The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my Window... it is cloudy and cool with the promise of the rain soon.  My favorite kind of day.

I am thinking...of how my life has changed and continues to change ~ for the better, i think.

From the learning rooms...i am learning that i can order my life around those things which please me.  i don't need someone else's permission or approval to live my own life.

I am thankful for...good health and the ability to do things.  Many people my age have many health problems but i have been blessed with good genes, i guess.

From the kitchen...yesterday i painted 3 bar stools and a large wooden shelf on top of the kitchen counter ~ i just took them down a few minutes ago.  i made tea and lunch.  Tomorrow i plan on making a favorite dish for my daughter and her family.

 
I am wearing...faded blue jeans, a white turtleneck, navy blue pullover sweater and brown slippers.

I am reading...Arrrrggghhh, i am purposing to finish Moby Dick!  i started it a couple of years ago and am nearly halfway through.  i won't allow myself to read anything else (besides my Bible and devotional books) until i finish it.

I am hoping....for an end to an ongoing situation.  Lord willing, within a month or so i will be in a better, more settled place.

I am creating... and trying to finish decorating my house.  i have lived in it for over a year and there are still some very blank walls, piles of framed photos on the floor, furniture that i want to paint, etc, etc.  i have realized that just giving mental assent to these tasks doesn't get them done!

I am hearing...my parakeet talking to himself in the next room.

Around the house...it feels cluttery.  There is too much stuff.  i am wanting to get rid of a bunch of it but seem stuck for the moment.

One of my favorite things...quiet days.  Days when i don't have to go anywhere, there is no pressing business and i can just BE!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Well, let's see...tomorrow (Wednesday) morning is my Bible study.  We are studying a new work by Beth Moore titled Children of the Day based on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Tomorrow evening i am planning on making supper for my daughter's family, Thursday we are all going to SAM (Seattle Art Museum), then i have a support group meeting in the evening.  Friday, i may spend the afternoon with the father of a good friend.  His health is not good and even though he is doing some better he enjoys the bit of company i bring.  Sometimes we run his errands, sometimes we go on a local road trip or stay home and cook something.  He just celebrated his 83rd birthday and is a joy to be around. That evening my daughter is having friends over for dinner so i will join them.  Then i think i am entertaining the friends 2 little girls so the grown-ups can have some time. Saturday, i think, is a "free" day with no outside obligations. Saturday evening i usually Skype with my son in China and get to see my newest grandson!  

 

Speaking of him ~ Rowan ~ i'll share a couple of recent pictures. He just turned 6 months old the first of February!

 

Wind

        I have lived nearly all of my life in windy places.  First, eastern Nebraska, then eastern Colorado followed by western Nebraska and east-central Kansas.  When the forecast called for a windy day  I knew fairly well what to expect.  If it was summer, it felt like a blast furnace outside with the wind trying to blow the clothes right off your body and in winter you drew your coat as tight as possible around yourself and tucked your face into your scarf as the wind would suck the very breath from your lungs.  In any season, lawn and deck furniture or any other outside decorations or tools could be found far from their usual spots.  Oftentimes, you felt as if you were walking sideways as you struggled not to be blown away.  In that part of the country, wind is a thing of the earth.      
       Two years ago, I moved to western Washington which is not known for wind.  Most days, the air moves hardly at all, at other times, there will be a soft breeze brushing your cheeks.  Sometimes, though, there is Wind; but it is a different kind of wind.  When the weatherman announces that it will be windy, I have learned what to expect.  When I step outside I feel the wind as a slight breeze ruffling my hair, but mostly I hear it high up in the tops of the trees.  These wonderful old firs and pines which can reach to more than 150 feet above the earth; they hold the wind.  The sound is like a constant dull roar sometimes growing louder and louder, sometimes almost fading away before it comes roaring back.

       The velocity of the wind is different here, too.  In the midwest and western states, the wind speeds can reach 60-70-80-90mph; sometimes topping 100 mph.  These fierce winds can blow stationary cars across a parking lot, tear roofs off buildings and blow semi-trucks and mobile homes over.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, however, expected winds of 25, 35 or 40mph are enough to illicit a High Wind Warning.  The reason for this is the trees that I mentioned earlier.  These beautiful, stately somewhat aloof giants becoming menacing and dangerous when the wind blows.  At any other time they stand quietly ignoring what is going on down around their feet, but not so when the wind blows.  In this place of rain, beaches and trees, the wind belongs to the trees.
       That is why I am sitting at my dining room table in the middle of the night accompanied by a large candle, an oil lamp and a cup of tea made with water heated on my gas stove writing about the wind.  It is a windy night.  The trees are blowing, the power is out and I am hoping that one of these gentle giants doesn't fall on my house.

Outside my Window... it is cloudy and cool with the promise of the rain soon.  My favorite kind of day.

I am thinking...on how some people will not understand.

From the learning rooms...i read a great article by Marc and Angel Hack Life called "7 Things Happy Healthy People Do Every Morning".  A few of the things i knew about but do not practice but it gave me lots to think about and some things to put into practice.

I am thankful for...my precious family.

From the kitchen...well, let's see.  This morning i washed the dishes and cleaned the top of the stove, made breakfast and made tea.  That's about all just now.  

I am wearing...a denim dress, white turtleneck, and brown slippers.  (Dressember)

I am reading...The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn.

I am hoping....for a peaceful, productive week.  i have lots to do and i keep getting distracted.

I am creating...a few small Christmas gifts and i have some home decorating ideas. . . maybe some painted furniture!

I am hearing...the clock ticking, the cd Christmas Time with Celtic Women.

Around the house...it feels like its waiting.  i'm not sure what it's waiting for, but that is the atmosphere at present.

One of my favorite things...listening to Christmas music.  i make myself wait until after Thanksgiving to start; that makes it more special.  Today i also listened to Josh Groban's Noel. 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... living on purpose; making a plan for the day.  Today's plan is for a bit of housework, researching sugar scrub recipes, make out lists for Christmas gift giving, maybe a bit of that furniture painting i mentioned earlier, Skypeing with my son, and knitting.

This picture is of the courthouse in the town where i lived for nearly 18 years.  It was built in 1873 and is lit for Christmas every year.  i am feeling a bit nostalgic about the town as 2 of my dear friends who operated a cafe and held live music jam sessions every Friday night for 15 years have just retired.  God bless you, Sue and Monty!