Wallowing…

Or when one is down for no reason whatsoever.

Saturday was fine – lots of indecision however:

I woke wondering what to do after I had coffee with my Saturday morning coffee friend - M

• check out the Plainpalais flea market
• Go to Ikea and Interio and maybe even Pfister for a matress for the attic room
• did the research on-line and can order one from Interio to the right measurements (can even have it delivered here for an extra CHF 100.00 hmmm... sometimes lazy may be best, not yet ordered though
• Take some stuff to the Salvation Army - and check for dishes and small tables etc. for both my new bathrooms and the upstairs attic room
• Stay home and do the taxes

After checking e-mails and playing computer games at 11:30 I decided to make the quick dash to the Salvation Army (did sort out 5 pieces of clothing that were too good to put in the bin in the village) and have lunch.

Was going to go for Sushi at Mikado, but decided to park at Coop 2000 so ate at Edwards (been a long time - don't think that I have been since I met my older son their sometime last year!).

My evening with good friends was a resounding success, then it was

On to Sunday.

I woke up out of sorts, the weather was gray and I had absolutely no motivation for anything and as there was no reason to feel the way I did, that was just another source of stress.

I mean, how can I, who am so privileged in my life, dare to not be in top form emotionally? I haven’t been ill, I haven’t lost anyone (recently that is), I haven’t been faced with bills too large to pay, no one I know is in prison or being otherwise persecuted for their beliefs (even those in Syria), none of my good friends are facing major crises, financial or healthwise, so why?

By the end of the day I wasn’t much improved, but on Sundays I Skype with my sister and she, wisely said, « so wallow – ok now get on with it » !

She’s right – sometimes there is no reason for feeling downhearted, reason has nothing to do (or precious little most of the time) with the emotional and sometimes, just occasionally, a good « oh-poor-me » wallow is the best solution, as is not trying to do the taxes !

The lone tree is not necessarily alone... others are in the background

Une lumière dans… Light...

La grisaille ambiante. In the ambient gray 

Non, je ne parle pas des merveilleux arbres de Noël dont voici deux exemples: quoique

très lumineux et toujours les bienvenues, je pense plutôt à notre grande nouvelle : la route est de nouveau ouverte!

Pour ceux qui ne le savent pas, la route entre moi et mon village a été bloquée depuis longtemps suite à des travaux pour le changement du système des eaux-usées. Combien de kilomètres en plus j’ai dû faire ces derniers mois – dans un sens c’était 4 km, dans l’autre presque 4.5. Chaque fois qu’il fallait chercher un paquet à la poste, chaque fois que j’allais voir deux amies habitant au-delà du fameux croisement des chemins, chaque fois que j’allais faire des courses en France, chaque fois que je voulais aller à la décharge, chaque vois que…. Bien vous voyez c’était devenu très embêtant de toujours devoir faire le tour.

Maintenant grâce à Noël nous sommes du nouveau libérés de ces contraintes – ma journée et mon avenir sur les routes à Noël sont ensoleillés, malgré le ciel gris et le temps pluvieux.

As I don't think much sometimes of the translations, here is the text also in English - if anyone who reads English wants to amuse themselves  they can have Google translate the above and see how close it comes to my own English verions.

Corsier

St.Maurice

Light …

In the ambient gray.

No, I am not talking about the lovely Christmas trees (two examples here): although luminous and always welcome, I am thinking more of the latest BIG news to us in my community: the road is again open!

For those who were unaware of the situation, the road linking me to the village has been blocked for quite some time as they are working on the new system of transportation (underground pipeline) for rainwater. How many kilometers did I have to drive every time these past few months: 4 in one direction, 4 and a half in the other. Each time that I wanted to pick up a package at the post office, each time that I went to see two of my friends who live in the village, each time I went to get groceries in neighboring France, each time that I had items to take up to the recycling center, each time that I … As you can see we were mighty sick of having to always go around.

Now, thanks to the holiday season, we are finally free from these constraints – my day and my future on the roads at Christmas have suddenly been “lightened” in spite of the gray skies and wet weather.

Sunrise Dec.17, 2014

Gray, grey, whatever: go away!

I may have mentioned recently how our gray weather weighs on us for about 6 months of the year. This year it seems to be bothering me even more.  When I originally thought about it back in early December, the cold wind “la bise” had come up and that usually chases it away, meanwhile I am much more aware (a good thing) of any and all color wherever it may be found

A still yellow or orange leaf, Christmas garlands, a building with a red ribbon, anything with color, including our trash bags, which are yellow.

 

winter 2012/2013

Need all the help we can get today as it has rained non-stop since yesterday. So although they following photos are from before Christmas, I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any other spots of light or color in the gloom!

Christmas Day, Christmas gray

Leads one to looking inward, to concentrate on the lights that can be lit, the various decorations and ornaments involving lights; the sharing of other’s lights

Those of you living in sunnier climes don’t perhaps enjoy the lights to the same degree that those of us who look outside and see gray and rain, yet more rain. However, I am sure that everyone in his or her own way has the odd gray day.  Think back to those and focus on what made the gray go away: usually there is some sort of light involved.

They remind us of the sun, of better weather so we indulge ourselves with new ones every year and on those days, such as mine today, when the outside is blanketed in many shades of gray, we even light them all to celebrate the lights that lead the way, the lights that guide us in the darkness, the lights that lift our spirits.

But there are other kinds of gray,  the gray of the spirit : we must never forget, that to others we can be the light; we can lift the darkness of loneliness, we have the capacity to shed the light of human warmth and love.

On this Christmas Day look around, shed some light – you’d be amazed at how strong the rays can be that return to you.

Old tea light container

New "Swedish chimes" from D-L & R

Champagne at friends

The advantages of gray…

Or, I’m really trying hard here to not get depressed by the weather.

We awoke to yet another gray day, which, unfortunately, happens frequently in Geneva in between November and April (yet, some years it is truly that long!). I call it “the eternal gray” as some years it doesn’t seem to lift for those six months unless we have our very cold “bise” wind, or snow followed by some sun.  It is caused by a high layer of fog and if one goes up 1’000 feet, one can come out of it, however that rarely happens to me as getting up the energy and facing the traffic on the way up the closest mountain usually kills all my good resolve to see the sun.

So I decided to look for the good in a gray day – not that it was an easy task!

• Most cars put on their lights, making driving somewhat safer
• You don’t have to worry about sun stroke or putting on too much sunscreen (actually some of the UV does come through so one needs to always use sunscreen
• You don’t need to have dark glasses in the car (or anywhere around for that matter).
• You can eat heavier soups and food – the mood lift is worth the calories
• You can use the excuse to sit by a fireplace, read a good book.
• You can also use the gray outside to put more color on the inside
• Working in an office with good lighting can actually become a positive
• You don’t have to worry about how you look in a bikini
• Going to bed and being toasty under the covers is a real plus
• Meeting friends and family for meals or coffee becomes highly desirable as when the weather outside is gray, the soul needs nourishing

And, last, but not least, for the photographer in me, one can use the “magic” button or photoshop some magic into the pictures of the gray. Also this blog was a very good exercise in finding the positive – although you will note that half the pluses were simply an absence of a minus.

"Black Magic"

Watercolor "magic"