My phone has been doing this thing lately.

It’s been putting together groups of pics from photos and adding music. Every morning a new slideshow. I’m sure there’s a technical explanation for why this has recently started happening, but I like the magical morning surprise of being shown (in a random AI way) that I’ve had a good life.

What made it good?

When I ask this question looking forward, my answers are different than when I look back.

I think the answer is something like

Do a lot of things.

It’s a good exercise as humans to try to make things good for our future selves, as we try to incorporate things that we think will make a good life. Gratitude, money, a house, but really we are just guessing. We all know people with the right ‘good life components who don’t seem to be living a good life.

So what is it that made Clarence say to George Bailey “…you really had a wonderful life” and George to really see that he did? (Jimmy Stewart, It’s a Wonderful Life 1947)

It might have something to do with just showing up and doing stuff.

I really don’t have a good answer, but I have a feeling it has less to do with what we have and more with how we see things we do.

I spend the most time with myself.

At this moment, I have time and ideas and things I’m interested in learning. I’ve gotten nicer (to myself) over the years, I like my ideas even when they aren’t working the way I want them to. I enjoy my time hanging out with me, scheming, figuring out how to execute plans that I’m just making up. I appreciate that I can make a plan and execute another simultaneously. I even like having ADD. It has its down side sure, but there are perks.

I might be finally giving myself enough attention and appreciation. I may as well, since that’s who I spend the most time with.

Sunshine

Just a tiny bit

One of the things New England has taught me, is to really appreciate a warm sunny day. There’s a reason everything is so green, no one takes sunshine for granted here.

This year has kept us in our winter coats even through today. Windy, rainy, cold. My phone Ap says “51 degrees, Feels like 40” because of the 30 mile an hour wind.

Third wettest May on record. Five minutes of sun will give me a lot of joy. A L O T

There’s a marathon of yoga today, thank goodness! I’ll stay dry and out of the wind at our cozy yoga studio here in Niantic.

I pretty much just get caught up behind a canvas, forget I have a phone, things to do or places to go.

How do I know when I need to? Good question.

May is almost over. It’s hard to believe we’ve only been here six or so weeks.

Like l’ve mentioned before, time seems to tick by slower than it does in California.

I’m sure I mentioned the rainy weather. Its been unseasonably cold. Even so, I’m settling in better this time. There were a few days that I got a little fed up with the city (we couldn’t get them to approve anything) and the yard, and probably the rain, my coughing, but I rolled through it all.

One good thing came of all our frustration over whether we could build or not build an ADU

W A T E R

Ironically as I was reading ‘Be Water, My Friend’, by Shannon Lee, we were going back and forth about running a water line.

It turns out we can’t run one from the house to an ADU, but we can to the garage.

I decided a ramshackle kitchen in the garage with running hot and cold water would do nicely for our short stay.

So one day, in a surge of frustrated energy, I started to move things around. After a couple of days, G and his mom saw a glimpse of my vision and got onboard with the idea.

Yesterday, I found two plumbers and met one. He will be coming next week to give us a quote.

The kitchen is a design challenge that has me stretching every creative muscle. It’s been oddly fun. This is just the kind of project that gets me up in the morning. I still have a long way to go, but so many details are falling into place. Sure, it’s a rough garage, but can you see the direction I’m heading?

It’s going to be so cute. It kind of already is in a ramshackle, hodge podgey way, but just wait!

Practice is a good word.

When I practice anything, I usually get better, or at the very least, I feel more confident about it.

Although yoga is not a religion, (trust me, I grew up with religion, yoga is definitely not one), but it is a good thing to practice and get better at. So is golf. Or painting. Athletes and musicians know this. Do people get better at religion? Probably.

Yoga is its own thing.

With practice, yoga gets easier. Even after years of practice, I still benefit from practicing regularly.

Lately, I’ve been going daily. Every class offers something different.

Some, I walk out of feeling like I went to a good chiropractor, others feel like I spent the hour strength training. Still others, are informative. There is one I like that focuses on structure and spine alignment.

I feel my balance getting better, I’m more flexible and stronger than I was just over a month ago. Plus a few of my classes are followed by a twenty minute meditation which is another helpful thing to practice.

I know yoga isn’t for everyone. Religion isn’t either. But practice? I think that can be…

Well

Hmmm

I’m good at a few things.

When I was a kid I wondered why I was good at things that no one cared about (art) and terrible at things that mattered (cleaning, school work, folding clothes…)

I had to grow up and slow down and figure out what things I was capable of and how I could contribute. Then make friends with myself because for everything I’m freakishly good at, there are so many things I’m really not.

Someone once told me they married their wife because she was great a filling out forms. I took that to mean I would likely never marry.

It took me a lot of years to stop worrying about what I wasn’t good at, and just lean in to what I was.

Now?

I guess I just go with it.

I’m good at transforming things. Editing. Making things pretty. Most things art.

Plus I learned that if I do something enough times, even if it I can’t do it at first, I can become good at it.

I now fold a fitted sheet like it came from the store. I can seriously clean, plus, I kind of enjoy it. So you never know.

People I would love to talk to!

Oh, I’m not a fan.

Seasons are great and all, but I think I prefer the cold ones in small doses.

I can handle a month or so of New England winter. I’m pretty much over all the layers of clothes which the wind still blows through that you have to put on and take off repeatedly all day long. Snow is fun on the first day. Maybe the second. It gets old fast.

This year spring has been long and cold. While much of the country is experiencing a heat wave, we’re still in the 50s with a strong wind off the water. (My ap says that makes it feel like 40)

I mean it’s much better than the cold of January or February.

We finally planted the garden. I’m sure it’ll warm up in a couple of weeks.