The cold is coming, the cold is coming. Do I sound excited? Well, yes I am, but not in a good way, but in a run around in a circle arms filled with sheets and covers. Worrying about my plants, my children. Will Marina come in and hide in a cabinet? Will it really get done below 30s and freeze?!?!?! Well, it is November. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike the cold? I really dislike the cold, I loathe the cold, I understand the whole yin and yang, to everything a season, and so on. Without the cold we would not have the spring flowers that need a cold time. And I have lived 50 years in the subtropics growing all year round, with minimal cold. I grew 20 varieties of passion flowers and brugmansias and daturas and hibiscus all year long, 365 days a year. Rarely did I ever cover anything, ever, it was the subtropics. In Bokeelia, we generally used the USDA Zone 11 to determine what would grow. Now I live in USDA Zone 8. BIG difference. And I do love the plants I can grow up here because of the cold. In spite of the fact that I do not like the cold!!!!
So this morning I will move the plants from the front deck into the house. I will cover the ones on the back deck right next to the house this afternoon. I have the front door open and looking out the door it looks like winter. Gray, the wind blowing the leaves in the air, falling into drifts on the ground. The light looks cold, soft around the greens and patches of brilliance. The leaves are changing but after the dry dry spring and summer we had, things are bit out of whack. You do not see groupings of trees/vines with their leaves changing, you see little spots of brilliance.
I find it amazing that after taking in the hot summer sun for all of these months, now the leaves return that sun reflecting the colors absorbed during that time. As I drove along I-10 yesterday to the Moon's to get to see Ms Jessie for just a half an hour, but worth getting up and driving. Along the interstate I saw a spot of deep maroon, then grape vines yellow as a child's sun in a picture colored by crayons, a little further there are some sweet gums with orange, gold, copper, brown, yellow and red. The predominate color here is still green. The soft grey green of fall not the intense active green of summer, but the resting green of autumn.
Tuesday I worked at the Opera House, as a volunteer in the office. It was interesting, but I realized how much I already know there, and how important that place is to me. It was pretty quiet. I answered the phone, I knitted a scarf. Yep, I knitted a scarf on my knitting board. It amazes me how quickly I can make something on that knitting board. Crocheting or regular knitting takes me forever, but put that yarn on a knitting board and off I run, especially with a quiet office and time to let my finger dance with the yarn around the pegs.
As much as I love being in the play, I have loved being at home all of these nights in a row. I have gone to bed before 9:00pm each night, and I snuggle down below my goose with my head resting on my down pillows with my three labs nestled up near me, a cat at my head, another at my feet, and I sleep. It is crowded and I could rest sleep better if I could stretch and move wtih less bodies in the bed, but no, I love waking up surrounded by my "kids". I remember my parents always trying to explain to me that dogs and cats do not belong in the bed, they do not sit on furniture, they are allowed in the house, but as second class members. Sorry, it never took. I do not see myself superior to my animals. I understand that I have that opossable thumb thing and my brain is capable of reasoning that theirs may not be. But they have so many things I do not have, instincts about danger, food and the world around them. Things that I am a hairless biped standing outside not hearing and smelling and seeing as much as they do. They rely on me to open the can of dog food, and I rely on them for their sense of the world around us.
Today I drove up to Thomasville and went back to the HOPE class. I walked into the exercise room and there were so many of my friends, instructors and trainers. "Hello!" I said with a smile on my face and a happiness in my voice. They all looked around and saw me and smiled back and we spent a few minutes while I explained about my last few weeks and not being there and missing them and missing my exercises and yoga. I talked about the break through I had had with my yoga when I realized how much this is a part of my well being and how the goal is not to reach the ability to do the poses, but when our entire life is lived in breath, in light, in the moment, that is what the ultimate goal for yoga. My main instructor smiled at me, I do love that woman. After our chair yoga class she gave me a saying, "Namaste' I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, we are one."
I did some warm ups in the exercise room, then moved up to the chair yoga class. After chair yoga I went back down into the exercise room and did my exercises, then on to floor yoga where again I felt loved and nurtured by my fellow students who had missed me when I was gone. I heard their stories about what they have been up to the last few weeks and it was just wonderful being around all these kind and generous people.
Then on to Wally World where I keep forgetting to pick up my colored ink cartridge so I can print a black and white document. That makes no sense to me what so ever. If it is black and white and I have plenty of ink in my black cartridge, then it should print. Maybe it is because I didn't spend very much on it. I don't know, but I do know I can print now. Not because Wally World had my cartridge in stock, but Office Depot did. I did get the family turkey at Wally World though. It is a much bigger one then I wanted, but it was the smallest one that they had. There will be 7-9 of us so we will have plenty of leftovers to share and consume. Mmmm turkey sandwiches. Yes, this mostly vegetarian woman does love slices of turkey with a little salt and mayo on a nice multi-grain nut bread. No, I do not fancy it up with dressing and cranberry sauce like others, I just like the simplicity of the turkey, mayo and bread. protein, carb, fat, salt, oh yeah.
I have started getting some of my Christmas presents in. I have pretty much ordered something for everyone but my older brother and his daughter. I have no clue on them, but hopefully they will tell me at Thanksgiving. Yes, I know it is not even Thanksgiving yet, but well, I just started ordering things for Dad and before I knew it I had used some coupons and free shipping and was almost done. I will make a few things and take some things and blend with some home made things for the presents. I really like to make more of my presents then I did this year, but well, that is not how it worked out, and honestly I love Christmas and getting presents for people and finding just that right gift. But I also dislike crowds, and dealing with people, so I took the agoraphobic way out this season. And well I have lately gotten into making my scarves and I am coming along on those, but a couple of other presents that I have been wanting to make, will just have to be started this winter in hopes that as I sit in my red chair when it is too cold for me (below 70) to go outside, I can knit and crochet then to my hearts desire.
Tonight I have a Board meeting for the Opera House and then rehearsal for this weekend. I have so enjoyed my evenings at home and I am not looking forward to having to go outside in this cold dreary weather, but I have made a commitment. Tomorrow I will be back on the boards. This weekend we have 3 shows. And Saturday night some of us will spend the night there right on the set. I am not sure why, but ok, I am in. It might be fun. If not, if it is a freezing up there as I am afraid it might be, then I can always go home.
I feel good for getting back to my Thursday routine going to the Y. I loved seeing the people, I loved using my body to move, stretch, strengthen. I love how I feel afterwards. I love the drive up there with the leaves changing and the road wide and beautiful with hardly a vehicle to be seen anywhere. I love getting in my car and driving to another state. I know that Georgia is now only about 25 miles north of me, as close as Tallahassee, but for a girl who grew up and then lived most of her life south of Tampa, it is still almost magical to be able to go to another state.
This Friday is Veteran's day, and I will get to have lunch with my dear darling friend Mellisa. we share a birthday together and this is the first time we have been able to get together. Then the following Friday Dad and I will go to the Senior picnic for the Y up at the lake cabin. It sounds like fun and I thought Dad will enjoy getting out and talking to people and having a free lunch. He does loves a free meal.
Well, I just got off my first video chat with my Dad. Rob went to Dad's and set the computer up to be able to chat and then called me. That was fun. It will take us a while to get our timing down and every once in a while it sounded like the ocean was in my living room, but Dad looked good on the camera and it was nice to get to see him and talk to him. He will be here on Tuesday. What an amazing world we live in. While Rob's wife and daughter were in South Korea this past 6 weeks they were able to video chat almost everyday. It helped all three of them deal with the distance. But JongAe and Jessica are back home safe and sound, and Rob's sounds good. He missed them terribly. And each time that I had a chance to chat with JongAe she was missing her husband and home.
Now I am off to the Opera House for the meeting then to the rehearsal. Then home to sleep and rest. Tomorrow I will wake up and not want to get out from under my goose comforter. Harry and I will just keep putting off getting out of bed and into the cold house. At some point the animals will drive me crazy with their hunger and desire to get out and play, so I will throw on my slippers and a warm robe and scurry into the kitchen and make their breakfast, turn on the heat and then hope there is still a little warmth still held in that down and snuggle deep down under it and try to convince the kids that it is not time to get up and go out.
The change of the seasons I should relax and enjoy it more, I will try this year. I will figure out someway to stay warm. I have a very low tolerance to cold and a high tolerance to the heat. Great to live in Florida most of the year, but these few months are a challenge. A challenge I am going to try and figure out this year. Being thinner with out much of a flat layer, throw in chemo that makes you more sensitive to the cold and there you go. The perfect mixture to stay in the house, drink hot cocoa and snuggle under a warm quilt or down comforter. But now to layer up and head out.
So this morning I will move the plants from the front deck into the house. I will cover the ones on the back deck right next to the house this afternoon. I have the front door open and looking out the door it looks like winter. Gray, the wind blowing the leaves in the air, falling into drifts on the ground. The light looks cold, soft around the greens and patches of brilliance. The leaves are changing but after the dry dry spring and summer we had, things are bit out of whack. You do not see groupings of trees/vines with their leaves changing, you see little spots of brilliance.
I find it amazing that after taking in the hot summer sun for all of these months, now the leaves return that sun reflecting the colors absorbed during that time. As I drove along I-10 yesterday to the Moon's to get to see Ms Jessie for just a half an hour, but worth getting up and driving. Along the interstate I saw a spot of deep maroon, then grape vines yellow as a child's sun in a picture colored by crayons, a little further there are some sweet gums with orange, gold, copper, brown, yellow and red. The predominate color here is still green. The soft grey green of fall not the intense active green of summer, but the resting green of autumn.
Tuesday I worked at the Opera House, as a volunteer in the office. It was interesting, but I realized how much I already know there, and how important that place is to me. It was pretty quiet. I answered the phone, I knitted a scarf. Yep, I knitted a scarf on my knitting board. It amazes me how quickly I can make something on that knitting board. Crocheting or regular knitting takes me forever, but put that yarn on a knitting board and off I run, especially with a quiet office and time to let my finger dance with the yarn around the pegs.
As much as I love being in the play, I have loved being at home all of these nights in a row. I have gone to bed before 9:00pm each night, and I snuggle down below my goose with my head resting on my down pillows with my three labs nestled up near me, a cat at my head, another at my feet, and I sleep. It is crowded and I could rest sleep better if I could stretch and move wtih less bodies in the bed, but no, I love waking up surrounded by my "kids". I remember my parents always trying to explain to me that dogs and cats do not belong in the bed, they do not sit on furniture, they are allowed in the house, but as second class members. Sorry, it never took. I do not see myself superior to my animals. I understand that I have that opossable thumb thing and my brain is capable of reasoning that theirs may not be. But they have so many things I do not have, instincts about danger, food and the world around them. Things that I am a hairless biped standing outside not hearing and smelling and seeing as much as they do. They rely on me to open the can of dog food, and I rely on them for their sense of the world around us.
Today I drove up to Thomasville and went back to the HOPE class. I walked into the exercise room and there were so many of my friends, instructors and trainers. "Hello!" I said with a smile on my face and a happiness in my voice. They all looked around and saw me and smiled back and we spent a few minutes while I explained about my last few weeks and not being there and missing them and missing my exercises and yoga. I talked about the break through I had had with my yoga when I realized how much this is a part of my well being and how the goal is not to reach the ability to do the poses, but when our entire life is lived in breath, in light, in the moment, that is what the ultimate goal for yoga. My main instructor smiled at me, I do love that woman. After our chair yoga class she gave me a saying, "Namaste' I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, we are one."
I did some warm ups in the exercise room, then moved up to the chair yoga class. After chair yoga I went back down into the exercise room and did my exercises, then on to floor yoga where again I felt loved and nurtured by my fellow students who had missed me when I was gone. I heard their stories about what they have been up to the last few weeks and it was just wonderful being around all these kind and generous people.
Then on to Wally World where I keep forgetting to pick up my colored ink cartridge so I can print a black and white document. That makes no sense to me what so ever. If it is black and white and I have plenty of ink in my black cartridge, then it should print. Maybe it is because I didn't spend very much on it. I don't know, but I do know I can print now. Not because Wally World had my cartridge in stock, but Office Depot did. I did get the family turkey at Wally World though. It is a much bigger one then I wanted, but it was the smallest one that they had. There will be 7-9 of us so we will have plenty of leftovers to share and consume. Mmmm turkey sandwiches. Yes, this mostly vegetarian woman does love slices of turkey with a little salt and mayo on a nice multi-grain nut bread. No, I do not fancy it up with dressing and cranberry sauce like others, I just like the simplicity of the turkey, mayo and bread. protein, carb, fat, salt, oh yeah.
I have started getting some of my Christmas presents in. I have pretty much ordered something for everyone but my older brother and his daughter. I have no clue on them, but hopefully they will tell me at Thanksgiving. Yes, I know it is not even Thanksgiving yet, but well, I just started ordering things for Dad and before I knew it I had used some coupons and free shipping and was almost done. I will make a few things and take some things and blend with some home made things for the presents. I really like to make more of my presents then I did this year, but well, that is not how it worked out, and honestly I love Christmas and getting presents for people and finding just that right gift. But I also dislike crowds, and dealing with people, so I took the agoraphobic way out this season. And well I have lately gotten into making my scarves and I am coming along on those, but a couple of other presents that I have been wanting to make, will just have to be started this winter in hopes that as I sit in my red chair when it is too cold for me (below 70) to go outside, I can knit and crochet then to my hearts desire.
Tonight I have a Board meeting for the Opera House and then rehearsal for this weekend. I have so enjoyed my evenings at home and I am not looking forward to having to go outside in this cold dreary weather, but I have made a commitment. Tomorrow I will be back on the boards. This weekend we have 3 shows. And Saturday night some of us will spend the night there right on the set. I am not sure why, but ok, I am in. It might be fun. If not, if it is a freezing up there as I am afraid it might be, then I can always go home.
I feel good for getting back to my Thursday routine going to the Y. I loved seeing the people, I loved using my body to move, stretch, strengthen. I love how I feel afterwards. I love the drive up there with the leaves changing and the road wide and beautiful with hardly a vehicle to be seen anywhere. I love getting in my car and driving to another state. I know that Georgia is now only about 25 miles north of me, as close as Tallahassee, but for a girl who grew up and then lived most of her life south of Tampa, it is still almost magical to be able to go to another state.
This Friday is Veteran's day, and I will get to have lunch with my dear darling friend Mellisa. we share a birthday together and this is the first time we have been able to get together. Then the following Friday Dad and I will go to the Senior picnic for the Y up at the lake cabin. It sounds like fun and I thought Dad will enjoy getting out and talking to people and having a free lunch. He does loves a free meal.
Well, I just got off my first video chat with my Dad. Rob went to Dad's and set the computer up to be able to chat and then called me. That was fun. It will take us a while to get our timing down and every once in a while it sounded like the ocean was in my living room, but Dad looked good on the camera and it was nice to get to see him and talk to him. He will be here on Tuesday. What an amazing world we live in. While Rob's wife and daughter were in South Korea this past 6 weeks they were able to video chat almost everyday. It helped all three of them deal with the distance. But JongAe and Jessica are back home safe and sound, and Rob's sounds good. He missed them terribly. And each time that I had a chance to chat with JongAe she was missing her husband and home.
Now I am off to the Opera House for the meeting then to the rehearsal. Then home to sleep and rest. Tomorrow I will wake up and not want to get out from under my goose comforter. Harry and I will just keep putting off getting out of bed and into the cold house. At some point the animals will drive me crazy with their hunger and desire to get out and play, so I will throw on my slippers and a warm robe and scurry into the kitchen and make their breakfast, turn on the heat and then hope there is still a little warmth still held in that down and snuggle deep down under it and try to convince the kids that it is not time to get up and go out.
The change of the seasons I should relax and enjoy it more, I will try this year. I will figure out someway to stay warm. I have a very low tolerance to cold and a high tolerance to the heat. Great to live in Florida most of the year, but these few months are a challenge. A challenge I am going to try and figure out this year. Being thinner with out much of a flat layer, throw in chemo that makes you more sensitive to the cold and there you go. The perfect mixture to stay in the house, drink hot cocoa and snuggle under a warm quilt or down comforter. But now to layer up and head out.
PLEASE don't let it freeze. I have done NO plant protection.
ReplyDeleteStay warm, baby. Stay warm.