I am a work in progress, disclaimers out the wazoo, and few that I can truly call ones who love me for me. Don't know why and I am done trying to figure it out or care...I am flawed, loud, a force of nature, but underneath there is a soul...I hope you take the time to see her.
Quite honestly, there isn’t one particular culinary establishment that I’d call my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, as I enjoy going out now and again, same as everybody else. But I’m a farmgirl at heart, with the taste and cravings of all things fresh and natural…
And I’m a fairly good cook, if I might be so bold.
As for my baking skills, well, let’s just say I can make a cheesecake that’ll bring world peace, and cookies … oh the cookies…
Delicious and rich vanilla creamer in my morning coffee, for starters! Anyone that knows me will not be surprised at my first choice. I do tend to mention my love of coffee often, in fact, I’d venture to say I do it nearly every day. Hey, at least you know what you get with this girl… a lot of God, followed by cookies and coffee.
Anyways, getting back to this everyday happy list, choices 2 thru 5 are rather easy:
I had such plans for writing out some thoughts today, for your reading pleasure… but it’s already after lunch, and I’m just now sitting down at my desk.
What on earth could derail such literary intentions, you might be asking yourselves. Well, I’ll make it easy on you…
Rearranging! Yup! I just spent the entirety of my morning hours, repeatedly moving the same three pieces of furniture from one spot to the other, in an attempt to make a small space feel inviting, not suffocating.
Honestly, I’d forgotten how hard this would be, trying to make sure things look pretty, instead of just stuffing things in corners… ya know?!
After all this time without a real place to call home, I laugh at so many things I find myself rediscovering… like running a vacuum cleaner. Truth be told, I confess that I haven’t needed to use it, as of yet. Seriously, this whole building is carpeted, so there isn’t anything on our feet by the time we get to our apartment… I truly appreciate these little blessings.
God tells me that it’s time to work on experiencing life again, now that we’ve been given a fresh reset to things, if you know what I mean. So, that’s what I shall be focusing on for the foreseeable future, the living part.
God leads, I follow… and you folks get to experience all of the benefits, in terms of the many fun and fantastical literary adventures I plan on sharing with you. Who knows what awaits us… all of us!
The easiest way to describe how new hands were such a positive change for me, is to just show you…
The old hands held onto so many painful things from the past, but with new hands on board, I began to let go…
When this began happening, I noticed how much strength began to return to my body. With two new hands, now free of waste, I have the freedom to use these hands for so much more… so much good!
There is freedom to reach out in love now, more and more each day, without guilt, shame, bitterness, resentment, anger or poison from the past.
… and, that also leaves oodles of spare time for one of my favorite hobbies. Take a wild guess…
I know, I know… I’m a bit late to the voyage party! Lucky for me, Wiwohka left this nifty little sailboat behind for me to use.
I can’t say that it’s entirely my fault, as she’s the one that’s been overfeeding me, of late.
So, I’ve gotten into the bad habit of, you guessed it, sleeping in!
Maybe I should go back to sleeping on the floor, as that hammock is way too comfy!
Oh well! I left it at the barn… no bad habits for this camel, uh uh! I couldn’t live with myself if I were trying to encourage you to get through the workweek, if I were to miss the good bits of this adventure, due to oversleeping… ya know?!
If I can let go of my squishy soft hammock for the foreseeable future… well, hopefully you can make it to Friday.
Anyways, I’ve been doing too much talking and not enough steering here, so I should probably get back to sailing.
Oh hey, I think I see the ship in the distance. If the wind holds, If think I can just catch up to it!
Tilly and I agree that Bibles and cookies are the two best things ever!!!! Think about it for a second… I’ll wait… ok, I’ll tell you what I mean. Both bibles and cookies are good for the heart, the mind and the soul. They both make us happy, heal our hurts, fill us up, give us loads of energy… and make us better human beings!
Reaching land after being at sea for such a long time can be like standing upon the sand, as the sea pulls the waters back into the depths. It feels like you’re moving while standing still, as the sand moves beneath your feet. I stand upon the shore of a new land (sort of), having nowhere to go, but forward into the unknown. It feels both exciting and confusing, as you’ve no idea what’s beyond your vision, or where the path will lead.
We’ve spent the last five years living in the same small space, climbing over one another, and putting one foot in front of the other… adrift in uncharted waters!
We’d forgotten how to live without constant and immense pressure, pushing at us from all directions; often forcing us to move fast, while leaving everything behind! When you live for so long with little on hand, you become accustomed to letting things go, and/or making due. I am a bit shocked at how much that was lost along the way to this particular shore. For goodness sake, I haven’t had a vacuum cleaner for five years, let alone a working oven, or a working toilet (that was only in the last year and a half). I guess, my point here would be that I feel a bit lost and out of sorts, when it comes to living like a normal person.
I will be taking another week off from writing, in order to focus on rest and recovery from a very costly time at sea. The physical toll it has taken on us this time has been costly, so rest and recovery are the priority, at the moment. Spring quarter will begin for my husband in less than 2 weeks, so he’s going to be getting his first taste of college without the pressure of homelessness and loss hanging over his head all the time, thank goodness! He’s nearly there, with only spring and summer left on this degree. It’s incredible how well he has done in the midst of such turmoil, and I’m so very proud of his commitment to finish… and finish well!
Me? I have another book to write, but first, it’s time to put the first one out there…
It’s time, wouldn’t you agree? If God deems it time, then I’ve no doubt that it will be done. I shall enter this new part of the journey with the grace, faith and confidence given my by my Creator, going wherever I’m called to go. I’ve always loved a good adventure, how about you?!
F.Y.I. , these new shores are quite beautiful from where I’m standing!
Quite honestly, I’m not sure I was thinking in terms of my future career when I was five years old. Baby dolls, kittens, puppies, candy apples at the fair, and how much I hated liver and onions are mostly all that I was thinking about at that age.
Being born and raised on a farm, my early days were spent on the back of a horse or eating all of the strawberries that my mother was trying to pick for making jam.
Though I may not have thought of my future career when I was five, it’s funny that I ended up doing one or more of my childhood activities for adult pursuits, i.e. raising babies, baking, gardening, camping, hunting, fishing, breeding dogs, homeschooling my children, and now, becoming a writer. The writer part is the result of the thousands of books I read from the time I was tiny… that and watching Willy Wonka, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Sound of Music, just for starters!
I think that maybe that’s what a five year old should be doing at that age… not dreaming of a career, but dreaming of magic, miracles and adventure, pure and wonderful! Who knows, though, maybe I was just slow to develop in that regard. Maybe I just watched too many cartoons, and/or read too many silly adventure books. Oh well, I’m still glad I spent my childhood with Gene Wilder, Julie Andrews, Dick Vandyke, and Angela Lansbury, aren’t you? Why? Because, my imagination was born there…
Journey With Me! 