A Sunny State of Mind
Newsletter
July 1,2024 Issue 2
I hope you are having a sunny day!
Now that it is officially summer I want to share with you my PSA:
Public Sunny Announcement!
Get Your Skin Checked!
As you may or may not remember, I had shared that last May, at my yearly dermatologist appointment, my amazing doctor did not like the look of a small, flat, brown spot on the left side of my face. She biopsied it, told me not to worry, that it was probably nothing and she would let me know what the lab results said. Well, it came back that it was a pre-melanoma! I had to have Mohs surgery and have it removed. My wonderful surgeon told me I had a terrific dermatologist because it was caught the earliest it could be caught. It had not actually started to grow yet but the cells were melanoma. I have been going every three months to have my skin checked and I just passed the one year mark with “all clears”! So, now I go in another six months. But, I will continue to keep my eye on my skin and do self-checks for anything that might suspiciously pop up.
I almost cancelled my checkup that day and I am so glad that I made the decision to keep it. Now that we are fully in the hottest and sunniest season of the year I want to encourage you to please go have your skin checked! It is now my mission to help spread the word of the importance of keeping a check on your skin. Especially as we get older ~ all those years of being in the sun start to show up in strange ways. I will be re-sharing my videos documenting my skin cancer journey over on my Instagram, so you can check there to find out all the details. So, that being said, here’s a list of my favorite, dermatologist approved skin care products, and my daily practice for protecting my skin.
Fashionably Sunny…
SUNNY DAY ESSENTIALS
When I am out running errands, these are the things I “must have” with me at all times to protect my skin, and my health during the hot & sunny days of summer.
* 50+ DAILY SUNSCREEN! (Preferably Mineral based)
* A HAT! (With a wide brim)
* SUNNIES! (Sunglasses that protect your eyes from UV rays)
* A REUSABLE BOTTLE of WATER (No single use plastics!) Stay hydrated!
* A Pretty Fan.
A Sunny Day!
Thank You All for the Birthday Wishes From Me & My Evil Twin (the one with bp!)!
I celebrated another trip around the sun in June. And, of course, it’s always a time for reflection on the passing of time. In fact, given the circumstances that I have been recovering from my episode of Bell’s Palsy this entire year (22 weeks and counting – but getting better!) I have had a lot of time to to think about the passing of Time. I have been forced to take a sort of sabbatical which, when I finally stopped having extreme mood swings regarding my recovery, I was finally able to make myself slow down, start spending some time meditating and figure out what to do while I am in the terrible “waiting place” that Dr. Seuss warned us about. I realized that I was having a really hard time not being able to perform or even plan any performances because of not knowing how long this was going to last. I needed another creative outlet, which is how this newsletter has come into being. It’s my creative offering so I can feel connected ~ to you, and to myself. If you are reading this, I hope you find something in it that inspires you. Or, makes you laugh.
I am a true Gemini. My whole life I have had two very different sides to my personality. It is a battle I have fought within myself on a daily basis. I didn’t know that a lot of entertainers have the same feelings until I realized, quite late in my life, that I was an entertainer! I now recognize that it is my “On Stage” self and my “Off Stage” self. In fact, I wrote a really funny essay about it when I wrote my column for B-metro Magazine. Maybe some of you other Gemini’s out there will recognize yourselves, too! I hope it gives you a laugh while we are on our next solar loop together! Isn’t that interesting? We are all going around the sun together! That’s so crazy! So, in celebration of that fact, I like to share with you here in this blog how I have a SUNny Day. As I mentioned before, it starts with the Sunny Mindstyle.
Something Funny…
Here is my column I wrote about being a Gemini. I hope it gives you a laugh.
“Being a Gemini is like having a sibling you can always count on being there to argue with you.”
Sunny at Home…Welcome to my little corner of the world!
The View from My Kitchen Window!
My favorite place at home is my courtyard. It’s where I do my morning journaling and reading and have my coffee while watching the hummingbirds come to the feeder hanging in the kitchen window. It’s my own private little sanctuary. It’s also where I enjoy having my afternoon refreshment. I spend lazy Sunday mornings out there and we enjoy our “Happy Hours” under the strings of lights and the moon and the stars. Many times we have Sunday Brunch out there and lots of dinners are enjoyed there whether it’s grilling out or a romantic Italian dinner or a casual family pizza night. We enjoy having friends over and for some reason I love playing board games or a game of cards outside.
This time of year I mostly have to go out in the early morning or late afternoon and evenings because of the heat. I have made it like a little English courtyard with all my flowers and little architectural details. Right now my flowers still look pretty so I thought I would share them with you because by August we are both tired of the heat and humidity and I am tired of watering them trying to battle the drought and the mosquitos and I basically hermetically seal myself inside my house until late September.
I have to tell you about these flowers on the wall. For a while that wall remained a blank brick wall while I was trying to find the perfect water fountain to put there. Every day I stared at that blank space while I searched and searched for a fountain. One day I was at my brother and sister-in-law’s house and they had the perfect fountain I was envisioning and trying to find. When I asked where she got it she said that she had an extra one and that I could have it! I couldn’t believe it! Anyway, I loved it! Then, last winter we had a brutal week of subzero temperatures. I didn’t realize it until this spring when I went to clean the fountain and turn it back on that it had frozen and cracked. I was so sad! It happened to be Mother’s Day weekend and I decided to just plant some flowers in it until my husband could look to see if it could be repaired. It turns out that I love it even more as a planter! Every day I look out my kitchen window and see these beautiful flowers. Petunias and Million Bells are very happy there.
The Sunny Mindstyle!
I think this is a perfect illustration of the Sunny Mindstyle; sometimes you have to look at things in a different way. What I had and enjoyed was no longer working. I was upset but instead of throwing it out or giving up on it, I looked at it in a new way and gave it a new life. And, I love it even more. I miss the sound of the water trickling so I am on the lookout for the perfect small fountain. Maybe the Universe will gift me with that, too. This situation reminded me of a saying that I heard a long time ago and which I have lived by ever since and it has kept me from getting upset when things break or spill or fall apart. It was: “Don’t cry over things that can’t cry over you.” I don’t even remember where I read that but it is a truth I have held onto and it has made a difference to me.
We all need a space that feels like a “Staycation” at home and my courtyard is that space for me. If you don’t have a special place in your home yet, look around and see if you can find a spot to make it feel special with a pretty flower, a comfortable chair, and a few favorite pieces of art or books and get away from it all at home.
Sunny's List of Summertime Favorites
I love summer! Here are some of the things I most look forward to every year. Maybe you enjoy some of these, too ~ or have other favorites you could share with me!
* My Container Garden. This year I have basil, parsley, chocolate mint, and for the first time I have a cherry tomato plant.
* Going to the Farmer's Market and getting fresh peaches, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, melons and corn.
* Popsicles on the front porch
* Going to the beach!
* Staying outside to look at the stars
*Picnics!
Sunny in the Kitchen: A Recipe for Homemade Pesto!
I made homemade pesto for the first time!
Our good friend, Deborah, invited us to dinner the other night and everything was delicious, as it always is because she is a really good cook! It’s important to have friends that are good cooks and enjoy having you over to cook for! She asked me if there was anything I couldn’t eat because of my Bell’s Palsy and I told her just thin pasta noodles and soup ~ they both slip out of the side of my mouth! She said the dogs would love sitting under my chair and would just clean it right up, lol! ~ Thankfully, no pasta or soup. Anyway, I fell in love with her homemade pesto she used on the Pesto Chicken Salad. I just had to try and make it myself using my fresh basil from my pot garden and she was kind enough to share the recipe with me. She also gave me a huge amount of fresh basil from her garden and it was so beautiful I just added a little bit of mine to it. It turned out delicious! I am a timid cook and so when something turns out great I want to share it! So here you go ~ I hope you enjoy it!
Out & About…A Favorite Summer Event
Since I love picnics one of the summer events I most look forward to every year is the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s “Sounds of Summer” series. It’s held outdoors at the beautiful Railroad Park in the heart of the city. This year was the first time we went on a Sunday evening and it was packed! The program was the Pop’s program with the orchestra playing well known movie scores from Star Wars, etc. The orchestra sounded terrific and the weather was perfect with low humidity and a light breeze. By now, I have perfected several different picnic menus so it was easy and casual, just the way I like it.
Looking Ahead…..(A Sunny Outlook)
Speaking of picnics ~ July 4th is just around the corner so thought I would share with you some photos of previous holiday picnics to give you a head start to make your picnic plans now! Check out the list of some of my favorite ways to elevate your picnic into A Sunny Day style picnic!
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for taking the time to connect with me and read my “newsletter”. I am enjoying having this way of staying connected and creative while I am still recovering from Bell’s Palsy. I hope my story about being a Gemini gave you a little laugh, or maybe you thought of a spot in your home that would be perfect for creating your “special place”. I hope you enjoy the recipe or try growing your own container garden if you have a small space like I do. I hope you will absolutely make it a priority to have your skin checked and to wear sun protection. And, I hope you have a wonderful and safe summer and remember to enjoy the moment, take the time to plan your summer and remember to keep the Sunny Mindstyle even if your favorite fountain breaks. “See” you next month!
Make it A Sunny Day!
All photographs by Billy Brown
Sunny Brown 