I haven't taken any photos the last couple of days so here is a small town in Newfoundland, I couldn't even tell you the name of the town but it was lovely.

Nothing much seems to change.  trump fuckery continues.  I wonder when someone will have had enough and send in their special forces and kidnap him.  I guess we live in interesting times.  My grandmother lived through two world wars and I have no desire to match that.  She also survived a divorce in the 1940's and three pregnant unmarried daughters.  I wonder which was the most distressing for her.  I'll never know.

It's cold here, still, so a day of housework and laundry, maybe some quilting, and definitely some groceries.  Jack woke up this morning eager to go to school and I am at loose ends.  

My son continues to do well, doing what he says he's going to do and showing up when he says he will show up.  I'm thankful he's sober and I'm hopeful he stays sober, for him and for his sons who need him.

Katie is back to normal.  Part of her issue has to do with her house I think.  Before Christmas workmen arrived to tear up the rugs in the house and started installing flooring.  Then they stopped over Christmas and all of her stuff was now in the living room.  After Christmas they arrived again, strange men in her house, and they continue to install the new flooring.  Katie is not a fan of different, or strangers in her house.  Who can blame her?  None of us really like disruption in our lives, but we cope.  Katie acts out.  

I'm reading "Entangled Life" by Merlin Sheldrake, a book read by Mr. Pudding after he found a copy of the book while out hiking.  The book is a fascinating read about fungi and how they interact with the world and with us.  During the writing of the book the author tried psilocybin from magic mushrooms and he writes about the experience and how it is being used to treat depression.  The following excerpt is from Wikipedia.

"Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that psilocybin acutely reduces activity in the DMN, temporarily disrupting its connectivity patterns. This disruption is associated with a breakdown of rigid, maladaptive patterns of thought often observed in mood disorders. Subsequent restoration of DMN connectivity has been correlated with improved clinical outcomes, suggesting a potential neural mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of psilocybin."

I know I have patterns of thought when bad things happen, I start thinking of all of the bad things that have happened, not only in the past, but also in the present.  I round them up and surround myself with them, which does me no good, but it's what my brain does.  I know it's even worse when I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I can manage one bad thing at a time (sort of), but find it difficult to cope when I'm tired, feeling unwell, feeling isolated, or feeling like a bad person.  I wonder if psilocybin therapy would break that pattern and I wonder if I am brave enough to try something like that.  Something to ponder.