Just Doing My Own Thing

It was suggested anonymously that I was Pollyannish about my life because "no life is filled with nothing but joy". 

My life is far from perfect and crap happens all the time, but my blog is not my bitching post. Life is difficult for everyone and my troubles are mine, no one else's.  I do not feel the need to share the things or people I might be upset with. I don't want anyone to read my blog and assume I am perpetually pissed off. Yes, I can bitch, moan and groan with the best of them. I am easily angered (it never lasts long) and am about as sarcastic as they come. But that is not what my blog is ever going to be about. 

I can choose to wallow in what is going wrong or I can opt to not let unpleasant things rule me. Given the power of choice, I will choose concentrating on happiness and joy every time. 

So Anonymous, if my choosing joy pisses you off, then adios, don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out.

 Friday: My Beloved Sister and I drove to Restaurant Far Away to meet My Beloved Cousin, her husband, My Other Beloved Cousin, and our Uncle Bob (the international cool guy uncle) for lunch. Uncle Bob is the spryest, most together 95 year old you will ever meet, and is the only remaining sibling of our mother's and father, respectively. The restaurant was about 45 minutes away so we left my house at 10:45, just to make sure we would be on time for a noon lunch. We knew we would be a little early, but we were allowing for traffic. 

We ate and laughed, talked and laughed some more, then finally left to go home. I pulled into my driveway at 4:30. It was a long lunch, but was wonderful to see them. (BTW we tipped the waitress  3 different times while we were there, because we figured we occupied 3 different turns of her table)

TheHub was pulling in as I got to the front door, he changed clothes so we could have a most unusual date night. We went to get our Covid boosters, then headed to the grocery store to pick up a little more Halloween candy. We have a several new families in the neighborhood and I have no idea how many to plan for this year. I had rather have too much than too little, so anything leftover will go straight to the freezer. When we came out it was raining and we both decided to just go home, make a simple dinner and read.

Saturday: We woke to a very cool (cold if you live in Alabama) wet day. We were both not feeling great, (reaction from the covid booster)but we still had a few things we needed to get done for the day.

I had scheduled a pick up for some furniture we were donating to a non-profit that outfits homeless veterans apartments. Win/win! They came early which enabled us to get an earlier start on our recon mission. 

I think we have enough information to make a decision, and pull the trigger on purchasing our gift to each other. 

The last place we went was in the same area Son2 and DIL2 live so they met us for lunch at a very nice new restaurant. Kudos to their small city for creating a beautiful public space . It is a large outdoor area with a huge covered seating space, a stage for outdoor performances, and restaurants surrounding it. One of the restaurants featured some flower art, though it looked like  people had helped themselves to a few of the flowers. Why?

Flower art: dia de los Muertos

Sunday: The biggest joy was waking and feeling so much better. Saturday evening TheHub had a slight fever and I could not get warm. A good night's sleep helped both of us so much. The bonus was the day itself. After a cold wet Saturday, Sunday was glorious, bright, sunny and warm for the perfect Trick or Treat night. 

And what could be more wonderful than having a bunch of adorable kids knock on your door! Happy Halloween to me!

Monday: After a meeting with attorneys, My Beloved Sister and I had a late lunch at a local restaurant.  The trick to safe dining out is to go after 2. Virtually no one eats then!

Later I put my fall/winter bed put together. I change things over according to the weather, not the calendar and we have just started having cooler weather. My heavier bedding is perfect now. The comforter is a paprika color, but I had to change the pillow shams I love. They are a deep royal blue and I would hate for anyone to see my bed and assume we are Auburn fans.

After TheHub got home from the office we ran and looked again for our joint "everything" present. At some point we have to quit looking and make a purchase, but there are so many options to consider. While we were out we noticed the sky was brilliant red so we hurried up to our spot on the bluff. We missed the actual sunset, but the sky was filled with pinks and oranges and reds. We sat there talking until the last bits of color were gone. 

Tuesday: The day was mostly a ho-hum kind of day, though I did catch up via the phone with one of my  best friends.

Mid-afternoon my favorite neighbor texted me that 2 police cars were in front of my house with the officers talking to each other through their car windows. She suggested I hide anything incriminating just in case they raided my house. I told her I was sure the keto police had called VHPD and ratted me out, because I had 2 unopened packs of full size Hershey bars left over from Halloween. 

Wednesday: Ugh! I started cleaning my holiday closet, which is a fancy name I use for the weird closet in one of the upstairs rooms that holds everything but the kitchen sink. I came across several items I no longer need nor want, so I offered them for the taking on our neighborhood FB site. Hooray I have takers for them without having to drive to Goodwill. 

I also met a very dear friend for dinner. She had moved to Nashville many years ago, but has returned to Birmingham. I always have so much fun with her and we plan on doing it again one night next week!

Thursday: I was sipping my coffee when TheHub called to talk about getting some things done around the house. I told him I had rather wait until after our trip. Then he told me the event I had invited some people  for lunch prior to said event was scheduled Dec.2 rather than the first week of January like I thought it was. Yikes!  We return from Portland November 28, so those Thanksgiving decorations I had just put out went back in the box and I began stripping the house to make room for Christmas decorations. 

I think I need to find the wizard and ask for a brain. I believe the only joy here was finding I had the incorrect date while I still have 2 weeks before we leave. Now it is time for me to get off the computer and get my rear in gear.

Have a great week finding your joys wherever they may be.

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne