No-complaining November

I've made a tiny resolution for the month of November--I'm going to try to stop myself when I hear useless bitching/whining/complaining coming out of my mouth. It doesn't help anything, after all. For instance, I can sit here all day and stew over the many reasons I hate my job, but in the end I still have to get up and go there every day. I can bitch about certain family members that really, really need to get their act together, but they will still be acting like selfish, self centered jerks. Complaining only makes situations that are out of my control that much more stressful for me. I need to stop. I'm sure it's going to be a daily uphill battle. I'm going to try to focus on the bright spots instead of being negative all the time.

So for starters, instead of sitting here thinking about the 2 hour holiday work meeting I will be forced to attend tonight (after a regular 8 hour workday) I will spend my last little bit of time at home today knitting. And enjoying my pretty pansies blooming on the patio:

 

 

Bright spots, book review, and other assorted stuff

Bright spots this second week of September:

• Several beautiful sunsets featuring the waxing crescent moon and Venus shining like a jewel in the western sky.
• The very beginning of the trees changing colors in my neighborhood, and the feeling of fall approaching as the days grow shorter and shorter.
• A weekend off coming up! I had originally planned to have my Mid Autumn moon party this weekend. Since the party has been called off, I've decided to spend the weekend doing things for myself that I'll enjoy: shopping at the farmer's market, cooking and baking, planting some fall flowers in containers on our patio, and spending quality time with Gregg and our pets.
• A cleaner-than-usual house. I originally requested an extra day off this week to do housework (for the party) and so that's just what I did. I cleaned for hours yesterday, so now my weekend off can be spent doing fun stuff without guilt!
• My perpetually happy dog and our daily walks with her.

Also: I've recently read a wonderful book. It's called Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

It's the story of a 14 year old girl dealing with the death of her beloved gay uncle during the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1987. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with her uncle's grieving partner, a relationship she must keep secret from her family, who hate and fear the man they believe killed the uncle. June and Toby are both lonely, both outsiders, and both grieving the loss of the person they loved best in all the world.

 The story resonated deeply with me. I was 12 years old in 1987, and I vividly remember the fear and misinformation about AIDS that was prevalent then. The author's insight into the inner workings of an awkward adolescent girl dealing with a terrible loss was nothing short of amazing. This story was so beautifully told that it broke my heart a little bit. Tell the Wolves I'm Home was a completely unexpected pleasure, bittersweet and lovely.

One other thing I've been enjoying for the past few days is a new app I purchased for my tablet called Distant Suns. It's an astronomy app that gives you an up to the minute view of the night sky from your location. You can look up all sorts of information about stars, planets, galaxies, and deep space objects as well as meteor showers, eclipses, and other space phenomena. Technology is such a wonderful thing!

That's been my week in a nutshell. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bright spots

In a week filled with rainy days, work angst, and onerous household/personal obligations, there were a few bright spots for me this first week of July.

A newly fledged house sparrow flew in to our garage yesterday, and couldn't figure out how to get back out. He kept fluttering up against a window pane instead of just flying back out through the open door. I walked up to him very slowly, and gently cupped my hands around him, and carried him outside.  He didn't protest at all. Although I've rescued and released a lot of orphaned wild baby birds, there's still nothing like holding a tiny little scrap of trusting, warm fluff in your hands. This happened before I left for work yesterday, and brightened my morning.

Speaking of work, readers that I connect with that shop at my bookstore are rare. When they do show up, it's always wonderful to trade recommendations with them. The other day I met a woman about my age with excellent taste in books (well, my taste, anyway!). We had a great conversation, and she is British, so she had the most wonderful accent! When she was leaving, she pointed to the stack of books she was about to purchase and said, "This is brilliant! Thank you so much!"  Meeting her (and her "this is brilliant" line) made my day!

Third bright spot: homemade blueberry pies! I've discovered a great easy pie recipe to use the berries we're currently picking in our backyard. I've made two so far, and will post the recipe later in the week.

What sorts of things are brightening up your week, dear readers?