Musings on a Small Life

I was emailing with a friend yesterday, catching up about holiday activities. She had a crazy and unexpectedly expensive (house issue) Christmas "break," and at the end of her email, she wrote, "...but I hope to keep my crazy carpet between the trees....Keep YOUR crazy carpet between the trees too!"   I had a purple crazy carpet when I was young; anyone else have one? I had to read it twice before what she meant clicked into place. So my wish for all of you is that you keep your own crazy carpets between the trees, as we start the journey down the mountain that is 2014. May the ride be exhilarating and crash-free!  :-D Purrs from the boys and peace from me.

The January 1st blog post title over at Pikku Punapippuri is "Start the year as you mean to go on....", which made me more mindful as to how I'm starting 2014. I actually began-- finally --painting the guest room on Monday. I ought to have given myself an extra day, because I still need to finish off the closet. I got two coats of primer on it, and one coat of paint on the adjoining wall (it's just a small bit, already was primed), but the fresh primer I applied today hadn't yet dried and I packed it in, early in the afternoon.   Looking down at my painting apron, which Mom had made for me some years ago.  First coat of primer on the closet walls.   Everything done but the two coats of paint in the closet. I might have enough paint to squeeze two coats out of what's left; if not, I'll need another quart. I hope to get it done without buying more paint, however. The problem is that the only wall I had primed was the adjoining one, of co...

A couple of bloggers have done a year in review via photos, so, lacking creativity, I thought I'd cheat and steal the idea. This means you have to look at pics you've already seen, of course. January: From a dumping of snow at the beginning of the month, to very little by the end of it. Winter 2010 was a non-event for us. Would that it would be the same in 2011! February: Still barely any snow, and open house at our City's greenhouse! March: An early Spring and some funky roots at Lemoine Point. April: Spring in full glory! May: Cute bunnies and an abundance of trilliums. June: Roses and of course the summer Solstice. July: Budding hostas in my garden and walks downtown at lunch time, along the Lake. August: The Poker Run and Dad's week-long visit. September: Fort Henry Hill (looking toward part of the Royal Military College) and many more nature walks. October: Cute critters and changing colours. November: Mild temperatures and a time for reflection. December: Moody ...

It seems to be the "thing" to do, to take a personal look back at the past year and in this case, the past decade. Do I really want to join the fray? Uh, no. But I guess I will, anyway. Most of this time was spent battling clinical depression, and it certainly feels good to have been off meds now for the better part of a year and still be okay. For how long is a flip of a coin, but at least I have a MUCH better understanding of mental illness (versus perceived character flaw or weakness) and will deal with whatever comes in the future. Things that stand out? 2000: The Putz and I split; I was hired at my current job, a HUGE blessing, especially with a super laid-back boss and fabulous co-workers. 2001: I adopted Chumley in April, my first cat, and then Annie in August--the best and brightest events in 2001. I kept the townhouse (in retrospect, not such a good idea, financially), and I got involved in a brief but very stupid rebound fling. 2002: I hit bottom in terms ...