Bees and Wasps are not my friends. I’m not one of those people who freaks out among bees and wasps, swiping their hands through the air. I just ignore bees and wasps. I’m also not one of those people who is dangerously allergic to bees and wasps, but I do have a moderate reaction when stung. I haven’t been stung by a bee or wasp for 20 years or so at least, but this month I ended up getting stung twice! First a bee got stuck inside my sandal at the park one day, and then just last night I was picking black currants and didn’t realize I was next to a large wasp’s nest in a bush until a nasty wasp got my elbow. In both cases I’ve had a lot of swelling and nastiness. The bee sting took about 10 days to heal, so I know there’s hope for this painful elbow too. Regardless, I refuse to become a bee-swatter. (No offense if you react that way . . . I jump and scream whenever I see a snake and I can’t shake that).
I value my garbage disposal way more than I ever thought. This became apparent during our long power outage. Really, it is a terrific little machine that gets overlooked in everyday life.
I’m trying (without a lot of success) to learn to incorporate varying parameters to my practicing.
I learned about Masada, where King Herod the Great (such a creepy, nasty guy) built a gigantic fortress on a mountain, which later became an important refuge for a group of Jewish rebels opposing Rome. I was inspired to learn more after reading Alice Hoffman’s The Dovekeepers. It was a very interesting book.
The sound of chainsaws put me on edge! Hearing other people work makes me feel terrible that they are working and I’m not working, even if I am working doing something different. It’s very much like the sound of lawnmowers.
I’m learning that asking people for help is not always such a bad thing. I hate asking people for help, even for teensy tiny little things. I get clammy and my stomach turns up in knots, but so often the person I’m asking isn’t bothered by it at all and the solution is often easy and fast.
I’m continuing to learn some basic Russian words and phrases. This week I’m learning the words for people in families (mother, son, sister, brother, husband, wife, etc.) and numbers from 1-12. Listening and understanding comes way easier for me than speaking, reading and writing.
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