Well, I have been feeling that my time here is limited somehow.  My health has not deteriorated as I had feared; I am still mobile although I have been ill for three friggin’ weeks…lol!  I just have been experiencing a rather dismal forboding.   I have tried to be very sensible when the feelings settle on me; my mother died when she was 58 and I am now 55.  Maybe this sense of fleeting time is rooted in that sad reality?  I just keep moving forward while enjoying each day as it comes.  I love my little home here in small town America. This is truly my journey’s end; I have no need to move any more.

The little yellow house is now the little grey house…it has grown a little as well.  Here are some more current photos.  It is winter here now though so things look a little different.  Hope that you like it!

The back door...

Back door and my craft cabin

Back door with side view

Here in the country we use the back door as a main entry.  We sit on the deck and visit.  When the sun has gone behind the trees the back yard is nicely shaded.  It is a very peaceful place even with the trucks that go past the front of the house on the way to Morton Salt.  I am grateful for my life today.  M

With the winter coming I have been trying to get the little yellow house ready. The back room needs a new floor, the submersible sump pump (under my bedroom) has stopped working, the last piece of insulation needs to be put up in the bedroom ceiling and the drywall installed, and the list goes on… With all the upkeep and maintenance factors, I do get a little weary. Don’t we all? Surprisingly, I don’t limit my thinking in terms of the renovations/repair process. I have changed the calendar and made note of September’s important dates/appointments while reflecting on the departure of Summer.

While thinking about a new furnace, a bigger wood stove (for backup), insulating the floors, I just check off these things on my “To Do” list not unlike a cook prepares her menu for an upcoming family gathering. With Labor Day weekend just a memory, the summer people have packed up and gone. The usually bustling campground is quiet now.

It won’t be long before the Snowbird neighbors will be making their seasonal migration to Florida. More and more of the older residents are leaving the area in hopes of avoiding the winter weather. We year-rounders will be left to enjoy the relative serenity of Silver Lake.

You see, I know though that once the snow flies things change at the little yellow house. It becomes an even more lovely place to be. The snow is just another medium for Mother Nature. She works quietly, sometimes in the night, and covers the surrounding landscape with a pearlescent, fluffy blanket. When the sun adds its touch to the sparkling coverlet…it is breathtaking! The fence posts become stalwart sentinels. The birds come to visit the feeders. Their colorful plumage is in stark contrast with the backdrop of sparkling white. Rabbit tracks will find their way across the back yard to mark the passage of the ground feeders. Not a sunflower seed will go unnoticed.

I find myself wishing I had bigger windows so I will be better able to observe the world outside. But wait…that this is only September 5th…lol! I make a mental note not to miss the magic of the moment by focusing on what is to come. Where was I? Today I am going to work. There’s the bus…Sign me, Loving Life at Journey’s End, Nana M

When I got up this morning, I checked to see if I was under water in the back room. Nothing to freak out over, glad to say that it had not come inside. In fact, this rain has been ongoing. We have gotten our share of the wet stuff. The thunderstorms were passing over yesterday, we had two cells that hammered our area. This morning on the way to work I heard that Silver Springs was flooded in places with the rain during the night. I am glad for the gully (ditch) that the road crew dug in front of my place. I did notice that the road is washing away as a result of the downpours that we have been experiencing. Those big rigs that fly down my road on the way to the Salt Company will be taking their toll on the blacktop. Hope that the dirt does not go out from under them.

Well, I put on my croc knock-offs and made my way across the little walkway that I had rigged out front. The ground was very boggy! My tomatoes are in raised beds but I wonder just how much more rain they can handle. I don’t think they like wet feet. The roots may rot.

So far I have been getting lovely cucumbers, peppers, and green onions out of my little garden. The tomatoes are not ripe as yet. When they do start to ripen I will have plenty to share. It feels good to be enjoying the garden! While I sat at my desk eating my salad, I liked the fact that with the exception of one tomato (.60 cents) and the cottage cheese, I had grown my ingredients. That is what living simply is all about.

I want to try to grow some broccoli and cauliflower but it is way too late in the year. That will be another addition for next year! Right now I am using some cinder blocks that I recycled to make another couple of raised beds. I want to get them ready so I can organically fertilize them before I cover them for the winter. They will be a good place for blueberries, rhubarb, and raspberries.

You know, I realize that I say “I” a lot. It may sound pretentious but there is no we, so forgive me! I am sure that Miss Kitty Like Gunsmoke would like to be counted but it would sound goofy…lol.

Hope that you are having a lovely day in your part of the world! Sign me, Enjoying living simply at Journey’s End!

I am house sitting in small town America for my friend again. The geriatric felines and I have been together since Tuesday evening. They are doing quite well.   They had one cat fight on the first night (at 3:00 a.m) but other than that they have been pretty quiet.

My friend lives in the country and it is very peaceful here.  Last night when I was reading my book, with the kitties settled in the usual comfy places for the night, we heard the most ungodly racket! It was so loud…it sounded like a wounded animal! I turned on the outside light and cautiously peered out hoping to see what it was. I hate to admit that I was EXTREMELY leery of going outside physically to see if something was hurt. When a car drove by I checked to see if something was hurt in the road…thank goodness for high beams! There was nothing in the road.

This racket went on for over 20 minutes. The noise moved during that time; it seemed to be coming from the far end of the house initially. There are lots of trees where the noise ended up so I figured it was something hurt and was making its way back to the woods.

Well, the neighbor across the street must have heard it as well. She turned on her outside light. That was it for me. I called the Sheriff and explained things. I held the phone to the screen for him to hear the nose. He could not hear it through the phone though so out he came to check it for me.  What a relief!

I don’t mind telling you that I did not come out of the house until he pulled up. He met me outside the back door and we both heard it! It had gone further into the trees. He was puzzled as to what it was. We walked closer to the trees. Then we heard it coming closer…OMG, I am thinking to myself. He thought it must be a bird or something. I thought it must be one BIG AZZ bird; I realized that I had said that out loud so I apologized to him. He reassured me that he has heard that before.

We were peering into the darkness with his flashlight searching the woods, the noise was coming closer, and I was not sure I wanted to see what it was. Maybe it had gotten hurt in the road. Maybe it was one of the GINORMOUS barn owls…Holy Frig! I says to myself. Well, when it came out of the brush, I almost died with the fright! It was pretty funny, let me tell you. All that noise was coming from a tiny raccoon…it was the littlest thing…lol. He must have gotten separated from his mother! He wandered around in the beam of the flashlight that the officer had pointed at it. He chuckled and said he should have known what that was…lol. He works the park and had seen a mother raccoon stuck on a log while her baby was in the water. She was going NUTS! (You now what, I think he was relieved to see it was just a baby raccoon, too.)

Well, I thanked him and headed back into the house while he got back in his car. Whew! It was a big relief to know that the little critter was not hurt. His mother was around somewhere. t was obvious that he was just really ticked off! His mother was around somewhere. It was just a matter of time before she found him with the racket he was making…lol. Heck, people in town must have heard that little guy!

Have you ever heard a baby raccoon in distress? Me neither. If you would like to hear what that sounds like, go here: http://www.degus.com/sounds/Distress.wav

Here are some other raccoon sounds:
http://soundboard.com/sb/raccoon_sounds_audio.aspx

Sign me, Slept Better after the little raccoon went to bed, M

P.S. I am going to check the live trap in the back just in case Mama raccoon is in there. If she is, she is getting a “Get Out of Jail” Free card. Trust me…lol.

Ain’t he cute???? 

I have been home from Oklahoma for a week.  It feels so good to be home although my pipes are frozen and busted.  The PVC pipe was laying on the floor when I returned home.  PVC doesn’t stay in place like copper, for sure.  Anyway, I don’t have running water presently unless you count the spring run off that is gathering under the cottage.  If you count that, well I have running water. 

I am so surprised that Easter is tomorrow.  Where does the time go?  I am a little glad to see the approach of spring.  When I was in Oklahoma they really did not have a snow accumulation to speak of.  It was rather like spring there.  I came home wanting to start working in my flower beds.  What a surprise when I got back…lol.  SNOW!  They had a huge storm right before I got back home.  It was a nice deep fluffy definitely not spring-like snowfall. 

I put the fire in and cuddled up on the couch with a nice fleece cover.  It was wonderful to be back.  After two days of the woodstove I had to stop putting the fire in.  The weather warmed up and it was just too hot in the cottage with the fire going.  Now, if there is a complaint that I want to have…that is it.

Well, hope that you have a wonderful Easter.  I am having a blockbuster weekend here at Journey’s End.  It is lovely and sunny right now so I am at the library working on some things.  Later, when the sun goes down I will be watching several movies…that is what a blockbuster weekend is you know.   Talk 2 u later.

Sign me, Living Simply and Relaxing at Journey’s End, M

1. Get my hair cut, (Done)
2. Have to dig out my summer clothes, sandals,
3. Need to sort through my books, take my bible, daily readings,
4. Need to take some of my simple living, penny-pinching books,
5. Have to take all the food and pack it up, no food to be left in the cottage,
6. Have to store bedding in plastic containers (field mouse proof),
7. Put out mouse deterrent (hate to use poison),
8. Arrange for the phone and electricity to be turned off, and
9. Complete the last renovation projects before locking the door.

Found a furnished studio (in a Bed & Breakfast) about 23 miles from the town I will be assigned to. Just have to bring my personal things, it even has cable, internet, and parking included. There are five lakes right there. I will be driving across the bridge (over one of the lakes) every day. Thank you, God. You knew what I needed. 

I want to visit with my little-little ones and my big-little ones before I go. I have arranged to leave the key with a dear friend. They will be mowing for me while I am away. Made it known to all our friends that if they wish to use the cottage they may contact that friend for the key. Sign me, Living Simply in Small Town America, M

To learn more about AmeriCorps go here: http://www.americorps.gov/

While I was there I made a lovely pot of chicken soup for DH and I.  DH loves dumplings so I put in a half a dozen of those for him.  Of course, I ate three…lol.  I love the aroma of soup cooking.  It is a very comforting thing to me.  It brings back such good memories of my sister and I flying home from school.  It was so nice to find soup cooking on the stove.  Cheeks glowing from the weather and the brisk walk home, we would quickly sit at the table for our steaming bowls of soup.  There was nothing like that delicious homemade soup for chasing away the chill!  The only thing that made it even nicer was to have fresh homemade bread with butter and molasses after.  That was a desert!  Sometimes we had toutons…that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  My grandmother was from Torbay and she knew how to cook, let me tell you.

So back to DH and the dumplings…lol.  He was working under the house insulating and closing in the floor of the back room.  It was always meant to be a back porch/deck but the cold air was finding its way up through the floor these days.  Well, when he came in from working outside he made a beeline for the soup and dumplings.  He got a huge bowl and settled himself into his recliner.  Yes, byes, he warmed up in no time.  He was so content; I knew that he was glad for the meal.  He finished up every last drop.  I think DH misses my home cooking.  You think?

I checked my messages that evening and it is a good thing I did.  Guess who forgot she had a doctor’s appointment?  Honestly.  Rats!  I only got to stay for six days.  With a pout on the go, we piled Miss Kitty and our things into the truck and headed back to the cabin the next day.  It is good to be back, it is very peaceful here.  I always miss my little house.  You know, I think I am going to make a nice pot of soup…lol.  Maybe with some nice fluffy dumplings…MMM

Sign me, Living Simply and Loving It, M

I put some peanuts in the shell in the bird feeder yesterday.  The bluejays came back and cleaned it out.  Here is a shot of one of the bluejay quads!  He has just picked up one of the peanuts.  We just had a big cold front come through; they say it is an artic blast.  Wonder if they knew and were stocking up on the peanuts?  If you want to see the picture better, click on it.  It will show a bigger view.  Sign me, Watching the BlueJays at Journey’s End, M

I belong to a small house society.  They have a web site with lots of links for people living in micro houses.  That would be houses that are less than 500 sq feet.  I love to check out the links because there are such lovely houses to see.  There is a link that shows Herbert Hoovers home.  Actually, he lived there until he was 8 years old.  It is a small 2-room home.  I have uploaded a picture of it for your

viewing pleasure.  If you go to this link http://web.mac.com/resourcesforlife/journal/writings/Entries/2007/5/5_Herbert_Hoover_Tiny_House.html there is a lovely slide show and an audio tour.  I am amazed when I see other small homes; I love to get decorating and storage ideas.  There is another little house in Wales called the Simondale House that is just adorable.  It seems like a hobbit house or something, it is really rather quaint.  Here is the link:  http://www.simondale.net/house/

Living in a small home is a big change for me.  I did the downsizing and still did not fit.  Now I have grown accustomed to the coziness, no complaints these days.  I like the small rooms and my wood stove is my favorite thing!  There is still a lot to do but one day it will be more finished and it will be all worth it.  Sign me, M at Journey’s End.

DH is going to plumb my shower while he is here.  I am waiting for that believe me, living simply has its drawbacks.  I am excited that I will be seeing the shower stall become fully functional.  Amen!  I have been patiently waiting. 

We were just sitting around after supper listening to the evening news.  My word!  Did they say FEET!  They said that we may get a storm that will bring feet of snow to our area.  That is not funny!!!  Well, at least it is not mud.   Whew!

Talk to you later, have to go answer the phone.  Sign me, Worried (about snow) in small town America, M