A Simple Woman...

Every month, I remind myself to participate in the thought provoking Simple Woman's Daybook^. It's a series of questions to answer on your blog or journal. Reading the answers other women have given written always gives me a sense of who they are and what is important to them.

But every month, I don't. I don't know why I don't, because the questions are great and I do want to. Sometimes I start, but I never finish. I'm odd like that.

So this month, I forced myself. I' m so happy that I did. It didn't hurt a bit, and I like my answers, which is unusual, and I normally don't like much of anything I write.

Here they are...

Outside my window...
a ruggedly handsome man. From here, he looks to be grilling carmelized onion-chicken burgers.

I am thinking...
about a conversation I had with a friend a few days ago about (other) friends who believe in improbable, often wacky conspiracy-theories. I once read that people who believe such things are usually brighter than normal, which may be what allows them to discern and latch onto what seem to be patterns and coincidences (but which aren't really there). Once ensnared, confirmation bias carries them over the it's-a-conspiracy goal-line.

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

(Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 5)

So, I wonder why I haven't ever fallen for anything like this.

Maybe I'm not as smart as I think I am.

Maybe we don't always know when we have a blip on the ol' logic detector and I have fallen for something unawares. This is my least faorite possible scenario. 

Maybe I've just been very lucky (so far).

“In fact, one thing that I have noticed . . . is that all of these conspiracy theories depend on the perpetrators being endlessly clever. I think you'll find the facts also work if you assume everyone is endlessly stupid.”

Brian E. Moore

Maybe there is no good reason at all.

More things in politics happen by accident or exhaustion than happen by conspiracy.
Jeff Greenfield

::shrugs::

Also, I am thinking...
about having grilled caramelized onion-chicken burgers.

With a ruggedly handsome man.

I am thankful for...
ruggedly handsome men who love to cook, having my dog home again (he was at doggie daycare for the last week while Dan was gone), my family, my friends, my home, and being able to enumerate simple pleasures.

I am blessed.
 
We are blessed.

From the learning rooms...
I have promised myself that I will re-learn how to cable knit if it kills me. Hoping it doesn't, but I'm prepared for the worst.

From the kitchen...
grilled caramelized onion-chicken burgers with mango-Serrano salsa, fresh corn on the cob, melon, and s'mores (with GF graham crackers) for dessert.

I am wearing...
a black cotton knit shirt, a tan skirt with blue and yellow flowers, and the silver bracelet I always wear. It was a gift from Dan, and I cherish it.

I am creating...
the finishing touches on a long languishing, soon-to-be-felted knit handbag. I started it last year. It's in autumn-y colors, which made sense at the time, because it was early autumn. I hope to have it done before the middle of the month so that I can start one in summer colors. I hope to have it finished while we're still in summer, but recognize that the blues and greens will probably go well in winter, when it is most likely to actually be finished. Also, I'm working on a a handbag made from vintage bark cloth. It's handbag week here, I guess.

I am going...
to be quilting later this week. I finally have enough vintage bedsheets in the right colors to start (and finish) a quilt in oranges, yellows, pinks, and reds.

I am reading...
Living Crafts magazine, which came in the mail today, and which I so look forward to. The editors and staff are able to capture and showcase the work of so many talented individuals, and the writing perfectly captures the mood in the photos (which are always gorgeous). Also, Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. It's one of my favorite books, and I read it from time to time to gain clarity.

I am hoping...
to get my nose pierced this week. It used to be, then it grew over. My face looks empty without it. Go figure.

I am hearing...
that Sarah Palin is considering running for President and has asked Donald Trump to consider running, too. They could run together and call it the You're Fire/I Quit ticket.

I have very little respect for Donald Trump and very little for anyone who would publicly bolster him by lending him any sort of respectability. So, phooey.

Around the house...
I have some laundry to do, and a schedule to make before I go to bed tonight. I want to re-do the spare room downstairs to use as a craft room/study, and want it to be as complete as possible before the first of August when I hope to put new shelving on the larges expanse of wall. So, it's time to schedule all that. I love schedules. And lists. Make them all the time. Sometimes, I even follow them.

Also, I'll be making laundry detergent tomorrow. I make it from scratch. It's easy and quick to make, it works at least as well as the store bought kind, and a batch lasts about a year and a half. And it smells better.

The best part: it costs about seven dollars for the entire batch. Seven dollars for a year-and-a-half.

The cheapest detergent at the grocery store does about 32 loads for $7.99. I was using one of the ones which was perfume and dye-free, so it cost more because they left stuff out.

32 loads for $7.99 comes to about .25 per load. We wash at least 1.5 loads a day, times 365 days a year. That comes to 547.5 loads a year, 821.25 loads in a year and a half. Minimum. $205.31 dollars every 18 months.

Versus $7.00.

And the neat thing is that without artificial perfumes, I can add natural essential oils. I added Frankincense and Myrrh (the real things) the last time. I already had it to scent some soap, so the carrier oils (what the teensy scented bits float around in) are safe for the skin and non-irritating.

And it smells wonderful. I will post photos and my recipe later this week.

One of my favorite things...
sitting outside in the summer as the sun sets over Pikes Peak, grilling on the back deck, eating on the patio table outside with family and/or friends. We did that tonight for the first time this year. It was lovely.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
working on our bedroom this weekend. I'd like to sort through some stuff for donation, to make it easier to repaint this summer, which is my goal. I should probably share my goal with Dan. Hi, Honey! I want to paint our room!

Here is picture I am sharing...
actually three.

First, one of our three beautiful daughters, 

on Dan's family's farm

Second, one of Clementine petting a horse on the farm. 

She loves horses more than almost everything else, 

so you can only imagine how wonderful it was 

for her to be able to pet 

and snuggle with a real horse.

Third, this is a brick path on the farm that Dan, 

his cousin, and grandfather (who has since passed) 

built about 30 years ago. 

And those are Clementine's feet on the very same path. 

So precious. 

Happy New Year 2011

I'm not sure why, but I find myself looking forward to 2011 with uncharacteristic (for me, anyway) optimism.

vintage ephemera

2010 was overwhelmingly good:

• Our oldest graduated from college. She worked so hard, did so well, and is now plotting her course through graduate school as she holds down a job, and is adjusting to her first home-away-from home. So much for one year, but she has handled it with poise and aplomb. My heart swells with pride when I think of the beautiful young woman she's become.
• Our middle daughter also had a year of many changes. She was accepted into her first choice of universities; she turned 18, and from my perspective, she grew up. Suddenly, my baby is so incredibly mature, introspective, and graceful. She's always been my sunniest child - beautiful, cheerful and pleasant; but now there is something else - she's on the cusp of being a "grown up". My sweetest child is fledging and I could not be prouder of everything she's become. 
• Clementine turned five. In addition to becoming much more self-sufficient, she started preschool, had her tonsils out after a very long illness, grew 5 inches, had her long hair cut into a cute pixie cut, advanced several levels in swim class, and started ballet lessons (which she loves). 
• Dan had a busy, productive year. He took three week-long trips for work (New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts). He spent a week in VMWare training (VM = Virtual Machine), which he really enjoyed, and he'll be taking the exam to be certified in VMWare after the first of the year. Dan went elk and antelope hunting, and brought home a very nice antelope which now graces our freezer.He worked on various projects around the house, spent more time at the gym, and spent a lot of time doing "daddy stuff".
• As for me... I've had a busy year as well; being a wife and a mother is a full-time job.
  I've done some writing (but not nearly enough), and some crafting (not nearly enough). I did a fair bit of knitting (but not nearly enough), and even got around to making Clementine's Halloween costume by hand... which I hope to get around to posting here soon.
  I did some de-cluttering, but got seriously sidetracked when Clementine was so sick (from November 2009 through May, 2010).
  I had surgery at the beginning of December, which was a long time coming, and am starting to feel better.
  
  
  
  vintage ephemera

My resolutions for 2011 are: 

• To be a better wife. I've been consciously working on this during the past year and I hope I've made progress. My husband is the sweetest, kindest, best man in the world and he deserves someone who appreciates him and helps him in every way possible. I strive to be yet more helpful, more supportive, and more appreciative in the new year.
  
• To be a better mom. I need to remind myself to make time for the most important things in life - spending time with my beloved three daughters. They fill my heart with indescribable joy. 
• To be a better home maker. I'd like to make more of our food from scratch, and sew more. Last year I decluttered my kitchen, learned to make yogurt, and started baking from scratch again, this time using gluten-free recipes. I'd like to bake more, and make more of the things and products we use. 
• I'd like to continue to make our home greener, both because it's healthier and because it almost always costs less. Last year I purged the kitchen of nearly every piece of plastic and replaced them with china and Pyrex/Fire King from thrift stores (safer and cheaper than the plastic was when it was new). Glass never melts, doesn't off-gas, and looks so much prettier than plastic.
  This year, I'd like to focus on greener cleaning supplies and to continue buying organic where it matters (The Organic Dirty Dozen - foods which should always be purchased in organic form^) 
• To watch many more awful B-movies with my husband. We cancelled cable last spring, and while the amount of TV viewing in our home went way down overall, we soon began to seek out and watch old B-movies together. But instead of sitting there passively watching TV, we found ourselves talking, laughing, and enjoying ourselves. Movie Night is the highlight of my week now.
• I'd like to work more in clay, knit more often, and craft more. I did pretty well last year, making time for several small projects, but could certainly do more. One of my goals this year is to make as many of the gifts we give during the year as possible.
• I'd like to exercise more, including getting out and hiking. It's a shame to live amongst all this beauty and not spend more time in nature. 
• Immediately return to our 10-a-day decluttering plan, starting January 1st (today!). It works like this: Pick 10 things - however you wish to define "things" - 10 magazines, 10 forks, ten pieces of paper. Ten of one thing  or ten different things. Then, take those ten things, whatever they are, and get rid of them. Give them away, recycle them, thrown them out, donate them, shred them, whatever. Easy, right? Just do ten a day, every day.
• Read more. I don't read enough. Actually, I read a lot, but most of what I read isn't in book form. So, I'd like to focus on reading more books. 
• Recommit to The Compact Movement. The Compact Movement is dedicated to buying less through agreeing to buying new only what you absolutely need (food, medicine, school books, etc.), and trying not to buy anything else for a year (or for whatever period you commit to).
• To appreciate everything I have. Not things, but people and relationships. I'm blessed with loving friends and family, but I don't express how much I love and care for all of these wonderful people as much as I should.

vintage ephemera

With that in mind, I would like to wish you the Happiest of Happy New Years, and thank you so much for reading.

vintage postcard from 1927
Welcome, 2011
The Year of the Rabbit

Namasté