Fall is Summer's Reward

I have decided that we are being rewarded for enduring that long, hot, dry Summer.  We have been blessed with wonderful Fall colors this year - they just keep getting better.

Even the creek has its Fall colors on (and is over its banks from the rain today)

We had our first frost out here in the country on October 19.  That is when the colors really started to show.

Enjoy God's beautiful palette -
Kat

To See the World in a Grain of Sand -

I am not a poetry person by any stretch of the imagination, but the opening stanza (I think that is what it is called) of Auguries of Innocence by William Blake is one of my favorite sayings to recite...

To see the world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

I have always taken this to mean that simple things can hold tremendous meaning - that the wondrous can be seen in something as simple as a grain of sand or a wildflower - that all of time can be held in a moment if you just stop and let it be so.

Early Saturday, something jogged my memory and I thought about a rock I had collected back in my geology days as I was pursuing my Masters - it was a river rock, all smooth and rounded, composed of cross-bedded red sandstone (I know, clicks and whistles geology techno babble).  Anyway, it is a rock made of sand and, yes, I still have it (well, it was out in our rock garden - ha! - seriously).

Blake's poem came to mind and everything kind of fell in place.  I have been trying to decide what direction I should take with this blog, my hobbies, and many other things in my life.  As I was writing this saying down in my journal, my mental gears started churning.  From the thought of a simple, plain rock and that wonderful saying came a day's worth of soul searching and idea churning and renewed personal vision. 

So, stay tuned for some changes and more insight into my "vision".
Blessings,
Kat

Arkansas Cruisin' - October 2011

Here are some of the pictures from our short trip to Arkansas.  I fell in love with all the old barns and Ozark mountain roads.  We had the benefit of having two different weather days - first was cloudy and drizzly, second was bright and sunny - both make for great pictures.

Fall colors along the mountain roads -

Ozark views -

Awesome old barns and rusty trucks - love that old America heartlands feel -

Yep, it may have been a short trip and I may have been feeling bad, but it will be remembered as a good trip !!!

Never know what you will find driving the backroads -
Blessings,
Kat

Gratitude Sunday - Staycation, I mean Vacation 2011

This weekend I am grateful for my vacation time (regardless of what I said in yesterday's blog) because -

Spent time with my hubby -

Spent time with Rascal and Sissy -

Got to see the beautiful Arkansas Ozarks (more vacation photos later) -

Started an art quilt -

Finished my living room curtains -

Finished 2 books, started 2 books (never can read just one at a time) -

And, am finally feeling better - just in time to go back to work!!!  GO FIGURE!!!
But I am thankful -
Kat

Staycation Realization and Lessons Learned

Warning:  While I generally try to make my blog uplifting and have it hopefully be a guide and inspiration to me and my readers to continue to see things from a simpler, more relaxed and understanding perspective, I must warn you that this is wordy blog that you may not see as a particularly uplifting, especially at first.  But, I encourage you to read on and I hope it still serves a purpose to you, as it did to me in writing it, that sometimes the choices you make lead to lessons learned rather than relaxing and inspirational confirmation of the “good life”.  The main thing is to recognize it as such, and go forward with and use this additional knowledge in the future.

As my vacation time winds down, I look back on the week to see how I fared on this staycation.

On the positive side –

Did I have fun?  Sometimes.

Did I think about work?  Only when I got texts with questions from people at work.

Did I see some nice scenery?  Yes, we were able to go to the Ozarks in Arkansas for a couple of days and the Fall color had come to the higher elevations of the Ozarks.

Did I get some good pictures?  Yep – mountains and lakes and rusty old cars and old barns.

On the not so positive side –

Did I feel good physically?  Nope, sinus infection still with me – antibiotics stopped helping after the third day – need to go back to the doc.  Tendonitis prevented me from doing any walking in Eureka Springs or War Eagle.  And the worst, though expected, the antibiotics have made my Crohns flare up. 

Did I get some good quilting, other projects done?  NONE at all – felt too bad most of the time to be “creative” or even just sit there and stitch.  AND the awful, evil SHOULDS started – I should be doing this, I should be doing that, etc.  I have been doing better about those SHOULDS, but I chalk it up to feeling so bad and being down about not going to Utah.

Did Keven and I get to make some of those “life plans” we usually do on a good vacation?  Nope, I felt too bad and down, he felt bad about me feeling bad and was his usual non-talkative self.  And I think not having a true staycation backup plan ahead of time of what we wanted to do made it hard for the two of us to compromise at the last minute (that is my opinion, don’t know if Keven agrees).

Results:

1. Do not feel refreshed mentally or spiritually.  In hindsight, I think we should have gone to Utah even if I couldn’t hike – we could have picked various places to just sit and absorb the wonder and awe and spirit of the place.  To talk to each other or sit in silence with no one around but nature and God.  (though I don't know if Keven could have sat still that much)
2. Do not feel refreshed physically.  I think the (I hate to say this) “stress” of the sinus infection on top of the tendonitis on top of the disappointment about not going to Utah on top of all our typical “home issues” that we didn’t get away from did not allow me to heal (in fact, now the antibiotics have flared up my Crohns).  I may have had a tough time in the car on a longer trip, but I don’t see how being out in the middle of the dry, clean air desert of Utah would NOT have helped me heal.  I am not knocking Arkansas – it more beautiful than I expected actually, but the places we went had too many people and we didn’t stay long enough in the mountains for nature to work its healing power on me.  (we will definitely be going back to camp and hike there though)
3. Keven and I didn’t get anywhere on our “life plans” – it is amazing how getting away to someplace so strikingly beautiful and raw as Utah can help you easily assess and decide about what is really important.  I feel we will have to work on this harder back here at home, fitting it in to our normal routine.

So why didn’t we go to Utah?  I guess we were worried it would be a “wasted” vacation if we couldn’t hike.  Lesson learned – GO ANYWAY!!!  Next time, I hope I remember to come back to this blog to read it and let it influence my (our) decision when we are put in a similar circumstance.

Do I feel this was a wasted vacation?  No, I don’t.  It was still a blessing – we saw the Ozarks beginning to show their Fall colors (pictures to come in a near future blog), I did get a little reading done (OK, more than a little), Keven worked some in his workshop, Keven said he “wasn’t at work”, and I did spend some time thinking about my future goals and plans (more to come in a near future blog). 

Porch of a house in Eureka Springs, AR

Plus, I still have a day and a half left on vacation – who knows what will happen???!!!!

God works in mysterious ways – be open to Him so you don’t miss something!!!

Kat

Simple Messages Meant from the Heart

My wonderful sister, Mary, sent me this as a gift - a Bari J Ackerman design - just because!  I have been wanting to start doing stitched works framed in an embroidery hoop.  She must have read my mind.  She knows I love TEA (hot or cold)!  And the sentiment, Stay Calm, always appropriate for my life!

Thank you Sis!!  BBH!!
Kat

Amazing What Appears After a Rain

We always have something weird pop up after a rain - some new bug, moss, fungus - we have never seen.  It is always one of those WTH moments - What the heck?  Or we get some cool stuff, that the rain enhances like the spider web below.  Here are a couple of pics from our weekend rain.

Spider Wormhole



Mushroom Farm where one has never been before

 Still recuperating, but feeling better.  May get some art quilt projects worked on during this staycation yet.
Kat

Staying Positive on Staycation

We were supposed to be in Utah this week - specifically Canyonlands and Arches - hiking our hearts out and feet off. But I developed really bad tendonitis in my foot and ankle, and am having ongoing physical therapy - thus, the doc said that hiking or extensive walking was out. Bummer !!!!  So, we regrouped, decided to still take the much-needed time off and enjoy a Staycation (vacation at home - not fond of them, but any vacation now is much appreciated). We planned on making some local trips out and about around Oklahoma (which we haven't done much of since we moved here). Then, I wake up Saturday feeling pretty puny. Sunday morning, I go into the doctor and I have a full-blown sinus infection - fever & chills, congestion, sore throat - then antibiotics, nose spray. Really??? At this point our short trips are on hold until the antibiotics kick in.

I persevere - to make this feel more like a vacation than a staycation, Keven went shopping for easy meals that require little cooking and cleanup. We have a supply of library books and I have hand projects I can do while resting. Kev has projects in the garage. No house or yard chores - just FUN, SIMPLE, and REWARDING projects that we never seem to get to otherwise. We took a quick trip to the bookstore - Christmas magazines are out already!

And, what vacation would be complete without a stop at a quilt store? (yes, it was one of my local ones, which we are blessed to have two awesome ones in OKC, though it would have been nice if it had been the one in Durango, CO I had planned to stop at on the way to Utah).  A trip to the quilt store always makes the hurt feel better. Got some yummy fabric in bright colors to cheer me up - will use it to make a modern quilt over the cold, dark Winter.  And a new book out that offers simple sewing projects for every room - sweetwater's SIMPLE HOME by Lisa Burnett, Karla Eisenach & Susan Kendrick.

Off to an early night's sleep, praying for healing -
Kat

Gratitude Sunday - It Is Raining !!!

Clouds roll in on Saturday



Radar this afternoon



High tech rain gauge - about 3" this afternoon



Still pouring !!!

Blessings,
Kat

Creating a Bird Bath

I have decided to create a bird bath - that is a bird-themed bath room.  It is all because of this great fabric that I bought at the quilt store without have a purpose for it.  It is from the French Journal Collection by London Portfolio for Michael Miller. 

It was not the french theme that caught my eye, but the beautiful colors, the birds and the flowers (and several other motifs in the fabric).  And since it just happened to match the color of our guest bathroom walls and the bathroom was needing a little bit of an update - WA LA!  I will use this fabric to make a curtain for the window - can't you just see it with a sheer beneath it moving in the breeze coming in the open window?

My next idea was to add a tree-like "something" that I can hang little crafted birds on.  So off I went this morning, exploring the yard for fallen branches that would work for a "tree".  Here is what I found. 

Good thing I have a few days off - still have a bit to do to finish my living room "makeover" and I can start on the birdies for the bird bath.

Hope my cats don't mistake the bird ornaments for the real thing!!!
Blessings,
Kat

Short and Sweet ...

Friday night - ready for the weekend.  Have a few days off next week, so I am looking forward to some creative time.  I will finally be able to finish up my simple living room makeover and work on a few art quilts - really happy about that.  Just some quick pics for today.  First, trees are starting to turn to their Fall colors here (the ones that still have leaves on them after this summer!)


Oklahoma Cottonwood



Sweet Gum

I finished my circle wreath and hung it up above the fireplace.

And thought I would introduce Rascal and Sissy, since I found them both in the same place, relaxed, and looking at me (a one in a zillion probability!).  Rascal is on the left, Sissy on the right. 

Blessings,
Kat