Finished!

One New Years Resolution down - now it is time to make the others.

Between Christmas and New Years we started ripping up the vinyl flooring in our combination laundry/bathroom. We have replaced it with porcelain tile. In the picture you can see the grouting partially done on the right side and undone on the upper left side. Every home renovation job always takes three times longer than you hope it will take. You always find more to be repaired or replaced than you think you will. And you end up grateful for working with your spouse because you keep each other going when either one of you working alone would settle for "less than a good job"

In the end you look at it and know the faults of the job, satisfaction it's completion, pleasure in the results and a sure conviction that you are not really 23 years old any more - your brain has just been teasing your body one more time.

Blueless Days

After days of rain, snow, flooding, rain, fog and black ice there are indeed signs of spring on these gray days. The sun peeks under the layer of clouds at the magical beginning and end of the day, spotlighting the soft purple catkins of an alder tree. Yellow catkins ring from the branches of the hazels, getting an early start on my favorite season of the year.






The azalea buds are pinking and swelling - defying the gray sky of winter. DR consults his electronic brain to tell me occasionally that these gray days are passing and that this day there will be light seconds sooner than the last day. We have small moments of celebration.

Winter flowers

These Hydrangeas came from the garden. I've been trying for years to find the perfect stage at which to harvest them for dried flowers. If I harvest too soon they wither. They hold that fabulous sky blue color but they are not pleasant to the eye. If they go late, then they turn a mauve color that I'm not too fond of and don't really want to keep out. But this year I am all smiles. The perfect stage gives me a blue green color that I really love and it lasts all winter.

In Defense of High Heels

I like being taller
Men talk to me when I wear them - is that just because I'm closer to their eye level?
I feel sexy when I wear them - is that because men talk to me? hmmmm.... or .....
My husband notices my legs when I wear them and that is my best shot at a foot rub.
My husband and I kiss at even lip level when I wear them.
My tummy seems flatter when I wear them - I don't know how that works
They are fun to wear when dancing.

Why do I need to defend high heels? Because I just sprained my ankle while wearing them.
I might have any way - I tripped in the dark while trying to make my way around the yard debris container which was waiting for it's Monday morning appointment. I will also admit that I might not have sprained my ankle if I had been wearing my grandma shoes which are stable, unprovacative, unremarkable and sensible. I like my grandma shoes for what they are - easy to wear when I want to be invisible or ordinary. They are great for wearing while teaching. They just don't have the same effect on my mood as high heels.

I'll be wearing my grandma shoes for a while while my ankle mends, but the high heels will return.

Snow Geese

Half a mile wide great broad V's of snow geese, V's within V's, flew over yesterday. There were wave after wave of great V's of geese, maybe about a thousand birds with their black tipped wings ossillating against the invisible sea of air in which they move. They winter in the fields around Stanwood. Their summer range is the Arctic region. The flocks must be increasing for us to see them here. The pictures aren't mine - I just enjoyed the sight of these great birds silently swimming in the sky.

If all you see is a rust colored box, click on it to get to a picture. I'm trying to learn to post pictures from a URL. Not sure that I am successful.  (2010 I added the picture above of snow geese in a Skagit county field)

Little Blue Plastic Pot

A totally unromantic post - I've been trying something new - a neti pot. The pictured pot is not blue plastic like my version but is pretty porcelin. Who knew there could be benefits of water up your nose. I've always hated that feeling but I seem willing to do this. It seems to help my constant allergic nasal drip. Basically I lean over a sink, pour lukewarm salted water in one nostril and it drips out the other nostril thereby washing the inside of my nose. You breathe through your mouth while doing this so the water up the nose feeling is not so pronounced as it was when you couldn't quite get the hang of swimming when you were a kid. So why would I write about this? I think it might improve my quality of life. That is worth writing about. Yes, I have tried some of those over the counter allergy medications. I always feel worse the day after I take one of them, though they are very effective at drying me up. This little pot and a bit of water may save a tree because I use far fewer tissues. OK the plastic pot cost some global warming but maybe the tree I save will offset that and I can be more comfortable as a side benefit. Oh, and one more thing - my hips look slimmer if my pockets aren't overflowing with used tissues ;)

Spit and Revelation

Last week in Relief Society we had the lesson that tells the story of the revelation we know as the Word of Wisdom. I spent a few minutes imagining possible conversations between Emma and Joseph on the topic of the tobacco spit on the floor.

Did Emma say, "I wish they wouldn't do that." Did she say, "Can you get them to stop spitting on the floor." Did she say, "Joseph this is gross" Did she fight back her gag reflex everytime she cleaned it up? How long did she do it before she complained? Did she ask meekly, forcefully? Did she draw "a line in the sand" and say, "This needs to stop or else...."

How did Joseph reply? Did he say, "You know it would be rude to ask them to stop." Did he say, "I'll help you clean it up." Did he say, "I don't know what you expect me to do about it." How long did it take before he thought of praying about it?

Do I take the my own complaints or the complaints of family members to the Lord promptly or do I mutter about or figure there is nothing I can do about this or that. Do I butt my head against the wall when I could have divine help? I feel that I am too often too slow to seek the Lord for help about things that seem pretty temporal. This seems like a little thing but the response of the Lord wasn't just a little thing. He found in the little problem of tobacco spit on the floor an opportunity to teach things that would more than clean up the floor. Following principles of the Word of Wisdom cleans our minds and bodies and prepares us to hear the voice of the Lord and to act with strength upon those promptings.

What opportunities for divine tuition do I miss by trying to do too much by myself?