History Repeats

I saw a post on Instagram the other day about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  It made a comment about being tired of living through historical circumstances.  Aren't we all? 

But you know what I'm really tired of?  RE-living historical circumstances. 

If there is one thing I've realized over the past couple of years - it's that we as humans have apparently haven't learned a darn thing in the past 100 years.  It became obvious right at the beginning of the Covid pandemic that we didn't learn any lessons from the Influenza pandemic of 100 years ago.  And now, here we are seeing a war that has more than subtle echoes of when Hitler invaded neighboring European countries under the guise of reclaiming lands that had once belonged to Germany.

I guess Winston Churchill was correct when he wrote that "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

It has been easy to get sucked into the 24-hour news cycle over the past few days as I try to stay informed about the latest developments in Ukraine.  But I have to drag myself away from it from time to time. Otherwise, I start feeling sad, angry, scared, and helpless all at the same time.  Especially when I see the women and children forced to flee their homes or sheltering in subways during the night. 

I guess it's a good thing that I have a long to do list and plenty of goals to help distract me from the rabbit hole of news channels this week. That and a whole lot of prayer.

Sunday Inspiration: Let Go

 

February Thoughts on Abundance

One morning recently, I left a pitcher to fill with water in the sink while I was taking care of another chore. I misjudged the time and came back to find the water overflowing and going down the drain.  Turning the water off, I was reminded of my word for this year: Abundance.

We can only keep so much for ourselves. There is only so much any one person can hold, use or even appreciate. It's just like the water overflowing the full pitcher.  Going down the drain. Unused and wasted.

We are never meant to just accumulate the abundance.  Hoarding it for ourselves. We are meant to pour the overflow - the abundance - out to others.

It's in the giving that we are able to receive abundance.  We have to pour out some of the abundance - sharing it with others - in order to make room for the more of abundance to continue flowing into our lives .

Thankful Thursday: February 24, 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

The male offspring was able to quickly get tested for Covid

Having the energy to get a few things done

Comfort foods

Small improvement every day

My last day of isolation

Sleeping in my own bed

Long, warm showers

Waking up to an Etsy order

Clean laundry

Feeling somewhat normal

Sunshine

New growth on my Christmas cactus

Booking our big anniversary trip

Getting out of the house for a few errands

His foot has only a minor break

People checking in to see if I am feeling better

Spring-like weather

Jellybeans

One Thing After Another

If it wasn't one thing over these last ten days or so, it was another! It was definitely one of those "when it rains, it pours" sort of situations. 

Things started off ok. The husband and I went to the Biltmore Estate for an overnight getaway on the Thursday and Friday before Valentine's day. We ate delicious food, drank an abundance of wine, and visited the Van Gogh alive exhibit. It was lovey.

Then...

Saturday afternoon we made a trip to the county recycling center to drop off our recyclables and some household trash. While lifting a bag into the dumpster, the Man of the House took an awkward, off balance step sideways into a dip/hole and hurt his foot badly enough to send us to urgent care for an exam and xrays. They diagnosed a break, put him in a walking boot and referred him to an orthopedic doctor. He has that appointment today.

The next morning I woke up with a headache, sinus congestion and pain, a sore throat and cough. Something compelled me to take an at home Covid test, even though I thought I was probably just being paranoid. The test said I was not being paranoid. Fortunately I was able to immediately schedule an appointment for a lab test, which confirmed those results by noon on Monday. Needless to say, I was not happy about this development.

The Man of the House and the male offspring scheduled tests for a few days later to be safe. But by Tuesday evening the male offspring was already showing some symptoms and on Wednesday he also tested positive. 

The Man of the House continues to be symptom free and has tested negative with both a home test and a lab test. How? I have no idea! He's got some sort of miracle immunity or something going on.

In my opinion, the worst part of the whole Covid experience was the isolation. I would have loved to ask the Man of the House to rub my back or my feet. But noooo... I had to stay distanced in order to avoid spreading my Covid cooties around. 

I am starting to feel better. The sinus congestion has lessened and that burning pain in my nasal cavities is gone. The headache is still there, but is more manageable. I still have a cough, although it was never terribly bad. And while I have some energy now, I get worn out quickly. 

I didn't get much of anything done last week.  Ok. Nothing. I did nothing except sleep, take nyquil, read a little, sleep, watch some tv, eat, and then sleep some more. There was a lot of sleeping that took place.

Of course this means that I accomplished nothing from my to do list last week. Now I have an extra long list of goals for this week.  But I am trying to keep things in perspective and give myself some grace until I am feeling completely better. 

Let me know how are you feeling this week in the comments!

Sunday Inspiration: Important

 

Thankful Thursday: February 17, 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

A bird singing at the kitchen window

The Man of the House taking the dogs out when they wanted to go potty extra early

Warm February days

Overnight getaway

Daffodils sprouting

Cute Valentine nails

A walk along the river

Pecan waffles

Urgent care with a short wait time

Finding a cute new yarn color

The male offspring helping out

Getting a quick appointment for a Covid test

Superbowl snacks

Fast test results

Afternoon naps

Nyquil

The dogs letting me sleep until 8am

Orange juice

Sunday Inspiration: Three Things

 

Thankful Thursday: February 10, 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

Old pictures

Gaining followers for my Etsy shop

My cat

Foggy days

Handmade soup on a rainy evening

Doggy smiles

Drinks of fresh cold water

My dad is ok

New downstairs flooring

Watching the Olympics

Beautiful - but cold - days

Coffee

Plumbing is fixed

My curls

Playing with my dogs

Sunday Inspiration: Love & Pride

 

Thankful Thursday: February 3, 2022

 

I Am Thankful For:

Lunch with my dad and his wife

Pretty sweaters

Holds ready at the library

A short walk on a brisk day

My daughter calling to check on me

Nyquil

A restful night

Scripture

Drive-thru Covid test

My test was negative

Lazy afternoons

Snow, but just a little

Dreams

Sunshine

Starting to feel better

Inspiration

My plants

A brand new month

My husband

Open windows in February

Currently... February 2022

Welcome, February!  It's the month of love.  Whether you celebrate Valentine's Day, Galentines, show yourself some affection with a little self-care, or don't observe the day at all - I hope you find an opportunity to let some love into your life.

Working On: I am doing a little bit of cleaning, organizing,  and redecorating around the house.  I need to clean out and extremely organize the linen closet.  I did a little redo of the kitchen counters - nothing major.  I'm also working on winding all my yarn into cakes and reorganizing it.  That's a whole process, but it will get there eventually.

I'm a month into the temperature blanket and so far I am pleased with how it's looking.  So far, I have only had to use a few of the cooler colors.  I am excited to see the colors change when we start to get warmer temperatures in a few months. 

Celebrating: The Man of the House and I made some plans to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early.  We're usually very low-key for that holiday, just a dinner out and a card or chocolate or something. But this year we're taking a little local overnight getaway.  

Wanting/Needing: After a winter storm dropped about 10 inches of snow on us last month, I realized that I need a new coat/jacket.  I haven't really been going out much in the last couple of years - especially in the cold, so I didn't realize how worn out mine was.  When I take the dogs out I usually just throw on one of my husband's jackets or an old coat that used to belong to the male offspring.  Time to order a little something new for myself. 

Eating: I have been trying out some new recipes recently.  Last week I made a delicious shakshuka!  Over the weekend, I created a version of chicken shawarma. We wrapped the chicken in flatbread with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a homemade yogurt sauce. Yummy!  I will definitely be making both of these again.

Loving: The Man of the House and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary later this year.  We're starting to make plans for a big anniversary trip. I am loving the anticipation and fun of dreaming about where we'll go and the adventures we will have.

February Goals:

• Post Easter items to Etsy shop
•  Organize linen closet
• Work on winding and organizing yarn
• Read at least 3 books
• Create Sunday posts for the 2nd quarter
• Make at least 3 new-to-me recipes

What are your plans for February?