Five years to live

What would you do if you have only five or ten years to live?

What would you regret about if the doctor tells you that you have only 24 hours to live?

Do you have a personal mission statement?

These are the questions asked by Paula and J.D. in this podcast episode of Afford Anything. I found the questions stirring.

If I had only five to ten years to live, I would put some money aside for my child (not too much!), quit my job (this very second) and the rest of my finances will be spent on traveling and having good times out there with whoever wants to be with me. Mom, child, spouse, a friend...

What would I be sorry about if I had only 24 hours to live? Missing on FUN. I need more fun in my life. My resolution right now is to start scheduling fun activities, rather than obligations.

I still do not have a personal mission statement and I may never have one. I like my ever-changing passions and interests. I have not come up with any statement that captures all my hopes. Isn't a mission statement more about hopes than reality?

Another great motivational video is this of Jenny Mustard. The main idea here is: do not establish and follow the routine! I need to start incorporating more activities in my life that make me happier. I might start a diary, or even better, work for five to ten minutes every night on projects of my imagination. I have a ton on projects either in their embryonic stage on my computer or brewing in my brain.

Speaking about things that bring me happiness and inspiration, here is a video on a great house. Architecture has always been a passion of mine.

Also, here is some hygge for the Spring!

I cannot wait for the snowdrops in my garden this spring season. These would be the first flowers to show in my garden. I dug out a few bulbs from the woods last year and this year, I am expecting the little white ballerinas to dance in front of the house. Maybe in February, maybe in March?
 
Since I have imposed a strict financial discipline on me, I have a restraining order away from flower catalogues; otherwise, I would have filled the garden with crocuses and hellebores. Unfortunately, tulips do not survive the hungry menagerie in my area.
 
Snowdrops and daffodils! As I imagine them nodding with the spring breeze, I smile. Yes, imagery is another way to happiness. Just imagine the sun, the blue sky and the little yellow daffodils.





What makes you feel happy and uplifted?

The glory of Spring is in my garden

Spring Garden: April, 2017

I did not know I had a bluebell in the garden! It just appeared out of nowhere in my backyard.

These last only a few days. I wished I could sleep under them.

They are fragrant too!

The voracious animals in my garden spared exactly two tulips this year. Let's see how long the flowers will last. I had a collection of magnificent tulips in the past, but all were eaten by the Zoo members in my yard.

I did not even have to plant these.

Almost like a ballerina. Have you read Andersen's Little Ida's flowers? I believe the ball is starting in my garden.

Where Is Spring

Last year's (2016) March garden. When would 2017 surprise me with the same delights?

Last year at this time, my garden was full of life. The pictures above were taken for Easter 2016, which was on March 27.

This year, the garden just started to emerge from under the three feet of snow that fell upon us two weeks ago. 

As the snow starts to recede, I am hopeful that soon the garden will be full of color. It is the end of March after all, the sun has its obligation to warm up the muddy grounds, evaporate the icy pools of water, and coax the spring bulbs into activity. 

Here, in northeast U.S., this coming week we will see the temperatures a bit more Spring-like (I mean above freezing). 

This past summer, on each Saturday afternoon the mailman was passing me in the garden weeding, digging, and cleaning. So, one day he stopped and asked what I did in the middle of winter when I could not be outside gardening. 

"I go bonkers", was my reply.  Yep, I am almost there, bonkers. I need the garden to recover my sanity again. There has been so much turmoil at work that I need a place/space that is as removed as possible from the tragedies of my job.

No-garden weekends for me a full of cleaning, food shopping, cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, blogging a bit and reading good books. This past weekend I re-tried my recipe for high-fiber brownies with less chocolate chips added. The recipe has no added sugar except for the one in the chips, so I used 3/4 of a cup of chocolate chips, rather than 1 cup, and the brownies were still excellent. 

Later today, I will try a simple and cheap recipe for crackers. I will let you know, if the experiment succeeds.

I also will look at some websites I discovered yesterday. French country cottage was one of them. I will have plenty of material to explore - the blog started in 2010!

Happy Sunday!

Easter and Spring

This Easter morning, after breakfast I found myself looking at the garden from our huge living room window. 

Autumn Joy

The window overlooks the front garden and although the view is delightful, I have never had time in the morning to stop all the busy work and enjoy the garden. This Easter morning was different - I did most of the chores on Saturday.

I do not know if the life in our Spring garden is always as busy as it was this morning, but it seemed like nature put a show for me. 





 

There was a riot of birds. I saw at least five species, including a gorgeous cardinal, a blue jay, and a few doves. Some birds were looking for food, others were just perched on the ornamental bushes.There were also three couples (I recognized a pair of robins) busy in courting, playing, and following each other. 




 
With the binoculars I followed the minute details of the frantic Sunday morning activity: the little sparrows were carrying bits of dry grass in their beaks (probably for a nest), and the rest of the birds were attacking something invisible on the soil and the grass (I guess seeds and worms?).

 

There was one overly energetic squirrel, digging everywhere. In 20 minutes, it "searched" the entire front garden circling around like a little fluffy blizzard. Twice the squirrel found nuts; I wonder if these were previously hidden by the animal. We do not have a single nut tree on the block.




I remember reading about a Japanese study that simply looking at nature from the window affects the physiology in a positive way: the blood pressure goes down, and the life outlook/mood improves.