Friday, December 31
Jan. 1st, 2022 04:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderFirst of all, Happy New Year! This community means so much to me, as witnesses to my life when often it seems like there is no one else who even cares on a day to day basis how things are going for me. You bring me into your lives, you do a lot to help me examine my thoughts, to help me find perspective, to bring insights about life in general, and kindness.
Today I am grateful for:
Though this terrible cold weather (still -30C) drags on and on, we manage to keep going. There are extra chores because of the cold, though I do not resent the animals for this. It DOES kind of wear a person out a bit.
The plus side to that though, is that it gets us outside and moving. Sure, it might be nice just to hole up in the house and just wait out the weather, but by going outside for an hour or so we are moving around and seeing the sun, and sometimes it really is just beautiful. Today I saw a remarkable "tower" of orange light above the sun as it was setting, likely from ice crystals in the air similar to the ring you can get around the moon. Often the stars during these cold snaps feel so bright and so close you could touch them, because there is almost no moisture in the air at all.
I did go see River, though once again it was just ground work. He did well with everything, and stayed focused, and I think he enjoys the chance to move around on good footing and loosen up his muscles. If nothing else, he usually gets his mash when I work with him.
My husband did a bit more work on the addition. I think it has sunk in that he only has three days left now before he has to leave for work, and he had wanted to have the drywall done on the main floor before he left so I could get it taped and mudded.
He also made a simple little table for some plants. I needed a long, narrow table to fit an odd space so I couldn't just use something we already had or buy one.
We watched some of Season 2 of "The Witcher". At least Henry Cavill didn't need to get naked much so far, but everyone else seems to have to be naked, or at least the women. It is pretty tiresome when shows do this. Just like Game of Thrones, how every other episode is either an orgy, or in a whorehouse, or an elaborate "witch" scene where of course the witches are doing a spell naked, trying to seduce someone while naked, or being killed gruesomely while also being naked. These are good shows with lots of reasons to watch them, but it seems like there's some kind of rule about how many boobs per episode they have to show.
We just stayed home for New Year's, and that's fine.
What would I like for the new year?
To be more at peace. Not to fluctuate so much emotionally with every small daily occurrence. To spend more time in curious/problem solving mode rather than just going straight to being upset and frustrated when there is an obstacle or things change.
A lot of what I want is just to keep progressing with my interests. To keep painting and making pottery. To keep moving along with River in our training/communication.
So, with River that would be to progress to doing more work at liberty, to improve his collection under saddle, and in everything to work on my own balance, sense of timing, and precision with cues and body language.
With pottery, I want to make an urn for my sister (for her partner that died last year). I want to throw better in the first place, so that I don't have to clean up my forms with trimming so much.
With painting, to have less muddy colors, and get clean work without having to correct as much. To work on perspective and buildings, but also to work more people and animals into my painting. Right now I do a lot of landscapes, which is good, but you can get stuck there.
I would like to have the addition finished and ready to live in by this summer, and to hopefully have the basement done "enough" by winter so I can move everything back out of the sea can and we can then get rid of the sea can.
I would like to have Dandy pulling his little cart confidently by this fall. He's come a long way in 2021 with leading, dragging poles, having harness on, and walking beside the training cart as I pull it.
I would like to spend more of this summer outside walking, kayaking, biking, at the park, because the last three summers have been nothing but house, house, house. It is possible that this summer will still be house, house, house. We'll see.
I would LIKE to be more social. If Covid is less of an issue, I know the riding barn I am at USED to have yoga classes and social things (that I didn't get to experience yet because I only came to this barn during shut down) going on that might happen again. I would like to have a good friend again. Not sure if I can make that a GOAL, but it would be nice.
To actually do yoga every day, even if only for a few minutes. I love it so much, and I don't know why I can't seem to make it a priority when I can blow LOTS of time on Facebook.
Thursday: A quiet day at home, rotating between doing chores and coming into the house and reading.
My husband worked on the addition a little more.
We talked to a friend of ours that was very close with us when we lived in Wyoming. He is a fellow Canadian who also worked in Wyoming with a work visa, and for a while lived near us at our current location. He moved back to live near his family a few years ago, and we miss him.
I made an acrylic painting for my sweetie. Every time we go anywhere like the art museum or the art walk, he LOVES anything that is that kind of...iconic/trope of the group of birch trees with autumn foliage. Every time it's what he gravitates to. So, I painted him one. He seems to like it.
Gratitudes for the year 2021:
People seem to look at just about any year, and at the end of it, say how much it sucked. Year after year, I see this on Facebook, and hear it in conversation.
Do I think this past year sucked? Sure, at times. Covid, mostly dominates my thoughts of what sucked. My Mom's health issues. My own confusing feelings over the passing of my brother in law. Dealing with feelings surrounding my sisters lives. Frustration over not getting enough done on the house.
What WAS good:
My work with R at the new barn, and River's improved health and well-being. Probably the biggest thing in my whole life right now is everything going on at this barn. It has been my shining light through Covid shut-downs.
Getting to be in the pottery studio again, after almost 2.5 years of it being closed.
Getting a nice brick walk way done around the house.
The work that we DID get done, mostly windows, insulation, and siding on the addition.
Mom is finally in a care home where she needs to be.
Though we are Canadian, I am incredibly glad that Trump did not win again. I was angry every day just about, when he was in office. It bothered me a LOT, and having him as president DOES affect us here in Canada in many ways, in no small way, his boorishness emboldened many boors in Canada to be as obnoxious as possible. What a horrible man.
Neither my husband or myself got sick. We were able to get both of our vaccines. We took care.
I was able to go home and see family. I had missed going at all in 2020.
I made some lovely paintings.
Hans, our newest kitty came to live with us.
We saw our "building friends" a fair bit over the summer.
My husband has had work this year, when many do not.
He also could still take most of the summer off to work on the house.
I saw many beautiful sunsets, stars, some Northern lights, full moons and hoar frost.
We had lots of raspberries in the garden.
Lots more too. Plenty of challenges, but also so many wonderful things. I am going to say that 2021 was still a pretty good year.
Today I am grateful for:
Though this terrible cold weather (still -30C) drags on and on, we manage to keep going. There are extra chores because of the cold, though I do not resent the animals for this. It DOES kind of wear a person out a bit.
The plus side to that though, is that it gets us outside and moving. Sure, it might be nice just to hole up in the house and just wait out the weather, but by going outside for an hour or so we are moving around and seeing the sun, and sometimes it really is just beautiful. Today I saw a remarkable "tower" of orange light above the sun as it was setting, likely from ice crystals in the air similar to the ring you can get around the moon. Often the stars during these cold snaps feel so bright and so close you could touch them, because there is almost no moisture in the air at all.
I did go see River, though once again it was just ground work. He did well with everything, and stayed focused, and I think he enjoys the chance to move around on good footing and loosen up his muscles. If nothing else, he usually gets his mash when I work with him.
My husband did a bit more work on the addition. I think it has sunk in that he only has three days left now before he has to leave for work, and he had wanted to have the drywall done on the main floor before he left so I could get it taped and mudded.
He also made a simple little table for some plants. I needed a long, narrow table to fit an odd space so I couldn't just use something we already had or buy one.
We watched some of Season 2 of "The Witcher". At least Henry Cavill didn't need to get naked much so far, but everyone else seems to have to be naked, or at least the women. It is pretty tiresome when shows do this. Just like Game of Thrones, how every other episode is either an orgy, or in a whorehouse, or an elaborate "witch" scene where of course the witches are doing a spell naked, trying to seduce someone while naked, or being killed gruesomely while also being naked. These are good shows with lots of reasons to watch them, but it seems like there's some kind of rule about how many boobs per episode they have to show.
We just stayed home for New Year's, and that's fine.
What would I like for the new year?
To be more at peace. Not to fluctuate so much emotionally with every small daily occurrence. To spend more time in curious/problem solving mode rather than just going straight to being upset and frustrated when there is an obstacle or things change.
A lot of what I want is just to keep progressing with my interests. To keep painting and making pottery. To keep moving along with River in our training/communication.
So, with River that would be to progress to doing more work at liberty, to improve his collection under saddle, and in everything to work on my own balance, sense of timing, and precision with cues and body language.
With pottery, I want to make an urn for my sister (for her partner that died last year). I want to throw better in the first place, so that I don't have to clean up my forms with trimming so much.
With painting, to have less muddy colors, and get clean work without having to correct as much. To work on perspective and buildings, but also to work more people and animals into my painting. Right now I do a lot of landscapes, which is good, but you can get stuck there.
I would like to have the addition finished and ready to live in by this summer, and to hopefully have the basement done "enough" by winter so I can move everything back out of the sea can and we can then get rid of the sea can.
I would like to have Dandy pulling his little cart confidently by this fall. He's come a long way in 2021 with leading, dragging poles, having harness on, and walking beside the training cart as I pull it.
I would like to spend more of this summer outside walking, kayaking, biking, at the park, because the last three summers have been nothing but house, house, house. It is possible that this summer will still be house, house, house. We'll see.
I would LIKE to be more social. If Covid is less of an issue, I know the riding barn I am at USED to have yoga classes and social things (that I didn't get to experience yet because I only came to this barn during shut down) going on that might happen again. I would like to have a good friend again. Not sure if I can make that a GOAL, but it would be nice.
To actually do yoga every day, even if only for a few minutes. I love it so much, and I don't know why I can't seem to make it a priority when I can blow LOTS of time on Facebook.
Thursday: A quiet day at home, rotating between doing chores and coming into the house and reading.
My husband worked on the addition a little more.
We talked to a friend of ours that was very close with us when we lived in Wyoming. He is a fellow Canadian who also worked in Wyoming with a work visa, and for a while lived near us at our current location. He moved back to live near his family a few years ago, and we miss him.
I made an acrylic painting for my sweetie. Every time we go anywhere like the art museum or the art walk, he LOVES anything that is that kind of...iconic/trope of the group of birch trees with autumn foliage. Every time it's what he gravitates to. So, I painted him one. He seems to like it.
Gratitudes for the year 2021:
People seem to look at just about any year, and at the end of it, say how much it sucked. Year after year, I see this on Facebook, and hear it in conversation.
Do I think this past year sucked? Sure, at times. Covid, mostly dominates my thoughts of what sucked. My Mom's health issues. My own confusing feelings over the passing of my brother in law. Dealing with feelings surrounding my sisters lives. Frustration over not getting enough done on the house.
What WAS good:
My work with R at the new barn, and River's improved health and well-being. Probably the biggest thing in my whole life right now is everything going on at this barn. It has been my shining light through Covid shut-downs.
Getting to be in the pottery studio again, after almost 2.5 years of it being closed.
Getting a nice brick walk way done around the house.
The work that we DID get done, mostly windows, insulation, and siding on the addition.
Mom is finally in a care home where she needs to be.
Though we are Canadian, I am incredibly glad that Trump did not win again. I was angry every day just about, when he was in office. It bothered me a LOT, and having him as president DOES affect us here in Canada in many ways, in no small way, his boorishness emboldened many boors in Canada to be as obnoxious as possible. What a horrible man.
Neither my husband or myself got sick. We were able to get both of our vaccines. We took care.
I was able to go home and see family. I had missed going at all in 2020.
I made some lovely paintings.
Hans, our newest kitty came to live with us.
We saw our "building friends" a fair bit over the summer.
My husband has had work this year, when many do not.
He also could still take most of the summer off to work on the house.
I saw many beautiful sunsets, stars, some Northern lights, full moons and hoar frost.
We had lots of raspberries in the garden.
Lots more too. Plenty of challenges, but also so many wonderful things. I am going to say that 2021 was still a pretty good year.
