A Contemplative Life

Like writing. And laundry, lol! That's when I came up with the idea for this post. Because sometimes we are enthralled with certain activities, even the boring things. Like laundry. Actually the title popped into my head earlier today while I was 1) Doing laundry. And 2) In the middle of writing a chapter. Then of course there's quilting, but lately that's fallen to the back of the pile mostly because I still have a wound on my arm covered in Aquaphor that has stained one shirt to the point it's now for when I eat chili or some other stain-worthy dish. So I can't hand-quilt, though my cranky shoulder is better, whew.... Yet I stare at my collected thread basket in the evenings, thinking back to my, ahem, younger years (BIG LOL) when I could sew at will. For now, quilting isn't what I'm talking about, though if you want you can lump it alongside writing as creative things I love to do. Um, what about blogging, Past Me quips. Oh uh, yeah, I nod, looking around...

All I need to do is baste the above quilt. How I deal with the edges will appear another day. Isn't that often the way we work? Stressing out about this or that when truthfully all we need to focus on is one small detail. I realized that this morning, as in truly grasping it with all gears. LOL. And of course, as these things go, my laptop just notified me the battery is SUPER LOW. So I've plugged it in, and will continue this as soon as possible.... Okay, I've eaten breakfast and am ensconced at my office machine. Probably the laptop is fully charged by now, hah, but as I was saying, we freak out or worry or over-analyze this, that, or some other and if all we'd done in the first place is to deal with the initial step, voila! All our anxieties would be gone. That sounds SO SIMPLE. So EASY. So, so, so.... So something, ahem. What in our human natures seems to crave drama, fretting, over-analyzing. Why can we live and let live? Why, why, why.... Why's as deep a subje...

The hens from days ago, before Gigi became super broody. Photo courtesy of my husband. The latest from here.... The sun is shining as though all those days of cloud never existed. Gigi is VERY BROODY, having picked her chest feathers down to her skin.  Our world is in turmoil. But the sun is still shining! I had a very apt entry going through my head first thing this morning of how to tie these things together in a very meaningful way. Now it's murky, though the sun is still blazing. The sun was blazing during all those gray days, I merely couldn't see the brightness, though the days were lengthy. The cloud was pervasive, but couldn't derail the trek toward the summer solstice. And now it's like those days in late April and early May never happened. Those fires in the fireplace? Nah! It's so bright out, blue sky and no clouds. NO CLOUDS. Seriously? Yup. The last few days in Humboldt County have been CLOUDLESS. Now I remember where I was going with that thread. Our w...

When I can't hand stitch like before, nor can I use my machine daily (or I SHOULDN'T use it daily), how do I fill those minutes previously spent DOING.... Oh, and we learned recently that according to the chickens, rice straw is NOT the same as wheat straw. Mostly in that wheat straw contains tasty little kernels of wheat, lol, while rice straw is merely, well, straw. Once we can acquire a bale of wheat straw, the hens will be happy. They LITERALLY were clucking and complaining vociferously when we put out the new straw....   Nadia and Owl permitted me a few shots yesterday afternoon.... But back to the topic at hand, ahem. I'm definitely a Do'er. I have lists, I like to be busy. Not that I don't like to relax, but relaxing at the end of the day used to mean sitting with a trove of English paper piecing or hand-quilting and I was happy as a dustbathing hen. Today the chickies found a new place in the sun to dig and dust themselves, all eight cloistered together like...

Our first All hens laid an egg day! This was a few days ago, on the fifth. Yesterday again all eight chickens laid eggs. Maybe this doesn't seem blog-worthy, especially in the light of current world events. My prayers are with those suffering from abject cruelty all over this planet; strife isn't limited to one nation or continent. Yet much hope and goodness remain! And in my realm, a sliver of that golden sunshine are eight chickens, less than seven months old, laying eggs as well as enjoying free range freedom for much of the day. Camilla leads most of the posse a day or so ago. Photo courtesy of my husband. Well, most of daylight. We're only getting nine-plus hours currently, but in those hours, the hens are foraging without supervision and they are LOVING IT. That system has been the norm since maybe the second of January? Here it is, already the eighth, and I can't even recall what day we said, to ourselves of course, "You know, I don't want to stand out ...

Making some hand-quilting progress on this Lucy Boston quilt. My life, really. My faith. And, well, read on.... I don't want to negate the suffering currently happening not only here in America, but planet-wide. Yet, YET! There is much for which to be grateful. Like my faith. Which I don't discuss too deeply, but maybe I should, so this post can be better understood. Or I could direct you to this page on my blog, which talks about it. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Because for some people faith in God isn't a comfortable subject, especially right now due to how falsely faith in God is portrayed by many in my nation's government. I have no problem saying that because refusing to authorize affordable health care and releasing monies for SNAP benefits is NOT loving one's neighbor. Yet blessings abound, and I would be just as remiss if I didn't denote the goodness of this world. That I'm alive is a miracle. That I can write novels is a marvel. That I mainta...

Written earlier today before the granddaughters woke.   I foresee plenteous machine stitching in the near future. I tried some hand-sewing this week and boy my shoulder was cranky. I am in the treatment pipeline for said right shoulder, but medical stuff is slow as snot these days, yet I am hopeful to be back in my usual routine of nightly hand-stitching as soon as is feasibly possible. (I might sneak in some surreptitious hand-stitching merely to have completed the necessary blocks to snap a photo of Alexandria quilt progress. Not that I am planning to tackle it as soon as I can sew with ease, but one of these days I'll get back to that beauty!) January 2025; the long sides aren't sewn together, but the center is! It's hard wanting to work on something that in the end causes pain. The grandgirls have been using my machines, which stirs within me the desire to don earplugs and headphones and create in a manner that defies belief, when one's belief is that sitting on the...

An uncomplicated pretty quilt top. Thanks Past Me for putting in the time cutting fabric, etc. Sewing and walking slowly, Metamucil, and being happy about it all, lol. Yes, this is how I felt today. Well, I was a little shouty on Bluesky, but that was the kind of thing that happens every once in a while because, well, I'm approaching the age where at times I don't give a fig. Where a notion pops into my head and it's like, "Oh yeah! And why haven't I thought of that previously?" Am I going to be a snarky old gal, hmmmm. Future Me is a wee bit...impatient at times, maybe not quite snarky, but certainly.... I just looked up the definition of snarky (critical, irritable, bad-tempered) and I'm not happy with any of those. Or maybe smirky is a better way to describe Future Me. Or some halfway point between the two. Not that I can see Future Me smirking, she's actually not around. But as though I am stepping into her shoes, I feel that smirk creeping over m...

From a couple days ago, snapped by my husband, seated inside the run with the chickens. I'm gazing at Nadia Chicken, off screen, while most of the rest gather near the fenced off pomegranate bush. I think chicken #8 was sunning herself along the back of the workshop that butts up to the run. Mis-sewing rows, diverticulitis, in general getting older, falling in love with sewing squares again, accepting life isn't in my control, the Serenity Prayer, ironing seams the wrong way, etc, etc, etc.... God, grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen. Whew! What a few days it's been, and in that I do include my lost weekend of sorts, spent suffering from an acute attack of diverticulitis. The recovery has been about as much of a 180 that the misery was, which at the end, or rather beginning of this day, is absolutely WONDERFUL. Needless to say, but I'll type it regardless, I am happy...