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Last night we went to our granddaughter's Girl Scout investiture as a Daisy. Her delivery of the Girl Scout promise by herself was strong and clear. She is the poster child for "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.."
This morning was our grandson's Christmas program at his preschool. He was one of the kings and was quite sober about it all and we were quite proud of him. The program head gave a little speech before it started and set the expectations by saying while rehearsals have gone well, they've learned the actual program can bring many surprises. Isn't that the truth about do many things?
While everyone else was trudging off to work and crashing this morning, I went on a five mile walk with the dogs. 28 degrees f heavy snow. Loved it. Dogs ran and played. It was very peaceful and quiet. Back for hot coffee in front of the fire. Life is good.
Last night we went to our granddaughter's Girl Scout investiture as a Daisy. Her delivery of the Girl Scout promise by herself was strong and clear. She is the poster child for "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.."
This morning was our grandson's Christmas program at his preschool. He was one of the kings and was quite sober about it all and we were quite proud of him. The program head gave a little speech before it started and set the expectations by saying while rehearsals have gone well, they've learned the actual program can bring many surprises. Isn't that the truth about do many things?
<--- happy and grateful Grandma
I have always marveled at how children will mess around in practice but when the parents are there, out comes the best in them.
We have discovered the perfect lunch, a lettuce wedge. I take the outside leaves off a head of lettuce, cut it into 4ths and we take one of the wedges and add as much or as little to it as we want to and make a meal of it.
Time to open the magic Christmas decorations box and see what I want to use. Front door is already decorated.
Had a Christmas Party with people from my and my wife's work. Some left early (non minglers) but the ones who stayed laughed, ate, drank and had a great time.
I was coasting on those good feelings all the next day!
Not a perfect day in that I had to walk with a "friend" whom I'm a little disappointed in (she only sees one political side and never the other, took a lot of phone calls from her adult son) as we walked, but made the best of it and still had a pretty wonderful day.
Started at Starbucks, went to the gym for a 50-50 class (30 minutes step cardio, 30 minutes weights). Then home for a wonderful lunch of soba noodles with bok choy, avocado, mushrooms, etc. and raspberries (yay for $1.99 berries). Then some coloring. Then the walk---4 miles to and from the mall.
Tonight is an Indian kidney bean dish, followed by a BBC show, although we could also watch the Bill Murray Christmas special on Netflix or watch a YouTube of Transiberian Orchestra to (try to) get into the Christmas spirit. Then reading in bed for an hour or two (started a book about an Afghani woman---not trying to be political, but that's another reason I am feeling grateful and happy---to not live under a regime like that where women can't even be educated).
Here's an example of something small but powerful that contributed to today's happiness. Someone at the gym told me that a favorite yoga instructor would no longer be doing a special class that I really enjoyed. I later did some research and I think she's wrong---but what was terrific was the equanimity I felt about it. In the very recent past I would have been so upset---thinking what is wrong with the universe that I can't even have this class that means a lot to me? Instead, I realized and accepted that nothing is permanent and was just grateful that I had had this class/instructor in the past. Never mind wrinkles and gray hair and flabby skin---this sense of peace is a wonderful aspect of getting older!
This happened yesterday...a bit longish. I was grumping about how long the day was going to be. We've had a string of overcast, showery days. Finally, yesterday is going to be freaking gorgeous sun and temps. And me? I have a six-hour test in the windowless basement floor of a hospital...grump, grump, grump.
So, the taxi driver picks me up at 8:30 to drive me to the next town. The sun is still a reddish-yellow ball with lots of purplish streaky clouds in the sky, making the light a bit "unreal." Outside of town we pass a big stretch of wasteland and rough pasterage crossed by a few small streams that only have water in the winter. There was a light ground mist on the land, and amazingly there were probably two dozen ibises feeding there - two different species, one white, the other varigated. The scene was gorgeous: the unusual light and clouds, the mist, the vast empty landscape except for these graceful birds feeding there alone. It had the quality of an old Chinese or Japanese painting.
I go for the test, and get out just before dusk...the taxi guy comes back. On the way out of town we top a hill, which has one of my most favorite views in the area, though no one else has ever commented on it. I always tap the break and go slowly over the hill and coast down so I can have a prolonged look. The sun was bright. From the top of the hill you look down past a village of white houses that straggled down the road a bit, then beyond the land sweeps gently down into a broad valley dotted with white houses, and then rises in the distance to green hills, and above them two small mountain that yesterday were a lavender-blue colour, and through some trick of light seemed to loom much bigger than they really are. I love this two/three minute view, and yesterday it looked like a picture postcard that you'd want to send to folks back home.
And I realized that if I "lost" the day in the basement, that it had been bookended by two wonderful sights....a Far Eastern print and a picture postcard. And I arrived home quite happy about the trip there and back.
I got a nice, big fat raise yesterday, I'm very happy.
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