LIVING AND LEARNING

One thing I have come to realize about myself is when I am pondering, as I do, my brain ponders in the background and until I work through what I am pondering and get a viable understanding in my head, I function, but on a lower level, depending on the depth and weight of what I am pondering.

I get pretty introspective and less intense than usual.  It is funny to see the reactions by those who don't know me that well, meaning everyone except my children.  I have been in a heavy pondering state now since my encounter with my family at my great Aunt's funeral.  It seems my closer friends think that I am either ignoring them or that what is bothering me has something to do with them.  Neither of these things are correct.

It has done wonders with my productivity and creativity though.  It seems the more that I have on  my mind the more active I get.  I have crocheted endless rows on my blanket I am making and if I continue at this rate it will be finished in another week!

If it were warmer outside I would have walked myself skinny by now, but I have an aversion to very cold and windy weather.  Yesterday I was planning a big walk to the supermarket, but was lucky to make it the three blocks to the little stores to pick up the bare essentials I needed to make it through the day!

I am not going to start complaining about the weather however.  Enough people are doing that!  I am just sending my hopes out into the universe that when the warm weather arrives that it is so hot that I have to be half naked to endure it and get a marvelous tan!

I am thankful that the heat is included in my rent.  It is so very nice to be warm.  I do not abuse the inclusion of heat included, and am not walking around in shorts as I am a frugal person even though I do pay for the heat year round.

I have noticed around here by observation and from talking to landlords that people keep the heat up and open windows instead of turning down the heat!  That is ridiculous!  My last three apartments, people thought nothing of leaving shared front doors and windows opened in their apartments!  I do not understand that at all and they paid for their own heat!

I am currently watching my bulbs sprout and flower.  I recently planted an avocado pit and have a main stem and leaves growing off of it.  I get really bored and love science, so I do silly things like this to occupy my time.  I know from research that I will probably not get any fruit off of it, but it is really cool to watch a tree grow out of a pit!    It is a first for me!

My roses, sadly are not doing well, and I have green on my main rose plant which I have been nurturing since 2008.    I usually have a knack for growing mini roses into big beautiful plants which produce year round  flowers.  Since the "mold" encounter however I am barely managing to keep it bountiful.  It saddens me! I am working with three rose plants that were a gift in the fall, however they are all dried up stems and no green yet!  I have not given up yet!  I really do want some purple roses again this year!

On a more positive note, my orchid plant sprouted a baby plant off of the main plant, and I have taken the initiative to separate the two and it has been more than a week and neither one of them have died!  That is encouraging   Perhaps now I will get a flower stem on the main one.  That would really make my year, as this is my first experience with orchids!

I am also having great luck with my  huge Aloe plant that my friend Di gave me.  I have had to repot a couple of the plants in this monster Aloe and they are all doing well!  It sure does beat catching the flies that I have been chasing around for two months and seeing how long it takes for them to die in an airtight container (less than two unless my girl Sunday lets air in to extend their lives!)

The science of homemade chocolate failed me the other day.  I have a couple of reasons why I think my chocolate, which tastes fine, but which is not setting properly did not work exactly, but I have a few ideas and I will be trying it again at a later date.  Live and learn is my motto for sure!  If you fail, then try it again but differently.