Passage from Leave the World Behind epitomizes 2020’s key lesson

2020-12-312020-12-28willo Here's how I see it, Quotations Tags: 2020, Alam, book, comfort, convivial, COVID-19, dystopia, epitomize, fiction, Happy New Year, humanity, Leave the World Behind, life, meaning, motherhood, New Year, novel, pandemic, passage, people, Quote, relationships, relevant, Rumaan Alam, safety, together, togetherness, worth living 2 Comments

Like any sensible reader for whom Christmas triggers profound grief over the death of a holiday-adoring loved one, I began Christmas morning 2020 by finishing up a dystopian novel, Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind.

You can find a proper review from NPR or the New York Times, but I agree with the positive opinions that Alam crafted an unusual and interestingly written work of fiction. It isn’t an easy book to read due to the subject matter, but it wasn’t off-putting to me for the usual gruesome reasons I dislike most horror. Gird yourself for a downward spiral of darkness if you dive in, but Leave the World Behind is well worth reading.

What follows is a quotation from near the end of the novel, but I don’t believe reading it out of context constitutes a spoiler for the plot. I’m putting it “below the fold” in case any reader feels differently and prefers to stop here.

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Cheer a grumpy Christmas by stacking tiny bricks of gratitude

2020-12-24willo You might find this helpful Tags: 2020, alone, blessing, brick, build, Christmas, comfort, company, coping, count, COVID, COVID-19, depressed, funk, give thanks, Glass Houses, gratitude, grief, grieving, Grinch, Hanukkah, healthy, holiday, how to cope, humbug, Inspector Gamache, little things, loss, Louise Penny, misery, mom, mother, Mother Christmas, New Year, novel, pain, pandemic, Quebec, remedy, response, sad, season, snit, Solstice, special, thanks, wall, winter 5 Comments

2020 hasn’t been a normal year. This won’t be an average Christmas.

Xmas tree - 1 Many of us are heeding public health advice and avoiding travel. Some of us are still grieving lost loved ones whose presence defined* special holidays. Ignoring these very real sources of pain is neither healthy, nor possible in the long term.

But does acknowledging the bumps in life’s road mean choosing between being a humbug or a Grinch? I hope to prove otherwise.

I’m afraid I’m having a Very Grumpy Christmas. While I wish for better for every reader, I suspect my miseries enjoy plenty of company.

When I’m in this kind of snit—so easily degenerating into a full on funk—about the only remedy is the doing of good or the counting of blessings.

As I took advantage of an un-rushed school vacation week morning today by staying in bed for an extra hour with my book, I was grateful for not yet having reached the end of the last series† of novels my mother will ever recommend to me.

She bugged me for months to pick up the first one. Why did I resist until after she was gone? I wish with every page that I could tell her how much I’m enjoying them…

Comforting myself with this small thing for which I could give thanks, I realized each little blessing is a brick. If I stack up enough of them, I’ll have built a sizable structure. One brick won’t do a person much good against an invading army, but enough humble chunks of masonry suffice for The Great Wall of China.

Thanksgiving give thanks - 1 So perhaps I’m not playing so well with others, today. I’m hardly a Sugar Plum Fairy. I’ll be a builder, though, of my own Great Wall of Gratitude.

I think it will hold.

QC city walls

Here are a few more trivialities I’ve found to be thankful for today:

My husband went back to the too busy, too crowded day-before-holiday bakery when they forgot to include my favorite cinnamon buns in the pre-packed bag he went out for at dawn.
My teenager told me he loves me… without me prompting him by saying it first.
My younger one never hesitates to show me affection, not even when his friends can see him doing it.
My kids can collaborate on a project and produce something great without adult supervision.
My pantry is full; I’m not afraid for how I will feed my family.

Readers, please feel free to share in the comments what you can find to be grateful for this topsy-turvy holiday season. Your smallest joy would be a Really Wonderful gift to me.

♦

* I can’t look at a Christmas decoration without being reminded of my mother, who died of cancer in 2019. On the other hand, to ignore her favorite holiday would be the most disrespectful possible thing as far as honoring her memory goes.

Today’s post is brought to you in memory of Mother Christmas.

Mom decorates Christmas tree with ornament

† That would be the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. Find them listed in order here; I’ve made it to book 13, Glass Houses. You definitely do want to read these in chronological order if you opt to give them a try. They’re decorous enough for readers of cozy mysteries (Mom), but complex enough for those of us who like to pretend we’re exercising our minds with our choice of literature.

Be warned, however: If you get into these mid-pandemic, you’ll be cross that you can’t make a visit to Quebec, which Penny paints as paradise… if you can get past the political intrigues and frequent murders!

Hot water bottles to warm up 2020’s chilly COVID socializing & studies

2020-11-152020-11-15willo Would this solve your problem? Tags: 100 oz, 130, 2 L, 2 liter, 2 litre, 2.25 L, 2.25 liter, 2.25 litre, 80 oz, 90 oz, acrylic, advice, al fresco, allergy, Amazon.com, ambient, appropriately, arthritis, autoimmune, autumn, balloons, bed, blanket, blow up, boiler, bottle, bulky, burn, burst, buy, buying, cap, capacity, cat, chill, chilly, class, clothes, clothing, cold, comfort, comfortable, compare, comparison, cookie cat, cooler, cover, COVID, COVID-19, CV-DCC, degrade, deteriorate, diameter, dining, dots, drugstore, dry, easy to fill, eating, electric, explode, eyesight, fall, Fashy, fill, fleece, flexible, foul weather gear, fox, gear, gift, grey, health, healthy, heat, heating pad, heavy, Hometop, hot, hot water bottle, how long, how to, Igloo, insulated, keep, large, latex, layer, leak, lid, lunch bag, lunch sack, lunchbox, material, microwave, Mr Strong, New England, outdoor, outdoors, outlet, outside, packaging, pandemic, Peter Pan, pharmacy, pink, plastic, pour, power, purple, PVC, Pyrex Portables, RA, red, reheat, review, rice pillow, rigid, rubber, safe, safety, school, sedentary, shake, shaky, silicone, sit, size, socialize, socializing, stiff, still, stopper, storage, store, studying, tap water, temperature, thermal, tuck, type, upside down, UV, volume, warm, warm bag, warmth, water, wattage, wear, wear out, weather, weigh, weight, where to, which, which one, white, winter, Xboun, Zojirushi 2 Comments

It’s 2020, autumn, and the pandemic did not miraculously resolve after the election. For those of us who believe in science and value the health of others, the only safe way to socialize these days is to take our meetings outdoors.

Red autumn plant by fence - 1 I suffer more from the cold since developing an autoimmune disease, but November in New England isn’t traditionally known for sedentary al fresco activities. Even hale and hearty young people become uncomfortable sitting still as the mercury drops much below room* temperature.

And, of course, we got weather like this in October!

The first step to staying comfortable outdoors is wearing appropriate clothing. It is always wise to bring at least one layer† more than one thinks is necessary for extended jaunts on cool days. Wear a cap, and bring your gloves, too, of course. But if the sun sets, or the temperature drops below 60º F or so, the amount of clothing required—or the need for expensive, highly specialized gear in which you may not wish to invest—can become burdensome.

teal softshell rain

Why I use hot water bottles at home and outdoors

I send my child to outdoor classes—and welcome visitors to our yard for socially distanced visits—with a cheap, simple, classic, soothingly warm hot water bottle. Adding a source of radiating heat beneath a blanket or tucked into a jacket can add hours of comfort for anyone, and, as a bonus, it also helps ease pain for those of us with arthritis.

Unlike a heating pad, you aren’t tied to an electrical outlet with a hot water bottle. And, while I also use microwaveable “warm bags” —which I’ve heard friends call “rice sacks,” “heat pillows,” and also “heating pads”— the grain filled type weigh just as much, yet cool down relatively quickly compared with the long sustained warmth of water with its very high specific heat capacity.

Red rubber hot water bottle on bed

My history with hot water bottles

Before I married my husband, I’d never even seen a hot water bottle in real life. I knew what they were from old novels and cartoons, but hadn’t noticed they were still sold in stores.

Quaint and old-fashioned hot water bottles may be, but I’ve become a convert. I’ve found them readily available in major chains and tiny Main Street Mom & Pop drug stores across America. Ask the pharmacist—or the oldest person on staff—at your local shop, and you will probably get what you need.

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A Tale of 3 Trousers: Lightweight kids’ pants for carry-on family travel

2020-02-272020-02-27willo Would this solve your problem? Tags: 10, 12, articulated, bag, boy, capsule wardrobe, carry on, child, children, color, Columbia, Columbia Sportswear, comfort, convertible, crotch, decent, dinner, draw string, drawstring, dress up, dressy, DWR, family, family camping, family travel, fiber, fibre, formal, friendly, gray, grey, gusset, gusseted, hang, hanging, hem, hiking, Hobo Traveler, kid, knee, KUHL, leg, lightweight, loop, luggage, man made, medium, mesh, Mountainmaker, neutral, nylon, outdoors, packing, packing list, pants, pocket, pull on, quick dry, rain, REI, reinforced, Renegade, ripstop, seam, security, sew in, Silver Ridge, size, slim, straight, style, suitcase, summer, synthetic, tag, Travel, trouser, trousers, Velcro, volume, waist, waistband, warm, weather, weight, wet, zip off, zipper Leave a comment

I have yet to find any company marketing lightweight, quick dry, travel friendly clothing for kids. Can I be the only parent who prefers to fly light?

Children’s relatively small clothes do pack up more easily than those of a big and tall man, but choosing wisely makes a noticeable difference in the total volume and weight of luggage for a family of four or more.

In my experience, many kids also get dirtier than adult travelers. The ability to wash a garment in a sink and have it dry overnight is vital for happy travels with my own sons.

Today, I’ll compare three pairs of lightweight trousers marketed for boys in Medium an American child’s size 10-12. My criteria for this search included:

lightweight fabric suitable for summer travel
neutral color that can be dressed up or down
quick dry fiber suitable for hotel sink laundering.

With apparently no one setting out to design “travel clothing” for children, the best approximation I’ve found for the lower body is “hiking pants.” Many options on the market were excluded for my purposes because the outdoor companies really love “convertible” trousers† with zip-off lower legs.

Zippered knees never pass for dressy in my opinion.

Kühl Renegade

REI Mountainmaker

Columbia Silver Ridge

I ended up with the following specific styles, ordered from REI and Amazon.com at the prevailing retail prices of mid-May 2019. And all are still being sold as of February 2020.

KÜHL Renegade Pants – Boys’ , size Medium, color Koal
REI Co-op Mountainmaker Pants – Boys’, size Medium, color Asphalt
Columbia Boys’ Silver Ridge Pull On Pant, size Medium, color Grill

Links go to the manufacturers’ own listings for the first and third pairs that aren’t store brands regardless of where I purchased my pairs.

First, the good news. If I had been in a hurry and purchased just one pair, any of these dark grey trousers would work for my son as daily wear pants that could pass as “decent” clothing to wear out to dinner on vacation. Note: I wouldn’t have him wear these to a wedding or a truly elegant occasion unless we’d had a drastic wardrobe catastrophe and had no time to shop for proper formal wear.

As one would hope from quality hiking clothing made by well-known brands, all are sturdy, well-sewn, and free of obvious defects.

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The most expensive trip I never took

2019-07-03willo Here's how I see it, Travel Tags: blog, cancel, cancer, comfort, dying, family, help, hospice, journey, mom, mother, needs, plans, relief, support, Travel, trip, writing 2 Comments

I thought I’d be in Orkney realizing a dream of touring Neolithic sites today.

Scottish coastline Instead, with two days’ notice, I had to scramble to cancel a two week trip to Scotland and Ireland. I headed home to the Pacific Northwest a couple of days ago as my mother entered hospice care after her much too short battle with advanced cancer.

I’ve spent about nine months planning the untaken trip to the British Isles. In the process, I began half a dozen posts that might reference that adventure and my preparations for it. I’ve decided I will publish any of those that are near completion if the mood strikes me. My audience will just have to understand that my trip became a different journey and forgive me when my tone sounds too upbeat for someone in my current situation.

Prescription bottle of pain pills But I think there were pearls amidst my rambling thoughts, and there may be useful information I can share. I love that part of blogging, and I need all the joy I can harvest in the days ahead.

Please forgive me if posting at this time seems petty. Maybe you think I should be “doing more” for Mom. Mostly, she just needs me to be present.

Mechanical typewriter style keyboard Writing is my natural pressure release valve, so I will take any criticism and reply, simply and truthfully, that this is me putting on my oxygen mask before helping others.

Wishing abundant good health to every reader and your families.

♦

Really Wonderful Things

Harnessing the power of the internet for good for… three years & a bit

comfort

Passage from Leave the World Behind epitomizes 2020’s key lesson

Cheer a grumpy Christmas by stacking tiny bricks of gratitude

Here are a few more trivialities I’ve found to be thankful for today:

A Tale of 3 Trousers: Lightweight kids’ pants for carry-on family travel

The most expensive trip I never took