Inspiration and Peaches as an Alleviation for Thunderstorm

                             The rain clouds whispered their love notes to me as the puddles gathered on my porch. It had been a bright morning.

Do you ever get a sudden impulse to create something tasty? Well, last week I did just that with fresh peaches from my peach tree. I never thought Kansas peaches would be so good! They were delicious. The peach varieties I planted were clingstone. The fruit clings to the pit in these peaches. Which, all in all, is kind of annoying but quite tasty! Did someone say jam?

I had planted two cherry trees in the same area, one a Montgomery and the other a sweet.

These sadly enough do not produce hardly anything.

Since it's summer, biking is quite popular in my area. Though a small town I think the numbers of bikes gliding through town are increasing. I have a mountain bike myself that is in sorry distress. Yes, the gears are unbalanced and the bike chain needs greasing and whatever else.  Oh Lord, it is in my "mechanic shop." Haha, my laundry room. I, honestly, am learning on the job with this bike repair stuff, though I do find it fascinating. Hopefully,  my efforts won't be in vain.

My nighttime hobbies have changed since my sweetie left. I am learning to crochet better and watercolor. My efforts thus far have been something to laugh at but the show must go on.

Sounds like an awful thunderstorm is rolling in.

I am happy to have picked up another freelance newspaper job that gives me the flexibility that I need. The structure of freelance work fits nicely into my schedule, especially as my online classes are finishing up. The first economic development article I completed through the medium of photojournalism. Published online at the Belleville Telescope.




I am slowly eeking through application processes for 4-year colleges. It is quite a tedious task but I'm sure the rewards of doing something great are well worth the wait.  Though I have had multiple opinions---strong opinions offered to me. AHEM-AHEM. I am following the famished writer pathway, at least till I get a Bachelors degree. Heehee. It's quite a leap of faith but I do hope someday to create a work (in this case book) that will be shaping the minds for centuries. With my English degree, I have considered traveling abroad and teaching ESL through secondary education. This would require me to pick up an ESL license and a secondary education major or minor accompanied by a foreign language-- I'm shooting for Italian. Italian culture and Italy has always fascinated me. It's all very confusing but I'm sure it will all work out.

In the meantime, I'm keeping up blogging, making delicious cups of coffee, reading, writing, painting, and my new favorite PLANKING!!

One of my inspirations for planking comes from XHIT, which my morning routines have become entirely obsessed with. I'm not all that strong but I held a plank for nearly a minute and twenty seconds. I was pretty proud of myself. 

So through this post, I hope I've told you a little about my day and maybe inspired you to pick up some new hobbies. PLANKING? KNITTING? CROCHET?

Whatever, inspire you to invest in your imagination and set the world on fire! 🔥

addio!

Hawthorne and Teaching

As I lifted the plastic octopus a small boy squinted and enunciated oc-to-pus. The kindergarten boy was learning the enunciation of sea animals. It had been a long day already and it wasn't even half over, poor kid. After settling back in with his classmates I was assigned three books "The Quack Song (I don't have a picture of ducks so I used a chicken picture I took earlier this year at the school)," "Princess Party", and "A Quiet Dog." Four different rotations of students came to my table. Including a mischevious little boy, for the point of this post we'll call him Wilbur. Wilbur was having so much fun at the para's table being a complete distraction by farting, talking obscenely and shouting whenever I even glanced at him. This added to the three recesses I monitored was quite a fiasco! Quite a day let me tell you!

After a nice sunny stroll home I began making a refreshing cup of iced joe and sprucing up my blog. But just when I thought all the stress of the day over, my phone buzzes. My SO's car is on fire and his pants were splashed with battery acid! Thankfully he didn't get hurt. But made sure I got a video of the whole incident. My goodness, gracious. 

Morning Has Broken

As I cracked an egg into my mug of Vietnamese coffee I scanned the Classified's job section. Vietnamese coffee is made with eggs. In fact, the whole egg, shell included! Relaxing for me includes watching coffee videos on Youtube. 

                                Vietnamese coffee has a rich flavor of tiramisu. It's a great variation to the ordinary cup of Joe. Its layers are similar to custard and the taste is absolutely exquisite. Besides,  eggs have protein. If you're looking for that extra protein boost plus caffeine in the morning, then this might be your answer. The eggs used in this coffee are processed in boiling water so there is no need to be intrepid about the raw egg factor. 

Tasting coffees from all over the world is a favorite activity of mine. I have been experimenting with everything from Mexican to Vietnamese coffee preparation styles. Drinking coffees with preparation styles from all over the world is an exciting way for me to begin my day. I enjoy reading the paper in the morning, knitting and reading my Bible. I wake up way too early, generally speaking. Which, in a sense is a blessing and a curse. My mornings I try to be productive but recently I've been in rather a glitch. It seems that I'm stuck on trying to escape my ordinary life. I want a change of pace but I want to make an epic move in life. My grandmother, who's an amazing lady!, has a refrigerator magnet that says "Ordinary women did not go down in history." 

                                              Is being unordinary bad, I think not! So with my quirky early morning waking coffee habits, and my endless flame of new ideas and inspirations I'll travel on through this life being grateful for every day I'm blessed with. Thank God for Vietnamese coffee and early mornings!

Chocolate Cookies and Thymes of Onions

I sit surrounded by onions and chocolate and resumes...
I know quite an odd combination.



Let me explain, so this morning began with sun... just kidding, actually, I blacked out my windows, so no sun. I did this intentionally to dupe my long-night of term papers and homework. With the recent time change, the sun soaks through the shutters with a persistent glare. Despite my efforts in sleeping longer, the farm has given me an internalized alarm clock.

A random wine glass full of rose petals, playing some Clair de Lune.

So, I began my morning with a challenge to cook a beef roast. I am not too familiar with cooking meats, so this is a rather new venture for me.




I am chopping onions, potatoes, thyme, 3 cloves of garlic and butternut squash, which I will be putting in a cast-iron pot. Oh and I forgot the pot roast, oh well I suppose that outta go in if we are indeed making pot roast ;).



Meanwhile, I'm prepping three dozen double-chocolate cookies, that admittedly are pretty darn good! I found the recipe in my Sweet Treats, William-Sonoma, cookbook that has a lot of really tasty recipes in it. My intention for creating these, of course, is to try for my bakery that will be opening come December, one month!


Recently, I was gifted a LODGE CAST IRON 12-inch cast iron skillet! I am very excited as this will be a skillet I can use for the rest of my life.  This skillet is going to be cooked in throughout my life.  When you get a gift like that, it really puts life in perspective, I think. Can you imagine this skillet is probably going to last longer than me?




Well, that's all, for now, folks, hope your day is a real winner!

My Sunday Full of Purpose

Sundays are days of much-needed rest in a farmers household. Most Sundays begin with sleeping in past the old rooster crow! Aaah, those glorious days of sleeping till 8:00 😊.

Urggh... chickens, my detest of chickens will be discussed later... (clenching my teeth)

 On the farm, it's usually bright on Sundays with the sun glistening over the long shadows cast by the oak trees. This Sunday was different though. The sun was late but I wasn't.

This is later in the day

I woke to the long drawn call of a coyote harking to the black sky above.

Somewhat disgruntled at this rude awakening I awoke to a still sleeping house. It was a different kind of day though. 

A day full of integrity and a new found awakening to achieve what others said I couldn't. I dressed in my workout clothes and two hoodies, yes, I could still see little puffs of my breath as I did pushups and planks. 

The quiet night that surrounded me provided a thoughtful workout that filled me with motivation and a sense of purpose.

A workout in a still cold night with the wild cries of coyotes surrounding me. I was awake to this new life of fitness and doing what others thought I couldn't achieve, it was a splendid triumph of my own self-doubt. Self-doubt that said I couldn't be fit or have a purpose to make a dime and that I was someone who had missed the ship for the beginning of life.

Which had happened. Most of my friends are in colleges spread far and wide or following jobs far away. They were all making their own beginnings

This was just my beginning slow, steady and plagued with many boundaries.

I am too creatively distracted for my own good. I like having breakfast for lunch, reciting 19th-century poetry on a whim, listening to classics #Audible and getting to know new people.  

I've had lots of dreams over my life and never really any sure path until I read a book that changed my life. 

"Living Forward" is a book written by Micheal Hyatt, that truly set me on a different course and way of thinking about my life purpose. I am thoroughly enjoying it's helpful and thoughtful analysis on setting life goals and creating a plan to stop drifting and get the life you want. For this I commend Hyatt as I'm sure others have read and been changed by this, well, to say it simply, life-changing book. 

This quiet morning that was like black velvet I completed the chapter on writing your eulogy. Cheery stuff, I know, just kidding. Really though, writing your eulogy really puts your life in perspective. It provides a whole new kind of clarity that strengthens the reader's endeavors for this life. 

It's a challenge in this life to determine what our drive is and why we're here. It's a challenge to find happiness. Our own little niches of artistry that keep us from day-to-day madness. Yes, the kind that Lewis Carroll talks about in the quote from Alice and Wonderland as the Cheshire cat tells Alice, "We're all mad here." 

This quote by Carroll is truly a thought-provoking which I will explicate in an upcoming b log post. 

But for now, back to the velvety night and coyotes...

My phone was I'm sure very chilly, as the temperature upon my waking was a balmy 27°, just kidding not balmy at all!

As my dad jokingly says when it gets really cold, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about mosquitoes!" Point taken, thanks dad for elevating the conversation 😄.

After completing this workout, I moved onto a neurological kind of workout. I recently downloaded this dandy little app on my phone called Vocabulary Builder and being quite a word buff, let me tell you I am a huge fan! One of my recent favorite words being "Euphoria- extreme joy or Jovial- happy." I must say these words complete my personality.

Two other curious and unexpected things happened this morning.

After I dressed in leggings and a snappy bright turquoise and white striped little sweater that really just was perfect for the day, I made scrambled eggs and homemade espresso,. Sometimes, I think outfits are just suited for certain days. 

 I made my espresso in a little antique teapot. looking contraption that had a metal straw and a coffee chamber/ filter. I'm not entirely sure what it was called but it made a fine brew of coffee. 

With this brilliant early start, I was so happy to accomplish so much more in my day!

So for good books, early mornings and life goals I will raise my coffee mug!

For this, I am grateful for that mangy coyote that woke me up before the sun. 

A Season's Bows

The Snow on the mountain bows its head to my step as I wander through their hills. Dew clings to the lambs ear that huddles next to the ground as if it were trying to cuddle with its despondent lover. Puddles deck the muddy ground and a fresh rain drips from the grasses swaying figures. A red gnarled feed trough lies in the pasture holding today's rain. My mint and grey shoes snap twigs and Reizen the petrified grasses. The hills are quiet and the clouds float on like impregnated elephants.

"Winds in the East"

"Winds in the East storm comin’ in somethin’s a brewin’ about to begin.” This lyric is sung by Dick van Dyke, in Mary Poppins, as he is taking the children back to their home. These lyrics while at surface level might just seem catchy for a rainy day… actually, signify a change or shift in what’s happening for the Bank’s family. England’s Easterly winds come wet and cold weather perfect for staying inside, bringing change. Which provides Mary Poppins and her umbrella a perfect entrance to begin changing the household. This quote sung by Dick van Dyke has an underlying message to the children, is that you don’t have to be wealthy and rich to be happy. He is happy with the simple things of life. This message is furthered by the bird lady, who sings words simple and few collecting tuppence a bag for the birds. Hauntingly, beautiful, this movie is artistically a wonder. With that, “Let’s go fly a kite!”