Merry Christmas to all

Today was a peaceful day for which I am very grateful.  It was filled with watching grandchildren open there presents with squeals and laughter.  That in itself is such a gift to have them close by and get to see the delight on there faces.  We weren't sure there would be much of a Christmas this year, then the surprises came, help from friends that we are so grateful for. 

Before all the unwrapping began I was up scrubbing potatoes to bake in the crockpot, rinsing off the roast to put in the oven.  Walked up to the grands house, walked back, walked up again and back.  I got my mile in just doing that.  LOL. We have a White Christmas here, it was beautiful and stunning walking back and forth.  Then it was back to mixing up Uncle Dan's ranch dip, my favorite.  Cutting up celery and carrot sticks and making our fun cheese ball.

Then the best part of all, I took a nap.  Yep, it has been a grand day.
Merry Christmas to each of you and a blessed New Year.

A Challeging Christmas Season

This year has had many ups and downs in it.

 One of the most challenging, heart sore ones has been the passing of my daughter's finance to liver cancer.  He was 37 years old and passed on this last Thursday.  His cancer  was discovered in July due to a fall he had taken.  To watch his demise every day was so difficult.  He fought to the very end.  They had a son in June, a very contented little boy who has brought much joy.  He wanted to make it to Christmas to be there for his son's first Christmas.  We are sadden by our lose but know that he is no longer in pain, not confused, and home.

We greatly appreciate the prayers and condolenses that have been given to us, and are taking one day at a time.

In the meantime, in November my mother was diagnosed at Stage 4 with her bone cancer.
I have to tell you, I ran the white flag up the pole and went, enough please.  I know His word says He won't give us more than we can bear, are you sure Lord?  My mom is AMAZING and up beat about it.  She told me to remember that it is slow growing.  Her strength encourages me.

So I truly am learning the lesson again of going one day at a time. 

Adventures all around....

So I was thinking that it would be great to get to sew this week, work on my sewing room some, and in general have a more laid back week. 

Now, what I had in mind and what life brings are not necessarily the same thing or even inclusive.  My dh needed a ramp and thankfully we were graced with someone doing it for us.  The challenge, the wood pile needs moved in 7 days or less so they can do it.  Oh crap, is all my brain could think.  So I have cleared the old porch and started on the lovely wood pile, only to have to take a sledge hammer to each piece because they are frozen to each other.  Well who needs a workout with doing this all week.  Today I am taking a major break, I am actually marking out some of my quilt blocks that I want to do.  I needed a break and so did my body. 

I have to say this, I am every so grateful for the ramp and the fact that it will make life easier in the long run.  But the adventures in between, lol, can be the challenge.....so here is hoping it doesn't snow like crazy between now and then since I saw snowflakes earlier....lol

Sunday evening.....

When did this weekend fly by so fast, but it surely did.  Sunday evenings seem to be more contemplative for me.  I think they were even as a young woman.  I would sometimes get melancholy, that it went so fast, that the dusk was there before I was ready, in winter months more so.  I think even then I dealt with some SADs.  When later spring and summer came, I wasn't as challenged.  Now I think over the week and enjoy what I had fun doing.  This week was doing a scrappy star with some good friends that I sew with. 

I know this, that women need the opportunities to spend time together and share our lives, the ordinary of our days.  For that ordinary takes care of our families and those around us who have become our families.  We need the connections to nurture and be nurtured, to laugh, to sorrow, to learn together.  Women are amazing in all that they do, but we also so need to learn how to take care of ourselves.  That journey is what I certainly have been learning over the last four years.  So I keep learning the lessons and sharing what I learn along the way to those who are my family and friends. 

Off to go and do some of the very ordinary that makes up my days, the dishes.....lol 

Tuesday with Sunshine

Any day with sunshine can make my heart lighter.  I know that I have the winter blues, so being outside every day is important.  When there is sunshine it just makes it that much better.  I have the sunlight light bulbs in the house and that helps too.  So lights on and shining brightly.

The sewing room disaster room is finally seeing a wee bit of the light of day.  This just happens to be the room where I just drop stuff and hope to have a chance to get back to it later.  It is the worse case of a junk drawer, it is the whole room.  I really like sewing on my quilts and that has been on the back burner for so long.  It is time to take back the time that I need to have my creative outlet.  I love to write, and doodle, and do quilts and embroidery and I learned to hand quilt a month ago, that I want to give a lot more practice too.  Yep, always something going on, it makes the world go round.  Having those outlets lets some of the daily stress out.  learning to do that is important for me and all of us for that matter.  In our crazy, way to busy world, we need to have projects that allow us to sit and slow down.  So take some time and slow down.....

So we finally get......

snow, wonderful, light snow.  I have really enjoyed watching it fall as the night falls.  The challenge, they say it may be our winter storm for this year.  It only gave us 12 inches, yikes are we gonna be in trouble for the precipitation this summer.  I didn't even go make a snowman, or go sledding with the grands.  It was doing the freezing rain the next day, so didn't really have a chance to do it.  So, I am hoping for more snow, another storm, shhhhh, don't tell.  A girl can hope and dream.

I know for me, that I enjoy where I live and the seasons.  I enjoy seeing the changes and anticipating them.
It also makes me think of all the changes and seasons in my own heart and life.  You can be guaranteed that life will change, you never know what those changes will be.  Exploring them is part of what my journey in life is.  It is never boring, it can make me cry with joy and happiness, or with sadness and grief.  All those emotions are part of the ride as well, learning to allow myself to have each emotion is important.  I can't say I always do well with that, but I am learning.

So here is to my journey and yours as we continue to go forward.....

January 15, 2012 Sunday evening

So this weekend was cleaning, visiting, hanging in there.  Why the hanging in there?  Because the more I clean the more I realise what I need to change around here to make it work more efficiently.  Anything that makes life simpler, that makes it more enjoyable.  Even if I have to do clean up, I want to make it simpler to do.  So I can do the things I enjoy more like hanging out with the grand kiddos, quilting, reading a good book and so much more.  Life is challenging, enjoyable, funny, crazy, scary some times, but it is life!!!!

So off to take care of more of it.

Wednesday glooming hour January 11, 2012

The glooming hour is what a friend use to call it when the sun went down and before it was completely dark out.  I have no idea why she did it, but it stuck in my head.  When I think of her, I remember that phrase she would use.  She had a few of them.  She ever turned her clocks back either, she left them as they were.  She was her own unique woman.

I think as I grow older, I am growing into being my own unique woman,  appreciating more of who I am, not caring what others think like when I was younger.  I am hoping that this means I become wiser as well.  I am learning  more of what truly is important in life, relationships, rather than things, and not meeting others expectations.  Finding out what really makes me passionate.  One of those things is being there to listen to others, having a good laugh over nothing or everything, watching a sunrise or sunset depending on my silly sleeping patterns, feeding the chickens and hearing them cluck and their contentment,  have a fire roaring in the fireplace on a cold day like today.  I am passionate about the ordinary, having that ordinary be the extraordinary.  I have to remind myself of that when life comes crashing in, pushing and pulling at me.  Sitting down and taking a breath, remembering that this too shall pass, and remembering who I am.

Just my thoughts for the day, off to do a load of laundry for we all know it multiplies when you are not looking.....lol.

Sunday afternoon January 8, 2012

Taking a break from trying to find at least one room in my house today.  Why is it that when you have errands, doctor appointments that ones house goes to hell in a hand basket?  I cannot do it all at once.  I wish I could wiggle my nose and it would all be in order like I want it......nope, no cleaning fairies have showed up either.  Now wouldn't that be the bomb if they were true....they would show up in the middle of the night and put the house to order and you woke up to a clean house!!!!!  I know, dreaming, but a girl can always wish.

Thankfully it is not the grey foggy cloudy day, there was sunshine.  That helps, no matter the messes, sunshine can always make me smile.  It means winter does not last forever, that spring will come.  It means that this may be a mess now, but eventually I will get it done.  It brings hope.

Hope is the little voice you hear whisper "maybe" when it seems the entire world is shouting "no".  I do not know who the quote came from, but it is written in my room here to remind me that there is always hope.

So I shall go back to working on a small section in my living room, every little bit counts!!!!!

January 7, 2012

What a wonderful refreshing day.  Getting to talk to a friend I haven't talked to for 2 years, picking back up where we left off, talking for over two hours.  What a delight to say the least.  There are those people in your life that you may not get to talk to as often as you want to, but you pick right up where you left off.  Amazing fun.

I learned how to do some hand applique today at this wonderful quilt shop.  It was worth getting up early and learning how to do it with ease.  Having the right needle to do turn applique is imperative.  It made doing the applique so so so much easier.  Their suggestion was straw needles, size 10.  It is thin and long and it doesn't bend.  I have the notorious habit of bending my needles when I am working on something.  I don't with these.  That was so great!!!  Along with laughter, good company and learning.  What a great way to start ones day.

Now I have to admit, I am so not a morning person.  I did great because the time literally flew, came home and shared all the fun stuff with dh.  Then it was, Wow, I am so tired.  Off to slumber land for a while so I could function for the rest of the day.  Needless to say, I never really got back up to speed after taking the nap.  LOL.  Doesn't matter it was still a wonderful day.

So now that I am learning this skill, it means more projects.....lol. Now I am in trouble.......