February is my least favorite month of the year. I'm prone to the blues and this year is no exception. I thought that a little list of things I like about February might help.
1. I like that today contains four more minutes of sunlight than yesterday.
2. Soup in February tastes better than any other month of the year.
3. Making bread in February makes me feel better. Here's a quick recipe for the bread machine that smells absolutely wonderful when you walk in the door after work!
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 T honey
• 2 T butter
• 1 t. salt
• 2 cups white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 t. cinnamon
• packet of active, dry yeast
Set the machine for 1.5 pound loaf, basic setting with medium crust.
4. It's interesting that one day in Ohio it can be 50 in February and the next day it's 10 below. I can't say I love it, but at least it's interesting!
5. I like that there's still the possibility of a Level Three snow emergency day in February that gives everyone the day off!
6. I'm looking forward to going to a Valentine Dance with a 7 year old on Saturday.
7. Ali and I embarked on a long search for Republic of Tea - Ginger Peach that was finally successful! We bought all they had!
8. For me, in February, it's the little things that have to matter.
"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." ~ G.K. Chesterton
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Ash Wednesday and Renovaré
Today is Ash Wednesday and this morning I walked the Chartres labyrinth.
There are several concepts to contemplate as you walk a labyrinth.
• As you slowly mover from the outside toward the center, RELEASE whatever it is that is burdening your soul.
• Once you reach the center of the labyrinth, sit for a little while and RECEIVE blessing.
• Finally, RETURN by same path from which you first entered – but now RESTORED and RECONCILED.
It’s a twisted path towards wholeness.
Lent, and particularly Ash Wednesday, has always been my favorite season of the church. I love the quiet introspection that is demanded during this time. To me, Lent is all about moving from the ashes that symbolize my human weaknesses and failures into a new life on Resurrection morning.
This year I find that pull quite strong.
This past year has been one of throbbing hurt on many levels, in many ways, for many people. I feel as though this past year has been my walking journey into the heart of the labyrinth. It’s time for release. I pray that this 40 day journey of Lent will afford me the space to sit for a little while. I thirst for blessing. My goal for Resurrection morning is to continue to walk that twisted path towards wholeness, but to do it in the spirit of RENOVARÉ – renewed, restored and refreshed.
There are several concepts to contemplate as you walk a labyrinth.
• As you slowly mover from the outside toward the center, RELEASE whatever it is that is burdening your soul.
• Once you reach the center of the labyrinth, sit for a little while and RECEIVE blessing.
• Finally, RETURN by same path from which you first entered – but now RESTORED and RECONCILED.
It’s a twisted path towards wholeness.
Lent, and particularly Ash Wednesday, has always been my favorite season of the church. I love the quiet introspection that is demanded during this time. To me, Lent is all about moving from the ashes that symbolize my human weaknesses and failures into a new life on Resurrection morning.
This year I find that pull quite strong.
This past year has been one of throbbing hurt on many levels, in many ways, for many people. I feel as though this past year has been my walking journey into the heart of the labyrinth. It’s time for release. I pray that this 40 day journey of Lent will afford me the space to sit for a little while. I thirst for blessing. My goal for Resurrection morning is to continue to walk that twisted path towards wholeness, but to do it in the spirit of RENOVARÉ – renewed, restored and refreshed.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Laundry
I do a load of laundry every morning.
There’s something about doing laundry that makes me feel good. The draw might be the warmth of the clothes right out of the dryer. Maybe it’s the scent of Downy that reminds me of peaceful places.
Really, I mostly think that doing laundry makes me feel like I’m taking care of the people that I love in a very practical, yet intimate way.
Every morning after the washer finishes spinning, I open the dryer door and throw the damp clothes in for their next adventure. The last thing I do before closing the door is to remove the lint screen and roll up the lint to toss it into the garbage.
It's at this point that I have exactly the same thought – every day.
It must have been ten years ago or more that I read something that the Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman said and it has stayed with me ever since. He was making a list of things he was thankful for and one of them was that there was just enough moisture on your hands from clean laundry to pull the lint out of the dryer screen.
Why do I think of that every day??
It’s entirely possible that there’s a part of my brain that suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Wouldn’t surprise me at all. It also occurs to me that it might be a spiritual nudging towards gratitude.
Meister Eckhart, 14th century theologian and mystic, said that “if the only prayer you ever said was thanks, it would suffice.” I believe that could be true.
There are a huge variety of words, thoughts and feelings that relate to gratitude – the continuum stretches from greed to jealousy; from the inability to notice the sacred around us to feelings of entitlement and selfishness. The idea of gratitude also includes feelings and actions associated with appreciation, acceptance and satisfaction.
Most of us spend a good part of our days wanting something more. Something better. Something different. We can’t be grateful because we’re too busy making comparisons and coveting other possibilities. We are either angry and disappointed about yesterday or anxious about tomorrow.
This morning I held a clean sweatshirt up to my face and inhaled the sweet, warm scent. For that single moment gratitude was enough.
There’s something about doing laundry that makes me feel good. The draw might be the warmth of the clothes right out of the dryer. Maybe it’s the scent of Downy that reminds me of peaceful places.
Really, I mostly think that doing laundry makes me feel like I’m taking care of the people that I love in a very practical, yet intimate way.
Every morning after the washer finishes spinning, I open the dryer door and throw the damp clothes in for their next adventure. The last thing I do before closing the door is to remove the lint screen and roll up the lint to toss it into the garbage.
It's at this point that I have exactly the same thought – every day.
It must have been ten years ago or more that I read something that the Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman said and it has stayed with me ever since. He was making a list of things he was thankful for and one of them was that there was just enough moisture on your hands from clean laundry to pull the lint out of the dryer screen.
Why do I think of that every day??
It’s entirely possible that there’s a part of my brain that suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Wouldn’t surprise me at all. It also occurs to me that it might be a spiritual nudging towards gratitude.
Meister Eckhart, 14th century theologian and mystic, said that “if the only prayer you ever said was thanks, it would suffice.” I believe that could be true.
There are a huge variety of words, thoughts and feelings that relate to gratitude – the continuum stretches from greed to jealousy; from the inability to notice the sacred around us to feelings of entitlement and selfishness. The idea of gratitude also includes feelings and actions associated with appreciation, acceptance and satisfaction.
Most of us spend a good part of our days wanting something more. Something better. Something different. We can’t be grateful because we’re too busy making comparisons and coveting other possibilities. We are either angry and disappointed about yesterday or anxious about tomorrow.
This morning I held a clean sweatshirt up to my face and inhaled the sweet, warm scent. For that single moment gratitude was enough.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Less Fear
In the last week three people have asked if I intend to write for this blog any more. I told them I didn’t know.
I’m not exactly sure why I stopped writing. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I wanted this to be a place where I could express myself without censorship. Turns out that’s harder than it sounds.
But, I have some kind of need to express myself that won’t go away so here I sit. Again.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to return to writing with my goals for a new year. They aren’t resolutions. Just ideas. And they revolve around the need to live, write and love with less fear in 2008.
I found the perfect expression of my desire in the writings of Franklin Habit, author of my favorite knitting blog “The Panopticon.” He was writing about creating things with sticks and string without using a pattern – just your imagination and an idea.
“I've decided it boils down to having these things at your command:
1 enough curiosity to want to deviate from written patterns, or make up your own;
2 a willingness to pause and examine what's in front of you;
3 a willingness to try different approaches until you create what pleases you;
4 a working knowledge of basic moves in knitting, including increases, decreases, and the basic effects on the fabric created by knit, purl, and y/o;
5 patience; and
6 the understanding that it's just knitting, it's done one stitch at a time at your own pace, and you can undo it if you don't like it.”
From “The Panopticon,” January 6, 2008 by Franklin Habit, www.the-panopticon.blogspot.com
Curiosity. Really looking at where you are and where you want to go. The courage to try new things. Basic moves. Patience. One day follows the next and each one is mine, to live the way I need to.
I feel better already.
I’m not exactly sure why I stopped writing. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I wanted this to be a place where I could express myself without censorship. Turns out that’s harder than it sounds.
But, I have some kind of need to express myself that won’t go away so here I sit. Again.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to return to writing with my goals for a new year. They aren’t resolutions. Just ideas. And they revolve around the need to live, write and love with less fear in 2008.
I found the perfect expression of my desire in the writings of Franklin Habit, author of my favorite knitting blog “The Panopticon.” He was writing about creating things with sticks and string without using a pattern – just your imagination and an idea.
“I've decided it boils down to having these things at your command:
1 enough curiosity to want to deviate from written patterns, or make up your own;
2 a willingness to pause and examine what's in front of you;
3 a willingness to try different approaches until you create what pleases you;
4 a working knowledge of basic moves in knitting, including increases, decreases, and the basic effects on the fabric created by knit, purl, and y/o;
5 patience; and
6 the understanding that it's just knitting, it's done one stitch at a time at your own pace, and you can undo it if you don't like it.”
From “The Panopticon,” January 6, 2008 by Franklin Habit, www.the-panopticon.blogspot.com
Curiosity. Really looking at where you are and where you want to go. The courage to try new things. Basic moves. Patience. One day follows the next and each one is mine, to live the way I need to.
I feel better already.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Project 365 - Day 17
Since Project 365 is a personal diary of sorts, nothing is off limits. . .this pretty much sums up my day!
What Does PMS Stand For?
1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Shift
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid-Section
5. Pimples May Surface
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. People Make me Sick
8. Pardon My Sobbing
9. Pass My Sweatpants
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Pack My Stuff
12. Potential Murder Suspect
What Does PMS Stand For?
1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Shift
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid-Section
5. Pimples May Surface
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. People Make me Sick
8. Pardon My Sobbing
9. Pass My Sweatpants
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Pack My Stuff
12. Potential Murder Suspect
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Project 365 - Day 12
Gramma is gone.
I went down the basement in her house while I was there yesterday, looking for a small book of poetry. I didn't know if I would recognize it if I saw it. I just knew that she and I would read it when I was a little girl. She would encourage me to sing the poems. Being very shy and insecure, sometimes I would work up the courage to sing them. I can still hear her laughter and encouragement.
The book is called "Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was published by Greystone Press/Castle Books in 1951.
When I found it, I wept.
In celebration of Gramma's life - our favorite poem:
FAREWELL TO THE FARM
The coach is at the door at last;
The eager children mounting fast
And kissing hands, in chorus sing:
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
To house and garden, field and lawn,
The meadow-gates we swang upon,
To pump and stable, tree and swing,
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
And fare you well for evermore,
O ladder at the hayloft door,
O hayloft where the cobwebs cling,
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
Crack goes the whip and off we go;
The trees and houses smaller grow;
Last, round the woody turn we swing;
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
Good-bye Gram! You gave me more than love - you taught me life.
I went down the basement in her house while I was there yesterday, looking for a small book of poetry. I didn't know if I would recognize it if I saw it. I just knew that she and I would read it when I was a little girl. She would encourage me to sing the poems. Being very shy and insecure, sometimes I would work up the courage to sing them. I can still hear her laughter and encouragement.
The book is called "Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was published by Greystone Press/Castle Books in 1951.
When I found it, I wept.
In celebration of Gramma's life - our favorite poem:
FAREWELL TO THE FARM
The coach is at the door at last;
The eager children mounting fast
And kissing hands, in chorus sing:
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
To house and garden, field and lawn,
The meadow-gates we swang upon,
To pump and stable, tree and swing,
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
And fare you well for evermore,
O ladder at the hayloft door,
O hayloft where the cobwebs cling,
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
Crack goes the whip and off we go;
The trees and houses smaller grow;
Last, round the woody turn we swing;
Good-bye, good-bye to everything!
Good-bye Gram! You gave me more than love - you taught me life.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Zen Lawn
One of my favorite summer activities is mowing the lawn.
Sure, I get tired of it by August, but there is something deeply satisfying about making all those little blades of grass even. It appeals to me on several different levels.
Did you know that walking a lawnmower for an hour and forty-five minutes burns 621 calories?? That’s not a number to take lightly when one has just passed the forty-second year mark!
There is something very Zen-like in immersing yourself in one task and allowing your brain to take a break. Up and back. Up and back. Up and back. Kind of like meditation for your whole body.
There is a sense of lighthearted achievement when I’m done. To look at the neat and tidy lawn brings a sense of satisfaction that few other household chores can bring for me. If I’ve done a careful job, I can stand at the bathroom window overlooking the back yard and see the stripes.
Vacuuming the carpets just doesn’t have the stripe pay-off at the end!
A couple of years ago I mowed grass one whole summer. . .for money! It may have been the best job I ever had. I spent most of the summer in a sweaty Zen-state! One of the important lessons I learned that summer was the pride involved in making stripes in the grass. We would drive past the properties we had mowed just to check the stripes. When driving past properties that weren’t our accounts, we critiqued (mostly rudely!) the stripes of other lawn companies!
I remember Jeff excitedly calling my cell phone one afternoon when we were all out working. He just wanted to tell me that he had made a perfect checkerboard in a yard and wanted me to drive by it later!
There’s really only one secret to making good stripes – it’s walking a straight line. Not as easy as it sounds. When you walk, you tend to look down. When you mow, you tend to look at the front end of your mower. You judge to see if you’re following the last strip of mowed grass and that you’re not leaving any escapees behind.
When you do that, your stripes are going to look ocean waves on a summer afternoon.
The only way to mow is to look up. To look at where you want to go – not where you’ve been.
It’s like magic.
As soon as you change your focal point everything begins to fall into place. There aren’t any worries about AWOL blades of grass. And the stripes are straight and true.
Funny how quickly I forget that. I start my day or my week – hell, I even start mowing the lawn thinking about where I want to go. It isn’t long, however, until I’ve allowed people and attitudes to drag my vision down. Before I know it my fears and concerns have become center stage and I’m wandering along looking at my feet.
I’m learning though.
The only way to live is to look up. To look at where you want to go – not where you’ve been.
It’s like magic.
Sure, I get tired of it by August, but there is something deeply satisfying about making all those little blades of grass even. It appeals to me on several different levels.
Did you know that walking a lawnmower for an hour and forty-five minutes burns 621 calories?? That’s not a number to take lightly when one has just passed the forty-second year mark!
There is something very Zen-like in immersing yourself in one task and allowing your brain to take a break. Up and back. Up and back. Up and back. Kind of like meditation for your whole body.
There is a sense of lighthearted achievement when I’m done. To look at the neat and tidy lawn brings a sense of satisfaction that few other household chores can bring for me. If I’ve done a careful job, I can stand at the bathroom window overlooking the back yard and see the stripes.
Vacuuming the carpets just doesn’t have the stripe pay-off at the end!
A couple of years ago I mowed grass one whole summer. . .for money! It may have been the best job I ever had. I spent most of the summer in a sweaty Zen-state! One of the important lessons I learned that summer was the pride involved in making stripes in the grass. We would drive past the properties we had mowed just to check the stripes. When driving past properties that weren’t our accounts, we critiqued (mostly rudely!) the stripes of other lawn companies!
I remember Jeff excitedly calling my cell phone one afternoon when we were all out working. He just wanted to tell me that he had made a perfect checkerboard in a yard and wanted me to drive by it later!
There’s really only one secret to making good stripes – it’s walking a straight line. Not as easy as it sounds. When you walk, you tend to look down. When you mow, you tend to look at the front end of your mower. You judge to see if you’re following the last strip of mowed grass and that you’re not leaving any escapees behind.
When you do that, your stripes are going to look ocean waves on a summer afternoon.
The only way to mow is to look up. To look at where you want to go – not where you’ve been.
It’s like magic.
As soon as you change your focal point everything begins to fall into place. There aren’t any worries about AWOL blades of grass. And the stripes are straight and true.
Funny how quickly I forget that. I start my day or my week – hell, I even start mowing the lawn thinking about where I want to go. It isn’t long, however, until I’ve allowed people and attitudes to drag my vision down. Before I know it my fears and concerns have become center stage and I’m wandering along looking at my feet.
I’m learning though.
The only way to live is to look up. To look at where you want to go – not where you’ve been.
It’s like magic.
Friday, June 01, 2007
It's All in My Focus
My latest project is only for the sturdiest of knitters. It’s a blanket. On size 6 needles. All told there will be 180,840 stitches. . .give or take a few.
I’ve been working on it for about 4 months. It comes out of the knitting bag when I’m stressed and garter stitch is the only thing that appeals to me. I’m about 60,000 stitches into it.
When I’m not feeling overpowered by life I put it away and work on something more interesting or more challenging.
Right now, it’s all blanket. . .all the time.
I love the colors – dark and light green, tan and purple. I enjoy the feel and drape of the yarn as it passes through my fingers. (It’s Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool!) The pattern is “Moderne Log Cabin Blanket” from Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.
Like everything else, if I were to spend too much time thinking about the 120,840 stitches that were left I might get pulled under by the enormity of the task. I might feel like I couldn’t do it. Like I couldn’t go on. Like it was too hard or boring and that I might as well give up now. That there’s way too much knitting to be done and it will never be completed anyway.
But that’s not how knitting works. If I look at the 120,840 stitches looming on the horizon I get overwhelmed. But how distressing is one little row? Do I get alarmed at the thought of one more little stitch?
Maybe that’s why this blanket appeals to me when life has gotten me down. If I could see all that was before me I’m quite sure I would panic. But that’s not where my focus can reside.
In the words of writer Ursula K. LeGuin, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
I’ve been working on it for about 4 months. It comes out of the knitting bag when I’m stressed and garter stitch is the only thing that appeals to me. I’m about 60,000 stitches into it.
When I’m not feeling overpowered by life I put it away and work on something more interesting or more challenging.
Right now, it’s all blanket. . .all the time.
I love the colors – dark and light green, tan and purple. I enjoy the feel and drape of the yarn as it passes through my fingers. (It’s Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool!) The pattern is “Moderne Log Cabin Blanket” from Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne.
Like everything else, if I were to spend too much time thinking about the 120,840 stitches that were left I might get pulled under by the enormity of the task. I might feel like I couldn’t do it. Like I couldn’t go on. Like it was too hard or boring and that I might as well give up now. That there’s way too much knitting to be done and it will never be completed anyway.
But that’s not how knitting works. If I look at the 120,840 stitches looming on the horizon I get overwhelmed. But how distressing is one little row? Do I get alarmed at the thought of one more little stitch?
Maybe that’s why this blanket appeals to me when life has gotten me down. If I could see all that was before me I’m quite sure I would panic. But that’s not where my focus can reside.
In the words of writer Ursula K. LeGuin, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
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