A Simple Woman's Daybook~July, 6, 2013

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this Daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Saturday, July 6, 2013

 

Outside my window... A perfect day.  The birds are chirping and the horrendous heat wave we had here for about 10 days is over.  Such relief.  Extremely hot weather does not mix well with some of my dermatitis issues and I do no think I was a very pleasant person during those days.  I literally felt like dancing yesterday when we woke up to normal.  The sun is shining with a nice cool breeze.  Garth Brooks is belting out "I Got Friends in Low Places" in the kitchen and I just heard "Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy."  I am not a huge fan of country music or anything but we have been cleaning house this morning and I have to have something perky goin' on for that.  Anyway, the music seems very "Summery."

I am thankful for....the fact that we get to have Chris and Missy and four of our grandkids here for a week at about 5:00 pm tonight.  We are almost ready.  So that is why I am adding a bit here and there as I rush around doing the last minute things.  As you may know we go to Utah to see them a lot and I think it has been about four years since they came here.  So little Owen who is now six does not even remember being here before.  He asked Chris if a big lake they recently saw was the ocean.  OK, so that is on the 'to do' list for sure.

 

From the learning room....I notice that I have periods of extreme learning sometimes.  I am in one now.  Things are clicking and I am thirsty for it.  Other times I just kind of coast along.  I love it when this happens but I don't sleep well.  It is hard to turn it off at night.  It seems to be a time when things are just bright and exciting and I do like the enthusiasm of that.  It is like the opposite of the blahs.  There is not an ounce of boredom in my days.  That part is the best.


I am reading...Cooking by Michael Pollan, Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford (still) and several other books on my Kindle and plenty on the genealogy blogs right now with all the changes going on.
  

From the kitchen...All is in order for the kids' visit.  That part is the hardest for me and I think I have got it all organized, menus for each day, shopping done, etc.  And Jim has done a great job of putting some fun activities together so...bring it on.  I have overcome the kitchen this week!  Woohoo!

I am missing...My friend, Carol.  We had such a great time together at our Genealogy conference in Sacramento even if it was 108 degrees there both days last week.  Every once in a while you just meet someone that you know you have known and loved forever.  So she has been super busy this week, me too.  I have missed chatting with her as much as I usually do about our families, life in general and our common surname "Reese."  We are going to get working on finding out if she is the sister I never got with the Welsh ancestry.  I hope so.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...I read this quote from an article by Kristen Welch on incourage.com  It is a great daily devotional site if you haven't seen it.  It is specifically designed by a group of women to encourage other women.  She was writing about when we fail and she said,

" I cut my hand chopping veggies the other night, before I could even grab a towel, the blood in my body rushed to the wound. That’s what it was created to do. Our blood was designed to wash out the impurities and clot to protect us.  It’s a lot like the wounds in life. When I fail as a parent or a wife or person, Jesus’ blood goes to my injured heart. It rushes to the place I hurt. Because that’s what it was created to do."

Wow I love that.  The atonement of Christ is so much more than forgiveness of our sins.  It is to heal and to restore us to health; our spirits our hearts our minds...our very lives.  I need that so much when something hurts me, this is where I turn.  My thought was He doesn't say we should grow a hard heart to protect ourselves, he wants us to come to Him, to be spiritually held, to be comforted to feel what perfect love is, and to change our heart.  He is our shield and protection in this crazy world of imperfect people and situations and mortality. Simply put, I am relieved and grateful.  Grateful for the good news of Jesus Christ in my life.

I am hearing...Loving You is Easy, Sarah Mc Lachlan.  I just love this singer.  She has some beautiful original, grown-up compositions and a wonderful voice.

One of my guilty pleasures...my computer, iPhone and iPad.  People talk about being addicted to things.  I think that term gets used loosely in place of something we really like, or something that creates enthusiasm or excitement in our lives.  I like to think my love for my computer is not an addiction but a perfect marriage for me for what I like to do most.  Learn, write, teach, family history, genealogy and being creative through blogging and Pinterest and design, homemaking and travel.  It is best for communicating with all the people I love on a somewhat regular basis.  It is the biggest library in the world at my finger tips.  I can text the kids and friends and I can even watch movies and listen to all my favorite music on it, read books and the news selectively.  And I can do it all in one convenient place with no mess.  So and what's not to love?

Pet Peeves...rude people. People that think they should be in charge of everything.  People that try to force their ideas on you like you cannot make up you own mind about things.  People that don't think before they speak and don't listen to others.  Sheesh, that was more than one pet peeve.  I got on a roll!

I am quoting...from Pinterest~

If I could change one thing it would be...that time would slow down and take a breather.  We have finished with a string of holidays now and you know what that means.  Labor day before we know it and then two blinks and we are getting the Halloween Decorations out again.  Ugh!

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...Well, I am so excited about what I am going to watch in the next few weeks.  My sweet friend gave me two seasons of Call the Midwife for my birthday.  I haven't seen any of it but I am a PBS junky and it looked so good when they were running it last year.

I am curious about..someone who would steal water out of our neighborhood pump for canal water and attach a green hose that goes directly to his house.  Dah!  I have heard of dumb but that takes the cake.  Sorry pal, not watering your huge yard this summer and neither are the four other neighbors that actually pay us so we can pay the water company. What did Jim do?  He unhooked the hose and put it in the thief's yard.  I hope he is not as clueless and he seems.  All the guys in the water group are monitoring it for awhile. 

  

Plans for the rest of the week...Take a rest for a minutes or two, then greet the kids who should be here in about an hour and a half.  Dinner on the deck and a bonfire later tonight with s'mores.  Church tomorrow morning and then dinner at my brother Steve and Emily's house with several family members.  Monday Jim and the kids are going hiking to Pt. Reyes Beach so I will be home doing my thing here and preparing dinner for all. Tuesday we will hang out with them in the yard, then I'll go to work go to work while they all go to The Giant's night game.  San Francisco on Wednesday, Santa Cruz Beach and Board Walk on Thursday.  Friday hang out and have a BBQ party in the yards so family and friends can see their family before they leave on Saturday.  Sandwich in swimming, Farmer's Market, movies, games and just being together with nothing scheduled to do.  Sounds like fun.  Oh, and for those of you that heard about the plane that crashed at SF on the runway.  Our kids are driving.  Thank heavens.
  

One of my favorite things...sharing our home and garden with the family and taking them to the fun places in the San Francisco Bay Area and taking new pictures of everyone and the places we go.


One thing that made me so happy this week...yesterday when the temperature dropped 25+ degrees in less than 24 hours.  H E A V E N !!

The most surprising thing this week...that I heard from so many people for my birthday and everyone was so sweet and kind.  It lifted me up pretty high.  Thanks friends.

A Photo I am sharing this week...

Marie had this on Facebook one day and we both thought the same thing.  Wouldn't it be nice if things were this simple for women?  Someday women will accept themselves as they are and be comfortable in their own skin.  I think this guy was smiling before he tried this variation of what he might look like.  Men have it together in this realm much better than women, generally speaking. I love the British actresses like Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Judy Dench who just let it all be what it is.

I saw a picture of Sophia Loren from 2011 today and she looks very unnatural with her breast enhancements and tight face and the rest of her looks just like an 85 year old.  How is that truly attractive?  Puzzler for sure. She was such a beautiful woman, she should have just let it be and she still would be just as beautiful as she always has been in this season of her life.  25 year old boobs on an 85 year old look pretty ridiculous...they are in the wrong place!  Well, there you have it for another Daybook.  Enjoy your life in the stage you are in, ladies!

          Until we all return...happy day to you!

     ❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon