moving a bit faster

Well, the inertia is on the way out. I am actually accomplishing some things each day. Not many but few and believe it all in the AM hours as heat and I do not agree. It is 94 at the moment, and the dogs are sleeping. Thank god for a/c as I do not think I could survive without it though I must have as a child. I can remember loving movies good or bad because they were air conditioned and while shopping was not a favorite, the stores with a/c were a delight. Are any of you old enough to recall those days however dimly?

I can recall other things that I am really too young to recall because my Mom and Dad were open to new things. I can recall visiting friends in western Nebraska before they had electricity. We moved to a farm in Missouri before my teen years ,and it had no running water the first few months. So my hair was washed under a pump, and we visited an outhouse for real. Mom got that taken care of as soon as the ground thawed. The phone was another matter. It was a wall hung crank type with a seven party line.You could hear them breathing as they listened on on your calls, but Mom would not let us return the action. Still a memory is Dad calling about a good price for peaches, and he had to deliver about ten lugs besides our on the way home.

Also another memory of that time was church. The closest Missouri Synod Lutheran was some 35 miles away from the farm. So went to a small wooden chapel in a field not more than two miles. We had a pastor every other week-- titled brother who preached Bible in hand. The men came in overalls and women might have a hat and a dress that was not quite a house dress but not high style either. It did not matter. The hymns shook the clapboards and on non pastor Sundays the attendance was the same as the days he was present. If someone needed help, it was there without asking. Looking back it was there I learned faith and just as important charity as a part of community life. Both tenets have stuck with me. Rich or poor everyone was equal in that place, and I just wish it was true of life now.

Just now I let Winston out and the wind is on a tear. The trees are shuffling their leaves and you can hear a shush shush shush as you stand on the deck.I like to be outside in the early hours and can recall sitting on the porch on the farm reading and sitting on the steel glider at Gram's under the big oak doing the same thing. I have never been able to take heat and even less now that I am older.

I began this saying my inertia is going away and it is slowly. Tomorrow I will begin to sort out the closet and bureaus, I am determined to rid myself of anything I have not worn in the last year. yet, I know in advance I may not get it done as they are always a few retained because maybe I might wear it or there is a memory attached to it. does this happen to you?

Memories are triggered by many things. Aromas send me down memory lane. Cigar smoke and Old Spice after shave bring Dad to me.His largeness was such a security to me even though he was a salesman and on the road more days in the week than he was home. A big man over six foot with a 17" neck he was really one of the gentlest men I have ever know even when he was angry. Mom comes along when I smell certain foods--sugar cookies, potato salad, German chocolate cake. to name a few. Barely 5' she was one of the most independent women I have ever know and I knew many.the women of the WW 2 seemed to have a Rosie the riveter morale .At least Mom and all my aunts on both sides lived life on their own terms, but those are stories for another day.

inertia

School for me has been out since May 2 and it is now June 6th. What have I done? to be honest not much.Inertia has grabbed me and not let me progress. Actually I have knitted and read and baked and had two doctor visits and played with dogs and read and knitted.
It has definitely me me doing only what made me feel good , but now is the time to get with it.

June has two scheduled trips. One is this weekend with the knitting savant. Later My oldest daughter and I will head off to see Paige ( Becky's oldest)be Aslan in the C.S.Lewis classic, Her dad ,Andy,is in active duty in the Afghanistan area and so Sara and I want to be there for her. The Mystery book club will meet and The Delos.v.Smith film series is on at the Fox. So yes I have some things on the calendar,but there are things I have to do. One is to walk more; de-clutter the closet and drawers and all those household things is another. Hard to break the inertia cycle BUT IT WILL BE DONE.

So I have made a list but it is not the detailed thing I have seen others create. Nope--I need more flex in my plan so I have listed one major chore a day Monday- Friday. I will get that done and anything above that will be a bonus.
Stressing over things not done is not my goal but joy on doing that one item each day and doing it well.Have to have time to read and to knit also.

Speaking of that it is time for me to get up, check fb one more time and get dressed. More next time. what are you doing this summer?

daily things.

Thunder played in our skies last night.Accompanied by tapping raindrops , it was a welcome natural melody. Our land has been dry so long that these last rains have been more than welcome. Lakes are refilling. Yards are greener. Rain must have some quality not found in irrigation and sprinkler systems when they water.

I planted some new hybrid hollyhocks which are growing well but not the tall spikes that I remember from childhood. Grandma had them and my cousins and I made ballerinas from the blooms by turning upside down. Has anyone else done that? I am aware they self-seed passionately but my yard needs color near the fence line so self-seed they may for a year or so.

Such small things can give so much pleasure. The smell of the mornings first cup of coffee, the warmth of freshly buttered toast, the crispness of the new book's pages ( were you looking for another food), can fill my day with goodness and thankfulness for being here and present in life.

Being present is not an easy thing. So many of us are always looking forward to the next event. the next new and better possession, the next whatever that we do not sense what is good in life right now. It is a zen thing -- being present, but it is also Christian. If we accept our belief ( zen or other) we can sense the good in our lives and leave off the constant search for what do not have even if it might not be the best thing for us. We do not have leave off striving for things but we learn to do what we can and leave the rest to Him. It takes practice to say Let thy will be done and realize that he does what is best for us in the long run

This summer I am not teaching the first one in many years. Mornings are lazy though due to the dogs they begin a bit earlier than I wish. I am reading,knitting and just living. Not one hour is planned unless I choose to go to an event. Meals happen when they happen. Cleaning when I feel like it and I am finding I actually get more done. In a sense the routine of the school year gives me a structured life that I enjoy but this free will living is good also.

Winston is begging for attention.More later.

So I have not been here. I have a good excuse--knitting and more importantly Cece and her kiddos were here. Family time I can never regret.
Are you reading anything this summer? I have finished two mysteries though one is heavy on the romance thing too. The Book of lost Fragrances blends romance, reincarnation and mystery. A satisfying read whose story carries over to the book entitled Seduction which has gothic overtones. Did anyone read the Victoria Holt's books? Well Seduction is an excellent rival of the genre.I just finished Ear to Heart the biography of Delores Hart who kissed Elvis in a movie, played Claire the sister of Francis Assisi, was in Where the boys Are and Come fly with me. A book that does not read quickly but gives a person's spirituality a kick in the pants. An interesting book was The Yard which is a debut novel. It is full of twists and turns and holds your interest seeing how the strings come together in the end. I rather hope this becomes a series. At the moment Inferno is on my bedside. What is on yours?

Knitting---a heavily cabled sweater by Starmore is on my needles. I jump for joy whenever a row comes out without and frogging back to fix an error. This is always on the right side row of course. But what is done looks good. I am also working on a purse and a baby sweater . They both should be done before school starts. I am knitting Christmas gifts this year. but the aran is mine and baby bit is for a co teacher.

This week I am going to a yarn spinnery in Phillipsburg, Ks with a group of like minded people. It is a Knitting Savant and if you knit you should catch her blog by the same name. My stash will grow without a doubt. June also holds a trip to Becky's place to see Paige as Aslan. Sara will drive an I will knit on the way.I have socks started.

That is all there is for now. I plan on doing this more often.