7:05 PM The temperature is currently 86 degrees on this mostly cloudy day in August. The clouds have indeed been a study and as I “pen” this post, the sun is blasting through the clouds over my right shoulder.
My day started with the replacement of the tub in my washing machine, just about 20 months old – followed by the hauling away of stuff that’s accumulated in the garage since I started parking on the street . The garage is 99% empty; my car is still parked out front – but that will change by week #33’s end. Yes, it’s the 33rd week of 2023. I know: hard to believe: only 19 weeks left in 2023! Where has the time, the year gone?
After the garage declutter, I took a walk and made a quick trip to the bank and grocery store. I was absolutely mesmerized by the clouds and every chance: on my walk, trip to the bank, grocery store, looking out the window , I took a photo or two.
It is my aim, anticipation, ambition to teach myself how to paint clouds- a goal I’ve shared before. The coolest thing : Mother Nature usually provides a daily invitation:
~9:28 AM ~ Aug 14 2023 ~ ~1:36 PM ~ Aug 15 2023 ~ ~1:55 PM ~ Aug 15, 2023 ~
Yep, it’s a H-O-T one in these parts today. As I type this post, the temperature is currently 89 degrees …
This morning, I got out early, about 10:35 AM, before the heat became totally unbearable. Decided to walk to Zeke’s, – the neighborhood coffee shop, round trip a good 1.5 mile – for a latté and a sit outside. The latter didn’t happen – too hot! But the latté was great and I enjoyed it in the cool of home. Thank goodness the AC is working properly.
On my walk I was greeted with a variety of colorful flowers – on trees, in the ground and in planters. They are all very lovely and …
they reminded me of my colorful new mug that I inaugurated today with my morning cuppa tea…
…and my latté fit inside perfectly! It all made me happier! What small moment or several today made you happier?
A quiet day, punctuated by a delightful 2 PM afternoon walk, bright blue sky, and colorful flowers in the ground, pots and on trees.
Before and after my early afternoon walk, I spent time on several Zoom calls with scrapbookers from around the world, sharing, gathering ideas and making plans to document daily our individual lives via photo and words, the last week of this month, April 24 – 30. This is a project I’ve done off and on over the past 10 or so years.
In today’s mail, I received a surprise package from my Delaware friend Kathy, filled with scrapbook papers, embellishments and ephemera ~ perfect for the upcoming week’s documentation. Most of the items are yellow and I have the perfect yellow 6 x 8 album waiting in the wings. Yes! Yellow is absolutely my favorite color. Just the thought makes me happy.
These moments today clearly made me happier… and I hope they have the same effect for you!
Slow start to the day; grumpy: Don’t have any decent AM tea! – didn’t like the cup I brewed. My hand hurts when I write – YUK! Grey. Cloudy. 50 F – why is heat pump on? How does one type the“degree” sign? Hmm… look up… Didn’t complete “Ten.10.X” last night – will do next. Agenda created: If I do all the items on the list, I’ll be waaay ahead of the game…
ORGANIZE is a word I have in the index: Spent time last week RE-organizing and it seems that I’m now “back to the future”! What’s needed is a “restructure,” a fresh and different approach. A shakeup. Yeah! Or perhaps acceptance of what is: “I am disorganized!” [deep sigh]. Perhaps I’ll begin my blog post – t’is a Simply A Moment day…why not? …TBC!
Continuing …it’s currently 5:54 PM.
Earlier, during Writers’ Hour, at 8:43 AM, I wrote: I interrupt my daily AmaZe entry into DayONE, my digital journaling tool of choice, to begin my ONE LITTLE WORD – Happier – entry for the month of February. Heart themed of course, since this is the month of Valentine’s Day, just passed yesterday and birthday of a dear -also, passed – friend and today, the anniversary of my Dad’s passing 39 years ago and , and , and. Tho’ sadness describes these feelings, I am eternally grateful that they and many others, graced my life …
As I look out the window, the sky – cloudy and grey. Tho’ the thermometer sez it’s 50 degrees, the heat pump belies, for it busily churns away (adding to the electric bill). I think: As I pass houses on my daily walks through the neighborhood, I see more houses with solar panels on their roofs & I make a mental note to pursue that for this house. And oh yes, I cannot forget the plumbing. Does it ever end? Who indeed said home ownership was a dream. Nightmare perhaps a more accurate descriptor.
8:55 AM – Writers’ Hour is nearing the end – our hosts are reading text comments and preparing to call on two, unsuspecting – always – writers to share a bit of their writing achievements during the past “50 focused minutes.” I was once called and totally surprised. Thankfully, I indeed had the morning’s written words to consult. Somehow, re-reading my words to myself versus aloud to an audience of “writers,” is just not the same… But one survives .
I’m not sure when in the past 10 -12 years I started blogging on a fairly to somewhat regular basis ( minus the past two years or so). I believe 2019 was the year I actually blogged daily, 365 days. I should verify that stat.
Each day, on my list of things to accomplish: “slow stitchin” – my stitching project for 2023. Since mid January, to “prepare” for the project, I’ve read – borrowed and/or bought- at least 8 new books on the subject; written I know not how many notes, capturing inspiration and ideas; created order out of the chaos that lived in my sewing “studio,” barely used during these years of Covid and major disruptions to all our lives, most noticeably, the passing of loved ones.
Writers’ Hour has ended. It appears that the cloudy sky is eventually going to give over to some sunshine; patches of blue begin to peek through. I end the session with this note: “489 words*, thus far…tbc!
PS. And thus were the moments on the 15th day of February… It is now the morning of February 16; Writers’ Hour is underway and my goal is to hit “publish” on this post – now *645 words. This morning, as I was preparing my second cuppa tea before the session began, I saw a flock, albeit a small one of five Canadian Geese flying northwest. The first I’ve seen since the migration season began. My heart was filled…and that makes me happier.
I loved: Niece CMarie’s and labradoodle Hazel’s matching winter jackets…fun and funny, especially for cold, rainy nearly winter days…
I think: Rainy days are good for wrapping up odds and ends chores on the ever-present, never ending task lists. Write X; Pay Y; Schedule Z… Read this crop of email that arrived in the past 10 minutes. Delete is more likely to happen. Catch up on past days’ news: Today, I was pleased to read that WOMAN is dictionary. com’s word of the year 2022. (Apparently the announcement was made yesterday)…
I saw: UPS trucks, gathered to exchange packages so that the day’s deliveries make it to their final destinations – I presume in time for the holiday gift exchange … just 10 days away. It has been raining cats and dogs all day. So far today, too cold for my daily walk. So, I make do with extra trips up and down the stairs and around the house … something’s better than nothing!
On my walk today, I noted more leaves, in various stages of turning color, on the ground. Autumn, according to the meterological calendar is September 1 – just 16 days away! I feel the excitement building in my mind – despite the fact that I have no special plans on the agenda.
Thus far, weather this week has been ideal and is much appreciated! Today, since Sunday past, I’ve been able to go for a walk to and through the park, just 3 – 4 blocks from my house. Round trip, my walks are at least a mile long, take about 35 minutes and include a few hills to “climb.” Weekdays are especially fun for the littles – children from a couple local day care centers are in the park: playing on the jungle gyms, swinging; toddlers, practicing their walking and the older ones, learning how to “get along.” “Oh no, you can’t snatch that toy from someone ‘just ’cause you want it,” or push someone out of the way, just ’cause you can, etc… I smile as I observe these interactions. Ah life!
I arrive home and note just how lovely is the crepe myrtle – another treat of the summer-to-fall season’s glory. I am ever grateful for these morning walks.
Spring! This day, Friday and Good Friday at that, has lived up to its name and thanks to Mother Nature’s benevolence, has been exquisite. Astronomical Spring arrived March 21, not quite a month ago. Since, Mother Nature has treated us with all the perks and joys of SPRING (including itchy eyes … not a complaint, just a statement of fact). Today has been no exception. I took the above photo of the Spring Full Pink Moon last night – not quite full…tomorrow.
I began the day as I have for nearly three decades – that fact astonishes even me – writing in various paper journals and the DayONE app on my iPad. The former I do out of habit and for the sensory experience: feeling the pen as it glides over the paper; making and forming letters in both cursive and printed fonts; inserting a doodle or punctuation symbol or even a spot of color from a drawing pencil or a bit of washi tape. The writing is as natural as breathing and the words flow, often times surprising me when a phrase or just the right word pops in my mind and appears on the page. With handwriting, I don’t have to worry about if I do this will/does that happen? I just know for I’ve had many decades of experience.
Writing on my iPad is a different ball game. For starters, as I’ve shared before, I don’t do QWERTY (type) tho’ I must admit the more I use the keyboard, the more I am doing QWERTY …but ne’er enough for it to become my method of choice. I either use DayONE or the Word Press app for the inherent ability to save, move paragraphs around, add photos, take a word count, assign categories, play with fonts and insert links, etc. For example, at this point in this post, I’d typed 350+ words and 1515 characters, give or take, twice. Why twice one might wonder? Simply because for some reason, Word Press on my iPad isn’t saving! Wonderful! So, I moved to my Mac and retyped the 350+ words and more than 1500 characters… and remember, I don’t do QWERTY….
So, the sun is setting on what has been a day filled with many gorgeous Spring moments.
I leave you with this photo of #blueskyblooms taken on my morning walk. Enjoy and have a beautiful weekend.
~watching Ali Edwards’ “Awesome” story presentation~
2:15 pm: my long-time friends – former colleagues – and I just ended our bi-monthly “Recent Reads Zoom” gathering. We meet to share what we’ve read and most importantly, touch base, catch up on each other’s lives, especially during these times of pandemic. Since March 2020, we’ve hoped that our next meeting might be an in-person gathering. We shall wait and see if a face-to-face gathering happens in April … hope springs eternal.
Today also marks the sharing of Ali Edwards’ monthly story prompt – ideas and invitation to jumpstart the telling and illustrating of a story (or more ) of our lives. This month’s theme is awesome – a word that isn’t a part of my daily vocabulary but as I reflect on what is awesome in my life, I jotted down these thoughts:
I am alive, in good health, have warmth during this cold day, month; food in the cupboard; good friends; and family …
The sun shines, the clock ticks, today’s temperature – a tad warmer and for some strange reason, early this morning, I was reminded of my very first airplane ride to Chicago, decades ( and I do mean decades) ago. What stands out in that memory was the fact that the flight attendants changed clothes/uniforms three times: they greeted us in one outfit; served us in another and sent us off the plane, after it landed, in another – all of this in a span of 90-minutes…
Sunrise and Sunset usually add a bit of awesomness to the day. According to NASA, the next Full Moon will be tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, midday appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 11:57 a.m. EST. I hope I’ll be able to see it…
the clock in my craft studio ticks loudly and steady; the sun shines and hopefully, it’s warmer ~ a whole 37 degrees . I think I’ll go for a walk… I’ve been sitting a while and stretching my legs should be a good thing to do. I wonder what I’ll find on my walk that is awesome?
Saturday. 1:15 pm – well, 1:18 pm.Just as I started to “pen this post,” my sister called to see if I’d be home this afternoon – Yep!We caught up a bit, said “goodbye; see you later.” I sat down to write, capture the moment.The morning has been quiet – just what I needed and “scheduled” via default, i.e., I planned to not do much of anything, texting to a friend : “Just enjoying a slow morning/day. Nothing pressing or urgent or exciting on the docket – and that’s A OK with me. To be continued…”
A while back, I saw an Instagramplanner entry dubbed “Self-care Saturday.”The idea has intrigued me and I’ve toyed with it ever since.What are the things I do or could do that could/would be check marks in the self-care column, hmmm?
1. Enjoy a leisurely morning, journaling, watching the weather evolve, birds and squirrels forage, study the sky as the weather changes. Things I do pretty much everyday…
2. Read. My morning reads are mostly non-fiction … On Saturdays, maybe switch to fiction?
3. Plan and Journal the day’s agenda/itinerary – if there is one …
4. FaceTime and /or Text with family and friends …
5. Drink tea. Prepare/eat breakfast or brunch …
I don’t sleep in – I’m generally up at the same time everyday and I deliberately don’t look at news or email. I definitely don’t plan, if at all avoidable, to run errands, grocery shop, do household chores unless an event/task, such as going to the city’s “transfer station,” a fancy title for dump, falls on Saturday. Later today, I have a 3 PM Zoom session on a craft technique: stamping…a skill that comes with practice, patience and persistence.
Coming with the 15th of each month is also Ali Edwards’ Story Kits, Stamps, Prompts. This month’s theme: Begin. Perfect. It’s January, the beginning of a new year, accompanied by “resolve” to refrain from exercising old habits, ways, etc that did not contribute towards fulfillment. Certainly that holds true for me in many ways.Recent life changes have forever impacted me, requiring that I begin an entirely new daily rhythm and approach each moment with courage and self compassion…that I take care of me. That I begin …
What new beginnings have you made for 2022? I invite you to join me on the 15th of each month – or whichever date you choose – to document a moment in time in your life. Such a chronicle makes for interesting reading.
Morning Glory Studio 