I need to exercise more, more steps in my day, more use of muscles that are or have turned to jello, like those on the underside of my upper arm. I know I need all this and yet, year after year, birthday after birthday...I haven't changed my habits much. Scheesh!
Over time I have made concessions with myself that have made me feel a little better about things. Where possible, I do take the stairs over the elevator. Of course, there aren't either in my day-to-day world, so that one is kinda wimpy...
I do walk...while I talk on the phone. I have a path I walk inside my house that traverses the entire length of my house. To change it up some, I walk circles around the coffee table and/or kitchen island a few times every so often. Just to have an idea of how much walking I was getting in, I kept a written record on random days. It ranged from 30 minutes on a slow day to nearly 2 1/2 hrs another. That's a good average! And this is not some ambling stroll I'm talking about here, oh no! I walk at a clip, doesn't really help much if I don't. I can look my cardiologist in the eye and say in all honesty..."Yes, sir, I walk every day!"
Being at the computer for long stretches at a time has taken it's toll on most of my body. I find I need to stretch more often, especially my shoulders and back. Sometimes I take 'computer breaks' and get in some 'walking time'...wink, wink...to catch up with my friends. Still, I've noticed that is no longer taking care of the needs of either working out or resting my shoulders. I realized I was pulling my arms behind my back or stretching them up and down behind my head with my hands clasped.
One day while washing up in the bathroom room I stood in the mirror and stretched like that and I decided I needed to add some weight in my hands for a more effective stretch. Looking around, I grabbed the large & almost full bottle of mouthwash and held it behind my head as I did the up & down thing with my arms. It was wonderful. It helped and was free!!! I'm not going to pay good money to buy some marketed gadget I probably wouldn't use much anyway, but the mouthwash bottle is just enough extra weight to be helpful and always handy. I made a game of it for my inner child and now I take the time to do 25 repetitions every time I go the to bathroom! On a hunch, I looked under the sink in the 'other' bathroom and sure enough, there was an almost empty bottle the same size. I filled it with water and 'presto' my exercise equipment was ready to go!
Living a Simple Life is all about getting back to the basics and freeing up our time and money. Recycling and re-purposing the mouthwash bottle keeps the plastic out of the landfill, too...a bonus! The shape of this bottle is just right for my small hands to wrap around without strain, so you might think about that next time you're buying mouthwash and your underarm jiggles as you reach up to the top shelf. LOL
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Beautiful Morning
I am thrilled to report this post is the first ever written on the picnic table on the front deck where my view includes the silhouetted hills of Bandera, the rising of a pinkish gold sun and I am being serenaded by the dueling crows of roosters in stereo. The wind is from the north east and is blowing enough to sing through the trees and move my hair into my face but not so much to drive me back inside. This is the second day in a row I've been able to once again enjoy breakfast on the deck, one of my favorite things to do! It is a morning full of promise and blessings. God dances on the wind and covers my home and life completely!
Most of the time the blog posts are written in the wee hours of darkness, making an outdoor writing experience difficult. It is later than my usual writing time and I am taking full advantage of this glorious morning. My deck is not covered and, for the most part, sadly unusable during the summer months that end up rolling into fall. This makes this time even more special. So I want to share it with you when I can.
The vast number of birds songs gracing my ears is amazing! The cooing of several types of doves and the gobbles from a neighbor's turkeys carry on the wind from near and far. The playful sounds of the three pups next door makes me smile. The buzzing of something large flying behind my head is not cause for concern because I've decided it must be a dragonfly.....no, no, do not try to tell me differently, it is a dragonfly. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
The feral cats were fed before I brought out my food in self-defense. They are a hungry lot and think each time the front door is opened it surely must be time to be fed. I want them to depend more on their hunting skills and less on my dispensing of food, so they are only fed in the mornings now. I see evidence of their skills, so I know it must be working. While still not friendly pets, they clamor at the front door when they hear the lock turn each morning and make walking to the food bowl tricky but I prefer that to the instantaneous scattering like fearful babes they used to be. At this moment, they are spread out all over the deck, some perched on a bench, the others taking their favorite lofty spots to watch life pass below us. Our treetop perspective gives a feeling of being above it all.
Being in the country during dove season, there is the occasional gunshot, not a sound I relish but my hope is that any dove falling to the sound will make its way onto someone's table. God did give us dominion over the animals for food, even if we don't like the path they have to take to get there.
As the sun gets higher in the sky and the pink fades to a more brilliant gold, the gunshots are coming more frequently. Fly, little doves, fly!!
I have new neighbors in the village. A family moved in across the street to that pretty rock house. I haven't met them yet but I have enjoyed the sound of their young children playing. Yesterday they were imitating the roosters. Apparently said roosters can't tell time and crow randomly throughout the day.
This time of day, 7:32, usually finds me in my office working on some literary masterpiece....(picture me laughing hysterically)...but this morning is so beautiful and pleasant (and it is holiday after all), I just cannot bring myself to go back inside. The long months of unbearable heat have left me longing for such a time as this. Early morning sun is the only kind I can be in anyway, so I am making the most of it.
Life is starting to make its presence known in the village now. Cars revving up, the golf cart puttering down the street bearing the man that reads our water meters and dogs communication on the canine hotline compete with the birds for the airwaves. I'll drink down the last sip of my now cold coffee, gather up my computer and head inside to face whatever this day brings. Having been restored in the masterpiece of God's morning, I am more able to cope with the unknown to come. His mercies are new everyday!
Thanks for stopping in and sharing my morning!
Most of the time the blog posts are written in the wee hours of darkness, making an outdoor writing experience difficult. It is later than my usual writing time and I am taking full advantage of this glorious morning. My deck is not covered and, for the most part, sadly unusable during the summer months that end up rolling into fall. This makes this time even more special. So I want to share it with you when I can.
The vast number of birds songs gracing my ears is amazing! The cooing of several types of doves and the gobbles from a neighbor's turkeys carry on the wind from near and far. The playful sounds of the three pups next door makes me smile. The buzzing of something large flying behind my head is not cause for concern because I've decided it must be a dragonfly.....no, no, do not try to tell me differently, it is a dragonfly. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
The feral cats were fed before I brought out my food in self-defense. They are a hungry lot and think each time the front door is opened it surely must be time to be fed. I want them to depend more on their hunting skills and less on my dispensing of food, so they are only fed in the mornings now. I see evidence of their skills, so I know it must be working. While still not friendly pets, they clamor at the front door when they hear the lock turn each morning and make walking to the food bowl tricky but I prefer that to the instantaneous scattering like fearful babes they used to be. At this moment, they are spread out all over the deck, some perched on a bench, the others taking their favorite lofty spots to watch life pass below us. Our treetop perspective gives a feeling of being above it all.
Being in the country during dove season, there is the occasional gunshot, not a sound I relish but my hope is that any dove falling to the sound will make its way onto someone's table. God did give us dominion over the animals for food, even if we don't like the path they have to take to get there.
As the sun gets higher in the sky and the pink fades to a more brilliant gold, the gunshots are coming more frequently. Fly, little doves, fly!!
I have new neighbors in the village. A family moved in across the street to that pretty rock house. I haven't met them yet but I have enjoyed the sound of their young children playing. Yesterday they were imitating the roosters. Apparently said roosters can't tell time and crow randomly throughout the day.
This time of day, 7:32, usually finds me in my office working on some literary masterpiece....(picture me laughing hysterically)...but this morning is so beautiful and pleasant (and it is holiday after all), I just cannot bring myself to go back inside. The long months of unbearable heat have left me longing for such a time as this. Early morning sun is the only kind I can be in anyway, so I am making the most of it.
Life is starting to make its presence known in the village now. Cars revving up, the golf cart puttering down the street bearing the man that reads our water meters and dogs communication on the canine hotline compete with the birds for the airwaves. I'll drink down the last sip of my now cold coffee, gather up my computer and head inside to face whatever this day brings. Having been restored in the masterpiece of God's morning, I am more able to cope with the unknown to come. His mercies are new everyday!
Thanks for stopping in and sharing my morning!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Redirecting Your View
Simple Life on Hacienda Hill is not so simple right now. The practical issues of composting, hanging the clothes out to dry, re-purposing items and choosing to live a lifestyle that is more harmonious with the earth is all still in place. It's the 'life' stuff that clouds my sunny horizon.
Sometimes the winds of reality are referred to as the cold hard facts, about now they seem more like the hot breath of hell. Added to the scorching heat of this record breaking summer, relief is hard to come by. There just isn't enough A/C in the world.....
But, my new friend, Terry, said something that touched me when I had to let her know how disappointed I was I had to cancel the mission trip next June. She said, "There is no reason for sadness, because He has a better plan." I'm still walking in the valley where the shadows block out the sunlight, but I hang on to Terry's words and made them my mantra because I know the day will come when I walk in sunshine again. Thank you, Terry.
As God often does, He places what you need to see right in front of you. The first written word I saw this morning was on a blog I read and it was titled 'When real Life Gets in the Way of Your Dreams'. I smiled, I knew it was Him. As I prepared to read the blog, I decided to open the curtains to let in natural light (simple life habit!). The window in my office gets blasted by the hot, west afternoon sun, so I have heavy drapes inside the outer light weight curtains to help keep the heat out. I drew the heavy drape to the left and saw that my view would be of the ugly storage shed, the burn pile we haven't been able to burn in over three years because of the ban and all the pile of junk in the 'To Be Hauled Away Someday' area. Not a pretty picture. I quickly reversed the drape to the right. It hid the ugliness and outlined the garden bed, albeit dried up. It also highlighted the life and new growth of my precious fig tree. My only thought was, "I have a choice; I can choose the ugly and worthless or I can choose that which makes my heart feel good." Talk about a No Brainer!
I shared this little story this morning to say this...even in the worse of times, we have choices. We may not be able to control circumstances that rain down upon us like piercing sleet but we can choose how we conduct ourselves in the face of adversity and the view we decide to take. Dwelling on ugliness does not take away the ugliness. Shifting your view to that which is good doesn't take away the ugliness either, but it gives you a chance to focus on the good that exists beyond the ugliness, a chance to breathe in fresh air of hope and to remember that, as Terry said, He has a better plan.
This coming week my new granddaughter, Lily, will make her entrance into this world. The very thought of her inspires hope in my spirit. It is God's way of reminding me that I will get through the valley to the sunshine and life, as He orchestrated it, goes on.
I pray you find hope and peace in your own simple life today!
Sometimes the winds of reality are referred to as the cold hard facts, about now they seem more like the hot breath of hell. Added to the scorching heat of this record breaking summer, relief is hard to come by. There just isn't enough A/C in the world.....
But, my new friend, Terry, said something that touched me when I had to let her know how disappointed I was I had to cancel the mission trip next June. She said, "There is no reason for sadness, because He has a better plan." I'm still walking in the valley where the shadows block out the sunlight, but I hang on to Terry's words and made them my mantra because I know the day will come when I walk in sunshine again. Thank you, Terry.
As God often does, He places what you need to see right in front of you. The first written word I saw this morning was on a blog I read and it was titled 'When real Life Gets in the Way of Your Dreams'. I smiled, I knew it was Him. As I prepared to read the blog, I decided to open the curtains to let in natural light (simple life habit!). The window in my office gets blasted by the hot, west afternoon sun, so I have heavy drapes inside the outer light weight curtains to help keep the heat out. I drew the heavy drape to the left and saw that my view would be of the ugly storage shed, the burn pile we haven't been able to burn in over three years because of the ban and all the pile of junk in the 'To Be Hauled Away Someday' area. Not a pretty picture. I quickly reversed the drape to the right. It hid the ugliness and outlined the garden bed, albeit dried up. It also highlighted the life and new growth of my precious fig tree. My only thought was, "I have a choice; I can choose the ugly and worthless or I can choose that which makes my heart feel good." Talk about a No Brainer!
I shared this little story this morning to say this...even in the worse of times, we have choices. We may not be able to control circumstances that rain down upon us like piercing sleet but we can choose how we conduct ourselves in the face of adversity and the view we decide to take. Dwelling on ugliness does not take away the ugliness. Shifting your view to that which is good doesn't take away the ugliness either, but it gives you a chance to focus on the good that exists beyond the ugliness, a chance to breathe in fresh air of hope and to remember that, as Terry said, He has a better plan.
This coming week my new granddaughter, Lily, will make her entrance into this world. The very thought of her inspires hope in my spirit. It is God's way of reminding me that I will get through the valley to the sunshine and life, as He orchestrated it, goes on.
I pray you find hope and peace in your own simple life today!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
It's the Little Things
In my pursuit of returning to a more simple life, I realized I've long made it a practice to seek out the little things that add a touch of comfort, familiarity or just plain make me feel good. I've never been a high maintenance girl or had to be entertained to be content. I'm fortunate enough to enjoy time in my head and I take it everywhere I go! LOL
I think we have gotten to a place is space with so many techie toys that many of us are unable to be content without them. We have forgotten how to just 'be' without being occupied by some outside stimulus. Nothing simple about that life. So this morning, as I was enjoying one of the little things I do for myself, I thought I'd share some of them. Hope you'll share yours, too.
Last Bite - As I eat a meal, there comes a point where I know what I want to be my last bite. Maybe it's a favorite veggie, or the last piece of meat, whatever. It's the flavor I savor as I walk away from the meal. My Honey & I were at a seafood restaurant where I was enjoying one of my favorites, oysters, and we were having an exciting conversation because we had just come from the hospital where we met our new grandson, Jacob! Needless to say, my attention was on the joyful event. I realized I had mindlessly finished the oysters. "Oh, no! I don't have one for my last bite!" This was the first my husband heard of my 'last bite' habit. He laughed and asked if I actually planned my last bite and I replied, "Of course, don't you?" He thought it a silly thing I did this but he ordered 3 more oysters just so I could savor my last bite. Since that time, I might add, he often makes a point to choose a 'last bite' and has learned to appreciate the habit. It's a little thing that brings me joy. No batteries required.
Post Breakfast Coffee - My blood does not really flow until I have sipped my way through my first cup of coffee. By this time, I've done my Bible reading and maybe even gotten the Truth in the Morning blog out. I may have a little more but am into my morning routines, so it usually goes cold on me. I don't really drink much during meals, I prefer my libation afterward. Thus was born my habit of Post Breakfast Coffee. I make a point of stopping all activity and sit down to compose myself while I enjoy that last coffee in peace before resuming my work. It is but a small thing I do to take time to breathe deeply and enjoy a short time of meditating on my day's game plan. I come away refreshed, refocused and with a sense of preparedness because I took a few minutes to take care of me. Big rewards from such a little thing.
We often think we don't have time to even think about doing things for ourselves because we have so much responsibility on our shoulders. Friends, we can not maintain to hustle and bustle of modern life without taking care of ourselves. Rarely will you find yourself with extra time so we need to carve out time. I was a single-again mom a long time and learned quickly that if I did not take care of me, no one took care of me. Out of sheer stress and burnout, learning to do the little things was born. I had no money for luxuries like manicures or getting my hair done, that was incomprehensible to me. So I learned to find pleasure in small ways that took neither time nor money away from my family. I discovered it was fun to uncover new 'little things' to appreciate. They are usually there all along, the key is deciding to take time to appreciate them.
Next time you're feeling like life is cheating you somehow and you are not getting all that you deserve or want, go on a treasure hunt. The 'little things' you find for your life add richness and joy when you make a point of taking a moment or two to appreciate them for the treasures they are.
That's my view of simple life from Hacienda Hill this morning.
I think we have gotten to a place is space with so many techie toys that many of us are unable to be content without them. We have forgotten how to just 'be' without being occupied by some outside stimulus. Nothing simple about that life. So this morning, as I was enjoying one of the little things I do for myself, I thought I'd share some of them. Hope you'll share yours, too.
Last Bite - As I eat a meal, there comes a point where I know what I want to be my last bite. Maybe it's a favorite veggie, or the last piece of meat, whatever. It's the flavor I savor as I walk away from the meal. My Honey & I were at a seafood restaurant where I was enjoying one of my favorites, oysters, and we were having an exciting conversation because we had just come from the hospital where we met our new grandson, Jacob! Needless to say, my attention was on the joyful event. I realized I had mindlessly finished the oysters. "Oh, no! I don't have one for my last bite!" This was the first my husband heard of my 'last bite' habit. He laughed and asked if I actually planned my last bite and I replied, "Of course, don't you?" He thought it a silly thing I did this but he ordered 3 more oysters just so I could savor my last bite. Since that time, I might add, he often makes a point to choose a 'last bite' and has learned to appreciate the habit. It's a little thing that brings me joy. No batteries required.
Post Breakfast Coffee - My blood does not really flow until I have sipped my way through my first cup of coffee. By this time, I've done my Bible reading and maybe even gotten the Truth in the Morning blog out. I may have a little more but am into my morning routines, so it usually goes cold on me. I don't really drink much during meals, I prefer my libation afterward. Thus was born my habit of Post Breakfast Coffee. I make a point of stopping all activity and sit down to compose myself while I enjoy that last coffee in peace before resuming my work. It is but a small thing I do to take time to breathe deeply and enjoy a short time of meditating on my day's game plan. I come away refreshed, refocused and with a sense of preparedness because I took a few minutes to take care of me. Big rewards from such a little thing.
We often think we don't have time to even think about doing things for ourselves because we have so much responsibility on our shoulders. Friends, we can not maintain to hustle and bustle of modern life without taking care of ourselves. Rarely will you find yourself with extra time so we need to carve out time. I was a single-again mom a long time and learned quickly that if I did not take care of me, no one took care of me. Out of sheer stress and burnout, learning to do the little things was born. I had no money for luxuries like manicures or getting my hair done, that was incomprehensible to me. So I learned to find pleasure in small ways that took neither time nor money away from my family. I discovered it was fun to uncover new 'little things' to appreciate. They are usually there all along, the key is deciding to take time to appreciate them.
Next time you're feeling like life is cheating you somehow and you are not getting all that you deserve or want, go on a treasure hunt. The 'little things' you find for your life add richness and joy when you make a point of taking a moment or two to appreciate them for the treasures they are.
That's my view of simple life from Hacienda Hill this morning.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
My Little Purple Friend
Let's talk about toilet bowl brushes! We are learning to live a more Simple Life, after all, so anything that moves us toward that end is up for discussion. I have found an awesome toilet bowl brush. Let me backup a minute....
I've mentioned before that it is easier to like my husband when we do not share a bathroom. Man hair...ugh! Anyway, our bathrooms are as far apart in our house as they can get. This works for me! Except, when I would have to transport the toilet bowl brush from one end to the other. For the longest time I've told myself I needed to get two brushes to end that particular insanity. I do not know about you, but I never think about toilet bowl brushes until it's time to use them. Then it's too late, I'm stuck transporting the nasty thing again.
I subscribe to FlyLady, a site dedicated to helping those of us 'organizationally challenged' souls to find easier ways to do things. FlyLady researches common tools we use around the house and came up with the awesome purple toilet bowl brush. I've read the testimonials from people saying it was amazing and wondered just how amazing a toilet bowl brush could be. One day, after having had the TBB (toliet bowl brush) transfer again, I just decided I would order two of them while I was thinking about it and not wait hoping I remembered to buy TBBs when I actually got into town.
On Monday I was being driven home by a friend and I asked if she would stop and let me check my mail. I was anticipating the arrival of the package. I climbed back in her truck, all excited. Another friend asked what I had received. When I said toilet bowl brushes, she exclaimed loudly, "Why would you order toilet bowl brushes when you can get them at WalMart?" I told her she would just have to wait and see. I then pulled out my magnificent new purple toilet bowl brush. It was like Christmas all over for me!
This unique looking purple wonder is cute as it can be but how will it perform on the real test - the hard water rings? I am delighted to say it is almost magical. The trick, of course, is to stay on top of the rings and not let them build up. As part of my morning toilette (I love that word!), I Swish & Swipe (FlyLady language) before I leave the room. This means 'Swish' the toilet bowl with TBB and 'Swipe' the counter, sink and flat surfaces on toilet with rag. I walk out of my bathroom with it spotless and find it welcoming when I revisit later. It is one of my favorite routines because I can walk away not having to worry about the condition of the room the rest of the day. My husband's bathroom....well.....not so much.
This is where the purple FlyLady TBB really shows its stuff -my husband has been Swishing & Swiping ever since I put the TBB in his bathroom!!!!! That's right, he does it himself! Now is that an amazing toilet bowl brush or what?! Yep, life is better around here with our purple TBBs! Ah, the Simple Life!
I've mentioned before that it is easier to like my husband when we do not share a bathroom. Man hair...ugh! Anyway, our bathrooms are as far apart in our house as they can get. This works for me! Except, when I would have to transport the toilet bowl brush from one end to the other. For the longest time I've told myself I needed to get two brushes to end that particular insanity. I do not know about you, but I never think about toilet bowl brushes until it's time to use them. Then it's too late, I'm stuck transporting the nasty thing again.
I subscribe to FlyLady, a site dedicated to helping those of us 'organizationally challenged' souls to find easier ways to do things. FlyLady researches common tools we use around the house and came up with the awesome purple toilet bowl brush. I've read the testimonials from people saying it was amazing and wondered just how amazing a toilet bowl brush could be. One day, after having had the TBB (toliet bowl brush) transfer again, I just decided I would order two of them while I was thinking about it and not wait hoping I remembered to buy TBBs when I actually got into town.
On Monday I was being driven home by a friend and I asked if she would stop and let me check my mail. I was anticipating the arrival of the package. I climbed back in her truck, all excited. Another friend asked what I had received. When I said toilet bowl brushes, she exclaimed loudly, "Why would you order toilet bowl brushes when you can get them at WalMart?" I told her she would just have to wait and see. I then pulled out my magnificent new purple toilet bowl brush. It was like Christmas all over for me!
This unique looking purple wonder is cute as it can be but how will it perform on the real test - the hard water rings? I am delighted to say it is almost magical. The trick, of course, is to stay on top of the rings and not let them build up. As part of my morning toilette (I love that word!), I Swish & Swipe (FlyLady language) before I leave the room. This means 'Swish' the toilet bowl with TBB and 'Swipe' the counter, sink and flat surfaces on toilet with rag. I walk out of my bathroom with it spotless and find it welcoming when I revisit later. It is one of my favorite routines because I can walk away not having to worry about the condition of the room the rest of the day. My husband's bathroom....well.....not so much.
This is where the purple FlyLady TBB really shows its stuff -my husband has been Swishing & Swiping ever since I put the TBB in his bathroom!!!!! That's right, he does it himself! Now is that an amazing toilet bowl brush or what?! Yep, life is better around here with our purple TBBs! Ah, the Simple Life!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Year in Review
Good morning, Friends!
I am happy to report that this Saturday we celebrate the first anniversary of Simple Life on Hacienda Hill. We will be out doing work for our ministry over the weekend, and I won't have an opportunity to send out the post then, so we are having an early acknowledgment. I have to say, the year flew by!
Simple Life was conceived to log our progress in change after I saw the need and felt overwhelming desire to make life more simple, go back to the basics, live a greener lifestyle and breath in more peace.
Since last summer, we have made changes that bless us everyday. Life in the world is crazy enough and we have no control over any of it. BUT, we can control the environment in which we live inside our homes, our sanctuaries. No, we can't twitch our noses and have our humble abode turn into a MacMansion, nor would I want to! I have lived in a 6000 sq foot monstrosity and I have lived in a single car converted garage apartment which was basically 2 1/2 tiny rooms. The size of your 'house' has little bearing on the size of your 'home'. Simple Life deals with our homes!
In our quest for a greener, more Simple Life, I stopped using the electric clothes dryer a year ago and still love it. I immediately saw the difference in our light bill, what's not to love there? I enjoy the breaks from the office to hang out the laundry in the fresh air. With my limitation of time in the sun, our clotheslines are under our back porch roof. It has little bearing on drying time and I am protected. It's been a win-win deal as far as we're concerned. Can't you just smell those fresh sheets now?
We have de-cluttered and pared down so much already but 'stuff' multiplies like rabbits and that is an ongoing process. We are still working on our mental de-cluttering...talk about processes! LOL Old ways of thinking can jam up the peace in your home as much as anything else! Just because you've always done something the same way doesn't mean its the best way. Likewise, just because your opinion has always been one thing doesn't mean it's the only way either! De-cluttering our minds of old worn-out excuses and justifications and behaviors is more important than throwing out knick-knacks.
On the practical side, we are about to have to replace our old original A/C system. It's 20+ years old, not every efficient, thought it does still cool the house, it just have to work too hard to do so. Wisdom dictates we replace it before it goes out on one of our 100+ degree days! We are shooting for an energy efficient and allergy sensitive system. Gonna reduce our 'energy footprint' on the earth and help me breathe at the same time.
Over the past year I've come to understand that living a Simple Life does not come overnight and you have to work at in the beginning. Most of us grew up in a time of postwar parents loving the modern conveniences and those of us 'boomer babies' were ingrained believing we deserved them. I'm all for technology, though it is often the bane of my existence, but new and advanced does not always translate to 'better'. I grew up watching StarTrek; I don't want my meals to be wrapped in a pill. I want real food, cooked by real people, and served on a real plate (no paper for me-thanks - think of those trees and landfills!).
I want my hands in the dirt, growing things without pesticides, to feed my family. Can you picture Jesus sitting under a tree with a Big Mac in a styrofoam box? Not hardly. God gave us good things to eat and man turned them into fat-laden, genetically engineered, nutrition-free and emotionally addicting toxic fares in a foam box that will not decompose no matter how long it lives in the landfill. I have composted for years and you can see the quick turnover from kitchen veggie scrapes to useable soil in no time. Is it the easiest way to go? NOPE! But it is a back to the basics, greener and healthier lifestyle de-cluttered of old mentalities and ways.
That's our Simple Life on Haciendas Hill. It's more peaceful and rewarding than I thought possible. Isn't that worth working for? Hope you'll hang around to see what the next year brings! Happy Birthday, Simple Life!
I am happy to report that this Saturday we celebrate the first anniversary of Simple Life on Hacienda Hill. We will be out doing work for our ministry over the weekend, and I won't have an opportunity to send out the post then, so we are having an early acknowledgment. I have to say, the year flew by!
Simple Life was conceived to log our progress in change after I saw the need and felt overwhelming desire to make life more simple, go back to the basics, live a greener lifestyle and breath in more peace.
Since last summer, we have made changes that bless us everyday. Life in the world is crazy enough and we have no control over any of it. BUT, we can control the environment in which we live inside our homes, our sanctuaries. No, we can't twitch our noses and have our humble abode turn into a MacMansion, nor would I want to! I have lived in a 6000 sq foot monstrosity and I have lived in a single car converted garage apartment which was basically 2 1/2 tiny rooms. The size of your 'house' has little bearing on the size of your 'home'. Simple Life deals with our homes!
In our quest for a greener, more Simple Life, I stopped using the electric clothes dryer a year ago and still love it. I immediately saw the difference in our light bill, what's not to love there? I enjoy the breaks from the office to hang out the laundry in the fresh air. With my limitation of time in the sun, our clotheslines are under our back porch roof. It has little bearing on drying time and I am protected. It's been a win-win deal as far as we're concerned. Can't you just smell those fresh sheets now?
We have de-cluttered and pared down so much already but 'stuff' multiplies like rabbits and that is an ongoing process. We are still working on our mental de-cluttering...talk about processes! LOL Old ways of thinking can jam up the peace in your home as much as anything else! Just because you've always done something the same way doesn't mean its the best way. Likewise, just because your opinion has always been one thing doesn't mean it's the only way either! De-cluttering our minds of old worn-out excuses and justifications and behaviors is more important than throwing out knick-knacks.
On the practical side, we are about to have to replace our old original A/C system. It's 20+ years old, not every efficient, thought it does still cool the house, it just have to work too hard to do so. Wisdom dictates we replace it before it goes out on one of our 100+ degree days! We are shooting for an energy efficient and allergy sensitive system. Gonna reduce our 'energy footprint' on the earth and help me breathe at the same time.
Over the past year I've come to understand that living a Simple Life does not come overnight and you have to work at in the beginning. Most of us grew up in a time of postwar parents loving the modern conveniences and those of us 'boomer babies' were ingrained believing we deserved them. I'm all for technology, though it is often the bane of my existence, but new and advanced does not always translate to 'better'. I grew up watching StarTrek; I don't want my meals to be wrapped in a pill. I want real food, cooked by real people, and served on a real plate (no paper for me-thanks - think of those trees and landfills!).
I want my hands in the dirt, growing things without pesticides, to feed my family. Can you picture Jesus sitting under a tree with a Big Mac in a styrofoam box? Not hardly. God gave us good things to eat and man turned them into fat-laden, genetically engineered, nutrition-free and emotionally addicting toxic fares in a foam box that will not decompose no matter how long it lives in the landfill. I have composted for years and you can see the quick turnover from kitchen veggie scrapes to useable soil in no time. Is it the easiest way to go? NOPE! But it is a back to the basics, greener and healthier lifestyle de-cluttered of old mentalities and ways.
That's our Simple Life on Haciendas Hill. It's more peaceful and rewarding than I thought possible. Isn't that worth working for? Hope you'll hang around to see what the next year brings! Happy Birthday, Simple Life!
Monday, August 1, 2011
In With the New, Out With the Old
My goodness bad habits die hard! Or is it...hardly die? The things we do to ourselves by creating and/or evolving into bad habits! It's sad...
Our A/C unit needs to be replaced. The poor old thing is 20+ years old and we knew a few years ago its days were numbered. After coming home from an single overnight trip to find it frozen up and the house hotter than h....well you know...we knew we could not put it off any longer. An A/C guy my Honey works with is coming this afternoon to see the size of the house, size of existing unit and recommend what we need to get. We need his advice, I'm glad he's coming.
Early this morning, however, I was singing the "woe is me" song thinking I would not be able to get much work done today because I would need to get the house in order for this company. As I walked to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast, I scoped out the place. Guest/My bathroom looks great - check. Living room would take maybe 2 minutes to dust & 3 to sweep. Kitchen maybe another 3 just to sweep, wipe counters/table. The official 'dining area' is sadly a storage area for our ministry while we search for a suitable facility but even that is nicely pulled together - check. That's it for public spaces in our home. A whopping 8 minutes worth of house foo-foo and that's it! Yet, here I was, bemoaning the labor ahead. You know why? Because it is a habit of stinking thing...that's why!
How many times have you wanted to have guest for dinner but didn't because you thought it was too much trouble to get ready? I used to jump every time a car pulled up my driveway thinking someone would want to come in. Sad, that! We had dinner guest a week or so ago. My Honey kept watching me, waiting for me to go into 'manic crazy mode' but I was watching my favorite PBS stuff and kicked back and relaxed. I could tell he was getting nervous.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Well, what do you want me to do to get ready?" he asks out of old stinking thinking.
"Could you vacuum the living room?"
"That's it?" he asks.
"That's it."
"Nothing else?"
"Look around, nothing else to do."
So he took a nap! LOL Having decluttered, clean out and pared down, it takes less actual work to keep the house company ready. Ah, a simple life on Hacienda Hill. Who knew? Honey & I are still in the stage where we have to work at keeping the good habits in play, it doesn't come naturally to us as it might you but we are down the road to where we want to be on this. I don't have to stress about it, yet I did this morning out of old stinking thinking. So, the newest habit I want to develop is not to sing the same old tired song of 'woe is me'. You have no idea how delightful it felt to realize there was no 'woe' to be found!
I even scrubbed my Honey's bathroom while in my state of sheer elation! LOL It is much easier for me to like my husband when we do not share a bathroom. *giggle* That may be way more than you ever wanted to know about us but I stay befuddled and confused at HOW he can get that bathroom mirror looking like that! I do not even want to know. I don't ask!
Our A/C unit needs to be replaced. The poor old thing is 20+ years old and we knew a few years ago its days were numbered. After coming home from an single overnight trip to find it frozen up and the house hotter than h....well you know...we knew we could not put it off any longer. An A/C guy my Honey works with is coming this afternoon to see the size of the house, size of existing unit and recommend what we need to get. We need his advice, I'm glad he's coming.
Early this morning, however, I was singing the "woe is me" song thinking I would not be able to get much work done today because I would need to get the house in order for this company. As I walked to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast, I scoped out the place. Guest/My bathroom looks great - check. Living room would take maybe 2 minutes to dust & 3 to sweep. Kitchen maybe another 3 just to sweep, wipe counters/table. The official 'dining area' is sadly a storage area for our ministry while we search for a suitable facility but even that is nicely pulled together - check. That's it for public spaces in our home. A whopping 8 minutes worth of house foo-foo and that's it! Yet, here I was, bemoaning the labor ahead. You know why? Because it is a habit of stinking thing...that's why!
How many times have you wanted to have guest for dinner but didn't because you thought it was too much trouble to get ready? I used to jump every time a car pulled up my driveway thinking someone would want to come in. Sad, that! We had dinner guest a week or so ago. My Honey kept watching me, waiting for me to go into 'manic crazy mode' but I was watching my favorite PBS stuff and kicked back and relaxed. I could tell he was getting nervous.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Well, what do you want me to do to get ready?" he asks out of old stinking thinking.
"Could you vacuum the living room?"
"That's it?" he asks.
"That's it."
"Nothing else?"
"Look around, nothing else to do."
So he took a nap! LOL Having decluttered, clean out and pared down, it takes less actual work to keep the house company ready. Ah, a simple life on Hacienda Hill. Who knew? Honey & I are still in the stage where we have to work at keeping the good habits in play, it doesn't come naturally to us as it might you but we are down the road to where we want to be on this. I don't have to stress about it, yet I did this morning out of old stinking thinking. So, the newest habit I want to develop is not to sing the same old tired song of 'woe is me'. You have no idea how delightful it felt to realize there was no 'woe' to be found!
I even scrubbed my Honey's bathroom while in my state of sheer elation! LOL It is much easier for me to like my husband when we do not share a bathroom. *giggle* That may be way more than you ever wanted to know about us but I stay befuddled and confused at HOW he can get that bathroom mirror looking like that! I do not even want to know. I don't ask!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Who's There?
Is it just me or do you ever wonder if you really have a split personality, too? I'm not quite sure how many of 'me' there are but I know the main players well. This questioning mode came to me very early this morning when my attention was as diverted by the fluttering of the white paper prescription slip for blood work I was to have drawn in June. Oops!
I knew when the nurse handed me the slip of paper I was going to have to put it someplace 'safe' yet visible. Ah, ha...thinks I, my desk is at my finger tips every day...perfect place. Not so much....
There is just something about paper that brings out The Procrastinator in me. She's not hard to find in the first place, but paper paralyzes her into inaction. In my quest to 'get to busy', I put off dealing with paper stuff. I have work to do, I can't be bothered with paper! I'm a writer; see the glaring error and double-mindedness in my thinking?
So, The Procrastinator puts this small (another problem right off the bat) slip of import on the desk. I see it alright! I see it every time the ceiling fans blows it around till it dances its way off the desk, onto the floor and swirls to the tune of the squeaky fan. I’d be ashamed to say this was a daily event but I know I have to be transparent in my life and writing…so, yeah, it happens every day. No joke…every stinking day. It happened every day till The School Marm’ showed up and stuck a tack in it on the bottom rim of the cabinets over my desk. Not a place I really want things stuck to but she seemed determined so I stayed out of her way. She was mumbling something about “…insanity to let this happen every day…” Yeah, I stayed out of her way.
The question is, why do I keep it up there? It’s outdated, seems to have something suspicious stuck to the front of it (but I’m not getting close enough to find out what it is) and it distracts The ADD Child that lives within! It flaps around in my peripheral vision and she finds herself looking up at it instead of doing her work…watch out, The School Marm’ lurks behind the corner and you never know when she’ll show up.
I just hung my head because it struck me the reason I keep it there is to remind me to call and schedule the Dr’s appointment I’m supposed to have in September…or at least call and ask if I already have one scheduled. *SIGH* The Procrastinator is alive and well.
See why I asked that question at the top of this post? I prefer to think I am multifaceted with character and depth...LOL...wonder which one of me came up with that? Probably The Visionary, sounds like something she’d say.
I knew when the nurse handed me the slip of paper I was going to have to put it someplace 'safe' yet visible. Ah, ha...thinks I, my desk is at my finger tips every day...perfect place. Not so much....
There is just something about paper that brings out The Procrastinator in me. She's not hard to find in the first place, but paper paralyzes her into inaction. In my quest to 'get to busy', I put off dealing with paper stuff. I have work to do, I can't be bothered with paper! I'm a writer; see the glaring error and double-mindedness in my thinking?
So, The Procrastinator puts this small (another problem right off the bat) slip of import on the desk. I see it alright! I see it every time the ceiling fans blows it around till it dances its way off the desk, onto the floor and swirls to the tune of the squeaky fan. I’d be ashamed to say this was a daily event but I know I have to be transparent in my life and writing…so, yeah, it happens every day. No joke…every stinking day. It happened every day till The School Marm’ showed up and stuck a tack in it on the bottom rim of the cabinets over my desk. Not a place I really want things stuck to but she seemed determined so I stayed out of her way. She was mumbling something about “…insanity to let this happen every day…” Yeah, I stayed out of her way.
The question is, why do I keep it up there? It’s outdated, seems to have something suspicious stuck to the front of it (but I’m not getting close enough to find out what it is) and it distracts The ADD Child that lives within! It flaps around in my peripheral vision and she finds herself looking up at it instead of doing her work…watch out, The School Marm’ lurks behind the corner and you never know when she’ll show up.
I just hung my head because it struck me the reason I keep it there is to remind me to call and schedule the Dr’s appointment I’m supposed to have in September…or at least call and ask if I already have one scheduled. *SIGH* The Procrastinator is alive and well.
See why I asked that question at the top of this post? I prefer to think I am multifaceted with character and depth...LOL...wonder which one of me came up with that? Probably The Visionary, sounds like something she’d say.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Foo-foo for You
I just looked at the clock and it was 5:15am. I've already been awake more than two hours, grudgingly awake, but awake nonetheless. I was wakened at 2:45 with cramps in my feet and ankles. I hate that! I got up and walked around until they were no longer deformed looking and then tried to go back to sleep. It was too late, I was awake and my day was starting, like it or not! I made myself lie in bed until another cramp at 3:15. Bummer, up and walking again. That ended any hope of dozing.
The bright side, if you can have a bright side at 3:15 in the morning, is that I got an early jump on Truth in the Morning blog! Even that early you can find something for which to be thankful. I had finished writing and sending it out before I heard my Honey rustling around at the other end of the house.
After he left, I resumed my morning routine, and since the blog was out, got dressed to shoes, hair & face. Why do my hair and face at 5:15, you may ask, when I work from my home office and only see the hounds all day? This brings me to the point of this post.
At one time I worked in an office of a commercial construction company. That's important only to make the point that I worked with a lot of men from department heads, to salesmen, to the guys actually installing the systems, I was surrounded. I heard many 'stories' about family life, hunting, etc. The saddest of all was the way some of these men talked about their wives. Work took many of these guys into business offices where the women they saw were dressed, faces made-up and hair coiffed. At the end of the day, they went home to find their wife far more casual, sometimes in the same clothes from the day before, with hair in ponytail or pinned up in bun, no make-up and a day full of stress-filled kid stories, fielding calls from bill collectors, etc. Not glamorous for sure. While it is day to day married life and whether or not they said anything to their beloved or not, these men noticed. I know, because I heard the same story from different men many times over many years. They noticed. It isn't fair to compare what they were seeing in offices with what they found at home, but they noticed and commented to me.
Having been a stay at home when my kids were young, I defended the wives and suggested they stay at home with the kids a few weeks and see how handsome they felt and looked. No one ever took the challenge. Imagine that.
We all know we feel better about ourselves when we know we look good. Let's face it, it's true. I have blonde eyebrows and lashes, if I don't put make-up on them I look like the walking dead. My light yellow skin needs a little rosy blush and my pale thinning lips need all the help they can get. My hair is the sort that either looks very good or very bad. I don't really have middle ground. Mornings, I typically apply (at the very least) brow pencil, mascara, a light swipe of blush, perfume and earrings. Lipstick doesn't make sense in the garden, so I wait for my afternoon foo-foo for that if I'm going to be home alone. I do this for me! I feel better when I know I look better.
I do my afternoon foo-foo before my Honey gets home. Freshen up what I've got on and retouch the hair, a little more perfume and now the lipstick. Full blown make-up isn't required (my requirements, not his), unless we are headed out somewhere. I do this for me! I feel better when I know I look better.
Nothing says 'frumpy' like finding yourself in public looking like you slept in your cloths and lost your brush all on the same day! A few years ago, I was so very thankful for my 'foo-foo for me' routine. My husband had another heart attack, you can't plan for those you know, and I spent the next three days at the hospital in the same clothes with nothing to freshen up. Had I not started out looking okay, it could have been rough for one and all. Before you go thinking it shouldn't matter what I looked like when my husband had a heart attack and I am a very vain and petty woman, let me say this...even in a hospital bed in ICU, men are still visual creatures. When he was scared and uncertain about what might happen, I wanted...no, needed...to be as confident and reassuring as I possibly could. I needed to be the 'strong one' for both of us during the crisis time. You cannot project what you do not feel and I never feel confident, strong or encouraging when I feel frumpy. Do you? Yes, I was thankful I had taken the time to foo-foo that morning because my man needed me.
Ninety-eight percent of the time my husband never comments on the way I look one way or the other. I want to look good for him even if he insists he doesn't care. I know better, remember the men from my old job? I remember well. It's not about vanity or fashion. Lord knows I am NOT a fashionista! It's about feeling like the best me I can be. When I stay in my jammies during my 'work day' of writing, I am less productive. If I dress in real clothes, do my hair and mini-makeup, and put on my shoes, I feel like I am ready to work. I deserve as much effort now as I put into it when I worked in an office. We fall victim to the 'it's just me' mentality and get lazy. There is nothing 'less deserving' about 'just you or just me'. I notice when my husband puts on cologne to go places, it's one of my favorite men's cologne. But he doesn't put it on just for me very often at all. Oh, yes, I notice when the extra effort is made for me.
I know we all need our down time to step away from the pressure and dictates of our day to day worlds. My Honey & I have 'Jammie Day' once in a while on the weekends where we stay in our jammies all day and watch movies, one after another. That's a good thing. Even in my jammies I do the mini-makeup so I don't look dead and my eyes do not disappear off my face. If I'm going to hang around lounging with my man, I want him to be glad he's with me, not wishing I'd go shower or something. I foo-foo for me, so I feel the best I can. If my man benefits from it, all the better but it has to start with me wanting to be the best I can be. So, the moral of the story is Foo-foo for YOU!
The bright side, if you can have a bright side at 3:15 in the morning, is that I got an early jump on Truth in the Morning blog! Even that early you can find something for which to be thankful. I had finished writing and sending it out before I heard my Honey rustling around at the other end of the house.
After he left, I resumed my morning routine, and since the blog was out, got dressed to shoes, hair & face. Why do my hair and face at 5:15, you may ask, when I work from my home office and only see the hounds all day? This brings me to the point of this post.
At one time I worked in an office of a commercial construction company. That's important only to make the point that I worked with a lot of men from department heads, to salesmen, to the guys actually installing the systems, I was surrounded. I heard many 'stories' about family life, hunting, etc. The saddest of all was the way some of these men talked about their wives. Work took many of these guys into business offices where the women they saw were dressed, faces made-up and hair coiffed. At the end of the day, they went home to find their wife far more casual, sometimes in the same clothes from the day before, with hair in ponytail or pinned up in bun, no make-up and a day full of stress-filled kid stories, fielding calls from bill collectors, etc. Not glamorous for sure. While it is day to day married life and whether or not they said anything to their beloved or not, these men noticed. I know, because I heard the same story from different men many times over many years. They noticed. It isn't fair to compare what they were seeing in offices with what they found at home, but they noticed and commented to me.
Having been a stay at home when my kids were young, I defended the wives and suggested they stay at home with the kids a few weeks and see how handsome they felt and looked. No one ever took the challenge. Imagine that.
We all know we feel better about ourselves when we know we look good. Let's face it, it's true. I have blonde eyebrows and lashes, if I don't put make-up on them I look like the walking dead. My light yellow skin needs a little rosy blush and my pale thinning lips need all the help they can get. My hair is the sort that either looks very good or very bad. I don't really have middle ground. Mornings, I typically apply (at the very least) brow pencil, mascara, a light swipe of blush, perfume and earrings. Lipstick doesn't make sense in the garden, so I wait for my afternoon foo-foo for that if I'm going to be home alone. I do this for me! I feel better when I know I look better.
I do my afternoon foo-foo before my Honey gets home. Freshen up what I've got on and retouch the hair, a little more perfume and now the lipstick. Full blown make-up isn't required (my requirements, not his), unless we are headed out somewhere. I do this for me! I feel better when I know I look better.
Nothing says 'frumpy' like finding yourself in public looking like you slept in your cloths and lost your brush all on the same day! A few years ago, I was so very thankful for my 'foo-foo for me' routine. My husband had another heart attack, you can't plan for those you know, and I spent the next three days at the hospital in the same clothes with nothing to freshen up. Had I not started out looking okay, it could have been rough for one and all. Before you go thinking it shouldn't matter what I looked like when my husband had a heart attack and I am a very vain and petty woman, let me say this...even in a hospital bed in ICU, men are still visual creatures. When he was scared and uncertain about what might happen, I wanted...no, needed...to be as confident and reassuring as I possibly could. I needed to be the 'strong one' for both of us during the crisis time. You cannot project what you do not feel and I never feel confident, strong or encouraging when I feel frumpy. Do you? Yes, I was thankful I had taken the time to foo-foo that morning because my man needed me.
Ninety-eight percent of the time my husband never comments on the way I look one way or the other. I want to look good for him even if he insists he doesn't care. I know better, remember the men from my old job? I remember well. It's not about vanity or fashion. Lord knows I am NOT a fashionista! It's about feeling like the best me I can be. When I stay in my jammies during my 'work day' of writing, I am less productive. If I dress in real clothes, do my hair and mini-makeup, and put on my shoes, I feel like I am ready to work. I deserve as much effort now as I put into it when I worked in an office. We fall victim to the 'it's just me' mentality and get lazy. There is nothing 'less deserving' about 'just you or just me'. I notice when my husband puts on cologne to go places, it's one of my favorite men's cologne. But he doesn't put it on just for me very often at all. Oh, yes, I notice when the extra effort is made for me.
I know we all need our down time to step away from the pressure and dictates of our day to day worlds. My Honey & I have 'Jammie Day' once in a while on the weekends where we stay in our jammies all day and watch movies, one after another. That's a good thing. Even in my jammies I do the mini-makeup so I don't look dead and my eyes do not disappear off my face. If I'm going to hang around lounging with my man, I want him to be glad he's with me, not wishing I'd go shower or something. I foo-foo for me, so I feel the best I can. If my man benefits from it, all the better but it has to start with me wanting to be the best I can be. So, the moral of the story is Foo-foo for YOU!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Happy Harvest Dance
Oh, happy day! Oh, happy day!!! Picture me doing the 'Thank you, Jesus Happy Dance', first outside around my garden, then through my kitchen and down the hall to my office to write this post. It may seem a trifle thing to you but I brought in my first bean harvest this morning and that excites me, no end!
A garden, no matter how large or small, is vital in our aspirations of living a simple life. Anyone can grow something in a pot - even from an apartment. If you're not growing something, you will have a bumper crop harvest of excuses. Salt with that?
There are a few things I do not like about my personality but I enjoy the fact that I get so excited about the simple things in life. You can pack more thrills into your day that way..hehehe. I was busily picking the morning greens harvest when my eye caught sight of a bean. "What's this?" says I. I placed my greens in the wheelbarrow and went back to investigate. Sure enough, my bean plants are now covered in tiny baby bean pods but there were a few large enough to pick. Not anywhere near enough for a meal, by any means, but enough to make my day!
I inspect the garden carefully every day but have not paid much attention to the beans because they do not produce as quickly as the squash and greens, etc. I've planted 4 types of beans to-date this year. White beans first, then black beans and lentils and lastly, pintos. I staggered the planting times so they are not all ready at the same time. This is my first year for black beans and lentils, so I'm learning their ways as I go. The white beans are the source of my delight and happy dance this morning. If you've had experience with lentils, please let me know what to expect. I try to plant something new every year.
On another note, growing squash is not for the faint of heart. I do intensive planting which means spacing things much closer than recommended to better utilize my water and help keep the weeds down by the the close leaf coverage. It works well with squash. Both the yellow straight neck and white scalloped squash are doing very well. When the plants are covered with ripe fruit to harvest and many brightly colored blossoms, bees are everywhere. I like the bees, they provide a better harvest and they tickle my husband when he slows down to watch them. Harvesting the squash is where having a strong faith comes in handy. Once I spot one ready to pick, I have to stick my arm deep into the dense plants to get it. This requires blindly maneuvering between bees doing their own harvesting of pollen. I have not been stung yet and plan to keep it that way. If you're allergic and/or get scared by bees, growing squash is not for you.
The greens are playing out and next week should be time to harvest any turnips I might get. I planted the bulk of my seed close together for more of a greens harvest but did space some out between the rows of white beans in hopes of some turnips. The last of the radishes have all been pulled. I had under-planted them with the pintos, so as the bean plants started over-shadowing them, I just harvested the last of them. The Swiss Chard keeps plugging along but it does far better in the late fall and winter.
Oh, and this morning I was bitten by the first mosquito I've seen this season. It was vicious! It did not, however, deter any joy from the bounty of the harvest. Thanks, Lord!! No wonder we have Thanksgiving Day! I bet the pilgrims were easily thrilled gardeners, too!
A garden, no matter how large or small, is vital in our aspirations of living a simple life. Anyone can grow something in a pot - even from an apartment. If you're not growing something, you will have a bumper crop harvest of excuses. Salt with that?
There are a few things I do not like about my personality but I enjoy the fact that I get so excited about the simple things in life. You can pack more thrills into your day that way..hehehe. I was busily picking the morning greens harvest when my eye caught sight of a bean. "What's this?" says I. I placed my greens in the wheelbarrow and went back to investigate. Sure enough, my bean plants are now covered in tiny baby bean pods but there were a few large enough to pick. Not anywhere near enough for a meal, by any means, but enough to make my day!
I inspect the garden carefully every day but have not paid much attention to the beans because they do not produce as quickly as the squash and greens, etc. I've planted 4 types of beans to-date this year. White beans first, then black beans and lentils and lastly, pintos. I staggered the planting times so they are not all ready at the same time. This is my first year for black beans and lentils, so I'm learning their ways as I go. The white beans are the source of my delight and happy dance this morning. If you've had experience with lentils, please let me know what to expect. I try to plant something new every year.
On another note, growing squash is not for the faint of heart. I do intensive planting which means spacing things much closer than recommended to better utilize my water and help keep the weeds down by the the close leaf coverage. It works well with squash. Both the yellow straight neck and white scalloped squash are doing very well. When the plants are covered with ripe fruit to harvest and many brightly colored blossoms, bees are everywhere. I like the bees, they provide a better harvest and they tickle my husband when he slows down to watch them. Harvesting the squash is where having a strong faith comes in handy. Once I spot one ready to pick, I have to stick my arm deep into the dense plants to get it. This requires blindly maneuvering between bees doing their own harvesting of pollen. I have not been stung yet and plan to keep it that way. If you're allergic and/or get scared by bees, growing squash is not for you.
The greens are playing out and next week should be time to harvest any turnips I might get. I planted the bulk of my seed close together for more of a greens harvest but did space some out between the rows of white beans in hopes of some turnips. The last of the radishes have all been pulled. I had under-planted them with the pintos, so as the bean plants started over-shadowing them, I just harvested the last of them. The Swiss Chard keeps plugging along but it does far better in the late fall and winter.
Oh, and this morning I was bitten by the first mosquito I've seen this season. It was vicious! It did not, however, deter any joy from the bounty of the harvest. Thanks, Lord!! No wonder we have Thanksgiving Day! I bet the pilgrims were easily thrilled gardeners, too!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Journal Entry
Japanese Tea Garden Journal
April 7, 2011
Tho I am far, far away from anything that actually looks like a Japanese Tea Garden yet, I have found great satisfaction in my daily efforts toward that end. I mentioned that this has been a nine year long dream of mine. What I didn’t address was the impetus for finally starting. I think it important to know why we do what we do when we do it. It’s an integral part of living your life actually aware and plugged in to your own ‘present’ moment.
I was having a discussion with a dear friend that asked what I participated in to reduce stress, something I did ‘just for me’. It struck me that if a friend this close to me had to ask that question, whatever it was must not be evident in my day-to-day world. This friend KNOWS me, knows me well. If she didn’t know, no one would. This sent up all kinds of red flags for me. Then she asked me what I would do for myself if I could.
I ‘do’ all kinds of things. I ‘enjoy’ a lot of different activities. I am blessed to love my vocation of choice. I think part of my key to enjoying life is that I look for things to appreciate in the mundane chores required, as an example – how I enjoy hanging out the laundry on the line or the sense of immediate gratification I get from ironing. I choose not to see it as something I have to do but rather something I enjoy doing. But what do I “do” just for my personal pleasure, something to nourish my soul, if you will?
At first glance, I didn’t see anything. Apparently, my friend didn’t either. Then I thought about my daily tea ritual at 2 in the afternoon. I “do” that for me. Thoughts of my tea ritual led me to my dream for the Japanese tea garden and the serenity I feel when I simply contemplate sitting in the midst of this garden, away from the world and her stresses. That’s what I would do if I could, I would create my garden rather than just dreaming the years away. I would “do” that just for me if I could.
No, I can’t run out and buy the materials to put the fences up and building the actual Tea House may be light years away (even if it is small) in a realistic world but I can DO something. I can start! I can rake and prune trees and plot my vision in color on the computer…all of which I have done already. I walk the “fence lines” looking at the area from every angle to make sure my vision encompasses all the standard elements for a traditional Japanese garden. I ‘feel’ the emotion and peace I anticipate when I finally get to stroll the winding paths admiring the plantings and structure of the garden as I discover each new view all over again every day. I can do that.
For years I have poured over pictures of Japanese gardens in anticipation of actually having one of my own. I will continue to peruse the pictures because it puts a ‘face’ on my vision, if that makes sense. But I am determined to longer just dream. Each day I am one day closer to my vision coming to life and I will “DO” something as often as I can toward that end.
I hope you will “DO” something just for you, too!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Japanese Tea Garden Journal Intro
Japanese Tea Garden Journal
April 4, 2011
Today is the first day of actual hands-on work on the Tea Garden. Nine years of planning and dreaming and visualizing have moved on to the next phase…doing! I raked the whole area and staked off the fence lines. It was a labor of love and I proudly wear my new blisters as a badge of progress!
It will be completed, of course, on a pay as you go basis…no debt will be incurred to finish the project. So, progress in ‘leaps and bounds’ may be a bit optimistic but as a confirmation of commitment and an affirmation of intent, I will rake the area when I can do nothing else. Japanese gardens are quite well maintained, you know, albeit a low maintenance proposition.
I measured off the space; it is approximately 25’ X 50’. This is the distance from the side of the house to the property line between us and the Peterson neighbors and from the front edge of the house 50’ back toward the existing shed. The Tea House I see in my visions will sit between two of the Yupon trees that live in the garden area now.
I plan to situate the Tea House to face East. I love the morning sun and this will place the Tea House entrance as the first thing you see when you walk through the Asian style gate in the fence. I want the Tea House to measure 8’X8’. This is large enough for a table for the heating element for boiling tea water and a low table to sit around for the actual tea preparation and serving. I’ll be brushing up on the formal tea ceremony in the meantime. I hope to one day have the Tea House screened in so we can sleep out there when the weather allows. Ya gotta love living in the country!
In my vision, there is a water feature. I am still pondering the type and location but to be in keeping with Japanese gardens, I want the water feature to be seen from a sitting position in the Tea House, as you enter the gate, from the proposed sitting area and from inside the bedroom window that overlooks the garden area.
I hope to use bamboo/reed fencing around the shed (back) side and property line side of the garden. I want a wooden privacy fence on the side facing the back yard/doggy run and the side toward the front yard/street. The gate I envision will be Asian in design and there will be a rock walkway from the back of the house to the gate. One the end of the garden toward the front yard, I want another smaller gate of the same design to give access to the steps we will be cutting into the slope and to give just a hint of the secret garden from the street view up the hill.
So, this is me, excited about our journey to the Japanese Tea Garden. I will journal the adventure and share the project as I go. Hope you'll have tea with me one day...that's the vision!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)