The rain stopped for a bit, but is coming down hard again, so I’m checking the window sills every few minutes to see if I need to put more rolled up towels on the window sills. Though it’s a pain, it IS good exercise….
I’m trying to make sure that Mother Nature gets the memo that TODAY is the official start of “The Cool Season” here in Thailand where the temperatures drop a bit and the hard rains STOP.
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Since I read “Prequel: The Last Happy Summer “ by R. G. Ryan, I want to read all the Jake Moriarity series books again. I made sure I either had them on my Kindle or downloaded them again this morning so I can reread the first 6 books again. If you want to get them, here is a source – https://www.amazon.com/The-Jake-Moriarity-Novels-6-book-series/dp/B07H9JMTN5
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I’m looking forward to painting more of my sketches today. I’m lucky that I have a lot of fun things to do – around wringing out wet towels from the window sills. 😄☔️
“It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” ~ Brackett – “Halloween” – 1978
I hope that you’re having a happy celebration today.
Latest sketch/painting.
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I’ve been up much of the night. We’ve been having a LOT of rain – still coming down now – and causing leaks from my windows. I have rolled up towels on all the window sills, and am making the rounds, wringing them into my bucket, and putting them back.
I brought my drying rack inside from the balcony and set up the sheet under it to catch drips while I drape towels over it and have the fan going to try to dry the towels as I can.
I’m hoping this is a ‘last hurrah” of “The Rainy Season. “It’s November 1st here, the official start of “The Cool Season” where the temperatures only get to the mid 80’s or so.
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We are planning to go visit Harvey in the nursing home later this morning. I’m hoping we don’t have to reschedule due to flooding and continuing hard rain, but we’ll see.
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Happy trick or treating and other fun tonight. Save a candy bar for me, please. 🎃👻💀
Today is “Pampered Friday” for me. I’m grinning just thinking about my day.
I went to the gym and walked my mile on the treadmill like a good girl. I’m going to add some more balance exercises to my day, thanks to a URL on balance videos that my friend, Marsha, sent.
At 10 I have my weekly massage. How lucky I am to be able to do this! A total luxury, I leave the place almost week-kneed with relaxation.
This afternoon, my housekeeper comes to make my place spotless once again. I do a number of things to get ready for her each week: I change the sheets on my bed, gather and take out the trash, try to get my laundry in and put away if it’s dry, and generally straighten things. She makes me feel like a slob, though, because she not only cleans everything, she lines things up. She even dries the soap in my shower!
I’ve never had the luxury of a housekeeper before and I truly love it. I can keep things picked up and reasonably neat, but the scrubbing she does of the balcony floor, the scrubbing of the shower floor, the getting every bit of dust that dares to come in here off the baseboards, off the floor, off every shelf, tabletop, or counter, is something that will become more difficult for me, no matter how fit I try to get. MUCH appreciated and NEVER to be taken for granted.
While she is here cleaning, Brian and I go to a cafe where you can stay as long as you like, nursing a drink of something, feeling very welcome and at home. I take my sketchbook and drawing supplies, my Kindle, and a sweatshirt to put on if I can’t get my favorite spot at the front window. (The rest of the place gets quite chilly.) If I’m lucky enough to get my favorite spot, the temperature is mostly comfortable and I can pass the time sketching, reading, playing on my phone, and watching the amazing traffic outside.
Soon after we come home, Brian calls me up to his place for dinner. He orders something and has it delivered, a luxury I’ve never enjoyed before. We lived too far out ‘in the sticks’ in Arkansas to get food delivered. Our driveway was also steep enough that many people would just refuse to even try to drive up it. Even Amazon would leave our packages at the bottom of the driveway…
We get ‘Western’ dinners a lot of the time. These are lower in carbs and don’t have a lot of hot spices. We are gradually eating more Thai food. We had what they call, “Stewed Pork Leg and Rice” the other night. It had a sauce to go with it. It wasn’t hot, tasted delicious, and cost about $3.00 US money for both of us!
Finally, after I prep for Saturday, I’ll sprawl on the lounge part of my sofa with my headphones and enjoy listening and watching music on YouTube on my TV.
I will never be able to thank our son enough for wanting us to come here to retire. He handled all the details, and is STILL taking care of both of us. It’s so wonderful to be part of his life now. We have such a good time doing things together!
I hope this link works for you. It shows one type of entertainment for the whole family going on today, which is already Halloween.
I did this yesterday.
I regret that the world is such that Halloween can’t be the simple child-centered holiday it was back in the old days when I was young.
I loved planning ‘what I would be’ each Halloween, using things I found around the house. We never bought store costumes. We loved searching the house for things that would make up our ‘costumes,’ sometimes wheedling, sometimes begging to be allowed to use something that had to be returned in perfect shape after the celebration was over.
My friends and I, usually a group of about six girls, would then walk down the hill toward the neighborhood where houses were much closer together and people really got into the spirit of trick-or-treating. They left their porch lights on if you were welcome to knock at the door. Many of the yards and porches were decorated with wonderful stuff, cute or scary.
My favorite treats were little candy bars. I liked the milk chocolate ones best, being a chocoholic, but ANY candy bars were wonderful. I also loved to get cookies or chips.
When our bags were full, we limped home, tired but elated by our celebration and freedom. My parents made my brother and I dump our goodies on our beds, where they received a cursory parental inspection. Back in those days the main threat was a razor blade in an apple. Then we could choose one big thing or three little things to eat. The rest went back in the bag to be doled out by my mom at her discretion. Those were the days!
I wish you a Happy Halloween – either today or tomorrow – wherever you are. I hope you have a great celebration.
I’ve always loved music, but now it has become one of my favorite things.
I put on my headphones every evening so I can listen to YouTube videos of music contests, compilations of them, plus a growing list of favorite artists I can choose to listen to as I wish. I can also listen to artists I haven’t heard in years. How wonderful that I can go off into another world, smiling, feeling full of happiness, without bothering any of my neighbors!
I can hear and oldie but goodie and be transported instantly to when I was 14 and newly in love with the boy who would become my husband 9 years later. I feel as if I’m hearing the song for the first time. The years drop away. I’m enveloped by my feelings when the whole world was ahead of me.
I hear music and pain fades. It’s wonderful therapy for things like aches and pains, depression, dread of a coming situation, and more. And all you need to do is put in some ear buds, don headphones, and help is on the way.
I’m surprised that hospitals and nursing homes, schools, daycare centers, offices where the wait to be seen will be long don’t have music as an option for people. I’m thinking of making some kind of recording for my husband, including lots of his favorite songs from over the years and taking it to him in the nursing home. His nurse could help him get it going, making sure he isn’t having any problems. I’ll talk with Brian about it. We would include some kind of player and ear buds with the recording.
I’m finding so many artists new to me who are fast becoming favorites. It’s amazing how ‘identifiable’ these artists are. You don’t have to be able to see them. Their voices and styles are distinctive, unique.
I feel so lucky to have the magic of music in my life!
These artists bring such different views about what to do with wood, their visions, and their methods of doing it. I’m blown away by all the different styles and the expertise it takes to create these things.
I have always been impressed by black and white images taken by skilled photographers, but I’m drawn like the proverbial moth to a flame to color. The more of it the better.
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Halloween is almost upon us. I have a couple of sketches ready to paint that have a Halloween theme. They make me feel as if I’m celebrating a bit, even though I’m in Thailand now. 😃. I’ll work on those today.
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Today I took a virtual treadmill vacation to ‘nature’s paradise’ I’ll call it. Maybe it was Oregon, but I enjoyed walking along wooded paths, across icy patches on hilly slopes, beside rushing streams, seeing some glorious waterfalls, mountain-top ponds and lakes, and finally up to huge boulders in the middle of a flat plain then down a path across the sand to the ocean! Not a person nor building to be found. Lovely!
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After breakfast Brian and I went to get cash for my massage and cleaning lady tomorrow. He followed me back to my place so he could take pictures of my finished jigsaw puzzle to order a glass print of it for me. When I told him about loving to FEEL the finished puzzle, he looked at me with his eyebrows raised. He said he would “leave us alone so we could have some privacy.” I laughed my head off. 🤣. I call myself a ‘puzzle pervert,’ but my friend Marsha suggested a much kinder term, a ‘puzzle appreciator.’
I will leave the finished puzzle on my table until the new one arrives. Then I’ll take it apart and leave it in a gallon-sized plastic bag with the picture that came with it in the recycle area in the building so someone else can enjoy it.
I’m looking forward to starting my turtle puzzle.
Remember to include some fun in your day. Laughing is great exercise, you know. 😂🤣😛
I just finished the puzzle!!!! I’m thrilled. It’s going to sit in all its glory on my puzzle table until my new one arrives – allowing me to run my hands over it. I really don’t remember ever enjoying FEELING a finished puzzle before, but now it’s one of my favorite things. I don’t get to do it often because I’m so slow, but I make up for it by feeling it and grinning at it at least once a day, if not more…
Brian will take a picture of it and we’ll send it to the glass print place so that I can display the piece on my special shelf.
When I get the new puzzle, I’ll bag up this one and give it away to another puzzle enthusiast.
Here is the new one I’ve chosen –
I love everything about this- the bright colors, the action underwater, the wonderful turtle, the smaller turtles, the clown fish, angel fish, coral, star fish and others. Brian is ordering it for me today. I don’t know how long it will take to arrive, but I’m having a blast enjoying the fact that I met the challenge of a beautiful puzzle with entirely too much black in it… 😃🥳
I melted into a puddle when I found this. I wish I looked a THIRD as cute on the treadmill.
Yesterday I had to opt out of my gym time, but today I felt fine. My balance was a bit wonky, but I managed to correct without having to hold on to anything – a win in my book.
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This is the last of the flowers my wonderful housekeeper, Khun Nong, brought me a week ago Friday. I had enough to fill this glass today. I have them sitting on my computer table as I type, making me smile.
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We will leave soon to go visit Harvey. I’m hoping he slept well and will be glad to see us this time. He did tell Brian he was glad we came last time, but I was in the bathroom and missed it. He didn’t say anything when I kissed him and told him how much I love him. I’m hoping he is comfortable and calm today.
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I will have the afternoon to myself today. Depending on when we get home from visiting Harvey, I’ll watch a movie, work on my puzzle, paint another of my sketches, or read my book. I have SUCH a hard life! 😂
We’re almost to Halloween. I have heard that children do dress up here a bit, but I don’t think they ‘trick or treat’ as kids in the states do. I’ll see if I can find another group of pictures to share.
I just love wooden sculpture. I had a bird that I kept by the computer in Arkansas. It didn’t cost a fortune, but I thought it was beautiful and it spoke to me. I often just held it in my hands and moved my hands over it. For some reason, that calmed me. Priceless.
GF5Bucks – Etsy
I love this! It puts me in a Christmas frame of mind no matter what the month. I love the chubby cheeks, the lush beard, the hats…
Ludde Nordin
The positive and negative in this piece are really creative. Simple, yet beautiful.
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” — ZIG ZIGLAR
Freepik
There is a big difference between being “motivated” and actually carrying through with goals, ambitions, dreams. And as the quote says, achieving your goals is basically a daily thing.
I made a list of what I wanted to achieve when we made the huge decision to sell everything we owned and move to Thailand to be close to our son.
I wanted to really retire – as I hadn’t been able to even THINK about, much less DO in the states. My responsibilities just continued to grow even though I was no longer employed by others outside my home..
My husband and I were sick as dogs. I wanted to do everything possible to regain my health so that I could enjoy my new life in a new country.
I wanted to learn about Thailand – try to learn as much as I could of the language, culture, geography, etc., so I could fit in as much as possible, showing the people how happy I was to be here.
I wanted to live each day as if it were my last. I had been surprised in February when I COULD have actually breathed my last, and almost did. I wanted to do everything in my power to make my second chance count.
I wanted to celebrate being close to our son.
There is more, and there are subsets to the list above, but you get the idea.
So I had a list. I had the WISH to make this stuff happen. I was ‘motivated,’ but how do you actually get started? How do you keep the motivation going strong? How do you change wishes to actions?
There are external and internal motivations.
I used to do good work in grade school because my teacher gave us gold stars. Even when I became older than dirt, I bought some gold and silver stars from Amazon to reward myself when I met a small goal. Silly, maybe, but whatever works!
I made lists and checked things off as I did them. It still motivates me to some extent, but when the list length becomes overwhelming, it can make me throw my hands up and decide getting everything done is impossible.
The best motivators, to my mind, are internal. I still have my list of what I would like to accomplish, but I find a strong push from way down inside to make each day count. And that means accomplishing something on my list each day for each of my goals.
I feel satisfaction when I’m making progress, and that means a lot to me. I feel more calm and peaceful because I’m using my time well – INCLUDING deciding to do something completely fun and maybe useless in the grand scheme of things, but makes me smile.
I’m taking 5 minutes each evening to sit and FEEL gratitude. I may think of one thing and just feel the ‘good’ fill me. I may think of more than one thing or several on a given night. One of the things for which I am grateful is my strong motivation to accomplish things on my list.
My motivation also remains high because of comments from YOU on something I said or did that resonates with YOU. Compliments, kudos, kind words are deeply motivating.
This is a complex subject, but I wanted to get started – to share what’s keeping ME motivated in the hope that it might help YOU in some way to stay motivated, as well. We’re all in this world together, you know.
I love seeing what an artist can do with a piece of wood. I’m in awe of their ability to ‘see’ what they want to do, and then have the expertise to make that wood come to life.
Artiblend.com
How sleek and elegant this is, capturing the essence of ‘fox-ness’.
Artiblend.com
And, equally, the ‘cat-ness’ captures my heart right away.
I wish I could tell you the name of the artists on these, but that information wasn’t supplied.
I felt dizzy and was listing to the left as I tried to dress for the gym this morning, so texted Brian and opted out of exercise. I dressed, got under the throw, sprawled out on the couch, set my alarm, and zonked until 7:15 when my alarm went off. I went up and had breakfast, feeling much better. Brian and I have agreed that it’s smart for me to opt out, rather than try to go and get into a problem.
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My puzzle is a super challenge now, because all that is remaining is shades of black. It’s going very slowly, but I’m determined to finish it. I think it is a gorgeous image, and I’m excited about bringing it to fruition.
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My book is bittersweet and sad. I’m limiting how much I’m reading because I care a lot about the characters. Isn’t it amazing how we can get so caught up in characters and a story because it’s written so well it draws you in, makes you feel a part of things, makes you CARE, react, live in their world a while?
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Women’s Health
A shout-out to my SIL who had hip surgery this morning and is resting at the hospital now. She is a role model for me on getting and staying healthy. She had surgery on one hip, did the physical therapy necessary, plus walking and doing other exercise activities as she usually does, so she recovered completely. Here’s hoping she has few problems this time and is up and doing whatever she feels like doing as soon as possible.
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We are planning to go visit my husband in the nursing home tomorrow. Hopefully, he is alert and comfortable so we can have a good visit with him.
“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life. “ ~ John Burroughs
@dailybunnies.bsky.social
“A bunny’s twitching nose is like a heart’s whisper.” — Unknown
@Zandra-b.bsky.social
“If you be my boat I’ll be your sea The depth of pure blue Just to probe curiosity Ebbing and flowing And pushed by a breeze I live to make you free.” – excerpt from “Boats & Birds” poem by Maggie Gunning
Since I’m nearing the finishing point on my current jigsaw puzzle, I’ve been searching and collecting choices for the next one. My sister-in-law, Mary Lou, and my good friend, Marsha, both expressed interest in seeing the choices I’ve gathered thus far. It occurred to me that you might be interested, as well.
I love the color and the action in this one. It’s also a vertically oriented puzzle, which would be a nice change.
I think this one is stunningly beautiful. I love all the water and the fantasy feel. I can almost hear the water!
A jungle scene, lots of beautiful, squawking birds, lush greenery and lovely flowers. What more could anyone ask?
I love the serenity of this one. I would love to live in that home overlooking the water, maybe taking a sail in one of the boats. The lights in the houses are welcoming, and look at that stunning sunset!
I’m leaning toward this one. I LOVE the turtle, the clownfish, all the movement underwater. I’ll save all of the choices. I’m not sure which I’ll choose, but it’s SUCH fun to consider spending time with any one of these!
This is one of the 3-D metal pieces my husband and I made and hung in our shared office in Arkansas. The half moon was raised from the rest of the piece.
Yesterday I did my afternoon exercise of dancing to fun music while holding water bottles as weights and doing arm exercises. I think I got a little bit too enthusiastic because I was sore when I woke this morning. The walk on the treadmill at the gym helped a bit, but I’ll do an extra long, slow session of my yoga stretching this afternoon to see if I can get completely stretched out.
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Today was delightful for letting my laundry dry out on the balcony. It’s been nice and sunny all day, so I could be almost lackadaisical about checking the dryness before bringing it in.
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Speaking of that, now that the “Rainy Season” is coming to an end here, I may be getting the leaks in my windows fixed next month! It will be super nice not to have to worry every time it rains hard, running around with bucket and towels. Next rainy season, I may just be able to look out and say, “Wow, it’s raining hard!” rather than getting so personally involved in the wet. 🙏🏻😃
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My puzzle is coming together more quickly now. It’s fun to work on it, seeing the gorgeous image emerge from the pieces.
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I’m trying to divide my time between working on the puzzle, doing a bit of art work, and reading my book. Such a difficult choice for such a spoiled and pampered retired lady such as I!
I hope you’re consciously arranging to put some fun in your life. Having almost died in February, I realize that if I hadn’t gotten a second chance, I never would have experienced the joy of doing something I truly love each day. We’re not in control of how long we have, but we ARE in charge of carving out little spaces of time to do something that makes our lives richer.
THERAINY SEASON – (June – October) – especially heavy June through August – heaviest in July.
We are finally getting to the end of “The Rainy Season” here in Chiang Mai. This has been a real adjustment for me.
I have a condo I love with large picture windows letting lots of light in and providing a spectacular view. Unfortunately, they also leak. The hard rains have moved me to form my ‘bucket and towel brigade’ with a membership of one, to be ready at a moment’s notice, day or night, to put rolled up towels on all the window sills, watching them carefully and wringing them out into a bucket at intervals until the rain has passed, and then trying to get the towels dry to be armed for the next rain..
I have also learned to always carry an umbrella and a “rain suit” that is an ingenious invention made from a plastic bag, with sleeves and a hood with a drawstring. Just the thing when it’s really blowing and pouring.
Happily, our condo building will be doing exterior repairs and repainting once the rainy season is completely over. One of the things on the list is doing outside resealing of windows – hopefully making it so the bucket brigade won’t be necessary next time.
The rain here is very different from what I was used to in the States. In Arkansas, if it rained, it rained most of the day. We postponed activities until it dried out. Here, it can absolutely POUR for several minutes and then stop, as if a faucet was turned off, the sun coming out and the rest of the day beautiful – or pour again, just as soon as you get your rain suit or umbrella put away. As long as you learn to be prepared to pull out your umbrella or don your rain suit, you get used to dealing with it, not postponing any activities. (I also carry a trash bag to put my wet umbrella in until I can open it up and dry it at home.)
My rain suit is actually purple, though it shows pink here.
Trying to get laundry done during the rainy season is quite laborious. I try to get my laundry out on my little balcony early in the morning to catch the good sun. Many times a sudden rain storm will drench your clothes, so you have to keep an alert eye on the skies, rather than depending on the weather app, ready to drag your drying rack inside very quickly to rescue your clothes. Then the sun will come out, and you reverse the process – sometimes several times – until the task is done.
Typhoons come from the direction of Vietnam. It’s a bit scary with weather alerts on your phone. (The alerts are in Thai – pretty useless to a non-Thai speaker like me)- but I’ve learned what it is and look for the dates that it will hit Chiang Mai. We’re up high, so we don’t have to worry about flooding, but we DO have to get serious about the bucket brigade at times like this…
The Rainy Season is coming to an end here. My son Brian says Thai ‘winter’ is next with a bit cooler temperatures (only 85 or so in the afternoons) and a LOT less rain! I’m ready!!!!!
We went to visit my husband at the nursing home today. He didn’t say much. He has a nasal tube and a catheter, plus he had big plastic gloves on today to keep him from pulling out tubes. The nursing home sent us two videos yesterday. One was him trying to peel a hard boiled egg. I cried when I saw how hard it was for him, and I’m not at all sure he knew what to do with it once the shell was off. The other showed him eating very small bites of fruit with a chop stick-looking implement. He was slow, but he WAS eating by himself, and REAL food.
He actually thanked Brian for coming to see him when I was in the bathroom just before we left. We had taken the gloves off his hands so we could each hold a hand while we “talked.” He said very little, but he squeezed our hands.
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I’m making progress on my jigsaw puzzle. I’ve taken a picture of it to show you I might actually live long enough to finish it! I’ve also started gathering pictures of puzzles I might order when I finish this one. I LOVE being able to have a “puzzle” table where I can leave it out as long as it takes for me to finish it – and then enjoy looking at the finished puzzle before dismantling it and giving it away. Brian will take a picture of it and we’ll have a glass print made.
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I’m reading “The Last Happy Summer: A Jake Moriarity Prequel” by RG Ryan on my Kindle. My only problem with it is that I don’t want to put it down! I’m having to be an adult and get the other things I need to do done before allowing myself the luxury of sprawling on my couch and diving into it once again…
“Give your all to me I’ll give my all to you You’re my end and my beginning Even when I lose, I’m winning ‘Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you, oh-oh”~ “All of Me” by John Legend
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This is a selfie taken just a few minutes ago. I’m going ahead and providing a progress report on my efforts to lose my lard for the end of October 2025.
This is my husband and me at “Lunch Bunch” at The Pizza Barn in Arkansas about a year and a half ago. At my heaviest (two years or more ago) I weighed 205.
As of today, I’ve lost 80 pounds and 85 inches. I still have about 10 lbs or so to go, but I can finally see the end goal and believe I can actually reach it.
I feel better now, since I’m finally in the normal, healthy range of the BMI chart for my height. I’ll make the final decision on where I want to maintain and concentrate more on fitness after I lose the next 10 lbs.
I don’t know if you can tell a difference or not. I can tell you I’ve had to alter the waist in my jeans 4 times now since I moved to Thailand in April. I will celebrate, getting two pairs of jeans that FIT when I reach my goal weight.
It’s funny. Although I’m pleased about the weight and inches loss, I’m wondering from time to time whether it’s better to have smooth skin filled out by fat or to be thinner with lots of excess skin and lots of wrinkles. I think of myself now as a Shar-Pei type of person…
Reddit
I will just concentrate on meeting my weight goal while continuing to exercise to increase my strength and stamina, plus regain my sense of balance since I lost it after being in the hospital in February. I’m walking a mile each day on the treadmill at the gym. I also do a session of yoga stretches one day and dance to really bouncy music with water bottles in my hands as weights with which I do exercises for my arms on the next day. My son, Brian, and I also try to walk to places that are close to the condo to get more exercise in.
It would be nice to meet my goal by the end of 2025. I’m not in any huge hurry. I’m trying to eat healthy things, enjoying trying Thai cuisine as well as eating “Western style” low carb meals. We’re eating breakfast and dinner each day, and I have an iced coffee mid afternoon. No snacks. I’m drinking lots and lots of water until I feel my eyeballs are floating. All this is working together to undo some of the damage I had before I moved here. I want to be healthy to be able to enjoy exploring this fascinating country!
Courtesy: “Cupid’s Span, Claes Oldenburg” by aloharakesh is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Today I was treated to a virtual trip to the beautiful city of San Francisco via the video created for the treadmill user to watch while he or she walks.
There were all kinds of sidewalks lined with planted areas filled with flowers, shrubs and trees, plus brick walkways close to the ocean, plus humongous buildings creating a nice skyline.
The Ferry Building had a bunch of people walking toward it. We got close, then turned and walked in another direction.
One area was a grouping of obviously expensive apartment houses or condo buildings on Lombard Street with a curving, winding red brick ‘roadway’ up a hill to shops at the top. People walked down, rolled down on what I think were Segways, plus cars slowly made their way down to the road below. Attractive flower beds were dotted all around, making a beautiful statement.
I walked down several streets, all seemingly making their way down to the water below, where Alcatraz could be seen in the distance. Cable cars made their way in both directions. I saw the Fisherman’s Wharf sign, but we turned and walked in a different direction. I was glad I was walking flat on the treadmill, rather than attempting to walk up the hills shown in the video!
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” — PAULO COELHO
Life Optimizer
Have you noticed that behaviors are contagious?
If you smile at someone, most of the time that person will smile back at you. The end result is that both of you feel better for a time. Sharing smiles is an easy thing to do that makes you – and everyone around you – feel better.
When you compliment someone and mean it sincerely, you change that person’s life for the better. They smile and thank you, feeling happy inside, and YOU feel good, as well.
When you say you like your boyfriend’s shirt, have you noticed that he wears it more often? He feels good when he wears it, knowing you like it and that he looks good in it, and he tries to give that feeling back to you by, in effect, reliving it as often as possible.
When you thank someone for their efforts – take helping you clean, for example – they feel good about themselves and their efforts. They may try even harder to do the best job they can the next time. They might even look for some other way to help you, too, making both of you feel happier.
Kindness is contagious. One person putting a shopping cart into the area where they are supposed to be kept, rather than leaving one out in the middle of the parking lot as some careless person left it, may make others aware, more mindful, maybe sparking THEM to return a cart, pick up some trash, help someone load their car – maybe making a worker inside also smile for your thoughtfulness.
When you consciously strive to be a better person, it gives you a focus you might not have had before. You look at things differently. You notice when your actions make others happier. You are more aware of what you’re doing – or not doing – that would make you better.
When you DO that thing, you feel better about yourself and are motivated to find another thing you can do to be better. Striving is a continuous, never-ending process, contagious in its ability to be passed to others. What better way to spend our time than trying to become better human beings?
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” –Sir John Lubbock
@saintmaker.bsky.social
“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” –Henry David Thoreau
@damienshields.bsky.social
“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
@Miya1156.bsky.social
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” –E.B.White
@fozziefo.bsky.social
“I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” –Anne Frank
@wurfi.bsky.social
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” –Mary Oliver
I asked Brian if I could leave another review for each of the two shops from which we bought the crocheted carriers and smaller, zippered bags. He said he thought that Google Reviews only allowed one review per customer.
Happily, I discovered that, though he was right, I COULD ‘edit’ my original review. I did that, adding a paragraph about the second purchase and the fact that the carrier and pouches washed just beautifully. 😃
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We got a good report from Harvey’s nurse this morning. They had to suction him again to clear his lungs (and hopefully avert pneumonia). That, and the supplemental oxygen allowed him to sleep well last night. Although he is still using a nasal tube for most of his nutrition, they are starting to give him small bites of fruit and crackers in addition. He was in a good mood and talking. HOORAY!!!
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I had a fabulous massage this morning. For some reason, I was really stiff and sore when I got up today, even after I walked my mile at the gym. Now I feel absolutely GREAT. Thanks to Khun Weaw for her caring expertise in making me functional again.
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Since it looks like I may actually finish my current jigsaw puzzle in the near future 😋, I’ve started looking for another puzzle to order. As I’m finding each, I’m bookmarking the page with the puzzle I’ve chosen and putting it into a folder on my computer. It’ll be fun to choose my next challenge.
I’m going to have Brian take a picture of the finished puzzle -when it’s finished and being shown off in all its glory on my puzzle table – so that we can order a glass print of it, as we did with the owls puzzle, so I can keep it on my special treasures shelf in my living area.
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Later today we’ll go to the cafe to spend time while we wait for Khun Nong, my cherished housekeeper, to do her thing to make my place shine. I’m taking my sketchbook and drawing supplies, my Kindle, and my sweatshirt, because it tends to be cold in there.
About half of the blossoms are gone from the spectacular bouquet she left for me last Friday, but I think it still looks great, and I smile every time I see it!
I hope that this day is a fun one for you, full of family and friends.
I LOVE shoebills. I can’t have pets in my condo, but maybe no one would notice this mama and her baby…
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We bought these two ‘pouches’ yesterday to tie inside my new purple crocheted carrier I showed you yesterday. This idea worked extremely well in my old carrier, making it more like a purse than a tote, and not allowing everything to end up in the bottom of the bag, hiding from me while I stood rummaging around – a thing I hate.
I have them in the new carrier now, allowing me to wash the two older ones I had been using. The older ones are drying on my rack on my balcony now. When I need to wash the purple carrier, I can easily switch to the older – now clean – carrier with the soon-to-be-clean pouches with just a couple of minutes work! 👍
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We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. The staff had moved him to a room across the hall because they are renovating his room! It’s already nice, but they’ll clean and repaint. I don’t know what else.
He was almost completely unresponsive today. He had his eyes open, but wasn’t saying anything or responding to what we said or asked. He did squeeze our hands, so we just sat with each of us holding a hand the whole time. Just as we were leaving, he asked Brian for a grape drink. Brian went and got the nurses’ permission and left the bottle for him, explaining that the nurse would give it to him later today.
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Brian challenged me last night to start trying to meditate. I’ve tried before and was a dismal failure, not able to clear my mind enough to do anything. He suggested that I sit on my couch with my hands at my sides and my feet flat on the floor. Close my eyes, and just think about being grateful. He suggested I talk to myself, just saying something that made me grateful, then saying something else, for 5 minutes. The purpose is to train your brain to switch off the things that are bothering you and to allow positive thoughts to pervade your brain and body. I tried it last night. I set the timer for 5 minutes and began, feeling a bit silly. I’m full of gratitude, but I don’t usually talk to myself – out loud, at least. I surprised myself that I was still listing things when the alarm went off! I talked to Brian about it this morning at breakfast. He reiterated that the point wasn’t to see how many things I could list but to see if I FELT the positive feelings. I’m going to do this every night and see what the results are. If I can retrain my brain to improve my balance and steadiness on the treadmill, maybe I can do this, too!
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