The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!!

Is "hurrier" a word?? hmmm If I knew where the dictionary was (bookcase is not done yet) then I could look it up and I don't dare start looking things up online or I will never get the "to do list" done for the show! Still going to be down to the wire, I love it!! Here is a rug I just finished this morning and I have one more to put the binding on. Can't see the colors but there is some light plum and teal blue just for fun and just makin do. It is going to rain this morning and be that way all day. Most of the trailer is loaded but when DH gets home we will finish. Last minute stuff will be tomorrow morning. This time I promise to take some pictures of the show. Last year I was just swamped the first 3 days and didn't get a single picture. I doubt I will get a picture of my booth as the dealers are like ants and swarm us when we are unloading and trying to set up and by the time they are done buying the booth plan I had is to be no more! ha ha Oh well, I'm there to sell. Sparks, Kansas, 4 days, Thurs-Sunday, fun for all. Take joy.........I do, each and every day.

Simple acts of kindness

It doesn't have to be this big act of self-sacrifice. A little thoughtful act will do. Imagine my surprise when out of nowhere came an email from a wonderful gal in New York. She had googled "take joy in the day" and somewhere my blogspot popped up. She sent me an email thanking me for some "delightful reading". Something besides the daily drudgery in the news. I believe that simple acts of kindness will make the world a better place to live. Imagine if you then passed on that simple act to two other people and they did the same. Get the picture? It warmed my heart immensely when she said she had called her mother and shared some of my blog with her. Paying it forward. Do one act of kindness today. Send a card, make a phone call, reach out by email. Honor others with simple kindness today. It will warm your heart, too! So, thank you Lynn from New York. Find joy in each day and peace will follow. Blessings.

Listen to your body

When God made each of us He gave our bodies each a wisdom all its own. We need to pay attention and listen to our body when it tells us something. Mine is telling me to sit and rest which for me is very difficult to do. I have zuchinni to make in to relish, tomatoes yet to can, furniture to ready for a show and yet I sit.....and rest. I did a number on myself between the burn and my swollen knee. A trip to the ER Saturday evening was not in "my" plans but the pain was just too intense. Infrapatellar bursitis is probably what the right leg is dealing with, otherwise known as clergyman's knee as the clergymen would spend so much time down on their knees on a hard surface praying. All I know is that I am dealing with terrific pain, swelling and fever. Not fun. The burn is actually looking better but I still have a ways to go. Doctor said another 5-10 days before I'd see signs of healing. It was infected so antibiotic for that. Inflammatory medicine for the knee which I think is going to be a slow healing process. All because of those nasty dust bunnies! I'm taking advantage of the "resting" and doing some reading which I enjoy and don't get enough of. So the next time you are feeling tired, instead of pushing yourself harder, take time to rest.

Enjoying a childhood pleasure

Small nest and egg, the nest about the size of a half dollar. (I couldn't find one to compare!) The sculptor is also small in stature, a young Amish fellow by the name of Clemons E. Miller and he is a mere 10 years old. What joy I had when he asked me to open my hand and he placed this little nest in it. My mind immediately regressed to early childhood when my siblings and I made "mud pies" on the farm. Remember the pleasures of childhood? Swings. Opening a box of new crayons and their smell. Cotton candy at the fair. Jumping in a pile of fallen leaves. We should all let go of grown-up complexities and enjoy simple childhood pleasures. I promise you they will remind you of essentials of the heart and infuse adulthood with joy.

So go out and buy a new box of crayons and coloring book and color to your heart's delight!! Takin joy in a little mud nest. Takin joy.

Mind over body

I have a 60 year old body but my mind still thinks I am 30. But after this week I am reminded to be humble and appreciate what I can do. I can't can tomatoes all day like I did when I was younger and not feel it. I know that the lawn mower engine is hot when the hood is off it and it has been running. Yet I leaned right in to it and put a bad burn on my left leg which made it difficult to sleep on my side. I know that tin is sharp and I should have leather gloves on when handling it yet I didn't and cut my hand. Try rug hooking with a sore hand that is all bandaged up. Lastly I was down on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor, mostly just under cupboards. Felt great and got the job done. I got the job done alright. 3 A.M. this morning woke up with intense pain in my left knee. It is all swollen up and oh my, does it hurt. I'm not sure what I did, maybe bruised my knee cap but I can't even touch the area just below my knee. I've been awake since 3 and am moving around but slowly. Was able to drive over to my neighbor's and she gave me some salve she made with cloves in it. It helped the swelling and eased the pain alittle. Smells good at least. I'm determined to keep going, mind over body but the ole grey mare ain't what she use to be!

Ribbon snake

Thamnophis Western ribbon snake...............in the barn............LaVern DOES NOT like snakes! This guy was after frogs as the gutters are full of water and frogs. He is part of the garter snake family so basically "harmless" but you aren't going to convince LaVern of that. A snake is a snake and part of the "it has to go" family. I think this is only the second snake that we have seen since moving here and that is a good thing. I still chuckle when I think back to when we were looking at some beautiful country in southern Missouri. On one occasion I believe LaVern asked the real estate agent if there were snakes in the area. He mentioned copperhead and timber snakes (both rattlesnakes) and that changed LaVern's thinking of southern Missouri. Yes, God did have his hand in locating us farther north. Of that I am sure!

Large hail in Kansas

I spent the day yesterday thinking about our friends in NW Kansas where we use to live. They had a hail storm that dropped tennis and baseball size hail! The damage is extensive, broken windows in homes and of course windshields out of hundreds of vehicles. (www.mccookgazette.com) My parents live in McCook but on the east side and they missed the bad hail as most of it was on the west side. Lots of rain with it also, reports of 2-4 inches in McCook and it all came at once. Our weather has sure been wierd and if it is due to global warming then we all should make an effort to change that. Anyway, prayers and hugs to my friends and family back west.

Wiggling like a worm

I feel like I am spinning my wheels this morning when I should be wiggling! It's 11:30 and yes I have 3 loads of laundry on the line, brownies made and cooling, carrots and beets gathered from the garden and cooking on the stove, trash taken out and burned, two rugs pressed and drying, jars ready for canning tomatoes and yet when I step back and survey. I really don't see what I did! I need to be like a child and wiggle. Have you ever noticed the younger children are the more they wiggle? Tell them to fly like a butterfly or wiggle like a worm and they will be dancing around the room gleefully, delighting in the joy of life. So the next time you are feeling old and jaded and tired, become like a child again. Rediscover flying like a butterfly or wiggling like a worm!! Take off those shoes (right now would be good) and wiggle your toes!

Peach Time

Why is it that the peaches are always ready right in the middle of all the garden canning? Oh well. This morning I canned 7 quarts of peaches, 14 jars of jam and 3 quarts of pulp. I'm going to try using some of the pulp this winter to make peach rollups. Should work great when the wood cookstove is fired up! Tomorrow I get to do this all over again! The peaches are from Missouri and $14 for a big bushel but they are ready like TODAY. No holding these. But they taste so good when winter rolls around. We have had several fresh peaches at mealtimes and this was all from 1/2 bushel. Suppose to be more in next week but I'll see how tired I am then. We have two grandsons that when they were here and I opened a jar of peaches, each boy nearly ate the entire quart jar. No problem having peanut butter sandwiches when they had homemade peach jam with it. I'm heading out to the barn to work on furniture. Was up at 5 and hooked this morning. Wish the outhouse was closer to the barn as I am sure the peach trots will be coming soon!

Palindrome

While the grandkids were here and we were with our Amish neighbors they asked the kids their names. Hannah told them her name and then quickly added that her name spelled backwards was the same, Hannah. My Amish neighbor responded that her name was a palindrome. The 11 year old granddaughter was astonished as she had not heard that word before. She is the avid reader and was surprised there was a word she didn't know! ha ha "Was it a cat I saw?" is a sentence of palindromes. Pretty amazing stuff. I've never doubted I was too old to learn something. Noon. Madam. Bob. Dad. Eve. "Rise to vote, sir".

Upcoming show

Labor Day weekend one month to get ready! Oh my! Just starting to make things and the furniture................well, still sitting in the barn waiting to be worked on. I love working under pressure! Stressed? Nah, that's just desserts spelled backwards and who stresses about desserts?

The year of the muumuu

Though muumuus have been the subject of many jokes, in warm climates they make ideal comfortable and easy loungewear. A muumuu is a loose yoked dress that originated in Hawaii. Bright and bold floral prints are the traditional choice for a muumuu; however one can use any lightweight fabric of your choice if you make it yourself. I talked to a dear friend of mine yesterday and she said that she was going to have a muumuu party. She is almost finished sewing 8 muumuus! A relative is having a birthday so that started the whole muumuu idea. Mary loves to wear a muumuu in the summer and swears they are the coolest thing there is to wear, so she has declared this the year of the muumuu. I remember my mother wearing them back in the 60's when we lived on the farm. If I remember correctly she identified it as a housedress and it was a shorter version than the traditional Hawaiin one . I'm thinking I need one in homespun fabric to fit my personality because bright, bold floral....NOT. Muumuu........COOL!

Fogs, bees, spiders and acorns.

The Amish say, "August fog blooms winter's snow." To the English, "Each fog in August foretells one tracking snow." Those old weather wive's tales say for every foggy morning in August there will be a corresponding snowfall-the thicker that fog the deeper the snow. I am keeping track of the fogs this year and this morning we had a heavy fog. Two more of nature's natural barometers are spiders and bees. Bees are said to forecast colder, harsher winters when they build their nests high off the ground. And the spiders? Well, they build larger than usual webs before a colder, snowier winter. Walking down to the well this morning I noticed some really large spider webs that we haven't had before. An abundance of acorns also means a cold, snowy winter but I haven't found the acorn tree yet! One thing I did notice is that the sumac bushes along the roads, their leaves are starting to turn! You may wonder why I am telling you all this. Yesterday afternoon we got the $30 log splitter up and running that I bought at an auction a year ago and we split wood. If we have a cold, snowy winter then you can add that to the list of forecasters!