Solitude

I thought it was such a coincidence that while I was away, in solitude, that my reading in my "Simple Abundance" book was titled "The importance of Solitude" Hummmm...Lord, are you trying to tell me something? Here are a few lines that struck me as I was reading (from the porch at my cabin as I sipped a glass of wine and listened to the rain fall)

"I believe that it's essential for busy woman, by which I mean all f us, to pause a moment-this moment- to reconsider the entire subject of solitude. Too many of us approach time alone as if it were a frivolous, expendable luxury rather than a creative necessity. Why should this be so?"

"Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone. The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer to work out his thoughts; the musician to compose; the saint to pray. But woman need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves"

(VB this picture is for you)

"The problem is in how to still the soul in the midst of its activities. In fact the problem is how to feel the soul"

Take some time alone, you will be so glad you did. It really gave me time to think about what I want for my life and to realize that whatever it is I want I can achieve. I just need to be prepared to work hard for it, make a plan and stay focused. Nothing great is every easy, but man is it worth it.

We had 4 days and 3 nights in pure peace. It was a perfect little getaway. Away from the stresses of everyday life. Time to sit quietly and reflect on all the wonderful things in my life. I forget to be grateful when I am running around day to day just trying to keep up with the demands society puts on us and the ones I put on myself. I need to keep telling myself "Simplicity wins". I try to remember in the midst of a day that I make choices and those very choices will determine how simple or difficult my life, or at least that day will be. Seems pretty basic, I know. But we all do it to ourselves. I am hearing and reading so much more about that lately. People feeling so overwhelmed and busy. I can't do that. I need my time to just "be". It is so important to take time to slow down and have time to collect your thoughts, time to dream, time to appreciate the important things in life.

The boys had a great time too. I think they really like it up there. Who wouldn't? Musashi loves to run around in the yard. It is so nice to see him run so freely and get some energy out. At home, our backyard is so small he doesn't get the chance to do that. Chili the mellow dog that he is just hangs out as he would if we were home but he likes to hang on the porch and growl at the birds and squirrels. I am always glad to have them with me. I get to be alone...but with the company of my 2 best friends. Maybe someday I will actually get to enjoy my cabin with friends and loved ones....but up until now, its been just me and my boys! And that's A-OK with me!

Stormy, Stormy night!

Oh how I love monsoon season. I felt it brewing all day and went it finally hit I couldn't have been more thrilled. I went out in our backyard and captured this video while I danced and sang and twirled around. It was fabulous! Trees swaying, debrise flying and me singing! My dogs seemed a little confused by the whole event. Chili ran inside for cover, he kept peeking his little head out the doggie door (so cute), but Musashi hung out with me to entire time. It is such a wonderful way for mother nature to take care of us. After we sweat and tolerate the heat all day, it is a nice treat to have wind and rain in the evenings. I am always happy when the season hits to get that break from the heat. Praise God!

Let sleeping dogs lie

And so I did. It takes a lot for Musashi to relax and the moment I get up or move in any way he springs to attention. So I sat quietly on the couch reading the latest issue of my favorite amgazine, Country Living while my hyper dog took a little snooze. I love to see him resting so peacefully. Of course I had to get up to go to the bathroom and ruined it for him but it was good while it lasted.

Rain in the high country

I had an extra treat this past week to be able to have Sunday off, a rarity for me. After church I headed up the Beeline to my beloved cabin. It was just a quick turn around to clean and freshen up the cabin in between guests and to deliver some extra fans. But it was a fantastic day. It rained! I was so excited to see those drops coming from the sky. I parked at my favorite little creek area and enjoyed the sound of the falling drops. It was magnificent! I even walked around in the rain just for fun, why not? I love the smell of the rain up there mixed with the aroma of the pine...just heavenly! On my way back towards home I stopped at one of the antique store I like, Granny's attic, in the back they have Granny's outback a bunch of little sheds with tin roofs. I walked around there enjoying going in and out of each shed in the rain. Once in a shed i looked at all the joyful treasures and enjoyed the sound of the rain overhead hitting the tin roof. I was a perfect day. I enjoyed the drive and the time with nature, as always.

Humming friends

Well just look who we have here. This is one of the 5 hummingbirds that frequent my yard. Of course I have never, until, now been able to catch a picture of them. But with a little patience and camera in hand I was able to get these 2 shots. I love the red in his face, isn't he cute. I think he is a ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Hey did you know...

*Hummingbirds flap their wings 55 times per second

*Normal flight speed in 25 MPH

*There are 16 species of Hummingbirds that live in Arizona

I have 3 different types of feeders in my yard and really enjoy watching and learning about these little guys. They are amazing!

Four days off..in a row, what a treat.

WOW, what a treat.

Saturday was my last day of work before my mini vacation. After work I went to my friend Carol's house for a yummy dinner and then we went off to the Riparian preserve in Gilbert. What a great place. We went to see the "Strawberry moon" But ended up being completly in awe of the planets. We got to look through their high tech telescope and saw saturn!!!! I could not beleive it was real. It looked just like the pictures, it really has rings. I felt like a little kid and Carol was even more excited than me. It was truly amazing and I would definilty like to go back again.

Day one: I spent my first day off, sunday, relaxing. I went to church, then out for breakfast with my best friend Yvette, her husband Gary and their daughter Hannah. After that I went home and hung out in the back yard, layed out in the sun and played in the garden a little bit.

Day two: I visited with Jessamyn (my favorite person in the whole wide world) and her two adorable children in the morning. I had so much fun seeing how the kids have grown and changed. It was great. Asher has gotten so big and mature and is so cute! He was so good with me and let me hang ot and play with him. He also showed me all the new stuff he got for his birthday, he just turned 3. Journey is just a little love girl. All chubby and cute. She is always smiling and full of baby innocence. Then I went home to clean out the closet in my master bedroom. How freeing this task was. I dreaded starting it but once I did I really got into it. It was totally needed. I have 6 huge bags of clothes to donate 1 bag to go to the dry cleaner, and did a bunch of laundry. Everything that went back into my closet went back in clean and everything is now organized. It felt so good. Looking back I have no idea why I kept this stuff so long. I found stuff from high school, why in the world would I move stuff more than half way across the country and then never wear it. In any case its all gone now, well actually the bags are just as you see them lined up down my hallway waiting to be donated. I will have to take them 2 at a time, thats all that will fit in my little car. It was a big accomplishment for me and I feel very good that I got it done. Now its clean but just about empty. Thats okay when Ihave money it will be fun to go shopping for new, smaller sized clothes.

Day three: I took my un-socialized dogs to the dog park. This is something new I am going to do with them once a week to help them play nice around other dogs. It is my fault that they don't know how to interact with other dogs. They were the first dogs I ever had and I didn't know they should be socialized from an early age. So I figured why not start now. They did great! I kept them in the "timid" section with only 5 other smaller dogs and they did great. Musashi did growl a few times but behaved really well, I was so proud of him. Chili didn't really care one way or the other. They were both exhausted when we got home which gave me plenty of time to relax the rest of the day. I rediscovered the library. I took out 6 books and read most of the day. It was very relaxing. I went down to the community pool for a while and tried to stay cool. It was a good day.

Day four: Independence Day. I went to see Ratatouille with Yvette, Gary and Hannah. Then I went over to a friends house to swim and hang out. It was fun because it was just a few girls. It was nice to not be around couples all day. I was invited to a few parties but this one sounded perfect, not too many people and all women. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. It was a great day.

All in all my days off were fantastic. A perfect blend of fun and accomplishing some long overdue projects. I had plenty of time to go out and be social and still enjoy much needed time at home. I love my little house but have been trying so hard to go out more and get out of my box. I definitly acomplished that over these four days off. Thanks for sharing them with me!