Sweet and Bittersweet

What an odd close to this year. Yesterday I became a bit "greener" by using our Christmas-gift, reusable shopping bags for the first time. Gradually I am changing my habits toward geo-sustainability. I guess that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Today marks the final day of 2008 and what would have normally been an evening of celebration has been sobered by a family crisis of one of our revelers. Some of us will still gather, per the wishes of the friends, but our hearts will be elsewhere, as well as, probably, our minds.

To our friends..................we have walked in your shoes. We are with you in spirit until it is appropriate to be with you in person. We lift our prayers upward.

Ancora imparo

The Many Shades of Khaki

I am slowly becoming less of a slave to past ghosts. It is such an empowering feeling to be confronted with past people/events/places that I left voluntarily and not be overwhelmed with sadness and longing to turn backwards. I am moving ahead, replacing former paths and people with new roadways and associations.

The dog that I found wandering about before Christmas has been reunited with its owners via Winnebago County Animal Services. I can only hope that this time the owners bother to keep a collar on the dog, complete with tags and identification. An identification chip would be a good New Year's gift to the animal. Since the dog was at Animal Services for over eight days before the owners claimed him, I wonder about the human commitment factor. Oh well, it is out of my hands now.

With the last day of the year looming largely, I suppose that reflection and ponderings might be appropriate but the urge has not yet found its way to me. I think I'll leave that to the pundits who seem to have an opinion and forecast about everything.

At least, when I speak, I do not have constant "you knows" peppering my speech.

Multi-faceted Day

Today had so many facets that it is a challenge to wrap my mind around the day.

Homemade blueberry muffins and tea with a neighbor...............good conversation.

Listening to another inspiring radio interview.

Tackling the storage closet in my office - a six-plus hour project, but so therapeutic. More order in my closet/desk/shelves seems to equal more order in my brain. I ascended a major mental mountain today!

An end-of-the-day phone call from my "niecster", I call her. There is never a shortage of conversation......too bad we live so far apart!

Question: How many pens/pencils/highlighters and magic markers does one person need?
Challenge: Stop accumulating pens, pencils, highlighters, and magic markers. (But they are such fun to purchase at the office supply store!)
What is the Latin for "still I am collecting"?

Humbled

My blog has one follower! 'Tis humbling, but exciting! Thank you One Follower!

Proceed and be bold!

I heard this philosophy (Proceed and be bold!) of Samuel Mockbee, architect, on the radio today and it resonated deep within me. For over two years now, I have tip-toed through life, dabbling here and there but never becoming grounded. It is as if leaving the teaching profession imploded my foundation and left me teetering about on stilts, losing my balance constantly. Oh, I'd latch on to some group or cause, giving me temporary stability, but eventually the urge to move on would become strong enough to propel me into another period of wavering.

Some force turned me towards a different direction this past fall (God, perhaps?) and I can sense
an inner contentment that has not been present for years. I will not proclaim this to be permanent because experience has taught me differently, but I will relish the moment(s) and proceed and be bold! Perhaps others will follow me?

Finding my voice

I've been waiting all day to find my voice. It seemed as if all the details in the world floated through my radar screen and I found myself buried in self-made lists from the moment my mind came alive this morning. Accomplish this and accomplish that. But now there is less clutter in my world, both physically and mentally, and my voice has clarity and order. I look forward to a new day after rest and repose. What will my voice have to say then?

My living room window

My view from my favorite living room window.....