The sky is dark as the balcony door creaks open letting the cool breath of morning air filter into the bedroom. It is early, earlier than I should get up considering I closed the store last night and didn't get much sleep. I'm not one of those who can come home from work and go directly to bed. Anyway, my mind would not let me sleep as it tossed around the projects I could do on my day off like stones in polisher. A smile crossed my face as the breeze brushed my skin while I dressed in the dark. Moving down to the kitchen, the plan was to make zucchini bread and then work on a writing project due today. Alas, the zucchini bread is done, but the writing project has just begun, with this being a warm up to the story I need to write. Taking the fruits of my labor from the gardens and turning them into foods that can last has been a weekly event lately. For a few weeks in a row, I have been canning tomatoes, four to six pints one morning a week. That's not a lot, but it helps over the winter, both financially and in knowing what is in our food. So far, I have jars of plain tomatoes, tomatoes with basil, and salsa made from my garden produce, with the exception of the garlic. I … [Read more...]
Little wonders
Finding the right words is a challenge today, as I spent the majority of my work day learning bookkeeping at the Home Depot where I work. The trainer is good, and I am catching on fast, but it is draining on the brain. I am now at home browsing through the photos I took on Monday and the words to accompany them are stuck somewhere in the fog that's left in my head. Words like awe, or wow, or cool, or peace. Not for the photos themselves, but for the subjects in them. I took my mom to the University of Minnesota Arboretum in Chanhassen, where we spent the majority of our time in the gardens behind the main building. In one area, lantana lines one side of the walk squaring off against the huge dahlias on the other a little farther down. The butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other insects were enjoying the bright colors and wonderful scents as much as Mom and I were. I sank to the asphalt path and poised my camera toward the lantana, searching through the lens for split seconds of stillness to capture. The wind was blowing, and the hummingbirds flitted so quickly it was difficult to get a shot of one in the air. I finally got one after we moved to the dahlias, but it … [Read more...]
Peace of mind
What is peace of mind? Why do some people have it and others don't? That question has been around as long as people have, but a quote posted by Healthy Holistic Living peels back all the layers and gets to the core. Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be. - Wayne W. Dyer Peace of mind, like happiness, comes from within. No matter what is going on around us, we determine how we look at the circumstances. Yes, things hurt, and yes they can derail our plans. But it is up to us to choose whether they derail us and rob us of our peace.? Thanks for the reminder. My peace has been slowly disintegrating, and my way of looking at the world has changed a bit. There is little I can do about the physical changes I am going through, but there is plenty I can do about how I view the changes. Nature and beauty feeds my soul. I can stop to absorb the soul food when I'm outside, which I am a lot. Being grateful for the bountiful blessings God has given me always brings peace. I can make sure I don't forget to be grateful. Especially when the money I earn pays the bills and little more. The roof needs work, and … [Read more...]
Taking time out for creativity
As I write this I hear a pop, then another, then another. That means the effort I put forth this afternoon chopping peppers, garlic, tomatoes and onions to make salsa worked! The seals are taking hold, and I will be able to move the jars into the cupboard. A successful project! A couple of weeks ago I completed another project that took me into my creative mind. It felt good. You ?know how creativity always seems to take the back seat to taking care of everything around you - the house, the job, the yard, the laundry, paying the bills, etc.? Then the relationships, which really should be the top priority, also get in the way. Well, enough is enough! I hadn't done anything with art in so long, I was wondering if I even could, so I signed up for an acrylic painting class at an open studio in Minneapolis. Since I paid for it in advance, there was no backing out. Nothing else was going to wiggle in and steal my creative time, not even being exhausted from working all day. The tiny class of four started with us choosing a canvas board with a pencil outline of a rabbit or a calla lily. I was hoping the class would not be a paint-by-number session, so I was a little concerned. … [Read more...]
