Delightful heat wave

Lilac buds a day or two away

 I traipsed down the driveway yesterday afternoon to see if the lilacs have opened yet. They are close, but the purple ones always open a little after the white ones do. And yes, the white lilacs have made the transition already. We are experiencing full sun and days in the low 70s (21°C) for the first time this year. South of us, in Seattle, I suspect they got into the low 80s on Saturday, setting a record for the date. I would be happy if we never got any warmer than it is now. I can dream, but I know better.

Melanie is still in California, so yesterday I decided to do one of our favorite walks by myself: the trail from the Farmers' Market to Fairhaven. I could have gone with my old Saturday walking group, but they start an hour earlier and now I've grown quite happy to start later and then visit the Market, which is just what I did yesterday morning. And after the walk, I treated myself to one of those fabulous scones from The Scone Lady. I will always get the Bourbon Maple Pecan, if they have it. Otherwise, I get a Marionberry scone, which is pretty darn fabulous. 

On Friday I got my second bivalent booster dose for Covid. I was surprised that I didn't even feel the shot and wondered if I had actually gotten it. But no, by the time I went to bed, my arm was sore, and it's still quite warm to the touch. I slept just fine, but I did seem a little draggy on my walk. There's no way to know what is responsible for what. Maybe I'm still recovering from Thursday's eight-mile excursion. I am feeling quite happy that my knees and other well-used joints cooperated and I didn't have to pull out any of the many knee braces I hauled along. But being older does mean it takes longer to recuperate from strenuous activities.

And that is all I will say about my age. My sister has reminded me that I am constantly bringing it up and making a big deal about it. Everybody gets a little bit older every day, and I think it might be time for me to look up from my navel and take a look around me, enjoy my continued abilities and look for the bright side of life. After all, I do get to choose what I focus on, and there are so many reasons to be happy these days.

That is, if I stay away from the news of the day. It does seem like every time I turn around, there is another crisis happening, either in the nation or beyond. I am fortunate to be living in such a beautiful part of the country, and to have such incredible access to learn what is going on, but if I allow myself to dwell on the awful events, I will not be able to keep my head in a good place. And there is really no reason to wallow in it, right? Someone like me who doesn't have a job to go to any more, and gets to shape her days to her liking, well that means I can look around at the gorgeous springtime burgeoning everywhere, and look forward to the happy days ahead. 

A cool front moved in overnight, and our temperature should be a few degrees cooler today, with the chance of a few sprinkles, but otherwise perfect. I went shopping with my friend Lily and bought myself a new sun hat. It's lightweight and has a little flap that covers my neck. It's a new brand for me, Sunday Afternoons, and I am so happy I found it! Although I like my favorite baseball cap, it doesn't keep the wind out, or cover my neck. This one does both, and it's very comfortable too. I have found that my hearing aids just don't like the wind and the whistling that starts in my ears when I'm out in it is unfortunate. So now I have taken care of that little annoyance.

I really need to learn how to use my cellphone camera better. It keeps jumping into a different mode when I don't mean it to, and I sometimes don't know how to fix it. On my hike on Thursday with Group 2 of the Senior Trailblazers, one of the women took lots of pictures and also some videos. She sent one around in just a few hours after we finished, and I've watched it several times already. I could do that, too, if I could just figure it out. Maybe I'll watch a tutorial on how to do all that stuff, and I can then share them with you. Technology just keeps on improving, but it means that if I want to take advantage of it, I need to put my mind into the mode of learning something new.

There are really two kinds of optimism. There's the complacent, Pollyanna optimism that says, 'Don't worry – everything will be just fine,' and that allows one to just lay back and do nothing about the problems around you. Then there's what we call dynamic optimism. That's an optimism based on action. —Ramez Naam

Hey, that's what I want: to learn how to be dynamically optimistic. It's something I can easily do, since I have a good mind for study, and plenty of options for action. All I need to do is get going, and keep on searching for the correct action for the moment I'm in. Right? It seems so easy when I put it like that, so here goes. At this very moment, I'm creating a post to send out to my dear virtual friends, one that I hope will lift some spirits, including my own. It is springtime, all my body parts work pretty well and don't give me too much grief, and even if my possibilities are not limitless, they are abundant. Here I go! Don't try to hold me back!

And with that cheerful thought, I will bring this post to a close. My dear partner still sleeps next to me, John will be picking me up for our usual Sunday morning breakfast (he's still got a little cough but otherwise is just fine), and the day beckons, with me happily bounding out of my bed and starting my Sunday. I won't forget my new hat, with just the right name for the day. Until we meet again next we, dear friends, I wish you all good things. Be well.