Enlightening

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Daylights are starting to lengthen, and we can start seeing that happening shortly into January. Annual transitions into longer-lasting natural light excite the outdoorsy types and those who feed large animals routinely.

Each winter, I re-experience the discomfort of having to navigate among large animals in darkness while depending on an often inadequate, uncomfortable headlamp.

I say, “Come on, longer daylights!”

Would it be correct to refer to today as this year’s pluperfect shortest day?

Dear Friends: I must be at work early and fiddle later for an answer. Diana

Night Lights

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The Winter Solstice arrives today, bringing this year’s shortest day and its longest night. This is a period of darkness that encourages lots of anticipation. We’re doing that in our journey toward next Wednesday, a day that brings the festive cheers of Christmas and the First Day of Hanukkah; those offer light and warmth to the wintery world shrouded in shadows.

We can feel more optimistic while anticipating traditional events and the arrival of a new year. Those increase our hope and our sense of brighter days ahead. Soon, just a week or two after New Year’s Day, we will notice a subtle lengthening of daylight hours.

And so, we embrace deep winter’s festive moments, the recurring traditions and celebrations that offer solace and joy during this stretch of stingy sunlight. This year-end comforting pattern carries us through the darkest days; it gives us hope and promise for the new year.

Dear Friends: Our deep-winter traditions are warming despite the freezing chill. Diana

All In

Friday, December 20, 2024

Today is “ugly Christmas sweater day” at work. I’m unprepared because, in the first place, I mistakenly thought this was a day off work for me; in the second place, I wore my only ugly sweater last Friday, mistakenly thinking that was the official ugly sweater day, and wondering why others weren’t wearing noisy sweaters.

My ugly Christmas sweater is from last year’s Christmas selections. It’s a cautious sweater, neither particularly ugly nor attractive, and can sort of fit the bill. Some quick research taught me there is an official Ugly Sweater Day, the third Friday in December.

I searched for how to make my sweater uglier quickly this morning. I’d need a “microstitch gun,” which isn’t handy at home. Somehow, I’ll work this out, and one option would be using my glue gun to attach some of my Cockatoo’s shiny baubles to my not-yet-quite-ugly-enough sweater.

I grew up in a Jewish-oriented family without knowing ugly sweater routines. These days, however, working part-time in a retail store through Christmas has opened up more about this time of year for me.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are becoming tense from timelines for shopping, finding gifts, and selling. Those add up until everybody becomes weary. Ugly Christmas Sweaters are a fun celebration and an unconventional silly letting loose and enjoying the festive season.

Ugly Sweater Day reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously; it lets us express joy with a dose of humor. I will start preparing for next year by ordering a microstitch gun. I will get ready to participate today by taking some baubles from Peaches’ cage and going to look for my glue gun.

Dear Friends: Today, I’ll take photos and salute sweaters with creativity. Diana

Away To Work

Thursday, December 19, 2024

This is a quickie today because I must leave for work very early. Christmas shoppers have been keeping the store busy. My coworkers and I try hard to make hopefully everybody happy. That’s proving a challenge near Christmas because people are stressed and anxious, especially last-minute shoppers who aren’t finding the exact gifts they wish to give.

Seasonal sales began about six weeks ago. The first three weeks were for “Black Friday,” and these three have been for Christmas. By now, most stores are thin on popular sizes and styles.

The lesson is to shop early. One might not want to, which is understandable, but retail has changed and continues to change. Shopping habits, too, are changing constantly.

Dear Friends: Many constant changes in the big world push us daily. Diana

A Life Story

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

One week before Christmas!

Yesterday, at the department store where I work, a woman was purchasing a gift for her mom and told me that her mom is 103 years old. Her mom also is fully cognizant. I stepped away from the cash register, asking if she had some extra moments to tell me more about her mom. The customer seemed pleased.

Her mom was born in 1920 in South Dakota, where she lived until she graduated from high school. In those days, her best bet for self-supporting was to become a secretary. As a young adult, she went to Los Angeles and attended a “secretarial school.” Instead of working long as a secretary, she joined the Military. She became a career WAC, earning both rank and technical skills. On retiring, she returned to SD, married a local farmer, and gave birth to five children. My customer, approximately in her forties, was the youngest of those siblings.

I asked my customer what it was like to grow up with a focused, high-achieving mom in years when women were less outwardly aspirational. She believes her childhood was terrific, and her mom was an expert guide. My customer added that she followed in her mom’s footsteps by marrying and having a child later in life.

She said that until last year, her mom continued to live independently in her South Dakota home, doing all the housework and outside chores. Finally, her failing hearing and eyesight forced her into assisted living. The mom remains amazingly independent and fully aware but benefits from having help. The customer added that, from her mom’s perspective, although she’s relatively healthy, she’s lived for too long.

My customer pointed me to the “feel” of a sleepwear item she was purchasing because her mom’s failing eyesight had turned her into “a toucher” and her way of deciding if she does or doesn’t like an item. The customer and I agreed that the PJ set had a pleasingly lightweight, silky feel and seemed perfect for her mom.

Dear Friends: Most special moments–sharing, learning, and connection. Diana

Mr. Love

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

I was delighted to see my long-time friend Judy shopping in the department store where I work part-time. She reads my blogs (thank you, Judy) and “loves Chase” (my puppy from hell!). I was about to offer Chase to her, with delivery, but she was too fast; she showed me a picture of her new Corgi puppy. Judy and her hubby Greg are Corgi folks, so they and their yard’s gorgeous garden are safe from Chase.

Yes, Chase is still with me. I hold my breath when coming home from work and going up the driveway. In my head, a little prayer: “Please let him be around, still, confined or loose, and above all, safe.”

Lately, Chase has been greeting me happily from inside the dog-fenced area. Yes, I’ve been letting him stay in there with his buddies because he hasn’t been digging out. Maybe because the wintery grounds are frozen, resisting his efforts. That reasoning doesn’t make enough sense because Chase is a strong and determined critter.

Do you think…could we even begin to hope…that he’s maturing?

In March, Chase will turn three years old, when a dog is considered mature. Oh, how I’ve been waiting–from when he was four or five months old!

That’s when I saw he could boing straight up and successfully climb over any known fence, no matter how tall. That’s when I found him routinely escaping by digging under fencing–any section of it, despite chicken wire–set deeply into the ground–to prevent that.

Aw, Chase!

Well, Mary loves you, and so does Judy. That’s no potential relief for me, as Mary lives far away in CA, and Judy already has a couple of Corgies. So, Chase, you’re still with me, and thankfully, you’re still safe.

Dear Friends: Fun seeing Judy! After the holidays, we’ll catch up over lunch. Diana

Happy Relaxing

Monday, December 16, 2024

This is the last whole week before Christmas. The department store that employs me part-time will be busy and has scheduled me to work every day this week. The store is borrowing my allowable working hours for next week to cover my above-average hours this week. I am not scheduled to work most of next week, and I hope that holds.

Ah, an unexpected 5-day break! It’s an excellent opportunity to recharge. I can indulge in well-deserved “me time.”

Besides playing more with my critters, I will continue to transition into veganism. I will practice cooking in that style and start making bread from scratch.

I will choose activities that bring me joy, relaxation, and a sense of fulfillment. I will take my camera out and capture the surrounding wintery beauty. I may attend a concert, participate in a group singalong, or join a book club’s discussion.

There are many opportunities: I can read a book or two, sleep in longer, savor a delicious meal, reconnect with friends, and do more serious journaling and blog planning.

Dear Friends: Seeking enlightenment in some of the year’s darkest days. Diana

A Lovely Cold

By the artist Sandra Boynton (from her FB post)

Sunday, December 15, 2024

The department store where I am a part-time worker was busy yesterday; all good for the business and inspiring for its employees. After hours on my feet, checking out customers, and returning tried-on clothing to wherever the pieces came from, I leave to go home. I’m tired but happier if we’ve been super-busy with customers.

I’m off from work today and (speaking of super) anticipating tonight’s sky with December’s “Cold Moon” appearing. While driving home last evening, I couldn’t stop looking at that moon, bright and clear. From all indications, sightings of it tonight should be even better.

It’ll be spectacular, and here’s why.

The Cold Moon is the “longest” full moon illumination of the year. The moon’s proximity to the winter solstice (December 21st) gives it a longer path through the sky and gives us more viewing time.

This year’s Cold Moon happens to coincide with a rare “major lunar standstill,” which occurs roughly every 18.6 years. The standstill is caused by a wobble in its orbit that makes the moon reach its highest and lowest points in the sky.

I will enjoy tonight’s longer moon-viewing opportunity with unusually striking visual effects.

Dear Friends: Last night’s moon greatly hinted toward what’s to come. Diana

Journeys

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Cold, cold, cold, is what it is outside again today. Instead of complaining in my head about soon having to strap on cleated boots, get into a heavy coat, and go outside to feed my horses, I should be thankful it’s not as cold-bad as sometimes it has become at this time of year. I also need to remember last year’s bad weather here in Central Oregon, when soon after New Year’s, more freezing, longer-lasting, and just-awful weather rolled in. I stayed cleated, bundled, and complaining the whole way to springtime.

In a larger perspective, cold, snowy weather is less headachy than other, increasingly common, climate events. I’m thinking of hurricanes, tornados, fires, and floods. Beyond an actual event, coping with loss and recovery possibilities and impossibilities. It’s somewhat real to me because I grew up in Oklahoma. I recall being “on watch” for tornados that threatened often, and if I saw the air “turning blue,” sheltering became an immediate need.

Reflecting on all that is making the local weather seem less awful.

Dear Friends: Now, I’ll boot up, strap on, and go hiking in the cold. Diana

Hay, Mom!

Friday, December 13, 2024

Yesterday, we Central Oregonians coped with several inches of snow and can expect more today. That morning, I wore tall boots with cleated bottoms while out feeding my horses. At lunchtime, I came home from my outside job to feed the horses. I should say, “I crawled home.” Vehicles were crowding the roadways and barely moving. I returned late to work and felt guilty.

The weather, time constraints, and traffic stalls got me focusing on my priorities. My horses are at the top because equines must be fed several times daily. My other critters need attention and care, too, but less critically than the equines. I can’t avoid taking too-long lunch hours when conditions make that necessary. Feed the horses–damn the torpedos!

My coworkers seemed to understand and didn’t complain. One of my reasons for appreciating that outside working environment.

Long story short, weather conditions stopped me from finding and bringing home a Poinsettia. I wanted a bright red plant to punctuate the snowy landscape that fills my big picture window. Since the snow is sticking and we can expect more, I will have time to find a potted Poinsettia for the shelf of my snow-filled picture window at home.

Dear Friends: Home caring for equines is a consuming responsibility. Diana