Wednesday, January 03, 2024

Odds and ends... mostly ODD.

I seem to be waking up at 2 AM every night unless I decide to take a sleeping pill.  I can usually go back to sleep when I wake up at ten o'clock and midnight (I go to bed at 8 PM in winter, when it's dark by then).  Yes, every two hours I wake up and go to the bathroom!  It's just another part of getting old for some of us.  I've learned how to relax though, when I lie in bed awake.  I have memorized passages from the Bible that I ponder as I say them to myself.  I often start with the Lord's Prayer, then go to the 23rd Psalm or the first Psalm.  I throw in some single verses I've learned over time, starting with Genesis 1:1.  Some of these I memorized as a child, but have had to re-memorize them.  I always go over the beatitudes in Matthew 5, and have memorized several of the verses that come after the beatitudes (salt and light... let your light so shine).

None of these make me go to sleep, but the words comfort me, and I can truly say I enjoy that time.

I get up at three most days and start my morning routine.  Bible reading for 20 or 30 minutes and then start the coffee.  While it is making, I do my Wordle for the day.  Yesterday I ruined my streak of 200; oh well, maybe this next streak will last all year.  No, it won't.  

Then I play Waffle, which my blogging friend in Arkansas told me about.  I do not do very well with it, but it's fun anyway and I can go ahead and finish it, even if I lose.  Last but not least, I go to Kappa Puzzles and do the word search.  I wasn't good at word searches even in my younger days, but everyone says we old folks should do puzzles to help our brains.  I have gotten better with practice, but I'm pretty sure I'm not any smarter.  When I started out, it was taking me 45 minutes or more.  Now it's more like 15 to 20.  I imagine many people could do it in less than 10.  There's also a crossword puzzle on Kappa that Cliff does sometimes, but I don't care for it.  I used to always do the crossword in the Kansas City paper, which was just right for me; I usually finished it all, but I had to work at it.  

One of my readers told me about Kappa puzzles, but I forget who she was.  I have learned all sorts of things from my readers.  I did a search of my blog and found it was a lady named Kaye who said she had been following me for years.  Are you there, Kaye?  It's me, Donna.  

I am reading a book now that I absolutely adore:  Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.  It's funny, it's real, and I have learned some things about myself while reading it.  It's the best book I've read in months.

That's all I have for today, except to tell you that I think I use too many semicolons in my writing, so I took three of them out, trading them for periods instead.  

Yes, I know this entry looks like I'm over-caffeinated this morning.  What you see is what you get.

13 comments:

  1. When we got the daily paper it contained a whole page of puzzles. I would do the word search and crossword puzzle. Then we changed our subscription to online with a physical paper on the weekend. There was still a whole page of puzzles, with TWO crosswords. Several months back the paper re-sized itself, so now there's only one crossword puzzle. Although I still enjoy doing it, it's printed in smaller font and very hard for me to read.

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    1. I miss newspapers like they used to be. I started my day with the Kansas City Star for many years.

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  2. I do my word and geography puzzles every day. (while drinking my coffee) 3 am?? That's early!

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  3. Hi Donna 🍀 Thought provoking entry. I swiped my way over to the library and borrowed the book. Isn't technology wonderful!
    Also enjoyed the Willie documentary.
    Kansas City. Late 70's. Backstage passes to Willie's 4th of July. Excellent concert.

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    1. We saw Willie in Kansas City in the 70's too.

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  4. I do the JUMBLE and WORDLE. I tried the Crosswords (the easier one) and it took me a bit of time.
    Thank you very much for the book recommendation. I've put it on my HOLD list at the library.

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    1. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do. I have even learned some things about myself.

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  5. I’ll try to find that book. Thanks for letting us know what you’re reading. I do Wordle and waffle. Ingrid, a smart Grand, does connections. I tried it today and may do it. It’s finding things that have a relationship so it’s not spelling. Happy 2024. Hope we’re both here in 2025.

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    1. I'll bet we'll see another year through, unless the Russians bomb us.

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  6. Anonymous6:20 PM

    Hey Donna!! I'm still here and glad that Cliff likes the crosswords puzzles I told you about.
    I have enjoyed reading your blog for years. Kaye

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    1. Glad to know you're still around.

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  7. When I was having acupuncture done, I was told that waking up at the same time in the night meant your yin or yang or something like that was off (I forget which) and you were having too much of one thing and not enough of another. It means your liver chi is off, I think. It also could indicate some kind of spiritual awakening. Or it could just mean that's when you have to pee again. I can't imagine getting up at 3 a.m. Yikes.

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    1. Even working at my last job at Kohls Distribution Center in 2000, I was always awake by four. As a child I got up early all the time, and at that time I only went to the bathroom once at night, if at all. Now it isn't a big deal, I don't have to do anything if I don't want to, and it's OK if I fall asleep on the couch. When I was working, I did wish I could sleep longer because I was walking very fast all day, but now I don't care. And I love my alone time in the morning.

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