No Need to Go Seeking for New Experiences

Good Morning!  Well, I must say, you just never know what will come in a day.  I grew up about 40 or so miles from where I currently live and have spent my whole life (from about age 3) in this area.  I remember when the northern limits of the city were at the college and Shipyard Blvd. was the last interesting thing to see going south.    Monkey Junction used to be this weird intersection in the middle of nowhere that only those going to Carolina Beach would actually see.  I remember when they built 90% of the malls and shopping centers currently in existence.  I remember when Laney High School came into being.  Forty-some years of watching a quiet southern town degenerate into a large, bustling, mock-up of a northern metropolis. 

But the one thing that has remained relatively constant has been the climate.  Oh yes, some years were colder or warmer than others.  I remember big snow, little snow, and no snow years......the certainty of the humidity during the summer......and the possibility of ice storms in the winter and hurricanes in the summer.  I've seen a lot of both.

Hurricane Irene's current threat to make landfall in our vicinity is leading to the inevitable clearing of shelves of water, batteries, and bread.  The fact that I've become a "prepper" has made Irene's forecasted appearance much less stressful since most of what I need is already on hand.  There is the "battening down of the hatches" which will need to be completed by Friday AM at the latest, but even most of those supplies are already on hand and simply require installing.  As I said, most of this is "old hat" to me, having grown up here and experienced quite a few hurricanes.

Tornadoes are a different story altogether.  The only time that I can remember tornado threats being issued was in conjunction with a hurricane's landfall.  We grew up making jokes about not wanting to live in the midwest because of the tornadoes and how at least with a hurricane you had plenty of warning.  But as of about 5 years ago, the possibility of a tornado accompanying a thunder storm has become more of a recurring reality.  And one for which my area is woefully unprepared.

The first problem is that our abundance of trees makes the sighting of a tornado almost impossible.  We can only depend on the appearance of effects (such as wind, hail, and debris) to give us warning that one is imminent.  There are also no sirens in place to sound.  If you are not glued to your television in the first place or have a weather radio, you are unlikely to know that there is any possibility of severe weather.  And finally, no one around here has a basement or underground storm shelter.  There is, of course, a good reason for this.  Our water table is so high that any attempt at building a basement or storm shelter would lead to a very muddy swimming pool.  (I remember when my parents put in an in-ground swimming pool and the contractor had to spend a couple of weeks pumping water out of the hole before they could install the lining).  We are looking at building a concrete block building and covering it with earth which would serve as a type of storm shelter/root cellar, if we can figure out how to keep out the snakes and fire ants.  But, while less so than with a hurricane, our area is still capable of the basics in dealing with the results of tornadoes such as power outages, downed trees, etc.

Today, however, we experienced something which I have never been through before........an earthquake!  A friend had come to visit and we were sharing a moment of quiet conversation when my house began to.......wobble.  Sort of like when my washing machine is on spin with a large load.......only much stronger.  At first neither of us said anything and then she asked if I was washing clothes.  When I replied no, we both just kind of stared at each other.  Finally we decided to get up and go outside.  The fact that my house is 100 years old and had weathered numerous hurricanes and storms made the shaking, seeming from out of the blue, extremely unnerving.  The fact that my house is built on brick pillars that are also 100 years old just added to the uneasiness of the situation.  We did return to the house after a few minutes, but it wasn't until one of my daughters found out from facebook that a 5.8 earthquake had occurred in Virginia that we both relaxed.  While the occurrence of the earthquake itself was a new and unsettling experience, it at least made the fact that my house had shaken a little easier to take.  Trust me, any logical reason for your house to suddenly begin shaking is welcome.

So, another thing has been crossed off my bucket list.  Of course, experiencing an earthquake was never on my bucket list, but (as with my to do list) adding it was easy and immediately crossing it off gave a sense of satisfaction which comes from having completed a job.

Well, it's time to start another day.  Life here is never boring.

May Yahweh bless you in this new day!

Laurie

Feeling Better

Good Morning!  Oh my, the cooler temps are helping so much.  Even though we remain in the high 80's the humidity level has decreased dramatically and once again we are all enjoying the farm.  Things seem to get done so much quicker when you aren't weighed down by the heat.  We've also had several storms which delivered 2-3 inches of rain each, so the grass and plants are perking up.

Yesterday I finally had a chance to make some more soap.  I'm working on some of the fall scents hoping to have 5 different kinds available by October 1st.  The smell of fall in the my kitchen just seems to lighten my mood.  To me, creating things, whether it be crochet, knit, soap, sewing, etc., is so relaxing and gives me such a sense of accomplishment.  I'm also hoping to get everything up on ebay, including some gift baskets.

It is so easy for me to get distracted by things.  I'm one of those people who finds learning anything new to be fascinating.  I'm always ready to say "That looks neat.  Let's try that!"  Unfortunately that usually requires me to drop something that I have already been developing and trying to get up and running.  I must have 100+ projects that are 70% done.  Recently I've been thinking about getting my Ham Radio Technician's License and have been studying a little whenever I had the chance.  Then a good friend informed me that they were giving the test this Saturday and immediately my mind says "I can study all week and be ready".  However, this would mean putting other projects on hold, some of them longstanding projects in the Making Money category.  Fortunately for me, Ray has a firm hold on what is important and can be accomplished in a day, unlike myself who thinks that I can always cram just a little more in.  His suggestion is to put that on hold and work on it during the less busy winter months.  He's so wise.

Well, the sun is up and the chores are waiting.  I'm also hoping to get some Sunflower soap made and maybe even some more cleaning and organizing done.

May Yahweh bless you in this new day!

Laurie

Cleaning and Inspiration for More

Good Morning!  Once again a long time between posts.  I wish I could say that I've been too busy and I should have been, but to be honest the unrelenting hot weather has finally gotten to most of the family.  We are so tired of walking out at 6AM and being hit with the warm damp air, of having wringing wet clothes by 7AM, of not being able to get outside and DO anything after about noon,........you get the picture.  The warmer it is, the longer the morning chores seem to take, which pushes back other jobs, so that before you know it the morning is shot and there's really nothing to show for it.  The afternoon is even worse sometimes as, after battling the heat all morning, no one feels like doing anything and we retreat into a dark room and nap.  Lower temperatures and some cloudy days are in the forecast for the coming week, so I'm hoping this will break the cloud of depression and laziness which seems to be hanging over us all.

I don't know about you, but my kitchen is work central.  It's where everything gets done......and dropped.  During canning season I put up an extra long table to hold the canned goods to cool before putting them in whatever vacant spot I can find the pantry.  Of course, being a flat surface, this table seems to attract all manner of other things like a magnet.  It also blocks a good portion of the kitchen from cleaning, so dust has a tendency to collect for  the summer awhile before I get a chance to clean it.  Well, this is the week.  I started by putting away everything that had collected on the table. When I took down the table it actually fell apart, so out it went. Then I cleaned off and dusted the shelf above the windows which holds my stained glass house collection (purchased before children) as well as various and sundry knickknacks deemed necessary for decor.  Since I am currently in a purging fit, I got rid of everything except my houses and a cookie jar my sister had given me.  The openness of the shelves looks so much simpler and lighter.  I also know that cleaning it will take a lot less time, so maybe I'll be able to get someone to do it more often.

Yesterday, I cleaned both ceiling fans in the kitchen.  I'm ashamed to say that the dust had gotten so bad on them that, occasionally, they would throw large hunks of dust off everywhere.  They look so much better.

Today, my goal is to take down the curtains and air them out while I clean the windows.  I used to put my curtains in the dryer on air fluff to remove the dust, but since that broke at the beginning of the year, I suppose I will need to pray for a good breeze to do the same thing.  I also want to clean the one remaining light fixture in the kitchen. 

I can already feel my spirit and mood lifting.

I found a new blog the other day, Life at Providence Lodge (http://providencelodge.blogspot.com/).  What an awesome, inspiring blog!!!!  One post had a thought which I think will stay with me all of my life:  "In a large family, the mama either has to be a slave to her family, or teach them how to work together to make home a nice place to be, which takes management skills.  Her other option, is to live in a hovel where nobody wants to be, in unorganized chaos, feeling depressed."  This has been me for the last 12 years.  When we first moved into this house, my children (aged 11,6,6, and 4) were well trained in keeping a house by virtue of having one on the market.  We all pitched in and were actually a happy lot.  But somewhere along the line I dropped the ball.  I like to blame it on the fact that my mother-in-law's things were everywhere in this house and I didn't want the children to break anything, or that with 10 people (two families) with all of their belongings piled into the house, there was really no where to put anything, so cleaning was too difficult for the children to handle, etc.  While they sound nice these are in fact just excuses which I have used to lower my standards to levels unheard of except in the government.  The above quote has challenged me to make the changes necessary to make my home a "nice place to be", hence the cleaning up and cleaning out.  I can't do it by myself.  I will need the cooperation of everyone, even if it is only the having the willingness to accept some retraining.  But I at least feel as if I have a direction and a goal to attain, not to mention the feeling that the goal is attainable.

May Yahweh bless you in this new day!

Laurie