This week’s challenges were to take 10 deep, mindful breaths, color for 10 minutes, and to take a cold shower.

The deep mindful breaths were easily done. Coloring for 10 minutes extended into coloring while listening to music for much longer. I have two coloring books that I have received as birthday gifts, and one of them is the Swearing Cats Coloring Book. I flipped through it to find a page I wanted to color and came across this one with one of my favorite sayings:

I even have a bracelet with that saying on it. I don’t color a lot, so the books are mostly not filled in. I’m also really awful at choosing colors for things. But it was a fun way to waste time and daydream while listening to music and still staying occupied with something.

I took a cold shower for all of a minute before I couldn’t stand it. I even waited for a day that I had mowed the lawn so that I’d be a bit overheated after, but the weather isn’t quite hot enough yet. I’ll take the minute, I suppose. I can almost guarantee that later in the year I will willingly take a cold shower – when I’ve mowed the lawn in July in 100 degree weather. Of course, arguably, the water in the pipes when it’s that hot out isn’t very cold either.

On an unrelated note, I also went to the Castle of Muskogee this weekend. It’s a far drive for me, but I was curious what it was like. They have a Renaissance Faire that runs pretty much every weekend of May every year. When you enter, it’s a little village of shops and storefronts, with a few staging areas for performances and special events, a playground area for children, as well as some animal attractions (rides, petting zoo, peacocks). I watched a few of the shows and spent too much money, but it was fun at least.

And as a penpal update, I have been awful in not responding to one yet. But I did respond to the other, and used it as an excuse to play with some of my wax seals.

On top of the dragon seal, I also have a phoenix, a yin/yang, and a Hogwarts houses seal.