Junk Mail

This will be my first of many posts concerning unwanted junk mail. Today's focus is that heaping mass of newspaper ads that arrives in your mailbox weekly, sometimes, only to lay around like it owns your house. After much sleuthing, I found out how to eliminate this offending paper. You can call 888-241-6760 to request to be removed from their list. Once they receive your request it takes around 5-6 weeks to take effect. Believe me, it's worth it!

Your Happy Place

Today, at a session with my posture coach, we kept tweaking to get me in the best position to work out on a machine that would lengthen my spine. After much ado, I finally hit the motherlode. He said, "you need to be in your happy place for it to work right." It was an aha moment for me, as a way to communicate the importance of nuance. Doesn't this apply to all things in life? It could be eating "just the right" food, sleeping in "just the right" bed, having your surroundings be "just the right" temperature...try applying this to things that seem small and insignificant. Your quality of life might just soar, without you doing much.

Mercury Retrograde

Mercury retrograde is an astrological event that happens thrice yearly. Whether you believe in astrology or not, you might want to pay attention to how things are going the next couple of weeks of your life. Mercury retrogrde lasts around 3 weeks each time, and is characterized by glitchy, stuck, problematic insidiousness that seems to hang up our lives. Examples are car trouble, scheduling glitches, an egg splattering on the floor, printer refusing to print, calls not being returned, etc. This month it began on Sept. 7, and will end on Sept. 29. If you have any entertaining mercury retrograde stories, let's hear it. Oh, in case you're interested, it is supposed to be a bad time to sign contracts. Somehow, just knowing about it allows me to brace myself when it comes. I can then sit back and watch the show with a degree of humor. Last week my car made a low-level jackhammer noise. It turned out to be the motor for an electric mesh shade for my rear window, that I didn't even know I had. I could have been using the shade all this time. Now that I know I have the shade, it's too costly to replace the motor, but in the big picture, I can deal! It's just Mercury retrogrde.

Puddle Jumping ~ A kid's gotta do what a kids gotta do

Today my grandson was running all around with his new green-light-flickering shoes. He stopped by a puddle, looked at me, and before I could respond, he jumped in it with such glee that I knew instantly he just had to do it. He was so pleased with himself. For him, water, any water, is for going in. He dips his chips in water, uses five straws, stays forever at the drinking fountain. He even dips his macaroni in water. I am sure he could organize his entire life around water. It is his thing. Period.

A Good Old Fashioned Block Party

Tonight was the 9th annual party of our one-block-long street. Each of our parties has been a big success. It helps to live on a block full of foodies, where hardly anyone ever moves away. The offerings tonight were perfect. And sitting around the firepit into the wee hours was so campy, especially when we all warmed our bare feet. We are keenly aware of how sacred this event is. If you have even a small organizing gene, good neighbors, and someone with an invitingly shaped driveway, I say go for it! We start at around 5 on a Saturday, and it has gone as late as 2AM. Our first party took a good bit of organizing and effort. Sinde then, it takes only minimal volunteer time for a few people each year. It is code to bring a dish that is homemade and known to be a crowd pleaser. Somewhere, under the radar...

Are you a movie fan?

Netflix is my favorite way to see films. If you're not already a Netflix subscriber, here is how it works. You sign up online. Once a member, you can see just about any movie in existence, with no hassles. You create an online queue of the movies you want to see. You choose how many DVD's you want to have out at one time. The more at once, the higher the cost. They mail you your first batch. As soon as you return each one in the post paid envelope provided, they send you the next one on the list.

As soon as I become aware of a film that interests me, I put it in my Netflix queue. That way, when it is released to DVD, I can be one of the first to view it, and it doesn't drop off my radar. If I have already seen it in the theatre, I just delete it from my Netflix queue. And if you are a fan of TV series shows, this is a way to view them commercial free, a year after they air on TV. One of my favorites is "24." It is so suspenseful that it is difficult to wait a week for another episode. Our record was 9 episodes in one night!

Paper Management

If a piece of paper is worth keeping, it is worth filing in a place where you can easily find it. My specialty is setting up user-friendly filing systems that are expandable and changable to encompass life as it is — and is — and is.

How to Recycle Things in Marin

It seems we all have objects we no longer need or use. Sometimes they are too big to put in the car (IF it will even fit), and take where? The dump? Thinking of it makes you get a headache, and is thus a deal breaker, no? This header is a link that will help you to find a new life for your unwanted things in Marin County. I can also recommend Craigslist as a website which makes it easy to give away something you don't want that could be used by someone else. Craigslist began in San Francisco and has since gained a strong hold in many US cities. So go to craigslist.com and punch in your city.

Those Unwanted Phone Calls

Get removed from insidioius telemarketing lists. Lately, these calls seem to be escalating. Try the National Do Not Call Registry. Good luck!

Foodies Unite

Eating is nirvana for a control freak. If you know what you like, and want to love each and every bite, you can do the research and ask all the questions you need to get it right just about every time. Here is my Yelp blog, where you can read upwards of 175 of my restaurant reviews.

Tuning into Nuance

Twilight is my favorite time of day. It is nice to see it out the window, but somehow, being "in" it is exceptional. When I'm outside in twilight, I feel an incomparable polar oneness with myself. So a lifelong mission of mine is to be outside during twilight every day. This is a good example of positively tuning into nuance. The essences of my life convince me that tuning into nuance is the deal maker or deal breaker for just about everything. Listening to our inner nuanced thoughts can serve to point us anywhere we want to be.