The Best Kind of Day

You can go back to your childhood for one day. What day and age do you choose?

To quote Joyce Summers, "My, that's a terrible thought."

I pick a day in mid-spring the year I was 4. It's before the awful started. Before I knew to be afraid. Before I knew bad things could happen to me.

I am at my grandparents' house. I stay with my great-grandmother while everyone else is at work. She has chores to do, but she includes me in all of them. We bake biscuits together. She lets me have my own lump of dough to roll out all by myself. I sneak little bites of the dough. We place biscuits on the little black baking sheets, and I play with my doll while Nur gets the rest of our meal ready.

Later we will wash clothes and hang them on the line to dry. We'll take a walk through the back field and go home to pull off the briars that have stuck to my socks. Maybe we'll play Old Maid. But through it all, I will hum and sing and smile and dance, because I know I am loved. I know I am safe, because nothing bad has ever happened to me.

Emily Webb in "Our Town", after she has died, asks to go back for just one day. Mrs. Gibbs says, "No!—At least, choose an unimportant day. Choose the least important day in your life. It will be important enough." Emily chooses her 12th birthday, but she can't bear it, saying, "All that was going on in life and we never noticed."

So I choose an unimportant day. A day when life was so normal. The best kind of day to remember.

linking up with Writer's Workshop

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY . . . March 10, 2015

Outside my window . . . it is gray and drippy -- again. But we are in the 50s. 

I am thinking . . . that Daylight Savings Time gets harder every year. I'm not meant to have to adjust my inner clock constantly! Presumably it takes 3 days to acclimate, but I know it will take me at LEAST a week. Thankfully my schedule allows me to slowly acclimate.

I am thankful . . . that my boys had safe travels out west and are having a good time. They are rock climbing, so say a prayers for their safety if you will.

In the kitchen . . . very little cooking, but I have been cleaning.

I am creating . . . still working on my secret crochet project and spring sewing goodies. Reveals coming!

I am going . . . to have an afternoon of crafting, I hope.

I am wondering . . . how to motivate myself in a positive way to make good use of my time this week. I want to enjoy my week "off", but I'd like to feel productive, too.

I am reading . . . The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #10) by Louise Penny. I simply love this series. Gamache, et al seem like old friends, and it is comforting to have them around, even when the plot gets dicey.

I am looking forward to . . . a massage later this week and my first meeting with a spiritual director. This is something I've wanted to investigate for a long time, and an acquaintance offered to be my director recently. A blessing and gift.

I am hearing . . . poor little Yaya coughing. She is getting older (12 yo) and has developed a cough related to her esophagus and heart condition. She's really struggling this morning.

Around the house . . . I'm slowly reclaiming the house from my winter blues. I'm trying to to take the slow road. The mess didn't happen overnight, so it's not going to get organized overnight.

I am praying . . . for safety for my boys. For peace for several families who have lost elderly family members in recent weeks, and for friends' granddaughter who is in treatment for cancer.

One of my favorite things . . . is hedgehogs, but you knew that. Yesterday as I was giving breakfast to the young man who lives with us, he asked if hedgehogs were my favorite animal. I said yes, and he said he'd noticed them around the house -- an understatement if ever there was one.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . therapy, crafting, mani/pedis and lunch with dd, a massage, meeting with my spiritual director, hopefully a chance to ride my new bike (if the rain lets up!), and enjoying some "down time" for reading and movie watching.

Here's a picture for thought I am sharing . . .

hedgehog goodies from CCD!

linking up with The Simple Woman

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

Last Friday was my birthday, and I made myself a "cake". I am a huge fan of dump cakes, despite feeling that they are "beneath" me somehow in the world of cookery. I'd been craving one of these for about a week, and told myself I could make one to share with friends on Saturday.

It's ridiculously easy, and obscenely delicious, especially if eaten straight from the oven with ice cream or whipped cream. It's none too shabby heated up in the microwave with or without toppings.

2 cans cherry pie filling (I used Comstock 20-oz.)
1 box devil's food cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease a 9 x 13 pan. Layer pie filling and dry cake mix. Drizzle melted butter over entire cake. Bake for 1 hour. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Happy eating!

linking up with Made by You Monday

Gather

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May

It's the first phrase that came to me. 

Today is my birthday. I like the idea of gathering of years of life and experiences. I'm in my fifties, but I don't dread birthdays. I still love them. A day all about me! A day to remember the past year and look forward to the next. 

This year I'm hoping to gather even more rosebuds. Learn more about myself and those I love. Gather in more memories and love to share and savor. 

Tonight I'll gather with some of the people I love best in the world to eat a meal of my choosing. To celebrate me. Tomorrow I will gather with my best friends and celebrate me some more while eating and laughing and talking and crafting. And I'll gather more joy and love to store up to look back on when things are feeling bleak.

Even if it's not your birthday, you don't have to wait to gather up the good things in life. Gather them while we may. 

Savor. Enjoy. Gather.

linking up with Five Minute Friday

Shattered

Write a blog post inspired by the word: shattered

I had a meeting yesterday morning. It was supposed to be one of those 30 minute meetings to go over and finish up the details from a previous meeting. It turned into something very different.

Last summer I agreed to participate in a PhD study on lectio divina -- in short the practice of reading and meditating on scripture. This is something I've been interested in for some time. I've gone to a few workshops and retreats. I liked the idea that my practice might benefit someone else -- I'm altruistic that way.

Yesterday I met with the PhD candidate (MC) to go over my journaling from the experience and to give him the opportunity to ask me some follow up questions. I felt that I had let him down by not doing as well with the practice as I had hoped, thus providing less data for his research.

MC asked me an open ended question when I got there -- What hindered me from going further with the lectio divina? I knew the short answer, but I wasn't prepared to go that route. The longer, more accurate answer was going to open up a lot of my past and require me to verbalize a lot of what the abuse did to my relationship with God. I asked him if he was prepared for a winding, long winded answer, and he was.

That began a nearly 2 hour conversation about God, our representation of Him, insular societies, secret keeping, understanding how my past colors my perceptions, and how Christians show the true character of God to others.

I didn't say anything I didn't already know about myself and my history, but I did experience that strange epiphany that comes with verbalizing thoughts. There is a clarity that comes from saying or writing out thoughts in complete sentences and paragraphs that doesn't come from random thoughts and ruminations. MC said it himself to me, "Your journal was in phrases, and you're not a phrase kind of person." It's true. I write and talk in paragraphs, but when I looked back at what I'd shared with him, it was all phrases and incomplete thoughts. I had edited myself out of fear that he would not understand, agree with, or validate my complete feelings. And it's scary to think some things through to their ultimate conclusions.

What does this have to do with the prompt -- shattered? I believe I shattered a stronghold or a wall yesterday. I completed a lot of sentences about my true feelings and beliefs about myself and God and how the abuse impacted (impacts) my daily life and inner conversations. 

There's a lot more demolishing to do. 

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. -- 2 Cor. 10:4 (NIV)


linking up with Writer's Workshop

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY . . . March 3, 2015

Outside my window . . . gray, cloudy skies. We are in the upper 40s, heading up to mid 60s, but with rain. Tomorrow brings more rain, changing to sleet and snow with a possible accumulation as temperatures dip back down below freezing for a couple of days. Nashville weather is much like a menopausal woman!

I am thinking . . . what a good day I had yesterday. My bestie and I were discussing how much just turning the calendar from February to March lifts the spirit.

I am thankful . . . for a good worship service and fellowship on Sunday.

In the kitchen . . . last night I attempted making fried rice for the first time ever. It wasn't fabulous, but it wasn't awful either. I've got some ideas on how to improve it next time.

I am creating . . . a secret crochet project to be revealed later. 

I'm also working on some home decor items for spring.

I am going . . . to therapy, out to lunch, and then for a sauna session. After that home for some sewing and cleaning.

I am wondering . . . how to stick to the spring cleaning plan I've set up. Wondering about methods of motivating myself.

I am reading . . . on a whim, I started a new book last night -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Myth, Metaphor & Morality by Mark Field. My kids and I watched Buffy reruns all through their teenage years, and recently dh and I have been watching them. On the one hand it's a silly, sometimes very dark program, but it certainly hit a nerve with the public at large. References to Buffy crop up everywhere. She's even listed as one of the 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived. I couldn't put it down last night, and I'm still in the introduction!

I am looking forward to . . . plans I've made for the next 10 days or so. Sort of a spring reboot for my lifestyle approach. That sounds very ambitious, doesn't it!?!

I am hearing . . . total quiet.

Around the house . . . spring cleaning is on the horizon!

I am praying . . . friends who have lost loved ones. A friend's granddaughter who is in treatment for cancer. Healing for so many people from various diseases and injuries that always seem to come during the cold weather.

One of my favorite things . . . is my birthday! Friday is another one to celebrate. I'm just a kid at heart and always look forward to my birthday as day to guiltlessly enjoy things I like.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . lots of sewing and crafting. Lunch with dd on Wednesday and maybe a walk with dh if the weather cooperates. A meeting with a PhD candidate, and then celebrating my birthday with a weekend of fun activities with family and friends.

Here's a picture for thought I am sharing . . .

spring time crafting

linking up with The Simple Woman

Inside Out Ravioli

I actually made a menu list last week!

Well, my best friend and I made one while I drove to the grocery. But it still counts, right?

I used to always do a menu list each week before making my grocery list, but somehow I've fallen off the wagon. The good news is, it does make cooking dinner A LOT easier. One of last week's meals was a favorite recipe I got from a co-worker when I lived in Memphis 25 years ago.

I like this recipe because it's hearty and filling, and it's a one dish meal, which is great for a cold winter night.

1 ½ pounds ground chuck
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 10-oz. packages frozen spinach
8 oz. macaroni, or any small pasta
½ cup chopped onion
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 small can tomato paste
1 large jar spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese

Cook spinach according to package directions adding ½ cup extra water. Drain spinach, reserving liquid. Cook macaroni, drain and set aside. Brown beef with garlic and onion. Drain. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and ½ cup spinach liquid. Simmer 30 minutes. Beat eggs and add to spinach and grated cheese. Casserole can be layered: pasta, spinach mixture, meat sauce. Top with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. OR Stir all ingredients together and pour into greased casserole and top with cheese of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Serves 6-8

Happy eating!

Linking up with Made by You Monday