Silence ~ again

Father Kim wrote the other day about the positive power of (let’s call it) meditative silence ~ and the negative power of silence in the face of injustice, oppression and evil. For some reason that turned me to thinking about Noise. Right now, with all the political campaigning, there is a Lot of noise. Even good ideas, well said, are said at the tops of lungs or with the microphone on high. Hecklers try to speak louder than the person they came to heckle so that we can’t understand what either side is saying and certainly can’t comprehend the point being made. Protesters march, yell and demand. It is as if the louder we talk, the more likely our point is to be heard and made. Maybe so ~ and for me, it only makes me want to shut my ears and say, Be Quiet, all of you! 

I like positive silence. Silence gives me a chance to think, to contemplate, to find and be guided by wisdom. Words spoken quietly, decently, with respect allow me to hear and understand and maybe be convinced. Noise allows for none of this and simply makes me turn my back and head for a quiet space in which to be in silence. 

Words of Wisdom for Today as Well

As you may remember, I have been using Hildegard of Bingen as my mentor this year. I read her regularly and base my meditation on what she has to say that day. Today I am sharing her words with you because I believe they are So appropriate for our time and our world. I offer them here for you. May you find a blessing and wisdom in them for your life.

You have eyes for observing and looking all about you. Where you see dirt, wash it; and what is dry, make green. And make the spices you have release their perfume.

Now, had you no eyes, you would be able to excuse yourself. But you have eyes. So why do you not use them to look around?

But you are eloquent in rationality. Many times you judge others in things for which you do not wish to be judged. Yet sometimes you say the things that you bring out wisely.

Mind therefore that you carry your burden properly and collect good works in the purse of your heart . . . Imitate the turtledove in chastity; but administer the chosen vineyard diligently so that you can look on God with a pure and righteous face. 

(Hildegard of Bingen ~ from Hildegard of Bingen, Devotions, Prayers & Living Wisdom)

Window Saga, Part 2

The plank is in place and Dan is hooked in his harness. Watching these professionals work is a pleasure. I never felt the least sense of edgy when Dan was out there. He is sure-footed as well as being a really good window installer.

Here comes the window.

Shawn, hooked in, steps inside to apply silicone. 

They move the window carefully across the plank

Up it goes ~ 

~ and in place.

Shawn holds it in place from inside while Dan drills it in place outside.

About as high as Dan can stretch with a drill in his hand ~ 

~ and so he leaves the plank and hangs out finishing the drilling and setting the window in place. They hoped to get all three in place today but extra insulation gunk to be removed made the prep longer than they had planned.

This has been a fascinating process to watch. The rest of the windows are relatively easy compared with this center one. We have probably seen Dan do the most exciting part of his work day. I like his energy ~ calm, easy, thorough, efficient and grounded: a good thing for a high window installer to be. 

Apples, Apples Everywhere ~

Set out to make apple sauce this morning with 30 lbs of apples from the Farmers' Market. Already the kitchen was rife with their wonderful aroma.

Soak them in the sink just to make sure they are clean. The whole process took from 8 am to 1:30 pm and I was tired when it was done. Still the results are wonderful.

The dark bag in the right hand corner is Dean's bag of apple sauce with cinnamon and raisins. If he wants more than that, he adds cinnamon to his portion of mine. The mug is filled with warm juice left from the cooking process. Yummmmmmm. And way at the end are the 8 apples left which we will eat as is because I was just too tired to make another small batch. These will go into the freezer and we will have apple sauce all year. 

The Saga of the Windows

What a difference a day makes! Well, really two. Instead of having awful looking, taped, broken ugly kitchen windows that we would just as soon hide, we now have beautiful, solid, working kitchen windows that we want to feature. We have sworn to keep the counter in front of them reasonably clear of stuff. How long that will oath will hold I don’t know. It has given us an impetus to do some other counter clearing and cleaning.

Outside the windows are dramatic and the forest green trim matches perfectly the forest green trim of the sliding doors and the deck rail. The addition of the new windows is going to “pop” the look of the house to a considerable degree. And best of all, we will be cooler in the summer thanks to windows with screens and warmer in the winter thanks to unbroken, insulated glass. Three down, 17 more to go. What a difference! 

Random Thoughts this Morning

~ finally one window is coming up the hill in the bob cat and the work begins

~ eating as few carbs as possible so am choosing carefully. Love the thin sandwich bread. It is delicious.

~ on the shuttle at the gym I have moved from 120 lbs to 130 at which point I dropped back down to 3 reps of 10. This morning I was up to 3 reps of 15. Feels good.

~ on the other hand, weights which have gone up to 5 lbs have felt Very heavy the last two mornings so have dropped back down to 3 reps of 10 each instead of the 12 I was doing ~ but have increased a level on the bike. 

~ I finally figured out how the new lamp shades were to fit on the new lamps. The blue room is looking really good now ~ no more tv tables at the bedside.