Saw an unusual sight this evening, as I was leaving church after our small (three of us) midweek service: an older man in Bermuda shorts, carrying a small white dog across a field. The dog was sitting upright in his arms, and they both looked calm and relaxed in the twilight.
No, I don't think it means anything. But I wish I could draw it.
Carry on.

It's All About the Look--Friday Five

In the throes of cleaning closets, Sally pauses to ask:


1. Are you a hoarder, or are you good at sorting and clearing?
I'm not really a hoarder, but it takes me a long time to get around to sorting and clearing. I usually wait until I get a semi-annual phone call from Purple Heart, since they will pick up right at your door. It's easier to put stuff on the doorstep than to find time to put it in the car and haul it somewhere else.

2. What is the oddest garment you possess and why?
I don't think I have anything really odd. How about a threadbare pair of brown corduroy bellbottoms, circa 1972? I can barely get my leg into them now, but they remind me of all the good things about my high school years (very few of which had to do with high school itself).

3. Do you have a favourite look/ colour?
Nearly everything in my closet (and in my house) is some shade of purple, blue, rose, mauve, or gray. That makes coordinating easy.

4. Thrift/ Charity shops, love them or hate them?
I'm happy to donate, but don't like to shop there.

5. Money is no object, what one item would you buy?
A gorgeous cocktail dress suitable for dinner or the ballet, that fits perfectly on the figure I have right now.

I still have three different sizes in my closet, but I did purge the closet recently. The things that are there now are things I actually wear--along with some favorites that I hope to wear again someday soon!

RIP Sky Saxon

I just found out that Sky Saxon, the lead singer of the Seeds, died on the same day as Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. The Seeds were the type of mid-60's glorified garage band that made my mother yell, 'TURN OFF THAT HONKY-TONK!!" Their biggest hit was "Pushin' Too Hard", and I also remember a song called "The Wind Blows Your Hair". After the 60's, Sky joined a cult called The Source Family and moved to Hawaii. He kept making music, though, and oddly, he died in Austin.

I'm sure there are better videos of "Pushin' Too Hard" available, but I'm posting this one because it made me laugh (which I needed to do today), and because this is my blog, and I can. :) Enjoy it! It's gassy!!

Uh...no.

The mayor of Gary, Indiana says that Michael Jackson's memorial service in Gary will be "fit for the prince of peace."

News flash: That title is already taken.

Friday Five: Talkin' 'Bout...Pop Music

Mary Beth says:
Happy Friday to you all! The sad news of Michael Jackson's untimely death has me thinking about music and its effects on us - individually, as cultures, as generations. Let's think about the soundtracks of our lives... 1) What sort of music did you listen to as a child - this would likely have been determined or influenced by your parents? Or perhaps your family wasn't musical...was the news the background? the radio? Singing around the piano?
I wouldn't say it was determined or influenced by my parents! By the time I was seven or eight years old, my little transistor radio was usually under my pillow at night. I adored the Beatles, of course...the Rolling Stones were a little scary...for some reason the Dave Clark Five were never really on my radar. A few years later, I used to stay up late listening to a disc jockey named Kris Stevens on WLS in Chicago (a clear channel station--it could be heard all over the midsection of the country, I suppose). By then I had moved on to Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors--and, oh yeah, the Monkees...

2) Going ahead to teenage years, is there a song that says "high school" (or whatever it might've been called where you lived) to you? Hmmm..."Stairway to Heaven", maybe (reminds me of a boy I was absolutely crazy about in 1972)? "Maggie May"? I think more in terms of singers and bands I loved than of specific songs, though. It was the heyday of Elton John, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Dan Fogelberg...such memories. I also discovered Dylan's 1960's music for the first time, and that was a huge part of my high school soundtrack.

3) What is your favorite music for a lift on a down day? (hint: go to www.pandora.com and type in a performer/composer...see what you come up with!)
See #2! All of the above! We do love the music we grew up with.

4) Who is your favorite performer of all time?
Answering this question is simply not possible. Dylan? The Beatles? I love so many. As far as favorite live performers, I remember awesome shows by Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Joni Mitchell...In Memphis in 1974 I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd steal an arena show right out from under Eric Clapton's nose. A great concert.

5) What is your favorite style of music for worship?
Traditional choral music. I love to sing Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tallis, Byrd.

Bonus if you include a video of any of the above!
This is what Elton and his band looked and sounded like the first time I saw them in concert, about a year after this 1970 BBC performance of "Burn Down the Mission" (Tumbleweed Connection forever!!). My best friend Joy and I had rushed the front of the stage along with everyone else, and I got to shake hands with Dee Murray, the bass player!

Beyond my powers

My coworkers and I are still puzzling over an unusual communique received today: a hastily scrawled note on a doctor's prescription pad, requesting,"Please evaluate ________ for speech and personality delay."

If I knew an effective treatment for "personality delay", I'd be a wealthy woman.

Unexpected guest

I opened the front door a few minutes ago and discovered this little visitor. About two seconds after I took this picture, I looked up in time to see an irate mama jay diving straight at my head! I got back inside in a hurry! According to our local wildlife rehab center, babies like this are fine right where they are; they are learning to fly, and their parents continue to feed and protect them. Cats beware!

There are lots of babies around now. I wish we'd been able to get some good pictures of the five little barn swallows that have been growing up right outside my supervisor's office window. Some days we don't get much done, because we're all in his office watching the birds! Four of the five have been making short forays to the nearby telephone wires, so I think they may all be gone by Monday.

At last

For several years I have hoped and planned to phase out my part-time private practice, and now I'm in the process of doing just that. After nearly ten years, next Friday will be my last day to see private clients, and at the end of the month I'm moving out of my office. I do so look forward to saying goodbye to managed care hassles and wondering if/when I'll be paid, goodbye to sitting and waiting for people who don't show, goodbye to the isolation and, yes, loneliness that can be part of a mental health private practice. The enjoyment I've received there--for example, the pleasure of conducting evaluations that are like solving a mystery or an intricate puzzle--is available at my "day job" too, along with a steady paycheck and supportive coworkers. I had supportive officemates at the practice, too, but spending all day behind closed doors with one's clients usually precludes more than a quick hello on the way to the waiting room.

Closing my practice has been a goal for several years, but every change involves mixed feelings. Ten years is more than long enough to spend on something I haven't really enjoyed. However, I'm not sorry I did it, and I won't say I'll never have a private practice again. But even if I should choose to get back into private practice in the future, in a few years most of my testing kits and materials will be obsolete. I decided to sell what I could, and placed an online classified ad where other local psychologists would see it. This morning a young psychologist from across town came to my office and got a great deal on some of my equipment. I know selling this stuff is the wisest thing to do, but when I handed over my WISC-IV kit, which I've probably used about 100 times, I felt like I was selling a puppy. I hope she gives it a good home!