Rainy Days

Sometimes pictures really are worth a 1,000 words

Simply enjoy the view from the porch

Get up close with a pine branch

or look a raindrop in the eye!

Rainy Day Projects ~ March 15th

Play yesterday ~ pay today. It's raining so we decide to tackle two projects: map out the garden bed plantings for spring and reorganize and clean up the garage.

Southeast Corner of Garden  - last Spring

Garden planning was a piece of cake. I made up a spreadsheet map of the garden beds and barrels and all we had to do was write in what goes where. Done in under an hour.

The garage be a whole different story. It's a 14' X 20' man cave that houses Rod's large and small woodworking tools, fishing gear and the inflatable fishing tube/deck chair unit, wall to wall cupboards, copious numbers of man tools and other important stuff.

"Before"

He tends to leave things where he uses them, which is okay for a little while but then the work bench and all other flat surfaces disappear under a protective blanket of clutter (important no doubt, but clutter none the less). He likes to have things handy, but is at times unclear on the concept that if everything is handy, nothing is handy.

So, once a year I volunteer to help. I'm an organizer at heart so I enjoy the challenge. It also buys me a little leverage to help him decide to relinquish a few of the "useful" things he's kept for ages and never used. Let me be perfectly clear, "rid of" means recycle or selling at the flea market, the words "dispose of" are not in his vocabulary.

We put in a 7 hour workday, time for a shower and some down time. It was a good day, I liked the sound of the rain on the skylights as we worked. A few more hours and we should be done, maybe tomorrow...

Just Listen

Tuesday is errand day. The list is sometimes long since I try to make a run only once a week. There's great satisfaction in crossing items off the list as I make the trek. With gas over $4 a gallon one approaches these kinds of simple chores with a new perspective ~ full circle, no backtracking allowed.

I had to make a stop in Santa Rosa and while I was waiting for my appointment I decided to grab a bite at Panda Express. I brought the fortune cookie home to share with my husband and cracked it open while he was fixing dinner. I read the fortune, burst out laughing and handed it to him. In light of all the aha moments we've experienced and shared with a group friends over the last couple of months neither of us was at all surprised.

"Counting time is not so important as making time count"

  

There seems to be an unseen force afoot here, guiding us all along a new path of awareness about priorities and what's truly important in our lives. I think most of us would agree that the force at work here is a gift from a friend who watches over all of us and isn't shy about providing the occasional cosmic kick in the butt to keep us on this path to enlightenment ~ the important thing is that we just listen.

"Listen"

http://www.etsy.com/people/allieart4children

Every day is a gift, choose your attitude and remember how fortunate you are. Make time for yourself, make time for your family, make time to give back to your community. Everyone wins!

Wisdom Part Deux

Serendipity once again dances round my campfire.

Shortly after posting my blog, Wisdom from a Refrigerator Door, I received an email from my friend Margo Metegrano at http://www.cowboypoetry.com/ guiding me to the source of those words "Fun, Freedom, Fierceness, Fearlessness".

They are from poet Paul Zarzyski, released in 2007 blogcast to the participants of his Writing Workshop at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV. Paul was a close friend of Trisha and her husband Vince. I attended most of his workshops, sessions and concerts at Elko this January and instantly understood the connection. He's a total character, an amazing writer and a gifted storyteller. The link for this week's reading assignment is: http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/paulz/2007/01/

http://www.etsy.com/people/periwinklepass

Trust me, the blogcast is well worth reading and you need to take a time out anyway. Go get a cup of coffee, find a comfortable spot, put your feet up and prepare to learn and laugh yourself silly. Perhaps your inner writer/poet will request a chance to be freed from inside your head. Perhaps the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will be added to your bucket list. Life is short, live fearlessly!