Just Some Thoughts...

I called my sister tonight. It was one of those phone calls when I needed advice, to vent, and just to double check whether or not I'd still be feeling this same way about things ten years down the road. Besides being blessed with a fabulous sister as a person, I also appreciate that by the time I was born she was a teenager with a head start on life which gives her years of thoughts and experience to lend when I request it. However she also mentioned that I'd been rather quiet on my blog lately and that she wondered where my thoughts were.....

So here they are:

At times I feel like I could settle for a little vacation from life so tonight I'm taking just for me. I'm not going to research for my overwhelming class, I'm not going to stress about the fact that I've hardly had time to research for my other classes, I'm not going to wonder about what made me feel so weak and dizzy this morning that I had to stay in bed for an additional amount of time, I'm not going to think about the frustrations I have with some of the individuals in my life or my inability to create opportunities where none currently exist or about the opportunities that exist but I don't want to take, I'm not going to think about the pattern in my life of feeling like the grass is always greener even though I know I should enjoy today, I'm not going to to think about tomorrow or next week or six months or a year from now, and I'm not going to worry about how when I begin to live more assertively academically it's harder for me to hold on to some of the values that I feel are even more important to me.

Lately many people have been telling me that the next five years of my life is a time when I will discover what I'm truly about and will form the values and opinions for the next 20 or so years of my life. But I can't help but wonder...then what were the last over analyzing 15 years all about? :-)

But I digress, tonight I'm closing my laptop before midnight, I'm crawling into bed, and I'm reading something that I truly want to read....all just for me. I'll worry about the rest of life tomorrow and until then I'll try my darnest to really focus on all the blessings that truly exist in my life. For even in periods of frustration I know that under it all I'm lucky to have the life that I do. And maybe I will take my granny's advice after all and just let myself be "a little batty."

Food, food, glorious food

Grocery shopping is way at the bottom of my list of fun activities. It rates up there with taking out the trash and scrubbing the bottom of the shower. Actually harvesting food from my backyard is fun whereas walking down aisles of food is not. However after not grocery shopping for a couple of weeks now and surviving on minimal food choices, I finally broke down and walked the couple of blocks to Freddies carrying my reusable totes as I went.

Although I don't enjoy grocery shopping itself, nothing lifted my mood like seeing the bounty I had purchased once I returned home. I had a list but a couple of extra things made it's way into my basket. I'm a firm believer in my body knowing when I'm lacking in vitamins of one degree or another and so tend to listen to the cravings that it gives me. But once I got home I have to admit...I wanted to taste it all!

I bought fresh produce to roast more vegetables. I bought ingredients to make a couple of my staple dishes-vegan lasagne and vegetable pot pies. I broke down and bought prepared vegan macaroni and cheese to which I love to add black beans and tomato chunks. I bought hummus which I greedily ate with baby carrots. I bought soy yogurt. I bought granola to which I can add slices of frozen ripened bananas and soy milk for breakfast. I bought more multigrain bread and tortillas. I bought soy cheese and I bought beer.

And after eating a varied meal of multiple food types and colors, I felt a million times better about the prospect of having gone grocery shopping and about life in general. Good healthy food truly is the wonder drug......too bad we can't get pharmaceutical companies to spend marketing dollars on that. :-)

Weekend Fullness

Am sitting in the corner of my kitchen soaking in the little light that manages to come through my windows. The new bench is working wonderfully. My laptop, warm blankets, table spread with open books and notes, and cup of tea are very satisfying.

This weekend was spent away on the northern coast and was busy celebrating the birthday of a good friend of mine. It was great to spend time with old friends and make new ones, but it's definitely putting a damper on feeling organized at all this term. I'm feeling myself playing catch up all the time. The lists of things to accomplish are made though and a due date schedule has been created.

Before returning back to the city I made sure to spend some quiet time on the beach alone, regrouping my thoughts. These are the shots from that morning:

Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and have gotten off to a great start for the new week!

Repurposing and the 3 Rs

Chile's been having a challenge this week to Repurpose items based on an extension of the 3 Rs. So while not all of these have been this week I thought I'd attach some pictures from my apartment of how I try to use the 3 Rs and Chile's idea of Repurposing. (Plus my new bench will fit right in! Thanks Dad!) I like to think that while most of my stuff is either reused (mainly reused) or repurposed in some form, I've still created a fairly stylish abode.

In the following picture, the knob chair on the right and the love seat are salvaged from family members. The fabric on the knob chair is repurposed from fabric scraps. The curtains in the main room are swags that were cut and resewn to make floor length curtains. The curtains in the dining area are actually thrift store satin sheets. The coffee table is actually a carved chest via my parents. On the coffee table are old-time storage containers from a thrift store holding sea shells. The table in the corner came via my grandmother to my sister to me. The pillows on the love seat are thrift store finds. The pillow on the leather chair is covered in scrap fabric. The white bedside table and the lamp on top of it are both thrift store finds. The white duvet cover on the bed is created from an old flannel sheet from my grandparents and an extra white sheet. And while maybe disgusting to some the bed itself is actually second hand also.

In the above picture, the table is also inherited from my parents and can be converted into a chair. The gray table covering is actually another of the pillow covers I made from scrap fabric. The bowl is just a regular one used for a center piece. I think the acorns and the oranges are self explanatory but they are being repurposed! Edible decor! And the item on top of the acorns is a bird Christmas tree ornament that is having an extended life. The little square on the table beyond that is actually a plexi glass fridge picture magnet that I have created into coasters. And under the herbs in the back I repurposed a plastic bag as a water barrier (that area is also where the bench will go!). And the dining table chair is actually a desk chair (although I'm not currently using the desk). The bench as previously mentioned will be window seat/storage and table seating for guests.

Beyond that: I get most my picture frames second hand. Old calendars can make interesting seasonal wall art. And there are a million other repurposing or reusing things anyone can do.

Bench Time

Somewhere in the middle of yesterday afternoon I was struggling to get through my reading. I moved into the kitchen area of my apartment because it had the most sunlight and I wouldn't need a light that way. I bundled up in blankets because it's been so cold, and as I sat at the table I was reminded that my mother had suggested having a window seat about two feet from where I was sitting. After finally trying out this area of my apartment, I decided she had been right in her window seat idea. So I took a reading break, picked up my cellphone, and did what any knowledgeable gal would do-I called my father.

"Dad," I said, "you wouldn't happen to have any extra lumber just laying around would you? And you wouldn't happen to want to make me a bench on your days off would you? It'd need to be about yea big, yea wide, and yea tall." From which additional discussion ensued about what the actual dimensions should be (Dad believes in measuring tapes while I have hope in guesses) and the fact that I hoped the bench could double as a shelf also. (Plus this would take care of the fact that I only have one chair to use with my table-a problem when having guests for dinner....).

And there arrived in my email inbox this evening the following picture:

With an email attached saying that he hoped I'd be glad that it was made with repurposed wood. He'd taken the wood from a past project he'd made for me during my undergrad days and altered it into the bench. A piece of foam and repurposed fabric and it'll be good as new. Now if only it will make my reading go faster....

It's Been a Productive Day

It's been awhile.....But the good news is that I finally signed on for internet in my apartment (although it took 7 phone calls and two hours of frustration to get it set up this evening). So that means that I will be able to keep up on blogs, post more frequently, and research for my courses from home. The last several weeks have been busier than my last term already and I don't see things letting up much for the duration of the next 9 weeks. So the internet will come in handy!

In addition to getting connected, there were a couple of things that were worthy of note today. One being that I finally attempted to winterize my windows (who knew it'd be so difficult?!) The cutting of the plastic went fabulously well. However the double stick tape didn't want to adhere and with only a couple of electrical outlets in my entire apartment, the cord for the hair dryer didn't quite reach. Hopefully the most-definitely-not-perfect job I did will at least help some with keeping it warmer. It's been cold here today though!

The other happy thing is that I was able to spend a good part of the afternoon cooking. I roasted a huge pan of vegetables which can be used as left overs throughout the week. And I made two jars of vegetable pasta sauce which can be used throughout the coming weeks as well.


So now it's just taking care of the start-of-the-year applications and trying to catch up on all the reading I need to be doing for my courses! But at least now I can post more often! Hope everyone has had a great past couple of weeks!

(The above picture actually was taken from the window of my grandmother's this morning. I am taking one course at a separate university this term and so spend two evenings each week with her, visit with my nearby siblings and friends, and attend church there in order to balance out the trip more effectively.)

Roses in gloom

A lone rose saved in the cutting. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share. Even amongst the darkness of winter, strong beauty exists.

So here I go...

Somewhere over the break I realized that I wasn't writing as much as I had intended. It's not that I didn't have topics that I think are of great importance, it's not that I'm burnt out on writing from school, and it's not that I didn't have internet access. Somewhere though I was reminded that my better posts take time to contemplate, formulate, and then post what I have to say-and over the break felt that my time should be spent enjoying moments of being present with my family and friends (and in doing some of the other little things that I don't have the opportunity to do in my "other life"). However there is quite the list in my mind of things that I hope to post about...eventually. :-)

The rain is pouring down, I'm drinking a cup of tea, and thinking of all that happened over the last few weeks while also thinking of everything that needs to be done in the next few hours, days, and weeks. The other night I had a thought about our celebration of New Years and of birthdays-the celebration of the passage of time that also creates worry in some people's lives. What if we never marked time according to our current standards? What if we lived each day for what it was and didn't think of lives in yearly cycles? Would we get more enjoyment out of life if we weren't worrying about how age held up to a certain standard or if we couldn't compare last year to this year? If we had no true timely standard by which to measure, would life be better or worse?

I recognize that some of my thoughts are lofty and unrealistic to the society in which we live, but I can't help but wonder about these things all the same...

On another note, before I finish packing and loading up, I would greatly encourage any female, especially of child bearing age, to read the book Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood by Sandra Steingraber. While the book is somewhat depressing at times due to her explanations of current environmental and toxicological issues and how they effect the fetus, her knowledge of the development of the fetus and her own personal story about her pregnancy are wonderful. Truly the information contained in this book is something that everyone needs to be aware of and attempt to do something about. This might just be the most informational book I've read in a very long time and I seriously hope each of you will check it out and pass it on to others as well.

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend and I'll post again...this time back in the city!

Transitions

I'm running through the things I need to pack back up to the city in two day's time. I'm returning with more than I brought as there are items to be dropped off for family and friends, bags for city recycling, a print of a painting done by my best friend's father, my house plants that have yet to make the move, and a couple of other items that I've picked up since being here. It's going to be one full car.

I'm also making lists of everything that still needs to be done before I can go. I need to finish my program application and read two local library books. I need to spend my last two days with internet usage continuing to job search. I need to download several scholarship forms. I need to exchange my new stainless steel water container for one that won't leak, and I need to order used textbooks online. I also need to drop off a few things at the women's shelter and order a permanent reusable coffee filter online.

My visit here is coming to an end (something that hit home even more today as I said goodbye to my best friends returning to their home on the east coast). Yet endings always bring beginnings- and the last few weeks have been a period of major growth and renewal for me. A recent movie got me thinking about life and I feel that I've reconnected to my original life vision. Sometimes events in our lives disallusion us to our original goals and dreams, yet if we are not passionately pursuing life and our purpose then I can't help but wonder how much we are truly living. Thus the last week has been a time of exploration and planning-discovering the ways to make what I have now match up to what I want it to be. And simply enough.....it's working.

It's funny to me how life opens doors and brings words (from friends, family, and sermons) of wisdom just when we need them most. It's funny how easy it is to create change in oneself and in how to achieve plans when that change weighs so heavily upon one's heart. And it's funny how once you listen to yourself the doors begin to open....

I hope that everyone's hearts have the chance to speak in the coming year-that you all have lives full of passion, full of wonderful endings and fabulous beginnings, and that you find yourself truly living-simply content.

Today...

The following photo was taken by my best friend:

AND THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE OREGON COAST....