This might be lengthy...

" All in favor, say EYE!"

A little more than a week ago I had an event. I was watching TV and on the screen, a car went very fast. Suddenly my eyes started giving me a super fast slideshow. I sat on the edge of my chair and looked off in another direction, closed my eyes keeping them closed for a while. When I next opened them I looked to the side, away from the screen and I still experienced a little jumpiness in my vision. As you might imagine this was quite unsettling. I called the doctor and found out that she wasn't in for a few days. When I could get in, I told her about the event. She said the first thing that we should do is a visual test to find out if it's my eyes, ears, or brain. I called Wolfe Clinic right away and told them that my medical doctor wanted me to be seen and they got me in that day. I had been struggling with some dizziness, very minor dizziness for a couple of years. In fact, I gave up riding a bicycle because of it. When they started doing the exam I discovered I had very little clear vision in my left eye. It was as if I were looking at a foggy day. After the exam, they tell me my vision is very good in both eyes. He said he found a little bit of scar tissue in my left eye along the edge and didn't think it was that bad! However, he did say that it has been his experience that what may not look bad to him can look very bad to the patient. He suggested we do some lasering and see if it helps. It only takes about 5 minutes and that is when I fully realized how terrible my vision had been for a couple of years! The last time I had an exam was in Texas and I knew at that time that my vision was not good on the left side. I told the doctor that but he said it wasn't bad enough to do anything about yet but maybe in a year. Well, it was bad and he had no idea!. My vision is now so clear it is as startling as it was when I first had the cataracts removed! Everything is crystal clear. And even better, the mild dizziness has gone away. It was more of an uneasiness than dizziness. I was not aware of the many ways it was affecting me until it was gone. Everything is easier now. I can walk when it is dark without feeling I need to hold on to something. Before, no matter the task, I needed more light. I have a new lease on life! What a surprise.

When I had the “event” I wanted to google it and could not decide what to call it. I landed on “visual dizziness”. 

This is what I found; Visual vertigo differs slightly from conventional vertigo. Instead of being associated with inner ear problems, it is closely associated with a condition called Binocular Vision Dysfunction, or BVD for short. Visual vertigo occurs when there is too much visual stimulation for your brain to cope.

Now I can cope!

Worried about your sleep pattern?

Maybe you shouldn't!

by Jeremy D. Johnson on August 25, 2013 in stories

8 hour sleeping is a modern invention.

Imagine you are a denizen of the 18th century. It’s just past 8:30 P.M., you’ve got your night-cap on. You blow out your candles and fall asleep to the smell of the wax and the wick, which gently fills the air around your bed. Some hours pass. 2:30 AM. You awaken, grab your coat, and visit the neighbors because they, too, are up. Doing quiet reading, prayer, or even having sex. Well, apparently before the age of electricity, sleeping twice a night was completely ubiquitous.

Back in those times, we slept twice a night, getting up for an hour or two for recreation before heading back to bed until dawn.

From Slumberwise.com:

The existence of our sleeping twice per night was first uncovered by Roger Ekirch, professor of History at Virginia Tech.

His research found that we didn’t always sleep in one eight hour chunk. We used to sleep in two shorter periods, over a longer range of night. This range was about 12 hours long, and began with a sleep of three to four hours, wakefulness of two to three hours, then sleep again until morning.

References are scattered throughout literature, court documents, personal papers, and the ephemera of the past. What is surprising is not that people slept in two sessions, but that the concept was so incredibly common. Two-piece sleeping was the standard, accepted way to sleep.

“It’s not just the number of references – it is the way they refer to it, as if it was common knowledge,” Ekirch says.

An English doctor wrote, for example, that the ideal time for study and contemplation was between “first sleep” and “second sleep.” Chaucer tells of a character in the Canterbury Tales that goes to bed following her “firste sleep.” And, explaining the reason why working class conceived more children, a doctor from the 1500s reported that they typically had sex after their first sleep.

Ekirch’s book At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past is replete with such examples.

But just what did people do with these extra twilight hours? Pretty much what you might expect.

Most stayed in their beds and bedrooms, sometimes reading, and often they would use the time to pray. Religious manuals included special prayers to be said in the mid-sleep hours.

Others might smoke, talk with co-sleepers, or have sex. Some were more active and would leave to visit with neighbours.

As we know, this practice eventually died out. Ekirch attributes the change to the advent of street lighting and eventually electric indoor light, as well as the popularity of coffee houses. Author Craig Koslofsky offers a further theory in his book Evening’s Empire. With the rise of more street lighting, night stopped being the domain of criminals and sub-classes and became a time for work or socializing. Two sleeps were eventually considered a wasteful way to spend these hours.

The science seems to back up our history books. In a 4-week study with 15 men living with restricted daylight hours, something strange started to happen. After catching up on their “sleep debt” – a common state of affairs for most of us – the participants began to wake up in the middle of the night:

They began to have two sleeps.

Over a twelve hour period, the participants would typically sleep for about four or five hours initially, then wake for several hours, then sleep again until morning. They slept not more than eight hours total.

The middle hours of the night, between two sleeps, was characterized by unusual calmness, likened to meditation. This was not the middle-of-the-night toss-and-turn that many of us experienced. The individuals did not stress about falling back asleep, but used the time to relax.

Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford, points out that even with standard sleep patterns, this night waking isn’t always cause for concern. “Many people wake up at night and panic,” he says. “I tell them that what they are experiencing is a throwback to the bi-modal sleep pattern.”

Although the article mentions there are no benefits for sleeping twice a night, it’s difficult to imagine there wouldn’t be some major effects on our daily consciousness. How much would we benefit from a few hours of “unusual calmness, likened to meditation”? Seriously. I haven’t tried “bi-modal” sleep, but I think many of us, including myself, have stumbled into it. Our maddeningly busy digital schedules prevent us from considering the possibility, and benefits, of interloping with the sidereal realms of consciousness for more than an 8-hour “sleep debt” crash.

But we can’t go back to a pre-electric lifestyle of early-to-bed, early-to-rise. Yet, maybe we can utilize this knowledge to enhance our quality of life, and open us up to alternative modes of mind and time.

The Years After...

What does one do in the years after you sell your RV? Pretty much what you did before you sold it! Butch golfs, we both play pool and I have about 3 craft things I can turn to if I can find the time. 

I have kept all my craft supplies from all three crafts, Swedish weaving, beading, and Diamond Art and the plan has always been to pick them up again. I am currently working on a Diamond Art project of coasters and am seriously considering starting a Swedish weaving project, especially since the Farmers Almanac says South Texas is going to have a cold winter. Doing a Swedish weaving project in hot weather is not all that pleasant, depending on the size of it.

A pair of our RVing friends have recently had a snafu with their RV and it is going to take some months to get it repaired so they have moved into an apartment. I enjoyed reading about Jeanie and Eldo's adventures. You might like to follow them as well.https://whereseldo.blogspot.com/.../august-in-elkhart.html  Jeannie and I met very briefly when we were in Michigan. I mean very brief...like 15 minutes or so. You know how sometimes you click with a person and feel like you have known them for years. Well, Jeannie is one of those. Butch and I had no idea how wide our circle of friends would become when we took up RVing. It has become one of the sweetest parts of it.

Classmates Book

 Butch's classmate, Clair Tomlinson, wrote a book available on Amazon Books. He has been telling us about it for a long time and now here it is.

"Raspberry Ridge Publishing is pleased to announce the publication of a true story that remained untold for 54 years. The author is Jefferson High School graduate Clair Tomlinson, now in his 80s and living in Arizona. Clair writes vividly about an event at his job site in California in 1969. Photographs, 38 pages. Available at Amazon Books, searched by title. An unforgettable story."

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CF48TZZ6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2P4E4CZ3LY4BC&keywords=the+death+of+willie+quinn&qid=1691597369&rnid=2941120011&s=books&sprefix=%2Caps%2C99&sr=1-1

OK wise woman!

 What are you going to chat about today? In the old time days, I would post pictures, new and old, when I hit a writer's block. So excuse me while I go take a look...

Look what I found. And the time of year is perfect for it. I love this recipe.

To be continued...

Marlene(Butch's sister) is on the beach in South Padre.

Mickey and I were in Denver. I have always loved this picture of both of us. The year would have been in the mid '90's.

Butterfly on the bike trail. I did not take my camera all the time on the trail because it is heavy for one and I usually had reasons I wanted to get back home. Every now and then I would take my camera and shoot photos of whatever might catch my eye.

And that takes care of this time. Butch is golfing with Jason. I just finished vacuuming a half our ago...see you next time!

What a difference a day makes!

 A little more than a year ago the rumors were flying fast and furious that a Cement plant facility was proposed near Trophy Gardens. Nobody wanted this except the cement people. Across the street from Trophy is an elementary school; the proposed place was next door to the school. The cement folk did not win on their plea for a facility. Yeah for us!

I was much surprised to see there is a new proposal and again, Yeah for us! They are going to build a park on that land.

Here is a drawing of the proposed park.

I don't know who will have access but hopefully, they will let us have use of it.

Who knew?

 The rest of the country has been roasting but the upper midwest has been relatively cool by comparison. First thing you know, we will be the mecca of the country as folks down south and west try to avoid the extreme heat. I am not sure we are geared up for it although Iowa does handle RAGBRAI very well.

We are back into our usual routine after Pete and Jerilynn moved out. They were here just long enough for it to seem strange that they are not here. When they were here it actually felt like it does when we were in South Texas. The neighbors are close and interaction takes place daily. Butch and I adapt well to most situations so we will this time too.

Recent Photos:

On a warm and humid day, my daily glass of pickle juice was sweating and created this look that intrigued me. Pickle juice you might ask? Yes, and I find it quite tasty and refreshing. I dilute it with ice and water, 3/4 water to 1/4th pickle juice. Oddly I am not fond of pickles.

This is a sight we pass by on the bike trail. I have taken many photos of it in the past. The pampas grass in the foreground with the tree and the field of corn/soybeans in the background.

Dug In

 This past week I really dug in and did things I have had on my todo list all summer but I never seemed to get to it. There is always something to do. That is just life. But now my list is greatly reduced and it feels good!

We hit the ground running when we arrived in the Spring and I set aside things, like taking care of the many items we had to bring in from the motorhome when we sold it. Having an excess of tubs that needed to find a new home or the contents done away with etc.  Low and Behold! Decisions have been made and executed!

The house is as clean as it has been in a very long time. I know it won't last. That is a truth of housekeeping that is constant. Right now, I am enjoying the moment.

Yesterday, my friend Mickey and I toured Jefferson. We drove around the old neighborhoods we lived in as youngsters and then as young married couples. We drove out to the new facility for orphaned cats and dogs and looked it over. It is plush! I said," With this fine a place to live why would they ever want to leave."

Some new rentals are on the agenda to be built and we looked at the proposed areas chosen to build the housing. It was a fun time reminiscing and looking at things with new eyes.

Shoes

Our Missouri Kids

On vacation. I snipped a few of my faves.

Little Leo ready to hike?

Amanda and Leo

  

Where's Leo?

Amanda, Leo, Susan, and Elise!

 

Ragbrai 2023

 RAGBRAI

Registers/annual/great/bicycle/ride/across/Iowa

This event happens to go through Jefferson this year, in fact 2 blocks from our house. Keri and I passed on walking the bike trail this morning as getting across the highway to get on the trail would have been nearly impossible. I have photos. Butch and I walked down to the trailhead to see the swarm. So here are the photos. Keep in mind there are no duplicates. These riders had biked from Carroll Iowa to Jefferson Iowa and then on to Ames. From Carroll to Jefferson is 28.9 miles and then it is another 42 to Ames for a total of 71.

This is Butch walking ahead of me. We are on the bike trail while the bikers are headed east on Old 30.

These 3 were on our street as we were headed down to the trail.

Philosophically Speaking

I read this on a Facebook post a few weeks ago and the truth of it touched me. Now I know not everyone will have that reaction. In fact, I suspect some will have an entirely different take on the whole thing. But if you are a kindred spirit and get the drift of it, it can change the way you look at nearly everything.

 Best Wishes Always, Barb B.

150 Years From Now

150 years from now, none of us reading this post today will be alive. 70 percent to 100 percent of everything we are fighting over right now will be totally forgotten. Underline the word, TOTALLY. 

If we go back memory lane to 150 years before us, that will be 1872, none of those that carried the world on their heads then are alive today. Almost all of us reading this will find it difficult to picture anybody's face from that era.

Pause for a while and imagine how some of them betrayed their relatives and sold them as slaves for a piece of mirror. Some k*lled family members just for a piece of land or tubers of yam or cowries or for a pinch of salt. Where is the yam, cowries, mirror, or salt that they were using to brag? It may sound funny to us now, but that is how s*lly we humans are sometimes, especially when it comes to money, power, or trying to be relevant.

I remember those days in my secondary school when some people fought and did so many unimaginable things just to have their names shortlisted among those to be made school Prefects. Ordinary school Prefects o! But today nobody in that school right now remembers that I even schooled there despite my popularity then. Now, imagine what happens after 150 years! 

Take Michael Jackson as an example even when you claim the internet age will preserve your memory. Michael Jackson died in 2009, just 13 years ago. Imagine the influence Michael Jackson had all over the world when he was alive. How many young people of today remember him with awe, that is if they even know him? In 150 years to come, his name, when mentioned, will not ring any bell to a lot of people.

Let us take life easy, nobody will get out of this world alive. . . The land you are fighting and ready to kill for, somebody left that land, the person is dead, rotten, and forgotten. That will also be your fate. In 150 years to come, none of the vehicles or phones we are using today to brag will be relevant. Biko, take life easy!

Let love lead. Let’s be genuinely happy for each other. No malice, no backbiting. No jealousy. No comparison. Life is not a competition. At the end of the day, we will all transit to the other side. It is just a question of who gets there first, but surely we will all go there someday.

Omenana Igbo by Ogazi Amaka... .written by father kelvin ugwu

Today’s thought

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ―Confucius

This has been a quote I have used many times over throughout my life. I think it is because I have never been one to move quickly. I can move quickly but it rarely happens.

At our house,  life has been progressing in its normal fashion. Our friendly neighbors Pete and Jerilynn will soon be returning to their sticks and bricks home and putting their RV in storage. Jerilynn's son and his wife have purchased a home so their life will return to some normalcy as well. We have enjoyed having them in our backyard ready to play "Golf" or "Wizard" at the drop of a hat. 

Butch is playing real golf as often as possible and I am walking the bike trail not nearly as often as I should be. We both try to get a pool game going every day at 4:00. My game has improved some through the summer and Butch's doesn't need to. 

We still do trivia every Thursday night and if it works out we might play a card game after or play some pool. The pool hall has definitely been used as we intended.

The summer is moving swiftly as it always seems to. And who would have thought that Iowa would be the Mecca of the US because of our moderate weather? We have had a few days in the 90's but then it seems a cold front moves through and we are back to pleasant.

So I am writing this hoping I still have a few readers of the blog. I know it has been a while.

Best Wishes Always,

Barb B.

Kindred Spirits

Today’s thought

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” ―L.M. Montgomery

When I saw this quote it hit a chord with me. When I see a post on Facebook from a "kindred spirit" I always take the time to appreciate it and know it did indeed come from a kindred spirit.

Brookers Gather

 I am a bit late getting these Pic's posted but I like to fiddle a bit with my photo's before they are seen by many. You know, crop them a bit if needed and perhaps adjust the light or clarity. So these are the photo's taken this past weekend either at Leo and Keri's place or our pool hall. This was a quick trip, primarily for the Brooker siblings to touch base with each other after the loss of Jo Brooker, Bill's wife. We all miss her.

Barb O'Roake and Jason Brooker looking at pictures of the late Mark Brooker.

The siblings from left to right, Don Brooker, Marlene Kelley, Butch Brooker, Bill Brooker and Leo Brooker.

They all have the Brooker name: Jason, Don, Butch, Bill, and Leo.

Bill, Butch and Marlene

Leo, 'splaining to Bill

Bernard Kelley and Leo.

Carolyn Kelley, Don and Marty

Anna Scott, Keri going after supplies, Marty, Marlene and Bernard

4 handed Cribbage Game

Picture Sorting

 When it comes to photo's I can lose track of time, whether it be taking photos, sorting photo's or looking for photos. The most frustrating one is looking for a specific photo, let's say from ten years ago. When I was holding computer classes I recommended categorizing by years and months and way back when I had more time (wink, wink) that seemed to work for me. These days not so much. ANYWAY...yesterday and this morning I am attempting to catch up. As I was downloading from my camera yesterday, that would be my real camera, not the phone one I ran across this one.

 

Squirrel Chasing

 

Power of Love

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." - Jimi Hendrix.

Vacation

Jason and Laura went on Vacation this past week. And Jason loves to fish.

It looks like he had a very successful vacation.

So don't tell me...

 There's nothin' to do!

Jefferson Iowa Area  Attractions

The Brooker Pool Hall

     Cards of various kinds

     Playing pool on an A1 table

     Trivia on Thursday nights

     Simply the best conversations

Walk around the square in addition to the businesses

     Jefferson Gardens

     Tuesday night Farmers Market

     Mahaney Tower (birds-eye view)

Places to eat

     Peony Chinese Restaurant

     Doc’s Bar

     The Centennial by appointment

     The Twin Shop (ice cream and sandwiches)

      A & W

     Casa de Oro

Greene County Tour

     Spring Lake

     Squirrel Hollow

     The Hill (Golf Course)

     Lakeside (Golf Course)

     Jefferson (Golf Course)

Other

     Jamaica Ia- ToJo’s Bar and Grill ( Huge Tenderloins)

      Paton IA- 209 Main

Good Grief, Gertie!
I left out the Wild Rose Casino!