Geraniums

The downsizing for Lent challenge that Zed and I have been doing is over.  Well, the recording part, there is still a bunch of editing.  Zed and I had a long talk about what the next steps should be.  I still have a bunch of boxes.  It has been 46 days of going through boxes and finding places to put things and get rid of at least one thing from that box.  When I wanted to keep everything, I worked on another box.  I think that only happened once.  It has been challenging and fun, but this week -at least the end of it- has been overwhelming.  Tomorrow, Easter, there is no plan to go through a box.  Zed and I are planning to continue on some level until my boxes are sorted and I have less stuff.  This coming week though will be a regrouping.  I don't want to lose the momentum, but I also don't want to completely burn out.  When we started this I feel that I was mostly on top of the things I normally do.  The last week or two things have started to slide.  The pile of boxes in my bedroom has grown because I have put trash or recycling in boxes and then left them in my room instead of taking care of them.  After a week of playing catch up and cleaning I will get back to the boxes.  I am so thankful for the friends who suggested getting rid of things for Lent.    Other things I am happy for today:

• Today was National Find a Rainbow Day.  It is all about finding beauty, hope, or wellness.  My kind of day.  Here is more information on the holiday.
• For the month of April I joined with a group of people to do a pilgrimage.  We each log how much we walk and see how many miles we can do.  I went on a short walk around the property today, only three fourths of a mile.  I decided to cut through places that have no path again.  The little brook was babbling so I stopped for a moment to listen.
• Standing still I can listen.  The sounds of cars and children playing fade toward the back and what comes forward are the bird song and dried leaves rustling as the breeze carries them to somewhere new.  

• The cats are getting along today and they are super cute.

• The geraniums are starting to look like geraniums and not just leaves popping through soil.

I know it is hard to see, but some leaves
are getting the right shape to grow into a geranium.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, by Ann Larkin Hansen.

Stay safe.

Sleep is Important

As the days get longer I want to wake up earlier.  I believe that last night was the first time I got into bed before eleven since January.  The only way that happened is by writing this blog earlier in the evening.  I'm not sure if I can make that happen always, but I think I should work towards it.  I'm fairly certain I have come to this realization multiple times.  People tell me that sleep is important.  The ice cream place opened today.  Writing this I can hear people talking while waiting in line for their orders.  They close at nine, at least this time of year, so that doesn't keep me up.  I'm glad that they are carrying peppermint stick ice cream again.  It's my favorite. 

Yes, we got ice cream after dinner tonight.  We were also their first big order at lunch time today.  Other happy things for today:

• Thursday was Bel's night to make dinner.  They are leaving on Sunday to go back to Texas and I requested that they make beet burgers.  I really enjoy the beet burgers and the bean burgers that they make and I was curious which I like better.  Turns out the burgers are different enough that I have no favorite.  They are each delicious in their own way.
• Zed and I are editing the downsizing footage we have so far tonight.  We crack each other up.  Hopefully this will mean less edits on Sunday.  It does mean I won't be in bed by eleven tonight.
• After dinner Zed, Gideon, and I went for a walk that ended at the ice cream stand.  We only spent a few minutes out on the property because it was wet, muddy, and sprinkling.  I wanted to show Zed a tree that had fallen sometime over the winter.  The tree actually landed on another tree that we may be able to save.  I took some pictures of the brook and some trees.

The brook could definitely use some clearing.

It looks like the downed tree was right over the brook.

Paper over rock.

• Along the walk Zed noticed some droplets on a branch and Gideon asked me to take a picture.

Some of my favorite people.

☮

Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

AND
The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Stay safe.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 There are things that I don't say anything about when I am filming the downsizing videos.  The last few days I feel like I need to express some of the meaning behind that sign.  Yesterday I wrote about how Gideon came up with the idea of having flying letters 'I' as pictures.  For St. Patrick's Day I looked through the internet for Irish symbols other than the shamrock and leprechaun.  What I found that struck a chord with me was the Green Man.  He is a Celtic symbol of rebirth.  As I go through all my things to downsize I feel that in the end, I will come out a slightly different person and thus reborn.  I don't expect some huge change.  I do hope to be lighter in a metaphysical sort of way.  Keziah was kind enough to draw a Green Man on today's sign.  Other happy things from today:

• Oddly enough the box I went through today had in it a fake gold coin.  It was a token from an attraction we went to years ago.  I thought that was kind of a cool thing to find on St. Patrick's Day.  Obviously, real gold would have been better.  😊
• Generally speaking I think it is getting easier to sort and get rid of some things.  Books are still hard to get rid of, but I am saying, "goodbye," to some of those too.
• There is a house down the road a little way that I walk by sometimes that has a brook running near it.  It is very picturesque.  Walking out back today and hearing the water in our little brook ripple down the hill I tried to imagine it looking as lovely as the other.  It won't, it is different and is beautiful in its own way.  I hope to find time to clear out around it more and make it more accessible.  Perhaps all it needs is the ability to see more of it.  
• Walking around the garden today I noticed that the peach tree and cherry tree are starting to form some buds.  

Peach tree, Marjorie.

Pretty sure this picture is of the cherry tree, Tucker.

• Since it is St. Patrick's Day I decided it was time to try the Bells of Ireland seeds I found that are dated for 1967.  Instead of planting them, I put some into a wet paper towel to see if they might germinate that way before putting them into soil.  After doing that, I saw a YouTube video about soaking seeds in a bowl of water overnight to test them.  I'm learning so much!

• I just learned that my aunt got vaccinated today against the Covid-19 virus.  YAY!!!

☮

Today I read from a small book I unpacked: Town Pounds of New England, by Elizabeth Banks MacRury.  The author researched and visited some New England Town Pounds and included a bit of history for them in the book.  

Stay safe.