Sometimes you just want to stay cozy. It was really cold this morning. So Anita and I are watching movies. I am knitting.
I am not doing well with gauge. Oops. Haven’t knitted in a while.
The knitting is less ugly than it was. It’s a table runner. It will block nicely.
It’s nice to just relax. Even though there have been some glitches today, I’m just chilling. Hygge. Yep. Peace.
Got the computer hooked up to the TV, which shows very pretty screen savers.
Life is boring! We’re staying out of COVID in Utah. That’s just fine. I feel lucky to have a vacation with peace and movies. It could be worse. Maybe Thursday we can get out and drive around!
Where did the real Suna go? I’ve been thoroughly enjoying getting lots and lots of exercise since it got cold way up here in the mountains. Like, I volunteer to climb up snowy hills. I pant a bit and go higher. I stand around and think about going even higher or driving to a better hiking place (we may rent a car tomorrow and go somewhere).
When the sun came out it was so beautiful.
Today we went to get more groceries, which was also fun. If there’s a blizzard I’ll be fine. And Anita got lemon for her morning beverage! We’re good! Then we took yet another walk. I just can’t stop. I think I’d never seen so much dry powdery snow before. The crunch crunch crunch is really invigorating! It’s even addicting.
When you get away from condos, it’s nice here.
I think I may need to learn to criss-country ski at some point, though my legs are already yelling at me.
Okay, some of the condos can look nice.
Folks, I never liked exercise as much as I do now. I wonder if taking turmeric and CBD oil has made my body feel better, so I enjoy moving more? Now physical exertion is fun.
Also, though, I never liked being out in the cold much (sorry, Illinois years). I’m from a warm place. What’s up with that?
Plus snowflakes! They are so pretty. Yes, I took a picture of snow.
In Illinois, it was often SO cold and windy, and I had to stand around waiting for the bus, or walk a mile to teach a class too many times when my breath was freezing as it came out. This week, it’s cold, but really pleasant. I’m glad I’ve had this experience.
Look! Clouds hitting the mountain.
All this glee isn’t something I’ve felt in so long. I get that way in Texas when I’m with Apache or out looking at new plants. The key really seems to be living in the moment. Just being present and experiencing what’s going on right around you truly brings joy.
Sun and snow. Good.
What a lesson at such a good time! Most of my life I’ve read about living in the moment. I’ve tried to do it. This year has been hard, so hard, but I think I’ve benefited by making so much progress on being here, now.
What’s out there that can invigorate you? How are you growing in this season of transition?
I realize I keep coming back to this topic, but I’m really concerned. While there have always been different points of view, different “teams” that we’re on, and strong feelings about them (this morning I was thinking about Tudor England and the religious issue), I never have seen that these divisions have helped societies move forward and improve people’s lives. The deepest times of division have led to death, poverty, and great sadness.
Not sorry to be a hippie.
I’ve felt a lack of kinship with people in the US much of my life. Most Presidential and other more local elections tend to be close, meaning there are lots of us on each side. I admit that I was not fond of perhaps most Presidents of the USA. But, I didn’t run away and hide from people who liked those leaders. I still worked with them, went to school with them, socialized with them, etc. I was never so afraid of them that I felt I needed to hide.
Even in the last four years, when people were arming themselves, calling people like me horrible names, and threatening violence against us, I didn’t feel like I had to hide. I did contain my strongest thoughts to smaller circles of friends, but I didn’t want to abandon my other friends and acquaintances. They mattered to me, and still do.
So, I am really disappointed and sad that many people, including people I have enjoyed being around, are running away from the rest of us to go off to their own special social media platform. It’s fine to go be around people like yourself. I think it’s a really human impulse to want to want to be able to relax and not self-censor quite so much, at least some of the time. But, I really hope most of these folks don’t completely abandon places like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., where you can be with people like yourself AND get exposed to other ideas and perspectives.
I can’t caption this. I keep being passive aggressive. That makes me human, right?
Please, friends, don’t take your toys and go hide just because you’re in the minority. Most of us have been in the minority our whole lives and it’s been okay. Sharing power and influence might even make life easier, who knows if we don’t give it a chance?
Even we hermits of the Hermits’ Rest really don’t want to hide from everyone who isn’t “one of us.” There is so much we have in common. I know I harp on this, but it’s true! We need to work together to deal with the pandemic, to create good jobs in our communities (like our company, which has people of ALL perspectives in it), and to keep each other safe. I just wish our common humanity and citizenship of the same planet mattered to more of us.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who is willing to continue talking to each other, caring for each other, and considering each other’s perspectives. We don’t need a civil war, violence, or separate societies. We can disagree, protest, and work toward our goals without hurting or deserting each other. I sure hope.
I’m going to be sure to let people I know hear that I care about them. What about you?
I had a strong desire to close all my exercise rings today, so I went out in pretty heavy snow while Anita napped and took a walk.
At this point I could still see where I was going.
Good news is that I’m huffing and puffing less after a week in Utah. Better news is that I looked down as I walked down the condo building sidewalk. I saw this.
This is actually the first one I saw.
When the snow falls, it melts into little puddles on the aspen leaves and makes little areas of magnification. You can see so many veins and cells in the leaves.
Look at the magnification at top right!
I also noticed the beautiful colors of the water reflected on the sidewalk.
Also, each leaf is a different color or combo.
I just had to share these images. Enjoy them!
Black and charming MultiplesThat one stem sure is shiny Look how small some little puddles are. And some are big. My favorite. Look at those veins.
Now I finally feel like I am on vacation (and I am for the next week, mostly). It snowed all night last night, and the morning brought scenes of winter beauty. I have always loved it when the snow falls straight down and piles up deeper and deeper. That’s the way it’s been snowing all day, which has made for some really beautiful views, even just looking out the window.
I really thought this tree looked pretty.
Of course, I just had to go out and play in the snow!
I’m all protected. And masks help keep you warm!
Anita and I had a wonderful time walking over to the ski area. It was a lot of fun to swish through the snow, but it was also really good to have a lot of cleared walks.
Eventually we went out into the snow by the golf course and watched the snow machines making snow. That’s always a cool thing to see.
Anita is in awe of the snow blower, but all the snow blends in to the snow that’s already there. Take our word for it, it looked cool.
Next, we got brave and did a snow hike (just a little one). Wow, that was so much fun! The trees were so pretty, and it was so wonderfully quiet. (Yes, it’s Sunday and the incessant construction noise has stopped, briefly.) The snow was not at all slippery, so I didn’t even need my walking sticks. Next walk will be longer, so I’ll take them.
If you look closely you can see little piles of snow on flower seedheads.
We watched some people teaching their kids to ski, on the golf course. That would be a fun place to cross-country ski, but no rental places are open. Honestly, that was a bonus, because it was like we had this beautiful, white world all to ourselves. It was like standing in a snow globe. How could we not feel at peace?
Snow time beauty.
Plus there was a lot of fun to be had in the empty resort area.
Don’t sit on that cushion, Anita!
Surfaces may be hot.
All that trudging made us tired, so we had lunch at the place where I ate earlier in the week (also known as the only open restaurant in Canyons Village). Once again, I enjoyed the garlic butter fries. And the pulled pork sandwich was fine, too. We sat in the “outside” part, where there are heaters, and just watched snow fall. The snow on the glass roof started sliding down, and it was a lot of fun to watch. What a relaxing meal!
This will look even more beautiful once the snow stops and the sun comes out!
Honestly, I’d never considered taking time off in a cold place until the time we went to New Mexico during a winter heat wave, but it’s so darned pleasant. My new coat had me so warm I started to sweat. My hat and gloves kept me dry, and my snow boots that I bought when we were in Ruidoso worked great. I’m ready to get more exercise, read a lot more, and keep knitting on my project (which is looking better now).
Looking better. It will be a nubby table runner when I’m done.
My sincere hope is that all of you are taking a day or two to relax, breathe, and think about what’s beautiful in the world. Our troubles and struggles will still be there later, but a little quality recovery time will be healing for all. Thank you all for reading, commenting, and caring!
This morning, they announced the winner if the US Presidential election. You probably heard that. It was a close call, for sure.
Anita and I had already planned to go shopping before it snowed. We made a pact to keep our mouths shut and not act all jovial. Half the people are sad and half are happy, after all.
But the second we got into our Uber car the guy started talking about feeling hopeful, so we had to tell him. Then his friends called him. Everyone was so happy. I honestly haven’t seen groups of happy people in so long…
A little rain didn’t dampen our spirits, just our jackets.
So, we went to have lunch at a nice brew pub. I went to scan the online menu, and uh oh. My phone was not there. Shoot. It’s my lifeline.
The server came up to take our order, and we asked for some time so I could look for my phone. It wasn’t in the store we went to before. The only other possibility was the Uber car. I got all worried, as one would.
Nuria! Also the shirt refers to a beer.
Rather than go fetch water, Nuria stayed and helped me try to find my phone using my watch and Anita’s phone. It was so frustrating to try to log onto Uber using another phone. I kept getting things sent to my phone, which didn’t help.
I’m sure Nuria spent 20 minutes to a half hour helping me. And she was so patient, kind, and funny. Eventually we called my phone from Anita’s and the Uber driver picked it up. Hooray for Adam the Uber guy! He quickly brought my phone back and we all elbow bumped. That was another close call, for sure! Whew.
Statue near the public restrooms.
The rest of the day was so much fun. We visited fun stores, got a couple of Christmas gifts, and interacted with some wonderful store clerks. In one place, we had a great discussion, followed by some subdued jumping up and down. The women were so happy to share their relief.
Happy scenery.
The same happened at a couple other places. And we found a new hemp store full of such cute women it almost seemed impossible. More crying and laughing happened there, and we had a good talk about hemp. We all shared how much less pain and anxiety we have (it’s true). I ended up with sore cheeks from smiling.
Anita is exhausted from fun.
That’s rare. Smiling and less stress. Now, we all know the same problems we had before are still here. But maybe people will be kind, civil, and caring with each other. I hope all of our interests will be heard and count. Everyone.
Good news! Entertainment has arrived! I’d been expecting a package, so I went down and asked the sweet young man, who obviously just got back from his two-year mission, to look for it. No package. I thought, hmm, that money for overnight shipping was totally wasted!
But, when I finally went back to my room, I saw that there was a message on the phone. I admit it, I never look at actual analog telephones. A perky woman told me I have a package! Well, how about that? Another trip to the lobby (which had been deserted all week, but suddenly has (ugh) people in it. Lo and behold, the package had been right behind the earnest young man. He sure looked embarrassed.
She said, “package” (that was for Mandi).
I knew what was in it, because my friend, (f many, many years) Laura, realized I needed knitting on this long and soon-to-be snow-filled hiatus. She sent me random yarn and some needles!
There were bonuses, too, like needle holders and a darning needle (believe it or not, I needed one, because the scarf I brought with me needs a little repair). And there was a fun bag and a note!
Stuff! Thanks, Laura.
Since I had to stay up a long time waiting for the fun to arrive, I had fun starting what may be the world’s ugliest scarf or table runner. My idea for the pattern is, at least so far, not really pretty. But I’m not giving up on it. It made my obsessive watching of election results that do not change at all much less stressful.
Query to me: why did you start watching results on FRIDAY?
I got over an inch done plus got free exercise winding up the yarn, because my watch thought I was using an elliptical machine. Fooled that watch!
Does it look like barf? Be honest.
Then, suddenly, my cable news reverie was interrupted, and the door to the condo opened. Was it magic? No! It was Anita! I’m no longer vacationing solo. Anita immediately settled in and declared the fireplace good. Relaxation with conversation and wine has commenced.
She’s making a face because she has to look at my bare foot.
I guess today we have to run out in the newly brisk air and have fun before it starts snowing. I’ll be more substantive later. I have been substantive enough the past few days! And the world seems a little brighter!
Starting to wonder here, have we all turned into assholes? It used to be that humor was the tool used in times of stress to break the tension. Nowadays, any time I, or any of my other friends who hasn’t deleted every person who votes for the “other” US party, simply can’t make jokes. There’s no such thing as laughing at ourselves, gently ribbing another group, or having a chuckle over our cognitive dissonance. Nothing’s allowed to be funny now, according to the humor police.
No wonder I needed a drink at lunch (old fashioned!). I did not order one of the giant milkshakes on the menu, though. I’ll have one with Anita when she gets here. Ah, nice rant break, right?
Nope, if I dare post something on Facebook that I find funny, but happens to be vaguely political, a predictable group of people will take me to task. I find that sort of funny in itself, because my strategy has been to let stuff like that slide, or even see the humor in some of the things people post. In many cases, I’ve simply scrolled on by things they say, because I think they have every right to say them, whether I agree or not.
I think this restaurant wasn’t too hazardous. And the food was great. Garlic butter fries. Drool. Back to my rant.
One person, we will call them “M,” always chides me for my rare political posts, and virtuously points out that they NEVER say anything political on their own page. That’s absolutely true. Instead they insult and put others down in comments on their statuses. I take a little consolation in the fact that I’m not the only target. I have always apologized for any perceived insult, but M always needs to have the last word, or more accurately, jab. I always let them get that satisfaction, since it doesn’t matter to me and I’m not keeping score.
I’m not kidding. I really just thought this was funny and poking fun at liberals and Marie Kondo or whatever that lady’s name is. Apparently I was being horrible by posting this. I had no idea!
I share that example, not to get back at people outside of Facebook, but to genuinely wonder why we have to be this way? What does trolling do for the troll? What accolades do online bullies get? Does their fearless leader send them a gold star?
When folks I disagree with post rational responses, I always learn something and go look up more on the information behind their comments. That’s how I’ve gotten to get a better perspective on both sides, and why I have NOT removed friends and family with whom I disagree. But, dang, how much passive aggressive jabbing is too much?
Now this one, I SWEAR, is poking fun at me. I’d be yelling, “I love you, even if you voted for the other guy! Because you’re human!”
I hate to lose touch with people I care about or need to work with. No one’s all bad (even me, M). I feel really badly for my friends who can no longer interact with family and lifelong friends because they’re wired differently (like I was saying yesterday). Please, folks, let up on others.
Funny, not funny? Keep on scrolling? This one is sorta mean. So I did not share it, other than here, where there is a much smaller audience.
Sure, some humor is really mean, cruel, or ugly. But a lot of humor isn’t. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re going to be stuck in an even longer, more humorless period than we’re already in. It really does feel like a new Dark Ages, doesn’t it? Plagues, civil wars, being attacked for saying or believing the wrong thing.
Another sign of the Dark Ages, there are magpies everywhere! EEEK.
I sure love being outside and exploring new places. Even in this week where I’ve been laying low, I make sure to get outside and do something daily. It’s just plain fun.
And there are purple cacti and rocks.
I’d intended to go on a short walk today, but when I realized I had a couple of hours until my next meeting, I just kept going.
I went up high!
I kept following the golf cart trail, since I had on normal shoes. The views were lovely, and I got to see chipmunks, a raven, and a dear little hairy woodpecker who was not scared of me at all. I only got photos of plants, though.
Whoa, this apparently is woad, the plant that have Europe its blue dye before indigo showed up.
I admit that I had to stop a lot, and not just to take pictures of plants. I climbed 33 staircases up, and ended up way up there. I had to catch my breath.
You can see my panting.
But it was lots of fun! I went up a deer trail and almost felt peace and quiet (still too much construction noise). I enjoyed so many new trees and plants. And it was all free, unlike shopping.
From the deer path.
Other things I found were an elk leg (huge) on the golf course and many lovely rocks and autumnal plants.
Rocks!
Bones!
Weird plants!
Oaks!
Hiking fun
I ended up making 3 miles and walked over an hour. I hope I can do it again tomorrow!
Not bad for an elderly person.
I’ll have to change tactics next week. Snow and cold is coming. I may need snow pants. But I have my walking sticks and snow boots. All this solitude and exercise is helping my mood, so I want to keep it up!
I like all the colors. But that grass is painted green. Ha!
So hey, how are you coping? Hanging out with your quiet buddy, nature can’t hurt. Plus, being physically really tired might help you sleep!
Like the rest of the world, I have been watching events unfold after the US election. One thing I have seen over and over is people lamenting, “How could so many people have voted for the other side?” And ooh, are they serious, as I found out when I tried to post something funny that I didn’t realize was such a hot potato for the side I’m not a member of. Oops. No opinionating on Facebook, even just to be funny, it appears. On the other hand, I guess I actually agree with the humor, and it has to do with why I’m not so surprised so many people voted on each side.
A Digression on Divisiveness
There are two different world views, and each one is “right” from their point of view.
Depending on how you were raised, your life experiences, and yes, even some genetic influence, you are just going to have different priorities. Actual scientific research concluded “the development of political attitudes depends, on average, about 60 percent on the environment in which we grow up and live and 40 percent on our genes.” Scientific American
Blue fruit, red leaves. All beautiful.
I know there’s stuff written on this, but I’m just going to say it as my opinion: I believe that about half of us primarily act out of self preservation and keeping their group on top (safe, in power, well fed). The other half of us have a larger view of preservation and focus on preserving all of humanity and the rest of the earth, too. That’s an over-generalization, of course.
Having read the Caste book recently (sorry if I keep referring to it, but it’s just chock full of helpful information), I am very aware that the country where I live was designed to preserve the wealth and power of one group (that would be the white dudes). And yes, the Electoral College was set up to preserve the power of the right white dudes. The idea of one person’s vote counting the same as another’s really scares some of us, because it might disrupt the balance of power. A person I know said that if we didn’t use the Electoral College, people in New York and Las Angeles would count the SAME as him! Oh no! Their vote would be equal to his! All that work keeping progressives, blacks, and others from influencing things would be down the drain. I guess? I honestly don’t get it.
What Was I Writing About?
What I wanted to actually talk about today is why I care about people who are not a part of my “group.” I am lucky enough to be descended from the English and Scots people who fled the UK because the were religious outsiders, criminals, or sons who couldn’t inherit land. A fine bunch. But because of that, I am the recipient of a lot of advantages. This has never set well with me.
For example, I feel safe to go hiking all by myself in an unknown place. Privilege. If I were not a white woman, I’d be looking over my shoulder.
Part of it comes from being raised in the Deep South and experiencing a lot of discomfort about how Black people were treated. I have s strong memory of being yelled at for peeing in Versie’s toilet in the garage at my grandmother’s house. This woman could cook our food, but her toilet was forbidden? And why did she have her own toilet?
And as things went on, I ended up having more Black friends than a lot of people like me did. When my parents moved to (ugh) Plantation, Florida, I was in eighth grade. For some reason, my classmates took an initial dislike to me. I went straight from being a popular kid in a gifted class to the person no one talked to, who had to sit with the black kids. Well, it turned out the black kids felt like me. They’d been bussed into this extra white neighborhood and did not feel welcome. So, what the heck, I talked to them (as much as I could; back then there actually was quite a difference in how the two groups talked).
I ended up spending most of the year with a Black girl, Earnestine, who was smart, like me, but who also didn’t understand Algebra 1 (we were in a horrible experimental school that was one giant room and where you were supposed to teach yourself from textbooks and just ask teachers if you needed help). Earnie ended up being the first person I ever taught to crochet, and we made money from it! The moral to that whole experience was that I got to actually know a lot of these kids, learned all about their families and lives, and found we had a lot in common. (Earnie was top in her class when she graduated from the historically black high school in Ft. Lauderdale, though I didn’t see her again until senior year of high school; things might have been different if we’d had email and social media!).
I am not ashamed for believing in this. Image by @TonyTheTigersSon via Twenty20
I was glad to have my eyes opened to see that the people my peers said bad things about were actually just fine. Thank goodness I also made really good Jewish friends and Cuban-American friends (we didn’t have Mexicans) in high school, plus being really close to one of my Black friends. Poor Mom, dealing with me bringing ALL these kids home. But wow, I’m glad I made all these good friends while I was young. I simply can’t view people who aren’t like me in looks, religious tradition, or ethnicity as non-people.
In college, I just happened to fall into a group of young gay men, which was really important. This was pre-AIDS. It was also long before people were coming out in high school or earlier. Many of these guys were trying to figure out who they were, and feeling very vulnerable. Most important, though, was that they were kind to me and my straight friends, and taught us so much about what it’s like to be afraid to be yourself, but go out in the world as you really are. My deep care for these people is probably why I care SO MUCH for young people today who are exploring their gender and sexuality. I remember how hard it was for my friends.
So, no, I wasn’t born such a tree-hugging, peace-mongering, equality-promoting human. Both my genetics (from my dad) AND my experiences led me to be how I am. I totally get how someone with different genes and different experiences might feel threatened by people like me, my friends who are people of color, and all those LGBTQ folks. They are different.
I still think we will be stronger and better if we stand together. Photo by @TonyTheTigersSon via Twenty20
I know so many people I care about feel very threatened by the idea of people who aren’t white dudes being in charge. I’ve heard people say they voted against Biden because if he died in office, TWO WOMEN would be in charge! Yeah, that’s way too many vaginas in power. The thing is, those of us who care about everyone also care about people who feel threatened by change in the status quo. So, don’t worry folks. Those of us who love everybody will keep on loving them, regardless of power struggles. And we don’t expect people who are wired differently to change.
Who knows, maybe the fact that we are about 50/50 is a good thing for humanity and contributes to our continued ability to thrive in the world. Maybe it’s okay that some of us are for unity and some for division. I just want the best and the brightest to get a chance to lead, regardless of superficial differences. That makes me radical, but it’s just how I am.
The Hermits' Rest 