Shopping

Alright, who turned off the heat and turned up the freezer wind?  The snow from yesterday has mostly melted, although there are chips of ice on the roadway.  The wind picked up at one point and pushed me more quickly than I expected, so it was clearly stronger than I’d thought.  The tiny monster enjoyed himself and was happily running and barking in the cold.  When I decided we’d had enough he pulled to stay out longer.  It’s really amazing how strong he can be when he plunks down his little paws.  Don was finding it chilly inside today, and still had some lingering pain in his legs, but is otherwise fine.

I woke up this morning feeling tired and somewhat unsteady — I had to take my cane with me to walk Jerry.  I really needed it for a while, as Jerry was in fine form!  This afternoon I was out with my friend getting a head start on Christmas shopping, thanks to my other good friend who supplied me with a discount coupon to get me to spend money.  Gotta love my friends who are so good at helping me keep the economy going!  I’d gone to visit a couple of malls while I was at my sister, but mall walking with toddlers is not conducive to doing any real shopping, neither is trying to keep suitcases under 23kg!  Anyway, I went with a list, and got some of the items, but I’m definitely going to need more shopping time.  Anybody want to come with?  I’m not the world’s most energetic shopper any longer, nor can I do really long days, but I certainly can manage some shopping.  Give me a call!

I got a call from my social worker this week.  She’s really lovely, and we have (IMO) some useful conversations.  There are 2 things from this discussion that I want to share.  The first is that she said that she “used to be” an artist, and I had to challenge her on that.  She clarified that she used to earn her living from art, but hasn’t done any lately.  We had a discussion on how people define ourselves — “used to be” when it’s something that’s dear and valuable to our ego is almost suicidal.  “Used to be” a writer, painter, sculptor, musician, etc, is something that basically cuts off part of ourselves when we stop doing them.  In comparison, we can stop being managers, or financial advisors or secretaries more easily, and perhaps find new ways of defining ourselves.  Please let me know if you think I’m wrong.  Ancient Greek education would require that students learn an art, a science and a skill — so learning to dance, play an instrument, paint, sculpt, etc, was one of the main pillars of creating a fully-formed person.  Then you’d learn math, or physics or economics and then something like sewing or woodwork or farming or beekeeping to be able to contribute to society and support yourself and your family.  When I’d first learnt that, I thought it was a great way of making some what we now call Renaissance people.  I’m not totally sure of my skill these days, unless you count crochet, or cooking, but in either case I don’t do enough.  The second thing that we discussed that I wanted to share was that she thinks that I need to plan more time with friends, especially in winter, so that I remain socially engaged and do things other than go to medical appointments or grocery shopping.  My plan is to have an activity perhaps weekly so I don’t exhaust myself — I’m still recuperating from Trinidad and my travels 4 days after getting home! — so please stand by for emails suggesting that we meet up for coffee or lunch or something.

The cake was our dessert from tonight’s dinner.  It was the best food of the meal; the savoury part of dinner was less than excellent, although the company was wonderful.  My plan for tomorrow is rest, so I should be comfortably settled at home for the day, with some time out with the tiny dictator.  The exercise is good for me.  For tonight, though, that’s it.  Good night!