Come as You Are Party: Meet the Critters of the Grover Hotel

There are 3 cats here at the Grover Hotel. Giorgio is the oldest. He is 17. His former human family were jerks who had him declawed and then dropped him at the shelter when they got a new cat and Giorgio behaved like a normal cat and hissed at the newcomer.

Tara is 10 years old. She was born on 9 September 2009. I adopted her and her little half-brother or cousin at the same time. Sadly, he had to be put to sleep due to kidney failure on his 6th birthday, 17 July 2015. 

I've never gotten over losing him and I have a tattoo in his memory on my left shoulder.

Bart is 9 years old. He was adopted after Giorgio's housemate got out of the apartment that my son was living in at the time and we were never able to find her. 

Giorgio was lonely and we had seen Bart at the shelter while looking for Tori. Since Bart and Tara became housemates they have enjoyed playing together. They are evenly matched and love to roughhouse and chase each other.

For those who haven't had the displeasure of virtually meeting me previously, I'm Cie, AKA the Ornery Old Lady. I'm a former home health nurse, and caregiver, now disabled. I live here at the Grover Hotel with my son Michael, who will be 30 in May. 

My son is a creative person who enjoys working with his hands. He does woodcarving, primarily chip carving, which is a relief style. If you have a design in mind, you can email me at chartley65@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with him.

Visit the Artist

Ghost Town Grover may seem gruff at first, but he's just protective of the ole Grover Hotel. Don't tell him, but he's just about the un-scariest ghost you'll ever meet.

Visit the Artist

Cactus Clem is one of a kind. He's a mutant cactus man. He doesn't eat solid food, but he sure does love to drink, and he ain't picky about what he's drinking. Beer, ditch water, lemonade, whiskey, white lightning, more beer, it's all the same to Clem!

Do not challenge Clem to a drinking contest. You will lose. Alcohol doesn't get Clem drunk. He just likes the taste.

I hope you've enjoyed meeting the people and critters that reside here at the Grover Hotel. Feel free to stop by anytime. Our virtual home is open 24-7!

~Cie the Ornery Old Lady~

Ornery Owl

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors on Pixabay

Animal Anarchy Blog

Good Stuff from Grover Blog

Blow Your Stack Saturday: Ditch the Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosis

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

I honestly think the "borderline personality disorder" diagnosis needs to be eradicated. This iffy diagnosis is mostly applied to women. When I read the theory that "borderline personality disorder" is actually a form of complex PTSD, it hit home with me. "Borderline Personality Disorder" is the latter twentieth-century hysteria. I wrote a piece about a traumatic incident that happened to me when I was fifteen and realized that a lot of the acting out I did in my teens could be traced to this incident. However, a lot of it could also be traced to the bullying I endured through my entire fucking childhood and teen years.

I also propose that the word "bullying" be stricken from the lexicon and replaced with a more accurate term:

Abuse.

I was inspired to write this after reading a post on The Mighty regarding borderline personality disorder.

https://themighty.com/2020/02/confirmation-bias-diagnosis-from-psychiatrist/

Free Use Image by Open Clipart Vectors on Pixabay

Many Temples Senryu

Image by Little MiMi from Pixabay

so many temples

away from the daily stress

enlightenment here?

~cie~

notes

I don't want to spend too much time rambling on, but I want to give credit where credit is due. This poem was partly inspired by the prompt, of course, but also inspired by a line from the song She's Come Undone by The Guess Who, which pretty much sums up the way I've felt about things for most of my life.

I know that some people get comfort from religion and I'm not saying they can't. However, I never have. Religion never did anything except make me feel worse about how flawed I am. 

Further, people tend to conflate religion and spirituality. A lot of the time, I believe that there is a higher power and that the soul continues following the death of the body. I believe in the possibility of reincarnation. I don't need to believe in any specific deity or dogma to hold the aforementioned beliefs. 

The Norwegian black metal musician Gaahl said that God is not in some building, God is in nature and God is in each of us. I wish we would extend kindness to one another's souls rather than being hateful to one another for our external differences.

Sometimes I reckon I'm just fucked and there is nothing but a life of pain followed by nothing. That possibility just makes me feel worse, so I try not to entertain it for too long.

Too many mountains, and not enough stairs to climb
Too many churches and not enough truth
Too many people and not enough eyes to see
Too many lives to lead and not enough time

 It's too late
She's gone too far
She's lost the sun

She's come undone

Carpe Diem Shikoku Island Pilgrimage: Kanjizai-ji Senryu

Image Source

I wonder if you

are there, and can you help me

I am too far gone

~cie~

notes

Kanjizai-Ji is situated in the town called Ainan and is devoted to Yakushi Nyorai or the Buddha of Medicine and Healing. He is still one of the most important Buddhas especially during rituals that are performed at funerals because he is also the Buddha who leads the Buddhists to Nirvana.

Fat Friday: Ageism and Size Prejudice

Image copyright Open Clipart Vectors

Ornery sez:

Say "NO WAY" to ageism and fatphobia!

This is a response to a post by Ragen Chastain regarding comebacks for fatphobic bullshit.

“You’re not fat! Don’t talk about yourself like that, it makes me uncomfortable.”

My blogger handle is The Ornery Old Lady.

I had a person comment on one of my posts “you’re not old, you’re young at heart!”

I had to laugh because if there is one thing I’ve never been, it’s young at heart. I’ve had kind of a tough go of things.

Two of society’s biggest prejudices, especially when it comes to women, are age and size. I’m middle-aged and fat. And I want to know why my saying that should make anyone uncomfortable.

(Hint–it shouldn’t.)

The Ornery Middle-Aged Lady just doesn’t have the same impact as The Ornery Old Lady, though.

Fat and Ornery

Insecure Writers' Support Group 4 March 2020

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?

My family is extremely dysfunctional. They have ended up in various stories in various situations. I'm not trying to paint them as bad. I'm trying to understand things that happened in my youth through much older eyes.

I'm too tired and my health is too precarious to be angry anymore. Mostly I'm sad for what could have been when I have the energy to feel much of anything.

~Cie the Ornery Old Lady~

(yes, I am)

Heeding Haiku: Senryu for Sadness

Image Source

never leaving me

I carry you in my heart

sadness, my partner

~cie~