“Note to Self:
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be still. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.”
Nanea Hoffman
Sweatpantsandcoffee.com
My emotions have been a bit like a roller-coaster lately, so I’ve been looking for things that bring my spirits up.
One thing that helps is a walk around our yard. We have some ‘things worth seeing’, such as flowers-
I hope seeing these brought up YOUR spirits, too. Have a wonderful day!
Filed under Attitude, Cherishing the Quiet Day, Favorite Things, Gardening
And today we welcome Mal, Humphrey the emu, and May, 2021.
The fact that all of these gorgeous Australian firefighters are young enough to be my sons doesn’t diminish my ability to appreciate the ‘view’ in the least as I help them in their fund-raising efforts by buying their calendars each year. :0)
I hope that things will get better and better as we start a new month.
I just walked out to my raised bed, square foot garden to see if the recent storms pounded my sweet veggies into the ground. (We had bad storms particularly Wednesday evening with high winds, lots of close lightning that had me cringing at times with the loud bangs, and some hail. Thankfully, all seems to have come through fine. Pictures to follow, and I will do my second harvest.
Have a happy May Day!
I don’t know why, but when I was growing up, I felt that I ‘should already know how to do things’ before doing them out in public. If my class at school announced that we would have a roller skating party, I would beg my mom to take me to the rink so that I could practice before the party, in a panic about the idea of embarrassing myself in front of other people.
Gradually, over the years, I gave myself ‘permission’ to admit that I had no clue about certain things, that I had never tried something, etc. It still bothers me a bit, but I’ve FINALLY learned to try the new thing to see if I enjoy it, rather than ‘standing back in my own mind’ seeing myself falling in a heap when everyone else seems to be able to do it with no problem.
I don’t know if others share my lack of confidence, but it caused me to miss out on several things when I was young. I still admire people who seem to be fearless, who throw themselves headlong into whatever it the situation is, with a ‘can do’ attitude, or the idea that it will be fun.
One thing I did that helped me deal with this was when I was teaching swimming each summer from the time I was 14 through college. We taught beginning swimming to young children, but we also taught older, experienced swimmers who wanted to work on their technique, stamina, or just wanted the workout.
My favorite thing was our “Mothers Classes.” These ladies sat on the benches in the hot, steamy, indoor pool area so that their kids could learn to swim. What we discovered was that the reason for this many times was that THEY were scared of the water, had never learned to swim, and wished they could. I ended up with some impressive scratches sometimes from women who were petrified, but I felt that the time we spent getting them over their fear was priceless for all of us. We taught them to relax and let the water hold them up. We showed them that they could actually float! Helping women find the confidence to try to overcome years of fear and avoidance helped ME, too. Seeing them learn to swim across the deep end on their own, laughing with joy, made me see my own problems in a different, more healthy light.
Are you with me? Got your T-shirt?
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, empowerment, Encouragement
This is me in a nutshell and my basic attitude toward the world.
I particularly felt this way this morning, when my scales greeted me with a big raspberry because SOMEHOW I gaine 1-1/2 lbs yesterday. I wasn’t aware that I ate lead, but apparently that is the case.
I have decided to ignore it, since I ate a normal lunch and will eat a normal dinner. I’m HOPING that I’m just retaining water and find it gone tomorrow….
Filed under aging, Attitude, Encouragement
Today is a gorgeous day in Arkansas. The sun is shining and it’s 55 degrees outside right now. It may make it to 80 this afternoon! Since I finally finished the main part of the weed whacking around the yard in the past few days, I’m planning to use my two-gallon sprayer to spray KillzAll all around the yard and planter edges, under the deck, and under my garden planters today to see if I can get a leg up on the weeds around here. I will probably do the spraying in several trips so that hopefully my back doesn’t yell TOO loudly afterwards. :0)
Tomorrow at least one of the guys in the crew that has been replacing our porch ceiling and doing a couple more handyman jobs – SAFE ELITE TRANSFORMATIONS – CLIFF HARDEN – 479-849-0520 – will be here all day to paint the porch. Things started with them just doing the new ceiling, but then we expanded that to include painting the rest of the woodwork on the porch. That will allow ME to concentrate on using the power washer to clean up the outdoor chairs, and then continue on to include the front porch, sidewalks, driveway pad, and the deck. This is a big project and will take me several days, if not a week, to finish. (with cooperation of the weather)
There is a lot to paint, so I’m assuming it will take most of the day. Then two fluorescent light fixtures and a ceiling fan need to be put back up, and then a lot of clean up. This may take through Tuesday.
Right now the deck is piled high with ‘stuff’ from the porch. I have promised myself to get ruthless about what goes back on the porch. Using my new ‘LESS IS MORE’ philosophy combined with Marie Kondo’s idea of only keeping things you really need or give you joy, I’m planning to donate a lot of things and throw away others, consolidating what is left. I’ll post pics when the porch is back together.
I hope that your Sunday is shaping up to be a fine day, too.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Encouragement, kindness
With Covid, the economy, the divisiveness of our country, and the awful weather from which people have been suffering, it’s hard to keep your head above water.
It might sound inviting to simply withdraw into protective shells, allowing our souls to simply implode.
I am choosing to concentrate on all the good in the world, reaching out to find it and then share it when I can.
Last night I found figure skating on TV. I happened upon it by accident, and was delighted to watch women’s and men’s competitions in Stockholm which would decide who would qualify to go to the Olympics. I absolutely LOVE watching truly talented people. I’m happy to live on the same planet. These people show what talent, hard work, and dedication can do.
We had some storms overnight – nothing like the awful ones in the southern U.S., thank goodness. This morning the sun is shining brightly; some of my plants are sprouting or blooming.
Seeing the positive in your life and being truly grateful for it is a survival skill that needs to be practiced to the point it’s as automatic as breathing. Let’s do it together.
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Quotes, Poohisms
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Quotes, Poohisms
Friends and family are priceless; but maybe even more appreciated with all we are dealing with today.
When I got to the computer this morning, I had emails from two of my favorite people in the world. I don’t feel as if the day has started without hearing from them. They ground me. We can share anything and everything and don’t have to worry about judgment. And we CARE about each other. If that isn’t priceless, I really don’t know what is.
In about an hour, we will go to Lunch Bunch. Every Friday for over 17 years, we go and share a bite to eat and catch each other up on what has happened during the past week. We share hopes and dreams, help each other through sadness. Our core group remains the same, though Lunch Bunch changes on how many people come each week. I am so grateful I have two wonderful friends who mean the world to me.
When the world is hostile, angry, and dangerous – and we need to be careful about everything we do and say – loving, and having the love and care of friends and family, will help us through to better times. May we all “make our souls blossom.”
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Encouragement, Family, Friendship, kindness
The news is depressing. It seems to accentuate the hostility that some have for others who have different beliefs. I remind myself of the wonderful friends and family I have, to look at people as individuals, rather than painting with a broad brush – and not to fall into the trap of labeling people.
There are so many good, talented people in our world. There is such beauty. Sometimes we just have to dig deeper and search harder, while keeping hope alive.
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement, hope
My scales are finally beginning to take notice of my efforts to lose the lard.
Though I vary on eating between meals, my basic program remains the same. I am eating healthy individual portion frozen dinners prepared by good people at either REAL FOOD or STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood. The ingredients and amounts are listed on the meals. No unpronounceable additives or preservatives are used.
Otherwise, a sandwich or tuna salad, sugar-free jello, and olives or grapes for lunch.
Now that our weather is finally warming up, I don’t dread spending time on my elliptical trainer in the garage as much. I’m trying to do 35 minutes on it three times a week and my yoga stretches every day. I’m doing pretty well at that, even though I have missed days due to helping my husband fix all the stuff that is falling apart around here lately.
I gave up on my efforts to start seeds. I got some messy sprouts, but all were trying their best to die, so I stopped. My title as ‘Serial Seed Killer” remains. :0( Happily, some plants are available locally. I’m trying to decide if I should go ahead and plant things, even though our average last frost date isn’t until April 5th.
I hope that today is a good day for you.
Filed under Attitude, DIET!, exercise, Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
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