Mombie – a bit of everything

Shadow Creatures

Image description: A photo of mine and Khalee’s shadow cast by the setting sun onto the evergreen trees on the other side of the path below the sidewalk where she and I are standing. The grass on the slope down to the path is in the foreground, the asphalt path runs diagonally down towards the right hand side of the photo and there are trees and grass on the other side partially lit by the sun. Gaps in the lower branches of the trees create interesting shapes that look a bit like other creatures behind Khalee.

1) I wish I had the photography skills to have made a really artsy shot here.

2) I didn’t notice at the time that the gaps in the trees looked like short invisible creatures were standing behind Khalee and casting a shadow but I like the effect.

Making the most of warm weather?

OK, to be clear, I am not complaining about the heat.

It’s warmer then I prefer it to be, but it beats the hell out of being too cold for this time of year.

However, the heat leaves me stuck with another overthinking dilemma.

Because we have so little good weather, I want to make the most of warm days by being outside, doing fun things.

But we actually have a heat warning here today.

And I have work to do.

So what counts as making the most of a beautiful day when there’s a heat warning?

I shouldn’t really spend too much time outside in the heat, it’s not good for me. It’s possible it’s even unsafe.

But it feels weird to plan to spend the whole day inside where it will be cooler when we have so few warm days.

Basically, I end up spending the whole day thinking: When should I go outside? Is it too warm? Has it cooled down enough by now?

Aside from my own tendency to overthink, and I can hear generations of mothers and grandmothers and Girl Guide leaders telling me to get outside and spend some time out in the sun. Saying that I shouldn’t waste a beautiful day by staying inside.

Now, obviously, I’m not going to spend too much time outside and put myself at any risk. but it would be a lot easier on my brain if I could calm down the overthinking about needing to make the most of a sunny day.

Snail Friend

Image description: a close-up photo yellow-gold snail shell (with a snail inside) affixed to a green maple leaf. There are other leaves and maple keys right behind the first leaf and in the out-of-focus background is a white plastic chair against my red shed.

Do I know that snails can be pests? Yes.

Do I love them anyway? Yes.

Last night while I was meditating in my backyard swing, I accidentally opened my eyes at one point and spotted this snail on a leaf across the yard.

I thought ‘I hope he doesn’t move before I finish meditating and get over there to take a picture.

Then I realized time was on my side because a snail travels at snail speed so I went back to focusing on my breath.

Smooth Sunday

Yesterday’s experiment was a success.

At the end of the day I felt both relaxed and accomplished and I didn’t feel like I had pushed myself too hard.

I have no specific plans today so I am going to keep my brain mostly unleashed and allow myself to move from task to task in whatever order makes sense.

I’ve already put some clothes on the line, dusted a few shelves, and did a little reading.

Now I’m going to read a bit more while I drink my tea and then I’ll dust a few more shelves.

I’m really hoping this approach not only helps me relax but also helps me get used to working on a task without the need to ‘get it done before I forget.’

PS – I know that relaxation and housework don’t really go together but housework needs to get done and this approach keeps me from spending my whole day hyper-focused on it.

Yesterday

Trudging along

This week has been a slog.

No specific disasters, just a bunch of small frustrations wearing me down.

I don’t feel like doing anything but doing nothing doesn’t make me feel any better so I have been letting my habits and routines carry me along.

Tonight, I feel especially grateful for my routine of walking the dog.

If she didn’t need to get out for a stroll tonight, I would have just spent the evening sitting around and that wouldn’t have served me well at all.

Thanks, Khalee-pup!

A photo of my medium-sized, short-haired, light-coloured dog standing with her front feet on grass and her back feet on the sidewalk. She is facing towards the right side of the photo. Her neon yellow leash extends from the lower portion of the photo towards the middle left where she is.