Simple Woman Monday

What I'm hearing... Nothing! Except the washing machine running in the mudroom. The parakeet just chirped. Dawsey is snoozing on the top of the couch, but isn't snoring like he sometimes does. It's very quiet around here these days with no children in the house any more. I very often will turn on a book-on-tape while I do housework, just for the company of voices. (How pathetic is that?) Dan is in the Library at work -- but I try not to bother him too much and he is a total "nose-to-the-grindstone" kind of guy. He comes out for potty breaks and that's about it! Good thing I'm not the one whose supporting income depends on being able to work from home all day! I am so easily distracted! Comes from juggling 10 or 12 balls, 24-7-365 for so many years, I'm sure! I've had so little opportunity to focus on one single thing for any length of time that I find now I don't know how to do it! 

Outside my window...  The last few leaves on the oak tree by the road are hanging on for dear life. After the cold snap a couple weeks ago, the wind, and the smattering of snow, all the color has gone out of the cheeks of Autumn, the leaves still left are exhausted, everything is wan and beige. All the corners of the property are filled with piles of crackly leaves -- from the Walnut tree, the giant cottonwood, the maples and oaks. You can trace the pattern of the wind by where the big piles ended up. I'm wondering  whether, if I wait long enough, it'll all get blown about again by disparate winds and redistribute -- like, out in the forest or down the road. ==but, sigh== I doubt it. We're going to have to get up a work-party to do some raking. We can probably lure them in with a promise of a weenie and s'more roast at the end.  

What I'm wearing... Long grey flannel skirt over leggings, grey thermal shirt under hunter green wool cardigan. Can you tell I woke up chilled? 

What I'm thinking... I've got to get Dawsey to the vet this week for his annual vet-check -- and then to the groomer. I think of that first because he's right in front of me, of course, but more importantly, perhaps, I have to get dentist visits rolling for Gabe and William in Idaho -- then get Gabe set up with an orthodontist. Maybe the week after Thanksgiving. Cruel and unusual punishment to have braces applied right before Turkey and Pie Day!

What I'm learning... I think I'm becoming more and more at peace with this new station in life, sans kids most of the time -- though it is still pretty weird. It's all simpler in that there's literally less that I need to do, but it's less simple in that I now have to figure out what I should be doing -- never had to think about that before! Thankfully, I do get to see Michelle's children at least once a week, and we still host the Sunday Afternoon Club here, so we keep in touch with what's going on with the teenage boarder girls from MDA (They are a delight!),and we're not complete hermits, but it's definitely a much quieter life these days. Maybe a God mandate, I'm learninging more and more, and a gift, because I think I need the peace and quiet. So many years of mental and physical stress (plus Lymes) has taken such a toll, I've come to understand that the only way to unroll the cumulative effect is to treat it with as much true rest as possible -- plus good nutrition, and as little conflict as can be managed. (Having gotten rid of FB should help that!) After over a year of trying the rest cure (to lesser and greater success), I know I'm the healthier for it, in general. My old carcass has had a chance to start healing itself. If I had a house full of kids still, I wouldn't have a chance at it, though. So it's all good. I'm growing accustomed to the gentle routine. And spending so much more time with Dan! That's the best thing.

What I'm hoping... To get all my Christmas shopping finished before the second week of Advent!

What I'm working on... Still working on study guides. An Enid Dinnis compilation of short stories; Enid Dinnis's The Anchorhold, and a stack of books for the AZ Sisters to use next year. 

What I'm planning... Trying to figure out what the plan is for Thanksgiving this year -- and who all is coming. Not sure if we'll have any Boarder kids, though I've heard rumors we may. Wondering if the kids will want to come over for the traditional Pie Day on Wednesday. Things that used to be a given, aren't any more!

Some picture thoughts for today...

Looking east at snow-covered-mountain clouds the other day.

Looking west, back at our homestead, from the Pigeon Creek tree line you see in the above photo.