Advantage

One of the advantages of living in the woods is you can dance with reckless abandonment when the 15 minute RAIN falls.

The screen doors were open, fans whirling and it began to rain and the radio was on low. The Old Time Rock and Roll started playing and she turned it up full blast - I mean really really loud.

She dances this way with her little granddaughter's. They dance until they almost fall in the floor.

What a way to begin Saturday.....with a smile on your face.

May your day be filled with Happiness, Health, Safety and Peace

Think On This

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and you do are in harmony"

Gandhi

This quote keeps going over and over in my mind. It really says a lot to me. What I think, what I say and do are they in harmony?

Sometimes we think one thing and do another. And on and on.........

Keeping Cool

Many years ago my mother worked as manager of a small dress shop in Michigan. When the store went out of business she acquired this fan.

It was given to me about 14 years ago.

With the heat and humidity at an all time "high" - I keep it on during the day. I like the sound of the ceiling fans and this fan whirling.

A Mexican Feast

New friends and someone that occasionally helps me - are Sheila and Francisco.

A meal is prepared for family and some friends on many a Sunday and twice in the past I have driven 5 minutes away to pick up a plate and return home.

So hot and no appetite and a call was placed this morning "what are you cooking today?"

I almost did not go - the thought I will just make a sandwich. Glad I did not make that decision.

On the table a huge platter of chicken enchiladas, another filled with shredded beef for the tortillas (I made one with homemade guacamole, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Bowls of rice and re fried beans and some sort of a cheese filled pepper that I could not eat as it was too hot for me. Huge container with every kind of fresh fruit.

To top it off a slice of cherry cheesecake and chocolate cake.

Placed carefully in my truck and I headed down the road for home. Sure tasted good with my fruit tea.

One of the many blessings of moving back to the woods!!

The Space Between Us

I am thinking of ordering this book.

This story centers around a wealthy Indian woman and her housekeeper. The poor housekeeper, who lives in the slums of Bombay, and her employer have developed a symbiotic relationship over the years. A friendship between the most unlikely of women.

Humor and crying sadness.

The following quote from the book left me shaken and is bringing about a lot of thoughts

"Or perhaps it is that time doesn't heal all wounds at all, perhaps that is the biggest lie of them all, and instead what happens is that each wound penetrates the body deeper and deeper until one day you find the sheer geography of your bones - has collapsed under the weight of your grief."

I will have to share this is not true for One Woman. Time and my beliefs have healed my wounds. I believe wounds can be healed. Of course there is scar tissue, and from time to time (very seldom) old memories do surface and because of where I am on my journey through this life - I really have no time for them!!

I Needed This

At this stage of life - Some may think I am dull, but I am happy and at peace. That says a whole lot when I look at all the lifestyles I lived in the past.

I garden, read, meditate, do yoga, use my camera, babysit and clean the woods surrounding my new woods home.

The heat is keeping me inside after lunch - so two days ago I stopped in the budget movie rental shop in the neighboring small town.

I love Meryl Streep - any movie she is in - is wonderful.

So, I rented "It's Complicated".

I sat in my easy chair on loft area - where the television is - that I did not want - but bought for my youngest granddaughter's to watch films.

I sat there during the hot afternoon. Sat still which is really an accomplishment for me.

I laughed and laughed and thought if there was a neighbor that could see me - they would think I had lost my mind.

So --- this film is funny - I think it is best for a woman to watch alone or with some women friends (have none near that think like I do) - I do not think a man would find it all that funny.

I may join something online and rent a few films a month. Will be good for me during the winter months - when I am not reading!!

My Humble Sweet-Pea is Blooming

She spent many a summer with her beloved grandmother in Tennessee. Through childish eyes she would see a beautiful green yard with flower beds. A wide front porch with a swing (where in the evenings her grandmother would brush her hair). A green hedge surrounded this home and she can remember her great uncle using not to choice words as he would clip on hot summery days and sometimes be stung by a bee. The towering old trees were a delight to sit under and sometimes she would eat her simple lunch on a blanket under the trees. To view through a child's eye is so wonderful. A special trip not to many years ago revealed a small frame home with a tiny yard and the trees no longer were there.

There were always zinnias, marigolds, nasturtiums and the sweet-pea. When she looks at this flower it never fails to bring back memories of a time long ago.

The little girl grew up in an apartment building in the large industrial city. She will never forget the times this grandmother made special trips to bring her to another world.

What she dreamed of at that time became a reality as her life unfolded.

In these last years she views fields of green, woods, flower beds and hears the sounds of nature.

"A garden might be made beautiful with sweet-peas alone, and with hardly any labor, except the sweet labor of picking to prolong the blooms, be turned into a fairy bower of delicacy and refinement"

Elizabeth shares about her garden in the wonderful book "The Solitary Summer" by

Elizabeth Von Armim

Early Morning Smile

Picture forwarded to mama aka grandma - of her youngest daughter and youngest granddaughter. A special time for both of them.

Looks like continued hot and humid days in the woods.

Beginning Of The Week

A good breakfast to start the day. Or rather the breakfast was 3 hours after arising. French toast with blueberries and bananas - topped with maple syrup and my usual 2 or 3 cups of green tea. Also the last of my zucchini bread. I have been told that I am not eating enough. This looks hearty to me!!

How can One Woman find so much to do early in the morning. In the past breakfast at 7:00 and now it between 8:00 and 9:00.

Errands in town that use to take about an hour and a half and now it seems half the day is gone.

Help arrived to re stack the wood pile. Logs are added each time a tree falls. I do not have a wood burning fireplace and have this stack of wood. I like looking at it and you never know - in case of an emergency I may have to build a fire and sit outside lol.

The helper warned me to watch where I step. He found a snake nest while shoveling dirt to put in a low place in my yard. I did not know snakes made a nest. Really never thought of it before.

From the limited research done - I understand - very few poisonous snakes make a nest. Will do more investigating before I share something on this.

Is anyone reading this more knowledgeable?

From the woods on a hot and humid day.

Thank You

Most fragrant earth,
touched by dew
and
driven by
the summer rain;
The seeds
strewn amidst the flowers
compete;
The quietly emerging
veggies,
nudging each other across
tangled branches
some
weighing themselves down
waiting to be plucked

They
may not be
as
artistic
or
pretty,
as her flowers
that adorn
the family table;
But there is
the beauty
of affection,
all mixed into
casserole
and they preen
in pride,as
the little granddaughter
lifts the lid
and says
"Grandma, Umm,
smells good."

To think Ugich -- who lives in Inda - wrote this poem for me. Me - One Woman who has returned to her homeplace in the woods in Tennesee. One Woman - who writes, gardens, reads, meditates and prays - and has found peace in her 3 score and 10 years. She makes my heart smile!!

http://kaimhanta.blogspot.com/

Weakness

A few days ago I ran across an old acquaintance. So much has happened in her life over the last few years. Her father in his 90,s passed away recently. 3 years ago her husband passed away and a few years before that her sister and brother.

A huge stately home in the nearby little town and she is at the end of distributing contents to family members. She asked me if I would like to come by and look at what was left and see if there was anything I would be interested in. I am not a yard sale person - but - an estate like this made memories of times in the past surface.

I have downscaled a number of times and want nothing else - but could not resist an early morning meeting with my friend. Camera in my hand and yearning so to take a picture of this home. The wonderful old trees were skimming the ground and the shade so dense that I could not take a picture. The wide front porch filled with aging wicker and a large swing.

This home had been in the family over a 100 years and I could almost feel the walls whispering to me as I wandered through the almost empty rooms that were piled with boxes and items from another era.

I chose not to view the 5 rooms upstairs but looked through the kitchen items left. A very old metal knife (I could use), just my size was a very old small platter, several granite bowls and a beautiful glass vinegar cruet ( I like to use them as a small flower holder).

Books are piled everywhere. Old and musty books and I am returning where I can sit for several hours looking through them (do not need these) spotted a 1950 Better Homes and Garden Gardening Book and favorite book from my childhood - a 1933 Nancy Drew mystery.

Going out the door I spotted a gardening pad and a pair of deer skin gardening gloves. She said they were her mother's. The gloves slipped on my hands like they were made for me. As I write this post -the thought comes to mind - do I dare wear them. I almost feel as though the owner who is no longer on this earth - might smile. What do you think?

Now to the cellar - oh my everything through the years must have been saved. Saw nothing and then I spotted the very small drop leaf table with one chair. The paint peeling and its old condition made it very appealing to me. I ask about it and was told this was her mother's kitchen table from many years ago and no one wanted it. "I want it" so next week I will pick it up in my trusty truck and put it on my small front porch. I visualize a plant on it and times I will sit and dream, have a cup of tea, write or even read. Also picked up a very small and old garden basket.

Next week I will also pick up a dozen old flower pots. So One Woman is smiling at her wonderful gifts. They are old and have character. Hope that describes me. But then the number may say old but why is it she feels no different then 25 years ago?

Small Vegetable Garden

She is amazed at all this small garden is producing A 12 x 12 sqaure and herbs planted among the flowers. If a day is missed picking - then the compost pile grows. There are even things that have rooted in compost pile and will be interesting to see what it reaps.

This garden was planted for one, and with the thought there might be something to share with visitors.

She feels guilty adding to the compost pile. Has thoughts of the many that would make a meal of these items.

Wherever you are on the planet - warm thoughts are sent your way.

Remember

"The past is gone,

The future never arrives.

In truth, there is no life outside of this moment."

Leonard Jacobson

Welcome Back To Me

A row of sunflowers were planted - the rain came and washed all of them away but one.

She is a beauty.