Candle Jars

 

 

To brighten up my entryway for Thanksgiving guests, I created these easy candle jars to illuminate the way.

 

 

 

Simply fill glass canning jars halfway with sand or kitty litter. Sink a candle to the bottom of the jar. Wrap the jar with with jute or raffia and tie leaves, harvest corn and other fall ornaments onto the outside.

 

Be sure to keep decorations away from flame.

 

Set among colorful gourds and these candle jars will create a lovely still life at dusk.

 

 

 

xx





My Recipe for Restoration

 

 

Sometimes in life, you are called upon to be the 'strong one'. This is especially true of women. Being a wife, Mother, daughter, sister, friend, colleague, neighbor; sometimes these roles require a lot of mental energy.

 

Add to that if you are a caregiver, nurse, teacher, social worker or other job requiring human compassion and you can become down right burned out.

 

Men are also not immuned.

 

Careers, co-workers, family demands, financial problems, hero demands, can all take a toll.

 

Once in a while, like a stack of dominoes, all it takes is the 'one too many times' you are called upon and there you go......

 

Collapse. Just like Dominoes.

 

 

As a wife, Mother of 4, and eldest sister, I know first hand what it is like to be the 'go to' person for all those big and little woes, complaints, heartaches, and worries.

 

Sometimes you can get overwhelmed with everyone else's problems.

 

And of course, how do you then release them?

 

You want to be helpful and kind, understanding and empathetic. You freely give of your time, your sympathies.

 

Everyone feels better.

 

Except you.

 

 

As the 'go to' person, you have nobody to go to!

 

How do you replenish yourself without burdening the already burdened?

 

Well, I have a few tricks.

 

This has been one of those weeks for me.

 

So this is my recipe for restoration and renewal.

 

Shut down. By this I mean, shut off the lines of communication. Screen your calls, ignore the inbox, shut off all the chatter inside your head. Naturally, if you are required to keep your cell phone on because of children, job or other duties, you can't completely isolate yourself. But you can put up boundaries. If it's an emergency, a conference call, or important message, by all means, pick up. But for everything else, ignore, ignore, ignore.

 

As for shutting down the chatter inside that pretty little head of yours (or for you guy's, dashingly handsome head), replace all that noise with positive pep talk. Or music.

 

Look in the mirror and say, 'I owe myself this time. I am not super human. I do not need to fix everyone else's problems right now. This is my time.'

 

Repeat as needed.

 

 

It's so easy to get caught up in everyone else's drama. You want to help, to offer advice, be supportive.

 

But remember, sometimes you take on other people's problems as your own. Resist, resist, resist.

 

Tell them over and over,

 

"I know you will work it out, I have faith in you."

 

Then let it go.

 

Because once they are done releasing all their troubles, they are happy and you are left holding the proverbial bag. Of negativity. (Or other adjective!)

 

Water helps. Take a shower and think of all that negativity washing away.

 

Or take a good long soak.

 

Let it all go down the drain.

 

Fill a tall glass with water, add some lemon, cucumber, lime or kiwi. Whatever you have on hand. As you drink, think of purifying yourself. The more you drink, the more pure you become.

 

 

Another way to recharge the batteries after a battering is to get outside. Even a little fresh air does wonders for your outlook. Take deep breaths. With every breath take in new energy. With every exhale, release the negativity.

 

You don't have to go far. Sit on your front step. Or your balcony, courtyard or park bench.   Notice the birds. Look at the trees. Just sit and be. Take your water. Or a nice glass of wine. Or if it's really bad, a good Vodka.

 

 

Sometimes in a well meaning way, people can hurt your feelings. They can tell you things you don't want to hear. Like being told when another has a less than kind thing to say about you.

 

Or a back-handed compliment.

 

 'You would be so pretty (or good looking) if.......'    fill in the blanks.

 

or

 

'I never understood why so and so never liked you.'

 

or

 

'You look so tired, I hope everything is alright.' 

 

This calls for extreme measures to recover.

 

This calls for a special treat.

 

For me that is chocolate. Or a new blouse. Or if the comment is particularly hurtful, new shoes.

 

For you guy's that might mean a new electronic gadget. Or sports supplies. Or a double whopper.

 

Yes, shopping therapy does work.

 

These sorts of things also call for the 'quick way of spiritual forgiveness'.

 

Say to yourself, 'So and so certainly didn't mean to hurt my feelings on purpose'.

 

Repeat. While you eat your chocolate and model your new shoes. Or play with your new gadget while downing your burger.

 

 

Sometimes your spirits can get really low if you are dealing with other's ongoing problems, rude strangers, other's illness or other trying situations.

 

This calls for a mini vacation.

 

At home.

 

Even an afternoon or evening can restore your spirits if you do so consciously and with that end in mind.

 

Carve out time to play.

 

Oh, I know you probably don't feel much like playing at this point.

 

But trust me.

 

Pick up a ball. Toss it to your pet. Toss it to your child. Find a piece of string and play with your cat. Play with your child. Get down on the floor and give it all your attention.

 

Go outside and skip. Or twirl. Or simply wave your arms around. Jog in place. Do a cartwheel if you still can.  Tell yourself you are once again 11 years old and act it.

 

Create.

 

It's impossible to feel sad when you are creating something.

 

Bake something. Cook some soup. Plant a mini garden in a dish. Sew. Draw. Knit, build a model airplane, a birdhouse, paint that chair you've been meaning to get to, take some photos.

 

You will feel so good.

 

Carve out an hour. Do this regularly. You will be so absorbed in your tasks, you won't have time to feel bad.

 

 

 

 Once in a while, no matter how hard you try, you simply can't shake off a negative or draining encounter or conversation. Like a broken record, it keeps replaying over and over in your mind.

 

You can't shut it off.

 

For this, I recommend cleaning. Yes, cleaning. While you are doing mindless tasks you can muddle things over in your mind to your heart's content.

 

Just start somewhere. Clean the fridge. Clean off your desk. Wash your car. Organize your closet. While you are working, replay everything in your mind until it gets just plain boring. Give yourself a time limit. By the time you are done, you will have accomplished something that makes you feel good and you won't even remember doing it! You will be so absorbed in your thoughts that all of a sudden you look around and your external world is back in order.

 

This has a psychological effect.

 

When our surroundings are orderly, for some reason, our inner landscape also feels more orderly, too.

 

Give yourself a time limit to mull things over. After that, you are required to shut things in your mind down. Put it aside. Be Scarlett O'hara. Deal with it tomorrow.

 

It really works!

 

 

If all else fails, try reading and writing. When you are the one who has nobody to turn to because everyone turns to you, a journal is your best friend. Here you can release all of your feelings without burdening another. A journal can help you see clearly. When you write something down, it puts it in perspective. Sometimes you can look back on your thoughts and feelings and see patterns and insights into problem solving that hashing it out with another can never give you. And you can be honest without hurting anyone else. Just be sure to keep this journal in a safe place or hidden with a secret password on your computer.

 

Another way to recover and restore is to read a good book, a magazine, a newspaper. Reading about others can put things into perspective, too. Sometimes problems do not seem so important when you are reading about other people's troubles.

 

A good book gives you the opportunity to escape from reality, shut off your thoughts and live another life.

 

The best place to do this is in bed, after you take time to play out in the fresh air, do a little cleaning, create a little something, shut out the outside world, drink a little wine, and take a good hot shower,  wearing your new shoes and eating chocolate.

 

xx



The Rest of the Journey

 

 

Last time I took you along with us as we explored the Carbon River. Now we have left the riverbanks and are heading towards home.

 

We are travelling through the narrow river valley that leads us to our destination.

 

Beautiful homestead farms nestle against steep forested foothills along the way.

 

 

 

A lucky horse grazes in pastoral splendor with a large cozy barn for shelter.

 

Teasel grows in the foreground.

 

In days gone by, Teasel was grown to comb wool. It's bristly seed heads act just like a brush. Now it grows wild and forms a beautiful frame for the landscape.

 

 

All along the way, we see these large barns, once part of thriving farms, but now lying fallow and unused except for a horse or two, or a few sheep. This one seems to be surrounded by a large stock yard.

 

 

This one has a cedar shingle roof and a lovely cupola on top.

 

 

We have been following the river as we go, and here we turn into a little park alongside. This is the same river that we hear on quiet nights, that we can walk to at the bottom of our little mountain.

 

We reside near the headwaters of this river, called South Prairie Creek, where it flows down from the mountains. It travels through the tiny town of South Prairie, where we are now, and where it gets it's name.

 

 

So calm and peaceful when we stopped for our visit.

 

 

But capable of showing it's temper.

 

Here we see an overlook tower with a flood marker along it's base.

 

 

This little creek is wild and untamed.

 

It has also taken out roads and bridges during times of heavy rains.  

 

It is a salmon spawning river and is protected.

 

It flows into the Carbon River, (which we visited in the last post) which flows into the mighty Puyallup, which flows into Puget Sound.

 

 

An old railroad bridge no longer in use, is preserved for pleasurable viewing.

 

Once there were many miles of railroad tracks here, but when the coal industry died out and the coal mines shut down starting in the 1930's, the tracks were unused and by the 1980's were taken up.

 

Now the railroad lines are being converted to hiking trails.

 

 

This particular bridge is the bridge to nowhere, as it ends with a chain link fence, but is beautifully restored with narrow planks and wooden rails hiding the metal structure that surrounds it.

 

There is no fishing here, as it is protected for salmon spawning.

 

 

You can see the riveted metal framework encasing the 'new' wooden covering.

 

 

As we stand on the bridge, we see the parallel roadway bridge with gentle water flowing between. This is a quiet and peaceful family picnic ground, and a lovely spot for summer wading.

 

 

But now the sun is waning and we must be on our way.

 

 

We will leave this place to the owls, the raccoons, and the possums waiting in the trees for us to leave.

 

 

With Mt. Rainier fading away in the twilight, we climb the winding roads to our foothill home once more.

 

 

 

A lovely day to remember.

 

xx



A Drive in the Countryside

 

We took a little country drive recently. We had no destination in mind, just a drive to see where it took us.

 

 

In the last few years, some of the water towers have been given a little face lift to blend in better with their surroundings. This one is particularly appropriate.

 

 

 In Washington State, logging is a big industry. Here we are driving through one such tree farm.

 

 

I would not want to get lost in these woods! Every tree looks the same. These are Douglas Fir.

 

 

Winding our way down from the forested hills, we came upon fields of left over pumpkins, glowing in the late afternoon light.

 

These fields host snow geese during the winter months and these pumpkins will feed the hungry.

 

 

Stopping to stretch our legs, we took a little stroll along the Carbon River. This time of year, the river is still placidly low, but it becomes a raging torrent during winter rains and spring runoff, as it flows directly from the Carbon Glacier on Mt. Rainier. You can see whole trees deposited in the center channel.

 

 

It is only in late summer and early fall that this center channel is available to play on.

 

 

Someone has left these stone towers for us to admire.

 

 

But don't let the seemingly calm water fool you....

 

 

Further along we see the force.

 

 

This is a deadly river that has taken many lives. Just this past spring a young man drowned trying to raft down it.

 

It has also taken out roads, bridges and homes.

 

But for now, it is only showing it's gentle side.

 

 

It was a beautiful afternoon. The late afternoon sun highlights seed heads of Queen Anne's Lace.

 

 

Ghostly Snow Berries grow in the thickets.

 

 

Nearby these bright crimson beauties add unexpected color.

 

 

As we leave we are sent on our way with a cryptic message written on the underside of the roadway bridge.

 

Next time I will show you the rest of our journey.

 

xx





Veteran's Day

Soldier's Cemetery in Orting, WA

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

 

between the crosses, row on row.

 

 

 

That mark our place, and in the sky

 

The Larks, still bravely singing, fly

 

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

 

 



We are the dead. Short days ago

 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

 

 

 

 

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

 

In Flanders fields.

 

 

 

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

 

To you from failing hands we throw

 

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

 

 

 

If ye break faith with us who die

 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

 

In Flanders field.

 

 

Written by Canadian John McCrae on May 3, 1915 during WW1 after witnessing his friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer die the day before.

 

 

Our freedoms, we owe to all the brave soldiers who willingly fought to defend this noble cause.

 

And all of those who willingly served in all capacities to protect and defend our nation.

 

We can never repay you.

 

 

 

With a special tribute to my Dear Father, a proud Veteran.

 

RIP