Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
The average high temperature was 46°F and a couple of days felt warmish but with gusty cold winds on most days, the week felt cooler than the temperatures indicate. High temps ranged from 54.1°F to 38.8°F. Lows ranged from 21°F to 38.8F (the high low was the same as the low high), averaging 30.4°F. On Monday ice covered everything and we had widespread power outages, including a forced outage at home for 2.5 hours to allow utility crews to work on downed trees and wires. Another icy wintry mix fell overnight on Wed-Thurs, with .71″ precipitation recorded by the weather station, and a half-inch of precip was also recorded on Sat & Sun, for a total of about 1-1/3 inches of ice/rain/snow this week. It’s not feeling particularly springy here yet.
- Beginnings/Firsts
Made plans on Sunday for a quick NH getaway (next week) for the first time this year. Yay!
On Friday it was warm enough in the sunroom (over 80°F in the sun!) that the cat hung out under a light blanket under my knees on the sofa for a while.
- Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post
Merlin heard these birds around town and at the lake this week.
- Wandering
Walked in town on Tues., Wed., Fri., and Sat., and around the lake on Sunday. And wandered to the Upper Valley for my dermatology appt. (and co-op shop) on Wed. and to the hospital for my husband’s colonoscopy on Monday.
in town
lake
- Curiosity & Discoveries
The false hellebore, the poison ivy/oak fruits, and the hooded mergansers, above, at the lake, were curious discoveries. We also heard phoebes there.
- Creating
We finally created space to get away for a few days next week!
- Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house & yard)
Body/Mind: I walked over 10,000 steps on 6 days this week, with two days over 12,000 (and one over 14,000). I treadmilled for a mile (15 mins) on Saturday and worked out on 4 days (4 hours). I visited the dermatologist on Wednesday to check on changed skin thing (all fine). I participated in Dharma Sunday on Zoom for almost 2 hours on Sunday, with Lama Willa leading chanting (with a harmonium!), meditation, and teaching on “The Art of Whelm.”
- Gardening/Yard
My husband moved fallen pine boughs off the back fence this week.
- Nesting
Cleaning/Maintenance: I cleaned both downstairs toilets a few times this week. I vacuumed something but forgot to write it down. Did a load of towel laundry on Saturday and clothes laundry on Sunday. My husband cleaned filters on both air purifiers on Wednesday and he made a dump/recycling run on Tuesday.
Financial/Admin: I paid the medical bill for my MMR titers on Tues. I rescheduled a couple of hair appts on Wed. I texted with and called the cat sitter on Sunday to schedule Bumble for visits while we’re away next week, and my husband made the motel reservation. He also picked up our marriage certificate from the bank’s safe deposit box on Friday, so we can get it scanned for my social security benefits application next week. I took about 80 pics from two rooms in our house for insurance purposes on Monday; many more to take and save on a flash drive (a few shown below).
Supplies: My Grow Gorgeous hair supplies arrived on Thursday.
Food: I made a tuna casserole on Tuesday (artichoke hearts, red bell peppers, egg noodles, scallion, garlic, milk) and raw carrots and cucumbers with tapenade. We had that Wed. as well. On Thursday I made shrimp & asparagus risotto, which we also ate Friday and Sat., along with sautéed broccolini. Sunday was that penne with asparagus + pine nut dish I’m very fond of right now. My husband made three loaves of rye bread on Saturday and he made sourdough pancakes and yogurt on Thursday.
- Sleeping & Dreaming
I slept an average of 7 hours 47 mins per night this week, with a range from 6 hours 24 mins to 9 hours 9 mins. My average Fitbit sleep score was 86.6, which included three nights in the 90s and one night of 75. REM sleep accounted for 14 hours 11 mins this week, and deep for 9 hours 40 mins.
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching
Reading
BOOKS: I did not finish my book (There’s No Turning Back by Alba de Céspedes) this week! It’s slowed down for me but I like it enough to finish, hopefully next week. I liked her Forbidden Notebook much more.
OTHER
This guy, Darby, posts things his aged mother said to him; I frequently love them.
Watching
We finished the last season (9) of “Shetland” this week and we rewatched “Last Year at Marienbad” on Friday — it’s so odd, I love it. (There are repeated episodes of people playing a game with matchsticks called Nim, wherein one man dominates everyone else.) Mostly it’s about a man trying to get a woman to remember that last year at this very upscale yet sterile hotel she promised to go away with him in a year, but she keeps saying she has no memory of this. Repetition is the name of the game in this film. And the architecture, the corridors, the statues, the rooms rooms rooms —
Listening
Shazam!
- Connections & Community
Local Support: Shopped at local gift shop on Wed., when they had free cupcakes on offer. I used a gift certificate I received over a year ago to buy a couple of gifts for some little people. Shopped at the regional co-op on Wednesday. We bought two Two Good To Go bags from the local bakery/café on Saturday.
Relationships: Permaculture group (six of us) met via Zoom on Thursday for an hour to discuss another chapter (about the sense of hot and cold) of Ed Yong’s An Immense World. Salon (five of us) met for 2.5 hours in person at a member’s house about an hour away (2 hrs RT); I drove four of us. My husband helped a friend (ND) with her trickle charger on one of their cars on Sat. & Sun. and gave her a loaf of rye bread; she gave us muffins.
Donations: I renewed our Maine Audubon membership on Wed.
- Endings
(Will this winter never end?)
- All This Useless Beauty
framed photo in my dermatologist’s office
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