Trying to get back in the groove…..scattered Sunday thoughts on Hope and Life and Genesis and of course…Cats!

 

Hi All,

I hope you are having a blessed Sunday.   Southern Oregon…or at least my little corner of it is once again experiencing rain!  Rain, rain and more rain.   Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining a bit.  It’s mostly a soft and warm(ish) soaking rain – the best kind even if the gutters don’t quite agree!   The trees and garden are in great need of the water.  So many local wells have been going dry that I’ve cut back even more than usual on my watering just in case.  Luckily my wells are deep and there are two of them but just in case….

And who knows, having the ground softened up, just might spur me on to getting some long neglected weeding done.  Uh huh…R.I.G.H.T…..the deer don’t seem too concerned by that prospect.

Started to share this a week or two back and then lost where I put it.   Found it again finally (hiding in plain sight or should that be site since it was sitting in my blog’s drafts file :D).

Trying to get back in the blogging groove but it’s harder than I thought it would be.   After a small stroke a short while ago many things are strange.   I’m pretty much recovered thanks to God’s grace and the prayers of many friends but just a few things are still a bit skewed.  Word skills and energy, and taste sensations being a few of them.  Everything takes so much longer as I try to remember the steps needed to accomplish a task and remembering words, names and so on is tricky at best.  Sat for half an hour today trying to remember my nieces name.  Funny thing is I can remember her phone number just not her name most of the time.   It’s making learning all the new color names and stamp sets and paper names a lot harder than in the past.   Luckily most of the SU things I learned before the stroke are still with me for the most part.  Though Cajun Craze has become Crazy Cajun sometimes.   LOL!  My Louisiana friends might say that was more accurate but I’m not sure a non Southerner can get away with saying that :D! 

 Emotions are a bit off as well.  I realized the other day that I was actually afraid of my blog!   Probably just the work it represents or the fear of getting words wrong, or the backlog of entries waiting to be made or some such thing but as I’m not generally a fearful person it’s just plain weird.   Wicket is the scaredy cat in our house!  No real rhyme or reason….afraid of my refrigerator too!   Though that’s probably just because it really needs cleaning and the task seems daunting! – LOL!   Anybody out there want to get up close and personal with my experiments to find a new strain of mold for medical science? 

From day to day things taste different too.   Sometimes very salty even when there is no salt added to something – like water for instance!  Other times bitter or like cardboard.  Makes cooking interesting let me tell you.   Though some friends seem to think its an improvement since I’ve been adding more spice and heat to my cooking lately.   Have I mentioned that in the past when making chilli I very firmly latched the top of the chilli powder closed then waved it over the pot!   Not anymore.  I’m even using salsa and diced chilli’s these days and lots and lots of pepper.  I just finished off  half a jar of peppercorns that had been in the cupboard for 5 years – that half jar only took 3 weeks!   Still no Cilantro as that still tastes like dirty gym socks smell!  I’ve discovered over the years that Cilantro is one of those love it or hate it spices with little in between.   And most who hate it say the same thing about gym socks.  Funny how that is an archetypal smell.  Started a bit of a debate on the subject at the last Stamp Camp.  I’m afraid we nay sayers were outvoted this time.

Decided this week to take some action on the fear factor and cleared out 1/2 the bad stuff in the frig.  Next week I’ll get to the other half and I’ve been trying to post at least every other day this week to get back in the groove.  They may not all be original work but its a good discipline and hopefully still worth reading.  That was something a friend suggested to me to get me over the hump.   Still there may be weeks ahead with fewer posts.  I hope you know I’ll still be thinking of you.. just might be in need of a rest.

So what does all that have to do with the statement at the top of the post?    Living in hope and fighting the fear seems to be a good thing.   I can live with the tears that come at odd times for no apparent reason but living without hope just isn’t an option.   I do truly believe that hope (and faith) anchors the soul.   Without that I come adrift and lose my bearings.    Though I will add that even when I am without hope I still seem to talk to God…and as any good therapist will tell you talking is always good…when we cease to communicate we lose a grip on life itself.   And thankfully God is always there to listen.

With hope all things seem, if not doable, at least  possible and that as Martha Stewart would say is a very good thing.   Side note:  I’ve always wondered if she picked that up from Genesis…after each act of creation the passage closes with…And God saw that it was good.   Hm…maybe not… since that would seem to put her in the role of God?    Anyway…. possibilities have at their very core the essence of life; and happiness though not guaranteed, seems at least attainable when all the possibilities are there to be explored.    As a pastor friend would say…Thus endeth the lesson….

Under the heading…Charity that doesn’t cost you more than a click…can also find you some fun!

I was clicking to feed shelter cats (and dogs too) at one of  my favorite online charities (www.freekibblecat.com) and came across this very fun video.  IKEA as many Stampers know is the Mecca of Organizing (and oh yeah they sell furniture too) – to set up a Stamp Room at frugalista prices (well with add ins from the $ store and thrift shops too – lol) there is no better place.   Recently an IKEA in England teamed up with a 100 cats to see what furniture a true hedonistic Sybarite would pick.  In the process of filming what was to become the commercial a great deal of hilarity, exploration and of course a bit of testosterone induced territorialism ensued (okay maybe I’m slamming the guys overly much since I suppose estrogen – or its lack – can make a person cranky too :D) .

I loved the comments about the difference between the kittens and the adult cats.   Could it be that kittens souls being more newly minted are more deeply anchored by hope?   Note:  I hope I’m not offending anyone out there by assuming cats have souls…after living with a cat who obviously prayed when in church its hard to argue.  A story for another time…..

May your day and week and year and oh heck your whole life be filled and bounded by joy and of course hope.

Hugs and Sunday Blessings – Jean