Tag Archives: the day after

THE DAY AFTER

Posted on by
8

I have mixed feelings at the end of one month and the beginning of a new one. I am glad and sad. Glad to have closure of the old and a new beginning. I’m always sad saying farewell to the known and old. It is good to see the backside of April, the month of uncertainty. April wasn’t winter any more but it wasn’t quite spring either. We’ve had ups and downs. One day it was hot, the next cold with snow. Can we safely say that it is now definitely spring?

I definitely feel lighter and brighter. So glad that many challenges done. The Tax Return done and over for another year. The Ultimate Blog Challenge over. April Love over. I have about 22 days left in #the100dayproject. I have 22 drawings/watercolour to go. I’m working on putting together last year’s 100 quilt squares together. I have to sew 4 quilt squares to make one block. I now have 8 blocks. So 17 blocks to go. After that I have to put the 25 blocks together, add quilt battling, backing and sew everything together. It is best not to think of it all at once. I’m sure to overwhelm myself that way.

Now it is 2 days after April, 1:33pm. Lunch is over and dishes done. This is the worst time of day for me. I’m usually hit with overwhelming fatigue and sleepiness. Today is not as bad though I do lack ambition and energy. I am pushing myself to do my necessary activities of daily living. It takes effort and willpower but hey, nobody says anything is easy. I am sad to hear about Naomi Judd’s death due to mental illness. She had always been opened and outspoken about her depression. I do like the Judd’s music but I am not what you would call an ardent fan. I feel the connection because we are women and I have suffered depression. Who hasn’t? And I was also a nurse.

Because of Naomi, I am feeling a little more vulnerable today. I am more sensitive to the need of taking better care of our mental as well as physical health. No matter who we are, how rich, how famous, we all age and suffer the same. It is important to know ourselves and others and the world around us. It is important to keep putting one foot in front of the other the best we can every single day. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

WHAT NOW, THE DAY AFTER

Posted on by
7

What Now, The Day After

November 1, a new month, the day after completing all 31 days of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. What do I do now, rest on my laurels? I’ve decided to blog on. I brush my teeth every morning and evening. Writing is another thing in my self care tool box. It is effective. I shall keep it. Besides, someone mentioned that it is NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. It’s writing a novel of 50,000 words in the month of November. I had high hopes of writing one ever since high school. I gave NaNoWriMo a go or two. The first time I had a few chapters of 7,358 words. The second time 300 words. I still have the files on my desktop.

I didn’t know how hard words are to come by till I tried. I’m not aiming for a novel or 50,000 words. I haven’t lived up to the name of this blog yet – a thousand and two (words) , my daily goal. My goal for this November is to write each day concentrating on the progress of our greenhouse and food growing. But who knows where I will meander. Like Caroline Myss often says, this is an amazing time in history. I have to perk up, pay attention and make notes on EVERYTHING. And maybe, after this month, I can write that novel.

I had aimed to have fresh greens from our raised beds till end of October. I gave up too soon in the 3rd week in a cold snap. Had I left the crop covers on, the spinach and kale would be fine. And maybe the lettuce and Chinese greens, too. I harvested them, not wanting to lose all. But I see that the ends are still green and alive in this bit of warm spell. I shalt cry over spilt greens. I shall grow more. The herb spiral still looks pretty good, too. The basil, of course, bit the dust, but the lavender, thyme and oregano seems ok. I have them in pots inside just in case.

Our greenhouse is almost finished – 4 walls, roof, vents all closed up. Just missing a door. It’s pretty snug and warm on a sunny day. We’re been mostly lucky with the weather building it.There were a few cold days but it’s warmed up for the finishing stretch. I took this opportunity to fill a few planters with top soil to warm up inside to ready for seeding. It looks like we will have 4 days of warm weather before it dips again to daytime minus temperatures. I hope that’s enough time to help them germinate. It’s a grand adventure. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.