A HODGEPODGE

Hello dear friends!  I've had a lot of thoughts swirling around in my little ole head and I was trying to figure out how to make a cohesive post about them, but there's just no way to make them all come together, so this is just one of those random posts.

Above is a picture of our garden after it has been put to bed for the year.  Well almost, I still have carrots  and leeks to harvest.  I keep saying I'm waiting for a good frost to make the carrots sweet.  That's as good as an excuse for procrastination as any!

People are always telling me they admire my simple life.  While this is very kind and flattering, I cannot take any credit for it.  I give all the glory to God!  All I did was to be smart enough to recognize what He was trying to tell me.  And  even that was God's doing! I am indeed blessed.

Speaking of being blessed, yesterday  Jamie and I went to the "big" city.  It saddened me to see so many homeless and unfortunate people.  I am always reminded "that except for the grace of God, there go I." One thing to do is send a prayer up when you see the unfortunate.  Some mornings I spend a  good amount of time as I read the news, offering prayers for those I read about in the paper.  But of course, "Faith without works is dead." James 2:14, so if you can afford it, give to homeless charities. Maybe volunteer at one.  One time I was with a friend when I gave some money to a homeless man.  "Oh", said the friend, "he'll just spend it on booze."  Well, maybe, who knows?  Maybe not. That is not important.  It was important for him to know that at least one person recognized his suffering and cared.  What is the good of money anyway?

On a lighter note, while we were in a store the song  Celebrate came on the public address system.  You know the song?  I just want to celebrate another day of living.  I just want to celebrate another day of life.  When I was younger and had more burdens, sometimes I got caught up in all the seriousness of life, that I forgot to enjoy it.  So everyday I try to do something completely frivolous.  Like wear a silly hat (you should see the reaction I get from my Dr. Zhivago fur (fake) hat), read a childhood favorite book (for me it's Eleanor  Estes), or go for a moonlight walk.  Yesterday I purchased some lace tights.  I wanted some when I was in fifth grade.  They were all the rage.  But my mother didn't think the were practical.  So fourty years later, I finally have my lace tights!  Only the area between my boots and skirt will be seen, but I'll know they're there! Some people might say that a fifty year old woman is too old to be wearing lace tights, but who cares?  If there was ever a sillier idea in the world, it is fashion.  So have fun with it!

Speaking of marching to your own drum, as I drove down the winding lakeshore  road, I was thinking about the path less taken, as this road is definitely a  road less taken.  Well, I have certainly done that.  From being thrifty in the conspicuous consumption era, to having more than the regulated 2.4 children, to being a stay at home mom when society was telling the world that you were nobody unless you had a fulfilling career.  Hope that my stories of having "been there, done that", give courage to others that are contemplating  going the same route.

Speaking of rubbish that the media tries to hoist upon us, the whole idea that we must have this great journey of self-discovery by going  out a sampling different cultures and lifestyles before we can be fulfilled and become successful wives and mother, is just  nonsense.  I dare say, it has a bit of "New Age" philosophy behind it, you know, the whole "do what you want" theory. What did people do before travel was easy?  Were they all unfulfilled?  Want to "find" yourself?  Spend time in prayer and quiet contemplation.  Be curious about life. Read.  Be selfless rather than selfish.  Listen more, speak less.

Well here's something silly to end this post with.  This past week I was watching some of those  spooky movies that were made in the 70s on YouTube. When I was a youngster, my girlfriends and I would have pajama parties every Friday, pop some popcorn and watch the movie of the week.  Titles like Crowhaven Farm,  Something Evil (an early Spielberg movie), Daughter of Darkness, etc.  They were really goofy and not very scary.  Here's some lesson learned from them: 1) That beautiful bucolic  farmhouse  that you inherit from some aunt that you never met,  or bought for a song is probably not the great deal you first thought it was. 2) Wear something warm to bed the first night spent in your "new" farmhouse.  That way you'll be ready to go outside and search for that mysterious crying that you hear coming from the barn or the woods. 3) Befriend the crazy looking neighbor that's also a local historian.  He'll have all the answers to solving your problems at the end. 4) Those cliquey friendly neighbors?  Probable a coven of witches. 5) Beware of too angelic looking children.  6)  If you hear harpsichord music, you know your goose is cooked. 7)And finally don't worry in the end the solution to the problem is just standing in a very windy room and saying a little rhyme!