Tuesdays Tales

  Had a lovely day.  Got my house cleaned up, got my laundry all washed and hung out on the line to dry, and even got it all back in again. lol A good day indeed.

  I don't know what's going on with me...I have been so emotional the past day or two.  Today I was sitting on the couch taking a break and that darn ASPCA ad came on with Sarah McLaughlin singing...I turned the volume off even. But just seeing the faces of those poor abandoned and abused animals got me crying. Sheesh.  Then later, after the husband came home and we had dinner...he was going in the other room and I said I love you...and he said-I love you too, sweetums.  And all I could think was that today when he called me on his lunch break he said, (like he always says) Hey babe...how are ya?? And every time he leaves a message on my voice mail, it's babe or honey or sweetums or beautiful...and I started to cry...because I was thinking--20 years, and he still calls me sweetums. 20 years and he still loves me as much as he did in the beginning. And here I am...I'm mean and I'm grouchy and I'm impatient all the time. Surely I don't deserve this. And I sat there and blubbered like a baby. He came back in the room and said--Hey, what's wrong?? And of course all I can do is sniffle and snort and say, nothing's wrong. I just don't know how this happened. And he's like--how what happened? talk to me, babe...  And--do you see how ridiculous this is?  LOL

  Must be the planetary alignment or something making me all goofy like this.

  Our anniversary is in 2 weeks. Maybe that's part of it too.  Sweet lord.  I may not live through this year....lol

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   Made a wonderful stir fry for supper, with brown rice and corn on the cob. lol  Corn, because when I shopped last week, I bought 4 ears.  And when he stopped to pick up some Napa Cabbage for me, he bought 4 ears as well.  But it was so good, loaded with veggies...red onion, garlic scapes and cloves, brussels sprouts, zucchini, red cabbage, snow peas, organic carrots and celery,  red and green bell pepper, cauliflower and broccoli, seasoned with dried basil, sea salt and cracked black pepper. Cooked in a little sesame oil. It was really good...bursting with all those fresh flavors. And I was really hungry, after laboring mightily all day.

  After supper, we went out and planted 2 eggplants and about 15 cucumbers. Weeded a little. Checked the progress of everything. I am not real happy with those new sweet potatoes I got. I may replace them when Pappy's has the Beauregards in a week or two. Everything else looks marvelous. The edamame got weeded yesterday before the storm and it looks really good now.  The tomatoes are ready to be staked, that will go on tomorrows list. 

  My big list for tomorrow is mowing. And making granola bars. And finish up the planting with the lemon grass, sage and rosemary that are sitting on my kitchen island.  That's it. (she said ruefully) It will be a full day... This weekend is my family reunion, and my husband just informed me that he mistakenly rescheduled the District Meeting for that day. So, he won't be going to the reunion with me. Which means that I may go down a day earlier than planned and spend some extra time with my family, since he'll be here to care for the animals. He's more upset about it than I am....lol

  Okay. I'm about ready to hit the hay. I worked hard today and it's late.

  Have a good Wednesday, everyone. I'm still recuperating from being out in the sun all day Monday...

Namaste.

Oy vey...

  I went to part of a bachelorette party last night for one of the girls I used to sponsor.  I kinda didn't want to go and kinda did...so I made the decision to go and have some fun.  We met at a Mexican restaurant  and had a 2 hour drunken supper. The family and old friends of the bride to be were powering down those big brandy snifter sized margaritas like it was Cinco de Mayo.  They were loud and crazy as hell...lol.  They did all the embarrassing bachelor party things they could possibly do, giant inflated penis, penis lollipops, penis whistles --you name it, they had it.  There were 5 of us out of about 20 that didn't drink.,  so you can only imagine how this got. After supper, we went to a gay bar for a drag show. After standing in line for over an hour, I had to leave. I couldn't finish out the evening (the show wasn't starting until 10:30 or 11:00, and I am just WAY too old for this. Then it turned out that the show was up a big long flight of really steep stairs and there was no other entrance, so that's pretty much gave me the excuse I needed to go home early.  This morning, I can barely walk. Gettin' old ain't pretty,...lol

  I couldn't find her to say goodbye and someone said she was outside smoking, so my friend and I went outside so I could say goodbye and leave and she wasn't out there. Sigh...I sent my love and apologies back in with my friend and I got in my truck and drove home. I hope she isn't mad, but it was time for me to go. There were no chairs to sit down, only those real high bistro stools (and I can't get up on them either) and my back and knee were hurting so bad I could barely stay on my feet. My limits for sitting or standing are about 20 minutes tops...then I start to deteriorate.  So--home I went and let my doggies out and made a cup of tea and tried to recover. lol

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  Well, the girls from up the road just came down with their 2 big dogs who came running up into my yard again.  Have I griped about this before??  lol  I can't stop them from going down the road, but they let those dogs come racing onto my property AT my dogs (who are tied up). If there was a fight, my dogs wouldn't be able to get loose or defend themselves. I have asked these snotty little girls over and over to restrain the dogs when they come by here and they never do. Today, I called their dad. Naturally no one answered so I left a civil message about the whole thing. I have tried over and again to give them the opportunity to act like they care, but they laugh and keep going. They are about 15-17...nasty age for girls anyway. Hopefully this isn't going to cause any bad feelings with the neighbors, but I have been silent about it for too long.

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  So...let's see...the bagels (after the power outage fiasco)  turned out edible but not perfect. They fell a bit sitting in the cold oven for 4 hours after starting to bake. Still, they are very good and so much better than store bought that it's amazing.  I will definitely make them again. The rye bread recipe..not so much. It tasted very good, the first day. Now, at day whatever it is, it is really dry.  Back to the cutting board. lol  I need to  make bread today. I won't make more bagels til later in the week though, as we can eat these. The recipe makes 8 big bagels. I think I would make them a little smaller next time, and make 10 or 12.  I had one for breakfast, with peanut butter on it.  :)

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  The Irishman will be home to eat supper, so I was thinking about making a lentil loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans. Or a quinoa loaf--I have a recipe for that too, though I've never made it before.  His meeting usually ends about 3 and it's a 2.5 hour ride home. I'm going to a meeting at 4:30 to meet someone and will probably get home about the same time he does. If I have the bulk of dinner made, it will be easy enough to eat around 6 o'clock..

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  I'm going to do a couple of loads of laundry...make a quick trip to drop the electric bill off at the office...and clean the house up a little. I've been on the phone with Bridezilla and she wasn't the least bit upset that I left, just sorry she didn't get to say goodbye.  I did a little dusting around the desk as we talked (multi-tasking) and need to run the vacuum.  I'll get the bread machine out to make bread and that will take care of itself, freeing me up for other, more wondrous cleaning tasks. I also need to get that dang bookshelf fixed...I still haven't done that. But I sat with my neighbors husband for over 8 hours yesterday at the last minute --so that cut into my get anything done time.  lol

  It's supposed to rain today, but so far it's about 50 and the sun keeps [peeking through. Who knows....

  Alrighty, I'm off to laundry land.  Have a grand Sunday...  

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.

 

HEY! We needed some of that rain...

...the temps have been around a hundred for several days and things are drying out like crazy. Had a big rash of storms move through here yesterday and we didn't get a drop of rain up here.  WTH ???  I was 15 miles south, and it was like a monsoon.  It just isn't fair....lol


  But at least things cooled off.  It's only supposed to hit 86 today. And that sounds like heaven.  lol




  I have been up early, got some laundry going, sprayed the squash, checked the peppers and started nipping the beans for canning. There's probably no way I'll get any canned today, but they'll be ready for tomorrow morning when I have the whole day off.  I keep stalling...and now I have to leave in 4 hours, so....at least I don't have to make supper for the Irishman, as he has a meeting that he has to run to directly from work. Sierra Club stuff.


  Yesterday I made him a potluck dish for the meeting he had...sheesh....I forgot about it til the near last minute. Made a cooked summer garden salad..red potatoes, 2 kinds of summer squash, fresh picked green beans, tomatoes (all steamed tendercrisp and then thrown into ice water to cool quickly), cucumbers, fresh basil, garlic, onions...all doused with a tarragon vinegar and olive oil dressing, accented by sea salt and cracked black pepper. It was awesome. I added a can of garbanzo and a can of kidney beans for the protein factor, too. So it was actually a full meal...

 Blogger just lost most of this post. Dammit.  Arrgghhh  It wasn't saving.

  I'm outta here. Got laundry calling my name.

TTFN

Wednesdays child...

...is full of IT.  lol

  Of course, I'm not a child. But I am acting like one, as I yell and chastise and clean up after this little dog that belongs to my brother.  The one that I so FOOLISHLY offered to doggiesit, while they went to the wedding in Florida.  The one that is whining and crying and marking all over my house. The one that keeps trying to mount anything that doesn't get away fast enough, or bite him first.  It's only been a little over 3 days  and I am exhausted from it all. 

  He did sleep better last night, only whined a little bit. That I heard, anyway. And I know he's just all scared and lonesome for his real family and his own house. I know that . But...I'm fraying at the ends of my rope.  My brother called yesterday to say they had made it to Florida, and asking about the pup. Like a good big sister, I told them not to worry, everything was fine. And it really is. It's just all this....peeing. I forgot what cocker spaniels (even the mixes) are like. We had our old Sophie for about 10 years, but rescued her at about 3 years old. I had another cocker, Wildebeest,  years ago, and he was a nightmare as a pup. I'm sure little Swayze will be a great dog (he really already is...somewhere in there, lol)  and here's a picture of him at his cutest. He's a cockapoo.

  It's a beautiful day. We're supposed to have a nice warm day, so after I went to the store for cat and bird and fish food, I came home and opened all the windows and turned the fans on. I'll probably close it down before I leave at 2:30, because it's been getting downright chilly as the sun goes down. Nights have been around 40 of late.

  Had a nice little breakfast of bacon and fresh tomato on home baked bread, with just a little mayo. I'm still pulling some beautifully ripe tomatoes out of the garden- only a few, and smallish- but really tasty nonetheless. It's time to dig sweet potatoes as well, and I'll probably work on those this weekend while the Irishman is out of state on a camping trip. I'll check first...maybe they won't be ready until NEXT weekend, and then he can have the pleasure,.  lol

  Got some laundry going, and am going to do a little housekeeping. There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge for that man's supper, and so I'm not cooking anything today. Yesterday I made a big skillet of chicken fajitas and brown rice for him.  There's also leftover pork roast and vegetable soup too. Nobody's going hungry in this house. lol

  The guys are coming tomorrow to change out my propane tank. I'm changing companies, going with the more local company that is here in Bunker Hill. They've been an absolute joy to work with in setting up this change. They have set me up with budget billing, so I never have to pay a 900 dollar gas bill all at once again. Payments of a mere 105.00 a month. Then I think I need to call Todd and have the furnace looked at. It doesn't want to light again...I tried to turn it on a few nights ago and the igniter lights, but the gas isn't coming through, or something. Could be clogged. Could be that the tank is too low to sufficiently force the gas into the line. At any rate, we'll get her all fixed up before the real cold weather comes.

  2 more days of work, then I'm off. It will be a long weekend, covering for someone on vacation, but my days will be free.  I'll be spending the night...

  Gonna get outside and enjoy this sunshine. It makes my heart sing...

Namaste.

A Saturday of dubious leisure...

 And here it is...nearly 11 pm.  I honestly thought I would get here early and catch up..oh well.  It was a great day and the weather even cleared up and turned beautiful.  I got going early enough this morning, but time seemed to slip between my fingers and before I knew it, it was time for supper.

  I started the day with breakfast with the Irishman, and then moved onto the fun stuff after he left. lol  I finished up some laundry, that was in the dryer and the washer...the slipcovers and couch blankets that my dogs sleep on.  The covers needed doing, because the male cat that started spraying had left his mark. Arrgghh...he has since gone to live on a farm where he and his brother will have full run of 2 barns and several hundred acres.  There are way too many cats in this house. They are all goofy and displaced, and at least 9 more of them are being given new homes. My brother and his daughter are taking 3 kittens next week.  Another kitten is getting her new mama around the same time. Another farm family is taking more kitties, they have 3 children and are very excited. It is sure a big relief and a load of my mind.  Anyway, I was cleaning up the laundry and did a load of his filthy work clothes too. Then I dyed a set of heavy cotton napkins and a couple of old dish towels...they were all dingy and spotty, but the dye job made them look almost new again. The color is wine (go figure, lol) and the result was grand.

  I went into town looking for some yellow bell pepper plants for the garden, but for some reason, no one seems to have any this year. I have planted about 18 bell pepper plants so far, and it will be plenty. Reds and greens it is.  Even though I found no bells, I did buy some flowers...allysum and nicotania to plant in the 5 planters that grace my sidewalk. Later in the day I went to another plant sale and bought chives, garlic chives and parsley. I also got some sweet potatoes.

  The garden is coming along, slowly, but I'm doing the best I can. So far, I have about 16 tomatoes, and peas, and basil, and peppers, and potatoes and cabbages and cukes in the ground. I have 2 dozen butternut squash seedlings (just breaking ground) and have seeds for okra, carrots,beets and radishes.  I have onion sets that should get in soon. I have a few other things too.  As you can see, I have been busy.

  I am getting up in the morning and going to a Unity church over in St Louis. We have been visiting some churches around and about...from time to time.  It's about the same distance to go across the river to St Louis as it is to travel down to Belleville...

  There's never a dull moment here at the Kelley hacienda. I've been cooking away , as usual, and staying busy enough. I am so glad the weather has warmed up!  The kittens are running around getting into everything one minute, and then all crashed out asleep the next.  They are so adorable...the dogs have spring fever too, and the last 3 nights in a row, they have cornered some wild animal or another out back.  maybe they are keeping something out of my garden??

  The knee is slowly getting better. I am taking a prescription anti-inflammatory and it is helping alot. Somedays I can walk around a lot without ever limping.  I found out that the doctor took out 40% of the quadrant that was torn...no wonder it's taking time to heal!

  Time to go see if the doggies are ready to come in and get myself to bed.

  Sweet dreams, all y'all....

Namaste.


 

Whataweekend!

 "Spirits of the Sea"

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  We had a wonderful evening at the Museum.  The exhibits were breathtaking...African Cloths, Medieval Exhibit, Chinese Buddhism and American painters were the ones we managed to look at before the concert. The place itself is gorgeous and was built for the World's Fair in 1903 and then given to the city of St Louis. They are doing a lot of work out there right now and expanding the building as well as some repairs and remodeling.  The venue for the concert was small...only about 150 seats, and the acoustics were terrible. But the band just threw out the mics and sat down on the floor and went crazy. They were magnificent.  The music was wonderful. There were so many people there, they decided to do 2 sets of about an hour each, and we got in to the first one because we stood at the door for an hour (upon the advice of the information desk woman). She was spot on--when the first set was done, they asked us to please exit and if there were any seats left after they seated everyone, they would open it up again.  Naturally, there were no seats. In fact, there were people who couldn't get in at all.  They played violins, resonator guitars, some kind of clacky things that played like castanets, but looked like tongue depressors, kazoos, a jug, and an African banjo instrument made from a gourd and hides with a long long neck,called an ekontone. Rhiannon clogged in the aisles and they all were hootin' and hollerin' and there was lots of audience participation. It was an absolutely delicious night, altogether.

  And then this morning we had to get up early and go to a funeral.  It was a large and solemn affair punctuated with  laughter and reminiscing. In the longest ever funeral procession of my life, we travelled about 20 miles to the cemetery. It was crazy. We were there to support MissT  and she held up pretty well, all things considered.  It was her aunt who finally succumbed to her fight against pancreatic cancer and her mothers younger sister. So there were lots of tears and fears and all the things that go with funerals and people who tragically die too young.

  We came home after stopping at a new Mexican place for a little lunch. It was quite good and then we were home and I vacuumed and started laundry.  Now it is after 11 and I am ready for bed.  

  Music and funerals and love and grief. Friendship and food and  art and laundry. All the things that an authentic life is composed of, with all the ups and downs and plateaus that come along.  I never thought my life would be like this, for years, when I lived in a twisted surrealism of my own design.  Now I long for the times when I can stay on my little piece of dirt and just breathe...simple things like folding stacks of laundry bring a new serenity to me.  I am blessed by an extravagant God, to get to live the life that is mine.

  I live in an abundant Universe.

  Namaste.

Tuesday January 12, 2010

Today was one of those days that every mother of grown children dream of...a day long visit from a child whose life is entirely too busy most of the time, with his work, his own family and his own life. It was like a Christmas/Birthday present all rolled into one ! His work is sketchy this time of year, and because he is in the union, he draws an adewuate unemployment check. So he gets to hang out and play and do things this time of year that pretty much evade him the rest of the year. Today, he came over to help me make laundry soap (he makes it at his house too!) because he has this big mortar mixer (he's a tile setter) that connects to his drill and he says makes the laundry soap so well mixed you won't believe it. He came around 10 and we talked and talked and then we made soap and then we had lunch. I cooked up some chunks of pork with diced green chilies and garlic and onions, some cumin and salt and pepper. We ate it wrapped up in big soft tortillas. Then we hung out and talked and talked some more. He's been spending his time off inventing things, and building wind turbines and solar stuff. He's having a ball. Saturday he and the youngest grandson are coming over to put up a wind turbine in our backyard, on an 8 foot tall stand. To see how it works. He can't do stuff like this in the subdivision where he lives, because they have "rules". lol We also talked about partnering up in the spring to raise chickens for meat. I said I wanted to do it, if he could handle the butchering, for a take of the harvest. He likes the idea. We also talked about raising rabbits for meat too. We'll talk about it some more, but I think we might have a deal. I wound up doing some house cleaning and some laundry and that was about all today. I am exhausted...the knee pain is keeping me from sleeping and I'm hoping to sleep tonight....from sheer exhaustion. It hurts so bad...I am counting the days til the surgery. The dogs are outside for their final hurrah, and when they come in, I am outta here. It looks like the satellite signal is gone too...my little icon on the toolbar is looking ominous. That means I may not be able to post this....and if I lose the whole thing, I'll scream. I'm going to leave it be and see what happens. Blessings.

Sober Saturday

Loved this plant with its little star shaped flowers...cannot recall its name....from my house in NC....
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Had a good day today...cleaned house and did laundry, had company, shared a good meal with my husband. I'm tired and wanted to stop by before heading off to bed.

I've just put the doggies out for the last time. They won't be long, it's down to 45 degrees tonight already. It was a very cool and overcast day, and perfect for housekeeping. I lit some lilac candles and put on some jazz and blues and sang my way through the morning. I love it when my house is clean and smells good. lol Not always the case with 3 dogs and 10 cats and a cockatiel.. But I do my best. I have never smoked, and I think that partially accounts for this ridiculous sense of smell that I have. I was walking around the kitchen this morning, saying to husbandman--Do you smell that? I smell something...a dead mouse, maybe?? And he rolls his eyes and says (always) NO, I don't smell anything...But I'm telling you, I smell something...a nominally putrid and decomposing scent of something. I'll find it too...you'll see...lol Probably a dead mouse...behind the stove or in the wall. Living in the country one thing you can count on is mice moving indoors when the weather turns cool. They are like tourists heading for the tropics, first in line.

I love having someone visit for the first time. You get to see your home through new eyes every time. I become so inured of all the things that still aren't repaired or completed to my liking that I paint the whole place with that brush. All the projects that we never have the extra money for. All the things that fill up MY view of my world...things undone, things half-done, things that will possibly never be done. All the lawn that isn't mowed, the painting that needs doing, the walls that need washed...things that nobody really sees unless I'm stupid enough to point it out. lol
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I grateful for all the little blessings in my life today.

• Running water
• the irises I planted that finally got rain and are looking good
• a second batch of green beans coming on
• kittens sunning on the rock wall in the late afternoon
• the Canadian geese showing up on the pond
• smells of woodsmoke in the crisp fall air
• the return of winter birds...chicadees and cardinals and juncos
• red and gold and orange leaves
• empty hummingbird feeders that need to come down, because the last of the hummers have gone
• the way the pace of life is starting to slow down
• good weather for soups and stews

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All this brings to mind my favorite song in the whole wide world, called Holy as a day is spent, by Carrie Newcomer. It goes like this:

holy is the dish and drain
the soap and sink, 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 passions 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


Namaste.

September 2nd...and I still haven't turned the calendar...

Rain has been forecast for the rest of the week, so this morning I did 2 loads of laundry and hung them out to dry. Here's something at the top of my blessings list....freshly washed and dried laundry and the way it smells when you hang it out in the sunshine, standing under the clothesline with the breeze whipping dry, fresh sheets in your face. It was hot today, but I just stood out there, right in the center of my umbrella clothesline, being whipped mercilessly. It was nirvana...

I keep looking up at the calendar which still is on the August page, wondering when I will stand up and turn it over. Maybe tomorrow....

I bought an old Radio Flyer kids wagon today out of a truck that had a sign saying "Treasures for sale". I know the people and their youngest is about 38....so the wagon is at least that old probably. It's all rusted, b ut intact. The wheels are on it and everything. I thought I would sand it all down and paint it all nice and shiny new and use it for a flower planter in the yard next year....fill it full of vincas or petunias or something. It was only 3 dollars. They also had an old iron headboard from a twin bed....but 20 dollars was a little rich for my taste. I once saw someone's yard where they had put one of those into the ground and planted flowers all in front of it, then posted a little sign that said ....."Flower Bed". But...it would take a lot of sanding as it's all rusty too, and all those rounded posts and stuff would be a real pain to do. SO, maybe I'll think about that one. The wagon will be enough of a project for this winter....

I feel blessed to have a huge yard where I can plant gardens of both veggies and flowers.
I feel blessed to be able to raise chickens.
I feel blessed to know that the fruit trees are growing well and the berries and asparagus and nut trees are producing as they should.
I feel blessed to have a healthily stocked pantry.


Praying for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is in the hospital being checked for abdominal pain and fatigue. Blessings for a great man and spiritual leader that this world needs.