Focused at Fifty

like reading this again when I am settling down in the evening to write with a beer, glass of wine, or bourbon by my side. "Filled with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visitors clamber, Through the chamber of my brain - Quaintest thoughts - queerest fancies, Come to life and fade away; What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today."  - Edgar Allan Poe

"Parvin State Park" When I hike, my mind wanders. I was in the end stretch of a 7 mile hike on the Elk Trail in Elk County, PA when I thought back to one of the greatest lessons by my father that I have ever learned. Ironically on the Elk Trail, I saw no elk. I saw signs of elks: their scat, their prints in the mud, but no elk. I did see elk in pretty much everyone's front yard in Benezette and Weedville, PA though. The elk, as it seems, like to hang out in yards filled with grass, lazily munching away. Back to the lesson from my father, it was and to this day, a memorable and important one. It stayed with me because it rattled my core. My father was disappointed in me. I learned from it and he forgave me. For that I am thankful. And I never forgot the lesson he taught me. I was in Cub Scouts as a young boy. Went through the Webelos (between 10-12 yrs of age) and then onto Boy Scouts for a couple years. Dropped out. Wasn't for me. Moved on with life... ha-...

"Miss Moxie Don't Care About Adulting"   I  put up a post on Facebook this evening where I stated "Not looking for sympathy ... maybe a lil. There are weeks I just don't feel like I do ADULTING well. :( " I feel like I need to elaborate FOR ALL OF US! It's is SO TOUGH! AND .. The kicker is that I DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS!!!! lol How do YOU FOLKS do it??? With the immediate response on Facebook, I knew I needed to write a blog post about it. I've been enjoying myself so maybe the gin will help. LOL My Nana once said to me "Gin is the Devil's drink, and tonight I'm visiting the Devil!" Ha-ha, hopefully I won't be visiting the Devil tonight, just a little honesty and then bed. It is really tough being an adult or ADULTING as we say these days. SO TOUGH this week. I find myself wanting to go back to the simplicity of my 20s. Now overall I have it very lucky. I have a wonderful home, stable great (sometimes) job, and an...

Miss Moxie is not helping me. After staring at the pile of paperwork on my desk at home, I grew frustrated over my pack-rat self. I was determined to change my ways!! Time to shred and purge! I clip articles hoping to read them, collect brochures from places I wanna visit, rip recipes out I wanna make, save birthday cards from years ago, etc. My Mom saved everything so I know she is who I got this “urge to save” from. And then there are the magazines and books I think I am going to read someday... Any magazines around the house I try and toss or forward onto someone after I’ve read them pretty thoroughly. Books or magazines I haven’t read 'Im trying to be more proactive and donate them to friends, family, or a library. If I have not read those clipped articles in a year, I toss ‘em. A couple I kept and moved them from the pile to my nightstand or magazine rack in the bathroom. Ha-ha. Perfect night time or “private” bath time reading. J   ...

This has always moved me.  You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive. by Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet and activist

The Devil's Snack I had a tough commute tonight. I hit rush hour which extended my normal commute of 1 hour to just under 2 hours. It wasn't an accident thank God. It wasn't construction. It was just blasted traffic! Grrr. Not even anything crazy to look at. Prior to hitting the jam, I ended up stopping at the local quick gas/coffee/convenience store right before the highway. Picked up the necessities: gas, coffee, and a snack for the ride home. In this case, it was a 14.5 oz bag of my favorite childhood munchies, BUGLES! OH GOD I loved them!!! Well I hit major traffic and everything stopped. I had already had a handful of the Bugles. They were sitting on the passenger seat JUST STARING AT ME. I mean like just mocking me, tempting me to eat them.  Ok I just had one hand full, then another, and still ANOTHER. By the time I hit Shartlesville.... yes that's the name LOL, I ate 90% of the bag. So what did I do, I asked Google how many calories wer...

  "Miss Moxie" The writing contest for the "Marvellous Tiny Tales" has a second part which I will be entering as well. Remember from the first part, the story has to be 3 sentences long, the more odd and quirky the better! Even if I don't win, it has been a fun writing exercise. Here are the selections I have been tooling with. Let me know which ones you like. "Miss Moxie's Other Plans" While I was immersed in a favorite novel, Moxie the Cat had other plans for me that bedtime which included lounging on my chest. The book shall wait until another evening as Miss Moxie apparently is not a fan of Hemingway. She has won again. ******************************************************************************** "Country Drive" Driving with windows down through the countryside on a sunny September day, Barkley passed old stone houses, farms and fields as far as the eye could see. Up and over meandering streams and through...