I’ve had the saying “Let go and let God” in my mind this week, probably because I’ve been reminding myself to let go of expectations for whatever I can’t control. After everything that has happened in the world in recent years, that category feels enormous. Still, I try to keep in mind that there is always space for improvement, and that the future holds many things we haven’t yet imagined.

Word-art that says, "Peace begins when expectation ends."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

I sometimes feel that my blog has been woefully neglected. That is an exaggeration, of course; I’ve posted several entries per month for the past 13 years, including weekly Nurturing Thursday entries. Also, I have three ongoing multi-part stories, with reasonably clear ideas of what comes next in each of them.

Instead of composing my own stories, though, I’ve spent much more time reading fiction by other writers lately. I crave the distraction from a “real world” that seems increasingly unreal with every passing day. Sometimes, I feel almost as if I’ve gone back to childhood, when I would literally shut myself in a cupboard with a storybook after coming home from the confusion of elementary school.

“And that is a problem how?” My imaginary future self, Kass, appeared in the comfy oversized chair where I’d been about to sit. She sprawled insolently with her head tipped back across one armrest and her feet dangling over the other.

“Well, it’s a blog, right?” I frowned at the question. “So, I’m supposed to feel motivated to fill it with stories, insightful essays on modern times, cheerful photos of stuff around my house, or something.”

Kass made a rude noise. “Yeah, whatever. When will you learn to quit overloading yourself with silly social expectations? There’s no need to do anything with the blog except have fun with it—and invite me for visits, natch. As for photos, here’s one of your pink turtle friend, exploring your desk.”

Photo of a crocheted pink turtle on my desk.

I had to smile at her choice of images. The little pink turtle, one of my daughter’s crochet projects, had been decorating my desk for months, giving me a cheerful start to my workdays.

“Thanks, Kass. I’m feeling better now.”

“Good deal.” She grinned widely. “I’ll vacate your chair now, so that you can relax with a good book, feeling productive for having a new blog post. Always happy to help.”

After many years of talking about it, my husband and I finally got around to ordering a standby generator for our house. We don’t lose power often, but now that we both work from home, it is quite disruptive when it happens. There are storms rolling through the area this evening, and we heard thunder not long ago. The generator probably won’t get installed for a few months, but we’ll be glad to not have to worry whether a thunderstorm will cause a power outage.

And there’s peace of mind to be gained, as well, just from checking off an entry on the “someday” list.

Word-art that says, "A little progress each day adds up to big results."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

Right before I started writing this post, I was changing purses. I have two that I use regularly, depending on the season. In the winter, I carry a plain black purse. Sometime in April, I switch to my summer purse, which is exactly the same style and dimensions as the winter purse. The only difference is that it has a colorful floral pattern, which generally puts me in a good mood when I look at it.

Maybe some people would say that’s a bit strange, but it makes me happy, so I don’t care.

Word-art that says, "Don't ever be ashamed of loving the strange things that make your weird little heart happy." -Elizabeth Gilbert

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

I did an online “Yoga for Sleep” session this evening, with gentle exercises to help relax the mind and body. One of them was to lie face down while bending the knees and moving the legs back and forth like windshield wipers. Whether or not that exercise helps me to sleep better tonight, it felt silly enough to make me want to laugh. That, in itself, was probably good for me.


Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

My husband is currently “unhorsed” because his car is in the shop, so we are sharing my car this week. Today, I went out and had to detour around a stretch of highway that is under construction. I reminded myself that it still got me there faster than a horse and buggy, and that we always have a lot to be grateful for in modern times, whatever may be happening at the moment.

Word-art that says, "Advice from a horse: Take life's hurdles in stride. Loosen the reins. Be free spirited. Keep the burrs from under your saddle. Carry your friends when they need it. Keep stable. Gallop to greatness!" -Ilan Shamir

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

April 9, 2025 · Write a comment · Categories: Musings · Tags:

…flooding at the boathouse. After several days of heavy rain, the parking lot, the road, and the surrounding parkland were all underwater on Sunday afternoon, when the river crested. The water did not quite reach the boathouse doors, fortunately, and everything inside stayed dry. Although the river is on its way back down, we certainly won’t be rowing in the next few days.

Flooded road and park in front of the Greater Dayton Rowing Association boathouse.

My husband took a break from his work this afternoon and slogged through the mud to look at the river. He is hopeful that we may be able to get out and row this weekend. I suspect Monday is more likely; but we are both looking forward to enjoying pleasant spring days on the river, whenever we get them.

I had a conversation with my manager this afternoon, in which she recommended a series of online courses for personal development. The first in the series was about developing a growth mindset.

Although “growth mindset” is somewhat of a buzzword, I went ahead and took the course, and I found it worthwhile. Resilience and self-nurturing were among the topics discussed, along with the expectation of always finding something new to learn. I came away feeling encouraged.

Word-art that says, "Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will." -Vernon Howard

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

I’m currently reading Buried Deep by Naomi Novik, a collection of short stories. Fairies, witches, dragons, monsters, oh my. Lots of fun. She is one of my favorite authors.

I hope you’re having a good week, too!

Word-art that says, "No one is too old for fairytales."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

There is a new neighbor on my street, who owns a landscaping company. Soon after he moved in, my next-door neighbor hired him to clear away the overgrown, mismatched hedge (shown in this 2014 post) along our property line. The work is still in progress, but it’s already looking much better. Other than a redbud at the front (which I like) and a few other trees left standing, it has mostly been cut down. I took a photo of it this afternoon, and the open space felt pleasant and inviting.

Landscaping in progress, with most of a hedge removed.

I don’t yet know what will be planted there, but I am sure it will be an improvement, whatever it is. My husband told our new neighbor that we’d like to have some landscaping work done, too. After all the time I spent last summer cutting back some neglected bushes, which had to be gotten out of the way before having new windows installed, I definitely like the idea of contracting out this season’s yard work.

Deciding what to tag this post gave me some indecision. I had in mind that leaving space for improvement invites good things to show up, but I couldn’t think of a word that seemed quite right to express that idea. Looking in my list of previously used tags, I chose “Attraction” and “Positivity,” which came close. I tried putting the question into an AI prompt and got “Manifestation” in response, but I opted against that one because I hadn’t visualized anything in particular for the landscaping.

After pondering over it a little longer, I added “Places,” which is a tag I use for how my surroundings make me feel. At that point, I decided three tags would be enough—no need to be a perfectionist about it.