Thirty One Days of Creativity

Over the years I’ve participated in the 31 Day writing challenge. 

Although, I’m not sure if it officially exists any more I’ve decided to participate anyway.

My series will be about creativity. 

I’m not limiting creativity to the fine arts, so if art isn’t your thing you still might enjoy following along. 

Tune in tomorrow for Day One. 

Rainbow

 

Chuck and I were sitting on the porch yesterday evening when this beauty snuck up on us. It only lasted for a few minutes so I tried to soak in the beauty of the moment. 

Living Close By

One of the perks of living close by is attending our three year old grandson’s soccer game on a Monday night. 

If you haven’t experienced three year olds playing soccer it’s a hoot. His team’s star player is one of the tiniest, and the only girl on the team. She seems to be the only one who knows where the ball needs to go. LOL!

Miles to Go

“We are all in motion. Always. Those who are not climbing toward something are descending toward nothing.”

Richard Paul Evans

I just finished the second book in The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans. I really recommend this series if you are looking for an enjoyable read. 

It is the chronicles of a man who basically has lost everything, and decides to walk across the country from Seattle to Key West. Along the way he meets a series of people, and experiences that changes his perspective on life. 

The above quote got me to thinking about my own life, and how transitions in are sometimes uncomfortable. However, that momentary uneasiness shouldn’t deter us from moving forward. 

De Leon Library

 

Last Friday I stopped by our local library. Although, small in size I enjoyed meeting the librarian, and taking some book recommendations from her.

This past week I read two books. The Walk by Richard Paul Evans is a five book series about a man who has lost everything, and begins a journey across the United States. It is small in volume, and easy to read. 

Today I picked up the other two in the series, and began the second volume, Miles to Go. 

The other book I read was The Tattooist of Auschwitz  by Heather Morris. This book is based on the lives of two Holocaust survivors who were held at Auschwitz during the war. 

It is a good book, but a hard book to read. Not difficult, but the subject matter is disturbing. 

We are told that we must face our history in order not to repeat it. There are many lessons learned in this book, one being that our freedoms can be taken away.

I’m making the commitment to read more, and be on my i pad less. 

Creativity Revisited

I’m contemplating writing a 31 day series in October on creativity. 

If you were to peruse my beloved bookcase in my library you would find volumes of books related to creativity. 

Writing this blog initially was a way for me to be creative. 

Last night I was reading about how creativity can come in waves, and that there are fallow seasons. I have found myself to be in that season for the last few years. 

I would like to blame it on the pandemic, but to be honest I was struggling before with my blog. 

One of the suggestions from the author was to take a sabbatical, which I am considering this January. 

However, I made a commitment to myself to write each weekday of this year, and I want to see that to completion.

My thinking about the series is threefold-begin with a quote ( you know how much I love those), suggest an action, and share one of my creativity books each day. 

Actually I’m already excited about getting started, so I’ll see you in October if you are looking for ways to be more creative in your life. 

Mathematical

I can tell my five year old grandson has a really good kindergarten teacher. 

She was teaching a lesson about math in the real world, and was telling her students about how their parents used math every day. 

My grandson responded that his parents did not.

Now knowing what interests my grandson she pointed out that surely his Dad used math to count the hay bales he baled during hay season. (I’m sure my grandson had told her all about it!)

He matter of factly informed her that no he didn’t need to count them because they had a monitor for that!

Now technically he’s correct, and it’s answers like that that always kept me laughing when I taught kindergarten. 

Now how do I know he’s got such a great teacher? One she is connecting what she is teaching to the lives of her students, and two she knows her students well enough already to help connect their individual circumstances to learning. 

This warms my former Kindergarten teacher’s heart!❤️

Nature

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”

Aristotle

Barstools

I thought I would share a picture of our new barstools. 

Both Chuck and Brittany suggested not getting upholstered barstools, and I really like the ones we chose. 

True to His Name

I’ve written before about my daughter’s cat Tuffy. He was named by my oldest grandson, and just this week we learned how really prophetic his name was. 

I got a call at the end of last week from Brittany letting me know that they had not seen Tuffy in a day or two. I remembered picking him up and loving on him on Wednesday afternoon. 

He had been sunning himself on the back porch. Brittany wasn’t exactly sure when she had seen him last, but it was somewhere in the same time span. 

We kept holding out hope that he would show up, but as the days went by I feared he might have been the victim of a coyote attack. Brittany kept hoping that maybe he had just wandered off. 

Ever since the baby was born Tuffy was getting less attention as is often the case.

A week after he disappeared my grandson found him on the back porch underneath the grill. 

He was thin and was favoring one of his paws. Later that night they noticed a puncture wound full of puss. Brittany had made an appointment at the vet for the next morning to get his leg checked out. 

The vet discovered that Tuffy had actually been shot. The puncture wound was a bullet that has gone clear through him. Along the way it shattered his leg near his shoulder. 

At first I wondered if he had been hit by shot from a shotgun. Around the time this had happened was dove season, and maybe accidentally Tuffy had gotten in the way. 

Sadly it wasn’t shot, it was a bullet. It breaks my heart to think that someone shot him on purpose. Who would do such a thing?

Then when I thought about Tuffy dragging himself home over a period of days that made me even sadder. 

Right now you would never know he’d been through anything while he sits contentedly at his home glad to be there. 

Decisions will need to be made about what route to go next, but I’m just grateful that he is still alive and at home. 

Tuffy is my surrogate cat until we are ready to get one of our own, and I sure do love him. 

Not Trying to Do it All

For some reason I’ve always tried to do everything on my own. 

Having to ask for help or even asking a question is hard for me to do. 

After a pretty hard day yesterday I took a different route today. I attended a WW meeting while Chuck was working from home. 

In the afternoon I drove to my sister’s house and visited with her for a few hours. On the way home I stopped to fill the car up with gas so I can hit the road early tomorrow.

I’ve decided to start taking a little time for myself, and stop trying to do it all. Life is more than a to do list. 

Tomorrow I plan on checking out my community library. 

Discombobulated

The definition of discombobulated is “to cause to be in a state of confusion or disorder.”

I would say this pretty much describes me when it comes to running two households. After discussing it with Chuck today he suggested that he takes over the grocery shopping for the apartment, along with any Sam’s purchases needed. 

I’m going to switch over from Walmart to H‑E‑B and continue using their curbside pick-up when I return home. If there’s something from Walmart I need I’ll pick it up on the weekend.

As far as “meal planning” goes that will need to be reassessed as well. 

This trying to juggle too many balls in the air at one time doesn’t work well either for me. 

My health, and peace of mind need to be a top priority in order to keep my immune system running smoothly.

Change can be good, but it also can be hard, and depending at what point in our life it occurs we may handle it differently.

My Why

 

I watched a really good video last night about resetting eating habits. I’m in the maintenance phase of WW and it’s always the hardest for me. 

The presenter talked about your “Why” and I realized that I had lost mine. When the pandemic first hit it really motivated to get back on track. In fact, I actually lost weight, which really wasn’t my intention.

I faithfully walked up and down my hall each day thinking that if I was healthy I would have a better chance of recovering if I did get Covid. 

Today I can honestly say I have Covid exhaustion. Not as a lingering result of having had the virus, I have not, but having to adjust to life in this new and different world. 

The underlying low grade anxiety that seems to be a combination of the virus existing in the world, just completing a pretty stressful move, and transitioning into a new life, has gotten me off track.

It’s time to redefine my “Why.” 

My “Why” is that I am committed to making healthy choices because I want quality of life as I age. 

The choices and decisions I make today will help me avoid chronic disease that interferes with how I want to live my life. As Dr. Ben Edwards likes to say, “You are the cure.”

I want to be able to participate in my grandsons’ lives as long as I can. I don’t want to be lacking energy or suffering with pain due to my lifestyle choices. 

The presenter pointed out that if your “Why” is strong enough temptations have a lesser control over your life. I have found this to be true time and time again. 

Don’t let the child in the backseat pointing out every distraction drive the car. You are the adult with your hands on the wheel. You know what’s best, not the child behind you. 

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

Budding Artist

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

Pablo Picasso

Beauty in the Ordinary

“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”

Paul Coelho

The Alchemist

Growth

“...allow ourselves to look at different experiences and phases of our life as growth opportunities.”

Magnolia Journal Fall 2021

I’m in a period of growth right now. Sadly some of that may have to do with my waistline, but that’s not what I’m talking about today. 

I’m in a season of transition, and I’m trying to find my way. Living between two places is not as wonderful as I thought. In my mind I would be returning to an old life that I loved, and would be embracing a new life as well. 

You know the best of both worlds, except that’s not exactly happening. I’m longing for the the new life exclusively. 

I remember how much I loved my life at the apartments. It felt interesting, and counter-cultural, and I soaked it up. Of course, because it was home, a place filled with all my favorite things, that made all the difference. 

This new apartment feels a little more like a hotel. But there is season for this place, and a reason for me to be here. 

To be honest, having to work around Cooper’s anxiety has definitely placed a damper on my being here. Because I cannot leave on a whim I have to coordinate my next move. Can I take him with me? Should I leave him with Brittany? Am I imposing? Gosh, I sure miss him when he’s not here. 

Maybe that’s where I am today. I’m feeling an uneasiness in my soul, kind of like an undercurrent of anxiety that I’m barely aware is there. 

I’m ready to settle in, ready to embrace both lives, ready to incorporate creativity, and art, and imagination back into my life. 

So what are my growth opportunities here? Maybe I need to stop going through the motions of life, stop looking at life as a big to do list waiting to be checked off. Maybe I need to stop trying to logistically figure everything out. 

I’m afraid between that and the hot flashes as I transition off of hormones my sleep is being effected. My mind is running constantly as I try to figure out the absolute craziness of the world we live in today, which I’m pretty sure is an impossible task. 

I’m ready to step away for awhile, and enjoy the coolness of autumn. I’m ready to drink in the beauty of our property, and the solace of the lake nearby. I’m resisting any growth that could from this opportunity trying to make my old life fit into my new one.  

Onward

“Change is the only way forward, the only way onward.”

Magnolia Journal Fall 2021

I’ve experienced a lot of change in the last five years. Most of it self-imposed. 

My father passed away, we sold our home in Frisco and moved to an apartment in Las Colinas, sold our farm in Wolfe City, moved to our home in Euless, bought thirty four acres in De Leon, built a home there, and moved again. 

During that time period we had two grandsons born, and a pandemic shut down our lives in a way we had never experienced before. 

Last year I started traveling to Comanche each week to watch the two older grandsons while Brittany worked. I also did some homeschooling primarily with my older grandson. 

Over the last five years I’ve made new friends, attended a new church, joined a book club, and attended two different Bible study groups, and became a regular at my WW meeting. 

I’ve reconnected with a long lost high school friend, have continued to meet with my group of high school friends, attended my retired teachers meetings, and met monthly up until the Pandemic with a former co-worker. 

I’ve continued to write my blog although rather sporadically during 2020. I’ve stayed connected with my family more through phone calls and texts, and have faithfully called my 95 year old aunt each week. 

Whether I like change or not, I have embraced it sometimes more willingly than others, but I’m now finding myself adjusting to my new country life. 

I’ve started doing a grocery pickup which is new for me. I’m now watching my infant grandson and am figuring out our routine. 

Chuck and I are trying out new churches, but have been a little hesitant the last few weeks with the uptick in Covid. We have been utilizing the online features available in today’s world, but we know we want to physically return to church soon. 

Heck, I’ve even gotten off hormone replacements, and am adjusting to more frequent hot flashes. 

I’ve been extremely busy settling in, and trying to adjust to our new weekly schedule. I’m definitely more content with routine, but if I’ve learned anything over the last five years it’s that you have to allow yourself a period of transition where change is involved.

You have to continually push yourself to continue to grow both spiritually, emotionally, and physically. 

Babysitting Little Guy

Today the older grandson is at Kindergarten. The middle grandson is at Pre-School, and the youngest grandson is home with me. 

It’s pretty quiet now while he naps, and I know he will awaken soon. 

He sure is a good little baby, and is just beginning to show a hint of a smile when you look at him. 

In a few hours the middle will be home ready for lunch and racey cars. A few hours later the oldest will storm through the door full of ideas and projects. 

In the middle of it all I get to play a small part in their lives. I couldn’t be more blessed. 

The Rocking H

         Yesterday Chuck and Will got our Rocking H sign hung on the front of our house. 

The metal sign was a gift from Brittany and Will several years ago, and hung proudly at out place in Wolfe City. 

Slowly, but surely everything is coming together quite nicely. 

The Attack of the Army Worms

Well I’ve spent almost two weeks sharing with you all the things I love about my new home. 

I thought in full transparency it was only right to share with you another side of country life. 

I’ve spent the last week sweeping a battalion of army worms off my porch. Chuck spayed for them this past weekend, but apparently to no avail. 

It seems that they are trying to get out of the sun as well, and have decided my front porch and carport are the place to be. 

We’ve had grasshoppers all summer, but I decided to just co-exist with them as much as possible. I’ve learned that they can eat your screens, but at this point we don’t have screens on the window except for the barn, which sadly has succumbed to these little munchers. 

I also have had to sweep toad turds off the porch, but I’m actually kind of partial to toads since I kept them as pets one summer as a child. However, those turds can be quite big. 

Life’s not perfect at the Rocking H, but it’s pretty darn close!

Why I Love My House- The Barn

(Photo Credit: Herrmann Construction)

The thing I love the most about the barn is how it looks. 

In deciding about the barn we knew we wanted a traditional red barn. We were thrilled with the finished product, and how it compliments our black and white farmhouse. 

Chuck is in the process of organizing the barn. In fact, yesterday we went to Sams to get some additional shelving Chuck had been wanting. 

All in all we couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. 

Why I Love My House- The View

Perhaps the thing that I love the most about my house is the view. 

Chuck and I feel extremely blessed to have come across this particular piece of property. 

As I sit at my kitchen desk and look out the window I see a ridge of hills in the distance. Unlike the metroplex area which is generally pretty flat this area of Texas actually has beautiful rolling hills. 

Our property has a gentle slope, and we chose to build our house at the highest point so we can look down onto our pasture. Our land is a combination of pasture and trees with a small pond on site as well. 

One of my favorite things to see is our son-in-law’s herd of cows grazing peacefully in the pasture. They are fun to watch as they make their way around the property throughout the day. They actually are pretty predictable in their daily routine. 

Another of my favorites happened completely by accident or as I like to think by 

kismet which means fate or fortune. When they were digging the septic system they had to dig up several large rocks which they left in a pile in the yard. 

At first Chuck talked about moving them down to the entrance, but I suggested they stay right where they were. They are another beautiful addition to the view. 

Each evening as I sit on my front porch I thank God for this wonderful place that is not only a beautiful, but close to my daughter, son-in-law, and three precious grandsons. 

That in itself is priceless to me.