December 16th, 2010

It’s late at night, but my stomach won’t let me wait until morning. Why this sudden midnight pang of hunger? I make oatmeal… I overpour and end up with a huge bowl. Fruit flies buzz around a banana that has broken open. I peel off limp skin and mush a knife through. Oatmeal with mashed banana… I feel like I’m six again. I crave the comfort of this food.

Today was one of those wonderfully busy days that isn’t stressful. Things start going in the morning and everything falls so nicely into place, so at the end of the day, you look back at all you have accomplished, and yet you don’t feel tired.

As we ran errands – picking up mail, getting price quotes on printing supplies, the hardware store again – I realized that I am becoming familiar with this Africa. Things no longer look new and strange. We drive by ladies in tribal dress, Zulu boys selling brooms, the homeless man who scavenges, zealous carwashers beckoning us into their stalls. None of these give me cause for second glance… this is the Africa that I know. Thorn trees, dung beetles, and stray dogs receive as much attention from me as the trash that blows in the wind. Is it good that this place is feeling normal?

Home again to hang laundry and clean up lunch dishes… the guys are off to Bible study; the afternoon has begun, and with it passing rain showers. With our new dining table, we now have a small table for the office, so organization has begun in full force. With our new dining table, our house is beginning to look more like home. Little touches here and there make our space more comfortable and more effective.

We all gather in the kitchen to have toast – it is really just the vehicle to try mom’s freshly-made peach jam. A nearby orchard gets two crops of peaches a year… first come, first served. To make our peaches last longer, she mashed and preserved them. Do you really think it will last that long?

Soon it will be dark, and I settle down for some Scripture writing. I’ve always loved the book of John, but I’m gaining a new respect for the book of Matthew while writing it out. Such things as I’ve never noticed before are jumping out. We sit together to listen to a sermon from home. The dog snores through the whole thing, though occasionally waking to lick my foot in affection. (At least, I surmise it is affection!) I keep my hands busy and work on making a memo board out of a ruined whiteboard. (We bought it last year while here, but since that time, someone wrote on it in permanent marker… oops.) I cover it in fabric, sew the corners, and tie ribbons while listening about Jesus our Counselor.

Cleanup around the house and preparing for tomorrow bring us to now… I'm sitting here thinking of many things while eating my bowl of oatmeal and mashed banana. I'm missing snowstorms and Christmas caroling, but I'm glad I can work in the garden and have long-lit days. I'm missing my boots and my sweaters, but I'm so happy for freckles and flip-flop tan lines. Such conflictions I have to have deal with! And yet, of one thing I am sure - I love comfort food.

Thursday, April 15th

Thursday evenings are my favorite.

Piano lessons in the afternoon, and then freedom - the late afternoon and evening stretches before me.

Today it was errands first: pick up some things for my dog and pick up my free coffee (hooray for tax day deals!), then a quick drive by my new favorite thrift store. Coffee in hand, the bell on the door rings a cheery greeting to me, and I smile at the ladies behind the counter. They are older ladies, sweet and funny, and though I recognize them from being here before, I don't know any of them very well. They remind me of my grandmother with their perfect hair, faces arranged just so, capris and cropped jackets, shaky hands and lots of rings.

I move along, browsing through vintage dishes and jewelry, and I realize they are talking about me. Hushed whispers so I won't hear, but louder than they probably think to compensate for their hearing aids (which they all have). I'm careful not to make eye contact or let on that I am hearing them. To do so would embarrass them for sure. Yet I am strangely curious about what they have to say.

They've seen me before they are saying and listing where - the mall, this shop, the farmer's market last summer. They recognize me because I am always wearing skirts. They think I am into wearing vintage as a fashion statement, but one lady mentions that maybe it is my religion.

Soon I am done and step up to purchase my little trinkets, chatting about the weather, but unsure how to bring up the subject. I decide against it - to let on that I heard would be an embarrassment to these prim and proper ladies, so I just leave a kind word, my smile, and a tract with my story.

On to home and supper on the porch. Bees buzzing all around - need to get rid of some nests around the porch. My cilantro is poking through the dirt in spots of bright green, but no signs of the basil yet. Garlic still growing strong - I've counted about 16 bulbs, although some mixed in with the daffodils and it is hard to tell just now. I also planted some spring onions and some okra, just because, and I can't wait for them to make their appearance! Morning glory seeds sit on the table, the bright, glossy photo taunting me. They are my favorite of the perennial seeds we usually buy, and I'm determined to find a good spot this year where they can flourish. But I have to wait for them until the middle of May, just in case of a late spring frost. The vegetables are all near the house, so they should be safe.

An evening trip with my mother to pick up some groceries, then home again to sweep through my little suite of rooms - picking up and cleaning out more. Every time I make a pile of more things to go, I am amazed at how much I have gotten rid of and I'm sure that is the last of it. After a couple weeks, I always seem to find more things laying around that I never use, never wear, don't quite fit or don't quite work. No more time for hanging on, storing up, or fixing up - it's time to clean it all out! We had our first yard sale planned for this Saturday hoping to clean out the basement, but with certain rain on the forecast, we will have to wait until the end of May. Our schedule is packing up rather quickly!

And now a peaceful evening - windows open, spring breeze, clean sheets and a snoring dog. Needs met and future certain - happy in Jesus! What more could I ask for? :)

Beautiful Days

Full of sunshine - streaming in my room each morning,

the first delectable strawberries,

cruising with the top down,

blooming forsythia, and a beautiful hand-stitched find at the thrift store.

And a certain someone with brown eyes turned two years old. (Someone tell her to stop growing up so fast!)

Why do craft supplies always multiply?

I've been cleaning out. Again.

It's like a compulsive disease that I have. I feel like I am always cleaning out, getting rid of, purging...and yet, I still seem to gain more stuff.

It could be the clothes. I like having a small selection of clothing - versatile wear for any season. And yet, I like changes in clothing often. I'm not the type of person that wears the same items of clothing over and over and over for years until they wear out. Maybe that is a fault of mine, but I prefer to view it as a ...frugal freshness. (Like that? I just made it up!) I buy most of my clothes second hand and rather cheaply anyway, so why not give them away when I am tired of wearing them and buy something else cheap and cute?

The real reason for this post, and you may have already guessed this, is that I have torn my room apart and I'm somewhat avoiding putting it back together. This has actually been a work in progress since we arrived last Wednesday, and I think I am at the final stretch. If only I could finish the last few shelves - but therein lies the problem, because they are the craft shelves. They house everything from my fabric and yarn for sewing and knitting, to paper and stationery, to candles and picture frames. It's a monster, and I'm not exactly sure how to control it.

There are two sides of me that war when it comes to cleaning out. There is the side that likes simplicity and neatness, freshness and uncluttered spaces. Then there is the side that enjoys stashing, or pack ratting. When something comes up - whether it be a sewing emergency or a last minute Sunday school lesson - I enjoy knowing that I have a stash of 'stuff' that will cover any need. I like reusing and recycling items for other purposes, but often that means that you have to store a lot of junk until the inspiration hits. And I'm not quite sure I want to deal with the whole storing of junk thing.

You can see that I am just putting it off. I've been successful in cleaning out my clothes closet, my bathroom stuff, and even my files - yet this last area remains to be conquered, and presently looks like it puked on my library floor. There are some good things that come out of avoidance - Monday night I made a new curtain and three new throw pillows for my couch. This post has served a good diversionary, and I just remembered a birthday present I have to make. There is hope for the evening yet. :)

So here is your question for the evening. Why do craft supplies always multiply? Does this happen to anyone else? I have a nice, contained area for craft supplies - neatly organized and labeled. Give it a week, two weeks tops, and it looks like all the ribbons and markers and papers had little babies and everything is a wreck. Am I the only one who can't get this area under control?