First of all, I apologize to everyone whose comments I haven't responded to
and whose posts I haven't visited back yet.
I've spent this week in computer hell.
It started with a printer that wouldn't print, and I plummeted from there.
Right now I'm stuck in Circle 5 of Dante's Inferno: Wrath and Sullenness ~
floundering around in the muddy waters of the Styx. 😂
Stradanus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This too will pass.
Meanwhile I'm on to happier things, starting with gratitude.
I have no idea where I found this ~
Possibly at my friend Linda's Blog
when the Middle East is plunging into further chaos.
There is too much suffering on our ailing planet.
When I'm not on the phone with a technical person, I've continued to unpack and declutter.
It's easier than trying to figure out how the hell to write a book.
I'm paralyzed with despair, feeling overwhelmed,
but I'm going to stare at the damn manuscript on my computer
for a minimum of an hour every day and move forward somehow.
Floundering around in the River Styx again. 😂
Here are a few treasures I've unearthed this week:
1. My First Happy Find! Is this precious or what?
Sara with Dipsy (green) and Laa-Laa (yellow)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Christmas Day 1998
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
My adorable niece Sara is clutching her Teletubbies, Dipsy and Laa-Laa,
after a major crisis.
It was Christmas 1998, and our extended family had gathered
at my sister Donnie and BIL Martin's home for Christmas dinner.
In the chaos Dipsy disappeared, and there was no peace until Dipsy was found.
Sara was distraught, inconsolable.
Some forgotten hero ferreted Dipsy out from under
a pile of gifts beneath Donnie and Martin's sparkling Christmas tree.
Crisis resolved!
Donnie and Martin's Tree Many Years Later
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Christmas Day 2016
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
Sara is the only other person in my family that I know of who has wished for a magic wand.
(See: Wishing for a Magic Wand)
She was about the same age as in her Teletubbies photo, five,
when she asked her dad to make her a magic wand.
And Peter, who would do anything for his girls Sara and Natalie,
crafted Sara a lovely wand and gave it to her.
She raced upstairs and stomped downstairs again almost immediately.
Sara threw the wand on the floor in front of Peter storming, "It doesn't work!"
She had waved the magic wand over a box in her bedroom,
expecting a computer to appear.
Welcome to reality! 😂
But in a way that magic wand did work, because Peter who is a gifted techie,
soon presented Sara with her own computer.
Peter and Sara
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 28, 2024
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
Now Sara is a fierce advocate for the rights of Indigenous people in Canada,
and she recently emerged from the devastating suicide of one of her Indigenous girls
to pursue a Masters in sociology.
In her first course she did a case study of our extended family
and received a detailed survey back from most of us
containing at least four generations of stories and secrets
followed up by extensive phone calls. 😱
She is one amazing, determined gal, and I can't wait to see what she does next!
Sara and Her Fiancé Justen
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 28, 2024
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
2. My second happy find!
My American Flag
Aurora, Colorado, USA
July 8, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
And this really is my American flag.
It was presented to me during my citizenship ceremony
when I became a US citizen on January 22, 1999.
Despite our current turmoil, I love my adopted country, and I am a proud American.
I thought I had lost my flag forever, and here it is!
The Stars and Strips Flying for Our 250th Independence Day
On an E470 Overpass Construction Site Near Our Home.
There are lots of big machines and hardhats in my future. 😂
Aurora, Colorado, USA
July 5, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
3. My third happy find!
An Entry in My Journal on Monday, April 12, 2021
"He is so very, very lucky to be alive."
July 8, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
On Saturday, April 10, 2021, Terry came home from playing pickleball feeling a little odd.
We decided to go the then Parker Adventist Hospital just to be safe.
I quickly drove the five miles to the emergency room,
and the staff raced Terry up to the Cath Lab.
He was having a widow-maker heart attack.
The skilled and compassionate Dr. Lee MacDonald
literally paddled Terry back to life with a defibrillator.
If Terry had been anywhere else, he would have died.
second in command in the Aurora Fire Department.
He handled emergency and triage services for Pope John Paul II's visit to Aurora in 1993.
Gary royally chewed me out for driving Terry to the hospital and not calling 911.
"Our trucks carry equipment that can save your life!
Our firefighters can save your life!
Even if you think it's not life threatening, call 911!"
Point taken!
Everyone, call 911. Don't chance it, like we did.
Terry is very, very lucky to be alive.
Cheri, Gary, and Terry at Thanksgiving Dinner
Magianno's Little Italy
Inverness, Colorado, USA
November 28, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
And here's a shout out to our nephew Conor, who is a volunteer firefighter and EMT
with the Cascade Volunteer Fire Department in Cascade, Colorado.
Conor and I
Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Monkeypod Kitchen
Waikiki, H USA
July 8, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved
Here's a rousing heavy metal song I also discovered this week.
It honors our first responders who save lives every day,
"Blue on Black" by Five Finger Death Punch.
I've been working on this post yesterday and today,
between online sessions with my amazingly patient Canon tech Jayden.
A solution to my memoir impasse occurred to me this afternoon.
I've been studying Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafasi.
It is a memoir filled with many quotations and references without much documentation.
I've been trying to back up everything I'm writing with historical documentation.
The documentation and footnotes have been making me crazy.
Suddenly I'm realizing that I don't have to do that.
I can just write it without that crap duress. If Azar did so, why not me?
I have a way forward!
What a week!
I hope yours has been easier!
Even when life seems dark, there is always a way forward with gratitude and hope.
I'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.
Note: Never call a firefighter a fireman! 😂
May you have a great weekend filled with relaxation and laughs!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Copyright ©2026 – All rights reserved.
My next post will be IWSG Day
Friday, July 17th. 🤞
On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
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