PUZZLES

Life is sometimes a puzzle to me.
I can't seem to leave it alone . . . my life.
Why can't I simply wander through each day and linger whenever I choose?
Why do I have to plan something or fix something or try to figure out my life?
Its impossible, you know.
One doesn't figure out one's life.
I should simply live it!

When life gets too intense and deadlines loom boldly in my face I simply step back and play with puzzles.
I try to fix things or find the missing piece when I have the least time for such trivia.
I remember learning to play bridge for the first time during college exam week.  That was eons ago but I still tend to digress from my schedule at the weirdest times.

For instance, remember the bricks I laid? (Previous Blog)
Here it is again.
The young guy who cuts our lawn told me of a 'close out' sale and offered to bring me as many bricks as I desired.
Sounded like a grand opportunity to create a 'little' path around my herb garden.

I think I simply laid down blocks and had no idea
what it looked like up close.  When I took this
picture I realized that it was 'legos gone wild.'

  Little path?
 I got a bit carried away.
 LOL.
It's OK. . . especially at the concave side on the left.
 I just followed the grass.

Some puzzles are best left alone but this one was too much of an eye sore to allow.
I HAD to fix it. . .  and fix it . . .  and . . .
Three very long days taking almost every brick out and creating a bit of order was back breaking . . . actually knee breaking.
 Oh, I had the knee pads and another little pad but I kept moving out of them.
 I'd lift several bricks at a time and move stones and whatever one does when solving puzzles.

This 'one-day' puzzle ended up taking
about two weeks, off and on.
I don't care how it looks.  I'm done.
I love lingering on the little bench and
watching my herbs grow.

Does this look better?
At least I no longer have a concave left side of the circle.
What seemed like a quick path around a bland garden has turned into a puzzle that I will forever be tweaking.
There always seems to be a missing piece.

Life is like that, isn't it.
Life seems like a puzzle with missing pieces.
Some people can accept empty spaces and simply enjoy the big picture.
 I am one of those people who chooses to forever look for the empty piece. . . that tiny, unfilled space.

I do pat myself on the back once in a while for attempting the project.  But I don't give myself enough credit for "completing it to the best of my ability."

And so I continue solving puzzles that take precious time from my work.
 I must say, the satisfaction does energize me and I seem to  meet the immovable deadlines.
 I'm also learning flexibility.
 Why not digress from my 'list' once in a while.
Why not breathe deep and accept imperfection.

Can you see the missing piece?

That reminds me.
 I purchased a puzzle for $4 at the chocolate store.
 I thought my 97 year old father would like it when I visit next winter (south . . . in the sun . . . warm . . . where I thaw out for a few days).
Only 500 pieces.
 How hard could that be?
 I'd never put a puzzle of more than 20 pieces together before.
 I wanted to make sure all the pieces were there.

Talk about digressing from life.
I was addicted!
 I'd linger after my morning workout to put a 'few' pieces together and . . . three hours later . . .
Needless to say, I get up very early and the basement is a perfect place to hide with a puzzle.
 I think it only took a few days to put it together but it was absolutely the wrong time.
 I had so many commitments that could not be ignored. . . and then . . .

Close up shot.  One piece missing and the puzzle
seems incomplete.  Yet, why not simply look at this
as an incredible accomplishment . . .  especially
when putting together the chocolate pieces.

. . .  I could not believe it.

A missing piece!
How dare they!
No wonder it was $4!

Life is full of missing pieces.
No matter how long and hard we work at living life, there are always holes.

As I age I am learning to linger with those holes.  Digression makes a 'hole' in my schedule. Yet it helps me to enjoy empty space.


It's a way of saying to myself, b-r-e-a-t-h-e.
It took a lop-sided path and a puzzle without a piece to help me see that holes in life are not so bad.

My life-verse reminds me of this. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him (and the holes in my life) and He will make those holes of life acceptable [actually, 'He will make your paths straight']."

I continue to learn to look at the big picture of my life, holes and all.

SOUL REFRESHMENT

It's too hot to think, much less keep up with chores
Do I work or do I linger?
Do I feel a sense of accomplishment by DOING . . . or . . .
    is lingering more beneficial to my soul?
The dust piles up.
The to-do list gets longer.
I opt for soul-refreshment.

The words, 'soul-refreshment' seem to sound as cool as that stream of water I can only imagine running through my back yard.
Yes, we had a thunderstorm the other day that drenched deep.
Now we are parched again.
At least we had SOME rain.
We are doing better than most parts of this scorched earth.

Golden wheat was ready for harvest in early July.

The empty field is left to dry out for a season

I took a picture of the'Tea in a Garden' basket I created for a fund raiser.

The winner gave this to two Amish girls.
After enjoying their "Tea in a Garden," they
re-planted the flowers in their own little garden.

I look at the blooms that show off their vibrant color in the stinging sun.

The colors POP

I ponder over a path that I created around a benign herb garden.

It all looked so bland that I opted to create a "little"
brick path around each of the four quarters.
After all, the bricks were half price!
I should have left it alone but it IS much easier to get around.

Now it looks like 'legos-gone-wild.'  Oh My!

I'll re-work some of the bricks ... some day.
Right now I simply stare at it from an upstairs view.
Can you see the water hose at the bottom of the page?
That leads to a concrete stoop and entry into our shed.

 And so I sit.
Our annual drought dims the grass to parched tan.
Roses hold back their blooms.
Russian Sage loves every minute of scorching heat.

If grass can hibernate so can I.
I take my queues from God's creation.

 And so I sit as I write to whomever in the world reads this.
My soul refreshes in sharing my moments on the porch with you.
Sit down.
Join me for a spell?
Linger in this quiet moment.
Ahhhhh,
 . . . feel refreshed?

This is my most favorite 'summer spot.'  It's upstairs so I can
see the whole backyard garden from here.
 My morning reading is in the basket.
The curtain by the chair blocks the morning sun.
Just tie it in the middle and I still see the garden.

A simple breakfast sits ready.
Fun herbs and plants offer quick clips for salads.
My most favorite chair in summer.

I think I will browse a bit and find interesting thoughts to ponder on other blogs.
This lingering can become a habit.
Ahhhhh, soul refreshment.

JULY 4TH

We say, "July 4th" and every citizen of the United States of America knows exactly what this means.

We celebrate with flags and parades and fireworks and picnics.

Day Lilies bursting like fireworks!
Notice the 'flag' look of the shaded shingles.

We linger in the wonder of it all.

Our independence has been and continues to be hard fought.

Daily we pray for our troops and those protecting us in our towns, cities, within this country and abroad.

We are so blessed with dedicated people who work hard in varied capacities to allow us the luxury of taking this day off to celebrate our freedom.

Yet, freedom is never free, is it.

My flag wall

I am so in love with this country and what it has offered me and those I love that I celebrate all year long.  In fact, when I went to my file to find a picture of a flag, I could only find what reminds me of flags.

I have the 'flag-look' all over the house and garden.

Some shots you have seen before.

No high flying flags . . .  but you get the idea.

I'm proud to be an American and to live in this land of the free.

Address card holder.  Although we have everything
on the computer, I still enjoy my 'paper trail.'

My girlfriend made this pot holder that sits on
my counter, ready for hot things . . . like my
morning tea.

Fun flag in the garden.

A flower arrangement that is over twenty years
old sits on a table at my dad's home.  His wife
loved red, white and blue too.

My neighbor made this flag.

My worn out chair that
I so love.

Stars and Stripes

My summer arrangement for the front door.

I saw this design at a museum and tried to
re-created it.  Look closely.
WELCOME! lingers within the stars and stripes.

Uncle Sam 'nods' back and forth
when I give him a slight push.

Gussy up a plain white chair with a little flag.
Why not!
The slip of canvas easily comes off
when I choose.

My sister gave this to me years ago.
I move it around to fill an empty spot.

Just enough room on top of tall book cases
for a patriotic theme.

Stars and Uncle Sam linger on top of another book case.

My all time favorite print . . .  Jasper Johns

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

TWO CHAIRS

I saw two chairs made of ash,
My friends were ready to trash.
I asked if I might,
Given such a sight,
Remove and change them in a flash.

The years they sat out of doors,
Took away their beauty by the score.
They languished so long,
Where they did not belong,
And their finish was unsightly and poor.

So I began to refinish as I ought,
A few hours at most, I thought,
But to my surprise,
I was not very wise,
More Minutes and hours I sought.

To strip pealing paint seemed so simple
But I made progress as small as a dimple
The more that I scraped
The more time escaped
And when sanding I thought of Miss Wimple.




She's well known in my head over years
In my brain endless stories I'd hear.
she'd rock forth and back
As she'd linger and chat,
And enjoyed birds singing in her ears.

I managed to work very hard,
As I lingered for hours in the yard.
I sanded and scraped,
Lost in thought I escaped,
To stories of Miss Wimble 'til jarred.

My thoughts returned to my view
Of ashen chairs, half dead, made new,
With deep bluish stain,
And much love to gain,
Two chairs are now ready for you.

Lets linger in the garden, you and me,
And think of the beauty we see.
Let's sip lemonade,
And wonder who made,
These treasured two chairs for no fee.

TIME IN THE GARDEN

I am finally in the garden again.

Distractions have interfered with my focus on flora but now I can spend a bit more time deciding what to do with all this foliage.

Parts of the garden are new this year.

Parts have taken three years to flourish.

I love it all.

I want to fill in all the empty space but I know better.

There is still much to transplant.

Too much blue in front.

Almost no blue in back.

Oh my!

This gets complicated.

I just want to watch the garden grow and see what happens.

The bamboo trellis is ready for the beans that are suppose
to grow and twist around it.  It's not hot enough yet.
The banner was given to me by my sister years ago.
I love letting it wave in the breeze.
I want to tell people, "Come, sit in the garden."

Pink Hydrangeas are now blue after adding
aluminum last year.  It took my Astilbe
three years to pop with red and look healthy.

This is a better shot of the hill.  I love the three
terraced beds.  Each has a personality of its own.

Blue Creeping Geranium is overtaking my Russian Sage!
Day Lilies are trying to peak through.
I guess I have a little work to do.

Paprika Yarrow seems to POP!  I so love them.
I know they will look tacky when they fade but
for now they look like an ice cream sundae!

So, I have a choice to make each day.  I can linger in the garden and smell the wonderful scents or I can do just a little bit of work to keep this moment of beauty fresh.

Some days I opt to linger.
Other days I begin to pluck tired buds or that unwanted weed and before I know it I have spent two hours in the garden.

Choices turn challenges into joy.
Time in the garden is so short in this region.
Summer hopefully will live up to its name in a couple days.
For now, it is rainy and cold with spurts of hot.
That's the challenge, though.
Each day seems to unfold with just the right amount of time in the garden.

I ponder here.
Newly trimmed rose bushes will soon overtake the empty space.
That's the fun.  Trim them and they will grow!

So I continue making choices: to linger or to work or to do a little bit of each.
It's a question most of us ask daily as we go about our chores . . . either at our workplace or at home or both.
 Do I linger awhile and enjoy the moment?  YES!
Do I work a little so those 'linger-moments' are a delight? YES!

That is what makes our lives complicated.
Life, like our gardens, needs tending.
Life, like our gardens, needs enjoyment.
We can have both but that is the challenge we face daily.
Sometimes a little lingering, a little mulling over our 'life garden' is a challenge but the results, hopefully, will grow memories that last forever.

   

My little herb garden looks so drab.
I want to fill the space with color but I'll be patient.
I took this shot a few weeks ago.
I will show mature plants in a week or two. 

I love the textures and colors that POP
in our front yard.  What whimsey!

The back yard overlooks open fields, cut short
by a 'hedge' of huge trees that bloom full
and partially cover our view.  That's OK.
We have plenty of birds and roses to
keep our attention.

THE FIRE

It seems like it happened yesterday when I heard the news that the chapel at my alma mater had burned beyond repair.

Not the chapel!

My mind lingers in a flood of memories.

Our daily 'mantra' was "Chapel, class and lunch."

No matter what our schedules, we always began the day with a chapel service.

Our graduating class even donated a small stained glass window for one of the side windows.

It's gone.

Melted.

In the intense heat a tiny piece of coal expanded into a flame that overtook centuries of memories.

It has been years since I was there but we finally visited the campus.

Almost nothing had changed . . .  except the site of the chapel.

A chain link fence keeps us out of a very precarious structure . . . purposely left standing for all to see . . . it's just a building . . . which will be replaced by a structure far more practical, more easy to maintain and just as beautiful.

But the memories . . . will they keep?

I think so.

The heart seems to keep such treasures secure for our lifetime . . .  

Memories are like that.

When I find the time to linger on the porch and do little more than remember, I will re-imagine exactly how the building was shaped and what went on inside . . .  every morning . . .  before entering our various classrooms.

The beauty of destruction:
 strong lines, beautiful angles,
beams meant to last more than
 a couple of centuries.

The crisp white of 'Main Hall,' so close that it could be attached, towers
 above  charred remains.  Even the ancient slate seemed to melt.

The Rose Window, loved by all who saw it,
remains strong in contour.  A flower that retains its
stature after the color is gone is still beautiful.

Red brick, fired to withstand the centuries, has
held this edifice together.  I wonder if someone
gently touched the tower . . .  would it crumble?
The bell no longer chimes since the old rope sizzled away.

I am told the mortar is so lose that all will topple
in a severe storm.  It seems to retain such strength.
I definitely see strength of character.

The trees on each side of the door we entered each morning
seem to defy all odds.  Green blooms spring forth to remind us
that life is always regenerating.
Life keeps blooming in the midst of ashes.

These are the 'bones' of the chapel, sort of like our bones.
When all the 'flesh' is gone, the structure seems haunted.
Yet, as with ourselves, the soul remains.
 Our souls, given freely to God in Christ, live forever.
The soul of this chapel will live forever in our hearts.
 

 Spending an hour with this building taught me that life-expectations, like this chapel, can fizzle in a moment.
We may go through a devastating fire that leaves us feeling, and looking, like a walking skeleton . . .  torn to shreds, gray as ash . . .  yet when we give our soul to God, fully, as His servant, we can stand tall, and know that we also can be rebuilt.
Devastation can hold us back for awhile but, with God's help, we can 'rebuild' our lives stronger . . . with greater purpose . . . more inspiring than before.

May the fires of life not hold us back but provide soul- strength we never felt before.

[By the way, the new structure will be placed right next to this chapel site and retain the beauty and integrity of a place that will linger in my memory for the rest of my life.  The site of the 'old' chapel will become a meditation garden.]

FLAGS and FREEDOM

Our small community flies the Flag
all year.  This was take during the
only snow storm we had all year.

 FLAGS remind me of the freedom we have living in the United States.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day I put out all items that look anything like a flag.


I have always been a 'red, white and blue' person, forever aware of the awesome freedom we have been given . . .
to be who we want to be . . .
to work at the job we choose . . .
to gain FREE education, at least through 12th grade, if we choose to apply ourselves,
to worship as we choose . . . without the government mandating that which is against our religious beliefs.

One of the main reasons we adhere to a great Constitution is our freedom of separation of church and state.
Our government does not mandate how or  when, or to whom, we are to worship.
That is what we fought for . . .  why our FLAG was created . . . to separate us from 'kings' that told us how, or not, to worship God.

 Employers can mandate what employees can and cannot do in the workplace.  It is a private business.   In that case, the 'state' cannot mandate what employers must or must not do regarding religion . . .  or can they?

Each morning about five homes on our block
make sure the flag is flying daily.  It is
amazing how early some get up as
someone always has theirs up before us.

Raising a flag tells others that, no matter how we disagree with the way we are governed, we have the freedom to disagree.
The Flag says so much.

                     

Flowers seem to capture the essence of what I
 try to express.  They last all summer!

                                             

                                                        In the middle of the garden lies a 'flag'.  This one
                               seems impervious to rain storms.

This 'flag' box has been with us for years.
It is filled with names of people we know and love.
The dog eared, stained, ratty cards, used over decades,
remind me of the grittiness of life lived to the fullest.
That's the ultimate blessing of Freedom.

As we all know, freedom is never free. 

That is why we send soldiers to fight wars, endless wars, centuries of wars.

Thousands of lives have been lost to uphold this gift of freedom.

 That's a steep price to pay.

That is why people are willing to wait years to legally immigrate to the United States.

Freedom gets sticky. 

 Yet, we have the freedom to challenge our government.

We have a say. 
We not only have the FREEDOM to vote,
we must take this responsibility seriously.
Too often we become disillusioned with the way our country, our state or our county is being governed.
Nothing will change if we do not VOTE!

So, FLY THE FLAG and be proud that we are in this incredible country . . . and VOTE!

I put this up for
the summer. 

My neighbor makes these wooden flags.
Theirs sits out all winter.
I will see how mine looks in a year.
Old, worn ... like our freedom.

             

My flag basket, so weathered,
 greets guests.
Vilkommen ... Welcome.

You think I have shown you a lot of flags?

This is just a few of the many 'flag' items you will see throughout the summer.

One accumulates a lot of flag ideas in a lifetime.

I am proud of my heritage and the wonderful 'mix' of individuals from all over the world who reside in  this United States of America.

I bet you are too.

Show it.

I encourage you to fly the flag as often as is possible . . . 

 or plant a few little Flags in a pot and put it by your entrance.  

Flags won't wilt and might be quite inviting for visitors.