I SAID WHAT I MEAN

Oy!

Adulting is hard.

Dealing with people is even harder ☹

Today was Fellowship Potluck. I have been avoiding potluck Sundays because there is a couple, I really do not like being around – they are controlling. They are gossips. They are cruel.

Every time they come to mind … this song pops into my head:

The Undisputed Truth – ‘Smiling Faces’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oLl8NLtels)

This couple is old enough to understand “No.” They are old enough to understand that {no} is a complete sentence – it does not need to be expanded on. I have, more than once, asked her not to speak about my family as though she is a blood relative (she is not, praise the Lord), and I have asked her not to suddenly grab me and hug me against my will. I have told him to leave me alone (he’s pushy in his opinions concerning me, and he’s too touchy-feeling for my comfort). I have made it clear to those speaking to me on their behalf, that I do not want either of them touching me or forcing their opinions on me. Having gray hair and wrinkles on the face does not give anyone carte blanche to overstep boundaries: any boundary; no matter how “insignificant it seems to them”.

Both give off disingenuous vibes … and have on several occasions proven to be a two-faced lynching duo when faced with opposition to their pet agendas.

I really do not like them. And seriously go out of my way to avoid interaction with them.

But there are other people I really enjoy spending time with: the event was a dicey crapshoot.

So, I decided to put a smile in place, and ride the storm out; dealing with issues as they arose, in the moment. I mean … I’m teaching a class where the discussions are similar to this very topic, every Monday and Tuesday, for Pete’s sake! I guess it’s time (once more; God help me) to test where the rubber meets the road, on a personal level 😉

I pulled jeggings, and a lacy top out of the closet that looked to fit the holiday mood of today’s potluck (a precursor to Thanksgiving) 😊

I like the color of the top. I like the lacey material. I got a lot of compliments on it … but, it will not be a repeat.

Glittery 'Gentle' for brow, & 'Illusion' for eyelid; sparkly 'Navy' for top 'liner' & 'Lt. Blue' for lower 'liner'.

A spot of accent color ...

'Auburn' Brow Gel, Rose-tinted Creme Blush, & Black Mascara.

1 coat of glittery Nail Polish ... and black furry boots to keep my toes warm.

 

My favorite lip gloss, 'Pink Quartz' - so glittery! And, my face is ' place'. LOL

This top will not stay in my closet ...

Looking at these pics of that pretty top, it looks like I am wearing a cutdown tablecloth! I’ve worn it – and now, someone else can wear it next year.

On my way to the front door, I took one look out the front window at the frost-iced car across the street, and grabbed my heavy coat.

My stomach was pitching a fit thinking about the tiger couple – so, I stopped at Baker’s Corner and grabbed a quick bite to calm it down some 😉

Neighbor's frosted car plainly told me the shape the roads were in ...

I grabbed my Carhartt jacket; 'just in case'.

Ready for today’s Holiday Kickoff festivities.

A Breakfast Casserole & a flavored Coffee; I'm 'good to go!'

Fellowship went well; the message was good, and the atmosphere was warm.

I met some more new people … not new to the area, just {new} to me.

And of course, they showed up, and started right in with the overstepping high-stepping ☹

So, I spoke my mind: clearly. Distinctly. And firmly. In front of witnesses (they are the ones that staged it that way, to put me on the spot – I just cashed in on the listening ears surrounding us).

They acted surprised, offended, and miffed at my {candor}: but I remained unmovable in tone or meaning; repeating twice: “I meant what I said. Stop crowding me. I don’t like it; and I’ve asked you politely for months to “please stop.” And if you think I am {offensive} now, keep pushing on me and you will find out how “offensive” I can really be. Back off.”

I don’t like being a bitch … but if people continually push that Bitch Button, I have no qualms at all about leveling both barrels, and letting the scatter shot fly.

They eventually moved on to pester some other poor soul, and I moved on to enjoy the company of those I truly do enjoy. The rest of the day went smoothly, thank God.

I was invited to three Thanksgiving Suppers on Thursday, but I politely declined each one, stating, "Holidays are for Families; thank you, but I'll just stay home and watch 'Alice's Restaraunt' on YouTube if it's available - if it isn't, I'll finish my latest Cluve Cussler read." Every one of them assured me, "You are Family, Val", and I know they mean it; but I still declined. I really do appreciate those who love me enough to ask me to thier home (they are good friends) ... but every one of them are also football fans: and I am not. Thanksgiving & Christmas are football-madness-holidays. The Seattle Seahawks do not "thrill" me.

Later on, at home, I engaged in some more future thankfulness activity:

Tomorrow looks promising 😊

SQUIRRELY DAY ~Lake Sacajawea Walk

Jared was going to be showing up bright-eyed, and bushy-tailed this morning to clean my windows, skylights, and gutters: I needed coffee, and lots of it.

It was very frosty this morning, when I looked out the windows drinking my coffee: getting on the roof was going to be squirrely, so when Jared showed, I told him to skip the skylights if it looked unsafe to him. He didn’t seem to be concerned, and the skylights got done 😊

The moon was still 'UP' when I got up, this morning! 7:10 AM

BRR; 7:13 AM; even the phone was still on night-mode.

Frosty roofs sparkling like they've been sprinkled with glitter; 7.44 AM

We caught up on the months’ happenings since he’d last been here: he’d been to Europe for two months, giving lectures on Van Gough’s life (and we both laughed and said at the same time, “Imagine! From Longview, a {regular Joe} gets invited to lecture Professor’s on Van Gough!”): I was happy for him – and, he said he noticed that Bob's beautiful Coho Bench was gone …

Coho Bench.

… and I told him I’d asked my BIL to come and get it, in August; and Kerry did when he got off the mountain, and into town. I know it went to a good home (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/10/living-neanderthal-man.html).

After Jared left, the temperature was predicted to get warmer around 1 PM, so I decided to go walking around the Lake; and this time, I remembered to grab the peanuts 😉

The traffic on Ocean Beach Highway was a madhouse, driving to the Lake: back-to-back bumpers coming and going – it looked like Portland traffic!

I knew I’d be driving a different way back home.

The Park turn-out-parking space was full, so I drove around the block twice (and saw a cool house!), before a spot opened up: I nipped in quick before someone else snagged it – this is very desirable “off-street” parking space.

I bundled up with my heavy Carhartt hooded jacket, fingerless gloves, and furry earmuffs; and enjoyed my walk. The squirrels were active … and things got a little squirrely when the gulls and ducks tried to grab the peanuts before the squirrels: but the squirrels managed to snatch their treats and make a clean get-away 😊

Afternoon temps ...

I remembered the peanuts!

Cute corner house with a corner turret; the door on the frontside is pretty cool, too.

Bundled up.

I only did the upper end of the Lake Trail Hike today.

This frisky little squirrel had to scurry quick, because the gills and ducks were after his peanut.

Mallard ducks & Canadian Geese.

Upper end of Lake Sacajawea Park.

Bright color among all the drab ...

Squirrel snatching my thrown peanuts.

Same squirrel enjoying his snatched treat.

An hour brisk pace ... FEELING IT.

Perfect end to my Shabbat Rest.

Bypassed the back-to-back traffic on Ocean Beach Highway, by driving Washington Way to Industrial Way; then, I drove the #432 Industrial Way loop home (the upper lefthand corner is home).

When I got home (and before kicking my shoes off to relax), I refilled the birdfeeder – and slipped a suet block into the suet cage, too, that Bob had affixed to the feeder for me; in 2017. It’s cold: the little birds need the energy suet will provide for them 😉

Restocked the birdfeeder ...

Worked the kinks out, too ;-)

“Shava Tov!” = “To A Good Week!”

APPRECIATION SHABBAT: From Meh to Amazing

Meh = uninspiring; unexceptional.

Amazing = wonderful, cool; great.

Gratitude = appreciation, gratefulness, thankfulness; positive reception.

I mentioned in an earlier post this week, that “happiness is a choice”: an actual decision (aka, a series of small choices made every day) towards fulfillment of your goal to live a happy life.

What we end up as, is a confirmation of every choice we have ever made – and we are constantly one choice away from change: we just have to decide to take that step forward towards the change we want.

I woke up this morning thinking that come Spring 2023, I want to be back to exercising every day. I want to have a toned body again (I am smart enough to understand that I’ll never look 20 – or even 30 – again; but I can be a toner 66 😉). I want a healthier skin color; I as telling Chrystal the other day, “I haven’t been outside much this year, and I’m starting to look {ghostly} – my skin is so pale”: and it’s true! Building “community” (network of friends across three counties) has not left me much time to be outside, soaking up the sunrays and strengthening my muscles. I need to get back to that in 2023.

So, that is my goal looking towards the New Year, should Elohim grant me another 12 months of Life.

As well as honing spiritual fortitude, a strong Friends community, and a healthy body structure … it is also necessary to absorb gratitude into our daily life.

Gratitude causes a shift in perspective: instead of languishing in a state of “meh”, you shake off the gray funk and reroute your thoughts to take steps in active decisions that will focus on the changes you want to see manifest in your life.

Shifting your awareness isn’t that hard, once you set your mind to do it.

So, while drinking my first cup of coffee this morning, I heard birds chirping at the birdfeeder – and glancing towards the front livingroom window I noticed the bright yellow leaves of the ornamental maple in the front of my home … and all the bright colors of my immediate surroundings inside my home: my thoughts were filled with appreciation. I like color in my small corner of the world 😊

Walking from the livingroom to the kitchen to rinse the coffee cup before refilling it, my peripheral vision caught sight of the rolled exercise mat laying against the bag holding my latest knitting project in progress; I felt my lazy bone being prodded to unroll it and get busy using it. I was home – now was a good time to kickstart afore mentioned {goal}. So, that’s what I did. I skipped the second cup of coffee which would have sidelined the prod … I set the coffee cup on the end table, unrolled the mat and did some quick sets of glute exercises. It felt good!

Then, feeling inspired to “go the extra mile” – literally as well as figuratively – I gave Chrystal a jingle and asked if she’d like to go for a walk with me: she would … so, we did 😊

Right off the bat, we saw a white egret; that was a good sign. White Egrets are known to represent blessing and prosperity (conformation of Chrystal’s prayer request). White Egrets are also symbolic of gratitude and contentment (thank You, Yeshua, for this Shabbat confirmation).

I also got a text from another friend, reminding me that there are angels around me. I don’t need reminding … but it was a friendly reminder from a loving friend, that I am not alone even when it appears so, to myself at times – or to strangers who see me out and about solo lobo. I texted him back that I appreciate his agape love, and I appreciate his brotherly friendship: Elohim is faithful to keep Christian companions in my new life, that encourages me always with positive vibes.

And when I parked at home, the evergreen tree across the way seemed to be signaling a “Victory!” sign 😉 

Matthew Ward – ‘Trust in You’ song: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDhvVCTdGmk)

There was so much to be grateful for this Shabbat: a hot cup of coffee; bright color to boost the day’s mood; a body still agile enough to ‘work’, so it continues to work for me; friendship that gives – and generates – a smile; conversation that keeps the ‘lonelies’ at bay; nature that awes and soothes the spirit; a cozy home: my day was oozing with thankfulness.

L’chiam! To Life! Happy Shabbat 😊

With just a prod from my peripheral vision, my “ordinary” day of {just me, today; nowhere to go, no one to see} suddenly went from meh to great 😊

“GOALS ~2023 Kickstart” Post, earlier today: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/11/goals-2023-kickstart.html

GOALS ~2023 Kickstart

Thoughts became a kickstart reality today 😊

I’ve been pretty laidback this year (establishing a friendship network that kept me indoors most of 2022); but I started making inroads into 2023 Goals, this morning 😉

And, I now have a walking partner!

Thank You, Elohim …

Morning gatitude for the color in my immediate surroundings.

The Exercise Mat was 'guilting' me ...

So, I did 1 set of 20 ct. EAGlutes Exercises.

The mat colors got my mind in a mood to walk the Dike Hike; I called a friend to join me.

Pacific Way Trail from 38th Ave. - 48th Ave from church parking lot; 2 miles 'rnd trip.

We saw a White Egret at the start of our walk ...

These ditch diggers are becoming a frequent sight along the hike route.

I spotted a 'Victory!' sign while parking the Highlander, at home.

And Clive greeted me with an entertaining tale, as I gratefully sank into the recliner to enter my Shabbat Rest 😊

‘APPRECIATION SHABBAT; From Meh to Amazing’:

(https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/11/appreciation-shabbat-from-meh-to-amazing.html)