Gray, gray, gray.
This is the part of winter that can trigger mild depression or, at the very least, a case of the blues. Yes, it’s the lack of sunlight, but more importantly, it’s the bleakness of the landscape. That’s the way it’s been for four days now, coupled with rain. Don and I have started walking every day. Our local library is set way back from the road on a hill and the driveway is a great place to walk. No busy traffic, no muddy trails. I’ve walked it a couple of times in the past. We do 5 loops down and up. It’s a nice little walk. It’s much more pleasant with Don than it would be by myself. We only missed one day this week because it was pouring rain all day long. We want to lose weight and we want to stay fit and, let’s face it, winter is the time I tend to become a slug.
No snow in the forecast. It looks like we’re going into January with more of the same. There are two days I don’t want snow – the 16th and 17th. Those are the days I make the 5 hour drive to Rochester to watch a preview and then return home the next morning. Rochester is on the other side of the state, near Lake Ontario, so it’s in a snow belt. Fingers crossed!
By the way, we plan to keep the tree up as long as it’s safe to do so. We need the sparkle and the lights. So far, it’s over two weeks since we bought it and there has been no needle drop.
This is the Poirot puzzle I have been working on. Lots of lovely little details! I think I’ll finish it sometime over the weekend.
Don has a gig tomorrow and several more coming up over January and February. Hurrah! Tomorrow’s gig is in the late afternoon, so he won’t have a late night. It will be good for him. Not having any acting work for over four years has taken a toll on my sweetheart. I hope that changes this year.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
that is a lovely puzzle!
walking with your sweetheart at the library hill sounds lovely, too.
and how wonderful that, along with your coaching job, don has several gigs coming up! i hope the weather cooperates on days you two need to travel.
i am going to do more/farther walking, too (i need to gain looseness and lose crabbiness and depression along with pounds) … currently delayed by the broken toe (which has swollen and bruised my foot nearly to my ankle … but it’s getting easier, better).
to that goal, i am also planning to give up sugar as of january 01. anyone have suggestions for making that easier? please and thanks.
family get-together today if two are over strep throat. hope so. quiet new year’s eve ahead … stay with some family members, watch a movie on tv or dvd, play cards, eat veggie lasagna made by my sister and probably have some popcorn during a football game the next day …
how will you all spend new year’s eve and day? i hope and am praying for a peaceful, healthy, happy year ahead for everyone.
stay safe.
and know that you are wonderful and loved.
kathy
I just gave it up. The same way I gave up smoking. Decided to do it and did it. There are lots of sweet things out there without processed sugar.
You’ll find your way!
Thanks so much, Kathy.
Stay safe.
thanks, claudia. i can do this!
kathy
This one looks similar to my Agatha Christie puzzle, art-wise. It’s a good one! And I’ll bet it is fun. Our grass is as green as May. I wish the skies were as blue. Every day rain or drizzle. I heard there might be snow by new years. I hope not. I don’t like snow on NYEve. Too many crazies out as it is, much less new snow or ice. Even when I don’t go out (which hasn’t been for years) it still worries me.
My tree will be up indefinitely. I must do mold testing in the basement before I put it back together after the insulation and duct work and can’t take Christmas down till the basement has some order. And that is just fine with me. I need the light, the color, the cheer. January is a long, dark month.
Good will wishes going your way!
Yes, it’s similar to the Agatha Christie.
Yes, snow on NYE is problematic!
Light, color, and cheer sounds perfect to me!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Good morning Claudia. How fun for Don to have gigs on his schedule. Fingers crossed for good weather. And for you as well. I’m thinking of the drive from our home to Denver during winter…4+ hours and no fun. Fingers crossed for you as well.
Uh oh, I see a must have puzzle. When on vacation, we went to a bookstore that carries this puzzle brand. It took me an hour to decide which ONE I could buy for our return trip. My poor husband waited patiently knowing we would soon be making our way to the guitar store down the way and it would be his turn to drool and make a choice.
We have an incredible fake palm tree in our home. It’s narrow, so takes up little room. It’s strung with soft cream lights and I love it on dreary days. I will leave my winter village my mother and I painted years ago up until mid January as well. Little things that help us stay sane and happy.
Walking is the best. Out in nature and bundled up. Sounds like a lovely time for you two. And what’s not to like….by the library! Stay warm.
Your palm tree covered with lights sounds wonderful, Verna.
Stay safe.
That is wonderful news that Don has some gigs lined up, a good omen for the new year.
I think being a creative person , as he is, it must be very difficult not to be using your gifts and expressing those gifts.
Wishing you and Don a wonderful New Year,
Kaye
I hope in the new year that a certain evil/disgusting man is exposed for what he is, a blight on the world and spends the rest of his life being hated…..
Oh my heavens, so do I!
Stay safe, Kaye.
I’m bummed that I can’t go watch, in person, the high surf the Southern Calif coast is getting ahead of a storm blowing in tonight. Some 25-ft-high waves are expected at high tide, but every county beach is closed to cars and onlookers for safety. A trip to the shore would be pointless for us because the impact of that kind of (lots of) ocean water isn’t felt when further away, like from up high looking over that end of the city, which is about the only viewing place. Darn. But caution has to be the word when it comes to Mother Nature and (what can be) her fury.
Gray and dreary here, too. I just shut down when it’s like this, especially if I can’t warm up and the house feels too cold.
My husband has applied for a full-time job to replace his part-time job which he lost at end of summer. Who (retiree) in their 70s wants a full-time job again, but we simply have to do it to make ends meet in frugal retirement. Expecting an interview next week.
(I say this as my dentist told me on Weds that he’s going to Europe twice in 2024 for vacation. He’s my age and, heck, he stands on his feet all day and wrecks his back bending over people’s mouths. If he can afford two European excursions, go for it; he deserves it! [I will try NOT to succumb to the green-eyed monster. My husband sold an inherited-heirloom coin collection yesterday just so that we can pay our 2022 IRS-tax obligation. {Such as it is for the haves and the haves-not.}])
After I juggle bills today and get some checks sent out on this last business day of the year, I’m gonna sit back and try to enjoy the rain this weekend, eat a little less instead of stuffing myself as I’ve been doing with holiday fare, feel soothed by my Christmas tree with its sweet-sparkly lights for a few more days; hunker down to watch a couple of free movies I’ve recorded from a channel soon to go away on my line-up. A blankie and a cup of hot cocoa sounds good about right now as I feel chilly in our unheated ‘home office’ (which is part of the car garage!).
But, yes, our two-three simple goals for the new year: Get work. Spend wisely. Move the body. Sounds a lot like you and Don.
And I want to be very mindful about practicing gratitude and finding my calm. (For one, it’s going to be a year in which we continue to be assaulted/informed with MUCH headline news, domestically and abroad; so, limit the intake and dull some of the effects with all that stuff any of us do, like hobbies, prayer, and a lot of those long walks outdoors when possible.)
I just want to live … gently. Quietly. “Soft living.” (Simple life; less stress.)
Happy New Year!
I had some hot chocolate yesterday and it was lovely!
Gratitude, always.
Soft Living sounds perfect.
Stay safe, Vicki.
What a lovely and interesting puzzle. Your walking plan with Don sounds perfect. I lose interest in walking in winter because it is usually so cold here. Lately it’s been too darned wet! We recently got a small treadmill and I’m going to try to walk every day – no excuses.
Our tree is artificial and usually I want Christmas packed away as soon as Christmas Day is over. I’m holding off this year because I love the lights, especially when darkness falls around 4 p.m. these days Instead, I’m going to spend the day in the basement going through all the Christmas stuff that stayed in the packing tubs this year. Time to do a serious purge and donate them so they can be enjoyed by others.
Wish we lived close enough to see Don perform.
Take care,
Kay
Well, it’s usually very cold here, but not so far…
The lights we have in our homes at Christmas are so important. I’m all for using them as long as possible.
Stay safe, Kay.
That looks like a fun puzzle… perfect for a gray day! We’re having a very gray day, also…but at least we’re not having wild weather today like there was on the coast yesterday…lots of damage. Nice that Don has some work. I really splurged over the holiday with sweets and rich food. So now it’s back to being a bit more disciplined. I had been eating sweets only on the weekends…and I really noticed a difference in how I felt. Well, for the rest of this dreary day I think I’m going to try and finish my book. Happy last Friday of 2023…
Enjoy your book today, Barrie. Sounds like a very good idea!
Stay safe.
Claudia, you have brightened my day and my year with your remarks about your life and what is happening in it. I wish you and Don a very Happy New Year.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Leora!
Happy New Year to you!
Stay safe.