WATCHING....

Today I am enjoying watching the young people of our country taking action and charge of a great movement to hopefully progress on gun control.   It is good to see them challenge the norm.  It reminds me of this country woman who so many years ago as a country girl, got involved in picketing and protesting during her high school years.  Oh, those 60's had lots to not stand with for sure, but today also does.  So proud of these young people who are standing up and speaking out.  You don't have to agree with them, but you still can be proud of the fact that they are having a voice especially when many older people just sit and do nothing.

A Country Day in My Life

Today was a pretty normal day in my country living in NE Missouri.  Enjoying the warmer weather and waiting for it to get warmer.  Plans for spring things are getting anxious on my mind.

Today I started as usual with breakfast and watching news programs, with my little dogs all around.  After that I got at exercise down in my little corner of the basement set up for exercise and yoga time.  I lit my candles and turned on my Zen CD.  Very relaxing, calming time with stretches and moves to keep me strong.  

One needs strength at any age, but I am happy to say that I am pretty strong and I will soon be 70.  I may only be doing quilting or bread baking, but also do other things continually through the day and need the energy and strength for them.

Later morning after making some business phone calls, I pinned my binding from the back on my current quilt project, to get at hand stitching it tomorrow.  I like doing steps in the process and enjoying the time with it.  It makes the project feel like it really belongs to me because I have put lots into it.  The same goes with yoga, being in the moment and giving it my time, doing steps to go through my routine.

After a delivery from FED EX, and a short visit with the driver, no cookies for her today, but nice to get to know these delivery people.  Lots of my shopping is done online so I don't have to drive the twenty miles to the nearest large town, only 18,000 or the 45 miles to the next town of 40,000.  I go there sometimes, but enjoy my time at home in the country doing my needed things and also the many things I like to do.

Next was walking with my dogs, good exercise also, lunch with wonderful Brie and crackers and fruits and water.  Plans for dinner later by making a salad and  thawing the pork chops.  Bread was made  yesterday.

Another phone call to get insurance straightened out before doing some reading while laundry is being  washed  as are dishes.  Nice to lay down and  rest a bit , yes , with my little dogs.  Outside again for a short  walk in the woods.  Dinner and news time again.

Visiting with my husband before working on some knitting.

My country home and life fills my heart with joy.

 

Passing Things Down

This country person likes "hand me downs" even if it is a vase or dish from a grandparent or elderly relative or neighbor.  These days I am seeing my children passing things down to their grown children who are starting out their "on my own" lives.  

It tickled me when my daughter called to say that Gwyn, her grown daughter was moving from the apartment with two other people to one with her soon to be husband.  They need things and Leslie decided to give them her kitchen table and four chairs.  She has had it since Gwyn, now 23, was 3 years old.  I recall the day that Leslie and I went to the furniture store and purchased it as she was moving to her own place after a divorce from the children's dad.  They lived with us for about six months during that time.  So this table has served many meals to her family of three.  Now it will go to Gwyn's new place and beginning life as a couple.  

My son has a table that I gave them when he started out in a small apartment while in college and working at a church.  His family still has it to this day and he has refinished it.  It is a nice wooden table also.  When I moved from one state to another, my large dining set did not come with me as I knew it would not fit in the place I was moving into.  A distant relative, and friend, gave me this set which she and her husband started married life with.  I enjoyed it for a number of years before getting a different one in order to pass this one on to Brook.  Then he got married and they are still using it with now 28 years of marriage.  

Tables would be interesting to talk to, many stories told around them, games played, and hobbies done.  But the table, as well as other items passed down, make for interesting stories we know about the previous owners or can tell about our life with the item.

As I recall moving across this wonderful country, I recall giving away some items to good friends, and when I would visit, there the item was in their home, cherished .  One friend actually said that whenever she was cleaning house and came across the items in it from me, she would say a quick prayer for me, wherever I was and lived.  That is also a treasure.

So enjoy your items, pass some down to others, and enjoy the memories made.

Baby Squirrels

Oh, those crazy young squirrels are fun to watch.  We have plenty and I enjoy when they come out of the nests or the squirrel house.  Today one climbed up on our front porch and then over to the church pew and back of church pew to the outside windowsill of the front windows.  It was fun watching it looking in and its nice fluffy tail, but when my little dogs saw it....well, they were more then excited.

Wild things are very interesting and lead simply lives.  I know I can continually learn from them.  Joy in simple life.

ENOUGH.....

You may think like I do, that sometimes "enough is enough".  It could be on many issues, but I am thinking about "stuff".  As we go through life, we Americans especially seem to collect and accumulate many things.  But it seems to me that at a certain stage of life, "enough is enough".  

As I have moved many times in my life, sometimes many distances, I have been able to limit what I have because of necessity.  However, I have now not moved for 25 years.  I can see how it happens.  

I am not speaking of hoarding, but collecting neatly and with organization.  I got into it with having consignment booths and going to auctions.  It was fun and not that expensive, or even a hobby.  Collecting teacups and pots, Precious Moments, music boxes, little tea cups and saucers, measuring cups, bowls, juicers.  It just went on.  So I quit.  I quit the consignment booths when the shop closed.  I quit the auctions because my grandson no longer worked at one I used to go to every other week.  I quit the collecting of some of the items.  Because, I just did not need the things anymore.

It also made me think when my neighbor from another country said, wow, do you use all of those teapots?   Well, I actually rotate them and use them all during a years time.  However, it made me think about my collecting.

A friend calls it "death cleaning", but I call it making life a little lighter.  So I lightened my load and house by giving away my Precious Moments , juicers, most measuring cups, music boxes.  I used some as gifts and gave the rest to good thrift stores so they can make some funds for their cause.  I even gave away my curio cabinet.  My wall shelf that I used for music boxes that just collected dust is now nice with antique book collections from my husband's grandfather, and a few antique unique items.  It looks so nice.  The living room is lighter because a wooden rocker and the curio cabinet are also gone.  I have one shelf in a kitchen cabinet with my glass measuring cups I kept.  I kept most of my bowls and all of the teacups and pots which are displayed on three nice higher to the ceiling wooden shelves around the dining room.  

It all makes me feel lighter and more organized.  It also has made me think about other things also.  This past Christmas and also this coming Christmas I will again "shop at home" not on line, but from my home stash, for family and friends.  I gave books, scarves I had made, measuring cups, teacups with candy in, coffee mugs to service people with keurig or tea bags in.  I made things from supplies I had here, to get rid of my fabric and yarn stash also.

Closets look great.  My house is as usual organized and neat, but underneath and outwardly, there is just less.  To me less is best and ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  

With shopping now my husband laughs because most of my shopping is for baking and cooking as I really enjoy doing both.  I also purchased some more and newer exercise equipment to use at home now that I have to spend less time undusting all my collections.  

So I encourage all of you to lighten your load also and call it what you want to.  As for me , I am only 70 years young and not ready to work on death cleaning, but see my home being easier for those left behind if I do go quicker then planned.

   

COUNTRY  MAILBOX

We have a nice gravel driveway, actually a circular drive way, and at the end of this driveway is our oversized mailbox.  I like it being oversized with a nice handle on the front to open it easier.  It is shiny black with large white numbers which I painted on and also our name is on the front.  Our long time, now about twenty years, postal person even likes it.  When we put it up, she left a not saying thank you and how nice it was.

You see, I do online shopping and she has to deliver lots of these items that do not come by other means.  She would have to  leave the road and come down our nice driveway to deliver these packages.  Now she can leave them in our mailbox because most fit in it.  She puts lots of miles on her jeep on our country roads so even the distance of our driveway not having to travel is good news.  BJ does a good job and we are grateful.  Therefore when Christmas comes, she gets a tin of cookies and homemade candies, which she always thanks me for.  On Easter I make a basket for her and leave it in the box.  She thanks me for that also.  Today I pulled three nice loaves, baguettes, from my oven, and thought, well, it is about time for BJ to deliver the mail, so I quickly wrapped a baguette and tied a ribbon around it, took it to the box and left it.  Minutes later I saw her driving down the side road so she would be back in about ten minutes.  I was so glad that I made it out there with the bread.  Later, getting the mail, a note from BJ was found and she said,  OMG, this bread is a nice surprise and it is still warm.  Thanks.   She always thanks me.  But I thank her and all the other service people that make my days better.

And, I thank the people who made my oversized Country Mailbox.

SEASON'S OF SPRING...

Birds, flowers, sounds, breezes.....spring.  I like to take it all in.  Just yesterday while standing in my backyard an oriole flew past me and landed in the tree near me.....like saying "see me, I am back".  Oh yes, you can see these lovely bright colored birds.  A few days before that I hear a red wing black bird....loving that sound.  I recall when living, growing up, in Wisconsin, I would hear these birds and "giggle" because I knew it meant SPRING.  I liked seeing these birds wherever I lived and no matter how old I was.  The breeze makes me rush out with bedding, rugs, and other laundry.  How good it is to crawl between those sheets that evening with the breeze of spring still on them.  It makes me think of sleeping under the stars years ago.  I still sleep under stars but only see part of them as I look out of the bedroom window at night.  It is quiet in this country home, and no curtains makes this possible.

Now for flowers, my daffodils are up and also some lilies.  The grass is even getting green.  SPRING.

This little girl used to "giggle" about it's arrival, and this almost 70 young lady is still "giggling" at it this season.  If you come my direction, and slow down, listen and you may hear my birds, my breeze, and even my "giggle" of spring.