A tisket, a tasket...a green and yellow basket....

  Ah...autumn.  The harvest season winds down and ...oh, WAIT!! What's that? Green beans and pea pods and turnips and kale and squash STILL coming out of my garden ???  LOL. What a lucky girl I am.

***********************

  Oh my. It's been a hectic few days around Honeysuckle Hill. The root canal was a financial nightmare. The cost--$1000.00. Amount insurance paid-- $530.00...amount we paid--THE OTHER 50%  !!   WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

  and--when he got home, I says to him-how's it feel? And he says still really numb.  I says surely, the post they put in for the crown would require that. And he says to me-no, no, they didn't do that. I have to go back to MY dentist for that.  (Note: today is Friday. Evening).  I am , of course, incredulous.  SO, this mouth is going to heal and then they will do it all over again ? And he says, no, he told me to call IMMEDIATELY so that it doesn't heal first.  

  Naturally, I fall over in a dead faint, because A) I have never seen anything like this and B) Here comes another 500 dollar bill. If I just killed him before he could make the appointment, I could actually make a profit.

   ************************

  The roof endeavor has been almost finished, he says there is one more small area that he will finish himself next weekend. In the meantime, my entire back deck is full of debris..shingles, plywood, all the stuff they ripped off the roof.  Just laying there, waiting for me to trip over. I would cry, but it will just make my face look funnier than it does now.

   This next weekend I have to do 2 overnighters with MissB, as someone is taking a trip east.  I hate it, although the extra dineros will be a blessing.  I must be getting old. I don't like sleeping away from home much anymore. lol

   *************************


  Well. I don't know how that got started, but there it is. lol

  It's supposed to get up to 85 today here. Weird weather for October. But then it's seesawing down to 38 then back up to 60 and OH MY! I can't keep up.

  We figured out how the raccoon was getting in after it killed a second chicken. This time (luckily) it was the old Rhodie that I've been expecting to leave this planet  for some time, but somehow never would die. We'd be SURE that today would be it, and then it would rally.  We named it Lazarus.  At any rate the 'coon got it, by climbing up the sides of the run, going under the tarp that acts as a rain shield, and then pulling the wire apart so it could get through.  We are now putting the hens up for the night and locking the door, as well as reinforcing the coon door.  sigh.... Guess they'll have to go back to stealing cat and dog food (which I am putting up every night as well)....and maybe they'll give up and move on.  That would be best.

   I watch the dramas unfolding around me and think that I am blessed to have a simple life. I know that I have some skills that will enable my survival for a while, and I know that no matter what happens, I am not a victim. Looking around, I know that we could downsize our life a lot more than we already have and be the better for it. We do have our ups and downs here, but nothing like it is for some folks. One reason for that is that we already know how to live poor. lol  It's much easier to have to cut out cable tv and dinners out, than it is to lose your 1200/month home.  Or to have to have your car payment on your Ford scrape the bottom of your account this month, than to lose the Mercedes you've paid a lot for but are nowhere near paying off.  I'm just saying, the simple life does make things a lot, well, simpler. And it really helps you keep everything in perspective.  I have enough food put by to feed us. We have food for the animals. We have kerosene lamps at the ready, filled with oil and another bottle of oil at hand. We have an emergency heat source (kerosene heater) for emergencies.  We have candles. We have a pond teeming with fish, a good source of food protein.  We have clothes and coats and shoes and we have an abiding love and respect for one another. I see a lot of couples who don't even seem to like each other most of the time, and I understand that, but if you don't treat each other with respect, you've got a problem. Love and respect go hand in hand...whether you're talking about the marriage or the Mother Earth or whatEVER.

   Alrighty then. . I'm off into the day, trying to remember to have faith that all will be okay, and that I will do my best to try to be kind.   I shall go out and try to pick beans and maybe make a sandwich for himself for supper. Something that travels, as he has his discussion group tonight. That means he must rush home shower frantically, grab whatever food I leave for him, and fly out the door to get to the group, which is 25 miles away.  Not my idea of a good time....

    Be well--and let's look for the light in one another today, okay?

  Namaste.

   

It's here....autumn has arrived

 Leaves of red and gold are showing up all over the ground, the morning temps are in the low 40's and nobody wants to go out in the chill to potty in the dog world here. You practically have to pick them up and throw them out the door. (Once you get them out from under the blankets and throws and pillows they're snuggled under).

  We slept late this morning and the Irishman went rushing out the door with a scone and an apple to try to make it to his morning meeting. I, on the other hand, have had a leisurely cup of cheerios and am on my first cup of coffee. When I finish here,  I am going to start some artisan bread dough. We are out of bread. I made one loaf on Friday and we ate the whole thing with our dinner of spaghetti carbonara. Actually, we ate  a slice earlier when it came out of the oven with butter. Then we finished it off.  In all fairness (to us)  they are small round loaves. And RIDICULOUSLY  delicious.  This time, I am going to make the Hertzberg 5 minutes a day kind, which  will give me dough in the fridge so I can bake some up on the (relatively) spur of the moment. I think it makes about 5 loaves all in all, but I'm not sure. I'll report back.  lol

  Yesterday was the canning workshop. It went from 1-5 and was a lot of fun. There were 9 registrants and we canned a quart or two of green beans each.  I spent a lot of the time talking about food preservation and why it's so important, what's happening in the world today regarding food supplies and problems, and just what I do, old country girl that I am. We talked alot about food safety. We started with the canning beans because of the time constraints and went on to freezing and dehydrating and even found time to take a 15 minute walk around the community gardens. They were a great bunch and really helped make it go well. AND--all nine said they were registering (and bringing a friend) for the Harvest Soup workshop next month.  I'll be doing that one on Nov. 5th. So it felt like a real success (to me, anyway) and no canners blew up and no one died .  LOL   I took samples of my canned goods with me, pictures that I downloaded off my kitchen blog, a recipe for salsa, both my dehydrators and a stack of my most used (and new favorite) books  on food preserving.  I took both my pressure and water bath canners, and talked a lot about the value of both. I talked about building a pantry in your home, and the importance of rotation and stock-taking inventories, and about the trial and errors of learning what things to grow that your family will actually eat and how to figure out about incorporating all your pantry ingredients into your daily meals.

  I was really tired by the time I got home.

 My big plan this morning is to get the bread dough started, get the laundry started , and clean up the living room a little. I need to strip the bed too and change the sheets. And that is probably all I will get done today before heading off to visit MissB and spend the afternoon chatting about days gone by and how different this world we live in is from when she was a girl, back in the 1930's and '40s...

 Miss Roxie DOES NOT like this seasons changing thing at all. She's all snuggled up in her little felt bed right here at my feet...wanting to know why the house is so cold. I haven't got the heart to tell her I don't want to turn the furnace on yet this year...besides, it's only 63 in here. Much warmer than outside. And once I turn the oven on it will be toasty in no time.

 Tomorrow night my meeting is having a potluck and speaker and I am the speaker. I asked my relief if she'd come in early so I can go and she said she would. So, I will be there for supper and then to share a little of what it was like, what happened, and what it's like now.  And mostly about the miracles of not dying from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. That a wretch like me could have this life, full of doxies and neighbors and canning workshops and family...a miracle indeed.

  Okay. I'd best get a move on if I'm going to accomplish anything today. Some cat threw up on the loveseat in the night, so that means I have to strip it off and wash that cover too. Sigh...the gifts just keep on comin'...lol

  Sauntering off into a beautiful fall Sunday...maybe I'll throw a peach crisp into the oven...doesn't THAT sound good???

Namaste.

 

The last Monday in September

There's a soft rain falling out there...it's after 11 PM, and I am tired but not sleepy.  The dogs are sleeping all around me and the Irishman is sound asleep on the other side of the house.  It's been cool of late, fall settling around our shoulders like an old blanket.  Mornings are very cool--in the low 40's mostly, although this rain should warm things up a bit.

  We still haven't put up the heat lamp in the chicken coop, but probably will this next weekend.  One of the hens is laying ginormous eggs...almost twice the size of the others. It's bizarre. The last Rhode Island Red is looking pretty raggedy, I suspect I'll go out to the coop and find her dead any day now. She doesn't appear to be in any distress  but you can tell by her comb and her body that she's fading. She is almost 5 years old...

  I was walking out in the backyard today and noticed the last of the flowers and the walking onions and the raggedy old lilies and irises...almost like the plant world is preparing for it's seasonal shutdown. The green beans are flowering to beat the band and the sugar peas have lots of blooms too. The turnips and kale are looking healthy and there are even a few radishes out there. The 2 squash plants that Patrick put in the ground are getting big, I suspect there's not going to be enough time for them to make fruit though....but who knows? The parsley and chives are still looking well and I could probably harvest more basil. I harvested quite a bit and made pesto, if you recall. I still have last years basil drying in the closet (I know, I know...) and I need to get that out and bagged....

  Baked a chicken pot pie today, with big buttermilk biscuits on top instead of making pie crust. It was warm, good comfort food....chunks of chicken breast with onions, celery, carrots, green beans and red potatoes. The house smelled like heaven....

  I had a busy weekend. We went to the little local retro-theater and saw Cowboys and Aliens. it was fun. That was on Friday.  ON Saturday we usually kind of go our separate ways, as I have to go to MissB's anyway at 3...on Sunday we had our District picnic and then I went to MissB's and then I went to an 8 PM meeting and gave a girl a coin for 3 years.  By the time I got home, my butt was draggin....I baked a coconut cream pie that morning for her, and I made a cooker full of crockpot corn to take to the picnic. Today was the graveside service for the baby my niece lost....she was 4.5 months pregnant and wanted only her mom and dad and brother there, so...I don't know much about what happened. I came straight home tonight and thought I'd surely be in bed early.  HAH!

  I got 2 new books today...The Complete Idiot's Guide to Preserving Food and another called Independence Days. I'm looking forward to digging into them.

  Okay.  I'm tired and need to get to bed.  It's almost midnight and I feel the fog starting to creep in around the edges. lol

The canning workshop is this coming Saturday, and I'm both excited and nervous about it.  I need to try to get into a chiropractor too, my neck is killing me. Hope it's not another earthquake....

Namaste.

A slice of Saturday , please!

Chilly and overcast today, highs forecasted to be around 52. I've been out a couple of times, checking on things like dogs howling in the middle of the day and chickens laying beautiful brown eggs. Mostly I've been NaNo-ing and am more than halfway to my goal. Feels quite good.

Made a lovely salad for supper last night, along with a thin crusted Mediterranean pizza, replete with artichoke hearts, black olives, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese. It was quite good. I threw together a pumpkin pie for dessert...it was all quite yummy. We sure like to eat at this house.  lol

  I am running a little late today and plan to get in the shower any minute now. Have to be out the door by 2:30 and it's after 1 now.  The doggies are chillin' around the house, kittens are sleeping their little kitten hearts out, waiting for evening when they will dash about and run with joy, tearing up everything in their path. My Russian Blue, Po-Po was missing for almost a week and I was really worried about him. He showed up yesterday and we loved and fawned over him and gave him extra canned food and he has been asleep on the sofa ever since. Thank goodness he's alright. I always worry about the coyotes and my cats, though I don't think the coyotes get that close to our house because of the wonder dogs. Still...you can hear them yipping and singing all night long, so they can't be that far away. Po-Po  is a big boy, probably 20 pounds or more. He can probably take care of himself. But still....

  Okay. Found a wonderful new-to-me blog that I will be visiting often. Judi, at Mind over Matter and a kitchen blog of hers as well. I was hooked after reading one page...

  Enjoy your slice of Saturday...after all, it only comes once a week.

Namaste.

Shuffling...

Shuffling through the day.  Feeling better, but still not quite good...husband says I may have malaria, when I told him I don't feel feverish anymore on the outside, but it's hot inside my head and my eyes hurt.  lol

The cough is lessening and I have a little more energy every day, with the help of some over the counter chemical concoctions. Slept very well last night. Everyone keeps telling me to go to the doctor and get antibiotics, but I try to not do that, as they affect me in more ways than they help.

  I have a big crockpot of chili going and have been cleaning my master bathroom. I'm only here while waiting for the floor to dry that I just mopped. It's a HUGE room, and gets so messy and dusty and I don't clean it nearly often enough, and for that I am penitent. I bought some new rugs for the floor in there and it seemed like the perfect time to clean. I have to go sit with my little lady at 2:30, so I'm running the clock here.

  Been conversing with family about the state of the BIL...everyone is worried and no one knows what to say or do. One sister said...You mean we have to wait for him to want to do this on his own ??!?!?!  lol   Yes, afraid so, I said.   Recovery, as we all know, is not for people who need it, but for people who want it.  

 ON the bright side, it's a glorious fall day here. The sun is shining, the skies are blue and it is dry, although they are talking about possible rain in the next night or two. We could use it, it's pretty dry out there. The colors are lovely and the trees are all shedding their leaves at an amazing rate of speed.

  Okay, the clock is ticking and I realize I haven't eaten anything yet today.. not a good thing. Hard to find an appetite though...

  Alrighty then...I am outta here and shuffling off to finish another day. Tomorrow: APPLESAUCE !!!

Namaste

Such an autumn day....

 The Irishman has left for a 3 day backpacking trip...and tonight I will be pulling the big quilt out and getting flannel sheets on the bed. I love this quilt, made by my friend and quilter extraordinaire, Pam. 

  Made a big steak and eggs and potatoes breakfast and sent him on his way. He'll be back Sunday evening sometime. I'm so grateful that he has found a friend he can do this stuff with...we used to be big-time campers and hikers, before I got hurt. Now I cannot do it, and I'm glad Jerry can. (BTW--I cooked some sweet potato in with the red potatoes, all from the garden, and cooked with bell peppers -red,yellow,green- and onion and fresh garlic. I can't tell you how great it is to eat a meal like this (our eggs, of course) and be able to say--I grew these.)

  LIttle Swayze is acclimating, though he's still peeing a lot. sigh...male dogs--this is why my 3 are all females. Speaking of which, Molly McGee is on the loose, out running and playing and being a crazy little dog. She flew by once this morning and then dashed off again.  lol

  I'm off today. I am torn about whether to run into town and then back home again, or just not go at all.  I need to get the tables set up in the garage and start digging sweet potatoes. I got a few the day before yesterday and they are huge.  They need to lay out and harden off a bit before storage. I could wait and let Mr. O'Kelley do it when he gets home, but he'll be knackered and not good for much, I suspect.  So, maybe I'll start the process and he can finish it up next weekend, if I don't get it all done.  I am so glad to be home I can't describe it. lol  My life feels like I am on the run all the time these days. I do need to go to the bank before 5 o'clock, but otherwise, I could probably just stay put. That sounds lovely....

  The weather is gorgeous...70's and bright cloudless skies and sunshine. I am feeling a bit warm, and have opened all the windows and turned on the window fans. Burned some lovely incense, cleaned up the kitchen and am contemplating changing clothes and showering. I put sweats on this morning when I got up at 6...it was quite chilly, around 48 degrees.  Not so much now...lol

  Gonna let my day unfold slowly and all by itself, I think.  Hope your day is as good as mine....

Namaste.

October 27,2009...Tuesday night

(I know, I know...you've seen this before. But..it amuses me.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Long busy day again today and another tomorrow. I will be up at 5 (ohgod-it'safternidnightnow!!!!!!!!!!!) and am meeting with someone at 9 and then someone else at noon. I am full to the brim with newcomer sponslings suddenly. I always have one or two, but right now I have 5. And all the others. Of course the others are not high maintenance at all, as they range from 1 year to 16 years sober. Let me rephrase that. LOL. Many of them aren't high maintenance. In the past month, I have given out a 1 year and a 3 year and a 14 coin. A 6 month coin. 2- 30 day coins. And it has all been a giant blessing to me. My life in sobriety has been filled with grace and people and love and annoyances. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Autumn is upon us. The colors are breathtaking this year (because of all the rain I guess). I walk/drive around with my mouth hanging open every day. Detour Road is glorious...looks like the Master Painter dipped his brush in crimson and gold and magenta and orange and then flung it about madly. I love the fact that it's cool, and you can smell the woodsmoke in the air. The fat woolly caterpillars are everywhere. A few days ago, we had a splash of warm temperatures that brought on an invasion of ladybugs and it was like a Hitchcock movie out here! Gazillions of them....swarming like hornets. It was a trip. Beautiful chrysanthemums are everywhere...burgundy, gold, dark orange and cream. The cattails are a gorgeous orange gold color...right before they turn brown. Lots of rain has brought the green back to the grass.


I think about all the years I drank myself into not seeing any of the beautiful world around me. I see now what I missed. And I have had the good fortune to live in some of the most extraordinary places in this country. I am glad I can experience and appreciate the beauty today. That I can sit out back and take a deep breath and feel the hand of God all around me. That I have ..."Nowhere to go...No one to be...Nothing to do.".... And can saturate myself with nature and all her blessings. The first year I was sober I was out walking on the beach at Humboldt bay and marvelling at all the things I'd never noticed before...and I had lived there a long time. I looked up from the sand to see a large pod of whales migrating...it took my breath away. Today my life is all about moments which take my breath away. Flowers, sunsets, butterflies, love. The smell of fresh baked bread. A perfect brown egg.


I am especially blessed.....



Namaste.

Saturday the 17th of October...

It's a cool but sunny day...afternoon now. I've spent a chunk of the morning reading a book I got yesterday by Alice Hoffman called The Ice Queen...a book that touched me in places I haven't been touched in for some time. I have laughed out loud, sobbed and read in awe of the mysteries of lightning. I just finished it.

Husbandman is gone to the frigid far north for his parents 25th anniversary. I elected to stay here and take care of animals, both ours and the neighbors. I also had a commitment to run the district meeting on Sunday as the head cheese has to work that day. So, I am enjoying my solitude. People keep calling me and asking if I'm alright, do I need them to come out and stay, do I want to come stay at their homes??? NO. I don't understand why so many people are so afraid of being along...I treasure it. Maybe it's from growing up in such a large family where you can barely breathe most of the time. Maybe it's because living with another human being has always been a trial for me. Maybe I just like the quiet...I haven't even turned on the radio...At any rate, I'm about to turn my telephone off for the rest of the day, just to have some peace.

I spent some time working out in my studio...making an autumnal wreath for my front door. It's turning out quite nicely... I will take a picture of it when it's done. I make some at Xmas time, and I even made one for Halloween for my DIL one year--that was fun...all sorts of spiders and bats and skeletons all over it. I watched The Devil Wears Prada and ate popcorn with nutritional yeast and butter on it. I ate leftovers for supper...the last of the Caribbean sew and some mashed potatoes. It's supposed to freeze tonight...I brought in some plants. Mostly I have just oozed around the place and enjoyed being alone.

I finished cleaning up the kitchen...and the cat boxes. All but one of the cats is in tonight, and I keep calling her but she won't come. It's the one in the picture here. Junko Taibei... I think she must be under the house, as last night when I was here I swore I heard her, and went to the door several times and she was nowhere to be found. Little Caylee is outside too, and doesn't want to come in. So--I turned the porch light off and left her out there. The other dogs are in and I'm sure she'll get lonesome enough in short order.

I'm ready to get in bed and read a bit....I have a new book of Alice Walker's early poems...Her Blue Body Everything We Know...Earthling Poems 1965-1990 It was at the sale table at Borders...and I love her and buy everything I haven't read before. She's my hero....


And here's one of my favorites: "Good Night Willie Lee, I'll See You In The Morning"

Looking down into my fathers
dead face
for the last time
my mother said without
tears, without smiles
without regrets
but with civility
"Good night, Willie Lee, I'll see you
in the morning."
And it was then I knew that the healing
of all our wounds
is forgiveness
that permits a promise
of our return
at the end.

--Alice Walker (1974)



Namaste.

Tuesday...again

The St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crikey...

It's been 2 weeks since my last post. A hiatus from all things bloggy....for the most part. From time to time, it's important to take a break and reflect...so I did.

I have been busy with lots of things...family and friends, getting things taken down and ready for the approaching winter. It's 46 degrees tonight...the nights are getting cooler and cooler and so are the days...barely cresting 60. I have had the air conditioning off for a while, but even had to close the windows ! Fall is beautiful in these parts, but I hate to see the summer go, in a way. On the other hand, winter is a time of rest, and I'm surely ready for that. lol

There's lots of viruses going around here...so far (knock wood) we haven't had any of them. Taking echinacea faithfully and lots of Vitamins B and C too. Drinking rooiboos tea as well...getting plenty of fresh air, washing the hell out of my hands and staying away from sickies as much as possible. Not getting a flu shot...haven't had one since about 1977, and have no intention of starting now. Too much controversy over it all...

Sitting here tonight feeling grateful for this life of elegant blessings I am graced to live. A modest home in the country, more love than I could have ever imagined, health, enough food and [finally] water. Getting to live sober and attend meetings and be of service. Having an office full of books that I am able to (and have!!) read. Having a computer and the necessary skills to operate it. Having a house full of pets and being able to feed them. Having enough extra room to share with someone who needs a hand up from time to time. Being blessed with grandchildren. Getting to live my own life...one day at a time, sober, and happy.

It doesn't get much better than that.


Namaste.

Sunday, Sunday...

A fitting end to the month of August...a little hot today, and a rather quiet energy lurking around the edges. I am in process [late] of cooking potatoes and eggs so I can make a potato salad and some devilled eggs for a bbq tomorrow. I marginally cleaned up the kitchen, put some things away and uncluttered the counters. It looks better already.

I find a lot of satisfaction in "blessing" my house this way. It brings to mind the Carrie Newcomer song Holy as a Day is Spent. It's my all time favorite set of lyrics, ever since I heard it sung at the Unitarian Church one Sunday. Goes like this:

holy is the dish and drain
the soap and sink, and the cup and plate
and the warm wool socks and the cold white tile
showerheads and good dry towels
and frying eggs sound like psalms
with bits of salt measured in my palm
it's all a part of sacrament
as holy as a day is spent.

holy is the busy street
and cars that boom with passion's beat
and the checkout girl, counting change
and the hands that shook my hands today
and hymns of geese fly overhead
and spread their wings like their parents did
blessed be the dog that runs in her sleep
to chase some wild and elusive thing.

holy is the familiar room
and quiet moments in the afternoon
and folding sheets like folding hands
to pray as only laundry can
i'm letting go of all my fear
like autumn leaves made of earth and air
for the summer came and the summer went
as holy as a day is spent.

holy is the place I stand
to give whatever small good I can
and the empty page and the open book
redemption everywhere I look
unknowingly we slow our pace
in the shade of unexpected grace
and with grateful smiles and sad lament
as holy as a day is spent

and morning light sings providence
as holy as a day is spent....

(~music and lyrics by Carrie Newcomer)