Everything Will Come

Saturday was such as stormy day, with torrential rains and winds, so Chuckles didn't make much headway with the barn project, as the task scheduled was digging out around the footings of the overhang posts.  Any hole he dug filled instantly with water, so it was struggle he gave up on eventually. 

I had promised myself to get the hallway painted if it was raining, so that's what I turned my attention to.  I didn't start until after dinner Saturday, but I did get the walls primered before I went to bed.

 

Every corner of the yard is covered in leaves, so pretty!

Sunday morning was clear and crisp, and we approached the day with renewed enthusiasm after Saturdays somewhat depressing abandonment of the barn project.  Our coffee pot is on a timer and at 7am a delectable smell of coffee wafted into the bedroom, our signal for up and at 'em!  Chuckles left to go rent an excavating machine, and I began to prep some food for dinner, that could cook in a slow oven all day.  My intention was to start the painting project at 8am. 

However, the food prep was taking longer than planned, and just as I was lamenting that I was already behind before I had even started, my phone rang.  It was Chuckles to tell me he had just realized we didn't set the clocks back on Saturday night.  How did I forget?  I made a mental note on Friday that we needed to do this on Saturday.  Then I thought - perfect!  Not only was I not behind, I was actually ahead of schedule! 

I saw a saying on Facebook this morning that this situation really illustrates.

 

We needed more time, and better weather.  Sunday was a great day, Chuckles made headway on the barn project, and I got the hallway painted. 
I kept up with the Mindful Living Challenge over the weekend, although I didn't blog it at the time as I only had my iphone to work on.  I typed some short notes, which ended up full of predictive text errors, of course, so I have cleaned them up and added them here.

Day 2 challenge is to take some time observing your breath.  How does it make you feel?

Observing the breath makes me feel Calm almost instantly. As I do it now I feel the ache in my muscles from an evening of painting the hallway walls.  I  am aware of the silence of the house around me. I can hear a slight ringing in my ears. I have a lovely tired, sleepy feeling and some pride that I tackles a job I wasn't really looking forward to and now it's half-done already. I have a slightly bitter taste in mouth from the tea I just drank, making my tongue feel puckered.

Day 3 a ten minute meditation focusing on the breath

I did my meditation sitting out on the front step since I had been cooped up inside all day.  My “quiet place” in the country is actually alive with sounds which I was very aware of, sitting with my eyes closed and concentrating on my breathing. I found myself being very aware of my body too -  the slightly achy tooth and the scrunched feeling of my feet in my shoes. I felt a sudden ripple of joy hearing the birds, the cows and the wind in the leaves surrounding my yard. My heart palpably quickened at the sudden thought of “something else” I should be doing instead of sitting here.  I had to push these thoughts away and refocus on just my breathing. Not easy to keep my mind 'empty' !

 

Several weeks ago I filled three large planters with compost and soil into which I planted garlic and daffodils.  One of them I also put some lettuce seeds in and that one I have covered with a sheet of clear corrugated plastic to act as a greenhouse.  Though only a few of the lettuce seeds germinated, I now have about six lettuces that are thriving.  It's turned quite cold so I am interested to see if they continue to grow.