Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Baby steps...
Last year I surgery this time of the year and was out of commission for that critical part of spring/summer where you reign in the jungles and get things done. So I just let everything go.... so this year, it is quite clear I have my work cut out for me!! And I should mention how INCREDIBLY thankful I am to not be having surgery right now! I'm thankful for the time (ish) and energy to do a lot of work in my gardens. Whew. God is good! Back to the gardens...
First I tilled and planted the vegetable garden. So far I've got: lettuce, sugar snap peas, beans, cilantro, rosemary, basil, cucumbers, tomatoes (lots), peppers (lots), onions... and probably something else I'm forgetting. Still need to add mulch to this whole area and get some more compost in and do some grading.
And then I planted some snapdragons and weeded the front flower bed and the side of the garage bed. And then weeded and fixed up the lilac hedge (too many weeds and sunflowers in there and a lilac bush that needed to move).
Next was the berry corner, I had my handymen (Emmet and Joe P) rip ot the falling apart garden edging boards and put in new ones. Much better. Then I ripped out everything except the raspberry bushes and the rhubarb, rototilled, and replanted what I wanted. I know it was a little late in the season to do it, so my strawberries will probably suffer, but there were soooo many weeds and so much to do, it was easier to dig it up and start fresh. It looks great now and all I need to do now is add mulch! The berry corner includes: 4 raspberry bushes, strawberries, rhubarb, and some flowers. Some day I want my own little mini u-pick farm... but for now I'll settle for the berry corner. Note to self: put out netting so the birds don't get all the berries!
Then there's that middle jungle... good heavens. A few years ago I planted these cool looking sunflower flowers, that, while pretty, literally TAKE OVER everything in sight. Last year it was simply the middle of the yard jungle. (Note Maggie sitting in her castle just to see over the jungle... or maybe she's just up there exercising her superiority complex)
The few things still alive after years of neglect weren't doing well and it was time! I started the project and then my awesome homie Jenny needed a project and spent a day ripping it all out (except the peony bush and the unidentifiable bush). Now I'm slowly moving, splitting other plants, and adding plants to make this area. Still need to do some new edging and add more plants, but it is progress and already looks SOOO much better already. (Stay tuned for done photos of that in a week or two...)
I got a load of mulch delivered on Tuesday and have begun the arduous task of hauling it to all the garden areas to spread it. So far I managed to mulch the lilac hedge and the side of the garage garden. Such an improvement. And a great comfort to know having the mulch will cut down on the watering and the weeding. Clearly a win win (if only I can find the time to haul it).
So that's what is happening at the homestead lately... lots of playing in the dirt, appreciating the June color explosion, filling vase upon vase in the house with flowers, and hauling mulch. Happy gardening!
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Priorities...
The last year or so, this topic continues to come up in my mind and heart... and the other day this post came up in my blog reader and honestly the title says it all "Scheduling our priorities." It is the perfect reminder to me of something I really strive to do in my own life... I fail at it a lot (clearly) but really want to do better at scheduling my priorities.
Uh oh, personal sharing moment: (This will be more interesting if you pretend you don't know my family). When I was growing up, there were a lot of times I felt just like "one of the crowd" to my mom. My dad was good about spending individual and quality time with each of us, taking one at a time to the weekly hardware store runs, taking turns with who he too with him to work on the house Fridays and Saturdays (for about a decade), and for me, taking me to work with him to answer phones and lick stamps (which turned into a fabulous job that I still miss). What I'm trying to say is that my dad purposely took time to schedule in his kids, his priorities. Or maybe not so much on the scheduling, but he looked for opportunities for quality time.
My mom, on the other hand, spent most of her time with us. She stayed home with us, and even homeschooled all 11 of us (and is only now wrapping up her 30 year career as a homeschool mom). And yet, I never felt like a priority. That isn't to say I wasn't a priority (did I mention the feeding, clothing, raising, and homeschooling 11 children?), it just didn't feel like it. And I think part of this has to do with that whole theme of scheduling your priorities.
My mom is incredible at making room for a person in need-- no matter what the need or who the person. I can't count the number of people that would show up for a cup of tea, or need a hand, or an ear, or a shoulder, a babysitter, a dogsitter, a meal, and my mom would immediately drop whatever else was going on and serve and love that person, right then. And I have to say, I admire that quality and attempt to live it in my own life. And yet it comes with a downside, there is ALWAYS another need. Another person wanting your time. Another distraction. Another thing to get involved with. And we can easily forget to prioritize and just default into constantly reacting to other people's demands, requests, needs. (Yes, you moms out there live this to an incredible degree!)
And since I'm rambling senselessly, I'll go ahead and mention personalities and how that plays into things. I am a "J" on the Myers Briggs scale, 10 to 0. My mom is a "P." J's like things scheduled, planned, confirmed, definite. We are more comfortable having a decision made, even if it is the wrong decision. P's on the other hand, prefer to keep their options open as long as possible- forever if they could. They are more comfortable before a decision is made and resist making committments and decisions in general. Maybe it's partly my J self that felt like I never made it onto my mom's P schedule. Let's be honest, there wasn't much of a schedule most of the time (is it any wonder I'm an extreme J?)...
And then I look long and hard at my own life: How often do I wait to hear from people instead of making a phone call? How often do I schedule in the people I love most? Why is it months between visits with a good friend who lives only a few minutes away?
I don't have the answer. I do try to schedule in time with friends, family, munchkins, dogs, home projects... and clearly I am far from that ever elusive balance... but I also know I can do some concrete things to schedule my priorities and just simply reexamine them. Am I living the life I want to? Or am I defaulting into something else because my priorities aren't clear (and still can't say no)? Am I actually scheduling my priorities?
Uh oh, personal sharing moment: (This will be more interesting if you pretend you don't know my family). When I was growing up, there were a lot of times I felt just like "one of the crowd" to my mom. My dad was good about spending individual and quality time with each of us, taking one at a time to the weekly hardware store runs, taking turns with who he too with him to work on the house Fridays and Saturdays (for about a decade), and for me, taking me to work with him to answer phones and lick stamps (which turned into a fabulous job that I still miss). What I'm trying to say is that my dad purposely took time to schedule in his kids, his priorities. Or maybe not so much on the scheduling, but he looked for opportunities for quality time.
My mom, on the other hand, spent most of her time with us. She stayed home with us, and even homeschooled all 11 of us (and is only now wrapping up her 30 year career as a homeschool mom). And yet, I never felt like a priority. That isn't to say I wasn't a priority (did I mention the feeding, clothing, raising, and homeschooling 11 children?), it just didn't feel like it. And I think part of this has to do with that whole theme of scheduling your priorities.
My mom is incredible at making room for a person in need-- no matter what the need or who the person. I can't count the number of people that would show up for a cup of tea, or need a hand, or an ear, or a shoulder, a babysitter, a dogsitter, a meal, and my mom would immediately drop whatever else was going on and serve and love that person, right then. And I have to say, I admire that quality and attempt to live it in my own life. And yet it comes with a downside, there is ALWAYS another need. Another person wanting your time. Another distraction. Another thing to get involved with. And we can easily forget to prioritize and just default into constantly reacting to other people's demands, requests, needs. (Yes, you moms out there live this to an incredible degree!)
And since I'm rambling senselessly, I'll go ahead and mention personalities and how that plays into things. I am a "J" on the Myers Briggs scale, 10 to 0. My mom is a "P." J's like things scheduled, planned, confirmed, definite. We are more comfortable having a decision made, even if it is the wrong decision. P's on the other hand, prefer to keep their options open as long as possible- forever if they could. They are more comfortable before a decision is made and resist making committments and decisions in general. Maybe it's partly my J self that felt like I never made it onto my mom's P schedule. Let's be honest, there wasn't much of a schedule most of the time (is it any wonder I'm an extreme J?)...
And then I look long and hard at my own life: How often do I wait to hear from people instead of making a phone call? How often do I schedule in the people I love most? Why is it months between visits with a good friend who lives only a few minutes away?
I don't have the answer. I do try to schedule in time with friends, family, munchkins, dogs, home projects... and clearly I am far from that ever elusive balance... but I also know I can do some concrete things to schedule my priorities and just simply reexamine them. Am I living the life I want to? Or am I defaulting into something else because my priorities aren't clear (and still can't say no)? Am I actually scheduling my priorities?
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
MLIA: Pulled over for walking with a nun
Yesterday I got to spend the morning with one of my best friends from middle school and high school. She entered the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist on my eighteenth birthday and we’ve written a couple times a year since, although I think the last time I saw her for more than a minute or two was 8-10 years ago for a five minute walk. It just isn’t the same. She was home for a visit this week and managed to sqeeze in a morning for me!! Hooray!!
She came to the house, we drank coffee and started on our 10-year catch up session. Midway through we decided to go for a walk and we headed out past town 10 minutes to farm country- my favorite place to walk. She was driving so we missed a turn off that I usually make to walk a specific 4 mile loop, so we just parked along the road and started, figuring we’d just do a different loop—probably about the same distance. Well we walked, turned right onto Grass Rd, still assuming we’d reach another internal country road and could complete the loop… nope. Austin Road, which is a paved two lane highway. Not as peaceful as the dirt roads, but still fine. And we assumed we could still complete the loop. We walked, talked, walked, and I started wondering where the road that cuts through is. We kept walking and walking (and talking, of course—did I mention catching up on ten years?!) Anyway, at some point, as I’m beginning to worry about how far we’ve walked without finding a road and starting the loop back toward the car, a cop car drives by. A few minutes later, I see him coming back toward us.
I turn to Sister and said “I think we’re going to get pulled over, I assume he’s after you.” We laughed and then just about died when he slowed down and pulled over for us. “Can I help you ladies? Are you okay?”
We explained we’d been making a loop and overestimated how far it was. He said he’d looked for a stalled car and didn’t see anything and asked if he could give us a lift since this highway didn’t accommodate the best walking (and it was getting pretty hot!) Since we were still a LONG way from the car, and Sister had to be at the airport in an hour, we took him up on it.
And that is how I found myself, climbing into the dirty, crowded back of a cop car, with my friend, a nun, in full Dominican habit. Awesome. The cop was great and made conversation with us as he drive us the rest of the way to our car… which, as it turns out, was still a long way (like 4 miles or so) from where he picked us up. We made it back to the house in time for me to feed Sister lunch and send her to her next appointment, still laughing about getting pulled over by a cop… for walking with a nun.
And my only regret? I didn’t have my camera with me!! What was I thinking???
My Life is Awesome!
She came to the house, we drank coffee and started on our 10-year catch up session. Midway through we decided to go for a walk and we headed out past town 10 minutes to farm country- my favorite place to walk. She was driving so we missed a turn off that I usually make to walk a specific 4 mile loop, so we just parked along the road and started, figuring we’d just do a different loop—probably about the same distance. Well we walked, turned right onto Grass Rd, still assuming we’d reach another internal country road and could complete the loop… nope. Austin Road, which is a paved two lane highway. Not as peaceful as the dirt roads, but still fine. And we assumed we could still complete the loop. We walked, talked, walked, and I started wondering where the road that cuts through is. We kept walking and walking (and talking, of course—did I mention catching up on ten years?!) Anyway, at some point, as I’m beginning to worry about how far we’ve walked without finding a road and starting the loop back toward the car, a cop car drives by. A few minutes later, I see him coming back toward us.
I turn to Sister and said “I think we’re going to get pulled over, I assume he’s after you.” We laughed and then just about died when he slowed down and pulled over for us. “Can I help you ladies? Are you okay?”
We explained we’d been making a loop and overestimated how far it was. He said he’d looked for a stalled car and didn’t see anything and asked if he could give us a lift since this highway didn’t accommodate the best walking (and it was getting pretty hot!) Since we were still a LONG way from the car, and Sister had to be at the airport in an hour, we took him up on it.
And that is how I found myself, climbing into the dirty, crowded back of a cop car, with my friend, a nun, in full Dominican habit. Awesome. The cop was great and made conversation with us as he drive us the rest of the way to our car… which, as it turns out, was still a long way (like 4 miles or so) from where he picked us up. We made it back to the house in time for me to feed Sister lunch and send her to her next appointment, still laughing about getting pulled over by a cop… for walking with a nun.
And my only regret? I didn’t have my camera with me!! What was I thinking???
My Life is Awesome!
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Baby steps
On the work front, for those of you who are afraid to ask, last week was good. Peaceful, even. The first week in quite awhile without some sort of crisis to contend with. And though I didn't make it out in the 32 hours I had hoped for (we had Monday off for Memorial day), I made it out at 38 hours, so it could have been much worse.
And while I don't feel caught up or particularly successful these days, it feels a lot more manageable. Leaving by 5.30 pm every day makes me feel a bit more human, like work is part of my life and not my life.
There are other signs of progress, some based on my hard work and ability to see gaps and communicate what needs to happen. It isn't something I will get credit for, but it sure feels good to see some signs of improvement and to know it is a direct result of me being there and my hard work.
There's still a long way to go on so many levels... but this week there was progress and for that I am thankful.
And while I don't feel caught up or particularly successful these days, it feels a lot more manageable. Leaving by 5.30 pm every day makes me feel a bit more human, like work is part of my life and not my life.
There are other signs of progress, some based on my hard work and ability to see gaps and communicate what needs to happen. It isn't something I will get credit for, but it sure feels good to see some signs of improvement and to know it is a direct result of me being there and my hard work.
There's still a long way to go on so many levels... but this week there was progress and for that I am thankful.
NO11
Learn to say no already is in full swing. The ordination reception I'm helping to coordinate is coming up next weekend... and as happy as I am for the friend being ordained, taking on one more thing in my life right now was a huge mistake... and the worst part of it is that I KNEW IT, I just couldn't say no. Grrrrr.
I really shouldn't whine, I don't feel like I've done that much, but it really is the one more thing right now that is pushing me to my limits. And I feel guilty for not having more time and energy to helping out. So it's really a lose lose situation. Sigh. Learn to say no already Reenie.
Maybe the second half of NO11 will be more successful...
I really shouldn't whine, I don't feel like I've done that much, but it really is the one more thing right now that is pushing me to my limits. And I feel guilty for not having more time and energy to helping out. So it's really a lose lose situation. Sigh. Learn to say no already Reenie.
Maybe the second half of NO11 will be more successful...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)