Not Today and That's Okay

 

A beauteous but blowy morning.  Sad (and safe) to say I won't be venturing out in the kayak until it settles down some.  That's the voice of experience talking.  Especially when I can see the water level is down a bit, which would change my route slightly, requiring a longer stint across the more open waters.

What's today, Thursday?  That's putting more pressure on my hope to complete 30 times around this season by the time we leave on Sunday.  Just two more times.  But prudence prevails and I will wait.  And I will leave it a 28 if that's what it ends up being.

I don't know, but I think there are some fairly decent advantages to having been around a while.  In our youth-obsessed culture we can overlook the benefits of later stages of life, and one of them is the ability to embrace a challenge without being driven by something to prove.

I say this as a person who has contended with a driven personality for most of my adult life up until....well, truth is I'm not really sure when I finally let it go.  I think it was a more gradual process.  And perhaps its still shows up from time to time.

But by now I like myself so much more.  I appreciate my modest accomplishments, and enjoy engaging in life's current opportunities, free of the angst that drove so much that was unnecessary and even foolish in my younger, less secure years.

Does it sound like I'm just giving myself an excuse?  Maybe.  But I have stories about going out when it wasn't smart to do so.  And you know what they say about trying to attempt to do the same thing expecting different results.  Or to coin a phrase, "Know your limit.  Paddle within it."

We'll get to some of the more specific tasks of closing over on the other property today, so there's plenty to do, and plenty to keep me moving.

Yup.  It's happening.

Stay wise, friends.  And happy Thursday.

Peanut Things

 

By the time we arrived and settled in yesterday, it was way past the usual 'tea time' on our deck when the chipmunks and blue jays stop by for peanuts.  No one was asking for anything.  Couldn't even see rustling out there at all.

But because I still had a large unopened bag of peanuts from our last time up here when the weather wasn't good and I didn't sit out on the deck much at all, and because this next week is the last we'll be up here this season, I decided to put out a few on the deck rail just to see who might be around.

Before I could finish spreading out the goods, before I was even half way down, my first customer came swooping from the trees, close enough and casually enough to suggest he was one of my 'regulars.'

Is it just me, or are their colours even more vibrant this time of year?  Perhaps there's more blue/brown contrast to make them stand out.  But whatever the reason, come on, isn't he striking?

I couldn't help but make a comparison here.  Small things matter.  In fact, we use the term 'peanuts' to mean something insignificant as in 'works for peanuts.'  And I wonder who might just we waiting for us to offer some small encouragement, a smile, a simple holding of the door for someone, letting the person with fewer grocery items go ahead of you in line, leaving the space for the car trying to merge into traffic, anything small and simple.  And what if that just made their day?  What if it was that small gesture of humanity that they've just been waiting for?

And what if we let doing those 'peanut' things bring us vibrant joy?  What if the joy we may be lacking in our lives is actually right there in front of us?  And all it costs us is 'peanuts?'

I'm not working from the deck this morning; a little too breezy and cool to stay concentrated on the tasks at hand.  But I'll still put out some peanuts for the joy of vibrant company that will still cheer me from the window.  

Hoping for less breezy and sunnier skies later today to see if I can get out in the kayak!

Joyful Wednesday everyone!

One More Time!

 

Heading back to the cottage today for a final hurrah of the season.  Time to close up and return to the city 'full time.'  

But just before that....

Really looking forward to the colours.  This picture is from 2024 when Ken and I were between homes and 'forced' to stay up until the end of October....and it was spectacular.

And while Zoom and other internet wonders allow for meetings and emails and work to continue, I'm hoping to sneak in at least two more paddles around the island (to make 30), and at least one day 'off' to make up for the last 14 days running full tilt.  

It could be chilly!!  Stay tuned for pictures of a cozy fire.  

So grateful for the legacy gift that this space is to our family.  We do not take it for granted.

Truth and Reconciliation

 

"The truth is like the light;

it can be hidden for a time,

but it can never be extinguished."

Indigenous Traditional Proverb (adapted)

"If it is possible,

as far as it depends on you,

live at peace with everyone."

Romans 12:18

"Ring the bells that still can ring,

forget your perfect offering,

there is a crack in everything,

that's how the light gets in."

Leonard Cohen

Prayers today for all those seeking truth and reconciliation, 

and for all those who hold the power to make things right.

Someone to Watch Over Me

 

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you

in the way you should go;

I will counsel you

with my loving eye on you.

It's the perfect time of year for fresh morning walks.  Praying as I go, grateful for promised guidance and counsel, and that tender 'loving eye' upon me.

With a nod to Gershwin (1929), the longing expressed in his classic jazz piece "Someone to Watch Over Me" is more than satisfied.  

[Ruminating on Psalm 32 in preparation for some teaching coming up in the spring.  Love this part of my process, just to 'feel' the text even before the 'study' part.]

Sustaining Grace

 

After an over-the-top fabulous-but-demanding weekend, I knew I needed to spend Sunday afternoon on recharge.

So, two things.  A nap, which I happily relaxed into after worship service this morning (and it was SO GOOD to be home again with my beautiful faith family).

  

And then some slow putzing-around kind of fall decorating for the rest of the afternoon.

I don't do all that much for autumn decor, and much of it is from thrift stores or Dollorama.  But there's something centering and settling about turning the corner on summer, and embracing the beauty of what's to come.

As I wrote about previously I left some 'volunteer corn' to grow in the front in hopes it would add to the fall vibe on our porch later on.  Well, it's now later on and....I'm liking it!!  Add a fall mum and a ceramic (squirrel-proof) pumpkin, and we could be on a little farm somewhere!

I'll admit that at no other time of the year is orange my default colour.  But somehow, right about now, it's about the cheeriest hue there is.  And the yellows and the browns.  Just brings the beauty happening outside inside somehow.

Inside and out.  All the fall things.

Sometimes all it takes is a little garland of leaves.

By now, on Monday morning, I am surprised and grateful.  With a few nagging health issues off to the side, in the midst of all that transpired this weekend, I fully expected to be more or less trashed by today.  Had planned to treat it as a recovery day and not get back into things until tomorrow morning.

But here I am, rested and ready for the week ahead.  I truly believe I have been carried on the prayers of so many these past several weeks.  I have been sustained by God's sweet grace, given what I needed 'for life and godliness' (2 Peter 1:3) in ways beyond my own capacity to provide.  

To all who love fall, enjoy the week.  It's supposed to be spectacular.  

To any who are weary, I know what that feels like.  Hang in, rest if you need.  Prayers for you.

And to everyone who need a bit of orange cheer these days....look around.  It's everywhere waiting for you to notice.

September Office Reset

 

For many, probably obvious reasons, September always feels like a new beginning.  Despite the forest heading into shut down, many other rhythms of autumn are starting fresh.

No doubt it's mostly all those childhood memories of school, and then our years as a homeschooling family, and then my own long and prolonged academic pursuits lasting well, well into my adult years.  September is new books, and new schedules, and, if I think about it enough, even the whiff of new pink erasers.  (Bet some of you can smell them too, now that I said it.)

I'm no longer in school.  But I do love a fresh September reset of my office space.  An extra effort to tuck away any loose papers (yes, I still have some binders), sorting and tidying those office supply drawers, finding better systems to have the stapler and hole punch handy, and a thorough wipe down and dust off of my desk top and books.

Despite having two significantly-important-but-not-urgent tasks still left unchecked on my list and no time until Monday to get at them, I chose the luxury of clearing out and freshening up my work space yesterday afternoon.  Took my time.  Enjoyed the simplicity of it.  Was mindfully present in the moments of it.  Letting it be September.  Feeling as clear headed and ready for the season ahead as my desk.

A doctor I once had the privilege to work for (in a long ago life I was a medical transcriptionist, true thing), was notoriously and ridiculously disorganized, particularly in terms of his office and desk.  And he was brilliant.  And we all respected him and he got the job done with excellence.  

And while there appears to be fascinating thought about the psychological effects of a tidy workspace, and also the connection between intelligence and messy spaces -- the debate about which I won't address here but leave to your own exploration if you like -- I know for a fact that I can't think clearly in clutter.  

So.  Big sigh of satisfaction.  My office is ready, and now I feel ready.

And I bet those two tasks get done more efficiently on Monday anyways.  

Giving myself space.

Embracing small joys.

Wishing for you simple pleasures as well.