2022 Happy To Be Here

Working strange hours meant I did not get enough sleep last night. I woke up somewhere around three in the morning and couldn't fall back to sleep. The good news is that I should fall asleep easily once I've finished writing this. Other happy things from today: Keziah took me out for a mother-daughter breakfast for my birthday today. We ate and did some errands. It was nice to spend time with her.  In the afternoon my friend, Amy, and I went for a nice walk in the cold. The morning was sunny, but the winds picked up and flurries fell on our walk. It was a nice visit and the cold air was refreshing.  Bel called me to wish me a happy birthday and we got to talk for a little bit. So nice to hear from my youngest. They are in Maryland now and I don’t know when I’ll be able to see them again. Hopefully not too long.  The new laptop that Zed ordered for me arrived today! I have no time today to set it up, hopefully tomorrow after work. ☮ Currently reading: Pocketful ...

It has been a long day. There are many things I should have done more of, like classwork and dishes. It was a rather relaxing day though. At least I got plenty of sleep. Other happy things for today: It is soon to be voting time and the political signs are dotting the roadways. It is also soon to be Halloween and there are some signs for that too. And so I have to chuckle when passing one section where the signs are political, political, SCARY, political, political. They all fit together so well. 😉 There were three things I needed at the grocery store: milk, vanilla ice cream (maybe need was a strong word?), and dinner. At least the dinner was fairly healthy? My friend Amy and I met for a walk today. We used to meet on Mondays but lately I have had ceramics. It was a lovely walk at Livingston Park with ducks on the pond and still some foliage to reflect on the water. I watched too much Netflix and finished watching the Merlin series. Now that will not be what distracts m...

When I walked into work and saw that they placed me where I tend to have the most aches, I signed up to get voluntary time off. 25 minutes later I was out of there and heading home to do class work. After that, I tried to nap but couldn't. Instead I did dishes and cleaned the kitchen a little. Here are some other happy things from today: I left home just before the sun rose so I brought a flashlight. It wasn't dark, but the flashlight made me feel better.  Walking to the studio this morning in the brisk morning air I realized that these walks will be ending once the snow falls. There will not be enough room to safely walk some of the streets to get there. Plus the possibility of ice makes it just a bad idea. A nice talk with our studio friend and I am told which sidewalks are best to walk on near the studio come winter.  Walking over the Merrimack River there are definitely trees that are more empty than colorful. The beauty still lingers as it reflects on the water...

Waking up early today didn't mean I was early for anything else, especially my bedtime. I did get some things accomplished and that was good. Here are some happy things from today: Before the end of the open enrollment period at work I remembered to look into my options. I'm still happy with my choice. In ceramics class I made a bowl!  More importantly, I was supposed to make a bowl.  This makes a total of four pieces so far. I trimmed two others today, one that I added a handle to. The first piece I made was bisque fired. It is so light weight and fragile feeling! Not the best cylinder.  Piece number three. A bowl, piece number four. A mug, I put the handle on and it is setting.  Piece number two. Piece number one after the first firing. It should be a cylinder. Almost every day that isn't a work day I consider letting my step goal streak go. Despite the streak, that is over two years, on non-work days I generally struggle to make the time to get in the steps...

Here are some happy things from this beautiful autumn Sunday: Gideon sat by me while I was eating breakfast with a Mad Libs booklet, ready to play. How could I say no? Much giggling and laughter ensued when the character in the story had to save themself from quicksand with a 25 foot long piece of paper. When I am out for a walk and crossing a street I try to nod or wave at the drivers that let me pass. Today I chose to use my earbuds and listen to the book Keziah had recommended,  The Raven Boys, while I walked. I notice a car has stopped to let me by and I wave and see that they are waving me on excitedly. I didn't think much of it other than to try to move a little faster. They pull away and I notice as they drive by that it was Keziah, she stopped to pick me up and I just walked on by! She called a moment after I figured this out. The book was engrossing enough that I didn't see that it was my daughter behind the waving hands. We laughed and I thanked her again f...

Enough sleep was achieved for me to work the night, but they didn't need as many people as came in, so I went home. I thought about going to the studio to work on my class, but I stayed home instead. Doing schoolwork was short lived though because I fell asleep again for a nice nap. Later Zed tried to help with one of the assignments but neither of us can figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm grateful for his help. Other happy things for today: Since I wasn't working, I went to archery practice. My highest score for the day was 49 points! This is not my highest ever (close), but certainly the highest in a long time.  Practice helps. After archery, some friends and I went on a nice hike. The trails were new to us and were also used by ATVs. Thankfully not so many were out today that it was too loud or busy. I'm not sure what this plant is. In the evening my protege and I met up with friends at a bookstore/cafe to celebrate a birthday and listen to some blues....

Keziah and I are going to an event this weekend in Maine.  It is a camping event, we are splitting a hotel with friends.  We are spoiling ourselves instead of setting up camp.  After packing the car up this morning (so much easier without a tent and camping supplies) we went to the studio.  Keziah had some last minute sewing to do.  It turns out I had some sewing as well.  Keziah taught me the very basics of using the serger so I could finish the seams on my green wool Viking dress.  Wool will help me stay warmer this weekend.   Other happy things from today include: --Keziah wanted to check on her drying ceramics, I didn't, so I went for a walk.  We would be driving almost four hours (it was longer), I wanted to get some steps in.  A little over an hour later, I had my step count in and had found the Pluto and Neptune parts of a local planet walk.   The signs need a good rain to clean them off. --D...

Instead of falling into a restful sleep yesterday I had an anxiety attack. Eventually, sleep did come but the end result is that I felt sick at work and came home early. I decided that feeling shaky and dizzy near machinery was a bad idea. Here are some happy things from today: It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep when I returned home from work. I even slept later than I wanted to. Somehow, I still felt tired all day, but the shaky and dizzy was gone. I worked on the module for my prerequisite class while the rest of the house still slept. Keziah wanted to go to the studio so I walked part of the way there and she picked me up for the rest. I got some pictures of the Merrimack River from the south side of the bridge.  Yesterday the pictures were from the north side of the same bridge. At the studio I worked more on the module and did some weaving. It is my attempt at finding some balance between the class work and the SCA crafts.  It is also more comfortable to wor...

Written before 9:30 AM… This morning I was thinking about a class I want to sign up for and considered the anxiety I am having about signing up for said class. I've decided that the best word that encompasses all the feels around this is neurosis. There may be better, but it is the word that I have right now. Then, to ignore the anxiety and depression surrounding me I avoided signing up for the class by looking at Facebook. I hadn't made the time over the weekend to be on there much so it was easy to fall into. In my Facebook memories were some quotes that I found back in 2011. The following is my choice again for today as it seems fitting: Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't. Richard Bach The class I want to sign up for is ceramics/wheel throwing not molecular science or something that is career essential, why can't I just step out of my comfort zone and do this? Written after 4 PM… Shortly after writi...

When I left to walk the dog, Aesop, this morning I didn't expect that he would want to go far. Boy, was I surprised. I didn't turn on either of my programs to map the walk or distance. If my memory serves, we walked about 3 miles. It was too hot for me to have done this without being better prepared by bringing water. Thankfully Aesop found a puddle. It was a good walk. Other happy things from today include: When I came across rocks on the trail that I could hop on, I did, as if crossing a small stream. It makes for a fun diversion while allowing me to practice my eye/foot coordination and balance. In the other room, Gideon and Zed are playing a game. The occasional words that I hear, as simple as "Yes!" Or "Nooo!" Bring joy to my heart. I finally started weaving for the event coming in a few weeks. I haven't done too much yet, but enough to know that changes need to be made and that I don't have enough on the loom to finish the projects....

Our couch has a cover for it that I am having a hard time keeping on right now.  It slips, I try to fix it and it slips again.  I need to pull the thing out to fix it right and I haven't taken the time to do that.  Anyhow, Aesop, our dog, decided he liked the cave that was created by the cover slipping and made himself comfortable. Here are some other happy things for Saturday: I decided to walk the four miles into the city today. It would have been slightly more pleasant had I remembered to wear a hat. Somehow I didn't get a sunburn.  Here are some pictures from the walk: Zed, Gideon, and Aesop were already in the city with friends. I thought they had left already and was pleasantly surprised to find them ordering some lunch at the new place in town. It was a nice short visit with all the people and Keziah came as well to bring and Aesop me home. There was a bunch of stuff that I borrowed from a friend for Pennsic. I visited with her and returned most of the s...