Ahhhh Summer!!!

Summer is almost here!


I am enjoying the greenery, extra daylight, warm weather and fresh air.


It refreshes my soul...

A Sneak Peek

Here is a peek at what I am doing in my spare time...

A New Do!

My hair is FINALLY long enough to donate! I am so happy! I really don't like my hair long so it has been a struggle at times while it has been growing out. It has taken almost 3 years to get enough length to donate but I did it. It is just over 11 inches. I got it cut yesterday by my cousin Sara who gave me a fab new do! I feel great! Thanks Sara!

Sprouts!

I decided to start my garden early this year. Normally I am starting it in mid June because of my seasonal work schedule but this year I have some unexpected time off.


Daikon (10 days)

I decided to try to germinate my seeds first like my father-in-law does. Many of my seeds were a couple of years old at the very least so I wasn't sure if they were any good. Surprise!!! They were good!!!


Green Beans (1 week)

Diakon, leaf lettuce, green beans, beets, and carrots are on the list and I started with them. The daikon came up first and then the green beans. It took about a week. The beets and carrots have taken longer-- about two weeks and I am not sure if the carrots are going to survive because they are so tiny and delicate.


Leaf Lettuce (1 week)

I am going to try to keep some of the plants in containers to see if I can grow them indoors year round. There is a nice big south facing window in my dining room. It lets in lots of light and is the perfect place for plants.


Leaf Lettuce (10 days)

Tomatoes and bitter melon are also on the planting list. I bought one of those hanging upside-down containers to plant the bitter melon in. My father-in-law likes to grow bitter melon so we thought we would try it to see if it works. It will be the big experiment of the season.


Green Beans (10 days)

Lastly, I am going to try to grow brussel sprouts this year. They were on sale at the garden center so I bought a small 4-pack. I am thinking those will stay in the larger containers that I put them in.


Green Beans (2 weeks)

Maybe I'll add more later but right now it seems like a good selection.

Spring Visitor

I looked out into my back yard the other day and saw this guy laying in my garden. For several days prior and since, I have seen him and 3 to 4 others running around the neighborhood.



I wonder if he is the same as this little guy I saw in my yard in 2006? He would hangout in the garden as well.



I am hoping they won't eat my veggies once I get them planted.

Turning Point...

It's been a while since I last blogged. Have been kind of down lately and feeling like to want to squirrel myself away from the world to protect myself. My husband and I have been dealing with some work related issues that have made it very stressful lately. We are at a point where we are re-evaluating what is REALLY important. Life is too short to waste energy on people and situations where you are not being appreciated for what you do. At this point in time we feel like we are being taken advantage of and have come to realize that we need to step back and re-take control. After all it is OUR life. Thank goodness for all of our incredible friends and family who have lent a sympathetic ear and offered sound advise, support, hugs, and anything else we've needed these last several weeks. It has been much appreciated.



This year I am going to focus on moving ahead. I know many changes will be coming but they will be for the better. It's time to move on and I am actually starting to get excited about the possibilities. So here's to the New Year and the possibilities that lie in front of us... may they bring us to better places! Hope you have a Prosperous and Happy New Year!



The photos are of a spider that made it's home on our back porch a couple of summers ago. I thought it was a good image for this post as "spiders represent balance between past and future, physical and spiritual, male and female. Spider webs often take a spiral shape, the traditional form of creativity and development. The spider found within the web reminds us that we are the center of our own world... Spider reminds us that the world is woven around us. We are the keepers and writers of our own destiny, weaving it like a web with our thoughts, feelings and actions."
Excerpt from Animal Speak by Ted Andrews

Inner Space

I have been very thoughtful lately. Fall usually does that to me. It's the changing of the seasons... the transition time. Summer is a time to be external while winter is a time to be internal with fall being the transition between the two. In the fall, I usually find myself dreaming quite intense and strange dreams. It always seems as if I am processing some information from the darkest, deepest recesses of my mind that I am never fully aware of. I always want to slow down and savor the inner moments as they make me more aware of who I really am and I end up feeling more concrete in my being.



During the summer, because of the weather, it is easy to be outside of ourselves. But sometimes I think we focus so much outside of ourselves, on what others are doing, that we forget what we are doing or where we are going to begin with. We are so worried with keeping up with everyone else and not getting left behind that we forget that we are on our own journey and to enjoy that journey as we are going along. Fall and winter are good times to reflect on that journey and to reconnect if we've become out of touch with it. The dreams that occur in the fall always remind me of where I am in regards to my awareness of the journey if I am willing to pay attention to them.



This past year has been so full of external things for me that I've been feeling quite out of balance lately. It seems as if things are speeding up, going faster and faster, and I can't keep up. There are never enough hours in the day to do everything that I need to do let alone what I want to do. For a while there, I was making myself crazy trying to do it all. I finally realized that I have to start being even more selective with my choices. Luckily, I have been able to reflect on some old expectations that I've had of myself and had a change of heart. I've realized what was once right for me is no longer because I am now a different person. It's amazing because these were expectations and ideas I had struggled with for many years but once the new idea was accepted and the expectation dropped, it all seemed so simple.



Of course I am still processing these revelations and am sure they have more to teach me... if I listen...