Monthly Archives: April 2022

DISTRACTIONS – Spammers, Scammers, Movie Stars

Posted on by
4

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

It rained overnight. There’s water running down the street. The sky is cloudy but the sun is breaking through. It is 4℃ now with a predicted high of 8℃ down from yesterdays 16℃. How strange our weather. How strange our world – full of scammers and spammers. To date, I have won 4 free iPhones on Instagram. The only people that phones me nowadays are strangers with warnings of dire things if I don’t do this or that. Is there anything real or true any more? Just this morning, I learned of a big real estate scam right here in my city of Saskatoon. Can you believe it – Saskatoon, Canada, home of very nice people. Scammed by 2 nice energetic young women.

I’m so easily distracted. One scammer phone call and I’m falling off the track. I guess it’s in our nature. They know human nature and use it well. I try not to hold it against myself and give myself some slack. I always get hooked, thinking I’ll just click it once, but you know what happens. Pretty soon one click after another I find out the whole story about Bruce Willis, Annette Funicello, so on and on. I have this urge now to go back and read what Anne Lamott has to say about being 68 years old. But I can wait till I finish this post. I do have some will power. I’ve reschedule my Wordle time from morning to later, too.

I do wonder how much time I do spend on things that are of no consequences. I’m taking this as a cue to review and refresh my goals for this Ultimate Blog Challenge, #the100dayproject and April Love. It’s nice to get ‘likes’ and more traffic for these challenges but it is not my #1 goal. My writing space has always been a breathing, meditative space for me. It continues to be that during the UBC and the opportunity to improve my content and writing skills. Content is about what resonates with me and hopefully helpful to others. It is tempting when time is short and I am tired, to cut corners and plop anything down, just to fill the page. If that is the case, it would be better to take a rest and skip the day.

As for #the100dayproject, I have to remember that a daily draw/watercolour is also to improve my skills. I have finished day 52. It can become a habitual activity. I can forget my purpose and not focus on working on my problem areas. The same with Susannah Conway’s April Love. I have to say though I do have an eye for taking and choosing a photo. They tell me a story just as words can paint a picture. Not every day, post, painting or photo are equal. Some are better than others but if I do my best for the day for the effort, it will be enough. I can live with those results.

A PAIN IN THE NOSE

Posted on by
10

The days are marching along. The temperature is rising. I had to open some windows in the house. The temperature in the greenhouse was 36.4℃ with 3 vents opened at 12:45. We had to open another. Now it is 26.5℃. I feel a little pressured. There’s so much to do. I’m thinking of the boxes of seeds sitting on the dining room table. I have to stay on my program plus a little more to get things done. I am sweating it. I will have that glass of wine with supper.

I am reacting to the crazy weather. Can you believe it went up to 16℃ today? My nose is throbbing like crazy. I had surgery on it years ago because I had a cyst growing into the bone. I know it sounds far fetched. It has caused me much angst even years after its removal. The first time I had it drained. I was too impatient to wait for surgery and the procedure sounded scary. I looked unsightly with a bump sticking out the side of my nose. I had a trip booked. I didn’t want to tour Australia with a bumpy nose. It was a quick fix but it came back seven years later. The second time I had surgery to remove it. The plastic surgeon made an incision under my gum line, peeled my lip back, cut and scraped the cyst off.

Being ‘just a bump on the nose’, I never got much sympathy or understanding. I had no visible scar. But the pain was constant and gnawing, long after my surgery. I never believed the pain was real myself either until I couldn’t handle it any more. At the appointment with my surgeon, he looked at me kind of weird when I told him I still had a lot of pain. Then he held up his thumb and said that the cyst was the size of his thumb, meaning it was BIG. He wrote me a prescription and told me where to to press on the side of my nose to ease the pain. It would have helped if he had explained things more and better post-op. All that I was told was the cyst had grown into my nasal bone. Nothing about the recovery or what to expect.

No matter. I have survived and am thriving. I worked things out over the years. Pain does that to you. It pokes and prods you to find solutions and remedies. It does not let you to stay in the same old, same old. That’s what it’s doing now. So I took a plain tylenol and am sipping on a glass of wine. I have to chill, relax and pamper myself a little. Just to let you know, my pain has much improved over the years. It acts up a little with weather changes. I also have arthritic pain on my left side from scrunching my face, clenching my jaw and tensing my muscles with the pain. I’ve been working on not doing that so life has much improved. Yay!

This post is a painful write. Hope it is not a painful read. It was not my intended write but I got sidetrack. So ends this 4th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

HAPPY FOR NO REASON

Posted on by
10

I’m happy for no reason on this 3rd day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. A good night’s sleep and a walk in the park always help. It is a warm sunny day – +10℃ outside and 27.9℃ in the greenhouse with 3 vents opened. The greens are doing very well. So are the 3 Red Alert Tomatoes and the 2 cucumbers. I’m looking forward to happy gardening and fresh salad greens. Maybe there will be a tomato or two at the end of May. Cross my fingers and toes.

Talking about feet, my left heel pain is gone. It’s a good reason to be happy. I’ve had that pain for months, if not for a year. It doesn’t hurt all the time but I sure feel it when I get up from sitting or laying. I would hobble around for it a bit before it would ease. I’ve been doing heel stretches for weeks at a stretch with no result. I’ve lived with this pain for so long that it’s part of me. I hadn’t noticed the exact moment it left. I am sure it was the functional exercise class Friday that did it. It’s such a good class, seemingly easy and simple with no heavy breathing or sweating. This is the set of exercises. We did it for 8 minutes or so.

  • leaning hands on wall for support at an angle, lift heels up 20 times
  • then leaning with back on wall at an angle, lift toes up 20 times
  • walk a straight line on toes x 10 steps then walk backwards on toes
  • walk a straight line on heels x 10 steps then walk backwards on heels

I hope my happiness lasts or is a frequent visitor. My get-with-the-program is going well. I am on my 50th day of #the100dayproject. I’m drawing/painting my memories and history. I am learning and understanding more of myself and life. How’s that for killing a few birds with a pen/pencil and a paint brush?

University Days
Graduating Nursing
With Friends in Japan

I think this is enough for today. I have to admit that I am a little distracted and frazzled with my projects. I have to save some time and quiet for myself. I lost on Wordle today. It’s a good thing we can play only once a day. Otherwise, I might not get here having this conversation.

NO INSPIRATION TODAY

Posted on by
7

This time of the day is lowest of energy for me. My eyes and body are droopy with sleep. It didn’t help I was low on sleep last night. I like it to blame it on the weather. It seems I am sensitive and affected by any change in the barometer. Rather than laying in bed, tossing and turning, I my put restless energy into my art project and did 3 pen drawings. I will watercolour some other time. Then I took a little helper to lull me into dreamland. You can say I’m a little hung over but not severely handicapped. I’m a little sapped but relaxed.

I’m still on top of the game. This post is the last item of today’s ‘must do’ list. I might even have time for a bit of recreational reading later. I’ve decided it’s stupid to fuss about my Tax Return for a whole month. I have my documents gathered. It will only take part of a day to get into a knot over it. I will leave it for the last week of April. So on with the month. I will make good use of the days.

The days are not warming up quick. It’s good in a way. I’m not warming up fast either. I can take my time with my seeding. I feel as slow as molasses in winter. My dining room table is still littered with seeds and my art clutter. There is no fire so I shalt sweat it. I can still find everything. Everything in its time. I will develop a system by the end of the challenge. Isn’t that what I said, too, the last time? No worries. In the meantime, I have 3 bitter melon seeds soaking and the lunch dishes done. I do still have a pan with a burnt bottom soaking with vinegar sitting on the stove. It will take a bit more time yet.

This is not exactly an inspiring post for a challenge. I’m not feeling inspired but tired. But I am putting my best foot forward. I am not complaining. I’m putting down the last sentence and period. Maybe someone else can inspire me today.

THE CHALLENGES OF APRIL

Posted on by
7

It’s April Fools’ Day, an annual custom of practical jokes and hoaxes. According to Wikipedia, mass media can be involved in these pranks. I don’t think we are in need of any more pranks and hoaxes. We’ve had 2 years and probably more of pranks, hoaxes and conspiracy theories. Enough is enough. I am not a lover of pranks or light hearted stuff. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt me to lighten up a little though.

Today is also the first day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’ve neglected my writing space since the last challenge. I’ve been warming up the last few days to get back in shape. However, I don’t feel in great shape at the moment. I will give it my best shot though. I’ve been doing this challenge for quite a few years now. I enjoy writing/tapping. It’s my therapy of choice. I come to my keyboard and have a conversation/workout with myself. After I have unload, laid it all out on the page, I feel better. I can see clearer if I have a problem. It’s just good to get it out and not harbour the stress in my body.

Though I share freely here, it is not a confessional booth. I do have discretion, good taste and judgement. I do not reveal any secrets, sins or crimes – mine or other people’s. I share thoughts, feelings of every day life. I don’t have big stuff. My life is full of mostly little things that bring big joy and a sense of accomplishment and worth to me. I share my gardening experience and my other hobbies. We built a passive solar greenhouse last year. This spring is our 2nd year. I will be sharing alot about that. Last year I started planting tomatoes and cucumbers on March 9th. I lost a few but most survived. I’m not such an early bird this year.

I’ve just finished a watercolour art class. I’m presently embarked on #the100dayproject. I’m doing a sketch/watercolour a day. I will be sharing some of that also. This reminds me I have another challenge – April Love created by Susannah Conway. I have my work cut out for me. None of this is a must. I have taken them up. I want to have a serious go at each and every one. Oh, yes, I forgot one other challenge – Tax Return. And that is a must.