Tuesday, June 26, 2018



For Today...
Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Outside my window...
The arborvitae outside my office window are struggling - 4 of 6 of them look to be dying. Nobody is watering them. Should I be watering them?? It is sunny today, a beautiful day. I am tired in and out and wishing to be in my garden, weeding, planting, having more than 5 minutes.

I am thinking...
About how to talk to my kids about racism. Their world is so white, so middle class...they have no idea. How do you explain to these babies that there are so many people full of hate? I will come at it from a "we believe all humans are equal" standpoint. See how that goes.

I am thankful...
For Purple Dove bush beans and Blue Lake bush beans....they are growing with flourish. What on earth am i going to do with all those beans?? Friendly Kitchen...here I come!


I am wearing...
my red hot pants and a somewhat slutty blouse (peekaboo cleavage opening) that I don't normally wear to work but I don't have any meetings and the bosses are away, so.

I am creating...
a home for my children that celebrates artwork, books, learning, personal goals, fun time, animals, the planet (earth science), and family. It isn't always clean (which is a gross overstatement...it is rarely clean). But it holds our love, I hope.

I am going...

to take some of the blessed surprise days off I found in my time off roster...I just can't figure out how or when! Oh Mama needs a day off.

I am wondering...
if the little girls Lucinda invited to her special Girls' Day birthday party will come. This is causing me great anxiety, but there's really nothing I can do about it. Am trying to "work my magic," and orchestrate the logistics and moods and needs...but i don't have any magic! I'm a regular mom just trying to make a special day. Worst case scenario, I will spend the day with my little sweetheart, heart of my heart, and we will tear up this town!

I am reading...
the Ramona books to my daughter at night, which is just about the most satisfying mother moment I have ever had. I dreamed of this my whole life. These were my favorite books by my favorite author, Beverly Cleary. Now Lucinda loves them so much and this has become our special time at night, after Jack passes out. She wants to write to Beverly Cleary and suggest a new book. I think that's a great idea!

I am hoping...
this slog-bog day will go very quickly so I can get to my garden and have some time alone.

I am learning...
to go with the flow. A life-long lesson.

In my garden...
I am very pleased to report that I planted the moonflower and the red cypress vines within the children's tunnel, and I have high hopes of them climbing toward the light and covering that tunnel like a little secret hideaway.

In my kitchen...
the crazy, relentless fish are growing bigger and bigger and they swarm the tank walls every time I approach. Nuts. The "pet project" was a big Mommy project, as it turns out - and as so many mothers before me have experienced.

A favorite quote for today...
“Each time a man acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope...and those ripples, together, build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression.” ~Bobby Kennedy #RFK50

A peek into one of my days...
...started with lying in bed hoping somehow to beat time. Time won. Got up and rushed like crazy to get to work on time, trying to get eyeballs to stop feeling like sandpaper. Stayed up too late binging on "Game of Thrones." Bf made me cinnamon rolls for breakfast and got everything out, as he always does, for my coffee fixins. He is a darling. Rushed to work, no altercations with aggressive Loudon truck drivers (tyG). Burrowed through emails, projects, event planning, and distracting activities like this one. Hopefully this day will end with leaving work, going to chiropractor, picking up a few tops which I desperately need in my wardrobe, and hitting the garden for some serious progress on the final section that needs digging. Dinner w my love and sweetness/sweatness.

One of my favorite things...
is playing car games with my kids, such as "I went to my Grandmother's Attic" or "Would You Rather" or "Opposites Game" or "Which one sounds kind and which one sounds mean?"

Post Script

(red-tailed hawk, photo from internet)

Thank you for reading.
~Ally

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Simple Woman's Daybook - June 14



For Today...
Thursday, June 14, 2018

Outside my window...
...outside my - office - window, there is a really ugly cement block and an endless array of construction workers who have been building the same tiny room aside a brick building for months. At one point they tore down the most beautiful huge tree that I have loved for years. They replaced it with a row of little bush/trees (arborvitae?), and left the nursery tags on, so someday, the bushes will grow tall and the birds will have to pick off those labels. When I was out earlier today, I saw one of my favorite city sights - a young preschool worker toting a big wagon filled with children. I love those kid wagons.

I am thinking...
(more like feeling) overwhelmed in my life at the moment. I feel like I am inside a tornado - everything swirling around me, pretty much no control over anything, never knowing what's coming (but it's bound to be familiar and the same and still frustrating). I feel overwhelmed with my schedule, my work and workload, my lack of free time this summer, my total lack of quiet time - except for gardening. I feel panicky about the kids and everything in that world. Strapped and hindered by tight finances. Frustrated with things happening around me that I cannot seem to influence. Having a hard time communicating. Feeling lonely and disconnected. Feeling generally crabby and spent and not "up for" what I need to do immediately.

I am thankful...
that I have a job. That I have a mom who lives nearby - my anxiety and agitation over her being gone this summer is simply due to the luxury of having gotten used to her being around. That I have a few people who dearly love me.

I am wearing...
the tunic and tights - almost the same outfit - that I wore when pregnant with Lucy...and Jack. Hoping nobody remembers or notices.  It's comfortable and I am too tired to deal with fashion today. And it isn't actually maternity-wear...

I am creating...
the most peaceful and beautiful garden this year. I am way ahead of last year in terms of getting my seeds and plants in. I have a lot left to do, but it is all gravy at this point, for the most part. The children came and enjoyed themselves TWICE last weekend - was a God-given miracle. Not sure if they will come again, but I am already grateful for those two visits.

I am going...
nowhere. This is one of my great frustrations. I need some time off and this summer, the time and money simply do not give way to vacations or even many day trips. I am trying to take the kids on some adventures. So any money will be saved for that. Otherwise, I'm just slogging through. I really need a mental break from work and home responsibilities. I need a serious unwind.

I am wondering...
when the next phase of my life will begin - either in the career realm or the home-making realm. H and I sometimes plan to live together, pick out houses and talk about yards and gardens, goats and chickens. Then sometimes we don't. [Hazards of a sun-Gemini and a rising moon-Gemini.] I have big plans for my next career but so many obstacles stand in the way. I am OK waiting for now, and working on my current job, which I at least half thoroughly enjoy.

I am reading...
not much. I started a few books and some even travel back and forth in my overnight bag. But I haven't opened any in a while. I do continue to peruse several child-rearing books. And "what's the deal with boys" books. And I just got "Two Kisses for Maddy" from the library after reading about it online. Haven't opened yet. Is due in a week. ;)

I am hoping...
to come upon some vacation time or some spontaneous quiet time, so I can get myself back in order.

I am learning...
to try totally new methods of relating in my boyfriend-relationship. No sense re-plowing old ground, right? Time to find some new ways of communicating and relating. This process I find to be difficult and confusing...but also freeing. Am trying to relax considerably.

In my garden...
I accidentally let the composter become a house for wasps - even though I was carefully warned against it (via articles read). So that sucks. I am breaking my back lugging gallons of water back and forth bc we haven't had rain in a while and I have a lot of new things planted. I need to replant all the snap peas. And crap! As I sit here, I realize I never "soak and nick"ed the seeds I meant to plant this afternoon. Shoot. Well, I will plant something else then. I need that garden time like it's an anti-depressant. Or coffee. Actually, garden + anti-depressant + coffee is a POWERFUL combination! :)

In my kitchen...
are a bunch of foods my children refuse to eat and none of the three foods they will consume: mac n cheese (Lucy), fish sticks (Jack), waffles (both). Hmm. This is not good. They come back home tonight.

A favorite quote for today...
"Your family is one of nature's masterpieces." I love this. And I do believe it.

A peek into one of my days...
Cue the circus music....

One of my favorite things...
is the ongoing dream to get three dogs someday: an English Setter (mostly white), a French Bulldog (white), and either an Irish Setter or a Sheltie (or an alternate days, a Great Dane).

Post Script
(Jack, Lucy, and friend Piper)
Hand-powered paddle boats at Chucksters - a brilliant invention for little kids (and those of us who always found paddle boats to be fatiguing and annoying)!

Many blessings to you and yours. Thank you for reading.
~Ally