knew or was related to all of these people but  removed emotionally.

Could the village you are named for turn on you when you try so hard to compete. The water may have refreshed but I have only submitted 324 versions of our stories. They must understand I only create spam to help. Pandemics may come and go but  our “art” will survive.  Monreal Dorf will revitalize this village when her dreadful spam is known worldwide.

Challenge #36 Shopping Spree

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week. My personal goal is to do this for 1 year.

Question:

Do you prefer online shopping or in-store shopping?  Why?

A Shopping Spree

Let me start by explaining that this group was formed in September of 2019, no idea of a world wide pandemic was even a concept at that time.  All these questions were  simply looking at a changing world.

Fast forward to 2020 and this question takes on a whole new meaning and resonates with people who never even considered online as an option.  (Note to self, check with my non computer comfortable friends and see how they are shopping.)  Needless to say, my response to this is very different today than last year.

In today’s world for almost everything but fabric and shoes online shopping is the new winner for me.  I tend to spend less online because I can hop from screen to screen and check out all the prices,  I can also do this at 3 AM when I can’t sleep because I am worrying about the pandemic.  I am not a drunk shopper which some 3 AM shoppers are so no surprises arrive two weeks later.  Some friends are on both ends of this scenario, they will remain nameless.

Fabric is hard for me to buy online.  A friend once said it was fun to watch me in a fabric store because I shop mostly with my hands.  I walk down the aisle with my hands  touching on both sides and my second reaction is to color or pattern.  So I have to be backed against the wall to buy fabric online.

The other thing is shoes.  I have wonky feet and had one surgery and don’t really want more so I do wear the comfy granny type shoes.  My granddaughter is the queen of online shoe shopping, before her wedding a shoe box arrived every other day it seemed. She ordered a variety knowing she would not keep them all.  Some had to be shipped back but some had returns to their local store.  This is a good thing to check when shopping online.

How do you feel about online shopping?  I’s a bit sad to see the changes in the brick and mortar shops.  I would like to see a world where a mom and pop local store could expect to fill a shop and have walk in traffic.  It has been a while since I have been in any remote locations where they have those 10 foot by 25 foot shops that a single person can operate.  There is no mall where that fits, if they have a kiosk the rent is usually out of range.  So maybe online is the only answer now????

 

 

 

 

Challenge #35 Wedding Bells

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.  My personal goal is to do this for one year and the end is in sight for me.

Question:

Would you ever sign a prenuptial agreement?  Would it upset you?

Wedding Bells

I would sign in a heartbeat…maybe.  If the person I am marrying has been previously married and has children from that marriage, this would need to be addressed first.  I have seen enough of life to know that some things need to be protected under any circumstances.

If my spouse or I had a business that was generating a significant amount of income I would want to make sure it is protected. If either of us has multiple properties those would need to be addressed.  If there is an aging pet involved it should be covered.  The extensive collection of fine art or antiques probably would be part of the discussion.  If none of these apply it’s still a good idea to make sure both parties final wishes are understood.

Sadly I have seen a wife who ignored her husband’s wish to be buried in the family plot that he maintained most of his life and chose the city site instead.  The husband who gave his wife’s wedding dress to the cleaning lady and not her daughters.  Some of this is done because the other party is not fully aware of the significance or history involved.

I am a fan of having a prenup ready with the list of music I would like to be played at my memorial service and for my many quilting friends, the disposition of my fabric stash.  It just seems like in this day and age it’s safer if you put it in writing.

Fathers Day During Covid-19

My father passed away over 40 years ago and I still miss him just about every day, do we ever get too old to need a dad, I don’t think so.  What makes it tougher is that my relationship with my mom was divisive at best and a daily battle.  In the Unites States we celebrate dad the 3rd Sunday in June, other countries have many other dates to celebrate.

For a time dads were the butt of the joke on television and at the movies, then the switch was flipped and he became the stern authoritarian person.  Occasionally you saw that dad’s really knew best or had a good idea or was just a good guy trying his best.  My dad was close to being the last one at least in my eyes.

My dad holding me in the yard.

As an adult I discovered that one of my brothers thought he was an idiot, another thought he was useless at best and another was very much afraid of him. I adored him and wish we could have had some form of father/daughter talks.  My dad like many of his generation was not a talker, he was the strong silent type.  I can remember only a couple of one on one conversations.  I know he talked to my mom and sadly she used to talk bad about him to me,  how he spent too much money on Christmas.

I am sure life for both of them must have been very hard.  Minimal education and working hard to get ahead, a large family that always needed something more.  My dad always worked at least two jobs when I was a kid.  But I did the same thing, as a single parent it was two or three jobs when I could do it and it never seemed like it was too much.

Must be the quarantine or the social distance from the world that is causing me to be so reflective and missing my dad after all these years. Talk to your kids while you can or more important, listen to them and they will teach you.  Hope all you fathers have a great day out there and just love your kids, hug them extra today.

Challenge #31 Adrenaline Rush?

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer ans share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.
(My personal goal in addition to this is to try and complete one each week for one year.)

Question:

What do you do for an adrenaline rush?

My first thought is, I am old, I don’t do adrenaline, so I begin with my research, maybe I do this in another way.  Right now with the Covid 19  lock down all over the world I think most about getting back to travel and think maybe that is my adrenaline rush.  It could be.

What I learned about adrenaline in a nutshell.  It can, decrease the ability to feel pain, increase your strength temporarily and sharpen your mental focus which will allow you to think quickly and form a clear plan of escape.  Not much chance of that, this pandemic has hit all regions of the world. (Sad face here.)

Some adrenaline rush activities to do, commit to achieving a lingering goal by a deadline like hitting a target weight or stop smoking or write a short article once a week for a year.  Bingo.  I had no idea you are my adrenaline rush.

Some other things that are considered an adrenaline rush are not life threatening like being first on the dance floor.  Make a speech in a public forum where you don’t know your audience, sing karaoke at the top of your lungs,  watching a horror movie, bungee jumping or sign up for surfing lessons.

I think today’s lesson is that I am an adrenaline junkie and never knew it.  Yes, on occasion I have done public speaking where I knew no one in the room, far too many times I was the first one on the dance floor with my white girl dancing.  I did  indoor sky diving and zip lining and loved every minute of both.  I have also moved to new places with no safety net and not really an overall plan.  Not a big fan of horror movies and have always proclaimed that I never could be drunk enough to do karaoke singing. So while I have not been in a lot of life threatening situations I do enjoy my short bits of travel, I can hardly wait to get on an airplane again going to a new city or country. My heart rate it increasing just thinking about it.

 

Challenge #30 My Staycation

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  we have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.

Question:

Describe your perfect staycation.   Would you want to spend it alone or with someone?

My Staycation

 

Most of us have lived the longest and perhaps scariest staycation and are all experts on the process now.  Or maybe not.  In my mind a vacation is mostly going away to some fun or exciting location that you go to every year or have never been to before. So a staycation is not going away and may not be fun.

I love to travel almost anywhere and am pleased with the level of diversity I have managed to get on vacations.  I don’t try to conquer all my fears at the same time or see 12 countries in 3 days, but I have been pretty lucky with some of the opportunities I have had.  Not so much when it comes to staying home,

Unlike the current situation I would not mind a staycation for 1 week.  Since I live near Chicago and it has more than enough to entertain and see, it would be easy to fill the days.  I had a bit of that earlier this year before we had to stay home for an extended time.

I am very good with doing this alone, but would be alright with have an friend or family member join for a day or so.  A trip to the zoo is always high on my list and that was one of my outings this year.  The city is also blessed with 2 conservatories and both are filled with beautiful plants and flowers all year long, that can easily take a day.  Next are museum’s to match almost anything you could want to see.

My choice for the next pandemic would be to be living in some place that is not super cold or super hot.  There were a number of days when it did not seem like a good thing to even go out of the house due to the cold or wet and gloomy.  The tough part was that zoos and museum’s were all closed down as well and we could only see them on virtual tours.  So I guess it really does not matter what the weather is like if I have to stay in for 9000 days. All in all I could easily take my next staycation in Chicago and probably will.

Challenge #29 Limerick

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.

Question:

Write a limerick about a vampire.

A limerick about a vampire is a fun, fluff sort of project.  A limerick is often a humorous form of a poem following a strict rhyme scheme, the first, second and fifth lines rhyme, the third and fourth lines are shorter and have a different rhyme. It is also a county in Ireland and unknown as to which came first.  Limericks first appeared by many records, early in the 18th century.

Edward Lear is credited for popularizing the limerick in the early 19th century.  One of his books was made up entirely of limericks,  Ogden Nash is also associated with limericks among the vast amount of short poems he created.  Limericks are also quite famous for being funny and frequently rude or off color.

What a vampire and I have in common.

• There was an old vampire from Greece,
• Who had not eaten since he was deceased.
• He was up all one night,
• Looking for someone to bite.
• He found some feta and ate all he pleased.

 

Challenge # 28 Meet Our Mascot

This challenge comes from a small writing group.  We have a large series of random questions that we answer and share.  The goal is to answer at least one per week.

Question:

If your family had a mascot, what would it be and why?

Meet Our Mascot 

Our mascot would most certainly be a cat, not a comic looking cat like Sylvester, but an elegant, slightly down on her luck, cat like Grizabella.  Over the years we have been lucky enough to have many cats share our house.  It all started with a black and white stray who most certainly had at least nine lives.  The most dramatic time with her was when she had gotten into a bottle of medicine that had a loose top, knocked it over, got it all over her fur and licked it off.  We let her out in the morning and she crawled under the house and stayed there for 5 or 6 days refusing all food and water. I thought she was a goner and she came out good as gold.  She lived with us for several years and at least three new homes.

We had a couple of Persians move in next and they were  from a really good bloodline and would make great show cats if one were so inclined.  The female slipped out of the house and destroyed that pedigree line with her six kittens from a neighborhood Tom.  With eight cats in the house now, my daughter developed an allergy to cats. We searched to find good homes for all the cats and we were heartbroken so we kept two of the kittens.  These had to be both inside and outside cats so the dander would not bother my daughter as much.

These two stayed with us for many years and another three moves to new houses.  In the animal world we had several dogs and a couple of rabbits in addition to the cats.  Somehow the cats always seemed to belong in our house and worked out the best for us in the long run.

Today my daughter has three cats and her daughter also has three.  We still manage to get the occasional dog or bird or lizard or tarantula or fish in the same house hold with cats.  I guess you are destined for pets or not in the universe and we are certainly the lucky ones.