Today I donated all my former work clothes to the women’s shelter in town, here at the little house in the city. I am sorry to see them go, they are very nice pants and tops, but I will never be that slim again, and someone else will be able to use them. While Tank and I were out gallivanting, I bought some elastic to repair the waistband on my black skirt, so that I have something to wear to the Christmas party.
This afternoon it began to snow. I am enjoying it. It looks pretty coming down, and it melts when it arrives. It is the best kind of snow there is!
Someone on Facebook told me I was being an ass “on their page”, when I politely expressed an opinion, that apparently differed from their own. First I knew about the differing opinion. I am open to the idea that someone might not agree with me, and have often run into people who only want to hear from those who agree with them, which I regard as legitimate in their personal space. How that is communicated is important I think, and name calling isn’t a respectful or positive way of expressing your desires. Name calling is similar to resorting to violence in a conflict. I avoid people who resort to violence, I also avoid people who resort to name calling. No feelings of loss involved, on either side of the interaction. Meh.
I cooked myself a big dinner, fish, broccoli, and oven fried potatoes ala Bex. Today was the first day that I have not indulged in a little junk food. Attila likes to shop at a discount store along our route, and I struggle each time we are there because of their rather large displays of junk food, inexpensive junk food, high quality inexpensive junk food. When we stopped there on our trip down I bought several chocolate treats, and Attila bought dip, and left a tub of it here for me. So each day I have been unable to resist nibbling. The last of it disappeared yesterday. Today it was healthy food, all day long. I feel better already!
Terra stopped by early in the day, and we had a bit of a heated exchange. Wow, that has not happened since she was a teenager. She left in frustration. We texted. Although I was upset, I knew we would work through it, because it needed to be dealt with. She and Lares arrived for an evening visit. Terra and I hugged, we laughed, it is fine. I knew it would be. The nice thing about love is that you can trust it.
Terra and Lares purchased a new king size bed for their upstairs bedroom. The staircase is narrow, old house narrow. She sent me pictures of them maneuvering it up the stairs with straps, what a job! They managed it though, mattresses unharmed!
Other than venturing out with Tank in the morning, it was a very quiet day. I played more old music albums today, on the old computer, it was nice to hear the soft sounds of the past in the background.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-1°C
Date: 1:10 PM EST Thursday 27 November 2014
Condition: Light Snowshower
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -1.1°C
Dewpoint: -6.7°C
Humidity: 66%
Wind: SSE 3 km/h
Wind Chill: -2
Quote
“If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don’t, you’re simply ducking your responsibilities.”
Ann Richards
About 2 years ago we cleaned out our closet and donated the removed items to a local Mennonite used clothing shop. Being Mennonite, I’m hoping things we bring there are put to good use.
Your dinner sounds tasty. It’s been a while since we had broccoli. Maybe this weekend…
Sorry that you and Terra had a few words. It hurts when we’re at odds with our loved ones, but when hearts are true it all comes back together.
I’ve found that Facebook can have some people on it that are very set in their ways and ideas. I guess in that respect it reflects the world at large, unfortunately. Though some viewpoints make me sad, I find it’s the harsh critics that won’t let others have their opinions that upset me the most.
I think it is very nice you donated your clothes to the women’s shelter. I think I will see where ours is or the drop off point. I like that idea.
I always feel better when I eat right for me. My body demands I take care of it or I pay in small ways that make me miserable.
I like what you wrote about love being something you could trust. So true.
A king size bed…that is like having an endless cloud. I wish we could have a bed that size. There would be room to dodge his restless legs and arms! But it wouldn’t do much for the occasional snort which has woken me from a dead sleep thinking a bear was in the room. I’m a light sleeper so noise wakes me up easily. But with a king size bed and a fan I’d have room to move. My sister has one and it’s like sleeping on an acre of property!
I too have been listening to songs of the past, on my Ipod. I’m not sure people even use these any more. But they are fun. The songs bring back memories. Hard to sit still with some of them.
After prodding from some friends I rejoined the ranks of Facebook today. I was very surprised when I opened a new account to have 20 friends! Apparently (from some of the old posts on this account) the account was never 100% deleted. That’s disturbing but oh, well. I had wanted to rejoin and connect with folks privately. The biggest reason for going back was to reconnect with the wonderful sites I had been learning from and getting good creative ideas from. I wish I had kept a list but I swore I’d never go back. So me. So, I am very visible.
I now have to scroll through a lot of political riff raff. People use FB for different platforms. I do not believe in bashing and name calling or posting negative things about others. I find that to be immature and unconscious. So much of this goes on at FB. Sigh. I’m sorry you had that unpleasant experience Maggie. You are hardly the type to be an ass. Good Lord. Well, we just separate the wheat from the chaff.
Teri, I love broccoli. It was funny, when Terra and Lares dropped in last night, she asked me what she was smelling. When I listed what I’d had for dinner, she jumped on the broccoli. Apparently her trainer at the gym smells like broccoli, interesting.
The thing about respectful conflict is that it brings things out in the open where you can see them, and they lose their power of mystery and misunderstanding. My interchange with Terra was actually a blessing, it illuminated quite a few things that I had not known, important things, and therefore did not understand. I believe she had the same type of experience.
Yes, I have run into two circumstances on Facebook, over the years, where a persons inability to cope with ideas that did not fit into their world view reacted with some form of emotional violence. They could have just stated their viewpoint, but rather chose to flail. Their reaction allows me to back away from them, as it seems to them I am backing down. This isn’t true, I am backing away. As far as they were concerned they “won”. As far as I was concerned I was granted a graceful exit. I seek no further contact with these two individuals.
Nora, king size beds are enormous aren’t they! Attila and I slept in one once, when we won a weekend at a resort, the bed was very comfortable.
Facebook, I have very mixed feelings about it. People’s blogs interest me far more, which is why most of my “social” time on the computer is either writing here, or reading other people’s blogs. Facebook seems a parade of ten second wonders, at least the way I use it. I put nothing personal on Facebook, because it is a public record. I do enjoy seeing what people are interested in, learning new things, hearing opinions on important topics, opinions that I might agree with, or I might not. On Facebook you can expose yourself to a lot of alternative perspectives, and I think that is what I like most about it, besides knowing my real life friends are still alive and kicking.
If I ever get my act together, I have so many items of clothing stored away both downstairs and up under the eaves… that I know I’ll never fit into again… why can’t I just spend a weekend (or a couple of days, as all days are the same to me now) sorting through them and letting them go?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg… there’s all my books and all my CDs and DVDs that have engulfed our little cottage… things coming in and not many things leaving! That’s my problem. I must resolve in the New Year to stop bringing new things in… just intangible things… like recipes, ideas, knowledge, opinions… those can come to live here as long as they don’t take up space!
I’ll never forget when former President Bush told the world that he refused to eat broccoli – like a little kid (in more ways than one) and I thought that was so irresponsible of him. Broccoli is so good for a body – there are few things better when you come right down to it. I love-love-love broccoli!
DH and I have a king size bed, thank goodness. I’m also a very light sleeper and having all that space makes a big difference in my being able to rest. (Even with a fan on as white noise we have to close the bedroom door to the animals. Otherwise, I would wake up every time they would wander about at night.)
Where does it all come from Bex?!? We have so much stuff that we often cannot locate items we know we own. I began with the desire to get at the clothes I wanted to wear, without having to move piles of other clothes to get at them. Now I can actually put my hands on an article of clothing without shuffling everything around. We have a collection of record albums that are never played, that Attila will never part with. We have a collection of VHS tapes, movies, that we still will watch from time to time. Lots of cassette tapes, oh my, that is long gone, but I still have a player! Got em’ all, never even look at them, but we’ve got em’.
I hadn’t heard the story of Bush and the broccoli, hilarious! I too love broccoli, with a little butter and salt and pepper, with chesse sauce, in a casserole, you name it, if broccoli is in it, chances are I will love it.
Attila and I first slept on a double bed, and that was no picnic. Attila snores, and has restless leg syndrome, a very serious case of restless leg syndrome, which has to be medicated. He ran races in his sleep, moving and waking himself up every 11 seconds all night long. He would wake me up too, so we were both chronically exhausted. His medication helps, but does not completely solve the issue of restless legs, so I sleep in a separate bed now. The snoring is not too horrendous, so I can sleep through that. I suppose a king size bed with separate mattresses might work, but we don’t have a room big enough for a king size bed at the little house in the city, where we plan on living at some point.
The white noise is a boon! I can see how animals moving around at night would be disruptive for a light sleeper, thank goodness for doors Teri.
We don’t have the room for a king size bed either. We both have our own rooms/bathrooms now and as much as I thought that was going to be nice, and in lots of ways it is, it is very different. We both miss sleeping together. Have considered making the living room into one big bedroom (we rarely have company) but it is too exposed to noise from the stairwell, parking lot and also other tenants. The downside of apt. living….noise.
I know what you mean about missing sleeping together, Attila and I both feel it! We will eventually, I think, opt for two twin beds closely placed, so that if we wanted to, we could reach out and touch one another. But that would require buying a new bed, and Attila doesn’t want to do that right now. At the little house in the city we would not have room for even a queen size bed, the bedrooms are so small. I spend a lot of time researching the perfect twin beds and their placement, so that if we get to move here, I can move forward with it quickly.
Noise in apartments is certainly something to consider, I had forgotten about that completely!! How soon I forget! Our country house has no night noises other than the wildlife and weather around us, except in the summer when the seasonal people are partying, but that isn’t constant so we can usually just ignore it. The little house in the city is different. The neighbours here are always coming and going, slamming car doors, running lawn mowers, snow blowers, you name it. Thankfully the bedroom does not face the street!
Maggie, I have tried sleeping on a double bed with DH when travelling and would never do it again! I even question how well things would go sleeping in a queen size bed.
With Attila’s restless leg syndrome you might try him on a combination of calcium, magnesium and potassium supplements. Since his problem is quite pronounced he’s probably very low on at least one of those necessary electrolytes. Eventually you’ll probably be able to narrow it down to one specific mineral. You should check into this, though, as all your muscles need these minerals and all notice it when the body is low, including the heart muscle. (I need to look at my own supplements to get an idea of how much of the minerals. Can’t do that right now.)
About 200 mg potassium, 500 mg magnesium, 600 mg calcium. Try that for 3 days and see if the restless legs go away. If they do ease up or go away, you can start to experiment to see which specific mineral he’s low on. Normal daily dose is 100 mg potassium, about 150 mg magnesium, and 200 mg calcium.
Thanks Teri, I will record the information, you just never know! Attila is under the care of a specialist, and on specialized medications for his condition, before he takes supplements of any kind he will need to consult with the specialist. He already has a dietary regimen he must follow, and lots of restrictions. He has had batteries of blood tests and testing, so if he had a serious deficiency they would have caught it. We have come to accept it as a part of life, as we have accepted anaphylaxis, everyone’s normal is different.
“RLS is generally a lifelong condition for which there is no cure.” Source: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/restless_legs/detail_restless_legs.htm
The double bed was challenging indeed! The queen size bed, as you surmise, was not a huge improvement. Separate mattresses allow him to move about without worrying about disturbing me, and it allows me not to be disturbed as he moves about.
Hey, Maggie. I understand about Attila’s testing. But sometimes there are wide variances in “normal” and the body just hasn’t read about it and finds where it is as abnormal. (I know about that with feeling absolutely horrible when my thyroid is at 2, when convention says I should be feeling fine.)
Here’s a link for a nursing school paper on Restless Leg Syndrome and it mentions Magnesium as a definite possibility. U Penn Nursing Restless Leg Syndrome
but I also know this from folks who helped me with my RLS problem. It’s a very well-known problem for those who do extremely low carbs (like when I first started low carbing), plus I tend to not absorb a normal amount of Magnesium around ‘that time of the month’, so I can have ‘twitchy’ problems then.
Just to put my 2 cents in – when I have trouble with my legs I depend on spirulina (it’s really good for me) and calcium/magnesium. It works for me but I don’t have pronounced restless legs. I have something that comes and goes that is like restless legs or maybe it is restless legs on a low scale.
Thanks Nora and Teri, these are all good things to know about!
Maggie! I am doing a wee bit of catch up here and am horrified by the numerous posts of yours I’ve missed.
It is my good fortune that most of our snows in the mountain are The Best Kind of Snow. It rarely lingers.
My jaw flew open when you shared that someone on FB called you an ass. Unacceptable! What the heck is wrong with people!
The standards we place on public figures are high – and should be. The broccoli statement by Bush made me cringe, too, and not only because I love it. But I cringed even more when it was revealed that Obama smokes cigarettes (he may have quit?), which made him a deplorable role model. Each president has brought onboard some sort of human frailty. Oy – what could be said about me! Um, Ass, maybe. But make that a Sweet Ass. 🙂
Thinking of you dear friend. xoxo
Hey Irene, glad you are here. The snow on your mountain sounds just perfect! I know from your descriptions of the roads, that when you get the imperfect snow, the roads get pretty dicey!
It took me completely by surprise, when she called me an ass, I have to admit. I had expressed an opinion about cyclists on high speed rural roads, she didn’t like it one bit! My guess is that she is a recreational cyclist who does cycle along roads where the speed limits are 80 km/hr and above, and feels that it is reasonable to use those roads for recreational purposes. I do not feel it is reasonable. We don’t agree. I was willing to hear what she had to say until she decided that name calling was acceptable, and used a baiting technique used by online trolls. I don’t think she is an troll, not online anyway, I don’t know her in any other context. No problem, I won’t read or respond to anything she has to say, and hopefully the favour will be returned.
Here in Canada we have been dealing with criminals in our senate, a crack smoking mayor in Toronto (not re-elected), a public radio host on trial for the sexual assault on a series of women over a series of years, and a well known poet who has been banned for life by many Arts groups due to concerns about sexual predation. I’d love our biggest problem with an authority figure to be that he didn’t eat his vegetables, 🙂
Thinking of you Reenie!
Oh gosh, cyclists on the roads frighten me something awful! We have supposed bicycle lanes here in the city, not that the cyclists use them much. But what really frightens me are the cyclists on the outlying country roads. Most are not at all cautious and there have been so many times I’ve been afraid one would go under the car!
I find the same thing Teri, most of them are very cautious. It isn’t their fault that some roads have very tight turns, no shoulders, and are built through rock cuts, as they exist near our country house. I don’t think these roads are appropriate for recreational sports vehicles.
To be traveling at the speed limit, come around a tight curve in the road, and find a slow moving vehicle in your lane, and an oncoming truck in the other is downright horrifying. Then there are those who are not cautious, riding two, three side by side on these roads, so that getting around them is virtually impossible to do in a safe fashion, those who do not keep their vehicle near the curb, and those who make no signal when turning. I have NEVER seen a cyclist with a slow moving vehicle sign, not once, and as I read the act, they should sporting these signs if driving on high speed highways at slow speeds. Nor to these vehicles have license numbers, so that they can do what they do with relative impunity, as they cannot be identified and reported.
“132. (1) No motor vehicle shall be driven on a highway at such a slow rate of speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic thereon except when the slow rate of speed is necessary for safe operation having regard to all the circumstances. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 132 (1).”
“Slow vehicles to travel on right side
147. (1) Any vehicle travelling upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at that time and place shall, where practicable, be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 147 (1).”
“Slow moving vehicle sign
76. (1) No person shall operate a slow moving vehicle on a highway unless a slow moving vehicle sign is attached, in accordance with the regulations,
(a) to the rear of the slow moving vehicle, if no trailer, implement of husbandry or other device is being towed;
(b) to the rear of the rearmost trailer, implement of husbandry or other device that is being towed by the slow moving vehicle, if one or more trailers, implements or other devices are being towed. 1994, c. 28, s. 1; 2002, c. 18, Sched. P, s. 21 (1).”
Source: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm#BK206
I think the problem comes from the definitions of highway and vehicle, Maggie.
We have Mennonites driving carriages along the outlying roads of our city. They’re very consciencious and we never have a problem with them. But during the good weather we do have a lot of problems with bicyclists who ride double and triple or ride in the middle of the car lanes, even on hills and curves.
If hubby could have his way he would prohibit all cyclists from main roads. You have to be very brave or missing something to ride around here. It is sooooo busy and most people are unaware of cyclists. There are a few bike lanes here and there but there are also take your chances too many times.
Another vehicle he would like to see eliminated from the road are motor scooters. Here you do not need a license or to have the motor scooter registered. You can also drive the darn thing in traffic lanes and be a real annoyance as well as a scare! Some things just do not make sense to me.