Friday, January 03, 2025

It’s not easy writing “2025” after long months of 2024. Soon, we’ll all adjust.

This year is the first I’ve not made resolutions because they usually drift to meaninglessness. Instead, I’m permitting myself to enjoy feeling optimistic and not trying to put my fingers squarely on “what about” and why. I am happy to have good friends and neighbors, appreciate my part-time department store job, and enjoy my critters, inside and outside.

All those are evolving toward a new and acceptable resolution to continue doing what’s already happening. I will also actively work to improve “sticky situations” when possible.

My perspective embraces the efforts a neighbor and I are making to patch long-standing differences. Years ago, we bumped heads over something unimportant and quit interacting with or speaking to each other.

What’s different are fallouts from life’s realities. We are single women with independent households, and we are aging. Simply put, our needs are different than in the past. We have recognized that collaborating would benefit us mutually. We have agreed to keep closer, more helpful eyes on one another. We will have the keys to one another’s homes and be more active socially.

We’ve always had much in common–our politics and love for animals–but unfortunately, our personalities didn’t mesh effectively. Ahead will be different because we’ve talked, want to, and are willing to collaborate.

I blocked my neighbor from my mind successfully and for a long time. Suddenly, in the early days of this new year, I find myself equally astonished and comforted by a strong sense of relief in knowing my neighbor and I can be friends.

Dear Friends: This “heavy world” makes feeling optimistic even greater. Diana

Thursday, January 02, 2024

Yesterday, January 01, was New Year’s Day. That means today is the pluperfect NYD. This works for me because I went to work yesterday. Today, I’m free and can make this my New Year’s Day, proving that “Second can be lovely.”

I have four items on my NYD’s agenda: care for animals, go to the gym, visit my neighbor, and read more of Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker {1986)–his geneticist perspective on “being human” blows me away. I’m rethinking, reconsidering, and reevaluating much I’ve always taken for granted.

I’m deeply in the learning and processing stages. I can’t yet step back enough to summarize coherently and intelligently here. I will, though, given time.

Experience teaches that I cannot “push the gym” experiences. Trying to do too much too soon (or all at once) ends my willingness and efforts. This year, I will go to exercise on my days off–hopefully, 3X weekly.

My neighbor has just returned from an emotional visit to her sister, whom I know and care about, and who’s dealing with the onset of dementia. My visit will have us catching up and planning for the year ahead.

Dear Friends: No resolutions yet, but I’m keeping an open mind. Diana

Wednesday, January 01, 2025

Today starts another brand new year.

This is a time of renewal in a world facing many significant challenges! America soon will become Republican-led; Israeli forces continue letting loose on Palestine and thereabouts; Russia and N. Korea are unleashing unstoppable havoc on Ukraine.

Problems involving Israel and Ukraine aren’t the only or most worrisome situations. Much press attention makes these conflicts highly visible and people very aware of them. Throughout the world, many more active conflicts are occurring. Those that receive less press attention gain less public attention; however, all are bullying, starving, and destructive events.

I am proud of having done my part. I stayed aware and thoughtful, evaluated the options, and finally voted. Like everybody else, I must wait, hopefully, for satisfying resolutions to big problems.

Here in Central Oregon, the department store where I work part-time will be open today; I am being asked to go in and sell jewelry. Bummaroo, baby! I wish for more pleasurable activities, but like a good soldier, I will sell jewelry.

Dear Friends: Confusing times are making us yearn for clarity and order. Diana

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Here’s a toast to the New Year: May it become all we want to hope for!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, another early morning calls out, “Chores ahead!”

I am watching steam rising above the cup before me and am planning for this evening. I’m considering ways of approaching midnight with my crew and our activities.

I will be in a thoughtful mood this evening. That will have me reflecting on the past year and deciding what to celebrate or leave behind. I will raise a glass to the energy sources that are taking me into the new year.

My dogs will hear this late evening’s loud noises and will be on edge–their toenails unceasingly click-clacking against the laminated flooring. Ordinarily, such signals of their discomfort cause me discomfort more than tonight’s will because I understand and can let things be.

I imagine my outside animals will react to Midnight’s noises, too, especially the equines. Our years of living here decently assure me of their taking another New Year’s in stride.

I will cozy up at home tonight for a quiet evening. I will reflect, embrace solitude with animals, and enjoy some quality “me time.”

Oh yeah, there’s Peaches! He’ll be a screaming accompaniment to midnight’s fireworks.

Dear Friends: May your New Year’s Eve be lighthearted–your expectations joyful! Diana

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Two days and counting to this year’s ending and another’s beginning.

I am starting to wrestle with the value of New Year’s resolutions. Should I formalize my key reflections on the year ahead by committing them to paper?

I am always looking forward, casually planning, and mentally preparing for what might come next. Yet, solidifying my floating notions and aspirations into concrete, written goals feels strangely daunting.

Practical matters aren’t making me pause. Caring for my horses, Pimmy the donkey, and my dogs are clear responsibilities with measurable goals. My biggest challenges are grappling with the unknowns: the unpredictable economic landscape’s potential impact on my life, the logical best ways of pursuing my more whimsical dreams, and mostly, identifying a wise path toward the future I wish for and the steps to take.

Maybe concerns are making me pause. There’s a weight of expectations that could inhibit achieving formal resolutions. By defining goals too rigidly, their possibilities might be limited. On the other hand, I could feel wonderfully liberated by articulating my aspirations, giving them shape and form.

As this year ends, I’m struggling with the delicate balance of perceiving ways to embrace the unknown and chart a doable course toward the future.

Dear Friends: Goal setting means dancing between serendipity and intention. Diana

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Yesterday, a day off from my part-time work became an adventure thanks to my kind and energetic friend Susie. With her impressive strength, we tackled the long-overdue task of clearing away an unappealing pile of heavy items stacked outside for too long. We loaded them into my trailer and made a satisfying trip to the dump. Thus, reclaimed order from clutter!

But our day didn’t end there. That evening, we joined her husband, Dale, to gather inside their authentic teepee. The cozy space with a blazing wood fire warmed us as rain drummed rhythmically on the canvas overhead. We feasted on delicious takeout, savored a pleasant bottle of wine, and shared stories and thoughts into the night. I’ll cherish our blend of camaraderie, warmth, and connection for a long time.

Today, I’m back at the bustling department store and in trusty running shoes for a long shift. The post-Christmas rush is in full swing. Many customers are eager to exchange gifts for different sizes or return those that missed the mark. It’ll be a whirlwind of activity, all rustling receipts and shopping bags.

There will be a day of energy and a shared sense of purpose in helping people find more closely what they need (or return what they don’t!). For all that, I am about to lace up my most comfortable shoes and dive headfirst into the fray.

Dear Friends: My coffee and bread are welcoming this #3 day of more daylight. Diana

Friday, December 27, 2024

As today dawns, one of my hands holds a cup of hot coffee, and my other has a chunk of (homemade) dark bread with a sweet butter slather (both about to disappear). Something missing to improve this pleasant moment is a higher outside temperature. I could perch on the small eastside deck and sip this coffee while appreciating the sunrise.

In writing this, I’m struck by how close we are to nature. I’m thinking about how, even within the confines of my home, the simple act of savoring coffee and bread connects me to the larger natural world. There’s the wheat that nourishes my bread, the bees that pollinate flowers and create my sweetener, and the cows that provide the milk for my butter. All the natural world elements intertwine and create nourishment and contentment moments.

I feel gratitude as this quiet morning’s steam rises from my cup. To put a finger more squarely on it, I am thankful for the intricate web of life that sustains us all. I might dream of sitting outside, warm and sun-sighting, but “inside moments” like these inspire me equally. It’s because of Nature’s multiple and continuous “simple gifts” that assure and comfort us all.

Dear Friends: Here’s a coffee cup salute to y’all! Diana

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Finally, it’s here: Merry Christmas, everyone!

Central Oregon’s pre-Christmas weather was nearly perfect. Yesterday, our temperatures stayed around 40 degrees. There were occasional light rains but no winds.

Mostly, I enjoyed being outside, except that near the barn, lots of sloppy mud covered the chicken coop and horse areas. The mud made for slippery footing, and I managed to navigate and stay upright by dragging my feet. I did lots of mud-skiing through the slush while feeding the outside animals.

Later, it got colder, and by the time I ventured outside to provide final feedings, the ground was slippery with black ice that challenged my boots. Shoot, I’ll take slushy mud any day over black ice. Experience teaches that black ice isn’t always visible, and not noticing introduces a high likelihood of slipping and falling hard.

This Christmas Morning, the frosty local Central Oregon’s western mountains are heavily snow-covered. At this moment, a lovely dawning in the eastern sky hints at a beautiful day ahead.

Dear Friends: Have a wonderful day, and we will meet again on the other side. Diana