Pecan Pancakes

Sunday morning, and we both slept in. The sun woke us slowly, but too late for church. Instead, we'll spend the morning together, eating pancakes and drinking our coffee. So many possibilities for a beautiful day like today with the sun shining, the mountains covered with snow, nothing much to do. We could do housework - that's always true. We could take a picnic dinner up to the heights and watch the sunset from an uncommon vantage point. We could snuggle on the couch and watch a marathon of our favorite show. We could doze and read the day away, just enjoying one another's company. 

Whatever we choose, I'm thankful for this day. I'm thankful for my beloved laying on the couch, enjoying the coffee I've made for him, patiently waiting for his first plate of pancakes, made from his favorite Dutch mix. 

Sunny days filled with love. Maybe I can learn to like summer more. 

Ah, Good Times

Preface: I know this is a selfish entry I'm about to write, so no comments about that! ;-D

My oldest sister, Becky, who lives in the same town as I do, has 2 very adorable boys. I LOVE these boys! Hanging out with them is tons of fun. We go to the zoo, the park, we play with their toys, we go to the mall playground. They are absolute joys and I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about them!

On the other hand, I do miss having Becky all to myself. The 2 years or so I lived here before she had kids was bliss...for me. She was going through the very difficult journey of greatly desiring kids and feeling that gap in her life. I could certainly empathize with that struggle! But after having lived in different cities for the past 10 years, I was relishing being able to call her and say, "Let's go to lunch and a movie," and we could! As spring is gaining a foothold here, and summer is fast approaching, I am missing this free access to Becky more and more. Not sure what that's about! 

Isn't this exactly like all of life - the give and take, the good and bad, all mixed together so that we couldn't possibly separate it all and say, "I'd rather have this, but not that"? After all, I wouldn't trade those nephews for a year of lunch, movies, and shopping with Becky. Maybe I'll just have to surprise her with a babysitter every now and then! :-)

Monday, Monday

sunshine warming my house

kitties napping in soft, sunny spots

the smell of chocolate cake baking

getting small tasks done

making plans with sisters

starting my day off with Psalms 4

thinking about summer plans

All the "ing"s that are making this a lovely Monday. 

I Give Up

Ok, so springtime is here. I'll concede that it is indeed, at least, on its way. That means it is time for me to start working on my very sad yard! Remember those beautiful plants I had last summer? I'm not seeing much life in them. I neglected to water over our very dry winter. I knew I would need to water if I had grass, but I didn't know I needed to water flowering plants. I guess I could have figured that out. Anyway, I know it is still early (at least here in the Rockies), but I'm not seeing much green coming up. I'm afraid most of them have died. I'll keep you updated. Worst case, I have to spend more money on plants. Oh, and the time and effort to replant. Hmm....

My first task, however, is to finish filling my raised veg bed that Tim built me last fall. Oh, you want pictures? Ok, I'll try to remember to do that. I worked for almost 2 hours today and got about a 1/4 of it filled. That's pretty good considering how out of shape I am, and that the soil is so poor I'm having to kind of filter each wheelbarrow-full so that my veg bed isn't too full of weeds. Fun, though, to be out in the sun. 

Especially fun knowing we've got snow coming again tomorrow! Yeah, Cindy is happy about many things today. 

Also, the fact that I've gotten started on 2 major projects in the past week is VERY good news for my psyche. I can do it! Big smiley face on me right now... :-D

A Year Ago

Weird - I took a minute to look through my old posts and found about 8 that I never published, but are sitting there waiting for me to edit. I'll try to get to those. Meanwhile, good news about my house! I actually got my sun room cleaned out and ready to accept boxes from the basement. I can really start on my "big house project" as I've been calling it for a year!

Ah, April is halfway through! I had a lovely, long conversation with my sister in Jordan last week, and it made me think about that wonderful, amazing, truly lovely trip I took last year. Talking with her made me want to transport myself back there. Those relaxing mornings after the kids were off to school, drinking mint and chamomile tea in her kitchen. I can't tell you how meaningful that tea was. It has become for me the touchstone of that trip. I 

was sick the whole time, remember? And that warm, fragrant tea every morning seemed to put a layer of comfort and love over each day. It started each day out slowly and with such care that even if I didn't feel good, each day was still special and wonderful. 

I miss Lisa so much! She is my sister-soulmate. I don't really have room to describe our relationship here. That month with her and her wonderful family was a time I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I could go on and on. I could talk about the desert, the white and cream buildings of which all of Amman is built, the delicious food, the fun of hearing Arabic and learning just a little,  the new cultural experiences, the old lady who comes to Lisa's porch once a week selling her fresh vegies, the t-ball games, the funny fast food restaurants, the drives across the countryside, the warm smiles and kisses of every woman who met me, the beautiful dresses everywhere, the smell of the neighborhood bakery, the laughter of the kids in the yard. 

I could talk about the instant reconnection between me and Lisa, as if no time or distance had ever separated us. I could talk about our open hearts and the wonderful conversations we had. I could try to describe the warm, filled-up feeling in my heart whenever I think of last April. So could all of you who read this go back and look at one of my Jordan entries, and join me in remembering this amazing time? I'd just love that! Today I'll be looking at pictures and reading in my journal, too!

Where I live

I'm having very mixed feelings about where I live. This has happened every spring since we moved. Part of it is that the warmer light that comes in my windows fall and winter is going away as the earth moves in its revolution. Just doesn't seem quite as lovely in here...

I do like this little house, but I sure do miss my big one in Missouri. (I know, you've all heard me whining about this before. "Get over it," you say!) It was definitely more space than Tim and I needed, but somehow we managed to fill it with lovely things! Problem is, I still have almost all that stuff and I'm trying to make it work in a much smaller house. I don't want to get rid of much of it. It's things like furniture we inherited from family or that Tim has built, boxes of keepsakes from my mom and Indonesia, books I read over and over again. What to do with it all?

A part of me feels pretty hopeless. Poor me, I'll just make do until we can afford to move to a bigger house. 

Another part of me says, "No! That is a poor way to choose to live." And it is my choice. I can either get off my butt and work on making this house more livable, or I can while away my time feeling sorry for myself. I definitely don't want to do that, so I guess I'll get moving. 

It seems spring might just be the perfect time to do this. Even though I have other stuff that's coming up that needs to be done (new lawn, continued work on the garden, the BoulderBoulder I need to "train" for, etc.), I know I have the time and energy to get done what I want. At least to get a good running start. All I need to do is ... do it! Come on Nike! Maybe if I put on a Nike shirt I'll feel more motivated. :-)

So here I go, once again, trying to accomplish something with more 

than enough time, but limited energy. I think I can make it work, though. No, I know I can make it work. It might take longer than I'd like. I might get discouraged along the way. I might even ask some of you for help! It can be done, though. 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can (fade out...) 

Time

I wake, I sleep

spend time with friends.

I catch-up on life

pay my taxes

write letters.

I snuggle with my cats

walk through the neighborhood

fold laundry.

The sun shifts in the sky

the seasons change little by little

two steps forward, one step back.

Spring is coming

summer to follow.

I miss my old house, 

the spacious rooms filled with light.

I miss my Missouri garden

filled with bees and color.

How can I create that space here?

What do I need to change?

Maybe this coming shift of seasons will bring a shift to my mind

and a boost to my energy, my discipline.

Maybe this will be the spring and summer of change.

Maybe, maybe.