Over!

Well … that’s over for another year! Now we just have to get past New Year’s and life returns to normal.

Christmas turned into a sunny day. What a break! 

I forgot to chop wood but I did several other chores I’d long wanted to do. And I overate. Gisella gave me a bag of cookies after the dog walk and I ate them all whilst I re-watched the movie Florence Foster Jenkins. It is, I reckon, my favourite Meryl Streep movie. And Hugh Grant! I love him. 

In the evening, I watched a Polish crime show that was great because the male lead was a magnificent sculpture of a man. I really enjoy watching handsome foreign men films.

This morning began rough: Because I forgot to chop wood yesterday, I was out chopping some this morning at six am in the dark. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be as I lay, anticipating it, in my warm bed early this morning.

Today’s goals: Running my generator, chopping more wood and checking out the shoes at the Boxing Day sale of our two local clothing stores.

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Excellent, uplifting news: Yesterday, I saw the tips of Narcissus coming up in my front garden.

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My friends—bless them—have been wonderfully supportive of my inclination to seek more psychiatric help and from a different practitioner. I’m keen for a professional opinion on whether or not Selective Mutism is a valid diagnosis for me and I’d like to see if there are anti-anxiety drugs available that I haven’t yet tried.

Merry. Merry

Merry Christmas!

More like Merry Wet Christmas (see above).

I went to Regina’s party yesterday and it was wonderful to see her place. It’s a Gabriola-style estate! There’s the house; it’s really cute and small. It’s absolutely perfect for one or two people. Then she and Matthew have another small house. It’s for guests and it’s completely private and is a fully functional home. Attached to it, is Regina’s studio that has barn doors on two sides!

Then there’s Matthew’s shed. It’s a beauty man cave! And it’s attached to the outdoor covered baking court that has a big wood-fired oven that not only bakes their bread and pizza, the oven also heats their sauna. What a place! It has a serving area and serves ideally for their outdoor parties.

Then there’s the yurt. It’s where Regina and her friends do their yoga. And there are at least three other buildings that I didn’t visit. And it all sits on five acres overlooking the sea. The food was delicious and I stayed a good long time. 

(I did okay, too. But when I was introduced to strangers, I could not speak. Once I settled, though, my speech improved.)

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Today will be quiet at Pinecone Park. I met my friends for a dog walk, and Sheba and I will go for another later today. I bought us a ball thrower for Christmas. I have to chop some wood, later; I’m out of kindling. And I’ll likely talk to Dwight and Steve and a few other friends today.

More Help

What a lovely and welcome surprise the clearing sky was as I drove home from the dog walk on Monday morning! And what a great group of dog walkers I belong to! We’ve decided to walk, as usual, on Wednesday morning. I’m delighted I’ll be spending some time with friends on Christmas day.

After the walk, I went into the village to get some supplies for Her Highness and when I came out, it was cloudy again and spitting light rain. I spent the rest of the day at home with the fire and my spectacular four-legged family. In the evening, I watched The Duchess.

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Is it because of Christmas? 

Fucking Hell! I am really shutting down. My cousin called and I could not speak to him and I’ve stopped being able to speak in the stores here. I called Jessica on Skype so that I could see her. Still, I couldn’t speak.

I’m going to a party this afternoon. I’m curious about how it’ll go—I’m not anxious, though. I’m going full of optimism. 

I’m going to see Dr. Majic here in the New Year if I don’t do better’ I’m going to ask for a reference to a Nanaimo psychiatrist. This is my mind, that’s ill; my wellbeing is worth another psychiatrist’s consideration and a second try at anti-anxiety drugs. I want to ask about Selective Mutism and potential treatments.  

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It’s wet and dark this morning. It’s totally uninspiring. I’ll spend the morning walking Sheba and preparing my dinner so I won’t have any work to do after Regina’s party this afternoon. 

Two Popes

Sunday, there was no rain; the community dog walk was a lovely meander through the forest with my friends. 

I watched Christmas Carol on television in the late afternoon and was surprised to get so emotionally involved. But Dickens has a special place in my heart because I read almost everything he wrote when I was young. One of the Tyrells had inherited a complete set of his work in hardcover and I had the entire collection in my bedroom.

In the evening, I watched The Two Popes on Netflix and absolutely loved it. It’s a magnificent two-hander and both Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are impossibly good as the two Popes. And, of course, the sets and costumes are sumptuous. I was raised Catholic—I haven’t been a churchgoer since I was thirteen, though—however, my upbringing may have had something to do with my delight with the show.

In just two more days, it’ll be over. Then all the hooey about New Year’s will begin and this year a decade ends as well as a year.