Our Journey: The Simple Woman's Daybook (Vol. 2)

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...

it's still dark. It's a little after two am and everyone, except me it seems, is asleep. There is one energetic squirrel running around. I can hear him scampering around in one of the trees outside the bedroom. Do squirrels often play in the early morning hours? I've never noticed until tonight.

I am thinking... of all the things I must do this week and that is definitely not helping me sleep.

I am thankful... that Boo agreed to go out to eat yesterday. He only panicked once and was easily calmed. I am also thankful that I am the only one in this household unable to sleep. I can always take a nap tomorrow!

In the kitchen...

there is a dishwasher to unload, a floor to sweep and mop and yogurt to make in the morning. Making yogurt in the crock pot is one of my favorite things to do. This week Boo will have four pints of reduced sugar lime mango yogurt and I'll have three pints of plain yogurt for cooking.

I am wearing...
blue micro fleece cat print pajamas. I was cold when I woke a few minutes ago and rescued my favorite pajamas from the winter clothes ready to store.

I am creating...
too many things. That's one reason I can't sleep. There are far too many unfinished projects. One reason there are several projects-in-progress is that I've been encouraging Boo to help. Since he enjoys it, I need to come to terms with it. His need to create and to feel productive far outweigh my desire to streamline my life.

I am going... to find the Mod Podge tomorrow so that we can finish our Marian tile coasters. I remember Boo putting a spoonful of it on the Boudreaux's food a few months ago and I put it away to save the cat. Now, where did I put it? Was I feeling logical or stressed? That makes a difference with me.

I am wondering...
if I'll have the time and energy to try a new bagel recipe that sounds much simpler than the very time consuming one that I've used for years. That is, when I wanted homemade bagels enough to invest the time in making them---something that happens only a few times a year.

I am reading... A Right to Be Merry by Mother Mary Frances, PCC. I'm not sure why I chose this particular book, but I'm glad I did. The informal story format makes it very easy to read and the deep truths embedded in it worm their way into my heart to be pondered and savored throughout the day. We are still reading The Wind in the Willows slowly and I am still reading The Stolen Crown in odd moments.

I am hoping...
to make some sugar free frozen yogurt for Boo this week. We'll see...

I am looking forward to... seeing Tasha and Ava this week. Maybe tomorrow?

I am learning...

to meditate on small bits of scripture and passages from books as I work with Boo or around the house. I feel less stressed and it certainly helps me focus on the truly important things in my life.

Around the house...
all is quiet and peaceful. You know, the early morning hours are actually a good time to gather my thoughts.

I am pondering... the cycles of prayer Boo and I have established in our daily lives and the ways it helps to bring peace and stability to our days. Mother Mary Frances discussed it in A Right to Be Merry also. Not that our small prayer life can really be compared to a cloistered monastery, but it does help us.

A favorite quote for today...

“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those little prayers were destined to affect, and all the consequences of those effects down through the centuries, we would be so paralyzed with awe at the power of prayer that we would be unable to get up off our knees for the rest of our lives.” ---Peter Kreeft

One of my favorite things...
reading! In fact, I think whoever invented e readers (like my Nook) should win a Nobel Peace Prize. Can you imagine carrying hundreds of books in your purse? It's wonderful! Then again, I'm the one who actually used to take a book with me on dates---just in case I got bored.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
to finish the Marian coasters we began last week, to scan some old photographs, to organize some and to work with Boo on preserving some of his memories now while he can still remember and talk about them.

A peek into my day...