Quotes

Bouquets to you!  "I like you just the way you are." Fred Rogers

I get one of them everyday. They are like a best friend: kind, helpful, encouraging and never, never judgmental. Reading it on line is part of the Things I get to do today--usually one of the first.


We often look at situations and rate them--on a scale of one to ten, with one being not so good and ten being the best.  A recent awareness broke open the lid on this scale for me:  it doesn't have to peak out at a mere ten.  The quote for today:



"Let your dominant intent be to feel good which means be playful, have fun, laugh often, look for reasons to appreciate and practice the art of appreciation. And as you practice it, the Universe, who has been watching you practice, will give you constant opportunities to express it. So that your life just gets better and better and better." 
--Abraham (Abraham-hicks.com)

Get out there and play, have fun, laugh and appreciate.   There's a 15, a 20 and certainly a 100. Thanks for stopping by.  "May your day be blessing with good health, abundance and great, great joy."  I said that.

Hug and a Kiss

Stalled in the installation 

You never want your bathroom to look like this, especially your guest bath. Not for two weeks.  Not when you are expecting guests for the holidays.

It started with the sink.  Actually it began about 20 years ago with a chip in the enamel of that cast iron bowl.  After looking at it for 5 years (I didn't have my wise list of Things I get to do today at that time), I found some bathroom touch-up enamel to match.  It wasn't great, but at least your eyes weren't immediately drawn to the big black blotch that looked way too much like a spider at first glance.

When the rim went with freckles and speckles of rust, a new one was easy to install. But then the rust became serious and attack the sink itself.  Time to put it on the list of Things I get to do today.  But everything thing has a sequence.  A new sink cannot be installed if a new sink has not been purchased, so what was really on my list of Things I get to do today was buy a sink, then a bit later on another list, buy a faucet, and a week or so after that, ask Tyler (our young handyman) to take out the old one and put all the new stuff together (even Handy Andy's need help sometimes).

He did a great job.  But old plumbing and new parts are not often a marriage made in heaven. Running water without a drain is trouble for sure.  And then he had to leave--not planning to return for several  more weeks.

Water can't flow out the sink and into the wall.  The part we had
 still left a 2" gap directly below the sink.

I knew what was needed and hustled off to the store to find the items.  Zero.  Nothing.  The assistant at the store assured me that contractors used the cheap-o (my words here) sink trap kit he offered, but I felt sightly sick returning home with it.  An hour or so later I was off to a bigger store to find the real pieces. These looked better since they made out of the same materials we had removed. I thought I could make it work.   Checked under the sink.  Nope.  Still 2" short of reaching the trap.


You know what they say about the third time.  I was prepared with the above picture and the mismatched pieces in hand as I walked in and asked for a "plumbing expert."  The very nice man took me directly to a bin in the far back of the store, reached in and handed me exactly what was needed.  I was thrilled, relieved and ecstatic all at once.  "Would it be OK to give you a hug?"  I asked.  I was ready to throw my arms around him and plant a big kiss on each cheek, but I didn't bother to ask about that one.

Sink from Rebuilders for $15.

It was my job to finish this up unless I wanted to wait another two weeks.  Everything went together perfectly.  The water comes out of a new faucet into a second-hand sink and down the properly connected drain, not all over the floor and into the crawl space.

A day later, I still stop and peek into the bathroom every time I pass and admire the completed work.  Rust free, sparkling, and no drips.  My heart just pulses with appreciation for that fellow at the store who knew what I needed. I really should have asked about the kiss.

The shiny pipe worth more than one kiss

Hilda Saves the Day

My granola is the best.  I'm not being boastful.  That's really just another way of saying that I, personally, like it very much.  It's very crisp, a bit sweet and full of good stuff.  And best of all, the house smells wonderful when making granola is one of the Things I get to do today.

But baking the blend of oatmeal, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and chopped nuts is the hard part for me. Every 15 minutes I need to get myself to the oven and stir the granola in those two pans or the whole thing will be "toast" or worse. Twelve cups of too-brown/burned cereal is a lot to eat.  I'm a busy and sometimes distracted Handy Andy.  Besides that, my hearing is less than perfect.  I've set the timer on the stove to remind me, but if I'm out with the chickens, the timer is not going to trot out to the coop and tap me on the shoulder, nodding toward the kitchen.

Hilda Timer Hen

Here's where Hilda, bless her little ticking heart, comes to the rescue.  When I put the granola into the oven, I'll set Hilda Timer Hen for 15 minutes and put her in my pocket.  Her gentle clucking will keep my slightly connected to the kitchen project.  When she gives her little cackle "bing," I'll be sure to hear it.  What a clever hen!  What a clever me!  What a clever Karen who gifted me with Hilda last week!






My Granola:

8 cups thick rolled oats
1 cup each walnuts
                  almonds
                  pecans  coarsely chopped
1 cup each sunflower seeds
                  pumpkin seeds
Mix above together in large bowl

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup water
1 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mix this group of ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and stir to coat.  Spread evenly on baking sheets (I use 2 large ones) and bake at 325 degrees for one hour.  Stir every 15 minutes.  When it is golden brown, turn off the oven and leave the door open for a few minutes.  Then close the door, leaving the pans of granola in the oven until cool.  Transfer to an air-tight container for storage.  If you like dried fruit (raisins, dates, cranberries, etc), add them directly to your cereal bowl.  That will keep the fruit from turning into hard little bullets (your dentist will thank you) and the granola from becoming soggy.

I Want to Keep Them All

I have two dentists.  One I see twice a year for all the maintenance stuff.  The other I see about twice a year as well, but she's family, and we, just like you, seldom (never) do any dental work on family holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Instead we eat chocolates and sweets, enjoy ourselves and just generally have a grand time (brushing and flossing afterwards, of course).  Her office is in California, a long way from Oregon, so any dental work has to be special, just like the holidays.

My mouth has seen a ton of dental work--I believe "ton" is a technical dental term for the many hours I've spent in the chair over the years.  Repairs for decay and chips, root canals, caps and crowns had left me a rather mismatched and unique gathering of teeth .  I'm sure it made her fingers itch every time I opened my mouth.

Dr. Julie did my two front teeth and all visible teeth on
the right side (my left).

One day she tactfully volunteered that if I would get myself to her office, she would have a go at creating order and beauty with my visible top teeth.  So I did.  I can't tell you it was a picnic having three crowns and a bridge done in one day, but even the temporaries looked better than what I had.  And I went home a few days later with the best teeth I had ever seen.

Seldom does a day pass when I don't consciously appreciate what I see in the mirror, what my tongue feels, and what bites into my toast or an apple.  And now that I'm flossing that bridge, I don't feel the guilt of disregarding her gift to me: lovely teeth for a warm smile.   With my new commitment to flossing, I was a bit taken aback by a the first few words of a post on Dr. Julie's professional Facebook Page:  Did you know that you don't have to floss your teeth?  Dentists recommend that you floss only the ones you want to keep!

Things I get to do today: brush and floss those pearly whites, take really good care of them and say thank you.  So here it is:  Thanks--to you, Julie Furber, DDS, Yucaipa, California.

Must Dust

Let me guess.  Your favorite chore is dusting the house.  Darn!  How could I be so wrong?

Here's a confession.  Write this down:  I don't like dusting either.  I do, however, know how important "clean" is to our feeling of abundance and prosperity.  I choose to participate in it for that reason at least.

I had occasion to do some serious dusting not long ago.  Following my own mantra of "get to," I was looking for ways to change my thinking about the task.  I was cleaning knickknacks, a collection of odds and ends and small, but meaningful items that found their way into this family of objects.

The first items were little peasant musicians playing an assortment of folk instruments.  I credit them with changing my focus.  Maybe it was the silent tune they were playing.  As I picked up the second or third player, I observed what I was holding and thought of who it was that had gifted it.  At this moment my touch and the object sparked a significance.  Next there was a little box, a small picture, a mustard can, some stones, family pictures, a miniature mail box, a tiny book, a bell:  each item had big story, a past and a memory.

I was no longer dusting to clean a space, but I was honoring and sharing in the history of each object.    Appreciate means to grow in value, and as I dusted, each item became the valuable key to a sacred memory.  Next time dusting is part of Things I get to do today,  I'm going to milk the memories.