A Contemplative Life

Guests have gone, a quiet house this evening. Fog rolled in a couple of hours ago and my goodness it's as thick as it was early this morning. Family has landed in their respective domiciles where it's not at all marine-layer-like, lol. Funny how within one state, albeit a large state, the weather and climates can be so different. I think I'll sleep well tonight, pondering how being close to routine still feels a little strange. Hosting several beloveds became immediately normal and now that altered normalcy is quiet, foggy, autumnal. Earlier sunsets and later sunrises get a little lost in the card game shuffle, long chats, and lots of dishes washed. Now it's truly October, very much fall, and with four molting hens to boot, lots of change occurring. Ruthie on the baby perch while Cami looks on. Photo courtesy of my husband from this evening. Cami and Owl are both looking scraggly, Welsummer as well, though she still has tail feathers. Camilla is hinting at the molt, wha...

Guests are arriving tomorrow for the upcoming week, beloveds dear to my heart. Since I'm the type who (deep) cleans prior to visitors, the last few days have been steeped in, well, cleaning. LOL! Not sure why I have always done it this way, but it works and I'm too old to change. I'm feeling weary tonight, but other than making one bed TOMORROW, the house is looking good. Hopefully I'll sleep well, I've certainly earned a decent rest. Little Owl Chicken from a year ago. She looks so YOUNG! From where I'm seated I can see six chickens scratching at the ground. It's six p.m. and in another hour and fifteen minutes those hens will be heading to the coop, climbing up the roost steps, then settling on the wall. Cami Chicken has lost her tail feathers, but not as aggressively as Ruthie and Gigi, who both appeared like someone had chopped off their backsides! Cami is also acting slightly cowed, Ruthie picking on her in the mornings while they eat breakfast. Pecking...

Lately we've had a lovely bunch of sunrises, in that the marine layer has been pushed off, not obscuring the bright start of the day. To be honest the bright start begins later every morning, lol. Where in mid-summer we fed the hens at six thirty, now we don't amble out until ten after seven. And they're not complaining about it. Why does this matter? Because it's different. It's pleasant, well, for most of us. My husband prefers clouds. I love him regardless. Autumn here along the North Coast is when visible sunrises return. Or as much as we see once the sun is above the eastern treeline. I don't begrudge those trees, I'm merely thrilled for a relatively vibrant beginning to the day. Especially at this mid-September time of year, for it's the time of year my brother Joe would have turned.... Fifty-four, dude! He died days before his twenty-fifth birthday, what a thing. Why I wrote that Suicide Prevention Awareness post a few days ago and this time last...

September carries significance for me, birthdays of those I deeply love alongside the loss of my brother Joe, who took his life twenty-nine years ago. These joys and sorrows are carefully balanced within my heart, many for whom I pray. Last year I wrote a post about Suicide Prevention Awareness Month . Again it's that time of year. I don't know why autumn was chosen to highlight it, but I certainly feel it, as my niece took her life in October of 2019. She was about the same age as my brother when he died, not sure what that means in the grand scheme, other than those in their mid-twenties, with so much ahead of them, slip away to a place which I pray is far more peaceful than the realm they left. 988 is the number to call or text if you need help. For veterans, call 988 and press 1 to connect with counselors who understand your experiences. We want to love you here and now. Yet, I understand that sense of despair, feeling one's existence holds no purpose; when I was I fi...

Not a contender for the cover, but pretty nonetheless. This outing was slated to occur over a month ago. Then I was laid up by diverticulitis. Yet I still needed a book cover photo for Home and Far Away , so yesterday my husband and I traipsed down 101 on a most gorgeous early autumn day, enjoying lunch and snapping pics as we traveled. I began the driving, as my better half likes to snooze whenever possible, lol. First off I noticed how deciduous trees speckled amid the Redwoods had altered from our last trek south; golds and oranges and reds and dusty green-grays were their hues, sparkling as though wishing to out-muscle the giants for recognition. We wondered how the grapes further south would appear; Home and Far Away takes place in fictional Jumpville, California, standing in for Hopland. I was hoping for grapevines still with leaves, but would take what nature provided. After reaching Willits, vineyards appeared, and to our joy almost all were still leafy, in a variety of colour...

Cherish quilt top finished six years ago this month. A gift for my youngest and her husband, but where have those six years GONE???? Very little tea. Or hand sewing. And no dairy, red meat, and Advil. But LOTS of grace contemplation. And chickens. And twilight of my life musings.... October has brought a lot to my mind, as well as the last couple of weeks leading up to said start of autumn. We received over an inch of blessed rain and perhaps the end to the fire season, WHEW. Daylight is truly becoming less of feature, but then it is OCTOBER! Where has this year gone? Not to be overly maudlin, but I can't help notice how I'm not as young as I used to be, lol. Recent health scares not pushed aside, although I don't want to dwell on them, dietary restrictions can't be ignored, and suddenly I find myself peering over the fence at who I used to be, maybe a year ago. Part of it is certainly the traumatic upheaval in my government; I never thought such peril could happen in A...

Top two rows are stitched together, with the third pinned and waiting. Welp, as my eldest likes to say, it's Tuesday. The equinox has occurred, fall in place mostly in the lessening daylight, although this morning we started with clear skies and bright sun, once the sun rose, lol. I was knocked off my feet over the weekend, just starting to feel human again. Sometimes life throw curve balls, and we end up on our backsides, wondering what the hey's going on. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Three of my beloveds have taken their lives, including my brother and niece. I wanted to write something meaningful about the subject, but now I feel like I'm just scraping the surface, yet it's imperative to tell those we love who are fighting depression that we are here for them, that they matter. 988 is the number to call or text if you need help. For veterans, call 988 and press 1 to connect with counselors who understand your experiences. Please know that so many ...

  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...

I didn't mean to cut back a dahlia, but sometimes it happens. We might get some rain tonight, so today was spent prepping for it. Leaves were raked, the wood area cleaned, and boy my back is feeling all that exercise! I've lamented not doing more in the garden, but have earned my outdoor stripes over the last few days. Amaryllis have been cut down, blackberry vines among them whacked back. My better half dumped several bins of refuse, bless him! I swept the back patio and am looking forward to how much leftover dust is washed away by the precipitation, perhaps a quarter-inch worth. I can't complain about the impending wet weather, because it's nearly the middle of October and we haven't had much in the way of damp days. In fact, we've enjoyed loads of warm temps for our neck of the North Coast. Yet it's time for a change. Huh, not much about retirement, semi or otherwise, so far in this post. I did feel quite relaxed while raking this morning, the sun shinin...

Family is visiting this coming week, looking very much forward to that! The son of a dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer, which totally sucks. I'm pleased for how Book 3 of The Enran Chronicles survived an edit. And I came up with a great plot point for much further down that series' road. I'm trying to maintain a safe distance from my country's upcoming election, but at times find it hard to not fret. And about that, I may post a bit, just a heads-up that this blog could sport some political entries. I had pizza last night, made with a gluten-free crust, yet today I'm feeling some effects as though the crust wasn't quite gluten-free. The Eden quilt might take more time than I considered, as I'm not happy with the plethora of blocks made with gray borders. I'm digging those pictured above, and may adjust the borders on a bunch of stars still in need of perimeters. It's nearly October; where has September gone??? Not that our weather has chan...

A dahlia still thriving in the garden. Rain is forecast for the next few days. Right now the sky is cloudless, although hours ago misty fog ruled the horizon. And a few days previously it was, get this, EIGHTY DEGREES FAHRENHEIT in our actual neck of the Redwoods. Global warming or late summer, take your pick. It was glorious, that's what it was, and our departing visitors joked that it's always that way along the North Coast. I enjoyed hanging out with family this past week, days full of playtime and exploring, chats and many books read. My youngest granddaughter was keen on hearing  Amelia Bedelia while her older sister enjoyed  Horrible Histories , some Ramona books, and plentiful comics from Charles Schultz and Bill Watterson. Those sun-filled days seemed especially blessed, perfect weather to be out and about at our place or at the beach, where my better half and I took the grandgirls for a fine afternoon before high tide and a brisk wind sent us on our way. They all lef...

In the last twenty-four hours, we have received nearly two inches of precipitation. The photo above was taken yesterday at 4.25 p.m., and overnight a little more landed in the gauge. The air is clear over most of Northern California and in Southern Oregon too. Fires are still burning, but a great relief has been experienced. When we lived in Silicon Valley, fire wasn't a major threat until the summer of 2020. I think back to those days, packing precious belongings as we were near an evacuation warning zone. I keep a go bag at my bedside now, in part from the threat of earthquakes, but fire remains a major issue, and then rain falls, rain so prevalent earlier this year but extremely absent for the last several. As the sun streams in my office window, I am still picturing yesterday's gray skies, water pouring from the heavens, dousing the flames and bringing respite. Not much else to report, in that the writing, sewing, etc, are about as usual. I have begun revisions on my novel,...

Most recent Mandolin block laid out, minus the perimeter diamonds. Being awake at 4.21 a.m. (when I began writing this post) happens occasionally. It's not due to being uncaffeinated, I'd like to think I'm over that adjustment. It's partly due to a rather cool night that my summer duvet wasn't quite prepared for; later today I'll switch it out to the autumn quilt better suited to keeping me warm. It was also partly due to being near the end of my novel, HURRAY! Which is interpreted by Semi-conscious Me when waking at not quite 3 a.m. as, "Hmmm. It's early, yes, but I've slept a good stretch and well, if I don't immediately go back to sleep, I could get up, make the morning decaf brews, then sit for a bit, wake up a little more, then start today's chapter." Yeah, that's how I roll sometimes, not much I can do about it. But after perusing my fave internet sites (Wikipedia, the weather, catching up with what Bluey episodes I've see...

Maybe my fave. I'm taking off a day from the novel; I had to visit the local endodonist, the consultation result being I'd rather spend a few hundred dollars to have a tooth removed than a few thousand for a root canal repair and probable new crown. A-hem! Yet stepping away from my writing provides time for other pleasures, after getting back from the dentist, lol. And with most of the coasters done, a couple of placemats completed too, here is how the battle for attention panned out between mug rugs and their larger cousins. A nice assortment to scatter here and there. The coasters won, of course, ha ha! I have one still in need of a binding, otherwise all are washed and waiting for the first of October. Our cloudy and now smoky weather continues, but it is still September, a couple more days before autumn begins officially, and these will adorn my tables of various sizes until the end of November thereabouts, no immediate rush to slap them where teacups usually land. I just a...