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Post by cathygeha on Nov 18, 2019 6:52:17 GMT
Affirmation: It is a good day to...do many wonderful things...or even just a few Fitness & Health: Move more & make wise food choices is the plan Spiritual: taking time to BREATHE in positive and exhale negative while focusing on intention twice today Gratitude: gentle breezes, birds singing and sunshine make me appreciate the world I live in
Roads are supposed to be open so hubby and I will drive to Tripoli to the shop we bought the new adapter cord that died in less than a month. Hopefully they will have a solution. Will report back to my daughter when I return home. Might get a few groceries while out and about.
MICHELLE: who needs the hassles of administration...glad you realize you don't. I am sure they will miss you but...you have to do what is best for you. I have this vision of a decorated box with Clair's holiday items in it. You know...a dog jewelry and costume box. Probably all bedzzled, too Thank you for the first smile of the day!
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Post by michelle on Nov 19, 2019 6:01:35 GMT
My post disappeared.
Affirmation: I am willing to move out of my comfort zone and experience life in a new way. Spiritual: Calmness Physical: 9,272 Steps Gratitude: Artistry
Cathy, I love your affirmation.
Onward>>>>
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 19, 2019 8:39:51 GMT
Affirmation: Today will be a good day Fitness: I might move more than yesterday - no promises Health: wfpb foods will be my menu Spiritual: positive thoughts garner a peaceful soul Gratitude: All of the years I have lived and those still to look forward to
Overcame hubby's worries and we headed into Tripoli, took my laptop into the shop and they found a cord that needed replacing and they gave it to me for free SO laptop is happy and charging again and so much happier...and so am I
MICHELLE: I *hate* it when a long post poofs into cyberspace!
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 20, 2019 6:42:24 GMT
Affirmation: A day with friends is filled with joy. Fitness: Mental fitness is mine...there probably won't be much if any physical activity today Health: Making healthy food choices is the plan for the day Spiritual: My spirit is nourished by spending time with friends Gratitude: Friends that are there for me in good times and bad
Enjoyed using the laptop and having it work normally. Spending time with friends today and the food is going to be Lebanese. We will have fun.
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 21, 2019 5:05:48 GMT
Affirmation: Today will be an OP day Fitness & Health: wise food choices and perhaps some exercise.... Spiritual: breathe in positive & breathe out negative Gratitude: friends
Fun day yesterday but too much food and wine. Today is a new day.
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Post by michelle on Nov 21, 2019 16:39:00 GMT
We had a lightening storm a couple of days ago and one of the strikes blew out my computer modem and phone line so I am just now back on the computer. Off to take Clair to an event. More later.
Affirmation: I can handle this. Spiritual: Decompress Physical: Dog walking 12,180 steps Gratitude: Heaters
Clair and I drove four hours round trip for today's Therapy Dog assignment. Not too sure I was thinking clearly about volunteering for this event since it was high speed driving the entire way. This was at a warehouse and was an annual event put on for the employees. We are a tax free state for warehousing so we know have extremely huge warehouses. This one has 150 employees. Anyway it was fun and also Clair got to practice some of her complex rally obedience which we both enjoyed.
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 22, 2019 6:13:47 GMT
Affirmation: I bask in the positive vibes of the universe Fitness: I may move today...time will tell Health: Moderate quantities of whole food plant based vegan fare is on the menu today Spiritual: I am a sponge absorbing positive and deflecting negative vibes Gratitude: Olives to harvest, a husband who sets it up and the oil from the press once they are harvested.
Quiet day at home yesterday...Thursdays often are days to relax and regroup after Wednesday away. Today the olive harvest of some of the trees in our closer garden. No idea how many trees or how long it will take. Not sure if my husband will bother with harvesting his brother's trees...they are further away and he is less invested in them for some reason.
MICHELLE: What is rally obedience? For some reason I am seeing sheep dogs herding large groups of people as if they were cattle and that cannot be true... I think so many hours on high speed roads to go to an event might be...must be...exhausting.
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Post by michelle on Nov 23, 2019 0:08:51 GMT
Affirmation: I am caught up. Spiritual: Wonder Fitness: 8,069 Steps Gratitude: Seeing two Cedar Waxwings at my birdbath--that's a first. Cathy: How are the olives harvested and how are they picked up? Are they the black kind? Rally is a type of obedience where complex heeling patterns are performed. I taught Clair names for these so when I say right turn she turns that way even though she may be daydreaming etc. So she know left turn, on and on. It's rather complex but has come in very handy with the Therapy Dog work. I love Rally since it is not boring. Now I teach the 6 month old puppy Rally commands and she is picking them up. Tomorrow Clair and I are going to a Therapy event. Something to do with Survivors of Suicide day. Maybe these people are no longer depressed. Clair likes positive energy people because that's what her energy is. Onward>>>>>
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 23, 2019 7:14:11 GMT
Affirmation: Today will be filled with sunshine and joy Fitness: Might exercise - mental agility will be exercised Health: Moderate healthy food choices are mine Spiritual: focus on the positive Gratitude: The abundance of the earth...our plot of it specifically.
Today is my husband's 81st birthday. We are getting flu shots and he is choosing the place we eat lunch. No idea what he will choose but he has mentioned a new pizza place...that may not have a place to sit OR somewhere else. We will see.
MICHELLE: How fun for your dogs to learn rally commands. Do all dog handlers use the same commands? Buttercup must be growing up! I hope the suicide therapy event won't be draining.
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Post by michelle on Nov 24, 2019 2:12:17 GMT
Affirmation: Fresh starts! Spiritual: Courage Physical: 8,926 Steps Gratitude: New beginnings
Cathy, Back to the olives. How are they harvested? Are they the black kind?
That event had quite an effect on me. I think I'll just edit all of that. I rebounded quickly however and spent the rest of the day pleasantly. Clair visited her GFs at the dog food store. Those girls are so happy to see her so a fun time is had by one and all when we show up.
The Rally commands are on signs and then the signs are set up in a course pattern. I like talking to my dog so I taught her verbal commands to match the signs and then I just say it and she does it. It is fun to have that well trained of a dog!
Onward>>>>>>
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 24, 2019 7:01:13 GMT
Affirmation: I am making progress toward the goals I have set Fitness: Need a plan...well...need to MOVE Health: WFPB vegan is my food plan for today Spiritual: church bells are ringing in the background... Gratitude: Sunday Skype calls with family
Yesterday we went to a pizza place in a small village. Great pizza. We had a quiet day and I ended up going to bed early-ish because of the late-ish night the night before.
MICHELLE: Olive harvest...The first time we harvested olives the women came in first and gathered from the ground and those olives were pressed separately for oil or other things. Perhaps in the past that oil was used fdor lamps and other things non-edible. It was labor intense and cost a bit to pick from the ground so we soon gave it up. After that the men would lay tarps on the ground under the trees and whack away at the branches with bamboo sticks to shake the olives from the trees. The limbs were often damaged. The olives were lifted from the tarps into bags, bags tied and carried to cars or tractors and the olives taken to a press where they were taken from the bags and put through a screen that was made of long metal bars separated enough that leaves and branches would stay on top and olives go through. The olives were collected again in crates and taken to the press and pressed. There are two types of presses. One is the old fashioned one where you crush the olives in a big circular stone or cement "bowl" that has a huge stone disk on top of it to crush the olives. The mashed olives are then layed on mats and put through a hydrolic press to squeeze the oil out. Often there is water in the oil so a centrifuge is used and the oil/water mixture goes into a collection area with more than one level. The olive oil passes through and is then scooped out and put in pots. The order may not be exact but something like that. There is a newer machine that shakes the olives instead of men hitting the trees and it is easier on the trees and quicker. The village purchased some of the devices that run on batteries and hubby used it this year. There is also a machine to press olives that may give more oil. It has a collection point on the front that sifts again and removes the leaves then the olives are washed and carried on conveyor belts to the part of the machine that presses and separates and oil comes out the end in a spigot while the waste is collected and tossed away. In the past the waste was dried and used/burned in braziers to stay warm in winter.
For pickling you collect from t he tree OR after they fall to the ground look them over, pick out the good ones and use them...they have to soak in water for over a week changing the water twice daily. Sometimes I have cut the flesh to help the olives mature in brine more quickly but that is a LOT of work so don't do it any more. All olives are green till they get "ripe" and turn black. You pick when you want to.
In the past donkeys or oxen were attached to an axle and would walk to keep the grinder moving over the olives.
Most like what I have seen though not 100% like the first few times I went.
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Post by michelle on Nov 25, 2019 0:56:58 GMT
Affirmation: My natural enthusiasm enhances my life in so many ways! Spiritual: Courage Physical: 10,720 Steps Gratitude: Interesting people like Cathy!
Cathy, That was incredibly interesting! The technological changes make me think about how much we have gained and lost because of mechanization, the computer age etc. I have some beautiful beaded collars for the dogs that come from Africa and I am often asked if I did them. My reply is no I didn't but I could if I didn't have a life. It seems like you have retained some of the old ways--like canning and this olive oil preparation. I admire that.
Onward>>>>>
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 25, 2019 7:40:03 GMT
Affirmation: I have the power to create the changes I visualize Fitness: perhaps having trouble visualizing exercise...will work on it..maybe Health: wfpb vegan is the plan for today Spiritual: There is a plan for me Gratitude: Friends...here there and everywhere...even those unmet yet
MICHELLE: Glad you found the sites and information interesting. I am a bit burned out after so many years of olive collecting. It is tough work and we did it one year just the two of us as there were no migrant workers to assist. In the past people had to do everything (some still may) so that mean planting, growing, harvesting, cooking and again OR making the cloth or killing the animals for skins then being the tailor/cobbler. They made their homes from scratch and ground flour between stones and all the rest. I think when people began to work together and specialize it became easier but you are right that modernization has caused the loss of some of the skills many used to have at their fingertips. There was a book by John Wyndham that dealt with an apocalyptic situation on earth and the aftermath - what life would be like if all the specialists were gone and nobody was there to maintain what was taken for granted. I think some basic skills are a good thing to have.
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Post by michelle on Nov 26, 2019 6:08:28 GMT
Affirmation: Love surrounds me! Spiritual: Transcendence Physical: Walking as usual today Gratitude: The University students
Clair and I went to a Therapy event at the University this evening. Those students are just wonderful to be around. They are filled with the zest for life.
Cathy, I have been working more on visualizing lately. One of the authors on the topic had a workbook and one of the sections was about thinking about "why I can't have what I want" which was about clearing the negatives to make a clear pathway for visualization to actualize. It's interesting what I have come up with as answers over the years. Right now I am working on visualizing something and it seems like I want it but... Possibly I need to write it down more often and spend more time each day working on creatively visualizing it.
Onward>>>>>
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Post by cathygeha on Nov 26, 2019 7:27:19 GMT
Affirmation: I am in charge of my life Fitness: I am still dithering on this one...need to make it happen! Health: wfpb vegan eating is the plan Spiritual: peace of mind is mine Gratitude: the abundance of our land and my husband's love of gardening that provides abundant harvests
Yesterday was quiet at home. Hubby went to the bank and got his 300 dollars allowed in one week. He brought home more produce AND he brought home plants and seeds that he hopes will provide winter crops. I don't know where he gets the energy but it does make him happy.
MICHELLE: I am glad that you and Clair had fun with the college students. It must be so much nicer to be with happy people filled with life than depressed people that are suicidal or dying.
When you say "can't have what I want" in terms of visualization is that like a roadblock we personally create or one that might be financial or cultural or situational or??? I am trying to think of things I wanted (or thought I might want) and realize now that if I REALLY had wanted them I probably would have gone after them. I thought about being a doctor or marrying someone else or staying in the USA or being thinner or being more athletic... I guess I am wondering what you are reading? Is it a book or online? and What have you decided about visualization and what impedes actualization of what we visualize?
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