Against the Flow

Posted on April 6, 2024 by hafong

It’s day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Only 24 more days to go and 54 more days for #the100dayproject. I’m experiencing a malaise and a dip in my spirit. In these moments I wonder why I put these commitments upon myself. It would be so much easier if I go with the flow. It would be but I do know where that could lead – stagnation. And it is just not me – to go with the flow. I’m prickly, sometimes known as an eccentric person.

What I need when malaise hits is action. Though I don’t advocate shopping on Amazon as a solution, that’s what I did. I bought an electric kettle and Lyn Slater’s book on How to Be Old. I was waiting for the paperback version but I decided I need to read it now. So ping! Now it’s on my Kindle. Not sure how useful it will be. Not alot of super reviews on Goodreads.What triggered my dippy mood is reminders of aging and what that could mean. I had a visit with my 92 year old mother yesterday. The conversation was largely about aging, declining strength, vitality and meaning of life. It left me feeling blue and deflated, wondering on how to age well. That’s when I remembered Lyn Slater, the accidental icon.

It’s good that the morning was sunny. I’ve started my daily early morning visits to the greenhouse before breakfast. Today I transplanted my radishes into the bed. After I thought I better do my stretches before I lose my oomph. It’s the first time in many months that I have no pain in my left foot. I had plantar fasciitis since before Christmas. Just as it was finally resolving, I stubbed my little toe on the same foot. Took 5 weeks for it to heal. I am motivated to keep pain away by doing my daily stretches.

Now it is almost 4 in the afternoon. We took a little drive out of the city to Crossmount to look at some paintings and pottery on display. We had some dessert at the restaurant and walked around outside after. There was quite a few people out enjoying the sunshine and the cider house. I’m feeling refreshed and renewed.

Bad Paint Days

Posted on April 5, 2024 by hafong

Now we’ve all had bad days of one sort or another. I’ve had from bad hair days to bad write days to just really all-bad days. Now I’m having bad paint days. So I decided that I was maybe choosing too difficult subjects for #the100dayproject. Having painted quite a few geishas in the past with no problems, I thought they would make a good subject for a few days. But alas, no such luck. I’m laying on layers and layers of paint, correcting, revising. She’s admonishing me with her critical eyes. Good thing I haven’t given her mouth. She can’t give me no sass.

Perhaps I can leave her thus. Things get worse when I try too hard. I’m on day 46, not quite halfway. Day 45 was bad – Henry and Kate from On Golden Pond. Henry looked too young and not grumpy enough. My colours looked muddy. Day 44 of Mugs and More Art started the bad paint days streak. It like the domino effect.

I just have to accept that in life there are good and bad days. Sometimes we have to give things a rest and do the best we can. Tomorrow is another day.

Inspiration, Perspiration

Posted on April 4, 2024 by hafong

My wish for rain came true. It’s cloudy as can be with rain coming down. It’s as if the whole world is weeping. There is that much sadness in the world but I must not give into that sadness. I must use it to inspire myself into better. I must pull myself up by the bootstraps. When inspiration does not work, there’s the perspiration of hard work. It works. It’s in the mindset.

I’m off on a better start today. It helps to know and accept oneself. I have. Knowing that I feels things deeply and have the propensity for melancholia, I’ve always have had to work hard to maintain a positive outlook. Good cheer and energy does not come naturally to me. I have learned to compensate for the lack. Perhaps it’s not such a bad thing. Having to work for it have built good habits and resilience in me. I do worry about maintaining it as I age.

My saving graces are my love of learning and self-improvement. I have this thirst for knowledge and how to do better. I’ve been reading Jim Kwik’s Limitless and Stan Goldberg’s Preventing Senior Moments: How to Stay Alert into Your 90s and Beyond. Both emphasize what a miracle our brain is. Did you know that the world’s fastest supercomputer requires 24 million watts of power to operate, but our brain only requires 20 and is a hundred thousand times faster than a computer? I wonder why we are dumbing ourselves by our dependence on the computer for everything. Why don’t we upgrade our own softwares by actively using our brain more?

Feeling Lazy

Posted on April 3, 2024 by hafong

Photo by Creative Workshop on Pexels.com

It is only day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’m feeling lazy and sluggish with nary a thought or idea in my head. It is Wordless Wednesday -a day to share an image or images that speak for themselves. That should make an easy post, but I can’t even come up with any of interest. I did snap some photos of going through the carwash. I thought I could call it The Tunnel of Love. It would be perfect. We’re locked in and soaped up. Nobody could see in. But the photos were soapy and boring. The tunnel short – maybe all of 5 minutes.

Then I have my #the100dayproject wherein I paint a picture a day for 100 days. I’m sagging there, too, on day 44. I’m feeling lackadaisical, not in the mood. What to do? There’s no point in pouting. Nobody cares. I won’t give up. So I’ve prepped a small piece of watercolour paper with gesso. Waiting for it to dry. I am a wee bit motivated, having seen Paul Trottier’s art exhibit, Joy and Sorrow at St. Thomas More Gallery. I was quite moved by all his paintings. I hope it is enough to carry me through this slump.

I grasp at anything, however small, when malaise knocks me off my feet. A cup of coffee and a piece of toast is calling me. And I have to go and close the vents in the greenhouse. The temperature is going down. It has been a warm day with a high of 19℃. Most of the snow are gone. I had the shade cloth down and 5 vents opened. It’s been above 30℃ most of the afternoon. Now it is 24℃. Time to raise the cloth and close up.

Use It or Lose It

Posted on April 2, 2024 by hafong

Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels.com

Whew! Finally sitting down at the end of the day. I’ve been a busy little bee since morning. It’s so easy for me to sit and read or scroll, thinking I’m learning and gathering information. I’ve been doing that for ages. I’m not sure how much I’ve put all I have learned into use though. Now having learned from Jim Kwik that learning is an action, I’m going to be more active instead of just sitting around and accumulating info.

The saying use it or lose it is very true. That is why I like the regular practice of writing. I’m exercising my brain in the use of words, their spelling, how to express and idea, etc., etc. I work out at the gym three times a week to keep my body strong and moving well. It is also good for the mind and spirit. They also get a workout by my going out in the world where there are other people. I learn how to socialize and function with people.

I was working early in the greenhouse early this morning. The newly planted snowpeas and spinach are looking well. I seeded some lettuce and Swiss Chard. This is the first late start for me. Other years I would have had lots of big seedlings of tomatoes and other things already. I have to admit that I have not been all that excited this spring. You can lose excitement, too, if you don’t practice it. I think I’m okay now. I am recovering it.

I made a batch of fermented beets this afternoon. We had a big crop of that, potatoes and carrots the past fall. It’s one thing growing them but it’s another to look after them. If you don’t use them, you lose them. Then what a waste of our time and energy of this one life we have, eh. I think I’ve past the critical stage. I’ve saved myself and not losing it. So ends the second day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I can now relax and let myself go to pots.

A Wakening

Posted on April 1, 2024 by hafong

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

April 1, Fool’s Day and first day of the April Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’ve signed up again, committing to write a post a day for the month. It’s a good practice for the brain and the spirit. As usual I have no plans as I have no business or products to promote. I am going to show up each day and chat. Hopefully I will have a rapt audience. Why not, eh? One should aim for the moon, if one is going to aim at all.

It is Easter Monday. I wonder if it is the day Jesus rose from the dead. I like to think so. Easter has lost much of its meaning for me. I felt a flatness where once I felt a reverence all through Lent to the whole of Easter. Not this year or last year. I have not notice whence it disappeared. But today, I feel a bit of quickening, a wakefulness, a tiny bit of interest and joy from within. Perhaps, like Jesus, I’m rising from the dead, the deadness of the spirit.

I feel spring is finally here. I think I hear the running of the sap. Maybe it’s my own blood circulating. The sun is shining bright. My planted seeds are germinating and bursting forth. The greenhouse is 30+℃ with 2 vents opened. I’m looking forward to planting my snowpeas later in the day when it is a bit cooler. I will not have to worry and fuss about temperatures dropping below 0 at night. I am a happy camper.

It is an auspicious start for the month. I am hopeful, my flatness and glumness dispelled. Time to wrap up, have a snack and tackle the greenhouse.

Learning to Learn

Posted on March 30, 2024 by hafong

Photo by 42u0440u0438u0439 on Pexels.com

I’m learning to dig myself out of my chaos but it is a very slow process. I’m learning the how of learning. I’m super motivated after watching a Jim Kwik talk on Change Your Brain, Change Your World on Gaia. Wanting to learn more, I’m reading his book Limitless. I am surprised to see that it has many poor reviews from readers on Goodread. I find the book, like his talk, quite inspiring. He also have many videos on Youtube. Here’s his 6 keys to rapid learning.

The video on how the digital age is affecting our brain is most valuable for me. We are now so attached to our gadgets that we are always on 24/7. It is hard to have a moment of rest. Because I have such an addictive nature, it is difficult to resist that scroll button on the phone. That is until recently when I my brain began to hurt by so much information. My Facebook feed was flooded with posts from the Dull Women’s Club. Most of these women were pretty interesting and not at all dull. I couldn’t stop reading. Though so interesting, it became too much. My head was experiencing physical pain and I had to exit the club and edit for less posts.

It gave me pause to wonder why I was spending so much time on strangers’ lives and not my own. Am I that dull? Am I not worth some thought and self care? This is where I am at the moment – taking some time to reflect and tend to myself. The other day, sifting through my paper clutter, I found a stale-dated cheque. It wasn’t the first time. Lucky for me, it was of no consequences. It did point out to me that I need to wake up and tend to this one life that I have.

I am learning to be more mindful, to be in the moment – again. I am learning to relax and enjoy empty, idle moments again. The results are almost immediate. My brain has stopped hurting. It is going to be ok. I have memorized 2 important phone numbers. I will add more and different numbers as I progress. Onward to learning to learn.

Habits – Making and Breaking

Posted on March 26, 2024 by hafong

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

It seems habits are difficult to make and to break as well. Why is that? I wonder. It’s a difficult and dumb question to ponder after a sleepless night. But who says I’m smart? Not me when I’m still struggling with the same old, same old problem of paper clutter. How many years have I been bitching and whining about it? How many years have I talk about working on it? Yet here I am, still stuck in the same groove. Not only stuck but sinking deeper into the pile.

I have this dread of opening my mail. I don’t know why but I’ve had it for decades. I hate reading and dealing with it. I have learned to open the bills after some expensive late fees. I guess I have taken a few steps forward. Now I’m snowed under with tax receipts and bank statements. The clock is ticking loudly. It’s forcing me to open a few more envelopes and making my head hurt. But it’s good that I’ve started. I have 5 weeks to get my ass in gear.

It’s not that I don’t have a goal or intention. I know what it is I want at the end of the rainbow. I always intend to do better but I haven’t. I think I don’t know how to get there. I’m lacking methodology, clear and concise steps to reach the pot of gold. I’m overwhelmed and lost before I start. The first step I must take is to open the mail when I get it right away. Then go from there. The Ultimate Blog Challenge for April is coming up. I will take the opportunity to work on making good habits and breaking my bad ones. I will open each piece of mail from now till end of April and hope it will stick.

WHY I WRITE

Posted on March 19, 2024 by hafong

You might wonder why I write and make posts on social media. Someone once unfriended me on Facebook because they thought I was so prolific. Ever since then, I feel a bit self conscious. I know it is silly but I feel obligatory to explain. So here I am.

I write because I love words and ideas. It helps to organize my brain. Writing is an action. It helps me to remember words, how to use and spell them. If neglected, I forget and have to rely on google and spellcheck. You know what can happen then. The written word registers more with me than the oral. I can read directions whereas I don’t follow verbal ones that well. I’ve learned how to cochet, knit, and other things through written directions.

I’ve learned how to operate my Bernina 790 sewing machine that way. It is a very complicated machine with many functions. I could not retain much of the directions from the in-person hour session at the store. But the manual is always at my fingertips and I can refer back to it time and time again. When I follow each of the steps on my own, I understand it more.

Writing is a way of working out problems for me. It is a mental workout, releasing mental and emotional stress through mental perspiration. Pictures also work that way for me. I post photos and words on social media not because I’m full of myself. Most of them are pretty boring and mundane stuff, but they are interesting to me. Putting words and pictures together is an art form to me. It’s how my brain works. It gives me pleasure. It’s a good enough reason and easy enough to do to stay a bit sane and happy.

How To Grow Old

Posted on March 17, 2024 by hafong

There’s a woman on Instagram who wrote a book on how to grow old. Her name is @iconaccidental alias Lyn Slater. It should be an educational and interesting read. I wonder if I have time to wait for the paperback version or until it is in the library. The clock is, as they say, ticking. I would like to get some pointers sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, I have searched the world wide web and found a few pointers.

Learn to cope with change.
Find meaning and joy.
Stay connected.
Get active and boost vitality.
Keep your mind sharp.

Then I found this video on Youtube. He talks about purpose. I found it quite helpful and it is only 14 minutes long.

I think I am doing mostly well. I’m just experiencing some low spells. We all go through that, right? My best teacher in growing old is my mother. She is 92. She is still very sharp, engaged and as active as her body will allow her to. She and my father are still living in their own house and cooking their own meals. I always feel better after a visit with them.

onethousandandtwo

Looking at Infinity