Tate's family last summer at Hilton Head

Where did the last two days go? It's truly amazing how impossible it is to get to writing if I don't do it immediately following meditation. I keep thinking, "I'll do it later." But, it never happens. The last two days had busy mornings. Yesterday I went early to the church to begin helping set up for the Joy Group lunch meeting. The day before I had begun baking Irish Soda Bread (from a Southern Living cookbook recipe) and ended up baking four. What fun! This happens to be a bread that has no yeast and requires kneading. What a stress reliever that is! Everyone should try kneading bread. Anyhow, it was so much fun, I just kept doing it for two days! I'll be happy to share the recipe if anyone asks.

Now today is mine. No commitments outside of the ordinary- yoga class this evening at 6:00 - but the whole day is mine. To finish up tax info gathering and sorting and recording for my meeting on Tuesday with the tax man. To get together stuff to take with me for 5 days away - the great joy of helping Luke with Jack and Sam while Susan gets a "girls' weekend" away. And, a couple of nights at Tate and Wendy's home also. How very fortunate I am to have 5 lovely grandchildren and that both families live only 3 hours away from me and 10 minutes from each other. That is a true blessing. And, we all are speaking to each other!

The Pond is quiet this morning. Foggy, soft gray, no movement on the surface, no sounds - geese haven't come yet this morning, two of the cats have come by checking to see if birds are nesting on the porch again - this time they're underneath the porch and the cats can't get to them - there's water beneath the porch and I guess cats really don't like water - so they just run by occasionally in hopes of catching one of the birds on the shelf outside the screened porch.

There is a sound of tree harvesting going on somewhere on a neighbor's property, been going on for a few days now. I am reminded of the bias against harvesting trees. Many people don't seem to understand that we are blessed with plenty of space and trees to serve our purposes - and that to provide paper, we can use the trees. We also have many special places where trees are allowed to grow and die on their own. And that Nature will replenish the Earth with new trees when old ones are removed if we don't - which in many cases we do! Enough for this morning.