Pix 'n Prose: Three Things I'm Thankful For:

"Blogging more often" was one of my goals in 2022. Let's see how long I can keep this up:

Three Things I'm Thankful for:

1. This Christmas Tree. I remember, with joy, the day my mom and I bought it. Potters were not selling any Christmas Trees this year. Their order never arrived, so all the trees on display were from last year and they had no inventory to sell. BUT THIS TREE HAD A PRICE TAG ON IT, meaning, they MUST have another one, somewhere. Two different floor clerks, an assistant manager and a few minutes of praying (!) later, they found a boxed one in the back that I knew was meant just for me. It was my mom's housewarming gift for me and my new condo.

I recall the day it was set up with much fondness; it was an oasis of calm before the chaos of moving happened the following day. On The Worst Stormy Night, a dozen friends dropped by my new place with boxes of baking/soup/chocolates/good wishes/blessings and lawnchairs, to hang out with me. They set up the tree, figured out how to get the lights to work, and decorated it with precision. They filled my condo with laughter and love and it was perfect.

And every. single. day. that I've lived here, it has been a source of light (literally. There are no lights in the living area of this condo) and beauty. It's also been a beacon to anyone driving by on 200th as to where Jane lives. Haha.

It'll be coming down on Jan 10 and I am going to miss it.

But I might be appreciative of the space that will open up with it's departure (to the bowels of this building as it get stored for 11 months in my locker)?

2. I'm thankful for my new mugs. I now have 5. (Thanks, Dani and Drew. And Julie N.)

3. I'm thankful that today's snow didn't last more than 3 minutes. I'm thankful that it's only 168 days til summer.

Resolutions/Plans/Goals Update...

I printed off the 1,000 Hours Outdoor charts and was looking forward to colouring in the ONE HOUR squares, but then I did the math and realized ONE THOUSAND HOURS divided by 365 days is roughly 3 hours of outdoorsness a day every single day for the entire year.

Today is January 4. So far, four days into 2022? ZERO outdoor hours.

I don't want to say I'm a quitter. But I'm quitting this one. NO WAY I'll spend 3 hours a day outside during the winter. I can't imagine what I'd do from, say 6 - 9 pm every day after work, outside. Sure, I may go for a walk on a non-rainy, above-freezing evening, but EVERYNIGHT? Regardless of weather? I don't think so.

So. I'm adjusting the numbers on this one. I'm going to aim for 1,000 MINUTES outside EACH MONTH. That's roughly 16 hours per month. Oh wait. That's two hours a day. Still seems a bit ambitious. I think I do that easily in the summer, but not so much during the rest of the year.

Hmmm. Know what?

I'm just going to keep track. And see how I do.

Next year I can try to beat this year's total.

Now to decide which chart to use...