Perfect Yellow

Today is the beginning of "vacation" for Rob & me. Technically it's vacation time for Rob and a little short term disability for me, but I am making the most of this and today was beautiful.

Because I've been home for four weeks with this ankle/foot/air cast thing, I thought it would just be like another week home, but it isn't, and Rob is here!

We spent the day today enjoying the birds and the garden. The weather was perfect - warm with a cool breeze...and it really, truly felt like a vacation day. That timeless, nowhere to go kind of day that seems endless.

Being home hasn't been so terrible. When I open all the windows and pretend I'm on vacation - it's a little easier with this view out the living room windows of the Sunflower, Corn, Beans and Squash bed.

Of course, it does look more impressive from outside - but I love that I can see the plants while I am resting indoors.

And the view of Sunchokes through the front windows is amazing!

Today, we got a little surprise of a pair of American Goldfinches!

I saw some rustling in the flowers and it took awhile to see them because

they are the same color yellow. If you look closely, he is in the center of the picture below.

This was how the day started and I was so happy to see them!

This is how the day ended - blue skies...

Wine & Chocolates.

I'm learning more and more to take each day as it appears and make

the most out of what I have to work with. I could find faults with the day, the situation of 

my health, the noise in the neighborhood, etc. etc.

Instead I chose to focus on the things that I really have control over. 

My attitude, and my choice to enjoy the many, many things I have to be grateful for.

I hear the voices that say: it's just a yellow bird, a few flowers and sunflower seeds are at the store and take a lot less work.

But I say that until you really look at the flowers and hear the song of the Goldfinch, sip that wine and taste the handmade chocolates from Vermont...Until you sit on a couch for four weeks with yourself and realize how much you have to be grateful for, you cannot know, and I cannot explain what this means to me. Every time I put my hands in the soil and connect to the Earth and harvest seeds from plants that grew in this yard...I realize that I would not trade this moment and this experience for anything. 

It is magical and I don't want to miss a minute of it!

And by a happy accident, I don't have to...

An unexpected rest...

I went to the Podiatrist this week and until I see him again on August 10th, I can't go back to work. I'm in an air cast to immobilize my ankle - the injury was more serious than I realized and I recommend that if you are having any pain when you walk - please get it checked out rather than bearing with it like I did. I can handle or manage most things, but this had me in tears and I will do whatever I have to - to be able to have a regular day again without this cast.

So, this break has afforded me some time to think and remember some projects that I have been neglecting, and also to think past Summer to the coming Winter. We have put so much effort into building up and planting the garden that some time spent on the indoor projects is needed. I can't do a lot of moving around, but I can do research, sort through paperwork and do filing, and work on the story I have been writing.

Another question came to mind after reading one of my favorite blogs Choosing Voluntary Simplicity:  What is enough?  So I have been thinking that I love being in the garden because of the patterns, smells, small gatherings of plants and art, etc.  It has me thinking of what I would like the inside of the house to look like, and feel like - and I want it to be the same as the garden.  We have plenty of plants inside, so that is already part of the decorating. I would like to create a peaceful, relaxing, organized place to write and spend time with family and friends.

There are definitely things that need to be sold, or given away and much that needs to be organized. So during these weeks "off" I have a great opportunity to do a little each day to work toward this vision. I spent the past week filing, sorting through paperwork, setting up files and rediscovering poetry and stories and am inspired to continue on with writing. I am looking at each thing I come across for its value to me and if I cannot store it (holiday / seasonal ) and there is no place to display it - then it is time for it to be passed along to someone else. It is so surprising to me that even in our small home, so many little places exist that gather things that seem valuable at the time, but lay forgotten for so long. I have designated one table to be a gathering place for sentimental items from trips, small found objects and gifts.  This will be a better way to keep these special items in a place where I can enjoy them more often.

I am just beginning this process, but I have found that my "enough" would be a home that is simple, beautiful, energy efficient, sustainable, practical...where we use what we have, but have a place to store   a little extra if we need to weather some situation.

The personal process is one of stepping back from the cycle of consuming and seeing that I really have more than enough clothing, food, possessions, etc. I don't need more, and more than likely don't need all I have.

As in the article on Choosing Voluntary Simplicity  - I don't think the number of items really is the answer for me, but the quality of life is. I don't want to be consumed with the laundry, dishes, clutter, disorganized finding of things when needed...If I cannot handle the day to day of this - the only answer can be that it is too much.

I want my time to be spent on more meaningful things - like family and friends, writing, music, gardening, etc.  and as the process unfolds, and the clutter is dealt with - room for each of these things opens inside of the house, and inside of my mind...and an unexpected rest becomes an opportunity for so much more.

A beautiful yellow Nasturtium