oh my soul

i gave this little book

"Tea Time Thoughts"

to my mom for Christmas one year....because she loved tea!

when she passed away....it came back to me

and i keep it next to my tea kettle.

i don't always look at the thought for each day

but today i did

September 13th:

"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation"

~elton trueblood

&

"Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for

and certain

of what we do not see."

words aptly spoken to prayers lifted up.

friendship friday

Silences make the real conversations between friends.
Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts.
~Margaret Lee Runbeck

3000 flags in remembrance of first responders

of the World Trade Center towers

on 9-11-01

were put up at Tempe Beach Park, Tempe Arizona

he drives this way.....i drive that way

i've noticed something in the last 6 months or so.

my husband and i always arrive at the same place

but we take different routes.

driving to the airport

a quick trip to costco

a jaunt to the mall

taking him to catch the bus

he goes this way.....i go that way

i give someone directions

and he says

"or they could just take the --- to the ----!"

i don't know why this is.

• maybe i'm just a person of habit
• just like the scenery my way
• have convinced myself it is most direct
• think it makes perfect sense

wonder if any one else has noticed this?

on the positive side:
we'll always have a backup route in case of a detour!

the right to dry

i grew up having a clothesline...

my mom would haul a basket full of clean wet laundry

from the washer in the storage room

out to the backyard

where she would reach into the clothespin bag

and carefully pin each piece of laundry.

i can remember one time

my mom needed to get a load of laundrey dried

and for whatever reason, it wasn't possible to hang them,

and we used the neighbors dryer....

i can remember thinking WOW!

a machine that dries your clothes!

i haven't really thought much about clotheslines for years

but jessamyn wanted one for Christmas last year

and had her dad help her cement it in

and brittni's husband strung a few lines in their backyard

for her to hang wyatt's cloth diapers.

their reasons: to do their part to support the environment

and decrease energy consumption.

this post started out just to be a simple one about clotheslines

however, it isn't that simple!

apparently clotheslines are creating major conflicts

in neighborhoods with homeowner associations.

neighbors are "worried that the chaos of backyard clotheslines

will bring down property values".

i read dozens of stories about "the right to dry!"

and how they are introducing bills

that will override clothesline bans.

i wish i had something really clever to say at this moment
however, i am just speechless.....it's just a clothesline, isn't it?

"apparently, our culture continues on its relentless quest to divorce itself from the physical realities of life on this planet. This laundry hanging issue ires me senseless." a quote from practical environmentalist.

if you want more info.....http://laundrylist.org/

and i say

let it all hang out!

unwanted clutter

yesterday jessamyn and i spent the better part of three hours pulling weeds

there is something therapeutic

about reaching down,

wrapping your hand around a fistful of weeds,

pulling

and having the earth let go of its unwanted clutter-
root and all

there is extreme satisfaction in the progress being made

it was back breaking, sweaty, hot, tiring work...

but somewhere in the quiet, shared repetition

i found my mind releasing its unwanted clutter

and allowing me to reclaim the space

for new thoughts, dreams, adventures, and plans.

and as you can see....i haven't quite figured out

if the changes are definite....

c'mon....you know it's a girl's perrogative to change her mind!

"for if i have learned nothing else, it is that the journey will always be unfinished"

~joan anderson

i haven't quit "walking the beach".

that is a place where i will always find serenity and peace.

but this journey i am on

encompasses so many other "places",

and so i felt a change was in order to reflect that.

i look forward to sharing and welcoming the course ahead!

kimberly