Self, Meet Self

I've been working hard lately to become friends with someone I've known for a long time.
Myself.
Not really my self-self....my emotional self and I are ancient friends. Old friends of the 'finish each others' sentences' variety. We've ridden life's roller coaster together, hold nothing back, keep no secrets. My spiritual self and I have grown very close these last years. There's been much wrestling and struggling, doubting and believing. We're in sync.
The self I'm working hard to befriend of late is my physical self.
The most elusive.
The least understood.
The most feared.
The least cared for....
the least cared for of all of my selves.

So, I ask myself. When I want to nurture a friendship, what do I do?

I take steps towards the other. I move out of my comfort zone. Initiate.
I open my eyes. Watch closely. Learn.
I extend my hand. Reach out. Give of myself. Offer good gifts.
And, more than anything else...I listen.
Nothing pulls me closer to another than listening closely to all that they have to share.

So that's what I'm trying. Especially the listening. The learning and the listening. It's a very strange reality to recognize that I've spent most of my life living as a stranger in my own body. Acting like it really didn't belong to me. Afraid it was ultimately stronger than I was. And certainly not caring for it like I could have.

I've been told I'm a very good, very loyal friend.  I sure do try to be. I believe the day will come when self - physical self - will wake up, look at me in the mirror, and thank me for being that good, loyal friend. I'm looking forward to the day when this new and promising friend will have turned into one of the known and precious variety.

Today I gave myself the gift of green. Lots of smmmoooooth green.
And physical self was quite pleased with me!
I think we'll hang out again soon.

{Smoothie Recipe Here}

Joining friends for

Little Things Thursday

and 

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Saving Saturday

"It is the sweet, simple things of life

which are the real ones after all."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

After a long day...

full of errands and tasks and not-fun-stuff...

it was good to simply come home.

To stand on the deck 

under the late afternoon sun

and watch a robin nibble on some berries.

To cook up a delicious dinner...

...with the guy that makes everything feel all better agian.

And to watch the setting sun paint my little corner of the sky.

These are the simple things that saved my Saturday.

Linking up with

Simple Things Sunday

Six Word Fridays ~ Chip

'Twas the night that the Pats

played, and all through the house,

the air held a spicy smell,
pleasing both me and my spouse!

I'd pinned { this } on Pint'rest, with

great love and care, hoping that

I'd found some real tasty fare.

The children were hanging with ol'

mom and dad....these fajitas were

perfect...which made us all glad!

No game is complete, it seems

safe to say, unless there's a 

chip or two served on a 

tray. So eat up, and catch

up, we did while they played...
it must have been lots of
fun....cause 'til midnight they stayed!



Please join in ~ caption your photos,
share quotes or tell us stories ~
six little words at a time!

Good Hours

One by one they come back down the stairs, a plate of hot food in their hands. The 

album pages have been pushed aside and the conversation is lively. I hear the pros 

and cons of marble vs. granite counter tops. I hear tips about good vacation spots. One 

woman is catching up with someone she hasn’t seen in a while, sensitively asking 

about her son’s progress in school. The middle school years were tough – the first year of 

high school is better.

The chicken – spinach – pasta bake that I made is a hit, and everyone’s wondering about my secret ingredients. The conversation shifts to pinterest.  iPhones buzz, and someone teases me about whether today’s lunch will make it onto the blog. I smile to myself, knowing that pictures of this meal are safely stored on my memory card…and that, yes, today’s lunch will probably make an appearance on the blog.

{recipe}

It’s funny how much these gals applaud the food I fix for them every week. I think it’s probably because someone else has actually done the cooking and they’ve gotten to take off their care-giver cap for a few hours. I’m guessing that the food tastes better to them then it really is! Whatever the reason, watching my friends relax and enjoy this time is one of the highlights of my week.

I stand up and start to collect the plates, “reminding” everyone to get back to work. Break’s over! As I climb the basement stairs that lead to my kitchen, I leave laughter and chatter behind me. Lunch is over, and we have a few more hours of scrapbooking before we have to head off to errands or to work or to collect children from school. These are good hours.

Hours spent on us and a craft that we enjoy. Hours spent with women we’ve grown to trust – at least enough to promise each other that what happens at scrapbooking, stays at scrapbooking! Hours spent making sure that our stories –the stories that make us who we are - will be passed down and told for years , for generations to come. Yes, these are good hours.

Back at my table, I sit quietly, choosing photos and planning layouts. A silence settles over the room, as each of us turns our concentration to the project before us. It’s a comfortable silence. It’s in this moment when I discover, quite by accident, how beautiful a subtly patterned sheet of paper looks behind some of my instagram shots. I cut...arrange...tape….and a walk I took this past spring comes back to life.

As I lift my eyes and watch the other five pairs of hands doing as I have done, I’m struck by the significance of this gathering. Called to these workshop tables to create memory books, we have been given so much more. We’ve been given warmth and nourishment, friendship and purpose. We are not only preserving memories, we are making memories. Together.

Fish for Dinner!

I had one very happy husband

at my house last Sunday night.

On the menu: Lemon Grilled Salmon

You see - he loves grilled fish....

Me? Not so much at all!

But, thanks to some inspiration from

a fellow blogger, I asked hubby

to grill salmon for dinner. Just 

like Jess showed us - with lots 

and lots and lots of LEMONS!

Hubby did not need to be

asked twice. He got right to

work, added some acorn squash to

the meal - and - oh, my....YUM!!!

So {I predict} there will be

more fish grilled here this summer....

because to my surprise - and his

delight - I really enjoyed every bite!

Linking up with Melissa
and sharing our Summer Happiness
six words at a time!

Good Morning, Bacon!

Mama Kat,
from that {pretty much world famous} writer's workshop,
wants to know the Top Ten Reasons Bacon is Awesome!

1. Bacon and Camping go together.

Anything that goes with camping is awesome!

2. Guys like to cook bacon.

I like it when the guys cook.

3. Bacon combines well with lots of things: 

sweet (pancakes) AND salty (eggs).

{especially beer batter pancakes!}

4. Syrup is Bacon's perfect dipping sauce.

Yummy!

5. Bacon and Diet Coke go together well.

{especially around a campfire}

6. Bacon is easy to share with your puppies.

7. Bacon is a perfect add-in.

Just cook two strips right into your chocolate chip,

beer batter pancakes. Delectable...

8. Bacon and Christmas morning go together.

And anything that goes with Christmas is awesome!

9. Bacon helps us enjoy snow days.

10. Then there are BLT's, bacon bits, fancy appetizers wrapped

in bacon, club sandwiches...

I know we shouldn't eat it that often,

but {oh} don't we all love bacon??!