Marsia's Diary

[overlandflyer]

this might be the most beautiful place I ever live, and it might be all downhill from here.

there are a lot of places i'd like to move to, but there's this ocean less than a mile away that i cannot see myself leaving...

 

[Floater]

A friend of mine works in a psychiatric hospital and they sell patients' artwork to help fund more materials.

Which, as I'm sure you know, is a symbol of masculinity as well.

Even if that wasn't a special moment in and of itself you're making it one by growing into your full self. Which is how prophecies work.

<3 thank you, @LaMaria .

PS, as you at least get it - I can make this old lady into my personal saint. There's something comforting about the idea, even as it only exists in my mindspace.

But the oaks are real, and they smell incredible in the falltime.

 

[liza]

I am glad you mentioned CBT - it got me thinking about how much I don't question negative thoughts, so looking at that every day has sort of shocked me. I am much better than I was, but wow, I still do myself in with pessimism a lot!

Yes I really feel that the CBT work is on-going, very much like the Buddhist practice. I feel the 2 paths really complement each other!

Glad to hear your back is feeling better Marsia.

 

[Cate]

Hi, hon. Your next happy place will be lovely because you will appreciate it & have discarded so much stuff you don't need. You'll have the time to do your art & take long walks, listen to music, take a class, meditate & enjoy life. You are moving toward that, my friend

 

[Llama]

Sounds like a hugely exhausting but very rewarding weekend. The whole wide world is open to you at this point: that´s gotta be exhilarating.

 

[Cate]

You have bounced right back, hon. Well done! It does sound like an incredibly exhausting process & I am in awe of your effort. It's understandable that occasionally you fall in a heap. You're only human after all, but I think you're amazing

 

[Llama]

(When I lived in Seoul, I had to illegally change my money into US banknotes and put it in my shoe to get out of the country with my earnings

I love how you just throw that in there parenthetically You really do adapt to anyting and roll with the punches!

 

[Cate]

I love how you just throw that in there parenthetically You really do adapt to anyting and roll with the punches!

I think you are amaaazing!

 

[liza]

The place is J's friend's house, and she is letting us have a couple of rooms with a separate entrance and little kitchen for way, way less than market value, so we are cleaning it and had our contractor make a doorway between rooms so we didn't have to go through her house to get to our other room.

That sounds really great. Perfect place to feel able to settle into without rushing into any big change, while you get to dream and plan the next big move!
Very cool that you are looking at possibilities outside of the States. Mexico would be very cool I imagine. Never been there, but seems like it would be.
I agree with the others--your attitude is amazing!

 

[Llama]

I've been doing a little yoga for my back each day. I am also watching my weight more carefully, because I am back to my recent high weight. But so far, so good with not going over that weight.

Yay for keeping an eye on your own needs as well as those of the house! Sounds like things are moving along smoothly at last.

 

[liza]

I've been doing megatons of laundry because every quilt and piece of cloth, even the ones in sealed plastic bags inside big plastic bins, is dusty from construction dust.

Oh you got your machine back?! Yay!!
Hope you got that good sleep!

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Marsia, guess I have a lot of catching up to do. Sounds like you are selling your house and downsizing, probably something I should consider, but never will, not voluntarily anyway. Knowing what needs doing and is worth the investment is always hard, and running out of $ before everything you want done is done is a familiar problem to me! The driveway sounds like a good idea, first impressions are important.

I've been doing a little yoga for my back each day.

What yoga do you do? A class, or something from a video, or just on your own? I have been told that yoga would help my flexibility, but... well something about yoga just doesn't sound manly to me, LOL. Said jokingly but there is some truth to it, more a subconscious feeling than a rational thought.

I found fabulous old haciendas for cheap in a little city in Mexico I really want to visit on the Yucatan Peninsula.

That sounds great! I have been to Mexico many times, but never got to the Yucatan, it's another of the many places on my bucket list. Do you speak Spanish?

 

[Llama]

I once read an article about men doing yoga being more at risk of injury because they are (on average) a little less flexible than women and can tend to get competitive about it. Which is so not what yoga should be about!
I´m glad you´ll have some peace and quiet soon to think about where you really want to go and what your options are. The world is your oyster!

 

[alligatorob]

Thanks for the yoga advice, I may be back with more questions after my vacation. I have been doing weight lifting and other gym things for a year and a half now. I appreciate the strength and muscle increase, but would like to be more flexible. If anything the work I have been doing has made me less flexible... And I think that's more important than muscle building.

I took Spanish in high school and can speak enough very broken Spanish to get by, so if we do think we'll move there, I'd have to get serious and take classes. I really like Mexican people generally.

Same here on the Spanish, but my "getting by" is probably not so good as yours. I do find it a fun challenge to try. And I agree Mexican people are great, probably the main reason I keep going back.

Best of luck with the house thing, sounds like you are doing the right things. I understand the liking "homey" better, I am the same, and have had the same challenges every time I have gone to sell a house.

 

[alligatorob]

I once read an article about men doing yoga being more at risk of injury

Sounds like a great excuse to me, will have to keep it in mind! With respect to exercise I am way past trying to be competitive. If I was I'd probably quit, most of the women at the gym I go to can outlift me. I think all of the men can, LOL. Most of them are a lot younger than I.

 

[Cate]

You are really getting there with the house by the sound of it. I love homey too, rather than upscale. If your home gets too ritzy you might just be happy to leave. It will be fun researching your next happy place.

 

[alligatorob]

Are you visiting family in Louisiana and Florida?

Forgot to answer on my diary. I will be seeing my brothers and their families in Florida, but will not look up relative in Louisiana. I have lots of cousins here and its hard to see just a couple of them and not all, and I have other things planned. So this time will not be looking folks up, need to come back and do that at some point.

How are you doing? How goes the housing transition?

 

[Llama]

I still can not believe the amount of stuff I have, never mind the amount of stuff I inherited from my mom!

Isn't it always like that? However much space you have it will fill up over time. Even if you had enough stuff in your smallest space.

We are gentrifying ourselves out of our own home!

I like that way of putting it. Bleak, but well-put.

 

[Cate]

Reading your diary almost always results in me wanting to declutter even more. I might have another crack at it this week! Only a few weeks to go, M? Yay!

we'll have so many years to explore

Yay!!

 

[Llama]

Hi Cate and LaMa, that makes me feel better that everyone fills up all their existing space with stuff, not just me. Being the daughter of a hoarder makes me worry about things like that!

I think it gets worrisome if the stuff is no longer contained to storage spaces. I´ve done home visits with hoarders where the floor was literally covered in a conglomerate of full plastic bags with just a narrow passageway to get from necessary work space to necessary work space. You honestly wouldn´t be able to do all the sorting and packing you´ve been doing if you had real hoarding tendencies.

Your day sounds lovely!