Gratitude and Keeping On

Can I say thank  you enough? Perhaps not.

I got the loveliest comment on my "Drowning..." and "I Said Goodbye" posts.  Additionally, I got a few emails and messages from people who just wanted to offer support. I am immensely grateful. I wrote the quote down from you Laloofah, it is next to my computer so I do not forget something so important.

I'm working through so much angst lately, every time I take a step forward, seems like there's two steps backwards. But, I keep moving forward, and then eventually I can see real progress.

The other happy vegan has been very patient with me lately, even though he felt a little under the weather. He took my advice and mega-dosed on Vitamin C's, then added some zinc to the regimen, and he's feeling much better. He doesn't do sick very well.

Our weather here in the Keys has been stellar. We're in the middle of January, yet it's been weeks since I could shut down my air conditioning thanks to my constant cooking and baking. It's simply far too hot to let the windows and doors open while I'm working in the kitchen, not to mention it will completely ruin any cakes, cookies or other goodies I'm working on.  Through the heat I've been sticking with the increased running. I don't know what it will take to get through to the next time barrier, so instead I've shifted to a long term goal with distance. Usually I do better in the winter with running, but being that I still typically run in the middle of the day, the heat makes it difficult. Yes I get it done, but there's no improvement on times, and adding distance has been enough of a challenge. I was out there today and I think the temperature was about 84. When I left the house, the report was that it was 81, but on the asphalt it felt a lot hotter. I slogged through it all.

Over the last week or so, I have experimented with no less than 8 new recipes. EIGHT!  That's a lot, of them almost all have been keepers. There were a couple compost walks of shame, but I took it in stride. I was out at the local stores recently and I took note of all the Valentines crap on the shelves, which brought me right back to my red velvet brownies. Organic red beets have been readily available lately. I'm not biting. Anyone who wants vegan red velvet brownies can look elsewhere, I'm not going there this year.

My moods have been up and down, yet life goes on. Somehow it's always a shock to me how busy this time of year is, seems like I always forget until high season is here, then I remember. I feel a bit bad for the other happy vegan lately, for I have decided to take Erma Bombeck's advice from so long ago, something along the lines of "the dusting can wait, it will still be there when you get back home." And, so with that sentiment whirling in my head, I tear through chores, then ditch the rest while instead I go running, play with Peri, sit under a palm tree, or sit and have an iced tea at the juice bar chatting about everything and nothing at all. I made a conscious effort to ditch some of my chores more often when I realized one day, if this were my last, would it have been good enough? My answer was that perhaps it would have been good enough for anyone who I worked to make their day better, but for me was it really? And, my answer came up a flat no. I didn't spent enough time observing, didn't spend enough time reflecting, didn't spend enough time appreciating, didn't spend enough time doing what I think is most important. So, that is changing within me and it's a good change.

That pretty much sums things up, boring as it is. That's life as I see it in the Keys in January. Pretty good, getting better.