The "Juices" are Flowing

 A brief visit yesterday to Barnes and Noble got my creative

juices flowing.

Today I sewed rod pockets

in these light curtain panels.

They SHOULD have been

hanging all summer

but I'll enjoy them into autumn.

And, can you see the yard art here?  Three pieces created by my husband and father

have found their place in the sun!

The Raven and I

After months in the ark,

I rather imagine the raven Noah summoned to fly over the receding waters

needed some nudging and encouragement to test its wings
 before going on its mission.

I felt a bit like that this morning.

Weakened and slowed by my malaise,

I gathered pins, fabric and scissors to test MY wings

by fabricating a simple replacement cover

for the cushion on which I sit every day.

This was the tangible result.

What is NOT visible is the very real spark (however small) of hope

that healing is progressing and health is just around the corner.
***
This small project intensifies my desire and determination
to be more creatively productive in 2018.

Meals

Old recipes are the best--with a little tweaking now and then, of course...

Meals--planning, preparation and cleanup--occupy more time than I realized!  Leisurely they wander in and out of my minutes and hours.  They take me to cupboard and cookbook; internet and recipe file.  I search refrigerator and pantry for them.  I travel, too.  Superstores and small-town grocery.  Occasionally a roadside market.  Slowly they take shape.  Each one unique; odd combinations of time and taste and what's on hand. I find a surprising pleasure in their creation because I wasn't always "into" cooking.

 (This observation from my journal entry a few days ago.)

What a Difference a Week Makes

A week ago, friends helped pack and move my dad to our home.

By evening, he was somewhat settled in and woke the next day to attend church with us.

Monday, the professional estate sale personnel began pricing thousands of items left in his home.

Tuesday, we went to check out the progress.

The estate tag sale began on Thursday.

To keep cold symptoms from becoming more serious, Dad stayed here.

We put a jigsaw puzzle together to keep our minds off what was going on "back at the ranch".

 Friday afternoon we checked in and ended the afternoon with all my siblings and their spouses

at a local restaurant.

Returning home, it really FELT like home for him, I believe.

This afternoon I found him sitting at his desk paying bills and doing some paper work.  

Antibiotics have kicked in, and he is feeling more like himself.

 How I love sharing morning devotional times with Gary and Dad!

My zeal for cooking and serving good meals that had waned has been revived.

Table games now are three-way instead of two.

What a difference a week makes!

Up-Close-and-Personal

She came yesterday afternoon.  She looked kindly at my clutter and dust and agreed to come next Tuesday (and every two weeks) to clean our house.  Well, the downstairs anyway.  I can't bring myself to expose the upstairs situation to ANYone just yet.  I will ease into it.  I'm determined.

It's a new season of life for me.  One I didn't anticipate as a child, teen, young adult, busy parent or empty-nester.  One I choose with great pleasure and enthusiasm.  There is no way to actually  imagine all the implications of this choice, but my confidence and anticipation is strengthened by the complete support and involvement of my husband.

One week from today, my father will move into our home.  He will have his own room in which to retreat, but we are hopeful he will feel at home in our kitchen and living room as well.  Multiple details have been addressed to make his transition (and ours) as seamless as possible.  It will be interesting to see what we overlooked!

I am thankful that he accepted our invitation and will not be spending the long, dark and cold winter nights alone.  I'm thankful for the privilege of "doing" family up-close-and-personal.  I'm thankful for the growth and challenges that have ALREADY come and are STILL to come with this new adventure.

Oh, and I'm thankful to have a house-cleaner!

My Sane, Simple and Sacred Corner

Among the joys of our current remodeling project

is the creation of this corner--

an actual designated Music Corner--

just for me!

With the addition of the stool (a gift from my sister),

I don't need to stand at my keyboard for long periods of time.

By raising the keyboard to the height it is,
I can accommodate the stand beside itwhich stores my music.

If any one area of my house could be summarized

by the words "Sane, Simple and Sacred",

this is it!

The Little Foxes

 For quite awhile, the right-hand door of this old wardrobe

needed a folded paper jammed in its crack to hold it closed.

It was a "little" thing that we put off fixing.

Recently, my husband installed this magnet (above).

How WONDERFUL not to be constantly attending to the loose door.

Why DIDN'T we do it sooner?

 And this "small" thing...

How handy it's been!  A place to hang shirts when they come out of the dryer

and for guests' coats when the coat closet is already full.

(It can be removed if/when I think it to be an eyesore.)

Attention to the "small" things is so critical in my personal life, I've found.

The "little foxes" have potential for both  good AND for bad.

 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

(Song of Solomon 2:15)

The first hint of a selfish, sinful thought or desire;

the "little" departure from truth;

the "small" conformity to the world;

for me, the first bite of chocolate!

WhatEVER trips me up in pursuing God's plan and purpose 

for my good and His glory must be "caught" and dealt with.

And the "small" thing  which He prompts me to pursue

I will similarly and joyfully do! 

If not, my vineyard may be ruined.

(What "little fox" has made a difference in YOUR "vineyard" recently?)

Just pretending

 Sometimes you just HAVE to pretend....

 With 19 degree temperatures on the second day of spring,

 I think this is ONE of those times.

But there are SOME times when pretending just doesn't cut it.

 Let us have no imitation Christian love. 

Let us have a genuine break with evil and a real devotion to good.

J.B. Phillips, Romans 12:9

Word of God, speak...

Sawdust and Planks

Every morning, my husband and I sit across the room from each other with a cup of coffee, our journals and Bibles.  After our "private" thoughts are recorded, we read a page or two from a devotional book or the Bible and (since late January) the 91st Psalm.  Then we pray together.

From my seat this morning, I saw a popcorn kernel and a slip of paper under his recliner.  I pointed it out to him and asked him to pick it up.
< Then I looked down to the left of "MY" recliner and saw this...

                   ...and to the RIGHT of my recliner and saw THIS! >

(Honestly, I cannot bring myself to make these pictures any larger than "small".)

Instantly, I thought of Jesus' words recorded in Matthew 7:3:  

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye 

and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

...You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, 

and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (verse 5)

Confession of sin/weakness/need is only as productive

as the change it produces.

I SHOULD have cleaned up my mess before I posted this

so I'd have an "after" picture to post, but I didn't.

It is God who sees my heart and will know whether or not

I followed through.
(I guess my husband will know, too....)

Candyless

One "hug" per person at our luncheon yesterday

After Christmas 2011, I wrote the following on my Power, Love and Self-Control blog:

• Just because the mini Hershey bars are 1/2 off, doesn't mean I have to buy them.
• Just because I bought them doesn't mean I have to eat them all in one night.
• Just because they're still 1/2 price and they're just about gone doesn't mean I have to go back and buy some more.

I have a feeling I might need the reminder in the middle of next week. 

My strategy is to heed the FIRST one so I don't have to fall back on the last two!  

I'm attempting to keep my Valentine celebrations candy-less this year.
I treated myself to a bare island (kitchen)
and clean, uncluttered counter-tops yesterday.
Better than candy ANY day.

Bananas...Bread...Baking

My husband and I attended this country church 

during our college years and early married lives.

I treasure this cookbook not just because of the wonderful recipes,

but because every page conjures up a special memory in my mind.

You may know that you can click on these pictures to enlarge...

 This morning I used up 3 "black" bananas and followed

my great-aunt Pearl's recipe for banana bread.

(I didn't add a cup of nuts.)
I baked the bread in this Corning Ware bread pan.
We received several casserole dishes in this pattern
as wedding gifts in 1971.
I've added other pieces such as this one throughout the years
while shopping in thrift stores and at garage sales.

 

As I stirred up the batter, I thought of this Chip Ingram quote... 

"God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread, but he expects us to do the baking!"

How does YOUR favorite banana bread recipe

compare with my Great-Aunt-Pearl's?

This, That, and the Other Thing

“Just 'cause you got the monkey off your back
doesn't mean the circus has left town.”

(I can't remember where I read this...but I LIKE it!  It kind of helps explain the way the old sin nature rears its ugly head from time to time...)

"...There's no routine on weekends like this, just a list of things to be done and one by one they're mentally crossed off. There's no rush to get through it, no guilt if anything goes undone. My aim is to get through my work but to enjoy it too, even the seemingly dull bits."  (From Down To Earth, a gentle and encouraging blog to live life with simplicity and intentionality.)

♫ TRUST HIS HEART♫

All things work for our good,
though sometimes we can't see how they could
Struggles that break our hearts in two
sometimes blinds us to the truth.
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim, and you just can't see Him--
Remember you're never alone!

He sees the master plan,

And He holds our future in His hands.

So don't live as those who have no hope!

All our hope is found in Him.

We see the present clearly,

But He sees the first and the last--

And like a tapestry 
He's weaving you and me to someday be just like Him

(Refrain)

God is too wise to be mistaken.

God is too good to be unkind.

So when you don't understand;

When you don't see His plan;

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart.

For some reason, I just need the truth of this song to play itself over and over
in my heart and mind today...Hope it strengthens YOU, too.

Sortingly, Me

In a little nook across from our downstairs coat closet and just outside the bathroom & laundry closet stands this desk.  The top is a catch-all for loose coins, screws, paper clips, and other SORTS of pocket miscellany.

The scene inside is no better.  THIS happens to be what is left when all the greeting cards I've collected over a period of years have been removed!  (I'm talking NEW greeting cards, bought with the best of intentions!)

This is the scene at our table this morning.  In the box to the left are cards for which I've found envelopes.  In the box to the right are envelopes still to be matched up with cards lying to the right on the table.  (Are you following this?)  In front of the box are cards AND envelopes, still UNSORTED.  Picture all of this inside that desk, if you can!

I'm a bit out of sorts because I've allowed this desk to become so completely cluttered that it was of no use.  It had become a source of frustration and self-incrimination.  It represented a few other areas of my life that had been left unguarded and and untended.   

Sorting it out has spread into the third day--and not because it is such a huge project.  I think, after a sort,  it's because of what it represents.  I'm dealing with THAT, too.

 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! 
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:  
"We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgotten."

Lamentation 3:40-42

sort [sɔːt]

n. 1. a class, group, kind, etc., as distinguished by some common quality or characteristic

after a sort to some extent

out of sorts not in normal good health, temper, etc.

sort of in some way or other; as it were; rather

vb. 1. (tr) to arrange according to class, type, etc.

2. (tr) to put (something) into working order

sortable ad j  sortably adv  sorter  n

Lots of Ado About Nothing Much

This is kind of what I look like this morning.  I'm not going to repeat what I said on my Stylin' Blog this morning (but you're welcome to go read it).  Some pretty good stuff is going on in my life today--including our firstborn's birthday!

The topic of bath towels and preferences regarding them arose in the comments on yesterday's post.  Personally, I  LOVE* naturally dried towels!  Though a little scratchy (I just flap them vigorously when taking them off the line and it helps), I think they are more absorbent than those that come out of the clothes dryer. 

*Now, about that word "LOVE"!  For a long time now I've been wanted to tackle the task of consciously finding suitable words to use in its place.  I definitely believe that I overuse the word but struggle to come up with other words to more accurately communicate DEGREES of my affection and admiration.

For me, it cheapens the word to say "I love the Lord Jesus" or "I love my daughter" alongside with "I love that purse" or "I loved your post"!  It just feels awkward for me.

Have YOU ever felt that way?  If so, have you found other ways to express your feelings?

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with and with all your mind."

Matthew 22:37

Signs of our Times

As a newlywed--and later a new mother, I frequently hung out our wash to dry - including cloth diapers!  It's been a long time since I've had a clothesline. A messy mulberry tree was my excuse not to have a clothesline at THIS house, but we had it removed recently.  So yesterday, I bought the necessary supplies...and this morning I joined the growing numbers of others who are drying clothes the "natural" way.  I have seen several photos of white sheets billowing in the breeze* and wished I had white sheets, too.  Actually, these rust red ones are quite ancient!  I may treat myself to some new ones.  Sheets are a major purchase these days, so I'll do a little research before buying!  Any advice?

Meanwhile, if you've posted a picture of your clothesline, I'd be thrilled if you'd leave your link in the comment section.  I think it would be fun to compile a few!

I'm going to work at being a little more artistic in my hanging style in the future.  Today, I just am praying for a little sunshine to break through the overcast sky.

I hung my husband's shirts inside-out so they wouldn't fade.  I'm hoping they'll dry without major wrinkles.

* Mrs. Mac has one of the billowing white sheets photos...

Do you have any tips about hanging out clothes to share with me?