Author: janeslessonslearned

Resolve… or not

Today I learned, from the blog of my wonderful yoga studio*, these alternatives to resolutions, quoted and paraphrased here

1. Instead of focusing on change, place focus on what is already feeling right and working well in your life.

2. “Instead of having specific goals … try the idea of a theme.  One theme could be healthy living or another could be compassion. “

and described much better and discussed in more detail in the blog here:  Alternatives to The New Year’s Resolution

What are your themes?

* Mandala Yoga  has integrated with Full Spectrum Wellness in Manchester NH

The name not taken…and thank you for that

This post comes to you today from New Hampshire.  But I just learned that this spot used to be part of Massachusetts!   This is from a real estate listing that Gale sent me, for a house around the corner.  (If only I could convince her to buy it – how fun would that be?)

Regarding Goffstown:

“This town started as a part of Massachusetts, and was known as Narragansett Number 4, Piscataquog Village, and then Shovestown before installation of the New Hampshire provincial government. In 1748, the area was granted to new settlers, including Colonel John Goffe. He had fought in the French and Indian Wars, worked for Governor Wentworth as a surveyor, and became judge of probate for Hillsborough County. Goffstown was officially named for Colonel Goffe when it was incorporated in 1761. The town includes the village of Grasmere, named for the English home of poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.”

Question Your Sources

I learned, in two lessons less than two hours apart, to question my sources and to look again when what I’m hearing makes no sense at all.

In one case it was the GPS telling me that I was 30 minutes away from my destination and then, a mile away, telling me I was 50 minutes away and that I needed to go in the opposite direction than what I thought.   It turns out that it thought I was already in the southbound lane of the nearby highway, not in a parking lot nearby, which would have meant (and unfortunately DID mean) driving 10 miles south to the next exit to turn around and go 10 miles north!  If I had questioned this, or tried another source (MAP anyone?) I could have saved time, driving, and stress.

Soon after this, I learned that a medical opinion that I heard second-hand, that made less sense than my GPS, was … well… a lie.  I really should have questioned it and/or found another source.  The truth came out eventually, in a scene somewhere between a sitcom, a bad reality TV show and a drug-induced dream, and all’s well that ends well, but next time I will ask “Really?” and then check another source.

 

Bread, Interrupted

I have learned, from the good people at the King Arthur Flour Baking Hotline, what to do when you have to run out in the middle of making/rising bread!

It turns out that you can punch down the dough (the most fun part anyway), stick it in the fridge, and pick it up later where you left off.

I also learned, for the second time, how great those expert bakers are with their free and earnest advice!

Here is the proof of this valuable lesson, bread for Maddy using her own traditional recipe, also from King Arthur!