It is good to have a home, but one always feels drawn to that which appears more comfortable.

Words spoken today by a friend whose family seems, and truly is, thriving where it is.

How false my heart feels to want what it doesn't have even knowing that the apparent comfort of another life would be just as uncomfortable as this. And is discomfort so bad? Can not discontent compel me to seek contentment from the One source that satisfies? That is the grain I am taking from my friend's comment. A warning and a signpost to my heart.

The smell of bread rising, the sound of my washing machine servant working cheerfully, children protesting that geography is more important than math at this moment but doing the math anyway, these are all signs that I feel at home.

So hush, you heart.

.

It's March.

Made it.

I've only worn out two sweaters this year and purchased two new ones to replace them. One new scarf, one shawl, new socks. The wood stove has made an enormous difference.

And apparently I've been vitamin D deficient and that is really, really important for me. Who knew? I am more thankful than you can know for those little, round, squishy pills.

CTM told me I'm doing better this year at not hibernating. "You don't just move from the stove to the chair in front of the fire to the furnace room to get more wood for the fire."

Thanks.

.

flowers received

I'm thinking today about giving. Likely this post will not give you a complete picture of my thoughts since I am abbreviating them. But perhaps it will spark your own thought process.

When people ask me for something how willing am I to give? Requests for help, for my time or energy, for a 'thing' be it money or something else come up regularly. I'm not talking so much about the various organizations trying to raise money for this or the other project, but people's requests, the people around me, the people I run into in my normal circle of living. Especially when it is in my power to give, I would like to be one who gives easily, freely. When it is a sacrifice for me to give, even then I still think I should and I want that to be something that defines who I am. Joyfully.

I have lots of room to grow in this area but I don't want to forget my thoughts of today. I don't want to slip again into my habitual thoughts just because they're the habits I'm used to. I want to begin, to continue, the difficult task of creating new habits.

.

words

Why is it so easy to say words but so often difficult to say what we mean?

A night of unrest, pain. The speaker unaware of the result of words spoken. The words, in fact, heard completely incorrectly...added to negatively. Morning brings pain still, anger, hurt. Fortunately there also follows reconciliation.

I catch my breath at the ease with which the pain could have festered and grown into hate.

One tab is open to wonderfully photographed food blogs filled right now with warm, beautiful looking soups and stews. The other tab is open to a seed company filling my mind with images of next year's garden.

Both are food for my spirit in such different ways.

The one reminds me that a cup of hot tea will go nicely in my hands while I plan our warm and filling supper. The other takes me far forward into those sunny, warm days of digging, playing, harvesting a perfect tasting freshly picked vegetable still warm from the sun and full of flavour.


On the other hand, this is what my next project is...


.

The children are outside playing merrily in the snow. A real, ground-covering, snowfall. It's even a decently cold -6C to make it a legitimate snowy winter morning. They're happy.

And reminded of the cold wetness of snow melted on wrists. But happy overall.

Everything is so much brighter too with the light reflecting off the white snow. I do love the beauty of a new snowfall.

The Christmas tree is up, lighted and not yet decorated. That'll be the project for this evening with hot apple cider and perhaps some cookies. They've eaten most of them already. Yesterday evening I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in front of the glowing woodstove with the tree in the background. If you don't know this story, read it. It's a quick read and has been a family tradition since I was a little girl. Pieman was sure I read really quietly for a little while as he lay stretched out on the couch after a long day's work but nobody else seemed to notice.

Every now and then I spend some time reading food blogs. These are the two I read this morning. And this I read last night while looking for dinner inspiration.