Stuffing Bell Peppers

Can't believe I haven't posted since Oct. 17! I've been trying to keep things simple, but life seems to stay complex! Now I'm due in the Yogatorium for a class - so a quickie - The photo is of the last of my lovely bell peppers before the cold hits. I'll be stuffing peppers this afternoon for the freezer! What fun! Hope your garden produced good stuff for you this year. I've got one red cabbage plant struggling along, but the okra, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. are gone or on their last legs, so to speak.

Coping with Stress

I'm home. And ready to resume life with a new vigor. Time off is truly useful for restoring one's equilibrium. This morning my reading in Simple Abundance included a section on "Coping with Stress" with a long list of ways to do that - here are the first five: Cultivate gratitude. Carve out an hour a day for solitude. Begin and end the day with prayer, meditation, reflection. Keep it simple. Why don't you pick one and begin coping with your stress? I am. If you don't like these, send me an email and I'll give you a few more to choose from. ------ Remember, this coming Sunday, the 23d, is the 4th Sunday at 4:00 silent retreat. Hope to see you here. Namaste.

Last Day in New Bern

Well, so much for a boat trip. Captain Jim just decided to abort. So, we'll go out and unload the stuff and get back to New Bern for the night. Will be back home in my cottage tomorrow evening. One thing we learn from boating is that we are NOT in control! Not only is there a mechanical problem with the steering, the weather is worsening too. Still, we've had a good time together this week - lovely dinner at Persimmon's restaurant last evening..........Ray: Angie, my neighbor, told me some man was out doing something - maybe taking soil samples - and I explained it was no doubt you planting daffodils! What a nice surprise they will be next spring! THANKS!

Aborted Boat Trip - Back to New Bern

First trial - on the water at 7:00 this morning - look closely at Jim's photo and see the moon - trouble with steering, back to Oriental boat shop and now back home in New Bern waiting for word from the repair shop to see when it will be fixed. Fo now, who knows what we will do next?

New Bern - Still Waiting Ashore

So, another day of waiting. We are definitely leaving in the morning. By then the wind and rain will be much less and we will be able to travel safely. As it turns out, the first leg of the trip is crossing the Pamlico Sound - the only place where the water is wide. And, shallow. Good spot for rough water when wind is high. Now we're getting really eager to go, so repacking and such to take off EARLY in the morning and get to the boat at first light. I'm EXCITED! The photo is of Jim's boat --I took it at Annapolis when I was there in July. Will get more photos when we get underway tomorrow.

New Bern, NC

Here I am in New Bern, NC at Jim and Anne's home. We're staying here till the weather passes through today and we can hit the Intracoastal Waterway to head south from Oriental to Pawleys Island - probably a 4-5 day trip. We met at the Reserve Harbor Marina in Pawleys Island yesterday and left my car - Jim drove us here. He's on his way out to the boat to make it ready to leave - when we can. I'm truly blessed to have a chance to be on the water again for several days. There's something so freeing about it - it's a perfect chance to "Just Be." And, as most of you know, that's really my ideal state these years. It's difficult to come up with things to worry about (other than weather) when you're on the water. All you be concerned about is the depth of the water and that the boat keeps running! I'll try to keep the posts coming. It's fun to think I have your company on the trip!

Litchfield Inn Beach

Whee! I'm sitting on a screened porch on the second floor of the Litchfield Inn. The roar of the ocean is strong, waves are high, wind is warm but strong, beach walking is possible. Still, it's protected here and I can still enjoy looking at the ocean all stirred up. Supposed to rain tomorrow, but by then brother Jim and I will be on our way to Oriental to get on the boat tomorrow evening. Martha is rocking away reading while I type. We just enjoyed a trip through Brookgreen Gardens and then a stop at a neat little ice cream/etc. shop on Hwy 17 right where we turn to come out to the Inn. A delightful little place with couches, chairs, books, magazines, and lots of different kinds of coffees - and wi-fi. The sundae was superb! Mud pie ice cream, coconut, walnuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top!!! We walked on the beach last evening and again this morning before breakfast and will make another attempt later hoping the wind might die down a bit. We did get smart enough to walk first into the wind after the first walk when we walked first with the wind and came back REALLY TIRED! Neither of us slept last night - we left the patio door open to hear the wind, were VERY cold but not cold enough to get up and get blankets, and the roar of the waves was loud. Tonight, perhaps we'll do better - at least we found the blankets this morning. Tomorrow Martha heads back to Greenwood and I continue on with Jim. It's hard to describe the freedom of being here at the beach!! What a joy!

What do you really WANT to do right now?

I just asked myself that question and the answer was - write a post for my blog. I was standing in the middle of the room trying to decide which to do first - go to Greenwood to the DMV and get my senior discount for my car property taxes, to the bank to cash checks, get the car washed, stop at Food Lion and get some cans of tuna, OR go to Ninety Six and pick up more Restasis from the drug store while washing clothes at the laundromat--both trips NEED to be made today before I leave town tomorrow for a week. When I asked: What do I really want to do right now? The answer was neither one of those. So, I am writing......I'm finding real joy these days in doing that--stopping and asked What do I want to do NOW? It's called living in the present moment by some. It's also getting away from DOING and allowing BEING. I find myself more often responding to my self-direction: Don't just DO something, sit there. So here I sit, with a smile on my face.

Working from Home

Good morning!  New font, just for fun.  I read this morning about working at home and it really made me wonder how many of you might be working from home?  I'm doing it in two ways - leading yoga classes in the Yogatorium within sight of my cottage, and trying to write a book inside my cottage.  As perfect a place as this seems, it's still hard to stay focused.  I come up with all kinds of things that "need" to be done.  After a year of dragging my feet, I'm finally making some progress.  I am paying a writing coach with whom I have a telephone conference at least once each month and send her some pages to critique.  I've also begun to designate two full days each week to actually get words on paper.  On those days, I try hard to do nothing else except perhaps a bit of physical stuff, like one yoga class or a walk down the road and back.  ..... I must say, I'm much happier working this way.  I spent more than thirty years working away from home five or more days each week and watching the clock.  This is much more fun!  Now I look at the clock with surprise at how much time has gone by while I've been writing.....Time to get to the book.

October Morning

Well, this morning I've been greeted with a new design for the blog posts.  So, I may or may not be successful.  Still, there's always something of a thrill to trying something new--especially if you assume you can make it work!  We'll see....... I did get a photo!  At least that works.  ....Sorry it's been so long since I posted.  This past week has been truly full...I'm still promising to stop accepting so many opportunities and, as a matter of fact, I managed to have two almost full days of reading just for pleasure--well not quite full days, I did go to the church or Saturday to do altar guild work and again on Sunday for church, but those are pleasant additions to my day.  Oh, yes, I did do a yoga class on Saturday morning also.  So much for full days - but they are coming--next week Jim and I will be on Solitude, his sailboat again bringing her back toward Hilton Head from Oriental where she made it from Annapolis a couple weeks ago.  We'll bring her back to Pawley's Island on this leg.  So, a week's vacation even in October!  Thanks for the understanding yoga students who always tell me they are happy for me to get away.  I guess they are thinking like my Mother----"do it while you can, one day you won't be able to travel."  I suppose that's inevitable, but I'll put it off as long as I can.  Enough for today.  Time to get ready for yoga at the Y.