Silly but true

Time is funny once in a while. I do laundry on Mondays. No particular reason except it has to be done some time and Mondays is as good as any and gets it over with. Except today is Sunday and I am doing laundry. D leaves for a four day business trip in the morning and it occurred to me that maybe he would need some clean clothes to take with him -- so I asked -- he was appreciative -- so I am doing laundry on Sunday. And it is going to throw my entire week off balance. 

Tomorrow will be Tuesday and I will expect to have a phone class -- which I won't have until the real Tuesday arrives -- and if D is due home on Thursday, shouldn't he be home today which is Really Wednesday but feels like Thursday except the Farmers' Market is tomorrow -- silly, silly, silly. 

Maybe, having written about it and become aware of it, it will balance out and tomorrow will be Monday after all. ~ blessings and laughter 

Autumn in the blood

Last night as I was putting away laundry I looked at some of the clothes I was hanging back in the closet: hmmm - probably won't wear the light white capris again. Time to put away some of the more summery Ts. And sure enough this morning I am in jeans, blouse and a cotton sweater that has hung in the closet all summer. There's a new fleece warm-up suit just aching to be worn. And the heavy green cotton shirt from my daughter with all the Pooh characters romping through fall leaves. I'm ready! 

Changing seasons may mean reflecting on time passing, growing older, deeper more philosophical questions. Or it may mean a delighted look at the closet to see what hasn't been worn for a while, what was bought at an end-of-the-season sale and hung way back. 

My toes will remain cool for a while as I loathe to give up sandals. I do have Earth Shoes that here in Tahoe I can wear with socks and still be fashionable. (I just sent one daughter into a fashion tizzy!)  Those will come out later. Shoes with toes arrive only after it gets Really Cold or there is snow on the ground. 

Philosophy will come later. For now ~ fall fashions delight! ~ blessings

Snap, Crackle, Pop

No, not the cereal. The first home fire of the season. :)

The tingle of yesterday morning became the chill of this morning and so D went to the shop for some kindling. I brought in some wood from the deck. Now we sit in the enveloping warmth and vision of our first morning fire. 

This is an indication of a definite change. Mornings will support a fire until about late June now. The morning fire brings peace, contemplation and a time to sit for just a few minutes before the busy-ness of the day begins. We sit with our journals - and in my case this morning, my blog - and plan, reflect and enjoy. I send these thoughts your way with ~ blessings

The Weather is Changing

This time of year our mountains experience 40 degree temperature shifts - cool at night, warm to hot in the middle of the day. Last night the temperature dropped lower than it has been. Even with the windows closed, I wore fuzzy socks because my feet were just too cold. This morning I walked onto the deck and the breeze had a touch in it - a feeling - a shiver that announces a change. In 'Mary Poppins' the wind changes: a shift in the Universe, the arrival of the nanny whose presence upsets the normal order of things. Mountain summer is drawing to a close. The sun will still shine and warm the mid-day air. The nights will move from cooler to cold so that the days will require a jacket or more fleece. The grocery store talk will soon turn from bees to the first snow. Hikers and boaters will give way to impatient skiers waiting for that first flake to fall. The changing wind foresees the coming winter. ~ blessings

The Aroma of Rain

The mountains around Tahoe tend to stay dry from the last snow of spring until the first snow of fall. And  . . . once in while it rains. This afternoon the rain came. At first a few drops - then enough to hear -- and finally enough to smell. Oh, my. Shades of childhood summers in North Carolina pine forests. Anticipation of the arriving autumn. The richness of the earth and air blended together by the scattered drops of rain. The temperature is cooler, the air is fresher and life seems just a little brighter. ~ blessings

Living the news

There was a huge train wreck in LA Friday afternoon. This morning my husband was reading the names of the dead and he knew one of the men. Now in this case, it had been a long time since they had been in touch and actually D's first wife probably knew him better than D did. Still - the news comes into our living room and into our lives. 

Over the years my family has been touched in some way or another by enough news stories that I have come to realize we are all connected. Sometimes, as in this case, it is a name from the past. Other times it has been up close and personal: a high school boy friend, a good friend, a business associate. And every time it reminds me that we need to pick up a paper, listen to the news, hear the story knowing that for all those meaningless names, there are families, loved ones, even distant acquaintances who are caring, grieving, knowing their lives will never be quite the same. 

Just the fact of our awareness can add to the support for those who are living the news -- blessings

Evacuation

My daughter and I live in separate states and so we have a pact: if someone knocks on our door and says, "evacuate", we Will evacuate. No questions. Grab the pets, the computer and Go. Simple. We will go and return over and over again if necessary. I will never understand the decision to stay and may God bless those Texans in their decisions to stay. ~ blessings

Eagle

Oh, how I wish I had a picture. Sitting on the deck this morning, all was quiet when the birds suddenly became upset. I glanced up and there he was, circling. His wing span looked Huge against the clear blue sky. He circled, low and slowly - letting the thermals help him drift. Then he would need to flap so he would exert some effort and move a little higher and float again. Around and around. Just there, in the blue between the trees. Occasionally he would move behind a tree only to reappear as the circle grew larger, smaller, larger again. To move inside for the camera would have been to take my eyes off of him and I was too fixated. 

And so we moved together. He was floating, circling, enjoying the breeze and at the same time on the lookout for small creatures below. I remained sitting while my soul rode his back into the blue until I lost him to the forest ~ and the smaller birds returned to their business in the quiet and safety of home. ~ blessings