Category Archives: Attitude

January 29, 2026 · 3:26 am

Bored?

Open Wings – Cottage Whimsey Quotes – Substack

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I have vague memories of being bored when I was a child, but that’s the last time I ever had that feeling. When I was working full time, being a wife and mother, animal caretaker, and housekeeper, I didn’t have time to be bored. I was too busy trying to keep my head above water.

When I was semi-retired, I was trying to carve out time to spend in my art room, where I could learn new techniques, trying to make more things to list on my own website, Creative Artworks, for years, and then Etsy. During that time, I was also trying to get Square Foot Gardening to work, including building and maintaining a greenhouse, learning to mix up soil alternative, keeping the plants fed, weeded and watered, etc., then harvesting our ‘crop.’ I was also taking over more and more of the yardwork, plus taking over things my husband had formerly done, such as programming the automatic watering systems in the well house.

With our full retirement and move to Thailand, I can honestly say that I never have enough time and energy to accomplish what I would like to do on a given day. I’m NEVER bored.

I move from one fun thing or chore to another, trying to vary sedentary stuff with movement, and purely joyful stuff with more challenging things. I try to keep a good mix and just keep going until I’m out of time or energy, call it a day, and then start again where I left off the next day.

I guess curiosity is at the base of not being bored. I love playing on the c0mputer, trying to find out answers to my questions or find things I want to share. I was planning to paint one of my sketches today, but I’m also needing to put in some time super stretching to get rid of some painful muscles in my back. I only have about an hour to do both, plus get my dry things gathered off my balcony. And my poor puzzle awaits – neglected.

Being enthusiastic about being in a country new to me, with customs to learn, finding out what’s happening each month and deciding which to try to participate in, trying to learn phrases in a new language, and more is a full time activity by itself.

I hope y0u never lose your curiosity and enthusiasm for the life you have. There is only so much time to try to cram joy into your life. You need to be conscientious about it or the day will pass and you won’t be able to savor one thing that made you smile.

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January 27, 2026 · 11:09 pm

Harvesting “Happy”

HuffPost


“Embrace the glorious mess that you are, for therein lies your unique joy.”

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My mother-in-law was the perfect role model for being happy. When she and my father-in-law were riding with us to their new home at the Assisted Living Center in Tulsa, I asked her how she felt about the move.

She said, “I love it.” Surprised, I asked her how she felt that when she hadn’t really seen it thoroughly, met anyone…. She answered, “I’m going to love it. I’m going to make my room my own. I’m going to make friends. I’m going to love the food, the activities – everything!”

My mother would have described it by saying, “Attitude is all.”

You don’t ‘find’ happiness, Other people can’t provide it for you. You can’t strive for it, search for it, yearn for it. IT COMES FROM INSIDE YOU.

Some of unhappiest people have a lot of money, houses, cars, THINGS surrounding them and they still aren’t ‘happy. Others ask others to provide it for them – they get married, have kids, get a good job, and they aren’t ‘happy.’

Happiness is a conscious decision to be happy. That probably sounds dumb, but I believe it’s true. It’s all in how how you look at yourself, your situation, your life.

To be happy, start by accepting yourself. Yeah, you might need to lose some weight, maybe you wish your nose was shorter or had a cute upturn. Maybe your clothes would fit better if you were thinner and taller. Maybe…

Accept yourself and your uniqueness, perceived flaws, wishes, and all. You are YOU. You have a unique place in the world. You have people who like you, maybe even love you. If you really want to change something, you have the ability to do that. Concentrate on the people around you who give you joy. Happiness is being kind to the people you care about first, letting them know how much they mean to you, how much you appreciate them and are glad you are that they are in your life.

Happiness is recognizing all you have and being grateful. Be happy with less. Simplify. Realize how rich you are with what you have now. Give away things you don’t really need, haven’t used in ages, don’t really mean something to you. Take the time to think about all the things you have, the fact that you have something to eat, a place to sleep, maybe even a person or pet to cuddle with.

Happiness is learning to adjust to what is happening around you, whether at your job, in your family, or in the world. If what is happening is making you upset, angry, scared – really think about whether you can do anything about it. If you can, make concrete plans to do one thing at a time to improve the situation, If there is nothing you can really do about it, accept it for what it is, then try to ignore it, if possible, distract yourself by filling your life with things that give you pleasure, make you smile.

Happiness is accepting that you, things around you, aren’t perfect and never will be. They don’t have to be in order for you to decide to be happy. Accepting what is true, being grateful for what you have, consciously deciding how to change things you can and work around things you can’t, all point to ‘deciding to be happy,’ and building an attitude of positivity.

It doesn’t change overnight. It’s a constant series of conscious, positive actions that result in your feeling better, smiling more, enjoying life more.

We are all ‘glorious messes.’ Isn’t that wonderful?

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January 26, 2026 · 3:35 am

Suggestion

Elizabeth George

“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” ~ Will Rogers

“Yesterday” can be a source of beautiful memories of cherished people in your life, wonderful experiences, and joy. It can also be the source of feelings that limit you in your life today.

We hold onto yesterday as an excuse for why we haven’t accomplished something, pointing to failures, harsh criticism from others, humiliation, self-doubt and more. We cram hurt feelings way down deep inside that squash our self-esteem, make us shy away from opening ourselves to love, trust, and putting ourselves out there once again to try something new.

I think we all have a bucketload of these yesterdays that we need to shed in order to live our present lives to the fullest. I’m suggesting that we all dig deep, look at these things, realizing that yesterday cannot be changed. We can build a stronger, fuller happier TODAY by letting all of that go.

This really speaks to me now. My life has changed completely since last February when I died twice in the hospital and was given a second chance via surgeons and a pacemaker when my heart stopped. I had never had heart problems before, but would have been gone if I hadn’t heeded the strong recommendation that I head for the ER after I saw my clinic doctor.

Our son flew 24 hours from Thailand to take care of my husband and me when we were suddenly too ill to take care of each other. We had to face some harsh realities in Arkansas, where we had lived for almost 40 years. We couldn’t take care of our home, 8 acres, and our pets anymore. We made the decision to get rid of everything in the States and move to Thailand to be close to our son. We would retire, rebuild our health, shed the responsibilities we had been shouldering, and concentrate on enjoying life. Leaving 40 years worth of my art and our ‘stuff’ was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. Re-homing our pets was the hardest, but we found the perfect homes for our dog and cat, and so could leave knowing they would be loved and well taken care of.

2 weeks after we moved here, my husband fell and had a stroke. He is now in a nursing home, completely disabled with a damaged brain. Unless we have a miracle, he won’t be able to leave the nursing home. Thankfully, we have found a truly wonderful place with caring people. We visit my husband 3 times a week now, rather than sharing the retirement we planned.

I am in a new country, living by myself for the first time in my life, trying to learn some Thai phrases, learn about the money, learn the customs here, learn how to get the basics done, grateful that our son is here to help both of us.

I am learning to embrace TODAY. Yesterday is full of some wonderful memories, but NOW is what is important. What used to be doesn’t apply. I have some wonderful opportunities to shape a life that makes me smile all day long, moving from one fun activity to the next, learning new things every day, rebuilding my health.

http://www.powerofpositivity.com

I am concentrating on living my life to the fullest, making each day count, concentrating on what is WONDERFUL about my life now, grateful for all I have.

Yesterday is gone. I don’t make ‘plans’ anymore, embracing NOW. I am feeling stronger for it, concentrating on being the best person I can be TODAY.

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January 20, 2026 · 9:46 pm

ONE Resolution

“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot ― it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” ― Maya Angelou

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The most common New Year’s resolution for 2026 is exercising more. Other popular resolutions include being happy, eating healthier, saving more money, and improving physical health. ~ Dec 23, 2568 BE ~ GoSkills

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Every year we make lists of what we want to do to make ourselves ‘better people.’ And, most of the time, after a short period of time, our good intentions fade and we end up feeling bad about ourselves, doubting our self-worth.

STOP making lists of New Year’s resolutions. Just STOP.

Only make ONE – Take the time to really think about your life and what you want from it. (Of course, it would be good if you did things to make yourself healthier – and, as a lady who died twice in the hospital on Feb. 11th last year, getting healthier has been one of my main goals – since if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get the CHANCE to keep any other promises to myself.)

In my second chance at life, I want to share Maya Angelou’s quote with you, and I want you to really think about what she is telling us. She is encouraging us to find the positive in life and embrace it. This means shedding all the negative stuff we see, read, and hear on a daily basis about what is happening in the world. It also means looking at things happening in our own personal worlds that are frustrating us, making us angry, scaring us, depressing us – with different eyes.

Some of these things we can do something about. (I ask myself two things: (1) what is the worst thing that can happen as a result of this? and (2) if I ignore this, will it still be a problem in 5 years?) My mom had a saying, “It’s better to do any reasonable thing quickly, than to reach hesitantly for the ideal.”

If I can’t do anything about it, I get busy with other things, consciously thinking about something else to see what happens. What is the point of worrying, over-eating, drinking to forget, stewing about it as it revolves around and around in my head if I can’t solve the problem?

Take time each and every day to think about all the POSITIVE things in your life. This is NOT Pollyanna-ish, this is a survival skill. If you need to at first, write them down as you think of each. Don’t worry about the importance of each. Just be aware of each of them. When you recognize the positives, make only one promise to yourself: “I will recognize all the good, tell others about them, make them the priority of my life, building my life so that I can embrace each thing.” This will result in less tension, acceptance that you cannot control everything, feelings of being grateful for all the things that are wonderful, and encouraging you to create MORE.

Reminder: You are unique. You have experiences and memories that have shaped you. You can use your experiences to learn to see things in different ways, to solve your problems and those of others. You have strength inside you that will get you through life’s challenges. You carry the survival skills of love, appreciation, gratitude, and laughter within you. Embrace the person that is you.







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January 16, 2026 · 9:16 pm

Today is a Good Day To –

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants and Coffee LLC

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This is the only ‘to do’ list I will ever have anymore. I’ve spent my life completely overwhelmed by endless lists that never got accomplished, no matter how long or hard I tried. The weight of them sapped my strength and I promised myself that as soon as I finished, “______” I would take some time to do something I enjoyed. That time rarely, if ever, came. I felt guilty when I took time with my art. I gave up jigsaw puzzles. I read for pleasure, but only after a reasonable number of things had been marked off for the day.

I loved my life in Arkansas. We had a beautiful home we had built in 1987. We had planned to have an earth-sheltered home, with only a cupola above ground. We found 8 acres of woodland on top of a ridge line that faced the south, perfect for our desires, and had FHA approved plans in hand. We couldn’t find ANY builders who would take up the project, though, due to all the rock on our land. We finally found a plan above ground we could live with. We had to use dynamite to put in a septic system, more dynamite for the basement, and even more for the backyard swimming pool. (We ran out of money for the pool, so it just remained a fond dream.)

We couldn’t afford to hire much done, and we both worked in Ft. Smith, so it was tough to get things done. Our time outside of work was raising our son, who kept us hopping – bright, eager, curious, and full of mischief, plus taking care of the house, our ‘yard,’ and our pets, running errands, doing chores…

By the time we moved to Thailand last April, it had become impossible for us to keep up with everything, though we gave it our best shot. It was a bittersweet ‘relief’ to sell what we could, auction the rest, re-home our beloved pets, and walk away.

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Now, in Thailand, with my husband in a nursing home due to a fall and stroke 2 weeks after we arrived, I have given up the traditional list of chores in favor of Nanea Hoffman’s list above. I am SO much happier for it. I find joy each and every day in small things – things I see, like a squirrel in the tree right outside my window –

to the bird standing on someone’s a/c unit out one of my front windows –

to the ‘decision’ of whether I want to research for more blog posts, start painting one of my sketches, read another chapter in my latest book, work on my ‘turtle’ jigsaw puzzle, do an exercise session, or take a walk around the block, enjoying the sunshine…

I’m listening to my body. I’m trying to get healthier. I’m feeling better now than I have felt in a long time. The kindness of the Thai people makes my eyes fill up. I’m getting a lot of practice saying, “thank you,” (sounds like “cawp coon ka’-ah”)

I know you’re busy and probably are saying to yourself – “good enough for HER. She’s retired now, doesn’t have to work all day, take care of the house and kids, only cooks when she wants to – while “I’M” buried alive in ‘have-to’s…”

I HEAR YOU. I’ve been there and I REALLY do hear you. But I hope that you can give yourself permission to allow yourself time at the beginning or end of the day – maybe on a lunch break or even while taking a quick shower – to FEEL. To listen to yourself and just acknowledge what you’re feeling right then. BREATHE. RELAX. And take the time to plan 15 minutes a day when you can do something that makes you smile – even giggle. I hope that one day you can adopt Nanea’s list as I have. You deserve it.

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January 11, 2026 · 9:30 pm

In Case

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants and Coffee LLC

I think we all feel overwhelmed by what’s happening in our own lives, to people we love, to our country and the world beyond – most of it things we can do little or nothing about.

We feel useless. I refer to this, when talking to my friends, as wanting to ‘wave my magic wand’ – ‘fixing’ them when they are sick, yelling at the companies or situations causing them pain, advising them to consult the experts, raging with them about the unfairness of it all – because all regular advice or coping mechanisms are failing.

Sometimes we feel as if we are completely inadequate to the task. We get down and depressed. We want to deaden the pain, escape from the fear of what is coming, lash out at the world at large.

The very worst time in my life was after having 3 miscarriages, finally giving to birth to Brian, another miscarriage, and then Jade – we lost her to SIDS when she was 2 months old. Both my husband and I seriously considered suicide because the pain seemed unbearable. Finally we went on to help each other through it and continued to raise Brian ( 2 at the time ) as best we could.

Nanea Hoffman is asking us to remember when we were care-free and innocent, having no idea how cruel our world can be. She wants us to remember that there is ‘something’ way, way down inside each of us that enables us to go on when our heads and hearts tell us to give up. That ‘something’ is strong enough to overcome whatever happens in life. Even though you think there is no way you can stand what is happening, that ‘something’ is always there, giving you strength and the courage to continue. And that ‘something’ is always there, ready when you need it most.

Remember.

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January 11, 2026 · 12:03 am

Trashing My ‘To Do’ List –

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants and Coffee LLC

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Again Nanea is right on my wave length. Instead of New Year’s Resolutions and promises to myself to get more of my to do list done, prioritizing the list so I get the most important stuff done, getting another notebook so I can make a secondary list….

I have trashed my ‘to do’ list. There are still things that need to be done on or by a certain date, but I’ve cut down on those things, too.

My whole life changed in 2025 when I died twice on Feb. 11th in the ER and was given another chance at life via a pacemaker. Now I have shed my old life completely – except for people I love – and moved to Thailand to be close to our son.

The new start had quite a stutter when 2 weeks after we moved my husband had a stroke and is now in a nursing home. Our son and I have built our current lives around 3 times a week visits to make sure he is as comfortable as possible and is getting the care he needs.

Otherwise, we are building our daily routine together, starting with the gym at o-dark-thirty, shower, breakfast and then we review our day. If we have nothing pressing, we enjoy our activities and meet again to share dinner. Sometimes Brian orders an iced coffee for me mid afternoon. 🙂

I move from one activity I really like, such as researching and writing blog posts 🤗, to others, which currently include reading on my Kindle, working on a jigsaw puzzle, working on sketches and painting in my art alcove, taking short walks in the afternoon, doing exercise sessions, listening to music, etc., cramming as much joy as I can into each day.

Nanea’s suggestion really resonates with me. I used to be filled with excuses about why I couldn’t take the time to relax and spend time doing something I loved, trying something new, learning something new, and more. Now these things ARE my day. I’m simplifying my life in every way I can. I spend the end of each day in 5 minutes or more devoted to gratitude. I concentrate on ONE thing I’m grateful for, shut my eyes and just let it fill me up. This calms me down and lately the gratitude has been spilling out, trickling from my eyes.

So OUT with the To Do list – and IN with the TO BE list!🥳

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January 6, 2026 · 11:20 pm

One Minute

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants & Coffee

I’m sorry for the quality of this image, but I think the message is important enough that I’m asking you to overlook it. (I’m not a subscriber to Instagram where all of the images are larger and clear.)

My son, Brian, asked me to start giving myself 5 minutes each evening to “feel gratitude.” He said to sit on something comfortable, put my feet on the floor, close my eyes and simply think of something for which I’m grateful. He suggested that thinking of a mental image or picture might help. I pictured him kissing my husband on the head at the nursing home. Nothing happened the first night, but the second I felt the emotion rise up inside me, flooding my system and grateful tears began to run down my face.

My husband and I had thought that we might not see Brian again. We were getting older and time was moving faster. He lived across the world from us in Thailand. It took 24 hours of traveling, with flights and layovers, to get from Thailand to us, so we wouldn’t ASK him to come unless we really needed it.

That time came in February of 2025, when my husband and I got really sick at the same time. Brian took care of us in Arkansas, convincing us to retire in Thailand to be close to him. Now my husband is in a nursing home here in Thailand. We are all together now, as much as we can be. When I think of Brian hugging my husband, Harvey – kissing his head and telling him how much he loves him – my heart fills up and spills over. “Grateful” is just not a strong enough word for what I feel.

My “5 minutes” now takes a half hour or more each evening before I go to bed. I feel at peace, taking the time to FEEL the gratitude for the changes we have made, getting to be close to Brian, living in a new exciting country with wonderfully kind people who have welcomed us. I find new things for which to be grateful on a daily basis.

As Nanea says here so beautifully, “FEEL IT – BREATHE IT”. If you only have one minute every day, you’ll feel yourself slowing down, calming down, filling up with appreciation and love.

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January 6, 2026 · 1:34 am

I’m Good

It’s very satisfying to know what you want – to simplify things in your life to the point where you can just sit back and smile as it becomes more and more like what feeds your soul.

I used to plan everything. I had lists that explained other lists. And I never reached the end of a to-do list in my life. I was constantly overwhelmed, feeling ‘less than’ most of the time, feeling that if I just got up earlier, tried harder, I could cram more into my day, feeling that I had really accomplished something.

I didn’t realize this, really, until my husband and I got sick in February with almost disastrous results. Our son flew in from Thailand, took care of us, convinced us to basically walk away from all the stress of what we couldn’t keep up with anymore and retire in Thailand where we could be close to him.

We moved here the first of April and we both felt the stress falling from our shoulders almost immediately. We started making plans to get healthier and build our lives around more restful pursuits. My husband had his stroke two weeks after we moved, so our lives have changed in ways we never imagined.

After making sure we were doing all we could do for him, I decided to concentrate on what my life would be like going forward. I decided to build the rest of my life around –

  • Lack of stress where possible
  • Finding and embracing joy in the little things I can do during my days and evenings
  • Delighting in trying to fit into a new country, trying to learn the language, learning the customs, taking advantage of opportunities to meet new people, learning new things, and more.
  • Letting go of anything I can that I can do without – that includes a minimalist style of living – but giving myself permission to buy something that means a lot to me; enjoying spending my time on things that give me a challenge and personal joy – such as trying to teach myself to draw and painting the sketches, working on a jigsaw puzzle, listening to music, reading wonderful books, learning things on the computer, watching favorite movies on the TV…
  • Staying in the moment – soaking up all the feelings, enjoying people who mean the world to me, both here, and across the world from here, reaching out to let them KNOW how much they mean to me. I have learned first-hand how quickly life can be taken from you. I just plan for the day now. I may not be given tomorrow. And that is enough.

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January 5, 2026 · 12:07 am

Tears

Tears 2026 – Souls Canvas – @carolinefk3.bsky.social

I think this image and the sentiment with it are exquisite.

We shed tears for lots of reasons. We cry when we’re happy, the emotion we’re feeling simply spilling out of our hearts and down our faces. We cry when we’re sad, when we can’t contain the grief and need a relief valve. We cry when we are worried or scared, trying to attain calm.

Whatever the reason for the tears, this message encourages us to USE these tears to move on, building for a better year ahead.

What seeds are we planting? I’m mentally picturing seed packets with “Resilience,” “Adaptability,” “Independence,” and more, hoping that we have learned lessons from 2025, see the need for some changes in 2026.

This is deeper than the common New Year’s Resolutions of losing weight, exercising more, eating right, cleaning out closets, etc. that we make and either keep or not as the year presses on.

When you plant a seed, you’re planning to harvest at some point, in the near future, as with lettuce, or for the long term, as in a willow tree. Choose carefully what you want from this. You’ll be cultivating the land, planting the seed, fertilizing it, weeding around it, watering it with your tears, nurturing it for a good amount of time.

Tears are more than just water. They are your heart and soul, plans and dreams, hope for the future.

We all cried in 2025. Choose carefully and bring new seeds to vibrant life!

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January 4, 2026 · 2:23 am

Wishing You

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants & Coffee.com

I feel so attuned to this lady. She expresses what I want to say so well, and I love her illustrations.

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Instead of health, wealth, and success – which I also wish you –

I want to emphasize your reaction to the world around you. Your personal world of your family or other loved ones, plus your neighborhood, city, state, and country. Your reaction to what’s happening in the country in which you live, plus all that is happening around the world.

I say this because we are in charge of so little. So little that we can control. All we can really do is reach inside and work on how we are reacting to all the changes around us, the uncertainty, the concern, and more.

The only New Year’s Resolution I’m making is to continue to try to live in the moment. We are all in different stages of life. Once you have done what you personally can do to protect the ones you love, your possessions, etc., I hope that you can give yourself permission to let it go. Worrying over things you can’t control just bunches you up inside and makes you tense, irritable, nervous, and stressed out. Does it do anything else? NO.

I’m concentrating on finding joy. Delight in the little things around me, like a new bird song as we enter the gym. Something intriguing I see on the treadmill video that I missed the first time. A new singer on YouTube who sings their heart out and receives a standing ovation from the crowd of appreciative listeners. White flowers blooming in the middle of a planter full of pink blooms. A cold chocolate drink – with maybe a cookie given to me by the nice server with a smile. The inquiry from an office worker about how my husband is. A sketch that turns out better than I had hoped, or one that is hugely fun to paint. Making real progress on a jigsaw puzzle. Diving into a new book on my Kindle. Finding an article on Substack that brings me to tears it is so beautiful.

If you change your focus, you change your life. Focusing on the good things calms you inside. Smiling at people brings a smile in return. This is something that will improve your health. Positive focus is a survival skill – a habit that will bring so much joy you won’t know where to put it all…

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December 20, 2025 · 11:05 pm

Biscuits

Biscuits

A pastor once asked an older farmer—dressed in his worn bib overalls—to say grace before the morning meal.

“Lord, I don’t like buttermilk,” the farmer began. The visiting pastor cracked one eye open, wondering where this prayer was headed.

The farmer continued, loud and clear, “Lord, I don’t care much for lard either.”

The pastor shifted uncomfortably.

“And Lord,” the farmer went on, “You know I really don’t like raw white flour.”

Now the pastor peeked around the room and noticed he wasn’t the only one feeling uneasy.

But without missing a beat, the farmer added, “Yet Lord, when You mix all those things together and bake them… I sure do love warm, fresh biscuits.”

Then he finished with this prayer:

“So, Lord, when life hands us things we don’t like—when it gets hard, or confusing, or we just don’t understand what You’re doing—help us to relax and wait for Your mixing to finish. Because when You’re done, it’ll probably turn out even better than biscuits. Amen.”

Alright then… carry on.

(Credit goes to the original owner / Earth Geographic)

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This was posted on Substack by Larry Edge

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December 2, 2025 · 2:47 am

Things You Deserve

Nanea Hoffman – Sweatpants & Coffee, LLC.

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Since I died twice on February 11th, my heart stopping and requiring surgeries for a temporary, then permanent pacemaker, my priorities have changed.

I always thought my husband would die before me. The statistics led me to believe that I would probably live as a widow at some point, although 56 years of marriage to my husband is definitely not enough. When the kind people at the hospital gave me a second chance at life, I decided I wouldn’t let it go to waste.

My husband and I moved to Thailand, deciding to really retire, since our health was suddenly such that we couldn’t take care of our house and 8 acres in Arkansas anymore, no matter how much we wanted to. Our son came from Thailand to help us. We had some serious discussions and made the move to be close to our son. Two weeks after that, my husband had a stroke and is now in a nursing home, bedridden and very confused. He is comfortable, though, and is receiving the best of care.

All this is to say that life suddenly got my attention. My priorities and attitude changed to embrace whatever life has to offer me now. I’m grateful that I can still make myself healthier and stronger and enjoy each day in real retirement – a thing I thought I would never have. I can be thankful that my husband’s stroke happened here, so that we can afford to get him the care he needs. My son and I go visit my husband three days each week, making sure things are going as well as possible, showing my husband that we love him, reaching out for whatever he is able to share now.

Nanea Hoffman points out that we all deserve kindness, peace, and to enjoy the little things that make life so wonderful. Without guilt. squeezing as much joy out of every day as we can, being honest about our feelings, good and bad, and just BEING.

My son has encouraged me to spend 5 minutes each day, eyes closed, sitting up with my feet on the floor, just thinking about something that brings me joy. Right now that is a mental picture of my son kissing my husband’s head, telling him he loves him. It brings tears to my eyes, a lump to my throat, and gratitude simply spills out all over the place. Taking the time to embrace the kindness in the world brings you peace.

I now believe that I can spend my days going from one thing I love to another as I want, such as working on a jigsaw puzzle, reading a book, playing in my art alcove, writing blog posts, learning something new on the computer, taking a short walk, and more.

I don’t feel guilty now that I am embracing life in a new country, meeting new people who are unbelievably kind to a stranger, trying to learn a few Thai phrases, enjoying perks like having a housekeeper for the first time ever, getting a massage every week, getting a mani/pedi every six weeks, having a good haircut at about the same frequency, sharing a chocolate drink with my son…

Life is short. We live under the illusion that we have time. The fact that I’m alive is a miracle for me. I am loving spending time with our son. I’m grateful that my husband seems to be comfortable and shows us from time to time that he is happy we come to visit him. My health is improving and I’m feeling stronger. I’m taking care of myself so that I can enjoy my second life for as long as possible.

Take Nanea’s good advice. We ALL deserve it.

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November 29, 2025 · 12:14 am

What Do You Think?

Eclipse Digital Imaging, Inc. – PresenterMedia.com

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“If I’ve learned anything from beliefs, it’s that I could be totally wrong. And so could you… We should never be sure of anything we think.”
~ Andrew Gold

I used to listen to the “6:00 News” on the main three channels, ABC, CBS, and NBC. I felt I could trust them to deliver the news of the day, albeit they were only half-hour shows. Walter Cronkite is the anchor I remember best.

I have given up watching TV news – preferring to find the news on my computer. It seems that the three main channels, plus many, many others on television, are too blatantly biased. I either find out that the coverage was slanted to the left or the right, or not covered at all. I find this very frustrating.

News agencies behave as if they have agendas. If the story doesn’t fit the narrative they are trying to present, they either cherry-pick things to air or completely ignore the event.

We contribute to this by listening or reading passively, too lazy to think about what we are seeing, hearing, or reading. We don’t know what the source is of the item that got our attention. We don’t take the time to find out and think about whether we are getting the whole story or not. We fail to look at other sources or find sources we find more trustworthy to give the facts with as little bias as possible.

The emergence of AI complicates things. It’s harder and harder to judge if the picture you are looking at is real or not. AI generated ‘verbiage’ may or may not be true. It has no integrity to try to protect. It simply spews out ‘information’ that a lot of people read and use without thinking further.

When I substitute taught in Greenwood, Arkansas, many times there were no lesson plans left by the teacher, or it was something like, “Read Chapter One. Be ready to discuss.” I asked the high school students what they thought about the assignment. Their answer was profound disinterest. They opened their books, propped their heads up with a hand, and pretended to read.

I stopped them, asking what it was they were supposed to be able to discuss when they finished reading. No one could give me an answer. I asked them what this class was about – what was it they were supposed to ‘get’ from it. No one knew.

I then decided to teach them to really look at their textbook. In this example, it was a history book. I asked them what they already knew about the subject. Hands went up and thoughts were aired. I asked them to read with the purpose of finding out if what they thought they knew was true or not, according to this textbook, and to find out why it agreed, or why it disagreed, and to decide what they thought about that.

Many were surprised to find there was an appendix in the back that defined terms. Many hadn’t bothered to read the book’s or the chapter’s titles. No one had looked at the questions at the end of the chapter to get an idea of what the chapter covered and what they were reading to find out….

I suggested that they get on their computers after they finished their assignments and see if there were other sources about the same thing they were reading, suggesting they compare each one with their textbook, making a list of questions to ask the teacher.

Were their ideas right or wrong? What facts had they read (and where, by whom) that got them to rethink their ideas?

Thinking has gone by the wayside in our world today. It’s too easy for our eyes to glide over a headline and absorb it. We need to make it a priority to judge the information we’re getting by who is writing it, researching their backgrounds to judge whether we think we might be reading biased views. We need to get off our duffs and use our brains for something other than being somewhere we can place a hat.

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November 22, 2025 · 11:17 pm

Window

Anthony Tran – Unsplash

“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.”

~ Tom Peters

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I have always opted for the comfortable; security over risks; avoided sticking my neck out to try something new. I guess it was getting older that finally ‘got to me,’ urging me to not worry about things so much. I admitted to myself that I couldn’t change the worrisome things, and that most of the time what I was worrying about didn’t happen.

I decided to start trying new things. If I could determine what would happen if I failed – and could HANDLE that – I went ahead. I don’t like to offend people, but in this case, if they didn’t like what I was doing, it was their problem, not mine.

I started trying new things in my art room, realizing that if I were a complete failure at what I was trying, I could simply throw it away. No one had to know I had tried – and failed. All I would be ‘out’ was the money I spent for materials and my time. That decision led to some of my most enjoyable time ever. I LOVE learning new techniques, learning to use new tools, watching videos from people who know what they’re doing, and licking my lips in anticipation for another trial. (admission – I still prefer to do my experimentation alone, rather than in public.)

In Thailand I’m trying to learn to draw what I see. I’m trying to really ‘see’ things – a challenge. You THINK you’re looking, but when you try to get it down on paper, you realize how much you’re missing. I’m trying to take my time, really pay attention, and then try to recreate what I’m seeing. I’ll probably die of old age before I can actually sketch something, but I’m learning slowly and getting a bit better. I have patience with myself and have given myself the freedom to ‘use the eraser a lot’ and be satisfied when I have done my best for the moment.

This idea works the same whatever window you’re trying to open. I’ve never been what I call a good traveler. I’m afraid I’ll end up in Lower Slabovia or somewhere lost. It scares me that I might miss a connection and be stranded. My sense of direction is laughable, so I even worry here that even trying to use the GPS feature on my phone, I’ll end up having to call Brian to come find me. Pathetic, right? I’m going to take this slowly, too, BUT. I. WILL. DO. IT.

I, the wuss of the ages, challenge you to take something that scares you, opening the window to trying something new. I now know how GOOD it feels when you actually do this. As you feel the breeze on your face and enjoy the sights and sounds outside, you’ll feel better about yourself, more confident, happier in your own skin, and eager to open another.

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November 21, 2025 · 8:56 pm

This Was Us – Kind Of

“Too many people spend money they earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people that they don’t like.” ~ Will Rogers

___________________________

“Things” meant many things to us when we lived on top of a ridge line in Greenwood, Arkansas.

My husband collected guns and ammo. We had two ranges on our 8 acres. One was right beside the shop. It was bermed so shots were contained. We shot handguns at targets that spun when we hit them. We had another, longer range half way down to the road. That was bermed, as well. We could shoot rifles there at targets. My husband was a former Marine and security was a big thing for him. One memory was the me-sized rifle he got me as an engagement present. We didn’t have ranges then, so we got on his motorcyle and rode down the highway in search of a safe place to shoot. My hair was in pigtails, I had the rifle strapped on my back. People were whipping around in their cars trying to decide if we were Hell’s Angels or not. 😜

We both collected books. We had wall to ceiling bookshelves in the living area on either side of an entertainment area. We had books in every room – my art room, the guest room, floor to ceiling shelves in our bedroom, books out in the shop, and more. 📚

I collected art supplies. I had a website where I displayed my own art plus that of up to 100 others for some 17 years. I also had an Etsy site where I sold my artwork after I shut down Creative Artworks. I had supplies for all the things I made, plus supplies for things I wanted to learn to do. The art room was overflowing. 🎨

We collected food – just in case. We lived up a steep driveway that we couldn’t negotiate much of the winter. Trees would fall down into the driveway covered with snow and ice and we would have to cut our way to the bottom of the driveway ourselves – as we could. So we tried to stay stocked up on supplies and food for ourselves and our pets in case we were stuck up there. Once in a bad storm we lost power and public water for 14 days. We used our generator for heat. We had enough for ourselves plus the rest of the neighborhood…🍳

We collected tools for the shop. My husband was a fix it person. He was the son of a man who also believed in doing things himself rather than getting help. Because of that, we had huge tools, like the mill and lathe. We had tools like the sand blaster and the CNC table and computer so we could cut out decorations for our mailbox and create yard critters for the yard. I had painting stuff out there to paint the things we made. ⚒️

The point of all this – and these were just examples, is that we had a lot of ‘stuff.’ We didn’t get it to impress other people, though. We justified our purchases in lots of different ways, but the end result was that our large home was full-to-overflowing with STUFF.

MinnPost

When we moved to Thailand, we had to arrange an auction of all the STUFF so we would have money for the move and living in a new country. Some things we gave to friends. Some things friends insisted they buy from us. We packed one suitcase and one backpack for each of us and walked away from everything else.

This was 7 months ago. My husband is now in a nursing home. The things we brought for him are stored in a series of closed cabinets on the wall of my living area. Most of the STUFF we had is not even missed. It’s a relief to be rid of so many things we had bought, but didn’t really NEED.

I now have a small condo in Thailand. I have everything I need. (Well, I have a list of things I would LIKE to add) but mainly I already have everything I NEED. It’s amazing what we can do without.

Our money now goes for priority things, like the nursing home, AND several really nice luxuries, such as getting massages, my housekeeper, getting mani/pedis and haircuts, and chocolate drinks or iced coffee in the afternoon, and jigsaw puzzles…

Funny how quickly things change when your life is turned upside down. Priorities shift, heads get straight for the first time in years, and you adapt to a new lifestyle embracing a new chance to value important things.

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November 14, 2025 · 12:50 am

Wish For You

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November 9, 2025 · 2:22 am

The Noticing Walk

James Lucas – Substack

This is something I think is important on so many levels. I try to do this every time I am out – even though I spend a lot of time with my eyes to the ground, trying to NOT fall on my head with the uneven streets, sidewalks, etc. As my balance improves, though, I take a bit more time to look around and NOTICE things. In fact, Brian thinks I’m losing my marbles because I AM noticing things I have passed a lot on our walks and mentioning them or asking him about them. He thinks I should have noticed them a long time ago, but better late than never…

When you make it a point to notice new things, you are consciously living in the moment. You aren’t thinking about what you’ll do when you get home again. Your long to-do list. Your problems and worries. You are THERE fully, taking in all around you, maybe seeing or hearing something that brings you joy. One of the things I’m noticing is the wonderful bird calls here in Thailand. I don’t really need to know that I’m hearing a ‘ruby-throated whapadoo’ to fully appreciate how beautiful his song is. I just hear it and it makes me smile.

Shops come and go here. It seems like they do it at a faster rate than what I’m used to in the U.S. I noticed that one place we pass on a regular basis is empty now. Very soon another shop will take its place, with a creative, hard-working, hopeful owner who will probably have things that are wonderful to see.

Today I noticed that the koi fish at the chocolate place we like seem to have grown a lot since the pools were created a little over a month ago. They are beautiful to watch. Very lively and colorful. A wondrous sight.

I have to laugh, even though the joke is on me. Brian saw some hot air balloons outside his window and sent me a picture of them a couple of days ago. When we were eating a meal, I thought I saw a hot air balloon, got all excited, and mentioned it. This brought on an excruciatingly funny period of ridicule as my son pointed out it was a water tower. It was shaped like a hot air balloon and painted red and white like a hot air balloon. He pointed out it wasn’t moving. I told him he should put on his list of things to be grateful for that his mom was a never-ending source of things to make him smile.

Take the time to be in the moment. NOTICE how pretty some of the trees are now. NOTICE how wonderful the smile lines on your husband’s face are. NOTICE how nice it is to be able to take 10 minutes and enjoy a walk outside. NOTICE how much joy you feel when you hug someone you love.

Take a noticing walk every day and see your happiness and well-being expand along with your world! “The world is wider than I remembered.”

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November 5, 2025 · 1:27 am

Destination?

Pngtree

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“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” – C. Joybell C.

    My husband and I were living in the house we built on top of a ridge line and lived in with our pets for almost 40 years, trying to keep up with all the house and yard work needed to keep everything afloat. It wasn’t easy, but we were managing. Then we both got Flu A at the same time. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen. I ended up in the hospital receiving an emergency pacemaker after my heart stopped twice in the ER. We contacted my son and he said he would come to help us, flying 24 hours from Thailand to Arkansas.

    A month later, we each packed a suitcase and a backpack, found wonderful, caring homes for our dog and cat, sold everything we owned and flew to Thailand to retire where we could be close to our son. Then my husband fell two weeks later, spent a month in the hospital and ended up in a nursing home.

    Feeling a bit like “Stranger in a Strange Land,” – Robert A. Heinlein, we’re making sure my husband is getting the best care possible and I’m living in a condo in the same building as our son. I’m working slowly on learning Thai phrases, am learning how to honor the culture and traditions here, and am fascinated by all I’m seeing and experiencing.

    I’m determined to embrace my new life. I was given a second chance at life by the hospital staff in February, and I won’t waste a minute. I am lucky that I am truly able to retire here. I never thought I would be able to say that. With careful juggling, I am enjoying perks here I never could afford in the States, such as a weekly housekeeper who scrubs my place until it shines; a weekly massage that takes out all the kinks and allows me to truly relax; my first-ever mani/pedi I get every 6 weeks or so; a haircut at the same interval; and recently, taking my clothes to the laundry to have them returned clean and nicely folded the following day.

    My son and I spend a good amount of time together. We share meals twice a day, we go visit my husband three times each week, we go places together to run errands or just have fun exploring. We go to the gym every morning so that I can walk a mile on the treadmill, trying to retrain my brain to fix my balance issues, lose my extra weight. I’m doing yoga stretches, Internet balance exercises, and dance to fun music with water bottles doing exercises for my arms.

    I plan my day around writing posts for my blog – an activity I truly love. I really enjoy finding things I find wonderful and sharing them with my readers. I have met some wonderful people I now feel close to through the blog, something I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

    I am learning to draw a bit better, sketching things I find on the net and painting them in an art alcove in my place. I read great books on my Kindle. I watch new and old movies on my TV, and love watching YouTube music videos. Music, new and old, is one of the treasures of my life.

    I have time to reach out to old friends and new now. I’m so lucky to have good friends in my life. Most of my family is gone now, but my friends are all around me, just a text away.

    So, I feel a bit suspended in mid air in a new country, with a different language, different customs, fascinating stores and food, learning new things each time I go out.

    I embrace not knowing any of the answers. I am learning to go with the flow, just enjoying all the differences and trying to fit in as best I can. The people are so nice here, so welcoming, so forgiving of my bumbling efforts to say a few things.

    As I learn, my wings are unfolding – I am learning and growing – grateful for the chance to build a whole new life – close to my husband and son.

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    October 28, 2025 · 1:18 am

    Motivation

    “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.

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    October 24, 2025 · 9:36 pm

    Better

    “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?

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    October 23, 2025 · 2:10 am

    Choices

    Freepik

    “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” — JIM ROHN

    __________________

    I’ve spent a lot of my life with ‘the day running me.’ I felt swamped by my to-do list which only expanded day by day. It didn’t matter how hard or how long I worked, I could never make enough headway to feel I had really accomplished anything.

    That changed when we decided to sell everything we owned and move to Thailand to retire close to our son at the first of April. The reasons for the choice were complex, but suffice to say we couldn’t keep up with everything we had built in the states anymore. We were ill and getting frailer. We needed to be in a simpler situation where we could gain strength and enjoy life again.

    We made it to Thailand – just barely, since my husband needed a wheelchair by the last two flights, but we did it, mainly thanks to the good planning and arrangements made for the easiest method to get here made by our son. He tried to be in front of us, beside us, and behind us the whole trip, and did an incredible job of that.

    We made the choice to try to do what we could to get healthier. My husband agreed to try to adhere to a more strict low carb diet, allowing Brian to choose what we ate. He also agreed to take a walk daily with Brian and me to try to build up his strength. We chose to try to fit into the Thai culture as much as we were able.

    Then he had his fall and stroke and ended up in the hospital. We suddenly had to choose a nursing home when he was released because there was no way he could live in the air bnb we were in at the time or the condo into which we planned to move when the purchase was complete. This place isn’t set up for wheelchairs, hospital beds, home health, live-in help, etc., and there was no way Brian and I could take care of him here. Thankfully, we found a place we can trust to do the best possible for him.

    I have chosen to live each day to the fullest. I never thought I would get to ‘retire.’ My workload since I stopped working for others simply grew and grew, taking on the jobs my husband could no longer do in the states.

    My life is such a gift now! I choose what I would like to do most days. Sure, we have appointments, plus we spend 3 hours going to visit Harvey three times a week to visit, make sure he’s getting the best of care and is staying as comfortable as possible. Otherwise, I live in relative luxury. I LOVE my condo. It is full of huge windows and light. It’s comfortable and welcoming. I’m choosing how to decorate it a bit at a time.

    I’m writing my blog posts, a thing that is a constant joy to me, finding and sharing things I think are wonderful with my readers, reading and responding to comments, getting to know some of my readers and considering them friends. I’m working jigsaw puzzles – free to leave the table in the living area covered with pieces until I am finished – a luxury I’ve never had. I have an art alcove where I’m trying to improve my drawing skills and painting my sketches. I’m reading books on my Kindle. I’m watching old movies and YouTube music videos. I’m seeing new people, shops, and interesting things on a daily basis, traveling around with Brian.

    I’m going to the gym daily and improving my strength and balance by walking on the treadmill, enjoying virtual vacations by watching the videos on the screen. (Today I was walking on a beach.) I’m within 10 pounds or so of finally reaching my goal healthy weight (having given up on ever getting TALLER). and eating healthy (breakfast and dinner – eating less and paying attention to eating good things for me.)

    SO – I am determined to ‘run my day’ now, rather than letting the day run me. I’m treating myself to weekly massages, plus mani/pedis and a haircut every 5 or 6 weeks, and splurging on something for the condo every once in a while. I’m healthier, happier, and determined to make each day count.

    Freepik

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    October 21, 2025 · 12:14 am

    Do

    Source Unknown

    “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

    My mom was a smart lady, and she said a lot of smart things; one of which was, “Attitude is all.” That really resonated with me and is a cornerstone of my life.

    Instead of looking at things happening and immediately assuming the victim – poor me – attitude, I’m really trying to look at each thing as a problem to be solved one step at a time. It may take a long time, try my patience, try to overwhelm me, but I CAN break most things down into pieces and try to do what I can to resolve them. Some of the things here in Chiang Mai have been trying to drive me nuts since the end of March when we first arrived. Piece by piece I (with Brian’s help) am solving them one jagged, frustrating piece at a time. I have finally moved two things off the LONG, LONG list on which I’m working. I will continue to do what I can on each remaining thing until I get a handle on each.

    While I’m working on frustrating stuff, I’m embracing my new life here in Chiang Mai. I’m finding more and more to like, feeling more and more at home. I’ve concentrated on trying to get healthier; losing my remaining lard;, eating less, but healthy food; learning more Thai phrases, having a healthy routine to my days, and finding joy EVERY DAY, in my jigsaw puzzle, my sketches, my paintings, my books, my blog posts, the friends and relatives that mean the world to me, and much, much more.

    I’m realizing all I have, and am very, very grateful for all of it. I have a chance to build a new life, new friendships, new hobbies, discover things I didn’t know existed, but most of all, to change what I can, make the best of what I can’t change, and keep my focus sharp.

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    October 12, 2025 · 3:11 am

    Rest

    @Noemardau.bsky.social

    “Rest is an art that should be practiced, for all the good it can bring us.” – Unknown

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    With my husband’s sudden trip to the ER this week, we’ve had a stressful couple of days. Both Brian and I have really needed days where we didn’t have to get out – where we could try to breathe, relax, and rest.

    “When you rest, you catch your breath and it holds you up, like water wings…” — Anne Lamott

    I’ve used the time to myself to work on my new puzzle, paint a little, talk to friends, and do mindless chores around my place. I’m beginning to unwind enough that I may be able to rest better tonight.

    “Sometimes you need to give yourself a break when you’ve had a lot of life change.” — Barbara Freethy

    Harvey is not doing well. He’s hanging on, but barely. We are treasuring every moment that we can actually communicate with him now. It is becoming more and more rare. We will go see him in the morning.

    I hope that YOU are getting the rest you need – whatever life is throwing at you. We are all in this world together. Virtual hugs to you. 🤗

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    October 5, 2025 · 1:07 am

    Today

    Freepik

    “Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.” – Maya Angelou

    __________________

    February 11th I died twice one night in a hospital in Arkansas. I was given a second chance at life by caring people and a pacemaker.

    In April we sold everything in the States and moved to Thailand to be with our son with his incredible love, strength, and guidance, having left our dear pets in the hands of people who would treasure them. We left the pressures behind and “retired” in the country our son loves.

    Two weeks after moving, my husband fell and had a stroke. After one month in the hospital here, two surgeries and a lot of care, he was transported to the nursing home we had found. He is now receiving expert, loving care, being made as comfortable as possible.

    During my husband’s hospitalization I moved into my own place in the same building as our son. He has helped me make it a refuge, a safe place, a place becoming my own a bit at a time.

    Pro Pond & Lake

    Gratitude for all I have now simply wells up inside me and spills over on a daily basis. I will not waste all I have been given.

    My own health is improving now with daily visits to the gym, walking on a treadmill, daily yoga stretches, daily exercising with water bottles as weights and dancing to music on my computer. I’m trying to eat sensibly plus lose the rest of my excess weight. I now have hearing aids to correct a side effect of my hospital stay and I’m working daily on regaining my balance, stamina, and flexibility.

    We travel 3 times a week to visit my husband. He has made the decision not to cooperate in physical therapy. We are just trying to make sure he is well taken care of and as comfortable as possible. Our round trip visit is 3 hours each time, and the visit sometimes includes a bit of conversation, shared memories, and always lots and lots of love.

    I get to choose what I want to do with my days. I love to write my blog posts. I’m made an art alcove in my place where I can try to learn to draw better. I’m sketching and painting on a daily basis. I’m working on a difficult, beautiful, 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that I MAY live long enough to finish. (We’ve ordered a glass print of the “Owls” puzzle I finished which should arrive any day now.) Reading downloaded books on my Kindle is a joy, sprawled out on my new couch with a lounging end. 😁. I share meals with our son every day. I listen to music, delighting when I find a new voice that makes MY heart sing, too.

    SO – to say gratitude is my main emotion these days is an understatement. I almost wasn’t here to enjoy this. I’m doing something every day that brings me joy. I’m embracing all the wonderful parts of my life, grateful for each day I have. Today is what I have. “Today I am blessed.”

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    October 4, 2025 · 2:05 am

    Goal

    StockCake

    “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” ~ Maya Angelou

    In our world today it’s harder and harder to keep a level head. The weather is causing catastrophic losses from which it’s hard to recover. People are hurting and killing each other, having been driven to extremes by events. We suffer losses in our families that leave us feeling hollow, devastated, and hopeless.

    With all this, it’s really difficult to try to see the good in the world. Sometimes you really have to search, but there IS still good. People still love each other. Small acts of kindness will bring you to tears. People reach out in whatever way they can to help others.

    We may feel helpless to find things we can do that will make a difference. We don’t have a huge amount of money to significantly help people in need. Eaxh of us is one person and there is so much that needs to change.

    So what do we do? Throw our hands in the air and feel defeated? Get angry and lash out at the people we feel are doing harmful things?

    I think it all starts way down deep inside each of us. We’re all in this world together. We all are overwhelmed from time to time and need to reach out to others for help, for listening, for understanding, for compassion. Others may reach out to us.

    We need to act with intention. Start by recognizing all we have and being grateful for it. And then try to spread that gratitude all around us in a light that will surround and comfort others.

    Maya Angelou said it beautifully, “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

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    September 26, 2025 · 10:33 pm

    I am a Work-in-Progress

    Unknown

    I am in the process of doing a lot of changing since we moved to Thailand.

    Some of them are health-related:

    • I used to drink coffee by the pot full. I would start a pot in the morning. My husband and I would drink a cup and then I would finish the pot. If dinnertime came and the pot was empty, I would make another pot and drink most of it, if not all. Coffee didn’t keep me awake. It was like drinking water to me. – now we drink mushroom teas (various) with bone broth mixed in. This is a very healthful drink. It’s supposed to do all kind of wonderful things for us. The bone broth is supposed to help with hair and fingernails. We drink one cup with breakfast. Now many times I have an iced mocha in the afternoon as a pick-me-up. I never liked iced coffee, but the ones I’ve tried here are all wonderful, and the ‘iced’ helps me ‘weather’ the weather better…
    • Exercise – I used to do yoga stretches and various exercise videos on my computer at various times when we lived in the states. I THOUGHT about them more than actually DOING them. – Now Brian and I go to the gym every morning at 0-dark-thirty to use the treadmills for half an hour. Brian says he can tell I’m healthier. I also make it a point to do at least half an hour of yoga stretches daily. I also dance with water bottles in each hand at least every other day, trying to work on my arms and back, as well as have fun moving more.
    • Eating – I used to eat what I liked and too much of that. I belonged to the “clean plate club”, practically licking the plate before I finished stuffing my face. Sometimes I went back for seconds. We always had high carb, salty snacks on hand. Now I eat breakfast and dinner. Brian and I share whatever we get. He eats 2/3 and I eat 1/3. I try to drink LOTS more water than I did before. If I get hungry, I chew some sugarless gum.
    • Using my day – In the states I was trying to handle more and more of what my husband used to do, but couldn’t do anymore. I was overwhelmed by to-do lists that only grew. I felt guilty when I went up to my art room, even though I sold much of what I made up there. By the time I had handled enough of the list to do a little bit of something fun, I had run out of time or was simply too exhausted to do it. Now I can put myself at the top of the list mentally. I still have ‘to-do’ lists and a list of errands we need to run, calls I need to make, etc., but I make a conscious effort to include something FUN in my day while I still have energy and actually ENJOY the doing. Now that I’m officially ‘retired,’ I am moving from one fun thing to another any time I’m not needed elsewhere. My attitude is one of improving my quality of life. Getting a second chance at life changed me forever. I am worth doing something fun now. 👍

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    September 23, 2025 · 9:37 pm

    Sleepy Day

    Tina Ann

    I stayed up especially late last night listening to YouTube singing contest videos. I’m a sucker for someone gathering their courage and trying to sing in front of a huge audience and critical judges. I tear up when they’re successful, cry if they actually win. (I know, I’m hopeless ) 😋

    When my photo alarm went off at 5 a.m. this morning, I checked to see if there had been a mistake. I must have set the alarm incorrectly – but, NOOOOO! It was time to get up and get dressed to go to the gym.

    I was sitting on the couch, still trying to wake up when Brian texted me that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to skip the gym today. I decided to go ahead and shower and dress for breakfast and going to visit Harvey at the nursing home.

    It’s quite cloudy and my phone app says it will be cloudy and rainy all day. It lies, though, so I decided to go ahead and put the laundry I had washed out on the balcony on the drying rack. I may regret that later – if we’re out and the rain starts – but it won’t be the end of the world.

    It’s a perfect day to take a nice nap. I’m fighting that, but I’m not sure for how long. I don’t know what it is about a cloudy day that makes me sleepy, but it works every time. Then if I can hear the rain (and it’s NOT leaking around my windows), I can really rest well.

    Brian tells me that once the rainy season is over around the first of November, then it will get HOT and the sun will be super strong, and no rain will fall for weeks at a time. All this is completely new to me. It’s like I have been dropped onto a different planet at times. By the NEXT rainy season, I’ll feel like a veteran. Hopefully, my window leaks will have been fixed and the bucket and towel brigade can be retired.

    For now, I’m getting up from the computer every few minutes to keep alert…

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    August 31, 2025 · 1:08 am

    Uncommon Advice:

    Source: Unknown

    I think this is great advice. I’ve wasted a lot of my life. When I was 14 and in love with the man I would marry 9 years later and share over 56 years with, I counted off the days until I would see him again – practically holding my breath until his next leave from the Marine Corps. Then he finally got out of the Marine Corp, but we attended different colleges, so it was marking off days again until the time we could make to be together.

    After the waiting and marking off days portion of my life finally ended, my goals of getting my teaching degree, and then a Master’s Degree, and then my first teaching job, and then starting my own reading clinic overshadowed my day to day life.

    We finally had our son, and then our daughter and our life was complete – only to be shattered two months after our daughter was born – when she died of SIDS. We eventually found the strength to go on, devoting ourselves to our son and each other.

    I got regular jobs so that I was contributing to our income, starting two career moves – working as a medical transcriptionist/bookkeeper for a busy 8-general surgeon portion of a large clinic in Fort Smith where Harvey had accepted a job. During this time, my son designed a website for me to display and try to sell my artwork. I discovered that I could include the work of other artists for only the cost of my time, so I ended up with a website, “Creative Artworks,” which displayed and sold the work of 100 people. I ran this for 17 years, finally shutting it down because too many of the artists didn’t share the values and work ethic I did, and the reputation of the website is a collective thing. If one person didn’t keep up his/her part and stand behind their work, we all suffered.

    I transferred my own work to Etsy, concentrating on learning new forms of art, such as woodburning, glass etching, painting fabric products, using different techniques, materials, etc. It was a fun time.

    Then Harvey and I got sick, Brian came from Thailand to help, we sold everything we had in the states and moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, ready to retire, try to adapt to our new lives, relax and enjoy living under much less stress. Two weeks after we arrived, my husband fell, had his stroke, and is now in a nursing home. I am living in a condo by myself in the same condo building as our son.

    Minutiae of ‘life’ – its obligations, the busy-ness of it all, the endless chores at home after working full time, keeping up the house and yard, etc. eat up the time and days/weeks/months/years pass in a blur. Things change and life isn’t what you planned.

    The advice at the top of this is to ‘be present.’ Live in the moment. Notice all the wonderful things around you. How precious life is. How precious good health is. How wonderful your friends are. How many good things are happening and how grateful you should be.

    You can only be present if you have your health. That’s one of the reasons why I am making exercise, eating healthy food, losing the lard, correcting the things I can a priority.

    Happiness isn’t given to you. It comes from inside you. It’s a combination of attitude and gratitude – if you’ll pardon the rhyme. When my mother-in-law moved with her husband to a retirement facility in Tulsa years ago, I asked her how she was feeling about it. She said she would love it. When I probed further, she said she would make new friends, discover new interests, and make it her home. And she did. I have always admired her for that, and I’m trying to emulate that now.

    If you live in the moment, being grateful for all you have, determined to let happiness well up from deep inside you, spilling out in all directions, your ‘path’ writes itself. Everything about this gives you the confidence you need to pursue life at its fullest. And the grin that splits your face tells everyone that you have ‘the secret…’

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    August 11, 2025 · 12:31 am

    Never Too Late

    Carol Saylor – Pinterest

    Getting older is quite a mixed bag.

    In the past I cringed when celebrating another birthday. It depressed me that I still weighed much more than I wanted to, but couldn’t seem to find the motivation to stuff less into my mouth, pay closer attention to what I was eating, or get off my duff to do some honest exercise. My main focus was escape.

    I hurt. I fixated on what was hurting and tried to find quick fixes that would make me feel better, the latest nostrums proving you would feel younger, sexier, have more energy, would lose that stubborn fat, would make me look like Julia Roberts..😃.

    There were still things I loved, of course. I lived in a nice house, could escape into my art room and try to learn another technique or skill. Right before we moved, I had taken up wood burning. It was loads of fun, and I could spend hours figuring out what I wanted to create and then lose myself in the process. It was especially gratifying when someone liked what I had listed in my Etsy shop enough to want to give it a home.

    I escaped into Nora Roberts books – her regular romance books plus the JD Robb collection. She would grab my interest and take me away from my problems, allowing me some peace.

    I worked out in the yard. I tended my flowers, weeded my square foot veggie garden, edged, weed-whacked, trying to tame the small area around the house we tried to keep civilized.

    My husband and I were getting older, though, and couldn’t really take care of the house and yard the way we wanted to. It was simply too much and we hadn’t admitted it yet. And then we both got sick at the same time. We were SO ill that we could barely drive to the clinic. We both had Flu A. My husband also had pneumonia. I also had bronchitis and low blood oxygen for which the doctor insisted I go to the ER. My friend Carla drove me, leaving my husband to fend for himself the best way he could.

    I was in the hospital a week. I died twice on February 11th. My heart simply stopped. I had a temporary pacemaker installed, and then a permanent one. We were still too sick to take care of each other, so I wrote our son Brian, who lived in Thailand, and asked him to come home.

    We ended up selling everything we owned and flying to Thailand to live near Brian. Two weeks after we got here, my husband had a stroke and fell in the shower. He underwent two surgeries, stayed in the hospital for a month, and is now living in a nursing home.

    Dying, moving to Thailand, trying to help my husband, settling a new living space in a country where I don’t speak the language, am trying to set up finances, etc., makes one rethink.

    I have been given a second chance. I have resolved to finally finish getting the extra lard off, exercise every day, eat mindfully, and embrace all that is wonderful around me.

    My main feeling these days is gratitude. I am trying to absorb the customs of the people of this beautiful country and show in every way I am able how HAPPY I am to be alive. I am trying to make each day count, trying to show my husband how much I still love him, even though his future is very uncertain. I am trying to do all I can not to be a burden on our son, who has taken everything onto his shoulders, trying to do all he can to make the rest of our lives the best that they can be.

    I am feeling so lucky to have such a caring son, a person to share with, do things with, listen to, and trying to make him laugh at least once a day.

    Second chances come rarely. I’m trying to use mine wisely.

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    August 3, 2025 · 2:53 am

    A Beautiful Day

    It wasn’t raining when Brian and I made our way to the gym this morning! Later the sun came out, and it’s a lovely day here.

    We went to see my husband at the nursing home. He has a new full time caregiver who is very nice. She suggested we get him toys to give him something to do with his hands, so we’re looking into that. We stopped for a chocolate drink on the way home, having a nice conversation.

    I have the afternoon to myself. I’m going to paint some of the drawings I did recently after I finish writing my blog posts. Such a great way to spend the afternoon! 😃

    I am learning gradually to eat Thai food. Brian supplies me with a glass of water, plus I am learning to combine bites to include something that makes the ‘hot and spicy’ easier on my mouth.

    Also, we’re drinking some mushroom tea in the mornings with breakfast. It’s Brian’s idea that the worse the tea tastes, the better it is for us. 🤣 He got us two teas – one container each from two different mushrooms. We also add bone broth to it for added health benefits. Both have long lists of all the wonderful stuff they provide. One doesn’t taste like much of anything except hot water. The other tastes truly awful. Of course, Brian thinks the latter is ‘better for us.’ We trade off on which one we drink each morning. There is no telling if either one really are that great health-wise, but it’s worth a shot. Plus, it gives us something to laugh about every other day…

    Have a wonderful day!

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