Saturday, February 10, 2018

Simple Woman's Daybook - February 10, 2018

For Today...


Looking out my window...it's still relatively dark since it's before the sunrise.

I am thinking...about the One Stop Donation Drop and Blood Drive that my daughter and I are coordinating that will be next month. The Leo Club (a teen club of the Lions) will be helping with it. There will be 26 non-profits that will benefit from this event which is exciting!

I am thankful...that the girls have compassionate hearts and a love for service. Last week, they knitted on round looms little hats for newborns. They will be donated to a local hospital.



The hats took a little over an hour to make and were easy to do.


Sophia and Olivia worked with the Leo Club that they are members of to create some hats so babies can stay warm after they are born.


We also did a soup-making session with some seniors at the nursing home. It was a good way for the seniors to cut vegetables and use their hand-eye coordination skills. Plus, they were able to have a bowl (or two) of soup when they were done.

While the soup was cooking, Olivia helped one of the seniors with a puzzle he was working on.


We've known him for many years now. Very smart and engaging man who always has something to share with us.

One of my favorite things...when we went to an open house at the White Bear Center for the Arts recently, there were snow forms on a pine tree.


It is fun to see snow being molded into intriguing shapes. There are a lot of ice and snow sculptures this year at different winter carnivals. It's cold enough for them to last this year compared to past year.

I am creating...spreads for my bullet journal. This is the first year that I have done bullet journaling and I'm enjoying it.



I am still using my calendar that I get from the bank each year since I haven't quite figured out a good layout for the bullet journal. Eventually I want to transition to using just one calendar each year.

The bullet journal gives me more flexibility to record goals and track progress on them which I like. I can keep notes in it about things I am doing - like listening to TED Talks each week, reflecting on what I am grateful for, and things that I want to remember about nature and the outdoors.

I am wearing...comfortable clothes since I'll be staying home today.

I am listening to...the fan blades and motor, Lucy (the cat) purring, and Cooper periodically whining as he wants to go outside to see the rabbit that's hopping around the yard.

I am hoping...that I don't come down with a cold or flu. I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the past few days. Dayquil and cough drops have been used daily to hopefully keep things under control.

I am learning...that my tolerance or ability to handle the cold is greatly diminishing as I get older. It seems like this year, in particular, the sub-zero temperatures feel more bitter and are significantly more difficult to deal with when I go outside.

Looked up to see possible reasons why this may be happening. There's a host of ideas: hypothyroidism, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and so forth. Then I found another reason that I found interesting on Turning it Around:

Skin, particularly the epidermis, the extreme outer layer, gets thinner as people get older. Why?

The extreme outer layer of skin is comprised mostly of dead skin cells. These tend to hang onto what is below better when people are younger because their skin is moister with oil (and water). Younger people have more oil in their skin than older people.

As skin dries out, the outer layer of dead cells tends to flake off, exposing the layers that are underneath. That means the nerves are closer to the surface. The nerves are what make people feel cold (gives the sensation of being cold).

That makes sense to me. I know my skin is different than it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

In my kitchen...I have been making food that fits the Whole30 guidelines. Although I technically completed Round 2 of the Whole30 on February 8th, I'm still going to cook meals that don't contain sugar, dairy, grains, corn, or beans for a while.

Everyone in the household has to eat at least one Whole30 meal a day (typically dinner) since I am only preparing one dinner for the entire family.

Chili that is Whole30 compliant.

No one is complaining about the dinners since they are flavorful and filling. The Whole30 as well as other recipes I've been adapting have plenty of good options without the ingredients that are troublesome - especially sugar.

In the school room...the girls are enjoying their second semester at the homeschool co-op where they take a variety of classes and music lessons (piano for both plus voice for Sophia).

We are going on college visits to give the girls some ideas about potential colleges that may be options for them in the future. Some of them Sophia just goes to since she is a junior; and others both Sophia and Olivia visit. It's good for them to see the next step in their education.

In my garden...everything is frozen. There's still a long time until the ground thaws and seeds are planted.

Board room...I created a board on Pinterest for dealing with the winter doldrums. One of the pins I found was for a 14-day hygge challenge.


Thought that it might be good to try each of those activities over the next couple of weeks. Actually, #11 - riding a bike - might be difficult at this time of the year with ice and snow still on the roads. Perhaps simply getting out for a hike and enjoying nature might be a good substitute.

Post Script...I am grateful to be a part of the Lions Club; and serve as their membership chair and a board member for the foundation. Having just joined in July, it's been a year of learning about the organization, the valuable work it does locally and globally, and of using my skills and background to help the club.

A recent Lions meeting. There are two each month - a breakfast
on the 2nd Thursday and a dinner on the 4th Thursday.

Shared Quote...


A moment from my day...a leaf frozen in ice.



That's how I'm feeling this year: cold and frozen each day that the temperature goes below zero.

Closing Notes...Yesterday I booked a two-night stay in camper cabins at Forestville State Park in May. We will be staying in two different ones (one each night) since the cabins are already filling up.

When we are there, we will see both Mystery Cave with the Blue Lake and Niagara Cave. The former one we have not seen before and the latter one we have. Also in that area are lots of Amish farms and businesses which we will visit. I like going to them and seeing what is available; and talking with the women there.

Olivia is very interested in the caves and Sophia wants to go to the Amish farms and businesses.

I'm looking forward to that trip. It will be a nice way to explore that area of the state at a time of the year we haven't seen it. Hopefully, we will be able to see some other state parks along the way.

6 comments:

Smily-Света said...

I like these tiny hats the girls made. Snow formas are also extremely cute!
Do you have strong frosts now?
It's something not very winter-kind here, in Hungary.
Kind regards to you,
Szvetlana

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Hi Szvetlana,

Thank you for your kind comments. We have had a lot of snow this year - some light snowfalls and others some big storms with lots of ice and snow. The frosts come usually at the beginning and end of the winter season; and are so pretty. I like when things look like they have been painted in ice.

Took a look at the photos you posted of what it is like in Hungary now. That looks more like our spring...which should (hopefully) be happening in about a month. It's been a long and very cold winter here: -20F temperatures and -35F windchill was about the coldest we've had this year.

Have a great week!

Ann

Melanie said...

I really enjoyed reading your daybook! You do such interesting things with your girls. Just a thought, if you're feeling like you're coming down with a cold, instead of popping DayQuil, try natural supplements instead. They will not only help with the symptoms you're having in a natural way (instead of chemicals, like in DayQuil), but boost your immune system, too. My favorite supplement to take is NOW brand Allibiotic. It has elderberry, garlic, olive leaf, oregano, rosemary, and what's called ImmunEnhancer. Hope you have a good weekend!

Smily-Света said...

I'd like to have some more snow here :) Everything looks so festive when covered with snow.
Have a nice week, too,
Szvetlana :)

Rita said...

Love the little hats! Those tiny babies need them, too. I remember all the premies when Dagan was in the neo-natal unit at Children's in Mpls. Your girls do so much with the community!!

So much in this post. I love when you do these. Yes--my skin has really started to change the past few years since I got into my 60s. It is starting to crepe like my mother's and aunt's and grandmother's all did--thinning out. Bruise easier. Veins show more. Fascinating, but weird. I no longer run outside to the dumpster when it's 20 below without gloves--and this winter, often grab a hat, too. ;) So windy I even found my scarf!

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Both the caves and the Amish would be interesting.

Have a marvelous weekend. Stay warm! :)

Karen said...

I sure enjoyed your Daybook. It's nice that your girls are so creative and use their talents to help others. The hats are darling. I'm going to check out your Pinterest board for the winter doldrums. March is the longest month, for me. So many interesting things in this post, I'm really glad I stopped by:)