I have found that a lot of people who read this blog aren't aware of my other blog about the renovations we're doing to an old church in southwestern Ontario. In case you're interested in following along on that journey, you can find it here:
In general, I don't post the same things on both blogs, but today is an exception, as we go into a new year.
Yesterday was relatively mild and clear, so the hubby and I took a walk around Rattray Marsh for an hour, breathing in the chilly air and gazing "out to sea" over Lake Ontario and greeting everyone's dogs as they passed. I'm glad we got that last walk in, because this morning it's snowing horizontally, big fluffy flakes, with no sign of letting up. The delicious feeling of knowing you have nowhere you have to go and nothing you have to do. I'll likely spend today writing and playing mah jhong.
This morning I watched two YouTube videos made by courageous women that I think were a good, strong way to start off the new year, and I thought I'd share them here. My newly-met friend Erin Pocock talks about trying new, hard things and letting failure strengthen you. Beautiful Unschool Life And PoliticsGirl talks about keeping hold of who you are and what you believe in when facing challenges. PoliticsGirl
I think we'll need both of these concepts in 2025. It's going to be a hard year for a lot of people, we're going to be asked to do hard things we may not know how to do yet, and we'll need to cling to our values and our supportive community to get through it. We'll also need to believe in ourselves and our ability to do impossible things.
I opened Facebook this morning to find Sandra Boynton's collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma for yesterday's International Cello Day. Sandra Boynton It was a lovely way to start the day. I have tried lately to start each morning with something uplifting and peaceful, to remind myself that there's still light and beauty in the world. It's too easy to dive right into the despair and chaos of everything that's happening, so it's important to keep some sort of balance.
Yesterday also brought the news of former President Jimmy Carter's passing. Whether or not you agreed with his politics, you can't deny his good character. He had strong morals and ethics and lived up to them. He lived a life of service, of hands-on generosity and genuine compassion. A light truly has gone out of the world with his death, but imagine the joyful reception waiting for him on the other side. He can approach heaven with confidence, I think, knowing he honestly kept his face toward God.
I don't set New Year's Resolutions per se, but I try to draw myself toward a particular theme each year. One year it might be emergency preparedness, another year it might be family history or health. I think the coming year's theme will be Trying to Keep the Light Alive. To focus on promoting the good and savouring the beautiful instead of getting swallowed up in all the evil that's also coming with 2025. It may feel forced and fake at times. I may have to go through a lot of dog poop before I recover the swallowed diamond ring. But I believe it's important to keep digging. Otherwise I'll just finish the year in fetal position under the desk.
Please join me in looking for the beauty, believing in the inherently good nature of people, and grabbing hold of the positive whenever you can find it. Being kind to neighbours and strangers alike. Allowing others to find beauty too. Promoting peace. Living in such a way that the earth will have a 2026.
Donald is upset that the U.S. is running a trade deficit with Canada. As far as I understand it, that means the U.S. is importing more than it's exporting. So is it that he wants Canada to buy more from the U.S.? He does realize, doesn't he, that Canada only has an 8th of the population the U.S. has and that our economy is small in comparison? The U.S. doesn't really have anything I want, personally. If the imbalance really bothers him, then why not have the U.S. buy less? Well, come to think of it, I suppose that's just what will happen when the tariffs are put in place.
He also wants Canada to spend more on our military. While saying he wants to annex Canada. It's like breaking down the door and storming into someone's house to harangue them into spending more on dead bolts. Oh, and he wants us to buy those dead bolts from him.
I really need to stop watching the news. It's driving me crazy.
I just watched a CBC news clip of Prime Minister Trudeau in Halifax talking about the U.S.'s proposed tariffs against Canadian imports. In it, Trudeau says we shouldn't be making "our opponent's" arguments for him.
Not our ally. Our opponent. Did anyone else catch that?
Last year was a crazy-warm winter. My friend was out working in her yard in shorts and a tank top in February. This autumn has also been unseasonably warm, and I feared it would be a repeat of last winter. Just yesterday I wore a t-shirt to walk the dog through the woods. But this morning, there's a bite to the air, the sky is capped with gray clouds, and I saw about ten flakes of snow fall. Time to break out the woolly hat and sweatshirt (no coat required, yet) and make sure I have the snow shovel parked by the door. Visions of expanses of crunchy-cold snow and Christmas lights and baked apples. I love this time of year!
At the same time, I'm woefully aware of the descent of Seasonal Affective Disorder that is coming any day now. Something about the drop in light, the grayness of the air, sucks energy right out of me, and suddenly curling up by the fire is about all I can do. It's such a contrast to the joyful energy of autumn, when every moment is spent putting up food and working in the garden. I've seen a lot of Youtube videos about how to extend your gardening season, but it doesn't appeal to me. I've gotten my money's worth out of summer, and it's time to rest. Time to withdraw, dig out the stash of books, and hibernate. I know the depression is like a blanket, covering the surface, and will go away again eventually with the return of the light. But even with that, it can't smother the deep joy and contentment beneath it. Winter is a blessing, a time of recalibration and re-setting. And a great excuse for hot chocolate.
I'm up at the church for a few weeks with Brio, doing a little work and a lot of reading and writing. I was planning on only staying a week, but it turns out I'll be here the entire month. I keep the place fairly stocked up on canned goods, so I figured I'd survive a longer stay, if I didn't mind a full month without fresh vegetables.
Then Brio woke up with a sore back yesterday, walking all hunched over like a scared cat, his legs stiff as if his joints hurt. He wasn't whining, but I could see he was in distress and couldn't find a comfortable way to lie down. He has hurt his back in the past, due in general to age and over-exertion, but this time it looked pretty bad. I don't have a car when I'm here, but a friend came to the rescue and drove me into town to the vet, and also took me grocery shopping and to the hardware store while we were at it. We're home again, with pain killers and enough food to last us a while, so all will be well. So grateful for the kindness of neighbours!
You know, I've always fantasized about living on a remote homestead in splendid isolation, but the older I get, the more I see the value in community. Certainly needed to rely on it this week.
