Thrifting

Thrifting -- love it!

Thrifted at a local market with my aunt. 

1950's cardigan -- sweet for spring.

Knitted top -- no idea if it's old, but it fits well.

Mixing bowl -- perfect size and a pour lip.

Then she gifted me all this AND a few more things not pictured.

Card/picture holder

For plants and art supplies.

But first ...

Our Friday group donated and made supply bags for people on the streets. 

I also brought stuff to write notes and decorate the bags -- why not.

Something to do with our hands while we had the meeting.

At first, no one wanted to do it ... just me. And then everyone joined in.

Coloring calms nerves, slows things down. 

We need to be reminded to tap into that part of us. 

Already gave out the two I took for my car. 

I was approached at a gas station. 

Dinner was really nice. We walked (and argued -- not nice hah), but rallied when we got there. Our neighbors drove because of work timing. Nice conversation. I think we'll enjoy having them as neighbors and, hopefully friends too.

We're celebrating our grandson's HBD today. This year I'm not involved in the gathering because it's so small -- good to be a guest. Can't wait to see him -- it'll be a fun family affair. 

I'll fuss around and do some ME-things before the party. 

I'm tired. Good tired, but need to refuel today. 

I'm SLOWLY learning to balance. When life is going full-steam, I need to deliberately schedule the slower times. It's as important as scheduling the DOING. Sometimes it's hard to leave that SPACE, but it's my word hah. I need that reminder. 

Have a good day. Later gators. 

A Lighter List

As promised, a lighter chat this morning. 

Let's do a list.

1. I'm on a good reading streak. Finished this -- man, she could write a beautiful story about people. It was just what I needed. I've read four of her books and everyone leaves you feeling satisfied and connected to her characters. She and Lisa Genova go back and forth as my favorite author. 

Started this gem from the library. Middle-grade, fantastic premise -- love it so far. 

2. Dare I say, my foot is feeling pretty good. Maybe a hike next week?!? Lordy, that would be nice to get out in the woods. 

3. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner OUT today. Wow. Mix in some lighter, happier volunteering and a pickup of goodies from my aunt ... that's my day. Breathe. It should be a good one. 

Yesterday was good in a different way. Progress for the hard things -- productive, important, but heavy. Today is good in a way that feels uplifting. I need this balance. 

4.  Saturday: Grandson's #2 birthday -- so fun. Just a small group of family so I'm not helping with anything. That feels good too. We've giving money, but got a couple of little things for him to open since it's such a small party. I'll have fun wrapping them -- have to figure out something a 2 year old would love. Trucks and Elmo and color.

5.  Sunday: Super Bowl and we decided just us this year. Yes!! Casual, regular prep for some food. No big deal. I'll watch a little bit. Bed by halftime. 

6. Grow Room: I plan to plant on Sunday. Grow little seeds!!!

7. Rock Painting: I haven't painted in a couple of weeks. I want to fit in a couple this weekend because it's relaxing. Paint, music on the record player, candle, matcha latte. Sounds like a plan.

8. My sleep has been record good since going to the chiropractor and acupuncturist. I always say I should go for maintenance, and never do. Thinking about scheduling this along side my 11's appointment. 3-4 months apart and that feels about right. It would be a good pairing.

9. Next week feels is a better balance too. I have some interesting fun things, creative time, and volunteering -- mostly uplifting volunteering. More on this next week. 

That's all this morning. Focusing on creative time and hopefully a little hiking next week -- both are the best ways I restore and feel grounded. I need some grounding. Meditation helps with this too, but sometimes feels heavy rather than restorative. 

Have a happy Friday. Let's keep at being helpers and being good neighbors. Community is how we create a better country. Later gators. 

Feast or Famine -- It's a Feast Right Now

I had a nice lunch with our new neighbor -- nice enough that we're all going to dinner on Friday. That's a bit fast for my liking, but our weekends are unavailable until March. I didn't want to push it that far back and she invited us this weekend. She's at the lonely part of adjusting to a new place -- I know that feeling well.

Was my concern about TX right?  -- maybe. She didn't bite on anything that would tell me, other than she said she hates the extremes on BOTH sides. When you say that, it usually means you are on the right, just not extreme. Yes, the left has extreme, but there's no real comparison to the right's extreme and the left's extreme. 

However, she seems like a kind person. Seemed receptive to what's important to me -- we played the "tell me about you" kind of first "date" game. She initiated the dinner so I guess she feels we match close enough. At the very least, it's nice to have a neighborly neighbor. 

Today is a long day. Hardest of the week. 

I'll spend the day helping the family -- until mid-afternoon. 

Man, it's not going well.

There's a possibility I'll be called to testify in court next week.

It'll feel like a betrayal to the mother, even though it's the opposite. 

She has so few people she trusts and I hate that she'll feel this way again.

Then an in-person ICE-OUT training locally from 3 - 5 o'clock. 

I thought about not going, but the woman who coordinated it worked hard.

She's promised attendance numbers to the organization. 

It's full. It's hard stuff. 

Tomorrow is equally full, but a better balance of volunteer and fun. 

It starts at 6:30 picking up one of women we helped this weekend.

She needs rides to work. 

And the day goes from there. 

Feast or famine ... I'm in a feast phase right now. 

I'm taking the weekend for fun, rest, SPACE. 

It'll be a news blackout for me too.

On that note, final edits to the court report this morning before I take the long, traffic drive up north. Best get going. 

I promise more mundane, less downer posts soon. 

Have a good day. Later gators.

Chiropractor

The chiropractor/acupuncturist appointment was hopeful. 

First, he fixed my shoulder/arm which is always my ribs out of alignment. 

Then, with a few painful manipulations, my super tender spot on my elbow feels great. 

Both were instant. My overall body feels a lot better.

He said ... oh there we go ... and the pain was gone. Fantastic. 

The foot, not so much. He worked and worked it. It's marginally better, maybe. He thinks it's bone, not soft tissue. He expects it to feel fine over the next few days. Fingers crossed, but I'm not sure. He can do a lot, but he's not a miracle worker. He was never able to fix my back injury, but did amazing work when I was passing out regularly -- totally took it away after three appointments.

I had a lot of work on volunteer stuff again yesterday -- hard things. More today and a lot more tomorrow. I'm worried about it. I'm trying to manage my feelings and keep this professional. I have a job to do and I'm doing that job. Things are going to get harder before they (hopefully) get better.

Now for some fun.

I walked to the new coffee shop in town. It's a hit among the younger crowd. Colorful, hip, trendy, fun. I loved it. Excellent iced americano. They have a full cafe menu too. Took it at a table (love that they have cups for dining in) and finished this book. 

The book was interesting, but I skimmed a lot. Good reminders -- get away from ONLY task-bound lists and move to the process being the goal. Example: Taking a walk is not just something to get done and tally your step count. The goal for the walk can be the process of walking ... noticing, quiet pleasure, nature, outside, physical activity -- steps are secondary. You can be walking and not be enjoying the WHY of the walk at all if it's only a task to check off a list. 

You get the idea. 

But, before I got to the coffee shop, I stopped at an old stomping ground consignment store I hadn't been to in years -- like 8 years. I met the former owner at a meeting and she said the new owners are doing fabulous things. I love the store. I grabbed a few things. Vintage purse, alpaca scarf, picture frame. Great deals. I would've looked longer, but I was walking and quickly hit my limit for carrying. 

As for today ...

Some work. Volunteer stuff.

Some fun.

I'm having my new neighbor over to see the house. She and her husband are renting the house across the street, but building on the vacant lot with our builder. I knew she'd be curious to see the inside of our house. Then we're walking to lunch. She moved from TX. I'll report back. You know my concern ... coming from TX ...

That's all. 

Oh, I made greek lemon Avgolemono soup using chickpeas instead of chicken -- it's really good. Eggs made it creamy. I had no idea that's why it can be creamy with no dairy. 

Have a good day. Feels like it should be much later in the week than Wednesday. Later gators.

Hopefully, My Last Ramble for a Bit

My plate is officially full ... for now. 

That revelation feels good. Doors are closed, waitlist only. 

I took on a chunk of pie last night helping with our homeless initiative -- one woman in particular that I brought to a hotel on Sunday. 

I have a balance that feels right. 

I'm focusing on the things I've said 'yes' to and making sure to give them time and attention. 

Focusing on the doing.

Why is this a revelation?

It's taking non-action things off my plate -- like meetings about potential things on the horizon. Meetings about what's been happening. Essentially, busy-work. I know that the meetings serve a purpose, etc. but since I'm not taking on anything more right now, they're not the best use of my time.

I need THAT time to regroup and take care of myself. Have fun. Laugh. Garden. Rock paint. See friends. Happy things. AND put effort into the things I'm DOING on the volunteer and activism front. 

I needed a boundary.

But I didn't realize I needed a boundary until this thought came to me last night. 

Yes.

This is feels so much better.

And I really like where I'm putting my time. 

It's things that are making a difference to people. 

Worthwhile. 

Community.

Hard things.

It feels like a relief AND an energy burst. Focus, balance. 

What's today?

Acupuncture for my foot. Fingers crossed.

Then an afternoon re-writing the court report -- things have sadly changed since last week. I spent hours on this family's situation last night. Up until 9 o'clock working. Phone calls, emails, etc. More of this today. As a collective, I hope we can get the family help. 

Maybe (and hopefully) a little time to check out the new coffee shop and a library stop. I love walking around town and it's warm enough now.

Got a couple of things from eBay yesterday. 

Vintage PRIDE pins.
Ready for June.

Vintage brooches for
my coats -- old pins are in :)

I'll leave it here today. I need to re-write scripts for my representative calls. I rambled too much yesterday and hit time limits -- geez. 

Have a good day. Later gators.

Monday

I spent yesterday helping in the community. We transported people to hotels to warm for the night, gave out food, toiletries, and blankets. It feels good to take action. Often, it feels like so much time is spent talking about helping, and less time actually helping. 

This is an ongoing focus with our group that I'm pleased to give my attention. 

Now for this week. 

It feels like a lot.

Feels like I'm tired and it's only just begun. 

And, that's not really true. 

I have a lot on my plate, and time to do it.

It's not helping me to say it feels like a lot. 

It's actually only a few things that are hard. 

Have you ever heard the thought that sometimes you say you had a bad day and it was actually only one little part of the day that was bad and the rest was good?? That's what I think I'm doing with this week. Saying it's hard and a lot -- and it's only a few things. 

The volunteer position is worrying me. The family is not doing well and I have to figure out how I approach with my role. It's weighing on me heavily and coloring my perception of the week. This is the hard for this week. 

Okay, enough woe-is-me stuff. It helps to think it through. Probably boring to read though ...

Best get going -- it IS true that this is a full, full week. I have to sneak in things between things, etc. and that includes during my morning time. 

Hope you're set for a good week and a warmer day. Later gators. 

Sunday Updates

Another bitter winter day. The snow missed us -- hit just north (old house) and it's a mess that'll stick around until at least tomorrow. Our town got lucky this go-around. 

Grow-room is setup. 

I'll plant this week. 

I need to mix the soil and such outside and it's too cold right now. 

Heated storage area.
All rigged and tested.

We babysat our grandson for the afternoon because the kids are sick. 

Elmo loves his new bed :)

Not sure what today brings. I might be volunteering in my community because of the cold temperatures -- we don't have information yet. The group went out yesterday and made a big difference for a lot of people. Our group will be doing this going forward too. I have issues with my foot circulation and standing in this level of cold is a problem for me. That said, I'll help today if it's needed -- and absolutely, going forward. 

Taking a break from the news and volunteering yesterday was what I needed. I feel restored enough to go forward again. That used to happen with work too -- sometimes the weight of the unfairness and pain of so many people was too much and I had to step back for a minute. It's why nurses joke around in ways that might seem strange to outsiders -- you have to laugh and blow off steam or you won't be able to handle all the awful. 

There's a time to cry.

A time to laugh.

(Starting to sound like that song.)

A time to take a break. 

All without guilt (and this is the hardest part). 

That's all for today. Hope you stay warm. Later gators.