Then The Rain Came

 

Rain...Rain!! What a lovely gift it is to wake up early in the dark of the morning and listen to the rain. To snuggle down in the warm covers and listen as the water drips off the roof and listen as the wind roars in the trees sounding like the surf of the ocean. Living as we do, in a desert, rain becomes the focus of all that is good. Problems just seem to disappear after a long, long hot summer and the rains finally begin. My Face Book page is filled with almost joyful laughter of rain talk.  Pictures of clouds and rain drops.  I thought I might go through all of my play lists and find just songs about rain. There are quite a lot.

 

Another perfect thing about today is that its Friday!!  As we reach the end of beautiful October,
I am happily anticipating November. Mainly because I am hoping for more rain. But now I can make pumpkin pie all month. Without guilt. Its a rainy day, so I think I need a pumpkin pie today, don't you?

I must tell you a story about the Battle of the Pistashe. It has been ongoing and is starting to get violent.

See those above berries? Our yard is filled with mockingbirds, blue Jays and starlings and black birds.
I spend way to much time standing at the kitchen sink watching this battle. As mockingbirds do they think they own every tree, fruit and berry.  The mockingbirds have assumed that all of these berries are theirs.
They guard this tree.

Now that the black birds and the starlings have joined forces it is nothing but gorilla warfare and sorties.
First, they send in the lowly private. He flies in and the mockingbird flies to attack. As the mockingbird is just beating the stuffing out of the black bird as hard as you can hit when you are made of feathers. The others in mass fly in overwhelming the lowly mockingbird. Who just goes crazy trying to hit them all and not hitting anyone. The black birds and starlings grab berries and fly off. The very proud mockingbird sits up on top of the tree, thinking he alone has vanquished his foes, those berry thieves. This goes on all day. I still stand and watch, I can't help it. I will be sad when there are no more berries for them to fight over. The berries that
fall to the ground are being grabbed by the ants and the smaller birds who sneak in unnoticed. Isn't fall a treat?

Today my daughter and her family being moving to a new place. I am so excited for them. I am so happy that they will live in a place that is green. They will live in the shadows of mountains. They have wide open spaces and blue skies. I have learned this month that if you want to go forward in life, you must first take that first step and do those hard things in your mind that says you can't because its too hard.  Taking that first step is always the hardest. Then before you know it you are running and never looking back.

I found this prayer that I can't get out of my mind. When Joshua is walking around his camp, before the battle of Jericho. He sees a man dressed for battle. Joshua asks the man are you friend or foe? The man replies, neither, I am the host of the Lord's army. Joshua falls his face to the ground. Joshua says,
" I am your servant, does my Master have a command for me." Joshua is then told, "remove your sandals for you are on Holy ground."  (Joshua 5:13-15)

 My prayer for this holiday season is going to be, " I am your servant Lord, does my master have a command for me." 
Instead of having such a bad attitude of all the things I think I need to do, but to wait and see what I should do. Just taking the first step today.

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend,
~Kim~

“He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Well, Hello There

 

I thought I would be writing more now that its cooler or I would have more things to take pictures of with the weather changing. I came down with a cold/flu thing on Saturday. My goodness. I haven't been sick like this in quite a while. I am on the mend but not as fast as I think I should be or wish I would be. Trying to work on sewing projects or hooking I can do for short amount of time, then I have to take a nap. Its the pits.

 

 We have rain in the forecast. I hope it is a huge storm that brings rain and wind and snow. As Ron remarked," living here were we do, the forecast might say that, but all we get is some shade. "  Maybe a few sprinkles, to get your car muddy. Any weather is nice though.

I am so glad we have planted trees that have color. It makes me so happy to see them growing.
I just walk outside and feel like my eyes feast on that color. Aren't you glad its Wednesday. Aren't you glad that the election is almost over? I have a friend who said that she wasn't going to be on Face Book until after the election and then she ended it with Peace Man. I still laugh about it. I just hope everyone can go back to being friends as soon as its over. Do you know what a paradigm shift is? I have thought lots about this election and the world in general. I read this quote and I think it explains what we are seeing in our society.


"In 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolution, and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "paradigm shift"  Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another".

Think of a Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change..." 

 

I think that is what is going on and that is why its so painful. We are seeing a if you will a" regime change".
Like some of us saw from the era of the 50s to the changes that happened in the 60s and 70s. Now we are going though another one. Just as we never went back to the way it was after the 60s I think we will look back at 2016 as a year as every bit as life changing as November 22, 1963 when Huxley died at 5:20pm, London time, on 22 November 1963. About ten minutes later, CS Lewis died. Just under an hour after that, of course, JFK was murdered in Dallas. Life in the balance.

I am a firm believer in that good does win in the end. I always think of a baby in the womb. A baby protected from the outside environments and close to the Mommy's heart in a climate controlled perfect home. Then when time comes the baby is violently introduced to the outside world. Life is like that but even though not that much of a fan of change. Change is good, if it helps us to grow, to appreciate the small things and the small gifts that enrich our lives and calls us back. Only we can be the change we want to see.
Change begins with ourselves. Doing the right thing. Taking responsibility for ourselves.

 
This is what happens when I get sick, I think too much. Aw well, there it is for what its worth.
I am glad I have read the last chapter in the the Book. We do win. I hope you have a lovely day,

~Kim~

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS
HAVING A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS
HAVING A HUMAN EXPERIENCE

More PIctures!

 

I am so glad Ron takes pictures. By the time I had my camera out, the bird had flown away. I was so glad he was able to capture it. Its so nice to have picture to look at and to remember what fun we had. Here are a few of things we saw and did last weekend.

 

There were those sea lions out on the rocks.  The tide was coming in and we didn't go down on the beach. The sea lions just laid there and let the ocean splash on them.

 

There was this place where this man had all of this huge driftwood. He had turned it into just incredible
pieces. Some of those pieces of driftwood were 12 feet tall and maybe 8 feet around.

 

Like this one. It was just massive.  The gallery was never open, but it would have been nice to go see what he had inside.

 

We went into this tiny little antique store. Sitting in the back was this amazing sextant. It really is museum quality. When I was a girl, I read this book called Maria Mitchell-Girl Astronomer. She was a Quaker girl. She was the first woman astronomer. But the book I read was about as a young girl she would use her Father's sextant. It just intrigued me.

They were having a scarecrow festival when we were there so outside every business was a scarecrow. I think this one was the best one we saw. Here is a better close up of his wings.

They were feathers. He was really awesome.

These were really cool too, just a tiny bit creepy. The eyes looked so real that I didn't like to stand there very long.

Then we found the rock store. I think we stayed here longer than any place. Not to mention the rain was really coming down.

You can't really tell how big this amethyst is from this picture, but you could have used it for a coffee table.

 These are the spheres that Ron is so transfixed by, one year for Christmas I bought him a solid black onyx.
He loves them. We were talking to a rock hound one time and he said, " Don't ever start making spheres because that will be all you ever want to do." He really wants one of these to go with his black one.

He also really liked this sculpture. It was one solid piece of stone, but whoever carved it, the alligators on top are a different kind of stone, but it was still all one piece. It was incredible.

These were very cool too. I don't know how they managed to make these spheres with the amethysts exposed.

Here is me trying to take a picture of something. I was so wet. I was trying to keep my phone dry. The tide was out, so Ron wanted to pick up more rocks so we could tumble them in the rock polisher. This was going to be the as far as the tide was going to be out on our trip. I didn't have a dry coat so I just took one of my shirts and used it. We walked miles and miles so I was finally warmed up.

My coat had finally dried enough to wear the next day. It was stormy and I didn't know Ron was taking my picture.

I love seeing the ocean when its stormy.

I am so glad we got away together. We had such a nice time together. I always think that the poem by Robert Browning, " “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!”

I feel so privileged to be here right now. God never fails nor is He late with His promises.

Thank you so much for stopping by,

~Kim~

“I was made and meant to look for you and wait for you and become yours forever.”
― Robert Browning

Home From the Beach.

 

We are home from our October beach trip. I think going to the beach in October is my favorite time to go visit. This was nice as it was stormy and rainy. The tides were high too. I have never been here before it was Cambria. Don't ask me why. It was the nicest place and our hotel was top notch. We walked and walked.
The fun pictures of the town is on Ron's phone so I will have to do another post once I get his pictures.

My cute hubby!

We forgot to bring a bag. We spent three days picking up rocks so he can polish them. So his coat pockets are filled with rocks.

 

I forgot you only see these guys in October. I think this is a nesting place on the Central Coast. As Ron remarked," imagine having to eat all of the time through a straw." 

 

I just loved this rock with all of the shells on it and the way the animals in the shells had left indentations in this very hard rock. I am always amazed at the things you can see around you.

I know this isn't  very good picture of the buzzard trying to catch some sunshine on his wings. I just had my iPhone and I didn't want to disturb him very much. I am always thrilled when I get to see them doing this.
I didn't take a umbrella because I was afraid if I did it wouldn't rain. It rained and I stayed soaking wet.
Ron came down with the cold. We just stayed out in it until finally by Saturday evening I was tired of rain.
Not so much the rain, just being sopping wet.

It was a nice trip, just too short. I do love getting to sleep in my own bed though. There is just something about the ocean, and the smell of the sea weed and the wet air and watching the sea hit the rocks. I loved seeing the gray skies and even watching the rain is different because it comes down in sheets.

I am so glad the cooler weather followed us home. I am finally going to bind my giant Give Ye Thanks rug this week. Do you remember it?

I did finish it, I will show it to you when its all bound. I worked on this so long, I couldn't stand it. Now I really like it.

I hope you have a great week! Thank you so much for stopping by,

~Kim~

“My soul is full of longing
for the secret of the sea,
and the heart of the great ocean
sends a thrilling pulse through me.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Joy in The Morning

 

My fat kitty, loving the early morning sunlight. This is Linx. She is such a silly kitty. I tried to catch her rubbing on Sasha. She really is enjoying this lovely weather of October. (Poor girl is such a chubby kitty, she can no longer climb fences so must walk in and out the doors to the front and the back yards.)

This morning, when I walked outside. I had to go back in and get a sweatshirt. Yay!! I just smiled to myself that the breeze was cold enough again. I watched as the Flickers flew with his bouncing flight from one tree to another tree. I was just so happy to see those red undersides of his wings.

 

The leaves are beginning to change. I feel like its a treasure hunt to find the first of the red leaves. A couple of weekends ago, Ron put out grass seed. (Winter Rye) the other day he said, " You have to come out and see this, its so funny."
So I did, it made me laugh. I had to go get my camera.

 

There is an ant hill under that clump of grass. The ants have gone out in the yard and gathered all of the grass seed and that little mound of seed is going down into the ant hill. We both squatted down and watched them as they feverishly worked getting everything down in the hole. We just watched and laughed. I go out every morning and check how the progress is going and the pile seems to be going down day by day. Isn't nature a treat to watch?

I made applesauce with some of my apples yesterday. Today I hope to make a pie. There is just something about fresh apples that makes me happy, I would rather eat an apple this time of year than just about anything. I did buy some sweet potatoes so I could make a sweet potato pie too. Just a tiny bit of cooler weather and I just want to bake and bake.

One of the really sweet things this morning, was the Meadowlarks are back too. One was so close he sounded like he was in my flowerbed. It made me so happy to know they are back for the winter. The blue jays are not happy about all of these new guys showing up. They spend the afternoon complaining about the state of things around here. So everything is all good. Unless you are a bluejay!

I hope you have a day filled with golden sunshine and gentle breezes.

~Kim~

"All his thinking could not make him understand, but his singing heart could. "
---Waterless Mountain, Laura Adams Armer, 1931

Apple Time

Its time for apples! I collected so many recipes this week of things I want to make with apples. Do you remember in Farmer Boy when his Mom would make Apples and Onions? Here is a link to a recipe if you think you would like to make it.

This time of year I want to cook like that. Donuts, Bubble and Squeak.  Baked Beans. Those wonderful comforting cold weather foods. We have warm weather in the forecast this weekend, but I think Fall weather is just around the corner.  Last night, while sitting out in the twilight, I thought I could smell the ghosts of wood fires and leaves. The smell of October. 

Ben and Megan are going to Tehachapi this weekend to get apples. They are just the best kind of apples to eat or cook with. Thankfully they always bring me a box.

 

William and Makenzie closed on their new house this weekend. Makenzie had me come over and help her set up her kitchen. It is the cutest house. It was designed so every thing is so usable and she is such a incredible decorator I am sure it will be just wonderful by next weekend. Ron is helping them move the heavy things right now, which is why I am on the computer writing a blog. Not fixing dinner because why fix dinner for just ole me, so I write about food instead.

 

I took a walk this evening and I found some red leaves. It means that this is really October. Fall is going to really, really win. Summer will have to go away for a few weeks. *wink* I am not a sewing or hooking at all.
I wish I could get over my slump. I just have this burned out feeling on being creative. I don't know if it happened when we painted the house, or the road work, or the no privacy, but I just can't seem to get a handle on my lack of patience when it comes to those things I love to do. Or I thought I did.

 

Isn't this a pretty sunrise? I think it has all of the colors of fall in it. The sunsets are looking like this too. I have been sitting outside until its too dark to see at night. I am sure I could wax eloquent if I tried. I am still going to the Bible Study on Thursday mornings. I broke down and went shopping and bought some new duds. That helped a bunch. Then I got my hair cut. I am stylin' again. I love my Bible Study so much. I still feel like a dweeb most of the time, but they put up with me. They are all so kind. Its fun because its a small group with women 30 to 70ish. I love all of the viewpoints and all of the personalities and feel so honored to be in this group. So that has been fun. Still out of my comfort zone, but I like it. I had become too house bound.
I know that I will fight anxiety and fear for the rest of my life, but I will not let it win. So its all good.

 

They also like my stories. Which is awesome. I had all of these adventures for a reason it seems.
I meant to write more than once a week. I have been waking up in the night writing blog posts, so I need to get that back in my life too.

I wish you the best kind of weekend and my prayers are for all of the people in the path of Matthew. May he just go out to sea.

Stay safe my friends,
~Kim~

 

A kestrel can and does hover in the dead calm of summer days, when there is not the faintest breath of wind. He will, and does, hover in the still, soft atmosphere of early autumn, when the gossamer falls in showers, coming straight down as if it were raining silk.--- Richard Jefferies