Reasons to be Cheerful

The snow begins...

My weekly list!

Went out to lunch on Saturday with my friend and neighbor; we used to walk together every morning, but other things have gotten in the way of our daily walks, so it was good to get caught up. And have lunch out!

The snow started this morning but didn't start building up until I had gotten G into the car and on the way to the day program. And it didn't come quite as fast and furious as I thought, so the trek back into the house this afternoon wasn't too arduous. We've had 3+ inches and up to 3 or 4 more are predicted, but later tonight.

Our choir director cancelled choir rehearsal tonight, which makes me happy. I had already decided not to go and had called the caregiver to tell her not to come (and she was glad!). Better the director cancel than I be the one to say I'm not coming. So we are home, feeling snug and grateful for our warm home and that we don't have to go anywhere tonight (other than perhaps some more shoveling). Bean soup with smoked turkey is on the menu. Mmm, mmm.

The view from my study window, 6:30pm

Check out Planet Penny for more cheerfulness this week.

Last walk before winter

Oscar and I walked this afternoon, and it was beautiful - more than 50F, sun with a few clouds, light breeze. Tonight the waning moon was so bright in the sky.

Tomorrow begins our first major snow of the season - we've been lucky so far, and maybe it won't be the 4 to 8 inches they are predicting.

I bought a new snow shovel on my way home from work - I've worn out two over the last couple of winters, so this time I bought one with a metal edge in hopes it will last longer.

More Downton Abbey love

Just came across this 4 minute video about the real Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle.

Downton Abbey

Season 2 premiered here last night, and oh, it was so good!

When I watched the first season, I didn't know it was the first season - I thought all would be resolved by the end of the last episode. So I was horrified when the last scene faded with so many things unresolved - until the next image came up: Season 2 is in production now. Phew!

And I just learned that there will be a third season, so now I'm prepared for there still to be some unresolved issues by the end of this season. I can live with that.

Coaxing

Forcing sounds so, well, aggressive, doesn't it? Let's say coaxing. Yes, that's it. We're coaxing some lilies of the valley to bloom out of season.

Those two little nubs in the lower center of the picture
are lily of the valley pips.
Thursday afternoon, January 5

If you'd like to play along and it's still mild in your neighborhood, find the patch where the lilies of the valley dwell. Then brush back the leaf debris until you see the little pips or growing tips poking out of the soil. This year I had trouble finding them - I think because we had the house painted in August and there was tramping going on where the lilies grow.

That and having Oscar helping me by inserting his furry self near each spot I was trying to scope. Good boy!

I finally figured out that following the withered scraps of lily leaves to their anchor point revealed the pips. Once you find yours, dig them out with a trowel, capturing some of the roots.

Plant them in a pot at the same depth they were in the garden. This is really important - plant them too deep and they spend their energy getting out of the soil and have nothing left for blooms. This is the voice of the sadder but wiser lily coaxer telling you this.

Position them much more closely in the pot than they are in nature, so you can fit more pips in a pot. This is to increase the odds of having at least some pips that produce flowers, as not all of them will. They don't all produce blooms in the garden, and they won't all here, either. Clip off any withered leaves.

Water and place in a warm sunny spot.

Friday morning, January 6

Last time I did this, it took about two weeks for there to be any sign at all of new life, and then another three or four more weeks before they finally flowered. It was a fun process, and I'm enjoying this year's already.

Come on, lilies of the valley!

Reasons to be Cheerful after New Year's

Here are just a few of my Reasons to be Cheerful during this first week of 2012:

We are having gorgeous (for January) weather - sunny, 40's (anything above freezing is nice) - for the next few days. Which means that today or tomorrow I should be able to dig up some lily of the valley pips to force indoors. The last time I did this was 4 years ago, and it was fun to do - I think it took about 5 or 6 weeks to produce the blooms.

Here's what they looked like at the beginning, the last time. Telling you about this will help me get myself outside to do some digging.

G was in need of some dental repair, and fortunately the dentist was able to see him yesterday. And again, the weather makes a big difference - no attached garage means a slooowww trek across the patio to the waiting car in the driveway, plus the trek into the dentist's office from street parking - so not having ice or snow to make his progress more difficult is wonderful.

Monday I had time to undecorate the tree, and today it will be taken away to become mulch. The rest of the decorations in the house are packed and stored in the basement, with the exception of a few in the kitchen which get stored in the kitchen out of season. Those will be easy to put away when I'm ready to say good bye until next year. Our outside garland, white lights, and wreath are still up and will be for another couple of weeks, as I think of them as winter, rather than Christmas, decorations.

Those are some of my moments of thankfulness this week; for more, hop over to Penny's.

What's your word for 2012?

"What's your word for 2012?"

Our BodyPump instructor asked us that on the Wednesday night before Christmas and suggested we think about it and come to the Christmas Eve morning class with our answer. She told us her word for 2011 was "Enjoy" and for 2012 is "Create, " and if we ponder, a word will come to us. Several of the people in the class have done this in past years and threw out the words they had chosen: Variety. Change. Survive. Consistency. Lead.

An interesting concept, having a word for the year.

I wasn't sure if I even wanted to have a word.

But after thinking about it, and remembering a book I read this fall, I chose my word:

Present

And committed to it by writing it down on the list our instructor provided that Saturday morning.

The book I had read a few months back is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, recommended by a friend whose husband also has dementia.

I borrowed the book from the library and had to keep renewing it, because it presents some complex concepts, and because I had other, lighter books to read that I would pick up instead of plowing through The Power of Now.

Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual person and quotes from the writings of the great world religions.

Here's what my simple brain could grasp after the first reading and that I could relate to:

Focusing on now brings inner peace.

Continuing to react emotionally to things that happened in the past is futile, as Now is the time that truly matters. I realized that the times I get irritated or frustrated with G, when I'm repeating the same thing to him for the millionth day in a row, is because I've said it so many times in the past. "Move your feet back before you try to stand up. Move your feet back. Your feet - move them back. Back. Move them back." But - if I can focus on right now, then how many times I've said it before doesn't matter. Only what is happening right now matters, and that helps me get a sense of perspective, to speak calmly and gently, which is much better for both of us.

Reacting emotionally to things that haven't happened yet is also futile. I also realized that when G is having trouble with something that previously was not a problem for him, that also makes me irritable or angry. When I thought about why this made me so upset, it's because there is an underlying fear that now he and I have a new challenge, another indicator of decline, another process that is broken and can't be repaired but has to be coped with, adapted to, dealt with. But really, often something that is a new problem is a one time event, and by the next day, G is back to being able to do whatever it was that caused a problem the prior day. So again, if I can focus on now, instead of projecting into and fearing an unknown future, I am able to coach G through whatever it might be with less drama.

Here is a 10 minute video of the author, expressing some of the concept.



He says, "When you are no longer seeking yourself in past and future, then you can honor this moment, and honoring, embrace the now. Because it is life, it is an expression of life. Embrace what is."

Obviously, my initial take on this complex book is pretty superficial.

I read a lot of books, almost all borrowed from the library. Only if I think I'll reread a book on a regular basis will I purchase it, and then it's usually a used copy. Part of my frugality, unfortunately for the authors and publishers trying to make a living. This book is one I'll be buying to read again, trying to understand more of what can help bring about inner peace.

So - do you have a word for 2012?