Another Christmas In the Books

   So, Christmas 2022 is behind us already. In today's world, we seem to spend weeks or even months on a holiday before it happens. Then once it's over, it's time to move quickly onto the next one.

Me? I'm always falling behind. But here I am on New Year's Eve with my annual Christmas post. Better late than never.

   Christmas was a little different this year, but in a good way.   I had some good times baking cookies and making truffles for family and friends. I made some handmade gifts, and found meaningful gifts for everyone (at least I think I did).  I was happy the things I mailed out arrived on time.

     I received many nice gifts from family and friends. I even gifted myself a couple of old books I had as a child when I finally found them online.

   I planned on having rib roast, but instead made pot roast, with mashed potatoes and green beans. Simple but good.  For dessert we had pies my niece brought on Christmas Eve. Just a quiet day at home, but a good day nonetheless. 

     

      However you spent your Christmas, if you celebrate, I hope you had a delightful day, and season. 

                                                                  My Christmas dinner

Some of the truffles I made

 

                                              Italian cookies, a Christmas favorite around here.

                                                           

                                                   We used my small pine cone tree this year.

                       Until next year, Merry Christmas!

Cozying Up To Fall

    It's been months since I wrote in this blog. I had so much to write about, but I just couldn't sit down and do it. I'd only get as far as a title before writer's block or some other excuse or distraction came along.

    But today is October 1, 2022. Autumn started a few days ago, and with it has come the rain we coveted all summer, and cool temperatures that have made the house chilly and the outdoors uninviting.

    What am I complaining about? I was pining for both rain and cool weather for months, and my wish has come true. I should be doing a happy dance with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee in my hand. So this post will include all the things I embrace in autumn. Hopefully it will convince me that I do in fact love fall, and before I know it, the year will be over anyway.

     The first thing I love about fall is a no brainer: the change of colors to reds, oranges and yellows. Never mind the drab and dreary browns that come way too soon. I enjoy the crisp dry air with the smell of hickory, and the sound of acorns pinging as they hit the rooftops and people's cars.  While I feel sad watching the wind blow all the leaves off the trees, the exposed branches look amazing against a beautiful sunset that is now much easier to see. 

    I guess autumn is a time of adjustment for most people, not just me. It can be unsettling to realize how fast the year has gone by, and how quickly the long hours of daylight have evaporated. It's more like dread for me-beware of darkness. The nights are already too long, and it's a little depressing to know what's coming.             

    It goes without saying that Fall is about the end of summer, and watching things wither and die isn't my idea of a good time.  The drought was enough of a strain on my garden as it was. The plants have run their course much sooner than usual. But I do have lots of flower bulbs coming soon, and I can look forward to seeing them in the spring.  The cloudy grey skies and raw chilly weather dampen my spirits. But I'll try to pretend I'm happy inside in my cozy house with some cocoa, curl up with my cat and a good book, or make a batch of cookies now that it won't heat up the house too much to turn on the oven.

     Once it's cool, it's time to think about foods we haven't had in a long time. Comfort foods like pot roast, beef stew, roast chicken, chili.  And seasonal offerings like candy apples and apple cider donuts. I find the whole "pumpkin spice movement" a little annoying, but it's not without its tasty charm. I can see why people fall in love with that blend of flavors.  

   To me, autumn is about getting ready for winter: getting the yard cleaned up, thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. Halloween seems to be an obsession for many people. It doesn't mean much to me, but I don't mind if other people love it. We don't get many trick or treaters here because there's no sidewalk on this street.

    What do you like about fall? Do you find it sad to see summer end, or are you happy to be rid of it? Whatever your feelings are, I hope you have a few reasons to enjoy it. Like everything, it moves fast enough and will be gone soon.

Random Thoughts While Waiting for Spring

It's hard to believe March is halfway over. We've finally reached that milestone, turning the corner from winter into spring. Once we lose the hour in the morning and gain it at night, it feels like winter is officially over. But of course, it isn't. We still have a ways to go, so what's been happening as I wait?

1. Getting a new phone: The new phones are Motorola, and are longer and bigger than my Samsung from 2017.  Not exactly life changing, but it takes getting used to nonetheless. I managed to choose ringtones and sounds that aren't too irritating. But I rarely use the cell phone for its original purpose, talking.  Recently I actually had two real conversations on the phone with old friends. I've gotten so used to texting, if only because I don't like to bother people by calling if they might be busy, eating driving, sleeping.  

Talking on the phone isn't brain surgery, but for some reason I've always hated making phone calls. It always felt strange talking to people I'm used to writing. Then there's people I can't call anymore, because they are no longer with us. I wish I had their voice messages. 

I never thought I'd turn into one of those people who became addicted to their "smart device". It bothers me how much I rely on my phone.  Mostly I use it to take an endless roll of pictures, and short videos. I have a tendency to overdo it. Somehow I never get tired of my cats, the clouds, sunsets, or the trees in my backyard. So I feel compelled to take yet another picture. My new phone's camera is high definition, and you can tell the difference in how sharp they are, but only on the phone itself, since my laptop isn't high def. The zoom is 8X instead of 4X, and there's slow motion and time lapse on the video, which I haven't tried out yet! This phone seems to be tied in with Google, so there isn't a "gallery" setting, all the pictures go straight to Google Photos. I think I'll get a micro-SD card so my photos will be backed up that way.

2. Learning some new things: I've been watching more webinars about how to make money online, since that would be an ideal situation for me. I'm not an idiot, so I don't bother with ones that are "too good to be true". Even the legitimate ones all have an extended sales pitch at the end, encouraging you to buy their course, to guarantee success. I'm sure that might work for some people, but I'd rather go it alone first. Here's hoping I become a "Fulfilled by Amazon" bookseller in the near future.  There would be some irony to this one, as back in my nursing home days, a resident accused me of stealing books and re-selling them! Maybe he was a prophet!

3.  Started an Author page on Facebook: I still have mixed feeling about this, because I'm a private person, and don't relish the idea of promoting myself to strangers.  It's also geared towards selling, so they want you to buy advertising, engage your audience, and there are lots of analytics telling me how unsuccessful I am so far. You have to start somewhere. 

   My plan is to start thinking like an author, and actually think beyond all these blogs I've started. It would be nice to actually make money on my writing, even if my primary goal is to inspire others with my words. The Bee Gees had a profound line in their song "Words".  It's only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away.  I'm not trying to win anybody's heart, just make people think. And if I'm writing a letter to you, I'm sincere. Here's hoping my author page will spur me onto to finish up my sports essay compilation, poetry collection, short stories of life (kind of like Andy Rooney, except not as sarcastic) maybe a Bruins "Fan-atic" compilation condensing all those years of writing about the Bruins from 1983-2001.  

    Ultimately, I'd like to write e-books that are about things I know about. Nowadays it's possible to produce and publish your own work, and make a residual passive income from it. You just have to figure out where and how to publicize it, and I'm confident I'll be able to figure it out.

     Whatever you've been up to so far this month, enjoy!  Don't live to work, work to live! Take time for yourself, and go for your dreams, whatever they are, or no matter how unrealistic they may seem. If you can dream it, you can do it.

Random Thoughts on a Cold February Night

   I'm happy that winter is moving right along. It's certainly a gift that February only has 28 days most years. When I started this post, it was at least a week ago, and now February is already at it's midpoint, Valentine's Day! 

    Valentine's Day has no romantic implications for me, so I tend to think about it as little as possible. I used to plan parties every year at work, and it's a great decorating holiday. Who doesn't love hearts, red and pink, flowers, and candy? 

   It used to be my mission in life to get to all the local drugstores and hoard the half-price boxes of chocolates, and cute stuffed animals in the days following V-day. Nowadays I don't even think they stock as much, so there's fewer surplus to sell. And they wait longer to mark it down. It's probably just as well, at least for my waistline.

    What else is going on in February? We had groundhog day, with the obvious outcome, whether he saw his shadow or not. We are gaining more daylight, and it's noticeable enough to make me happy.

        Yesterday, we had the Superbowl. Not hyped like it used to be, which is alright with me. No Patriots or Tom Brady involved this year to hold my interest. 

    I didn't even hear a word about the ads, and how expensive and influential they are. I never even tuned into the "puppy bowl", which is more exciting to me than the football game.  

   I didn't watch the halftime show, knowing in advance it wasn't anything I wanted to see. Nothing personal, I'm just not attuned to that type of "music", or whatever it is.

    We had "Twos-day" on 2/2/22, and later in the month we'll have 2/22/22-is this the day they'll be making more of a fuss over? I guess we'll find out.

    February 6th was the anniversary of the blizzard of '78, a time all us New England natives will remember, those of us "lucky" enough to be there. I was 10 at the time, and we did get a lot of snow. It bothers me that every time we've gotten a big storm in recent years, it's compared; and sometimes said to be worse or as historic. No matter what statistics they use, this was the real storm of  the century. Period, end of conversation.

     I have a lot of friends and family with February birthdays-my beautiful niece and amazing nephew, for starters. Then my pen-pal Michaela, no longer with us, but all of us who knew her will never forget her. I have two friends who share a birthday, a former co-worker, and another pen pal. Both are fun, loyal friends I'm glad I've known all these years. Old friends are the best friends!

    February 28th was my cat Bigfoot's birthday, as I've mentioned in the past. We called him a Blizzard Baby-he was born in 1978. My grandfather was a Leap-year baby, born in 1916. We always got a kick out of that, him being much younger technically than his age.

    February is such a turning point. Being a short month, it brings us into March, knowing spring is right around the corner. Even if we can still get frigid weather and buried in snow. We can plan our summer vacation or our spring garden, because the time goes so quickly, we'll run out of time if we dilly dally.

   I hope you're new year is going well, and you are enjoying your February, where ever you are!

New Year. New Me?

    Somehow we managed to live through 2021, and now it's 2022.  I know it was a tough year for everybody, no matter what your situation. I'm not even sure what I want to say in this post today. 

  I know January first is when people are supposed to start fresh, and set goals for the coming year. I've learned that it doesn't pay to do that, unless you like setting yourself up for failure.  On the other hand, it can be a good way to see where you are in life, and where you want to go. Most of us just want to stay alive!    

  I can only speak for myself on how I feel about the world in general and my life in particular. I think it all depends on your frame of mind. I know I'm not satisfied with myself, and what the past year has been like, even if I give myself a break. I feel like I've lost my confidence, and I'm totally clueless as to why I haven't been able to get a job in my chosen profession. I wonder if there's something wrong with me that I'm just not seeing.  

   The death of my father in July has caused me to reevaluate what's really important, what I really want, and what I should try to do with the remainder of my time. It also brings lots of questions about my purpose in life, and how much longer will I even be around? What will happen to me when I get old, assuming I do? I have no husband, no kids, and while normally I'm OK with that, sometimes I feel a little left out. Up until this point, have I made the right decisions? Should I have tried harder to be a "success"? Or is it all in the hands of fate? 

   Of course, I don't have the answer to any of these questions. And no answers just leaves me feeling more helpless, sad, annoyed and defeated. I end up feeling sorry for myself when maybe I have no right to feel that way.  All I've ever done is try to live my life day by day, and be a responsible and loving person in an unforgiving world. 

   Maybe I didn't plan enough for the future because I was so busy just trying to get through a normal day. Little did I realize that all those humdrum days spent making a living, making dinner and going to bed only to get up and do it all over again, was really life at it's best. I never even knew how happy I was. 

   If you had told me ten years ago, or even five years ago, that I would someday be an unemployed, overweight, middle-aged single white female living in a new town in a new house, without my dad or my dog, I may have had trouble believing it. But I sure would have sat up and taken notice. And maybe things would've turned out differently. 

  But I can't travel through time, like they do in the movies. So the best I can do is appreciate what I do have, and see if I can make my own future before it's too late. With God's help, of course. I trust in God that whatever my future brings, it's for a reason. I'll never give up.

  Whatever is happening in your life, I hope you remain optimistic and believe that things are only going to get better. We don't have to wait for a new year, every day is a fresh beginning.