Day One Hundred Three 2013

Don't agonize. Organize.   ~Florynce Kennedy

A good system shortens the road to the goal.  ~Orison Swett Marden

You must have discipline to have fun.   ~Julia Child

I am an organizer. I like to have a place for things when I’m not using them. I enjoy the process. I probably could have made a living at organizing other peoples stuff. I used to be a neat freak, and it took me a long time to realize it’s a waste of time. Life is short. I’m getting older. I have other things I’d rather be doing than making sure a thing is in [what I perceive] its place. But I’ve let this one go for months [years] ~ the kitchen cabinets. Yikes! What a disaster zone. Julia Child would have been horrified. I ended up spending all day [beautiful day] cleaning out, throwing away [did I really have a bottle of olive oil that expired in 2009??], and re-organizing the precious little cabinet space I have in my kitchen. Wore me out, but it was totally worth the effort. I’m still not finished. All those open shelves need to be cleaned of dust and cobwebs. Spiders are probably nesting in my Pyrex. Oh well. As Scarlett O’Hara so blithely put it, ‘I’ll think about that tomorrow.'

Day One Hundred Two 2013

T G I F

Trying a new recipe ~ Hearty Beef and Barley Soup in the Crockpot

I bought a very small bag of pearled barley (I want to say ‘Pearl Bailey’ ~ if you’re under the age of 50, you have no idea who I’m talking about ~ anyway ~ I digress) because, let’s face it, who cooks with barley? Not I. But the soup recipe called for it ~ three-fourths of a cup. Lots left, of course. I put the rest of it in this vintage freezer Ball jar. I collect old jars. This one’s pretty rare.

One of the reasons I bought that jar is because of the galvanized lid. The original owner (I’m assuming) apparently put up some cherries and wrote the date on the lid ~ which dates back (way back) to when I was but a sixteen month old baby. Pretty cool. And old.

Neil took the day off to do some much-needed yard work. He bought a couple of truck loads of black mulch and spent most of the day spreading it, which will (we hope) look good and keep the weeds at bay.

Couldn’t have asked for a more awesome day which was a cool-ish 60 degrees. Felt more like spring after the eighty degree heat wave this past week. The rain yesterday evening washed away some of the pollen, thank you very much.

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

“Tell me the story about how the sun loved the moon so much that he died every night just to let her breathe.”  ~Anonymous

The strong wind yesterday blew petals from our cherry trees around like pink snow ~ a very pretty sight to see but wish they’d stay on the trees a bit longer.

Grandson Elijah after school. He was thrilled that it’s Friday and did a happy dance when he got inside the house.

Grandpa Neil, granddaughter Shelby and grandson Elijah (and moi) treated ourselves to some Mae Pearl’s frozen yogurt. Elijah got a brain freeze.

This is a terrible washed out picture, but the Hearty Beef and Barley Soup turned out great and was pretty tasty. Barley adds an interesting texture and flavor. We’ll have it again. Leftovers, you know.

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.”
~Jo Walton

Happy TGIF, y’all!

Day One Hundred One 2013

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke








Hark! the hours are softly calling
Bidding Spring arise
To listen to the rain-drops falling
From the cloudy skies
To listen to Earth's weary voices
Louder every day
Bidding her no longer linger
On her charm'd way
But hasten to her task of beauty
Scarcely yet begun.
~Adelaide Anne Procter

Day One Hundred 2013

It’s 84 degrees outside. The air conditioning in my car is not working. My windows are rolled down. It feels like a hundred degrees while waiting at stoplights. Suddenly, my car makes a beeline for the drive-through at the local DQ, as though it has a mind of its own! There’s only one sane thing to do, so I do it. Freezing cold vanilla milkshake [with whipped cream and a cherry on top] = instant air conditioning. Yes!

Day Ninety Nine 2013

RaNdOmNesS

At the car wash because the birds in my neighborhood just love to target my windshield [the whole car, actually]. That’s the price we pay for having trees. I enjoy a clean car~even if it lasts for only a little while.

Looks like I was the highest bidder on this pottery bowl at Dogapalooza in Dogwood Park this past Saturday. This was the only thing I bid on [ten bucks] and I didn’t really expect to get it. It’s shallow and considering the venue was probably designed as a dog or cat food bowl. Whatever. It was a nice surprise today. Can’t have too much pottery. Or bowls for that matter.

One of my favorite spring flowers. We used to have a yard full of tulips, but they’ve died out in recent years, and the yard man [Neil] has not planted any more. I’m happy to have these blooming now. Eye candy from God. Hope your day was blessed with a little random goodness.