Thankful and Hopeful

It’s a hot July 22 for the 22nd day of the Ultimate Challenge. It’s 28℃ but feels hotter. At least the skies are clear and so is the air. We are fortunate there’s no smoke from forest fires. It’s frightening reading about the wildfires in Ontario. Then there’s the fires in British Columbia. We’re in the middle, hot but no fires and smoke. I will keep my fingers and toes crossed.

My father is doing well in the hospital. The doctor say he might be discharged tomorrow. Much is wrong with our healthcare system but there are good things happening. This admission has transitioned quicker and smoother than his previous ones. It certainly has been much better than the experiences with my mother. Treatments much quicker, different services consulted and followups planned. This is all done for us.

I am thankful for this passage. It gives me hope that people are still working to make the system better. We have to do our part, too and not depend on the government to make the first move. We only have to look toward our southern neighbour. See what their government has done. It’s enough to make me cry. Instead of tears, the song Don’t Cry for Me Argentina popped into my head.

Last Day

It’s the last day of May and what have I to show? Not alot but I thought I should show up and wrap up the month of May. It is hard to be cheerful and optimistic when the world is a fire hazard. The other day our premier declared a state of emergency after Manitoba declares provincewide state of emergency over wildfires. Yesterday our sky was grey. There was no sun. The air was acrid with smoke. The air quality index was 11. Today the sun came through but so did the smoke. The air qulaity index right at the moment is 9 which is worse than same time last night. I hope it’s not the trend for the summer.

I’m hoping for rain. We’ve only had 2 rains this year. We’re lucky we have many rain catchments. It helps to water the greenhouse, fill the raised beds and water the garden. When life gets hard, I resort to turning on the city water. It’s easier and faster. I know we won’t have enough water in our catchments. I’m being smart, saving my energy on days when I don’t have any. We are so dry this year, the elm trees are putting out tons of seeds. It was windy yesterday, creating a windfall of elm seeds. It looked like a snow storm. There’s piles of it everywhere.

What else can I say about May? Oh, yes, my goal was to use May to develope better habits. And I have! Isn’t that wonderful? I’ve read Atomic Habits before. What I used from it was to keep things easy and simple. B.J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits is the real game changer for me. It has the same principles but much more. I don’t know how to go into the specifics now. Maybe I can in June. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits actually took the Tiny Habits course before writing his book. That goes to show how good it is.

I think this is enough chatter for now. It is getting late. Keeping it short and simple, good night.