WHAT DID MY SUMMER TEACH ME?
I thought I'd do a little seasonal update on what living Mindfully looks like for me through the year ahead. This is my Summer look back over Christmas, January, and February. Lots of hot days, plenty of family time, a couple of big and small purchases, a fur-child update, a blogging milestone, and a great quote that appeared at just the right time.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY TIME
We had a lovely family time together for three days over Boxing Day to New Year. So many conversations, gifts, meals, time with each other, and time to chill out. It's always such a special feeling being happy to be together - so special that not.one.single photograph was taken! I decided to be in the moment and let the memories sit in our hearts instead of on a camera reel.
That being said, we then had the added joy of 4 days with our grandgirls at the end of January. There's always lots happening and updates to send to their parents (who are busy enjoying time together without the added input of little girl voices...) So, I took several photos to send through to their mum and here's a little compilation for anyone who's interested in how we entertained them for very little cost and lots of fun and joy.
A BIG AND A SMALL PURCHASE
I don't tend to spend a lot of money these days - but I thought I'd share a couple of purchases that tick each end of the spending spectrum. The first is this lovely coffee cup that made me smile - I managed to break my birthday coffee cup from my daughter, so I found this one to replace it to honour the thought.
And then the BIG purchase was an upgrading of our solar energy generation. We've had solar panels on our roof for the last 10 years that offset our electricity bill significantly during the day, but switch off at night and we use the power grid. We decided to upgrade to a solar battery that takes over when the panels turn off and supplies electricity throughout the night, and during power outages. We'll probably never recoup the full spend, but it's so nice to not lose power when there's a general outage, and to run appliances cost-free day and night. This is our new system located in the garage.
LUNA'S EYES
We have a delightful Scottish Fold cat named Luna (due to her moon face!) and over Summer she had an issue with her third eyelid bulging out - it wasn't painful, but it wasn't something we wanted risk getting worse. So off to the vet for a visit, a bit of home treatment that didn't end up solving the problem, and finally an operation to correct the problem.
It was lovely having her back to her usual self again and to not be worrying about her anymore. Our pets do become our fur children as time goes by don't they?
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| Before and After - nice to have it all resolved |
5 MILLION VIEWS!
At the very bottom of my blog is a little counter that shows the number of views of my blog. It clicked over to 5 million this month - absolutely amazing! And a big thank you to everyone who ever pops in here. If you're interested, these were the top 5 posts of all time - obviously a LOT of people are interested in Neurographic Art! I've added links if any interest you enough to click through.
AND A WONDERFULLY MINDFUL QUOTE TO FINISH WITH
I saw this quote and immediately remembered the post I wrote recently about being a noticer - this time Ullie-Kaye is writing about noticing the positives and focusing our attention there, something I want to be Mindful of throughout the year ahead.
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That's such a lovely update Leanne. I remember sharing pics from our place to their parents when grandkids stayed over. They too, over time, will share what they remember too. Ours do with some photo reminders. I love that they sometimes come up with something I may not. Ben, oldest grandson, now 25, is here a bit at the moment helping out (for some cash but he also would do it for love) and he thinks of the times when he was a kid at our place being fun and laughing. I reminded him that his Papa and I took him to school on his first day because his Mum was already there as a teacher! That's a big and very sensible upgrade at your place. Glad to know your cat in doing OK. I remember when you clicked over to 1 million views!! Look at you now. Take care, Denyse x
ReplyDeleteHi Denyse - how lovely that Ben was able to help out and spend some quality time with you both while he was doing it (nice that you could assist with a bit of cash to help him in return). It's so lovely to be able to make memories with our grandchildren - and I'm hoping our grandgirls will have fond memories to recount when they're older too. It's so lovely that they want to spend the time with us and having a block of days makes up for the weeks when we don't get to see them. x
DeleteLeanne, I could blog for the rest of my life and not reach 5M views. Congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment. But I imagine that entertaining your granddaughters was at the top of the feelings chart. The solar battery looks so tidy. If it provides peace of mind, it was worth the spend. I love your 'what I did this summer' approach to this post. You have much to be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteHi - yes, those views surprise me every time I see them - and I'm sure a lot are from bots etc - but I love that there are still so many who've visited and I'm especially grateful for the comments and connections that come with it all.
DeleteHaving the grandgirls come to stay is such a joy and something we don't take for granted, I'm sure their lives will become bigger and these visits will eventually taper off, so I'm making the most of them while we have them!
Hi Leanne, you calling it “Summer” always makes me smile. We are seeing hints of Spring and many places with snow falling. Last week icy and cold. A reminder about the seasons on different parts of our planet.
ReplyDeleteWow, your granddaughters, adorable and getting bigger, fast! A win/win/treat for everyone when they visit you and your husband. Your upgrading the solar energy is interesting. You remind me how peace of mind is often worth the cost.
Congratulations on your 5 million views, Leanne! Not surprised! xx Erica
Hi Erica - I always think about that seasonal stuff when I'd see Donna posting pictures of the snow in the garden - something so out of my lived experience! We're here sweltering while you guys are rugged up and shovelling snow!
DeleteAnd yes, the solar system was one of those things that is a bit of a luxury, but we had the money and nothing more useful to spend it on - it was a LOT less than upgrading a car or doing a big overseas trip - and gives us peace of mind for the foreseeable future.
And thank you for the compliment about the views - because I was surprised even if you weren't :D xx
Leanne - Glad to hear that you got to spend time with your grandchildren. The pics are lovely. Love your mug! I have several mugs for tea as I prefer tea to coffee. Great upgrade on your house. I just love Luna. She's gorgeous. I am in love with her. Congratulations on your 5 million views. It doesn't surprise me. Also love the quote.🧡💛
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne - Luna is the prettiest cat - I think it's the big eyes - and they always make her look so innocent when she's up to no good! It's good to have the operation done and for it to have not been too expensive - that made it an easier choice.
DeleteThanks for your congrats and I'm glad you loved the quote - it spoke to me as soon as I read it, and I love that Ullie-Kaye was happy for me to share her poems here. :) x
Leanne, I like the poem you shared. It made me realize that this February I am noticing things more...noticing when I feel drained and then actively taking rest time, noticing my thoughts and trying to stop the "not good enough" ones, noticing each day and being grateful for it (even when the weather is bad or the neighbors are noisy).
ReplyDeleteYour grand-daughters are precious! How wonderful you had time with them all to yourself!
And wow on 5 Mil....simply amazing.
Hi Pat - I think noticing is half the job done - because when we're aware of what we're doing, we have the opportunity to change if we need to, or to give ourselves a pat on the back when we're progressing - and it shows we're growing.
DeleteThanks for your kind words - and yes the 5 million was a little mindblowing and (even allowing for all the bot views) still makes me really happy to have had a hobby that has brought me so much connection and enjoyment. x
Hi Leanne, well done on the 5M views, that's a fantastic achievement!! Your granddaughters certainly are growing up fast and I know how special the time you spend with them is and gives their parents some time as well. I can't believe how fast the year is going already, it's almost March!! We have solar panels in our paddock and on our roof and probably should look into getting the battery system but were advised against it by our electrician friend - not sure why!!
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I think batteries have come a long way over the last couple of years. Our solar panel installer (electrician) said they were too expensive and not worth it back when we first put the panels on, but he has now installed a 32kwh system (huge) due to the govt rebates etc and that was the impetus for us to put our 16kwh system in. I love knowing we're basically off grid now - I feel like a pioneer! :D
DeleteFive million??? Oh, my goodness. That is amazing. And it is a reflection of how your voice, your words resonate with so many. Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteYour granddaughters are adorable. How nice to have had them for 4 days all to yourself. We have babysat for our local El Paso grands several times but they were so small that it was difficult. Would love to have them spend the night some this coming summer. I am sure they had a grand time with you. My granddaughters enjoy the simplest things with us. Such a joy.
Love your mug. PC bought me 2 new mugs at Christmas because my favorite mug was badly chipped. They are both holiday themed but I plan to use them year-round. Yours is such fun.
We have toyed with the idea of solar panels but early on there were so many scams with buying them. El Paso is the Sun City with about 350+ days of sunshine a year. Seems they would be perfect for our sunshiny climate. Hope yours continue to save lots of money for you.
Luna is a beauty. So glad you were able to get her eye issue fixed. They do become real members of the family. Our Purrcy had to have hip surgery shortly after we found him. It was quite pricey but he is worth it.
Hi Leslie - I love the name Purrcy! It's a classic! And thank you for all your kind words. Yes, having the grandgirls is a joy - it's been our little tradition since they were 5 and 3 - more involved with entertaining them back then than there is now - now they entertain each other and we just add into the mix. I think it's such a good way to create memories because we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. Blocks of time work well for us (and for their parents).
DeleteI hope all's well in your world - I'll be popping over to see if you've shared anything new on your blog. x
Hi Leanne, what a lovely summer you’ve had! Lovely family time and photos! Congratulations on your number of followers too! It’s almost Spring here and we had a glorious day of sunshine yesterday after weeks of persistent rain! Love the mug! Poor Luna has been through it, so good to know she’s back to her usual self. It must be good to relax in the knowledge that your solar panels are working day and night to save you the cost of electricity bills. I’ll be reading those top 5 blog posts this week, I have no idea about 1 and 3! Chrissie x
ReplyDeleteHi Chrissie - I hope you enjoy those blog posts, I still do neurographic "doodling" regularly - it's my version of zentangles. And the daith piercing is still in place - I'm not sure how much difference it makes headache wise, but I feel like I still have less intense headaches than I used to, and it's a fun piercing that is a bit different to the norm.
DeleteGlad you're getting a little bit of spring sunshine - we've been boiling in dry summer heat for so long that I'm almost ready to start praying for a bit of rain! x
Congrats on the 5m views. It was lovely to read all your family news. The grandgirls certainly are growing and glowing.
ReplyDeleteHi Judith - thanks for your kind words and yes, the girls are getting older and so much easier to look after (no nappies, highchairs or naps to work around!) :)
DeleteYour time with the granddaughters looks like so much fun, Leanne. They keep us young, don't they? Congratulations on 5 million views...that's amazing! And yes, I have to agree that our pets become like family. Today is the 5-year anniversary of our Buddy Dog's adoption, and he is definitely one of the family.
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - I always love seeing family pics on blogs and it's nice to share some of my own here and there. And I also enjoyed your pics of Buddy in your latest post - definitely a beloved family member :)
DeleteWhat a delightful update, Leanne. That cup really is YOU.
ReplyDeleteThanks Corinne - it's been a lovely few months - and the cup makes me smile :)
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