Even if I had read this years ago, when I was in junior high, I wouldn’t have been smart enough to heed the wisdom of it.
I’ve spent most of my life waiting. When I was in junior high (14 years old) I met my husband-to-be just before he joined the Marine Corps. I waited for a letter each day. I would watch out the window for the mailman. He knew I was in love – and was a wonderful guy – so he would break the rules and put the red flag on the mailbox up if there were a letter from him for me. He would grin ear to ear as I came flying out of the house, running down the driveway to get the mail.
I waited for my husband-to-be to get leave from the Marines, when I could start to live again. We were inseparable, of course, watched carefully by both sets of parents, until he had to leave again. I remember one leaving-taking in particular, when my mother-in-law-to-be allowed me to ride to the airport with them and see him off. I cried my heart out, nose against the glass as his plane went down the runway.
When he got out of the Marine Corps, I went to Oklahoma State University. He went to the University of Tulsa, so I waited for weekends and holidays. My parents said I had to finish school before we could marry. They finally compromised when a program opened up where I could do my practice teaching in Tulsa, and we were married. I waited so long to marry him that I cried on the way back down the aisle that we were finally together and I could begin to live.
I feel stupid typing this. I wasted so much of my life ignoring what was around me, focused on the next time my life ‘would start.’ How much I missed, marking days off the calendar until the next “big thing” in my life. I’ve spent a lot of my working life wishing Mondays away, waiting for Fridays. Waiting for vacations. Wishing days, weeks, months and years away.
So, even though I was too stupid to realize what I was doing, or unable or unwilling to change my behavior if I DID realize, I think living in the moment is THE most important thing I have ever learned. Better late than never. Better some than none.
NOW is what is important – the people you are lucky enough to know and love – what is happening right – this – minute.
Wring every drop of joy out of whatever you are lucky enough to have.
Appreciate your life.
Filed under empowerment, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes
As we start another week, I’m thankful that I’m on the road to getting and staying healthier.
We’re going to replenish our supply of veggies and fruit today. The only other thing I’m trying to do this week is to STOP SNACKING – or at least choose something from my list of healthy snacks. My husband threw some bags of fritos into the grocery cart when I wasn’t looking. I emulated a lemming, finding them in the pantry and descending on one of the bags. We took turns gorging, polishing off an entire bag in one day. :0(
As soon as we shop, I’m going to fix a bowl of ready-to-eat veggies and make some dip to go with them. A colorful variety of those, or a piece of fruit, or a hard-boiled egg should satisfy me while my husband enjoys attacking a 2nd bag of fritos…
Yesterday I warned my husband about the ‘excessive heat warning’ with a heat index of 118 yesterday afternoon. You would THINK I would know better by now. He went out in the hottest part of the afternoon to mow. I was so angry with him I just let him have at it. The mower ran out of gas and he had to walk out to the shop, get a can, and bring it out to pour it into the tank in order to finish the yard. I did get him a cool drink and brought him a wet towel to run over his face and neck when he came in. He cooled off and then went up to take a shower. I watched him surreptitiously like a hawk all evening to make sure he was all right…
All I did yesterday outside was spray everything for bugs. All I have left in the garden right now is red onions and zucchini. Our two planters of tomato plants are doing well with green tomatoes. I did have to pull one tomato plant that was completely broken off by the last storm, but I was glad we didn’t lose more. Today I’ll mix and spray weed killer.
I hope that wherever you are today you can stay cool and safe and enjoy the day.
Filed under DIET!, Gardening, taking care of yourself, Thoughts on a ________
My computer says it’s 97 degrees F. out there now, with a heat index of 108. They’re now forecasting a heat index of 118 this afternoon. Oh, GOOD.
I’m trying to get my husband to wait as long as possible to mow. I’m purposely NOT reminding him about a hat and sunglasses because he’ll react by NOT wearing them, so the best I can hope for is that he does it because it’s a smart thing to do…
Our plumber called last night to tell us he’s trying to get here sometime next week to help us with the 2nd line we need in the well house in order to set up automatic watering of our front yard planter boxes. (With 12 inches of rain the past week, we aren’t in huge need yet; but since the rain has stopped and none is forecast for the coming week, we WILL be more interested as the week goes on.) Our weather tends to give us more than we need and then cuts off, with no more rain for weeks at a time, cooking our plants. When we get the 2nd line and timer installed, we’ll be doing as much as we can for our greenery, other than perhaps running the system longer or twice a day when needed.
My husband is actually hoping for NO rain for the foreseeable future so that our lawn will turn ‘brown and crunchy’ – his favorite condition of grass that doesn’t need to be mowed every 5 seconds the way it does now.
I’m planning to get out late this afternoon with a two-gallon spray container of KILLZALL, the weed killer, trying to get the rampant weeds under better control. I’ll need to mix and spray several containers of this, but will handle it one container at a time.
Stay cool and safe!
Filed under Gardening, Mother Nature
I just love it that people will create a new art form, then others will look at it with fresh eyes, turn it on its ear and build something entirely different. Each person looks, sees it differently, considers other possibilities, decides to add a new focus, another medium, a unique style.
I go back and look at the same art form I thought was wonderful the first time I saw it, finding that it has GROWN since I found images the last time. It’s become even more interesting, more creative….
I love living on this planet where human imagination is limitless!
Filed under Creativity
Beach Art – Jon Foreman
article by Emma Taggart – MyModernMet.com
Filed under beach art
This is Amber and my husband. Actually, she has gotten larger since this picture was taken, but it gives you a reasonable idea of her size. She weighs about 90 pounds.
I spend a lot of time loving her each day. She has her ‘rituals’ during the day and it’s very hard to distract her from them. For example, she comes to me when I’m at the computer, getting my attention and then staring across me toward my right pocket, where she knows I carry dog treats. She doesn’t have a subtle bone in her body. It’s very clear that she isn’t worried about ME, wanting love, or wanting to go out, or anything else – just a cookie.
This morning I was slow to respond to her drama. She climbed up – the front half of her in my lap – and nibbled on my ear. When I laughed, she used her front paw to encourage me further, catching me just below my neck with a couple of claws. She really got my attention with THAT. I’m not sure if I’ll have marks or not, but she did NOT get a cookie for that.
Yesterday she was jumping up and down beside the truck, as if she were on a trampoline, waiting for me to open the door for her so she could jump in. I started to open the door and she came down with both feet on MY feet. I was in sandals, so I really felt all 90 pounds of her. I now have bruises on the tops of both feet.
I have learned the lesson well that when she is in the yard with me, I need to pay attention. She suddenly decides she should join me. If she is across the yard, she starts running. I try to either get beside a tree, get up against something, or at least turn to the side so she doesn’t run smack into me, knocking me flat on my back. Kneeling down doesn’t help – it just allows me to fall down from a lower spot.
Amber will either keep me young or put me in the hospital. It’s never boring.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
I’m actually feeling GREAT this morning for the first time in quite awhile. I’ve been taking a new medication for a couple of days now and I really think it’s helping me. HOORAAAAAY!
Eating a more Mediterranean type diet is helping, as well. I’m trying to load up on veggies, increase my fruit, use meat more as a flavoring rather than the main part of our meals. We’re still eating as little sugar as possible, very few ‘white’ foods (white flour, bread, rice, pasta), lots of salad and other raw veggies as snacks.
I’m doing as much yard work as I can (given the fact that the heat index is supposed to be 112 today), plus short exercise videos, plus afternoon sessions of stretching yoga.
All of this together is resulting in my feeling better, with more energy, hopeful that I’m on the right track to be as healthy as I can be. I am now also watchful that my efforts will result in the scales not being so snarky and the tape measure smiling. Time will tell.
Filed under Watercolors I Love
Two sessions outside so far today.
I’m being very careful, since the heat index for today is 115 today. The sun is strong. You feel the heat slapping you in the face the minute you go out. I sprayed my front and asked my husband to spray my back and back of my legs with Deep Woods OFF! before I went out. I wore sunglasses and a sweatband.
The first session I concentrated on pulling out the bolted lettuce plants. They were over 2 feet tall!
After session # 1 I closed up the house and turned on the a/c. My husband started to object, feeling comfortable sitting and reading in the living room, but then decided that ‘living’ was a better option than fighting me. I didn’t do this until I had tried to cool down for a half hour or so from the first session, but decided that it was time to get a little help on trying to stay cool the rest of the day. He looked at my still-red face and decided to go along. :0)
I just came in from my second session. I filled my two-gallon spray container with EIGHT bug killer and hosed down the zucchini plants in the garden and then my tomato plants. (We lost one tomato plant in the storm. The main stem was completely broken off and the plant was hanging over the side of the planter.) The rest of the tomato plants are looking good with green tomatoes!
I’m drinking a bottle of cold water now, trying to cool down.
I’m not sure yet what I’ll do for session # 3.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Beach Art – Land Art – Sand and Stones – Jon Foreman –
article by Emma Taggart – MyModernmet.com
Filed under beach art
Filed under Seashell Art
I was griping that WE were having all that rain, and before that, that we were unable to come down our driveway. Meanwhile, this was happening in Greenwood, with water rescues for some families who had water in their homes, businesses damaged, government facilities inundated, some roads damaged or washed away. Makes our problems seem really small.
Filed under Mother Nature
We’ve now gone from getting almost 12 inches of rain in the past week to a heat index of 100 degrees F. today and 110+ tomorrow. Seat belts aren’t enough.
We DO have a driveway left, even though we did get some damage along one side. I’m really amazed that ALL of the crusher dust the nice man spread for us, allowing us to finally get down our driveway – and back UP again – didn’t end up in the road that runs along in front of our property. We’re just pleased that Mother Nature seems to have calmed down, or at least moved to the east now. Hopefully she won’t bring problems to others.
I plan to get outside in several sessions today, mainly this morning and late this afternoon, to try to catch up.
I need to check my tomato plants first. I need to prune them and may need to add more support. I’m hoping that tomato worms haven’t descended. I’ll spray everything heavily with Eight, looking carefully for signs we’re infested.
I need to get out to the garden. I’ll pull my lettuce plants – which are probably trying to touch the sky now – and see what else needs to be done. I’m hoping I’ll have some little bitty zucchini. This is the first time I’ve ever tried to prune and stake them, as the pic above shows I’m supposed to.
With the heat index this high, I’ll need to keep my sessions really short, resting a lot in-between and drinking lots and lots of water. I would like to have things under reasonable control by the end of the weekend. I’ll plan on sharing pics with you.
There was a lot of flooding in Greenwood yesterday. I’m hoping things are getting back to normal today and that there wasn’t a lot of damage.
Have a nice, safe Saturday.
Beach Art – Sand and Stone Art – Jon Forman
Article by Emma Taggart – MyModernMet.com
Filed under beach art
I’ve admitted to you that I’m a slob. I can make really great excuses for why my house is a mess, but I know that gets old, even if I get more and more creative…
I ordered a book called, “The Lost Art of House Cleaning – How to Clean using only 3 products for only $20 per year!” The book is by Jan M. Dougherty. I received it yesterday and read about 3/4 of it. I’ll finish the first read today.
So far, I like her “PATH” idea, where you move only in one direction, (top to bottom, back to front, left to right – depending on your ‘handedness,”) making sure whatever you’re doing is clean before moving to the next part, dividing the room into ‘slices,’ so there are stopping points where you can rest or stop and continue at another time. I also like the idea of not trying to reorganize stuff as you clean. I’ve found how distracting and time-consuming that is, making you exhausted before you get to the real cleaning. I’m going order and gather some supplies and then will try this. I’ll report back to you. Even if I don’t follow every suggestion, several of her ideas make sense, so my work will be more efficient and my house will be cleaner.
Filed under cleaning
Supposedly the rain will stop this afternoon sometime and we’re supposed to have a dry, HOT/HUMID weekend and week ahead.
Would you look at the accumulation – with the circle right over where I live? The circle was placed there by the 5News Weather Team. There was a listing of flooded streets in Fort Smith, where I worked for many years. The ENTIRE STREET to my former job seems to be completely flooded with barricades this morning.
And this is the forecast for the weekend. At least it’s supposed to be dry.
I wait to see what damage is being done to our beautiful repaired driveway. Crusher dust is very fine. I’m afraid all of Jeremy’s good work will have been washed away by this afternoon. I have all appendages crossed that we come out of this in reasonable shape. At least we can get down and up our driveway now. I’m hoping that Greenwood isn’t badly flooded. All I know at this point is that the whole county is under a flood warning until at least mid afternoon. WOW.
Filed under Mother Nature
“When you feel overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time, remind yourself that all you can do is all you can do.” ~ Brian Tracy
I have been a list-maker all my life. Most of the time the lists keep me on track, keeping me from forgetting things – something I do more as I become ‘more wise’ each year. :0)
From time to time, my lists swamp me. I try to do the most important things first, and that helps. It makes me more productive, but doesn’t do much for the ‘feeling’ of inadequacy running underneath.
And things that come up in the natural course of life sometimes keep me from being able to check ANYTHING off my list. An example is yesterday, when my husband brought me an incredibly dirty pair of jeans that had yet more rips in the legs. He wanted me to fix them. I’ve been trying to get him to buy several pairs of jeans to replace ones that are very worn, but these are his ‘favorites.’ I ended up using iron-on patches, then washing the jeans, then having to sew the patches on where the patches were trying to curl up. My husband pronounced them, “healed,” smiling, but one day there won’t be any denim left to put the patches on…
Today my priorities will be to get more errands done, do stuff OUTSIDE this afternoon since it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow, and see how it goes.
Filed under Challenges
Filed under Amazing Animals
I’m a happy camper today. Things are really looking up around here. :0)
I’ve told you that we were FINALLY able to arrange our freedom yesterday since Jeremy Young came with his equipment and smoothed out the crusher dust pile that made us captives up here for a week. Even with the really heavy rain most of the afternoon, the driveway stayed beautiful with very little damage. We’ll see how long this lasts and then get back with him on what he thinks we should do more long term.
We replenished some supplies after relocating raccoon # 6, getting home around 5:30 or so. I slept much better last night, knowing we could get out if we needed to, or someone could come up, again, if needed. Peace of mind is priceless.
Today we’ll get our mower gas cans filled, plus the truck. The only downside of all this freedom is that it is expensive! Grocery prices were up, of course, and gas prices will make us gasp today. At least we can GET most of what we would like to. We’ll also replace a flashlight that died suddenly. Not only did it need new batteries – the batteries had ‘frozen’ inside. Oops! That one lasted over 30 years, so I guess needing to get a replacement now is understandable…
Changing from the Keto eating plan to the Mediterranean one is helping me gradually. And I’m starting to see a difference on the scales, too, finally. My focus has been on getting my system working right again, pushing lots of veggies, cutting way back on meat and fat, eating fruit, etc. Now I’ll start paying attention to calories as well, comparing that to what I’m burning with my yard work and exercise. I’m hoping I can manage a good balance where I’ll feel good, sleep well, and have more energy as I get stronger.
We’ll set the humane trap on the deck again this evening. “Something” triggered it to shut overnight, but we didn’t catch anything. We’re having a record year, having trapped and relocated six raccoons so far in the past month or so.
Tomorrow we’re supposed to get more heavy rain. But TODAY the sun is shining brightly after being fogged in this morning. I’m looking forward to spending time in the garden and checking on my tomato plants.
Have a glorious Thursday!
Insult added to Injury –
It seems that Mother Nature has her nose out of joint. We didn’t even get to LOOK at our repaired driveway yet and we have thunderstorms, predicted ‘downpours’, wind advisories, flood warnings, and flying hair balls.
Needless to say, we’re waiting until things tame down before even thinking of venturing out. The skies are a bit lighter now, but that’s the only improvement I’ve seen so far.
I don’t mind getting WET, but I’d rather not drown, have to swim to the grocery store, or get stuck on a flooded road…
Filed under Mother Nature
Our driveway is healed! We just paid Jeremy for his good work. He knocked down the huge pile of crusher dust and managed to spread it all the way down to the bottom of the driveway. We’re going to relax, have some lunch, then get our act together on errands –
If you are in our area at all (west central Arkansas Fort Smith/Greenwood/Hackett, Poteau,OK, etc.) and you need work that requires construction equipment, call Jeremy Young 479-629-3797. I can’t say enough about him. He comes when he says he’ll come, he listens to your concerns, he does the work when he says he’ll do it, he doesn’t try to stiff you on the price, he is honest, he is NICE. We will definitely call him again.
Filed under Challenges, Housekeeping - Maintenance
Filed under ceramics, Clay Art, Iridescent Raku
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