Author Archives: Maggie Turner

Memory, a tricky subject.

Science and medicine know some things about human brains. After reading a half dozen scientific papers about memory, I’m not convinced that, through the parameters of science, we know all that much.

Memory has always been a source of fascination. I am a very lucky woman, I have and still do interact with some very brilliant and exceptional minds. From my perspective, each of these minds is/was unique; unique in the way that they approach/approached input, process and output. As far as I’m concerned there is no one kind of genius.

As for myself, my own memory is like a quirky, impish and fiecely loyal friend. Deep in my mind decisions, based on that stored material, are made. Decisions that guide me, decisions that do not reach consciousness.

How do I know that those unconscious decisions exist? Usually I become aware of them as my thoughts and behaviors form patterns. Sometimes, when environmental conditions are conducive, I can actually catch glimpses of that deep place that is the foundation of my existence.

The book I am currently reading is all about memory, science and what science does not know. Dementia is one of the larger themes in the book; the loss of memory is explored. But mostly the book is about what role memory plays in human, and non-human, connections.

Drying Laundry in the Winter

I have little experience with dementia. I think my paternal Grandmother may have briefly suffered from dementia, but I don’t really know as once she was hospitalized for heart trouble I never saw her again. My maternal Grandparents were entirely themselves until they passed away, as were my paternal and maternal Aunts and Uncles.

Sometimes I worry about my own memory. I mean, how would you know if you had a problem with your memory when your sitting alone in the bush for days on end? Attila laughs.

When I think about it rationally though, I am still able to juggle working at six differing locations for a corporation, run three small enterprises and this journal. As far as I know nothing is really slipping. Feedback from external sources indicate that nothing is really slipping.

If I do lose my memory, I hope the bad goes first and that I am surrounded by positive and caring people. I have the positive and caring people part in my life now.

Today I am remembering to do laundry!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-9 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 100.4 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -9.0°C
Dewpoint: -10.1°C
Humidity: 92 %
Wind: SSE 15 km/h
Wind Chill: -16

Quote

“We all make excuses rather than deal with what we don’t want to see – even if it is right in front of our noses… we minimize symptoms despite a preponderance of evidence. We acquit the victim and avoid the obvious.”
Source: Making the Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
David Dosa M.D.

Last night when we went to bed it was raining.  This morning everything out there is frozen solid and snow flakes are dancing out of the sky, eventually resting lightly to form a gauzy blanket over hard, hard world.

Yesterday, the first day of 2011, Attila and I did a lot of puttering about.  As we puttered we watched movies, off and on, as we passed the set.  Let’s see, we watched Gunga Din (1939), Music and Lyrics (2007) and Mamma Mia! (2008) (great fun for Abba fans!).  It was with sad relief that I ate the last of my stash of cookies and salted nuts!  Holiday food is one of our greatest joys, and we indulged ourselves thoroughly this year.  I’ve gained some weight, enjoyed every minute of it, and now it is time to get back to normal.  So, last night for dinner we ate a very healthy meal, Attila’s Turkey Soup, made with our Christmas Day turkey.  Attila’s Turkey Soup is healthy, low sodium, low fat, lots of vegetables.  The absolute best thing about it though, is that it tastes great!

One of the tasks Attila took on yesterday was to shovel the snow off the deck.  There was quite a bit there, it had slid off the roof onto the deck in a great rain-sodden mass.  The deck was clear when we went to bed last night.

Since the weather has turned colder today, Attila is busy splitting firewood for the third firing of the masonry heater that we will need today.

In my fantasy life, our deck protrudes from the peak side of the building, where no snow from the roof will ever fall on it, and Attila will never have to shovel it off.  In my fantasy life we have a central heating system that runs on a thermostat, so that the temperature is set and then heat just happens.  This would add hours to Attila’s days, and provide us with a lot more freedom of movement.  These are expensive fantasies!  Perhaps this year the house will sell and we will move into a home where these luxuries already exist!

Having enjoyed Mamma Mia! yesterday on the television, we watched it again tonight.  Actually, I enjoyed it in a different way on second viewing; we watched the film with closed captioning!  Although I didn’t miss much during the first viewing, a few points of plot became much clearer with the second viewing.

Attila has lit the third fire of the day, Mist is settling into her basket for yet another nap and I am about to snuggle up on the easy chair with my Kobo and see what is happening in pre-Rome Italy, via Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin.

It seems that we are indeed here.