A Few Things. . .

 

Late summer fruit--peaches. These weren't as good

as recent peaches (the season ran late here), so I think

the last tasty peach has been eaten. Sad.

Oh, my. The second half of my speaking notes about "margin" are a mess. When I first ran across them, I only skimmed over the notes to get the gist of what I wrote, and I expected them to be clean-ish like the first half, but instead, they are a loose collection of quotes and jottings and too much repetition. I certainly hope that when I spoke at that brunch I was able to clean it all up and make sense of the topic!

I spent some time last night trying to put these too-messy-to-post notes into prose, and I made good progress (I'm nearing the end) but didn't finish. I don't have time to do so this morning, either, because I'm getting ready to head out of town for a few days to see my girls. There will be wi-fi at their house, and, depending on what everyone is doing, I might have a bit of time to post a thing or two (including the notes I'm trying to finish). If not, I'll get them done as soon as I return home.

At any rate, I can't wait to see my girls and do some things around town with them.

I've stayed home for the last three days to take care of some paperwork and get ready to start fall term classes. I've also been gradually gearing my life and home toward the autumn and winter seasons, not consciously, but naturally. For instance, it seemed natural on a recent cool evening to braise cabbage until meltingly tender and eat it with garlicky-lemony mashed sweet potatoes. Definitely delicious, and definitely not summer food. And when I was reading in the living room one evening, I got chilly, and since it's too early in the year to turn on heat, I brought out an afghan to wrap around me. Since I'll likely need the afghan again soon, it made sense to leave it on the couch.

As the seasons shift places, morning light in the house has gradually taken on a new feel. It is warmer, more mellow, and more fleeting. It's a cozy light that makes me want to bake something!

That is one cozy rug!

I snapped the photo when lighting was bad,

but click if you want to see better.

You can see my mess from typing my "margin" notes

on the computer table. And my coffee!

And a dish towel on the back of the chair. (?)

When I moved into this house in early May, these wood floors were cold! I didn't even like to come into the living room then, and since I don't want to spend this coming winter entirely in the kitchen, I've been looking for a really-inexpensive rug. I was hoping to find a sort of plush, light-colored shag. Normally I wouldn't go with a light color but this room is dark, and winter sunlight only touches the very edge of the room for mere minutes in early morning, so the room can use any brightness I can give it. I wanted a rug I could sit on and that my grandkids could play on when they come. So, I was happy when I found this fairly plush, cozy rug for an affordable (super cheap!) price.

Early in the summer, I began reading a book Aaron gave me for Christmas, but I didn't finish it. I've picked up Palace Walk again and am moving along in it really well now. The author won a Nobel prize for this book and the sequels that follow (written in the 1940's, I think). The book wonderfully evokes the atmosphere of its Egyptian setting and powerfully portrays the oppression of women in that religious culture. I love reading fiction, but I don't do enough of it, in spite of the strong encouragement from my son to do so (he thinks fiction is "truer" than non-fiction). :-)

And now I'm going to pack my things and get ready to leave. More soon!

(Hey! Does a new thing happen when you click on photos? It does when I click--it kind of opens up on its own, grey, transparent overlay--and I love how it looks.)

Quiet Tuesday. . .

This morning, I stepped outside early. I gathered the last few apples that had fallen to the ground and picked the last two on the tree. Now the apples are done, and I have a few on hand for making something good. What shall it be?

After I collecting the apples, I washed off the two (!) new-to-me Weber charcoal grills some garage-saling friends picked up for me. I love that they got me a small one for when I'm grilling alone and a large one for when family and friends eat with me. I'm thankful that thoughtful friends take pains to be kind. Kindness requires thought, care, and effort!

I made coffee, and this morning I noticed that the teakettle has a cute little face. (Black on black does not make for a clear photo! Maybe if you click on the picture, you can see it better.)

I gathered the large stack of books that had collected near my bed and put them back on the shelves. Right now I'm needing things to be simpler. Books are good. They teach, inspire, console, and stretch me, but sometimes I need a reading sabbatical. Sometimes I just need to focus on my Bible. This is one of those times.

This morning while I worked, I listened to Arvo Part--a composer who does not disturb my quiet spirit.

"I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is

beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat,

or a moment of silence, comforts me."

"Silence is the pause in me when I am near to God."

~Arvo Part

I am not a grand, complex, orchestrated piece of music--a symphony or an opera. I am a simple, unnoticed person. A single note in a cacophonous world. I want to step out of the maelstrom and into the quiet. I want my note to be played beautifully by God. I want to stop and kneel, repentant and surrendered, and let silence enhance the music because God is near.

It's a beautiful day with pleasant temperatures and a nice breeze, and I have things to do both inside and outside the house, so off I go! Wishing you a beautiful day, wherever you are.

When Old Friends Stop By. . .

Entertainments, adventures, and diversions aren’t necessary. If all you do is sit at the kitchen table, drink a cup of coffee together, and do a lot of talking, catching up, and sharing of your thoughts and lives, it’s a special time. (I didn’t even have a coffee treat to offer them, and they didn’t even mind!)

The flower was at least 8” in diameter.
I'm not trying to pretend my little camera can shoot great flower close-ups
on "auto" mode. I'm just giving you an idea of what the flower looks like!

I answered the ringing door bell to Laurie holding this giant-petaled red flower: “I have no idea what this is, and I have no idea if it will live if you put it in water, but I had to bring it because it is so cool. I wanted you to see it.” It is cool. The middle glows neon green. The flower survived brightly through the day, but when dark came, the flower withered.

(Later--Just got an email from Laurie. She says it's a hibiscus flower. Her son grows tropical flowers, and she got it from his yard. She said, "It dies every winter and takes all summer to get its leaves then makes dozens of these plate size flowers at the end of summer into fall that only last about 2 days each...so cool...")

 

They left me a little pile of vegetables: patty pan squash, zucchini, tomatoes—the makings of a tasty dinner (stuffed patty pan squash)! And they gave me three nice peaches. I love peaches. Peaches = summer and happiness.

 

When it came time to leave, Laurie walked over to the typewriter and said, “Am I supposed to sign this?” (Of course!) And it was quite entertaining hearing her tap out her message: “Uh-oh. I jammed the keys!” Tap-tap-tap. “Oh, no.  I did it again!” Tap-tap-tap. “Oops.” Tap-tap-tap. “How am I supposed to make this thing go back?!” Tap-tap-tap. “Oops!”

Aaron and I loved visiting with you, Dave and Laurie!

Come back soon!

“It takes a long time to grow an old friend.”

~John Leonard

A Random Day. . .

It hadn’t really occurred to me that autumn is creeping up on summer until I saw the fall display in the home-wares section of Goodwill yesterday. Wow. Just when it seems like summer is getting on a roll, here comes the next season, but there’s still a month to go before school starts again, and I intend to enjoy every day of what’s left of this season.

While I was at Goodwill, I found another old typewriter—a cute one that has a sort 50’s vintage space-age shape. It types great, the ribbon is in pretty decent shape, and it was super-cheap, so I bought it. Yes, I have three other vintage typewriters (even though I’ve given two or three away!), but for this price, I can share them with others or start a typewriter museum in my house or sell them for more than I paid for them.

Because this typewriter has a better ribbon, it took the place of the old typewriter that was being used as a guest book. And, by the way, the typewriter guest book idea is a hit, especially with kids (young and old). I’ve already got some pages filled with type even though I haven’t “officially” inaugurated the guest book. I love the notes people leave me or the random things they say or the conversations they have with each other. Aaron types in Danish, so I don’t know what all of his entries say, but I’m sure they’re entertaining to read (one of these days, his words will go into an online translator).

While I was chatting with Aaron, he told me to take a picture

of the teapot because you could see the whole kitchen in it.

Maybe if you click you can see better.

I have no daybook to put up today and no high school post, either, because it was a random, lazy morning, and I have quite a to-do list to cover this late afternoon. I stayed up late with Aaron last night (he spent the night) watching For All Mankind—an interesting documentary about the US Apollo moon program. I was a child in the era when the Sputnik circled the world and the US took it as a challenge, and I’ve always found the Apollo missions fascinating. I read Lost Moon before it was made into the movie Apollo 13 (the book is more detailed and more amazing than the movie, as is usually the case). Anyway, I loved the documentary footage of astronauts singing, running, bouncing, joking, and playing like exuberant children on the moon in their space suits—it was truly funny and fun to watch.

Late-night movie watching means late to bed. I got up early enough this morning (5:30), but I evaded my usual routine and started doing random things like pounding nails in the wall to put this picture here and that one there; going outside to move the sprinkler around and cut some flowers; having coffee and quiet time in the middle of it all; visiting Aaron in the kitchen while morning ticked away. . .

. . . making cream biscuits (and more coffee) so late in the morning that the biscuits became lunch. . .

. . . trying to learn to use Aaron’s way-better-than-mine camera (none of these photos were taken with it).

And now I will move along. Friends are stopping by tomorrow morning, so I don’t know if I’ll have a post up before or after they come, but by bedtime, I’ll have something posted on the blog.

Happy Monday!

Early Morning Journal. . .

 (I’ll be back with the high school posts soon. My kids and I are discussing what I should share in the posts and what I should not. I don’t want to invade their privacy or open any more of their lives to the world than they want me to, so I’m just making sure everyone is comfortable. . . But I’ll have more soon!)

: : : : :

This morning was quiet and lovely. The sun didn’t make a bright and snappy appearance, but snuck in quietly with a few clouds. It set the mood for a still, contemplative morning. I took some early morning photos, and I wrote in my journal. I’ll share both the photos and the opening words of today’s journal entry here. I love the moments of morning when the sky is brightening but not yet full-on sunny.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Early morning

“I rose at 5:00 but not with the sun because it was still dark. I was tempted to climb back into bed for “just a few more minutes,” but I know what that means (not waking again til far later than I want to be up and about), so I didn’t. Once I started to move, I was glad I was up. As usual, I enjoyed the morning silence, when muffled faraway sounds reach me across the stillness and the floor feels cool beneath my feet—extra nice on these muggy days.

“I opened windows, and the cool, refreshing air from outside quickly overcame the warm, stale air inside. When the day began to brighten, I walked through the rooms of the house to have a look, and I stepped out the open front door to welcome the sun—the front stoop is the first part of the house to be touched by morning light—but the sun is muted this morning by patchy clouds.

“Last night, after dark, I heard water running, like a shower. It took me a minute to realize that it was rain. Rain?! It had been a hot, humid day—so humid, I guess, that the sky had to dump some of its moisture.

“I like early mornings—even muted mornings like today. They’re lovely with hope and promise and God’s mercies. Always fresh and cool before the heat and noise of the day drive away the newness. But tomorrow there will be another morning to savor if I will embrace it. And I will.

“I thank God for His gifts. For light, fresh air, restoration—the daily creation of newness. For a house to call home. For little flowers and morning coffee. For books, for friends. For strength and breath. Mostly, I thank Him for His mercies; they are new every morning, and I feel it. I know it. And each morning, my love for Him is renewed and refreshed, too.”

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed

for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.

Great is your faithfulness.”

~Lamentations 3:22, 23

  

Have a beautiful day!