FOR TODAY  – Saturday Evening, March 31

Outside my window… it’s dark outside.  The days are staying light much longer now.  The rains from earlier have passed and the stars are shining brightly.

I am thinking… that I had a good day today.  I read a whole book at one time (yippee!), took a long nap and had a good swim before the health club closed for the evening.  My favorite boy toy is watching a video in his office and then we’re watching British people kill each other (another episode of Midsomer Murders).

I am thankful…that I had today to relax and recharge.  And that my boy toy understands that after a hectic, busy week, I need this downtime.

In the kitchen…the dishwasher is running and our spaghetti supper is all cleaned up.  The dog’s water has been picked up for the night, but that’s not stopping the beagle from obsessively licking the dog bowls clean.  His soft tongue is also cleaning out the ants that found their way to the dog bowls.  No, that’s not the grossest thing he eats.  He’s the reason the dog poop has to be cleaned out of the yard every day.

I am wearing… my soft blue jeans and an old black top.  The top is too faded to wear to work, but it’s really comfortable.  I’m so hot from my swim though I’m thinking of putting on some shorts.

I am creating… my book!  I’ve written a few chapters every weekend.  I wish I had time for more, but I am happy to be making progress on it.  I also created a new header on my blog (picture below) from the trees in bloom at the botanical gardens.

I am going… to bed early tonight.  My swim was better than usual but it’s got me rather knocked out.

I am wondering… if my blog link at the botanical garden website will bring more traffic to my blog.  I hope so.  They were thrilled with my pictures and text.  I was thrilled that they linked me to their site.

I am reading… Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner.  It’s about that middle time when you feel life is falling apart and God has moved away from you.  I’m enjoying it, although it doesn’t seem to have much of a point yet.  I’m also reading It Won’t Be Yoga by Melissa Camara Wilkins.  Melissa is the coordinator of the Six Words Friday that I participate in.  Her essay is a humorous look at her efforts to exercise with small children underfoot.

I am hoping… to get everything done tomorrow that needs to be done before the new workweek starts.  I did laundry and vacuuming last weekend.  This weekend is a bit more laundry, cleaning bathrooms and paying bills.  Oh goodie.

I am looking forward to… going to the botanical gardens tomorrow and see what else is in bloom.  Hopefully the sky will be a pretty blue and not this flat gray we’ve been having lately.

I am learning… not much lately.  I’ve had a real lack of time and energy and am just trying to get done the minimum to keep things functional.  I am trying a new diet though.  We cut the beagle’s food in half and have been adding big piles of green beans to it.  He’s been more full, less begging and is starting to loose some weight.  I’m trying the same.  I’ve added a lot more vegetables to my diet and cutting portion sizes more.  I haven’t lose weight yet, but I’m only a few days trying it.

Around the house… are books and papers everywhere.  I don’t think it’ll take long to clean it.  I just don’t feel like doing it.  Maybe tomorrow I will.

I am pondering… how to current with all the blogs I follow and enjoy.  I don’t want to cut back on reading them, but I am not keeping up very well.  There’s so much good stuff out there, but it’s zapping time for my own things.  I am also pondering creating essays for publication based on the life lessons learned from my maternal and paternal grandparents.  My favorite boy toy surprised me today when he enumerated all the things he’d learned from my grandparents.  I had no idea he’d listened that closely to them.

A favorite quote for today…

. . . middles are often defined by what they are not:
the space, the years in between that which is no longer
what came before and that which is not yet what will come later.
. . . the term “Middle Ages” implies that the stretch of time under
consideration is less interesting than
the exaltations of classical grandeur
or the wonders of today. 

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner

One of my favorite things… is talking to my daughter most days.  I’m enjoying relating to her as an adult, getting her input on problems I’m having at work, and hearing about her days.  We’re much closer than I thought we would be at this time.

A few plans for the rest of the week… it’s quarter close and my team is running late.  Monday everything must be done.  Hopefully there will not be unusual overtime next week though.  The process has improved a lot since I first started working at my employer.

Here’s my the new header picture for my blog.  This was taken at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens a week ago.

Daybook Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens Virginia beagle daybook It Won't Be Yoga Lauren Winner Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens Melissa Camara Wilkins postaday spring Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis swimming