Wonderful to be Chatting

It's so wonderful to be chatting with you.  I want to bring our newest little friend to your house so he can also meet Meg. I'll show you a picture...

...here's little Sturm, all wound up and ready to play!

I hope your desk pile gets shorter today.  My mail's all sorted and now there's just a large pile of bulk letters to put up on the boxes.  Yes, it's that time of year again.  The Christmas cards are pouring in, but among them are the appeals for money, money, money!

I'm almost ready to head home to see how the little guy did this morning. Of course, how much trouble can you get in when you're locked in a crate? We hope we don't have to use it for too long, but it is what he's used to and we just don't know whether he's a chewer..on things other than his toys! Ruger was left in charge of the house and the crate. I have no doubt that he's done his job well, as he's "tried and true". He LOVES this puppy.  They were each given a new rope toy last night. This morning Ruger took Sturm's and tossed it to him several times, then turned to his own new rope and got me to play tug-of-war with him while Sturm took it all in from the couch. I've no doubt that tomorrow we'll all be playing this game together. This little fellow watches everything quite closely and I think he's a fast learner.

Sorry this message was "for the dogs" but we're pretty excited about the little guy. I'll be back for a REAL CHAT soon. Get the tea kettle on!!

Magic in the Air

Its Monday again and the work on my desk has not gone away over the weekend. The piles are still here. I think the paper multiplies on purpose when I am not around (sigh). The other side of the coin is I have work to do and my day has some sense of order to it. Amazing isn't it that human beings crave order. Events and circumstances require cause and effect, they can't "just happen", even though sometimes it feels that they do. Part of this order is belonging. Belonging to something some group: a neighborhood, a church, a platoon, a company, a family. We are made to be connected, not disconnected. Christmas time really brings this point to the forefront. The message is put in our faces everywhere: at church, on TV and the radio, at the marketplace, even just driving down the road. Majestic music fills the air. Decorated lights cascade out into the night and for a brief while, the world is magical. Somehow, the wonder of the First Christmas continues to show up year after year in spite of efforts to diminish its message. We belong to God, we are His creation, we are the result of His desire for relationship. But the choice is ours. God will not force a relationship, but He will invite. Listen for the invitation... then respond.

Let's Take it to the Cushy Chairs

I have my big mug of tea. The steam follows me into the livingroom where we can sit and curl up in the oversized chairs for a chat! Last night's weather layed down a heavy white blanket over everything. The frosting clings fast to the tiniest branch and twig on the maples, birch and beech trees. I hope our squirrels have gathered up everything they wanted because this could be a long winter. 

So glad to hear that you are ahead of the squirrels at your place and that you have gatherd the pecans to a safe place where they'll dry and be ready soon to crack and use!   I have been pouring over a Williams-Sonoma catalog (I don't get one, but picked it up at work). This month's christmas edition has the most beautiful pictures of treats! I can see lots of things to put those pecans in.  On page two they show an electric pie maker...make 4 tiny pies in one baking - and only in 10 minutes!  comes with a mini-pie lifter! and even 'mini pie fililng' ha, ha!  These guys even make pate look good! (looks like fudge!)  I wish you had a copy of this so you could see the holiday dinnerware - WOW! red and white toile on page 90 and winter stag on page 96. Such beautifully set dinner tables. We must all have a dinner party! 

The sun has just popped out from behind huge gray cloud clusters. Everything's dripping. Ruger would like Meg to come so they could soak in the heat of the woodstove together. We would both have our feet on their tummies, giving them a rub while we warm our toes.  Well, my tea is almost gone - how about yours? I think it's time for a second cup!

Misty Rain and Fog

The leaves have pretty much gone from the trees and the temperatures have cooled way down.  Fallen leaves no longer rustle but instead cling to the ground in a blanket soggy from the misting rain and surrounding fog.  Except for an occasional spraying by a passing motor vehicle, the air is still.

We have an abundance of nuts this year and its a race with the squirrels to see who gets them first.  So far, we are ahead. 

Come, gather up your cups, fill them with the hot tea, coffee, or chocolate and sit by the fire with us.  Let us share our laughter this morning.

Snow Birds and Sun Birds

Out the window I see a bird clinging to the tiniest stem of a black-eyed susan.  I think it's a nuthatch;  yes, there's the nice, dark stripe through his eye.  He hangs upside down and picks at the last of the seed from susan's pupil.  The flower barely bends, and mostly by the breeze rather than by the weight of the little contortionist.  All of God's creatures are readying for winter.  Rodents are squirreling away sunflower seeds from the large heads that were saved from the garden.  Many of our favorite birds have already left for their home in the South.  Some of the residents in town are readying to follow them very soon.  We have several "snow birds"; a term that I could never really  understand.  Wouldn't it make more sense for US to be the "snow birds" and they the "sun birds"?  One of the great perplexities of life, I suppose.

I sip my cup of steaming tea and ponder why anyone would wish to leave a part of the country which will soon be dazzlingly white and sparkling.  Yes, the snow mounts up and must be regularly pushed aside to make a path for our feet, but it is my opinion that the splendor greatly outweighs the work.   Thankfully everyone does not think alike, else the world would be a very boring place, no?

Come winter I will still sit with my teacup at this very window; no doubt, watching the cardinals at the feeder.  Cardinals, now there is a creature who is individual in its species.  Our friends take pictures of them at their winter birdbath, away down South while we watch their cousins who have chosen to tough it out with us, here in the North.

I wish you were here to discuss these questions with me; but, alas, you're there in the South - I miss you, my Sun Bird.

Over the Back Fence

Good Morning There!

Gotta minute?  My job is waiting in the office but I just wanted to chat for a bit.  Here, have a fresh cuppa coffee with some whipped cream (ummm).  I don't usually make it through a whole cup, but sometimes a little something extra encourages me to finish.

Can you believe it is August and schools will be starting back again, soon?  Summer has just flown on by and so did some of the plans I had... like digging up the weeds in the flower bed on the south side of the house so I could get the ground ready for a low-maintenance herb garden.  Fresh herbs smell sooo good. I must confess multiple days upon days of 90 plus temperatures and mugginess have kept me in the house with the air conditioning.  Its hard to encourage ambition when one is melting down into singular pile of nothingness.  What a wuss I am. 

All the peaches are off the tree and the blueberries are finished.  Now, whatever I plan to use will have to be bought.  I know that Fall isn't too far away when I start thinking about getting apples.

Well, what remains of my coffee has cooled and I really must get serious about working. Our visit was so short (sigh).  I hope your day goes well. Bye for now.

Listen to the Flowers and the Breeze

Weeds, weeds, everywhere weeds!  That's the story of the front  yard.  The dog lays among the tall grass that is our driveway.   The air is breezy, the sun is warm and I just can't decide whether to take a walk or weed the yard.  Zinnias and cosmos are blooming against the house and are trying to say, "give me some more sun, please!" as the coltsfoot closes in around them.  I can hear them and I know how much this would add to their beauty, so that would be the area to start.

As the air rushes through the leaves, however, I can hear a beautiful whisper that calls, "commme, take a walk in the cool woods".   I believe that a combination walk/weeding session is in order.  This will make the dog, the flowers and me all very happy!

Off we go, up the road

I hope you have a beautiful weekend, whatever you decide to do.

A Quiet Morning

It's Saturday morning, again and the house is slowly waking up. No rushing to answer the alarm clock, no "gearing up" for another day of work.  The road outside is quiet and the sun peeks quietly through the trees almost like it knows we need our rest. Even the dog wants to sleep in.

The urge to fill the day with "stuff" is strong... maybe I should do the laundry, or make a fast trip to the dump or maybe run some errands.  To not fill up the time with activity seems like a waste because there is always something that could be accomplished.  Somehow, I don't think we are supposed to always be in the "running" mode.   So, today I'm putting it in neutral (well, maybe in 1st gear) and I am not rushing thither and yon this hot summer day.  If you have a chance, grab a glass of something cool and sit in the shade with me.

With a Spot of Tea and Coffee

I was just sitting here with my coffee while thinking of a special friend. She is so far away but so near in heart. We think alike, though not exactly; enjoy many of the same things, but not all; We are different but the same. I love laughing with her and talking about serious issues with her. When we're together we always seem to find some special place to go. She lifts me up and I hope that I do the same for her. We have had coffee and watched the news together-- all while on the phone!

For now we have to be parted by many miles but one day we will be together for all of eternity. I hope that in the near future we can spend some time with each other while still upon this earth. Why is 1000 miles so far away?

I miss you and send you flowers.

My Dear Friend, So Far Away

A friend is someone to share with. We may be separated by many miles of road but we are always connected at the heart. Once we lived close, and could drive to see each other in only 15 minutes but that is now 15 hours instead. Alas, you are close at heart!

We share the same moon. At night I can look at it, knowing that you are seeing it at the same time.

I miss you, my dear friend, so far away.