Author Archives: Old as Dirt & Proud of It!

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About Old as Dirt & Proud of It!

Welcome to Old As Dirt, and Proud of It by Karen Samenow. I named my blog Old As Dirt And Proud of It because that's where I am in life. You may find art or music, or inspiration included because, I'm an artist, a spiritual medium, and I'm always learning more and exploring. I hope you find us interesting. My focus for this blog is to bring a little levity to well seasoned women. Sometimes it actually may help!
Nov18

What do You do With Lemons?

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Well….You make Lemonade!

Life has a way of throwing us curves….and we have to deal with them one way or another.

I was talking with a friend the other day, and she was telling me how invasive and horrible her next door neighbors were. I’ve heard this story before, my son has a similar problem. I wonder exactly what and why can’t people be nice to each other. We live in a small community for seniors, and I would think we could be a little more considerate of the people around us.

Unfortunately people have problems, especially seniors. Some of them are elderly (not me), and have serious problems. They are unable to cook any longer, unable to clean their homes, or do yard work. It’s difficult when some people close off everyone because they don’t want anyone to see just how incapacitated they have become. They seem to get nasty, and defensive. I can understand how this can happen. But what do we do with that, and how can we help?

In the case of my friend, there are three families living in a home that is less than a thousand square feet. This is a great space for a single person, or an elderly couple. These people have multiple cars, parties, dogs and several other things. Since the landlord doesn’t want to lose the money, and the board of directors don’t seem to do anything (or can’t really do anything) about the situation, what do we do?

When we are backed into a corner, how do we make lemonade out of all the lemons living around us?

I don’t have a real helpful solution, however when there is nothing else to do, think outside the box. Sometimes when talking, or reasoning doesn’t seem to help, you come home and your neighbors are parked in your driveway, it’s time to have a glass of wine, and let it go!!! Find something you love to take your mind off of the nasty demands living next door!

Do you need to find a way to justify their behavior, telling yourself they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. If that doesn’t work?

OK then, how about this…

Wrap them in white light, and pray they move soon!

Set up a Shrine with VOODOO Dolls and stick pins in them.

Walk on the beach, stick your toes into the water even if it’s cold! The ocean, lake, or stream can be a fantastic way to help wash away stress.

As you noticed it’s difficult to come up with a solution when no one will help. There are many people in our community that shouldn’t be here, and without any support to fix things, we need to go inside and deal with our own self before it eats us alive. When I dislike someone which isn’t often, I have to find a way to let things go or it will eat at me. That’s not very productive!

Personally I meditate, but I understand it isn’t for everyone. The meditation calms me, and I seem to let things roll off my back much easier.

Fortunately we don’t have problem neighbors next door, so I’m nice and calm….

If you have a solution, write, or text me leaving you thoughts, and ideas. Thank you for stopping by to read Karen’s Stone Soup, see you next time.

Nov10

What Does the Rain Tell Us?

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Today is a beautiful rainy day filled with cleansing, hope, and clean air. The sound of the rain hitting the roof, and running out the drain pipes are soothing to me. My bedroom window is open at night, and yes it’s cold, but it’s also refreshing. The sound soothes me to sleep, and I awaken refreshed and ready to go……after a cup of tea or coffee that is!

This weekend has been so lovely and cleansing. I can hear the trees telling me how good they feel, and how nice a bath is after a hot summer. Their leaves are green, and I can hear them singing as the breeze zips through their branches, and makes helps them to rustle.

All the Neighborhood birds are securely tucked into their nests, being so quiet I could swear they are all sleeping, and I can almost hear them snoring. Not a peep is coming from any of them!

As I take a deep breath in, I feel calm and relaxed, memories of my childhood rushing back, of being wrapped in a big blanket to sit by the fireplace. It brings back to me smells of cocoa, and the taste of popcorn. They are good memories, and I welcome more rain, and possibly a bit of thunder , all while filling me with even more childhood memories so sweet it feels like warm brownies fresh out of the oven and melting in my mouth.

Thank you for stopping to read Stone Soup, come back again. Karen

Oct6

The Energy WE Share

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This is my sister Cheryl, We are very much connected even though Cheryl has passed.

Most of us have never taken the time to think about how we are all connected, but I assure you we are all connected!

All of us are made up of energy, and the energy flows through, and is part of the trees and all their plant friends, the creatures big and small, all people whether they are people we like or people we don’t care for. There is energy in our oceans and the life that lives in the oceans, the atmosphere has energy, we may call it weather. It sounds crazy if you haven’t thought of it doesn’t it?

There is so much energy that we can walk into a room full of people and immediately feel bad energy or good energy. You might not recognize it the way someone else might. But you might feel happiness entering a room, and feel it amongst the people. Or you might feel a quietness or tension in the room, and your mind is saying to you, “I don’t want to go in!” It’s all the same thing. It’s your intuition telling you what kind of energy you are walking into, and it isn’t worth your time to be around people that aren’t happy, and upbeat. The energy we feel can be intuition, or a knowing.

Many things change the way we feel about being out and about. Since we all have been stuck at home, and barely going anywhere during this pandemic, I think we have gotten use to a safe environment. Our homes, and yards are our haven, we feel safe there, and have gotten use to being home for the last six months.

Now things have opened up a little and slowly we are venturing out into the big, wild, crazy world once again. It isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I thought I’d be champing at the bit to get out and go shopping or go to lunch with my friends, but I’m not. I get out to go grocery shopping and the minute it gets a little crowed, I have a panic attack leaving me anxious to get back home and away from people. I guess we are never happy, and the grass always looks greener on the other side. But the fact is we still need to be careful, and that adds to concern.

Having to be home for so long, and being told we have to be so careful with masks, and gloves has put fear into our hearts and minds. This has left us with so many questions, and few answers.

I feel so much empathy for the people that have gotten sick, and their families who haven’t been able to be with them as they either recover or pass on. I can’t imagine not being with one of my family or a good friend as they leave this world. I literally feel their pain!

We are all connected to one another whether we like it or not. But I’m here to let you know that even if you don’t believe in our connection, this connection is what helps us sit in prayer to send loving thoughts, and healing energy to someone we care about that is ill in your circle of friends, or book club. Prayer works, we do it all the time, even those of us who are non-believers do things like talk to loved ones that have passed, or say to themselves “God Help Me!” On a deeper level there is a knowing that our connection is infinite, our love for one another is deeper, and without realizing it we all have a knowing!

Thank you for stopping to read my blog. I’m considering changing the name of my blog, but am not sure what to call it. Next time you stop to read it, It will just be Karen’s Blog. So don’t think you’ve missed it, you have not. Eventually I’ll find the right name and maybe even change the face of he blog. Baby steps is what I’m being told, so baby steps it is! Karen

Oct6

The Older I Get…..

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The Older I Get…..
The photos of me at the end of 6th grade wouldn’t load, so art is what you get!

When I was at the end of sixth grade, I thought I was pretty darn grown up. Then I started what was then called “Junior High,” and things really changed. I no longer thought I was the cats pajamas because I now was a small fish in a big pond.

Fast forward to high school…..

Again I thought I was going to be the cool one in school because I was entering a new phase in my life, High School! I went to Van Nuys High in the San Fernando Valley. In those days VNH was the place all the kids from families that were in the film industry went to school, and I was going to school with them. Natalie Wood, Stacy Keach both went there, but I didn’t know either of them. High School wasn’t quite as glamorous as I thought it would be, but there I was trying to be a cool kid, and still keeping up with my grades. That wasn’t easy since I was basically majoring in “Boys!” To be honest, the boys situation was a bit discouraging as well. There wasn’t the selection I had anticipated, but what was available had to do!

Faster forward…..

Once out of high school, again I thought my knowledge was primmer and with nothing more to learn, I tried my hand at a local community college. The thought of studying literally made me sick to my stomach, so I decided to once again major in “boys!” There I had a much better selection, however still not quite up to my expectations.

My next door neighbor was just entering a university, and invited me to go to one of the groups of interest she signed up for. This one was a skiing club, and reluctantly I went to her first meeting with her. Wow, now this was what I was talking about!!!

BOYS…

They were everywhere, tall ones, short ones, skinny ones, stocky ones. There was a boy for every occasion. They looked at both of us like they had never seen girls before, and we were in seventh heaven! Conversations were easy, not like those lowly high school boys. They hadn’t learned how to talk to girls yet. Before we knew it, we were both invited by the boys to go skiing with them, and hang out. My friend wasn’t intimidated, but I was passing myself off as a college student, and I wasn’t. So after the meeting I quickly disappeared into the sunset, not to be heard of since. I lived out my days in high school quietly, and as quickly as I could.

After graduating I thought my life was my own. I’m free as a bird, with nothing to stop me! Sure that’s what I thought, then reality set in. My parents were very strict, and I still couldn’t go anywhere without their approval….I was humiliated! I was an all knowing, graduate, and adult now, how could they treat me that way? I know they were just trying to do the best they could, but at the time I couldn’t understand why their job wasn’t finished.

Me at “21”

The following year, I met the love of my life, we married soon after, and started our family. First a son, then three years later another son. By five years later, I had divorced, remarried, and had a daughter. I was a young, all knowing mother of three with one divorce under my belt. Boy was I cool!

Fast forward a few years!

Almost seventeen years later, my kids are getting big with two boys in high school, and a daughter in elementary school. My hands were full, and I was running a business., and holding down a full time job. As I look back, I wonder how I found the energy, or the time to do all of this. But I did, and it worked. I had a lot of energy, and of course I was all knowing. That helped! I knew exactly what I was doing, and where I was going. How cool was I?

Then the stuff hit the fan…..

One day my husband came home and told me he was dating a blond waitress, and because I was so cool, he knew I’d understand & be OK with it. I certainly was OK with it! I guess I figured it was time… and so I decided since I knew everything there was to know, it was time for my children and I to go. And we went…

It was a struggle, but somehow we did it. The kids and I had a Charlie Brown Christmas , and ate hotdogs & baked beans for some time, but we did it, and we were better for it. My dad use to say, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!” “Thank you Dad, I hate to admit it, but you were right!” How true that was… We have all grown, and become stronger, and better people because of this little bump in the road. Looking back, that’s all it was, just a bump in the road.

Many years later in the middle of working my second job, I met a local man, we dated for a while, and decided to marry. They say the third time is the charm. Apparently they were right, because we are now going on thirty years of marriage. Everyone is doing well, and we are all happy.

The point of this entire story is this, I have learned by trial and error that the Older I get, the less I know! Yup I was cool then, and slightly cooler now.

As most of us do get older, and each day I learn something I didn’t know, and each day I reflect on how much is in our world to yet learn, I’m curious, I want to know things, and I learn every day. But every day I’m on this amazing earth, I realize how much there is to learn, how much it has to offer, and we only have so much time. It’s undetermined, Don’t waste it!

With much love, I thank you for stopping to read Stone Soup.

See you next time, Karen

Sep29

Advise from Maria Sabina

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 Advice from Maria Sabina, Mexican curandera (medicine woman) and poet:“Cure yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds. Heal yourself with mint, with neem and eucalyptus. Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon. Put love in tea instead of sugar, and take it looking at the stars.Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain.Get strong with bare feet on the ground and with everything that is born from it. Get smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with the eye of your forehead.Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier.Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember…you are the medicine.” — with Vickie Mitchell.

I thought this so beautiful, I couldn’t resist posting it for everyone to read. I hope you liked it as much as I did.

Thank you for stopping to read Karen’s Stone Soup. See you next time, Karen