community

WHY AM I DOING THIS

Good morning. Happy October 1st. There is no sunshine this morning. I will make my own. Today is the official first day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’ve been warming up the past few days to ensure my success of showing up every day for the next 31 days. I’m no new comer. I’ve been doing the UBC for a number of years. I’ve missed only one, the last one, when I lost the joy and fun of it.

I’ve always written for the pleasure of putting words and pictures together – mostly for myself. I have no products to push. I do not promote my site but it’s such a pleasure and honour when someone finds my words worth reading. I’ve had my writing space since 2012. It’s a place I come to have conversations with myself to explore my inner landscape. It’s restful to tap out the letters, words and sentences. I love to see them marching across the screen. Thoughts without forms are elusive. They go round and round in the head, chasing each other, causing havoc. This way I am mapping out my thoughts. There’s direction. There’s order.

The Ultimate Blog Challenge is a good community to be in. It’s always better to have support and an audience. Even though we are an online community I can feel the presence and energy of the group. It’s always an adventure to meet and read someone new with different interests and slants on things. My goals for this time around is simple – write a post every day, obey the rules by reading the 2 posts before mine if I put mine in the thread, have fun and not get caught up in the itsy, bitsy hiccoughs of the challenge. Good luck to all of us. Happy writing.

TRUTHS, FACTS, COMMUNITY

Truths and facts can be ugly. The news is ugly. It is wise not to watch it before bedtime but it happens. I felt overwhelmed by our post pandemic and climate changed world – Hurricane Fiona, Hurricane Ian, flooding in Pakistan. The healthcare segment finally did me in. I had to turn it off. It was too late. My body and mind have already absorbed the sounds, images and energy. They disrupted my already disruptive autumnal sleep. While I did sleep and got up my usual 3 times, I could not get back to sleep the last time. Each time I woke with the same ‘sad‘ emotion. I call it sad for lack of a better word.

So beware of how and what you take to bed with. They will come back to haunt you. I’ve been clearly aware of it now. It’s a little too late but it’s better never recognizing it. I am suffering a little from my poor sleep but I put in lots of effort and my best foot forward. My day was pretty good. I accomplished the impossible by clearing my cluttered diningroom table. When company is coming, I can move mountains. If I was more social, I would do it more often. But I am not so I should just respect the person that I am and not strive for the impossible.

Our company, a member of our community garden, was delightful. We shared a glass of chokecherry wine the guy made. I brought out my zucchini muffins. We shared much conversation and stories. She played a few tunes on my piano and inspired me to practice again. It was a delightful afternoon. Though she is 90 and had recently lost her husband, she is still interested in being part of the community garden. And we would gladly help if she needed some. After all, we are about community.

THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

It is February 1, 2021. A new month and another Ultimate Blog Challenge. I have been a participant for a number of years now. Why am I doing it? Mostly because I love writing. It’s a practice that gives me structure to the day. I can work out problems and ease some of my angst on the page. I meet other bloggers and exchange views and ideas. It leads to community, sharing and helping each other. Writing and posting photos gives me a lot of pleasure. That alone is a good reason to join in. A challenge is a commitment. I’m more prone to deliver and succeed. So here’s to a month of writing a post every day. I wish all the participants success. I’m looking forward to reading their posts.

What am I going to write about? In the past, I had no plan at all. I sit down with my cup of tea and start a conversation. Sometimes I use the prompt our moderator sends out. I might very well do the same again. Off the cuff, a chat over tea. But I do have a bit of a plan. I’m in another challenge – the100dayproject. I am making a quilt square a day for that. I might talk about sewing and quilting things. February is heart month. There’s many heart issues I could talk about. February is also the time to start seeds. And then there’s cross country skiing I took up at the end of November. I’ve had a few mishaps and exciting moments to share.

It’s good that I started tapping away at the keyboard. Ideas and topics pop up. There’s so many things I could talk about and blog on. I can be quite a chatter box once I get going. Later in as I learn, I could talk about the whys, hows and rewards of keeping commitments. It’s going to be an exciting month. I am so glad that I’ve entered the challenge. I was getting slack and going silent. It could have gotten to be a bad habit. Now I don’t have to worry.

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THE ‘HOOD

photo 3It is morning again, already!  The sun is shining right in my eyes.  I am tired.  My fingers are stiff, the knuckles swollen and sore. Too much work in the garden yesterday.

I have lost my words for a few days.  Once lost, it takes some work to coax them back.  So I am limbering up these tired old fingers.  I’m pecking away on the keyboard, one word at a time, one slow thought at a time.

IMG_0791Our raised beds are all built, lined and filled with topsoil – all four of them.  Two of them are planted.  Two more to go.  They are looking quite handsome but I am sure some irate neighbour will find some fault even though it is on our property.  Such is my neighbourhood.  I am so envious of hearing others talk about their neighbours and a sense of community.

Not that my neighbours are such terrible people.  But I have not felt a sense of community amid them for a long time.  I hear their sad stories about their troubled teens, ugly husbands, messy divorces.  I tolerate their shouting matches and loud music.  They complain about my dog. Sometimes they make more noise than Sheba.

But I feel a change in the air.  The ‘hood is changing.  Or maybe it is I who is changing.

 

I CAN SEE SO CLEARLY NOW

I recently received a subscribed email from a writer to make a list of ten things I’ve learned lately.  It seemed to be a good exercise so I am rising to the challenge.

1.  Nothing is as it seems so I will not take anything for granted.

2.  My dog, Sheba, is a human being. 🙂

3.  This, too, shall pass.

4.  Things are difficult because we choose to make them so.

5.  I am bigger than I think.  I am not invisible.

6.  Life is a circle so do not burn any bridges behind you.  What goes around, comes around.

7.  Friends and connectedness are the aroma of coffee in the morning.

8.  I do love work, but work is not me.

9.  Every question does not need or have any answer.

10.  I need not fix everything that is broken.  Some things fix themselves.