For Today - November 24, 2010 - Wednesday

Outside My Window. . . It is cool & breezy & the leaves of autumn are falling & swirling & piling up on the ground.  It s perfect.

I Am Thinking. . . I have never been this content in any home, at least not the day before Thanksgiving.  You see, the other house had flowers.  Lots of flowers.  Oh how I have mourned not having any perennials or roses at this house.  Something was blooming almost year round.  But usually nothing on Thanksgiving Day.  Why?  Because we most often had a frost w/in the Thanksgiving week & the beautiful gardens turned to mush.  They usually looked just horrible. 

But that's not a problem here because there are very blessed few flowers!  Just a scraggly lantana & ruellia.  I'm not certain if the azaleas & hydrangeas we planted survived the summer.  They sure don't look like they have!  NOTE TO SELF: Never do any landscaping until you've been in a place for at least one year!

The point being is that there is no fear of the flowers being ruined at Thanksgiving.

There is something better at this house than autumn flowers.  Oh yes - I've bought some mums & pansies - but the real stars of the show are the trees!  Sweet gums, winged oak,  sassafras & I don't know all what else!

I may miss the flowers again next summer . . . . but not at all this autumn.  The trees are enough.  They are more than enough.  They are beautiful.

I Am Grateful. . . that I took the time to go on a short walk this morning.  I had my clippers with me just in case the Yaupon Holly was still holding on to its bright red berries as I wanted to bring some more into the house to use in a table arrangement along w/some branches of colorful leaves.

As I said earlier the air was crisp & cool & breezy.  The side road next to our house is covered w/colorful leaves.  Covered!  Instead of a wintry day blanket of snow it's a blanket of leaves!  An old red pickup truck came by, kicking up the leaves behind it just like you see in a car commercial!

I was so enjoying the falling leaves & the breeze & the birds singing when  spied the holly & yes!, the red berries are still covering it!  I impulsively threw my arms out into the air & spun around!  Yes!  Like a child I spun around w/glee! 

And then it hit me . . . I haven't felt that sort of freedom since I was a little girl.  I ran to the holly w/my arms outstretched like a kid pretending to be an airplane!  Like seeing an old friend!

And I was overwhelmed with such contentment.  And joy.

Now don't get me wrong. . . . I am most often very contented: sleeping on my husband's chest; spending time w/my children & grandchildren; having God reveal something to me through His word.  Contentment is a regular part of my life.  But there are lots of ways to experience contentment.

At the old house I experienced it outdoors with my flowers & today I experienced it outdoors w/the trees & berries & leaves!  And the birds chirping!  It was like Disney movie, except so much better!  It was real!

Ah - I've been glowing ever since!  It's a very nice day.

From The Kitchen . . . pumpkin seeds roasting; & all the ingredients to make pecan tarts & broccoli/rice casserole.  Oh!  And 4 loaves of Maxine's fabulous sourdough bread!

I Am Creating. . . .an abundant life.  An abundant life filled with love.

I Am Going. . . . .to get off the computer & more progress on my to-do list.

I Am Reading . . . my to-do list! ;)

I Am Hoping . . . . to hold on to this sublime feeling.

I Am Hearing . . . the wind through the trees.  A car passing by.  And those acorns hitting the roof!

Around The House . . .Busy-ness.  The busy-ness of getting ready for a holiday.  Since Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday I don't mind it at all!

I Am Wearing. . . Capris, lightweight denim shirt & walking shoes.

I Am Thinking . . .if I make it through my list I must go out & take picture this evening.  Before I know it all the leaves will be off the trees!

I Am Wondering . . . about nothing.  Not really.  All of life is wonder-ful.  So either I'm wondering about nothing.  Or else about everything!

One Of My Favorite Things. . .Sublime contentment!

Something You May Not Know About Me. . . My given middle name is Mae.

About Today's Photo. . .Isn't this a crazy way to make a to-do list?  Does yours look so "mappy"? 

I am happy to say that a great many of the jobs have been checked off the list!

For Today - October 26, 2010 - Tuesday

Outside My Window. . .It's cool, damp & breezy w/a chance of rain this morning. Last chance for this week.

Lots of acorns & Sweet-gum balls on the ground. . . .

I Am Hearing . . . the wind blowing, crickets chirping & Shiloh snoring.

I Am Wearing. . . the softest blue plaid knit sleep pants & a T-shirt

I Am Thinking . . that as much as I want new flooring in the dining room, it's a bit of an undertaking to have it done by Thanksgiving. Hubby will do the job himself. . . . he's just that kind of guy. . . and more than capable. . . . but a lot to do before Thanksgiving.

I Am Wondering . . .if we'll be able to do a controlled burn this weekend, as planned. I need to call the Fire Station today & find out if they think it's safe enough. I'm guessing the answer will be "no".

I Am Grateful. . . that the house is clean.

From The Kitchen . . . organic banana & pear. Planning to have a super protein drink for breakfast 'cause I'm not really hungry for anything else. And it's still warm enough for smoothies. I don't care for them during cold weather, so might as well enjoy while I can!

I Am Reading . . . current issue of Texas Monthly.

I Am Hoping. . .to buy some pumpkins and mums!

Around The House . . .Clean sheets with that wonderful clean smell! Freshly swept & vacuumed floors. Tidiness abounds!

One Of My Favorite Things. . .is a house that doesn't need much work done to it.

Something You May Not Know About Me. . .I am usually reading several books at one time. And I don't read fiction. I used to. But now I find it much more interesting to read up about photography or Essential Oils or gardening or. . . . .

About Today's Photo. . . Grandson & Anolis Carolinensis @ Texas Fresh Water Fisheries.

For Today - October 25, 2010 - Monday

Outside My Window. . .It is cool, damp, & breezy & branches & twigs are down. . . but that's not really new. East TX had horrible weather over the weekend & we drove through some if it: trees down across the highway & a transformer *blew* as we drove by. But we are safe. The house is safe. And it appears we got enough rain to settle the dust. . . . but that's all. No significant rainfall at all for us. Bummer! And with it being so breezy today, I'm guessing everything will be dry & brittle before long.

I Am Hearing . . The wind blowing through the trees & a couple of birds chittering away. Acorns, gumballs, & pine cones landing on the metal roof. Yep - it sounds like the little cabin is under attack! ;)

I Am Wearing. . . a red 3/4 sleeved, v-necked T & khaki pants.

I Am Thinking . . I want to go back to bed. I've been up since 3AM; it's cloudy outside & it seems like a nice thing to do.

I Am Wondering . . .about nothing. . . . really. Nothing at all. Some days are like that . . . .

I Am Grateful. . . that I went to church yesterday & even though I worked the nursery & didn't get to hear the sermon, it's been reported that my son-in-law gave a wonderful message. I *did* get to hear Amanda & Christiy sing a duet, but missed their solos. I wish I could have heard them both, especially this one Amanda sang. . . . it's a new one for me. She wants it sung at her funeral.

From The Kitchen . . . Leftover Jambalaya & leftovers from Applebees. We went out into that horrible weather on Saturday! Saw the movie, Red, & ate at Applebees. It's been years since I've eaten there. . . I didn't much care for it. Blech! But the movie was a lot of fun & made me laugh. A lot! And plenty of action for the men, too!

I Am Reading . . Still - nada!

I Am Hoping. . .to catch up on rest? I don't know. No real plans for today.

Around The House . . .oh - I should probably wash the sheets. . . . .

One Of My Favorite Things. . .is a house that doesn't need much work done to it.

Something You May Not Know About Me. . .I started wearing contact lenses when I was 13. They were big, round & hard.

About Today's Photo...

For Today - October 25, 2010 - Monday

Outside My Window. . .It is cool, damp, & breezy & branches & twigs are down. . . but that's not really new. East TX had horrible weather over the weekend & we drove through some if it: trees down across the highway & a transformer *blew* as we drove by. But we are safe. The house is safe. And it appears we got enough rain to settle the dust. . . . but that's all. No significant rainfall at all for us. Bummer! And with it being so breezy today, I'm guessing everything will be dry & brittle before long.

I Am Hearing . . The wind blowing through the trees & a couple of birds chittering away. Acorns, gumballs, & pine cones landing on the metal roof. Yep - it sounds like the little cabin is under attack! ;)

I Am Wearing. . . a red 3/4 sleeved, v-necked T & khaki pants.

I Am Thinking . . I want to go back to bed. I've been up since 3AM; it's cloudy outside & it seems like a nice thing to do.

I Am Wondering . . .about nothing. . . . really. Nothing at all. Some days are like that . . . .

I Am Grateful. . . that I went to church yesterday & even though I worked the nursery & didn't get to hear the sermon, it's been reported that my son-in-law gave a wonderful message. I *did* get to hear Amanda & Christiy sing a duet, but missed their solos. I wish I could have heard them both, especially this one Amanda sang. . . . it's a new one for me. She wants it sung at her funeral.

From The Kitchen . . . Leftover Jambalaya & leftovers from Applebees. We went out into that horrible weather on Saturday! Saw the movie, Red, & ate at Applebees. It's been years since I've eaten there. . . I didn't much care for it. Blech! But the movie was a lot of fun & made me laugh. A lot! And plenty of action for the men, too!

I Am Reading . . Still - nada!

I Am Hoping. . .to catch up on rest? I don't know. No real plans for today.

Around The House . . .oh - I should probably wash the sheets. . . . .

One Of My Favorite Things. . .is a house that doesn't need much work done to it.

Something You May Not Know About Me. . .I started wearing contact lenses when I was 13. They were big, round & hard.

About Today's Photo...Autumn in east TX