Sometimes Mondays

. . . feel kinda weird.

According to the calendar, fall has arrived. But it hasn't really felt much like . . . fall . . . in my corner of the world. Not yet. Oh, sure. There have been a few days where there's been a little nip in the air. And the sun is certainly rising later/setting earlier than it was a month or two ago. 

But the leaves are still not turning.
And there hasn't been even the lightest hint of a frost.

And that's really weird.

In fact, we are on track here . . . for the latest "first frost" ever. The weather-folk are pushing that date for my area into early-mid November. (Usually it would have happened by now.) And we're having the latest "peak color" in decades (maybe ever) throughout the state.

I guess that explains why . . . I'm still wearing shorts and flip-flops (sometimes with sweatshirts, but still). And I haven't brought out my warm clothes yet. And I only just this weekend pulled out my pumpkin collection to decorate inside my house. I'm still working in my garden and watering containers that would normally be in the compost heap by now.

Very weird.
But I guess I still have plenty of time to plant my fall bulbs!

(How about you? Has fall arrived in your neck of the woods?)

Sometimes Mondays

. . . are scrambled.

Sundays . . . have always been my get-it-together day of the week. The day I wrap up the week just ending . . . and plan for the week that's coming. I have Sunday Chores (laundry, for example) and "calendar-ing" (where I get my schedule for the coming week set in my head) and Planning (meals, blog posts, etc.). I like my Sundays to be neat and orderly so I can hit the ground running on Monday.

But. . . that was not to be yesterday.

In fact, I lost the whole Sunday! I was down for the count after getting my 3rd Covid vaccine dose on Saturday (part of a carefully orchestrated plan to be able to get me in a place where I can safely get an infusion treatment for my RA next month) (it's complicated). I didn't have terrible reactions to my first 2 doses, but this 3rd one did knock me out of contention for the whole day.

I'm feeling just fine today. But scrambling.
Because I didn't (at all) get-it-together for the week ahead yesterday.

“You don’t get explanations in real life. You just get moments that are absolutely, utterly, inexplicably odd.” 
    — Neil Gaiman

Let's see how well I recover this week! (Because, often, when I miss my Sunday . . . I never quite get-it-together and end up flailing all week long.)

==

A Reminder:

Tomorrow is our Read With Us book discussion day! Join Bonny, Carole, and I for blog book discussion questions (we'll each be posting questions for you to ponder on our blogs). And then -- tomorrow night we'll have a Zoom meet-up where we can talk about the book together. Please join us -- it's a lot of fun, and always an interesting discussion, too. 7:00 pm Eastern time. If you'd like to join in, please let me know in the comments -- or send me an email (see sidebar) -- and I'll add you to the Zoom invitation list.

Sometimes Mondays

. . . feel like a hangover.

Not from drinking too much. (At least, not in my case.) But (in my case) from Checking-Out-of-Life-Because-Reading.

Everyone reads differently. Some people plow through books faster than you can blink an eye. Some people plod along with books slowly and methodically. Some people do best with some "white space" in their reading. It's all good. It's just preferences. Know what you like and roll with it . . . that's my philosophy.

Anyway. I'm generally a reader who prefers a little "white space" in my reading. I like some time to think and ponder and let the words roll around a bit . . . between books, yes, but also as I read a book. I prefer taking little "breaks" as I read . . . to let words sink in and make connections in my brain. But every now and then, well . . . I get completely caught up and carried away with a book and just can't seem to put it down.

And that's what happened to me this weekend.
(Just one more chapter . . . ) (Y'know.)

Eventually, I caved. I stopped fighting the book. I sat and read for much of the weekend.
I didn't do the chores I had planned.
I didn't catch up on some paperwork I hoped to complete.
I didn't do a damn thing, really.

Except read. . . 

And now? It feels like a hangover.
I wish I hadn't done that to myself.

But I did.
And now it's Monday.
And I must pay!

Sometimes Mondays are like that.

===

The book I was reading? It was the newest installment in the Three Pines/Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny . . . The Madness of Crowds. It's always fun to duck back into Three Pines again for a visit -- and this one is very compelling.

 

Sometimes Mondays

. . . really do feel like Mondays, y'know?

And as a person who does not actually have a job-job, that's saying something. Because when you are "retired" - or whatever it is that I am - all days are the same. Basically. Except when they're not.

And today? Today just feels especially Monday-ish to me.

Thankfully, there are hydrangeas in the world!

==

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us."
            --- Iris Murdoch

==

Here's to a good week for all of us!

 

Sometimes Mondays

. . . are exploding with color!

We've had a lot of rain lately.

A lot.

But today looks to be sunny and rain-free.
And colorful!

Happy Monday -- and I hope your week is off to a good start.

==

"Life is about using the whole box of crayons."
            -- RuPaul

Sometimes Monday

. . . begins far too early.

In fact, this Monday morning . . . is beginning very early for me . . . with a visit to my ophthalmologist. (Like . . . what-was-I-thinking early.) By the time you read this, my eyes will be dilated and I'll no longer be in any state to use my computer. So I thought I'd just throw out this lovely thought from the poet Maggie Smith. Something to think about . . . until my eyes return to normal.

I really like this question she's asking . . . What else is possible? 
Isn't that a great way to start the day?

I hope your Monday is off to a great start.

Sometimes Mondays

Feel like whiplash!

Because . . . all of a sudden . . . everything is different!

I had kids . . . in my house this weekend! Unmasked. Eating food I cooked for them. And sleeping overnight in my guest room. They can play chess with Tom . . . live and in person (instead of over an app). Their little pup can run free in my house. And I can hug them goodbye when they leave.

And my West Coast kid . . . just got her first vaccine. And is currently figuring out a date to come home for a visit.

I'm going to sign up later today for an in-person drawing workshop.

Sudden.
Wonderful.
Change.

Everything feels so different!

==

"The moment of change is the only poem."
            --- Adrienne Rich

==

Happy Monday, everyone.

Sometimes Mondays

. . . look like a day of reckoning!

My weekend was full of spring cleaning. The laundry room. The hall closets. The garage. Things that are AWESOME now at completion, but that were hard and not particularly pleasant in the doing.

I'm also putting a long course of nasty antibiotics behind me, starting today. Although grateful for the treatment (which worked!), these particular antibiotics (yeah, there were two) leave me . . . not quite myself. Out of sorts. Whiney. Generally off my game.

So these are Very Good Things to have completed and gotten through. But Good Things sometimes have A Price To Pay. Trailing behind me, you'll see . . . a wake of undone chores, everyday tasks, and loose ends.

A day of reckoning, indeed.
(But isn't that what Mondays are for?)

==

"Here comes the sun. And I say, it's alright."
        -- George Harrison

==

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Sometimes Mondays Are for Questions

This year, I came up with a few things I wanted to "explore." And by that I mean . . . Consider. Learn about. Chew on. Maybe even fold into my life in some way.

And one of those things is . . . ritual.

(Does "ritual" have anything to do with that photo? No. It does not.)

(And does "ritual" have anything to do with my one-little-word for the year? Not on the surface. Although I'll probably find some connection. Because that's what tends to happen.)

Anyway.

I've decided to explore . . . ritual. And, so far, here at the beginning of my exploration, I'm asking a lot of questions. Yesterday, I decided it might be interesting - and maybe even fun - to throw a few questions out into the universe and see what YOU think.

So here are a few basic questions I'm asking myself right now, as I get started down this "ritual" path. I'd really like to know what you think, so I'm hoping you'll share your thoughts in the comments.

When you hear the word "ritual," what do you think?
How is a "ritual" different from a "habit?"
Or is it???

And there you have it.
A few questions . . . on a (cold and snowy) Monday morning.

The Reality Of It

. . . is that sometimes I have trouble starting my own engines on a Monday!

Although I'm back home now, I've been up north for a while. Long enough . . . that I have a lot of catching up to do now that I'm back. (I'm not complaining. Just explaining.) 

I'm looking for a jump start for myself today, so . . . no interesting links for you. But I can still share my quote for the week:

"How did it get to be so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness, how the time has flown. How did it get so late so soon?"
        --- Dr. Seuss 

Happy Monday, everyone.
I hope your week is off to a great start!

(Anyone have some jumper cables?)

==

Don't forget to join Bonny, Carole, and I tomorrow for our Read With Us Discussion of this quarter's book selection . . . Wild Game.