Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Simple Woman's Daybook



From Mama Bear's Journal
FOR TODAY: Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Outside my window...It is 65°F,18°C and sunny...Expected to reach 83 this afternoon...after a few days of extreme Summer like heat and humidity, we reverted back to Winter and finally to Spring...It has been quite pleasant out these last few days, everything is green and growing like crazy.....I"m cooking our first picking of Spinach today from the garden, the tomatoes are up and doing quite nice if we can keep the Cut Worm from chopping off anymore, potatoes are up as are beets and some new type of Spinach which is a vine, also there will be Strawberries soon.

I am thinking...its been too long since I've posted or visited my blog friends....but I really need to be doing my 20 minutes on the treadmill...

I am thankful...that I managed to lower my cholesterol and will not have to take medication

From the kitchen...Pinto Beans are soaking before cooking and Spinach is washed and ready to cook, there is leftover cornbread and casserole in the fridge

I am wearing...pink pajamas and robe

I am creating...the finishing stitches on my cross stitch project....scrapbook pages

I am going...to the Princess' concert tonight

One year ago today...it was 61 degree, cloudy and wet after a rain shower....I was attempting to clean house without help.....the Princess was coming after school and was going to make dessert....reading Homecoming by Kathy Kelly......planning a workshop to make pillowcase dresses....there were radishes and strawberries from the garden....

I am wondering...what's up with Smokey this morning: he usually meets me when I get up and wants to sit in my lap and be loved on but this morning he was already asleep in the chair in the guest room and there he remains...

These days I'm reading...Alice I have Been by Melanie Benjamin and also Fall of Giants by Ken Follet

I am praying...for motivation to work on my crafts.....family....friends....

I remember when...time didn't pass quite so fast

I am looking forward to...getting on the treadmill so that I can shower and dress for the day

A verse for today..."I will look up to the mountains ...does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth".  Psalm 121: 1&2

Discovering that....the pine tree pollen count is low after so many days of very high...perhaps I will not have anymore problems with my asthma this Spring

I am hearing...a motor somewhere in the distance....birdsong...........silence

Around the house...beds to make and floors to vacuum

Song that stays on my Mind...for once, there isn't one

A favorite quote for today..."The earth laughs in flowers." ~ E.E. Cummings

One of my favorite things...walking barefoot through the grass

A few plans for the rest of the week:

From my photo file....


the chickens finally graduated to there pen outdoors

Friday, April 5, 2013

Funny Friday


Good Friday Morning, Everybear
Wil here

How was your Easter?
I helped decorate some eggs...


and got my very own Easter pail of candy
Mama Bear kept saying: Its the Great Easter Bear, Charlie Brown
Whatever could she mean.
Happy Friday!
Wil

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Answers to your Questions.................

Its a raining day here again......

Yesterday I invited you to ask questions so I will try to answer them as best I can.....

First: Willow wrote: What would you credit as your most helpful tool for centering to appreciate a simple well lived life ?
I had to ask Honey Bear exactly what being centered meant.....He said to remain calm and unruffled in most circumstance......First off, I feel inner peace which I contribute to my faith....I do not like conflict or confrontation and would ideally want everyone around me to be happy and at peace, too. I like my home to reflect the comfort and hospitality which I wish to share with others and not look like a photo spread in a fancy magazine....I like to surround myself with the things that bring me pleasure: good books, good food, a view of nature.

Anni asked: A question? Okay...what's your favorite dessert?
I wish I could pick just one......I love cheesecake, key Lime Pie, Creme Brulee and I am more a fan of pound cake than cake with icing.

Kathy wanted to know: "What color are your chicks now?"
The chickens are 3.5 weeks old and are mostly the color of cream with a little gold tint except for the one who appears to be a rooster and he is white.  We didn't intend to have a rooster but you take what you get, I guess. They are certainly growing and seem to respond to my voice when I cluck like a hen.

Thanks for the interest.
Mama Bear

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

No Wednesday Hodge Podge

Joyce is on break, Spring Break.... so no Hodge Podge this week. We had Spring Break last week here in Huntsville. I went to two movies: Admission on Monday with Movie Club and then Oz on Friday with Wonder Boy and his Mom. We messed around with getting advanced tickets to that one until Friday morning and so ended up sitting on the second row. Now normally I like to sit in the very back, way at the top of the theater seating and in the middle. There is extra leg room there and the screen is far enough away to be perfect. Not so on the second row, one almost has to crane ones neck back into an altogether uncomfortable position or look through the top on ones eye lashes to see the screen and then it is so close that some things just blur. But I enjoyed the film, anyway.

Easter Sunday was chilly, around 56 degrees when we left for church and then raining when church was over. We had a lovely lunch with Daughter and the children then napped.

Those pesky Pear Trees are about to lose all of their blooms and I hope this means I've skipped my annual Asthma attack which they cause every year.

Since there are no questions to answer for Hodge Podge, I invite you, my readers to submit a question you'd like answered about me or my blog. Yep, you can ask one question and if it isn't too terribly personal I'll answer them all here.
Have a good day,
Mama Bear

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

A Simple Woman's Daybook



FOR TODAY...Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 11:30 am in Huntsville, Alabama

Outside my window...Its 51°F, 11°C and overcast with a predicted high of 58...yesterday it was closer to 70 than 60....we had fog early this morning and it is expected to rain tonight.....not much bird activity at present...the grass is getting greener and leaves are appearing on the trees....so many white pear blossoms are falling that it looks like snow.....in the garden: Spinach is up, hope we can keep the bunnies out of it.....

I am thinking...I let the morning slip away without my 15 minutes on the treadmill....I had some business to tend to with Blue Cross on the telephone

I am thankful...for insurance coverage.....jelly beans....colored Easter eggs....wonderful music at church......the resurrection.....bright, blue skies....hugs from my grandchildren

From the kitchen...a pot of beans simmering and a skillet of corn bread still to be made...there are still a few leftovers from Sunday and a lemon cake

I am wearing...surprise! I am wearing something besides pajamas, I have on khaki slacks, a white long-sleeved Tee shirt, and blue striped socks

I am creating...outlines on my cross stitch project

I am going...to the Thrift Store with the Princess after school

One year ago today...it was 61 degrees and stormy.....we'd already moved the houseplants out to the porch.....the red headed woodpeckers were back from their winter home.....I was making jewelry and doing scrapbook pages.....reading The Art of Racing in the Rain....planning a road trip to spend time with my sister....Looking forward to Easter Sunday

I am wondering...how soon I can get the houseplants out on the porch, after reading my post from last year I can see we're a little behind with our Spring temperatures....

These days I'm reading...Believing the Lie

I am praying...for the peace that surpasses all understanding...having a little difficulty letting go of some things right now.....

I remember when...we would plant our garden on Good Friday each year

I am looking forward to...getting some Spring planting done....my sister's visit after Memorial Day........and getting the chickens outside in their pen (they're still in the bathtub, still too cold outside for them)

A verse for today...Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

Discovering that....with sunny skies and warmer temperatures, my mood is lighter and I have more energy

I am hearing...the furnace....the clothes dryer....a buzzer telling me its time to put the cornbread in the oven

Around the house...clothes are drying in the laundry room (I hang all of our clothes up after 15 minutes in the dryer with a few exceptions)...the sun has come out and is shinning in the windows and door....Easter decorations need to be put away.....the floor needs vacuuming....


A favorite quote for today...
Spring is not the best of seasons.
Cold and flu are two good reasons;
wind and rain and other sorrow,
warm today and cold tomorrow.
~Author Unknown

One of my favorite things...going bare foot in Spring grass

A few plans for the rest of the week: Book Club on Friday

From my photo file....
April 2012