How wonderful it has felt these last few days to be back in the world of the living and active again. I am not sure if everyone experiences the side effects that I did over the past six or seven weeks. (It seemed like forever) but it really was quite debilitating. I felt trapped in my house and on the sofa, unless I was in the bathroom. I couldn't go anywhere for the most part. I couldn't stand up for very long at all. I was held prisoner by my kidneys and bladder. I will not lie. I had moments where I felt that if this was going to be me, for the rest of my life, I did not want to be here. (I know. I am such a drama queen.)
I will never take just being able to do simple ordinary things, chores, cooking, walking, going to the store, etc. for granted again. And I hope and pray that I never have to go through this again. I am back in the world of the living now and will do whatever I can to avoid a repeat of the same said scenario.
I have a jug of lemon water in the fridge and I drink from it frequently. No salt. No pop. No sugar. I'm doing what I can. My friend Jackie says I need to drink distilled water, but, from all of the research I have done, there is no evidence to support that theory. So I am not too sure about that.
We have spent several days now cloaked in a marshmallow world. Monday in anticipation of the storm, much was cancelled and yesterday in the aftermath of the storm things were likewise cancelled as the cleanup began. It was the craziest thing. Eileen and I were sitting here on Monday afternoon looking at a clear sky and just a few minutes later we couldn't see across the street for the snow and the blowing and it kept up all the rest of the day and into the night. I was awake at 4:30 a.m. while the snow plow was clearing out the parking lot of the farm market behind me. Noisy and so much light. Thankfully I was able to fall back asleep.
Right now it is -12*C/11*F so quite cold, but temperatures are supposed to rise and they are calling for a week or snow and or rain over the next 6 days or so. It's clear at the moment.
After all of the fires of last summer, I am not going to complain about precipitation of any kind. That was super scary. We don't want a repeat of that.
Its hard to believe that we are staring the end of February in the face. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were ringing in the bells of the new year? Its going by ever so quickly, but (aside from health issues) there have been some really lovely things so far this year. One was having my oldest son and his two boys come to visit. I really enjoyed that and another was having my middle son and his oldest son come to visit. Those were really lovely things. I have two very good sons there . . . kind and caring, loving individuals. And of course I love all of my grandchildren to pieces. (My children too!)
Eileen seems to be doing very well. On the surface anyways. I am very proud of her. I thought it would be a lot harder to live together than it has been. Not because of her, but because of me and how I am set in my ways and how I have become so used to being on my own. She is not a very difficult person to live with. I could quite happily do this for the rest of my life, just she and I, but the truth is that were I to pass, she could not afford to continue to live in this unit. It is far too expensive, and I think far too big for her to care for on her own. It is best that she gets her own place, but I told her she needn't be in a hurry to find a place. Good things come to those who wait and I want her to find a place that is just right for her.
It worries me that her money etc. is still in the shared account with Tim. They had considerable savings together and of course their pensions both go into that shared account. I hope that their workers are able to get everything sorted soon and equally. I know it is really none of my business, but I really don't like to think of him as having access to it all and ending up with it all. It's enough that he has kept their apartment and everything in it. I am sure things will be sorted soon. At least I hope that they will. It is early days yet.
The community groups that I belong to on Facebook have had lots of photographs lately of "bobcats" or "mountain lions." I am not sure which they are. Big cats in any case.
This is one photograph that someone posted of one looking into their back door. There have been cougar sightings as well. I am glad that my cats are indoor cats. I did not have a cat in the U.K. as it was impossible to keep them inside the house there. Windows did not have screens and there were no screen doors, so in the warmer weather you had to keep them open and cats just came and went as they pleased. A dog was much easier to control and keep safe.
I watched a program once on cats and they had put these collars on some domesticated cats that registered all of their travels in a day. It was amazing just how many miles those animals travelled. They each had their own territories as well.
I found it quite fascinating. I love to watch programs of this type.
There has been a lot of discussion growing online about how 2026 will be the year of broadening our minds. Of people becoming more culturally and intellectually curious in a way that heightens lives in a deeper and more meaningful way. Many people are becoming discontented with quick content and surface level scrolling. People are craving more depth and wanting to feel stimulated, inspired and connected to ideas that help to stretch them beyond their immediate lives.
People are wanting to know more, to learn more, experience more. Especially when it comes to their homelife. This, as you can imagine, is right up my alley. I am a homebody if nothing else and I am always looking for ways to make my homelife richer and more meaningful.
Adding culture and different types of knowledge to your daily life does not require dramatic reinvention. It can begin with something as simple as reading ten pages of a thoughtful, life-enriching book before bed instead of doom scrolling on your phone, listening to a podcast about art, history, or philosophy as you sit and knit or crochet, or even choosing to watch a documentary film about something you know nothing about.
Small, yet consistent exposure to new ideas and things can help to reshape our lives and the way we look at the world around us. It can make all the difference between "merely existing" or "actually living" our lives.
I am in awe of Glenna across the road. She is constantly on the go. She goes to the theatre down in Annapolis often to take in the shows that are on there, takes music lessons, painting classes, enrolls in exercise classes at the local community college, etc. I want to be more like Glenna.
When we prioritize culture and experiences in our "everyday", our lives can and will become less passive and more engaged with the world around us. I'm absolutely convinced of this. Conversations become richer, our inner worlds more textured, and our lives become much more expansive. "WE" become much more interested and much more interesting.
And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day . . .
☾ ° ★° * 。
• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★*Fight for the things
you care about,
but do it in a way that
will lead others to join you.
~Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。
New in the kitchen today,
Easy Ham Hash. I had picked up a ham steak on Saturday when I went shopping with the idea in mind to make several recipes with it. This was one of them. This came out delicious, but then again, I love hash of any kind! We enjoyed this yesterday with some of my sister's home baked beans and biscuits. It was a simple, hearty and economical meal.
I hope you have a lovely Wednesday. We are hoping to get out for supper with Cindy and Dad tonight. I have really missed doing that. We will see what happens. Stay safe and warm, no matter what you get up to. Don't forget!
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And I do too!
