Surviving Summer

I'm in self-imposed lockdown this week because most of New Jersey is in a disgusting heat wave.

Also, my anxiety level is creeping toward the red zone because most of New Jersey is in a disgusting heat wave.

Did I mention the disgusting heat wave?

Thanks to black paper shades (just over $6 at Home Depot!) and dark curtains on most of my windows, it's nice and dark and cool inside my house and I'm protected from the intensity of the sun which is essential for me all the time, but particularly in the summer when the sun is trying to kill me.

There are other things you can also do to cope while hiding inside away from Evil Sun and its cohorts, Humidity and Dew Point...

For one, humor. Humor is essential to ward off all kinds of woes. In fact I would go so far as to say that it has saved my life on many occasions. So while you are hibernating from summer, you could look at fun/ny things on the internet or watch funny television  or read books that makes you laugh (the library is free and cool!) or draw nonsense pictures that crack you up (see above & below) even if they might not make a single other person snicker. 

Decorating Naturally For Everlasting Life

Recently JP came home with a Just Because bouquet of flowers for me.  Such a thoughtful husband he is.

I am a flower lover; they are one of my very most favorite things in the world and they are everywhere in my house, in dried form, in a myriad of ways.  You see, I have to make sure they're reused so that their little flower lives aren't short-lived and/or for naught. 

While I of course appreciate a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers, when I see them stuck in a vase I eventually can't help but think about how happy they must have been growing happily in the dirt until they got ripped out of the ground and shoved into a vat of water, on display as they die.

It's the same reason I won't have a real Christmas tree. I'll tell that story when we're closer to December.

So while I know any fresh flowers I receive would be much happier in a field soaking up sunshine and swaying in the breeze, I can at least extend their life by decorating with them and loving them long time. 😊 

That's way better than throwing them in the trash and sending them to the landfill.
Flowers bring so much joy; surely their lives are worth more than to culminate in a garbage truck.

For this most recent JP bouquet, I used them along with a tree branch from my vast collection of tree branches.

Yes, I collect tree branches so that they, too, can have everlasting life.
Trees and flowers. My two most favorite things after husband, daughter, doggie.

I have a few of these tree branch/flower bunches around the house and they're so pretty.

All you have to do is deconstruct your flowers into small little bunches.

Wrap the bunches with some twine, then tie each bunch to the branch.

Voila!

Jabbed

I got my 1st dose last week, finally, after overcoming personal hurdles.

I have medical PTSD...well, actually, I have C-PTSD (the C stands for Complex) which means it's sourced from more than one trauma but the medical part is a big part of my particular PTSD pie.

What that means for me is that it's about 1000 times worse than the more commonly known 'White Coat Syndrome' so even something as simple-sounding as going to Walgreen's to get a vaccine that a gazillion people have gotten is a monumental thing for me...and I mean that in the true sense of the word.

Anyway, we went to Walgreen's. I had cancelled approx 3 appointments prior to this one for various reasons such as the stars not being in the correct alignment 😄 but at this point I was so sick of myself, sick of my anxiety and neuroses, that I forced myself this time.

And once we got there and approached the pharmacy part of the store I told JP I couldn't do it, which he understood because he is saint-like in his support and understanding of my aforementioned anxiety and neuroses.

Not wanting to disappoint him or myself, I then told him let's walk around the store a bit to see if the panic subsides.

The Herbary at Bear Creek Farm

As I said in a previous post, we stayed local during JP's vacation which was just fine by me especially since it turned out to be oppressively hot and depressingly sunny that week. As someone afflicted with Summer SAD* and photosensitivity, hot and sunny weather is the most dreaded combination and makes me hide in the house insulated comfortably by dark window coverings and air conditioning.

However, I do recognize that it's creepy not always healthy to hide from the sun all the time and so we ventured out on a hot, sunny May day to visit a place I've been meaning to get to since we moved back to the shore last July - The Herbary At Bear Creek Farm in Howell, NJ.

Have you ever heard of terrain - the Anthropologie-associated garden center/gift shop/all around amazing retail wonderama?  When we lived in Delaware we would frequently go to the terrain location in Glen Mills, PA since it was just a few miles from us. I haven't been back there since leaving Delaware and I've missed it, so you can imagine my delight at discovering that The Herbary has a very similar terrain vibe which is also my vibe: simple, natural, peaceful, hip.

The first thing we noticed when we drove into their parking lot is the openness. No cramming of mass amounts of plants that makes you feel overwhelmed...