Capturing Time, Capturing Life

Time heals all wounds. Time in a bottle. Once upon a time. Time will tell. There's a time to reap, a time to sow. Summertime. Dinnertime. Time to walk the dog.  Time to smell the roses. Time to work, to sleep.  There is a time for everything under the sun.

Once upon a time, I felt that time/life was slipping too quickly from my grasp.  Time was fleeting.  I felt that there was nothing I could do to still the ebb of time. Time was speeding by, lightening fast.  I felt I was running out of time. Never enough time.  Life is too short.

I am not sure when I made the conscious, concerted effort, to change my way of thinking about time and its effect on my life, but I did. I decided to take back time, capture life.  I stole the batteries from the clock.  I let all the batteries in my large collection of wrist watches slowly die without rushing to rescue them.  When the power went out, I didn't run to reset the clock on the microwave. I would do everything I could to slow down this speeding car called Time; I would capture time.

This past summer has been my summer of slowing down and taking time... to take my time.  I made changes  that I hope will effortlessly flow into our busy school year schedule.

Slowing down is important.  Taking my time is important. This is my new mantra.

This little blogging space is such a source of sadness and joy for me.   In its absence from my daily routine,  I have been able to see how much time it stole from me.  Time that was needed elsewhere. Time that was meant for someone else.

As Fall begins to creep in and Summer readies to take her nap, I am more mindful of the passing of time. More mindful of  how very precious time is and how important it is to take time to enjoy the journey.

ANNA QUINDLEN : Life is made of moments, small pieces of silver amidst long stretches of tedium. It would be wonderful if they came to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won't happen. We have to teach ourselves how to live, really live...to love the journey, not the destination.

 Life is too short to sit idly by and watch it leave you in the dust.  Get in the car and drive! Take hold of the wheel, give Father Time a run for his money.  Love the journey.

The here and now

Right here and now~

:: Seeking calm and order. Making a schedule for the farm chores, household stuff , myself and kids.
:: Striving to live fully the length and breadth of this life.
:: Seeking simple. Purging the 'shtuff' that has piled up over the summer. Sorting and culling school books.
:: Loving my morning coffee.
:: Experimenting more and more with fermented foods...sourdough, Lemonade and pickles.
:: Not wholly loving the darker-colder mornings, despite my love of Fall.
:: Preserving like a crazy person-canning, freezing, dehydrating. Ad nauseam.
:: Struggling to get the kids motivated in the a.m.
:: Sad at all the "things" I didn't get done this summer that I had hoped to.
:: Watching the BBC show Sherlock and loving it.
:: Dreaming about sneaking off to the ocean.
:: Grumbling that the chickens continue to escape and feast on the beloved tomatoes.
:: Wanting to be writing again.
:: Embracing Gratitude-every day.

:: Digging deeper-in all areas of life.

:: Excited to see how many of the Blue Orpington hatchlings are hens.
:: Enjoying the last of the fresh garden veg.
:: Appreciating my darling husband building the much needed Le Poulet Chalet.

Here

I am dusting off the old keyboard. Scooping out the closets of the mind and putting pen to paper (Or finger tips to keypad...?) I am finding my way around Blogger again. I am reintroducing myself to this place. I am shedding the guilt of having not written here for too long. I am determined to document Life here.

I have for years, longed to make this little space wholly mine. To write what needs saying or remembering: Write what seems pertinent at the moment. To sometimes just rant or blather on about nothing. To push aside that inner naysayer/grammar critic and just write. When I am not here putting down those memories that flit away all to quick, I am dreaming about being here....writing something.  I have a constant commentary running with words compiled just for this space. Pictures dance in my head of what this place could be, the scrapbook of Life lived it might become. 

But alas, Life, she is a Heavyweight player. She takes my hand and leads me down roads I'd rather not take. She is continually distracting me with the things that "need" doing, pushing me here or there. She calls me back to reality when I would rather stay in my garden with the plants that don't back talk.  Life pulls me from deepest sleeps to wipe fevered brows and soothe away nightmares. She is the friend in desperate need of an ear when the children are wild and screechy. She is the overdue bills and tragic death.  She is the dinner burned and acrid, a dead refrigerator full of rotted food, your favourite blouse stained. She is the skinned knees and broken hearts. Life is the never ending laundry and dirty dishes; the weeds that never stop growing and the blackberries that threaten to take over everything.

Life is here also, in the seeking of beauty in the "everyday". She is here in the mess and detritus of this homeschool life, where we push the laundry off the couch and snuggle up to read "Little House" again. Life is here, in the body shaking belly laughs of my small ones. She is here, in that one great lucky shot, where the  picture taken exceeds all expectation. She is glass half-full, not half-empty or broken and spilled. She is here, in the hot jealous tears and the teaching moment. Life is here, in lovingly hand-made notes tucked into the letterbox. She is tucked into beds with fresh pressed sheets.

She is here, in all the good

   the crackling fire

   blue pools for swimming

   good books and The Good Book  

   loved ones to hug tight 

   homegrown tomatoes

   dancing in the rain 

   A++ papers 

   hot coffee

   matching socks 

   grace, peace, mercy and forgiveness   

   slobbery kisses

   good hair days 

   pants that fit 

   sunshine

 and bad and ugliness of every day.

Here in this place, Life is calling out to be lived fully; remembered wholly and documented carefully.  Here, with my words-with my photos-with my rants, blathering and grammatical faux pas , Life is the collective memory I hope to fearlessly record in this place.

Life

 This past year has been a sea of emotion.  Joys and sorrows.  Gratefulness and peace.

The ebb and flow, felt as thought I were being pulled out to sea one minute and the next, felt like I was drowning. Once or twice I cried a sea of tears. Tears of joy, frustration and deep sorrow flooded from me. There were days that I just bobbed along peacefully.  At times I wrestled  fiercely with life, yelling out to God from the quiet of my garden.  Some days, I sat quietly and drank it all in; storing up every blessed moment.

There are so many things resting on my heart that warrant sharing but as I ease back to this beloved space I find that I can only share the simple, not the deep.

A frosted Barley Pop on the only (nearly) hundred degree day of the summer.

The piano, on loan to Calamity Farmstead, brings me joy (most) every morning.  (Note to self: teach kids new song....'Heart and Soul' is grating on my nerves.)

Attention: Blog post in progress

Yep, you heard right.  I Katie, of sound mind and interweb *squeal*, am working on a blog post.  With pictures.  O' yeah baby! Pictures, glorious pictures.

It makes me slightly giddy.

Stay tuned.

Happy New Year!

This is the year for me.  I can feel it, right down in my muddy little farm boots.  This is the year I will get the interweb! 

I have done much research.  I have harbored much hope.  I have saved my pennies and nickles, quarters, Christmas cash...you name it. I have called the big-fat interweb company....

Look out bloggy friends.  Katie will be back.  Soon.

Happy, happy day.

Finding time and loosing it again

It seems to me that I am always loosing time. Time slips between my fingers like the dirt I sift in my garden.  Today I had to find the time to sneak off to the library and blog.  After waiting in line (time slipping from my grasp) for a computer to open up (more lost time) I am now blogging with a freinzy not known to me. 

I feel like my time is so very precious, yet I squander it at every opportunity.  I love to loose myself in the land of blog.  I greatly enjoy reading the stories of others; their joys, sorrows and trials put my own into perspective.


Over the Labour Day Holiday weekend my family, along with most of my husbands sisters and brothers, traveled to the Oregon Coast.  We all shared in a precious gift while there; time spent together.  We made many new memories while reliving many old ones.  We attended a wedding and most of us wept at the beauty of the new lives joined together. 

Our time spent on the beach itself ranked at the top of  the list with all of the children

...as well as our dog Jane.

My boys started up a game of Sandball and made some great memories of their own.

All in all, our time spent at the coast was time I didn't mind loosing.  And I daresay everyone else felt the same way.

I hope you all  are able to find the time to make some time.  And find it precious indeed.

Falling in love

I am so in love with Autumn!  It is my all-time favourite time of year.  The light, the brilliant colors and yes even the fog, all act as a balm for my summer frazzled soul.

My computer/interweb woes still abound but at least I can gaze out my window and clamp eyes on the gorgeous colors of fall; dreaming all the while of all the great blogs I will write... one day.

Hello friend

I have to say, the desire to blog has been great but the motviation to get off my tushie and venture to my local library has been well, small and unproductive.

I am still without interweb at my home and it makes me sick. Daily.  Friends, for such a tech-not, I do lurve me some computer time. 

My dear friend Miriam, reminded me that November is National Novel Writers Month or Nanowrimo as we lovingly call it.  I am determined to write up my daily quota even with out the interweb access. I have grand plans to involve the spouse and children as well.  We shall see how this transgresses.  It is November the third and I have as yet started said writing and have a severe lack of ideas for anysuch writings but am no less determined.  My children have tackled the project with a vengence and my husband has only raised his eyebrows in distrust of the whole affair.

While I am working up the courage to write I have been daydreaming 'Anne of Green Gables' style of what adventures my characters will find themselves stumbling upon.  I have high hopes, but life always seems to get in the way of my hoping.

And alternately, my blogging.

Just Nuts...

I said to myself the last time I was blogging from the library... 'just nuts'.   Some of you may remember the sweet gal I met the last time I posted via the library computers. 

Lazy daze

This past week has flown by in a blur of heat waves and hours spent in the backyard pool. This morning dawned cooler promising a break in the hundred degree weather.

As I did my morning rounds about the garden I had to snap a shot of my favourite butter yellow Nasturtium. My sweet friend Miriam is green with envy over this little gem. I will be sure to gift her a packet of seeds next spring.

I have all sorts of gardening/life news to share but right now I just need to sit in the shade and sip some Sun Tea. And enjoy the buttery goodness of that cute little Nasturtium.

Just a word or two...

So... it would appear that I have fallen from the face of the interweb. I still must venture out to partake of others generosity IE: interweb/functioning computer usage. Most days it seems I shall never blog again.


As of right now, all of the time I would have spent blogging is now consumed by tending my burgeoning garden.


At least I have something to keep myself sane in the blogging interim.



Friends, what have you been up to?