Attitude

A friend called me for animal advice this morning. I have a lot of contacts in health, behaviour and rescue. Over the course of the conversation,  she commented on my ability to find the good in any situation.

That's how I cope. I find the silver linings in clouds. That can be as simple as the unusual shape or colour of the cloud. I'm not immune to the fact that there's a severe thunderstorm raging all around me. Instead, I focus on the safety of our shelter,  the electric charge in the air, the way people gather together to share resources.

I've felt unbearably sad today for no discernable reason. The weather was sunny and warm so I played outside with the dogs. I finished reading a good book out in the fresh air. I drove with the car windows down.

And I helped my friend brainstorm a solution to her animal problem.

At the end of the day, helping someone else is a good way to help yourself.

Routines

Real Life has been kicking ass and taking names, leaving me exhausted. The constantly changing weather hasn't helped but every single day at least One Good Thing happens regardless of whether I post it or not.

I'm finally back in the routine of writing.I genuinely like both of my main characters and enjoy getting to know them. As a bonus, I watch a lot of hockey -  for research purposes.  Okay, truth be told, I already watch three or four games a week but now I watch teams and broadcasts other than my team.

Life is good. Lots of changes in this household but they are all improvements. No, the toaster oven wasn't broken. I checked the wrong plug. But the new toaster oven was on sale. It also toasts a lot faster and more efficiently than the old appliance. Our smoke detectors work.

I've got a lot of creative project irons in the fire. They make me happy.

Dinner

My friend and I go out to the Jordan House for buffalo cauliflower. But it was snowing and freezing rain today so instead of going out, I made my own from this recipe.

Delicious!

We finished it off with frozen bananas mixed with fine cocoa and walnuts.

The weather sidelined a lot of my plans for the day but it all turned out well.

Young 'uns

My DNe's friend told me that he likes to spend time with me, that I always help him relax. That was sweet. He has high anxiety.

I spent time with my pregnant friend today. It's her first. I think she's going to go early. The baby really dropped since last week. I better finish up the shark blanket - that I haven't even started.

Puppies playing in the snow always make me smile. Technically,  none of our three are puppies any more you'd never know that to watch them race like cartoon characters around the cold, white yard.

Lots of good things

Today's good things include fair trade dark chocolate, projects that distract me in a positive way, vegan doughnuts and the joy on my coworkers faces when I shared that box of deliciousness.

My TBR pile grew by three books this evening. I love opening the shipments of new books at work. They smell like comfort, adventure, knowledge and hope.

Stress reducing

The last three days have been over-the-top stressful.  Every day, I've found something good to help me remember that "this too shall pass" .

I'm most proud of how I've moved away from stress eating. Vegetables first has been the mantra that fills me before I reach for cookies or chips. I need to be healthier and that's starting to stick.

Threading my fingers through Ky's fur grounds me. Today, I left an angry, non-productive interaction and took the dogs for a drive. We got out and walked alongside the Niagara River. The rush of water over the Falls rarely fails to put things into perspective.

Finn saw ducks and geese and nearly lost his puppy mind. That seemed to amuse Ky.

We stopped at my favourite tree by an old stone fence. The garbage scow still rests where it ran aground 90 years ago.

There's new graffiti since my last visit over a month ago. I took it to heart.

Could be worse

Instead of stress eating today, I did some cleaning and organizing. That's a win on several levels.

It did lead to the question, is my thing for notebooks out of control. These were just the ones I found in one drawer.

Crafts

I went to one friend's house to help her embroider a chair cushion.  I had clearly misunderstood.  She needed help recovering the chair cushions. That was good as I had no idea how I was supposed to embroider leather. We pieced and pinned everything together. Another friend is going to do the sewing as it will much faster with her machine that with my hand sewing. The bonus was the time spent with two friends do instead of one.

I'm also going to learn how to use the sewing machine that lives in the front closet. I might also look for my great-grandmother 's small machine. I carted it around for years from one house to the next thinking it was my grandpa's old typewriter.

I adjusted a graph pattern yesterday so that the reindeer is now a moose. I can knit that now. It will fit my friend's granddaughter next fall/winter.

The puppy and parrot played tag last night. I laughed til I cried.

Community

I wrote the following on Facebook yesterday.

My home is sanctuary for any and all who need it. I was raised by both of my parents to give everyone a chance. Race, creed, color and gender were not to be used as determining factors but rather a person should be taken on face value and, at most, measured by their actions. Never judged. We always shared whatever we had with those who had less. We invited strangers into our homes to share meals and holidays. We were encouraged to work in our communities in ways that made life better for all. Of course, we're not paragons of perfection. We all have biases. It is important to see past that to the value each life has.

Historically,  Canadians are peacekeepers.  I cherish that role. It took me to Germany where there were constant reminders of desperate people believing the disguise evil quickly shed. I grew up hearing first hand accounts of the war, and how it affected ordinary people.

I was five years old when we moved there and what I learned dug deep into my soul and grew roots. I knew and loved individuals, families and businesses. The war wasn't some dusty dry recitation in class about evil people. Most of those I loved had been Nazis, or silent. They kept their heads down and tried to survive. Their shame and regret were palpable. But history could not be altered no matter how much anyone tried to rewrite it.

My home is a sanctuary. I welcome all who are in need. I always have. I always will. I'm not blind to hate, not blind to fear. I've experienced both from opposite perspectives. 

Love trumps hate. Canada has her problems. We will never all agree on the best way to meet common needs for security, for shelter, for equality, justice or business. But if we continue to deny fear and hatred, we have a shot not only of surviving but thriving.

Today I went to our local mosque to offer support and to learn more about being Muslim as they opened their doors to celebrate #WorldHijabDay. It was an incredible experience. My niece and I were shown different styles for wrapping the scarf and each gifted with our own. We had our hands dyed with henna. The Iman spoke about everyone being free to choose whether to cover their heads, necks and shoulders - or not. He took questions from the curious and answered with a great deal of openness and honesty.  We had a tour of the mosque then sat as a group in the women's prayer room and learned more about Islam. The five pillars of faith are remarkably similar to Christianity.

In one of those nice tricks of synchronicity that I so adore, I tripped over this shirt at the bazaar.

Happy

This face

And this face

And these interactions

Unfortunately,  I've yet to catch Finn and Amidala beak to snout on camera.

Optimism

So many great conversations today with people on Facebook, Twitter, texts, phone and in person reminded me how connected and caring most people are to exchange other. We are not doomed.

The other day, a friend asked me if there were any non-sugar treats I would consider comfort food. Nope. Then I went shopping today while hungry. I was looking for a high protein snack and saw the nut aisle. Pecans. Pecans are a great food. They're high in protein and I associate them with a dear friend who provides me with sanctuary in which to write every year.

One more good thing - I listened. Someone struggling with some big life issues didn't need my advice or opinion. They simply needed to be heard. It made a huge difference to them.

Portable standing desk

Work was crazy busy, the world took a collective step back in shock then hundred of thousands rushed forward to defend the persecuted. My faith in humanities rewarded today. There are who love and trust than those who do not.

In much smaller, less significant news, I transformed this

A raggedy old microwave cart

Into this

Memories

I lost a photo that means a great deal to me. A friend of mine took it in Scotland many years ago. We later discovered that was less than five miles from where my great-grandmother was born.

Looking at it reminds me of my own trip to the farm down the road as well as trying to recreate the photo when I stood in the same spot. I can smell the dew on the thistle, feel the early morning mist on my skin and remember the sense of being watched from behind the ferns. It also reminds me of the first time I met my friend. It stars a lot of emotions. I moved the photo when I switched the living room arrangement.

I sorted through, cleaned and decluttered the living room in the search. My friend is gone now so the photo is irreplaceable. I'm not sure what the photo was doing down by the spinning wheel but it's now hanging on the living room wall. In the process, I organized my home.

Win/win.

Writing

Brainstorming plot points with good friends who are also writer always puts a smile on my face. It's a great deal of fun when we get together. It turns out I had a strong conflict, I simply needed to clarify my thought process. Phew!

I figured out how to make a portable standing desk. I don't mind writing longhand in a notebook but at some point it needs to be input to the computer.

It was a good day from a writing standpoint.

Baby day

My day started with a fantastic dream. All the excitement I felt in the dream translated to an adrenaline rush that actuality woke me. It took a long time to get my heart rate under control. It was a portent of opportunity.


After work, I spent time with my friend who is pregnant with her first child. We bought stuff for the baby room and returned multiples of gifts she received at her baby shower. Man, there's a lot of stuff required for newborns. The cool mist humidifier shaped like an owl is on my friends list. I prefer the Darth Vader one.

I came home to another newborn. A young friend became a first time father this week. He brought his baby girl by so we could meet her. She's Beautiful,  of course. He loves being a dad. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy.

Imagine seeing the world with fresh eyes. Everything is a wonder. And their little worlds are filled with love.

Little things

My goal today was to stay in my pajamas all day and read.

Good job, me!!

Hope

I didn't march today
I didn't walk.
I didn't protest.

I did talk to my nieces about why women around the world wore pink hats and took to the streets. We talked about a long history of the perception of women as instruments of men's pleasure. We talked about the right to choose, the right to marry, the right to practice your religion, about the right to vote, to march, to protest. We talked about supporting each other and letting those who feel suppressed, oppressed or disenfranchised know that they are not alone.

We talked about why people in 75 countries felt the need to gather in support.

We talked about history being made today.

We talked about hope and how those seas full of pink hats filled our hearts with the emotion we believed to be lost.

We talked. We planned. We hope.

Brainstorming

I spent a lot of today ignoring the news by working on my outline and opening chapter. The heroine's conflict was a bit light. I looked through my notebooks and couldn't find anything. I know I brainstormed her arc.

Because I can't find my notes, I've spent some time thinking about it. In the process, I fleshed out other scenes.

The chiropractor gave me a pamphlet of exercises and therapies my hero would undertake. She also guided me in how to ruin his career as a hockey player.

Mwahahaha

Some is better than none

I had planned to get a lot more work done on the current wip. I only got so far as tweaking the outline. I need to do a bit more research before I start the opening chapter.  Fortunately I have an appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow. She'll be able to help me injure my team captain in a way that could put an end to his career. Or not. I haven't decided yet.

Torturing characters is immensely cathartic.

Resolve

The best thing about being back to work is meeting all the new books that arrived while I was off sick. I'm most happy to lose myself in Resolve. It's a fast paced suspense. Every time, I think I have it figured out, it turns. I don't want to put it down. I'm going to need to read everything by J.J. Hensley. As a former member of the United States Secret Service, he has an interesting perspective on politics.

Check him out. You can thank me later