Twilight Tombstones

Dear Liza,

The Friends of Lone Fir is a non-profit, volunteer group who help maintain and educate folks about our wonderful local pioneer cemetery. They put on tours of the Women in Lone Fir, symbolism and architecture of tombstones, and headstone cleaning workshops.

And this year, the Friends hosted a five Saturday series of tours called Twilight Tombstones. On each Saturday in October and one in November, guides lead four groups of twenty through the cemetery, telling stories of the folks buried there.

It was sold out in minutes!


This year, Auntie Bridgett volunteered with me. She greeted folks at the gate and steered them in the right direction.

My job was “tour support”, which means I made sure our group, lead by Peregrine and Paul, stayed together. I also answered extra questions from the folks in the group. It was a delightful, educational, exhausting evening.

The fun began even before the tours started! A friendly group of Zombie Carolers came by after serenading the Dead, and shared their songbook with us. Their songs are not for the squeamish, featuring such delightfully gruesome tunes as “Rudolph the Undead Reindeer” and “Good King Wenceslas Tastes Great.”

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dopamine Menu

Dear Liza,

Every once in a while, I find a magazine article that doesn’t just speak to me, it calls my name and chases me down. Abbi Henderson, writing for Stylist Magazine, has written such an article. She talked to neuroscientist Nicole Vignola and got some great ideas for helping us feel better on days when peace and happiness feel out of reach.

She calls this list her Dopamine Menu, after the chemical in our brain that gives us joy. Doing these activities releases dopamine and can lead to happier, calmer moods.

I do most of these things, and now that I know WHY they make me feel better and have a convenient list, I can make joy whenever I feel blue, stuck, or just flattened out.

Stretching

Playing with a pet

Enjoying a coffee

Grabbing a snack

Doing a short burst of exercise

Putting clean laundry away

Cooking a meal

Working on a hobby

Exercising

Being creative (painting, drawing, writing, for example)

Listening to music

Listening to a podcast

I have been fortunate to fill my life with Dopamine-enhancing people. Ruthie Inman and Auntie Bridgett Spicer encourage my arts, which gives me courage at my crafts, and everyone loves a walk in Laurelhurst Park!

Maybe people who seem “naturally happy” have, consciously or unconsciously, found their own way to their Dopamine fix.
Maybe this list can help you.

Love,

Grandma Judy