Seasoning

Winter

Bear claws

Digging into the earth

Scrunching autumn leaves;

Acorns

Sinking into rain-softened ground;

Traveling flocks

Circling in the crisp morning air

Squirrels

Chipmunks

Raccoons

Preparing for a long winter season.

And I

With my cocoa

Huddle under my next quilt

 

It was so cold this morning. A co-worker of my husband’s came down to New Mexico to escape a storm brewing in Colorado. Surprise!! I guess he brought the snow with him. The world is spinning, sometimes out of control. The seasons seem to fly through time as if they were on fast forward. Remember how slow life was when we were five. “just a few more minutes! “mo’um!” Now what I thought was a few months ago was a year or two. My curious three-year-old is in her thirties. And I am way past doing backwards somersaults. Winter is coming, the moisture ladened clouds hover over the tips of the mountain range. The cranes, calling to each other in the morning, are back. Pumpkin is in everything, Black Friday came before Halloween! and its time to plan Thanksgiving Day dinners.  I feel like I’m being rushed. I feel like I’m always on the wrong side be it politics or society. And I am getting old! Am I doing everything my god wants me to?

Before your season gets too stressed. Sit in front of your fireplace, relax a minute and remember….

John 14:27

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

May all of your seasons give you joy!

PENNIES

PENNIES

Please don’t take the pennies!

I learned to count with pennies.

They are my history.

One, two, three,

Look at me.

Four, five, six,

A tower to fix.

Seven, eight, nine,

Ten

Makes a dime.

Not enough for ice cream

Anymore
 

Shh

Quiet

 

Shhh

Quiet

Where are the noises of yesterday?

Trucks rumbling, growling, up the hill

Braking noisily again at the bottom.

Shh

Where are the birds?

No sweet singing

No honking in flight

No buzzing of bees and humming birds.

Shh

Where are the calls of children, laughing on their

Way to school

Playing tag in the neighborhood,

Kick the can and mother may I

Shh

Where are the dogs?

Yapping at passersby

Howling at strangers

Growling with a stick in their mouths

Wrestling

shh

I am alone

And its too

Quiet

Shh

I Dreamed About You

I dreamed about you last night!

 

But then I dream a lot, some crazy, some vivid. I remember, as a child listening to the story of the child Samuel, having a particular dream.  He was living with the priest, Eli, when he heard someone call him by name. He got up and ran to Eli saying, “I’m here. Thou callest me.” Eli said he hadn’t and sent him back to bed. After this happened three times Eli told Samuel that it was the Lord calling him and to say “Speak Lord for thy servant heareth.”  I had many dreams over the years hearing a voice yell “Wendy!” I sat up, and yelled What? I wonder what I missed out on!

Do dreams really mean anything?

While we enjoy recalling our dreams the following day, some people think it’s important to decipher if there’s any significance in dream meanings.  My daughter has a book of dreams, and sometimes I call her us to see what my dreams mean. Remember dreaming that you got to school and forgot to do your homework. That means you feel unprepared. There are many different theories when it comes to whether dreams mean something and most of those theories offer different views.

One neuro-biological theory of dreaming is the Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis.  The theory states that dreams don’t actually mean anything. Instead they are merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and imagery from our memories.

Renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud thought otherwise. He believed that dreams revealed unconsciously repressed conflicts or wishes.  Therefore, according to Freud, your dreams reveal your repressed wishes to you.

Another theory is the Threat Simulation Theory, which describes dreams as a defense mechanism our brains put in place to prepare us for scary events. This allows us to face our fears.

Another thought is it’s a way to solve a worry. As you peacefully sleep your brain searches for a possible answer. I like this one. It’s always nice to have a plan. One day a coworker called me at home and asked for help planning a church children’s party. I was so tired I told her I would call her back in 15 minutes. As I lay on the couch, I quickly fell asleep and dreamed about the party. In fifteen minutes, I called her back and outlined the program. She thought I was brilliant!

In Biblical times we read of many times that messages are sent from God to Man in a dream; Jacob’s ladder, Joseph taking the Christ child to Egypt for safety, Joseph’s interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream, etc. Does God still care about us? Is He still sending messages to us? Do we say Yea Lord, I am here? Or do we yell “What?” And go back to sleep.

Last night I dreamed about you. What can I do for you?

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Harvest

The Harvest

Peaches,

Hanging golden globes;

Pears

Swelling, rosy cheeked;

Tomatoes

Juicy, ripe, begging to be eaten;

Apples

Falling to the ground

With a bounce in their step.

We

Yearning to gather them in,

Savor them. 

Our Father

Providing our bounty,

Yearns to gather us too

In His harvest.

Some of us

Are in a pickle

                                              The  Pickle 

I woke up at 3:30 am and started thinking about pickles.

You take a sweet innocent English cucumber,

And right away it gets into hot water.

Then it gets salt rubbed into its wounds.

Bitter herbs are tossed into the mix.

Days of alternating sweet and sour experiences affect its life.

A short moment of added pressure seals the deal.

And you have a cucumber with character to enrich your life

Ahh August! The Harvest is approaching

Do you enjoy reaping the bounty of your efforts. I guess 2014 was the last year I actually could stand and preserve things with my daughters help. Now I dry my apples. I guess as I get older and wrinkly, my preservation techniques do too! Have a happy Harvest!

Count Your Blessings

 

Two weeks ago, I woke up with this hymn running through my head every morning; just the first and fourth verses. Contemplating the words, I decided my mother must be sending me a message from Heaven.

Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Text: Johnson Oatman Jr., 1856–1922            Music: Edwin O. Excell, 1851–1921

I have been using my hands for a lot of small muscle work lately; computer, cell phone texting, quilting, crocheting, etc. These things give me pleasure and help me create ways to give my love to others. However, repetitive small muscle movements do put a strain on arthritic wrists and fingers. One morning I couldn’t lift my left arm. I couldn’t wiggle my fingers. My husband had to dress me. It was so depressing and embarrassing! I had things I needed to do!

Following protocol for the situation, I used heat, ice, gentle exercise and rest. I read a lot of books. Visiting my hair stylist for a shorter, easier to handle haircut, I was telling her all the things I couldn’t do. She commiserated with me because of her carpel tunnel syndrome. As I turned to leave, I had a thought and said, “I’ve always put all these things in front of doing a painting. I’m going to paint.” “it’s a blessing!” As they say, when one door closes, open a window.

What do you do when someone or something prevents you or makes it difficult for you to accomplish your goal? Do the dark forces have their eye on you to discourage you from doing a good thing? What’s your backup plan?

In an old conference talk, Attitude of Gratitude, president Thomas S Monson said,

A popular refrain from the 1940s captured the thought:

Accentuate the positive;

Eliminate the negative.

Latch on to the affirmative;

Don’t mess with Mr. In-between

May your week be filled with love and gratitude as you go through your life.

This morning I woke up with my Social Security number running through my head. What do you suppose that means?

Learning! I Can Do It Myself

 

I feel like I’m in the middle of a game of telephone. You remember the game we played when we were young. Everyone sits in a row and the first person whispers something in the next person’s ear. This continues down the line to the last person. He then tells everyone what he heard. We would compare it with what the first person said. It was funny the difference we heard. I always suspected someone changed the message purposely.

Today was irrigation day and my husband was out of town. So, he asked neighbor D to turn it on for me and then I could pass it on. Last night neighbor J1 called after I was in bed and told me my driveway was flooded. Humm, what’s going on? She called neighbor J2 and I called neighbor D who told me that the arrangement had changed around. J2 would go first, I was second and neighbor L was third. This morning I awoke to a flooded yard. When I had my fill, I passed it on to Neighbor L. All is well in my world…. until neighbor J2 called to find out why I hadn’t called him to pass on the water. It was a major communication gap.

First, I wonder about my communication skills and then about his health. Is something going on in his life that confuses his mind?

I need to be more mindful of my neighbors. I tend to hole up in my home and let the rest of the world pass me by, especially when I’m stranded. I need to take action myself instead of letting others make my decisions and tell me about it. Like the telephone game, sometimes the message goes astray.

Now being the political season, we hear things that may or may not be true. Who can you believe? Everyone says “Fake news, Fake news” Who do you trust?

At church we have implemented Home Based learning, supplemented by church-based discussions. In the same way that I need to take responsibility for my own life, I am responsible for my own learning.

Elder David A. Bednar taught: “As learners, you and I are to act and be doers of the word and not simply hearers who are only acted upon. Are you and I agents who act and seek learning by faith, or are we waiting to be taught and acted upon? … A learner exercising agency by acting in accordance with correct principles opens his or her heart to the Holy Ghost and invites His teaching, testifying power, and confirming witness. Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion and not just passive reception” (“Seek Learning by Faith,” Ensign, Sept. 2007, 64).

What have you always wanted to learn? I use to take a class each year after I graduated from college, just to keep up with continual learning, and stretching my mind. My first class was learning to paint with watercolor. Now I read a myriad of books on different subjects and peruse the computer. I just found out that July is world water color month! And I have a new paintbrush!! Join me in learning something new. Or, it is also National Ice Cream month. If you’d rather.