That Sense of Impending Winter

"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead..."   ... Philippians 3:13


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Brrr! Here in Buffalo, Winter always seems to arrive on the night children knock on doors and shout, "Trick or treat." That's the trick that Winter plays on us--his early arrival--and he played it again, especially when he spit some snow at us on Saturday.

Oh well. I'm kinda ready for the constant cold. Maybe if I play mega doses of Rehab Addict I'll finish the Tackling All Things Annoying at Hobbit Cottage Game which I've played since Springtime.

Ah, sweet Springtime. Just the other day I planted marigolds beneath the cranberry tree and--. No, no... better not go there. Gazing backward never accomplishes what needs to be finished today, lest I find myself unprepared and too mentally tired to face tomorrow's challenges.

Anyway. Our big picture window did get installed this year (and lest you lost sleep over this, I finally painted the frame) and the wonderful news? Not a single river-view-stealing machine has parked down the street since Thursday morning. I'm thinking, hoping, that their work for the year is completed and inside I'm still doing giddy cartwheels. 

Such a busy week ahead for procrastinator me! I may go all "Best Of" here in my blog and I would apologize, but I still find some of those "Best Of's" helpful. Their lessons which took me far too long to learn, well, they help keep me sane and off the streets. There is that.  :)

Oh, and speaking of Halloween, some years Tom and I hand out candy, other years we sit in the dark. This year we sat in the dark. We munched on candy which Tom should not have brought home and watched Alaska: The Last Frontier, a series we never tire of and one which reminds us of two very important facts:

1.) Some people are called by God to live off the land.

2.) The rest of us are not.


Tom and I appreciate anything God uses to solidify the simple lifestyle we're discovering at Hobbit Cottage. Any day we'll take simplicity lessons which warn us out of complication/drama/discontentment. Gladly.

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The one thing I love about Winter? Not having to mow the lawn, of course!


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"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”   ... Genesis 8:22

(I must remind myself of that verse whenever I begin wishing all this gold outside of my windows would remain over the Winter.... That verse and Ecclesiastes 3:1, of course.)

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
― Edith Sitwell

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 
― John Steinbeck



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Hearts in Defiance

Whimsy and Soda

Cat-Eye Witness

When Something Might Be Taken Away ...

"...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." ---Hebrews 12:1

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My buddy, Dolores, shared this at Facebook:

Did it remind me of some deep, meaningful truth? Nah, it brought to mind our view of the river, the one we paid lots of money for by way of a picture window, which has, for weeks, been blocked by big ol' nasty machinery. Grrr...

There's an empty lot down there where the name of our area, plus the word 'vineyard,' were formed using stones on a mound of dirt. After that, wooden boxes of something (grapevines? On a corner city lot??) were planted, other ground was dug up and some gravel brought in. And each night, unsightly endloaders, etc., have parked--not in a back corner of the lot--no. But in front, sprawling across our pretty river view.

Of course, I could complain (way more than I have) silently and aloud to Tom. I could also storm down there and ask the drivers to park  farther back (hey, I'm sure some eccentric little old lady somewhere would do that). I could also sit here and fear and fume that maybe a building's going up next(!), destroying our view forever and proclaim that--if it does--we're so outta here. We're moving. 

(And ok, ok... I did, in the heat of the moment, say that one time.)

But no. If wisdom is letting go of something every day, then I'd be wise to let go of this. To--like late yesterday afternoon and this morning--so appreciate and treasure the times the machinery is gone, making the river visible again in all its blue glory.

I'll remain calm rather than stress-out about this, weakening my immune system, jeopardizing my health, ruining otherwise lovely days.

And I'll believe, in faith, that if a building does go up, it will be built in a back corner of the (huge) lot. And all will be well.

If wisdom truly is letting go of something every day, I'll choose to be wise.

For I do know this: Life is all about how we choose to react to the foul balls which land upon our heads. And the best life will always belong to those who choose to smile anyway, believe for better days, and remind themselves that at least they still have God, He who makes all things right. In His time. 

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See what Tom and I really, really want to buy?:

Since we have no built-ins here, at least this would lend to the illusion that we do. Also, our current source of emergency heat is a kerosene heater out in the garage, but can we find anyplace to even buy kerosene? Uh, no. (We've been blessed, indeed, not to have had a black-out in the five years we've had that yard-sale-found heater.) Anyway, this fireplace uses cans of gel and those are super easy to order online. And again, it would be for emergency heat only.

So.

We have questions! Most likely they can all be answered by a YouTube video, but hey, we're lazy and wanted to ask here first:

If we hang our tv above this, where do the cords go? (My friend, Susan, said you drill a hole behind the tv for the wires. Makes sense.) Also, does the swivel wall mount thing come out far enough to where someone (Tom) could see the screen if he's on the extreme left?

And one more ... where the heck do the the cable box and blu-ray player go? Hmm? On all those HGTV shows I just see a tv above a fireplace and nothing else. ???

I'm thinking we need professional help. Tom thinks we should just wing it. Oh dear. But I'd rather not buy this (beautiful thing) until we know for certain that it's gonna work for us.

Anyone have any answers before we seek out YouTube?  :)

Update: Oh! We may have come up with an easy, no extra installation solution. Key word: may. 

Stay tuned.

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Oh, and Happy Halloween! My friend, Tara, shared this blog post at Facebook and it mirrored what I've always felt about Halloween, well, the part about how the world comes walking right up to your door and what an opportunity that can be!

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Sixty Acres and a Bride

Trail of Thread

Out of a Dream

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And finally... (long post, right? But I seldom post on Saturdays, so you're getting a two-in-one with this post. heh) ... I tweaked my new corner again this morning-- hung a mirror above, something I've wanted there a very long time!).

I love this....

Thinkin' Nicole's Gonna Kill Me Yet

"She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness."   ...Proverbs 31:27

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Okay. I'm only going to show you this corner of my house because, as of this morning, it no longer looks like that. Plus, some of you who tell me that Hobbit Cottage is just perfect (though you've never been here) and that I should be quiet, content and live here till I die, well, you need a good ol' reality check:

Gah. I can't believe I lived with it that way for that long. 

(Sorry about the darkness. I forgot the stair light works now-- the bulb burned out two years ago,but I couldn't reach it to replace it. I fixed it finally this weekend since I moved what had blocked my reach.) See? Also not perfect. There's a list.

Anyway. I finally changed that corner to this:

(Tweaked version Oct. 31st.)

Better, right? Someday I might paint the two white-ish frames, black. 

Now, the cat tree thingy, the vacuum cleaner and Tom's back-stretching, toe-stubbing thing (I named it The Hector because I can't, for the life of me, ever remember what it's really called)--they're still there. I just pushed them out of camera view. And where will Tom's coats go which once hung there? I don't know. I really don't.

We have just 1 1/2 closets in this house and one is a storage room now (upstairs, where Tom seldom ventures) and the other is in his room, but is a good-sized closet only for, say, a clothes-wearing ferret.

Oh, and I didn't tell you that weeks ago I created a wall upstairs to (kinda) divide our guest room from my new room, you know, to give our imaginary guests, privacy. You must promise me not to laugh, though. Promise? Ok, here it is:

Hmm.... right? I painted the back of it today and will probably give it another coat tomorrow.

And yesterday I made a curtain for the front (this is one of my homemade substitute pantries) from a still-in-the-package flat sheet from a yard sale for just $1.

See? I'm trying to make this house comfortable and efficient for us. This is where so much of my concentration has gone this year and where I've taken the Patience Test like you wouldn't believe. Yet Grace has me here at this moment so it's all good.

But what else did I do today besides painting and rearranging furniture? I ironed six pieces of clothing for Tom, baked a cake, made a pasta salad, folded laundry, cooked chicken, vacuumed, straightened the house and put a load of dishes through the dishwasher. I'd still love to feed the birds, but I can barely move.

Darn that inspiring ol' Nicole Curtis anyway. She just may send me to an early grave yet.  :)

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Stay tuned tomorrow when you'll see what we're planning to buy *if* we can figure out some complications it will cause. I'll be asking questions of you who are technically in-the-know regarding flat screen tv's being mounted to a wall.....

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How People Change

The Luckiest Dog in the World

Nefarious Doings