Making Wise Decisions

As the Keeper of my Home, one of my main responsibilities is to keep my family safe. I seem to be getting bombarded with information lately that is telling me I need to be more diligent at this. Take for example MSG in tomato sauce, mechanically separated chicken in my soup, and now the ingredients in my dish soap. I use Palmolive because I seem to be able to use less of it than other brands. Now I need to look for an alternative or find a way to make my own. Want to know what's in Palmolive? Check here.

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am at how many unsafe products are being sold to us?

BEing

I spent a blissful hour outside today just before sunset. The moon was up, the sun was setting, the sky was clear, and the air was cool. I took Poppy and Clover (our goats) down to the field for some much needed attention, exercise and free grazing (they grazed, I didn't). They loved it (so did I).

I originally planned to take a walk, but the girls were so happy to just "be" that I sat under an apple tree and kept them company, watching, thinking, and "being" with them. And I realized something. Sitting outside under an apple tree watching my goats graze under the rising moon and setting sun is a beautiful thing.  It IS.  There was no plan. They didn't eat a little and then plan to move over there and eat a little more, then plan to run a little and then eat a little more, then plan to climb on a rock.... I didn't plan out where I would sit and what view would be best and how long I would stay... We just WERE. They did their thing, and I watched. And listened. And breathed.

And I realized that I haven't done that for a very long time. 

Just listening. 

Just breathing. 

Just BEing.

Rain's gift

The end of a very rainy day brought unexpected beauty.

Photo by my talented son.

Front Garden Visitors

There were six of these little visitors to my front garden enjoying the seeds. I haven't had a chance to go out and gather any to save for ourselves, but our feathered friends are enjoying my lack of time. I did have a chance to snap a couple of pictures of them though.

Okay, you have to look VERY closely, but there are birds sitting on top of the seed heads. I think they're goldfinches, and I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but I can't justify the purchase of a telephoto lens to my husband with, "Just think of all the cool bird pictures I could take!" Nope. I don't think he'd buy it. No pun intended.

Mid-Afternoon Chocolate Fix

There are days that call for a little chocolate. Rainy days that start way too early for example. I don't really have the motivation to bake anything big because I have too many other things I should be attending to. So I'll call out the reserves.  Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake.

I like mine with a spoonful of peanut butter placed on top while it's still hot.

There. That's better.

The end of a Season

My "Thanks Mom" flower. Given by each of the senior soccer players to their mom's to say, "Thanks for getting us to practice, making dinner around our schedule, coming to our games, cheering for us, standing outside in the sun, wind, rain and cold."

His team finished well, with a 14-0 season, and losing only at the last game of the regional finals.

I doubt that my son knows how much I enjoyed watching him play.  I'll miss cheering for him and his team. It's more than the end of a soccer season. It is the end of a Season.

Diamonte Poem

Tree

Strong and tough

Dying, breaking, falling

Leaves, branches, trunks and roots

Crashing, moving, rotting

Weak and ramshakle

Dirt.

by Zach