Whimsical ...

Not content with getting a toy,
 out of the box,
Oliver had to pull all the toys out.

     My doctor appointments went well a week ago.  My knee has been signed off on with a "come in if any pain or issues," so I'm free to continue doing everything I already was.  Blood work for my 2nd visit of the morning came back all normal.  I've even managed to lose more than ten pounds in the last six months without trying.  I'm not sure yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm watching it now.  I do not want a repeat of 2021.

  The rest of the week was quiet and uneventful, even Halloween.  No trick-or-treaters here.  I got my front herb garden cut back and ready for winter.  Basil is the only one I'm not sure will come back next year.  The rest of them (rosemary, German thyme, lemon thyme, sage and oregano) all came back this year, stronger than ever.  But I didn't plant any basil until this summer.  I know in some climates it is a perennial but think it might be an annual in my zone.

    I signed up for a local Methodist church's Christmas event this afternoon called "Christmas Mother."  It is geared towards seniors, and also single parents, and parents in need.  I'm not sure exactly why I signed up since I haven't really celebrated Christmas in several years, since leaving the cult church in WV, and honestly, I've not missed it.  What I've missed is Christmas in Germany.  That's the "season" I've missed.  The markets, the smells, the flavors, the joy.  It's not something I can easily describe because it is a feeling, and not a feeling I've ever felt here in the states.  We make Christmas so commercialized I saw it sneaking into stores and onto shelves the weeks before Halloween.

    When they asked what I wanted for Christmas, I was unprepared.  I was happy enough to learn that I'd get a $50 grocery store gift card.  My "wants" and "needs" are miles apart at this time in my life.  I don't even dare to think of things I want anymore.  I can't afford to.  I told her cat litter, and she looked at me a little oddly.  "Really?"  "Yes, the clumping slide out kind."  "Isn't there anything else you want?"  "I guess watercolor paints.  Maybe a Walmart gift card for toiletries."  How does one answer a question like that?  It made me feel rather old and Scrooge-y or Grinch-y.  How does one fill out a Christmas wish list when there are no more Sears Christmas catalogs to turn down page corners and put a little star by a particular item?  "I'd like a job, please.  And a stair railing for my front porch steps, and a better, metal one along the house for the back steps to the basement.  Even with a new knee, I'm afraid of falling on both sets of stairs.  I'd like new thermal curtains for my two rooms with seven windows ~ a neutral stone beige color, 63" long, with grommets ~ to help keep my house warmer in the winter months.  Walmart has them for $14 a pair.  Maybe seven is too many to ask for, so I'd be thrilled with just two sets for the bedroom." Where does one draw the line between wants and needs, and how does someone who spent more than one (marriage) lifetime taking care of others learn that it's okay to ask for something for myself or something whimsical.  "Could I sign up instead for someone who can dig a proper French drain on the side of my house that floods the basement when it rains?"

    I'm sincerely not trying to be flip and really truly am grateful for even the smallest amount of assistance they can offer (the grocery gift card will be a great help alone because $25 in food stamps doesn't go far in this economy).  I know that this is probably a lesson for me to learn in how to be more whimsical and less old biddy.  There is a woman on Instagram I follow (@undercoverkindnessgnomes) who reminds me that when I write up my 13 Wishes (@vanessaandheriphone) in December for the Universe that I need to be less practical and more whimsical.  Especially since last December's wishes were all way too practical and zero have been granted so far this year.

    Whimsy is my 2027 word of the year ... I'm going to start practicing it now ... stay fun out there ~ 💜Ci

Watercolors ...

We are on bear-alert locally.
I caught these five on Monday...

 

Watercolor fun on Wednesday...

A November Bucket List....

(with some options ...) 

▷ Wear a cozy sweater

 ▷ Start holiday gift planning

 ▷ Read a book near a fireplace

 ▷ Add fall-themed centerpieces

 ▷ Collect pinecones & acorns

 ▷ Bake a pumpkin pie

 ▷ Go to a fall festival or fair

 ▷ Watch a Thanksgiving Day parade

 ▷ Make a fall wreath

 ▷ Drink hot apple cider

 ▷ Go for a fall road trip

 ▷ Volunteer at a local charity

 ▷ Donate old clothes

 ▷ Cook turkey

 ▷ Roast marshmallows

 ▷ View fall foliage

 ▷ Host (or attend) a Thanksgiving gathering

 ▷ Take a family photo

 ▷ Have a picnic with fall-themed foods

 ▷ Write a gratitude list

 ▷ Make Thanksgiving cards

 ▷ Play board games

 ▷ Rake leaves and jump in the pile

 ▷ Spot a squirrel with a nut

 ▷ Watch a Thanksgiving movie or show (football excluded! but The National Dog Show included!)

Sunday...

    Today I volunteered again at the art gallery in town.  The show in which I entered will go until the second week in November, then they will have a photography show for amateurs and professionals.  I don't think I'm going to enter that one.  It has been a while since I've taken gallery worthy photos, and the photos I have on some of my wall galleries will need to be reprinted and properly framed in case they sell during the show.  Maybe next year....

     I was busy last week, more than usual, but with a lot of good things happening.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a job offer, yet.

    Some of the week was filled with the mundane ... food pantry, picking up prescriptions.  An awareness fair for domestic violence.  There was also another job interview, and Thursday's weatherization inspection that was both disheartening and hopeful.

    Disheartening in that the house was even worse than I was aware, and if I'd had an inspector as good as this guy was at his job, I likely wouldn't have bought the house because the bank wouldn't have loaned on it.  It's also disheartening because the "flippers" are a prominent lawyer in town's husband and son and you would think that they would have done a better job with that reputation expectation.  But oh well.  Maybe they fall under the shyster lawyer reputation instead.  Also frustrating is the fact that the natural gas heater I just had installed will have to come out because it is unvented, and the state has a restriction against doing work in houses with them as a sole heat source.  It just means that once they get the work done, the mini splits should work more efficiently to keep the house warm.

    Hopeful because the work to be done, once approved by the state Energy Conversation & Housing Rehab committee, will include a higher grade of attic insulation (currently R-13, should be at least R-38, but because I'm in climate zone 4, R-49 to R-60 is recommended) and basement insulation (also R-13, should be at least R-19).  They will also address air leaks throughout the house, and (knock on wood) repair the mini splits so that I can utilize them in the summer for air conditioning.  Currently they freeze up because the hoses were installed incorrectly.    The blower door air leak test was also very enlightening.  For a house this size, under 900 sq. ft., I should have no more than 600-850 CFM50 [CFM=Cubic Feet per Minute in a blower door test]. I had three times that amount, 2850 CFM50, which meant that 2850 CFM of air was leaking out of the house during the test.  I've been essentially heating the outside more than the inside.

    I started to contribute to Words on Wednesday this week but was at a loss for words.  Grief over Charlie hit hard again after a photo popped up in my gallery memories of his gotcha day.  Lavendar chamomile tea for the win.

    I've also gotten back into my Intuit classes for tax prep level 1.  Keeps my brain busy on something positive and not so much on the unhappy or worrisome stuff.  

    Stay paws-ative out there ... 💜 Ci