Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday News

Well, here it is Monday again and it has been a somewhat busy day. 

1. Had someone out to fix the sliding glass door that I simply could not open. It was off the track. Happy now it works. 
2.  Sent texts to both the teenage grandchildren for their first day of school. 
3.  Made a batch of chick pea and roasted tomato soup. So easy. Put everything in the VitaMix, blend, and there you go!!
4. Called someone to come fix the broken gate. Always something when you have a house. 
5. Cleaned out the refrigerator.
6. Did some trimming in the garden. Way too hot, but had to be done. 
7. Washed a load of laundry and hung it on the clothesline. Yes, I still use a clothesline. I told you I was old. 
8. Thought a lot about my Homies who are all starting another school year. It's always weird for me when I'm not involved but I love not being involved. I can support them from afar. 
9. Ordered a Spoonk. What, you don't know what that is?? My daughter, Shannon, tells me it is a wonderful new product that stimulates all of one's accupuncture points as you lay on it. Kind of like lying down on a bed of nails. I'll let you know once I try it.  Dr. Oz highly recommends. 
10. It's noon now and Cocoa's little wristwatch is going off. Time to go feed the dog!!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Do I Say The Same Thing Every Year?

I decided to look back at my past blogs to be sure I'm not saying the same things I said one or two years ago. I seem to post a lot of pictures of my garden in its various stages. However, the one thing I really liked about my blogging last year was that I posted about my daily accomplishments. On those days when I think I do absolutely nothing, I can re-read the posts and know that isn't true. I don't know why that matters, but it does. I hear my mother's voice in my head, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop, Shirley." Lordy, no idle hands for me. 

So for today:
1. Met for two hours with Sheila to discuss my new part-time employment, the implementation of electronic medical records 
2.  Mailed two Etsy sales
3.  Created and ate a beautiful salad of greens, tomato, avocado, roasted chick peas, and grilled chicken.
4.  Washed that down with a Jamaican Ginger Brew, a non alcoholic juicy, gingery, fizzy drink that is very yummy and tickles your nose when you drink it.
5.  Grocery shopped
6.  Prepared eight additional Etsy sales
7.  Am thinking about reading a little. Currently reading The Blind Assassin. 
8.   That's it for now but it isn't even two o'clock.

The Garden In August

 The garden is probably at its finest right about now. The standard plantings that survive the brutal heat and daily rain are thriving and everything else has gone by. That's ok because I know I can depend on these beauties to come back year after year. Once the first hard freeze comes, all of these girls will be cut to the ground and will appear to be dead as a doornail. Not true! Come spring, there they come a little at a time until they are glorious and sweet and most attractive to the hummingbirds and butterflies.
My twenty bales of pine straw have been spread onto the paths and in about another week, I'll pull up all the old bean plants and toss them into the compost. My one solitary pepper plant is still producing so it will remain until it gets tired and lazy.

Yesterday morning, very early, I noticed that the clouds were very high in the sky---a foretaste of fall. There was a slight change in the light, something my daughter LeeAnn and I look for each year as a predictor of relief from this brutal heat. The weatherman was talking about a front bringing drier air.....soon but not quite yet. On the first fall day, the first REALLY fall day, I will call LeeAnn and we will reminisce that when she was very young, she and I would go to the park and gather pinecones on the first fall day of each year. And we would open all the windows in the house and let the air blow all around us.

School begins today for many in the surrounding counties. Teachers return to work today in this county. Once school starts I know that summer's days are numbered. So even though I complain about the heat and perspire profusely at the slightest outdoor chore, I will enjoy the blooms and the birds and the daily rain showers. Yes, and even the weeding and the trimming, all the while looking forward to those high clouds, drier air, and cooler temps around the corner.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Freedom Rider

Those of you who are my Facebook friends have already seen this beauty but for everyone else, I just need to post a picture of this Princess again. This is my new truck. I have been considering this purchase for over a year and, after much thought and calculating, I decided to go for it. My eleven year old truck was fine for the chores on the farm but this baby was necessary because it will be pulling a new fifth wheel RV behind it. We have been traveling with a very tiny travel trailer which proved way too small for two humans and one dog to inhabit. I never realized how a small space would constrict and restrict my thinking processes but found out last fall on our two month trip. Some days, I would forget to brush my teeth and comb my hair because I was too busy just being on survival mode in the cramped space. 

Small travel trailers are ok for those folks who are accustomed to tent camping or camping in a pop-up trailer. But I guess I am spoiled or maybe my old body just needs more room to unfold and move about. And I need a comfortable chair to sit in at the end of a long travel day. And a decent little kitchen because I cook when we're on the road. 

We haven't picked up our fifth wheel yet because it had to be ordered. We didn't want a fireplace (yes, they come with fireplaces but we felt that was excessive) so ours has to be made with storage instead.  However, this purchase is about much more than just camping in style. I decided that I need to really "seize the day" and quite postponing living in the moment. I have spent a lot of time living in fear of my financial future and sacrificing the present as a result. I believe that I am a good steward of my resources. I also want to be a good steward of my time. Because time is the only thing you cannot buy. And I don't want the hourglass of my life to run out while the health of my bank account laughs mockingly by.