SIGH

The following is a sports post which I know brings on the yawns for many of you but my heart is hurting so I must continue. Feel free to skip today and just know I am wishing you a spectacular holidays since I won't be posting again till they are over.

For the ones who stuck around, just know my heart is heavy. Those who have been with me a while know I am a huge Miami Marlins baseball fan. Winning is nice but sadly being a true Marlins fan means winning is not necessary to remain a fan. Just so my boys and the owners do their best is all I ask.

This past year wasn't special but we did finish second in a weak division. That was an vast improvement over the previous year. We were on the way up and  had the feeling with just a few more pieces, we "could be contenders" to paraphrase Marlon Brando.

My team has won two World Series over the years and both times the team was dismantled the very next year with all the good players being sold. Sickening.

Our team was recently bought by Derek Jeter's group which we thought would be a positive but he has set about trading off all our good players and dumping salaries as his first move. I get attached to my players and don't take kindly to them being shipped off.  Boo-hiss Derek Jeter.

You are welcome Yankee fans as you now have the national league MVP and 59 home run hitter Giancarlo Stanton in your murder's row lineup. He was first to go.

I always said he was the only player I wanted to see naked and Sports Illustrated obliged.

Bye bye you big beautiful man. Your turns at the plate were can't miss.

You are welcome Seattle Mariners to Dee Gordon. A gold glove caliber fielder, league leading base stealer, spark plug and fun in the dugout asset. I will miss your sparkling double plays, lay out catches, bunt base hits and mile wide grin. Bye, bye Dee.

You are welcome Cardinals as you enjoy a huge arm in the outfield and a consistent power bat at the plate in Marcell Ozuna. You won't be sorry. Bye Big Bear.

The only plus for me is that when we play their new teams, I will get to watch them again and know that they are being treated decently and at least have a real chance of winning a title. They deserve that.

There are others on the block ready to go. Pretty sure Christian Yelich and J T Realmuto will soon be gone. Who ever gets them will be blessed.   Once again we have become the farm team for Major League Baseball.

If they landed on a team you follow, treat my young men well. They will entertain you and bring you joy and extra wins. I'll miss you boys. Sigh.

Thank you for letting me vent. I needed this and feel a smidgen better.

I'm taking a small break from posting but will still be around to visit.  Will see you next year--January 2nd most likely, so I hope you have a marvelous holidays with many smiles, warm hugs and phone calls from those you love.

THANK YOU JULIE CHEN

Those who have been with me for a while know I am a sucker for the easy fix.  I firmly believe most things in life can be cured or mended with either a life style change or a gadget. I feel we spend to much money and time on complex fixes. That is just me.

I have mentioned before that I don't sleep well and this has carried over from my early days. This seems to plague much of society.  When I was younger, 4 hours of sleep a night was fine. 

I was never aware of being tired. I remember smugly reading that Thomas Edison thought anyone who got 8 hours of sleep a night was a fool. He thrived on 4 hours. Difference was, he got a lot done in his extra 4 hours. Me--not so much.

When I hit retirement, I started going to sleep much earlier so a 10 PM lights out left me bright eyed at 2 AM.  Don't know if you are aware but that is a boring time of night in the confines of your home. You sure can't call anyone for a chat and infomercials stink. Kindle or the computer are  your only friends.

No longer was I energy charged for the rest of the day as I was when younger. I was tired. So I resorted to naps and sleep aids when I'd get desperate. I was on a spiral that I really didn't like.

I go to sleep quite easily, just don't stay asleep. Wide awake after those measly 4 hours. Tried every trick in the book to get back to sleep. 

If I am ever dementia tested, I can do the counting backwards test from a hundred like a champ--even by 7's. I've tried that particular trick many, many  times. Nada.

Tried reading, have black out window shades, a sleep mask, cold room, no eating after 4 PM, tried eating turkey before bed, raise the head of the bed, exercise, no exercise, warm bath--- the list goes on and on. Still nada.

Julie Chen

I tend to let the TV run when ever I am home for I use it as a white noise to drown out my tinnitus (ringing in the ears). While walking past the TV I caught a bit of the show The Talk recently when the host Julie Chen gave her solution to sleep problems. My ears perked up and I sat down to watch.

She said she had a tip and that we would thank her for later. Julie said that when you need to go to sleep, inhale deeply to the count of 4, hold your breath for the count of 7, then exhale to the count of 8.  Rinse and repeat.  She said it may take several repeats but that it will work.

Having nothing to lose, I tried her method. I can only say that for Julie and me, it works splendidly.  I am now clocking 7 hours plus almost every night. I still wake up but only very briefly and the breathing trick puts me right back to sleep. 

OMG Julie, where have you been all my life??  Oh that's right--you weren't born for most of it. 

So I am passing her tip along and hope if this is a problem for you or someone you know that the answer can be just this simple. Really hope it helps you as it has me. You're welcome.

UNUSUAL TURN ON

I was making a usual trip to the health food store when something strange happened.

The store is run by an impeccably dressed, older black man who is one of the few of his color in this tiny Arkansas town. Sadly we aren't known for our diversity.  I didn't know that till I was settled.

Perusal, he was being very helpful and after I checked out several brands, I got what I wanted.

However, when I left the store, an interesting aroma was clinging to me. At first I thought it must have been an aftershave he was wearing--perhaps it was on his hands, thus on my purchase.   

Nope, my purchase didn't smell, I did. I found the aroma intoxicating  and frankly I was a bit turned on. Mercy what was happening to me?

I remembered that there was a diffuser puffing away by the cash register. Perhaps that was it? I should have gone right back but I went home instead.

The whole day I joyfully inhaled the aroma drifting about me. I was smiling rather goofily a lot and I had to know what it was.

The next day I went back to the store.  His wife was there and he was gone so she called him to ask what he had put in the diffuser the day before. He couldn't remember.

They had about 15 bottles of things it could have been but after sniffing about 8 of them, my nose got confused and I would have been hard put to recognize the odor of skunk.

It seemed however that most of them were combined with something called Patchouli. I vaguely remembered this from the 70's so I went home and Googled it. I found it can be an aphrodisiac. That would explain a few things about the direction my mind had been taking. You can view its amazing benefits here.

So I bought a bottle of the essential Patchouli oil but was not impressed with the  raw scent.  I then mixed it with some scented wax cubes I had and put it in my wax warmer. Wow, that was almost it and close enough for me.  It is not so much an actual turn on now but I do like the happy, relaxed mood it provokes.
Sniff, sniff--ahhh.

I love the smell of my house. Can't figure out how to get it on my body yet though I am not sure I should.  I'll think about that for a while yet.

Have you ever fallen in love with a fragrance you just had to have?