An Unexpected House Guest

This week I had a visit from an old friend.  Murphy...as in Murphy's Law.  You know, the one that says anything that can go wrong, will?  Dave Ramsey even teaches about Murphy in his baby steps.  In fact, it is baby step ONE.  We know from time to time Murphy will show up at our door, totally uninvited and usually unwelcome.  However, we are taught to be responsible and plan ahead for him just as we would for any other unexpected guest.  Only, I was unprepared.

First on the agenda for his visit was my dishwasher.  Now, for some reason I'm known to have issues with dishwashers.  One was even fatally struck by lightening.  I still just continue to be amazed at the Curse Of The Dishwasher (insert evil laugh)  in my home.  At least this time I was prepared.  When I purchased the current dishwasher, you can believe I also purchased the biggest, baddest extended warranty out there.  That baby is covered until 2017!  So, until the repair person can come, which will still be another week or more, I'm happily hand washing my dishes and using my dishwasher as a very expensive drying rack.  And yes, for some strange reason I wash and re-use my disposable plastic cups.  (Smile)

We also had a day or so of very steady and at times, heavy rain here.  That is when event number two came around on the agenda.  Now, while lots of heavy, steady rain did wonders to re-fill my sweet pond, which had suffered some water loss because of our dry weather, my roof didn't fare so well.  I immediately noticed a large, wet area on the bedroom ceiling. Not good. The stars you see in the picture above are left over reminders from when my sons shared the room.  They glow in the dark.  Knowing that our roof is about twenty years old, I'm sure it needs replacing, but for now if at all possible, we will opt for repairing.

That brings us to the third, and hopefully last item on Murphy's agenda.  My dryer.  I may or may not have the extended warranty on it; I'll have to check.  Regardless, knowing the lead time in getting someone out to repair it, or waiting until next payday to buy replacement parts, I know I'm looking at a couple of weeks.  Rather than complain and whine, I just very nicely told hubby that I'd need a clothesline put up and today would be just fine for that to be done.  In no time at all I had a functional clothes line strung up between a couple of trees.  I love it!  I love hanging clothes out.  I really do.  Gets me outdoors, saves on the power bill and, well you get the idea.  My sweet little Jack Russell loves it too.  And when I can't go outdoors to dry clothes, there's always creative clothes hanging indoors.

These are the everyday things that happen in my real life.  Stuff breaks.  Stuff leaks.  Life goes on, and I have to be flexible and not gripe and whine and complain.  That wouldn't do anyone any good.  We work with what we have.  We are thankful for what we have.  I'm just thankful that Mr. Murphy doesn't visit too often.

Hello To You!

Welcome to My Sweet Pond!  This is the view from my office window, and it makes me happy.  How can you gaze upon such a sight and not be?  It calms my soul.

Of course, there is a real world that happens all around my sweet pond, but of all the spots at my home, this is the one that calls to me, whether I'm indoors or out.  If I could, I think I'd spend my entire day just watching.  Maybe I'll see birds at the feeder or lively fish splashing at the shore.  I might even see a goose or two enjoying a morning swim, or a Kingfisher perched on a wire looking for lunch.  And then there are the occasional turtles who poke their little heads up here and there, as if they're playing "Marco Polo".

I treasure this place and the quietness it has.  You see, I didn't always live in a place like this.  For the first sixteen years of my life I live in suburban Southern California, and I loved it.  Our town was nestled between the sparkling Pacific and the gentle, rolling hills.  But the homes were very close together, and to see something like my sweet pond, I would have to make a trip and go somewhere on purpose.  Surely not anything I'd see in my daily life.  Certainly not something that was my own special, quiet place.

So here I am, now having lived more than half of my life in rural Alabama with this beautiful view from my front window.  I couldn't love it any more that I do right now.  I love living in Alabama, but more than that, I love the way of life here. Slow, and only as hurried as you want it to be.

 My husband and I have raised three grown children here.  They've had the freedom to park a four-wheeler right outside, next to the house and be able to go for a ride whenever they wanted.  Or park a backhoe in the front yard overnight if needed.  Or take a walk into the woods behind our house, even getting lost a time or two, but always, eventually finding their way back home.

I'll soon be a Grandma for the first time, later this year, and that sweet little bundle of joy just can't get here fast enough!  It may be a while before we can play outside and feed the fish, but it will come soon enough.  In the meantime I'll be here, at home, enjoying all the loveliness that surrounds me, including my family, my pets and my sweet pond.