Wingspan

 

#1 - I gave "Wingspan" a board game where you learn about birds as a Christmas gift, but I didn't have the brain capacity to figure out how to play it over the weekend.  Today I started watching instructional videos on it and I almost have it.  I discovered there is a Youtube channel called BoardGameGeek where they not only explain the game, but you can watch them play the entire board game.  

#2 - One of the comments under that board game video said, "This video helped me learn the game. Reading 12 pages of instructions really makes someone question if it’s worth it. The video made it easier."  

#3 - I would like to be able to play this game with my brother, sister-in-law and niece.  I miss spending time with them, but am very fortunate.  Even though we aren't getting together indoors right now, they live very close to some cross-country skiing, so that is something we can do together this weekend.

#4 - I made some fish tacos for dinner with a grapefruit-jalapeno-avocado salsa.  I don't think I'd choose to put grapefruit in my tacos again, but at least I tried something new.

#5 - I didn't really think about my dad this Christmas as the four of us went to a camper cabin at a state park.  I wasn't sure sharing a one room cabin would be a good idea since the four of us have already spent so much time together these past months, but it actually went really well.  I read out loud to them, which they seemed to be getting too old for, but I found a book they liked which we started listening to on the drive, an adult novel this time  - Handmaid's Tale.  We played games and cross-country skied.  But all 3 nights since we've been back I've dreamt about my dad's home and getting it cleaned out, or selling it, and now it does seem sad to not be able to call him or stop by.  Though with Co-Vid I wouldn't want to stop by anyway and I imagine he would be quite lonely.  Hopefully he is in a better place, I used to believe that to be true, now I don't know.

Conjunct

 #1 - My friend tried cross-country skiing yesterday.  I emailed to ask how the lesson went and she wanted to call me to tell me about it.  Yeah, way better than a screen!

#2 - After looking to the sky just after sunset the past 5 or 6 days to see if I could see the jupiter/saturn conjunction, it was finally mostly clear at that time.  We hopped into the car and drove to a water tower a mile or two away to found a small group of other people doing the same, one with a large telescope.

#3 - I had an interview for a job at NAMI MN (National Alliance for Mental Illness) a couple weeks ago.  I didn't hear back about a second interview, but I signed up anyway for a couple of their online trainings.  Today I took one on suicide prevention. The woman presented both interesting facts as well as personal stories from her own life. 

#4 - Since the session was on Zoom and none of the participants had their cameras on, I was able to sort my parents' photos while I listened.  

#5 - This meant the photos I've had laying all of the floor are now stacked into relatively chronological piles.

Think Small

 I will postdate this entry as I forgot it was a online gratitude day yesterday.  It was one of those days that I struggled to get to five gratitudes - not because I had a bad day - just because nothing really stood out.  When that happens I practice my mantra in this situation, "Think Small".

It was really hard for me to wake up in the morning as my alarm went off in the middle of a dream.  In the dream, even though I had passed on the keys, I still had a set and went back to my dad's house.  They hadn't changed the locks so I went in because I knew we left more things over there that still needed to be cleaned out.  I took a skillet from the kitchen and then I went in my brother's room and there were a number of things - a fishing set etc.  I was nervous Habitat for Humanity (who bought the house) was going to arrive while I was over there.  So I was trying to finish taking care of things while watching for them.  Of course they did arrive.  They were not angry at all, but I still felt stressed/deceptive.  Anyway my gratitude in all this is that when I finally woke up, this was just a dream and we DID clean out everything we needed to from that house.

#2 - Michael arrived to our yoga class (which we try to do together at home once a week) at 6AM, and I needed yoga this AM because my neck was cricked.

#3 - Michael liked the kale and apple quesadilla I made for dinner which is a super quick and easy meal that I enjoy as well.

#4 - Laying by the heating vent with my feet is super relaxing and a great bedtime transition and time to reflect and be quiet and think about my dad.

#5 - The trash in the kitchen was smelly, I emptied it and washed out the can as well.  I also put the sink drain/stoppers in the dishwasher.

Dumpling Dinner

 #1 - I went for a jog this AM, it took 26 minutes before I started to feel glad about it.  I'm grateful that in early Dec I can still jog this week, esp with Co-Vid limiting exercise options.  Though I would also be glad to have snow.  It was a little slippery on and off the sidewalks, but I didn't get hurt.

#2-3 - We wrote out a rough meal plan for a state park camper cabin visit this winter.  It was during this that I also felt grateful for something Michael's daughter said.  I'm going to refrain from sharing that here as I don't think it's mine to share.

#4 - Michael made a delicious dumpling dinner and seemed to be enjoying himself in the kitchen as he prepared it.

#5 - I started a conversation about something Michael can feel judged about, which ruined his previously listed happy mood.  However with perseverance we were able to reconnect.  I ended up having a deeper understanding and apologized for some hurt in our relationship from our initial dating and how I failed to connect and communicate.  Better late than never.