A Simple Woman's Daybook!~ November 7, 2011

Just For Today...Monday, November 7, 2011

As my friend Marie's says about
writing a daybook post or reading one,
" It is like sitting down together for a chat over (herbal) tea."

Outside my window...it is cold, it is dark, it is winter again already! It is supposed to be 64 and sunny today. The older I get the longer it takes me to adjust to the time change. I need sun light. I do not do dreary well. So glad it will be sunny today. How do you cope when it is 6:30 pm and feels like midnight?

From the learning room...we just never know what people are going through and enduring. We should just be as loving and kind as possible to everyone. Being a light and bringing joy to someone's day is so important. I want do something to brighten each day not add more clouds for anyone. Edifying and lifting another can be about the best things we can do for them. It doesn't have to be anything big, just heartfelt and genuine. Loving without expectations is the best.

I am reading...lessons to do on my genealogy, always scriptures and related materials and blogs now and then, a peak at Facebook once a day and the inside of my eyelids. Got new glasses for the computer and they are helping a lot but still way too much screen time in my life right now.

From the kitchen...Made that favorite soup of Jim's which means basically no cooking this week. He loves that and goes into 'eat it every night of the week mode.' I'm OK for awhile and then I get very bored with that. Not him! Day in day out he is as happy as a clam with it.

Lucky me! He cut this out and I found it on my desk
this morning after adding in the above last night!
He didn't know what I had written, he just knows himself.
Funny isn't it? The timing was perfect!

I am missing...oh, so many people. So many are just too far away that take up a substantial amount of my heart's capacity.

I am hearing...Christmas Music. Silver Bells, Johnny Mathis. I must start thinking about getting in the mood. So excited to be spending it with our east coast family and stopping in Utah for a few days along the way. I am in the mood for that, just not all the stuff I have to do between now and then. I do have a big hunk of shopping done since I get to send $ to the Utah kids and grandkids. Amazon will be helping me out with the Rhode Island contingency and then I just have the beloveds around here. Not too bad. Laura and I are already planning on making some cool presents for some friends in the days right before Christmas.

I am wearing...PJ's....this is such a boring part of this daybook. I may have to delete it for awhile!

I am quoting...our beautiful daughter Laura on her blog..."Well, the day of our big good-bye finally came and is now over. I still cannot believe it. After lots of hugs and a final goodbye at the airport, the tears began to flow, a lot. It really surprised me (because intellectually, I still can not comprehend what is happening). My copious tears and not-so-silent sobs surprised the boys too. I don't think they have ever seen me cry like that before but they were great. They hugged me and comforted me with, 'It is okay Mom, he will come back soon" and "Every day he is gone is one day closer to his homecoming." It was very sweet."

Somethings that made me especially happy this past week...I got all my winter clothes out, sorted, and organized for the season and got rid of things that are too big. This is such a good thing as now I can see exactly what I need to complete my wardrobe and not buy things I don't really need. Although I am always looking for the perfect white shirt, after my exercise in getting everything reorganized for winter I can clearly see one thing. I have not found it yet, but I need to quit trying for awhile! So the only thing I need for winter is a pair of black slacks for work. Not bad.

Jim got more work done on his road and has decided to name it "Tasso Lane." We celebrated the birthday of a sweet friend. And the first week of Robert's deployment is behind us.

I am going...to embrace all the good things in our lives and be grateful everyday for the blessings. Learn to deal better with all the loved ones I worry about. I am going to be compassionate and caring while seeking joy. What I mean by that is I will try not to let the burdens I feel others experiencing right now get me down to the point I cannot help them.

One of my guilty pleasures...oh, there are so many! I admit to be a bit of a hedonist at heart.

Pet Peeve...Kleenex and other foreign objects that go through the washer and sometimes the dryer. Yikes. hatin' it!

One of my favorite things...The men who read my blog. They are a special lot and I love them all. That goes without saying for the women too!

An enjoyable movie I have watched lately..."Bertie and Elizabeth" a fun movie about The current Queen of England's parents. It is a very sweet love story actually.

I am curious about...Pinterest. I have signed up...heaven forbid. I have no time for such things but it looks like a lot of fun. It cannot cut into the things I have to do, so it just means less sleep if I get into it. I think I'll just lurk for awhile.

If I could change one thing it would be....all the bad things that happened this past week. My dear cousin's beautiful dog died and left him and his wife devastated, my brother Gary has been suffering non-stop with a very large kidney stone. My friend Marie is dealing with serious health issues, I learned of some things that have hurt friends a great deal in the last several months. Sometimes you just feel helpless when you just want to take someone's pain away and you can't.

A few plans for the rest of the week...work on my genealogy homework, organize more electronic files, do a blog post on organizing genealogy files and papers, fill out some paper work on one of my retirement accounts that I have been putting off for long enough, have a baby shower for one of the ladies I visit teach that is having her first baby at 40! So happy for her. Baking some Carmel Apple cakes. Work in the library, start to think about Jim's birthday coming up and cooking for Thanksgiving both on the same weekend. I am sure other stuff will come up each day...can't even think about the weekend yet. No ideas!

Some photos and thoughts I'm sharing this week...

Family Reunion in July
A love made in Heaven itself.

Ocean Beach this past summer...
A hero and his boys!

Saying good-bye to his sons for 15 months.

Heartwarming, loving Daddy!

A Family that is smiling in spite of
sending daddy off to war.
They are our precious heroes!
God Bless you and keep you safe, Robert!