You may have noticed that I’m not much given to swearing, at least not in the blog. Close friends and, I’ll admit even my kids, will tell you differently. Over there in the “real world” I can let loose a string of curses like the ones my adolescent friends and I used to seek out in the dictionary, even though we knew from previous investigations that Merriam-Webster’s did not provide a definition for the f-word or the s-word. We had to make do with “boob,” and “ass.” Oh and “hell”. That was definitely a swear word. Remember 7734? Too cool for school!

And here we are, sixty years later, and hesitating before speaking a slang for feces. Let’s all start using merde; the French term sounds so much more elegant. But then again, they bring their tiny pups in purses to the Paris cafes. Surely those little canines excrete only the most elegant little merdes.

Where am I going with all this meandering through dictionaries and childhood dirty words, you’re wondering. I hope not to 7734.

I’ll just put the merde out there. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve felt low energy, apathetic and sleepy. Oh, and mustn’t forget the pain, mostly still in my left leg. I can’t do much to increase my energy levels – caffeine just makes me jumpy. The absence of interest in pretty much everything prevents me from doing something as seemingly effortless as watching TV or reading. And of course there’s the Parky Paradox – My left leg is stiff and tickly and icky which means I should be exercising more, not less, in order to slow disease progression. But i Just Don’t Feel Lke It. And so now, ladies and gents, with Parky Pain currently and thankfully in the process of leaving the building (and don’t you just love how easily Parkinson’s lends itself to an abundance of alliteration?), I have dragged myself around my little apartment all day, and it’s only 3:00 pm and I believe I am about to do something revolutionary. I am going to relax. I will read my book group’s selection of a terrific collection of short stories by Kate Atkinson. I might knit for a bit.

Now what if – gasp! – I were to build some R&R into my daily routine. I’ve begun that process with a renewed commitment to my meditation practice. You could even say I’m living proof that people can make changes, even after 70. They just need to step over the merde.

Parky Conversations is coming soon – for real! Projected launch date early September. If you’d like a taste, here’s the trailer for Parky Conversations!

And here’s an opportunity to support quality, informative and yes, entertaining programming like my blog and podcast. I’d be grateful for gifts to Go Fund Me in any amount. Thank you for your consideration.

Recommendation:

ATTENTION YARNIES (aka knitters and crocheters!) Shelley Brander, of KnitStars fame, introduces us to a true Knit Star. Here is the story of an amazing nonprofit organization that provides “soap sacks,” crafted by volunteers and donated to people at food pantries, human service organizations, and veteran’s agencies- folks who lack access to something most of us take for granted – a clean bar of soap. Shelley tells the story of Stacy Wiener whose discovery of this situation led her to found Soap S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness.

Knitters and crocheters! Have you been trying to come up with a use for that ball of hot pink cotton yarn from 1998? Now you have one!