Monday musings

For Today. . . May 6, 2013

Outside my window. . . Cool and overcast, but the grass is soooo green and trees are just beginning to bud.  A big fat robin is sitting in the tree outside my window.

I am thinking. . . of how we are all created to be in community with one another.  Relationships can be fulfilling and challenging.  They require constant tending.

I am thankful. . . for the mentors in my life.

In the kitchen. . . Luke is coming for supper and I'm making his favorite -- chicken broccoli casserole, salad and garlic bread.

I am wearing. . . yoga pants, t-shirt and bare feet;)

I am creating. . . that darned slipcover.  Still.  I finally finished it!

I am going. . . to see my nephew this afternoon.  He's 8-years-old going on 30.

I am reading. . . "The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope," by Rhonda Riley.

I am looking forward to. . .dinner with girlfriends on Friday.

I am hearing. . . a dog barking, Darius Rucker singing on Pandora, a lawn mower in the distance.

Around the house. . . still Spring cleaning; getting ready to have the kitchen floor refinished and some new carpet put in.

A favorite quote for today. . . 

"There is never a time when your life is not 'this moment.'"

~~Eckhart Tolle

One of my favorite things. . . a new app for my iphone called Random Gratitude.  It pops up once a day, at random times, and asks,"What are you grateful for at this moment?"  I love it.  No matter what is happening in my day, it helps me think of something positive.

A few plans for the rest of the week. . .  take the dogs to the Vet, paint the bathroom.

A peek into my day. . . I can't seem to go to the store these days without picking up another pot of flowers or some kitchen herbs for the garden.  

I love writing the Simple Woman's Daybook.  Thanks to Peggy for hostessing.

April

I've neglected my little blog here:(  April came swooping in, I blinked, and the month was already out the door.  It was a weird month in terms of weather here in Colorado.  It snowed four weeks in a row.  Big snow.  Eight to ten inches or more, each time.  And then it would all melt and the next week we would start all over again.

In between snowstorms, the grass got greener and the family of bunnies that lives under our porch would come out into the backyard to inspect my poor little daffodils and tulips, all bent over and trying to straighten themselves up to reach the sun.  Robins flocked to the bird bath, bravely dousing themselves in icy cold water.  Then, when the next snow fell, they all ran for cover back under the porch and under the eaves.

This morning, our town is sponsoring a Spring cleanup.  The entire neighborhood is in spring cleaning mode.  It's funny to look outside and see the street lined with old mattresses, broken office chairs, bits of lumber.  As fast as people are putting stuff out to the curb, a lot of it is being picked up by others who see it as treasure for flea markets and recycling.

I've been in Spring cleaning and major decluttering mode for the past month. Son #2 moved out and left behind 80% of his earthly belongings.  He and I are so much alike, it is hard for us to part with things, so it has been a slow, painstaking process for him to sort through 20 years of stuff.  His old room now consists of piles of Stuff to Give Away, Stuff to Store, and Stuff I Don't Know About Yet.   My goal today is to gather some items for a benefit garage sale later this month and to encourage him to make some decisions about that third pile.

Besides that, April was a busy month.  We went to a wedding, I celebrated my birthday, read this wonderful book, went to the first baseball game of the season, and stuck to my goal to write more letters.

I'm going to try to get back into blogging again more regularly, but I'm not going to stress myself out if I don't.  I love keeping a blog, for many of the same reasons I like to keep a journal.  It helps me focus on what's important in life, stay positive and live more intentionally.  It's so hard to keep life in balance, isn't it?  It's so easy for me to take something that started out as fun and pleasurable, and turn it into a "have to".  I don't want my blog to be something that I feel I have to do a certain way, a certain number of times each week, organized a certain way.  I used to feel like that, but so much of life is that way. . . so bear with me (or not! -- but I would miss you) while I keep it free and easy:)

Favorites

I'm jumping in with Susanne and the Friday Favorites Gang to look back at the week and count some blessings!

1.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I had some precious free time to get caught up on my photo albums.  Double blessing:  doing a creative project, and reliving some happy memories!

2.  Finishing one book for Lent and starting another.  The Return of the Prodigal Son is a book that can be read over and over, and I'm enjoying it just as much the second time through.   I'm reading both books for a book club with friends -- another double blessing.

3.  Lunch with Dan.  On Monday, he suggested we go out to lunch (love it when he does that:)  We went to one of my favorite places, Panera Bread.  I love the lunch combo -- soup and half sandwich.

4.  On Sunday, we had a dinner to celebrate St. Patrick's day.  Invited a crowd of family and friends.  In addition to the traditional corned beef and cabbage, I made Emeril's Apple Cider Braised Chicken and Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, sauteed sugar snap peas and homemade Irish soda bread (my Aunt Mary's recipe, which is so delicious).  We had brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.

5.  Beautiful, purple crocuses that popped up earlier in the week.  Of course, now they're buried under ten inches of snow, but that's okay.  After each Spring snow, everything turns out a bit more green.  Spring is working hard to stay.

Book Review

"How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world!  How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straightaway. . . And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!" (Anne Frank)

Last weekend, I re-read the story of, Anne Frank; the Diary of a Young Girl.

The first time I read this remarkable first hand account of a young girl who goes into hiding with her family in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, I was about the age Anne was when she wrote her journal. However, my own life experience was but a fraction of hers at the same age, and truth be told, I didn't really connect with her writings.  Her story fascinated me, but there wasn't a lot that I remembered about the book.

Reading it for the second time, I was surprised to learn when I read the forward, that there is more than one version of her diary.

On June 12, 1942, Anne received a diary for her thirteenth birthday, just days before her family went into hiding.  The gift was her father's idea, because he knew that the family would be in close quarters for an extended period of time, and he thought it would give his active, rambunctious daughter something to do.  Anne was very studious, but early accounts indicate she could be quite precocious as well.

After keeping the diary for herself for two years, in 1944 while the family was still in hiding Anne heard a radio broadcast by Gerrit Bolkestein, a member of the Dutch government in exile, who announced that when the war was over he hoped to collect firsthand accounts such as diaries and letters, to record personal experiences of the German occupation.  At that time, Anne began editing the original writings (known as Version A), writing additional passages with plans to use the material in a book to be published after the war.  This became known as Version B.  She continued to write in the original Version A, as well.

When Anne's father collected her writings to be published, he used parts of both versions, condensing it to what is estimated to be two thirds of the original writings.  This is Version C, and the book that most of us read when we were young.  Included in the portions that were omitted, are Anne's writings about her budding sexuality, as well as some rather harsh criticisms of her mother, things her father thought were inappropriate and too personal to be shared with the world.

The newer definitive edition of Anne Frank; the Diary of a Young Girl, was published in 1998, with all of the material intact. It is a more thorough account of her story, showing insights that are rare for a person of her age.  And my own perspective, now 40 years later, has given me a better appreciation for this young girl, who lived through a horrific period of time in the world, and yet remained forever optimistic about its future.

"It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical," Anne wrote. "Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."

Work zone ahead

Sometimes, I have to just put everything aside and jump into a project that begs for attention. That's what I've been doing for the past two days. . . working on getting a year and half worth of pictures put into albums.

My desk is a mess, but it feels so good to (almost) be there!

     

(Em, begging me to PLEASE let's go, already.  I do tend to get pretty absorbed

 in working on this stuff :/ )

One more section to go!

Tuesday Daybook

I love doing the Simple Woman's Daybook.  Sometimes, when I can't seem to get in the mood to write (which seems to be most of the time lately), it makes it easy to write a post where I can just fill in the blanks.  And it encourages me to think of the simple things that are going on, that make up my day or my week.  Thanks to Peggy for hostessing.

For Today. . . March 12, 2013

Outside my window. . . more snow.  The roads and sidewalks are clear, but snow is clinging to every nook and cranny of the trees, and covering the lawn.  Very pretty.

I am thinking. . . of the past year, and where it's taken us. . . . sometimes I look back in disbelief of all that we've weathered.  But, more so in disbelief that we've grown from it and have found moments of joy along the way. 

I am thankful. . . that Dan continues to find employment opportunities that keep us going.

In the kitchen. . . last night I made the best garlic mashed potatoes ever.  I found the recipe here.  I think the secret is in roasting the garlic in the oven before adding it to the potatoes.

I am wearing. . . jeans, sweater, hiking boots.

I am creating. . . that darned slipcover.  Still.

I am going. . . to work this afternoon.  Tuesdays are my favorite work days.  I'm always busy, the time flies. . . and Dan makes soup and sandwiches for supper:)

I am reading. . . "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles, for book club.  Still. And not really liking it very much.  I'm loving Max Lucado's "Six Hours One Friday."  I'm trying not to hurry through, to make it last and last.

I am hoping. . . that Joe has good news today, re: a work-related issue.

I am looking forward to. . .spending time with Emily tomorrow.

I am hearing. . . Dierks Bentley on Pandora radio.

I am learning. . . 

Around the house. . . I'm tired of doing indoor stuff and am making plans for the garden!

A favorite quote for today. . . 

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” 

― Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark

Some of my favorite things. . .  weddings, pretty stationery, a dry Reisling

A few plans for the rest of the week. . .  dentist appointments, St. Patty's Day dinner, enjoy the spring weather at the end of the week!

A peek into my day. . . The quilt I finished over the weekend.  My mom started this family quilt. The squares were pieced by Mom, my sisters-in-law, my Aunt Riz, my cousin Jackie and me.  I loved finishing it and especially love the colors Mom chose.  

10 8 Things in 10 Minutes

1.  Dan and I cleaned out the crawl space yesterday.  Since it was his idea, I followed his direction, which meant we took everything out and sorted it into two areas in the basement:  Our stuff and Joe's stuff.  Joe has a ton of stuff.

2.  Yesterday, it snowed all day.  A wet, slushy snow that is very heavy to shovel.  At least that's what I'm told, as I did not do any of the shoveling.  Today, the sun is shining and the sky is blue.  Spring is expected to return later this week, with temperatures in the 60s.

3.  I finished a quilt.  One that was started many years ago by my mother, that she never had the joy of finishing.  I'm sure she would be pleased.

4.  I made a pot of chili last night and we ate in front of the t.v. and watched two episodes of Love It or List It.  Poor Hillary, her renovations 'lost' in both.

5.  Luke is home with the flu for the second time in two weeks.  He is an easy patient, as long as he has a television all to himself.  And as long as I keep him supplied with ginger ale and hot tea at regular intervals.

6.  Dan and I watched two movies this weekend:  The Sessions on Friday night, with John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William Macy.  It was tender and funny and tastefully done.  We also watched Out of Africa, one of my all-time favorites.

7.  I am desperately trying to get into a book for book club, which is this Wednesday. . . Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.  I need to give it a chance.  I would rather read the Maeve Binchy that Dan's mom sent over . . . A Week in Winter.  Sometimes, I don't like being in a book club and having my reading choices dictated to me.

8.  Did you know that there's an app called Pope Alarm, which will notify you as soon as the news is out that we have a new pope?  Go to www.popealarm.com.

I'm borrowing the idea for this post from my friend Judy.