August break (summer dress)

Let me make one thing clear - I DID NOT make this!

I don't have the creativity, talent, or patience to make something this cute.  But, my mamma does!

Thank you, Mom!

I'm participating in:

this moment (summer)

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

I'm also participating in:

Hallelujah

As I approached my building this morning, a celebratory song entered my head - Hallelujah!

Crazy....................right? That a crane should fill my heart with joy!

We've been without air conditioning in my office for the last 5 weeks.  They have been very hot weeks.

Oh . . .so . . .HOT!

The culprit . . .

This 800 lb motor that died.  Amazing that this small piece of metal can weigh so much and be so powerful!  Even more amazing the impact it has had on the 15 or so of us who have been working in the oven we call offices.  Sad, really (ahem).

But, it is fixed and the cool air is blanketing me as I type.  And, next week, I'll be wrapped in a sweater because we run the air too cold! 

For now, this sight brought a smile to my face and I am happy with that!

Beckoning

The morning air was filled with a haze that left me breathless.  It was thick this morning and difficult to see.  I sat in meditation as I do each morning.  It has become an important part of my morning routine, though some days it feels another thing to check off my to-do list.

But today was different.  Upon leaving meditation, I felt a beckoning.  The thick, foggy air seemed to be extending an invitation.  Come join me and see what you don't usually see, it seemed to say.

So, I did!

And I did fell compelled to see more . . .

I felt so called to soak in this strange and mysterious morning, that I even stopped along the roadside on my way in to work.

Nature is very, very inviting.  How does nature beckon to you?

Meditation Images

My eyes are closed.  In front of me appears a funnel-like image.  It is blueish against the black background of my meditation.  On the surface of the funnel are hundreds of white-framed images, photos I think.  I recognize them as my thoughts.  Most are of work, some of home, some of the conversation about faith that dances in my head.

I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of images I see.  For it is rare for me to visualize anything in meditation and I know there is a reason these images have appeared today.  My body has been sensing for days the familiar chaos of August.  The tension in my neck is mounting, the tired in my eyes is appearing.  My heart is racing and I feel my body pulling back, resisting this busyness of August.  

For years, this month brought new beginnings, fresh starts, renewed energy, new friends.  But not this year.  This year it's bringing tornado like images and sensations within my heart and mind.

And it makes me wonder, why am I here?  Is this the place for me anymore?

Tears fall down my face, eyes still closed, body still immersed in the lotus position.  This, too, is a recent effect of meditation.  Tears.

There is a reason for this that will be revealed in time.  In time . . .

Peace

In the hectic pace of a normal week, I've been forcing myself to find places of peace.  This is fairly new for me, but, oh so welcome.  

So, this week brought the completion of our bathroom renovations, then cleaning, then carpet cleaning, then moving furniture back into their proper places, (at least the proper places we've decided for them now because putting them back where they were before the carpets were cleaned wouldn't make any sense), gymnastics, vege pick-up, planning and preparing for birthday parties, and a number of fires to put out at work!  It's been busy...

But, I found that peaceful place - right, smack-dab in the middle of the week in the middle of an errand I had been asked to run.  It was found in a moment that I wouldn't normally have had in the course of a week.  It was found in a quite familiar place.

and I stopped and a I breathed . . .

for about 10 minutes . . .

and then I went about my life, all the better for this moment.

Veges

We joined a Community Supported Agriculture this summer (because I'm a working mom and couldn't tend a full blown garden if I wanted to).  We do have a small garden and a love of home grown, fresh vegetables.  And we live in an area ripe for buying locally grown produce, eggs, meats.  Thank goodness for that!

So, Wednesday is Vege Day in our home - almost as exciting as gymnastics day or library day!  Vege pick up invites the surprise and anticipation of the week's offerings.  Whatever is ripe is what we get.  Then, the trick of learning what to do with this bounty.  

The kids are involved in this, too.  That's the point, really...

When I arrive home from work on Wednesday evening, they are lined up with my grocery bags and ready for the road trip.  They love to select the perfect cucumber or choose from the variety of herbs.  Sometimes they pick the prettiest herb - like pineapple sage - which I have NO idea what to do with.  They are very pretty, though.

My kitchen has become something of a culinary lab with new (to me) concoctions such as strawberry/rhubarb crumble, garlic scape pesto, and haluski.  Up this weekend is apple oatmeal cookies, garlic green beans, roasted potatoes with chives.  Delicious!  

I've enjoyed the discovery, the adventure, and learning all wrapped up in a few simple veges.