Ways you can document kind or meaningful things you do (e.g. keep a notes jar, take a photo) Ha. I started a notes jar (it was actually a My Little Pony metal lunchbox….I wonder where it is now 🤔) on January 1st 2020. It was to draw out of in the coming years to bring a smile and hopefully the memory of the good thing that happened that day that I wrote down for posterity. Well, we all know what happened in 2020…so it was abandoned about March. For over a decade, I kept a daily planner. It was a black leather Coach diary, 3″x 5″. They eventually discontinued the refill pages and I hunted replacements in other brands for a few years before eventually giving up. I still have it, but no longer carry it with me. It holds all my passwords scribbled haphazardly among the notes pages, blood pressure readings from a few months in 2016, and birthdays of those who have been important to me at various intervals, and other arcane tidbits. I reckon pictures are the streamlined way of the modern world, or perhaps video journaling. I sound like such a hick, I see no need to commemorate that. {I thought commemoralize was a word. It is not. In other news, I had to look up hints for Wordle this morning; I think I’m losing it}. Anyway, social media has often been accused of being the highlight…

Identify what a 10-minute morning routine that’s just for you could look like COULD look like? Or what it DOES look like? I mean, I guess I could be briefed by the President of the United Nations and sipping green tea while my secretary makes travel plans to Thailand for some strategic takeover, but I think I prefer my coffee (sweetened with sugar and Starbucks white chocolate mocha creamer), Wordle, Connections, all while rubbing velvet ears from the corner of my couch. I think that’s just for me. I like it just fine…

Right now, sit and be present for two minutes. Identify if anything became clear to you It’s clear that my left nostril is NOT clear, otherwise I feel okay. The birds are singing. I have lots to do and not a lot of motivation to do it. Nothing new on that front. It’s nice to sit in peace. But then all the guilt of “need to do this” kicks in. I once read a meme that said, “I’d LOVE the luxury of a nervous breakdown!” No joke. There sure isn’t anybody to step in for me and take over all my responsibilities. And I don’t think I’d totally surrender it all, even if there was. Call it productive, call it controlling, call it what you will, but life goes on. No sense of sitting and wasting time, yours and everybody else’s. Shake it! People die in bed…

If you didn’t have to do anything today, what you’d do with your day I don’t guess any of us HAVE to do anything. I would like to think I would have gone and done something fun, like visit Kevin in Bowling Green, or maybe gone to some new-to-me thrift shops, or treated myself to a meal at a trendy place I’ve never considered eating. But I know the truth.I would have slept in (sidenote: I’m rarely able to sleep past 7), cuddled my dog, and cleaned house so I wouldn’t have to do it over the weekend. Not that there’s any big weekend plans that would be put off until the house is clean. If somebody calls, wanting to do anything, I’m game. Even though I went out last night, all this gloomy weather has me feeling a bit stir crazy. It’s funny, when presented with a gifted “free” day, I still want to do the mundane. Three days away wouldn’t even warrant much of a chance to travel far. Am I lazy? I don’t feel overburdened or taxed. Am I in a rut? Or do I just value my peace and not want to be out in traffic, searching for a parking spot in an unfamiliar location? I think that must be it…

What qualities you value in other people Work ethic. Passion for whatever you do. Honesty. I don’t care if you’re an attorney on Wall Street or a stay-at-home mom, be good at it. If you’re a lawyer, don’t be condescending. Be truthful and direct. If you’re a homemaker, have your kids involved with lessons or extra curricular programs at school. Take them to the library. Don’t just lounge around drinking by your pool all day and let the kids figure out their own meals. Be proud of what you do. Someone told me long ago: it costs nothing to be on time and have a good attitude. And in all likelihood, you’ll improve at whatever you keep after. If you can’t swim, take lessons. You may never compete in the Olympics, but at least you won’t drown. If you want to paint, paint. There are no contests, unless you enter one. If you hate it, throw it out and start again. Nobody even has to know. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t tell anyone. People ruin everything. A virtue and something I value is honesty. If you can’t be honest with yourself, how can you say you’re honest with others? What is it you’re so ashamed of, anyway? If you can’t help but embellish all your stories to make…

Beyond being “productive”, what would a “good day” look like Oh, how easy. A good day is rising after a restful sleep, just as the sun comes up, and taking my coffee to the porch. There, I would enjoy watching the birds and my flowers, and not think about mulching and weeding and weed-eating. After awhile, I’d fix breakfast, probably an omelet and fried taters, and enjoy eating it there at my table. I might go in and do a little housework or decluttering. Lunch could be a simple sandwich, or maybe something picked up from the little gas station down the road. (My days center around food, in case it wasn’t obvious). I’d spend some time with my dog, and maybe rock in the hammock for awhile with a good book. For supper, I’d meet up with Kay at one of our favorite watering holes for drinks and laughs. This is one variation, the most common. Another would be in Savannah, wandering around, visiting my preferred haunts and watching the ships glide up and down the river. Some oysters and beer and general people watching and tree admiring. That’s what Savannah is made of, made of. A good day can be a good day, even if it’s just a regular day. But you know what they say- a bad day fishin’ is still better than a good day at work! I…

What’s your go-to comfort food? I guess meatloaf and mashed potatoes and peas. And a roll. But I don’t make a very good meatloaf, so it’s not very comforting if I need to be the one cooking it. Mine never sets up, no matter how many breadcrumbs I use. It’s never enough. Another comfort food would be taco soup. I can generally eat it anytime. I don’t get warm and fuzzy feelings over any specific food, like a lot of people would with banana pudding or apple pie. I don’t have many recurring good memories with a particular food. What do you listen to while you work? I can’t read and concentrate if there’s much noise, so I don’t listen to anything. If I’m cooking, I’ll have a Spotify playlist going, but the genre varies. Even within my playlists. People are amazed that I go from Conway Twitty to Snoop to Guns ‘n Roses. I guess it’s the sign of a restless mind. I get bored easily. What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well being? Oh, all kinds of things! If I want to take a nap, I take a nap. If I want to eat ice cream at nine o’clock, I eat ice cream at nine o’clock. If I don’t want to leave…

Today’s writing prompt is: “what are five everyday things that bring you happiness?” Well, my everyday may look a lot different to someone else’s everyday, but here are mine. I think a lot of people will agree with this: coffee. It’s a bit of a ritual: selecting a mug, smelling the aroma throughout the house as it brews, deciding if I want sugar and creamer, or sugar and whipped cream, or sugar and caramel….then just sitting, maybe on the porch if the weather is favorable, or tucked into a corner of the couch or maybe my library chair, huddled under a quilt and working the day’s Wordle and Connection puzzles. All makings for a pleasurable morning, thus, bringing me happiness. Before the rest of the world intrudes. And you know I’m gonna say my dog. I’ve always loved dogs, always had a dog. But I never had my own dog inside until a few years ago. And Chester even slept in my bed for awhile! A body needs a dog. He’s such a delight. He’s entertaining and a lot of company. As my aunt told me: “you needed something to take care of. You needed somewhere for your love to go.” She is right. Dogs are happiness, and it’s contagious. Reading by candlelight. I guess this is a two-fer. I love my books, even though I generally read on my iPad exclusively anymore. My eyes aren’t as good…