31 / 365 Farewell to January

Today after work I sat in my car thinking before starting the engine and heading home.  This is my view through the windshield.  The last day of January has been gray and rainy from beginning to end.  It’s nice to know that with tomorrow’s arrival of February we’ll be that much closer to Spring.



30 / 365 Drained for Maintenance

We live in a subdivision off Bishop Lake Drive, and I pass by Bishop Lake at least once a day.  Every year or so – at least it seems that often – they drain the lake for dock repairs and who knows what else.  While I always notice the lake, I don’t think I really “see” it until it gets drained.  By then it looks awful. (H ‘s language is a little stronger.)

It’s so easy to simply look over, around, through, or past things that we come in contact with on a regular basis.  Every time I see the lake drained, I appreciate anew how lovely it looks when it’s full… if only I pay attention.

29 / 365 A Preview of “Life at the Home”

H and I had dinner and celebrated a birthday with friends tonight, a group that H has been involved with for over twelve years.  We often joke that the older we get, the more the conversations focus on age-related topics, “geezer mode” as H likes to call it.  Tonight was a prime example.  Discussion highlights included Social Security, sleep number mattresses, good sleeping pillows, and health issues.  While the ladies were hard at work planning fun activities for the coming year, the guys had retired to the living room and were watching a program on Lawrence Welk, followed by a history of the TV Western.  H refers to such a sedentary evening as a preview of “life at the home.”

28 / 365 Lost Pets

H and I live in a neighborhood with strict guidelines when it comes to pets running loose.  And, although I may have observed a few cats tiptoeing by, I rarely see a dog that is not on a leash leading its owner.  I mention this because I know the neighborhood must be brimming with pets, but I just don’t see them.

But goats?  I would never have guessed that we have a goat in the neighborhood.  I was totally surprised to see this notice taped to a stop sign two streets over from our home.  Not that I have anything against goats, but I think I need to start paying closer attention to my neighbors’ backyards. 

(Sorry for the picture quality: It was snapped as my left hand held the steering wheel and my right hand aimed the camera across the front seat and through the windshield, all while driving slowly through the stop – traffic was starting to back up behind me.)

27 / 365 Quiet Time

Many years ago I used to get up early each morning and spend a little quiet time mentally preparing for the day.  I usually spent the time in prayer or reading something inspiring.  Sometimes, I simply sat still just pondering the moment.  I don’t remember when or why I stopped, but I feel the need to get back into the habit.  It was a great way to welcome a new day.    

I started setting an earlier alarm this week to begin the process.  So far, I’ve succeeded two days out of three. 

26 / 365 Little Happies

A girlfriend of mine has a family member who refers to giving a small, fun something – nothing expensive or of big worth – as giving “a little happy.”  I love that.  Just a little something to make someone smile.  These are some of the “little happies” that I’ve received at work over the years.   They make me grin every time I look up from my computer.

25 / 365 Facility Management

This day was filled with plain ol' facility management duties.  The highlights included the distribution and set up of 100 new chairs, elevator inspections, plans for office remodeling, and troubleshooting with the heating system.  My cup runneth over today.

24 / 365 The Prayer Basket

Several years ago I facilitated a Prayer Pocket Workshop at the church, in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer.  Participants created decorative fabric pockets and sewed prayers inside each piece.  Many people took them home, but those that were left were moved to the chapel for the day.  Afterwards, I just couldn’t toss a basketful of prayers, so I moved them to my office.  The basket still sits on my filing cabinet. 

Today I was thinking about all the names that are on the church’s prayer list, many of which were added today.  It was comforting to look over and see that basket full of prayers nearby.

23 /365 Another Year Older

January is a great month for birthdays in our family – celebrating fourteen years with my nephew!

22 / 365 To Dine or Not To Dine

We have a new dining place in town that serves Tibetan food.  I’ve seen the menu and it actually sounds pretty good.  However, I’m not keen on the location – it’s in a gas station parking lot, and I find the ambiance lacking.  It could be a hidden little jewel, and the food may be out of this world, but eating at the Shell station… well, I just don’t know.  Today I stopped for gas and noticed this intriguing sign in the window.  I’ve never tasted yak.  I’ll really have to think on this one.

21 / 365 Morning Coffee

There's nothing like a good hot cup of coffee and great conversation to set the mood for the day.

20 / 365 Clean-Up Time

H and I just spent a delightful evening with H’s mom, his brother D, and a graduate student of D’s from Brazil.  Family, a homemade meal, a little wine, fun conversation, and a new friend from a faraway corner of the world.

19 / 365 Treats From the Old Country

H’s brother arrived last night from Amsterdam.  He’s here on business, but also to celebrate his mom’s 90th birthday.  Whenever D visits he brings us treats.  I love his presentation because it’s like watching a magician pull item after item out of a hat (but in this instance, a suitcase).  Cheeses of all shapes and sizes; ontbijt- and gemberkoek (breakfast cakes); stroopwafels (syrup waffle wafers); and delicate cheese crackers.  This time, the crowning glory came at the end when he carefully lifted out a baker’s box filled with beautiful moorkoppen (world-class cream puffs) – a birthday tradition, and his mom’s favorite.  It’s great fun.

Of course, I'm always curious to see if he actually had room to pack any clothes.

 

18 / 365 Color Me Gray

Since the wee hours of the morning, the weather has been cold and rainy and gray.  The gloominess just hovers and it has been hard to get any momentum going.  I’m hoping for a little spark of something soon to brighten the mood.

17 / 365 Elmo’s Packed and Ready

The last of the family visitors have boarded their plane and are on their way home. There are no more toys to step over,  oversized meals to cook, or extra dishes to wash.  It’s quiet in the house… in fact, too quiet in the house.  I already miss them.

16 / 365 We're Just Getting Started

It’s full steam ahead at our house: Go Fish, dress-up dolls, Old McDonald, feeding the birds, piano & drums – we should be breaking for lunch soon.

15 / 365 Hooray for Birthdays!

Happy 90th Birthday!!!!!!!!!!

14 / 365 There's Going To Be a Party

We’re having a little birthday gathering this weekend for H’s mom (who’s turning ninety) with family coming in from out of town.  Now that the roads are reasonably clear, I’ve made five trips to the grocery store and one trip to Target (all since yesterday); the kitchen counters are overflowing with groceries and the pantry is stuffed to the gills.

My husband calmly noted last night that our guests will only be here for a total of forty-eight hours and most of that time will be spent driving back and forth to the airport.  

Point taken – I guess I’m a little anxious.

13 / 365 A Sun-Drenched Day

Finally, our long-awaited friend Mr. Sun puts a whole new sparkle on the day!

12 / 365 What More Can I Say?

For some of us, every day is a snow day.

11 / 365 Clearing of the Mind

Everything that melted yesterday refroze last night and the roads are too hazardous to drive on.  No sun today means gray skies, ice and crunchy snow – another snow day at home.  Earlier today, as I was scattering more birdseed, I happened upon this little bit of forgotten color hidden in the backyard.  It was just what I needed to put a spark in the day.

Although I had the day off, my husband didn’t:  H works from home (“like a dog,” he always says) and spends all day behind the computer.  His work week hasn’t been affected by the snow, except that his interactions with others have been curtailed since he can’t leave the house.  I suggested that maybe we should bundle up and take a walk, but after surveying the ice fields, he decreed that idea a “no go” and I let it drop. 

A little later he stopped by my office to look at the images I had taken for today’s blog:

What’s that thing?  It’s not in our yard, is it? (He’s not keen on yard art.)

Well, yes it is.  Pattie gave it to me.  It’s in the back,  in the Secret Garden.  It’s been there for over a year.

Really?  In the Secret Garden?  Well, no wonder I haven’t seen it –  the garden is a secret.

Maybe we should have taken that walk after all.

10 / 365 Small Joys

An overnight snowfall and the resulting day off gave me a chance to take my camera outside to capture my feathered friends.

At first I was disappointed that the only birds I could get close enough to take pictures of were the wee little ones.  (As always, I was hoping for the biggest, the best, the showiest.)  But after thinking about it, I realized that although the ordinary ones are often the most overlooked, they are actually just as beautiful and showy – just in miniature.

9 / 365 Anything But Ordinary

Are these not the most fun feet?!!  They belong to our minister’s young daughter who proudly showed them off to H and me at church this morning.  The flowers even light up when she taps her feet.  If I wore these to the office, I’d be smiling all day.

8 / 365 Quiet Intention

I spent the day at a yoga workshop and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it:  Yoga, Meditation, Breathing Practices, Prayer Walks, New Friends.

7 / 365 Laid-Back Morning

In case you’re wondering, this is not me.  It’s my younger sister, S.  Our hair appointments happened to coincide on the same day within thirty minutes of each other, so afterwards we went out for coffee.  The only thing lacking to complete the morning was the company of our youngest sister, L, who had to work.

S likes to point to me and tell people, “She may be cute, but I’m the fun one!”  S is such a goofball.

6 / 365 Will We or Won’t We?

I’m a creature of habit when it comes to the computer.  I learn a specific way of doing something, a particular file path to follow, a certain place to save a document, and I do it the same way every time.  I don’t touch keys I’m not familiar with and I never mess with the cables.  Adventurous is not my middle name.  But sometimes, when I’ve gotten a little too comfortable in my bubble world, I’m forced to step over that line. 

Church Office Crisis:

It’s the end of our work week; the printer is clogged with a mega-document and the computer that it is attached to sits on the floor and has no mouse. The queue must be cleared before the Sunday bulletin will print.  The office closes in half an hour.

My Mind Reacts:

Panic; think, think, think; make a phone call – no help; think, think, think (a little praying always helps); find a spare mouse; plug, unplug, press, click, explore those uncharted pop-up windows, wait.  Is it…what’s that I’m hearing…YES!  YES! It’s connecting! I hear the printer!  The printer is coming on!  We WILL have bulletins for Sunday services!  SUCCESS!!!!!

I can’t wait to get back into my bubble.

5 / 365 Keeper of the Keys

This is what I inherited when I first started working at the church ten years ago: keys of all shapes and sizes.  These include master and sub-master keys; keys that work and many that don’t;  keys that unlock one door and others that open multiple doors – all stored in a single tattered, padded mailing envelope.  I've had great plans to separate and organize them, but that has yet to happen; instead, the most-used keys (approximately15-20) have been  moved to a key ring guarded by Yoda and then stored in a convenient drawer.  Over the years I’ve been able to memorize which keys open which doors.

I mention all this because today it seemed like everyone who came to the office needed a key to open a locked door.  Yoda was busy, and my mind was whirling.

4 / 365 Possibilities

This might look like a mundane picture of H taking the trash out, but it’s not the action that I am focusing on.  It's the inaction surrounding him.  It’s the peaceful quiet of the neighborhood with those “rosy fingers of dawn” reaching through the trees.  Here is the beginning of a day where anything could happen.  That's very exciting! 

3 / 365 Back to the Routine

The holiday festivities have concluded.  Gone are the baubles and trimmings.  All signs of a celebration have been stored away until next year.  It's time to pack a lunch and head back to work.  Remembering routine can be tough.

2 / 365 A Techno Day

When I woke up this morning I knew it was going to be a day filled with technology.  H installed a printer for my sister; repaired and reset email settings for my brother-in-law on his new iPad; transferred my niece's extensive 3000-song iTunes library from her old laptop to her new; and for himself, installed a new internet-connected Blu-Ray player (a gift from Santa).  H was in hog-heaven!  I, on the other hand, made sure that he had water when he was thirsty.

1 / 365 Starting Fresh

I've been getting a new calendar for Christmas ever since I can remember.  My mother always had one wrapped up under the tree for the three girls, chosen especially with each of us in mind; I couldn't wait to see what she had picked out.  After Mom died, the baton was passed to Dad.  It was the only gift he bought without our input. While Mom chose a calendar based on imagery, Dad focused on cost.  They were some of the worst calendars, but great fun to see what he'd pick out.  Although both parents are now gone, my sisters and I still continue the calendar tradition in their spirit.

New Year's Day is always reserved for filling in the new calendars -- the possibilities are endless.