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Merry Christmas to you, too, SCGranny. May I borrow your back 40 for a weekend? I'd love to hand out with the cows and horse.
Sure! Flights are prop-job planes that come in twice a day, AM and PM, from Denver to the closest airport, which is 2.5 hours away from the house by the state road...
When you look up "rural" in the dictionary, you'll see my picture!
I've been spending much of the day trying to fix my puter, doing some laudry, I'm enjoying the quiet. After I rest up, I'll have a bite, work my way through the stash of dvd's I picked up from the library. Yesterday, I was walking home from the store I looked up took in the views around me and couldn't stop smiling because it was so beautiful outside. So many beautiful trees and it was so quiet as compared to how it can be when there's more traffic passing through. I would go take a break and sit out by complex's pool, but I'm hiding out from the holiday bliss. I'm genuinely happy for those of you that celibrate and are enjoying the day. You should be joyous and celibrate in the spirit of the day as it suits you.
I hope your day is enjoyable, TRosa.
As I promised this forum in another thread, I left the house in time to be at the ocean at sunrise and take a photo. This was my Christmas/Solstice sunrise picture. Last night around midnight, the sky was so clear and so many stars were visible despite our NJ light pollution, and I happily thought it would remain that way overnight.
Uh-uh. Sunrise was at 7:17 here. I drove the 20 minutes or so to a place called Mt. Mitchill, a park in the Atlantic Highlands on a precipice overlooking Sandy Hook and the Atlantic Ocean. It was cloudy and gray and the sunrise was at a point so far south that I could only see some pink through the trees. I took a picture, then drove down to Sandy Hook itself to take more, but the actual sun was behind the cloud cover and there were no spectacular sunrise photos to be had.
I took a picture at Sandy Hook, but it's a study in bleakness with the faded crow weeds and the gray skies and weak light.
Maybe that's our metaphor du jour for this Christmas/Solstice/Chanukah season, all about the light you can't see but have to believe is there.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 12-25-2011 at 10:11 AM..
As I promised this forum in another thread, I left the house in time to be at the ocean at sunrise and take a photo. This was my Christmas/Solstice sunrise picture. Last night around midnight, the sky was so clear and so many stars were visible despite our NJ light pollution, and I happily thought it would remain that way overnight.
Uh-uh. Sunrise was at 7:17 here. I drove the 20 minutes or so to a place called Mt. Mitchill, a park in the Atlantic Highlands on a precipice overlooking Sandy Hook and the Atlantic Ocean. It was cloudy and gray and the sunrise was at a point so far south that I could only see some pink through the trees. I took a picture, then drove down to Sandy Hook itself where I took another, but the actual sun was behind the cloud cover and there were no spectacular sunrise photos to be had.
I took a picture at Sandy Hook, too, but it's a study in bleakness with the faded crow weeds and the gray skies and weak light.
Maybe that's our metaphor du jour for this Christmas/Solstice/Chanukah season, all about the light you can't see but have to believe is there.
Ahhhhh, the lovely Sandy Hook area, it will come back to life in the spring.
Thanks so much for the kind words, it means a lot, I've kept you in my thoughts and hoped you were getting through the day well. I usually don't fair well this time of year, but I'm doing great and am so much enjoying my day just for the day, that shot of medicine to the arm has really helped to relieve some of my pain so it's a good day today.
I am ducking phone calls and getting a couple of follow-up text messages saying bah hum bug, with the added love ya at the end.
PS coming here and sharing emotions and how I felt about the holiday, has played a big role in how much more easier it was to face this season. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and contibuting so much to this thread, it's been an eye opener and lots of food for thought.
Sure! Flights are prop-job planes that come in twice a day, AM and PM, from Denver to the closest airport, which is 2.5 hours away from the house by the state road...
When you look up "rural" in the dictionary, you'll see my picture!
Sounds great! We in NJ have some rural, but not that kind of rural!!!
I hope you get rid of your husband fast. It just seems as though he is a burden and pulling your spirits down. Good luck on keeping a long termed income coming in, too.
I think it is human nature to always grope for something better, no matter what your position in life is. We are rarely perfectly content with what we have.
Yes, it IS a good habit to be thankful for what we have. It is good for the soul but not the best for capitalism.
Best wishes to you.
When things hit rock bottom for me, I decided it wasn't going to get worse. I would not surrender to the resignation that it was this downward spiral that would never end and settle with living day to day homeless. Some do, probably are still 'making the circut' but it was their choice.
Each opportunity, choice or chance, even really small, HAD to lead to better. And I *believed* they would. I had this visualization that I had jumped off a cliff to get away from the dark, and no matter that I didn't know when or how, the landing would be good. I had faith that the Mother was there to give me strength when I needed it. The steps were sometimes real baby steps, and some were hard decisions, but they were all in the right direction.
The people who just had it all fall apart just can't see that yet. I think sometimes you have to hit your personal stopping zone before you see. And I can look at the time and see decisions before, MANY of them, which could have been better. But they weren't and nothing will go back and change them. So I took them as lessons instead.
Some of us can, and some just fall fast and hard and never get up. The ones who do change, and sometimes get looked upon as odd, seeing things differently than those who have never had to. I've come to see that everything that happens to us teaches us something, be it good or bad or anything inbetween. Maybe the difference after is you pay attention to the lessons and understand that while you can't always choose the path you take, you can how you deal with it and that is what makes the difference.
My daughter and I tried out a church last night, an Episcopal one, and it was absolutely beautiful. I felt the presence of wonderful.
Today hasn't been great, thanks to you-know-who, but I am very grateful that Christmas fell on a Sunday, his normal day off so no addition heartache is the way I feel. And I can't agree more, Mighty Queen, I can't see the light but it is there, in fact I felt it in that charming stone church with the exposed beams. I heard it in the choir that sang like angels accompanied by soaring musical instruments. It is there.
Tonight my daughter and I will drive around and look at lights.
Such wonderful sharing by you all on this thread. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Hey guys, Merry Christmas. I feel kind of depressed, as I always do this time of year. Just doesn't feel like Christmas. My Dad, brother and SIL are coming over for a small dinner. I work weekends, so just got off at 8 this morning. Since my Mom passed 4 years ago, it's just not the same. I hope you all have a great day. Oh unemployed for over a year except for caregiving on the weekends, it sucks, this past year has really increased my depression and anxiety.
Bless all of you on this board.!!
I hope it was OK for you today. You have some real things to be depressed and anxious about--I hope the new year brings you some change.
You must have had a good Mom to miss her so much.
This is a good board, isn't it? Some really compassionate people on here even when, or maybe because, they have suffered some pain themselves.
I've lived in the desert for quite awhile now and I've always looked forward to Fall and Winter to have cooler weather. It can get hot early here in the Spring and stay mostly hot or warm well into Fall. The only difference is that night temps are cooler in the Fall and Spring...But this year I can't wait for Winter to end. It's the first time I've looked forward to Spring since I left So. CA...All of the talk about seasons and light and dark on this thread has been interesting. Thanks! And thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts and feelings and stories and experiences concerning holidays. Thanks for posting your great photos Mightyqueen!...I am sure looking forward to more sun and warmth and a sense of "rebirth" and hope! Guess it's called a "renewal of life" or ??? Bring it on! I could sure use it now!! Happy day after Christmas to everyone. To be honest I'm glad that Christmas is finally over for this year. Maybe next Christmas will be better for all of us. Sure hope so!
I've lived in the desert for quite awhile now and I've always looked forward to Fall and Winter to have cooler weather. It can get hot early here in the Spring and stay mostly hot or warm well into Fall. The only difference is that night temps are cooler in the Fall and Spring...But this year I can't wait for Winter to end. It's the first time I've looked forward to Spring since I left So. CA...All of the talk about seasons and light and dark on this thread has been interesting. Thanks! And thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts and feelings and stories and experiences concerning holidays. Thanks for posting your great photos Mightyqueen!...I am sure looking forward to more sun and warmth and a sense of "rebirth" and hope! Guess it's called a "renewal of life" or ??? Bring it on! I could sure use it now!! Happy day after Christmas to everyone. To be honest I'm glad that Christmas is finally over for this year. Maybe next Christmas will be better for all of us. Sure hope so!
This year, somehow socal snuck in and gave us a Riverside summer... triple digits while still in spring up to into fall UgH! The AC was my best friend. So far its been a milder winter. I guess I'm used to the place with temps in the 20's at night being mild but aside from a dusting of snow on the first day of winter, no now. But its SO gloomy. However, assuming winter will get colder, etc, before spring, I'm happily hunkered down. Part of the house which stays to cold is storage. Heater works fine. Got warm clothes. This state, snow shuts even the government offices down. My list of things to do, some left over from summer when they were too far from the AC, is there to keep my occupied.
But I never really understood the power of the seasons in socal. I have some bulbs which grow even before the grass, and when they bloom is often the around the first day of spring. I've had to cover them to keep from them getting snowed on, but there is no way to describe that sense of life coming back from its winter sleep.
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I'd love to hand out with the cows and horse.
Yesterday, I was walking home from the store I looked up took in the views around me and couldn't stop smiling because it was so beautiful outside. So many beautiful trees and it was so quiet as compared to how it can be when there's more traffic passing through. I would go take a break and sit out by complex's pool, but I'm hiding out from the holiday bliss. 
