A Simple Woman's Daybook~November 8, 2010

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So, For Today...Monday, November 8, 2010

Outside my window...The sun is just trying to come up, it is the blue hour here right now. If it wasn't wet and chilly out I'd go take a picture.

It is a pretty regular thing that Jim goes to work at the Temple each Monday now. They are putting the Christmas lights all around Temple Hill. He is having a ball and I have a feeling this will be a volunteer job for him for quite some time. He got to go up in the big basket, boom thingy and help put the lights on the big palm trees. He and another guy took some photos from up there last week he said it was a great new vantage point. They are not on our camera so haven't seen them yet. Anyway this gives me a day to get all my own things done.

~Oakland Temple~
~The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints~

A flickr photo of what it look like when it is all done. A fun project to work on. I am glad they have that basket for the tops of those huge palms. Jim is too! Makes doing the house look like a simple task.

I am thinking...maybe I will just pick another day and go up and do some volunteer work as well. We were originally supposed to go together but since everyone but the engineers are off on Mondays it will require that it be a different day. Still mulling that over at this point. I know they can always use the help in the office or other parts of the Temple. I would probably choose Tuesday since that way we could be gone from Wednesday to Sunday if we wanted to get away.

I am thankful for...having choices at this time of life and more time than money. Just trying to sort the time out regarding retirement and trying to figure out how to best use the time we have. Trying to balance out the service aspect as well as what we need and want to do is something we need to figure out.

From the learning room..Big changes in our lives like retirement take time to settle into. Having a daily and weekly and monthly plan seems to be a key factor and also some long range plans. You cannot just wake up each morning and think..."What shall we do today?"

I am reading... The Help, and a few other books peppered in. I keep them by my chair and decide what mood I am in for the few minutes I have to read before falling asleep! I do love this book, it is very thought provoking.

I am wondering..if it would be too weird to start on Christmas decorating the week before Thanksgiving? Especially since we are having Thanksgiving dinner here with my brother Steve and his family?? Jim's birthday is on the 26th and he wants to go away at least overnight someplace nearby so I'd find that more relaxing if I had the bulk of it done by then? Decisions, decisions, I am feeling the weight of a lot of decisions right now. None of them earth shattering just things that I need to 'wrap' (for Caroline) my head around, decide and makes some plans.

I am hearing...Christmas music, "Mary did You Know?" I love this song. Last year it became a new favorite for me. The version I really like is by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd.

Today if I could change one thing...I'd slow down time a little bit. That is aside from yesterday which had to be the longest day ever. Why is that first day of the end of Daylight Savings Time always so long?

I am quoting..."It is what it is, and only you can influence what it will become." Not sure where I saw this one but I do like it.

I am going...do a thorough cleaning in our bedroom today.

I am missing...My Mom, this week marks the beginning of the last week of her life in 2003. It feels like forever since I have seen her. My life has not been the same without her here. Nothing on earth can fill that empty place.

One of my guilty pleasures....writing on this blog instead of getting to the other tasks at hand.

Pet Peeves...people that don't take their commitments seriously.

One of my favorite things...just staying home and enjoying the peace and working on goals, even to do lists. It is such a luxury after so many years of having to leave the essentials undone to go to work. I do not miss that at all.

An enjoyable movie I have watched lately...Invictus. Absolutely amazing on so many levels. I highly recommend it.

I am curious about...the title of the new movie, "For C o l o r e d Girls" and wondering if that would be politically correct if the producer wasn't Tyler Perry. I am just saying can't you just see the protests........? We live in a very weird and interesting time.

A few plans for the rest of the week..trying to get the last of the vacation posts done. I know you must all be so sick of them by now but I just want to get it all done for Laura and the boys to have a record of that special time. I know she doesn't have the time and the boys will forget it otherwise. I have a meeting this morning for church, cleaning, shopping and some list making to cover the biggies of the next two months. Fortunately I did some cooking with Jim yesterday afternoon so we are set for this week. And I better get cracking on a plan for Jim's birthday too.

Here are a few photos and thoughts I am sharing with you....




These are some photos I took yesterday afternoon with my cell phone. I am enjoying the instant ready of that camera even though it is not as good as our regular one.

Jim is the regional chair person for Scouting for Food again this year and we had to go to a church in Berkeley yesterday afternoon to make some arrangements with a collection site over there. We had our semi-annual stake conference over in Oakland yesterday, so it was just perfect to stop in Berkeley on or way home.

We do have our own little version of autumn here and thought I'd show it too you. Hope you're not thinking it is time for me to stop taking tree pictures for a while! I am over the top about how beautiful they are...sorry! I promise to branch out to some new topics soon. Thanks for coming back again and again and for being patient with me.