A Dream Come True
On Sunday afternoon, Mr Chiots had a dream come true. Many years ago, Mr Chiots discovered the sport of curling and fell in love. Ever since then, he’s been watching it on the internet, during the Olympics and talking about playing some day. Back in Ohio, the closest curling club was pretty far away. While we were researching our move to Maine he discovered the Belfast Curling Club (the only curling club in Maine).
Lucky for us, it’s only about 25 minutes away. We’ve been driving by it every week when we head in to town and kept saying that we need to check out their schedule so we can go watch. Mr Chiots checked their website last week and they were having “Learn to Curl” classes on Sunday. We called to sign up and grew ever more excited about the possibility.
It just so happened that there were two classes scheduled for Sunday. The first was one full, but they told us they might be able to squeeze us in. If not, they told us we’d be in the second class. Since we were recording our podcast, we ended up heading down just for the second class. It just so happened that no one else came to that class so it was just us. We got a private curling lesson then we were throw into a game with a few members. All-in-all, we curled for three hours on Sunday.
Mr Chiots is a natural at the sport. If we weren’t heading out of the country for a few weeks this spring, he’d be playing on a team this season. He is excited about the fall and will certainly be on a team! I’m not sure if I’ll be on a team quite yet, I need some time to think about it and hone my skills before jumping in that quickly. I’m quite happy that Mr Chiots fulfilled a dream this week!
Have you been able to fulfill any dreams recently?
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Cultivate Simple 13: More Better Toast
Calendar Winner: Debbie B
Geeky Corner with Brian
Rehash of Last Week’s Topic
*Sometimes you have to buy old items to find good quality
*Often you need to think outside the box. My toaster is a 90 year old cast iron skillet! Toaster, sometimes it’s not as convenient. Sometimes you burn the toast – but it’s a good lesson in being mindful. It forces you to slow down and enjoy what your doing, because eating isn’t just about eating…
*When you buy high quality items you often value them more and take better care of them than when you’re buying lots of cheap stuff.
*Finding things that don’t use electric can save you lots of headaches and expense like the Chemex Coffee Carafe
*Think about the future cost and waste that is produced when you’re buying. Buying used eliminates lots of waste as does simply not buying.
John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley “American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash- all of them- surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered with rubbish. Everything we use comes in boxes, cartons, bins, the so called packaging we love so much. The mountains of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use. In this, if in no other way, we can see the wild and reckless exuberance of our production, and waste seems to be the index.”
Our lovely coffee maker that we keep talking about
Book Recommendations
Do you have any quality companies, brands or products to recommend?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:28:07 — 61.2MB)
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Quote of the Day: Pema Chödrön
“We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air…
To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest….
When we wake up, we can live fully without seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, without re-creating ourselves when we fall apart… We can give up on being perfect and experience each moment to its fullest.”
Pema Chödrön from When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Experiencing each moment to it’s fullest is something Mr Chiots and I try to do. It’s easy in good times and difficult in tough times. Embracing the tough times truly does make them easier and helps you see them for the learning and growth that they provide! Living well is all about experiencing everything that comes our way, whether good or bad!
Do you try to avoid difficult situations or do you experience them for what they bring to your life?
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Welcome
When we decided to move to Maine all of our friends and family started talking about coming to visit. They all said, “I hear Maine is wonderful, I can’t wait to visit you.” When we lived in Ohio, we rarely had a visitor, but we also had a very small house and no guest room. Now we have 2 guest rooms — and they’re being used!
I set them both up a couple days before Christmas when we found out my parents were coming up for a visit. There was no time to paint, but I did clean them well and tried to make them as homey as possible. New flannel sheets were ordered, along with electric mattress pads, furniture was moved in that was stored in the garage and fabric panels hung over the windows.
I’m really glad I got them set up when I did, another friend come visit this week so they’ve been used a lot already. They’re nothing too exciting, just a collection of random things, but they’re comfortable. I am planning on making quilts for the beds and painting the walls, I just have to find the time to do that, which may not be until next winter! Having guests is more about conversation and visiting than it is about the decor of the guest room anyways.
Do you have frequent guests in your home?
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Friday Favorite: The Sun in Winter
Yesterday I was talking with a friend about how much how wonderful the sun is in the middle of winter. When you live in a northern climate, seeing the sun on a short winter day is cause for a small celebration. I’ve noticed here in Maine, seeing the sun on a winter day is more common than in was in NE Ohio. Northern Ohio has the reputation for being very gray in the winter and it truly is. We’ve been enjoying beautiful clear sunny days and LOVING them.
I think the sun coupled with snow makes for a kind of brightness that you can’t achieve in the summer. There’s just something about the warmness of the sun and the coolness of the snow I find amazing!
What do you notice most during the winter in your area?
