I was thinking about posting this morning. How we are all fighting to be able to do nice, positive, and/or future-minded things for ourselves in amongst the chaos of looking after our aging family members.
Did you get to take a walk all by yourself today? Did you find a half an hour to enjoy a cup of coffee without interruption? Did you lock the bathroom door and have a bubble bath and a face mask? Did you finally finish a good book? Did you sign up for a night class that gets you out of the house? Did you go for a swim at the local indoor pool? Are you dreaming up a new home-based business at the kitchen table?
These moments seem so hard won, I think we deserve to celebrate them! I'd love to hear from you!
I did have a little healthy something beforehand
And I spent the last hour reading things on here. I need to sleep so much but it's nice reading
I learned so much (whoever knew there was a brush to gently clean the drawing?). I used to work in pastels (easy but messy) and oils (a real challenge for me) but decided I like colored pencils the best. I bought the whole kit one day at Michael's - the $120 set!!
Since then I've expanded, creating a few designs from garden photos, and still find it to be one of the most relaxing pasttimes ever.
Back to the topic, I'd spend another 1/2 hour writing, so I'll save it for tonight! (What I'm going to try to work out is a holiday design for my father's living room, kitchen, porch and lampposts. I've done this in the past but never got around to actually putting up the decorations, in part b/c there's not that much space and there are fall issues. )
I talked husband into going to see Justice League movie last night at one of the theaters with recline seats and menu. Aquaman is definitely not a dweeb any more - Jason Momoa and his bare chest. Rowr. And hubs got to smile at Wonder Woman and various amazons in leather bikinis. Do something for you today. Now I'm taking friend and her 90 year mom to grocery store this PM.....
I have to get mom to dialysis shortly, but I'll come back and comment more a bit later when I'm freed up....
@GardenArtist, funny you should say coloured pencil! I definitely have to comment more on that! :-)
I actually bought only a few graphite pencils this time, because mine were all stubby! And some blending stumps. I thought I'd dip my toes back in gently. I do have my coloured pencils here though, and I got an amazing deal on a new set of 60 from Amazon - I thought mom might get interested in adult colouring books, but she didn't. (I did pick her up a little sketchbook and some pencils too, though, just in case it piques her interest....she IS the one who taught me how to draw!)
@BarbBrooklyn - good for you for getting it done! I keep procrastinating.
@cwillie - working on overcoming fears totally counts!
6’4” and 235lbs of pure eye candy.
He’s definitely something I’d like to do for myself! So naughty- sorry!
We all need a little inspiration, and more compassion in our lives, and it's good to reset our appreciation of what other have to endure in life.
Caregiving is such hard work, but when it's a child, suffering from bullying from a disease they cannot prevent, it definitely pulls on your heart strings, and makes you rethink how you can have compassion for others, and make changes for the better in our own lives.
Also I'm a little jealous of Lisa Bonet's ability to get some of the hottest men in the world. First Lenny Kravitz, then Jason Momoa....like, write a book, lady! Tell us your secret!
@pamzimmrrt - Woohoo for the puppy! I bet it feels good to put in extra time knowing the money is going towards something awesome like that.
One thing I did do for myself this week was join up with a friend in brainstorming a little home-based business idea that might bring us a bit of extra cash, and would still let us look after our moms. We even took an afternoon to go "spying" on local stores to see what's they're selling, or not selling. We are starting very small with a holiday product, which we'll sell through a friend's store. But I've been able to source wholesale ingredients right here in Canada that would let us, possibly, make products that are organic, cruelty-free, ethically-sourced, locally-made, etc. We are both science nerds and concerned about the future of the planet, so doing something like this seems right on time.
I'm on this HUGE learning curve right now, which I am enjoying tremendously. And it's also nice to be able to think about the future a little bit, because honestly, up until now most of my thoughts about the future have centered on AFTER my caregiving duties are done, if you know what I mean. And I don't want to have to think that way!
Hmmm... Jason Momoa shirtless - holding a puppy...
Any other old gals here? Back in "the day" Sean Connery, Paul Newman and others were the heartthrobs. It's amusing how life changes from one decade and one generation to the next.
And back to the original topic, my mind has been churning with ideas but they're all tangled up and I can't get them straightened out.
I did leisurely peruse another Christmas magazine last night and easily became mentally whisked off to a land of beautiful holiday fabrics, clever and lovely decorations, and eventually to thoughts of tramping through conifer forests searching for cones to use in wreaths, enjoying the wonderful respite of that fresh scent that's found only in areas filled with evergreens.
But winter is not far away -- it snowed here for about 5 minutes. Not much, but it's a start. I'm anxious for the first blizzard, when the kitchen will be filled with the fragrance of tempting delights from the oven.
Nothing wrong with
Paul Newman and Sean Connery. Especially, Paul Newman- his devotion to his wife all those years and his dedication to helping the world through his charities make him as sexy as it gets in my book. Those baby-blues didn’t hurt either!
Enjoy your pine cone hunt. I have such admiration for people who are creative and crafty. I get ideas in my mind but on implementation- my projects look like something a 12yr old Brownie would get excommunicated from the troop for.
@cwillie - What part of the world are you from? I'm in BC, Canada but our first snowfall in my town lasted a week and it's all gone.
@BarbBrooklyn - Well, good for you for finding time to go, and just in time to get on those problems, maybe!
I am still sick. This stupid cough!!!! Mom has been sleeping again today, so I took a 3 hour nap. Napping and kitten-snuggling - I guess that's all I've really done for myself today!
But, alas, we had more snow here, soft, gently falling and slowly changing the landscape. Winter has arrived! And so has the cold.
Now, the dilemma - hot chocolate or hot cider tonight to keep me warm?
Or maybe just more posts on the old "heartthrobs" as we used to call them?
@GardenArtist - I vote hot chocolate! I don't know if he was a heartthrob, but I've always had a little crush on Stewart Granger....I think maybe after watching Prisoner of Zenda as a kid. Lol!
@pamzimmrrt - I had to google a Chug because I could NOT visualize what that combo might look like! Sounds adorable!
And speaking of looks - as old time heartthrob go - Cary Grant and Tyrone Powers! But for me it just doesn’t get any better than Robert Redford circa Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Way We Were. They just don’t make ‘um like they use to - but George Clooney does come close.
Just rolling all these great looking men around in my head has seemed like doing g something nice for myself today.
Now - off to find the recipe I used the last time I actually cooked a thanksgiving dinner - back in my pre-caregiver days - 1000 years ago, it feels like. This is the first holiday I’ve looked forward to - and had any enthusiasm for in even a longer time. Now - if I can just find the recipe! It involves stuffing the turkey with apples and oranges... nothing I’ve found on line has been exactly right.
RainMom, if you find that stuffing recipe, would you mind sharing it? I've been thinking about a creamy fruit salad in whipped cream (I think) that I had at Win Schulers back in the 1960s. Found a few recipes so I'll start experimenting.