Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Treasures Found



Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. 
Each moment is all we need, not more.
~ Mother Teresa

Progress on the cottage continues! This week Barry the Builder had  work done on the heating and air conditioning as well as dry wall. Grating will be done in the yard as soon as the weather permits. Who knows when that will happen!



I met with Kristin the Contractor to pick out the flooring, lighting, extras in the bathroom, and a few other things. It was a productive afternoon, topped off with drinks before we went home to our families. A good time catching up and relaxing.

All these steps make it feel more real to me. How grateful I am for this addition to the cottage, a place to house our lives and dreams for years to come.






Saturday morning T and I went into the city to run some errands. One we expected to take a couple of hours ended up as a fail. So we found ourselves with some extra time. T asked me what I’d like to do, to which I immediately answered going to an architectural rennovation shop we’d seen after leaving a baseball game.






What a treasure trove! All kinds of things, located in about a block of buildings near downtown. Poking around, seeing things that set off all kinds of ideas, wondering at the care and craftsmenship of years gone past. Fireplace mantels, barristers, hand rails, doors, trim, lights, windows, registers, door knobs. Amazing things.




We use glass door knobs on all the internal doors of the cottage.


T found the window. Called Barry the Builder to check on the dimensions of the arch window in our new bedroom. A bit of measuring, talking to the shop owner, and the window is ours! It needs to be cleaned up, but it will look wonderful with the morning light streaming in, gently waking us up at the lake. 




What fun to find a treasure to share for years to come, completely by surprise and not planned in the least bit. The best of life comes to us this way. Moments after moments of pure happiness.


I can't wait to see it hung over the bedroom window!




Sunday, February 14, 2016

Love Is All

"Whatever the question, Love is the answer." 
~ Dr. Wayne W. Dyer








Valentine’s Day and Love is in the air. Up early this morning while it is dark and the house is quiet, I make a pan of cinnamon rolls for T. With LOTS of cinnamon - just the way he likes them. Perfect accompaniment for coffee, strong and pure.



Mid-afternoon on a Sunday afternoon, T is now making a special treat for dinner, his rendition of Braciolone. Because we are mostly vegetarians, this is a rarety without company in the house. Little Bitty certainly questions our decision about being vegetarians. She begs . . . and begs . . . and begs for little tastes as T is preparing the
meal.








As we enjoy simply being together today, a day set aside for Love, we listen to Motown music, talk and laugh, simply celetrate being together. We are both so grateful to be able to share our love after so many of years of dreaming of finding this kind of love in this lifetime. Such pure joy.






Monday, February 8, 2016

Weekend Full of Happiness


“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin

A perfectly perfect weekend. We left home on Friday evening to head for the lake. The foundation is complete on the addition and we wanted to see how it looks. Really, it was just a good excuse to get away from the regular responsibility of home and sigh a breath of relief.

The mild winter here in northern Indiana seems strange. But it does help with the construction work. So I’ll take the lake that isn’t solidly frozen. I’ll take the brown look of the meadow. The mild weather should help the construction be completed a bit sooner!

Saturday evening we had my brother Eric and his wife over for dinner. Just the four of us. It was a nice, quiet evening. So many times when we’re together other family and friends are around. I love that, but it was nice to visit with just them. They were married five years ago. Both second marriages, a blended family. So often I looked at them in wonder. Now, I have my own love and am even more in wonder than before!





Dinner was stromboli, salad, and a French yogurt cake with blueberries and a lemon glaze. Pure joy to cook with T. Total relaxation. (We even had enough cake left over to share with friends at the Super Bowl party.)




During the afternoon I painted a few Valentines while T prepares dinner. Something about the light at the lake that always makes painting easier. 




Reading, knitting, laughing together, time with family and friends. What could be more perfect?

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Chili Cook-Off

Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili.
~Last words of Kit Carson, 
American frontiersman (1809-1868)

Chili Cook-off at church on Sunday for the monthly fellowship meal. 
So . . . T and I are both making a pot of chili. 

I’m using a tried and true recipe. I found it at this link http://www.tasteloveandnourish.com/2013/04/15/black-bean-and-lentil-chili/ a couple of years ago and have made it several times. I don’t even adjust the heat much. We like it hot! 




Ingredients for my chili


My Chili

T did a web search for a new “exotic” recipe to try. He’s printed it off, and will decide later if it is worthy adding to the recipe binder. Of course, he’ll make several adjustments to the new recipe. 


Ingredients for T's chili
T's Chili


The best part of this “contest” is cooking with T. Just being together in the kitchen brings me such happiness! We talk and laugh. We listened to music on Pandora - Pink Martini, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole. The perfect background. 


We had dinner of a small(ish) bowl from both of the chili pots and fresh from the oven corn bread. Then, each was put into a crock pot to take to chuch on Sunday.

Just spending simple time together like this brings such joy. I can’t imagine a better life.




The fellowship meals are always enjoyable. This time we sat with two friends that always bring lots of laughter to share. There was quite a buffet of chili pots. The one I liked best was “Vianne’s Chili” as a tribute to one of my favorites, Chocolat. (I’ll have to get my hands on that recipe!)





Friday, January 15, 2016

Creativity

You can’t use up creativity. 
The more you use, 
the more you have. 
~ Maya Angelou



Creativity takes many forms in my life. Eclectic.

Knitting










I try to knit every day. Some say, “The new yoga.” The click of the needles certainly lulls me into a meditative state easily. When I’m making something for a particular someone, it feels like a constant prayer for them.


Cooking





How thankful I am to have someone so appreciative to cook for! And with! Making dinners now doesn’t feel maintenance at all, as it did for so many years. The best part of cooking creatively is that unless we’re traveling, it happens every day. 


Painting















Something I desire to do more of this year. The act of painting taps into something newer in my life and somehow deeper than the things I’ve done for so many years.


Gardening


Not so much at this time of year in northern Indiana. Yet dreaming of the growing season to come brings a bit of excitement to the greyest of January days.

Teaching
Planning lessons for students touches a part of me creatively. How will they best learn? What do they really need to know? What fun can we have in making the learning happen for them?

Trying New Forms
There are so many creative people in this magnificent world. Being around someone creative makes me feel inspired. Able. Courageous. This afternoon I’m taking a personal art lesson from a university professor. A very creative Christmas gift from my husband! Adventure awaits!

Writing
Not something I’ve spent much time on these past few years. But it is something that always feels good . . . picking up the pen. Sharing a few thoughts with friends. Discovering what thoughts lie within myself.

Photography

Catching a particular moment in time and place. Some of the best photos have become my memory, without every looking at the physical picture, it is in my mind forever.

The idea of creativity is without limits. The idea of co-creation is joy incarnate. Creativity can so easily be left out of my day. Always wanting more. Being intentional about expressing creativity is one way to expand my life. Joyfully living my life to the fullest each day.

Winter Birch

Winter Birch

Books Recently Read

  • Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
  • Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • The Red Tent by Anita Diamond
  • The Dinner by Herman Koch
  • The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • The Lake House by Karen Morton
  • Memories of Heaven by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Whip by Karen Kondazian
  • Purity by Jonathan Franzen
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
  • The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Rosie Effect by Graeme Samson
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  • My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
  • Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
  • Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
  • I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Best Part of the Day by Sara Ban Breathnach
  • Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
  • The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
  • Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless
  • The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
  • Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
  • Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris
  • Five Quarters of the the Orange by Joanne Harris
  • Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
  • The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris
  • Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  • There Are No Accidents by Robert Hopcke
  • You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay
  • We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro
  • The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron
  • Room by Emma Donoghue
  • House at Riverton by Kate Morton
  • Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
  • The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
  • Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  • On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm
  • Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
  • Brida by Paulo Coelho
  • A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker
  • Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho

Cats don't belong to people. They belong to places. - Wright Morris
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