Change

Tonight I want to talk about change.

Not the kind you find in your pockets, but rather the kind that over takes you.

I have been in such situations before.

I have fought the change.

Let me tell you how hazardous that is for the body and the soul. It makes you sick and tired.

Let me share with you the wisdom gathered on the journey...

If there is a humongous change before you - let it fill every pore of your body. Let it completely wash over you. Harvest the energy of the change and in doing that take control of the ride. You can be victim of change or victor of change. You can hanker down and say "Stop" or you can ride the wave and gather speed and come out on top.

In these times change itself comes with baggage. Steal it. Make it your own and then you can rule the world that is being laid out before you.

Take no prisoners. Take nothing but your God given skills and float away. By riding the wave of change you can gather energy and not waste any fighting what is happening to your world. In the end you will be in a better place.

When all is said and done - take a moment to look at the difference between the two worlds. If you used all your talents - you will like all you see. If you were angry and got stubborn - the surroundings will make you wither and miserable.

Fly with the change and rejoice in your resilience.

OK. Now I said my piece - go to bed! Yeah that means me too! Right after I wrap the zuchinni bread!

VaCaTiOn In A bOx

Ever since we had a deck and sun and time, we have had a wading pool.

This one was on sale for half of what I have spent on wading pools in the past.

It now claims about a third of the deck surface.

It is glorious.

Filter and everything.

Now that will make the next 5 weeks of the hot summer bearable.

We were feeling like we were captive in our own house. With a pool - we now just feel sunburned.

Oh the garden is doing well also

Beans

Zuchinni

Swiss Chard

Herbs

and soon

Tomatos and Peppers!

Sit quietly and listen to the wonder about you...

Nothing but garden

BEANS

MOLES

BEANS

AND WEEDS

NOTHING BUT GARDENS

BUT WE DID ENJOY THE HOME GROWN GREEN BEANS TONIGHT

AND I FINISHED THE EUROBAG LAST NIGHT

TOO TEDIOUS TO MASS PRODUCE

BACK TO THE SOCKS - EASY MINDLESS SOCKS

AUGUST 12 I GO BACK TO THE CABLE KNIT SWEATER FOR THE STUDENT

Time to tell the brain - time for sleep...

SELF DISCIPLINE

All my life I have struggled with self discipline.

I find it easy to do things for others.

I find it hard to do good things for myself.

You know what kind of things - moderation things - things that require you to have a good strong talk with yourself and do things like - eat right - exercise - sleep enough - keep your language on the proper level - be kind - be consistent - be positive.... you know the fruits of the spirit kinds of things. Things that do not harm yourself. Things that make you a better person.

I have struggled with self discipline ever since I realized what it was at age seven.

Breaking bad habits is hard. I suffered from gluttony at one point in my life. I also remember thinking that life would be better if you did not need sleep at all (as I was coming out of the grocery store at 1 am).

I have struggled with moderation over the last 5 years. I have learned that sugar is not my friend. I have had to part ways with many things that I loved no longer can I eat cheese. I have learned that some of my habits were not healthy for me. I have struggled and most days I succeed.

I just realized that I must be getting some control on things - I understand when I need to eat and do it with moderation almost 90% of the time - I am very aware that exercise is important and my body craves it almost as much as Jackson craves his walks.

I still have a ways to go on other areas - there are projects that are unfinished - and I sometimes bite off more than I can chew - but I have been very aware of what it means to be self disciplined lately and feel that I am making some head way on the project - - - afterall.

Better be - I have been working on the project for 50 years.

But I have also learned to forgive myself. Which is another side of self discipline.

Now it is late. Good Night.

Today I have a a thought

These people need prayers:

Bob

Ray's family

Lindsay

Alex

A woman friend going through divorce

You are good at prayers I know you are - and if no words come - just lift the name to the heavens and God will know what to do - just be the elevator.

Keep a good thought - it has been a most unusual day.

See you tomorrow....

Today we have herbs

These herbs mixed with some Olivio were basted on the chicken breasts and it made a great dinner!

I thought I lost my filled Kroger card - but it was in a safe place - I found it there.

I may have sent the brain on vacation a little early - got lost going to church... need to focus a little more this next two weeks. Maybe not!

Today we have Sabbath

My question to you is this: Why when you take time to rest are you so tired? When I stop I can barely function - in that I cannot even stay awake to read or knit. I must be pretty tired to have rested two full days and still be tired enough to go to bed!

I did sneak into the garden after I walked the dog. The tomato bushes, cukes, melons and zuchinni needed to be strung up some what. I needed to lay paper under the green bean bushes. Weeding is eternally needed. I trimmed back the lavendar bushes to small circular shapes and cut some blossoms. I water boarded a mole hole but tomorrow morning I will gather all the hoses together and get the rest of the contingent living near the west wall of the garden... where they think they want to eat my lavender plants and the zuchinni - - what they do not want to have to do is to eplain to my eldest daughter who loves zuchinni that they ate the plants....

In the next few days I will be starting some sections again - second plantings are fun. I haven't done this for a long time (since Wheaton where I canned a lot of stuff) but it will be good - the growing season lasts until October - so I have plenty of time for more beans - beets - lettuce - spinach - swiss chard - carrots and whatever else I have in the seed bag that can function in 90 days!

OK I am exhausted.

Long week - five full work days - I think in summer the work week should be 4 days long every week - give us adults time to rest and play...

Today we have gratitude

Grateful for rest

Grateful for the hard work that keeps my garden safe

Grateful for my life here

Grateful for the animals I see when I walk (after Jackson saw two bunnies he no longer even flinched when he saw the birds)

Grateful for the day lilies

Grateful that I know how to knit and am willing to try new things and not be frozen into panic if the pattern does not come out 100% correct.... I can learn and I can grow.... the pattern that I am following is not like this - but you get the idea - knitted holes to carry things - bag weighs ounces and carries pounds... I have been intrigued with these since I saw them in Germany when we were living there in 1976 - 1979.

Grateful for companionship

Grateful that I know how to entertain myself with all my hobbies (even laundry)

Grateful that my DH is not a high maintenance person

Grateful for thank you notes from friends

Grateful that I can let the inner sloth rule me one day of the week

Grateful that this was a four day weekend

Glad I did not have to travel to hear fireworks - they were all around us

Glad that my God is huge and all inclusive and accepting of me

Glad that tomorrow is another day of rest - although that rest may be more like play!

My suggestion: Find something to be grateful about - do it - watch it - and enjoy it...

Tonight - we see birds...

After the routine (yes we do the routine every night)

We were going to have a short walk between the rain drops

Then I saw a huge red shoulder hawk fly over head and I was done for. I love birds. I love to see them fly and I love the sounds they make. I open the window in the dead of winter to listen to the cardinals in the morning because it is that important to me.

Out street is about a half mile loop, but if you go down the private lane to where the creek is located you get in a full mile and a good cardio because of the steep climb up.

So on we went and checked the creek that was really flowing.

As we started back up the drive I saw this flying away.

UNREAL, I see them periodically when I cross the Little Miami River, but never this close to hear the sound of the wings flapping.

That was a good thing to see on an other wise rainy day.

Knitting socks, and a Eurobag just because I can.

Tomorrow is Saturday! WOO HOO! Love long weekends!

Tonight we got Dog!

OK!

Here is the routine and I do mean routine!

Home from work - belly rub the poochy poochy after all he is a belly rub whore!

Eat dinner - do dishes.

Change clothes and Jackson starts dancing at the very sight of me headed to the bedroom to change clotes.

Sit down to tie shoes and Jackson is so over joyed that he insists on helping.

Get leash!

Get plastic bag!

Get leash on dog!

Walk for 30 or so minutes.

After the walk Jackson likes to lounge in the yard on his long tether.

Fine and good. I staked up some plants and generally enjoyed what I saw. Here is where life gets tricky...

As a rule - Jackson can be let off his leash and usually can be trusted to go the 10 or so feet without being touched or guided. He just goes in the house. Tonight I guess the door was not open enough. He hit the door and said to himself - humph - guess I am not going in there - turned around and darted for the wide open spaces. Dammit!

So I go in the house and DH asks me "Did you let him go?" "D'oh"

I invented this trick and 99 times it works - but not tonight. So I get a leash and Jackson proceeds to take me on a cruise of the neighbors yards. The neighbors have some interesting yards!

He slips into a very thick part of the woods and I opt to walk around to the other side - where I find him on the deck - he looks at me and bolts down the stairs. Dammit!

I tour the yards - nice work guys! and while he is sniffing yard 4 or 5 I lost track - I clench his neck and get the leash on him again.

Home we wander - all the time I am telling him "you should not piss off the momma" and lecturing him on the finer points of not running away from me - it is not prudent at this juncture to piss me off...

Well, he comes in the house and I ask the DH if he thought he would have come if I crinkled a plastic bag the way he comes before his walk... we just laughed...

Jackson is not to be trusted and at that point he looks at me with big brown eyes and says "What?"

That was that - tonight we got dog!

Tonight we got holes!

If you have a hole you fill it.

Think Dentist.

Think tire repair.

Think Shoe repair.

Think Tailor.

Think window.

Think garden.

I have a HUGE Sweet Gum Tree in the front yard. Half the area under the tree is hosta and pacasandra (which I may have spelled wrong) and the other half is hosta and impatience. Well they were wilted tonight and I know they need water daily. So I went to water. What did I find?

Holes.

Holes where the plants had been.

Want to see the other damage?

Definite witness that there are voles that are making the holes.

Plants were helter skelter and I had a hose.

I filled the holes. I comically refer to this process as water boarding. I understand the Geneva Convention I just prefer to take no prisoners. Early in the spring I did this process and the lawn is clear. Guess they moved under the tree. I am resisting getting the peanut treats for them that worked for my neighbor so well. But this is war. I will win.

And now the day lilies... there are others but these are my two favorites!

Sweet garden dreams to you....

We got Greens!

Tonight I harvested about a bushel of mixed greens.

Curly Kale

Bak Choy

Swiss Chard

We will be eating healthy for the next few days. I imagine by the 15th there will be the favorite item "Home Grown Green Bones" (green and wax beans)

After that there will be other delights to have. I can start some fall crops soon enough and enjoy some root vegetables most of the fall and winter.

I read where some are harvesting the chamomile for tea already. My seeds just sprouted... My celery is also just sprouted. I guess I planted a little late in the season - Memorial Day is not that late - but next year I will be able to get the garden in early because the fence will be up and hopefully the soil will be much enriched... April - I am thinking April - before the 15th - that should be soon enough to plant spinach and peas!

Did I ever tell you I love to garden...

Oh and the day lilies look just like the pictures I posted last week. Some actually are fragrant!

Off to rest... more fun tomorrow...