by Kat | Feb 3, 2025 | General, Welcome
February is the border between winter and spring. — Terri Guillemets
And that border became very visible in my backyard over the weekend! Why you ask? Well, those daffodil bulbs I planted 2 years ago… colossally huge daffs… are poking leaves through the dirt and well-decayed mulch! Likewise, the allium’s that the rabbits love have also poked some green shoots up… only to be nibbled by said rabbits. Sigh.
Yes, Welcome February!!
However, my much wiser and less eager snowdrops have yet to poke their wee little leaves through the myrtle that holds them safe.
I have a short-ish list this month… apt for a short-ish month (that I am hoping does not feel as long as January felt!!)
- Clean out the refrigerator… sigh.
- I will cross off “Visit my doctor” today! However, I think this appointment will trigger a couple of additional appointments. Sigh. But, ignoring problems does not make them go away… so yes, I am putting my “big girl panties on” this morning and doing a bit of adulting.
- And, if things one and two were not enough… I would like to get our taxes done this month. (perhaps while there is still a somewhat functional IRS)
I figure that with this line up I won’t have much spare time to stress over what chaos the Orange Ogre unleashes this month…. and perhaps that is a good thing.
I sincerely hope that your February does not include any problematic things… and it is a month of sunshine, roses, and chocolates for you all!
Happy Monday, see you all back here on Wednesday!!
Header Photo by Kaboompics.com
by Kat | Feb 5, 2024 | General, Welcome
The Polar Intuit of northwest Greenland, the northernmost people, call February ‘seqinniaq’, “the month when the sun appears. ― Fred Bruemmer
Yes, February brings lengthening days and in Pittsburgh, we will gain an additional 66 minutes of daylight this month! Woot! If that does not lighten one’s spirit, I don’t know what will!
So what do I want to accomplish this month? Or what do I want to try? I have a few ideas that have been rattling around my head… some for a very long time. Maybe this is the month to set them loose and see where they go!
Of course, there will be February Stitching. I am really enjoying this addition to my morning routine. It is quiet, inspiring, and after the long days of January… it very much feels like a ritual now. I begin thinking about what I might stitch each day as I brew my coffee.
February circles
There is one other new-ish thing I have added to my year… a reimagined gratitude journal. I have tried and failed so many times at a “gratitude list” journal. But this year, I wanted some of my time to be focused on gratitude and late last year I had a bit of a gratitude epiphany. I wondered if having a bit of a gratitude conversation with myself… not a list, but something more thought-provoking… and yes, self-conversational… that’s a thing, at least for me! Anyways, my hope is that I will be able to go back and read my conversations on bleak days where gratitude seems impossible… and find a bit of gratitude from the past to hold on to! I began quietly in January… I wrote just eleven entries but those eleven conversations… well, they were powerful… thought provoking… and they have lingered with me well past the writing! I hope that February builds on those eleven days and takes off in a good way!.
Finally… this month I want to spend some time de-cluttering/re-organizing my kitchen cupboards. We have limited space in the kitchen and a few… several… most cupboards that have things in them that are never, ever used. Those things need to find new homes and usher in a reclamation/reorganization of space. But… I have been thinking about this for a long time and this month I am going to implement my ideas! And maybe I will no longer have to lug things up and down from the basement!
A small list… a small(ish) month… but these are big intentions!
What about you? What do you hope February holds?
by Kat | Feb 3, 2023 | General, Welcome
And Hello Friday! It’s been a week, hasn’t it? How about an update on all.things.medical first…
On Monday, the Nurse Practitioner called with my blood test results…sigh. My cholesterol was not at good levels and had jumped extraordinarily since my last blood work. So I am now taking Lipitor™ (or the generic – Atorvastatin) and am working on some adjustments to my diet. I get bloodwork done again in 6 weeks and see how things are going. It was advantageous that the NP called, because when we talked about the “exercise” portion of my day, I told her about my hip pain. She immediately looked at her schedule and I am seeing her on Monday regarding that. She was lovely and I am very much looking forward to seeing her!
And then there is the tale of poor Sherman who had to have a bit massive amount of dental work done yesterday. Today, he is eleven teeth lighter and quite a bit more grumpy than his usual self. We had planned on him needing to have a couple of teeth removed… but eleven… yeah. Poor baby. My goal today is to spoil him even more than usual!
One groggy, grumpy pug who is significantly more swollen this morning, poor guy!
But, beyond all of that…I really need to set a goal or two this month and focus on them… or February will be over and I will have accomplished nothing!
The Big Thing I really need to accomplish is a rework of my “Office.” I need to rearrange things because painting has become more important than it was when I first set myself up to paint. I like to stand up to paint, and in my current set up… that is not possible. So a big room rearrangement is needed. This will include “rehoming” some things and doing more sorting of other things. Yeah. All the fun… not! Haha!
The only other thing I have to focus on this month is to pull out some cook books and see if I can find some new recipes to entice The Meat and Potato Eater with some meals that have a more vegetal focus… i.e. sans meat and potatoes! As for me, I could easily give up meat and potatoes, if it means that I can keep cheese and the occasional bit of bread! But sadly, I cook for 2 in this house. Sigh.
Seems like so little to want to accomplish in a month… but if I can get these things done, I will feel like I have accomplished much!
And with that, I will bid you all a most amazing weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
Photo credit: Mikhail Nilov
