Reflection Monday for January 2024

Democracy

Hello 2024!

In this presidential election year of 2024 

there is surely going to be a 

massive amount of bickering, 

false information, and lack of common sense. 

Please,

Understand clearly why it is imperative that 

Democracy is protected by Peaceful means!

Thank you 

New Year's 2024: Sydney, Australia puts on stunning fireworks show

End of the Year 2023

 January

from Reflection Monday

However you chose

to approach life,

Please Pay Attention

to the World around you.

Be respectful of others,

as well as yourself.

February

Lichen On an Old Apple Tree Branch

A favorite photograph taken at the 

Robert Frost Interpretative Trail.

March

I accidently flipped paint off my palette knife 

onto my neck where it made quite a mess.

Made me laugh.

April

The Huddle

On a Sunday morning, I became fascinated

by dinner rolls.

May

Plume Moth

The yearly visit of a plume moth.

June

Otter Creek Basin

A good place to take water study photos.

 
July

Thunderstorm Weather Symbol

 

Creating small signage from scrap wood is fun.

August

Have a Delicious Ingredients' Weekend!

Design your own tartan

Hand sew a fall fleece hat 

Read about the Coriolis Effect

Poach pears

Create a veggie goulash

Sing to a summer squash

Go for a walk with a friend

Read a few Shakespeare Sonnets

Tell your Wok a story

September

Pink cosmos were brilliant in the summer of 2023.

October

Shopping for mums in October

November

A sunset to remember in November 2023.

December 

Tea!

Day 365 of Week 52 December 2023

My Old Summer Hat

 In 2024, I will add more flower s

to my summer hat,

and dance to the music of daylight.

Zero days remain of this year.

Farewell 2023

Watch New Year's fireworks 

around the World on YouTube

Search for Kiribati, 

the islands are where 

New Year's Day begins.

Day 363 of Week 52 December 2023

Red Clover

 Summer is closer, and so is 2024.

Reflection Monday December 2023

Felt Snowwoman Ornament

There was a time when handmade had a charm that spoke of hearth, home, family, community, love. I'm not sure that holds as  much anymore when so many consumers buy foreign factory made goods that are handmade, (as beautiful as they may be).

There is a lot of detail in the felt ornamant*. I can't tell if it is handmade or a made in an assembly line. The stitching says handmade. Yet, I have seen the photographs of factory line women sitting on the ground making things by hand for foreign markets.

Did the person who made the ornament do it with love as a gift or dream of the people that have the money to give it as a gift?

🌲

* On closer inspection, wearing my trusty reading glasses, I see marks on the felt indicating where to stitch. I believe the ornament is made from a craft kit. Still, somebody put together that kit.

Photograph of the Week

 That is what happens when I decide to not 

pull out a lot of holiday decorations.

I buy more ornaments at the thrift store*.

Thinking this is a neat plot plan to try 

a different theme this year, 

homemade holiday ornaments.

I don't have to go through the decorations boxes. 

I only put on my faux tree what I make

 or buy at the thrift stores.

Chairs and snowpersons are a cute combination.

* I returned today hoping the scarf I didn't buy is still there. Somebody bought it. sigh. 

I bought 3 ornaments, a sled, a flying Santa, and a hunting cap. Make that 4, a felt snowman.

Thoughts About the Breaking Point

Breaking Point, Merriam Webster
noun ~ The point at which a person gives way under stress.

Everyone has a breaking point. 

There are, I believe, 3 types of breaking points. The high and low strength, and, then there's the selective breaking point that can't be relied on from one event to another. 

Why is that?

In some cases, a person can be trained to endure. In other cases, life unchosen, trains us to be strong, weak or meh. 

At present, there is a lot going on in the World that makes me wonder where the breaking point will be for all the craziness going on. There are real human men with the power to, that have threatened to use nuclear weapons. (Note, to date only one woman might be eventually be in that group.) 

I've touched on this subject in past posts. Old folks can be like this, repetative, even in the same conversation. Every time I clean out email addresses, change passwords, take a look at my online presence, I compare where I am to where the World is; and here I go with another post about it.

Not to brag, but I feel the World is more depressed than I am at the moment. I'm guessing, in 2024, people might turn around and realize that common sense is a safer way to live. Less strain, longer life, no breaking point to deal with.

Welcome to December 2023

Easy Squash & Turkey Soup

3 quart sauce pan

2-3 cups of chopped squash

1-2 chopped celery sticks

1 cup cooked and cubed turkey

A few shakes of black pepper

Teaspoon of garlic powder

Add water to cover squash and celery

Cook on medium low until soft

Add turkey, black pepper, and garlic powder

Add 1-2 cups broth or water

Simmer about 15 minutes

Note: If you want to freeze some of the soup, then don't add the cooked turkey cubes if the turkey has been frozen once already. You can add other ingredients when the squash soup is thawed.

The turkey was frozen in my soup. Thus, I won't freeze the soup.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ready for December?

I'm not. There's a bit of anxiety going on via December arriving in what feels like way too soon. It is unsettling. As a distraction, I've been reviewing my list of nice things to do for myself. I want to add more.

 

Remember the blog subject I wanted to post that I forgot what it is? Well, it happened again. This time I forgot within minutes. I'm guessing this is either a part of the aging process or I'm such a genius, my brain only has room for so much. What doesn't fit, gets truncated. I remember it was there as well as I remember it isn't, (whatever it is).

Ice Forming

To break the spell of December woes, I've been watching videos on subjects that aren't necessarily me-ish. I do notice a lighter attitude as I spend time pondering lanes of thought I don't stroll down often.

One such lane is the training elite soldiers go through, endure, survive. Years ago I saw a documentary about U.S. Coast Guard training. I shiver to this day just thinking about a person jumping into a cold choppy ocean. 

 

I'm such an unadventurous (out of shape) person, I didn't even watch the entire episode of "SAS Australia,*" Season 5, episode 1. I felt uncomfortable watching people in such difficult situations. They are there for a reason, good reasons. 

Would I consider such a program? Yes. 

Alas, I'm too old, bone density, stamina, and such being what it is. Age does have a few perks.

* I did watch 96% of Episode 2, Panic. I skip over most of the interview section.

Farewell November 2023

A Vermont Southern Horizon at Sunset
28 November 2023, 4:06 PM EDT

One more day to go before it is December 2023.  

It is Unreal how fast this year has gone by.

Let's try to slow down December by being outdoors more.

P.S.

I found the dinnerware set with the same colors.

Dakota Fields Rebecca Stoneware, gloss gray

P.P.S.

In 1964, Teaneck, New Jersey, there was a Wetson's hamburger place.

One night there was a Jaguar XKE, stunning gray with saddle tan leather interior. The most beautiful vehicle I ever saw. I was mesmerized.

That sky reminds me of that Jaguar.

Thoughts About a Milkweed Seed

A Milkweed Seed

On a very windy afternoon, one lone milkweed seed caught my attention. The wind is blowing towards the east. I thought to let it go because it is on its way to Vermont. Windy or not, I catch the seed and put it in my pocket. I hope to sow it in the spring to encourage milkweed to grow in my tiny garden. Alas, heartache follows because when I searched, the seed is gone.

It was a windy afternoon.

Here's the thing though.

As soon as I held it, I began to wonder, given picking up wild bird feathers is prohibited in many American states, if picking up a seed pod is not allow, falls under a regulation of some kind.* If something is blowing around in the wind, are you allowed to catch and keep it?

Silly question? Maybe not because nowadays, there are so many things that are regulated, take what we can say for example, there's no telling what is against the law to do or even say.

A solution. Save up the money to buy a plot of land. That way I can capture all the milkweed seeds that fly by.

I'll be a milkweed seed harvesting fool, arms in the air, twirling around, singing, and laughing.

* Reading a few pages, I have yet to find information about collecting seeds or picking flowers in Upstate New York.