A "Need" to Write Down Our Stories

Over the past few weeks, I have been working on photo books, a task I have been meaning to do for a long time.

It's harder than it looks - and quite time-consuming.

I have to be in a "zone" to do it... No distractions to interrupt my train of thought, as I choose the photos I want to keep and then write the text - a story of a special vacation or a certain year in the life of our family.

Recently I moved my old laptop into the basement - to be nearer the modem - which makes uploading photos quicker, I think... We changed internet providers a few months ago. Our new service is a lot cheaper, but our new modem signal doesn't always reach my favorite sitting area which is one floor up, at the back of the house. So I've moved to be closer to the modem.

This dark basement space was well-used when our children were young and our sons played video games with friends, or our daughter wanted to be left alone to watch her own TV shows. But in recent years, it hasn't been used much except to store things we don't need very often, among them... my mother's photo albums.

Looking through them from time to time, I see that she too felt the need to organize her photos when she retired. The albums look well-worn, as if she looked at them frequently.

As I make my own photo albums, I realize that I'm probably doing them for myself as much as for anyone else... I derive great joy from looking back and remembering...

Latest Crafty Project...

Like most crafters, I have a lot of unfinished projects in my upstairs sewing/craft storage room...

When I completed my last sweater - the yellow one, knit top down - I discovered that I had partly-finished afghan tucked away in my yarn stash. I was using the Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern shown here...

Over the years, I've made two afghans using this pattern... Both are popular with the TV viewers in the family.

But I've had to add a border to both to make them long enough.

It's a very easy pattern to follow - rows of 24 stitches in garter stitch, back and forth, turning at the corners. I could probably even do this stitch while traveling on the train or in a car.

I'm not sure who this afghan will be for - but I'm enjoying making it. It's also very satisfying to use up yarn from my stash upstairs.

Deadlines... and Stress!

A while back I mentioned that the operating system on my old laptop will no longer be updated as of January 1.

I'm not sure whether I should  try to update the operating system... There are other computers in the house with the new system, and I prefer the look of the old one.

So January 1 is a deadline that looms in my mind...

At the same time, I've been "harvesting" photos on the old computer - creating photo books using my digital photos stored on the computer. I've created four in the last month, and there are three more I'd like to do.

The photo company keeps sending me coupons for a generous discount on future photo books - but the discount expires a week from today.

This too has created a deadline of sorts in my mind! I retired so as NOT to have DEADLINES!! I'm not used to stress like this!

But, on the plus side, it is making me stop procrastinating...

(Maybe I need more stress in my life - to get more things done...!!)

My Type 2 Diabetes Update

A few weeks ago, I went off a type 2 diabetes medication because I thought might be causing my muscles and joints to swell. I was having a hard time walking, especially doing stairs. After three weeks, I'm feeling less stiff, though still not as limber as I used to be. (I talked to my family doctor about going off the medication and she supported my doing it.)

In the meantime, I decided to go meatless to see if a vegan - or mostly vegan - diet will help me. I'm definitely going to avoid eating meat and fish, though I'm not sure about milk products...

I read an interesting summary of recent research, published in 2018, on the link between a plant based diet and type 2 diabetes. There is enough research evidence showing that following a vegetarian diet curtails type 2 diabetes that I 'm going to give it a serious try.

In the meantime, I'm adding organic soybeans to my diet... soaking them overnight before adding them to the  vegetarian soups I make in order to eat more vegetables.

It's an interesting culinary adventure - trying to cure type 2 diabetes with the right food!

Click here for a link to the online article that I found so interesting I've read it twice. It's from the University of West Virginia.

Woman Mystic - From 1000 years Ago...

One of my "hobbies" in retirement has been learning about Christianity through its 2000-year-old history...

A few years ago, I first came across the writings of medieval mystics who were women. I have especially enjoyed translations of their writings by a young woman named Carmen Acevedo Butcher I'm currently reading a book of daily selections called A Little Daily Wisdom: Christian Women Mystics.

In it, I found a lovely poem/hymn written almost 1000 years ago by a woman called Hildegard of Bingen, who - as the 10th child in her wealthy family - had been "given" to the church. A child prodigy, she went on to be a brilliant writer and speaker.







Here is the poem that I found so lovely:

God's Soul is the wind rustling plants and leaves,
the dew dancing on the grass,
the rainy breezes making everything grow.
Just like this, the kindness of a person flows, touching
those dragging burdens of longing.
We should be a breeze helping the homeless,
dew comforting those who are depressed,
the cool misty air refreshing the exhausted,
and with God's teaching we have got to feed the hungry:

This is how we share God's soul.

Learning About Life

I’ve been hanging out with a three-year-old...

So I welcome this reminder that we learn from each other. 

What can I learn from this three-year-old?

To welcome new challenges...

And to take advantage of every opportunity to have fun!

Dealing with the Dome... In Windy Weather

One of the neighborhood signs that winter is approaching is the annual raising of the large plastic dome that covers the college soccer field.

In winter this large bubble serves as a gym for a number of sporting events.

This year I wondered if the college had purchased a new dome... In late October - around the time the dome usually goes up - I saw large plastic rolls being loaded onto a truck.

Why would they be loading, rather than unloading them?

Then the weather got windy...

A few days later, the dome went up... My neighbor Mary happened to see it happen...

Like a balloon, it needs to be inflated.

I wonder...Is this the old dome? Or have they replaced it with a new one?!