August

I have ALWAYS loved lists, especially monthly lists. I don't know why exactly. Its not exactly like a To-Do list, like "go to the library" type stuff but a list of things to do monthly. I'll give an example below in  just a sec. But I like to include everything from craft ideas, places to go, holidays, house stuff, gardening, moon stuff....you'll get the drift. 

August🍂

• Find a favorite book from your childhood and re-read it. Better yet, find a spot like you would have as a child and read it!
• Treat yourself to a box of crayons and color.
• catch lightning bugs
•  make lemonade
• make homemade ice cream
• enjoy a slice of watermelon
• enjoy some time in a hammock
• this months Full Moon names are ~ Holly/Corn/Grain/Herb.
• Correspondence colors are Red/Yellow/Orange/Greens/Gold/Browns
• décor could be corn dolls/sunflowers/any late summer flower/sickle/corn/wheat/gourds 
• foods can be Blackberry pies/homemade breads/BBQ/Corn on the Cob
• scents can be rosemary/rose/sandalwood/frankincense
• Lammas, which is First Harvest
• make a peach cobbler
• organize your workspace

***enjoy these fun holidays for the month

Aug. 1~ girlfriend day

Aug. 3 ~ watermelon day

Aug. 6 ~ root beer float day

Aug. 9 ~ book lovers day

Aug. 10 ~ Smores day

Aug. 15 ~ relaxation day

Aug. 19 ~ world photo day

Aug 24 ~ waffle day

• enjoy a day by the pool
• fall shopping
• go to the fair
• paint your nails red
• make sun tea
• recite a favorite poem out loud to yourself. Especially one about August!

August is a month of transition. Like mentioned above, its the First Harvest. 

September is 2nd Harvest. October is 3rd Harvest. August it the time to start shifting inward. Winter is coming. As hard as it is to think about that with scorching temps and humidity! 

By October, our pantries should be stocked. In August, I even start buying up Thanksgiving Dinner groceries. I buy 2-3 items a week and set them aside in an appointed place. I also start thinking about holidays in general. 

I have a notebook that has 12 monthly tabs. A tab for each month. I keep things in it by the month. Reminders. Special recipes for holidays or special days. Sales. I even have a detailed cleaning list, a Love Calendar, and a purge calendar for each month! I told ya.....I LOVE LISTS!

One reason I can tell you that I love lists is because I am the type of person that if its out of sight, its out of mind! TRULY! So I have to have this calendar to remember things.

The declutter calendar is for 15 minute decluttering. if you do it daily, at the end of the year, your whole house will be decluttered. ( home storage solutions ) FB and also daily emails

The love calendar, give you ideas for couple things, date ideas, etc.

Garden calendar, is like an almanac.

Do you like lists? Notebooking?

Lets see if this link below works!!

https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-calendar-august.html

Changes

One thing about me ~ I hate change.

And, I have also learned that I have to allow it. Lets face it, I like being comfortable. I like routine. But change is inevitable and it has to be allowed.

I sit here in a quiet house. Its somewhere around 3AM. I've got a candle lit, watching the flame dance. Just thinking. Enjoying the stillness. No phones ringing. Just simply, quiet. 

I had a busy day at the massage therapist and chiropractor. And no, its not as lovely as it sounds. Its actually quiet painful for somebody with Fibromyalgia. I am currently working on getting healthier and this is truly one of those places where the old saying, "No pain, no gain" is applied! Right now, my body feels "alive." My nerves are not quieting down enough for me to be able to relax and sleep. But as I sit here, my mind keeps going back to changes.

Last week, our son and his bride to be, closed on their new home. Beautiful home, I might add. We were down there this evening for a visit, getting ideas of things they need, etc. Took me back to our first shopping trip on the way home from our honeymoon. Our first grocery run was $70. I cried!!!! LOL That was everything from our broom to sugar. The expense of starting a new home now.....WHOA!!! ( By the way, I still cry when I see what we're spending at the grocery store! LOL )

But those changes. Be big, or small, the ripple effect can be overwhelming at times. Changes can be for good. They can be for bad. But which ever it is, you have to make the best of it. The biggest change here is the obvious ~ becoming empty nesters.

As the boys were growing up, me and my husband, lovingly referred to as Mountain Man, we made a promise to ourselves to always make ourselves a priority. Lots of other family and friends didn't agree with that. They say that your children come first. It isn't exactly that you place one in importance over the other but you make them equal. We saw many marriages fail too when they made the children top priority and their marriage put on the back burner. For the very reason of where we are now. Our youngest will be moving out. Leaving just the 2 of us. Just like in the very beginning. We didn't want to be here and look at each other and say, "Who are you?" I think we have done pretty good. Part of us looks forward to time alone. Getting to know each other again and just being "us." But the other part, we're going to miss the part of hearing, "Mom, I'm home!" Or, "Dad can you help me with this?" And its the little things. With our son, its his socks left around the house. Its the little dinosaur that we have hid from each other all over the house for years. Even the oldest, after he moved out, he would visit and then I would realize after he left, that he had gotten all my spoons and put them in the freezer! It's little things. Fun things. There isn't enough of them anymore.

Because of change.

Such a small word.

change

[

VERB

1. make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.
   

And it does just that!

But, we adapt. We have to. Even if we dislike it. You make the best of it. 

"Progress is impossible without change." George Benard Shaw

How do you handle change? Do you accept it? Look forward to it? Cringe at it like I do? I'd love to hear how to deal with it!

What about YOU?

“She's an old soul with young eyes, a vintage heart, and a beautiful mind.” ― Nicole Lyons. How would you describe YOU? What aspect would you like to change? What keeps you from it? Me? I like the quote above. However, I don't know about the beautiful mind part. Its more of a forgetful mind these days! Change? It coincides with the question of what keeps me from it. SELF TRUST. So, what about you?

Contentment and Personal Priority

  A book that I read, or try to read daily is Simple Abundance ~ A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Its a book I have had for many many years. Its dated by date, not year. So its good to pick up at any time and not be "behind." But its daily snippets on contentment and being your authentic self. This book is where I will get a lot of inspiration for posts!

  Todays snippet is a good one ~ PERSONAL PURSUITS.

"It's the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion." Rebecca West

Examples:
Majorie Rawlings cooked up plots while she baked pies.
Isak Dinesen arranged flowers.
Katherine Hepburn burned time while knitting on the sets.
Queen Victorian filled sketchbooks with watercolor portraits of her children while running an empire.

See the idea? Even whilst they did their work, they still did "soulwork." That soulwork is what helps with being content. Happy. They made themselves responsible for their own happiness. They listened to that voice way down deep, that "soul voice" is what I like to call it.

What personal pursuits do you have? Or.....wished you had? What do you keep putting off till the right day, right time, when the kids are grown, or, when you have more money?
Do you put your children and spouse on the top of the list for letting them do their "heart desire?" When will you put yourself on the list? What did you used to do that gave you joy and you long to pick up again? ( like blogging! )

  I myself have always been somewhat of a Jane of all trades but master of none. I've dabbled in a lot of stuff. But I've never found a TRUE passion. Although, herbs is probably top of that list. But I still have so much to learn in that area also!
  One thing I would like to do is start doing some old lost arts. Like embroidery. Trying to put that off tho til winter. :-) Not only do I wish to learn something but I also want to do it seasonally. And what I mean by that is there are things that need to be done within THIS season that I cant do in cold weather. Like working with the plants, etc. To me, embroidery is something perfect for me to do whilst I am in for the winter. I would love to learn to tat the edge of a beautiful Irish linen hanky! Bake bread. Candlestick making. I used to do some calligraphy. I would love to pick that up again.

  In the past, I have laid down a lot of "my loves" for the sake of others. I am slowly blooming again. I'm writing a new chapter of my life. I am learning to live a more authentic life for me, no matter of the opinions of others. So, as I start thinking of all the new "soulwork" I'd like to do, what would be on your list?

Start here!

This is the beginning of returning to an old part of myself that I thoroughly enjoyed ~ blogging. Social media just doesn't seem to fit with me but yet, I have made some truly wonderful friends that I wish to keep up with. When I first began blogging MANY moons ago, I made several friends with whom I am still very close to today. And I will be forever grateful for them. They saw me thru some of the most difficult years I had. Life is changing now. I am being called to be more true to myself and do something that brings me joy. One joy was the blogging. So, I shall give it a try again. The platforms have definitely changed and not as easy to use for this old dog. ( You can teach an old dog new tricks......well.....maybe not this one! ) I am even having to relearn using a keyboard! I have used the cell phone for so long. Even have a tablet that I rarely use. But trying to learn!
  Anyhoo, we will see how this goes. I will see how much time I spend here. I definitely don't need something else that takes up MORE of my time!
  One aspect of this blog is trying to promote simple living. Lost arts. Being mindful. Slowing Down. Why? Because these are areas that I lack. So since I am working on them, why not share the journey? By nature, as most know who know me well, I am not a positive person by nature. Its hard for me to take compliments. That's one way that social media helps me! I can post a photo or a good post and to know that I have helped somebody or to know that they love that post and they tell me, it helps me work on taking that compliment instead of trying to my myself a lesser being. I automatically try to find a way out of the said compliment!!! I am working on that.
  I also at times, feel very lonely. Now don't get me wrong. My marriage and home life is great! But you must know, I am an severe introvert. I usually feel I have nothing in common with other women. I have always felt different. I have actually usually had more guy friends than gals! That's also another way social media helps me. I can find balance. But blogging gave me a way to connect in a way that FB doesn't. I don't do IG or any other platforms. I have accounts but its NEVER used. But FB has come to be a not so great place. Here....I CAN HAVE MORE CONTROL!🙋🙋 LOL
  I am an old soul. I prefer the old ways. The old traditions. The only thing I like modern is some house designs! lol
  But this is a start. If you wish to follow me, GREAT! I would love to have you walk beside me on this journey. I hope we see eye to eye on a lot of stuff, but I hope where we disagree, we agree to disagree! We are each a different person with different beliefs, values. opinions and personal/private backgrounds. We don't know what or who led us to be who/what we are today. We shall respect each other. And we should each have boundaries. So if I post something that does not line up with how you think, then scroll on. As Thumper said....."If you can say nothing nice, don't say nothing at all." You can voice your difference, but it stops there. My blog will NOT be a place for arguments. 
  Okay, got that off my chest! I already have a blog in mind! So that may be posted today or tomorrow.
  I'm glad you stopped in. I hope you stick around.🤟🤟