We Do What We Do

To carry on.

That's what we do~

It's the end of March.

Around here, it didn't come in roaring like it does some years.

It kinda came in the back door

then surprised us with mid-month snow.

So what do we usually do in March?

Well, in our house, we plan and we plant.

The weather is still a bit fickle

so we dance with it.

Inside, outside, inside, 2, 3, 4.

Outside, inside, outside, 6, 7, 8.

The birds and the breeze provide us with music

as we move about.

(It needs to get back to this orderly state:-))

My summer kitchen has served as a sorting area

for the oddball things left to go through after moving.

Still amazed by how much we collect over the years

and how long it takes to go through it all.

Item by item, it's all being dealt with.

In the interim though, it appears a bit disheveled.

It doesn't help that during the coldest months, 

I let things be as they happened 

so I could get back in where it was warm.

Oh what will I ever do with me?

I've begun straightening here and there as I have a few minutes.

It is getting better, but I still have a ways to go.

I got the last of the lavender cleaned which was a task,

a lovely scented task, but a task nonetheless.

I've finally been hanging laundry back out here

rather then the clothes trees in the house.

That helps the house to seem cleaner.

I know that sounds odd,

but racks of drying clothes appear as clutter in a small home.

It's that time of year when not only can we hang our laundry out to dry,

but we can open our windows and doors

here and there even for a few minutes.

That fresh air is as good for our soul as it is for our system.

It's important that we find our center.

That's a dancing term for our springtime dance we are doing.

I think a good portion of my fine readers have faith.

It's remarkable that in the mignst of chaos,

we can hold our centers,

keep our homes,

comfort our kin,

and carry on.

Faith is the opposite of fear.

So it's reasonable that if we have faith,

we are without fear.

What?

We all have fear, you say?

Perhaps, just perhaps, those are the areas 

in which we need to find our faith.

It sure is a relief to know that we have the most powerful weapon

for combating those fears.

So we can continue to do as we do

and dance as we do with Mother Nature 

while the weather if fickle.

The birds and the breeze still sing.

Let's plan and plant, shall we?

2, 3, 4.

6, 7, 8.

Rhythms~Routine~Ritual

The flow of rhythm~

The dependability of routine~

The harmony of ritual~

(Baby thyme sprouting - so hopeful.)

There are times when the waters get rough

or the road gets rocky.

I suppose it depends if you are sea faring

or a land lover.

Usually those rough and rocky times are due

to the unknown and all the "what-ifs" presented.

When there are situations out of our control,

it serves as a comfort to do those things you can control.

Many folks have lost sight of Home.

Not of their house or the avenues that lead

to and from the places they go,

but a real Home.

I prefer to see our current times

not as a time to panic,

but as the straightening a crooked picture

or righting an upturned vessel.

Perhaps the pendulum is moving a little bit back towards center.

That's a good thing, right?

It's not enjoyable to see people upset,

but it might be like when children don't understand

when something good is coming from the current unpleasant situation.

It might be difficult to begin a new exercise routine,

but after a time

we come to find comfort in the routine of it.

We are creatures of habit

who have veered far from healthy norms.

Perhaps Home will once again become our center.

There are things we can count on

and we should focus on those things

when life gets shaky.

We know we need to eat.

This is nothing new.

We've been doing it all our lives.

What might be new is how we go about providing

for that necessity.

Think first of what you know and build on that.

What meals do you know how to make?

What other meals do you enjoy?

Also, see what you have in stock

and build on what you have there.

If you have grains or beans,

what might you need to go with those things?

Not to worry, it will work out.

Another thing we can depend on 

is that we will need clean clothes.

Again, we already do this.

Just work it into the schedule.

And a clean and comfortable Home~

Awe yes,

there's that word again.

~Home~

Look at what you are making.

It's beautiful really.

 You are providing for yourself

and those you love if that's your situation.

We can now find that the seas are calming

and the roads are smoothing out.

What's happening in the world outside

becomes a little less significant

when we can depend upon those things

we know so well.

What happens when we do these things

is we become more aware of what is important to us.

The minutes of our day become uncluttered.

We'll appreciate the rhythm of the washing machine 

sloshing back and forth knowing the clothes are being cleaned.

We'll appreciate the routine of preparing meals

according to time of day and family needs.

We'll appreciate the ritual of caring for our surroundings.

And when we do,

we will once again feel 

at ease. . . .nah,

at Home.

The $10 Lesson

This is a post I am so happy to share with y'all.

I know at least a good majority of my readers here are good people 

so I know you'll "get it."

In order to share the lesson,

I have to share the story.

Several years ago my mom went through an awful treatment for skin cancer.

She had an equally awful reaction that was life altering for her.

The response of the doctors was,

"That only happens to .01% of people."

She was in pain for quite a while.

The chemical cures they prescribed for the reaction 

by trial and error only hurt her more.
I gave her some homemade lotion to try
which she uses to this day.

She can no longer go outside and has to wear long sleeved UV clothing 

even inside if the sun is shining.

It's been long enough now that we can harass her about being a vampire,

but at first it was devastating

for someone who lived outside and who's therapy was the garden.

Fast forward a few years.

We had a gentleman come into the shop a while back

asking for a fix on the frame of a neat old pickup he recently acquired.

MrLB told him what he would do to fix it and about how much it would be.

We had a big job we were working on and said to give us a call

and we would work it into the schedule in February 

which was fine with the gentleman.

Hubby was just mentioning a week or so ago, that the fella with the pickup never came back.

He said, "I told him how I'd fix it so he probably had someone else do it."

Within a day or two of that statement,

he came into the shop, only we hardly recognized him.

It was the first time he had been out of the house in nearly 3 weeks.

His face looked like it had been beat with knife grass - that grass that cuts.

He explained that he had been in for skin treatment and had a reaction.

Evidently he is also one of the .01%.

After chatting for a few minutes,

it was obvious he had been and was still in pain.

I've made my own lotion for some time now and had a small jar in my desk drawer.

I gave it to him to try.

He called the next day and said he didn't react to it,

and that it actually felt soothing especially to his ears which were particularly painful.

I made him a batch over the weekend and took it in Monday 

which was when he was picking up his pickup.

I put it in a clean peanutbutter jar so he could get his hand into it.

I don't sell the lotion.

It's a Rosemary Gladstar recipe not mine,

and I told him that.

He paid me $10 more than the cost of the ingredients.

I was fine with that - my time etc.

I told him he didn't even have to pay me.

Knowing the pain my mom went through,

I would have made it for him regardless.

Any "extra" money I get throughout the year, I save for quilt show in October.

So I put the money in my little stash.

Then comes the lesson portion ~

A friend who lives in another state lives on a fixed income.

She recently pulled $10 from one allotted fund

to add a little something extra to her granddaughter's birthday gift.

She will be discontinuing her internet soon because she doesn't have the extra money 

and internet is not a necessity.

She is wise with her pennies,

and I respect her for that.

I was only too glad to send that $10 to her with a little note.

As I see it, it's really for her granddaughter.

I know it's not millions but am hoping it helps or at least replaces it.

Today while I was at work,

a woman came in with a jar that held a $10 bill.

It was the gentleman's wife.

She wouldn't let me refuse it.

She said "He had a bee in his bonnet, and I was to have it."

She also said the last two nights he has been able to wear his cpap machine again 

so has been able to sleep and is beginning to feel better.

So I replaced the $10 in my stash.

The thing about all of this, which I already knew deep down

is that I would have made the lotion for him for free.

It made me feel good to be able to offer some sort of help.

It was also easy for me to send the $10 to my friend.

I didn't even think twice about that.

And when generosity feels good,

it's just right and is rewarded on multiple levels.

This really isn't about me,

but each and every one of us.

If we can find a way to give that we genuinely feel good about,

we receive a gift far greater and everyone wins.

I know that - have known that,

but I think it must be easy to get caught up in our daily grind and forget.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who forgets this at times.

So needless to say,

I'm so happy to be reminded of this lesson.

$10 may seem like a silly sum these days,

but it's sure been a valuable lesson.

I hope this little story can help you as well.

Whether we are on the giving or receiving end,

generousity and graditude are just plain good for the soul.

I think we've all been on both sides at one time or another 

which makes it even better.