Layers of Life

I'm happy to say I am writing this from my new office! No longer am I situated a few steps from the fridge..a very good thing! I can resist anything but temptation! Also, I am farther away from the scuffles of the hounds, the road noises, the phone, the washing machine...etc. I am revamping what has been (in chronological order from the time we bought the house)...the office, a little girl's garden decor bedroom, a teen boys beach shack bedroom, my Honey's studio and now...TA DA...my office!

As I take down shelves I can see layers of paint of decors past...ah, a moment to reflect...ok, I'm over it! I've uncovered the original color the room was when we moved in and the lovely fantasy garden treatment I painted. Painting over the beach shack wood plank (looking ) walls was a tad bit sad and the sign I painted (Studio B) for my Honey's studio is still in here, I'm taking it to him when I leave the room. All bits and pieces of life we have lived and family traveling through our home over the years. A bittersweet transition, indeed.


Now, I am claiming this room as my own since my Honey graciously sacrificed his studio for me to have a better place to write. Life is a lot like the layers of paint I've uncovered. It's colorful, diverse, and changes over the course of time. What works for you at one point in time might not be so satisfying or suitable at another. Life is just that LIFE, it should not be stagnant. You've seen the creepy crawlies and gunk that grows in stagnant water...that has no place in our lives! We want, need and should pursue all that is vital, healthy and life-giving. This often requires changes to be made in our environments, our relationships, our habits and ways of thinking.


I have a friend that hates change...a lot. Here's one example. Her home looks very much like it did six years ago. Everything sits in the same place, moved only for dusting. The decor has not changed at all except for a wall color change in one room and that only happened by accident. They were planning on refreshing the paint and bought the wrong shade. The new shade was not so very different but it was certainly a change. This threw my friend into a tizzy. It was inconvenient to take the paint back, so they used it anyway. To this day she isn't happy with it. Two more gallons of paint could have taken it back to the shade she had in the first place, but the effort required was not something they were willing to do, so she lives all these years later with a color that doesn't make her happy. Why? I do not understand that logic. Even when I lived in apartments, I painted them and then painted them back when I moved out. Life is in living color...it's too short and precious to spend being unhappy over something as easily fixed as a wall color! Not all things in life can be corrected that easily.

There is nothing that says, "Simple Life" about being unhappy with that around us. Now, do not misunderstand my position, I'm not saying we should all run out and redecorate our homes in the name of Simple Life. I'm saying the things around us that make life less simple, like the clutter and stuff we hold on to just because we've always held on to it, those things can change to free us from the emotional and mental stagnation around us.

With the guidelines of keeping only that which makes you smile, you love or use regularly, we can eliminate a lot of stuff! No one LOVES everything they have in their home. No one uses everything they have in cabinets, closets and boxes in the attic either. Other than seasonal clothing and holiday decor, why are we storing stuff anyway? If we have to store it, we obviously aren't using it. To add insult to injury, some people are paying to store stuff on a regular basis. Life evolves and so should our possessions.  We can't take any of them with us when we leave this earth anyway. Do we really think God cannot provide for our needs while we're still here?

The layers of life I've uncovered in the transition of this room alone are a colorful reminder that life changes and we must change with it. As we come to the end of another year, we are different than we were this time last year. My mirror certainly tells me I am! Our lives in our homes are a constant source of change. I am blessed to have a husband that rolls with the punches. We are no where near where I hope to be this time next year in our process of moving toward a more simple, peaceful, uncluttered life but we are much farther down the road than we were this time last year. It's a process to progress. 

FYI - my Honey is totally in love with the 'man space' he created for himself. It's edited down to all his necessities (bass guitar, computer, amp, keyboard, books, TV) and customized by him to fit him. He still needs book shelves and a cozy reading chair, which will come, but he's loving his space. It's much more efficient and he's a happy camper. I think if he had a fridge and microwave, he might not ever come out!
My prayer for us all in the coming year is that we keep the good parts, rid ourselves of excess and focus on living in the here and now.

Loving life at Hacienda Hill...........

Mid-Holiday Check Up

How's life treating you? Crazy busy? Stressed? Falling off the Simple Life wagon? Oh, sorry, that one is me...

I have put myself in the 'pickle jar of overload' and my teeth are on edge from the bitter taste it leaves in my mouth. It's all my fault, no one to blame but myself. Don't you just hate it when there is no one else to blame? LOL

Living the Simple Life means ridding our homes, habits and activities of the non-essentials so we have time, energy and interest in the things are most important to us. In overload mode, it often feels that everything has PRIORITY stamped all over it. We become hypersensitive to demands on our time, real and imagined. Life feels like it is moving in fast forward mode and we are not keeping pace.

I've allowed 'busyness' to overtake me. I created most of it for myself. The particulars are not important, they just sound like excuses anyway. The question is, what am I gonna do about it?

I'm going to slow down and do less even though I feel I'm not doing enough already. That false sense of inadequacy is a byproduct of overload and excess. As my good friend, Cheryl, says...I'm going to 'follow the peace.' I need balance in my life or I get wacky. No one functions well in tilt mode!

I started putting my plan in action yesterday by spending some time with my friend, Helen. That was a good start. I also chunked the PRIORITY stamp out the window. Doing a self-diagnostic reality check helped, too. I was being hard on myself in the name of 'brutally honest'. What's up with that? Trust me, it was more brutal than honest! I am painfully aware of my shortcomings and blast myself daily for the standards I do not meet. I would not treat anyone else like that but sure come down hard an myself. Going to take some diligent monitoring to cut that out.

A quick visit with another friend, Pat, brought that to my attention. I saw and heard in her what I was doing to myself. I commented that I wished I could say my kitchen was as clean and looked as good as hers and she started protesting and complaining that it was filthy and she couldn't stand it. FILTHY?! There wasn't even clutter to be seen. It looked great to me, but she couldn't see all that was done and the beauty of it. I pointed out again how nice it was and she still would not hear it. Couldn't even make eye contact with me while we talked about it. I told her if that was filthy to her, she was banned from ever coming to my house again! Egad, what would she think here??

It hit me as I drove home, that's the same way I act about what I do and accomplish. No matter how much I do while I work, I only see what I didn't do. I place more importance on emails left unread, chapters not yet edited, and a long list of 'should have done's'  than I do on the good work of the day. I never allow myself to appreciate my accomplishments for more than two seconds before I start zeroing in on all that needs my attention. This can paralyze you into inactivity! I am cheating myself and rolling in the dust when I fall off the Simple Life wagon. Life is far too short and unpredictable for that. So this is me, picking myself up, dusting myself off, and focusing my eyes, once more, on living the Simple Life on Hacienda Hill...What would your mid-holiday check up reveal? 

Small Victories Add up!

I just received an email from our electricity provider with my next light bill and I'm doing the happy dance in my office chair as I write this...it dropped another 25%....yes, that's right, 25% from the last one that was on the way down, too!

***Do not adjust your screen, all the bouncing is just me!***

I LOVE it when a plan comes together! It's the stuff "Planners" live for. Whoo-hoo!!

Hanging clothes on the line, not using dryer - CHECK
Layering clothes and blankets rather than turning on the heat - CHECK
Full-time Job as Electricity Sheriff - CHECK
Using gas cook-top instead of the electric one - CHECK
Leaving TV off reducing power consumption & noise pollution during day - CHECK
Making sure ceiling fans are turned off in empty rooms - CHECK
Utilizing Natural light over electric light - CHECK

These things add up and the light bill goes down! 

I have to say, for me, it is worth any effort and small sacrifices we make. I know everyone is not about to leave the heat off and there have been days when I KNOW my Honey was tempted to turn ours on. Add another layer of clothes and you can be toasty inside a meat locker. LOL We do not get the kind of winter weather some do, so a few days of extra padding is practical for us where it would not be up north. My hands hurt in cold weather and we've had several cold mornings lately. I type all morning long so they are hanging out there, hurting. Last night I bought a pair of gloves at WalMart for $1.50 that are thin enough on the finger tips I can still type but thick enough over most my fingers and hand to make a difference. $1.50....do you realize how much money that $1.50 will save me in the long run? That's a trade-off I can live with. I had to try on several pair to find one that would work for me, but the effort makes a difference far more valuable than the $1.50.

Thanks for listen as I rejoice in my small victories! I hope you will be encouraged to look for ways to build opportunities in your home for small victories of your own.