Good morning and happy new year!
All during the holidays there was an industrial fan whirring away across the hall. Not sure how this much whatever was spilled outside their door. Goodness!
It is dry now, but stained.
I got quite a bit done this past week. I know! Amazing--LOL! Been a long time since I had much energy at all. Whoohoo!
Monday
After I blogged I started in on Christmas cards again. I had already sent out more than I had thought so I was able to finish them up by that evening! Not as many handwritten letters as usual, but--hey--I got them in the mail--tada!
Tuesday
I worked all day setting up my 2022 Bullet Journal! No headers yet but all the months and weeks are dated...
...and I do have the monthly tabs on the side so I am not lost. I'll get to the headers pretty soon, but no rush. Nice!
I also roasted some potatoes and baked some fish on Tuesday...while it snowed some more outside.
Wednesday
I did laundry. Nothing put away again. My bedroom has clothes draped and piled everywhere...but they are clean--LOL!
It was super cold and the wind was in the perfect direction so that air was blowing straight through my air conditioner! Dagan was out and about doing errands so he stopped by and brought in my AC cover from the garage for me and installed it. That did the trick!
I hadn't needed the cover on for the entire six years I've lived here. But then it hasn't been quite this cold with the wind blowing in my direction. We had wind chill warnings all week...down to -55 degrees, I guess. Temps close to -30 degrees. Crazy cold.
Anyways, as long as Dagan was here he took out my trash for me and made a trip back out to the garage to bring in bird seed. Leah was coming that night and then she wouldn't have to be out in the dark when it was even colder! :) Dagan and I had a nice little visit, too.
Leah came in the evening to help me out with things I can't do (computer stuff) or can't physically do yet. I make a Leah List every week with those things on it, anything I want to remember to tell or ask her, anything she tells me to add to the list. This time she even did a little stamping for me! Just added a thank you stamp inside some store bought cards so I have thank you cards for Christmas gifts. So--actually did a tiny bit of crafting! :)
Thursday
Well, all week really--with it being so cold and snowstorms and all--I have had a very busy patio!
How the birds survive out there when it is that cold still amazes me.
When it is so frigid cold I see a lot more of the partridges. They hang about nearby more often. Especially now that they can dig down to make their snow nests. ;)
One morning they were digging for seed on the patio...
...so I make sure I don't move around much so that I scare them away.
So funny! The one partridge parked itself right next to the glass looking inside the apartment! It stayed right there for about 20 minutes!
I started working my way through my five fountain pen trays.
Sadly, I haven't been using my FPs for months! That is so wrong! But I couldn't keep up with the cleaning and refilling (heck--showering was something I had to work up to for days at times) so I switched over 100% to gel pens for the past maybe six months. I wasn't even able to get up every morning to the table for my daily journaling. Wrote in my chair...but many days I didn't journal at all...sometimes for several days in a row. Really not myself for a long time.
So now in this new year I am determined to get back into my routine of journaling at the table with FPs...and writing a lot of my letters with FPs. Not that the readers can tell or care, but it is very different for me--LOL!
So, one tray at a time I am cleaning pens that need it and refilling them.
Yes, I even have a notebook to keep track of which pen has which ink in it.
I use old dried up highlighters for place holders as I rotate through the trays. Seems like a small thing--but it feels soooo good to be getting back to my own quirky routines. Makes life seem like it is getting back to normal. Even if I may not get up to the table to journal until the afternoon...I am doing it in 2022! Rolling over my cart with my journals in their proper place on the second shelf, all my brush pens & various art pens at my fingertips, and using my FPs again--ahhh!
Life is good!
Friday
Leah made a quick drop off of a few groceries from Costco and Cashwise. She and her brother, Aaron, were out in that dangerous cold on a grocery run.
Friday was New Year's Eve. I did manage to do my burning bowl ceremony and pick an angel card. This year I got the very first card in the deck--Love!
A couple lines that jumped out at me.
"You are in a spiritual clarification phase, and you are being called to accept that at this time your future is unfolding spiritually more than intellectually."
"Try to be patient with yourself and realize that your present circumstances are important steppingstones on your spiritual journey."
I'll read it again a few times during the year. Can't go wrong with "love", right?
Saturday
I've been working on FP trays every day. A slow process. One tray at a time. Am about to start tray #4 today (Monday).
Sunday
Annie's 40lb bag of Kitty litter came a day early. Dagan popped over to haul it in and dump it in the bin for me.
I was so tired I had a nap from 4-6:30pm. Been a while since I have slept during the day--so that I count as progress, too.
Monday-today
Annie is getting used to me being back at the table again...even if it isn't right away after I wake up she appreciates routine, too. She seemed to be waiting to see if I was going to stay at the table.
When I did...she jumped up into her spot.
I already walked down my rent check to the rent box by the office (no one is there today), called the pharmacy to make sure they are mailing my blood pressure pills (they've forgotten a couple of times), and now I have blogged. Katie is coming to clean this week. I have the Big I on Friday and will see that nice doctor Ferrari. Leah will come in for a while after the infusion. This week I plan (hopefuly) to finish cleaning and refilling my FP trays, get my thank you cards in the mail, and continue to keep up better with my correspondence.
It feels SO good to be able to DO things again. May be a little at a time with lots of breaks--but I am delighted. Makes me hopeful that 2022 will get back to my regular, cruddy normal--ROFL! Whoohoo!
But my angel card (Love) reminds me to be good to myself, too. That I don't have to DO and can just BE. So I will try to not overdo things and be patient with myself...but I think I may be getting closer to ground level as I slowly crawl out of this deep hole I have been in health-wise for the past six months.
Here's to 2022 being a better year for us all.
Happy new year, my friends!
18 comments:
It's cold here in Michigan, too, but I won't complain after seeing your post! And I've never seen partridges so I'm impressed. I'm especially glad that you are feeling good this week. That makes me smile. Big! I hope it keeps up!
This is such an uplifting post, very different from past Mondays! I am so glad to hear you are getting stronger and picking up threads that have slipped by because of illness. And yes, that is the perfect card for you this coming year. I love it: LOVE is the big healer, isn't it? A pet for Annie from me, too! :-)
Despite all you have been through your good spirit comes through here. I think we could all learn from your example.
Some years we don't get much, if any, snow. Today we got a couple inches in our area. Schools even closed because of it. Other areas got a bit more though.
What a cool partridge that sat out there looking in! We had a lot of birds in our feeder today, and on the railing, and on the window sill. They were hungrily waiting turns.
Quirky routines can be a wonderful thing, I'm glad you're getting some normal again.
You're right... can't go wrong with love. A perfect pick from the angel deck.
Happy New Year, Rita!
~Mary
It's great to hear that you've been active and getting some of your tasks done. That must make you so happy. I use the monthly tabs on my paper bullet journal too.
Good that you had an AC cover for moments like that. We don't have covers here as far as I know.
I would worry about the wildlife surviving the bitter cold too. Here, we worry about wildlife surviving our scorching hot summers. I always make sure water is out and refresh it frequently. Too funny about the partridge staring into your apartment. lol
Good luck with your goal to use your fountain pens again for journals and letters. It's a big job to clean and refill but well worth the effort.
What a great Angel card to pick...no, you certainly can't go wrong with 'love'.
I hope all goes well for your next infusion this Friday.
May 2022 be all about love and healing for you, Rita.
And yes, a better year for all. xx
You must be loving the new energy. Enjoy.
Happy New Year Rita! I certainly hope that 2022 is better for all of us! BEST OF LUCK ON FRIDAY!
Hi Rita. This is great news, and it made me so happy to read this post. I hope that you continue your healing and progress as the year unfolds. Take good care. Love from Utah.
I am so happy to hear you sounding better! Having a bit of energy sure does make a difference I'm sure. I just received your Christmas card, thank you! With all you have gone through I don't know how you managed to still send them out. Space out what you do with that energy so you can get the most out of it. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and sending hugs!
It sounds like you have had energy this week. So good to hear! Your patio is The Place To Be lol Watching the patio birds is such a joy, isn't it?!
What an upbeat post today, Rita, and good for you on feeling better to be able to get back to some of the things you enjoy most. That certainly is a lot of pens and just having to remember which are filled or not is a project for sure. You are having so many visitors at the critter cafe and sure they appreciate the seed. I would have a great time just sitting and watching them and they seem to bring you much joy as well. I owe you a return snail-mail this week as I greatly appreciated the one you included with your holiday card, which I have saved. Seems I am a bit slower in getting back to certain things and could take a few hints from you!
Hope the next I day goes well.
So good to hear what a decent week you had. Great news. We haven't had your kind of cold--although it did go down to 14f last night. Wouldn't have been as much a problem except we got 15" of snow (predicted only 3-6") and then lost power for 26 hours. Only came back on about an hour ago. Of course, we live in the country with a well and septic, so no power means no water, no toilet. Fortunately, we have a wood stove, so we had heat. Just had to feed the beast all night to keep up. But not complaining. Plenty of other folks were in worse shape. The crazy thing is that it was 65°f on Saturday. Crazy weather.
Hope the coming week is another good one for you.
What a productive week you have had, more so then me
Wishing you a happy healthy New Year Rita! Received your Christmas card and letter in the mail yesterday... So SO good to hear from you. Thank you!!! Hugs! deb
OHHH< it looks so cold outside. How do the birds keep warm in the snow? You have been so so busy. I have also been getting my 2022 diary ready but yours looks more organised than mine!! Annie seems quite happy and warm in its cozy bed, I am sure the birds would love something like this too!!
Sorry I'm late visiting. I've had no internet or phone since Monday, but stopped by to say it sounds like you are back on track and feeling a LOT better, too. Even your blog post sounds better.
Positive thoughts and prayers Rita❤️
Sounds like you had a great week! I can't believe it got down to -55 degrees there! Holy cow...now THAT is cold! I wonder too how the birds can survive with the cold air, wind, and frigid temperatures!
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