Seasonal Living

March 2nd, 2019

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Today in North Idaho it was sunny with scattered clouds with a high of 22 and a low of 3. It was windy and not a great day to be outdoors so I stayed inside for the most part.

Sorry for the long departure. I’ve been busy being busy. I recently had my ninety day probationary period meeting so I am clear to move forward in my new job. Also, I have been working between clinics and attending as many dinner/teach events as possible. I also joined a bunko group and a local women’s group that goes out to dinner once a month. Both are strictly social as far as I can tell and are great fun!

Last night I stayed at my daughter’s house and took the first ever nap with those beautiful little feet I have shared with you. He is now eight months old and is truly the sweetest little guy I know!! There is just something so honest and “homemade” about that kind of connection with your grandchild. I am blessed beyond measure. I just see his mind working and it takes me out of all my own thoughts and calms me in the very best way!  He started crawling a few weeks back and is now walking with the help of one of those stand up baby walker things that looks like a cross between a toy and an old people’s walker!  Haha

I have been studying for an exam that I have coming up in a few weeks and I’m nervous and excited to make that happen as I’ll receive a raise when I pass. I am also considering going back to school and researching how to make that happen while keeping a full time job. Exciting plans indeed!!

Life has been good and my priorities are in check. I have a few hurtles ahead of me but all hurtles I have placed in front of myself in an effort to grow and learn more about my own limits and boundaries.

I hope that you are focusing on the good things in life. That you are letting go of the things that don’t serve you or keep you from a forward moving direction. It is NEVER to late to start again!!! It is Never to late to be the person you want to be!!

November 14th, 2018

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Today in North Idaho it is overcast with a high of 44°.  Bare feet fount the floors abrasive and were immediatly comforted by a warm pair of wool socks!

Yesterday I managed to remove the leaves in the front yard.  I love the large maple trees in the front yard; however, the leaves they produce are numerous!  I finally purchased a blower and now blow them into piles which makes the task of collecting them go a great deal faster!!

In preparation for winter I have collected all the hoses, lawn furniture, gardening equipment and outdoor pots and put them in the shed.  I also brought out the snowblower and shovel and placed them on the front deck.  I still need a bag of snow melt and then I”ll be finished preparing for cold weather. This is only my second year back in this home (The Nest) and I feel no small amount of pride in getting my place winter ready without help.  In general, the overall beauty of this home is that it is well within my power to care for and in fact make it more beautiful and homie.

Tomorrow I go back to work after two months off.  I am genuinly excited and looking forward to weekly continuity.  For the better part of my career life I have worked 8 to 5 with weekends off and I feel “normal” in that schedule.  This is the beginning of a new career for me after having gone back to school.  I have approximatly fifteen years before I can retire and I hope to do that in a career that I truly love and where I feel that I can be the best version of myself.   I believe I have found my place in cancer services and I feel truly blessed and grateful to wake up for work each day.

We have all had jobs where we have found ourselves feeling incomplete or unhappy in.  Some pay well and some do not but in the end it does not matter because you realize there is something else you are meant to be doing.  Some act on those feelings and some do not.  There is no way to say what is the right choice for each individual.  For me, the jounry has had its ups and downs.  I have doubted myself along the way however I kept moving forward.  I have made mistakes and conqured mountains and somehow found myself on the othere side of the original dream of obtraining a career that fills me.  I feel like every cliche I’ve ever read about following your dreams.  I feel like a warrior having returned victorious from battle.  I feel capable and whole and I’m read for whatever comes next.

Today I say to you that when you really want something in life you must do it your way and in the way you feel is necessary and correct.  Also, that your live may very well turn out in a way you did not foresee or plan for however they may turn out even better.  In the middle of your journey a road may present itself that you never had imagined and suddenly you know to the depths of your being that that road was the real reason you even started your journey.  You just didn’t know.  You had no way of knowing until you put your foot outside of your comfort zone.  Its okay to be afraid because change can be scary.  Its okay to be excited because it is also exciting.

Don’t be afraid to be afraid.  Make the best plan you can and follow your dreams.  You have one life and you should love it as much as humanly possible!!

October 24th, 2018

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Today in North Idaho it is sunny with a high of 58°.  I am packed up and back on the road today heading out of Washington and back to North Idaho!  I will be taking a scenic route off of I5 and over to 20 through the Cascades. I’m hoping the weather holds out but I might run up against some fog.

It amazes me sometimes how my perspective can so quickly become tweaked. How a simple road trip can open my eyes and expand my heart. I imagine the lives of the people living in the towns I pass through. Some homes are so remote. What do they do for a living? Did they go to college? Do they work from home? Is there WiFi in these here parts?!?!  “Mow the lawn and find a tractor.”  And then the cities and the obvious loss of connection that the smaller towns can’t help but have.  The beautiful old architecture and massive manufacturing, a zillion shops, restaurants and pubs.  Different strokes for different folks.

How did I land in North Idaho?  Those little feet kept walking, my life had the same direction that all school children had in life.  After I graduated high school I married a man nine years my senior and went to college for stenography. I had my daughter shortly before I received my state CSR license. My mother had moved to North Idaho with her third husband about a year before I passed my exam and invited us to move up too. The area was beautiful so we packed our belongings and we went. My daughter was nine months old when we started life in North Idaho.  I must have sang Somewhere Out There from An American Tail a hundred times. Her favorite song and it kept her attention on the long drive!  The move was a big change. It was a new beginning.  Life was so full of promise and I’ll never regret moving to North Idaho and raising my daughter here.

My daughter has told me several times that she had a great childhood. I can’t begin to tell you the depth of peace that brings me. If I die tomorrow!  If I did nothing worth while with my life but give my daughter a happy childhood then I’m okay with that!! That is the only thing that has ever had my feet solidly placed on the ground. Her happiness was my only true purpose.

So know your purpose and fulfill it. It may take a life time!  It may be more than one thing!  Keep your focus because in the end everything else is just noise.

October 20th, 2018

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nature red forest leaves

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Today in North Idaho it is sunny-ish with a high of 63°. My current location started out pretty foggy but ended up sunny and the perfect temp to go walk around town and visit shops.  You know the kind of shopping in which you buy absolutely nothing but enjoy yourself immensely by simply communicating with others and generally seeing what shopkeepers find to be the next big thing. I did find a few annual planners that I thought my daughter would like but decided I was unsure of the size she would need so I passed.  Sometimes it is nice to pass.

I find that at this point in my life I pass on a lot of things.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am a very social person and have stimulating people in my life.  I just mean that I no longer feel that I MUST participate.  I used to feel that if I didn’t join in then I would be ostracized.  I would find myself doing thing that I didn’t really enjoy year after year thinking Why Am I Doing This!?!?  Most of the time there were activities that I felt were personally unhealthy or people that I thought were unhealthy.  Unhealthy in lots of ways like they drink or smoke to much, they cheat on their spouses, they ignore or avoid their children, they look down on others and generally feel they are to good for people.  And how on earth are you a good person if you’re not in ONE of those groups.  Either your a good person or your a bad person… or are you just a person trying to figure it out!

It was just a lot of energy in the wrong direction.  So today I think long and hard before I commit to a project.  I make sure the time I’ll be giving works for my lifestyle.  I make sure I can give the project what it needs and vise versa.  I’m looking for connection and service coupled with smiles and a betterment of myself and whatever project I’ve jumped in on.  And things happen that are unexpected and that’s okay.  I’m okay with riding out the curves because nothing and no one is perfect.  I’m also okay with saying No Thank You and I Don’t Have The Extra Time.

Today take a moment to know your limits.  Yes, push your comfort zone but know how far you’re willing to go and know that you can and will find the next exit if that is to the betterment of all concerned.  Embrace the life that you create!

 

 

 

October 18th, 2018

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Today in North Idaho it is sunny with a high of 59°.   I am enjoying temperatures in the low 70s and have started down the coast of Washington departing Port Townsend and investigating Crescent Lake Lodge, Moclips Beach and Quinault Lodge. An unexpectedly beautiful day made for some wonderful photos.

There is a whole world beyond your fence.  Go see!!