Hygge Holiday Challenge ~ third update

Dec. 15 ~ make a new friend

This one was easy-peasy.  I found a new friend named Amy on Facebook and got to know her.  She lives in North Carolina, so I haven't met her face-to-face.  On a slow day, I also got to know Sue in the Circle@Crown Café and "friended" her on Facebook.  Two new friends!

Dec. 16 ~ treat yourself to an at-home spa day

Two quotes from Albie, who came up with this Hygge Challenge:  "keep calm and spa on" and "a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind."  When I think of "spa," I think of a hot tub.  Or hot water in my bathtub at home.  So I filled my tub with warm water, lit a candle, and read a book while adding more hot water whenever it cooled off.  I also did a bit toward a less cluttered space by sorting another box or two of "stuff" I need to get rid of.  (Yay, me!)

Dec. 17 ~ enjoy some hot cocoa or tea

I had hot chocolate at the party for Crown Center volunteers.  I'm weird — I asked them to leave off the whipped cream.  (I volunteer as an "ambassador" for new residents, and I re-shelve books in our little library.)  Another time, I had tea with someone who couldn't understand why I let it cool, but I don't like tea to burn my tongue.

Dec. 18 ~ cook a new recipe with family

I live alone, unless you want to call Clawdia my family.  Her idea of food is "hurry up and open that can of salmon paté!"  New recipe?  Okay, the grocery store was out of one of her favorites in the Friskies brand, so I got her the Fancy Feast tender liver and chicken feast classic.  She gobbled it down.  Does that count as a new recipe?

Dec. 19 ~ get cozy and watch your fav movie

Now, see, this is the sort of thing that derails me.  Having to watch a movie is not hygge to me.  I'd rather read.  I prefer the movies in my mind as I read a good book.  Nope, not interested.  This month, I returned to the fictional Mitford with Jan Karon's Father Tim.

Dec. 20 ~ have a game night

Donna and I decided to play Scrabble and invited a couple of other residents of the Crown Center.  Not as "hygge" as we had expected, since the other two are SERIOUS about this game and don't waste time thinking about their next move.  Donna and I tend to laugh and talk and enjoy the game.

Dec. 21 ~ let in natural light

Every morning, Clawdia runs to watch me open the blinds and "let in natural light."  Mostly, she wants to see if that sunny white spot comes in so she can chase it.  Imagine this:  turning and turning my wrist so the spot "runs" across the floor and up the wall, with Clawdia turning on a dime to catch it.  Can you imagine such fun?

Dec. 22 ~ have a dance party

Only in my mind.  I do regularly get together with a friend or two and eat together.  Close enough for elderly women?

Dec. 23 ~ bake your fav holiday treat

I got all the ingredients to make "daisies" for friends, but still I procrastinated.  I never did get those daisies made and put inside tin gift boxes for a few friends living here at the Crown Center.  I taught Varvacille how to make a large Daisy three years ago.

Dec. 24 ~ pray, meditate, or just breathe

Probably none of these happened on the date chosen by Albie for us to do these things, but I can say that breathing in and out — in through the nose and out through the mouth — in through the nose and out through the mouth — happened consciously when I started exercising with Risé in the fitness center.

Dec. 25 ~ It's Christmas!  Give yourself a break!

Done!  I was supposed to take Barbara out to eat that day, but her back pain scotched that.  Today, we had lunch together at her table at home.  Whenever she feels up to it, we'll go out to eat.

The challenge
Click this link to see the complete Hygge Holiday Challenge calendar.

Update 1-2-18:  There's a different Hygge Challenge found by Barbara, my friend who wasn't up to eating out on Christmas Day.  Click the link to watch the video.

Words of the Year ~ 2017

Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017:  Feminism

Look-ups for the word feminism spiked following news coverage of the Women's March on Washington, DC in January and again when Kellyanne Conway said during an interview that she didn't consider herself a feminist.  There was more interest after the release of Hulu’s series The Handmaid's Tale" and the film "Wonder Woman" and, later, in conjunction with the many accounts of sexual assault and harassment in the news and the #MeToo movement.  Today’s definitions of feminism read:  “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” and “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.”

Dictionary.com's word of the year for 2017:  Complicit

The word complicit came up in conversations in 2017 about those who spoke out against powerful figures and institutions and those who stayed silent.  It was a year of real awakening to complicity in various sectors of society, from politics to pop culture.  From our 2017 Word of the Year announcement:  "Our choice for Word of the Year is as much about what is visible as it is about what is not.  It’s a word that reminds us that even inaction is a type of action.  The silent acceptance of wrongdoing is how we’ve gotten to this point.  We must not let this continue to be the norm.  If we do, then we are all complicit."

Merriam-Webster's definition of complicit is "helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way." It comes from the Latin word meaning "to fold together."  This word is one of Merriam-Webster's 2017 Words of the Year, and you should click on their link to go read about each one:  feminism, complicit, recuse, empathy, dotard, syzygy, gyro, federalism, hurricane, gaffe.

Sunday Salon ~ family and books

FAMILY

Above are three of my great-grandchildren:  Jaxon, Shelby, and Shiloh on their mother's lap.  Below are my other three great-grandchildren:  Micah, Raegan, and Jonathan.

BOOKS

Recently finished:

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living ~ by Meik Wiking, 2017, psychology, 8/10

Currently reading:

To Be Where You Are ~ by Jan Karon, 2017, fiction (North Carolina)

Looking forward to:

The Donkey's Dream ~ by Barbara Helen Berger, 1985, children's

He was just an ordinary donkey, but on his back he carried a miracle.  He carried Mary to Bethlehem on the night she gave birth.  Along the way he dreamed he was carrying a city, a ship, a fountain, and a rose.  He dreamed he was carrying a lady full of heaven.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different time zones — to talk about our lives and our reading.

Beginning ~ before it hit the fan

"It was the first day of October, and all things considered, Mitford was pretty quiet.  Around the tenth of the month is when it would hit the fan."

To Be Where You Are ~ by Jan Karon, 2017, fiction (North Carolina)

After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn't need a steady job to prove himself.  Then he's given one.  As for what it proves, heaven only knows.  Millions of Karon fans will be thrilled that it’s life as usual in the wildly popular Mitford series:  A beloved town character lands a front-page obituary, but who was it, exactly, who died?  And what about the former mayor, born the year Lindbergh landed in Paris, who’s still running for office?  Twenty minutes from Mitford at Meadowgate Farm, newlyweds Dooley and Lace Kavanagh face a crisis that devastates their bank account and impacts their family vet practice.  In this latest Mitford novel, Jan Karon weaves together the compelling lives of two Kavanagh families and a cast of characters that readers around the world now love like kin.

And I'm wondering what it is, exactly, that's about to hit the fan.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Here are some VERY good words

Thanks to Analytical Grammar on Facebook for posting this, saying:

"It's Word Wednesday!  Vary your VERY."

Caturday quote ~ illustrated by Clawdia

"If there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor,

a cat will find it and soak it up." — J. A. McIntosh

Hygge Holiday Challenge ~ second update

Dec. 8 ~ have a candlelight dinner

I call this meal "chicken by candlelight" because I remembered at the last minute to light a candle
for this challenge.  Eating by candlelight doesn't feel more hyggeligt to me, but more like remembering an assignment.  Chatting with a friend is what I enjoyed.

Dec. 9 ~ have a tech-free evening

How about simply "have fun opening a small gift bag" I was given?  The leaders of our two "Life Transitions" groups got us together this week to talk about whether (and how) we should continue as support for each other.  At the end of our session, we received gifts from young people at a local synagogue.  I say "young people" because I don't know if they are seven or seventeen.  Each gift bag included:

• warm knit gloves (mine are purple),
• a pocket-sized packet of tissues,
• five cough drops,
• lip balm (mine is watermelon flavored),
• two Newman's Own tea bags that say on one side "keep calm and brew tea."
• a folded half-page-sized note, each one different.

My note says:  "Hope you have a warm winter! — Lauren."
Thank you, Lauren!  She didn't know about my Hygge Challenge,
but how's that for a cozy hygge gift?

Dec. 10 ~ add some greenery

Okay, but first I'll add to my gratitude list.  I'm grateful for friends, old and new, and that includes my furry friend, Clawdia.  This photo shows her inspecting the crinkly white paper on Tiny's door and sniffing those peppermint candy canes.  When Tiny's phone quit working, she came to our door just down the hall to borrow my phone to call her daughter.  When she left, Clawdia hurried along with her because Tiny is one of Clawdia's best friends.  I told Tiny I needed to shower to take a neighbor shopping and didn't have time for visiting, but she let Clawdia go home with her for a visit anyway.  I was still getting ready when my hall door opened and Tiny announced, "She's home!"  Not just every cat has her very own friends.

Now for the greenery.   I have re-seeded Clawdia's kitty garden with a mixture of barley, rye, oats, and wheat.  It sprouts in four to six days.  I got it for her when she started nibbling my green plants, some of which could kill her.  It's been several weeks since she had any grass of her own, like in this photo that I've posted before, and she really loves it.  So that's my added greenery for December, which will go back on the floor in the kitchen, once some sprouts get a few inches tall.

Dec. 11 ~ invest in a cozy sweater

I'm retired with enough cozy sweaters to last the rest of my life, so instead I invested in some soft, fuzzy, warm, and cozy socks.  These are on sale right now, which makes me even happier.

Dec. 12 ~ go for a 30-minute walk

I'm behind in the walking and exercising I intended to do this month, but I've been doing some of both.  One of my neighbors goes to an indoor gym for walking and promised to take me next time she goes.  It's too windy and cold to do a lot of walking in St. Louis weather right now, and the fitness center in our building has machines, but no place indoors for serious, intentional walking.  Going with that friend means another opportunity to socialize.

Dec. 13 ~ go on a coffee date in real life

I interpreted this as going out to eat with a friend, when Evelyn and I decided to go to Dewey's.  Here's the pizza we shared, her side with sausage and artichokes and mine with feta cheese and Greek veggies.  No coffee for us, though.  I had my usual iced tea, and Evelyn had a Coke.

Dec. 14 ~ cozy up with a new book

This is the day library books are delivered to the Crown Center, and I got Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin.  Click the link to read what I wrote about the book.  I started reading it today, curled up in my recliner.

The challenge
Click this link to see the complete Hygge Holiday Challenge calendar.