Tag: fall

fitness · Seasonal sadness

Sam’s November advice for those hate November

Sam B4 Comments

To recap for those just joining us.  I’m the blogger who hates November.  It’s dark,  it’s cold,  it’s often rainy,  it’s not yet snowy,  there are no long weekends, and no happy holidays. There’s Remembrance Day and that’s important but it’s also sad.

(One bright light: It’s Sarah’s birthday.  But that’s a personal good thing.)

You might have heard all of this before! See Is there a way to redeem November? and 10 things to make it through November  and November is my toughest fitness month: Here’s why. Way back in 2014 I wrote November goals.

You see, over the years, I’ve come to hone in on what it is I dislike so much about this month. But I’ve also managed some coping strategies that have helped make November not so bad.

From 24 inspiring November quotes.

Here’s ten things that have helped me, and if you find any of them useful, that’s great too.

LIGHT. Check out this CBC piece for some strategies and stories.

GRATITUDE. See November is Gratitude Month: What are you grateful for? #NationalGratitudeMonth

WALKS. See The case for cold, dark walks #November

GETTING COZY. See Nat on hygge.

FASHION. See my November 2022 plan. I try to wear bright colours in November and take pleasure in wearing clothes I like, not saving them for special occasions.

FICTION. Deliberating reading for pleasure was a habit I picked up during the pandemic. Sometimes I struggled. My attention span waned. I also started listening to audiobooks on dog walks. See Reading for Pleasure.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY. This goes without saying but focusing on time with the people I love makes my life better.

WATER. Swimming, hot tubs, sauna, spa days. Please give me all the water!

EXERCISE. See Even a Little Exercise Might Make Us Happier.

FOOD. See F is for Fall, Feminism, Food, Friends, Flow and Fits

Basically, I think there are three attitudes to take towards November.

Some people advocating leaning into the sadness and making time in our lives for hard and difficult emotions. I’m all for the latter but not in November. For me, November is sad enough on its own, without leaning into it.

Alternately, you can try to overwhelm the gloom with happiness. Think bright lights, and good food. Dancing and time with friends and family. That’s the all out Aggressive Cozy approach. It’s been my strategy.

Or you try to ignore November and treat it like any other month,  the “don’t mention it” approach.

How do you do November? What are your strategies?

Christine and the nighttime patio yoga
fitness · season transitions · yoga

Christine and the nighttime patio yoga

Christine Hennebury

I love doing yoga outside at any time but especially at night in the summer. I bring out some soft lights, set up my mat on the patio, and pop in one earphone so I can follow along with a Youtube practice. *

So, right now you are probably thinking ‘Christine, that sounds great but it’s not summer any more.’

And that’s true, it’s definitely fall and I usually stop doing nighttime yoga by now. Luckily, though, I had an errand to run and I realized that it was pretty warm night for September so patio yoga was totally feasible.

A dimly-lit photo of Christine outdoors at night. A string of star-shaped lights are visible over her shoulder.
You’ll be pleased to know that my smirk works just as well at night as it does in the daytime. Image description: a dimly-lit nighttime photo of my face. My hair is held back with a bandana, and I’m smirking. You can see a string of star-shaped patio lights over my shoulder and my headphones are visible where they hang around my neck.

And it was great.

Sure, there was a chill in the air but it kind of nice actually.

And the company was pretty swell, too.

A light-haired dog is standing on the grass at night, looking up at the camera. She is illuminated by a string of lights that can be seen on the left aide.
Khalee couldn’t let me be outside by myself at night without supervision. Image description: a nighttime photo of Khalee, a light-haired dog. She is standing on the grass, looking up toward the camera. Her tail is mid-wag. My string of round lights is dangling from my hand and can be seen on the left side of the photo, illuminating Khalee and the grass.

Now that I have turned evening patio yoga into a fall activity, and since I am the owner of very many sweaters and several pairs of non-slip socks, I’m wondering just how far into the season I can get away with practicing outdoors.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

A nighttime photo on my patio string of round, white battery-operated lights are arranged in the shape of a heart on my blue yoga mat. My feet are visible on the mat below the lights,
Cheesy? Yes. But when I placed the lights down they ended up in a vaguely heart-shaped form and I couldn’t resist tidying the shape a bit. Image description: A nighttime photo on my patio string of round, white battery-operated lights are arranged in the shape of a heart on my blue yoga mat. My feet are visible on the mat below the lights, my toenails are painted green (the colour is called ‘My gecko does tricks.’

*I don’t usually watch the practice, the bright screen would kind of ruin the mood but I do listen so I can stop my mind from galloping off into thoughts of what pose to do next.

blog · camping · canoe · cycling · family · fashion · fitness · illness · nature · season transitions · Seasonal sadness · traveling

Blogging in September: My birthday, the blog’s birthday, back to school, and other themes

Sam B4 Comments

There are lots of things I could write about today. I’ve spent a fair bit of time pondering my choice of topics.

I was going to write about my annual thyroid cancer check up. It’s today. And if all goes well it’s my last annual check up. (Fingers crossed.) After today they’re every five years. My birthday last week was also mammogram day. It’s as if September weren’t a busy enough month for an academic. It’s also cancer screening season for me.

I thought about writing whether Tracy and I want to write a turning 60 book, to follow up our turning 50 project, Fit at Midlife: A Feminist Fitness Journey. We’re having dinner together tonight and no doubt the subject will come up

Let’s see. It’s also blog birthday season. As Tracy posted, happy 9th birthday blog! We’re nearly at 5000 posts too. That’s hard to believe. This post is 4990!

And the blog’s birthday and my birthday, not surprisingly given how the blog got started, are pretty close together. Another possible topic, what does 57 mean anyway?

Here’s a photo from my birthday bike ride!

Jeff, Dhurin, me, Kim, Ellen and Sarah on the birthday bike ride

At this time of year I often write about back to school and trying to stay physically active as work gets busier and busier. This year, unlike last, I’m back in my office. I’m not yet back at the gym.

I’m having big busy days filled with work and people. So many people! I gave a lecture to O-Week students (photo on the right) and hung out with incoming College of Arts students at our Food Truck lunch meet and greet (photo on the left.)

I also biked around meeting parents and students on move-in day. (Round photo at the bottom.)

Sam’s pink Bromption outside Zavitz Hall at the University of Guelph

I’m back in the office now, wearing (mostly) real clothes. I looked at my clothes the other day and wondered why there were so many pairs of yoga pants. Who needs five pairs of yoga pants? Oh right, work from home and the pandemic. I could write about wearing clothes again. I’m working my way back to real shoes but I am not there yet.

In recent years I’ve been suffering a bit from seasonal sadness and trying to tell myself new stories about fall and winter, leaning into the time of cold and dark. I’ve been trying to extend outdoor activities into the fall. We’re going canoe camping again one more time this fall. And we are also looking at more fall gravel riding plans. So there’s that.

I’m a bit nervous that the no travel thing is continuing and it looks like this will be another year in which I don’t get to go somewhere warm with my bike for the winter. I miss the southern US! I miss Florida and Arizona for winter cycling.

In the end, I just want to let you know how much we’ve been enjoying our time in Prince Edward County and likely will continue that into the autumn too.

How’s your September starting out as we move into the fall?

Here’s a farm frog and a some pumpkins.

Frog and pumpkins
fitness · season transitions

Sam is Telling New Stories, Like Celebrating 50 Years in Canada

Sam B3 Comments

It’s back to school and fall is approaching. I know it’s weeks off yet but university classes are back on and the leaves are turning. I looked back on past posts recently and blogged about the themes: dark, sadness, and fall riding.

I worry that stories take on a life of their own. We create ourselves through narratives and while we can’t just make stuff up, we do have some choice about the stories we tell. I’m looking for happier autumn stories.

The good news in my life is how much I’m enjoying my big new job. Deans at Guelph get to meet lots of students and so the first week of term has meant attending a lunch for all of our big scholarship winners and giving a demo first year lecture to 200 students on philosophy and death.

On Labour Day Monday Sarah and I helped to host a college wide lunch for first year students, and then most recently I was seen and photographed (thanks Sandy!) serving free ice cream to all students, new and returning, with other members of the senior admin team.

What’s not to like about free ice cream?

Chocolate, vanilla, and vegan rainbow sorbet.

I know this isn’t about fitness per se. But it is about new stories. The fall seems more celebratory with my Dean’s hat on. I also get to wear my academic regalia in September at a ceremony to formally welcome the first year class. The President admits them to the university and then there are welcoming remarks by the mayor of the city and the Provost. It’s really nice.

This weekend my mother and I are also celebrating 50 years in Canada. We’re having a party on Sunday called From Grand Falls to Guelph. It’s almost exactly fifty years since we emigrated from England. I was four.

Here’s my mother, my grandmother, me, and my little sister encountering lobster.

So I’m focusing on the new, trying to stay positive, and looking forward. How about you?

If you’re also subject to seasonal sadness, the Guardian has this great list of 18 things to try to combat fall blues. Some are obvious such as trying a new activity (swimming!) and spending more time outside. I also like the idea of day trips and the suggestion of allowing for more unscheduled time. Summer was busy!

This CBC piece on September sadness recommends thinking of fall as a new start but as a lifelong academic I do that anyway!