Sweden is one of the most progressive countries in the world, but I know its people keep and honor old customs and traditions as well. Perhaps never more so than during the dark and cold month of December.
I wrote about Christmas celebrations in Sweden on my old blog, but that was many years ago and few of the bloggers who followed me then read this new blog.
So I will do it again, beginning this Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent.
I will spend Thanksgiving by myself, with myself and with Faith. In the spirit of the day, I will focus on gratitude, I have so much to be grateful for.
I have enjoyed being back to blogging and connecting with old friends.
Happy Thanksgiving
for your comments on my "tired" post. I posted it to read your comments, of course, and I appreciate your feedback.
Since I got the heart/breathing issues, I've developed a simple system at home: work for a short while/rest for a short while and start over. I call it pacing.
I absolutely don't want to pace my trips to town, my goal is to go only once a week, unless there's something special, like a doctor's appointment.
So I must pace myself while I'm in town. I already do in a couple of places that offer seating: I always sit on one of the benches provided by the post office to rest before I stand in line. And I sit in the chair at the dry cleaners too, while they go and fetch my things. I appreciate those small conveniences.
I also appreciate the drive thru services they have at the Walmart Pharmacy.
It's been raining here, at 4,111 ft. (where my house sits) which is wonderful for critters large and small and for the hundreds of Juniper trees on my land. And everywhere else around here.
Saturday, I went to town, I'm writing this on Sunday. I'm writing because I want to talk about being tired.
This is what I did on Saturday:
Drove to town in my new and very comfortable car -- about 14.5 miles, which, according to Google, should take about 21 minutes.
All the places I visited, except the post office, are on the same street, not far apart:
First, I drove to Walmart's drive-thru pharmacy and picked up my medicine.
Then to Save Mart, where I picked up my favorite buns, baked in the store, and some other things, but not much.
I saw my friend Jeanne in the store, but didn't stop to talk, just said hello, hopefully I will see her soon.
Then I said, "Hello Stephanie," to this young woman who works in the store, she said, "Samantha," or was it the other way around? I will not remember her name until I write it down on a piece of paper.
I've discovered that old age can be funny too. Which is a very good thing.
Since I don't have a washer during the winter, due to it being in my shed and the water pipes that go to the shed freeze in the winter, I take my sheets and towels to the Cleaners in town.
I've become friendly with the women who work there, they do a great job of washing my sheets and towels. They even iron my sheets, which is not necessary, but still nice. The rest of my laundry I wash by hand.
After the cleaners, I drove to the post office and picked up the mail from my box. There were two packages, those I picked up from the counter. I don't think I stood in line at all. One package was small with medical supplies.
The other was large as it contained my walker. A nice woman who works at the post office carried it out to my car.
Then I drove the 14.5 miles back home.
I don't think I did a whole lot of things in town, certainly not enough to be this tired today.
I had a good night's sleep, but still, today I'm completely exhausted, so very, very tired. I took Faith outside and encouraged her to play the - Run Around the House - game.
I've started to think of myself as an Every Other Day woman. One day, I'm fine, driving to town, running errands. The next day, I'm completely and totally exhausted.
I'm sure I will feel rested tomorrow, which is good, since I have a lot of things going on here at home.
More about that in another post.
I copied this picture of what is to become the world's largest wildlife bridge last spring, but never posted the story.
The bridge crosses the 101 freeway, a 10 lane highway in Southern California, including the Los Angeles suburbs. When it's completed in 2026, at a cost of $92 million, it will provide a safe crossing for the variety of animals that call this area home, including mountain lions, bobcats, mule deer and coyotes to mention the larger species. Of course, there are many small critters that will also benefit from this safe crossing.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, will be the largest such crossing in the world and it will be filled with plants and trees to make the animals feel they are in their natural environment.
It's been two months since I last posted and I have no idea why it's been so long.
When I first started blogging in 2009, there was a woman blogger who was in her 80's. I don't remember her name or the name of her blog, all I remember about her is her raven-black hair.
I admired her so much for keeping her blog going, at what seemed to me then, her very old age.
Now, here I am at 84 and, hopefully, back after taking a two-month break.
Being creative is important.
Being in contact with friends is even more important.
Blogging gives us both.
As I reflected on this during my break, I knew I had to come back.
NB
First rain, since last winter or early spring came on the 15th of November. First snow may be on its way too.
