Thursday, or Thereabouts - February 4, 2016

A February Pilgrim

Meandering, just meandering. Like a leaf, dappled in sunlight, on a gently flowing woodland stream, I've been going with the flow, occasionally diverting into intriguing byways and circulating in pools of calm.  No specific goal or destination; no plan or urgency, just Simon and Garfunkel's 59th Street Bridge Song playing in my head.

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da...Feelin' Groovy.

Hello lamp-post,
What cha knowin'?
I've come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.

I've got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.


It's lovely to just traipse through the days leading to the edge of Spring, to simply be a traveller through the land, a kind of February pilgrim, come wind, come weather. When I grow tired of feelin' groovey, I dance to Maddy Prior's rendering of the words of John Bunyan (1684).





Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.





I know some seeds of discontent will begin to stir even as I hum and dance through these days.

            There is so much that needs DOING.  

Long lists of  'coulds', 'should's' and 'ought's' beg for strike outs and check marks:

clear out closets: bedroom, den, hall x 2
clean out basement
redecorate living room: new flooring, painting, furniture, lighting
get stuff together for cruise
bathroom reno plans
attic clear out (comes after basement)
digitize slide photos (there are 20 years worth of these)
finish family cook book for kids

and more, 

                                            too 

                                                 much 

                                                      more.

So for now I'll continue on my way, kicking down the cobble stones, come wind, come weather.

©2016 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - February 1, 2016

In-Between Time

The ship of this not quite so ancient mariner has arrived in the quiet eddies of the "in between time". Old Man winter has grown tiresome. He was late arriving to begin with and sulked through January, summoning up only a few feeble signs wintertide. And now it's February. It's time for winter to just give up and go, but he won't of course. He'll drag the anchor.



Unwanted, unwelcome yet predictable, this annual sojourn in the doldrums always appears on my itinerary February. Now one would think that such regularity would give rise to highly effective coping strategies, or even better yet a calculated manoeuvre to avoid this navigational hazard, but no. This vintage mariner, (not ancient but maybe a tad forgetful?), charts the same course every year: smile and wave at the Candlemas Day lighthouse on February 2, take a quick dip in the pool of joy and warmth amongst the Valentine hearts and flowers, and then...

"Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, no breath no motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean."

from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Ah but this is no dark place. Along the great wheel of the year, February is an In-Between month - it begins at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox (Brigit's Day) and ends at the very edge of Spring. And the light is returning - at a rate of almost 3 minutes a day!

I am not lost, I know where I am. I know that soon the winds will pick up and I'll be on my way again under full sail. In the mean time, I'll sit up on deck and befriend the calm, smile at winter's last gasps, and await the freshening breeze.  I know what's coming...

©2016 April Hoeller

February Funk

Gee, it's been an awfully quiet here on the blog lately.  A month since I last wrote...
What's up with that?

In January I was a beehive of activity -- lots of stuff to do but very little writing time.  Now it's time for my February Funk, that almost annual bloom of apathy and inertia.  Every year there is always just enough energy to propel me through January, but come the second month of a new year, the last of the vitalising drops of cheer have been squeezed out.  The only evidence of life are melancholy blooms waving lazily in a grey mist....

Time to nip these suckers in the bud!  I've learned that there is no point in trampling or weeding this garden of 'un-delight' -- such activities require too much of the kind of energy that is in very short supply right now.  The best strategy is to patiently poison the little punks with small but regular doses of accomplishments.  So, I've stepped up my workout routine a notch and added an afternoon nap -- a balanced approach is always best!  And I've stocked my pharmacy with lots of little enjoyable projects, each one of them completely doable in an hour or less.  On a sunny day, like today, I can easily knock back 4 or 5 doses and still get in that nap!

Speaking of which -- it's about time for a 'toes up'!
Today's poisons: Gym, menu planning, travel research, blog post, nap.  And that's just so far.  The day is not done yet.
Cheers!