Boxes with Brenda: A2-sized Greeting Cards
I’m going to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Arts for All program on Tuesday afternoon. They are having a session to make some ‘toolboxes’. They’ll be decorating photo boxes to store some mental health tools in. I’ve made some kits that contain the supplies to make a box to hold greeting cards. In my opinion, sending a ‘thinking of you’ card is a great way to pick up your mood, and the mood of the recipient. You can have a look at the blog post below if you’re interested in seeing how the boxes are assembled. The video is on Facebook. I’ll eventually do a new video for this type of box on YouTube; who knows, maybe I have one already. I’ll also update this post with the instructions for making the boxes.
https://www.facebook.com/creativetreatsclub/videos/513457362659346
Chocolate Chip Cookies? Yes, please!
In addition to making some greeting card box kits, I also made a few batches of cookies. The recipe is below. We were without shortening so I tried it with coconut oil. It seemed to work fine. Because they would have a taste of coconut from the oil, I added in some shredded coconut along with the chocolate chips. They turned out pretty well. I also baked some of our trusty Quaker oatmeal cookies from a mix. So simple. So good. You just add 1/4 cup water for 1/2 bag of mix. And chocolate chips of course. We brought them to a neighbour’s for dessert since they invited us for a delicious pasta dinner.
Morning Musings: Savour the Season
There was a lot of fresh snow this morning as I headed out for my walk with Luna. About 8:30. Later than I would like, but it was still getting some early morning sunlight into my eyes, which helps to reset my circadean rhythm, which helps me to sleep better. I know that a consistent wake-up time and a consistent bed-time also help me sleep better but somehow those habits seem tougher to develop than seeking some early morning sunlight.
But back to the snow. I was thinking the theme for the day could be ‘snow’, which I happen to love. Which led me to realizing that I should savour the snow while it is here, because winter actually doesn’t really last that long. And, every winter we don’t always have a lot of snow, or snow conditions that are condusive to getting out to ski, or skate or snowshoe which are activities that all go a long way to help us savour the snow.
Which of course let me to realizing we should simply savour the season. The season that we are in. And not be pining for the season we wish we were in. For a season in the past, or for a season in the future. Whether we are currently living in our ‘preferred’ season or one we ‘hate’, whether it is the winter or the summer, whether it is a winter with great weather and great snow conditions or a winter of poor weather and lousy snow conditions. We can simply choose to savour the season.
And so I set about to savour my morning walk with Luna. In order to savour something it helps if you are more present with, more mindful of what you are doing. Whether it is being more present with your senses, or just mindful of where your thoughts are taking you.
And so I savoured the crunch of the snow under my boots. I savoured the snow gently falling on my face. I savoured the fresh, crisp scent of a morning amongst the trees. I savoured the sight of Luna burying herself in the snow, rolling about and making snow angels. I savoured the sound of Luna’s tags jingling as she shook off some snow. I savoured this silliness of making my own snow angel.
I chose to savour the trudge up the hill instead of lamenting about how I wished I was in better shape. I pondered whether it was a better season in my life when I was in better shape – back when I it didn’t feel so difficult to get up the hill. And I realized that it wasn’t. The best thing about being in better shape is not being in better shape. The best thing about being in better shape is spending the time doing all the things that lead to being in better shape. And savouring the time that you are doing those activities.
None of us have an infinite amount of time or energy. But we do have an infinite number of things we can do, an infinite number of ways in which we can choose to spend our time and energy. And we can choose how present we are when we are as we live our lives.
I’m trying to spend more time and energy doing activities that will get me into better shape. And I’m trying to savour the time that I’m doing those activites. And to savour the time that I spend doing other activities. I’m trying to simply savour the season. The season that I’m in.
I realize that not everyone loves the snow, that not everyone loves the winter. That not everyone loves the current season of live that they are in. But I believe we can all try to better simply savour the season that we are in.
Creative Treats 