A Contemplative Life

Slippers my grandsons left behind. Not long after my most recent post, I accidentally hit the create new post button. I titled it Not sure yet because of course there would be another post, written at a more opportune moment. In the middle of a family bash, most of my focus was on relatives and party details, and I can happily say the festivities were phenomenal! We haven't thrown a wing-ding like that in ages, nor at our still new-ish residence, which for many guests was their first time visiting. My husband certainly felt the love, many hands made for light work, and I got to play heaps of card games with the grandkids and others who appreciate Crazy 8's and Go Fish. By eight p.m. last night however I was TOAST. Partying hard in one's late fifties is...hilarious, in that I required a cup of caffeinated tea at lunch yesterday and still went to be before eight thirty. While I slept well, I've been awake for, um, a good while, and despite the mostly clear sky, admiring ...

  The hourly forecast for Saturday; indicative of my mood are the clouds, but if no rain falls, I'll be SO GRATEFUL (also indicative of my hope for the future). Recently a dear friend sent an email about being patient, trusting, and celebrating exactly where I am right now. I was grateful for her grace, that peace, and the accompanying anecdote about happy pigeons proffering a glimpse between where I currently stand and a world just beyond the veil. Where I am right now feels like thin ice, although Future Me is holding my hand, reminding that she just told me things were gonna suck. She squeezes my fingers as if to confirm that notion, the pressure not harsh but healing. She and I have been in some VERY DEEP VALLEYS, Past Me too, and yet here I am (or we are), breathing without difficulty on this bright, Thursday Humboldt County morning. Family arrived on Tuesday, my sister-in-law and her partner. The birthday celebrations begin tomorrow, so today will entail grocery shopping and ...

I am finding that by skipping around chapters, meaningful revisions are taking place. I've done this in the past, though not recently enough to recall for which novel. Yet, it's working, and God willing I remember to do it again for The Hawk Book 1. God willing is a phrase I've employed A LOT lately, not merely in conjunction with the electoral process here in America. God willing permeates to as many facets of my life as I recall to hitch it onto, because God willing is how I roll. God willing I will remember to edit books out of order from now on, but no promises, although Future Me winks, smiles, then goes back to her sewing. (Meanwhile Past Me glances up from her spot at the computer, peers around anxiously, then returns to writing. I think she's nearing an important plot point in The Hawk , but honestly, she could be penning a Christmas letter for all I know.) Currently I'm in a quiet moment of what will be a busy day; prepping the house for visitors who might...

  Trees on our property that won't bow to the wishes of the stars. Photo by my husband. The Big Dipper and the rest of the stars near it will have moved further westward in the sky. That was the first thing I considered when I peered out the living room window this morning, noting how far westward that constellation has veered. Just a couple of months ago, it was much further eastward, yet I can still see it, twinkling over the treeline as though it told the Redwoods to get out of the way. Deep breath taken; that's not the only thing to consider, but maybe it's better to start this post with musings about natural phenomena than, well.... Politics isn't even the way to describe the state of America's electoral process. And honestly, I won't delve deeply into what might occur, in that actually in a week all that will definitely happen is advertising won't feature this or that candidate or proposition. In one week, that will have ended. What comes next is.... N...

  This sticker graces the back of my phone case. I LOVE the colour blue, indicative of my political leanings too. This morning I put flannel sheets on the bed. A few weeks back, maybe even last week, I wore capri pants. However it is now the twenty-fourth of October and I'm already wearing warm PJs to bed, so.... It was inevitable, merely in that seasons alter, wardrobes as well, and finally linens. I've also added an extra blanket on my side of the mattress, obscuring the quilt completely. Which gives me pause about keeping that fabric WIP for myself, in that the crocheted throw extends well over the end of the bed, one of the reasons I was making a new quilt for myself in the first place. I have a person in mind for that quilt, lol, which hasn't garnered much of my attention recently, too many afternoon errands on the agenda. But I will get to it, maybe today, maybe. Fall housekeeping also calls my name, sigh, and while I'd love to turn a deaf ear to that task, an inn...

  The Hunter's Moon, October 2024. Bright moonlight proffers alternative glimpse of the world. Also how catastrophes make one feel like there is no day, only the suffocating darkness. Well, that's a mouthful, notes I made over an hour ago while sitting in the not quite dark living room feasting upon the moonlit landscape. The Hunter's Moon is indeed bright and beautiful in our clear Humboldt sky, and despite being awake since, oh my goodness, three a.m., I was cognizant enough to note a title for today's entry and scribble a couple of sentences for later perusal. So now it's later, which can be qualified because while it's also five thirty (at the time of writing) in the morning, when one is up at three, five thirty seems like mid-day, kind of how the night appeared, not really like night at all. It's currently this twilight-night, that marvelous moon illuminating far beyond what spotlights could achieve. I was up early yesterday (although not so stupid earl...

Last night I worked on a Red Sky at Night block. Small pieces are a little futzy, as well as making sure the perimeter shapes are correctly basted so I don't find myself removing stitches when pressing it flat. One of the differences with this kind of EPP, that will be incorporated into a machine-pieced quilt, is seam allowances can't remain tucked around papers, or shapes once papers are removed. Plenty to consider as many minutes turn into accumulated hand-sewing. I was pondering other things last night, amid the Golden State Warriors/LA Lakers game that caught my husband's attention. We're grateful for the near-return of basketball, as another lengthy season winds down; the election will have occurred in three weeks, and I am SO READY for that, although I don't anticipate a winner announced immediately. I miss the British manner of elections, where the Prime Minister simply calls for one, and within weeks it's DONE. This summer kind of felt that way when Kam...