Tag: dreams

Sunday Sundries: sometimes I dream in paisley

I finished a mystery I was reading on Friday; I have unlimited respect for Louise Penny and her work. Her characters are like friends I rely on for humor, sanity, intelligence, integrity, and compassion. The most recent novel’s written with her usual deft ability to lure readers back to a world they’ve visited for twenty books. The plots can be heart-stopping, sometimes heartbreaking, but there’s comfort that somehow, all will be well in the end. This time was no exception except that The Grey Wolf ventured a little too close to a reality that frequently costs me sleep and peace of mind. Maybe because a lot of the current real world exhibits very little humor, sanity, intelligence, integrity, and compassion.

The next novel in the series is due by year’s end, and I hope to be a little better prepared in heart and mind. Maybe reality will cooperate and improve, as well.

After finishing Penny’s book, I looked forward to a very different novel for my next selection, the fifth in a historical fantasy/supernatural series, Deborah Harkness’s The Black Bird Oracle. I was racing through it before it came to a natural stopping place at my bedtime. I fell asleep easily, but the last section I’d read made its vivid way into my dreams with its concept of “bottled memories.” Literally, a human (or ghost, or witch, or vampire, etc.) can choose to pour their memories into a bottle and seal them inside before…well, whatever comes next.

What came next for me was a 4:30 a.m. wide-awakeness and seal-breaking on some of my own bottled memories. ETA: Over the following days, I published a series of posts that I later made private. If you read and commented on those, I can still see your comments and I thank you. I was grateful to have the opportunity to express thoughts and feelings about some of my memories.

This photo included items connected to memories in my bottle that became part of those now-private posts.

Mindful Monday


I got this beautiful image from Mindworks.org. I’m including the link because it’s always good to revisit guidance for improving mindfulness. Some of the words in the image are real challenges for me.

Last night, I was reading my Tom Robbins novel before bed and so much enjoying the euphoria of seeing someone put words together in all the right ways. I checked one of my social media accounts briefly before turning off the lights, commented on a post by someone (who I know only by being a fan of many decades), and my dreams wove crazy stories out of those two reading experiences. They included a song that I’ll now need to play to hear if my brain picked that particular song or its lyrics for my dream soundtrack for a reason.

Anyway, it all made me wake up in a good mood (plus there were two nice dogs snoozing next to me) but then…this…which I probably shouldn’t even post, but it speaks to some of my mindfulness challenges.

Oh, if only ones who told me some of my anxiety triggers would NEVER happen… At least the false idols will be taking good care of themselves.

I’ll be over here gutting deleting that chapter that’s given me so much trouble and trying not to think of real world nightmares for a while. Maybe I can put the words together in all the right ways.

Low Key Saturday

Today I didn’t color anything or reread anyone’s novels or rewatch any movies. I only reread the Book 7 manuscript of the Neverending Saga and resumed working on the chapter I’ve been stalled on for a while. There are no photos to illustrate that, or the dinner I cooked, which is noteworthy only because I cook so few meals these days. We’re eating light or picking up from restaurants (not fast food, which is even rarer than homecooked) this summer.

Maybe things are stalled at Houndstooth Hall because a few things are waiting for Mercury to go direct. I don’t mess around with Mercury. =)

I uploaded the cartoon below early in July but don’t think I ever shared it. Conventional wisdom has it that we don’t particularly enjoy hearing accounts of other people’s dreams. My own dreams have been busy, with very large casts, and I’ve kept them to myself. But imagine if you were a therapist…or went to a therapist, and… 🤣

This morning…

I felt like I dreamed for hours before I woke up, and they were among the most stressful dreams I can imagine having. (Maybe impacted by the New Moon? No idea.) I won’t get into details because I know nobody really cares about other people’s dreams, but by the time I woke up and started my day, I had a few symptoms of an anxiety attack. ONLY a few. I did take a half dose of a medicine I was prescribed (quite a while back, and which I rarely take), and then I spent a few hours doing what I think of as mindless work, aka, housework. Dusting, straightening up, cleaning bathrooms, a little mopping.

I also tried making a healthy, new-to-us frozen treat today. I wouldn’t say it’s a complete success, though it is tasty. With trial and error, I think it’ll be a good addition to summer.

Late in the day, the mail came, and my essential oils order was delivered. I’d been out of this blend, so today was a good day for it to arrive.

Stream of consciousness

Here’s a stream of consciousness-style post to show how my brain comes up with a blog post.


Watching an Instagram account where dolls are used to reenact scenes from TV shows and movies. Second customer in a fast food joint is portrayed by a BTS doll, Jimin. I remember the time I blogged a photo of one of my characters in the Neverending Saga as portrayed by a Jimin doll that I found on eBay for a few dollars. The doll came without any of his original clothes or accessories, so I had to make the outfit in the photo.

Sometime after that, I was in a Barnes & Noble close to my doctor’s office after an appointment, and there Jimin was again, all nice in the box, at a deeply discounted price. Even though I already had a Jimin doll, I really love this character, so I bought him.

Then I remembered that I’d since found the BTS dolls at Five Below, which means they were priced at $5 or less, except one of the dolls was missing. I got the ones they had, and Tom was kind enough to go to a couple of more Five Below stores closer to his workplace, but no luck. Sad face. Then I decided I couldn’t have everyone in the group except for one (even if I did have Jimin twins). Back to eBay, and I bought the doll I was missing at a reasonable price. Ordered, delivered, the group was reunited!

But I don’t think I ever blogged a photo of them, I thought. I should do that. But what kind of background would I give them?

I then wondered, as I do from time to time, whatever happened to the smoking jacket given as a gift to my father by his civilian staff, all Korean, after his last tour of duty in Korea. It would be a great background for the dolls but I don’t have it. But what DID ever happen to that smoking jacket…


I texted my brother. Yep, at some point after Daddy died, Mother gave it to David. He still has it. He even had a picture of it on his phone, and here’s a detail of the jacket. Funny that I remembered it as bright blue, but I’ve accumulated a lot more memories since the last time I saw it. Thanks, David! I told him I love that he has it.

[I briefly thought about a nap dream I had the other day that began with me dreaming I was taking a nap, woke up, turned over, and my father was standing in the room. He was in uniform, and he looked like he did when I was about seven, but I was adult me in the dream. The absolute joy I felt when I saw him there. “Daddy!” I said, jumped up, and hugged him. “You’re home!” The dream moved on to other things, but every time I think of it, I remember the happiness of seeing him.]

I told my brother that I, too, once had a sort of pajama jacket that Daddy brought back from Korea, and I had no idea where it went to over the years. Suddenly I was pretty sure I had a picture of one of my nieces wearing it in a silly photo shoot I did of nephews and nieces after they created costumes out of clothes from my closet (probably 1986). Here you see Billy Idol, Prince, and two babes who look like they could have been on “Mod Squad” in the 1970s. That babe on the far right is wearing the red and black PJ jacket I was talking about.

But I still hadn’t photographed the BTS crew. So I did, against some of the fabric Debby gave me at Christmas. The end.


BTS Idol K-Pop Dolls: Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jung Kook, Suga, V, and RM

Tiny Tuesday and Song Challenge: Day 26

A pair of tiny heart-shaped ruby earrings Tom gave me on some occasion probably in the 1990s.

Here I am, celebrating another turn around the sun today, and the song challenge is “a song that makes you think of falling in love.”

At my birthday party many years ago, a joint event with two other women with birthdays that same week and an open invitation to a horde of friends and acquaintances, theirs, mine, and ours, I danced for the first time with a man I’d only recently met. He seemed like one of the good guys, but I was coming off one of the worst years of my life, with terrible losses in my family, a broken relationship, some friend betrayals, and the consequences of many, many bad choices and bad judgments on my part. The last thing I wanted or needed was a relationship with a man, no matter how nice he was. I needed to deal with my messy life and make hard decisions about what to do next.

Two years later, I’d marry that good guy, and a few months after that, we would move to Houston. We’ve had quite a life together–the good, the bad, and the ridiculous–and I can’t imagine celebrating all the birthdays since I met him with anyone else.

I think Fleetwood Mac’s “Crystal” is the first song Tom and I danced to at my birthday party that night. He may remember differently–that’s just part of having a few decades together. =)

ETA: Coming back after the fact because of the dreams I had last night–so vivid that after the dream began, I woke up briefly, went back to sleep immediately, and the same dream picked up where it left off. It was about a key person in my life story and evoked an array of memories and feelings. Mostly it reminded me that sometimes it’s good not to get what we think we want and that we–I–need to acknowledge, to myself, the better things about my nature instead of being hard on myself for my mistakes and flaws.

I can’t write

Credit: CSA Images/CSA Images
Copyright: ©CSA Images/CSA Images

ETA: Before I woke up Sunday morning after I posted this, I dreamed. In the dream, I saw this typewriter and what was on the paper, then I saw that I had 30 comments. I was so shocked! It was like the days of yore either on LiveJournal or when I linked to my blog from Facebook and Twitter.

When I read the first comment, it said, “I know exactly what you’re talking about. It happens to me, too.” It was signed with one of my character’s names, but in my dream, I knew it wasn’t my character. Just a coincidence. I woke myself up and thought, Not your character and not a coincidence. You know who it was.

I do. ❤️

I customized my own meme

A lottery meme goes around from time to time, usually showing a room full of cats or dogs. I often have a room full of dogs and I’m NOT rich, so I decided to make my own version. My whole life, whenever anyone asked, What out-there thing would you do if you won the lottery?,” it’s always been this. (Sure, I hope I’d do good, too, but honestly, if I’m going to win millions, I want SOMETHING for me.)


I could get used to a chauffeur very quickly.