mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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How does the navigator read the map of the stars at night?
Do the winds and tides hold secrets used to predict a fight?
We have little knowledge of our history, and even less of our fate
This ship on which we are sailing is loaded down with pieces of eight
Stolen from pirates in the last century down on the Outer Banks
Our treasure has become our curse as we labor without thanks
Our masters run a cruel ship, violently whipping the crew
We would have never joined their side if we had known what’s true
As soon as we opened the office door the phone rang
The voice on the end of the line spoke Chinese
Asked us for a currency exchange rate off the bat
We had nothing to sell and felt creepy about buying
Anything sold over the phone in a foreign language
We passed on the offer then turned up the tunes
Proceeded to finish the task at hand in high spirits
Nobody knew what the communication had meant
We wondered how those people knew our number
After the work slipped away and we lost our livelihoods
We found out they had hacked our system with that call
Our data was used to design a cheap knock off product
That ran our establishment completely out of business
If we were having coffee this weekend I would invite you to sip a long glass of iced tea or coffee. The weather is muggy and the ground is muddy. My ambition is active in starts and fits. Last weekend was extremely successful in the possession purge department. I unloaded a big car, loads of fabric, twofold funky floor cleaning machines, and about 300 pounds of glassware. We went to the used book store with our DVD’s, but only a small portion were accepted for trade. The initial phase was exciting because as items left the house, more was revealed that needs to go. I did uncover space in the garage and in some cabinets in the house, but I am not even 10% into the work that I need to do. It is exhilarating to see the empty space appear. It will be even more exciting to clear out the barn and sell the lot across the street. The financial reward will be more than worth the effort. I will perceiver.
With all the extra emphasis on physical things, my muse decided to be lazy and fickle. I wrote very little this week while I settle into my work and commute schedule. I made some excuses about all the “work” I have to do. I admit that this is pure malarkey. My commute is an easy 20 minute straight shot, and my work is fun. Plenty of people go to school full-time and work full-time and get graduate degrees. Surely I can work a tiny part-time job while purging my possessions and still find time to write. I am putting this muse’s nose to the grindstone in the coming weeks. It is better to write something, even if it is not my best work, than to skip too many days. How do you handle your productivity issues? Does your muse just lounge around and refuse to work? Today I am working a shift on Sunday so I can take a full day off for my facial tomorrow. Ms Muse should realize she is living in a very privileged and pampered being, and be more grateful. If I discipline her she just leaves. I can usually squeeze a poem out of her as she exits, but there is no telling when she plans to return. She is a lot like me.
While I fill your iced tea glass, tell me how your life and writing are going. I hope you are feeling more productive than I am now. Are you looking forward to the next season (back to school for some) or treading water? I love summer because I spend so much time in the pool. I don’t really mind the heat because I have a pool at my condo village I can use 24 hours a day. I am very fond of moonlight dips. The water cools off in the middle of September, ending the nighttime enjoyment. Until then I can be found in the deep end, thinking deep thoughts, teaching the muse to swim.
Please join us each week for #WeekendCoffeeShare, hosted by Diana at Parttimemonsterblog.com. Share your news and catch up with the gang on the weekends here. The feast is moveable and the drinks are all digital and calorie free.
The pump beneath the windmill brings water to the fields
Narrow streams flow gently between the grain and weeds
Sustaining this small patch of land was easier in the past
Today we watch industry sprawl then collapse just as fast
In our youth we did not imagine this could happen here
That the last windmill in service would be held so dear
Ceremonies and pageantry now commemorate the times
When Mother Nature spoke to us in stories and in rhymes
Join writers from around the world each Thursday to respond to the photo prompt generously provided by Sue Vincent on her Echo blog. Read, write, and comment here on last week’e entries.
My eleventh great-grandfather was born in England and died in Essex Massachusetts.
| Name: | Isaac Perkins |
|---|---|
| Birth Date: | 1571 |
| Birth Place: | Rugby Borough, Warwickshire, England |
| Death Date: | 1639 |
| Death Place: | Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States of America |
| Cemetery: | Old Burying Ground |
| Burial or Cremation Place: | Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States of America |
Isaac Perkins was baptized 20 December 1571 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England, the son of Thomas Perkins and Alice (possibly Kebble). Isaac married first Alice —. This Alice was buried in June of 1602 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England. Isaac married second Alice —. Isaac became a yeoman in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts. On 15 June 1639, his widow Alice sold the lot in Ipswich.
Isaac and the first Alice’s children are:
1. Sarah Perkins, baptized 3 Feb 1596 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
2. Elizabeth Perkins, baptized 19 May 1600 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
3. Thomas Perkins, baptized 27 May 1601 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
Isaac and the second Alice’s children are:
4. Abraham Perkins, baptized in 1603 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England, married Mary (Wyeth?), one of first settlers of Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, miller, clerk of the market, constable, and tavern keeper.
5. Jacob Perkins, baptized 23 Mar 1605/6 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England, said to have settled in Holmes Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, Dukes, Massachusetts.
6. Abigail Perkins, baptized 8 Nov 1607 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
7. Isaac Perkins, baptized 26 Jan 1611/2 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England, married Susanna —, one of first settlers of Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, constable.
8. Hannah Perkins, baptized 9 Oct 1614 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
9. Lydia Perkins, baptized 1 Jan 1617/8 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England.
10. Mary Perkins, baptized 16 Sep 1621 in Hillmorton, Warwick, England, may very likely have been the Mary who married Henry Green of Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire and died 26 Apr 1690.[1]
Sources:
1. Perkins in Hillmorton Parish Records (England), extracted by Jim Perkins.
2. Davis, Walter Goodwin, The Ancestry of Dudley Wildes, 1759–1820, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, Portland, ME: Anthoensen Press, 1959, p. 89.
3. Noyes, Sybil, Libby, Charles Thornton, and Davis, Walter Goodwin, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976, p. 541.
4. Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Vol. 3, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990 (originally published Boston, 1860-1862).
5. Holmes, Frank R., Directory of Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700, New York, 1923, p. 354.
Baptisms20 Dec 1571 Isaac son of Thomas
3 Feb 1596 Sarah dau of Isaac
19 May 1600 Elizabeth dau of Isaac
27 Mar 1601 Thomas son of Isaac
Burial[28?] June 1602 Alice wife of Isaac
Baptisms[4 July ?] 1603 Abraham son of Isaac & Alice
23 Mar 1605/6 Jacob son of Isaac
8 Nov 1607 Abigail dau of Isaac
26 Jan 1611/12 Isaac son of Isaac
9 Oct 1614 Hannah dau of Isaac
1 Jan 1617/18 Lydia dau of Isaac
16 Sep 1621 Mary dau of Isaac
Source: Perkins in Hillmorton Parish Records (England), extracted by Jim Perkins.
In 1637 there was an Isaac Perkins in Ipswich where he owned “land lying above the street called Brook street, six acres.” He was dead before 15 Jun 1639, when his widow Alice Perkins sold the lot to Joseph Morse. It is tempting to believe that he was also of the Hillmorton stock. John Perkins did not have a brother Isaac, but he had an uncle Isaac only eleven years older than he, while other Isaacs were baptized in Hillmorton in 1597/8 and 1611/2.
If Isaac Perkins of Ipswich was a man of middle age, which we have no means of knowing, he and Alice may have been the parents of Abraham and Isaac Perkins who turned up in Hampton, not far down the coast, where Abraham took the Freeman’s Oath in 1640 and Isaac in 1642. These men are presumed to have been brothers. Abraham named a son Luke, not a common name, and John Perkins of Hillmorton and Ipswich had an uncle Luke, a brother Luke, and a grandson Luke.
Source: Davis, Walter Goodwin, The Ancestry of Dudley Wildes, 1759–1820, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, Portland, ME: Anthoensen Press, 1959, p. 89.
Perkins/Perkeings/Perkus/Parkins, Isaac, yeoman, Ipswich, propr. 1637. His widow Alice sold land and house 15 (4) 1639. [Ips. Rec.] Ch. Isaac (rem. to Hampton); Jacob (sold land recd. from his father 23 (2) 1674, after removing to Holmes Hole.)
Source: Holmes, Frank R., Directory of Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700, New York, 1923, p. 354.
When the center of town exploded we checked the sky
Nobody could see the cause of the blaze or find out why
Our news was jammed and twitter was disabled tonight
We are not sure if this is an invasion, a prank, or a fight
If our communications are stopped we will quiver in fear
It will be of no use to have all the latest of apps and gear
Please send us a signal, a message, a hint or a sign
Are we surrounded by zombies, or enemies of some kind?
We have become hyper-vigilant, paranoid, and obsessed
Is this one road we have traveled doomed or blessed?
The door was blocked by a large figure standing next to the fire
His face obscured by smoke, his identity concealed from us,
He moved with deliberate intent so swift and sure he seemed a ghost,
A phantom memory of the times when this place served as the center
Of a large and looming ogre with scary tendrils reaching into every nook
We were not sure if he entered the flames on purpose or was pulled
By fate or backdraft into the inferno that had started so suddenly
The night exploded as the bright red fire consumed the mask of power
Some rejoiced as the melting symbol of the past became a molten puddle
Most of us wondered how long it would be before the area would be safe
We all believed the melting mask was telling us to take great precaution
This poem is a response to this week’s photo prompt from Sue Vincent’s Echo. Each Thursday she posts a photo. She is a very good sport to post for us this week since her own computer exploded and has made access to her photo collection tedious. Thank you Sue. We appreciate your generosity. Please join other writers here to read, write, comment on last week’s prompt.
There are a growing number of products being produced to specifically address the medical marijuana patient’s needs. By refining the plant in various ways the effects can be customized. Those who do not want to smoke have many good options. Our dispensary, Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center, is constantly developing new ways to serve the patients. Our kitchen goddess, Juliana Desmond, works on finding new ways to deliver the benefits of cannabis to treat the conditions our patients present. She creates, then tests, the products for efficacy and shelf stability before they are sold on the market. It is a long and careful process she coordinates with our lab. She also works at the dispensary so she has direct knowledge of what is popular and most requested by our patients.
People of all ages and walks of life come to the dispensary for relief. As with all healing the patient must trust the provider. Our dispensary agents are trained to pay very close attention to the patient to establish a comfortable, yet clinical, relationship. By listening closely to the self diagnosis the patient gives the budtender now has many tools to try. We teach everyone to start with a very low dose and go slowly. We want to provide relief with the least amount of consumption and expense. By working with the patient to change dosage and or strain to customize the experience , the budtender’s knowledge and professionalism best serves the public. If you are looking for a wide variety of products at all price points, visit the knowledgeable staff at Desert Bloom.
Not so long ago I was very limited in the teas I consumed. I was a big fan of herbal, and fruit tea but had no love for green, white, or black teas. I had tried some but probably was brewing them incorrectly for maximum results. I probably became intrigued to expand my tea selection by tasting the samples that came with my regular Adagio orders. Reaching beyond my previous boundaries turned out to be a very good idea. Now I am into almost every variety and flavor. There is a place and time for each tea. They offer different benefits as well as flavors. If you want to expand your appreciation of tea, here are the kinds of tea made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant:
The herbal blends, rooibos, honey bush and fruit tisanes make up a group of caffeine free beverages I enjoy liberally. However, I am very pleased to have made the acquaintance of all of the teas on this list because it expands my possible choices. Life is discovery, and tea makes an excellent vehicle to learn more about the places tea is grown and the cultures created around this important beverage. Adagio offers sampler packs, which helped me find new excitement. I have also been very happy to buy some of the other customers’ signature blends. This is an option I have not used yet myself. It is yet another way to taste and share tea. If you like the way your custom blend tastes, you can ship it to your friends with your name and label on it as a gift. I hope you will explore the world of tea with me. It is a satisfying journey.
When I was 19 years old I lived in the suburbs of Durham, North Carolina. I shared a large house on 200 acres with two other women. We split the rent of $80 a month. Part of the house was built before the Civil War. It had been a grand estate, but was slated for development, so the owners did not want to do any repairs. It had been left empty for a few years. We found the estate agent, Dallas Branch, in Durham and convinced him to rent it to us. He had a thick southern accent and at first was opposed to three women living in the woods without a chaperone. He warned us that the owner might sell at any time, so there was a month to month agreement. That was the best rental deal I ever had in my life. We had wonderful parties with our friends there that created epic memories.
The house had a fireplace in the downstairs living room, in which we burned coal. There was no insulation, so this fireplace was not adequate to heat the house. We each had kerosene heaters in our bedrooms to stay warm at night. Our expenses were low, and one of the women had a mother who sent us all kinds of fabulous canned goods from her garden in South Carolina. Two of us worked at a small publishing company downtown Durham (I got a ride to work with my roommate since I owned no vehicle) and the other was in drama school in Chapel Hill at UNC. I can’t remember how she got to school. She did not have a car either.
At the publishing company I met a group of friends who attended Duke and lived in Durham. They invited me to go to the Union Grove Fiddler’s Convention on Easter. A caravan of cars full of sleeping gear and tons of food traveled from Durham to the campground that surrounded the big performance tent. We pitched our tents and spent the weekend immersed in Bluegrass, beer, and food. I took an entire country ham and a lot of bread I had baked, including hot crossed buns. Everyone ate way too much, myself included.
On 29 March, 1970 I made a decision to be a vegetarian. I did not have a reason. I just did it because I was 19 years old and I ate too much ham on my weekend trip. There was no moral or health code attached to the decision. Many Mondays later I am still a vegetarian. It is much easier now to find products. Today vegan diets are promoted to save the planet as well as cure common ailments. I agree with that point of view, but do not push it on my friends. Sometimes PETA can be a little overkill (pun intended) with the methods they use to sell the idea to non believers.
Have you tried to cut down on meat, gentle reader? We have come a long way since 1970. If you are looking for ideas they are abundant, especially on Mondays. Follow the hashtag #MeatlessMonday any day for recipes and helpful hints.