Checking it twice

Lily and me

A passerby took this photo of Lily and me at Boulevard Park this morning, a blustery day but with very mild temperatures, with plenty more wind to come during the rest of the day. I did check twice before I started this post, since after yesterday's fiasco on my other blog, I wanted to make sure I'm on the right one. I spent an entire hour (which is my usual time) writing yesterday's post, but then I accidentally posted it here. When I realized my mistake, I deleted it immediately and intended to post it on the correct blog. It was right there on my screen after I deleted it, but when I navigated over to this place and tried to reinsert it, the text was gone! Gone for good, it seems. 

I have been admonished to remember to copy and paste if I were to make such an error next time. At first I thought about starting over, but it would have messed up the entire rest of my morning, so I simply apologized and posted only the picture and a quick mea culpa. 

It wasn't a wonderful post, but I talked about the weather (rainy and windy) and my burgeoning meditation practice and what I've learned so far. I guess mindfulness doesn't extend to most of my mental processes quite yet. But I didn't get all that upset or perturbed, and I credit my calmness to the practice I've begun of following my breath. And I notice that I am making quite a bit of effort to work it into my morning routine, because it's begun to matter that I find a way to quietly sit for a bit.

While I walked to the bus this morning to take me downtown to the coffee shop, I pondered how much my life is going to change after Wednesday, which is the last day that my friend John will be there for at least a month. He is having his right shoulder rebuilt on Thursday, and he won't be able to drive until he can put on his seat belt, among other things. He had the left shoulder done last year, and it's really improved his mobility, but he uses his right arm and hand to a much greater degree than his left. He won't be able to move it backwards or out to the side for some time. He will be staying with his daughter who lives quite a bit north of us. I'll miss him, that's for sure. 

I'll take the change in my daily routine as an excuse to explore some new bus routes that will add some variety to my walks. Not that I couldn't do that any time, but I have noticed that I am a creature of habit and don't make changes all that easily. But just like the pandemic has disrupted other aspects of my routine, this change can be one that I can use to make my days more interesting.

Cornwall Park roses

Until I started asking John to drop me off at the Cornwall Park Rose Garden to walk back home, I had never visited it. Now I can't imagine not seeing these beauties on a regular basis. Even at this time of the year, there are roses, and I like to take the time to stop and smell them. And capture them like in this picture.

:-)