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Thursday 4 December 2008

What a Patch of Blue can Do ? ......





It always amazes me what colours (yes, Canadians spell it that way .. just like our British friends) .. and light can to for us or to us. I was sitting in my little office here feeling very ho hum about not getting anything accomplished this week .. that touch up painting job in the bathroom didn't happen .. although I bought a nifty new shower curtain and cool leaf shower hooks .. I'm so behind the times .. at times ! I guess what I am arriving at, ever so slowly was the drama of how I felt when the clouds rolled in .. and it got darker here .. very blah and "damn it why didn't I get more done , etc .... feeling. Then the sun broke through the clouds .. patches of blue appeared .. et voila` .. I didn't feel so nonplussed about life in that moment .. I won't say cheerful .. but more positive perhaps ? Then the light shifted again and back to the doldrums .. As if some one was turning a switch on and off in me .. Now I could put it down to being menopausal .. but NO ! .. I have seen studies about the affect of light and colour on people. And yes Virginia, there is a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder for which ultra violet light is a therapy, along with ionized air, medication etc .. is used to lift that blue mood. But how fast does light and colour swing me like a cat by it's tail ??? That is another whole can of worms .. look out .. here comes the sun again ????

16 comments:

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

Joy, I do the same thing. Cold I can deal with. Cold and grey makes me want to live in bed. I have a really pretty salt lamp that seems to help.

Amy said...

I am also VERY affected by the weather. Winter gets a bit hard for me as the days get darker (the sun was setting at 3:15pm yesterday!). I always feel far more positive and energetic when the sun is out, and it always lifts my mood when I can get outside for some fresh air and sunshine.

Helen/patientgardener said...

Hi - I agree its amazing at this time of year the difference abit of blue sky can make

WiseAcre said...

Someone needs to tell you to get your head out of the clouds. I'd do it but am afraid of where you'd tell me to stick mine. And boy would I feel miserable being somewhere the sun don't shine.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Patientgardener .. We haven't really started winter yet and I'm moaning about it all .. I know Holland used to be a bit difficult with gray skies and rain during the winter months .. so at least we have snow to play in ? LOL

Hi Amy .. it is almost profound how affected we are, isn't it ? .. I think women are more sensitive to it than men are .. is that sexist ? LOL
I know fresh air and a bit of sun, with a patch of blue sky helps me too .. hope we can squeak by the dark months with a bit of sanity left ? : )

Debbie .. my god that is eerie .. I was just looking at an ad for salt lamps that ionize the air as well, a week ago thinking maybe I should get one .. now you have sold me on it girl ! Thanks ! .. drat .. you don't get commission for this do you ? haha

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Dear Mr. WiseA** .. How did you sneak in there sideways like that ? .. You have both sides of our conversation covered before I can get a word in edgewise ! LOL .. But you are right .. you know exactly what I would say to you ! : )
Good one !!

Rose said...

A little sunshine and a "patch of blue" can indeed do wonders this time of year. Too many gray days, and I just want to hibernate:)

Anonymous said...

SAD gets me every year, but the lights under which I grow my orchids do help somewhat to dispel the depression.

Brenda Pruitt said...

It doesn't seem to have that effect on me. But then I live in a place where sun is predominant. So that's probably why...
Brenda

Gail said...

Joy, It lifts my spirits, too...I need to see the blue sky! Gail

F Cameron said...

Beautiful skies!
Cameron

Giddy said...

Those of us living in the GFN (Great Frozen North) are in need of extra vitamin D due to lack of the long suns rays in the winter. Be sure to take at least 1000 I.U. per day for continued good health. P.S. my Dr. prescribes this - I am NOT a health nut.

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Oh, I do understand! I HATE these months with their gray skies and short days. I don’t like the cold at all, but if most days were long and sunny, I think I’d get through them less painfully. On days when it’s raining/snowing and gloomy, I just want to crawl into bed with the covers over my head and wake up in March, which is pretty much when my energy and spirit both pick up. You’re not alone, and it’s not menopause! It’s lack of light/sun, and - for people like you and me that love nature – lack of greenery!

You know, it’s funny, but I could have been living somewhere where the days are mostly sunny and the weather is much, much warmer. The thing is I am a descendant of Greeks. My parents came to Canada in their youth, in the late 1950s, so although my two brothers and I were ‘made in Canada’…LOL, they were not. This means that had they stayed in Greece, I could have been living on some Mediterranean island, swimming and gardening for most of the year. Makes me wonder sometimes what that would have been like! I absolutely adore my country – except for the weather! LOL…

Hang in there. Spring will return...(sigh)...eventually. In the meantime, whip up a batch of 'sucre à la crème (fudge)'!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi WR (alias used ; )
I'm going to do a post on what Aunt Debbie suggested and I actually saw a week ago at Shopper's Drugmart (Canadian) a Salt Rock light .. i just bought one today and have it here with me in my tiny office .. it is really quite soothing (I love soft yellow orange light) .. it is supposed to neutralize bad elements in the air .. give off negative ions etc .. so I thought what the heck ! I'll give it a try !
Yes .. not being close to the live plants in my garden leaves a gap in my life during these months .. and I miss that terribly.
I have to be careful about too much fudge .. I am a fudge-a-holic and it is not a pretty sight when I over do it ! LOL
Now isn't that something to ponder .. the what ifs ? of our lives ? ..

Giddy .. I would never call yo a nut of any kind girl ! even after that colcannon post with the "little people" hahaha !
I am taking 800 units but maybe I will bump it up a bit .. if you ever saw all of my vitamins and minerals that I take .. you might think I am a nut ? LOL

Hi Cameron .. thanks ! it was a pretty 'eve"

Gail .. it is an amazing affect .. perhaps we should paint our ceilings to look like blue skies and a few fluffy white clouds ?

Brenda .. Ontario is one of the better provinces for more sunshine than most .. but even at that the long early nights can get to us up here .. you are lucky down there girl !

Hi Tabbie .. thanks for stopping by ! .. Yes .. I have heard that "grow lights" are very good for that type of therapy .. if it helps plants .. it should help people too !

Rose .. we have quite a few of us ready to set into our hibernation mode .. and we haven't even hit January yet ! Yikes ! .. it gets worse before it gets better .. have we hit the shortest day of the year thing yet ?

Mary S. said...

I live in MN, not quite as dark as Canada, but plenty dark and in Nov. and Dec., a bit gray. My husband swears by fish oil for giving the mood a lift.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Mary ! Hello there : )
I actually do take omega oils .. some combination for women .. and I think it makes a difference too !! .. I take "D", Zinc,and all sorts of things .. anything I think may help get my energy up : )