Family, Home, Together 

Gratefulness wrapped up in a package of times together. Take the time to pay attention, an attempt to really see, to listen, to be all present with them all.

• Family - together around the table
• re-reading the poem above the sink : Dirty dishes = evidence of blessing (and we have dirty dishes to prove the blessings)
• "Cling to JOY: audacious and unbridled joy, that looks for light in every thing, even in your waiting."  -Morgan Harper Nichols
• R and J - so sweet, so much fun. Grandbabies delight
• Duolingo French - start learning something new
• reading Beth Chatto - Drought Resistant Planting - her plant/word pictures are amazing, love her perspective
• first freeze, first snow - fall days becoming winter
• "While sight is an ability, seeing remains an art." Hidden Half of Nature
• finished two books I've been stalled on - now, on to more interesting reading
• fall leaves dancing, spinning on the freeway like a choreographed ballet
• time with the girls - their stories and challenges and smiles
• concert - Idina Mendez, Josh Groban, wow! amazing, inspiring, beautiful
• diving headfirst into NaNoWriMo - accepting the challenge, willing to make the change to daily writing
• C to vet - simple, easy, except she's so scared, leaned on A
• a fun flute lesson - more play than work
• W's surgery (dog) - long recovery for a recalcitrant patient
• W's reversals - backwards more than forward healing progress
• J here!
• Gift of time thru disappointment (3 day delay in arrival)
• Half-way, NaNoWriMo word count
• P and J here
• SSKB here
• Thanksgiving thankfulness
• full house
• request for gardening articles in PWView
• article in newspaper and From Ground Up out on the same day
• flute rehearsal with professional pianist and pro flutist, fun!
• emails with Jane - appreciate her!
• NaNoWriMo accomplished!
• next day, began new novel
• six broccoli plants still alive, even with the crazy cold
• Cheyenne Mntn Electric Safari with TVES, counting animal shaped lights, found 70, supposedly 85 but didn't ride tramway to the top.

"Life is Compost"

Have you ever maintained a compost pile?

 This is mine - a yucky looking mess of coffee grounds, filters, banana peels, apple peels, crushed eggshells, a branch the dogs broke off in their antics, discarded lettuce, carrot peels, and other such stuff that will decompose. The trick is keeping the wet/dry balance correct. If it is too wet, add newspaper, straw, or other dry materials. If it is too dry (which we deal with here in our arid climate), add more greenery or veggie materials. I go heavy on the coffee grounds and kitchen waste because they add a lot of good, wet matter. Any material that will decompose will eventually turn into compost. Could be years. If you want to speed up the process, a correct balance of wet/dry makes a big difference in the time the pile takes to decompose and become use-able compost.

The result, over time, is this:
a rich, dark colored loamy soil to spread around plants as a mulch, or mix into the soil that will offer minerals and a healthy dose of food and encouragement the plants need.

There are different methods of keeping a compost pile. Mine is in a big plastic bin. Others use an open, fenced in enclosure, or make one out of old pallets. Some use several piles, at different stages of completion. As I keep one pile, adding to it every few days, I have to dig into the pile to get to the good stuff, and sometimes I need to screen out the in-process compost from the completed product.

It is really not complicated. You don't need fancy equipment or chemical additives or a compost starter. Compost will happen.

I loved reading this quote, from Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale. Her character, Vida Winter (an author), is speaking. Puts a thoughtful spin on compost.

"Life is compost.
You think that a strange thing to say, but it's true. All my life and all my experience, the events that have befallen me, the people I have known, all my memories, dreams, fantasies, everything I have ever read, all of that has been chucked onto the compost heap, where over time, it has rotted down to a dark, rich, organic mulch. The process of cellular breakdown makes it unrecognizable. Other people call it the imagination. I think of it as a compost heap. Every so often I take an idea, plant it in the compost, and wait. It feeds on that black stuff that used to be a life, takes its energy for its own. It germinates. Takes root. Produces shoots. And so on and so forth, until one fine day I have a story or a novel."

Code Your Goals

The last week of January. Already. How are your goals coming along? Did you just roll your eyes at me? Crazy, isn't it? The way the hands on the clock keep going around and around and around. Those weekly calendar pages check off, one by one by one.

I purposely made my goals a bit vague this year. Rule number one about making goals: make them specific, actionable, measurable, and time sensitive. I thought, maybe, if I kept the goals in general terms, I wouldn't roll my eyes at myself as time slips by, unproductive, ineffective, goals undone.

Well, I'm not so sure about my vague goals. Perhaps there is wisdom in having a clear, focused idea of where I am headed each day. The journey is important, yes. But a destination is critical, too.

This photo, cropped from the first one, focuses in on the details of the snowflakes. At least as well as my camera and my photography skills can do. Amazing, this morning, seeing the light snowfall we had last night, the flakes, each crisp and ornate and beautiful. Beautiful as a whole, but even more impressive as unique and individual.

An idea I read: when Gretchen Rubin worked through her Happiness Project, writing it, developing her monthly goals and plans, she blogged her process. Her chapters contain some of the comments she received along the way. One of them really stuck with me. The gal suggested to use your passwords as goal reminders. How many times a day do you plug in certain passwords? Use those effectively. Say, you want to exercise five times a week. Set up a password like, RnwlkX5#.

I am not advising you on your password safety. There are general suggested structures for a secure password, and various sites have different guidelines. In general, at least eight characters are recommended, that it does not contain a complete word, and it includes four types of characters: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols. And, I would add, something easy for you to remember.

Take a goal you want to be reminded of, often. Turn it into a personalized, coded password, and remember it often as you type it on your keyboard, multiple times a day.

In my head, spring is not far away. I know, for a fact, that reality is a bit different than that. Our last frost date is May 12th, and we have seen snow on the last three Mother's Days. That is three and a half months away. What will I have accomplished by then? Will my vague, general goals still be vague and general by then? Yes, unless I change my way of thinking about them.

The last weeks of December, I jotted down a list of things I wanted to do in 2016; a random list, as things came to mind. Now, looking at the list again, I see a need to quantify them. What, how, and when will I do these? How can I make them specific, actionable, measurable, and timed? I made a note in my planner, on May 15th, to reevaluate the list. And, I made up a new password to remind me of a key, priority goal.

What do you think of making a new password, unique to your goals?

Windshield Goals

We have reached the end of February. Do you look at your New Year goals like this? Something you wrote down two months ago, part of the New Year planning, and now they are behind you. Unaccomplished. History. Looking backward instead of forward.

Donald Miller, on his Storyline blog, wrote a week long series, "Start Life Over." In the introductory post, he writes about the value of change, and he quotes two friends of his who own a successful restaurant. They said, "Life should be viewed similarly to how we look through the windshield of a car...the windshield is much larger than the rearview mirror."  Don adds, "Keep looking forward. Know where you are going and steer the car toward something new and exciting. And you can't do that if you're always looking in the rear view mirror."



I realized how often I think of my goals with a backwards thought. Guess that didn't work. What was I thinking? So much for that unrealistic time-frame. All those unfriendly failure words spoken in my head. But, instead, if I see them as Windshield Goals, the perspective changes. I am looking ahead, out the windshield, the road in front of me rather than behind. Any smart driver will tell you this is a much better way to drive - look through the windshield rather than the rear view mirror. Good driving involves a glance in the rear view mirror, but the attention is focused - forward. Of course, we say. But do we live that way?

Each day, on my daily list, I write my three main Windshield Goals as a reminder that I can take steps today toward them. Not big things, just little steps. And it moves me toward them, rather than seeing them disappear into the past, faded in the rear view mirror. The skill of resilience has its foundation in this, this ability to focus forward rather than on events of the past. How to navigate the next turn, the upcoming curve in the road? Focus ahead. Pay attention.

Sometimes, Windshield Goals can look like this. Blurred. Low visibility. Confused. Wish you were somewhere else. I took this photo last May. On the way home from a beautiful spring mountain drive, we encountered a surprise storm. Unexpected. Sudden. But we made it home, following the lines on the road, slowly, one mile at a time.

What if we looked at our goals as something in front of us? Ahead.

Forward looking.

Forward living.

Not full of regret or that sinking feeling, failed again.

Hope. Possibility. Do-able.

Try again.

Forward living. 

A much better choice.

This post is linked with Emily Freeman and Chatting At the Sky,

What We Learned in February.

Instead of feeling a failure, instead of those sinking regrests,

I can move forward.

For me, this is a huge lesson.

As Don said in his post, these paradigm shifts can change the way we view our lives, and the way we live our lives.

Green light ahead, GO!

A Measure of Value

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

                                                                                                        -Henry David Thoreau


When you hear the word, "Price," do you immediately think of money? I do. This quote reminds me there is a deeper way to evaluate value.

The measure of value, the standard of value in our culture is usually based on how much it costs. Dollars and cents. Does that make sense?

What is, "The amount of life," and how do we exchange it?

Time is one way. How much time we give something is one way to determine its value. Time is something we all have, probably in more abundance than money, although it may not feel like that some days.

There are several  quotes about spending our money on experiences rather than on things. That the value we put on experiences rather than filling our lives with things will have more lasting value, give us a fuller life.

There are many questions to ask here. What do I value most? How do I express that? What amount of life am I willing to exchange for what I value the most? When I hand money (or swipe the debit card) across the counter, I am giving up something, for something else.

Warren Buffet - a guy who knows a little bit about money - said, "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Interesting thought. Not thinking in terms of what I am getting, the thing itself, but instead, think of its value, to me, to our family, to our home, to life, to the world.

How will its value express what is most valuable to me? Lots of questions, no answers. Just ideas to think about.

How do you define value, how do you perceive value?

What to Spend

"THE BEST THING TO SPEND ON CHILDREN IS YOUR TIME."

My sister-in-law had this quote as a cross-stitch on her wall. Several years ahead of us in the child raising years, she lived these words. She home-schooled before it was a thing, simply because it allowed her to spend more time with her two children and it enabled them to work together, learn together, be together.  I attempted to follow that example.

I made up a pattern, designed the cross-stitch, and it sat in my project pile for years. I wanted to put it on my wall, just like she had it. I have to admit (with a grimace), that I think it is still downstairs in a project box, moved from house to house, how many times? I am not even going to go look.

At this point, I wish I could say that I didn't spend the time to make that cross-stitch because I was too busy spending time with my kids. Maybe, maybe not. But it has helped me keep a focus on priorities. It is not all the things that make a rich life. It is time, together.

  More important than putting that cross-stitch on my wall, it is important to write those words on my heart, making them come alive in my life, and playing them out in our children's days.

"Mom, will you play a game with me?"

"I'm busy doing [this]. Why don't you go play the Wii for awhile?"

What good mother would ever say that? Ahem... I don't want their memories of me to be of my back, turned toward some busy project. I want their memories to be of my face, available to listen and spend the time with them that they need. Balance is important here, too, though. One of our sons would take all my 24/7s if he could. Obviously there has to be a line.

Having this quote speaking in my head, reminding me of my choices and priorities, helps me keep my focus less on stuff and more on time, all the minutes and moments with this family God has given us.

Drifting

                                                                Drifting

"Am I drifting? Am I focused?
Either answer is fine, just so long as I'm aware."

-Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic


This cute little plate hangs on her wall, a reminder to focus. Or not to focus.

Not to drift, unless the drifting is intentional. And, sometimes, we do drift. Time off. Time to back away and take a long look at where we are headed. Time to think. Retreat. Time to wonder. Time to enjoy.

Or, time to focus and dip in the oars and steer a straight path, the goal in clear view.

Intentional. A choice.

I copied this from one of Rachel's books, years ago - don't remember which one - and had it for a long time on my bulletin board, a reminder to me, to be intentional with my choices.

Some days are good for time with the kids, time to putter, time to relax and think. Other days are good for a full schedule of productivity, the lists checked off in my planner. As long as the choice is made with intent.

The key word, I think, is aware. Awake to the myriad of choices we can make in any given day. Conscious. Mindful of the actions we choose, or do not choose. Aware. And to make those choices with a heart of gratefulness.

Re-Focus

This week's Friday Five word was Focus. I had trouble focusing this week. As evidenced by the miscellaneous piles mounded on my desk. Too many projects going at once. Starting too many new projects. Scrambling to finish old projects so I can move on to the new projects. A mountain of library books to read. I realized something, they are all non-fiction: gardening, dog training, cookbooks, writing skills, motivational, home decorating, local hikes. No wonder I am having trouble reading them all. When I read that word, "focus," my first thought was the eye of a fly. You've seen them, I'm sure, magnified pictures of the eyeball of a fly with its thousands of mini-eyes looking everywhere. Which is why it is so hard to smash them with a fly swatter. See, even my writing is all over the place this week, attempting to look everywhere at once.

What to do about it? How to focus in on what I should be doing?

Start with the basics. These people, this house, this home. Cooking, cleaning, home teaching. Time with each individual. That pretty much fills my days.

I wrote before about the Pomodoro Technique. A method of short, timed, concentrated efforts. These are great, especially for those nagging jobs I just don't ever seem to get around to doing. Set the timer, focus for twenty-five minutes, get it done. Easy. Simple. But it takes the effort to set the timer and focus. It helps, knowing it is a short time. Okay, I'll give this twenty-five minutes. That's all. Makes if feel less overwhelming. More possible. There is a website, free information, lots of terrific ideas for help with priorities.

Last weekend, I filled a raised bed, planted seeds, moved two tomato plants and a nasturtium from pots. Here is the latest, today, my tiny lettuce seeds sprouting up. Still may be too late in the season to get away with producing anything from my small garden, but I am having fun - a race with the season.

My three favorite gardening books are:
Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew
Passionate Gardening, Good Advice For Challenging Climates, by Lauren Springer and Rob Proctor
and a new favorite (one of my many current library books) Gardening on a Shoestring, by Rob Proctor.
Do you have favorite gardening books?

Focus. An art. A skill. Like any art or skill, it takes practice, technique, learning, failure, attempts again. Over and over. Re-focus.

Opportunity Cost

In an article I read, the term, "opportunity cost" was used. It sparked my interest. What does that mean?
It is a term from the confusing world of economics, a complex term that really evaluates a simple thing. It involves what is given up in order to follow a certain action. Or, what you could have gained by taking a different path. Opportunity cost evaluates what is given up or gained.

Investopedia.com used the example of a college education: the salary lost while in school, compensated by the possibly higher salary after the degree is earned. Or, a stock investment that earns a small percentage, compared with the higher percentage you could have earned in a bond, the difference being the opportunity cost.

Opportunity Cost is about choice. If we decide to grow carrots in our garden, rather than strawberries or chrysanthemums, the different result gives us the opportunity cost. A choice is required. Knowing the results would be helpful, but the option we choose will give us either benefit or loss.

Both Investopedia and Wikipedia discussed that opportunity cost goes beyond monetary or material values, which I was glad to see. This applies to anything of value: how we use our time, how we build relationships, how we use our creative energy, our efforts to build memories and establish foundations in our homes and families, all can be calculated with opportunity cost.

For those of you who are algebra fans, there is a formula (on Wikipedia) for calculating good y vs. good x relative to the good forgone. Or something like that. It was over my head, but their example of choosing between parties and a date and mathematically calculating the result was amusing.

Opportunity Cost: what is given up or what is gained. What does all this mean?

• A choice to spend the time talking with the kids when I would rather be [whatever] is weighed by the benefits to our family relationships
• A choice to browse through a magazine instead of cleaning the shower or organizing the shelves is evaluated by the loss of order and cleanliness in our home
• A choice as to how I spend my time in the afternoons will result in good management of the resources I have, or wasted resources (thank you for this idea, Deidra)
• Being aware of the long term value gained by time spent together, reading aloud, playing games, learning together, just doing stuff together
• Choosing to eat smart and exercise rather than indulge my sweet tooth and idleness will yield a better opportunity cost, long-range
• Money I spend on one thing will be money I cannot spend on something else, perhaps something more important

What opportunity cost choices do you think of? We all make choices every day. The results are seen in hindsight, but by thinking ahead and evaluating the value, the opportunity cost, of our choices, perhaps we will be able to make wiser decisions.

Great Intentions

I start the weeks with Great Intentions. Coffee mug full, my planner charted, my days rich in accomplished tasks. Productivity flourishes. Results guaranteed. Then--oops, reality hits.

The problem - my list this Monday looks pretty much like it did last Monday. With Great Intentions.
I would like to point a finger at interruptions and events beyond myself. The difficulty is me.

"I'm tired."
"I don't feel like sorting that file right now."
"I don't feel like exercising this morning."
"I don't want to scrub that shower."
Or, "I feel like eating that brownie."

Instead of doing what I plan, I go by feelings-of-the-moment. And at the end of the day, or the week, the lack of checked off accomplishments is discouraging. Part of the problem is being on idea overload. I read too many books or magazines or spend too much time on-line reading about cleaning, or organizing, or writing, or home teaching, or health, or nutrition; instead I miss the actual doing. The reality.

Have you heard the term, "Reverse Engineering?" Chalene Johnson, in her book, Push, explains reverse engineering as a way to achieve a goal. Think of the goal, accomplished. Then, work backward, through all the individual, small, steps that would be involved in meeting that goal. Begin the steps, one by one, in order to accomplish the goal. It is a helpful way to focus and clarify the needed tasks. (But you still have to do them.)

                   REVERSE ENGINEERING

One of my projects this week is sewing a dress for upcoming weddings. Last week  I set aside twenty minutes in my planner for three days. Small chunks of time. Twenty minutes doesn't seem like a major chunk out of my day. It seems quite do-able to fit in a mere twenty minutes. I might not have finished, but, I didn't even start.

Also, the file drawers I want to sort out. Condensing six file drawers down to three, part of my "get rid of half" mantra. Sounds monumental. Overwhelming. It is. But it won't get done by thinking about it or looking at it. Little chunks, set the timer, or do just a few files at a time, a little bit each day.

 Great Intentions can become more than targets. Shall I let you know on Friday how I do this week?



As a balance point, I realize the value of time is not in productivity alone. Time spent with the guys, time to study and learn, time to enjoy and thrive in all that is going on around here, time talking with distant, grown kids - these are the vital activities that do not go into my planner because they are already part of my days, part of life. It is the extra tasks, the in-addition jobs that I ignore far too easily. Without getting too philosophical, life is not about the doing, but about the living. Savoring, appreciating, thriving in each beautiful day.

Great Intentions. Reverse Engineering. The joy of life.
How do you balance the doing tasks with the living?

Mapping My Path

Each year, usually in December, I read a time management type book. The reading inspires me toward the new year, toward goals and plans and direction. This year, because we were away from home for two and a half weeks over the holidays, I am just finishing up this year's (last year's?) book, Time Management for the Creative Person, by Lee Silber.

I've mentioned this book before, and have read it at least four times, judging by the different colored ink markings through the book. Normally I'm not a big fan of writing in books, but certain books, ones I want to be able to thumb through and glean quick ideas, inspire me to underline and circle and star and jot down ideas in the side bars. This is one of those.


His chapter on Power Tools, "A Sign of the Times," written in 1998, is out-dated, usurped now by i-pods and i-pads and smart phones and tools I don't even know about. But that's fine with me. I'm out-dated too. The rest of his ideas are current and right on target, helping me to sort through the wasted time and clutter of life. His appreciation of index cards and post-it notes assures me I'm not completely crazy in my love for them.

My main goal is not really to find more time, but to use the time I do have in the smartest, wisest, most efficient way. And that involves planning. Knowing ahead what I will be working on when I sit down at the computer. Not sitting down, thinking, hmmm, what to do now...or checking e-mail...or browsing an on-line catalogue...or...Too often, I find too much time has gone by and I haven't really accomplished anything. Focus. Using my weekly planner to plan ahead. Setting the timer to define a limited amount of time. His ideas to "slip the tasks you don't like between the ones you do," helps me work the writing time in during the day. Write (the tasks I like), take a break and switch laundry loads or clean something (the tasks I'd rather postpone), and both jobs get done.

In his chapter on goals, he says, "Goal setting is a creative form of time travel, a way of reaching into the future, your future...creatively design a future and map out a way to get there." I like that idea. Creating a map, a path to follow in the days ahead, a destination. To enjoy my journey, on my way toward traveling lighter.

Great Aunt Rachel

Today, I posted a new short story on my other blog, WordsbyMo. "Great Aunt Rachel." Click here to jump to it: http://wordsbymo.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-aunt-rachel.html
This week, I've been working on regular writing hours in the afternoon. The morning schoolwork is done, dinner doesn't need to be started yet. This has been the least productive part of my day, filled with miscellaneous whatevers. Remember the Pomodoro Technique I wrote about awhile back? I set the timer, and write while the timer clicks. I am working to establish a new habit, to develop my skills and practice my craft of writing. As you read this, you are "hearing" me practice. It's not a concert performance, but thanks for listening.

Fierce

Fierce.
A scary word.
An angry word.
A strong word.

 I saw this word used in an unexpected way. I love it when unrelated blog posts are related, like people writing on a similar theme and they connect. At least in my head, they connect.

Rachelle Gardner, a literary agent, posted a quote from Ira Glass, a radio announcer. Click here to see her link:http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/10/advice-for-beginning-storytellers/. This is a transcript from a u-tube interview. On the video, he elaborates that we must fight for our goals, little by little, over time. "It's gonna take awhile...You've just gotta fight your way through. Be fierce. Be a warrrior."

This week, on TheNester.com, she posted the same interview with the video transcript done in a creative variety of fonts:http://www.thenester.com/2011/10/31-days-day-18-fight-your-way.html. Fight Your Way.

Also on The Nester, she wrote another post about using the limitation of time. "Do you feel led to write a book, start a ministry, invest in friends? Maybe you feel led to be a room mom. How much time a month are you fiercely protecting to do that Thing which you feel called to do?" http://www.incourage.me/2011/10/lovely-limitations-12-days-a-month.html

A radio announcer, a book agent, a popular blog writer, all saying a similar thing. Decide. Fight. Protect your time. Fiercely.

Our black kitty is fierce. Or so he thinks. We try to make sure he is in before dark. If we forget, his mournful yowling alerts us to his presence outside and his tough-guy stance against the neighbor's cat intruding into his yard. Really, he is just a big old (he is 15 or 16) baby with an attitude. But his attitude helps him be tough when he needs to - protecting his space in our yard.

What am I challenged to fiercely protect? My exercise time in the early mornings. When it gets derailed due to schedule changes, I can't wait to get back into the routine. When I wake up early, I actually want to put on the exercise clothes and get started. Strange, I know. Wouldn't have thought it possible. When I can't, I want to.

And, the family, the home we are building here. Time spent with them, reading, playing games, talking, doing stuff together, before they all move on. I know for a fact how fast that time goes.

I wish I could say I protect my writing time fiercely. Another blog post this week, a guest post on Michael Hyatt's blog, wrote that the one thing needed is courage. If you are attempting to establish a new habit, the thing most needed is courage.   http://michaelhyatt.com/one-thing-you-must-have-to-get-fit.html. The courage to take those little steps, to schedule the time, to eliminate at least one excuse.

So, I am tackling my writing time this week. Having the boys accept that from this time to this time I will be at my desk. And, protecting that time, fiercely. With courage. Establishing a solid habit, just like I have been able to do (with the help of our daughters) over the last year and a half with my exercise time.  One day at a time, one hour at a time, building the habit, making it happen. With courage. Fiercely. A gentle warrior.

What new habits would you want to tackle, fiercely?

It's Not Temporary. It's Today.

Far too easily, I fall into the trap of temporary thinking. I can't do [that] project until [this] is done. [That] isn't worth doing now, because we're going to move soon. Waiting until [this] to do [that]. Instead, I should think, what can I do today? What is worth doing today? What should be dealt with today?

Part of my traveling lighter mantra is to put a priority on today's work. Not to regurgitate regrets of the past (I know, disgusting, but it does fit the picture), or anticipate the weighted worries of the future. What is available to work with today? What can I do, with what I have, here, today?

 In reality, all of it is temporary anyway. This morning, I read, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1) We have all had days like that - surprises, both good and bad, that sneak up on us. This little piece of time called Today. This day. There is value in the little bit we can do today.

Perhaps it is exercise. I'll wait until the weather cools, or it stops raining, or I get more sleep, or I buy new walking shoes...what would you say?

In the garden, I'll wait until we move to plant those seeds, because if I plant them now I won't see them grow. But someone else could enjoy them. I'll wait until I have spending money to buy those potted plants, when I could plant the seeds I have.

When I think of decorating, it doesn't make sense to buy stuff we'll just have to move soon. But, using what I have, what changes can I make that will be more efficient, more effective, prettier? I love the William Morris quote:

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

With organizing, if I wait until The Perfect Organizing Day, it will never come. But, if I work at little areas, a little at a time, it will get done.

Or, the fun outings with the kids. Maybe we should go to the park in rain. Maybe we should brave the traffic and go to the beach. Maybe we should sit down in the afternoon and play the games that sit in the cupboard. Why do I wait for tomorrow? We should play today.

Perhaps temporary thinking is kind of an escape valve. We can avoid the reality of today if we think of it as temporary. I'm with the kids all day long, I need time to myself. This mess won't be here forever (it will miraculously disappear?). Finishing that pillowcase cover isn't a big deal. It's the wrong season to plant stuff anyway. What I do today toward my health won't make that big of a difference.
Yes, life is temporary. This house is temporary. Today is what I have, for now.

It is not temporary. It is today. We have today. The question, 

"What will we do with it?"

How Do You Eat Your Yogurt?

Early, as I drove the boys to the ranch for their volunteer time at the stables, the radio announcers were asking listeners a call-in question, "What bugs you most about your co-workers?" One gal said her co-worker drove her nuts when she scraped the bottom of her yogurt container like she was digging for China. She said she would  just go buy her another one if she wanted more.

At first, I laughed - I am guilty of the same thing. Don't want to waste any of the good yogurt that isn't cheap. As I thought about it, two different attitudes stood out.

Like me, the one gal did not want to waste, wanted to get every penny's worth, wanted to be thorough. To the other gal, money was no problem, buying more was the obvious solution, and it wasn't worth the time it took to scrape the bottom. Just finish it and move on.

(Obviously, I don't know the gals and I'm sure they are both very nice, hard working women.)

The contrast struck me, made me think about my own attitudes toward money and time. What is more important, saving a tiny bit of time, or stretching the money a little bit further? Money and time are critical factors in decision making. We must determine the value of time and money - both precious commodities. Time is irreplaceable, once gone, it is gone. Money can be gained and lost and gained again. We tend to have one or the other - when we have time, we don't have money, or when we have money we don't have time.

One gal did not see the value of time in scraping the yogurt - if you want more, just go buy another one. Money was not the issue.

The other gal wanted every drop so as not to waste money - the extra time to her had value by saving cost. Time was not the issue.

This is all a bit nebulous and I am stretching the scraping of a yogurt container into a time and money management issue.
What do you think? Is time spent more important if you save money, or is it more important to save time and spend the money?
How do you eat your yogurt?

Walking On Water

This weekend I finished reading Walking on Water, by Madeleine L'Engle. She is a writer with depth and talent and insight who instills vision and hope and courage. As a woman who successfully worked as a writer while fulfilling her roles as wife, mom, homemaker and artist, she is one of my hero role models.

 I tried to come up with one good quote to share - a tough challenge - tempting to copy the whole book. Ended up with two quotes to share:

"To trust, to be truly whole, is also to let go whatever we may consider our qualifications. There's a paradox here, and a trap for the lazy. I do not need to be 'qualified' to play a Bach fugue on the piano (and playing a Bach fugue is for me an exercise in wholeness). But I cannot play that Bach fugue at all if I do no play the piano daily, if I do not practise my finger exercises. There are equivalents of finger exercises in the writing of books, the painting of portraits, the composing of a song. We do not need to be qualified; the gift is free; and yet we have to pay for it...for such understanding is a gift which comes when we let go, and listen."

"The paradox is that the creative process is incomplete unless the artist is, in the best and most proper sense of the word, a technician, one who knows the tools of his trade, has studied his techniques, is disciplined. One writer said, 'If I leave my work for a day, it leaves me for three.'...The moment of inspiration does not come to someone who lolls around expecting the gift to be free. It is no give-away. It is the pearl for which we have to pay a great price..."

Her analogy is that an artist must let go, trust, listen, seek, and have faith; then walk on the water as they create.

These blog posts are a way for me to do my finger exercises. Thanks to all of you for listening while I practice my scales and harmonies, learn my technique and run my fingers across the keyboard.

Tomatoes and Time

Have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique for time management? Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. What do tomatoes and time have in common?

Nothing, really, except for the tomato shaped kitchen timer a young man had on his desk. As a student in Italy, he observed that his own study habits, and the study habits of those around him, were ineffective. He decided to challenge his abilities to concentrate and focus by using a simple, non-high-tech tool to get things done. His method is easy to learn, with supplies already at hand. Today, he teaches this technique world wide to individuals and groups, helping them to "eliminate the anxiety of time," and "enhance focus and concentration."

What is a Pomodoro?  Five basic steps:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished
2. Set the Pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes
3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
4. Take a short break (about 5 minutes)
5. Every 4 Pomodoros, take a longer break

I don't have the nifty tomato timer, but obviously, any timer will work. The point is to focus on the task for 25 minutes.

                   "I'll run downstairs and get another cup of coffee."

                   "No, you will work until the timer goes off."

                   "Oh, I need to call [someone]."

                   "Jot down a note-to-self, get on with the 25 minute focus."

                   "I'll never get this finished."

                    "25 minutes. That's all. Keep working."

On the website, www.pomodorotechnique.com there are downloadable forms, ideas and techniques, and an e-book to read (all free). He has a method for becoming aware of your internal interruptions (like my cup of coffee) and a way to handle the external interruptions ("Mom, can you help me with this?"). By marking little boxes for each Pomodoro on your list, then checking them off as completed, the paper becomes a visual lesson in the accuracy of estimating how long a task will take, and a record of exactly how much time you have worked.

(image from Amazon)

This method works especially well for me when I am working to establish a new habit or with a tough task I am procrastinating. I can clearly see that [this] task took me three Pomodoros, when I only expected it to take one. Or, it alleviates the impact of an overwhelming job - just 25 minutes, just 25 minutes and focus for that long: not until the whole thing is done, just 25 minutes. The smaller time frame makes for a do-able session. Rather than the weight of organizing the whole kitchen, a bite sized piece is one or two cupboards, whatever will fit in 25 minutes. 

Next time you are facing a task you don't want to do (like that I-don't-even-know-what's-in-it cupboard), or have a new habit to start (like writing in a journal), set the Pomodoro for 25 minutes,

 and Get it Done.

One of Those Moments

Last week, I typed in that day's 1,000 Gift List, clicked "Publish" just like I have done every day since February, and clicked "View Blog" just like every other day. Instead of the last entry at #932, the latest entry was #63. Uh-oh.
869 markings of steps on my journey toward gratefulness and seeing the Lord's blessings, gone. Erased like the ocean waves washing out footsteps on the sand. Gone.

My little laptop has moments of efficiency and effective work (like me).  But also, (like me) it has moments of complete random shut-down and slow incompetence. Losing my gift list was one of those moments. Our computer literate daughter checked the files for me. Her verdict? Gone.

My trustworthy hard-copy hand-written duplicate notebook came in very handy. Fortunately, I wanted a written copy to keep open on my desk to easily add to the list and to be easily portable to carry with me.

Each day now, I set the timer for twenty-five minutes and type, re-posting the list on to the computer. Instead of being a point of frustration, the time spent is an enjoyable review of the hundreds of blessings documented over the last six months, full with rich memories and hope.

A measure of my days is how alert and aware I am to the blessings that surround me. Is my focus on all that is wrong in this moment, or am I able to focus on the gifts of the moment.  I want to see, really see the abundance that overflows into my life. This task of re-typing the gifts has helped me to slow down, enjoy re-reading and remembering, and appreciate the gift moments of life.

Graduations and Life

Life is full of graduations, most of them not formal events, but personal achievements - stepping stones from one level or skill to the next.  One step at a time.
Each step may not seem like much, but it is progress, the forward motion, that counts.  Over time, we can look back along the path and realize how far we have come.
The speech quoted below is from our daughter's high school graduation speech last June (valedictorian, proud mom!).  I thought it would be fitting to include parts of it here, as a marker for her to think how far she has come in the last year, and as a reminder to all of us to think about our stepping stones and our dreams yet ahead.




     Many graduation speeches might begin with “We made it!” or “This is it!” But, in truth, this is just the beginning. As an artist, I like to look at this as a drawing. We’ve completed the outline, now it’s time to shade in the details of our lives. Our younger years have given us the footing we need to move ahead in life and be successful. High school graduation is not the end of the road, but merely a stepping stone in the long walk called life.

     We have our entire future to discover ourselves and build our lives. Whether we’re going to college, joining the military, or just joining the workforce we’re all stepping out on our own paths. Throughout high school and our younger years our lives have been pretty similar, growing, getting into school, moving up from grade level to grade level. But now it’s time for us to step off the path and forge our own way, leave our own foot prints, and decide where our path is going to take us.

...Now we can take the lessons we’ve learned, and show the world what we can do! It is time for us to start our own lives, learn our own lessons, make our own marks on the world, and discover who we are!

     I’d like to end this with an amazing quote I heard by Brad Paisley: “Visualize what you want out of life with all your might. Close your eyes and build it in your mind. If you want to be an architect, visualize the things you want to build. If you want to be a songwriter, visualize the effect your music will have on the audience. That’s what I do. If you don’t dream about what you want, it will never come true.” So let’s not only start dreaming, but make our dreams a reality! 

Good luck to everyone and God Bless You! 

Her blog is: littlebitzofart.blogspot.com
Her website: littlebitzofart.deviantart.com