Wind and snow continued through the day and into the night. All is expected to quell into tomorrow. That will make this almost three days of wind and precipitation, both frozen and not. A couple from down the road were unable to get to a matinee musical play, so had texted their tickets to a friend of mine. Getting to the show wasn't far to drive. I waded out through 4+inches of snow and the knee deep piles at the end of the driveway left by the street plow. While it was snow, it was very wet and walking to the car and then to the building left us both wishing we had a towel. The play went well, though it seemed rather long for the little ones that were in the audience.
Back home I did more laundry and made something for supper -- basic boring -- or mundane -- tasks. I left the shoveling to tomorrow once the snow stops falling. I will admit to feeling this is a bit early for such a storm and snow accumulation. I heard other say that, too. Yet, similar scenes have appeared in the social media memories noting that similar meteorological events have occurred with great regularity at this time of year. I would much rather nothing like this storm forced its way into my view at least until the end of December. That was the usual time for a major snow event when I moved here over 20 years ago. So, it begins for another year -- my blogging about my dislike of winter weather events <smile>.
A song came to mind today that seemed perfect for the day and the comments I heard from so many other people about this disruption to life as we'd wish it to be. Interestingly, I found myself using a few descriptive words for the snow that were not included in this lengthy listing. <grin> Enjoy!
Winds remained throughout the day and will continue into tomorrow. Most of the day involved rain or wet snow that melted on contact with roads and sidewalks. By the time I headed home, the sun had set and the winds were still very strong -- the kind that blow you off the sidewalk into traffic. Sidewalks were slick where the slushy schmutz that had covered them began to freeze. Not too bad for walking then, but it will be slippery as the evening wears on and snow begins to fall in earnest.
While in the office trying to work with a file sharing program today to edit existing parts of a research project, I had less luck than in the past with this software package. This time I could get nothing to work for me. I was > < this close to getting the edits into the correct places in the proposal. I fear I said something untoward and then just shut down to walk back home. <sigh> Then when walking, I thought of what I'd read today from an interview with Helen Mirren. She has a major social media presence, so is no Luddite. Yet I was struck by her comment stating, "I am rather happy that I knew the world before technology. The constant learning process of technology can be sort of exhausting. It seems like every week you have to learn something new about how to pull up WhatsApp or something." (Crisolago, M. Zoomer, Nove 25, 2019). This statement had me thinking of correspondence and how that has changed so dramatically. Knowing what it had been like, might give those of a certain age <smile> a different perspective than those who have never lived in a world without such communication technology. I think of how letters between friends or partners had been cherished and saved, sometimes tied up in a lovely length of ribbon as a keepsake. Now, such conversations may be lost to the ether or with some software may be saved. The latter can be even better than the letters tied in a pretty bow, since the software would save both sides of a conversation. The time needed to correct a misunderstanding is much less than weeks between posted letters. So, contrary to the difficulty I had with software today, software may improve personal record keeping. <smile>
There are so many songs about letters, something else that may change as e-communications dominate. I found one originally recorded way back in the day. I chose a cover version that is just a bit more recent because I like the artist's vocal style and this has an arrangement much different than the original. Enjoy!
In a blog from 2016, Meg Conley noted three questions that they discussed around the dinner table each evening. I loved this approach to checking in with family. This becomes even more special when I realize that fewer and fewer families eat together each day. So -- the questions.
1. How were you brave today?
2. How were you kind today?
3. How did you fail today?
Now those are challenging each in their own way. Today I am going to try to address each of these, though I've found that the lines between each are rather blurred.
Let's start with being kind. While at the hospital this morning for the annual blood work, I met my former neighbour and her niece. The neighbour moved out of the house next door to me within the past month. I was so happy to see her, I gave her a big hug. She now lives at a seniors assisted living complex. I told her their dining services were fantastic. I felt so much better seeing her and I hope I helped her somewhat, too.
So , being brave. When I walked back down the hill from the hospital, I stopped at Timmy's for a cup of tea. Fasting blood work means I miss my morning caffeine, so I decided to treat myself to a cuppa and a nosh (mixing cultural references now it seems). As I sat looking out at the rain, I was caught unawares by almost tears followed by a big smile -- all within less than a second. I chose to look more deeply into this surprising emotional mix. Happiness and delight were tempered by something more negative. Naming that emotion took time. My brain worked away at this while I was moving through the 'to do' list for the day. The result noted it feels a bit like being alone or wanting something that just isn't possible in this moment. Now, to me alone is not the same as lonely; in fact, alone can be a very positive place but it also can be something that pushes one into the abyss. So -- realizing this feeling, I tried two things that have helped in the past. This is where the failure part of the day arrived. These problem solving techniques just didn't change the feelings. Other calming strategies will be tried as the evening progresses. It is a fervent wish that one of these works.
In other failures today -- yes, I may need to be kinder to me <smile> -- As I walked down the street a block from the house, a car, a large puddle and I had an encounter. I couldn't step further away from the curb as there is a house right up to the edge of the sidewalk there. The car could have slowed, though. I recall saying something very ungracious about the driver after the waist high wave soaked the bottom of the coat and the jeans from my knees down. This has happened to me in the past without this petulant response. I recall in Saskatoon, as I waited at the corner to cross the street, there was a moderate lake growing on the roadway. I stepped a good 6 feet back from the curb only to be fully showered from head to toe by a passing motorist. It is just water after all. <smile>
While still working through this one, the chorus lyrics of a song came back to my mind. Other of these lyrics deal with loss, which is not the issue today. The chorus, though, deals with a feeling of being alone and has been whispering in my ear lately <smile>. Enjoy!
An interesting and full day is nearing an end. Three meetings occurred. One dealt with a new project for development of a presentation for a summer conference. This has the potential to become a full blown research project. So this is the new shiny thing on my desk -- that thing that distracts me from focusing on existing project writing -- like I need anything external to mess with concentration <smile>. In all three meetings, I found myself being extra tangential -- heading the conversations off into some morass of fun details that don't get us through an agenda or even make a sensible point <sigh>.
While walking home after the final meeting, I found myself semi-focused on what was going on inside and outside that interfered with plans for the day. I discovered a sense of anticipation but for a bundle of events -- all outside my control (of course! <smile>). Running between meetings I quickly said hello to a few friends, but had to postpone a chat until next week. A positive thing. I will do a public presentation in three weeks -- the topic was chosen months ago, so this will require getting back to what I meant by the longer title. <smile> These are good things with excitement and smiles. The weather forecast for the next week appears dismal at best, with some form of accumulating frozen precipitation appearing on every daily icon. Other changes on the home front are expected in the coming days. These induce negative stress.
Taking the moments to check in with myself led me to realize that living in the moment has been helping me to smile rather than obsess on as many 'what ifs' as is usual in my wee brain. That was cool to realize. There are more positives right now than negatives <smile>. Lucky me. Looking forward can be positive or much less than that. Finding the balance for the day helped me to feel much calmer -- not full on calm and cool, but less stressed. I'll take it. I chose the song for today because of the chorus lines that state what I recognized today as the reason behind my recent bouts of being late for meetings and appointments as well as the overwhelming sense of waiting for something new to arrive. The final lines sound like a live in the moment message. Overall, I found the revelations of my walking and thinking today to be quite rewarding. Enjoy!
Surprisingly, the day began with full bright sunshine. It felt wonderful for walking in the morning and again in the mid-afternoon. Perhaps the key aspect of the day involved my inability to be where I needed or wanted to be at the appointed time. I was late rolling out of bed, but had enough time to get to the office as planned. Then, mysteriously, no water came out of the taps when turned on. After my call being diverted to the county office instead of the town utility line, I discovered that there was some valve replacement occurring two to three blocks away and we were all without water from the main. I keep a couple of gallons of bottled water for such emergencies. This helped with breakfast preparation as well as washing up dishes and me. My afternoon meeting began about 20 minutes late, so ended later. At that time, I ate lunch -- later than usual. When heading to the 3:15 eye appointment, I saw that it was 3 PM as I left the office and the walk takes about 20 minutes depending on lights and traffic. Late again. I had a great conversation with the optometrist, and being her last appointment of the day, she was later than usual finishing. I was pleased to see that the sun had set by the time I left the optometrist's office, since my eyes were dilated. Granted the headlights all looked extra sparkly tonight, but it beat the heck out of battling sunshine with ginormous pupils. So, all of this and some force of nature was trying to get my attention while seated at my office desk. Three times I spilled something in the same space on the desk -- tea, chili oil from the tuna, and yogurt. I have no idea why this happened, but will see if it continues tomorrow. I do hope not, since the meetings tomorrow allow a comfortable space between each to allow me to eat lunch, head to the copier and catch up on backlogged e-mails. On the upside, I did some tiny bits of writing for one larger project. My focus was challenged, but the muse was close by, likely just outside playing in the sunshine.
A song I'd mentioned in a conversation yesterday came back to me as I walked down the road to the highway. I thought through other possible songs, but chose this one due to the appointment at the end of the work day. I toyed with the idea on the walk home. Enjoy!
Weather was warmer than yesterday, but with the wind felt colder. Spitty rain arrived early in the afternoon. I was out getting groceries and other supplies needed to get through the next while. By later afternoon, I walked out to the physio to deal with my neck - again. These visits do help as do the stretching exercises. Morning routine is getting more filled with various stretches for this and sundry aches and pains. <smile>.
Given the colder feel of the air of late, I guess I've been thinking of warmer climes, without fully realizing it. I heard a song that reminded me of time spent with friends in Hawaii at a research conference. We met for a drink before dinner. I had snagged a table early since I was staying nearby and they were outside the central city area. It was located on a small outdoor deck facing west. This created a lovely start to the evening. We watched the sunset across the Pacific from Waikiki drinking mai tais. After dark we went to a Thai restaurant for a delicious dinner and had such fun talking. We considered phoning home to let people know that it was 25C outside after the sunset and that it had been -25C at home before sunset. When we calculated the time difference (7 hours) we took a photo to share with colleagues and poke at the weather later in person. One of those people is no longer with us and the other two are retired away, one with health issues. It does make me smile when I recall all the laughter that night.
The song chosen for today dropped as a single about 10 days ago. It seemed perfect to share with you since hearing this song made me realize I'd been thinking of being elsewhere with friends. Enjoy!
The sun shone for much of the day providing something very different than the past couple of weeks. Time was spent working on household projects and chores. Nothing of note to highlight there <smile>. Early in the afternoon, the tree guy came by to trim the branches over the wires, at the east end of the house where storms bends trees down to the roof, and to remove the two larger branches of the tree damaged by Dorian last September. It was a good day to be outdoors working -- warm with little wind and no precipitation. He'll be back mid-week to put everything in the large pile in the back yard through the chipper. That will clean up the area by the back door and the path to the next yard -- where there could be a pathway to Main Street (if someone will take responsibility for the large tree trunk lying across the path <sigh>).
For a chunk of the afternoon, I streamed music from the band featured here. Twenty-eight years ago today Freddie Mercury died. His amazing singing and song-writing skills have been discussed for decades and more recently, emphasized in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. I've chosen two selections today. The first brings a view into the progressive (prog) rock genre of the mid-1970s. This one is a classic <smile>. The second song was written by Mercury as a tribute to Elvis Presley. It definitely has that rockabilly feel to it -- a major departure from Queen's other genres. Enjoy!
