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Category Archives: Coping
Between the Sounds
This unexpectedly came across my social media feed yesterday. These simple words hold such personal impact that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it – especially the last number of lines. They encompass a different kind of loss … Continue reading
Posted in advocacy, Aging, Coping, Deafness, disability, grief, Hearing Impaired, Perspective, senior musings, Uncategorized
Tagged a different kind of loss, Deafness, explaining hearing loss to others, filling in the blanks, grief, hard of hearing, hearing exhaustion, hearing loss, invisibly disability, left out, missed connections, missing sounds, navigating a hearing world, social disconnections, struggling to hear
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Streak
If there isn’t anything too pressing going on that I need to get up for and if it is still early enough, I enjoy playing a few word games before getting out of bed in the morning. These are mostly … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Humor, Perspective, senior musings, Uncategorized, Weird
Tagged connect the dots, dot game, flow free, game apps, game streaks, habits, haptics, phone games, puzzle apps, scores
3 Comments
Weather Roulette
As usual, where I start with these posts is not always where it ends up. One of my kids sent me photos of outrageously massive, crashing and cresting waves on the ocean near where she resides, an effect produced by … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Flashback, kids, Memories, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, Uncategorized, Weather
Tagged 1960's parenting, big waves, childhood memories, climate change, dinner bell, earthquakes, first grade, flooding, geological, hurricanes, meteorological, microbursts, parental mistakes, parenting faux pas, running through the neighborhood, six years old, storms, tornados, walking to school, Weather, what was she thinking?, wildfire smoke
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Sometimes I Feel Like Margot
The story takes place on Venus, where it rains all the time, the sun only appearing every seven years and lasting for one precious hour before the endless rain begins once again. Just one child in a classroom of nine … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife
Tagged antisocial, art exhibits, dog vomit slime mold, FOMO, FOMO as a catalyst, garden, Gardening, isolation, life, Little Rudi, look for the rainbow, mosquitos, only one bloom, original illustrations, papillon, Rain, Ray Bradbury, roz chast, si, so much rain, summer garden, summer wildlife, tulip tree, Weather, weeding, wet summer
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Fighting Windmills
Early on I had a gut feeling where this would be heading and how it would most likely end up, but decided to hold out in the (futile?) hope that there might be some righteousness in all of it. Once … Continue reading
Posted in advocacy, Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Deafness, disability, disability accommodations, grief, Hearing Impaired, Perspective, Rant, Regrets, senior musings, Uncategorized, Vent
Tagged Anthony Bourdain, bad closed captioning, business, CC out of sync, closed caption, closed captioning, CNN, CNN accessibility discrimination, CNN documentary series, CNN out of sync, CNN Sucks, corporate disrespect, deaf discrimination, discrimination, FCC Disability Rights Office, hard of hearing, hearing discrimination, hearing loss, Jake Tepper, left out, Linda Ronstadt, Martha Stewart, news, Stanley Tucci, The New York Times, Tom Hanks
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Diversions – A Few November Details and Images
I’ve stopped watching and reading most of the news these days. Never one to hide my head in the sand, at this point I’m saturated and have had enough. All this angst in the media can’t be healthy. My gaze … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Autumn, Cooking, Coping, Food, Gardening, Holidays, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, treasures, Uncategorized, Weather, Weird
Tagged black and red cowboy boots, childhood memories, cloud dolphins, cloud whales, deities, ghost cat, halvah honeycomb icecream, lenticular clouds, light a candle, media anxiety, off-loading my cowboy boots, plantar fascia tear, prayers for my mother, radioactive dinosaur, seed catalogs, shakshuka, super moon, thanksgiving snow, the beast from 20000 fathoms
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Retrograde
Whenever a string of mishaps and unfortunate events of daily living transpire, inevitably someone I know will say “Mercury must be in retrograde.” Considering the backward-moving appearance of Mercury that occurs a few times a year is merely an optical … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Dogs, Earworm of the day, Friends, Holidays, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged a string of mishaps, Autumn blessings, everything is broken, Halloween, homecoming parade, look for the light, mercury, my sick papillon, nostalgia, parade, retrograde, when things go wrong all at once
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Silver Linings
There has been a dark cloud around my heart lately. It happens sometimes. I think pretty much everyone knows the feeling. Late afternoon, heading out the door with the dog, leash in hand, pausing for a moment on the porch … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, Earworm of the day, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged cloud rays, clouds, dark cloud, dark feelings, emotional pain, God-light, grace, Grateful Dead, hope, hopefulness, light beams, onward, silver linings, sun rays, Touch of Gray
2 Comments
On August and Letting Go
The waxing moon has suddenly taken on an orange glow this week, due to drifting smoke from the fires up in Canada that tinge the atmosphere. It hangs in the sky much like a leftover hunk of yellow cheddar, perhaps … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged August, blue dayflower, blue winged wasps, cheese moon, end of summer flowers, exhaustion, going to seed, invasive vines, ivy overgrowth, keeping up with the yard, letting go, mid-august, overwhelmed, trumpet vine, wild grape invasion, wildfire haze, yardwork
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A String of Senior Moments
Back over the winter, a woman called out to me as I was walking across the parking lot of a shopping plaza. A friend and I had been out doing a little pre-holiday purchasing together – we had just left … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Deafness, disability accommodations, Hearing Impaired, Humor, Perspective, senior musings, Uncategorized
Tagged can't find my phone, forgetful, forgetfulness, forgetting, getting sidetracked, hearing aids and phone, I forgot, lost phone, memory, memory hacks, memory lapses, senior hacks, senior moment, seriously??, sidetracked, where are my keys?, where is my phone?, why am I here?, why did i walk in this room?
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Spring of Deception
A few days ago heralded the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox. We have arrived, and despite a few wistful sighs and moans, this area has mostly gotten off easy as far as a Winter goes. Of course there … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Birds, Coping, Humor, nature, Perspective, Seasons, Spring, Uncategorized, Weather, Winter
Tagged Birds, blossoms, broken washer, fake out, false spring, laundry dilemma, northeast seasons, scilla, spring blooms, Vernal Equinox, washing machine blues, winter returns
2 Comments
The Waiting
If you pay attention you can already detect the scent of green – I love how the color is synonymous with the fragrance. The trees here are still in their remission, but the promise of verdancy is in the air. … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Coping, Food, Gardening, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Winter
Tagged almost equinox, another year, anticipation, green, interesting fruits, lychee, moods, persimmon, seasonal changes, seasonal moods, seasonal shifts, small joys, spring is almost here, vernal, waiting for spring
5 Comments
Pattern, Color, Detail, Distraction (Look Away)
I’ve got a partial saga written and sitting in my draft folder. It is a convoluted and frustrating story that still has not reached a resolution, which plays into the procrastination. At certain moments, salient points and corresponding sentences will … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Coping, Food, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized
Tagged amethyst, avoiding the unfinished, beauty, Color, distractions, labradorite, moon jellies, patterns, purple potatoes, skies, stripes, sunsets, Texture, visual distracttions
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Funny What the Weather Will Do
January is bouncing all over the place in both weather and emotions these days. Views From the Urban Porch have been varied and unpredictable. One day I’m staring at an atmosphere so vibrantly blue that it conjures up tropical skies … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Cooking, Coping, Dogs, Earworm of the day, Flashback, Food, Friends, grief, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Weird, Winter
Tagged Changes, changing weather, diversions, earworm, grief, ice, January, january deaths, mood, most deaths in january, passages, personal history, retail therapy, sky, sky changes, snow, snowmelt, weather changes, youth
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Maybe It’s Fixed
I clicked on something. Maybe it has fixed all the subscription issues and blocks on this site. I certainly hope so. Again, I’m sorry to everyone who tried to come here, or tried to comment and couldn’t, or found themselves … Continue reading
Summing Up Twenty-three
Every time it gets to the last days of writing for the year, I visualize a cartoon of myself wiping my brow and saying “Whew! Made it! So here we are again. I’m scrolling back over the posts for this year … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, baking, Birds, Bucket List, Cooking, Coping, Dogs, Earworm of the day, Flashback, Food, Holidays, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized
Tagged 2023, aging, another year, baking fail, Christmas, dead monsters, earworms, end of the year, Holidays, letting go, New Year, senior musings, senior reflections, summing up, the holiday curse, whew!
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Looking for Light
There is too much to say and nothing to say at the same time concerning the painful state of the world these days. We are on visual and emotional overload. My rants on this blog (and there have been a … Continue reading
Posted in Autumn, Coping, Holidays, Perspective, Seasons, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather
Tagged Autumn, avoiding the awful, circle of life, climate, coping mechanisms, dealing with stress, diversions, dull foliage, fake spider webs, Fall, Halloween, halloween decorations, no fall color, not looking, sleeping bees, weird seasons
2 Comments
Hit the Road Jack
What a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky day! I sit here on The Urban Porch ™ with Rudi, watching the busy proliferation of bumble bees, honey bees, black wasps, Blue-winged wasps and swallowtail butterflies hovering about. There are all sorts of smaller … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Earworm of the day, nature, Perspective, Rant, Seasons, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife
Tagged aggressive hornet, earworm, hateful hornet, most hated insect, nasty insect, stinging insects, wasps, wasps i have known, yellow jackets
2 Comments
In Five Days
It’s almost astonishing that my credit card has not warped and melted from all the use it has gotten over the past week. The “tap” feature on it suddenly stopped working during the last number of transactions, which may or … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Deafness, Hearing Impaired, Perspective, Rant, senior musings, Uncategorized, Vent
Tagged almost deaf, expensive hearing aids, expensive medication, healthcare failure, hearing aids, hearing discriminiation, hearing impairment, inadequate health insurance, insurance company rip offs, lacking health care coveerage, making ends meet, medicare won't cover, Oticon, reverse slope hearing loss, RSHL, senior expenses, surprise bills, uncovered expenses, unexpected expenses
1 Comment
Nice Socks
One thing I do every year during The Birthday Week is indulge in a massage. This year that didn’t happen – I missed that window for a number of reasons…. but eventually I decided to just get a very badly … Continue reading
Control
Due to the wildfire smoke moving down from Nova Scotia and Quebec, there will be no lengthy observations while actually sitting out on The Urban Porch ™. There is an ominous, post-apocalyptic tint to the sky at the moment. Odd … Continue reading
Posted in Birds, Coping, nature, Perspective, Seasons, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Weird
Tagged earworms, helpless in nature, in the grand scheme of things, neighborhood street art, no honest politicians, smoke in the sky, tiny installations, wildfires
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Suspended Animation
The happenings surrounding the Urban Porch over the last week have been laced with a series of incidents that have been both mildly and somewhat greatly dramatic. A few days ago I was out with the dog for his final … Continue reading
Emerging From Eeyore
Well, I’ve been down in the abyss for the past week. I find it consistently amazing that when you (and I guess it means “me”, unless it’s also you) don’t feel physically well, it colors just about every single thing. … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, Perspective, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Winter
Tagged depression, feeling better, illness and depression, urban porch, urban wildlife
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Little Thrills
A few readers have shared with me that they have been unable to comment on some of my blog posts, that WordPress won’t allow them to register their responses without jumping through a few website hoops. In general I don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Coping, Dogs, Food, Holidays, Perspective, Photography, treasures, treasures, Weather, Winter
Tagged crows, gifting, Gumby, hunkering down, laundry lint, little pleasures, no snow, pieces of the past, simple pleasures, winter food
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The Robe
At the moment I am trying to wade through some difficult feelings brought on by some recently revisited trauma. It’s been one of those situations where there is a strange, anxious, physical vibration in your very core. While this has … Continue reading
Posted in Coping, grief, Perspective, Regrets, Uncategorized
Tagged death, grief, loss, Memories, olfactory responses, possessions, sibling rivalry, trauma
2 Comments
Surfing the Pandemic
I’ve had no inclination to write for such a long time, even before the pandemic occurred. Now more than ever it has been difficult trying to align cohesive thoughts and feelings and translate them into words. I hadn’t even bothered … Continue reading
Ashes
Left holding the bag again Or box, as it so happens A container of dust That is not really him * Okay it’s true the person is gone Their spirit and essence Does not reside in this unworthy cube of … Continue reading
Rage
Okay, it was clearly my fault. Today started out poorly, following a week without one solid night’s sleep. Perhaps it was because I stayed up too late watching a forgettable movie with loathsome characters and a predictable outcome, but last … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, grief, Perspective, Rant, Shopping, Uncategorized, Vent
Tagged aging, angry people, anxiety, death, depression, insomnia, it's my fault, losing a friend, loss, parking lot altercations, road rage, senior demographics
1 Comment
Butterfly Sheets
On the day I was changing the bed linens, I came across a set of butterfly pattern sheets that had migrated to the back of the shelf in the closet. The pillow cases were long gone and the elastic on … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, Friends, grief, Perspective, Regrets, Uncategorized
Tagged babies, be here now, birth, death, Friends, grief, holding on, letting go, life, Memories, mom
2 Comments
Blessings Amid the Depression
Breakfast this morning consisted of a handful of foraged chanterelle mushrooms sautéed in butter and garlic, then scrambled into two fresh eggs from a neighbor’s chickens and sprinkled with ground Himalayan pink salt and fresh peppercorn. The mushroom eggs were … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Coping, grief, Hearing Impaired, Perspective, Rant, Uncategorized, Vent
Tagged appreciation, blessings, depressed, depression, dysthymia, feeling blue, gratefulness, loss, moods, people judging depression
4 Comments
The Telekinesis of Grief
This is an odd thing that I have only shared with a very small handful of people because it is so weird. I have often wondered if anyone else has had the same experiences, and after giving it some serious … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Coping, Deafness, grief
Tagged electrical charge, gaining a sense, grief, hearing loss, loss, loss of sense
12 Comments
daeja's view 
My Big Apologies for the WordPress Difficulties
In response to those who have contacted me about the difficulty they are experiencing when trying to respond with a comment on any of these posts, and to those subscribers who have let me know they haven’t gotten the expected … Continue reading →