It’s Friday!
First of all, thanks for all the great comments and suggestions on Wednesday’s post. I’m so excited, I want to move right away. However, this is more like a five-year plan (sigh). Lots of people suggested Greenville, SC. Other suggestions were Louisville, Albuquerque, and Prescott, AZ- to name a few. After Birchie wrote about her trip to West Virginia, I was mildly interested in that state. It looks SO BEAUTIFUL, plus it has the lowest cost of living in the country. But guess what- I googled “how many sunny days in West Virginia per year?” and the answer was…60. EGADS. Cross West Virginia off the list immediately. Lisa suggested Knoxville, TN and I’m very, very intrigued. I’m looking into it.. and perhaps a trip to Knoxville this summer? We’ll see. In the meantime, here I am, living my life in Florida. And there are plenty of things to look forward to this weekend, like… COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS STARTING!!! I’m going to make something semi-festive for dinner, and hoping to find some of this delicious non-alcoholic beer I had at my sister’s: I also got some great books (well, great-sounding, at least) on my day off this week: I found The Sparrow at a used bookstore for $3, and the other two I got from the library. Has anyone read these? Which one should I start first? The third thing I’m looking forward to this weekend is… getting some sleep. As I mentioned in my last post, Muffin has been waking us up multiple times a night. This is… not really working for any of us. Until we can get that third cat (which I’m sure will solve all our problems… ha ha… well at least it couldn’t get any worse) we’re stumbling around like zombies. Muffin will probably still meow loudly, but at least I don’t have to get up at 5:30 for a couple days. What are you looking forward to this weekend? Top photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
Big Life Decisions
Gretchen Rubin once asked, “Are you a ‘book’ person or a ‘tree’ person?” In other words, do you see your life as a book of chapters, where you turn the pages? Or do you see yourself more like a tree that’s rooted in one place, growing rings from a center? I’m definitely a “book” person. My life has been a series of chapters- I grew up in Illinois, then lived in Florida for a few years, moved to New York City, worked as a musician for many years (traveling between NYC and Europe) and then finally “settled down” back in Florida, where my husband likes to joke I joined the witness protection program. I relocated, changed my career, and changed my name (when we got married). This chapter of my life has been AMAZING! I had my kids! I escaped from my Seasonal Affective Disorder and flourished in sunny Florida! I learned a completely new trade! And now… I’m thinking it’s just about time for a new chapter. My daughter will graduate from high school in two years, and we’ll be empty nest-ers. When both our kids are out of the house, there really won’t be anything to keep us here. We don’t have any family in Florida, and just a few friends. And, the friends we do have are making five year plans to escape Florida. A five-year timeframe is probably what we’re looking at as well. Where will we move? Guess what- this is where YOU, dear readers, come in! I’m open to suggestions. I’ll tell you what I’m looking for. I want to live somewhere with lots of natural beauty, with trails to hike and run. I would like it to be colder than Florida, but not TOO cold- I know I can’t live in the midwest, for example. We would be looking for a place with a lower cost of living (I mean- almost anything is lower than South Florida!) so, for example, places like Northern California or Boulder, CO are not feasible. On the other hand, we would like a little bit of culture- maybe near a college, maybe a town with an indie bookstore, things like that- in other words, I don’t want to live in the middle of Alabama. We’re not in a rush, but we’re talking about taking some exploratory trips, possibly next summer, to check out possibilities. Any suggestions would be welcome! On another, less life-changing subject, we’re thinking of getting a third cat. Our older cat, Charlotte, has gotten SO CRANKY and refuses to have anything to do with Muffin (our younger, more sociable calico). Charlotte has gone so far as to relocate herself out to the patio, and Muffin seems really sad! The worst thing is, she has taken to meowing, sadly AND LOUDLY in the middle of the night, and it’s really disrupting our sleep. When we googled possible solutions, one of them was “get a second cat.” What do you think??? Should I move to North Carolina? get another cat? Tell me what to do!
Books- and Reader, Know Thyself Part 2
I have two books to talk about. This first one I heard about on the Currently Reading podcast. It’s a classic “whodunit” in the style of Agatha Christie, written in 1936 and reissued as a British Library Crime Classic. Reading this made me appreciate what Agatha Christie managed to do in her books. An Agatha Christie never meanders aimlessly- the writing is so tight.This book was a little clunky by comparison. E.C.R. Lorac (pen name for Edith Caroline Rivett) is no Christie, but who is? This was still very good, and I like mysteries from this time period, so I enjoyed this. I had a new and unusual source for this next book recommendation- my son’s girlfriend, Isabel! I’m just getting to know this woman, so when she recommended a series of books that she loves, The Dresden Files, I jumped right on it. This is the first book of the series, and is a mix of fantasy and mystery. One review I read described it as “Harry Potter for adults.” Well, I think Harry Potter IS for adults, and this book shouldn’t really be compared to the greatest books of all time (in my opinion, of course). But I did enjoy it, and according to Isabel, the first two books of this series are not as good as the rest. Well, I’m intrigued! I’ll definitely be reading on in the series. Also, I have something to add to the “Reader, Know Thyself” journey I seem to be on. I’ve heard people talk about “high fantasy” without really understanding what that means. I finally looked it up, and according to the AI overview, high fantasy takes place “in a world entirely separate from our own, with its own history, geography, and cultures. This world is often heavily influenced by magic and fantastical elements.” OKAY YOU GUYS. This is what I realized- I like fantasy, but not HIGH fantasy. I like it when the story takes place in our world, with magical elements woven in. This is called “low fantasy”, and it makes me feel like I’m not that smart. High fantasy sounds more sophisticated, and something I SHOULD like, but the truth is, I get overwhelmed when I have to learn about a completely different world. Don’t give me any of this “world building!” Just tell me a great story, but don’t make me think THAT hard. As I said, it kind of makes me feel like I’m not smart enough to enjoy high fantasy- but Harry Potter is actually low fantasy, so it’s not like low fantasy is bad, by any means. The Dresden Files series is definitely low fantasy- Harry Dresden is a private investigator living in Chicago, who, oh yes, happens to be a wizard. The story is funny and a solid mystery, and I love how the magic is woven in. Do you like high fantasy? Low fantasy? Both, or neither? Top photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash
Weekly Rundown- Bulletproof
Well, the universe decided to throw me a curveball this week (although, in retrospect I should have seen it coming). I’m linking up as always with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown (thanks, ladies!) Let’s just see what happened… Monday First day of school! I’ve learned over the years to keep the first morning of school as simple as possible, so I didn’t run. But! I decided to run after work instead! This was… not a great idea. The heat index was probably around 100 degrees. I put ice in my hat and bra, which helped at first but by the last couple miles I was seriously overheated. Unfortunately, that was not the biggest issue. My left hip, which had been “niggling” at me, became downright cranky- irritated to the point where it was unpleasant to run. ARG! This is the same side as the hamstring that plagued me for months. I started to get upset about it, and then I thought, “No! This is completely under my control! I have to work hard to MAKE THIS HIP BULLETPROOF.” Tuesday I started the morning with Caroline Girvan’s deadbug workout, and then hit all my hip stability exercises. I haven’t been doing them often enough, but I will from now on! Wednesday I had planned a longer run for this day, but decided to take it to the Stairmaster instead. 75 minutes of climbing! This was hard, but probably not as hard as running in the heat. Thursday Same as Tuesday- CG deadbug workout, hip stability exercises, and also added an upper body workout. At night…FOOTBALL! It was hot, muggy, and crowded. The other team brought about a zillion fans and they infiltrated our side of the stadium, which made me cranky! I think I liked it better before we were state champions. Friday Leg day at the gym! Here I am, looking strong (?) at the squat bar. Saturday Let’s try running! 4 miles of… semi-pain free running. My hip didn’t hurt- I could feel a little irritation, but it was better than Monday. I take that lingering irritation as a gentle reminder not to slack off on my exercises again. Sunday On tap… hip exercises, of course! I also have to buckle down and take my CEU classes to renew my massage license. Some of them are interesting, and some are tedious- required classes that we take every two years, forever and ever. Here’s a sample test question from my required Ethics class: How was your week? Who do you think the founding father of ethics was?- I think the correct answer was supposed to be “Hippocrates” but I passed the test anyway.