5 Acres of Solitude

Last week I had a date with two of my favorite gal pals. I’ve been wishing for a date with a good looking male whose eyes meet mine across a crowded room. But my date with Darcy and Marti did not disappoint. We drove into Austin to see”Eat, Pray. Love” and enjoy margherita pizza at the Brick Oven. I loved the movie, laughed a lot and even got to pick the wine. How could a date have been better??? I know. It could have been in some fabulous place besides Austin. Preferably  outside of the state of Texas.  My last adventure trip was to the Yucatan four summers ago. Before I get too set in my ways, I’m hopping on the adventure train as soon as one comes my way. Maybe someone will pay me to make the documentary of the story. Or at least write the book. TeeHee

Love, Lynne

I got my self to my cousin’s wedding in VA and back home with only a small hitch. I should not have relied on the rental car people and maps to direct me from the Baltimore airport to Winchester VA. I was routed in the wrong direction by the nice guy in the ticket booth as I was leaving the airport terminal. Ended up going south when I should have been going west. Not to worry. I had plenty of time to get to Winchester and the drive through the VA countryside was beautiful. I refuse to use one of those talking guidance things. MapQuest directions are hard to read while I am driving, but I can manage. Besdies I love to stop at Tourist Bureaus. They usually have coffee, clean restrooms and nice ladies who write good directions in big print.

The wedding was perfect. Well planed and well executed for one thing. I got to meet interesting people and visit with folks I’d met 2 years ago at a Colorado wedding. I wore all the clothes I packed, ate great food, shared stories and laughed a lot. Even got to take a field trip to the new American Indian museum in DC on Sunday. I heard later that it was the hottest day on record in Washington. Returned to a cool front in TX. Been watching movies and enjoying the rain ever since.

Love, Lynne

Great relief abounds. I received a letter from the court clerk saying my jury services were no longer needed. The defendant pleaded guilty and bargained for a life sentence without parole. It was an ugly crime. Listening to the testimony would have been like a nasty nightmare. Although I was looking forward to the voir dire. Filling out the questionnaire had been fun. I’ve never been asked what I think about so many things. More questions in the voir dire might have been fun too. Thinking about the experience certainly has been enjoyable. I envisioned the judge and lawyers wanting my opinions on even more things: the public schools, our healthcare system, environmental policy, TX politics, special education. Then they ask me what I would do to change the world. I wonder what I would have said.

Love you all. Thanks for your comments.

Love, Lynne

The 15 page questionnaire was to be read by the lawyers prior to our scheduled voir dire. I’d never been asked such questions and enjoyed searching my conscious for the answers. Are you a Conservative or Liberal? ( knee jerk liberal) What do you think about defenders/prosecutors? (not much) What do you think of psychologists/psychiatrists? (everyone should have one on call) What work would you do if you weren’t doing what you do? (be a movie producer) Every chance I got I reinforced the notion that I am a flaming liberal who has little regard for the TX criminal justice system in general and who hates the death penalty in particular. It will be interesting to see what happens. I left for the day with a schedule conflict. I was supposed to return for voir dire the day I return from my cousin’s wedding in Virginia. A nice clerk lady called me yesterday to reschedule. I was glad. But I had been hoping the judge would call to say they had read my questionnaire and decided they didn’t need a nut case like me.

Love, Lynne

If I paid attention to the news at all, I probably would have ignored a jury summons on Wednesday. I would have been among the 500 who knew that the summons was for a capital murder trial being held in my county on a change of venue. But NOOOO…..I was among the 300 souls who were herded like cattle through the rows of seats in the auditorium of the new performing arts center. It’s a beautiful place……..and air conditioned. I was happy about that. But I wasn’t happy when the judge said it would take three weeks to pick a jury and two for the trial. Yikes. What about summer vacation plans? After a long line of people presented their excuses to the judge, he released the old, infirm, illiterate and pregnant. Those of us planning summer trips and doctor’s appointments stayed. With a slightly sympathetic tone he said he would do what he could to accommodate folks with conflicts. Then with the tone of a stern father he reminded us that he WILL seat a jury this summer and that it WILL come from the remaining panel of about 250 people. I kept hoping he would say, “Oh yeah….those of you who hate the TX death penalty are free to go.” Didn’t happen. We were given a 15 page questionnaire and told to come back in two hours. And if we decided not to come back, he would send the sheriff after us.

Love, Lynne

Here I am trying to remember how to add a photo to my blog………..if it happens, the picture is from the platform of the Adult Playscape (aka tree house) that is being built in my forest. It’s gonna be a place to sit among the birds. I love living in an aviary.

Drats……….didn’t work. Got a fatal error. I am out of memory. Not what I wanted to know.

Love, Lynne

OKay…………here I am writing a post to show Dawn I learned something in my blog lesson yesterday. She has done some fancifying of my blog and I need to know what’s different. One thing is………I think I’m going to be able to send pictures right here…….in this spot. All I have to do is find my photos on my new computer. That’ll be my goal for the day. Especially since my goal for yesterday…….find my tax bill…..didn’t happen. What is it about looking for stuff?? There are learnings in the quest, I know that for sure. Thanks for your comments to my writings. And thanks to Dawn for her blog inspirations. That picture at the top is really my back yard. Cool, huh????

Love, Lynne

One more week of work and then I’m off for the holidaze until Jan. 5. I do love the public school perks. This year I am moving my stuff from the storage locker to my new house. I’m not saying I’m moving in …………seems like such a remote possibility. For now I am focused on closing up my storage locker. My plan is to cull stuff once again before it comes into the house. If I have no use for it, I’m not keeping it……….she says determinedly. I also said I’d never move into an unfinished house. I also said I’d never work with kids. Hummmm………….The house is beautiful, I must say so myself. All the different kinds of wood make it very special. Makes me smile every time I walk in. I love visitors, by the way.Love, Lynne 

Thanks again to Lloyd for making me look at this lazy streak I seem to be harboring/denying. Upon reflection I asked, If I have a lazy streak, what does it look like? What am I doing when I’m being lazy? Watching tv was the first answer. Then came Watching tv when Spitit says turn it off. Smoking when Spirit says No, No, No. Eating fried chicken when Spirit says no again. Conclusion……..I am being lazy when I am not following Spiritual Guidance. Which is what Scott Peck was saying in The Road Less Traveled (not People of the Lie…….he was saying something else in that book. I misswrote in my last blog entry.)Sooooo………yesterday Spirit said wash windows, so I washed windows in my new green house. Felt good. Looked good. Today, Spirit said write in your blog, so I did. I’ll send a photo of my clean windows when I remember how……….Love, Lynne 

I wonder why it has taken me so long to post another message on my blog………if you know me very well you probably know what I mean when I say…I’ve been resisting Guidance. Spirit keeps telling me to write. I keep finding other things to do. All interesting topics for written material, by the way. Traveling with book goup, raising consciousness with Eckhart Tolle and Oprah, connecting to Spirit with LaRue and Vanessa, working in the schools, producing my documentary, building my house in the woods…..for example. I am committed to writing daily pages in my journal. That’s getting to be fun. Maybe writing in my blog will get to be fun, too.

Love, Lynne