"My Best Self"?!

I've been reading an interesting book this winter... and I'm probably about two-thirds of the way through. It's called The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything. I really knew nothing about the Jesuits before starting to read it - so I'm finding parts of it quite fascinating...

I'm currently reading a chapter on decision making... How to make an important decision when you're in a quandary about what to do...

Make a list of pros and cons is one way suggested... I've done that before. In fact, I often do it when trying to think through a course of action. 

What would you advise a perfect stranger to do, if he or she sought your advice was another way to get some distance and perspective on the topic.

Several other scenarios were also offered, as a way to get a clearer perspective. Then came the final one: What would your best self do?

My "best self"? I've never thought of that concept... But the idea was a fascinating one... Would my best self have a perfectly tidy house - something I struggle with...? Or a messier house, because I'd be so busy helping others?

I think I need to give this concept more thought... But I was interested to see that the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, himself a Jesuit, saw it as a person acting "in God's eyes what in God's eye he is."

(Food for thought!)

Early Spring Yard Work

The snow is finally melting, leaving behind broken branches and pine cones that have accumulated over the course of the winter.

Time to get out and rake.

Isn’t it a little early? Terry asks.

Not if I want to rake my flower beds. That needs to be done before new growth appears.

Half an hour... and I’ve managed to fill two garbage bins. 

There’s still a lot of snow - but working outdoors - around it - makes me feel that spring is actually  here!

Equinox

I’m puzzled. 

In school I remember learning that March 21 was the spring equinox - the day when we have 12 hours of daylight, equal daylight and dark. I thought that, on that day, it would be the same in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

But tracking hours of daylight in our part of Canada, I’ve discovered that we actually had our spring equinox on March 16 this year - yesterday, according to my weather app... 

Or are hours of daylight calculated from dawn to dusk? In that case, wouldn’t our daylight hours be even longer?! Equinox, where we live, would have been a few days ago...?!

Focus on Knitting

The viral photo of Bernie Sanders wearing chunky patterned mittens at the recent presidential inauguration has apparently drawn hundreds of people to knitting.

Thousands of patterns for lookalike mittens have also been sold, according to this newspaper article Terry passed on to me.

Bernie’s mittens were cut and sewn from an existing old sweater, rather than knit, from what I understand. Cutting up old knits to modify them is something I’ve read about but never tried.

An interesting point mentioned in the article is that a Harvard study found that knitting lowers blood pressure by an average of 11 beats per minute.

A good reason to knit - especially during stressful times!

Quilting Progress

The second quilt I'm trying to finish this winter is this black and white one made from squares I made some time ago... and forgot about! I came across them while sorting through bins of fabric...

One of my sons commented that he liked it (above) - before it had stripes...

I wonder if he'll like it better now that I've added strips and borders - to enlarge it. 

It does give it a different look!

Now... to quilt it... That changes the look yet again...

New Spring Goal

Now that roads have opened up in my neighborhood, I have one new - small - goal: to walk a block or two down the street and back after every meal.

Years ago, when I first started dealing with high blood sugar issues, my then-doctor told me to go for a walk after meals. He said it helps lower blood sugar.

I did it for a long time, but at some point, work - and perhaps winter weather - got me out of the habit.

I’ve only been doing it for a week and I already feel more energetic. Hopefully I’ll soon see my glucose readings go down as well.

Enjoying My Indoor Flowers

I haven't had indoor flowers for a while - until I began to fertilize my indoor plants.

Now my orchid is in bloom!

One of my African Violets as well...

Then there are the tiny purple flowers on the pepper tree...

It's all very encouraging! I wonder if any other newly-fertilized plants will start to bloom!