Saturday, March 11
Mar. 12th, 2023 03:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful:
The wind finally died down, and it feels so much better outside. Last night some really lovely light snow fell, very sparkly and beautiful.
We went to the city today.
We went to the tack shop and picked up another winter blanket for either one of the mares at home (they are the same size, more or less). They had a good sale, since this time of year they clear their stock as we head towards warmer weather.
Then we went to the art gallery to go see that same fantastic installation that was there the last time. We took some more time with the ones we didn't have much time left to see last time. It's fun playing "which one would like to own" with my Sweetie. It's interesting which ones he likes the most.
We stopped in at the used book store, traded in two DVDs (they sell those too) and found a few things.
Then we met with the same person that I knew from WAAYYY BACK WHEN that we met with two weeks ago.
She makes fabric bags, and we ordered some from her. We met for supper at one of our regular places (the one where the owners run an animal rescue, so the income from the restaurant supports it).
It's the kind of place that feels a bit like eating at a friend's place, and tonight we ended up talking with two women who volunteer at the rescue, and joked around a bit with the owner who was serving us.
It's not quite "the local diner" but in some ways it is like that for us.
We had a good visit with my friend, and it was a little more upbeat than last time. She is having a lot of health issues and is at home a lot right now. I hope that if nothing else, we were able to give her something enjoyable to break up the monotony.
At home we watched "Defendor" which is a very good movie, but NOT a comedy like it sort of seems like they marketed it that way. I enjoyed it, but I bet a lot of people were taken by surprise by the tone.
I have to say, I enjoy having days like this where we run into the city and go to our favorite spots. It's a treat. I fight the feeling of being "entitled" over some of the nice things we have in our lives, and it isn't always easy thinking of people who don't have these things. I am grateful for all of the pleasant things we have, such as a vehicle, our health, that we enjoy being with each other, how fortunate that we have things we like to do together (like the art gallery and the book store), How nice it is to go to places like the restaurant and have people there recognize us as somewhat regulars.
It's something I've been trying harder to do; to be warmer and more friendly to people in stores. It's maybe kind of weird, but even though these are not my "friends" it helps me feel more connected.
I don't really have a network of close friends, so I am just doing my best to connect with people wherever we intersect. I know these people are nice because we are customers, but I hope it goes a little deeper than that. I want to see them as people, as I can have the tendency to forget that (I have been pretty bitchy sometimes with people who work in businesses, and I am consciously doing my best to be kinder, while still being assertive when I have to be).
I feel that we lack that thing we used to have, which is an understanding of the roles people play in our community such as the local barber or the local mechanic, or the local diner. I grew up in a small town where all of those people were neighbors and often friends.
Whenever I go back to the town where we grew up, many of those people are either still doing those jobs, or those jobs are now filled by people I went to school with. It's funny that one of the really wild party animals I went to school with is now working at the care home where my Mom is living.
While there is some stagnation that comes with that small town way of life, and a truly crazy lack of privacy (everyone knows just about everything about you), there is also something comforting about a few nice words or a bit of a joke with people as you do routine interactions.
I can't decide if having that familiarity is a bit stifling, or if it makes the world less lonely. Maybe both.
I learned that modern crash test dummies have a lot of electronic sensors, and now cost about $1 million.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/03/19/why-crash-test-dummies-cost-1-million.html#:~:text=Crash%20test%20dummies%20are%20meant,dummies%20run%20closer%20to%20%241%2C000%2C000.
The wind finally died down, and it feels so much better outside. Last night some really lovely light snow fell, very sparkly and beautiful.
We went to the city today.
We went to the tack shop and picked up another winter blanket for either one of the mares at home (they are the same size, more or less). They had a good sale, since this time of year they clear their stock as we head towards warmer weather.
Then we went to the art gallery to go see that same fantastic installation that was there the last time. We took some more time with the ones we didn't have much time left to see last time. It's fun playing "which one would like to own" with my Sweetie. It's interesting which ones he likes the most.
We stopped in at the used book store, traded in two DVDs (they sell those too) and found a few things.
Then we met with the same person that I knew from WAAYYY BACK WHEN that we met with two weeks ago.
She makes fabric bags, and we ordered some from her. We met for supper at one of our regular places (the one where the owners run an animal rescue, so the income from the restaurant supports it).
It's the kind of place that feels a bit like eating at a friend's place, and tonight we ended up talking with two women who volunteer at the rescue, and joked around a bit with the owner who was serving us.
It's not quite "the local diner" but in some ways it is like that for us.
We had a good visit with my friend, and it was a little more upbeat than last time. She is having a lot of health issues and is at home a lot right now. I hope that if nothing else, we were able to give her something enjoyable to break up the monotony.
At home we watched "Defendor" which is a very good movie, but NOT a comedy like it sort of seems like they marketed it that way. I enjoyed it, but I bet a lot of people were taken by surprise by the tone.
I have to say, I enjoy having days like this where we run into the city and go to our favorite spots. It's a treat. I fight the feeling of being "entitled" over some of the nice things we have in our lives, and it isn't always easy thinking of people who don't have these things. I am grateful for all of the pleasant things we have, such as a vehicle, our health, that we enjoy being with each other, how fortunate that we have things we like to do together (like the art gallery and the book store), How nice it is to go to places like the restaurant and have people there recognize us as somewhat regulars.
It's something I've been trying harder to do; to be warmer and more friendly to people in stores. It's maybe kind of weird, but even though these are not my "friends" it helps me feel more connected.
I don't really have a network of close friends, so I am just doing my best to connect with people wherever we intersect. I know these people are nice because we are customers, but I hope it goes a little deeper than that. I want to see them as people, as I can have the tendency to forget that (I have been pretty bitchy sometimes with people who work in businesses, and I am consciously doing my best to be kinder, while still being assertive when I have to be).
I feel that we lack that thing we used to have, which is an understanding of the roles people play in our community such as the local barber or the local mechanic, or the local diner. I grew up in a small town where all of those people were neighbors and often friends.
Whenever I go back to the town where we grew up, many of those people are either still doing those jobs, or those jobs are now filled by people I went to school with. It's funny that one of the really wild party animals I went to school with is now working at the care home where my Mom is living.
While there is some stagnation that comes with that small town way of life, and a truly crazy lack of privacy (everyone knows just about everything about you), there is also something comforting about a few nice words or a bit of a joke with people as you do routine interactions.
I can't decide if having that familiarity is a bit stifling, or if it makes the world less lonely. Maybe both.
I learned that modern crash test dummies have a lot of electronic sensors, and now cost about $1 million.
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/03/19/why-crash-test-dummies-cost-1-million.html#:~:text=Crash%20test%20dummies%20are%20meant,dummies%20run%20closer%20to%20%241%2C000%2C000.
