Your Outlook On Life

This morning I’ve been thinking about my outlook on life. To break it down, one’s outlook is their general attitude toward life. It is your mindset and frame of mind.

I enjoy sitting on my patio and gazing at my neighbors’ flowers. Below is Ron and Pat’s new hibiscus plant.

I watch the baby squirrels and bunnies chasing one another along the grass. It makes me smile.

Would you call that color of the hibiscus bloom apricot? It seems to be somewhere between orange and pink. It’s so pretty.

And with all the greenery planted around it, it’s formed a small yard vignette.

Peg’s Yard:

Below is a photo of Peg’s yard, and the rose bush in her patio garden. It is full of gorgeous pink blooms.

I had a potted rose plant for a few years at my old apartment. It had the most beautiful yellow blooms. But one winter the cold was too much for it.

Sadly, Peg will be leaving us soon. She isn’t planning to renew her lease.

Peg never actually moved in. I mean, she has stuff in every room and has decorated it a bit. But she has never spent a night here.

She says she shouldn’t have rented it in the first place. Because due to many factors, she won’t be able to sell her house in the condition it’s in.

The neighbor next door to her with the caged puppies crying in the backyard would definitely turn a buyer away.

Peg apparently rented the apartment here and then had second thoughts. She’s been paying rent every month without truly living here.

And that dollar figure for her year’s lease comes to around $15,000. That’s a lot of wasted money.

I hate to lose her, but I imagine she’ll still come take walks here and visit me. I’ve told her to feel free to do that.

What Peg yearned for a year ago when she signed the lease was companionship. She felt isolated in her home and neighborhood and wanted to be around others.

It was her perception that this would enhance her life. That her neighbors would be a solid connection for her as well as a social outlet.

Lisa’s Ankle Surgery:

Lisa is at the hospital having surgery. She had to be at the hospital at 8:30 and she said they told her the surgery would be about two hours later.

She’s really had a time of it. I’ve helped Lisa as much as I can and visited her regularly. I ordered an adult coloring book for her along with pens to color it from Amazon.

I’ve never bought adult coloring books for myself. My fingers can barely hold a pen to sign my name. So I’d never be able to hold a pen long enough to color the pages.

The coloring book I chose was all about relaxation. It has birds and flowers in its pages. Lisa loves birds.

She has a tough road ahead of her. I know. I’ve been there. I hope she doesn’t let it get her down too much.

Your outlook on life is about looking for the positive and shoving away the negative.

My outlook on life is improved every time I look at Ivy. She is so loved and appreciated. She will be six years old in May.

A DIY Project:

I’ve been working on a DIY project with a tray I had in my decor stash in my closet. It’s a smallish tray that was in need of some love. I repainted it white and distressed the edges.

Then I attempted to add a rub-on transfer, and something went awry. Now I’m left with bits of the transfer sticking to the surface of the tray.

I borrowed Jeanie’s hair dryer to heat the bits of leftover rub-on residue and tried to pull them off. But I wasn’t very lucky with that either. Oh well.

So I’m thinking I may decoupage the surface. Covering the bits I can’t remove.

I haven’t been in the craft room for the past couple of days.

I’ve got pain in my ankle and my back and I can’t sit in that chair in there to accomplish much. Sciatica is running down both legs and I have nerve pain in my neck down both wrists.

I’ve gone back on Gabapentin to see if I can get the nerve pain calmed down.

Your Outlook On Life Is About Attitude & Perspective:

I hope I can get the pain calmed down enough to go to the small outdoor nursery about a mile away.

I’d love to go to Southwood, a nursery I’ve shopped at for years.

But I can’t see myself being able to walk through it and then stand in line to pay for plants. There’s always a line at every check out space there. I sure wish stores would add a checkout just for the disabled.

But I’ve got two small nurseries, including the one I mentioned above, that I can visit.

As you get older, sometimes your world shrinks. It seems like the area around you pulls in like a tightened drawstring.

You have to make what you can of it. Like settling for going to smaller places and staying away from the bigger and more splashy ones.

What You Can’t Change You Learn To Accept:

It’s just a fact of life, getting older and infirm.

You have to look at the glass as half full and not let it depress you too much. I’m glad for what I still can do and take it a day at a time. That is my own outlook on life.

I don’t have to worry about stopping to smell the roses because I’m moving slower.

Thus I notice the blooms I might have otherwise walked right by in my younger days. So that is a good thing.

I read this at Huff Post: Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.

If your body is declining, look for the good in everything around you. Try not to let the situation get you down. Fill that glass to half full and move on.