The Lazy Dames

It's been awhile, too long really, since I've taken a picture that turned me on.
So it was a pleasant result when this simple rose photo came out as nice as it did.
I particularly like the woodgrain effect of the wet lattice and the tail light reflections on the wet pavement in contrast to the flashlit rose. Yes the flashfired here and to good effect. The Casio EX-Z750 came through again for me.




This is Cathy and Michelle selfshot with the Canon Powershot Pro90
just fooling around. Love that articulating LCD so you can see yourself.

I've been collecting affirmations lately. Here are a few:

As I become more and more aware of myself
as an eternal consciousness,
I become more peaceful and at ease with all that happens
in my life. Physical reality reflects this peace back to me.

I boldly face the new challenges in life that awakening and becoming
aware of who I really am brings.

Today I turn within and allow the spiritual wisdom
that I am to flow into everything I say and do.
I already am everything I will ever need.

If old memories rise to the surface, I investigate the emotional content in a balanced way, and move deeper into the emotion and through it, finding my eternal self again, and making peace with the old memory.

I am free of the past and the future. The moment I live in is now,
with no history affecting my choices in the present.

I have unlimited resources of abundance, love, and knowledge.
I am wealthy on all levels, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

I am a lovable person who is loved by others. I am appreciated by others.

I love others no matter how they act, or what their faults are.
Even if I don't want to be around their personality, I love them as the eternal being that they truly are.
I overlook the shortcomings of others. I have no judgement.

I give freely and effortlessly to the universe, for that same energy of love and
abundance provides for all my needs.

I truly believe and know my good, and I choose to embody that feeling right here, right now!

I am humble, because no matter how awake I become, I realize that the human condition is a lifelong limitation and I cannot be perfect all the time.



I am gentle and nurturing to myself. I say only kind things to myself. I am my own best friend.

I am a radiant source of love on the Earth for others, rather than needing others to be a source of love for me.
I am the source of love.

There are deeper meanings under all events in life that I may never understand. I accept these events and experiences even though I don't understand why they are happening.

I remember who I am. I am a part of the vast scheme of all that is, and as such I allow the divinity that I am to be present in every moment.

I am doing exactly what I need to be doing at this time.

I am mature, wise, and intelligent. Any thoughts I have to the contrary are only illusory fears.

If I fight with another I'm really fighting with myself because we are both God.

I am free, even in the midst of limitation within the illusions of life.

I am willing to ask for help. I recognize when I need help.

I trust my inner wisdom. I trust the information I get from my deeper resources and intuition.

I am a living prayer. I am always focusing on the highest and best as already part of my life right now.

Everyone is Buddha sent to teach me. The teacher is everywhere. Life is the guru.

I love and appreciate myself. I overlook my shortcomings and love myself anyway.

The intelligence of Spirit expresses through me as right decision and right action.
I accept the free flow of life in all my affairs. I live life to the fullest.

Self hate is an illusion. Hate of others is also an illusion.
I go deeper than illusion and find the truth of who I really am.
Hate disappears in this, even self hate.

The Grasshopper

One day a book publisher in London saw me in one of the pictures Michelle took and wanted to put my picture in their book. Here is the picture:

This is my first paid for photograph. I'm very greatful to Frances Vargo and
Dorling Kindersley Ltd.
The Penguin Group (UK) 80
The Strand London WC2R 0RL
RHS (RHS stands for 'Royal Horticultural Society').
The picture will be used in the book: Simple Steps: Pests and Diseases'
Pests & Diseases Adults, Jenny Baskaya (195)
www.amazon.com/gp/product/1405348860

In Remembrance of AmityAnn

Gone but not forgotten AmityAnn Oct 18, 2006 RIP
In Remembrance of AmityAnn a fiesty old Dachshund
who gave her all to life. She passed peacefully in the night at the foot of
the bed, her rightful place.
Michelle and Cathy

Testimony to Diet

_______________________________________________________________

The last couple of days I've decided to listen to my body and eat whatever it indicated to me that it wants. Face it any particular diet involves the ego. Being imperfect beings the ego is also going to be imperfect so my thinking is if I follow my instincts that will take the ego out of the equation and may give me just what I need as far as food.

There is so much information out there and we don't know the motivation behind the people putting it out. For instance cholesterol, they come out with some numbers, call them ideal, and then sell you drugs to bring your numbers into their ideal range. My pharmacist told me our brains are made out of cholesterol and that we need it. So who do you believe?

I was drinking the soy milk and even came to tolerate it but this morning dug deep in the pantry for that can of evaporated milk that has been there for two years, opened it up and put some in my coffee with some brown sugar and wow, was that ever better tasting that the soy which I was just able to tolerate. Sometimes you just have to believe your taste buds.

BTW, who says that living longer is better than enjoying life to the fullest or that they're mutually exclusive? Is there a shortage of people? What is the carrying capacity of the planet? If we are eternal what's the point of trying to stretch life to the ultimate amount of minutes anyway? Doesn't that simply slow down your evolving?

I'm 67 and look younger in spite of having hepatitis C so I think I'm doing something right by eating a mixed diet involving all food groups.

I'd like to add that after four days of UT on my feet the thick callouses on my heals are nearly gone. It's like a miracle I put my feet in a rectangular plastic pan in the morning and pee in it and let them soak a bit, then step into my slippers without rinsing the feet.

‹(•¿•)›
Michelle Ress Felton, CA

I release my fear about death. If I am

eternal, then death is no more than

waking up from a dream.

Pine Tree Down

In case you thought you lived forever
this old dead pine tree is being taken
down before it falls and hurts someone.
It will leave a big hole in the sky.
Goodbye big pine.

The enormity of this tree seen in wide angle. The fellow in the bucket is high
enough, the fellow up in the tree is way up there.

These men are really talented and do a top notch job.

Heal Thy Self

From Michelle's album

I feel I'm on a very spiritual journey and believe a lot of it has to do with creative visualization and positive affirmations
such as:
All the power and presence in the Universe is right where I am. I am always in a state of perfect equilibrium because I am receptive to the divine truth around me and in me.


I just got my viral load reading and it's 58 and that is down from 8560 in April.

For me that indicates that I'm doing something right:
better diet
take off excess weight
quit any bad habits (alcohol in my case)
take the usual herbs and supplements
drink only distilled water
get plenty of rest
don't stress
positive affirmations
mental imagining
colloidal silver (make my own)
urine therapy (I drank my first urine the day before this viral load test)
adequate exercise (we disconnected the cable tv so no more of that trash)
loving family (Cathy I love you)
sleeps with dogs and a cat who are aiding in healing me
listen regularly to my HCV meditation CD
spend a lot of time on internet learning all I can
keeping an open mind
willing to try many alternative paths looking for the right one for me


This is what I meant awhile back by the hard way as opposed to standard
treatment where you take your medicine. Sure you may feel lousy but you don't have to exert yourself to do such things as change your diet, lose, weight, drink your urine, concentrate your mind to fight the virus with the power of your intellect, giving up your favorite drinks, going to bed early, spending the morning juicing fruits and vegetables, spending your hard earned money on distillers, colloidal silver generators, juicers, water meters, healthy food, and supplements.

All those items listed above take a lot of will power, effort, and commitment.
You must also believe. I believe. (thank you Suzanne Blind Owl)

Before April I was just going along my merry way getting fat, becoming lazy, taking the medicine prescribed to me, not paying any attention to my health because I didn't really even believe I had HCV then the ALT and AST readings went up. Whether that was due to the cholesterol meds themselves or in combination with my coasting along don't do anything that takes will power lifestyle no one will really ever know.

But this I do know. We can heal ourselves but it's very hard work.

Michelle

The Fall Rant

This afternoon I was entering the results from my VA lab work into a spreadsheet and noticed that back in April they tested me for amphetamines, marijuana, barbiturates, cocaine, and opiates.
When I saw that I got upset as I don't recall giving informed consent.
I feel violated.
If they wanted to know why didn't they just ask?

This is why people are leery about universal health care.
We don't want the government snooping in our body chemistry.
This is why it is necessary to end the insane war on some drugs.
Ending the war on illegal drugs like opium will also change the tide of the war in Afghanistan.
That war is unwinnable.
No invading army that destroys fields of flowers can ever take the moral high ground.
If God hadn't wanted us to use opiates S/he wouldn't have given us opiate receptors. Duh!
Ending the war on drugs and disbanding the DEA would also pay for universal health care and we wouldn't have so many folks in prison for the crime of getting high.

Actually ending the war on drugs would deflate Al Qaeda as they wouldn't be able to get drug money any more. We have a lot of nerve pushing alcohol and tobacco while at the same time jailing people for poppies and pot. How ludicrous, how lame, how hypocritcal. Makes me lose all faith in some government policies.

I've since found out that the tox screen is a standard proceedure to see if a person is a proper candidate for treatment. So now I've got to wonder why they didn't also screen me for alcohol and tobacco.

Jason putting up new rain gutters

Thanks Jason



A pocket knife given to me by Stacey Schaedler.
Thanks Stacey

coffee

"Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well."
(The Book of Proverbs 5:15)

This is a picture of me,with Amanada. It's several years old. Amanda has gone on to the Bridge but she lives on in our hearts.

Rant on coffee:

May I suggest you don't consider coffee a vice.
Consider it medicine and get on with the healing.
Drinking good coffee is a virtue, not a vice.

It's just like anything else we attatch a label too like "illegal drugs" are "bad"
to me illegal drugs are good. Their very illegality gives them a aura of virtue
and the implicit message is that if illegal drugs are bad then legal drugs are good but look at alcohol and tobacco. We know they aren't good, yet they're legal, they're bad so by the same logic illegal drugs are good.

Coffee is only bad if abused which is what is happening now with these energy
drinks being goosed with high doses of caffeine. Enjoy your coffee in reasonable doses and consider it part of your healing activities.

Michelle
ps this message is not intended to stir up any controversy, nor is it intended to heal or treat any condition. These statements have not be verified by the FDA

Lurking Lazy

We took the Lazy Daze to my dermatology appointment at Fort Ord and spent the night so we were there first thing in the morning. It was quite nice. Here is a picture of us parked out where the pickle weed grows:

UT Don't Bug Me About It!

I'll try nearly anything once and have been using CS (colloidal silver) since April after it cured my death bed dog. I hadn't noticed any improvement in myself and am having a blood test tomorrow to compare with the one I had in April though they say the ALT, AST, and viral load readings yoyo and don't mean much wrt what is happening in your liver anyway.

But this post is about something new for me, urine therapy. Yesterday on this list (4colloidalsilver) UT was suggested as being helpful so I spent much of the rest of the day reading up on it. This morning I had a spoonful or so of my first pee upon rising and my instant reaction was "this is too salty" For years I've dealt with a salt addiction and high blood pressure. My pee tasted like salty chicken soup and I did have chicken for dinner so the biofeedback was instantaneous. I'll cut back on salt now where before tasting my own salty pee it wouldn't have happened. That one taste did more for me than any amount of other convincing could possibly do to get me to cut back my salt consumption.

Next I found myself drinking a whole glass of distilled water, something I never do that early in the morning, I got rid of my salty hot sauce and can only invision my salt consumption going down as I fine tune my body with the feedback from the urine tasting. I'm sure more will be revealed with continued consumtion like a cook fine tuning a recipe.

Beyond that I am wired. Usually it's 3pm before I even get moving; this morning I've got more energy than I've had in years. Part of that could be that we are going out for an overnight in the motorhome today, something we haven't done in a long time but I attribute it mainly to the urine therapy.

Does anyone else have any input on this subject?

We survived 9/11 hurray!

Wonder how a storm would be in the treehouse? I've ridden out a few storms in the boat and they are exciting for sure and the long ones can wear you down. It's morning here and the weather predicts rain but I doubt even a drop will hit the ground. I don't know where they get their weather info for this area but it is rarely correct.

Just made another blog post, trying to document what's going on in my life Put a picture of me with Pride the parakeet sitting on my head two years ago. That bird got cat ate, should have gave it away or let it lose, sigh.

Anyhow got a bark collar yesterday and it came with a dead battery so I complained and am waiting to see if they refund me 6.95 the cost of the battery or not. May not find out until Monday when the weekend is over but that's alright. I ordered two batteries on amazon and paid for them with my gift certificate from my amazon visa card.

It could rain today since we have the front porch tarp removed, murphy's law, and all.

We're having grilled salmon for dinner, got them in the clearance fish dept at safeway yesterday while picking up the meatloaf. Another way we keep our grocery bill low besides the lowest prices list is to not buy something unless it's on sale except for necessities because I've learned that if I break down and buy something it will go on sale right after that and I'll be bummed so better to just not buy it in the first place and I really don't like Costco coupons.

Instead of taking a shower last night I cleaned off with Cetaphil, are you familiar with that? it's real nice lotion to clean your skin. Follow it with a damp wash cloth.

Where did the summer go?

What does something require for you to consider it proof?
For instance if I were to cure myself would you consider that proof?
I'm not even sure I would consider it proof because I don't know if it could
be replicated. However I will say this. If I cure myself I will blog it and
detail it in the best manner I can so that others can benefit from it and
if I fail I'll blog that as well. Have you searched the blogs for people that have
fought and defeated HCV.

I'm keeping my thoughts in my smyress blog but it's hardly HCV specific
since I dont want my entire life to rotate around a virus. It's one part of me
like the Demodex folliculorum that live on my eyelashes or the flora
that lives in my intestine. I just want to keep it all in check, balance
if you will.

A lot like the email in my inbox. If there is the proper amount that's fine
but when there is too much I get overwhelmed and that's the time to call
in the delete key and change my settings. I do the same with my life.

Any success I have will hardly qualify as proof of anything more than that one
person succeeded and those who have cured HCV before us on their own
have likely woodworked themselves and vanished. (slipped into the woordowrk, opposite to coming out of the woordwork)


Have a council meeting. To that meeting invite the part of yourself that wants to do the right thing to heal your body. Invite the part of yourself that has other priorities and doesn't have the long view. Invite your liver to the council meeting. Invite any healing symbols and allies to the council meeting.

In council discuss what needs to be done for the long view, the healing plan. See things from the point of view of your liver. Ask your liver how it feels about every act your body does and factor that into your actions.

Love your body, it is the home to your spirit. Thank if for all things it does right, take care of it, trust your higher instincts. Focus on your breathing, make every inhalation an intake of healing energy and every exhalation a discharge of waste and toxins.

Forgive yourself, forget the past, look at the now.

Sunday Brunch

The other day standing under the stars I had a glimpse of myself in relation to the cosmos. I saw how tiny I was in relation to the vastness of it all then saw how tiny the virus is in relation to the human body.


From there my mind drifted to the idea that humans are a virus to the earth infecting nature's grandeur as the song goes "they took paradise and put up a parking lot" much like the HCV virus hardens and infects and destroys the liver.


In that sense I came to realize that perhaps the HCV virus is one of earth's ways of protecting itself from humans. At that point I realized the rest of my life I must do good for the earth. I must become the best friend of the earth so that it doesn't have to destroy me as self defense.

It was the First of September 2009

If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself.
- Mickey Mantle

Let that be a lesson to all of us. We don't die because we reach a certain age.
We die because we wore out, some of that is natural but much of it depends on how
we treat ourselves during our lives.

Ask yourself whenever you do something, is this a contribution, or an impediment
to longevity.

my birthday

I've decided to make a post on my birthday so next year I can remember it, if I can find it.

A letter to Monica,

Perhaps you were thinking of me because it's my birthday, 67. Cathy & I went to the beach and let the dogs play near the water's edge. It was fun and the water wasn't that cold. I waded out and got wet some. Then we came home and had pizza; now I'm drinking a root beer. It was a good day.

There was an attractive spider out in the yard so I took a few pictures:


Earlier in the day Cathy saw a plant that looked like a pepper plant:

Michelle

the start of the repaint project

We're going to repaint the motorhome by hand.
these ladder mounts are the first of what will be a long ongoing project

Confessions of an internet addict

I'm a junkie, currently the internet is my drug of choice though in the past it's been alcohol, pot, and heroin.

I also like games though the old classic ones like chess and backgammon, and a few other games like outbreak and go moku at present. I mostly play at gameknot.com, goldtoken.com, itsyourturn.com, and schemingmind.com.
We have an internet business with a storefront on amazon where we sell various items bought on ebay where I exploit the spread.
http://www.amazon.com/shops/Michelle_Ress
That's a game too. Find something in the amazon catalog that you can buy cheaper on ebay then resell it. Score is kept by how much you make
and how good you can keep your ratings.

My hobby is playing with all the stuff I buy and sell like cameras, pda's, smartphones, radar detectors, crap found on woot, books, and I've even sold a couple of games like a chess computer and a Merlin.

We also have an old motorhome which we tinker with adding such things as solar panels so we can power our electronics while on the road. I recently got a Cradlepoint router that will take a Verizon data card to take our own personal wifi hotspot with us.

I'm partnered up. Cathy and I just shared our 13th anniversary. We have five dogs, three Chihuahua mix rescues and two dachshund rescues. Which reminds me electronic dog collars is something else we buy and sell. A bit of the gaming there using a gadget to bridge the communication gap between species.

I'm old but young. I have HCV hepatitis C so don't mess with me or I'll bleed on you. I'm healthy otherwise and no I'm not changing my password as I use Roboform which will handle that strong one given to me by negativegamer.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

That is the bio I just posted on negativegamer.com
a website where one of my pictures turned up and I failed to see the attribution
at the bottom of the article and got involved in a discussion there. That seemed
interesting so I decided to join the website but flunked the test several times
before finally passing.

I've been putting a disproportionate amount of pictures here so decided to balance
them out with a few words not that I expect more than a handful of eyeballs to ever
grace them but you never know, the law of abundance could kick in at any moment
like it did yesterday while searching for a parking place in the shade and a car
pulled out giving us the perfect spot just as we were in position to take it.

July 2009

Two Old Dogs Tobi left, Kona right

June 2009

The promise of the flower
beauty delivered even if the fruit never materializes

May 2009

As good as it gets: a satisfying candy bar after walking the dogs Jason with Rusty
Santa Cruz Mountains. May 23, 2009



To Sookie, Happy Birthday!


Quita and Ruffles

This past week has been a tough one here. My recent blood test indicated that I have issues to deal with. Either the Zetia has caused my ALT and AST readings to go up or the Hepatitis C is active.

During the last year I got lax and stopped taking the Milk Thistle and also started eating pretty much whatever and apparently that strategy isn't working so.

I started the Milk Thistle again along with a bunch of other herbs and I've quit the Zetia and on May 20 I'm going to the VA liver people in Palo Alto for a consultation. I haven't decided whether to take the traditional treatment or not because it's long and can be unpleasant.

taken by Cathy Smyre

April started out cold but turned hot

Now it's cold again


Our first potato bush flower of 2009







Back to my roots


Frayed tarp on skylight in morning sun. April 21, 2009

Sunday April 5, 2009 It was a cold morning so I built a hot fire



Up Close and Reaching Out
Took the Panasonic FZ50 out for a test run today and got a close up and a far out. It was not the camera for intermediate range shots like houses from the sidewalk though.

foreboding picture

I took this picture the day before an earthquake.

blatant commercialism

February/March 2009

Perky resting comfortably in the Lazy Dame


Orange Flowers in Clover


Sunset in the Redwoods
This was taken with a Dimage Z2 ISO400 aperature priority, handheld

From Photos for the blog

From Photos for the blog

From Photos for the blog

Sunset from Scotts Valley CA with a Dimage Z2

From Photos for the blog

This is an older photo taken with the Z6

January 2009

woodstove fire with Vistaquest VQ1005




taken with a Casio ex-z750 in sunset mode. Santa Cruz harbor sunset from the fuel dock.