Learned in September

September was so full that I forgot to tell you what I learned! Better late than never, so here is the list of recent nuggets I’ve gleaned from life.

1. Painting with Marty Weekly – I learned so much about plein air painting by observing Marty.
2. Kinesthetic Sand – this is a cool toy of gritty squishiness, fun and fairly useless (but is fun supposed to be useful??)
3. Travertine is a new word to me: “white or light-colored calcareous rock deposited from mineral springs, used in building”. I doubt if I could use it intelligently in a sentence; it was used to describe the grass in the front yard of our cabin (hunh?) and I learned of Travertine Hot Springs on the East Side of the Sierra (but haven’t been there.)
4. Shopping in stores does not suit me – I’ve known this most of my life, but it was recently reinforced. It is not a recreational activity to me where I want to examine all the possibilities but more of a hunting expedition. The music is annoying, loud, and makes me want to leave immediately upon arriving; there are too many choices and too much stuff, which makes it hard to find what I am seeking. Further, I don’t even dress right to be in those settings (nope, leggings are NOT pants and I will outlast this fad).
5. Cities are fun! I enjoyed living in San Diego in my late teens and early 20s, but didn’t really belong and got homesick. Tulare County is a mess, but it is our mess and it is home. However, it is crazy fun to visit a city, especially with people who also enjoy being there.
6. There is a book called “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now” by Gordon Livingston, and it is summarized on this website: https://sivers.org/book/30TrueThings  of Derek Stivers. Wow, great information from a long time psychiatrist, gleaned from listening to patients for many years.