When The Vibe Is Off

The vibe this week around the “old homestead” can only be described as “what the fu@k.” I’m sure there are other better and well-suited grammar-type elements to fully characterize the ambiance here on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.

Whatever that word or phrase might be to enlighten us all about the particular “vibe” here, the one word that does now come to mind is “off.”

The vibe around the “old yellow-door homestead” is definitely off.

Ever since the Christmas and holiday season, the vibe has been off. In fact, I could even go back to Saturday, November 18 as the day when the vibe started to go off-kilter and falter.

It was a lunch we had out with our daughter to celebrate her birthday that was upcoming in a couple of days. During the lunch(which was wonderful) the discussion of Christmas came up and since that time and that very discussion the “vibe” took a slight dip at first, eventually evolving into a dumpster fire of “being “off.”

We never got together with our daughter and Andrew during the Christmas or holiday season at all. Not even on Christmas day. I did get a text from her late in the afternoon on Christmas Day, apologizing for leaving us hanging so to speak. There was another text later about doing a video get-together a week later, but I had to work.

Things have been silent since.

We try to give her as much space as necessary as she deals with the mental and emotional issues that pop up whenever they do. But, it is very hard as a parent, as I’m sure many of you know far too well.

So, to say the “vibe is off” is likely a gross understatement at best.

We start yet again another day, going “what the fu@k.”

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

When There Isn’t Much To Say

There are those days in the blogging world when the inspirational well is more shallow than normal or here in Canada during the winter months, slightly frozen over.

This morning appears to be one of those days.

It is very windy outside at the moment, causing our Nova Scotia provincial flag to keep slapping against a front window. Very annoying.

Today is Lynn’s birthday though and that’s very exciting.

I have to work today at an outpost school downshore from us. I should be home by 9:30 this morning and I think I’ll stop at the grocery store in the outpost village, seeing as they have a pretty decent bakery. I’m sure they have a tasty delight to help with the birthday celebrations today.

This weekend will focus more on birthday celebrations than today. This weekend we’re going to Halifax to check out an RV Show on Saturday. I booked a hotel for Saturday night and made a reservation for lunch on Sunday at a restaurant on the Halifax waterfront that Lynn has always wanted to go to.

Anyhow as the title suggests – not much to say.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Back To My Locally Scheduled Routine

Not sure this is the correct title for this post, but we’ll go with what we have.

For the past week and a half, I’ve been working out of our local elementary and high school. While it has been both okay and challenging(especially Thursday), I am in many ways looking forward to finishing up on Friday. I have found that for whatever reasons, being back working, although with casual hours and commitment, has elevated my anxiety issues to a minor yet constant extent.

So, without stating the obvious, Friday afternoon about 3:35pm or so, will be a welcome sight for sure. Having said all that, getting back into what I consider my “normal routine” is a situation I am really looking forward to.

Now, while awaiting a return to my “normal routine( much like a child anxiously waiting for the arrival of Santa) almost immediately the idea crept into the gray matter between my ears – “Is settling back into a routine a good or productive thing?”

Now, before everyone goes half-cocked here, I get that routines have a place and a very definite purpose. Like prepping to open the restaurant for lunch; or a particular routine for a work process.

My routine in the morning when I roll out of bed is; to make coffee; drink; coffee; quickly check out news on the computer; and then open up WordPress; read WordPress and then click either “New Post or “Draft”.….then create and write something. And that’s pretty much how my morning seven days a week goes – a routine.

Not talking so much about that, although it is part of the mix. What I’m talking about how easy it can be in our lives to fall into “the routine of being comfortable”; the routine of complacency; the routine of living in discomfort”; the routine of fearfulness; the routine of stagnation”; the routine of no goals and dreams.”

There are probably others that could be added to the list, but I think you get the idea here.

One thing the last couple of months, and specifically the last month has emphasized is that life is fleeting at best. We all have an end date out there, and life can flip 180 degrees in a split second. It became abundantly clear that for many including myself in this group, our life routine(s) can often be found in one of “those routines” noted above.

Again, I don’t mean the production line routine required the night before to get school lunches packed and ready for the next day.

What I’m heading towards is simply this.

Life goes by faster than we know and it’s the same for all of us. Whether people believe it or not, I firmly believe we are meant to live it; love it; experience it; be challenged by it; grow in it; not be fearful; not wake up dead someday, and think – “why didn’t I?”

And what is the “it”…..it’s life!!

It’s easy to fall into a routine in our lives of simply being comfortable within a very narrowly defined comfort zone; to fall into the routine of living in discomfort because the fear of change is too much to handle; to fall into the routine of the fear of trying; failing – and not believing you could succeed; the routine of no goals and dreams; the routine of simply existing when you could really live in the routine of thriving.

Routines have their place without a doubt.

And without a doubt, routines can suck the life right out of you.

You get to decide the routine you want your life to exist in.

It’s all up to you – no one to blame here but yourself.

You decide.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Sunday …… A Day Of …….?

It’s still pretty darn early here on a still pitch-black Sunday morning at the “old homestead.”

Last night was one of the first real decent periods of sleep I’ve had in quite a long time. I generally have no problems falling asleep, the issue I usually encounter during the night is staying asleep. And then staying asleep especially if I have to work the next day.

Lynn is more of a night person, as where I’m way more of a morning folk. The problem I have is that I wake up 3, 4, or even 5 times during the night and often don’t fall back to sleep very easily or quickly.

Anyhow, yesterday at a Framer’s Market in Moncton, I picked up some loose-leaf tea produced locally in New Brunswick. It was labeled as “a great tea to sip before bed to relax muscles, encourage drowsiness, quiet the mind, and calm the nerves.” It is an all-natural botanical containing – hibiscus, rosehips, chamomile, lemon balm, bee balm, and valerian root.

One thing that I am very careful with is anything that contains caffeine and consuming that later in the afternoon or evening. Caffeine taken at those times results in little to no sleep at all.

But, last night is gave this stuff a go.

And I must admit, it did work overall pretty darn well. I can’t pinpoint the exact feelings, but it felt like there wasn’t the same level of anxiety or nervousness when sleeping.

But, this post isn’t necessarily about that.

What is your routine on Sundays?

Are Sundays that day of rest? Isn’t there some old saying out there, that Sunday is a day of rest?

Do you usually work on Sundays? Perhaps Sunday is church in the morning, then followed by something else in the afternoon.

Sunday is a big….real big brunch event in our area of the country. Likely is that way all over.

Do families still do the traditional Sunday evening dinner? We did growing up.

Or perhaps Sunday is now just like any other day of the week.

For Lynn and I, now it is more or less like any other day of the week. It wasn’t always like that and Sunday for us has gone through a variety of iterations over time.

I’d be interested to hear what your Sunday typically is like.

Feel free to leave a comment or churn out your post and create a ping-back to this one.

-as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Living In The Moment

These pics are from a short video posted several times on other social media formats over the past year or so.

For whatever reason, as to why the dog is where they are and what are they doing may be open for debate and interpretation. Nevertheless, he/she seems to be living their best life.

Let’s just say they’re “living in the moment.”

There is a valuable lesson “the old doggo” is teaching us. To live in the moment, we need to be and live in the moment. Seems simple enough.

The problem is that often we try so hard to capture ourselves in the moment, that even though it appears we’re in the moment, we aren’t in the moment. In fact, we entirely miss the moment when we’re actually in the moment.

I just happened to read a short social media post, where someone suggested that “our phones have become our masters and that as humans we are simply the transport system.” A dark and someone ominous statement, but it does ring true in many respects. And it certainly has a “1984 – Orwell” “technology as power” vibe to it.

I’m not suggesting for a second that we don’t snap a few pictures of our grandchildren’s birthday party. Of course, we should. Or a selfie or two as a couple strolling along the ocean beach on a warm summer afternoon.

However, I see more and more often folks out there of all ages, where it appears their “in the moment” moment is simply taking “selfies” of themselves to prove they were “in the moment.”

All the while, completely missing the moment they were supposed to be in.

Just in the past few minutes, I’ve come across numerous newspaper and other articles, dealing with “selfies and the moment.”

I’ll just finish with the headline from “The Providence Journal” dated January 2014 “‘Selfie’ obsession: Snapping the picture, but missing the moment.”

Ten years ago…how much worse or better can things be now?

Be a dog – put your phone away and truly be in the moment.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Playtime – How To Escape As An Adult

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

The second installment for “Bloganuary” is a good one – “Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?”

If you were to ask this question to an eleven-year-old, you’re likely to get a response befitting that of an eleven-year-old. Which in many respects should be the response that an adult should have as well. Without going into specifics, I’m pretty sure that any eleven-year-old kid’s answer would contain the phrase(s) – “playing something and having fun” or something very similar.

Our answer to the blog prompt should contain the same or similar phrasing of “playing something and any fun” as well.

For us in the “adulting years” of our lives, we all need to incorporate activities, projects, or interests that allow us to “escape the adulting pressures” of adulting. Something that as the picture says, “cultivates happiness.”

Perhaps leisure reading, creating art, sports, travel, or some other hobby. The reality is it can be anything that allows one to escape the pressure and tugging in multiple directions that we often find ourselves in daily.

For myself, I find that painting, outdoor pursuits like hiking, and reading are those basic playtime activities that provide those escape times from the daily pressure of living. One thing that Lynn and I have employed together over the years, is to simply pile into the car and go for a drive someplace. In a way, going for a drive in the countryside metaphorically mirrors escaping the pressures and driving away from them.

Nevertheless, all of us need to incorporate some aspect of play into our daily lives and routines – “to cultivate happiness.”

What the play or playtime is doesn’t really matter, as long as it allows you to “play” and escape, if only for the very briefest of periods.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

A Fall River – Acrylic Painting

The beginning……

One of many lessons in painting I’ve had to learn and often learn the hard way, is to trust the process. I was taught that creating a painting is a process of many aspects. This painting I’m currently working on is going to be a Nova Scotia-inspired fall landscape along a small river with a moody sky.

One of the processes is often putting down layers of paint on the work to create tone, depth, and background in the painting.

The issue that creeps up is you’ve done some layering of paint to create a tone and depth of say a background. You get up and decide to let the paint dry for a while before heading off to the next step.

You come back after having a cup of tea; look at what you’ve done so far and immediately exclaim(quite loudly at times), “This looks like crap!” And you end up being seconds away from tossing it in the garbage.

This is where your “inner critic voice” seems to be overwhelming the “intellectual and emotional voices” who is trying desperately to remind you to – “trust the process.”

Trusting the process can be a challenging task at times. Especially if you’re having a difficult time envisioning what the final product will ultimately look like. This is a tad ironic, given that pretty much 100 percent of the time you’re likely painting from looking at a picture on the computer screen; a photograph stuck on the wall, or perhaps you’re painting “en plein air” outside in some location.

And you know that in the end, it should resemble to some degree the thing you’re looking at.

Nevertheless, it can be a challenge. “Mind over matter” is a cute catchphrase that comes to the surface here.

But, there is always some point before you’re finished(say at 87 percent completion), where you step back; look at what you’ve done, and go, “Hey…this is going to turn out pretty darn good…even great.”

The key is you have to “trust the process” to get you to that point.

Ironically, life at times tends to mirror the entire art creation exercise – one has to trust the process involved to get one to the point of exclaiming, ““Hey…this is going to turn out pretty darn good…even great.”

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Biggest Challenges

What are your biggest challenges?

I wasn’t planning to participate in this so-called “Bloganury Challenge” or “Blogjanuary Challenge” or whatever the actual name and challenge might be.

Nevertheless, giving it a go for January 1st, seeing as I have far more time today to bang out something suitable or interesting.

Heading off into 2024, I feel that my biggest challenges are around a couple of things.

First is getting fitter, including getting my weight down by 15 to 20 pounds. I have hypothyroidism, and I find that getting weight to drop is a challenge even with exercise and diet.

The second challenge is the continuing journey of finding “who I am.” What is my purpose and why am I here? The second one has been one that I’ve been chasing most of my life, I think.

Perhaps many of us do the same.

A couple of dandy’s to work towards in 2024.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Recipe – Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup

Here in Canada(or anywhere in the world that happens to find themselves in the cold depths of winter), there is nothing more satisfying than a bowl of hot soup to warm your insides. A steaming bowl of your favourite soup or stew with a freshly sliced whack of warm homemade bread….oh so good.

When it comes to making soup or stew(soup in this case), I think the easier the process the better. Sure there will be some who argue that point and that proper soup needs to be fused over with some complicated process to churn out a delicious bowl of heaven.

Well, I say poppy-cock to that. The simpler the better.

This Red Lentil Soup done in a slow cooker is as simple as it gets and pretty much is a “dump and go” recipe. Dump the ingredients in; give it a stir; turn the slow cooker on low and come back in about 8 hours or so.

Having this soup cook away for 8 hours or so, allows all those wonderful spices and flavors to meld over the day. So …..when you walk into your home/kitchen you’ll be enveloped with the great and extraordinary aroma of a home-cooked meal.

Sounds pretty good to me.

So here we go.

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup

Prep Time – 15 minutes

Cook Time – 8 hours

Total Time – 8 hours and 15 minutes

Makes – 6 servings(give or take)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups red lentils dried
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 3 carrots cut into chunks
• 14 ounces of tomatoes canned, another ounce more is good too, depending on your can size
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic very finely diced or minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder(we don’t have any chili powder – left it out…..still good)
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. You don’t have to pre-soak the lentils. That makes this an even easier soup
2. Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours
3. Add a touch of salt to taste, if needed
4. Give it a stir and you’re all set

This is a no-miss type of soup recipe.

Personally, I find it is the cumin, which may be unusual in soup, but in this instance, it gives more of a tasty kick to the final product.

Anyhow, give it a whirl if you’re looking for something easy and exceedingly tasty.

What are your favourite cold-weather soup recipes?

Feel free to make a post on it, and create a ping-back to this one.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —

Art Makes Your Life That Much Better

Art has been said to be a genuine gift to the world.

And not just in paintings or sculptures that one might view in a gallery. It’s all art. Everything from paintings; to sculptures; to visiting an art gallery; attending a live play or musical; watching a soul-touching movie or even reading a great book.

Art tends to be something we crave in the human experience. Art in all of its forms gives meaning to our lives and helps us understand our world.

Regardless of how we may view the importance of art in our life, it nonetheless, allows us or provides the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of our emotions; it also can increase our self-awareness and in addition allows us to be open to new ideas and experiences.

As our minds and hearts continue to open from exposure to art, art shows us what could be possible in our world.

So, the big question becomes – how?

Three reasons.

Art Allows Us to Connect With Our Inner Self

When we connect with art(such as a painting in a gallery or perhaps even a movie), we are connecting with our inner selves. When we make that emotional connection we start to look within ourselves to see who we are; and what we care about. It connects us to our thoughts, feelings, and how we view the world.

When we do connect with a certain piece of art, we can often encounter a rise in our emotions, given the fact the art we’re viewing introduces us to new experiences. Which begins to provide us with a deeper understanding of our emotions, and points us in a direction to questions we perhaps never knew we had.

Art, regardless of the medium, introduces us to a whole new set of experiences and ideas that realistically, we may have never been exposed to before. Whatever the experience is, it causes us to examine ourselves, given the fact we decide what we’re feeling based on the emotional connection that we have with the work of art.

We tend to make emotional choices that are passionate or have a deeper meaning to us, which in turn allows us to realize or get a better grasp on what we care about and what we stand for.

Art Causes Us To Have An Appreciation And Gratification For What We Have In Our Lives

Don’t we tend to be happier when we look at life through a lens built on appreciation and gratification? As opposed to looking and viewing life in the opposite or rather negative view.

Taking a distinct positive slant, then we view and see all of the wonderful details that are going well in our lives instead of focusing on the alternative.

If we have a more positive view of life, we tend to be far more open to experiencing what life has to offer.

When we take that positive outlook position and are open to what art provides, we then allow ourselves the opportunities to connect with art; we can take a step back, reflect on what’s going on in our world; evaluate our lives; be open to change and appreciate what we have in our lives already.

Art Brings More Satisfaction, Creativity, And Happiness Into Our Lives

Have you ever cried at the same point in a movie, that you’ve seen 14 times? How about standing and looking at an amazing painting and experiencing a wave of emotions while standing in front of it?

If you’ve answered yes to either, then you’ve experienced an emotional connection to a work of art.

Often we make a connection to an artwork, but we can’t seem to explain(if asked) the feeling that it gave us? In many respects, what we feel ultimately comes down to ostensibly connecting with the artist’s story, their voice, and their experience. You are essentially stepping onto the canvas or onto the screen or perhaps into the pages of a book.

You are being welcomed into the artist’s world.

When you go and buy a work of art(say a painting), you are investing in a visual story that will decorate your walls. Almost every work of art has a story behind it because nothing is ever created in a vacuum. Every work of art – has part of the soul of the artist contained within it, which is a part of the artist’s life.

We begin to learn about the stories of different people, the lives they lived, the story behind the artist, and what they went through to create that type of work.

And ultimately we bring those stories and experiences into our homes.

Three reasons why art makes our lives that much better.

–as always with love–

— get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself —