Believe...simplify: November 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Up early...

I was blog hopping this morning, in between getting some chores done, and while at Nancy's blog http://www.aruraljournal.com, she wrote that she had stopped by here http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com and decided to give it a try, and I thought I would also.

Zeldamom's: The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window -
The sun is just starting to rise, showing off with pink and orange streaks of beauty

I am thinking -
I really need to get the rest of my windows cleaned so I can close them up for winter.
Last week's weather was so beautiful, but not quite long enough for me to complete the job

In the kitchen -
The dishes that were drying in the rack are all put away and fresh coffee has been made

I am wearing -
Grey print knit pajama bottoms, a pale grey tank top and a brand new, soft grey Hane's zip up hoodie

I am creating -
A colored pencil name drawing for a work friend's baby girl

I am going -
Shopping today for a pretty sweater to wear with a black velvet dress I bought at the thrift store,
a pot for a plant that needs help and a can opener to replace the one that just broke

I am wondering -
Should I make door draft stoppers for Christmas gifts as long as I'm making a couple for myself?

I am reading -
Nothing at the moment...I need to get this name drawing done first, once I start reading, I just don't
want to stop

I am hoping -
That I am able to get in a nice long walk and maybe see my eagle

I am looking forward to -
Soaking in my claw foot tub

I am learning -
To see light and form and how I want my photographs to look...and to realize that just because
some bloggers have a lot of followers and get a bunch of comments, it does not mean I am less
than they are (that's very difficult)

Around the house -
Dust will be banished, carpets vacuumed, bathrooms rid of germs, laundry washed, dried, folded
and put away

I am pondering -
Why some bloggers participating in Linked 52 only comment on a few of their fellow participants
posts and don't or won't take the time to visit and comment on all of them, even though they are
all posted on time...

A favorite quote for today -
In a world where YOU can be anything...Be Yourself!!!

One of my favorite things -
I love to go for drives away from the city...old white farmhouses, red barns and silos, cows, sheep,
chickens, buying fresh brown eggs, eating a picnic lunch in a park, talking, and most of all, open,
rolling hills...sigh

A few plans for the rest of the week (I'll just say next week, seeing as how this is Saturday) -
Put up some Christmas decorations, take my mom to see the two blue lighted bridges here in Minneapolis, that she hasn't had a chance to see yet and play with my new camera

A peek into my day -

Friday, November 23, 2012

Linked 52 - Gathering

Happy Thanksgiving

gathering...

family, the one I was born into and the one that I helped make
friends
eating turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, broccoli, jello
not eating stuffing, dinner rolls, green bean casserole
mom's pumpkin chiffon pie and leaving the crust
arguments, can't get away from them
laughter, always lots of this
talking, usually hogged by two
gazing off into space after eating too much
gabbing with my sister while washing dishes
letting her know I'll take mom christmas shopping
looking through the black friday ads
taking turns talking to kira on the phone
skyping with andy
loving that my children are adults, yet missing how they were when they were little
looking toward the future
loving that my mother is still with us
wonderful co-workers
a pretty okay day at work
gorgeous sunrise yesterday
even more gorgeous sunset
64 degrees and joggers in shorts on thanksgiving eve to 23 degrees and snow on thanksgiving night
my sister not drinking
all of us pulling together and not drinking with her
a glass of wine when I got home
son and his girl off to find some deals
hubs starting a fire in the stove
falling asleep on the sofa because of that fire
all in all a wonderful thanksgiving 2012

Please leave me a comment...be sure to see what gathering means to them.

Kristi

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Linked 52 - Music...

Music has been an important part of my life since 1st grade, where I can remember sitting on the small wooden bleachers inside of our small gymnasium and learning the words to Edelweiss. I loved that song, still do. How can something that happened so long ago, seem like it was only yesterday?
Throughout my school years I always sang in choir, even in high school where it was a choice. I stopped after graduation because I went on to a vocational school for medical technology, which didn't have a choir and I stopped going to my old church (they did chanting, not singing, and I wasn't interested in chanting) so I had a few years off before I started singing again.
Soon after I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, the father of a good friend and co-worker died and his funeral took place at a small church a block from the hospital we worked at. My hubs and I both liked the church, it was the same religion my hubs grew up in and we felt very comfortable there.
We started visiting on Sundays and soon joined the choir, I was once again happily singing.
Kira made her appearance in September and in May, we chose to sing a song to each other at our wedding.
The next day we had Kira baptised and dedicated a song to her. We dedicated a song to each of our boys at their baptisms also.
Several years later, our bell choir was in dire need of new members, so my hubs decided to join them (I couldn't because of working every other weekend). They are a small but mighty group that makes beautiful music with beautiful, shiny gold bells.
My hubs works with a man that plays bells with a group called Bells of the Lake http://bellsofthelakes.org so they naturally when they got around to talking bells, he invited us to one of their concerts, and all I can say is...Wow, they are amazing. We've been to a few concerts by Bells of the Lake, and if you live in Minnesota and have never been to see them, I suggest you do, they are superb. I just went to their website and I see they have fewer members than they used to, which means they each play even more bells than before.

It's like a choreographed dance between their arms and bells and hands turning music pages. Two people will share a music score and even share bells, so at times, a member will be playing three bells with their right hand and reach in front of the member on the left and grab a couple of her bells, ring them, put them back, turn the page and pick up her own bells. Very exciting!

I brought my camera to church last Sunday and was able to get some shots of our bells.

I also cornered Dan and got a couple of shots while he was warming up. He is an amazing musician, most people like his organ playing, which is wonderful, but I prefer his piano playing...I could listen to him play all day. The day he and our choir director Bonnie leave, well, I guess it's the day I leave too.

Stop and see what Music is like for these wonderful ladies....make sure you LEAVE A COMMENT too.

Kristi

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Linked 52 - Wind...

noun

air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at anyvelocity along the earth's surface: A gentle wind blewthrough the valley. High winds were forecast.

a gale; storm; hurricane.

any stream of air, as that produced by a bellows or fan.

air that is blown or forced to produce a musical sound insinging or playing an instrument.

wind instrument.

It's been pretty mild here in Minnesota, with some rain, lots of clouds and a little bit of sun.

The temps have been in the 20 - 50 degree range, normal for November. Pretty much ho hum weather. Now I'm not complaining, because we still have a few things to do outside, and I really don't want snow yet, it just makes the season too long.

My hubs and I were talking about Hurricane Sandy and the devastation that resulted. People always talk about "the Big one" that will occur in California that will cause it to sink into the ocean. We have tornadoes, but not in the numbers and severity as those in Tornado Alley. Our Boundary Waters has yearly wildfires, but again, not like those seen in the mountain area west of here. The Hawaiian Islands have volcanoes. Other islands have Tsunamis. Minnesota doesn't have any kind of real severe weather system and we aren't in an earthquake zone, we can't have a Tsunami, we regularly have wildfires up north, several nasty storms along with or without tornadoes in the spring and summer, our winters vary from hardly measurable snow to full blown blizzards and depending on the snowfall for the season, we have some flooding in the spring.

So, when I saw that this weeks word was Wind, I was wondering what I was going to do.

I have to admit that I put it off until Wednesday, but I don't think it would have mattered, because I really don't remember there being any wind this week. (Actually, now that I really think hard about it, there was some wind, but I didn't take any pictures of it).

I did however take a few of Annie this summer where the wind is whipping about her fur.

Does this happen to anyone else (that has a Droid and not iPhone) where the pictures you take with your phone are really pixelated when enlarged??

This is my favorite and the only one that isn't all pixeled. I was taking a picture of the grass and she photo bombed the frame, but it's okay, because I like the way the Wind is blowing her fur.

See how much Wind the rest had to deal with...

Kristi

Friday, November 2, 2012

Linked 52 - Texture...

Texture, there were just too many choices for this word...

dead perennials

the rocks in the pond

tree bark

the seat fabric in my car

carpet

wood newels

lace curtains

annie's eyelashes

oliver's fur

little-bit's paw pads

green leaves

dry crunchy leaves

apples

pears from our tree

raspberries

the dry skin on my hands

This is what I finally decided on...

I love the colors too, the pear isn't quite ripe yet, it will develop a red blush when it's ready to eat, and will be delicious and juicy.

See what Texture looks like to the rest of the crew...

Jenn