Welcome back!

Thanks for spending a few moments of your day with me. Each week I will share excerpts from my current writing, quotes from others that have really resonated with me this week, plus what I'm reading, listening to, watching, creating and excited about this week.

Morning Page Musings

(Excerpts from my daily journaling)

On Life: "Just because life has thrown me a lot of curve balls lately, doesn't mean I don't deserve all the good things life has to offer."

On Therapy: "I kind of dread dredging all that stuff up again, but if it will help, I'm willing to work on it."

On Retrospect: "I think that experience was a vehicle to move me along to the next stage of life."

On Frankness: "I'm not going to get my point across if I settle for some safe, bland version of what I'm trying to convey."

On Fat Bias: "It's always presented in a way that makes it seem health promoting, but the bottom line is weight loss and body image."

On Bird Watching: "I'm thankful that despite all the new construction in the area, we still see plenty of birds in our neighborhood."

On Self-Compassion: "Sometimes we make decisions that are best for us in that moment, with no regrets."

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Quotes from Others

"An awakened life demands a fundamental re-visioning of the limited views we hold of our own potential." Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness, The Revolutionary Art of Happiness​

"Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. And the faith to trust our own admission." Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way​

"No. I want a whole banana for myself, and you can have a whole banana for yourself." 2-year-old Clara responding to my offer to split a banana.

What I'm Reading

​An American in Scotland and Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucy Connelly. Cozy murder mysteries set in a small, remote village in Scotland. The main character is an American who takes a job as the town doctor (and unbeknownst to her, coroner and various other duties). These books were a nice diversion after reading on some heavy topics the weeks before. The plot lines are good in both books, but I would have enjoyed them more if there weren't so many chapters that ended with a loud boom and a scream. That said, I see there is a third book in the series, and I won't hesitate to read it as well.

What I'm Listening To

​Making Midlife Magic, Episode #100: Do Big Things. Congrats to Rachel Baum on her 100th episode. Truly a huge milestone! This episode really hit me at the perfect time too. Her Tip #1 for Doing Big Things is to have an escape plan. And what that sounded like was "have a Plan B, a Plan C and so on. Make it so hard to fail that you can't help but succeed. That tip helped me get this newsletter issue out into the world, albeit a day later than I prefer, and I feel pretty darn good about that.

What I'm Watching

I spent the past couple of weeks watching Agatha Christie's Marple, a series which ran 23 episodes over six seasons from 2004-2014. The episodes are feature length at about one and a half hours each. Seasons 1-3 feature Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, then Julia McKenzie steps in for seasons 4-6. I don't really have a preference between the two Miss Marples, but McEwan seems a bit older and more old fashioned, so there was more of an historical quality to those episodes. Either way, if you are an Agatha Christie fan, you'll likely enjoy this rendition of the sweet, sharp, sneaky, sleuth.

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What's Cooking?

Sometimes I look for recipes and then get the ingredients and other times I search for recipes to match ingredients I already have on hand. The latter was the case this week when I found this Ground Orange Chicken recipe from Dinner then Dessert. When I went to make it, I found that I actually had ground turkey, not ground chicken in the freezer. But no matter, nothing ran afowl and it turned out just fine. If you like a blend of sweet, salty and a little spicy, you'll probably like it. I added a thinly sliced green onion along with the ginger, garlic and red pepper step. I'll definitely make this again and next time I think I'll add some sort of chopped nut as a garnish. The only thing missing for me was a little crunch.

How's it Growing?

After spending much time and money buying new plants lately, this weekend, I also tended to my existing plants, some of which needed some love too. I had several plants that had outgrown their pots and were starting to show a little distress. So, it was time to move them to larger digs with a little room to grow and some fresh potting soil as well.

These pothos shown below all came from one plant I received two Christmases ago and I still have two other viable plants I need to find homes for. The pothos, along with some sort of ivy, now adorn the half wall that separates our dining room from the rest of the living area. Previously inhabited by snake plants that got way too tall and began to wobble out of their pots. Those are now outside in a new arrangement with room to grow to their heart's content.

Until next week...I'll be finding happiness in the pursuit.

Betsy

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