Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon, we went down to Raft Bayou. Marty and Robin had spent the night, but they were the only ones there, so it was quiet and peaceful. Such a beautiful day with a nice breeze to keep things fresh and interesting. The breeze moved, cool and pleasant against the skin, the leaves on the trees turned in that slow dance. A huge hawk circled the just disked field, time seemed less important. (These pictures are not from yesterday as I forgot my camera.)

While blog visiting this morning, I came across The Beauty That Moves (via Letters from a Hill Farm) and some lovely photography and then this wonderful poem by Mary Oliver--

When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

Mary Oliver

The poem seems to highlight the ideas I've been reading in various books like The Intention Experiment, The Mindful Woman and A New Earth and the research I've been doing into meditation.I love the second verse of the poem that echoes so much of what we all feel in our hurried lives. Most of us do want to "go easy, to be filled with light" -- but it is sometimes difficult shed all the daily concerns that weigh on us, or even to recognize them, as they become such a part of our lives. Sometimes we need to be reminded about "go[ing] easy."

Essential Oils

I've been interested in essential oils for a long time and have used them mainly to refresh potpourri and in a spray bottle as a room freshener. I spray my pillow at night with a lavender mixture. Mmmm.

On discovering that "wipes" made to clean yoga mats were pretty expensive, I looked for a recipe to make my own.

There are lots of natural cleaning recipes online for all kinds of specific purposes, and I found several for cleaning yoga mats. They differed in whether they used soap, borax, vingegar, distilled water, vodka, etc.

I finally filled a 2 oz. spray bottle with distilled water and vodka and added drops of spearmint, eucalyptus, tea tree oil, and lavender essential oils until I was satisfied with the scent. Started with about 8 drops of each, but less of tea tree oil because while it has effective antiseptic and antifungal properties, it has a very strong, medicinal scent. I kept adding drops of spearmint and lavender until I loved the freshness.

Spray a little on the mat after practice, wipe it off, done. Mat is clean and smells good, and there is little effort involved.

I also made some wipes using a similar combination of oils out of extra thick paper towels and can use them on feet or hands. Cut the thick paper towels to the size you want, fold, put in a plastic freezer bag, and saturate by spraying into the bag.

Three of my favorites scents.

Early September

These pictures were taken while Erin and the kids were here. Some are at the cabin, some at the house.

Max at the cabin.


Chris and Bryce Eleanor (in camo) and Jonathan and John David.
Bryce Eleanor. I almost didn't recognize her out of her pretty little dresses!
Mila and Puppy.


Max, imitating Mila who put flowers in her hair.
Mila in my robe after a bath.


Erin's insurance claim has been settled, and power was restored last Saturday, so they are getting back to normal.

Laddie is improving after a couple of health scares; yesterday was a good day!

Still don't have time to sew, but hope that next week I can get back to my WIPs and to make a holder for my new and larger yoga mat. Need to finish getting the sewing room clean and to find exactly where I was in various projects and get organized.

Our weather has been beautiful lately--days in the low 80's! Lovely!

Long Time Gone

Time moves so swiftly. We are already more than half way through September, and I have not done a stitch of sewing this month. Very little blogging or keeping up with blogs, either.

I'm hoping things are beginning to settle down and that I can return to a more normal routine, but September sure rolled in with a number of events that interrupted anything like a normal schedule. Won't elaborate on all of the boring details, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The yoga classes have helped keep me centered, and I'm working on making meditation a daily activity. Over the past month or so, my ability to meditate has improved and is proving a useful tool against anxiety.

But I haven't had the time or the creative inclination to sew for over 3 weeks! Today, I'm going to wear my beautiful new apron (from Terisa at Running With Scissors) as both symbol and intention to get back to one of my most anxiety reducing activities and as armor against distraction!

Forgive my neglect of emails and comments and my failure to return blog visits. I'm going to do better-- although it may take some time to catch up!

I Won!

Look at my new apron! Isn't it beautiful? Terisa at Running With Scissors had a contest, and I was the lucky winner!

This is a fairy tale apron, isn't it? I will be the best dressed in the apron department and lovin' every minute. I may don my tiara as an appropriate accessory!

Posting is a little difficult right now as I have a house full. Fee said the devastation in the south in unbelievable. Somewhere around Marksville, he passed a small old cemetery, and saw coffins floating in the ditch by the road. That is something we've all heard about, but he'd never seen it before and said it was unnerving.

So many trees down he couldn't get to many locations. He had to go to 10 gas stations and was despairing of finding fuel to get back. Checked on his mother's house; the renter had put up some tarps, but tree limbs had done damage. Everything he heard about Baton Rouge was bad, so given the bumper to bumper traffic and lack of open gas stations, he gave up on that.

Didn't get this posted yesterday. Still a lot going on with entertaining kids, and Erin trying to keep in touch with co-workers and friends.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Thanks to everyone who has emailed to check on us! I have been trying to catch up on emails and appreciate the concern and good thoughts even though we are always safer in the north part of the state.

At least it wasn't another Katrina. I've tried to figure out how to post about the hurricane, and I find it difficult to assess all of my feelings.

Initially, we were all relieved that Gustav was downgraded before hitting the coast, that the levees held in New Orleans, and that the evacuation was so much more rapid and efficient. However, the damage is immense, overwhelming all attempts at aid. So many more people (approximately 2 million) evacuated this time. Shelters were quickly overwhelmed and supplies and services are still unable to keep up. FEMA's problems have still not been overcome, causing even more hardship.

Erin and the kids came up here, relieving my most immediate fears. A good thing, too, because Baton Rouge received a real pounding; a city of huge old trees, the 90+ mph winds wreaked terrible damage to homes, power lines, etc. No power, no water/sewage, no traffic lights, little if any gasoline available, supplies dwindling... Supplies that were supposed to be available were in the wrong place and not available where needed. People must stand in line for hours for food, bottled water, etc. I'm so thankful that Erin brought Mila and Max up here because most people in B.R. were not expecting the damage and did not evacuate in the numbers that occurred in other places.

There are many things to be grateful for - it wasn't Katrina, the evacuation process was much more successful (a result of many factors, including the willingness of people to heed the warnings), levees held for the most part, the torrential rains and high winds that were predicted for our area dissipated before they got this far north. That doesn't mean that human suffering is not immense as people realize they have lost their homes and possessions and can not yet go home from hotels and shelters.

My husband is on his way to south Louisiana now to check on his mother's house in Alexandria which received damage, his company's business interests, and Erin's house if he can. When I called to check on him a while ago, he said the traffic on I-49 going south is unbelievable. People who can (many have no transportation) are going home to begin repairs and re-building despite the lack of basic services.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered here and with those on the east coast who await Hannah.
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Later today, I'm going to have a more cheerful post because I won a wonderful prize!