Joanne (Shutt) Weiss – age 64
Barbara is asking us to write about a “good ordinary day” and then share it … I just read hers….and then Ben’s… & I decided that I don’t have good ordinary days right now….. Mine are boring and full of junk trivia…. So I’ll make one up…( with only some of these things really happening right now). And try to think about really creating these types of satisfying days…..
If I did have a REALLY good un-ordinary day… I’d get up before the sunrise…get dressed and get ready to watch the sunrise. I’m in Henryville now so the ‘light show’ before the sun actually gets up is always beautiful. I’d be sure my shoes were on ( because it’s winter) and I’d go outside to wait to catch some photos of all that is happening…. Then I think I’d get a cup of coffee and sit and watch the view over the valley change ..every few minutes I’d look for deer to come up the hill to snack on corn I would have put out…. and watch the birds at the feeder…or maybe get my coat on and go down by the barns and look for great shots of the farm buildings..or horses waiting to be fed…. My knee gives me trouble now so I’d use the golf cart to tool around..and of course our dog Acorn would excitedly tag along sitting next to me on the seat.
I’d come back and have breakfast with David if he were eating at the same time…
Sometimes now I get up and head for the computer (which is in our dining room area…so you can still see the view and the bird activity….) I like to check to see if my friends have written me…or if Dana has left a message… I like to write notes to my school friends so that some of them will get a note from me when they get to work…
If I didn’t have a lot of little junk on my mind… I think I’d like to sit down at the computer and write out some of my thoughts.. or some of my earlier memories that I’d like to share with my family or friends…. I do like to write…like Barbara ..but I think It isn’t for any real purpose…just to do it.
I would also make time to download the pictures I took earlier …and then work to fix them ( crop them better.) or just get them into like groups to find more easily (I Guess I have over 38000 now to ‘play’ with…) I like thinking about pictures to share with others who might like them as well. I often catch images that others might miss..and think about how much someone else would have liked to see that… I just like to look through them..just to enjoy them again. Sometimes I print up extras to send off..or plan some other way of sharing them. Being here in Henryville gives me lots of quiet time..but not a lot of purpose.. I think that bothers me a lot… I miss the purposeful connections that I had with my students…and my friends in Central New York….
Whatever I would be doing inside, it would be nicer with music playing in the background….. My favorites would include classical.. I love Bach… people like James Taylor, Harry Chapin, Basia, Billy Joel, Elton John,, Chicago, The Beatles, any good balladeers, barbershop… music from favorite musicals… whatever……I get stuck on certain artists or composers…. people and will listen to one group for weeks and never get tired of them… and then I just change to another old favorite… or a new one.. I just love music… not to analyze it or understand ..just to like it!
If I could, I’d be out with my camera again around the time the sun is thinking of setting…it’s a great to me to walk around..or drive around to see what the lighting changes do to everything around here ( or anywhere….).
If I could choose a time to eat..I wouldn’t have a specific time and I would just throw some sort of leftovers together…and sort of play until I thought it was right… I hate to use recipes and formulas. I’m a person who can change directions and plans in an instant…. I call that flexible but that’s hard for David to cope with…..
My really good day ( which wouldn’t be ordinary ….) would include calls to my kids and friends and would contain endless conversations with them… if I can’t be in their living room ( or mine)…long rambling calls are great… If they aren’t possible… long rambling emails are an adequate substitute.
I’m not a reader… ( sorry Mom…I didn’t catch that gene from you)…. I do enjoy some T.V. shows……not scary things…no ominous things… ( I miss The West Wing… and Murphy Brown…Boston Legal…. good well written stuff that pulls you right along….) I watch a lot of garbage…. I’m not sure why…but I do….and then wonder why I did that…)… but when I’m here in Henryville, I guess I prefer a quiet evening with a nice fire in the fireplace. The flames and light patterns are fascinating to watch… it is so mesmerizing and peaceful…. Soothing…the crackling and occasional spitting are a fun wake-up surprise…just to break the calm…. part of a lovely symphony of squishy sounds that makes a fireplace fun to watch…..
Before I’d go to bed on the very good ordinary day….I’d check my email for messages… and answer any that might have come in…. or write a friend to have a note for them to start their day with for their tomorrow…
I enjoy going to bed with the windows cracked open… the evening sounds have always been a great sound to soothe me to sleep) I don’t mind having a cool room..as long as I can have a nice linen sheet and a cozy cover to keep me warm.
I have wild and crazy dream patterns…they are real epoch concoctions… sometimes I wake up laughing- or even exhausted from the things I’ve thought up…..they can really be odd combos of thoughts….. I’d certainly never want them analyzed!!!)
My REAL ordinary day is actually only bits of what I just wrote – but my imagined really good day was very satisfying… and I enjoyed it…..